MONTREAL – Quebec director Érik Canuel, who scored a box office smash with the bilingual comedy “Bon Cop Bad Cop,” died Saturday at age 63.
Public relations agency Annexe says Canuel died of secondary plasma cell leukemia.
Canuel was one of the few Quebec-based directors to work in English as much as French. His projects were backed by Hollywood companies Disney, Showtime and NBC.
His feature films included “Nez Rouge” and “Le Dernier Tunnel,” but his reputation grew with 2006’s crossover hit “Bon Cop Bad Cop” starring Colm Feore and Patrick Huard as Ontario and Quebec detectives forced to work together.
The action-comedy buddy flick was a rare bilingual phenomenon and is credited as being one of the highest-grossing Quebec-made films in history.
“Bon Cop Bad Cop” spawned a 2017 sequel and more recently was announced for development as a television series, neither of which had Canuel attached.
He went on to direct Christopher Plummer in “Barrymore,” a 2011 biopic based on the final years of troubled stage actor John Barrymore.
Canuel’s TV work included episodes of CTV’s “Transplant” and “Flashpoint,” Global’s “Ransom,” and late ‘90s horror anthology cable series “The Hunger,” with hosts David Bowie and Terence Stamp.
He is survived by his partner and children.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2024.
