DEREK McGRATH is an award winning actor who has enjoyed a distinguished
career in the theatre,on television and in the movies.In the theatre,he
has countless credits including YOU’RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN, GODSPELL, HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES,THE SECOND CITY, ALLADIN and ARMAGEDDON OUT OF HERE which he co-wrote with WENDY JEWELL and for which he received a DRAMALOGUE award for acting.
Probably best known to American TV fans as ANDY ANDY on CHEERS,he has
also gained notoriety for his work on such shows as DALLAS, WHO’S THE BOSS,
9 TO FIVE, STARTREK,WALKER TEXAS RANGER, DOC,SUITS and many, many others.
Canadian audiences may remember him as Reverend Magee on LITTLE MOSQUE ON THE PRAIRIE.He is currently delighting audiences as FRANK, on the CBC show KIM’S CONVENIENCE
MR. McGRATH has appeared on the big screen as well starring in CHARLIE BARTLETT and the remake of the seventies horror classic CARRIE starring JULIANNE MOORE.
He currently lives on a farm in Central Ontario where he enjoys playing his
guitar and composing his own songs and where he and his friends DAVID KEMKER, WENDY JEWELL and SLATER JEWELL KEMKER shot the horror comedy ZOMBIE DEAREST. Mr. McGrath plays UNCLE PETE, a chicken loving, alcoholic, hat hating grouch.
On Tuesday March 19th 2019 from 7:00pm -8:00pm eastern standard time fans can interact with the actor by asking him questions related to his role of Frank on CBC’s hit comedy series Kim’s Convenience,anything else related to his involvement on the show as well as his other work in the entertainment industry.Fans are also welcome to share relevant comments with the talented actor. With a new episode of Kim’s Convenience airing right after the chat and Frank being featured in this week’s episode,it is an opportune time for fans to connect with the delightful artist.
The comments section will open up shortly before the event @ approximately 6:40pm eastern standard time.In order to see Derek’s responses to the questions and to see what other readers are asking, be sure to refresh the page several times throughout the session.
- Please note that this is not a video chat and in order to have your questions responded to, you must type them in the comments section below- content posted anywhere else will not be acknowledged.
- Questions related to the event can be sent in advance by e-mail @ intuitpublicity@yahoo.ca. Live technical support during the event will be available on the blog’s Facebook page.We look forward to hosting this event and hope you have an enjoyable, interactive experience!
Abbas Karimjee's Weblog 
Unfortunately, I’ll be somewhere at that time and won’t be able to listen to the live chat. I’m sure it will be very entertaining!
I’m thinking, if we ever get to see Frank’s ex-wife Bernice on Kim’s, do you think you can convince the producers to try to get Rebecca Romijn?
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hey Abbas, what up?
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A warm welcome to Derek and to all of the blog’s readers who are joining us this evening! Looking forward to an exciting chat!
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evening Abbas; hope all is hunky dory with you
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Question:Having done both theatre and tv, do you have a preference?
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Great question and welcome back Sharon!
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I prefer the energy of theatre but I prefer the hours of t.v., theatre mostly happens air 8 which is dinner time and I am a foodie so ..you know?
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Also as an update, I have interviewed Derek on this season of Kim’s Convenience,a retrospective on his work on Little Mosque on the Prairie , his take on the Canadian entertainment industry and more!Stay tuned for it later this week!
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Hi
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Welcome back-glad you can join us this evening!
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thanks
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hi back dhala
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How do you like working with Kim’s convenience?
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I hope we get to see more of Frank in future episodes, I like the rapport between him and Appa!
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Yes, me too. The good thing is that Frank will be on tonight’s episode!
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ya I enjoy that part too
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love love love it. most of my scenes are with Paul and we have a great chemistry together, same sense of timing and a similar feel for the balance between real and funny.
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in answer to Chris Polock’s question “if we ever see Bernice on the show could the producers consider Rebecca Romjn in the part?” Totally works for me.
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I watch it on Netflix. So no fresh episodes for me, but the saved ones are good too
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Hey Sharon, thanks for the kind words re Frank and Appa. love working with him
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hey Dhala, to be honest, that’s how I watch it too.
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wow how do you feel watching your own acting?
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your interaction with Muslims in Little mosque was very obvious.
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What was it like working on Suits?
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How long did you work in the little mosque?
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hey guys, sorry, forgot to refresh so didn’t see any new questions. anyway, dhala, great question, I’m a little tense watching my own acting because ZI know exactly what I was going for in each scene so I’m always judging whether I made the mark or not, of course the audience doesn’t know so it isn’t necessarily a problem for them. If I’m good, it’s really an enjoyable experience, like making a basket in basketball or scoring a goal in hockey. Mostly I like what ZI sweets or I wouldn’t keep doing it but there is the odd timeI think, wow, I’d really like to have that one back.
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when you watch your self I think you face reality. Acting is a very professional art . Keep up the good job!!!!!!!
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3 years; think that was a very important show and may have paved the way for Kim’s.
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good and 3 years is a good time for being able to work. And where was the little mosque filmed?
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Can you talk about your days of being on Dallas and Cheers? Such epic shows here…
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Derek, I definitely think Little Mosque paved the way for Kim’s by showing how those from different backgrounds are really similar at heart!
Do you think it paved the way for Canadian shows by showing the value of Canadian entertainment in general?
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Hey Kent, well let’s talk about Cheers first; that was a game changer for me. Before Cheers, I would go to an audition and they would say “Name?” After Cheers I would go to an audition and they would say “Oh wow . Andy Andy!”. So that show really put me on the map. Such a smart show. The writing was so good I used to tell people all I had to do was show up and tell the truth. Well, with a little pepper sprinkled in. Dallas was a great experience, very tight ship. Show up at 7 be rehearsing by 730, unusual in t.v. Thoroughly enjoyed playing Oswald, such a little creep but redeemable because he was just trying to survive in a very cutthroat world. Love playing redeemable weasels. so much fun.
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I think because the shows were so good and genuinely funny, not just funny because there is a laughtrack, it made it cool to like a Canadian show. Also, at the time, there was no other show on the air like it, certainly not a Muslim comedy. It also came air a time that Canadians were developing a real sense of pride in being Canadian, I refer you to those commercials where the guy would declare I AM CANADIAN!!. It made it cool to like a Canadian show.
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hey dhala, Mosque was filmed in Toronto and environs.
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Hey Sharon, shooting Suits was a privilege, exquisite dialogue and actual direction, a lot of tv directors are just traffic cops telling the cameras where to move, On suits the director and I would sit and talk a lot about the scenes and the character. A real joy.
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hey guys, this was really fun, much thanks for your questions. Now go watch the show.
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Thanks so much to Derek and to all of the readers and fans who showed up!Hope you enjoy tonight’s episode!
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