Ally McBeal

Background:

Multi talented Gil Bellows is noted for portraying the supporting role of Tommy in 1994’s dramatic film “The Shawshank Redemption,” which starred Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Three years later, he landed the role of Billy Allan Thomas on the popular television series “Ally McBeal,” which ran on Fox from 1997 to 2002. For his effort, the actor picked up a 1999 SAG Award.

Since “The Shawshank Redemption,” Bellows has appeared in numerous films, including “Love and a .45” (1994), “Miami Rhapsody” (1995), “The Silver Strand” (1995, TV), “The Assistant” (1997), ”Snow White: A Tale of Terror” (1997, TV), “Say You’ll Be Mine” (1999), “Dinner at Fred’s” (1999), “Chasing Sleep” (2000) and ”The Weather Man” (2005, with Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine). He was also seen in the movies “The Promotion,” “Kill Kill Faster Faster,” “Black Crescent Moon” (all 2008), “A Night for Dying Tigers” and “Hunt To Kill” (2010), to name a few. Some of his televisions appearances include “Smallville,” “FlashForward,” “Criminal Minds” (all 2010) and “Southern Justice” (2011). He will star in the upcoming “The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom,” costar with Elisabeth Shue in “House at the End of the Street” and star in and co-direct “Gravity Pulls,” which he co-wrote.

Vancouver

Childhood and Family:

Gil Bellows was born on June 28, 1967, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He enrolled at Magee Secondary School with fellow future actor Carrie-Anne Moss and later left his native country to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, California.

In 1994, Gil married screen beauty Rya Kihlstedt. Their first child, Ava Emmanuelle Bellows, was born on April 4, 1999. Their second child, Giovanni Bellows, was born in December 2001.

The Shawshank Redemption

Career:

Actor Gil Bellows made his film debut in 1988’s “First Seasons” for the National Film Board of Canada before heading to Los Angeles. After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he moved to New York City and appeared in off-Broadway productions of “Beirut” and “True West.” His then appeared in an episode of NBC’s “Law & Order.”

Following guest performances in “Flying Blind” (1992) and ABC’s “Going to Extremes” (1993), Bellows was handed the supporting role of Tommy in the Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman starring movie “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), which received seven Academy Award nominations. The same year, he also starred in the comedy “Love and a .45,” opposite Renée Zellweger.

In 1995, Bellows starred with Sarah Jessica Parker in “Miami Rhapsody” (1995) and the Showtime movie “The Silver Strand.” He then supported Kirstie Alley and Clancy Brown in the ABC film “Radiant City” (1996), starred as Frank Alpine in director Daniel Petrie’s adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s “The Assistant” (1997) and appeared in Showtime’s “Snow White: A Tale of Terror” (1997). It was also in 1997 that Bellows joined the cast of the Fox series “Ally McBeal,” which starred Calista Flockhart. The series was a hit and Bellows was brought into the TV spotlight. During his five years with the series, he and other cast members earned three Screen Actors Guild nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. They won one in 1999.

In addition to “Ally McBeal,” Bellows acted in Sebastian Gutierrez’s thriller “Judas Kiss” (1998), starred in the forgettable “Dinner at Fred’s” (1999), acted opposite his wife Rya Kihlstedt in the romantic comedy “Say You’ll Be Mine” (1999) and reprised his role of Billy Alan Thomas for “Ally” (1999). He then appeared in such movies as “The Courage to Love” (2000, TV), “Beautiful Joe” (2000), the psychological thriller “Chasing Sleep” (2000, with Jeff Daniels) and “Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story” (2002, TV).

After the 1997 series came to an end in 2002, Bellows dotted his resume with a number of film performances, including portraying Dale White on “Fast Food High” (2003), Dr. Theodore Conway in “Blind Horizon” (2003), Ben Keats in “Pursued” (2004), Jimmy on “How’s My Driving” (2004), Isaac in “Childstar“ (2004), Professor Mocha in “Cooking Lessons“ (2004, TV), David Dailey on “Keep Your Distance“ (2005) and Don, a tainted rehabilitation counselor, in “The Weather Man“ (2005). He returned to series TV for the ten episode role of Ari Sampson in the Canadian series “Terminal City” (2005). The next year, he teamed up with Campbell Scott and Daryl Hannah for the Hallmark Channel Original Movie “Final Days of Planet Earth.” More recent credits include acting in director Gareth Maxwell Roberts’ “Kill Kill Faster Faster” (2008), opposite Lisa Raye and Esai Morales, the comedy “Quebec” (2007) and with Jennifer Beals in the drama “A Night for Dying” (2010), to name a few. Currently, he is filming “Gravity Pulls,” which he also co-wrote, is starring in and is directing with Tony Pantages. He recently completed the upcoming horror film “House at the End of the Street.”

Awards:

• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, “Ally McBeal,” 1999