Acting
May 29, 1960
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
James McGowan
Acting
Biography
James Robert McGowan was born on May 30, 1960, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. James is the youngest of three sons of Johnny McGowan a former light heavyweight boxer from Northern England. James grew up on the West Island in Montreal. He graduated from Concordia University with a B.A. in Communications. After graduation he took a job as a copy writer at an advertising agency rather than pursue an acting career as he did not believe he could make a living acting. He then took in the audio-visual department of McGill University. While there he got in touch with a friend who was directing plays at the Montreal university expecting to pursue acting as a hobby. He started out slowly doing student plays at the William Shatner Building. He loved it so much he decided to pursue it as a profession. It wasn't easy breaking into television in Toronto given his age (36) at the time as he was going up against other actors with lengthier resumes. It was hard at first to get auditions. He started out with guest spots in television shows such as the La Femme Nikita, Mutant-X, Falcon Beach, and Rent-a-Goalie. James also had minor roles in movies such as The Perfect Man with Heather Locklear, The Prince and Me with Julie Stiles, and Silent Night with Linda Hamilton. He has had success with two successful television ads. The first ad was entitled Doctor's Appointment and addressed the serious problem of erectile dysfunction. The ad was run continuously throughout the 2001 NHL Finals. The second ad was entitled The Deal and was for Verizon Wireless. One of his first big parts was a role in the TV movie 10,000 Black Men Named George. The 2002 film helped James find more work but he did not find substantial work until he auditioned for the CBC drama The Border. He had sent in an audition tape but had not heard back. He went to Winnipeg to film a guest part on the TV series Falcon Beach. While he was in Winnipeg, his agent contacted him and told him the show's casting directors wanted to meet with him. A second day of callbacks was added and he was able to return to Toronto in time. No one had heard of James but according to Peter Raymont, the co-creator of the show, James brought just the right degree of intelligence, compassion and authority to the character. While the producers were sure that James was right for the part, the network wasn't so sure. One of his biggest credits to that point was playing the goon in the Verizon Wireless commercial. His peers obviously approve of the portrayal. James received a Gemini nomination as outstanding actor in a drama. - IMDb Mini Biography
Feature Films (28)
Amy and David are two underachievers from suburbia. Amy has had a rough life raised by her neglectful drug addicted single mother. David has been raised in a more conventional family, but his lack of motivation has driven his father crazy. When Amy meets David it seems they both find what they are looking for. But when Amy gets pregnant, both Amy and David go through a personal and surreal crisis in making choices. Which leads them to decide if they should do it the right way or the wrong way?
The Right Way
A high-end musical theater camp is terrorized by a bloodthirsty killer who hates musical theater.
Stage Fright
Dora, a young woman at the center of an unusual murder trial, is subjected to a psychiatric evaluation, and as the tests become more personal — and frightening — she begins to question the true motives of her doctor and is forced to live through the recreations of her past.
Fixation
A strange and destructive relationship develops between a chef and her neighbor, a former child actress.
Compulsion
Willie and Mo are half sisters who have never seen eye to eye. A cross-country road trip in an ice cream truck carrying their dead grandmother may not change that, but it will give them the opportunity to laugh and learn.
On Their Knees
Television & Series (16)
Explore the relationships between exclusive escorts and their clients, for whom they provide far more than just sex. Known as GFEs, they are women who provide “The Girlfriend Experience”—emotional and sexual relationships at a very high price.
The Girlfriend Experience
In a Boston hospital, All Souls Hospital, Dr. Mitchell Grace tries to discover the truth about the haunting that date as far back as the Civil War. The hospital's lower levels, once a mental asylum, are haunted by ghosts of dead patients, including Lazarus, an orderly who has been benevolently haunting the hospital since his days working with Dr. Ambrosius after the Civil War.
All Souls
The Border is a Canadian drama that aired on CBC Television and 20 other TV networks worldwide. It was created by Peter Raymont, Lindalee Tracey, Janet MacLean and Jeremy Hole of White Pine Pictures. The Executive in Charge of Production is Janice Dawe. Episodes in the first season were directed by John Fawcett, Michael DeCarlo, Ken Girotti, Kelly Makin, Brett Sullivan and Philip Earnshaw. The first season had a total budget of 20 million dollars, with about 1.5 million dollars per episode. The series is set in Toronto and follows agents of the fictitious Immigration and Customs Security agency. ICS was created by the Government of Canada to deal with trans-border matters concerning Canadian national security including terrorism and smuggling. The cancellation of The Border was announced by the CBC after three seasons were aired.
The Border
This Chicago-set family drama follows a policewoman who causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department's Internal Affairs division.
