Jeffrey Wincott (born May 8, 1956) is a Canadian

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

best known for his lead role in the television series ''

Night Heat ''Night Heat'' is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. ''Night Heat'' was the first Canadian original drama series that was sim ...

.'' Wincott was also the star of several

martial arts films Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression a ...

in the 1990s. In 1996 he was named one of the "Martial Arts Movie Stars of the Next Century" by '' Black Belt'' magazine.

Early life and education

Wincott was born and raised in Toronto. His mother was from

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

, Italy. His English father was an amateur boxer. Actor

Michael Wincott Michael Anthony Claudio Wincott (born January 21, 1958) is a Canadian actor. His deep, raspy voice has often led to his being cast in villainous roles. Some of his best-known roles include Guy of Gisbourne in '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' ( ...

is his younger brother. Wincott began studying taekwondo at 15 and also swam competitively. Wincott became interested in acting while in high school and wound up turning down a swimming scholarship to study acting at

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

, where he studied for 2 years.

Career

One of Wincott's first acting jobs was in 1979 when he appeared on two episodes of the Canadian sitcom '' King of Kensington''. He also appeared in an episode of the Canadian series ''

The Littlest Hobo ''The Littlest Hobo'' () is the Canadian television series based upon a 1958 American film of the same name directed by Charles R. Rondeau. The series first aired from 1963 to 1965 in syndication, and was revived for a popular second run on C ...

''. that same year. In 1980, he toured with the Toronto-based Actors Touring Company in their production of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', followed by the Runnymede Theatre production '' Play it Again, Sam'' in which Wincott played the role of

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

. That same year he also had a small role in the horror movie '' Prom Night'', and the following year he had a small role in the film '' Quest for Fire''. Wincott appeared in an episode of the Canadian drama series '' The Great Detective'' in 1982. In 1981 and 1983, he appeared again in episodes of ''The Littlest Hobo''. He also appeared in episodes of the Canadian TV series ''

Hangin' In ''Hangin' In'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC from 1981 to 1987. It aired briefly on Nickelodeon and in syndication in the United States. Synopsis The show starred Lally Cadeau as Kate Brown, the attractive and charismatic ...

'' in 1983 and 1984. From 1981 to 1983, Wincott lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he studied privately with

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

teacher Michael Kahn, before moving on to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to film a beer commercial for

Molson The Molson Brewery is a Canada-based brewery based in Montreal and was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors. Molson Coors maintains some of its Canadian operati ...

. While in L.A. he taught

breakdancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...

and would also perform

mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...

on Venice Beach for money. In 1984, Wincott returned to Toronto and began working on the Canadian police drama series ''

''. The series starred

Scott Hylands Scott Hylands (born 1943), born Scott Hylands Douglas, is a Canadian actor who has appeared in movies, on television, and on the stage. Due to his longevity and versatility, critics have called him "one of Canada's greatest actors." Early years ...

as Detective Kevin O'Brien and Wincott as his partner, the brash and impulsive Detective Frank Giambone. The series ran for four seasons from 1985 to 1989 and also aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, making it the first Canadian-produced drama series to air on an American network. In 1986, he also appeared in the Canadian drama film '' The Boy in Blue'' starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

. In the 1990s, Wincott was the star of several action films, often making use of his martial arts skills. Some of these films include '' Martial Law 2: Undercover'' (1991), ''

Mission of Justice ''Mission of Justice'' is a 1992 action/martial arts film starring Brigitte Nielsen and directed by Steve Barnett. Plot After his friend is killed, former cop Kurt Harris (Jeff Wincott) goes undercover and infiltrates the "Peacemakers", a vigil ...

'' opposite

Brigitte Nielsen Brigitte Nielsen (; born Gitte Nielsen; 15 July 1963) is a Danish actress, model, and singer. She began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. She subsequently acted in the 1985 films ''Red Sonja'' and ''Rocky IV'', later retu ...

(1992), ''Deadly Bet'' (1992), '' Martial Outlaw'' (1993), '' The Killing Machine'' (1994), '' Street Law'' (1995), '' Last Man Standing'' (1995), '' The Donor'' (1995), ''

No Exit ''No Exit'' (, ) is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play was first performed at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in May 1944. The play centers around a depiction of the afterlife in which three deceased characters a ...

'' (1995), ''When the Bullet Hits the Bone'' (1996), and '' Future Fear'' (1997). In 2003, Wincott appeared in two episodes of the second season of TV series '' 24''. He played the recurring role of James 'Jimmy' Cacuzza on the

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

series ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...

'', appearing in episodes that aired in 2008, 2012 and 2013. In 2012, Wincott played Captain Mancuso in an episode in the third season of the TV series ''

Blue Bloods ''Blue Bloods'' is an American police procedural drama (film and television), drama television series that aired on CBS from September 24, 2010, to December 13, 2024, across 14 seasons and 293 episodes. Its main characters were members of the fi ...

'', and reprised the role in the series fifth season. He also played recurring character Marshal Hilliard in the miniseries '' The Lizzie Borden Chronicles'' (2015) and Detective Lucas in the miniseries ''

The Night Of ''The Night Of'' is a 2016 American eight-part crime drama miniseries based on the first series of ''Criminal Justice'', a 2008 British series. The miniseries was written by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian (based on the original ''Criminal Ju ...

'' (2016). He was featured in the action films '' The Invasion'' (2007) and ''

Unstoppable Unstoppable may refer to: Film and television * Unstoppable (2004 film), ''Unstoppable'' (2004 film), an American film directed by David Carson * ''Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis'', a 2005 America ...

'' (2010) and played a supporting role in the independent film ''Kringle Time''. In 2019, Jeff and his wife Charlotte founded Hollow Metropolis Films in order to create and produce their own work. In 2020, the Wincotts co-produced their first feature film, ''The Issue with Elvis''. Directed by Charlotte, the film stars Jeff, as well as their son Wolfgang. Wincott won the Best Actor award for his role in the film at the Toronto Beaches Film Festival, and the Montgomery International Film Festival. The Wincotts also co-produced ''Fall Fight Shine'', a documentary about addiction and recovery featuring Jeff's own recovery story. The film premiered in 2021.

Filmography

Film

Short film

Television

Theatre work

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wincott, Jeff 1956 births Living people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Italian descent Actors from Scarborough, Ontario Male actors from Toronto Canadian male taekwondo practitioners 20th-century Canadian sportsmen