After his dreams of playing basketball were crushed, Tom Mahard found joy in an acting career.

During Mahard’s 40-year journey from Bates College to Oakland University’s Meadow Brook Theatre, he appeared in “Conviction” and Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino.” He moved from California to Michigan to New York and back to Michigan. Mahard has played many character roles, his most notable being Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” at Meadow Brook Theatre for eight years.

“I chose my college for a number of reasons,” Mahard said. “I wanted to continue playing basketball, but I knew I wasn’t going to make it big. Freshman year, last game of the season, I dove for the ball, but instead tore all the ligaments in my knee. Can’t play basketball again. But when I get up and act on stage or on camera, I feel like I’m in the zone again.”

Tom’s love for theatre started at a young age.

“I’ve always enjoyed theatre,” he said. “My dad was a set designer, and I was in and out of the theatre growing up. In college, I spent most of my time in the theatre. I auditioned for plays and got the parts.”

Upon graduating from college, Mahard moved to Los Angeles, where he stayed for five years before coming to Michigan. He’s been acting at Meadow Brook for nearly 31 years and has played almost every role in “A Christmas Carol,” from Old Joe, to a dancer, and on to Bob Cratchit and Jacob Marley. It was destined that he would play Scrooge.

“I feel as if I was preparing all these years to play Scrooge, and it was only a matter of time before I actually did,” Mahard said.

“Tom has always been casted as the older character,” said Terry Carpenter, stage manager for Meadow Brook Theatre. Carpenter has worked with Mahard for 31 years. “Even when he was younger, 20s and 30s, he was playing the father or the more responsible, older man role.”

Besides acting a variety of roles, Mahard has taught acting classes around the metro Detroit area for 30 years, including at Oakland. Mahard has taught introductory and advanced levels, as well as acting classes for non-theatre majors.

It’s important actors know their lines. Otherwise, it’s easy to see the script flash in the actor’s eyes, as they’re more focused on memorizing their lines rather than becoming the part, Mahard said. However, once you become the character, it’s a very special feeling.

“It’s hard to describe the relationship between the actor and the audience, because the slightest gesture or tone you use is caught by the audience and understood by them,” Mahard said. “It’s a sense of being in touch with the universe and letting the universe flow through you . . . it’s magic.”

Mahard has made lasting impressions on his students.

“You can trust Tom,” said Mark Rademacher, actor and a former student of Mahard’s. “To make a living from your art and to teach it is a very special thing. Tom’s generous and humble qualities are hallmarks of a true professional.”

Mahard’s passion is flammable, and is not a fire that can be put out. He said he will continue to act for as long as he can, even if someone tells him that he’s too old.

“It’s a passion that never dies,” Mahard said. “I just love it. I’ve always loved being in the zone, and fortunately, that emotion that I had for a sport, I still incorporate into my life.”