Robert Charles Wisden (

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, 2 June 1958) is an English actor who has an extensive career in

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

and American film and television, for which he has won a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...

for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-series for ''The Sheldon Kennedy Story'' at the 15th Gemini Awards in 2000. Best known for playing U.S. President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

in the 2009 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

superhero film ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'', he has acted on many series, including '' Da Vinci's Inquest'', ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'', ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

'', ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'', '' Highlander'' and ''

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

''.

Early life

Born in 1958 in

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

in England, Robert Wisden moved with his family from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

when he was fifteen. He made his film debut in '' Firebird 2015 AD'' (1981), landing a key supporting part alongside Darren McGavin and Doug McClure. Four years later he started his television career starring as Terry Dunne in

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; ; born July 19, 1960) is an Armenian Canadians, Armenian-Canadian filmmaker. One of the most preeminent directors of the Toronto New Wave, he emerged during the 1980s and made his career breakthrough with ''Exotica (film), Exotica ...

's '' In This Corner'' (1986).

Career

Acting

Wisden is best known for his role as United States President

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with ''Dawn of the Dead (2004 film), Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978 film), of the same name ...

's 2009

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the DC graphic novel ''

'', Chief Coroner James Flynn in the Canadian TV series '' Da Vinci's Inquest'', and Ken Browning in '' Final Destination''. In 1994, he landed a supporting role in the epic turn-of-the-20th-century drama '' Legends of the Fall''. He played Robert Patrick Modell - a character created by Vince Gilligan - in the classic ''

'' third season episode '' Pusher'' (1996) and the 1998 fifth season follow-up episode '' Kitsunegari''.

Teaching

In 2006, Wisden graduated from

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

with a Bachelor of Education degree.Davincisinquest.com- Bio
/ref> He taught at Heritage Woods Secondary School for two school years (2006–2007), substituting for the main drama teacher. He went on to become the Head of Theater Arts at St. George's School for Boys in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. In 2019, Wisden realised a long-held dream when he oversaw the school's successful production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''.

Awards

In 2000, Wisden won a

for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for ''The Sheldon Kennedy Story'' (1999) at the 15th Gemini Awards.Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television official website
, retrieved 12 January 2009.

Filmography

Film

*'' Firebird 2015 AD'' (1981) - Cam *'' Milk and Honey'' (1988) *''Blood Clan'' (1990) - Stuart Roos *'' Stay Tuned'' (1992) - 3 Men and Rosemary's Baby *'' Impolite'' (1992) - Jack Yeats *'' Look Who's Talking Now'' (1993) - Ranger *'' Legends of the Fall'' (1994) - John T. O'Banion *''The War Between Us'' (1996) - Ed Parnum *'' Excess Baggage'' (1997) - Detective Sims *''Medusa's Child'' (1997) - Colonel Spencer *''Floating Away'' (1998) - Armand *'' In the Name of the People'' (2000) - DA Paul McMillan *'' Final Destination'' (2000) - Ken Browning *''Criss Cross'' (2001) - Zach *'' Snow Queen'' (2002) - Wolfgang *''

'' (2009) -

*'' Driven to Kill'' (2009) - Terry Goldstein

Television

*'' In This Corner'' (1986) - Terry Dunne *'' Glory Enough for All'' (1988) - Charles Best *'' 9B'' (1989) - Bob Dawson *''

The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'' (1993–1994) - Brad Ziegler *'' The Outer Limits'' (1995–1999) - Justin Wells / Sam Winter *'' Highlander: The Series'' "The Return of Amanda" (1993) & "The Messenger" (1996) - Col. William Everett Culbraith / Werner *''

'' (1996–1998) - Robert Patrick Modell *'' Poltergeist: The Legacy'' (1997–1999) - Will Thomas / James Donlon *'' Madison'' (1997) - Richard Long *''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...

'' (1997–2005) (4 episodes) - Lt. Colonel Bert Samuels *''

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

'' (1997–1998) - Chris Carmody / Gordon Roberts *'' Cold Squad'' (1998–2004) - Nick Kingsman / Neil Brice *'' Welcome to Paradox'' (1998) - John Hammond *'' Da Vinci's Inquest'' (1998–2000) - Chief Coroner James Flynn *'' Secret Cutting'' (2000) - Russell Cottrell *''

'' (2001–2004) - Gabriel Sullivan *''

'' (2002–2003) - Devon *'' The Elizabeth Smart Story'' (2003) - Jim Smart *''

'' (2005) - Wallace Gray *'' Supervolcano'' (2005) - Kenneth Wylie

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wisden, Robert 1958 births Living people Best Supporting Actor in a Television Film or Miniseries Canadian Screen Award winners English emigrants to Canada English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Brighton Male actors from Vancouver Simon Fraser University alumni 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors