Brendan James Penny (born November 9, 1978) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

film and television actor who first became well known to TV audiences as A.J. Varland in the first season of '' Whistler'' that aired in Canada from 2006 to 2008. He is perhaps best known as Detective Brian Lucas in ''

Motive Motive(s) or The Motive(s) may refer to: * Motive (law) Film and television * ''Motives'' (film), a 2004 thriller * ''The Motive'' (film), 2017 * ''Motive'' (TV series), a 2013 Canadian TV series * ''The Motive'' (TV series), a 2020 Israeli T ...

'', a Canadian crime drama centred on a team of Vancouver homicide detectives, also starring Kristin Lehman, Louis Ferreira and Lauren Holly, which aired from 2013 to 2016. Brendan currently stars as Kevin O'Brien in the

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...

family drama series ''

Chesapeake Shores ''Chesapeake Shores'' is a drama television series, based on the novel series of the same name by Sherryl Woods, produced by Chesapeake Shores Productions Inc in association with Borderline Distribution. The series had a two-hour premiere on the ...

'', which premiered on August 14, 2016. He has also been the hero of a number of Hallmark originals.

Early life and his career

Penny was born November 9, 1978, in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, and grew up in both Ottawa and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He attended

Fanshawe College Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, commonly shortened to Fanshawe College, is a public college in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. One of the largest colleges in Canada, it has campuses in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock ...

, London, Ontario, earning a BS in Accounting. He later attended the Lyric School of Acting, in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, where he had moved in 2002 to pursue an acting career. After several television roles, he became known to audiences for playing A.J. Varland in '' Whistler''.Profile
, abc.go.com; accessed September 28, 2014. Penny has had various roles in television series such as ''

Kyle XY ''Kyle XY'' is an American science fiction television series produced by ABC Family. The central character is a teenage boy (Matt Dallas) who awakens naked in a forest outside Seattle, Washington, with no more knowledge or abilities than a newbo ...

'' and '' Supernatural''. His first lead role was in ''Whistler''. His roles include shows such as ''Diamonds'', '' Smallville'', '' Blade: The Series'', and ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene ...

''. Penny starred in ''

The Assistants ''The Assistants'' is a Canadian sitcom created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi. In the United States, the series aired on The N. Premise Gillian, an aspiring actress, has become an assistant to film producer Zak Del Toro in the hopes of jump ...

'' and appeared as Sean in '' I Love You, Beth Cooper''. In a main cast role, he played Detective Brian Lucas in ''

''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* Living people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Male actors from Ottawa 21st-century Canadian male actors 1978 births {{Canada-actor-stub