Shawn Doyle

Shawn Doyle

 Shawn Doyle, actor (born at Wabush, Nfld). Shawn Doyle was born into a family with a background in theatre and began his career as a stage actor and fight choreographer before appearing in television and movies in the mid 1990s. In addition to his filmed work, Shawn Doyle worked onstage in a number of theatrical productions, winning a 1996 DORA AWARD for his role in Caryl Churchill's thriller A Number. He has had starring roles in TV series such asThe Eleventh Hour (2002), Big Love (2006-10) and Endgame (2011), and he is a co-writer and co-star of The Hangman's Bride, which won the 1997 GENIE AWARD for best live action short.

Shawn Doyle studied at York University for a BFA in theatre, graduating in 1991. His earliest work in the production industry came as a swordfight choreographer and stuntman in the 1992 film The Swordsman. By 1996 he had begun to appear on-camera in Canadian productions. He was nominated for 2 GEMINI AWARDS and won an ACTRA Toronto Award for his portrayal of producer Dennis Langley on the series The Eleventh Hour.

In 2005 Doyle moved to Los Angeles, precipitating a series of appearances on American TV, including guest roles in CSI and Desperate Housewives, and recurring roles on 24 and HBO's Big Love. He also continued to appear in Canadian productions, most notably as the lead in the series Endgame. He won a Gemini Award for his performance opposite Mary Louise Parker in the film adaptation of Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride (2007).

In 2011, Doyle took on one of Canada's most iconic figures when he played Sir John A. MACDONALD in the CBC production John A: Birth of a Country. Critics praised Doyle's interpretation of Canada's first prime minister, calling his performance "marvellous," and he received his second ACTRA Award nomination.

Shawn Doyle has also been nominated for Gemini Awards for his roles in The City, A Killing Spring and Eight Days to Live. He has been seen in the series Lost and Lie To Me and the Newfoundland-filmed series Republic of Doyle, as a father in Grown Up Movie Star and as a fisherman in The Disappeared (2012), a movie shot in Nova Scotia about men lost at sea.