Biography
John Tench was born in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and raised in Canada, where he began his career in film and theatre. He started on stage in Toronto with Ken Gass at the renowned Factory Theatre Lab, then expanded his studies and work to New York City, London, Paris, and across Continental Europe. Returning to Toronto, he founded the influential Theatre Kathartic company, performing and touring internationally with works by Sam Shepard, Dario Fo, and Bertolt Brecht. Later, John moved to Vancouver, BC, and then to Hollywood and Los Angeles to further his film and television career.
Throughout his extensive career, he has collaborated with acclaimed directors such as Ang Lee, Antoine Fuqua, Zack Snyder, Arthur Hiller, Roger Christian, and Chris Haddock. He has appeared in numerous award-winning series, including American Gods, Schitt's Creek, and Murdoch Mysteries. John's versatility extends to motion capture and voice work, notably portraying the iconic fan-favorite character T-Bone Grady in Ubisoft’s award-winning video games Watch Dogs, Watch Dogs: Bad Blood, and Watch Dogs 2, as well as contributing to Far Cry 5 and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
In addition to acting, John has worked with various theatre companies across North America and Europe as an actor, director, writer, and producer. Behind the camera, he has produced, written, and directed several short films. He has received multiple Best Actor nominations and is an expert in accents and dialects, lending his voice to numerous cartoons and foreign-language films. John is also a published poet and screenwriter.
Currently, he teaches and coaches acting throughout Canada and the United States and serves as a Professor of Film and Acting in the Diploma Program at the esteemed Toronto Film School and Yorkville University. He recently completed an intensive residency as Professor in Residence at the Beijing Film Academy and Shanghai Theatre Academy in China.
Beyond his artistic pursuits, John enjoys painting, music, family, and farming. A skilled musician, he sings and plays guitar, banjo, piano, harmonica, tuba, and other instruments. An avid outdoorsman, fisherman, and canoeist, he splits his time between Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Europe.
