Tributes stretching from the screen industry to Parliament Hill and beyond are pouring in for the late, legendary actor-writer-director-producer Gordon Pinsent, who is being remembered for blazing a trail for Canadian performers with a fierce passion for the country’s culture and his Newfoundland and Labrador roots.

CBC Son of a Critch co-creator and This Hour Has 22 Minutes cast member Mark Critch, who was a friend of Pinsent’s, tells Playback Daily that the venerable star who hailed from his home province of Newfoundland and Labrador died on Saturday (Feb. 25) in Toronto. He was 92.

“He was sort of like the CN Tower or the Rocky Mountains, like some people you grow up and they’re always there, especially for Newfoundlanders. He was the first person from Newfoundland and Labrador to make an impact on the national scene, and in a time when TV was in its infancy,” says St. John’s-based Critch, who starred with Pinsent in the 2013 film The Grand Seduction and recruited him to do a reading from Justin Bieber’s memoir for a This Hour Has 22 Minutes sketch that went viral in 2010.

“He gave countless people the opportunity of his time and his help and his friendship, especially in Newfoundland and Labrador … he took you under his wing and then that was it — he was in your corner like a coach in a boxing match.”

According to a statement issued on Saturday to CBC by Pinsent’s son-in-law, actor Peter Keleghan, the stage and screen star of died “peacefully in sleep” with his family at his side.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement on Sunday calling Pinsent “one of the country’s most prolific and beloved actors.”

“I met him a number of times over the years and whether it was telling me great stories about my father or just sharing his love for Canada and Canadians, thoughtfulness and grace shone through all that he did,” Trudeau said.

“Mr. Pinsent loved his province and his country deeply,” he added. “He entertained millions around the world and inspired us to say ‘yes’ to doing the things we love and to pursuing our dreams.”

Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez tweeted that Pinsent was “a Canadian icon” whose “passion and commitment for our culture was like none other.”

Born in 1930 in Grand Falls, N.L., Pinsent earned scores of honours throughout his six-decade career, which ranged from comedy film The Rowdyman (1972), to Sarah Polley’s Oscar-nominated drama Away from Her (2006), to iconic Canadian series Due South and The Red Green Show. He was inducted into Playback‘s Canadian Film & Television Hall of Fame in 2007.

“Gordon had an enormous capacity for joy in absolutely everything he did. It was infectious and educational. There wasn’t a moment without a twinkle of mischief and a determination to enjoy the moment,” Polley tweeted on Sunday.

Pinsent started his career as a teenager acting on stage in Winnipeg and went on to trod the boards at theatre companies including Ontario’s Stratford Festival, where he worked with the likes of the late Canadian acting icon Christopher Plummer.

His TV career took off in the 1960s with starring roles on series including CBC’s The Forest Rangers, Quentin Durgens, M.P. and Scarlett Hill.

In the ’70s, he wrote and starred in films including The Rowdyman and John and the Missus, which he also directed. His other major film credits include The Shipping News, Two Lovers and a Bear, Who Has Seen the Wind and Colossus: The Forbin Project.

“He made us laugh. He made us cry. He brought our province to the world stage. He represented us in a way like no other,” Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey tweeted on Sunday. “Thank you, Gordon Pinsent, for all you did for the arts, for Newfoundland and Labrador, and for our country.”

Oscar-nominated Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, who starred with Pinsent in The Grand Seduction, called him “a colossus.”

“He was a measure of all that is admirable in a person, in this business or any other; full of sensitivity, daring and decency. He was always courteous and inevitably mischievous — insightful and witty company on or off set,” said Gleeson in a statement. “It was an absolute joy to work with him. He was a wonderful actor. It was impossible not to love him. Why would you even try?”

Pinsent also wrote and self-funded the Penny Eizenga-directed short film Martin’s Hagge, about depression, which he was open about battling himself. His other major TV acting credits include Republic of Doyle, The Eleventh Hour, Power Play, Wind at My Back, Street Legal, and as the voice of Babar the Elephant in TV and film.

His career honours included three Genie awards, five Geminis, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, a Dora Mavor Moore award, a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2007, and distinctions as a Companion of the Order of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

ACTRA tweeted tweeted Sunday that Pinsent was “an industry icon,” while the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television tweeted that he “left an exceptional body of work that truly demonstrates his formidable talent.”

When he wasn’t performing or creating a stage or screen project, Pinsent could be found painting or making furniture — a hobby he picked up when he was between jobs, says Critch.

“That’s the great thing about him is he was never idle,” he says. “If he wanted to do a play … he would write it and produce it. If he wanted to do a movie like The Rowdyman and he couldn’t get a movie role, well, ‘Jeez, I’ll write the script, I’ll star in it, I’ll direct it and I’ll produce it.’ That was a way of leading people like myself with Son of a Critch or [Allan] Hawco with Republic of Doyle, is that if you want to make a project, you can just make it yourself.”

Pinsent was also endlessly charming and beloved, Critch adds, noting he could hop in a car with strangers in N.L. and get a ride without any questions asked.

“I always say being with Gordon in Newfoundland was like being with Jesus in Bethlehem,” he jests. “It was like: ‘Are you with him? Are you an apostle?'”

Pinsent is survived by daughters Leah and Beverly, and his son Barry.