Tom Melissis

Tom Melissis joined Due South in its third season as Detective Thomas Dewey, Huey's new partner, who was actually a better dresser than Huey's late partner, Louis Gardino.

The middle of five siblings, Tom was raised by blue-collar parents in east Toronto. Although interested in acting, he was shy, but that didn't stop him from becoming the class clown. His interest in theatre intensified while in Monarch Park Secondary School, where he began acting. He enrolled at the Ryerson P.I. Theatre School, which after a year, he found not to his liking, so he quit. Instead, he went to work for the audiovisual department of a Toronto advertising agency. But performing was still his blood and he moonlighted as a lead vocalist for the rock band The Exploding Tickets. The band went nowhere, and Tom returned to stage acting via part-time drama courses at Toronto University. Taking the next step, Tom got himself an agent, which led to extra work and commercials (including a humorous ad for Wisk detergent). He won an award for his performance in the student film Uphill to Keep a Smile, which strengthened his desire to act. To help pay the bills between auditions, he delivered books for a publisher.

A friend suggested he audition for Second City, which turned into a two-year run with the famous improv's touring company, acting in productions such as Not Based on Anything by Stephen King and The Long Goodbye. Preferring not to move to the London, Ontario branch of Second City, Tom instead answered a newspaper advertisement in 1988 which led to a job as an emcee at a karoake bar. The next two years were spent playing host and doing stand-up comedy. Tom also built his acting resume by performing many TV shows such as Street Legal, Robocop, E.N.G and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues as well as TV movies such as Madonna: Lost Innocence, Gridlock, and Mario Puzo's The Last Don.

Due South

Interestingly enough, Tom had originally auditioned for the role of Detective Ray Vecchio when Due South began. His name was not forgotten and when casting was underway for third season, he was called in for another tryout, and won the part of Dewey. When he got the role, he was at first unsure how to handle the character. He was unsure whether he was picking up the same vein as the character Louis Gardino, or whether he should start from scratch. However, he's had a very supportive aid in the form of fellow performer, Tony Craig, who played Dewey's on-screen partner, Jack Huey. He felt that during the course of time on the series, his character progressed from a guy "with a bit of a chip on his shoulder" to a lighter, more goofy role, which he ascribed in part to Paul Gross (the new executive producer) being on the set.

Tom enjoyed his time on Due South and performed some of his own stunts (such as being tossed onto a car in the episode "Strange Bedfellows"), and has said that his favorite characters on the series (besides Dewey, of course) are Welsh and Turnbull.

Post Due South

Since Due South, Tom has kept busy starring in various television guest shots on shows such as "Total Recall 2070," "Da Vinci's Inquest," "Relic Hunter," "Wild Card," and "Degrassi: The Next Generation." He's also appeared in several dramatic telemovies such as "The David Milgaard Story," "The Day Reagan Was Shot," and "Pretend You Don't See Her" and on the big screen in "Expecting."

Like Dewey, Tom has a love of live comedy and can be seen from time to time performing in the Greater Toronto Area.

One of Tom's recent projects is a feature film entitled "Blindness". He describes it as a 'dark urban apocalyptic thriller about a city struck by an epidemic of blindness...' He's not sure that it will appeal to the average Due South viewer, but he does say that there are quite a few Due South alumni in it, such as Maury Chaykin and Martha Burns. The film also stars Danny Glover, Julie Anne Moore, and Mark Rufalo and is directed by Fernando Mirelles (The Constant Gardner). The movie is currently scheduled for an early 2008 release.

Interests and Talents

He's very athletic, and has been involved in sports all his life, from baseball to hockey (his favorite) and more. He played on the Due South hockey team, which competed against teams from other popular TV shows such as La Femme Nikita. He also volunteered his time and energies to the Touchstone Youth Centre, which offers support and housing to homeless young people in Toronto.

Tom enjoys spicy foods, gourmet pizza, and fish Pad Thai. He is also bilingual in Macedonian, a language he learned from his parents (who are from Macedonia). In 1997 he tackled a goal which many other people aspire to: he quit smoking, and has not touched a cigarette since.

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