Yannick Denis Bisson (born May 16, 1969) is a Canadian film and television actor and director best known to international audiences for playing Detective William Murdoch on the series ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...

''.

Early life

Bisson was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, and is of French and English ancestry. He moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, as a teenager and his acting career began when he was still in high school. His father, noting his son's interest in acting, encouraged him to reply to a newspaper advertisement seeking "child actors".

Career

Bisson's first major role was in the 1984 CBC movie of the week '' Hockey Night'', alongside

Megan Follows Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows (born March 14, 1968) is a Canadian-American actress and director. She is known for her role as Anne Shirley in the 1985 Canadian television miniseries ''Anne of Green Gables'' and its two sequels. From 2013 t ...

and Rick Moranis. He starred in the Canadian television series ''

Learning the Ropes ''Learning the Ropes'' is a Canadian-produced sitcom that aired on CTV in Canada and in syndication in the United States from September 1988 to March 1989. The series stars Lyle Alzado as Robert Randall, a teacher who works as a professional wres ...

'' from 1988 through 1989. From 1994 through 1997, he starred in the syndicated action series ''

High Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

'', co-starring

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

. He moved back from Los Angeles to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1998 when he was cast as the lead in CBC'S ''Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy''. From 2000 though 2004, he had a recurring role as attorney Brian Tedrow on the Showtime drama ''

Soul Food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...

''. He starred as FBI agent Jack Hudson in the PAX TV series '' Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye'' and in the short-lived CBC drama '' Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy''. He appeared on '' Falcon Beach'' in season two as well as in several Lifetime cable movies, such as ''Crazy for Christmas'' and ''I do (but I don't)'', and the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

movie ''

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabili ...

''. Bisson was a guest star on '' Flashpoint'' and starred in the television movies ''Brothers by Choice'' and ''Keshan''. He appeared as Jon in all of the ''

Roxy Hunter ''Roxy Hunter'' is a fictional character played by Aria Wallace in four television films for Nickelodeon in the United States: ''Roxy Hunter and the Mystery of the Moody Ghost'' (2007), ''Roxy Hunter and the Secret of the Shaman'' (2008), ''Roxy Hun ...

'' movies to date. Bisson is featured in a series of commercials for CIBC. He starred in the 2001 TV movie '' Loves Music, Loves to Dance'' based on the book by

Mary Higgins Clark Mary Higgins Clark (born Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins (December 24, 1927 – January 31, 2020) was an American author of suspense novels. Each of her 51 books was a bestseller in the United States and various European countries, and all of he ...

. He provided the voice of Ferdie in the children's animated series '' Maxie's World''. Bisson plays the lead in the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

drama series ''

'' and made his directorial debut with the show's fourth-season episode " Buffalo Shuffle". Starting on December 30, 2013, Bisson starred as a preschool teacher in ''

The Adventures of Napkin Man ''The Adventures of Napkin Man!'' is a children's television series created by Tone Thyne and Josh Selig. It premiered in 2013 on CBC Television, as part of the '' Kids' CBC'' block. Mixing live action with animation, the series stars Yannick Bis ...

'' on

. Bisson was awarded the Fan's Choice Award at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards on March 13, 2016. ''Murdoch Mysteries'' has been awarded several Canadian Screen Award Golden Screen Awards in 2017, 2018 and 2020. Bisson played as Martin Bartell, in Hallmark Channel's ''

Aurora Teagarden Aurora Teagarden is a fictional character created by author Charlaine Harris. She is the protagonist of a series of eleven crime novels written from 1990 to 2017. In 2014, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries began broadcasting adaptations of the nove ...

Mysteries''. He is introduced in " Three Bedrooms, One Corpse" as a CIA agent Keshan who moves to town, falls in love with Teagarden, and later dates her. Bisson left the series in 2018. Bisson received the

ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has 25,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. The orga ...

Toronto Award of Excellence in 2017 for his lifetime of work. Bisson was the host of Discovery Canada Channel's ''Star Racer'' reality show.

Personal life

Bisson is married to Chantal Craig, a former fitness instructor who currently works as a television content creator and writer. The couple met in high school and married in 1990. They have three daughters: Brianna, Dominique and Mikaela. Craig made guest appearances on two of Bisson's television series, '' Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye'' and ''

''. Their daughter played "Penny Renton" in an episode of ''Murdoch Mysteries'' entitled "Love and Human Remains." Dominique Bisson had a part as Gloria Abercrombie in an episode of ''Murdoch Mysteries'', season 2, entitled "Snakes and Ladders". Craig is now known as Shantelle Bisson, a producer, author, parenting expert and regular contributor to ''Zoomer Magazine''. She is the owner of Shantilly's Place, a marina in

Kawartha Lakes The City of Kawartha Lakes (2021 population 79,247) is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. It is a municipality legally structured as a single-tier city; however, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontario county and is most ...

. Yannick Bisson is also an avid bicyclist and bicycle collector. He formerly worked as a builder between acting jobs to support his family.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bisson, Yannick 1969 births Living people 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male child actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of French descent French Quebecers Male actors from Montreal