Lawrence Dane is an exceptionally fine, versatile and shamefully underrated Canadian character actor who's equally adept at both comedy and drama alike. Tall and lean, with silver gray hair, a gaunt face and a distinguished air about him, Dane is often cast as smooth business executives, physicians, police officers and stern authority figures. Born on April 3 in 1937 in Masson, Quebec, Lawrence grew up in Ottawa and initially took acting lessons in order to overcome shyness. Dane first started acting in the early 60s. He soon amassed a substantial volume of film and TV show credits. Lawrence gave an especially terrific performance as one of five doctors who find themselves being terrorized by vicious vengeful hillbillies when they go camping in the remote Canadian wilderness in the harrowing Délivrance (1972) variant Rituals (1977); the multi-talented Dane also produced this gritty and suspenseful cult favorite thriller. Other notable roles Dane has played are Michael Ironside's evil business partner in David Cronenberg's Scanners (1981), Melissa Sue Anderson's father in the superior slasher item Happy birthday, souhaitez ne jamais être invité (1981) and Peter Weller's tough, but fair boss in the excellent killer rat knockout D'origine inconnue (1983). Moreover, Dane displayed a delightful flair for comedy in the amusing features It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1975) and Find the Lady (1976), in which he was nicely paired with a then-unknown John Candy. Now in his early 70s, Lawrence Dane still continues to act in both TV shows and movies with pleasing regularity.
