Julian Richings Biography

JULIAN RICHINGS

Date of Birth: August 30, 1956

Although Julian Richings is an English-born actor, he has become a staple in Canadian cinema with his appearances in over 50 Canadian films and 20 television series. Born in Oxford, England, Richings attended the University of Exeter for drama and had the opportunity to tour North America with a British stage production. In 1984, he moved to Toronto and within five years landed a regular role on the second season of the television series War of the Worlds.

Since then, he has had many recurring roles on television, such as his role of Mr. Boyle on Ready Or Not, as Camier on John Woo’s Once a Thief, as Meenom on I Was a Sixth Grade Alien, as Elder Malakai on Amazon, and as Death on Supernatural. His most notable work on television includes playing the nearly-blind security guard Otto in Stephen King’s 2004 mini-series Kingdom Hospital and playing various roles on A&E’s original series A Nero Wolfe Mystery. More recently, Richings has guest-starred on Heartland and Murdoch Mysteries.

While most of Richings’ early acting experiences came from working on television movies and series, he steadily made a name for himself in the film industry. He began with small roles in films such as Love at Stake (1987) with Patrick Cassidy and Kelly Preston, Naked Lunch (1991) with Peter Weller and Judy Davis and The Last Great Warrior (1994) with Adam Beach and Mandy Patinkin. Following this, Richings began to be cast in bigger, more memorable roles. He was critically acclaimed for his role of Bucky Haight, a bitter punk-rock legend, in Bruce McDonald’s mock-documentary Hard Core Logo (1996). The next year, he had a brief appearance in the psychological thriller Cube (1997), in which his character’s death set the tone for the entire film. In 2000, Richings received a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Francis Bellanger, a railroad worker who falls in love with a prostitute, in The Claim (2000).

Richings has also appeared in films such as Wrong Turn (2003) alongside Eliza Dushku, Being Julia (2004) alongside Annette Benning, X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006) alongside Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, Shoot ‘Em Up (2007) with Clive Owen, Saw IV (2007) alongside Tobin Bell and Scott Patterson, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) starring Logan Lerman, Kevin McKidd and Steve Coogan. Recently, Richings appeared as Maurice LeFont in Martin Donovan’s comedy Collaborator (2012) and in the thriller The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh (2013).

Along with his busy television and film career, Richings is also a stage actor and was presented with two Dora Awards in the 1980s. He has taught classes and seminars on acting for nearly 20 years and continues to perform professionally in the Toronto area, where he resides with his wife and two children.

Filmography:

Ejecta (2013)
Collaborator (2012)
The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh (2012)
Hard Core Logo 2 (2010)
Trigger (2010)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
Survival of the Dead (2009)
The Timekeeper (2009)
You Might as Well Live (2009)
Toronto Stories (2008)
Jack and Jill vs. the World (2008)
Elegy (2008)
Saw IV (2007)
Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)
The Third Eye (2007)
The Tracey Fragments (2007)
A Lobster Tale (2006)
Skinwalkers (2006)
X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006)
The Last Sect (2006)
Black Widow (2005)
Some Things That Stay (2004)
The Limb Salesman (2004)
Being Julia (2004)
Sisters in the Wilderness: The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill (2004)
Open Range (2003)
Wrong Turn (2003)
My Life Without Me (2003)
Between Strangers (2002)
Treed Murray (2001)
On Their Knees (2001)
Century Hotel (2001)
The Claim (2000)
Two Thousand and None (2000)
Washed Up (2000)
Rats (2000)
Detroit Rock City (1999)
Urban Legend (1998)
The Red Violin (1998)
Motel (1998)
Cube (1997)
Mimic (1997)
The Boys Club (1997)
Hard Core Logo (1996)
Moonlight and Valentino (1995)
The Last Great Warrior (1994)
Giant Steps (1992)
Naked Lunch (1991)
The Top of His Head (1989)
Love at Stake (1987)