Remy Girard is an icon in Quebec: the star of big comedies like Les Boys and dark dramas like The Barbarian Invasions. In the history of the Genie Awards, no actor is more celebrated than Remy: 10 nominations in all, and four wins. The New York Times has called Remy one of the 20 top actors in the world. Not bad for a guy who figured he'd be a lawyer.

Growing up in northern Quebec, Remy appeared in his first play at 13. He studied law at Laval, then, at the last minute, switched to acting. He moved to Montreal, where he met filmmaker Denys Arcand and forged a bond that would change his career: The Decline of the American Empire; Jesus of Montreal and The Barbarian Invasions, which won an Oscar.

Remy was amazing in that one, playing a womanizing professor dying of cancer. Steven Spielberg thought so too. Soon after, he met with Remy about a role in the film Munich. It didn't pan out, but Remy remains one of the country's most in-demand actors. In the new series Insecurity, he plays a French-Canadian spy bumbling his way through top-secret missions.

But perhaps, his most meaningful role is one from real life - father to his 13-year-old son. It's transformed his life in a profound way.