Allan Hawco is a Canadian writer, actor, and producer from Bell Island,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. He is best known for his roles in the series ''

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan ''Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'' (also known simply as ''Jack Ryan'') is an American Political drama, political action thriller television series based on characters from the fictional Ryanverse created by author Tom Clancy. Featuring modern-day inte ...

'', ''

Republic of Doyle ''Republic of Doyle'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014. The show stars Allan Hawco as private investigator and f ...

'', and '' The Book of Negroes'', and the television limited series ''

Caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the catch ...

''.

Early and personal life

Hawco was born on Bell Island,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, as the youngest of four children and moved to Goulds at a young age. His father Michael worked on the Bell Island Ferry, and his mother Mary was an elementary school teacher and former nun."Allan Hawco says goodbye to Jake Doyle". '' Q'', December 10, 2014. He studied business at

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

but dropped out in favour of the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, ) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants awarded by the Government of Canada and cultural ...

. One of his brothers is a composer, and has composed for ''

'', while his father has also worked on the show and his mother has appeared as a background performer. Hawco is the youngest of four; he has two older sisters. Hawco married

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

anchor Carolyn Stokes in 2012 in the midst of working on ''Republic of Doyle''.

Career

Hawco's first role was in the Shakespeare by the Sea production of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', which was directed by Aiden Flynn. From there, director Danielle Irvine encouraged the young actor to audition for the

National Theatre School The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, ) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants awarded by the Government of Canada and cultural ...

where he was one of 13 selected from thousands of applicants that year. After graduating from the

in 2000, Hawco worked in many of the major theatres in Canada. In 2005, motivated by the want for greater creative control, he started his own production company the Company Theatre with Philip Riccio. The company's inaugural production, ''

A Whistle in the Dark ''A Whistle in the Dark'' is a Play (theatre), play by Tom Murphy (playwright), Tom Murphy that premiered on September 11, 1961 at the Theatre Workshop, Joan Littlewood's Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London, having been rejected by the Abbey Th ...

'', brought Hawco critical acclaim. Their 2009 production of ''

Festen ''The Celebration'' () is a 1998 Danish black comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and produced by Nimbus Film. It tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their patriarch's 60th birthday, during which a family secret is ...

'' won him three

Dora Award The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, Dance in Canada, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after ...

s, including Outstanding Production of a Play. Some of Hawco's earlier movie roles include Canadian productions such as ''Making Love in Saint Pierre'', ''Above and Beyond'', and ''

Love and Savagery ''Love and Savagery'' is a Canadian- Irish drama film directed by John N. Smith and released in 2009. The film stars Allan Hawco as Michael, a geologist from Newfoundland and Labrador who travels to Ballyvaughan, Ireland to study limestone, and ...

'', the latest of which won him an ACTRA nomination for Outstanding Male Performance. His career took off with the launch of his own TV series ''

'', which premiered in 2010. Hawco is co-creator with Perry Chafe and Malcolm MacRury, executive producer, lead actor, head writer as well as the show's

showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

. The show has been sold to over 90 countries, and maintained over a million viewers a week on CBC television in Canada. In 2010, Hawco was nominated for the ACTRA Toronto award for Outstanding Performance – Male for his performance in ''Love and Savagery''. He was also nominated that year for two

Gemini Awards 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 th ...

, Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role and Best Dramatic Series for his work as actor, co-creator, writer and executive producer of ''Republic of Doyle''. In 2011, Hawco was the recipient of the

's prestigious Gascon-Thomas Award. Also in 2011, Hawco was presented with the

Canadian Film and Television Hall of Fame 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 ...

's Outstanding Achievement Award. In 2016, Hawco's production company in Newfoundland produced the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

original series: ''

Frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

'', starring

Jason Momoa Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa (; born August 1, 1979) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Jason Ioane on the syndicated action drama series '' Baywatch: Hawaii'' (1999–2001), which was followed by portrayals of Ronon Dex on the ...

. Hawco also stars in the series as well as functioning as an executive producer on the show. In 2018, Hawco served as executive producer, writer/showrunner and starred in the CBC adaptation of Lisa Moore's novel ''

''. The series received a number of CSA nominations including best series and a best actor nod for Hawco."Here's your first look at the CBC adaptation of Lisa Moore's Caught"

CBC Books CBC Arts () is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's diverse artistic communitie ...

, January 16, 2018. ''Caught'' other screen writers include Hawco's writing partner Perry Chafe,

John Krizanc John Krizanc (born 1956) is a Canadians, Canadian playwright who established an international reputation with his non-linear work ''Tamara (play), Tamara''. Early life Krizanc was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Lethbridge, Alberta in 1956. He is t ...

, Julia Cohan, and

Adriana Maggs Adriana Maggs is a Canadians, Canadian film and television actress, writer and director, best known for her debut feature film ''Grown Up Movie Star''.eOne entertainment, and eOne exec Tecca Crosby was the inspiration behind the making of the limited series according to interviews with Hawco on the topic. In 2019, Hawco starred as "Coyote" in the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

TV series ''Jack Ryan'' alongside

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-w ...

and

Wendell Pierce Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1962) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor of stage and screen. He first Breakthrough role, gained recognition portraying ...

. Jack Ryan was written by '' Lost'' creator

Carlton Cuse Arthur Carlton Cuse (born March 22, 1959) is an American screenwriter, showrunner, producer, and director, best known for the American television series '' Lost'', for which he made the ''Time'' list of the 100 most influential people in the wo ...

. Filming took place in Colombia. Also in 2019, Hawco featured as Captain Donovan in the British-Canadian suspense drama ''Departure''.

Filmography

Films

Television

Theatre

Awards

References

External links

*
Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawco, Allan 1977 births Living people 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male screenwriters Canadian male television actors Canadian male television writers Canadian male voice actors Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian television directors Canadian television producers Canadian television writers Male actors from Newfoundland and Labrador National Theatre School of Canada alumni People from Newfoundland (island) Film producers from Newfoundland and Labrador Screenwriters from Newfoundland and Labrador