Michel Barrette

Michel Barrette
Michel Barrette on a film set at Sept-Îles
Born	(1957-04-26) 26 April 1957 (age 59) Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada
Occupation	Actor, comedian, humorist
Years active	1982–present

Michel Barrette (born April 26, 1957 in Chicoutimi, Quebec) is a television and movie actor, television and radio host and stand-up comedian. He has played various roles in Quebec movies and television shows since 1982.

After serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, Barrette started his movie acting career in 1982 and appeared in nearly a dozen movies, including Les Boys in the first part of the series in 1997 (as Roger, a defenceman for a garage league team), Aurore, and Maurice Richard, a tribute to life of the former Montreal Canadiens superstar Maurice "Rocket" Richard. He also appeared in several popular television series, including La Petite Vie in 1995, Scoop and Paparazzi. His most important role in television and arguably in his entire acting career was in KM/H, a TVA TV series in which he played the main character for nearly eight years. His second main role was as a detective in the series Un homme mort in 2006.

Barrette has also been one of the most notable stand-up comedians in Quebec since 1983 and performed several one-man comedy shows province-wide, including En spectacle avec Michel Barrette in 1989, 100% Barrette in 1997, Quelques exces in 2000, 20 ans deja, je me souviens in 2004 and Michel Barrette, 100% neuf in 2006. He was also part of a major show to aid victims of the 1996 Saguenay Flood. He was a regular guest on Normand Brathwaite's defunct-satirical television show Piment Fort during the 1990s. His first famous role was his stand-up character named Roland "Hi-Ha" Tremblay, which became a hit around 1988, and was the basis for Serge Gaboury's comic strip of the same name, and also started the career of comic/actor Vincent Bolduc, who became famous by playing the same routine at age 9 or 10.