The Boys of St. Vincent ''The Boys of St. Vincent'' is a 1992 Canadian television miniseries directed by John N. Smith for the National Film Board of Canada. It is a two-part docudrama inspired by real events that took place at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. Joh ...

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 Grays ...

on the ABC primetime soap opera ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." P ...

.'' 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 The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

, 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 Ca ...

, Canada, the youngest of three children to Polish Canadian 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 research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...

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 awa ...

in

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 Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

'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 ...

to

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 an ...

's

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 The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean 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''. He had prominent roles in ''

The Boys of St. Vincent ''The Boys of St. Vincent'' is a 1992 Canadian television miniseries directed by John N. Smith for the National Film Board of Canada. It is a two-part docudrama inspired by real events that took place at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. Joh ...

'', ''

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 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 ''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'', about the true story of Neale Donald Walsch, Czerny plays Walsch. In 2007, he appeared in the Showtime 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. He appeared in the Canadian television show '' Flashpoint'' in 2008 and the American science fiction drama ''

Falling Skies ''Falling Skies'' is an American science fiction television series set in a post-apocalyptic era, created by Robert Rodat and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. The series stars Noah Wyle as Tom Mason, a former history professor who bec ...

'' 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 Bo ...

''. In 2011, Czerny was cast opposite Madeleine Stowe, as the powerful patriarch

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 Grays ...

, a series regular role, in ABC soap-type series ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." P ...

''. 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 ABC 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 A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

, 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