Henry Czerny ( ; 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 ''Clear and Present Danger'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989. A sequel to '' The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988), main character Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence in ...

The Ice Storm ''The Ice Storm'' is a 1994 American novel by Rick Moody. The novel was widely acclaimed by readers and critics alike, described as a funny, acerbic, and moving hymn to a dazed and confused era of American life.The Exorcism of Emily Rose,'' '' Fido,'' ''

Remember Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...

,'' and '' Ready or Not'' and has appeared in numerous television programs in both guest and starring roles, including a regular role as

Conrad Grayson Conrad Grayson is a fictional character and a major antagonist on the ABC television show '' Revenge'' (2011–2015). He is portrayed by actor Henry Czerny. Overview Czerny was cast in the role in March 2011. Conrad Grayson is the CEO of Gra ...

on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

primetime soap opera '' Revenge.'' Czerny has received the

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

and two Gemini Awards, and was nominated for the

Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role to the best performance by a supporting actor in a Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 5 ...

for his performance in ''The Other Half''.

Early life and education

Czerny was born on 8 February 1959 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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 ...

, Canada, the youngest of three children to

Polish Canadian Polish Canadians ( pl, Polonia w Kanadzie, french: Canadiens Polonais) are citizens of Canada with Polish ancestry, and Poles who immigrated to Canada from abroad. At the 2016 Census, there were 1,106,585 Canadians who claimed full or partial ...

parents. The word " czerny" means "black" in several

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the ...

. His father worked as a welder, and his mother worked in a bakery. Czerny attended

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in Toronto.

Acting career

Czerny received formal training at the

National Theatre School The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants aw ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. After graduating in 1982, he went on to perform onstage across Canada, from Ottawa's

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Citadel Theatre The Citadel Theatre is the major venue for theatre arts in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located in the city's downtown core on Churchill Square. It is the third largest regional theatre in Canada. History It began in a former Salvatio ...

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 Humberside Collegiate Institute (also known as Humberside CI, HCI, or Humberside), formerly known as Toronto Junction High School and Toronto Junction Collegiate Institute is a public high school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves the ...

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''. He had prominent roles in '' The Boys of St. Vincent'', ''

'', ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film '' The Pi ...

'', 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 ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

''. In ''

Conversations with God ''Conversations with God'' (''CWG'') is a sequence of books written by Neale Donald Walsch. It was written as a dialogue in which Walsch asks questions and God answers. The first book of the ''Conversations with God'' series, ''Conversations ...

'', about the true story of

Neale Donald Walsch Neale Donald Walsch (born September 10, 1943) is an American author of the series ''Conversations with God''. He is also an actor, screenwriter, and speaker. Biography Walsch was brought up as a Catholic by a family who encouraged his quest for ...

, Czerny plays Walsch. In 2007, he appeared in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series ''

The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

'', playing

the Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

. 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 Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gramm ...

in the 2009 Lifetime movie ''

Prayers for Bobby ''Prayers for Bobby'' is a televised drama film that premiered on the Lifetime network on January 24, 2009. The film is based on the book of the same name by Leroy F. Aarons, which is itself based on the true story of the life and legacy of B ...

''. In 2011, Czerny was cast opposite

Madeleine Stowe Madeleine Marie Stowe Mora (born August 18, 1958) is an American actress. She appeared mostly on television before her role in the 1987 crime-comedy film ''Stakeout''. She went on to star in the films ''Revenge'' (1990), ''Unlawful Entry'' (199 ...

, as the powerful patriarch

, a series regular role, in

soap-type series '' Revenge''. 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. In 2016, Czerny was cast in the

thriller series '' Quantico'' for the recurring role of

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

director Matthew Keyes. He played Eugene Kittridge in the 1996 '' Mission: Impossible'' film, and is to return in the role in '' Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One''. 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. Before his marriage, he dated American actress

Dana Delany Dana Welles Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American actress. After appearing in small roles early in her career, Delany received her breakthrough role as Colleen McMurphy on the ABC television drama '' China Beach'' (1988–1991), for whic ...

. Besides acting, his interests include photography, travel, crafting and carpentry.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Czerny, Henry 1959 births Living people Male actors from Toronto Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian people of Polish descent Canadian Screen Award winners Theatre World Award winners