Biography

Sugith Varughese

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Overview

Born
April 25 · Kochi, Kerala, India
Height
5′ 8″ (1.73 m)

Mini bio

Born in India and raised in Canada, he is an award-winning screenwriter, short film director and actor with several series regular and recurring character credits. He broke into television as a writer, and is best known as one of the original writers of the classic Muppet TV show Fraggle Rock. He starred in a CBC TV movie he wrote, Best of Both Worlds, which launched his acting career. He was the first visible minority to attend the prestigious Canadian Film Centre as a writer-director, where he was trained by renowned directors Norman Jewison and Daniel Petrie, Sr. as well as famed editor Lou Lombardo and Oscar-winning composer James Horner among many others. His award-winning short films have screened at numerous festivals worldwide. Also a Dora award-nominated stage actor and produced playwright. Member of the Writers Guild of Canada, ACTRA and Canadian Actors Equity as well as a voting member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. He has taught screenwriting and acting at the college level and given seminars across Canada.
- IMDb mini biography by: Sugith Varughese
Sugith Varughese was brought to Canada at fourteen months of age and grew up mostly in the prairie city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Growing up as the only child from his background in his school at the time, issues of identity and belonging sparked his early interest in the arts. He initially began university as a double major in pre-med and drama. He ultimately graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts from the University of Minnesota and later received his Master of Fine Arts in Film from York University in Toronto. He also trained under acclaimed directors Norman Jewison and Daniel Petrie, becoming the first visible minority to attend the Canadian Film Centre as a writer-director.

He built a diverse multi-faceted career as an award-winning screenwriter, short film director, playwright, and actor. He broke into television as one of the original writers of the classic Muppet television show Fraggle Rock. He launched his acting career by starring in the television movie Best of Both Worlds (1983).

Over decades in the Canadian entertainment industry, his extensive screen credits include performances in Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1984), Quiet Killer (1991), Too Close to Home (1996), Mission to Mars (2000), Get a Clue (2001), Orphan (2009), Remember (2015), 22 Chaser (2018), Easy Land (2019), Guest of Honour (2019), and Ashgrove (2022). He also appeared in television series such as Kim's Convenience (2016), where he played the recurring role of Mr. Mehta, alongside roles in The Strain (2014) and Transplant (2020). In addition to screen acting, he is a Dora Award-nominated stage actor, a produced playwright, and has taught screenwriting and acting at the college level.

Building further upon Sugith's extensive career and multi-hyphenate artistic background, his creative footprint expands profoundly into theater writing and solo performance.

Reflecting heavily on his upbringing, cultural expectations, and his family background, coming from a family of doctors spanning multiple generations, he wrote and starred in the autobiographical solo theatrical production 26 Doctors. The production chronicles his life as a pioneering South Asian presence in Canadian show business, tackling themes of typecasting, cultural expectations, and growing up as the only brown child in his school in Saskatoon. Interestingly, across his prolific career on screen playing various medical professionals, he has portrayed 26 different doctors on film and television, subtly mirroring his father's profession as a neurosurgeon.

In addition to his recurring television roles like Mr. Mehta in Kim's Convenience (2016) and senior surgeon Dr. Aajay Singh in Transplant (2020), Varughese remains deeply active in the Canadian artistic community as a member of the Writers Guild of Canada, ACTRA, and Canadian Actors Equity. He also continues to contribute his writing and directing skills to independent short films and stage productions.
- IMDb mini biography by: Furrukh Q

Self-verified on IMDbPro

Gender / Gender identity
Male

Trivia

Uncredited, he has been part of the "loop group" for numerous TV series and films since 1992 beginning with Forever Knight, Robocop the Series, and Relic Hunter up to and including season 4 of The Expanse, which he has looped since the pilot. Looping provides background voices to scenes and is done in post-production. It requires being able to improvise in context on cue.
In February 2020, he began recurring as two different characters on two Canadian prime time TV series, Kim's Convenience (comedy) and Transplant (drama), on two different networks, CBC and CTV.
Recurs in season one of The Girlfriend Experience in a role originally written as a white male named Gus. After he was cast, the role was renamed Tariq Barr.
In 2018, only a few weeks after appearing in an episode of Northern Rescue starring William Baldwin, he worked with Daniel Baldwin in the feature film, Making A Deal With the Devil.
After completing 2 years as a pre-med/drama double major at the University of Saskatchewan, transferred to the Univrtsity of Minnesota and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Theatre Arts.