Pretty boy actor Fab Filippo wrote and stars in a thriller about the tech world

“I’ve always wished I was a geek,” says Fabrizio “Fab” Filippo, flashing a charming smile.

This may come as a surprise to those who know Filippo from what he calls “pretty boy parts” on television, including Lives of the Saints (opposite Sophia Loren), Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Queer as Folk.

The Toronto native has never been content, though, to only perform other people’s words. A playwright since the age of 19 (he’s now 42), Filippo has built up an impressive resumé as a writer of TV series and movies, including Billable Hours (which he co-produced and starred in), Perfect Sisters (featuring Mira Sorvino) and the Andrea Martin vehicle Working the Engels.

But a geek? “A geek is somebody who can code, who can troubleshoot technology better than I can, who knows what they are doing. I’ve always loved the geek culture more than anything,” Filippo explains. It’s this interest in technological change and the people and environments behind it that fuels his new play The Summoned, opening this week as the last offering in Tarragon Theatre’s 2015-16 season...