Callum Keith Rennie
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Rennie is a recovering alcoholic who reportedly stopped drinking after a barroom fight in 1993 during which a piece of flying glass injured his left eye.
Has a tattoo of the Champion logo modeled on a painting by Stuart Davis on his his upper right arm.
Biography
Charismatic Canadian actor Callum Keith Rennie entered the entertainment field relatively late, jumpstarting his career at age 33, but making up for lost time with prolific independent film work, and a regular starring role on the syndicated police series "Due South." Blond and wiry, with an edgy, down-to-earth style and manner, Rennie proved a highly watchable and versatile performer with notable ease onscreen. While born in Sutherland, England, he was raised in Canada from a young age. The seeds of his career were sown in Alberta where he landed some voiceover work at the University of Alberta radio station and where he began acting on the Edmonton stage, which in turn led to work in television and independent film. In 1994, wary of the commitment of a television contract, the actor turned down the recurring role of Agent Alex Krycek on the Fox series "The X-Files," but he did take guest roles on 1994 and 1995 episodes of the Vancouver-filmed sci-fi series. Rennie was also featured in the ABC police drama "The Commish" in 1994 and that same year had a bit part in the sci-fi action feature "Timecop."
In 1995, Rennie's feature career took off, with a memorable supporting turn in Mina Shum's "Double Happiness," acting opposite Sandra Oh as the boyfriend that her Chinese immigrant parents disapprove of because he is Caucasian. The actor's work in this celebrated Canadian independent won him notice and acclaim, and his portrayal of the awkward bespectacled suitor was most engaging. That same year, Rennie starred as recovering heroin addict Jim in the experimental film adaptation of Jim Carroll's autobiographical short story "Curtis' Charm" (released in the USA in 1996). This project, vastly different than "Double Happiness," featured the actor's unflinching and compelling performance, and proved him a performer of varied abilities. Later in 1995, he could be seen on the small screen in the USA Network thriller "When the Dark Man Calls" and the ABC adventure "The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky." A small role as a drug dealer followed in the 1996 feature thriller "Unforgettable," and that same year Rennie would give an impressive starring performance in Canadian filmmaker Bruce McDonald's "Hard Core Logo" (released in the USA in 1998), a satirical but heartfelt punk rock mockumentary. He played Billy Tallent, a big talking member of the titular band, a defunct legend of the Vancouver punk scene. Small roles in the children's adventure film "Masterminds" and the romantic comedy "Excess Baggage" followed in 1997, as well as a turn as a bumbling stoner in the independent adventure film "Men With Guns."
Rennie's prolific work won him the notice and acclaim of the Canadian press which named him an up-and-comer to watch. This new high profile led to extensive work in television in 1997, as a featured cast member in the Canadian TV series "My Life as a Dog" (aired in the USA on Showtime). Here he played Uncle Johnny Johansson, earning a 1997 Gemini Award for his work. Also on Showtime, Rennie co-starred in original movie "Tricks," chronicling the life of a single mother who turns to prostitution in order to earn enough money both to care for her ailing son and to put herself through college. From 1997 to 1999, Rennie had a regular role on the series "Due South," replacing previous regular David Marciano for the syndicated fourth season (aired in the USA on TNT), in which he utilized a grating Chicago accent to play Detective Stanley Kowalski, the new American partner of transplanted Mountie Benton Fraser on the Canadian produced police series. Intriguing as the hardened streetwise Chicago detective opposite Paul Gross' always polite Canadian Mountie, Rennie brought a smoldering and sarcastic edge to the quirky police series. A hugely successful show in Canada, "Due South" offered Rennie visibility, but at the same time caused some problems in his career, plagued by the cries of "sell out" that so often come with commercial success after a run of hard work in independents.
Despite these disparaging artistic accusations, the actor returned to film in 1998, slipping easily back into the supportive and insulated Canadian independent film scene. He had a charming turn as one of a small interconnected group of Toronto residents spending their last few hours on earth in 1998's "Last Night" (released in the USA in 1999), writer-director-star Don McKellar's take on the end of the world. Rennie, who won a Best Supporting Actor Genie for his performance, played Craig, a man who seeks to fit as many sexual experiences into his remaining time as possible. The character came off quite sympathetically in the acclaimed film, affably played by Rennie as a curious but decent man rather than an opportunistic lecher. He also teamed up with McKellar with a 1997-2000 stint on the CBC TV series "Twitch City" and had a small part in 1999's "eXistenZ," a thriller co-starring McKellar and directed by "Last Night" ensemble co-star David Cronenberg.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1993
At age 33, began to seriously pursue an acting career
1994
Guest starred on an episode of ABC's "The Commish"
1994
Turned down the recurring role of Agent Alex Krycek on the FOX series "The X-Files"; guest-starred in the episode "Lazarus"
1994
Appeared in the sci-fi actioner "Timecop"
1995
Starred as Jim, a recovered heroin addict in "Curtis' Charm"; based on Jim Carroll's autobiographical short story (released in the USA in 1996)
1995
Acted in the ABC movie adventure "The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky"
1995
Appeared in the USA Network TV-movie "When the Dark Man Calls"
1995
Featured opposite Sandra Oh in Mina Shum's "Double Happiness"
1996
Had a bit part as a drug dealer in the mystery thriller "Unforgettable"
1996
Starred as former punk rocker Billy Tallent in Bruce McDonald's satirical "Hard Core Logo" (released in the USA in 1998)
1997
Played the permanently stoned Mamet in the bumbling adventure "Men With Guns"
1997
Appeared in the Showtime original movie "Tricks"
1997
Had small roles in the children's adventure film "Masterminds" and the romantic comedy "Excess Baggage"
1997
Co-starred on the syndicated police series "Due South"
1997
Was a featured regular on the Canadian series "My Life as a Dog" (aired in the USA on Showtime)
1998
Cast in Don McKellar's "Last Night" as a man who spends his last night on Earth bedding as many different types of people as he can (released in the USA in 1999)
1999
Featured in David Cronenberg virtual reality thriller "eXistenZ"
2001
Had small role in the thriller "Memento"
2004
Appeared in "The Butterfly Effect"
2004
Cast in "Blade: Trinity," which starred Wesley Snipes
2004
Had a recurring role as the Cylon Leoben Conoy in the reimagined "Battlestar Galactica" on the Sci Fi Channel
2007
Appeared opposite Cedric the Entertainer in the comedy "Code Name: The Cleaner"
2007
Cast opposite Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver in "Snow Cake"
2008
Portrayed record producer Lew Ashby in the second season of "Californication" (Showtime)
2009
Played Jeff Slingerland aka Dr. Maurice Raynaud in the ABC series "FlashForward"
2010
Co-starred with Renée Zellweger in the thriller "Case 39"
2010
Appeared as Russian mobster Vladimir Laitanan in the eighth season of "24" (FOX)
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Rennie is a recovering alcoholic who reportedly stopped drinking after a barroom fight in 1993 during which a piece of flying glass injured his left eye.
Has a tattoo of the Champion logo modeled on a painting by Stuart Davis on his his upper right arm.
"Due South" executive producer and star Paul Gross on Rennie's work on the series, stepping in after previous co-star David Marciano left: "You can't replace David, but Callum is completely insane. Suffice to say that somebody went into his brain at an early age and rewired everything. As a result he brings an unpredicatbility to the show that has provided us an enormous amount of excitement. This gives the new series a different enerfy. The basic dynamic of the show and relationship remain the same, but the humour is a little different" --quoted in DUE SOUTH, THE OFFICIAL COMPANION, 1998
On taking on the role of Detective Stanley Kowalski on the TV series "Due South": "Although a lot of my previous roles have been bad guys, I didn't feel the need to do any research with the police. Anyway, I play a cop like I play a bad guy" --Rennie quoted in DUE SOUTH, THE OFFICIAL COMPANION, 1998
Rennie on the perceived backlash against him during his run on the popular Canadian drama series "Due South": "You do a lot of work, and then as soon as you're on a successful show, all of a sudden you've sold out." --quoted in Toronto Sun, c. 1997.
Rennie on approaching his character in "Last Night": "Don [McKellar] and I had a lot of discussions about that because, on the page, he looked like he might be a sociopath rather than just a sweet guy who's just trying to get some things out of the way, some experiences he really wants to touch upon before he departs."On the page it looked quite daunting. Are this acts of love, or acts of loathing, or acts of expression? The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." --quoted in Toronto Sun, October 22, 1998.
