Henry Ian Cusick Biography

Henry Ian Cusick Chávez (born 17 April 1967) is a Scottish-Peruvian stage, television, and film actor.

He is well known for his role as Desmond Hume on the U.S. television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He starred in the ABC drama Scandal, as Stephen Finch, but did not return for the second season.

Early life and education

Henry Ian Cusick was born in Trujillo, Peru, to a Peruvian mother (Esperanza Chávez) and a Scottish father (Harry Joseph Cusick). When he was two, his family moved to Madrid, Spain, then Glasgow, Scotland, before moving to Trinidad and Tobago where they lived for ten years. There Cusick attended Presentation College, San Fernando. He moved to Scotland with his family at the age of fourteen. Cusick attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and was asked to resign in his second year there. He got his first acting role at the Citizens' Theatre as an understudy in the Christmas Panto playing a polar bear. He appeared in various productions for the Strathclyde Theatre Group in Glasgow. He is fluent in both English and Spanish, and was raised Roman Catholic.

Career

Cusick began his career as a classical theatre actor. His first leading roles on stage included: Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray with Rupert Everett, Hamlet in The Marovitz Hamlet with Helen Baxendale, and Horner in The Country Wife. His performances as Torquato Tasso in the Edinburgh International Festival production of Torquato Tasso, and Creon in the Citizens' Theatre production of Oedipus earned him a special commendation for the 1995 Ian Charleson Award for outstanding performance by a young actor in a classical theatre role.

Cusick began taking television and film roles. After appearing in recurring roles in series such as Casualty and The Book Group, he starred as Jesus Christ in the 2003 film The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John. His largest role to date came in 2005 when he was cast as Desmond Hume in the ABC series Lost. Originally a recurring guest star in the second season (for which he received an Emmy nomination), Cusick became a member of the main cast from seasons three to six. Cusick won the role when, while staying at the home of his friend Brian Cox, he met Cox's next-door neighbor, Carlton Cuse, the executive producer of Lost. Cusick believes: "a seed (was) planted, because they had been looking for either a Scottish or Irish character."

He also appeared as Theo Stoller in two episodes of season 5 of 24 and the 2007 film Hitman. He stars in the direct-to-DVD film Dead Like Me: Life After Death, a continuation of the cult classic television show of the same name.

Cusick appears in two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the twelfth season, playing Erik Weber, a vigilante with a Citizens Organized Against Predators group. He was in ABC's Scandal in 2011, but left the following year.

He also plays Trent Marsh in Body of Proof and will be appearing in the upcoming show The 100 airing in October 2013.

Cusick is also the director on a film called Dress, currently being filmed from his home town, Kailua, Hawaii.

Personal life

Cusick and his wife Annie are parents to three sons, Eli (born 1994), Lucas (born 1998), and Esaú (born 2000). The couple were married in a civil ceremony following fourteen years of cohabitation on 15 July 2006. They now live in Kailua, Hawaii together.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Possession	Toby Byng	Uncredited
2003	'	Jesus
2003	Carla	Matt	Television film
2004	Perfect Romance	Peter Campbell	Television film
2006	Half Light	Brian
2006	9/Tenths	William
2006	After the Rain	Adrian	Short film
2007	Hitman	Udre Belicoff
2009	Dead Like Me: Life After Death	Cameron Kane	Direct-to-video release

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Taggart	Ian Gowrie	Episode "Fatal Inheritance"
1997	Richard II	Henry Green	TV adaptation of William Shakespeare's play
2001	Murder Rooms: The White Knight Stratagem	Sgt. Michael Clark
2001"02	Casualty	Jason	Recurring role
2002	'	Gideon Mantell
2002"03	Two Thousand Acres of Sky	Dr. Ewan Talbot	Appeared in three episodes
2003	Happiness	Phillip	Episode "A Nice Person"
2003	Adventure Inc.	Gavin Merrill	Episode "Echoes of the Past"
2003	'	Miles Longmuir	Appeared in every episode of the second series
2004	Midsomer Murders	Gareth Heldman	Episode "The Fisher King"
2005	Waking the Dead	Jeremy Allen	Episode "Towers of Silence: Part 1"
2005"2010	Lost	Desmond Hume	First appeared as a guest star in season 2, became a main cast member from season 3 onwards. Nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama Series; 44 episodes
2006	24	Theo Stoller	Episodes "Day 5: 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m." and "Day 5: 8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m."
2009	Nova	Charles Darwin	Episode: "Darwin's Darkest Hour"
2010	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Erik Weber	Episodes: "Locum" and "Bullseye"
2012	Scandal	Stephen Finch	Series regular
2012	Fringe	Agent Simon Foster	Episode: Season 4, Episode 19
2012	The Mentalist	Tommy Volker	Episodes: "If It Bleeds, It Leads","Days of Wine and Roses","Little Red Corvette"
2013	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Dr. Jimmy	Episode: "Last Woman Standing"
2013	Body Of Proof	Dr. Trent Marsh	Season 3, Episode 5 "Eye for an Eye" and Episode 13 "Daddy Issues"

Theatre

• Stolzius in The Soldiers - Royal Lyceum Theatre (preview, Edinburgh International Festival), Glasgow Citizens Theatre
• Cassio in Othello - Royal Shakespeare Company
• Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream - RSC
• Pompey in Antony and Cleopatra - RSC
• Henry Green in Richard II - Royal National Theatre
• Arthur in Machine Wreckers - RNT
• Dollabella in Antony and Cleopatra - RNT (with Alan Rickman)
• Nick in The LA Plays - Almeida Theatre, London
• Le Vicomte De Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses - Liverpool Playhouse
• McCann in The Birthday Party - Citizens Theatre
• Jeffrey in The Dying Gaul - Citizens
• Louis Ironson in Angels in America for 7:84 Theatre Company
• Title role in Molière's Don Juan for Theatre Babel