Henry Czerny

Henry Czerny is a distinguished Canadian actor whose career spans stage, film, and television. Born on February 8, 1959, in Toronto, Ontario, he grew up as the youngest of three children in a working‑class Polish‑Canadian family; his father was a welder and his mother worked in a bakery. After completing his secondary education at Humberside Collegiate Institute, where he first performed in school productions, Czerny pursued higher studies at York University and then honed his craft at the National Theatre School in Montreal, graduating in 1982. His early professional work took him across Canada’s theatrical landscape, from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa to the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton and the famed Stratford Festival, establishing him as a versatile stage performer. By the late 1980s, Czerny transitioned to screen roles, delivering memorable performances in The Boys of St. Vincent, Clear and Present Danger, and The Ice Storm. He gained international recognition as Eugene Kittridge in the original Mission: Impossible (1996), a character he later reprised in the 2023 sequel Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and the forthcoming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025). Throughout his film career he has portrayed antagonists, authority figures, and complex supporting characters in titles such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Fido, Ready or Not, and Scream VI.

Czerny’s television work is equally extensive, featuring a regular role as Conrad Grayson on ABC’s Revenge and recurring appearances on series like The Tudors (as the Duke of Norfolk), Flashpoint, Falling Skies, Quantico (as CIA director Matthew Keyes), and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. His contributions to the performing arts have earned him a Theatre World Award and two Gemini Awards, and he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Other Half. Off‑screen, Czerny is married to Claudine Cassidy, with whom he shares a son, and he pursues interests in photography, travel, crafting, and carpentry.