Yannick Bisson was born May 16, 1969 in Montreal, Canada.
His first credited appearance is in the 1984 TV movie, Hockey Night. Bisson would go on to make appearances on shows like Danger Bay, Street Legal, High Tide, Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy, Relic Hunter, Soul Food, Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, Falcon Beach, Flashpoint and the Shaftesbury Films series The Listener.
In 2008, Bisson took on the mantle of William Murdoch from Peter Outerbridge who played the character in the original Films. In addition to appearing in every episode of the series, Bisson has also directed five episodes: Buffalo Shuffle, Murdoch at the Opera, Murdoch and the Cloud of Doom, Murdoch of the Living Dead, and Glory Days.
Bisson appeared on Republic of Doyle, also a CBC show, as Bill Murdoch, William Murdoch's great-great-great grandson. This aired on January 29, 2014 and was the second in the two crossover episodes (the first being Republic of Murdoch.)
Bisson is married to actress Chantal Craig (who appeared in Love and Human Remains and Blast of Silence) and together, they have three daughters. Their daughter, Brianna Bisson played Penny Renton in the episode Love and Human Remains. Their middle daughter, Dominique Bisson, played Gloria Abercrombie in Snakes and Ladders. Their youngest, Mikaela Bisson, also appeared on the show in Buffalo Shuffle as the girl Darcy was pushing in the wheelchair. Bisson now lives in Toronto with his family.
Yannick Bisson won the Canadian Screen Awards’ 2016 Fan Choice Award and ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence, in recognition of "an exceptional body of work and a commitment to advocacy on behalf of all performers.
Yannick filmed two more of Aurora Teegarden movies in early 2017, during Murdoch Mysteries' hiatus.
For Season 13, Yannick Bisson returns to directing an episode. During an interview just before the 200th episode, Yannick Bisson talked about playing Murdoch, "Over time, the character has evolved as part of the show, but it has also been a process where I have grown with him. He’s who I imagine my best self to be…intelligent, calm, objective and fair…traits that, if I’m honest, I struggle to maintain."
Yannick Bisson is an executive producer of Murdoch Mysteries (overview), Macy Murdoch (series) and podcast series The Secret Diaries of Detective Murdoch.
Director
Buffalo Shuffle (2011)
Murdoch at the Opera (2012)
Murdoch and the Cloud of Doom (2013)
Murdoch of the Living Dead (2013)
Glory Days (2014)
Prodigal Father (2019)
Murdoch and the Tramp (2021)
Rough and Tumble (2021)
Murdoch Escape Room (2021)
Manhunt (2021)
Blood on the Tracks (2021)
The Write Stuff (2022)
Promising Young Ladies (2022)
Station House of Horrors (2023)
What the Dickens?! (2024)
Trivia
- Yannick Bisson reflects on his character William Murdoch in 2014: “I think Murdoch is all of us. He’s our conscience, he’s our ideal self, he’s our eyes onto a little bit of history,... William is becoming more and more of that. He started out very closed and just sort of good at his job, but now I think he’s opening himself up to more of the world each year.” [* ]
- Yannick always wears trainers when his feet are not in the camera shot.
- Yannick Bisson and Hélène Joy make the cover of the September 2018 issue of Beyond Fashion.
- Juggling Aurora Teagarden with Murdoch Mysteries, Bisson left the Aurora Teagarden series because scheduling became an issue: not being able to have a vacation of any sort for three years – something’s got to go. Niall Matter replaced Bisson’s character in 2018.
- Yannick Bisson is an avid Porsche collector; He currently owns a GT4 Cayman but considers the 930, 964 and the 993 epitomize the Porsche for him. [*]
- Bisson's three favorite episodes are Murdoch of the Living Dead, Mild Mild West and What Lies Buried (as of 2019).
- Canadian Geographic's January/February 2020, the 90th anniversary, features Yannick Bisson on his magical spot in Ontario’s Kawartha Lakes region.
- Bisson dissects his "Murdoch Mysteries" Canadian TV character and cases with "The Secret Diaries of Detective Murdoch", which will launch 2021 for Audible.ca.
- Bisson directs his first feature film called “The 12 Treats of Christmas”, filmed in Hamilton, May 2021.
- On August 29, 2021 at the Eye2Eye International Film Festival held in Cobourg, Yannick Bisson and executive producer Christina Jennings attend a master class evening event.
- “The 12 Treats of Christmas” (2021), a film directorial debut outside of Murdoch Mysteries’ for Yannick Bisson, was filmed in Hamilton and features Colin Mochrie.
- Yannick Bisson and wife Shantelle receives the Canadian Changemaker Award 2021 for their philanthropic work for Childhood Cancer Canada, Sheila’s Place, Boost for Kids, and others.
- The 2022 Cаnаdiаn Screen Awаrds, Cаnаdа’s equivаlent of the Emmy Awаrds аnd Oscаrs, nominаtes Yannick Bisson for Best Leаd Actor, Drаmа Series, in the CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries. CSA is widely regаrded аs Cаnаdа’s most prestigious television аnd film аwаrds.
External Links
- Yannick Bisson on Twitter
- 2017 Interview: True Detective: The Man Behind Murdoch Mysteries
- 2019 Interview: Yannick Bisson Breaks Down Sins of the Father
- 2020 Interview:He Said/She Said : How to Survive a Home Renovation...
- #TogetherAtHome
- Career Retrospective (2020)
- On filming Season 14 during Covid Pandemic (2020).
- Eye2Eye International Film Festival (2021)
Gallery
Murdoch Mysteries Stars and Characters |
---|
Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch • Hélène Joy as Julia Ogden • Thomas Craig as Thomas Brackenreid • Jonny Harris as George Crabtree |