Catherine Bruhier
Award winning actress Catherine Bruhier got her first break when she was cast in the normally Caucasian lead role in the David French play "Salt-Water Moon" opposite Eric McCormack at Theatre New Brunswick's main stage, garnering excellent reviews for her performance as Mary Snow. The play was considered untraditional casting as this was the first time the female character was portrayed by a non-Caucasian actor. As a result Catherine was asked to write an article in Toronto's Theatrum Magazine on her experience as a visible minority in an untraditionally cast role. The article entitled "Darkness Visible" was then republished by Prentice Hall in a school text book called Play Making Magazine as an inspirational piece for grades 7 to 9.
TV work soon followed and some of Bruhier's career highlights include Elaine Besbriss on the Paul Haggis created, award winning CBS/Alliance series Due South for 4 seasons. Airing in 62 countries weekly, it rated 'top pick' on the UK's BBC network. Working alongside Viola Davis on How to Get Away with Murder (ABC) as Dr. Sheila Greenlee and with Taye Diggs & Sana Lathan in the Universal Studio's box office hit sequel The Best Man Holiday as Dr. Perkins.
Recent screen credits include: All Rise (CBS), Kim's Convenience (CBC/Netflix), Bosch (Amazon) and Baskets (FX/Hulu)
Between TV and film work Catherine has performed leading roles in theaters across Canada, most notably: The Shaw Festival; Grand Theatre London; Factory Theatre; Theatre Passe Muraille; Theatre Aquarius; Theatre New Brunswick (TNB); Theatre Plus Toronto and in the Dora awarded production of the teen play, Carrying the Calf. Some favorites were: Mrs Lunn in George Bernard Shaw's "Overruled" at The Shaw Festival, Effie in the award winning play "Riot" at the Factory Theatre Toronto (a role created for her by playwright/actor Andrew Moodie) and Mrs Muller in John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt" back at TNB.
Not only an actress Bruhier wrote, co-produced, directed and starred in the short film The Sacrifice filmed in Los Angeles through SAG-AFTRA. The Sacrifice screened at 12 festivals and won 4 awards. Catherine was awarded an Ontario Art Council, Emerging Filmmaker Grant to direct her 2nd short Clean Teeth Wednesdays made through ACTRA's T.I.P. Program. The film was an official selection at 6 festivals, nominated best narrative short at both Montreal Black Film Festival and Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center Black Harvest Film Festival. The young lead was nominated for a Young Artists Award (Presented by The Young Artist Awards Academy (YAAA), founded by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's (Golden Globes) recognized historian, Maureen Dragone.
A graduate of the George Brown College Theatre Program and a chosen alumnae for the 2018 Premier's Awards nominee in Creative Arts, Catherine also attended York University and studied in LA with renowned LA Film School coach/director Jim Pasternak in his Art & Technique of Film Directing Private Consulting & Coaching Workshop. She was honored to be 1 of 8 selected across Canada to attend the 2010 Women in the Directors Chair at the Banff Arts Centre. In the past Catherine was an invited jury member of the Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television choosing the performers to be nominated for Gemini Awards. She is a member of C.A.E.A. (Canadian Actors Equity Association), A.C.T.R.A (Alliance of Canadian Television and Radio Artists), SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild)
Catherine holds both a US and Canadian passport and works often on both coasts. She is the mom to actress Mattea Quin and wife to actor Steven Pacini. For more info: https://catherinebruhier.workbooklive.com/ 2020 article on her journey as an actor: https://maritimeedit.com/blogs/edit/catherine-bruhier-for-edit-magazine-volume-14