Actor / Director Profile

Ian Paul Cassidy was born in Harrogate, England. Born an army brat, his father, a Royal Marine with the British army, his mother an aspiring world-class equestrian, Ian had lived in more than 11 countries by the time he was nine. When his father retired from the army, he moved Ian and his family to Perth, Australia.After graduating high school in Perth, Ian attended and graduated from London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to spend several seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company. After returning to Australia, Ian trod the boards with the Sydney Opera House Repertory Theater Company where he performed in productions of "Richard III" and "The Taming Of The Shrew."It wasn't long before Ian caught the attention of Hollywood. In 1996, he landed the role of irish street hustler, Paddy on the CBS drama; EZ Streets. His outstanding performance as Paddy caught the attention of Los Angeles casting director John Aiello, who brought him in to meet with producers for the NBC hit drama; The Pretender, for the role of Zed. He was cast immediately, and it was to be a major turning point in Ian's career. His performance as Zed, a character described as having "no redeemable qualities" caught the attention of producers Peter Davis and William Panzer and director Doug Aarniokoski because "he was completely immersed in the character of Zed and that's what we needed". Ian was then given the role of Cracker Bob in Dimension Film's; Highlander: Endgame.In 2000, Ian took on the role of politically incorrect Aussie cameraman Ryan Brown, on the critically acclaimed ABC/Touchstone/Imagine, television drama; The Beast. This cutting-edge drama had a superb cast including; Frank Langella, Harriet Hanson-Harris, Naveen Andrews and Elizabeth Mitchell, and was the brainchild of producer/director Ron Howard (The DaVinci Code, Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind) and executive producer/director Mimi Leder (Pay it Forward, Deep Impact, The Peacemaker & ER)For the past several years, Ian has been performing in England on stage at the Birmingham Rep' as Hamlet in Shakespeare's Hamlet, and as Cassius in the Geilgud Theatre production of Shakespeare's; Julius Caesar. In 2006, Marc Cherry, the creator and executive producer of the ABC monster hit; Desperate Housewives, praised Ian's "natural comedic instincts" by casting him as the Scottish world famous model photographer, Durkin opposite Eva Longoria. Ian also has been receiving rave reviews for his performance in the independently produced film; Roma Sub Rosa; The Secret Under the Rose, as roman legion commander, Valerius. Other roles include; Miles on the Nickelodeon TV sitcom Drake & Josh. Nathan in the independently produced film; Dreamstate, and Gavin on Lifetime's; The Division.