Khartoum-born Armenian-Canadian actor Hrant Alianak wrote, directed and produced two feature films , Burning, Burning (2015) and A Trip to the Island (2014). He debuted as a writer in 1972 in Toronto with his play "Tantrums". Other plays he has written and directed include his Gangster trilogy, "Night", "Passion And Sin" and "Lucky Strike", as well as "The Blues" and "The Walls Of Africa". He started producing in 1992 and formed his eponymous company, Alianak Theatre Productions, which continued producing and developing plays until 2012.
He has appeared in more than 150 television programs, made for TV movies and films. He was nominated for his performance in Atom Egoyan's film, "Family Viewing" in the supporting actor category. He has had recurring roles in numerous series and appeared in 4 episodes of RoboCop (1994), 5 episodes of More Tears (1998), 2 episodes of Nikita (1997), 8 episodes of A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001), 2 episodes of Monk (2002), 5 episodes of At the Hotel (2006),13 episodes of Jeff Ltd. (2005), 3 episodes of Unsere kleine Moschee (2007), 5 episodes of Cra$h & Burn (2009), and 6 episodes of Mein Babysitter ist ein Vampir (2011), as well as Bruce McDonald's film, Pontypool - Radio Zombie (2008), and Ruba Nadda's film, Inescapable (2012).
