Ivar Kants (born 19 July 1949) (commonly credited as Ivor Kants or Ivar Kanz) is an Australian actor of Latvian descent who has played numerous roles in film, television and theatre.

Ivar Kants was born on July 19, 1949, in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Both his parents were originally from Latvia, but they immigrated to Australia before he was born. Ivar left home at 19 to enrol in National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, and graduated with a degree in performing arts (acting) in 1970.

Kants has appeared in many soap operas and tv drama series, including A Country Practice, G.P., All Saints, Water Rats, and Blue Heelers. He portrayed the role of Ken Garrett in the soap opera The Restless Years (1979)^[1] and starred as Father Menotti, a caring inner-city parish priest in the 1980–81 TV series Menotti.^[2]

A more prominent role was as school principal Barry Hyde, a regular in Home and Away. He has also appeared in Neighbours, Heartbreak High and in the TV movie The Plumber.^[3]

His ability to tell a story is supported by the many narrations he has recorded for SBS and the ABC. He narrated the Hairy Maclary audiobook series released by ABC for Kids.

In addition to his on-screen work, Kants has also had an illustrious theatre career, with his many roles in Shakespeare plays colouring his vocal work.

Ivar has been married to Jenny Kants since 1970. They have four children, including his daughter Sarah Kants (born 1974), who is an actress.

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Kants was nominated for Best Actor at the 1984 AFI Awards for Silver City.

• Ivar Kants at IMDb