Tyrone Benskin (born 29 December 1958) is an English-

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

actor, theatre director and politician. He was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

in the Jeanne-Le Ber riding, in Montreal, Quebec, in the

2011 Canadian federal election The 2011 Canadian federal election was held on May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 41st Canadian Parliament. The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General David Johnston on Marc ...

and served as an MP until 2015.

Life and career

Benskin was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

, England but moved to Canada in 1968 at age nine.

Artistic career

Having studied theatre at both

CEGEP A CEGEP ( or ; ), also written cégep, CÉGEP and cegep, is a publicly funded college providing technical, academic, vocational or a mix of programs; they are exclusive to the province of Quebec's education system. A loanword from French, i ...

and university levels 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- ...

, Benskin has become a significant presence in theatre, film, television and music. His theatre credits include features appearances on such celebrated stages as the

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

, the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of p ...

and the Centaur Theatre in Montreal. Benskin also supplied the voice of Kobalt in the 1996 animated series of ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' ad ...

'' and Bo and Wimzie's father Rousso in the children's television series ''

Wimzie's House ''Wimzie's House'' is a half-hour Canadian preschool television program produced in Montreal which ran as ''La Maison de Ouimzie'' on Télévision de Radio-Canada in the morning and Radio-Québec in late afternoons starting March 4, 1995, and ...

''.

In politics

On 30 January 2011, Benskin was announced as the federal

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

candidate in the Montreal-area riding of Jeanne-Le Ber in the 2011 federal election. During the election, his candidacy was seen as one of the NDP's better chances for a gain in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...

, and NDP leader Jack Layton described him as having minister potential. On 2 May 2011, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada with a substantial margin, defeating

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , " Quebecer Bloc") is a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was formed by Members of Parliament (MPs) who defected from the federal Progre ...

incumbent Thierry St-Cyr. Benskin was named the Official Opposition's critic for Canadian Heritage, and later transferred to the Official Languages file as deputy critic. He was dropped from the shadow cabinet after party leader Thomas Mulcair learned that Benskin owed the Quebec revenue agency $58,000 for unpaid taxes from 2007 to 2011. Benskin apologized, attributing the non-payment to having precarious employment as an artist prior to becoming an MP. Benskin did not stand as a candidate in the 2015 federal election, having lost the local party's nomination to Allison Turner.Nouvelle candidate du NPD
by Catherine Vaillancourt; in '' Métro''; published 30 March 2015; retrieved 23 January 2022

Electoral record

Filmography

Film

* '' Killing 'em Softly'' (1982) as 2nd Black man * ''

Adam's Wall ''Adam's Wall'' is a 2008 Canadian drama film directed by Michael Mackenzie, who also co-wrote the film with Dana Schoel and produced by Ziad Touma of Couzin Films and by Olivier Sirois. The film's original music is composed by Benoît Charest. ...

'' as Mostafa * ''Aftermath'' (2002) as Arnold Ross * '' The Amityville Curse'' (1990) as Video Technician * ''

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

'' as Narrator * ''Blind Fear'' as Guard * ''Canvas'' (1992) as Detective Austin * ''Cargo'' (2000) as Radio * '' Criminal Law'' as Jackson * '' Dead Like Me: Life After Death'' as Police Commissioner Cusek * '' Death of a Ladies' Man'' as Jonathan Hébert * '' Enemies: A Love Story'' as Cabbie * ''Fais danser la poussière'' as Lawyer * ''

Full Disclosure Full disclosure or Full Disclosure may refer to: Computers * Full disclosure (computer security), in computer security the practice of publishing analysis of software vulnerabilities as early as possible * Full disclosure (mailing list), a mail ...

'' (2001) as FBI Special Agent Draper * ''

I'm Not There ''I'm Not There'' is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Todd Haynes, and co-written by Haynes and Oren Moverman. It is an unconventional biographical film inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors depi ...

'' (2007) as Mr. Avrin * '' Island of the Dead'' (2000) as Dwight Truman * '' Jack Paradise: Montreal by Night (Jack Paradise : Les nuits de Montréal)'' as Winston White * '' The Kiss'' (1988) as Railway Station Doctor * ''Lotto 6/66'' (2006, Short) as Landlord * ''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...

'' (1991) as 3rd Broker * '' Relative Fear'' (1994) as Cop * '' The Killing Machine'' (1994) as Doctor #2 * '' Soul Survivor'' (1995) as Jerome * '' The Wrong Woman'' (1995) as Mitchum * ''Marked Man'' (1996) as Detective Boyd * '' Sci-fighters'' (1996) as Dr. Gene Washington * '' Stranger in the House'' (1997) as Slovitz * '' Peepers'' as Helman * '' Scanners II: The New Order'' as Store Owner * ''Stolen Babies, Stolen Lives'' as Narrator * ''Sunday Afternoon'' as Monty * ''Volcanos of the Deep Sea'' as Narrator * '' 10.5: Apocalypse'' as Jackson, The Bartender * ''

300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 (CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1053 ''Ab ...

'' (2006) as Persian Emissary

Television

* '' Night Heat'' (1988) as Mitch Malloy * ''Shades of Love: The Man Who Guards the Greenhouse'' (1988, TV Movie) as Workman * ''The Phone Call'' (1989, TV Movie) as Police Officer #2 * ''The Final Heist'' (1991, TV Movie) as Juan * '' Urban Angel'' (1991) as Agent #1 / Travis * ''

The Boys of St. Vincent ''The Boys of St. Vincent'' is a 1992 Canadian television miniseries directed by John N. Smith for the National Film Board of Canada. It is a two-part docudrama inspired by real events that took place at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, ...

'' (1994, TV Movie) as Dr. Maynard * '' Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad'' (1994, TV Movie) as Ward * '' TekWar: TekLords'' (1994, TV Movie) as Dr. Brimell * ''My Breast'' (1994, TV Movie) as Dr. Henry Balmer * '' Ready or Not'' (1994) as Mr. Edwards * ''

Forever Knight ''Forever Knight'' is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a ho ...

'' (1995) as Jonah * ''Convict Cowboy'' (1995, TV Movie) as Curtis * ''Cagney and Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling'' (1995, TV Movie) as Dr. Nasser * ''

Side Effects In medicine, a side effect is an effect, whether therapeutic or adverse, that is secondary to the one intended; although the term is predominantly employed to describe adverse effects, it can also apply to beneficial, but unintended, consequence ...

'' (1995) as Detective Watson * ''Spenser: A Savage Place'' (1995, TV Movie) as Stevenson * ''Johnny and Clyde'' (1995, TV Movie) as Hadley * ''Dark Eyes'' (1995) as Bill Marsden * ''

Due South ''Due South'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama television series created by Paul Haggis, and produced by Alliance Communications from its premiere on April 26, 1994, to its conclusion after four seasons on March 14, 1999. The series starred ...

'' (1995-1998) as Mr. Shawl / Jeff Storey * ''

'' (1995-2002) as Rousso (voice) * '' Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' (1996) as Jack Palmer * ''A Husband, a Wife and a Lover'' (1996, TV Movie) as Dr. Carpenter * '' F/X: The Series'' (1996) as Judge * ''We the Jury'' (1996, TV Movie) as Noland James * '' Riverdale'' (1997) as Mike * ''A Taste of Shakespeare'' (1997) as Prince of Morocco / Tubal / Duke of Venice * '' Earth: Final Conflict'' (1998) as Frank Rice * '' The Long Island Incident'' (1998, TV Movie) as Colin Ferguson * '' Thanks of a Grateful Nation'' (1998, TV Movie) as Superintendent Meeker * '' Naked City: Justice with a Bullet'' (1998, TV Movie) as Donovan * ''

Live Through This ''Live Through This'' is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Hole, released on April 12, 1994, by DGC Records. Recorded in late 1993, it departed from the band's unpolished hardcore aesthetics to more refined melodie ...

'' (2000) as 'Sparky' * ''

Big Wolf on Campus ''Big Wolf on Campus'' is a Canadian television series created by Peter A. Knight and Christopher Briggs that ran from 1999 to 2002. The central plot revolves around a teenage boy named Thomas "Tommy" P. Dawkins, who was bitten by a werewolf durin ...

'' (2000) as Male Nurse St. Jacques * '' Radio Active'' (2001) as Coach Hadress * ''The Killing Yard'' (2001, TV Movie) as Haywood Burns * '' Tales from the Neverending Story'' (2001) as Cairon * '' Largo Winch'' (2001-2002) as Waldo Buzetti * ''Redeemer'' (2002, TV Movie) * ''Obsessed'' (2002, TV Movie) as Judge Tyrone Wolf * ''

Deacons for Defense The Deacons for Defense and Justice was an armed African-American self-defense group founded in November 1964, during the civil rights era in the United States, in the mill town of Jonesboro, Louisiana. On February 21, 1965—the day of Malcolm X' ...

'' (2003, TV Movie) as Archie * '' The Newsroom'' (2003) as Mr. Taylor * ''

The Wool Cap ''The Wool Cap'' is a 2004 American television drama film directed by Steven Schachter, who wrote the teleplay with William H. Macy. It is an updated and Americanized version of the 1962 film ''Gigot'' starring Jackie Gleason, who wrote the ori ...

'' (2004, TV Movie) as Clarence * '' Naked Josh'' (2004) as Tyrone Charpentier * ''

15/Love ''15/Love'' is a Canadian television series that revolved around the lives of aspiring young tennis players at the Cascadia Tennis Academy. The show was created by Karen Troubetzkoy and Derek Schreyer. ''15/Love'' premiered on the television cha ...

'' (2005) as Mr. White * ''

Mind Over Murder "Mind Over Murder" is the fourth episode of the first season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 25, 1999. The episode features Peter after he is placed under house arres ...

'' (2005, TV Movie) as Julian Hasty * ''

Charlie Jade ''Charlie Jade'' is a science fiction television series filmed mainly in Cape Town, South Africa. It stars Jeffrey Pierce in the title role, as a detective from a parallel universe who finds himself trapped in our universe. This is a Canadian and ...

'' (2005) as Karl Lubinsky * ''Proof of Lies'' (2006, TV Movie) as Robert Hunter * ''The Rival'' (2006, TV Movie) as Detective Martin * ''

Superstorm A superstorm is a large, unusually-occurring, destructive storm without another distinct meteorological classification, such as hurricane or blizzard. Origin and usage Before the early 1990s, the phrases " storm of the century" or " perfect s ...

'' (2007) as Murray Michaels * '' Durham County'' (2007) as Ranjit * ''Christie's Revenge'' (2007, TV Movie) as Detective Hogue * ''

The Dead Zone The Dead Zone may refer to: * ''The Dead Zone'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Stephen King * ''The Dead Zone'' (film), a 1983 film adaptation of the novel, starring Christopher Walken and directed by David Cronenberg * ''The Dead Zone'' (TV series), ...

'' (2007) as Orderley Dewey Morris * ''The Love of Her Life'' (2008, TV Movie) as Officer Kingman * ''

Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...

'' (2008) as Mr. Byrd * '' The Christmas Choir'' (2008, TV Movie) as Bob * '' Final Verdict'' (2009, TV Movie) as Detective Lewis * ''

My Nanny's Secret ''My Nanny's Secret'' (originally ''A Nanny's Secret'') is a 2009 Lifetime Channel original Thriller/Mystery/Crime movie starring Haylie Duff and directed by Douglas Jackson. A home invasion robbery ends in tragedy when a member of the wealthy Ty ...

'' (2009, TV Movie) as Detective Drabant * '' Jupiter's Legacy'' (2021) as Willie Small * ''

Debris Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can refer t ...

'' (2021) as George Jones * ''

Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol ''Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol'', or simply ''The Lost Symbol'', is an American action-adventure mystery- thriller television series based on Dan Brown's 2009 novel ''The Lost Symbol''. The series is a prequel to the ''Robert Langdon'' film seri ...

'' (2021) as Warren Bellamy

Animation

* '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' – Additional Voices * '' Anatole'' * '' Animal Crackers'' * '' Bad Dog'' – Judge Bigly * '' Belphegor'' – Additional Voices * '' Birdz'' – Additional Voices * '' Diabolik'' * '' Dog's World'' * ''

Dragon Hunters Dragon Hunters (French: ''Chasseurs de dragons'') is an animated fantasy comedy television series created by Arthur Qwak and produced by the French company Futurikon and Tooncan. It follows the adventures of two hunters for hire through a medi ...

'' * ''

'' – Kobalt * '' Flight Squad'' * '' Freaky Stories'' * ''Ivanhoe'' * '' Jim Button'' – Additional Voices * '' Kassai and Leuk'' – Additional Voices * '' Malo Korrigan'' – Additional Voices * ''

Manivald ''Manivald'' is an animated short film, directed by Chintis Lundgren and released in 2017.Ko Ricker"Human After All: The Social Satire of Chintis Lundgren’s ‘Manivald’" '' Animation World Network'', December 13, 2017. Plot The film centres ...

'' - Moose * ''

A Miss Mallard Mystery ''A Miss Mallard Mystery'' is a mystery animated series produced by the CINAR Corporation and Shanghai Animation Film Studio for the Teletoon network and OTV ( Shanghai Media Group), loosely based on the Robert Quackenbush book series ''The Miss ...

'' – Additional Voices * ''

Patrol 03 ''Patrol 03'' is a Canadian and French animated television series that aired in 1998 and was broadcast on Teletoon in Canada and France 3 in France. Plot The show centers around a trio of animal police officers called Shorty, Wilfred and Ca ...

'' (1997) * '' The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures'' (1997-1999) (uncredited) * '' Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend'' (1998-1999) as Elpenor * '' Tripping the Rift'' (2004) * ''

The Legend of Sarila ''The Legend of Sarila'' (french: La Légende de Sarila) is a 2013 Canadian computer-animated adventure film and Canada's first 3-D animated feature film.Robert Ito (7 February 2014)"For a Plucky Upstart, Icy Industry Tundra" '' New York Times'' ...

'' (2003) as Itak (English version) * '' Ned's Newt'' * ''

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several ...

'' * ''

Ocean Tales The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the worl ...

'' * '' Pet Pals'' * '' Pig City'' * '' Princess Sissi'' – Joseph, Dania * '' Rescue Heroes'' – Additional Voices * ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' fe ...

'' – Roger Glapion * ''

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first ...

'' * '' Superplants'' – Narrator * '' The Tofus'' – Additional Voices * ''

X-Chromosome The X chromosome is one of the two sex-determining chromosomes ( allosomes) in many organisms, including mammals (the other is the Y chromosome), and is found in both males and females. It is a part of the XY sex-determination system and XO s ...

'' – Additional Voices * '' X-DuckX'' – Additional Voices

Video games

* '' Jagged Alliance'' (1994) * '' Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games'' (1996) * ''

Jagged Alliance 2 ''Jagged Alliance 2'' is a tactical role-playing game for PC, released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and later ported to Linux by Tribsoft. It is the third entry in the ''Jagged Alliance'' series. The game was followed by the expansion '' Unfinis ...

'' (1999) * ''

Wizardry 8 ''Wizardry 8'' is the eighth and final title in the '' Wizardry'' series of role-playing video games by Sir-Tech Canada. It is the third in the ''Dark Savant'' trilogy, which includes '' Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge'' and '' Wizardry V ...

'' (2001) * '' Evolution Worlds'' (2002) as Federico / Infantryman #4 * '' Rainbow Six: Vegas'' (2006) * '' Far Cry 2'' (2008) * '' Splinter Cell'' (2010) as Lucias Gaillard * '' Splinter Cell: Conviction'' (2010) as Lucious Galliard

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benskin, Tyrone 1958 births English emigrants to Canada English male television actors English male film actors English male voice actors English male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian male stage actors Black British male actors Black Canadian male actors Male actors from Bristol Male actors from Montreal New Democratic Party MPs Politicians from Montreal Canadian actor-politicians Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Black Canadian politicians Anglophone Quebec people People from Le Sud-Ouest Living people Canadian people of African-American descent 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian artistic directors