Jeff Seymour's illustrious journey in the entertainment industry ignited in 1979, and from the outset he demonstrated an unparalleled gift for creativity and innovation. During his early years in Los Angeles, Jeff created and built The Gnu Theatre which rapidly ascended to become one of Los Angeles' most acclaimed venues, receiving over 60 awards including the much coveted Publishers Award for continued Excellence in Theatre. Jeff directed, produced, designed and built the sets for all of the shows there and received awards in all categories. The biggest stars in Hollywood frequented his beautifully designed 60 seat venue, Shirley Maclaine, Diane Keaton, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Bruno Kirby, Warren Beatty, Ed O'Neil, Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, Carol Kane, Annette Bening, William Shatner, John Frankenheimer, and the list goes on. For 15 influential years, Jeff's talents graced the Canadian film and television scene.
Jeff's on-screen prowess shone in the CTV one-hour drama The Eleventh Hour, where his portrayal of Kamal Aziz led to a Gemini Award (Canadian Emmy) win for Best Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series. Jeff went on to receive nominations for best lead actor each year he was on the show. Three seasons/three nominations. He then went on to create the comedy series, Jeff Ltd. After writing the script, Jeff decided to shoot a test pilot. He got the actors and crew to volunteer with the promise of jobs if the show was picked up. He spent $12,000 of his own money and got it made. He took the finished pilot to the head of CTV who was so impressed, he gave Jeff a straight to picture deal with an order of 13 episodes for the first season. Jeff was also given creative control and was asked to keep the exact cast from his test pilot. Jeff made good on his promise and all the “volunteers” cast and crew ended up with jobs. Along with creating the show he starred, show-ran, executive produced and co-wrote all 26 episodes (2 seasons) of Jeff Ltd., earning it a coveted Gemini Award nomination for Best Comedy Series. After having proved he could make people laugh, Jeff created the one hour drama, The Market which was successfully acquired by the CBC.
His hobby/obsession with hands-on restorations of classic sports cars from the 50s and 60s led him into reality television, creating the series Hybrids and Hot-rods. Jeff welcomed the opportunity to play a Persian agent in the landmark series Homeland. Shot in Morocco, Jeff went toe to toe with Claire Danes and Damien Lewis. He worked opposite Oscar nominated Shohreh Aghdashloo on The Expanse. He blatantly and obnoxiously tried to bed Meghan Markle's character on Suits, and has had a career going back to working on The Jeffersons, playing one of the cops on Hill Street Blues and guest starring opposite Tom Hanks in Bosom Buddies. Jeff recently got back to his theatre roots when after a nationwide search he landed the role of Charles Benhamou, captivating audiences with his performance in the world premiere of Joshua Harmon’s Prayer for the French Republic at The Manhattan Theatre Club, directed by the Tony award winning David Cromer. The show was a sold out hit.
He is also a highly acclaimed acting coach and has a #1 rated podcast, The Real Life Actor with 172 episodes. His instagram @reallifeactor currently has 100 videos on acting and the business. He teaches 3 international Zoom classes a week with students from Bahrain to New Zealand. He has written four books: The Real Life Actor, Showing up Like a Pro, Directing Talent and The Real Life Actor Scene Study Workbook, all available on Amazon.
