Neil Hope (September 24, 1972 in Toronto, Canada - November 25, 2007 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) was a Canadian actor who portrayed Robin "Griff" Griffith on The Kids of Degrassi Street, and Derek Wheeler on Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, School's Out! and Degrassi: The Next Generation. He was nominated for a Young Artist Award along with the rest of his Degrassi cast mates for Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast.
Trivia
- He started acting at age the age of 9.
- He started wearing glasses at the age of 15.
- His father died in 1987 due to cirrhosis, a disease of the liver as a result of his drinking.
- Both his parents were alcoholics.
- He was the 5th born child in his family. He had 3 brothers (Tracey, Brian, and Danny) and 1 sister (Cheryl).
- His parents were divorced. He and his siblings would live with one parent for a while, switch, and so on.
- Neil disliked country music.
- One of his favorite cartoons as a child was Bugs Bunny from Looney Tunes.
- He was previously engaged to Christina Boulard until the point of his death.
- Four years after the date of his death, it was revealed that he had died of natural causes in November 2007 at the age of 35.
- Neil Hope had dealt with the death of parents on Degrassi and in his personal life.
- A memorial website has been set up for Neil at http://www.neil-hope.com
- He is the first main cast member of the franchise to have passed away