Yannick Bisson Biography

YANNICK BISSON

Date of Birth: May 16, 1969

Born in Montreal to French-Canadian parents, Yannick Bisson and his family often moved due to his father’s business, before settling in Toronto. There, the young teen began acting in commercials and by the time he was 15, he had a starring role in the CBC-TV movie Hockey Night (1984), opposite Megan Follows.

Next, he made his feature film debut with a starring role as Toby in Toby McTeague (1986), this time playing a teen whose ambition is to win a prestigious dog race.

Later that year, Yannick was cast as the star of the TV adventure series Brothers By Choice (1986), about two brothers who run away and get into trouble but are helped by a man named Max (Winston Reckert).

Just two years later, Yannick landed a starring role as Mark Randall on the TV sitcom Learning the Ropes. In 1991, he found himself in New Zealand playing a regular role as Johnny Roggin in a western series titled Gold, set during the Gold Rush era.

Yannick’s next series was also filmed in New Zealand. High Tide (1994 to 1997) was about a surfer, Mick Barrett (Rick Springfield), and his younger brother Joey, who take on a series of odd jobs in order to make some cash.

Back in Canada, by 1999 Yannick was starring in another western, this time set during WWII. Filmed in British Columbia, Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy was about a stockbroker (Yannick) who decides to leave NYC and invest in a cattle ranch. The show ran for two seasons on CBC and also starred Sarah Chalke and Ted Atherton.

In 2005, Yannick struck gold again with Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, about a hearing-impaired rookie F.B.I. Agent with a service dog. Yannick played a seasoned F.B.I. Agent who helps Sue Thomas (hearing impaired actress Deanne Bray) get accustomed to her new job. The series was extremely popular, enjoying three seasons on the CTV network and teamed Yannick up again with his Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy co-star Ted Atherton, this time as a fellow F.B.I. Agent.

Next up, Yannick landed a recurring role as Michael Prescott on the short-lived 2007 Canadian-filmed Falcon Beach reboot. He also made his first appearance as Jon in the Roxy Hunter TV movie series about a little girl who solves mysteries in Roxy Hunter and the Mystery of the Moody Ghost. Over the next few years, he would appear in three more Roxy Hunter movies, but by 2008, he had landed the title role as Detective William Murdoch in the Citytv series Murdoch Mysteries. About a police detective in Victorian-era Toronto, the series gained a fervent following, but was dropped by the network after five seasons.

Luckily, CBC quickly picked it up and the show has been a CBC staple ever since, enjoying its 10th season by 2017 and still going strong.

When not working on Murdoch, Yannick travels to California for work. He has also appeared on a number of other Canadian-filmed series, such as Republic of Doyle, The Listener, Flashpoint, and several installments of the Aurora Teagarden TV movies starring Candace Cameron Bure, playing her boyfriend Martin Bartell.

Amongst the younger set, he’s known as Mr. Anthony, a preschool teacher in The Napkin Man CBC-TV series that ran from 2013 to 2014. Yannick won a 2015 Canadian Screen Award as Best Host in a Pre-School, Children's or Youth Program or Series for his work on the show.

He also played roles in the Canadian feature film Some Things That Stay (2004), the American feature Casino Jack (2010), starring Kevin Spacey (filmed in Ontario and Florida) and Year by the Sea (2016), co-starring Karen Allen. The latter was filmed in Cape Cod and won a number of awards, including Best Ensemble Cast at the 2016 Best Actors Film Festival. His latest big screen credits include the role of Swallows in Another WolfCop (2017) and Professor Freeborn in the thriller, Hellmington (2019).

In February 2017, Yannick won the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence for his body of work.

Yannick, who has homes in Toronto and California, has been married to his wife, Chantal, since 1990. They have three grown daughters.

In his spare time, he enjoys cycling, skiing and motor sports. His favorite sport to watch is hockey and the Montreal Canadiens are his favorite team.

Filmography:

Another WolfCop (2017)
Year by the Sea (2016)
Your Side of the Bed (2012)
Casino Jack (2010)
Nothing Really Matters (2008)
Animal 2 (2008)
Some Things That Stay (2004)
Velocity Trap (1999)
Toby McTeague (1986)