He trained at the National Theater School of Canada but left in 1969 before graduation due to disagreement over the notion of creation the School had toward Quebec theater, along with classmates Pierre Curzi, Paule Baillargeon and Gilbert Sicotte.
Notable cultural figures from Rouyn-Noranda include singer-songwriter Richard Desjardins, actors Paule Baillargeon, Anne Dorval and Bruce Greenwood, and science fiction writer Éric Gauthier.