Henry Ian Cusick
Cusick in 2007
Born (1967-04-17) 17 April 1967
Trujillo, Peru
Alma materRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
SpouseAnnie Cusick
Children3

Henry Ian Cusick (born 17 April 1967[1]) is a Peruvian-Scottish[2] actor of television, film, and theatre and a television director.

He is best known for his role as Desmond in the ABC television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He also starred as Jesus in The Gospel of John, as Stephen Finch in the ABC political thriller series Scandal, as Marcus Kane in The CW science fiction series The 100, as Dr. Jonas Lear in The Passage[3] on Fox, and as Russell "Russ" Taylor in the CBS action drama MacGyver.

Early life

Cusick was born in Trujillo, Peru, to a Peruvian mother, Esperanza Chávez, and a Scottish father, Henry Joseph Cusick.[2] When he was two, his family moved to Madrid, Spain, before moving to Trinidad and Tobago, where they lived for ten years.[1] There Cusick attended Presentation College, San Fernando. He moved to Newton Mearns, a town just outside of Glasgow in Scotland,[2] with his family at the age of fourteen.[4] Cusick attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and was asked to resign in his second year there. He got his first acting role at the Citizens' Theatre as an understudy in the Christmas Panto playing a polar bear.[4] He appeared in various productions for the Strathclyde Theatre Group in Glasgow.[5] He is fluent in both English and Spanish, and was raised Roman Catholic.[4]

Career

Cusick began his career as a classical theatre actor. His first leading roles onstage included Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray with Rupert Everett, Hamlet in The Marovitz Hamlet, and Horner in The Country Wife. His 1994 performances as Torquato Tasso in the Edinburgh International Festival production of Torquato Tasso, and Creon in the Citizens' Theatre production of Oedipus, earned him a commendation at the 1995 Ian Charleson Awards for outstanding performance by a young actor in a classical theatre role.[6]

On screen, after appearing in recurring roles in television series such as Casualty and The Book Group, he starred as Jesus Christ in the 2003 film The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John.[4] His largest role to date came in 2005 when he was cast as Desmond Hume in the ABC series Lost. Originally a recurring guest star in the second season (for which he received an Emmy nomination), Cusick became a member of the main cast from seasons three to six.[7] Cusick won the role when, while staying at the home of his friend Brian Cox, he met Cox's next-door neighbor, Carlton Cuse, the executive producer of Lost. Cusick stated he believes "a seed (was) planted, because they had been looking for either a Scottish or Irish character."[7]

He also appeared as Theo Stoller in two episodes of season 5 of 24 and the 2007 film Hitman. He stars in the direct-to-DVD film Dead Like Me: Life After Death, a continuation of the cult classic television show of the same name.

Cusick appeared in two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the twelfth season, playing Erik Weber, a vigilante with a Citizens Organized Against Predators group. He was in ABC's Scandal in 2011, but left the following year.[8]

He also played Trent Marsh in Body of Proof and portrayed Marcus Kane until his character switched bodies with another actor in The 100, which premiered in March 2014.[9]

Cusick also directed a short film called Dress, filmed in his home town, Kailua, Hawaii, winning the best short at HIFF and Peace on Earth Film Festival.[10]

In 2017, Cusick partnered with tech start-up JamBios to promote its reminiscing and memory-sharing social platform. He plays the voice of Monty, the digital biographer, and recorded over 200 questions that Monty asks users to help spur their memories.[11] Cusick's wife Annie is the curator of the JamBios Memory Gallery.[12]

Personal life

Cusick and his wife Annie Cusick Wood are parents to three sons, Eli (born 1994), Lucas (born 1998), and Esau (born 2000).

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
1995 The Contract Short film
2002 Possession Toby Byng Uncredited
2003 The Gospel of John Jesus Christ
2006 Half Light Brian
2006 9/Tenths William
2006 After the Rain Adrian Short film
2007 Hitman Udre Belicoff
2009 Dead like Me: Life After Death Cameron Kane Direct-to-video release
2013 Not Another Happy Ending Willie Scott
2014 The Girl On The Train Danny Hart
2014 Frank vs. God David Frank
2014 Dress Ben Granger
2014 10.0 Earthquake Jack
2015 Pali Road Tim Young
2015 Just Let Go Christopher "Chris" Williams
2016 Visible Guy Short film
2016 Everglades Scott
2017 Rememory Lawton
2018 Chimera Strain Quint
2018 Hae Hawai'i Short film
2022 The Wind & the Reckoning McCabe
2023 Jamojaya Michael

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Taggart Ian Gowrie Episode "Fatal Inheritance"
1997 Richard II Henry Green TV adaptation of William Shakespeare's play
2001 Murder Rooms: The White Knight Stratagem Sgt. Michael Clark
2001–02 Casualty Jason Recurring role
2002 The Dinosaur Hunters Gideon Mantell
2002–03 Two Thousand Acres of Sky Dr. Ewan Talbot Appeared in three episodes
2003 Happiness Phillip Episode "A Nice Person"
2003 Adventure Inc. Gavin Merrill Episode "Echoes of the Past"
2003 The Book Group Miles Longmuir Appeared in every episode of the second series
2003 Carla Matt Television film
2004 Perfect Romance Peter Campbell Television film
2004 Midsomer Murders Gareth Heldman Episode "The Fisher King"
2005 Waking the Dead Jeremy Allen Episode "Towers of Silence: Part 1"
2005–10 Lost Desmond Hume Guest (Season 2)
Main cast (Season 3–6): 46 episodes
Nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama Series
Nominated for Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television
2006 24 Theo Stoller Episodes "Day 5: 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m." and "Day 5: 8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m."
2009 Nova Charles Darwin Episode: "Darwin's Darkest Hour"[13]
2010 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit[14] Erik Weber Episodes: "Locum" and "Bullseye"
2012, 2015 Scandal Stephen Finch Main role (season 1); 6 episodes
Guest role (season 4), Episode: "No More Blood"
2012 Fringe[15] Agent Simon Foster Episode: Season 4, Episode 19 "Letters of Transit"
2012 The Mentalist Tommy Volker Episodes: "If It Bleeds, It Leads", "Days of Wine and Roses", "Little Red Corvette"
2013 Hawaii Five-0 Ernesto, terrorist group leader Episode: "We Need Each Another"
2013 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Dr. Jimmy Episode: "Last Woman Standing"
2013 Body of Proof Dr. Trent Marsh Episodes: "Eye for an Eye", "Daddy Issues"
2014–19 The 100 Marcus Kane Main role (Seasons 1-6): 58 episodes
Also directed two episodes
2016 Rush Hour Thomas Episode: "Pilot"
2017 Inhumans Dr. Evan Declan Recurring role; 6 episodes
2019 The Passage Dr. Jonas Lear Main role
2020–21 MacGyver Russell "Russ/Rusty" Taylor Main role
2022–23 Big Sky Avery McCallister Recurring role; 13 episodes
2022–present The Wingfeather Saga Arthan Wingfeather/Peet the Sockman (voice) Recurring role
2023 NCIS: Hawaiʻi OSP Supervisory Special Agent John Swift 2 episodes

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Lost: Via Domus Desmond Hume (voice)

Theatre

References

  1. 1 2 Patrick Espejo (8 April 2007). "Peruano encontrado en 'Lost'" (in Spanish). El Comercio. Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 McIver, Brian (7 February 2014). "Scots actor Henry Ian Cusick tells why he had to move stateside for work because of lack of opportunities at home". The Daily Record. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "ABC picks up 'Charlie's Angels,' 'Good Christian Belles' and ten more - From Inside the Box - Zap2it". Blog.zap2it.com. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Damian Thompson. "Henry Ian Cusick on Gospel of John". Jewish Theatre. Archived from the original on 15 April 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
  5. ↑ Strathclyde Theatre Group Archived 3 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Fowler, Rebecca. "Ribands in the cap of youth". Sunday Times. 12 March 1995.
  7. 1 2 William Keck (24 August 2006). "Cusick carries lone Emmy torch for 'Lost' cast". USA Today. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  8. ↑ Morgan Jeffery (12 June 2012). "'Scandal' creator Shonda Rhimes explains Henry Ian Cusick exit". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  9. ↑ Hale, Mike (18 March 2014). "Criminals, All Young, Let Loose Upon Earth: CW's 'The 100' Puts Teenagers in a Post-Apocalyptic World". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "Dress – A new film coming soon from DIRECTOR Henry Ian Cusick - Cusickgallery.net: Henry Ian Cusick". Cusickgallery.net: Henry Ian Cusick. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "Actor Henry Ian Cusick on His Newest Project". 26 September 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "JamBios Memory Gallery Exhibition for November 2017". JamBios. YouTube. 17 October 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  13. ↑ "Darwin's Darkest Hour". Nova. 6 October 2009. PBS.
  14. ↑ William Keck (6 July 2010). "Keck's Exclusives: Law & Order: SVU Signs Lost Alum". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  15. ↑ Michael Ausiello (10 February 2012). "Fringe Exclusive: Lost's Henry Ian Cusick Cast as [Spoiler] – But in Which Universe?". tvline.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
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