David Calderisi (born 21 June 1940) is a Canadian actor with a career in both Canada and the United Kingdom.
Early life
Calderisi was born in Montreal and began performing as an actor at the age of eight in Our Lady of Fatima with the St. Genesius Players while as an altar boy at St. Aloysius Church. After appearing on and off with the group until age 12, he put any thoughts of a theatrical career aside. However, Calderisi was drawn back to acting in 1956 while studying engineering at McGill University after meeting a girl who was appearing in a production of My Fur Lady at the faculty. Joining the revue for its cross-Canada tour until it closed in Vancouver, Calderisi realised he wanted to be in theatre. In order to become a professional actor, he decided to get professional training.[3][4]
At the same time, he collaborated with David Halliwell to revolutionize British theatre by bringing lunchtime performances to the masses. They formed the company Quipu, which from 1966[5] to 1976[6] operated at various venues including the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA, where Calderisi studied for the stage[1]). Calderisi has also acted and directed in theatres across the West End in productions such as The Experiment and The Theatre of Death written by Philip Martin.[7] He was invited back to Montreal in 1967 to direct The Lower Depths, staged by students of the National Theatre School, staying for 10 weeks.[3]
