From his humble beginnings in Saskatoon theater to the bright lights of Broadway and then, inevitably, on to Hollywood, Kim Coates now has another career highlight in his diverse repertoire.
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists— the Canadian counterpart to SAG-AFTRA–honored Coates for his career achievements, contributions to fellow performers and to Canada’s entertainment industry at a festive event called the Northern Lights Social held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel January 28.
American audiences may know and love Coates most for his role as Tig Trager over seven seasons in the smash hit FX drama series “Sons of Anarchy,” but he’s also starred in films including “Black Hawk Down,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Waterworld” and “The Last Boy Scout.” Yes, the 1991 movie role was his first, and he was the guy who beat up Bruce Willis. And there’s much more to come, including the Netflix series “Godless.”
ACTRA execs David Sparrow and Ferne Downey and SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris spoke at the awards presentation before actor William Fichtner, a close personal friend and a frequent costar, presented Coates with his statuette.
Coates told the assembled crowd, which included his wife and two daughters, about how he became enamored of drama in high school and fell in love with the theater. Can you picture him as Hamlet? That happened multiple times, as well as a storied run playing the legendary Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” on Broadway. He mentioned a woman who came to his dressing room and said he was as good in the role as Marlon Brando was– and how he then wanted to marry her on the spot, even though she was about 90 years old.
“I would have people come up to me on the street and say, ‘Please, say Stella,’” Coates remarked. “I would tell them, hey, you should have been there.” That was just one of the many anecdotes he told in a rip-roaring funny yet heartfelt acceptance speech in which he also shouted out the charity that he supports, One Heart Source, which works with children in Tanzania, South Africa and Jamaica.
A couple of his homies from Saskatoon, who had flown to Vegas and then hopped on motorcycles to make it to the event in LA, presented Coates with a jersey and also a cut from their motorcycle club back home.
Coates now joins the esteemed list of previous ACTRA Award of Excellence recipients Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bochner, Tonya Williams, Kiefer Sutherland, Sandra Oh, Eugene Levy, Bruce Greenwood, Jason Priestley and Neve Campbell.
Cheers to Coatsie, as he likes to be called, with Canadian Club, of course.
