Henry Czerny
Henry Czerny (/ˈtʃɛərni/ CHAIR-nee; born February 8, 1959) is a Canadian stage, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Boys of St. Vincent, Mission: Impossible, Clear and Present Danger, The Ice Storm, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Fido, Remember, and Ready or Not and has appeared in numerous television programs in both guest and starring roles, including a regular role as Conrad Grayson on the ABC primetime soap opera Revenge.
Henry Czerny | |
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Czerny in 2012 | |
Born | |
Alma mater | York University |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1986–present |
Spouse(s) | Claudine Cassidy |
Children | 1 |
Czerny has received the Theatre World Award and two Gemini Awards, and was nominated for the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Other Half.
Early life and education
Czerny was born on 8 February 1959 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the youngest of three children to Polish Canadian parents.[1][2][3] The word "czerny" means "black" in several Slavic languages.[2] His father worked as a welder,[4] and his mother worked in a bakery.[2]
Czerny attended York University[2] in Toronto.
Acting career
Czerny received formal training at the National Theatre School in Montreal. After graduating in 1982, he went on to perform onstage across Canada, from Ottawa's National Arts Centre to Edmonton's Citadel Theatre and the Stratford Festival.
By the late 1980s, he had established himself as a seasoned veteran of Canadian theatre—a long way from Lucky Larry, his first role. Czerny got his start acting in musicals at Humberside Collegiate Institute in Toronto, under the direction of Janet Keele. Czerny played the role of the husband of the title character in Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story.[5]
He had prominent roles in The Boys of St. Vincent, Mission: Impossible, Clear and Present Danger, The Ice Storm and The Michelle Apartments. In the 2006 comedy The Pink Panther, he played the main antagonist "Yuri the Trainer who Trains".
He appeared as Lieutenant Brooks in "Jackpot", a 2005 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In Conversations with God, about the true story of Neale Donald Walsch, Czerny plays Walsch. In 2007, he appeared in the Showtime series The Tudors, playing the Duke of Norfolk. He appeared in the Canadian television show Flashpoint in 2008 and the American science fiction drama Falling Skies in 2011. Czerny co-starred with Sigourney Weaver in the 2009 Lifetime movie Prayers for Bobby.
In 2011, Czerny was cast opposite Madeleine Stowe, as the powerful patriarch Conrad Grayson, a series regular role, in ABC soap-type series Revenge.[6][7] His character was stabbed at the end of season 3 and in the first episode of the fourth season it was revealed he had died. He later returned to the series in unseen flashback sequences in one season 4 episode.[8] In 2016, Czerny was cast in the ABC thriller series Quantico for the recurring role of CIA director Matthew Keyes.[9]
Czerny is widely-regarded as a character actor, often playing villainous, authoritative, or bureaucratic characters.
Personal life
Czerny is married to Claudine Cassidy and they have a son, Cameron. Before his marriage, he once dated American actress Dana Delany, with whom he had worked on films.[2]
Besides acting, his interests include photography, travel, crafting, and carpentry.[2]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | The Fly | Bar Patron | Uncredited |
1992 | Buried on Sunday | Nelson | |
1993 | I Love a Man in Uniform | Joseph Riggs | |
1994 | Cold Sweat | Sean Mathieson | |
Clear and Present Danger | Robert Ritter | ||
Anchor Zone | Lawson Hughes | ||
1995 | When Night Is Falling | Martin | |
The Michelle Apartments | Alex | ||
Jenipapo | Michael Coleman | ||
Notes from Underground | The Underground Man | ||
Johnston...Johnston | Johnston | ||
1996 | Mission: Impossible | Eugene Kittridge | |
1997 | The Ice Storm | George Clair | |
1999 | Kayla | Asa Robinson | |
After Alice | Harvey | ||
2000 | Cement | Truman | |
2001 | Almost America | Steven | |
2003 | Klepto | Ivan | |
The Failures | Frank Kyle | ||
2004 | The Limit | Denny | |
2005 | Chaos | Captain Martin Jenkins | |
The Circle | Rick | ||
The Exorcism of Emily Rose | Dr. Jared Briggs | ||
2006 | The Oakley Seven | Mr. Whitney | |
The Pink Panther | Yuri the Trainer who Trains | ||
Conversations with God | Neale Donald Walsch / God | ||
Fido | Mr. Bottoms | ||
2007 | The Fifth Patient | Gerard Pinker | |
2010 | Ice Castles | Marcus | |
2010 | The A-Team | Director McCready | |
2015 | Remember | Charles Guttman | |
2016 | The Other Half | Jacob | Nominated- Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor[10] |
2017 | Buckout Road | Detective Harris | |
2019 | Ready or Not | Tony Le Domas | |
2020 | The Righteous | Frederic Mason | post-production |
2021 | Mission: Impossible 7 | Eugene Kittridge | announced |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | The Edison Twins | Carl Wallace | Episode: "One Way Ticket" |
Night Heat | David Marks | Episode: "The Movement" | |
1988 | The Taming of the Shrew | Lucentio | Television film |
1989 | Friday the 13th: The Series | Joe | Episode: "Hate On Your Dial" |
1990 | T. and T. | Officer Dennison | Episode: "Silent Witness" |
1991 | Katts and Dog | Gregory O'Toole | Episode: "Fink" |
1990-92 | Street Legal | Christopher Szabo / John Connors | 2 episodes |
1992 | Top Cops | Sessler / Engelking | 2 episodes |
The Boys of St. Vincent | Brother Peter Lavin | Miniseries
Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | |
The Sound and the Silence | Casey Baldwin | Television film | |
1992 | Deadly Matrimony | Rick Peterson | |
A Town Torn Apart | Fred Burham | ||
1993 | Lifeline to Victory | Petty Officer Lang | |
1993 | The Boys of St. Vincent: 15 Years Later | Peter Lavin | |
1994 | Trial at Fortitude Bay | Daniel Metz | |
1994 | Ultimate Betrayal | Ed Rodgers | |
1995 | Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story | Bill Sanger | |
1996 | For Hope | Ken Altman | |
1997 | Promise the Moon | Royal Leckner | Television film
Nominated- Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Mini-Series |
1998 | The Girl Next Door | Arthur Bradley | Television film |
1998 | Glory & Honor | Robert Peary | |
1998 | My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story | Sam Reese Sheppard | |
1999 | External Affairs | Danny Jackman | Television film
Nominated - Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Mini-Series |
1999 | P.T. Barnum | Greenwood | Television film |
2000 | Possessed | Fr. Raymond McBride | |
Range of Motion | Ted Merrick | ||
2001 | Haven | Ernst | |
Further Tales of the City | Luke | Miniseries | |
2002 | The Pact | Michael | Television film |
Salem Witch Trials | Rev. Samuel Parris | ||
2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lieutenant Alan Brooks | Episode: "Jackpot" |
2005 | The Eleventh Hour | Max Mallett | Episode: "Zugzwang"
Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role Dramatic Series |
Kojak | Robert Mercher | Episode: "All That Glitters" | |
2006 | Ghost Whisperer | Matt Mallinson | Episode: "The One" |
Three Moons Over Milford | Carl Davis | 2 episodes | |
2007 | The Tudors | Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk | Recurring role; Season 1 |
2008 | The Russell Girl | Howard Morrisey | Television film |
Mayerthorpe | Corporal Alex Stanton | Television film
Nominated- Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Mini-Series | |
Flashpoint | Jack Swanson | Episode: "First in Line" | |
Monk | Aaron Larkin | Episode: "Mr. Monk Gets Hypnotized" | |
2009 | Prayers for Bobby | Robert Griffith | Television film |
Christmas Dreams | Norman | ||
2010 | The Cult | Nathan | |
Less Than Kind | David Rosen | Recurring role; Season 2 | |
2011 | Falling Skies | Lt. Terry Clayton | 2 episodes |
Torchwood: Web of Lies | The Other Gentlemen (voice) | 2 episodes | |
2011-14 | Revenge | Conrad Grayson | Starring role; Seasons 1-3 |
2015, 2020 | Supergirl | Winslow Schott, Sr./Toyman | 2 episodes |
2016 | Rosewood | Arthur Lee Izikoff | Episode: "Atherosclerosis and the Alabama Flim-Flam" |
2016-17 | Quantico | Matthew Keyes | Recurring role; Seasons 1-2 |
2017 | When We Rise | David Boies | Miniseries |
2018 | Sharp Objects | Alan Crellin | Miniseries |
2020 | Schitt's Creek | Arthur "Artie" Camden | Episode: "Rebound" |
References
- Strachan, Alex (September 28, 2007). "Tudors brings sexy back to 16th-century England". Canwest. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007.
- "Get to know: Henry Czerny". ConVict - Revenge. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
- Diamond, Jamie (1994-08-21). "Henry Czerny, Reluctant Bad Guy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
- "Henry Czerny Biography (1959-)". Film Reference.
- Intimate Portrait, Lifetime, November 10, 2003
- Andreeva, Nellie (March 15, 2011). "Madeleine Stowe Among Latest Pilot Castings". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- Wieselman, Jarett (November 2, 2012). "'Revenge' Star Previews Worrisome Wedding". TheInsider.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
- Patrick Gomez (May 11, 2014). "Revenge's Surprise Reveal That David Clarke Is Alive Is Explained". PEOPLE.com.
- Denise Petski (July 28, 2016). "Henry Czerny Returns To 'Quantico' In Major Recurring Role". Deadline Hollywood.
- "2017 Film Nominees - Academy.ca". Academy.ca. Retrieved 12 March 2017.