T. J. Scott is a Canadian film and television director, screenwriter, producer, and former

stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

and actor. He is primarily known for his work directing popular television series such as ''

Orphan Black ''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identica ...

'', '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', '' Gotham'', '' Star Trek: Discovery'', '' Longmire'', ''

12 Monkeys ''12 Monkeys'' is a 1995 American Science fiction film, science fiction thriller film directed by Terry Gilliam from a screenplay by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, based on Chris Marker's 1962 short film ''La Jetée''. It stars Bruce Willis, M ...

'', ''

The Strain ''The Strain'' is a 2009 vampire literature, vampire horror fiction, horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the first installment in ''The Strain Trilogy'', and was followed by ''The Fall (del Toro and Hogan novel), The Fal ...

'', and ''

Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...

.'' Scott has won accolades for his directing work. In 2010, he received 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 ...

nomination for directing the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

made-for-television film ''

Deadliest Sea ''Deadliest Sea'' is a 2009 Canadian made-for-television film directed by T. J. Scott. It is about the crew of the Kodiak, Alaska-based scallop fishing vessel ''St. Christopher''. It was produced by the producers of the popular Discovery Channe ...

.'' In 2015, for his work on ''Orphan Black'', he won a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

for Best Direction in a Dramatic Series. In 2019, he was nominated for another Canadian Screen Award, this time for Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series, for directing the

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 ** ...

miniseries ''

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 ...

''. In 2022, as one of the executive producers of the

Global TV The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

series ''Departure'', Scott received a nomination for the

Canadian Screen Award for Best Dramatic Series The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for ''Best Dramatic Series''. Formerly presented as part of the Gemini Awards program, since 2013 the award has been presented as part of the expanded Canadian Screen Awards. 19 ...

Career

1990s–2000s: Early feature film and television work

Scott began directing feature films in the early 1990s, with the action-science fiction

martial arts film 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 ...

TC 2000 The TC2000 (''Turismo Competición 2000'', formerly ''Súper TC2000'') is a touring car racing series held in Argentina since 1979. Rules Prior to 2012, engines of up to were allowed, with only limited modifications from standard engines ...

'' (1993). Of the experience as a first-time director, Scott said:

You know, I was very young... I took the first feature that was offered to me... I think we all learned a lot while we were making it.

Later that decade, Scott directed ''

Legacy Legacy or Legacies may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline * '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics * ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press * ''Legacy ...

'' (1998), starring

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on the soap ...

and his future wife,

Victoria Pratt Victoria Ainslie Pratt (born December 18, 1970) is a Canadian actress, author, and fitness model. Early life Pratt grew up in Chesley, Ontario, a self described "tomboy at heart." She attended the kinesiology program at York University in Tor ...

. ''Legacy'' screened as the opening night film for the Las Vegas Film Festival in 1999. The following year, Scott wrote, directed, and produced the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

film ''Blacktop'' (2000), starring

Kristen Davis Kristin Landen Davis (also listed as Kristin Lee Davis; born February 23, 1965) is an American actress and producer. She is known for playing Charlotte York in the HBO romantic comedy series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004). She received nom ...

. Around this time, Scott's career as a television director began to take off. He first worked in New Zealand with filmmakers

Robert Tapert Robert Gerard Tapert (; born May 14, 1955) is an American film and television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-creating the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. Career Film Tapert first became involved with filmm ...

and

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...

on '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' (1995–1999) and subsequently directed several episodes of the spin-off TV series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' (1996–2001). After working on ''Xena'', Scott directed several episodes of the series ''

Cleopatra 2525 ''Cleopatra 2525'' is an American science fiction television series that aired in syndication for two seasons, from January 2000 to March 2001. Produced by Renaissance Pictures and distributed by Studios USA Television Distribution, many stat ...

'' (2000–2001) before its cancellation. He then moved onto other shows, including the controversial

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

series ''

Playmakers ''Playmakers'' is an American drama television series created by John Eisendrath that aired on ESPN from August 26 to November 11, 2003. It depicts the lives of the Cougars, a fictional professional football team playing in an unidentified ci ...

'' (2003). Scott's episode of ''Playmakers'' was named by the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

as one of the top 10 television episodes of 2003. Around this time, Scott also directed several episodes of '' Mutant X'' (2001–2002). Scott directed the made-for-television film ''

'' (2009), which aired on the

and was nominated for five

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 ...

in 2010 including Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series.

2010s–2020s: Breakthrough as a television director and producer

Throughout 2010s, Scott directed dozens of television episodes for series such as ''

'' (2012–2013), '' Bitten'' (2014–2015), '' Longmire'' (2014–present), '' Gotham'' (2014–2019), ''

'' (2015–present) ''

Dark Matter In astronomy, dark matter is an invisible and hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is implied by gravity, gravitational effects that cannot be explained by general relat ...

'' (2015–2018). In 2015, Scott directed episodes of the

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

television series ''

'', which, upon release, garnered a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

, and significant critical acclaim. In January 2015, it was announced that Scott was nominated by the

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

, Canada's equivalent to the

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

, for his work on the show. In February 2015, Scott won the award for Best Direction in a Dramatic Series at the 3rd annual Canadian Screen Awards for his work on ''Orphan Black''. Following ''Orphan Black'', Scott continued to direct high-profile television series, such as '' Star Trek: Discovery'' and '' Taken''. In 2018, his work on the Canadian miniseries ''Caught'' garnered him a

nomination for Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series. From 2019 to 2021, Scott executive produced and directed three seasons of '' Departure''. The series, commissioned by

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language terrestrial television, terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's se ...

as a British-Canadian co-production, stars

Archie Panjabi Archana Panjabi (born 31 May 1972) is an English actress. She has had various roles in both British and American television including as Maya Roy in ''Life on Mars'' (2006–2007), Kalinda Sharma in ''The Good Wife'' (2009–2015), Nas Kamal ...

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage and television. His accolades included an Academy Aw ...

Claire Forlani Claire Antonia Forlani (born December 1971) is an English actress. She became known in the mid-1990s for her leading role in the film '' Mallrats'', and in the Jean-Michel Basquiat 1996 biopic '' Basquiat''. In 1998, she achieved wide recogniti ...

Kris Holden-Ried Kris Holden-Ried (born August 1, 1973) is a Canadian actor. Early life and pentathlon Holden-Ried was born in Pickering, Ontario. He studied at Montreal's Concordia University School of Business. He was a champion competitor in equestrianism, ri ...

Rebecca Liddiard Rebecca Liddiard (born ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Constable Adelaide Stratton in the 2016 trans-Atlantic mystery series '' Houdini & Doyle'' and as morality officer Mary Shaw in '' Frankie Drake Mysteries''. Early li ...

, and

Shazad Latif Shazad Latif (born Iqbal Amin; 8 July 1988) is a British actor, who starred as Tariq Masood in the BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, E ...

, among others. The series was later picked up by

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

's streaming service,

, for a September 2020 release. During the first season's release in Canada and the UK, the series averaged more than one million viewers per episode. Notably, Plummer's work in the second season of ''Departure'' was his final on-screen performance before his death on February 5, 2021. Scott made a post on Instagram commemorating Plummer's death, writing "I was lucky enough to be the last person to ever direct Christopher Plummer on screen ... I will never forget what a beautiful person he was ... A true pro till the very end who knew what matters." In 2022, as one of the executive producers of the

series ''Departure'', Scott received a nomination for the

Other work

In addition to directing, Scott is also a well-known photographer. He also works as a freelance writer in Hollywood, co-writing the story for the film ''

Tracers Tracer may refer to: Science * Flow tracer, any fluid property used to track fluid motion * Fluorescent tracer, a substance such as 2-NBDG containing a fluorophore that is used for tracking purposes * Histochemical tracer, a substance used for ...

'' (2015), starring

Taylor Lautner Taylor Daniel Lautner ( ; born February 11, 1992) is an American actor. He is best known for playing werewolf Jacob Black in ''The Twilight Saga (film series), The Twilight Saga'' film series (2008–2012). His accolades include a Scream Awar ...

. In September 2011, it was announced that filmmaker Chris Columbus signed on to direct Scott's screenplay titled ''The Secret Lives of Road Crews'' for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. From 2015 to 2017, Scott served as an executive producer on the popular web series ''

Teenagers Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

''.

Personal life

Scott married Canadian actress and model

in 2000; they subsequently divorced in 2016.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, T.J. 20th-century Canadian male actors Canadian film directors Canadian male child actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male screenwriters Canadian stunt performers Canadian television directors Canadian television producers Living people York University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian male television writers Canadian television writers 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian Screen Award winning directors