David Hemblen

David Hemblen
Born	(1941-09-16)16 September 1941 London, England, UK
Died	16 November 2020(2020-11-16) (aged 79) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1974–2007

David Hemblen (16 September 1941 – 16 November 2020) was an English–Canadian actor who frequently worked in Canadian film, television and theatre. He was born in London, England, and grew up in Toronto, Ontario. He is known for his role as George in La Femme Nikita, Customs inspector in Atom Egoyan's Exotica, Lord Dread/Lyman Taggert in Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Detective Dick Hargrove in T. and T. and as Inspector Winterguild in TekWar. He is also known for his role as Johnathan Doors in Earth: Final Conflict and for voicing the character of Magneto in the X-Men animated series from 1992 to 1997.

Early life and education

Born in London, England, Hemblen grew up in Toronto, Ontario, where he pursued a classical education before turning to theatre. He received an M.A. in English and was working towards a Ph.D. in medieval studies when he was spotted during a rehearsal of a university production by Clifford Williams of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Hemblen was offered a season at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre. In the 1960s, Hemblen was a political activist and member of the Young Socialists.

Career

Hemblen began his career in theatre in the 1960s. His stage career includes more than 70 productions as actor/director at major Canadian theatres, including the Stratford Festival and four seasons at the renowned Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. For his portrayal of Dr. Astrov in Toronto's Tarragon Theater production of Uncle Vanya, Hemblen received a Dora nomination for Best Leading Actor.

Film and television

Hemblen was a mainstay on the television series Earth: Final Conflict, playing Jonathan Doors, a role he is best known for. He appeared in the first two seasons as a main character and remained in the third season as a recurring character until being killed off in season four. He played recurring roles in A Nero Wolfe Mystery (Lewis Hewitt) and La Femme Nikita (George). He voiced Magneto on the popular show X-Men: The Animated Series, the Night Master on Yin Yang Yo!, the Vaultkeeper in Tales from the Cryptkeeper, Lord Dread/Lyman Taggart on Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, and Asmodeus Poisonteeth in Redwall.

Hemblen played a ruthless henchman Jones in Short Circuit 2 (1988), Reverend Buckley in Where the Spirit Lives (1989), and appeared as Christopher Newport in Pocahontas: The Legend (1999). He has also been featured in several Atom Egoyan films, such as Speaking Parts, The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Where the Truth Lies (2005), and Family Viewing (1987), for which he was nominated for a Genie Award.

In 1975, he starred in the children's television serial The Adventures of Timothy Pilgrim.

Personal life and death

Hemblen lived most of the year in Toronto and made an annual winter visit to his second home in the south of France. He had one daughter, Kate, who is also an actress.

Hemblen died at the age of 79 on November 16, 2020.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Family Viewing	Stan
1988	Short Circuit 2	Jones
1988	Norman's Awesome Experience	Septimus Fabius
1989	Speaking Parts	Producer
1989	Where the Spirit Lives	Reverend Buckley
1989	Straight Line	Detective Hargrove
1991	The Adjuster	Bert
1993	A Man in Uniform	Father
1993	M. Butterfly	Intelligence Officer #1
1994	Brainscan	Dr. Fromberg
1994	Exotica	Customs Inspector
1994	Mesmer	Dr. Ingehousz
1994	Replikator	Police Chief
1995	Tommy Boy	Archer
1995	Pocahontas: The Legend	Christopher Newport
1995	Iron Eagle on the Attack	Soviet Interrogator
1995	The Champagne Safari	Charles Bedaux	Voice
1996	Hollow Point	Oleg Krezinsky
1996	Fly Away Home	Dr. Killian
1996	Maximum Risk	Dmitri Kirov
1997	Booty Call	Dr. Blade
1997	The Sweet Hereafter	Abbott
2001	Rollerball	Serokin
2005	Where the Truth Lies	NY Hotel Concierge

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	The Adventures of Timothy Pilgrim	Zachariah	10 episodes
1985	Vista: The New Magicians	Narrator	Television film
1986	Hot Shots	Sebastian	Episode: "To Bee or Not to Bee"
1986	Night Heat	Braden Dean	Episode: "Another Country"
1986	Adderly	Mikhail Astrov	Episode: "The Dancing Lesson"
1986	The Campbells	Major George Henry Stevens	Episode: "A Real Lady"
1987	Basements	Mr. Hudd	Television film
1987–1988	Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future	Lord Dread / Lyman Taggert	22 episodes
1987, 1992	Street Legal	Curt MacDonald / Benton	2 episodes
1988	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Andrew Walker	Episode: "Murder Party"
1988	The Twilight Zone	Cutler	Episode: "20/20 Vision"
1988–1990	T. and T.	Detective Dick Hargrove	26 episodes
1990	In Defense of a Married Man	Colin Barrie	Television film
1990–1992	Counterstrike	Milos Janzan	3 episodes
1991	Captain Power: The Beginning	Lord Dread	Television film
1991	Heritage Minutes	James Macleod	Episode: "Sitting Bull"
1991	Tropical Heat	Krieger	Episode: "Death's a Beach"
1991	Le peloton d'exécution	Sgt. Mortlake	Television film
1992	Scales of Justice	Samuel Grange	Episode "Regina v Nelles"
1992–1997	X-Men: The Animated Series	Magneto, Various voices	29 episodes
1993	Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer	Munro	Television film
1993	Matrix	Shamus Cobb	Episode: "To Err is Human"
1994–1994	Tales from the Cryptkeeper	Various voices	9 episodes
1993	Lifeline to Victory	Oldbest	Television film
1994	TekWar	Insp. Winterguild
1994	TekLords
1994	Model by Day	Captain
1994	RoboCop	Dr. Apollinaire Monet	Episode: "Face of Eve"
1994	Highlander: The Animated Series	Olak / Gorth	Episode: "The Suspended Village"
1994–1995	Wild C.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams	Additional voices	13 episodes
1995	When the Dark Man Calls	Officer Erikson	Television film
1995	Hiroshima	Stephen Early
1995	The Song Spinner	Captain Nizzle
1995	Forever Knight	Dr. Max Venderwal	Episode: "Sons of Belial"
1995	The Neverending Story	Additional voices / Ysipy	2 episodes
1996	Road to Avonlea	Lemuel Snibb	Episode: "Davey and the Mermaid"
1996	Ace Ventura: Pet Detective	Baron DeKlaus	2 episodes
1996	Devil's Food	Deep Voice	Television film
1996	Goosebumps	Major McCall	Episode: "Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes"
1996	We the Jury	Judge Elton Roe	Television film
1997	Breach of Faith: A Family of Cops II	Mr. Yannis Ivanov
1997	The Outer Limits	Commandant	Episode: "The Camp"
1997	Inspired by Bach	Bert	Episode: "Sarabande"
1997–2000	Earth: Final Conflict	Jonathan Doors	68 episodes
1998	Blazing Dragons	Duke Rudolf	Episode: "A Killer Makeover/The Age of Retention"
1998	The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police	Mack Salmon	Episode: "The Final Episode"
1998	The Last Don II	Bishop Enzo	2 episodes
1998	Silver Surfer	The Supreme Intelligence / Husserl
1998	Thunder Point	Sir Francis	Television film
1999	Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story	Judge Polley
1999	Redwall	Asmodeus	11 episodes
1999	Little Men	Mr. Able Jennings	Episode: "The Lantern Man"
1999–2000	Mythic Warriors	Various roles	3 episodes
1999–2000	La Femme Nikita	George	9 episodes
2000	Common Ground	Chester Burroughs	Television film
2000	Deliberate Intent	J. Michael Luttig
2000	Canada: A People's History	James Cook	Episode: "When the World Began"
2000	Redwall: The Movie	Asmodeus	Television film
2000	Building for Disasters	Narrator
2001	All Souls	Dr. Ryman Kreeger	Episode: "Pilot"
2001	Witchblade	Father John Bellamy	Episode: "Legion"
2001	Jane Doe	Phelps	Television film
2001–2002	Nero Wolfe	Lewis Hewitt	4 episodes
2002	Salem Witch Trials	John Proctor	Television film
2003	The Piano Man's Daughter	Dr. Warren
2006	Yin Yang Yo!	Night Master	2 episodes

External links

• David Hemblen at IMDb