Can I be added to the list?

“I have a feeling that whatever I do as an actor, I’m still going to be best known as ‘that guy who shot Drake’,” laughed Ephraim Ellis, who is currently playing Paul in the new Upper Canada Playhouse production of Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park.

Ellis, who is making his debut at the Playhouse, achieved his earliest theatrical notices as ‘Rick Murray’, an emotionally disturbed teen on Degrassi: The Next Generation, the internationally popular Canadian television production. His character ‘shot’ rapper, pop star and actor Drake’s character in 2004.

“To tell you the truth, it was fun,” Ellis said, grinning.

For the young actor, the ‘Rick Murray’ role was literally his breakthrough into television and stage acting.

“I was 18 that summer, just six weeks after graduating from high school in Toronto. I was planning to go on to theatre school in the fall, but I suddenly got the chance to audition for Rick.

Technically, I became a series regular, doing eight episodes in two seasons.

I never did go off to theatre school. I threw my hat directly into the acting ring and it proved to be a good choice.”

Ellis recalls his time on Degrassi: The Next Generation with great fondness.

“The writers always tried to make the show as real as possible. Every episode had a message about topical teen issues, which really seemed to speak to kids.”

It was also a fertile training ground for a young actor, who had decided that his career would be in acting.

He learned to cope with the demands of screenplays, where scenes are often shot out of sequence over 12 hour days.

“You have to build your character,” Ellis said. “You use the same role building ‘muscles’ as you would use in live theatre, and you use your imagination to craft the character.”

Since his time on Degrassi, Ephraim Ellis has appeared on television in productions as diverse as Zixx: Level 2 and Zixx: Level 3, Falcon Beach and The Murdoch Mysteries.

...Just checking in, and yep he's still dead.