Douglas Rain, a distinguished Canadian actor and narrator, was born on March 13, 1928, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. With a profound passion for the art of acting, he embarked on a journey to hone his craft, studying at the prestigious Banff School of Fine Arts in Banff, Alberta, as well as at the renowned Old Vic School in London. This multifaceted training enabled him to excel on the stage, where he spent a significant portion of his career, primarily with the esteemed Stratford Festival of Canada, with which he maintained a long-standing association spanning over four decades.
Throughout his illustrious career, Rain portrayed a diverse range of characters on stage, garnering widespread recognition for his iconic performance in the title role of Henry V at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, which was later adapted into a television production in 1966. His versatility as an actor was further showcased in his Broadway debut, earning him a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) in 1972 for his outstanding performance in Vivat! Vivat Regina!
Moreover, Rain's legacy extends beyond the stage, as he is perhaps most famously known for his iconic voice acting as the HAL 9000 computer in the groundbreaking films 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and 2010 (1984).
