Christopher Gaze

Early life and education

Born in Guildford, Surrey, England, Gaze trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before coming to Canada in 1975, spending three seasons at the Shaw Festival. He met his first wife, Merrilyn Gann, in 1978 at the Northern Lights Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, while performing lunchtime theatre.

Career

Gaze moved to Vancouver in 1983 and in 1990 founded Bard on the Beach which in 2014 achieved attendance exceeding 100,000. In addition to performing and directing for Bard, Gaze's voice is heard regularly in cartoon series, commercials and on the radio. He also hosts Vancouver Symphony's popular Tea and Trumpets series and their annual Christmas concerts. His many honours include induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, Canada's Meritorious Service Medal (2004), Honorary Doctorates from UBC & SFU, the BC Community Achievement Award (2007), the Gold Medallion from the Children's Theatre Foundation of America (2007) and a Jessie Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Equus at The Playhouse. As an Olympic ambassador, Gaze was honored to run with the Olympic flame for the 2010 Games. A public speaker with the National Speakers Bureau, Gaze frequently shares his insights on Shakespeare and theatre with students, service organizations and businesses.

Gaze also narrated season 3 of Emmy Award-winning animation series Madeline (after Christopher Plummer stepped down).

Additionally, he has also performed voiceover roles for animation, most notably as Turaga Vakama in the first three Bionicle movies, as well as Diagnostic Drone in Beast Machines and Major Mint in Barbie in the Nutcracker.

Christopher’s many honours include induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal (2004), Honorary Doctorates from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University, the BC Community Achievement Award (2007), the Gold Medallion from the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America (2007), the (Vancouver) Mayor’s Arts Award for Theatre (2011), the Order of British Columbia (2012), The King Charles III Coronation Medal (2025), The Order of Canada (2026), and Member of the Order of the British Empire (2026).

His memoir, The Road to Bard, was published in May, 2026.

Filmography

Television

Action Man - additional voices

Beast Machines - Diagnostic Drone

Captain N: The Game Master - additional voices

Class of the Titans - Zeus

The Fearless Four - The Narrator

Hero: 108 - Fox King

Kid vs. Kat - Mr. Cheeks

The Little Prince - The Aviator (episode: "The New Mission")

Los Luchadores - Rupert (episode: "Anxiety Attacks")

MacGyver - Phil Sternwise (episode: "The Visitor")

Madeline - The Narrator

Milo's Bug Quest - The Narrator

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - General Seaspray

Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation - Dragon Lord

Pocket Dragon Adventures - The Wizard

ReBoot - Hue Branch (episode: "Firewall")

Sabrina's Secret Life - additional voices

Spider-Man Unlimited - Bromley

Stargate SG-1 - Tevaris (episode: "The Shroud")

Super Team Canada - Mr. Redgwell

Video games

Barbie as the Island Princess - Sagi

Dragon Tales: Learn & Fly With Dragons - Mr. Dustfree

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects - voice of Magneto