Nigel Bennett
Nigel Bennett (born 19 November 1949) is an Anglo-Canadian actor/director/writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series Forever Knight, for which he won the Canadian Gemini Award for best supporting actor in a dramatic series.
Nigel Bennett | |
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Bennett in Ontario, 2004 | |
Born | Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England | 19 November 1949
Years active | 1976–present |
Spouse(s) | married 2 times |
Children | Matthew, Michael, Sam Bennett, Hannah |
Website | nigelbennett.com |
Life and career
Bennett was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. He has been in a number of major films such as Murder at 1600 and The Skulls, and many, many other TV series. He had recurring roles in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Lexx. He also starred in a series of Oatmeal Crisp cereal commercials in the 1990s.
Teaming up with writer P.N. Elrod, Bennett co-authored a series of acclaimed "James Bond with fangs" vampire adventure novels for Baen Books. The "Lord Richard, Vampire" trilogy includes Keeper of the King, His Father's Son, and Siege Perilous. He also contributed the short story "Wolf and Hound" to "Dracula's London," a collection edited by Elrod for Ace Science Fiction.
In 2006, he appeared in the Ken Finkleman miniseries At the Hotel, for which he was nominated for a Gemini Award.
Bennett keeps himself busy with additional film and TV roles, stage work, convention and charity appearances. He was the artistic director of the world-renowned Atlantic Theatre Festival in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 2006–07.
Bennett first started acting at eleven, playing a Roman citizen in a school production of Shaw's Antony and Cleopatra. He graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in theatre, and taught for a year and a half before beginning acting full-time. He had fifteen years of stage experience in Britain prior to moving to Canada. He attended Tettenhall College in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire.
Selected filmography
- Play for Today (1976, TV Series) (uncredited)
- Coronation Street (1977, TV Series) as Colin Bailey
- BBC2 Playhouse (1981–1982, TV Series) as Mr. Ring / Gary
- The Ninja Mission (1984) as Second helicopter pilot
- Dieppe (1985, TV Movie) as Lubyanka Guard #1
- A Child's Christmas in Wales (1987, TV Movie) as Father (past)
- The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick (1988) as Derek Blackthorn
- The Jeweller's Shop (1988) as Choreographer
- Narrow Margin (1990) as Jack Wootton
- Passage of the Heart (1992) as Alan Spencer
- Forever Knight (1992–1996, TV Series) as Lacroix
- Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993-1997, TV Series) as Capt. Jack Lasher / John Mitchell
- Ultimate Betrayal (1994, TV Movie) as Steven Rodgers
- Back in Action (1994) as Kasajian
- Paint Cans (1994) as Bryson Vautour
- Legends of the Fall (1994) as Asgaard
- Soft Deceit (1994) as Ed McCullough
- Harrison Bergeron (1995, TV Movie) as Dr. Eisenstock
- Gotti (1996, TV Movie) as Bruce Mouw
- Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996) as Nico
- Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (1996–1999, TV Series) as Frank Elsinger
- The Arrow (1997, TV Mini-Series) as Aeronautical Engineer Jim Floyd
- Murder at 1600 (1997) as Burton Cash
- La Femme Nikita (1997-1998, TV Series) as Colonel Egran Petrosian
- Earth: Final Conflict (1998, TV Series) as Major Raymond MacIntyre
- Sanctuary (1998) as Sen. Stephen Macguire
- Strike! (1998) as Harvey Sawyer
- One Tough Cop (1998) as Inspector Bassie
- Free Fall (1999) as Donald Caldwell
- Top of the Food Chain (1999) as Michel O'Shea
- War of 1812 (1999, TV Mini-Series) as Winfield Scott
- The Crossing (2000, TV Movie) as Gen. Horatio Gates
- The Skulls (2000) as Dr. Rupert Whitney
- Rats and Rabbits (2000) as Rocco
- Canada: A People's History (2000–2001, TV Series) as Sir Guy Carleton
- Lexx (2000–2002, TV Series) as Prince / Isambard Prince / White King
- Phase IV (2002) as Sen. Richard Karnes
- Too Young to Be a Dad (2002, TV Movie) as Dr. Howell
- Cypher (2002) as Finster
- Interceptor Force 2 (2002, TV Movie) as Jack Bavaro
- Andromeda (2003, TV Series) as Paroo
- Post Impact (2004) as Col. Preston Waters
- Reversible Errors (2004, TV Movie) as Talmadge Loman
- A Bug and a Bag of Weed (2006) as Henry Tyler
- The State Within (2006, TV Mini-Series) as Charles Macintyre
- Just Buried (2007) as Chief Knickle
- Passage (2008, Documentary) as Sir James Graham
- The Summit (2008, TV Mini-Series) as Ian Greene
- Burn Up (2008, TV Mini-Series) as Jerry
- The Border (2008-2010, TV Series) as Andrew Mannering
- The Corridor (2010) as Lee Shephard
- Eternal Kiss (2010) as Dr. Polidori
- Murdoch Mysteries (2011-2020, TV Series) as Chief Constable Giles
- Saving Hope (2015, TV Series) as Dr. Burt Goran
- Orphan Black (2015, TV Series) as Kassov
- The Strain (2015-2016, TV Series) as Dr. Draverhaven
- Dark Matter (2016, TV Series) as Larcan Tanner
- Prisoner X (2016) as President Charles Turner
- XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017) as MI6 Control
- The Shape of Water (2017) as Mihalkov
See also
- List of residents of Wolverhampton