James Mc Gowan (actor) - Life and Career

Life and Career

McGowan was born in Montreal, Quebec, the youngest of John and June McGowan’s three sons. He grew up in Dollard-des-Ormeaux and attended John Abbott College where he studied theater. James graduated from Concordia University with a B.A. in Communications. After graduating, he took a job as a copy writer at an advertising agency rather than pursuing an acting career as he did not believe he could make a living acting. He took a "a mind-numbing 9-to-5 job” in the audio-visual department at McGill University. While there he got in touch with a friend who was directing plays at the Montreal university expecting to pursue acting simply as a hobby.

"I needed some kind of artistic outlet and I've always loved the process," McGowan said. "I started out slowly doing student plays and plays at the William Shatner building.” "It was immediate," he said. "As soon as I got on and got the first words out, then it was just, 'Wow, I love this. I've always loved this.” It wasn’t easy breaking into television in Toronto given his age."The truth of the matter is that, at 36, you're trying to audition for parts and you're up against guys who've been doing it for 15 years and have résumés that reflect that. It was hard at first to just get to see people."

He started out with guest spots in television shows such as "La Femme Nikita," "Mutant-X," “Falcon Beach,” and “Rent-a-Goalie.” He also had minor roles in movies such as "The Perfect Man" with Heather Locklear, "The Prince and Me" with Julie Stiles, and "Silent Night" with Linda Hamilton. He has had success with two nationally televised commercials. The first ad was entitled "Doctor’s Appointment" and addressed the serious problem of erectile dysfunction. The ad was run continuously throughout the 2001 NHL Finals in Canada. The second ad was entitled "The Deal" and was for Verizon Wireless and ran in the U.S. The ad’s other talent was Kevin Sussman who was told by the goon portrayed by James, “I thought I told you to come alone.”

"One of my first bigger parts came when I got a role in (TV movie) '10,000 Black Men Named George'," he said. The 2002 film helped James find more work but he did not find substantial work until he auditioned for the CBC drama The Border. He had sent in an audition tape but had not heard back. He went to Winnipeg to film a guest part on the TV series "Falcon Beach" and while he was in Winnipeg, his agent contacted him and told him the show’s casting directors wanted to meet with him. A second day of callbacks was added and he was able to return to Toronto in time to audition for the part of Major Michael Kessler.

"No one had heard of this guy," says Peter Raymont, one of the co-creators of the show, who saw dozens of actors with deeper resumes. Raymont, whose background was in documentary films ("Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire"), knew exactly what he was looking for. He had met a few real-life Kesslers; McGowan brought just the right degree of intelligence, compassion and authority to the mix. " walked in and just commanded the room. The minute he shook our hands and read his lines it was Kessler. We knew it immediately."

The network wasn't so sure. One of McGowan's biggest credits to that point was playing the goon in the Verizon commercial. "I always felt like I knew Mike Kessler," says McGowan. The part was all on the page, he felt he didn't have to do much work "to bring him alive." He related to the character's strict moral center as much as he did to his flaws. "He's just an ordinary guy who tries to act heroically," he says.

His peers obviously approve of the portrayal. McGowan nabbed a Gemini nomination in 2008 as outstanding actor in a drama, one of nine the series picked up for its first season. "I loved the writing in the scenes I auditioned, and in terms of Mike Kessler, I really felt I understood him," the actor said. "I would love to be as morally strong as him, but he's also got flaws. He's a very lonely man at his center and I align myself with that; sort of the high-plains drifter."

James lives with his wife, Alicia Selvi, and their son, Tristan, in a two-story, 100-year-old brick home near College Street (Little Italy) in Toronto, Ontario.