As the youngest in his family, Toronto actor Aaron Abrams remembers being a kid who always liked attention. That’s where acting came in.
“It became a way of getting attention that wasn’t making me insufferable,” he says.
The Hannibal, Blindspot and Rookie Blue star recalls drama class being the only one in school that ever really “caught” him, enough that his parents decided to put him in an acting class by the time he was eight.
“I went up and did an impression of my parents, and I remember people laughing and sort of discovering that something so personal could be universal at the same time,” he says. “That was the first itch.”
Abrams scored bit parts in movies starring the likes of Michael Douglas, Russell Crowe and Renée Zellweger until he landed his first “break” — alongside Canadian royalty.
“It was on a show called Slings and Arrows, and it was my first character where I had a name. I joined for the third season, and I was already such a fan, so to be accepted as a part of it, while doing scenes with Paul Gross and Sarah Polley, was such an honour.”
Often cast as the antagonist, Abrams says it was a big shift to take on the role of a well-meaning, sensitive and loving sitcom father in Children Ruin Everything. Now on its fourth season, it’s clear the comedy is resonating with viewers in Toronto (where the show is set) and beyond.
Fast facts
Name: Aaron Abrams
Graduated: Earl Haig Secondary School
Favourite Toronto memory: Being at the 1993 World Series Game 6 and seeing Joe Carter hit a home run
Favourite place in the city: Little Italy
Favourite local actors and artists: Salvatore Antonio, Sergio Di Zio, Brendan Gall, Dani Kind, Gowan
“It’s definitely an ode to all the family sitcoms we grew up on, but modernized — the dad isn’t a ding dong who just wants to watch the game; the mom isn’t the sheriff of the house,” Abrams says. “On this show, they’re united; they’re a team; they’re in love!”
Despite the show’s name, he says acting alongside his young co-stars (Mikayla SwamiNathan and Logan Nicholson) has been nothing but wonderful. “They’re not only extremely talented and smart and fun, but the show also writes them to just be kids,” he says. “So they’re just little weirdos, and they’ll throw a new thing at you, and you just have to stay very alive for those moments.”
And although the show is all about the constant emotional and financial hardships of being a parent, Abrams says he’s been pleasantly surprised by how all kinds of viewers, from child-free adults to kids themselves, have been connecting with the show.
“It’s a testament to the writing,” Abrams says. “[Series creator] Kurt [Smeaton] cracks his heart open and puts it on the page and makes every storyline so remarkable.”
