Neil Hope was born in Ontario, Canada on September 24, 1972 to alcoholic parents, and was the 5th child born in his family. His parents got divorced shortly after his birth, and he and his siblings suffled from one broken home, to another, going to six different schools in total. Due to the fact that his mother was too drunk, his sister Cheryl cooked the meals for his siblings and him. His parents would always fight, yet they never said a word about the children. He didn't want to be an actor until he was eight years old. He also wanted to be a director. He escaped from his troubled life through his television, watching cartoons, such as Bugs Bunny.
His father noticed his interest in acting, so paid $400 for an acting course, and his brother's girlfriend, who worked near Playing With Time, Inc. told him that they wanted auditions for a ne w show called
The Kids of Degrassi Street. He got the part at the age of 10. At first it was suppose to be a one-episode character, but the producers loved him so much, they made him a major star in the show. Once the show was cancelled, Neil went back home, until he was invited to audition for a role for a spin-off of
The Kids of Degrassi Street called
Degrassi Junior High. Neil accepted, and auditioned, and got the role of Derek 'Wheels' Wheeler.
His parents were both very proud, although his mother didn't mention it much. Because of his role on the show, he was able to support his money with his pay checks from the show, instead of his parents both spending most of it on booze. Shortly after, his favorite brother Brian died due to cancer, and it affected the entire family. Later, in 1987, his father died of a disease of the liver called cirrhosis. Prior to his death, his father actually gave up drinking due to the advice of a doctor, except the night he died -he was later found dead by Neil's brother Stacey.
After his father died, Neil was very upset, and eased his pain by making a documentary called
The Darker Side, which also featured Degrassi Junior High co-stars, Rebecca Haines and Bill Parrot. He also started drinking, and became very suicidal, but realized how stupid he was being, and snapped out of it.
He later continued to act in
Degrassi High as Wheels, and then in the series finale tv-movie,
School's Out!. His character drove while he was drunk, killed a little boy, and made his friend (who was in the passenger seat) blind. His character was sentenced to jail time. After the series ended, Neil stopped acting, because it was hard to get parts, especially when you were a star from Degrassi. He stilled wanted to act or direct though, but instead did typical jobs. He was once engaged to his girlfriend, Christina Boulard, but the engagement was broken off in early 2001. In 2003, he reprised his role as Wheels on
Degrassi: The Next Generation, and concluded his character's story. He now lives in Windsor, Ontario.
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Neil Hope was born in Ontario, Canada on September 24, 1972 to alcoholic parents, and was the 5th child born in his family. His parents got divorced shortly after his birth, and he and his siblings suffled from one broken home, to another, going to six different schools in total. Due to the fact that his mother was too drunk, his sister Cheryl cooked the meals for his siblings and him. His parents would always fight, yet they never said a word about the children. He didn't want to be an actor until he was eight years old. He also wanted to be a director. He escaped from his troubled life through his television, watching cartoons, such as Bugs Bunny.
His father noticed his interest in acting, so paid $400 for an acting course, and his brother's girlfriend, who worked near Playing With Time, Inc. told him that they wanted auditions for a ne w show called
The Kids of Degrassi Street. He got the part at the age of 10. At first it was suppose to be a one-episode character, but the producers loved him so
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