My Lucky Star

I was a troubled teen when I met the legendary actor Gordon Pinsent. He changed my life

- LISA BUNTING

IN 1978, I WAS A TOO-SERIOUS 18-year-old with a troubled home life chasing my acting dream. I'd performed in high school productions of Shakespeare, but my only TV experience was in a McHappy Day commercial, so I was thrilled when I was cast as Tess, one of five Irish girls in the CBC's A Gift to Last, starring Gordon Pinsent.

Gift was a three-season drama set in 1900, in the fictional town of Tamarack, Ontario. Gordon played the roguish Sergeant Edgar Sturgess, and his romantic interest, the Irish housemaid Sheila, had brought the girls from Ireland to work in town. We shot interior scenes in the CBC studios and exteriors in Kleinburg. On our first day, the Irish girls were led onto a soundstage where Gordon was in the middle of a scene. I was star-struck. He thrust out his hand and introduced himself warmly. He never assumed that anyone would or should know who he was.

On set, Gordon led by example: focused yet playful when the cameras were rolling, loose and cheerful between takes. Before a big scene, he would say in a stage whisper, "Okay, everyone, lick your lips and tense up!" Later, at the Celebrity Club, an actors' haunt on Jarvis Street, we gathered around him. He regaled us with stories of his years in Hollywood, starring in The Thomas Crown Affair and Colossus: The Forbin Project. Often, he'd crack himself up until tears streamed down his face.