Connor William Jessup is a Canadian actor, writer, and director who was born on June 23, 1994. He is best known for his roles as Ben Mason on TNT's science fiction television series Falling Skies (2011-2015), Taylor Blaine and Coy Henson on ABC's anthology series American Crime (2016-2017), and Tyler Locke on Netflix's Locke & Key (2016-2017). (2020–2022). He has also appeared in feature films, most notably Blackbird (2012) and Closet Monster (2013). (2015).
Career sActing
Jessup began acting as a child actor at the age of 11. Following a number of early roles, including one in a stage adaptation of The Full Monty, Jessup landed a starring role in the children's television series The Saddle Club, for which he is also credited with developing the plot of one episode. He was the executive producer of Amy George, an independent film that premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.
Jessup was cast as the main character in the TNT science fiction series Falling Skies in 2011. He was a five-season regular on the show.
Jessup appeared in the 2012 Canadian independent film Blackbird as a troubled teen falsely accused of planning a school shooting. Jessup's performance received positive feedback, and the film was nominated for several awards, including Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. The film won three awards at the Atlantic Film Festival and the Best Canadian Feature Film award at the Vancouver International Film Festival. It was also shown at the Cannes Film Festival.
Closet Monster, in which Jessup starred, won the Best Canadian Film Award at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and screened at various film festivals around the world before being released nationwide in July 2016.
Jessup played Taylor Blaine in the Emmy-winning ABC series American Crime in 2016. Critics praised his performance. He returned as Coy Henson for the third season.
Jessup was cast as Tyler Locke, one of the main characters in the Netflix series Locke & Key, which is based on Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's popular comic series of the same name.
Filmmaking
Jessup has stated in numerous interviews that he wants to work in the film industry as a director and filmmaker in addition to acting. In an interview with the Toronto Star, Jessup said that directing "is where my mind and heart [are] at the moment". Jessup appeared in the short film Fragments in 2014, and his short film Boy, which he wrote and directed and was funded by bravoFACT, premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival in 2015.
Jessup was named to Filmmaker Magazine's annual list of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2016. Lira's Forest, a short film he wrote and directed, premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Simon's Forest, a feature film by Jessup, aims to expand on this story.
Jessup announced in 2017 that he would direct a documentary profile of Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul for FilmStruck and The Criterion Collection. In the spring of 2018, the film was released.
He produced the omnibus film 30/30 Vision: 3 Decades of Strand Releasing in 2019, which featured short films by Ira Sachs, Catherine Breillat, Cindy Sherman, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Brady Corbet, Rithy Pahn, Lulu Wang, and others. He contributed his own film to the programme, Night Flight, which was inspired by Antoine de Saint-book. Exupéry's
Influences
As a director, Jessup has stated in interviews that he is heavily influenced by East Asian cinema, specifically directors Hirokazu Kore-eda, Edward Yang, Yasujiro Ozu, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. He has also praised directors Abbas Kiarostami, Andrew Haigh, and Ira Sachs.
Jessup is gay and came out publicly in a post on Instagram in June 2019.
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Blackbird | Sean Randall | |
| 2014 | Skating to New York | Casey Demas | |
| 2014 | Little Coffins | N/A | Short film; writer/director |
| 2014 | Fragments | Alex | Short film |
| 2015 | Boy | N/A | Short film; writer/director |
| 2015 | Crazy House | Beckett | Short film |
| 2015 | Closet Monster | Oscar Madly | |
| 2017 | Lira's Forest | N/A | Short film; writer/director |
| 2018 | A.W. A Portrait of Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Director | Documentary |
| 2019 | Strange But True | Ronnie | |
| 2019 | Disappearance at Clifton Hill | ||
| 2019 | White Lie | Owen | |
| 2019 | Night Flight | N/A | Short film; writer/director |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Jon Dore Television Show | Bat Throwing Kid #3 | Episode: "Jon Gets Scared" |
| 2008–2009 | The Saddle Club | Simon Atherton | Main role (series 3) |
| 2011 | King | Ben Moser | Episode: "Eleni Demaris" |
| 2011–2015 | Falling Skies | Ben Mason | Main role Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Younger Supporting Actor in a Television Series |
| 2016 | American Crime | Taylor Blaine | Main role (season 2) |
| 2017 | American Crime | Coy Henson | 4 episodes (season 3) |
| 2020–2022 | Locke & Key | Tyler Locke | Main role |
| 2021 | Canada's Drag Race | Himself | Guest judge, episode "Snatch Game" |
| Real Name | Connor Jessup |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | Toronto, Canada |
| Birthplace | June 23, 1994 |
| Zodiac Sign | Cancer |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Ethnicity | Mixed |
| Profession | Actor |
| Dating/Partner | Miles Heizer |
| Married/Spouse | No |
| Net Worth | $14 million |
| Parents | Brenda Thurston |
| Siblings | Liam Jessup |
