Tyrone Benskin

NDP MP Tyrone Benskin was a very successful actor, having starred in over 150 film and television projects and 60 theatre productions before getting elected to the House of Commons in 2011. Born in Bristol, England, Tyrone was 9 years old when his family arrived in Canada to settle in Montreal. Tyrone went to John Abbot CEGEP and studied theatre at Concordia. It wasn't long before he appeared at Stratford, the Centaur Theatre in Montreal and the National Arts Centre. Tyrone was never afraid to speak out against what he thought was wrong, in fact when he was growing up, his friends always thought he would be a lawyer. His talent at marshalling an argument led him to become active with ACTRA and for 12 years he served as Vice-President. In 2005, Benskin was appointed Artistic Director of Montreal's Black Theatre Workshop. Tyrone Benskin talks to Catherine Clark about his life Beyond Politics.