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Gordon Thomson (actor)

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Gordon Thomson
Image
Thomson in 1983
Born (1945-03-02) March 2, 1945 (age 81)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
OccupationActor
Years active1969–present

Gordon Thomson (born March 2, 1945[1]) is a Canadian actor widely known for his role as Adam Carrington on the 1980s American prime time soap opera Dynasty.

Early life

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Thomson began acting while studying English at McGill University in Montreal.[2] One of his earliest roles was "Sir Robin the Brave" in the 1971 version of the Muppets' The Frog Prince. He went on to appear in Canadian television and stage roles, including a stint in Godspell opposite Gilda Radner, Martin Short, and Eugene Levy.[2] In his twenties he also worked as a catalogue model to supplement his acting earnings.[2]

Career

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His first main TV role was as Michael Stewart Jr. on the Canadian television serial High Hopes in 1978. He then appeared as Egyptologist Aristotle Benedict White on the ABC daytime soap opera Ryan's Hope from 1981 to 1982.[3]

Having received acclaim for stage performances in productions including Love's Labour's Lost, Godspell and Joe Orton's Loot, Thomson advanced to the ABC Talent Development Program.[citation needed] After auditioning for a police series pilot called Callahan, he was instead cast as Dynasty's Adam Carrington.[3] Thomson debuted on Dynasty in October 1982, and remained with the series until its cancellation in May 1989. This role brought Thomson nomination for Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 1988. During the 1985–1986 season, Thomson also appeared in three episodes of the Dynasty spin-off, The Colbys.

After Dynasty, Thomson returned to daytime soaps. In 1990, he joined the now defunct series Santa Barbara (as the third actor to portray the character Mason Capwell). His commitment to Santa Barbara left him unable to reprise his role as Adam Carrington in the TV miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion (1991), and he was subsequently replaced by British actor Robin Sachs.[2] Thomson had roles on The Young and the Restless, Passions, Sunset Beach, and in 2009, he appeared on Days of Our Lives.

Thomson appeared in eight different series produced by Aaron Spelling: Dynasty, Fantasy Island, Finder of Lost Loves, Glitter, The Love Boat, The Colbys, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sunset Beach. He guest-starred in a variety of other series such as Murder, She Wrote, The Nanny and Silk Stalkings.

In recent years, Thomson reunited with his Dynasty co-stars in two non-fiction television specials; After Dynasty (part of the UK's After They Were Famous series) in 2002, and Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar in 2006. That same year, he had small roles in the feature films Poseidon (a remake of The Poseidon Adventure), and the Academy Award-nominated Little Miss Sunshine. From 2011, to 2014, Thomson appeared on the soap opera web series DeVanity, and in 2015 began starring as Maxmillian Winterthorne in the soap opera web series Winterthorne.[4][5][6][7][8] In 2017, he played the role of Parker Rutledge, a ruthless Washington power player, in the Passionflix romantic drama film Afterburn Aftershock, based on The New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Sylvia Day.[9]

Thomson guest hosted for Britain's ITV network on their then breakfast show Good Morning Britain, for which he covered celebrity events such as Wimbledon and Royal Ascot.[citation needed]

Partial filmography

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Year Title Role Notes Source
2019 The Experience Nick
2019 The Young and the Restless Daryl Tulane 3 episodes
2017 Afterburn/Aftershock Parker Rutledge
2016 Ladies of the Lake Sheraton Firestone 1 episode
2015 Winterthorne Maximilian Winterthorne Main cast. 4 episodes
2013 DeVanity Preston Regis 5 episodes
2009 Troublesome Dr. Ross Short movie
2009 Days of Our Lives Walter 5 episodes
2008 Ladies of the House Richard TV movie
2006 Poseidon Jay Based on Paul Gallico's novel The Poseidon Adventure and a loose remake of Ronald Neame's 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure
2001 State of Grace George 1 episode
2001 Grosse Pointe Dr. Evangelitis 1 episode
2000 Passions FBI Special agent Hal Freeman 3 episodes
1998 Sunset Beach A.J. Deschanel 227 episodes
1998 Sunset Beach: Shockwave A.J. Deschanel TV movie
1997 Man of Her Dreams Leo Carson
1997 Beverly Hills, 90210 Mr. Parish 2 episodes
1997 High Tide Dr. Paul Hughes 1 episode
1997 Baywatch Hunter Rose 1 episode
1997 The Nanny Chandler 1 episode
1997 The Young and the Restless Patrick Baker 1 episode
1996 Hot Line Earl 1 episode
1996 Silk Stalkings Joel Bayliss 1 episode
1995 The Donor Dr. Jonathan Cross
1993 Family Passions Mathias Haller Credited to an unspecified number of episodes
1990 Santa Barbara Mason Capwell 360 episodes
1990 Arrivederci Roma Michael Short movie, not to be confused with the 1958 Italian film Arrivederci Roma
1990 Murder, She Wrote Daniel McGuire/Kendall Stafford 1 episode in 1989 as Danie McGuire, 1 episode in 1990 as Kendall Stafford
1990 Polkaroo's Birthday Party Himself TV special

Personal life

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On September 25, 2017, Thomson came out as gay.[2]

References

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  1. ↑ City of Ottawa Archive; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Ottawa Journal Newspaper; Date Range: 1945 - 1946; Microfilm Number: 305
    Ancestry.com. Ontario, Canada, The Ottawa Journal (Birth, Marriage and Death Notices), 1885-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
    Original data: Ottawa Journal Newspaper. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: City of Ottawa Archive. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Teeman, Tim (September 25, 2017). "'I'm Gay': Gordon Thomson, Dynasty's Adam Carrington, Comes Out—and Trashes CW's Reboot". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "From Despair to Success". New Sunday Times. June 15, 1986. p. 6. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  4. ↑ Bishop, Jenn (November 17, 2014). "DeVanity Creator Returns with New Sweet Saga Winterthorne". TV Source Magazine. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ Lee, NaVell (November 17, 2014). "DeVanity Creator Michael Caruso Returns to the Web with Winterthorne". Buzzworthy Radio. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Watch The Winterthorne First Trailer … Where Candy and Drama Come Together!". Michael Fairman On-Air On-Soaps. May 22, 2015. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ Mulcahy, Jr., Kevin (August 27, 2015). "Watch the Premiere of Michael Caruso's Winterthorne". We Love Soaps. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ Kerr, Luke (May 22, 2015). "Winterthorne Debuts Epic First Trailer". Daytime Confidential. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Afterburn Aftershock Streaming Now on Passionflix". Passionflix. November 3, 2017. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
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