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Hyndman, James

James Hyndman
James Hyndman. Photo by Dominic Gouin/TVA Publications.

Montreal-based character actor, born April 23, 1962 in Bonn, West Germany, the son of a Canadian diplomat. James Hyndman studied political science at the University of Ottawa, and was encouraged by Tibor Egervari, a professor in the theatre department to pursue acting. Hyndman played Lucky in Samuel Beckett’s En Attendant Godot at the Théâtre de l’Île in Gatineau. He studied theatre in Paris for three years, then with Gabriel Arcand and Téo Spychalski, at Théâtre de La Veillée (Groupe [de] La Veillée, Espace de la Veillée), and with Pol Pelletier.

He performed in several important productions with the Théâtre la Licorne (I Am Yours by Judith Thompson, 1990); Théâtre de la Veillée (Lenny in Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming in 1992); Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (Botho Strauss’s Time and the Room, dir. Serge Denoncourt, 1995); Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui; and Théâtre Petit à Petit.

His most notorious role, however, was the scary, sexually-abusive, murderous, sometimes-nude title character in the Théâtre de Quat'Sous production of Brad Fraser's L'homme laid/The Ugly Man (given an over-the-top production by director Derek Goldby, 1993).

In 1999 and again in 2000, he appeared solo in Brigitte Haentjens' celebrated production of Bernard-Marie Koltès La nuit juste avant les forêts. He worked with her again in her production of Mademoiselle Julie (May, 2001).

More recently, he played the lead in Don Juan (dir. Lorraine Pintal, Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, 2007); Alain Reille in Le dieu du carnage (dir. Lorraine Pintal, Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, 2010); and Scènes de la vie conjugale with Evelyne de la Chenelière (Théâtre de Quat’Sous, dir. Hyndman, 2019), amongst others.

His love of words and literature has been compellingly demonstrated in his readings at Théâtre de Quat'Sous, museums and book stores. In 2018, he published Océans, twelve fragments of conversation addressed to another without expectation of a response, revealing the anxiety of solitude. In 2020, he published a memoir, Une vie d'adulte. He has one son.

James Hyndman's stage performances are marked by a resonant voice and a strong, magnetic stage presence.

He is well known for his roles in the television series Rumeurs (Gémeaux Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, 2003); and the film Rowing Through (Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, 1996.

Profile by Gaetan Charlebois and Anne Nothof.

Last updated 2021-02-03