John Tench

Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Biography

John Tench (born October 7, 1965, in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American-Canadian actor, director, writer, and poet, 6′ 0″ (183 cm) tall, who grew up in Canada and began working in theatre and film in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. He started his career at the legendary Factory Theatre Lab with Ken Gass, then studied and worked in New York City, London, Paris, and across Continental Europe before returning to Toronto, where he founded the influential theatre company Theatre Kathartic in 1980, touring internationally with works by Sam Shepard, Dario Fo, and Bertolt Brecht. He is a master of accents and dialects, has been nominated for numerous Best Actor awards, and currently teaches directing and scene study at the Toronto Film School and Yorkville University. His most notable film credits include a Knot Top Gang Member in Watchmen (2009, directed by Zack Snyder), Roughneck #2 in Brokeback Mountain (2005, directed by Ang Lee), a Motel Owner in Shooter (2007, directed by Antoine Fuqua), Viktor in The Colony (2013), Hondo in Angel and the Badman (2009), and a Cowboy Pimp in Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009). On television he is best known as Alexander Graham Bell in Murdoch Mysteries (2012, 5 episodes), with additional credits in American Gods (2017), Schitt's Creek (2019), Alias Grace (2017, 4 episodes), Designated Survivor (2016), Fringe (2009), Stargate SG-1 (2007), The X-Files (1995), Friday the 13th: The Series (1989), and Ginny & Georgia (2021). In video games he voiced T-Bone Grady in Watch Dogs 2 (2016) and Dutch Roosevelt in Far Cry 5 (2018).

Movies

This Space for Rent is a Canadian dramedy on CBC starring Dov Tiefenbach that premiered on January 4, 2006 as a 'special' CBC pilot as part of its "Comedy Week". Tiefenbach plays Lucky Carroway, a recent university graduate and writer who finds that life after university is not as perfect as it might seem. The show begins shortly after his valedictorian speech, when his world comes crashing down after his first book is rejected by his literary agent. His life becomes worse as his arch-nemesis becomes a published author who appears in "Vancouver Magazine's" top 10 writers list. He becomes a recluse who constantly wears his graduation robe and plays video games all day. However, he quickly recovers by writing a vicious 'letter to the editor' to Vancouver Magazine where he decries the selection of his arch-nemesis as a top 10 writer. This letter angers so many readers of the magazine that they offer him a job as an anonymous "Hate Male" article writer. He lives in downtown Vancouver in a flat with several friends. Emily Hampshire plays a recent law school graduate named Iona Goldenthal, a binge drinker who must deal with the chauvinistic world of law. Rainbow Sun Francks plays a recent graduate named Barnaby Sharpe who majored in economics and Russian literature. He fails his first audition and ends up working at a Jar Heads, a Starbucks parody, as a "coffee jerk". Kea Wong plays Rumour Wong, a medical intern and Lucky's girlfriend, who must deal with Lucky's mental breakdown and reclusive nature. Jason Bryden plays Elliot Hayden, a mutual gay friend who speaks Mandarin and frequents Chinatown. He teaches English to immigrant children and acts as a foil to the rest of the characters.

More info
This Space for Rent
2006