Paul Gross awarded Symons Medal by Confederation Centre of the Arts

Actor, writer, director and producer Paul Gross was honoured with the Symons Medal at the Confederation Centre ofthe Arts on Monday.

Gross was in Charlottetown for the Symons Medal ceremony and lecture, which aims to provide Canadians "an opportunity to reflect upon their country and their future," according to the Confederation Centre's website.

In an interview with CBC News: Compass host Bruce Rainnie, Gross said he's grateful his career has allowed him to stay in Canada.

"I consider myself blessed and extraordinarily lucky, and to some extent it is that," he said. "I was lucky enough to be able to stay here and do things that I'm interested in doing."

Gross, best known for his role as RCMP officer Benton Fraser in the television series Due South, said it was watching a performance of King Lear that sparked his love of the theatre.

"I think I was always kind of vaguely interested in it, but the actual real time was when I was 11 years old and my mother took me out to Stratford, the Shakespeare festival outside of Toronto," he said.

"I remember almost nothing about the production except thinking to myself, 'This is a world that I'd like to be part of someday.'"

Gross won two Gemini Awards for best actor and one for best writing in a dramatic series for his work on Due South. He also won two Geminis for his acting on the series Slings and Arrows.

Gross is the 13th recipient of the Symons Medal. Past recipients include Prince Charles, Gov. Gen. David Johnston, and environmentalist David Suzuki.