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Budomate: When did you start your acting career?
Nick Baillie: I began acting back in 1993 when I was living in Montreal, the city I grew up in. I studied acting for 3 years and then began doing plays and auditioning for small roles in commercials, tv shows and feature films. I landed my first union credit in 1996 on a film called Rowing Through, which was about the 1984 U.S Olympic rowing team.
Budomate: You’ve appeared in an impressive array of notable shows. Which one stands out the most for you?
Nick Baillie: I’ve been fortunate enough to work on some really great shows, like Murdoch Mysteries, Taken, The Dead Zone, Flashpoint and even Degrassi. I’d say my experience on The Dead Zone with Anthony Michael Hall was definitely a highlight. Not only because I grew up watching his movies, but I played a priest who was possessed by the devil, which was a tremendous experience and challenge for me as a young actor.
At one point AMH came up to me and quietly told me that I was in an extreme closeup. He was basically telling me to adjust my performance for the framing, which was such a generous thing for him to do for a young actor. I never forgot that.
Budomate: You were part of the Taken series. How is this version of Bryan Mills different from the classic film?
Nick Baillie: The Taken series, served as a prequel to the original films, and explored Bryan Mills’ earlier years, showing his time as a special operative before the events of the first film. That version of Mills was younger, less experienced, and still honing the skills that would later make him the unstoppable force seen in Taken. In contrast, the Bryan Mills of the film is already a highly skilled and hardened operative with decades of experience. It was also a really fun show to work on.
Budomate: Can you tell us more about the Theatre by the Bay project?
Nick Baillie: Theatre by the Bay is a Shakespeare company that my ex-wife, Larissa Mair and I founded back in 2001. We wanted to bring more work to a struggling industry at that time. Our first season was A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the summer of 2002 under a huge tent right on the edge of a beautiful lake in a town north of Toronto called Barrie, Ontario. We went on to produce over 50 plays in a decade, including Broadway style musicals as well as children’s shows, original works, and of course Shakespeare.
I stayed with the company for almost 15 years, and it taught me many things that have helped me with producing films. The company will soon be celebrating it’s 25th anniversary, so I’m proud to say it’s still alive today even though Larissa and I left over a decade ago. I would say that it is my proudest achievement in my career.
Budomate: Could you share more about the 21-part web series Claddagh, which won the “Outstanding Series Premise/Concept in a Drama” award?
Nick Baillie: Claddagh was created by Alan Duggan, an actor friend of mine back in 2011. He co-wrote it with Anthony Mancini, who is one of my acting mentors. This series took place in Montreal, Canada where I grew up, and it followed a family of Irish gangsters as they dealt with the Italian mob. It was a real window in to how things work in that world.
They were a very big part of the history of Montreal and essentially they ran the show in that city for many years. In some respects they still do. As a matter of fact we had to get them to sign off on the script, and give us permission to shoot the series. In the end they endorsed it and we even shot some scenes in the top Irish leader’s home.
Budomate: Can you tell us about the award-winning documentary Back to Sparta?
Nick Baillie: Back to Sparta is a documentary that follows Angelo Tsarouchas, a Greek Canadian comedian, and personal friend’s journey to Greece, exploring his heritage and seeking to understand his roots. George Tsioutsioulas, the director followed Angelo for the better part of a decade and when I joined the team, we flew to Greece to follow Ang as he returned to his father’s home town years after he passed away.
It was the first time he performed in Greece as well, so we was understandable nervous. The standup show is called “A Night in Athens.” Both were produced by another good friend of mine Robert Cordileone, who coincidentally also produced “Claddagh” with me.
Budomate: You recently played the lead role in the thriller Malicious, directed by John Fallon. How did you land this role, and what can we expect from the movie?
Nick Baillie: Originally Kevin Interdonato, one of the writers and producers, reached out to me in 2018 with the script that he and John Fallon had written. He thought I would be good for the role of William McCabe, the patriarch. Kevin and I had worked on a couple of other movies together in the past and I had a great experience with him, so I jumped at the opportunity.
At one point a production company from Germany came on board, and I actually had to audition for a role I thought I already had. In the end Kevin, John and I produced it ourselves, and shot it in the Poconos. It took us almost 4 years to get it made, but in the end I’m super proud of what we accomplished. It’s currently available on Tubi and Amazon Prime.
Budomate: You’re currently working on the Wide West movie alongside Alexander Nevsky. Could you share more about your character?
Nick Baillie: In The Wide West I play Judge Dwight Ogburn. He is an honest, hard working man who accepts that there are things that happen in his town that may not be so virtuous, but also necessary for the community to thrive. He tries his best to keep the peace and to enforce the law, but doesn’t always get the support he needs. He is a peaceful man, but in the end is forced to resort to violence to ensure that his community is safe, and criminals pay for their actions.
It was a really great role to play. I have always dreamt of being in a western, so this was definitely a treat for me. Alexander always wants people to have fun while they are working, so it made it such an easy production to work on. I look forward to our next western The Last Heroes of Rio Bravo, to be shot later this spring.
