Jim Calarco is an actor and a media and drama instructor.
Calarco's hometown is North Bay, Ontario.
He taught media and drama classes from 1969 to 2000.[1] His career began when he was working as the Artistic Director of Caruso's Dinner Theatre in North Bay in 1981 and 1982. Claire and Jim Calarco formed Pine Creek Theatre Productions in 1983, producing independent freelance theatre. Calarco was a drama consultant with the Near North School Board of Education prior to retirement in 2000.
After retiring from teaching, Calarco focused his career exclusively on film and television.
Calarco became a board member of Loon Film Productions and of Nipissing University's Nipissing Stage in 2007. He served as a member of the Theatrical Advisory Committee for Canadore College between 2008 and 2009. Calarco worked through various casting agencies to seek new talent within northern Ontario by promoting original, innovative film development as a spokesperson for the Show Us Your Shorts film competition.[2] In 2008, he formed Real to Reel BG Agency with Kate Adams.
Calarco is a member of ACTRA and the Actors' Equity Association. His most recent works include A Dark Truth, The Riverbank (also known as Tracing Iris) and One Wish. One Wish won the Mexico City International Film Festival's Golden Palm Award and the Canada International Film Festival's Award of Excellence.[3]
In 2010, Calarco established North Star Talent Agency[4] with producer Brigitte Kingsley[5] to better represent actors from northern Ontario. Within the same year he started Real to Reel BG Agency with Kate Adams. In 2011, Calarco started Castnorth,[6] a film and television casting and audition agency.
Many of Calarco's latest movies have been available on Super Channel, including Dark Rising 1 and 2, A Dark Truth, High Chicago,[7] The Riverbank and The Entitled.
North Bay Nugget was released in September 2013: "Calarco can now add the Northern Flicks Award — top honours in CTV Television Network Best in Shorts competition — to his list of awards from a film that put the spotlight on dementia and Alzheimer's."[8]
Calarco won the Quonta Best Actor award in 1973[9] and in 2008 was inducted into the Northern Ontario Entertainers Hall of Fame.[10] Many of Calarco’s recent shorts have been nominated for awards, some as finalists, and his movies won many festival awards.
Calarco and his wife Claire married in 1969.
Calarco has performed as an actor, producer, writer, director, casting director, musician and voiceover artist.
| Year | Title | Format | Role | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Street Smart | Waiter | |||
| 1988 | No Angel | Mayor Ruttan | Caruso Production | ||
| 1989–90 | Moonlight Shadows | TV series | Jonah Rebus | Six episodes | |
| 1991 | Ravens Peak | Edison Croft | |||
| 1992 | The Scaganegy Man | Harrison | |||
| 1999 | The Lost Patrol | Nick Delgenio | Pine Creek Production | ||
| 2001 | Picture Claire | Passenger on the train | |||
| 2001 | Soul Food | TV series | Senior lawyer | 2 episodes | |
| 2002 | My Name Is Tanino | Mafia Don | |||
| 2002 | Conviction | Parole Board Chairman James Calarco | |||
| 2003 | Benchmark | Nick | |||
| 2003 | Into The Sunset | Walt | |||
| 2005 | Tony Barna | ||||
| 2006 | That Beautiful Somewhere | Sergeant Mathis | Loon Films Inc | ||
| 2006 | "Left Behind" | Short | Joe | ||
| 2007 | "That Was Easy" | Short | Man | Pair of Ducks Production | |
| 2008 | "Push" | Short | Doctor Roberts | ||
| 2008–11 | Météo+ | TV series | Homeless Man #1 / Chairman / Commissioner | Charbonneau Production | |
| 2010 | TV movie | News Reporter #1 | Defiant Empire | ||
| 2010 | TV miniseries | Townsperson #1 | |||
| 2010 | "It Started with Rabbits" | Short | Dr. Carlino | Pair of Ducks Production | |
| 2011 | Citizen Gangster | Priest Nathan Molando | |||
| 2011 | High Chicago | Frank Alfons | |||
| 2011 | Dark Rising The Savage Tales of Summer Vale | Video | The Priest | ||
| 2011 | Dark Rising 2: Summer Strikes Back! | Video | The Priest[16] | ||
| 2011 | I'm Yours | Bus Station Attendant | Uncredited | ||
| 2011 | The Entitled | Detective | Uncredited; also Stand-in | ||
| 2011 | Running Mates | Garrettesville Mayor | Buck Productions | ||
| 2011 | "One Wish" | Short | Walter (Walt) | Last Best Hope Production[17] | |
| 2011 | "The House"[18] | Short | Husband | Pair of Ducks Production[19] | |
| 2012 | "Boys Will Be Boys" | Short | Narrator | Voice over | |
| 2012 | The Riverbank a.k.a. Tracing Iris | Mayor Jack Stubbs | The Film Works Inc. | ||
| 2012 | Les Bleus de Ramville | TV series | Dr. Egervari | Carte Blanche Production | |
| 2012 | "Morning Zombies" | Short | Janitor | Film North Huntsville International Film Festival | |
| 2012 | A Dark Truth a.k.a. The Truth | Robert | |||
| 2013 | "Strangers" | Short | Bill | ||
| 2013 | Hard Rock Medical | TV series | Jason Cahill[20] | ||
| 2013 | Be My Valentine | TV movie | Carney | as Jim Callarco | |
| 2014 | The Captive | Manager | |||
| 2022 | Essex County | TV series | Nursing home patient | ||
| 2023 | Orah | Doctor |
| Year | Title | Format | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "That Was Easy" | Short | Screenplay Writer, Producer | |
| 2011 | "One Wish" | Short | Writer, Executive Producer, Director | |
| 2011 | "The House" | Short | Writer, Producer, Director | |
| 2013 | "Strangers" | Short | Writer, Executive Producer |
| Year | Title | Format | Position | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | That Beautiful Somewhere | Casting Associate, Unit Manager | |||
| 2007 | "That Was Easy" | Short | Casting Director | ||
| 2011 | Dark Rising | Background Casting Director | |||
| 2011 | Dark Rising 2: Summer Strikes Back! | Video | Casting Director; Extras Casting; Unit Production Manager | ||
| 2011 | I'm Yours | Extras Casting | |||
| 2012 | The Riverbank | Northern Ontario Casting Associate | |||
| 2012 | Still Mine | Extras Casting | |||
| 2013 | Hard Rock Medical | TV series | Casting Associate | ||
| 2013 | Dark Rising: Warrior of Worlds | TV series | Northern Casting | 2 episodes: "Season's Change", "The Trankartak" |