Eric Peterson to Receive ACTRA Toronto's Award of Excellence

ACTRA Toronto is pleased to announce that Eric Peterson is the 2008 recipient of ACTRA Toronto's Award of Excellence. Wendy Crewson received this honour in 2007 and will present the award to Peterson during The ACTRA Awards in Toronto on February 29, 2008 at The Carlu. Previous Award of Excellence winners include Gordon Pinsent, Sonja Smits, Paul Gross and Sarah Polley.

"Eric Peterson's long list of credits and his many performance awards are a testament to his status as a true Canadian star whose passion continues to inspire and delight audiences across our country," said ACTRA Toronto President Karl Pruner. "Those of us who have been privileged to work with Eric on union issues have seen him bring that same passion to the fight for Canada's performers at the bargaining table, and the fight for a fair deal for Canadian programming from Canada's broadcasters."

Eric Peterson is a Canadian star of the highest caliber with more than 50 film and television credits to his name and is also well known by audiences across the country for his prolific work on the stage. Peterson has been nominated for ten Gemini awards over the course of his career, four of them wins. His selected credits include Billy Bishop Goes to War, Sleeping Dogs Lie, Slings and Arrows, Traders, Da Vinci's Inquest, The Stork Derby, Trudeau,This is Wonderland, Street Legal and of course his current role as the loveable curmudgeon, Oscar Leroy, in the critically acclaimed TV series Corner Gas.

Peterson is actively involved with the ACTRA community and is a long time supporter of Canadian programming and performer rights. He was a key spokesperson in ACTRA's first ever strike in early 2007 and a leading voice at the recent demonstration in support of More Canada on TV at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention in Ottawa.