Stephen Russell spent more than four decades gracing the Stratford Festival’s stages as an actor, but he’ll likely be remembered as much for his kindness and generosity.

Russell, who died Friday, March 27, at the age of 79, was “one of the most incredibly kind, generous, funny, witty” people, his son Andrew Russell said.

Original hailing from St. Paul, Minn., Russell was married to his wife, Astrid Roch-Russell, for 39 years. Along with Andrew, they were the parents of one daughter, Isabelle Withers, and had four grandchildren.

Russell’s impact on others was highlighted in the roughly 200 comments on Roch-Russell’s Facebook post, Andrew said.

“The two words that just kept popping up over and over are just the kindness and generosity that he showed people at the company over the years. The Festival is an institution in Stratford, but it’s made up of families — families like mine,” Andrew added.

In 42 years at the Stratford Festival, Russell performed in 98 productions, including 68 Shakespearean plays. At the Festival, he played the titular roles in Richard II, Henry VI and Julius Caesar. Beyond Stratford, Russell had roles at Theatre Calgary, the Manitoba Theatre Centre, the National Arts Centre and the Lincoln Center in New York.

Over a remarkable 42 seasons with the Festival between 1974 and 2019, Stephen became one of the great pillars of the acting company, performing in a remarkable 98 productions, 65 of them Shakespeare, and including Greek tragedy, modern classics and musicals.

"He could play kings as well as villains. Yet offstage he had a heart of gold and a kind, approachable demeanour that made him an instant friend to new company members," remembers Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino.

"While he had the power needed for drama and tragedy, he loved comedy. He had the driest wit and a delightful deadpan expression that was relieved only by a wicked twinkle in his eye. He was strong, warm, thoughtful, silly, generous, loyal and a joy to be around."

Stephen joined the company in 1974, quickly becoming something of a matinee idol, especially with student audiences, thanks to a commanding presence and the looks of a storybook prince.

Among his many memorable performances were Valentine in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1975), Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1977), the title roles in Richard II (1979), Henry VI (1980) and Julius Caesar (1998), Jim O’Connor in The Glass Menagerie (1985), Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale (1986), Achilles in Troilus and Cressida (1987), Mr. March in Little Women and the Chorus Leader in Oedipus Rex (both 1997), Cornwall in King Lear (1985 and 2002), Duke Frederick in As You Like It (2005), Cominius in Coriolanus (2006), Slim in Of Mice and Men (2007), the Earl of Salisbury in King John (2014), Antonio in Twelfth Night (2017) and, in his final season with the Festival, the Lord Chamberlain in Henry VIII (2019), a performance that was captured on film.

“He could play kings as well as villains. Yet offstage, he had a heart of gold and a kind, approachable demeanour that made him an instant friend to new company members,” artistic director Antoni Cimolino said in a social media post shared by the Festival.

In Russell’s work at the Stratford Festival, he made an effort to make everyone feel welcome, from mentoring younger actors to being friends with those who worked backstage to making a point to greet the ushers, his son Andrew said.

“He just really practised being kind to absolutely everybody, especially at the Festival, whether it was the people cleaning up, the people in the back creating the sets, to the actors, to the directors, on up to the top. He was really kind and nice to everyone,” Andrew added.

However, it wasn’t just at the Festival that Russell made his impact, his son said.

“He curled at the Stratford Country Club for a number of years. He was an avid golfer and, just no matter where we went in Stratford, he would just say hi to everybody. He just seemed to know everyone in Stratford,” he said.

In addition to being a great actor, he was a great dad, Andrew added.

“He was my first soccer coach. He supported me and every life choice I made. He was just a really, really great dad,” he said.

With a celebration of life being planned at the Festival for a later date, Andrew fully expects the impact his dad made to live on long after his passing.

“I would imagine that I’ll keep seeing his friends and the community that he helped build, and just the really positive aspect of what he stood for in life really fighting for the little guy, fighting for what’s right,” he said.

From Bill Atwood for www.stratfordbeaconherald.com and the Stratford Festival at www.facebook.com for March 31, 2026.

Photos: Stephen Russell as Jim in The Glass Menagerie, © 1985 David Cooper; Stephen Russell as Belarius in Cymbeline, © 2004 Richard Bain.