Biography
Patrick McManus is an actor based in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. He has worked primarily in the theatre, with forays into film and television when time and opportunity align. Early in his career, Patrick appeared regularly at The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, appearing in each of the five Shakespeare productions directed there by the late Marti Maraden. Between gigs in Ottawa, Patrick worked regularly across the county on both new plays and the classics. He also spent time in Vancouver working the film/TV circuit, and had a small part opposite James Earl Jones in the Emmy winning Movie of the Week, Summer's End. In 2006, Patrick dipped his toes into the realm of commercial theatre, performing in the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings (Mirvish Productions). Immediately following that contract, Patrick was invited to join The Shaw Festival, where he spent eleven seasons as an ensemble member. Highlights at Shaw include Dunois in St Joan (with tour to Chicago Shakespeare Festival), Tesman in Hedda Gabler, Bernard Nightingale in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (with transfer to The Royal Alexandra Theatre), Astrov in Uncle Vanya, and Henry Higgins in Pygmalion. He has also performed two seasons with The Stratford Festival, most recently Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing (2023). Over thirty years, Patrick has performed in sixteen productions of Shakespeare, seven plays by Shaw, and five Chekhovs. He's done Williams, Wilde, Coward, Ibsen, Will Eno, Branden Jacobs Jenkins, Annie Baker, Michel Tremblay, Jason Sherman, and Michael Healey. Recent film/TV work ranges from Spiral, opposite Chris Rock (2 weeks box office #1), to the indie Niagara set Cows Come Come. Patrick also plays guitar, sings, and occasionally reads audiobooks, most recently; The Trial of Katterfelto, by Michael Redhill.
