How They Met: Paul Gross and Martha Burns share the secret to 37 years of marriage, Canada Reviews

Not many people can boast 37 years of marriage, let alone a pair of actors. But Paul Gross and Martha Burns, Canadian royalty widely recognized in the theatre world and beyond, certainly can. Their secret? Rarely working together. Though the acting duo met when they were cast in the same play, they’ve since worked together on only a select few projects — including the Canadian television series Slings & Arrows and a Toronto stage production of Domesticated. 

But they’re eschewing that golden rule this year for an anticipated production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, premiering on Jan. 18 and running until Feb. 9, marking their first reunion onstage since 2015 (and before that, since 1984). They’ll even be playing a married couple onstage. Martha tells their story.

How they met

We met at the National Arts Centre [in Ottawa] in a production of Sharon Pollock’s Walsh. In rehearsals, we were spending an inordinate amount of time sitting around a table talking about the play and not actually doing the play. To make it bearable, we started sending notes to one another to make each other laugh.

The first date

Our first dates were actually a series of cast get-togethers. Most of the actors were from out of town, so we would frequent Ottawa’s bars, and in those days a good deal of work was accomplished in bars. At the end of the night, we somehow always found ourselves sitting together and making each other laugh. We would then head off to our separate homes. One night, Gordie Clapp, Paul’s roommate, called me to ask me who my favourite Beatle was, because Paul wanted to know but was too shy or nervous or dumb to call me himself. Shortly after that, we were married.

The wedding

Our wedding was in Toronto in September 1988. We hired a spectacular swing band from St. Catherines, and we and all the guests actually danced until dawn.

The kids

We have two children, now both adults. They refuse to dance with us. But they do make us laugh our heads off.

Shared hobbies and interests

Our hobbies. Hmm. Right now our shared hobby is to train our dog, Banjo, who is a terror. Sorry. Terrier. Our excellent trainer Oriana, from DankroftK9, is training us to train him. 

The secret to success

One of the secrets of our success is that we never work together. And now we are in the upcoming Canadian Stage production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. So far so good. 

Balancing careers and a relationship

Balancing our careers and relationship has always been a challenge. And yet we seem to have worked it out. That might not have anything to do with us, but more that we have fantastic kids and dogs. And therapists. 

The future together

When we think about the future together, we both really love to stay at home with a book. And when the books are finished, we crave the next adventure.