Vinay Virmani

Vinay Virmani is a Canadian actor, writer, and film producer of Indo-Canadian descent, born on January 24, 1985, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

He was raised in Toronto (with some sources noting Brampton, Ontario) in a Punjabi family. His father is Ajay Virmani, an Indian film producer and Indo-Canadian businessman who serves as President and CEO of Cargojet, the largest cargo airline in Canada.

Virmani graduated from York University in Toronto, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business from the university's progressive media, arts, and performance programs.

He subsequently attended New York City's prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute to study filmmaking and theatre. As a young person, he was a shy, overweight kid who had a stutter and was scared of public speaking, but he always had a creative mind and loved telling stories, which led him to plan for a career as a writer or producer.

He began his career in the film industry as a writer and actor in the hockey comedy Breakaway (2011), which he co-wrote and starred in. The film, known as the "Punjabi hockey movie," tells the story of an all-Sikh hockey team in Toronto.

He followed this with the highly successful Dr. Cabbie (2014), where he served as writer, lead actor, and producer. Dr. Cabbie broke the Canadian record for audience numbers on opening day and became an international success. Both Breakaway and Dr. Cabbie were the highest-grossing Canadian English-language films of their respective years.

In 2015, he appeared in the Canadian indie film The Steps, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) alongside Jason Ritter and James Brolin. He also served as a panelist on CBC's Canada Reads.

He later produced and co-wrote the romantic comedy Little Italy (2018). His production work also includes The Grizzlies, Two Lovers and a Bear, and he appeared in notable titles such as Deepa Mehta's 2005 drama Water and the popular Bollywood/Hollywood.

Virmani is the Founder of First Take Entertainment, a film and television production company based in Toronto. He currently serves as Chief Content Officer at the company.