T.J. Scott

T.J. Scott
Born	Timothy James Scott Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alma mater	York University
Occupation	Film director, photographer, television director, screenwriter, producer
Years active	1972–present
Spouse(s)	Victoria Pratt (m. 2000)

Timothy James Scott, known professionally as T.J. Scott, is a Canadian film and television director, screenwriter, producer, and former stuntman and actor. He has worked in show business for more than 30 years.^[1] As a director, Scott earned a Canadian Screen Award in 2015 for his work on the BBC America-Space television series Orphan Black.^[2] Scott is also a photographer.^[3]

Early life

Scott grew up in Canada working as a child actor and stuntman, before making the move to Los Angeles to pursue a career behind the camera in Hollywood.^[4] Scott studied film and TV production at York University in Toronto.

Career

1970s–1980s: Career beginnings

Scott began acting in the early 1970s, playing uncredited bit parts or small supporting roles in several short films, feature films and TV shows, including the Canadian film My American Cousin (1985). After working as an actor and stuntman for over a decade, Scott eventually transitioned into working as a second unit director, before moving into directing and writing.

1990s: Early feature film and TV work

Scott began directing feature films in the early 1990s, with the action-science fiction martial arts film TC 2000 (1993) starring Bolo Yeung, Billy Blanks, Bobbie Phillips, Matthias Hues and other martial arts stars. Of the experience as a first-time director, Scott said: "You know, I was very young... I took the first feature that was offered to me... I think we all learned a lot while we were making it."^[5] Later that decade, Scott directed Legacy (1998), starring David Hasselhoff and his future wife, Victoria Pratt. Legacy screened as the opening night film for the Las Vegas Film Festival in 1999.^[6]

The following year, Scott wrote, directed, and produced the HBO film Blacktop (2000), starring Kristen Davis from Sex and the City, which was released on October 20, 2000.^[7] Around this time, Scott's career as a television director began to take off. He first worked in New Zealand with filmmakers Robert Tapert and Sam Raimi on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1999) and subsequently directed several episodes of the spin-off TV series Xena: Warrior Princess (1996–2001).^[8]

2000s–2010s: TV success, Orphan Black

After working on Xena, Scott directed several episodes of the series Cleopatra 2525 (2000–2001) before its cancellation.^[9][10] He then moved onto other shows, including the controversial ESPN series Playmakers (2003).^[11] Scott's episode of Playmakers was named by the American Film Institute as one of the Top 10 television episodes of 2003.^[12][13]

Scott has since directed dozens of TV series, including Mutant X (2001–2002), Spartacus (2012–2013), Orphan Black (2013–2014),^[14] Bitten (2014–2015), Longmire (2014–present),^[15] Gotham (2014–present),^[14] The Strain (2015–present)^{[15][16][17][17]} and Dark Matter (2015–present).

Orphan Black garnered a cult following,^[18][19] and the first season scored a 73 out of 100 on Metacritic^[20] and a 92% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, whose average score was 8 out of 10 based on 26 reviews.^[21] In January 2015, it was announced that Scott was nominated by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for his work on the show.^[22]

In February 2015, Scott won the award for Best Direction in a Dramatic Series at the Canadian Screen Awards for his work on Orphan Black.^[23][24]

Other work

Scott's most recent feature film work includes the made-for-TV film Deadliest Sea (2009), which aired on the Discovery Channel and was nominated for 5 Gemini Awards in 2010 including Best Director,^[25] and the action film Death Valley (2015), which premiered at the prestigious Chinese Grauman's Theatre in Hollywood.

Scott is also a photographer^[3] and works as a freelance writer in Hollywood, co-writing the story for the film Tracers (2015), starring Taylor Lautner.^[26]

In September 2011, it was announced that filmmaker Chris Columbus signed on to direct Scott's screenplay titled The Secret Lives of Road Crews for Paramount Pictures.^[27][28] As of 2016, the film has not been produced.

Scott serves as an executive producer on the web series Teenagers (2014–present).^[29][30][31]

Personal life

Scott has been married to Canadian actress and model Victoria Pratt since 2000.^[32] They split their time between Toronto, New York City, and Los Angeles.

Awards

References

External links

• T.J. Scott at the Internet Movie Database