Aaron Ashmore
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Aaron Richard Ashmore (born October 7, 1979<ref name="TV Guide">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>) is a Canadian actor. He is the identical twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore.
He is known for portraying Jimmy Olsen on Smallville (2006–2011), Steve Jinks on Warehouse 13 (2011–2014), and Johnny Jaqobis on Killjoys (2015–2019), the latter of which earned him a Canadian Screen Award nomination. He also portrayed Duncan Locke in Locke & Key (2020–2022) and has appeared in Veronica Mars, In Plain Sight, Ginny & Georgia (2023), and SkyMed (2022–present). In film, he starred in the thriller The Thaw (2009), earning a Leo Award nomination for Best Lead Performance.
Early lifeEdit
Aaron Richard Ashmore was born in Richmond, British Columbia,<ref name="TV Guide"/> to Linda (née Davis), a homemaker, and Rick Ashmore,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a manufacturing engineer. He was raised in Brampton, Ontario, where he attended Earnscliffe Senior Public School and Turner Fenton Secondary School.
Aaron and his identical twin brother, Shawn Ashmore, began appearing in television commercials while still in elementary school.<ref name="TributeBio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ashmore has said he is often cast as "the tough guy, the bully," a dynamic he enjoys because he finds those roles more complex than playing "the happy hero."<ref name="TorontoStar2001">Template:Cite news</ref>
CareerEdit
Early workEdit
Aaron Ashmore made his first notable screen appearance in 2004, starring as Canadian teenager Marc Hall in the TV movie Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story. Around the same time, he appeared in Canadian TV films such as Safe and A Bear Named Winnie, and had guest spots on series like The Eleventh Hour, The West Wing, and 1-800-Missing. From 2004 to 2005, he had a recurring role on Veronica Mars, portraying Troy Vandegraff. These early roles established Ashmore in Canadian TV and genre dramas.
Breakthrough and television roles (2007–2014)Edit
Ashmore broke through in the U.S. with a major role on Smallville. He was cast as photographer Jimmy Olsen beginning in the sixth season and continued to play him into its eighth season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He returned, portraying the younger brother of Jimmy Olsen, in the 2011 series finale, following his first character's earlier departure. In 2009, Ashmore headlined the eco-horror thriller The Thaw<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>. His performance earned him a Leo Award nomination for Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama the following year.<ref name="Leo2010">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
From 2010 to 2012, Ashmore had a six-episode recurring arc on series In Plain Sight as Scott Griffin, Mary Shannon's newly discovered half-brother.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2011, Ashmore joined Syfy's Warehouse 13 as ATF agent Steve Jinks, a recurring character with the ability to detect lies introduced in the third season who appeared through the show's fifth and final season in 2014.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also made guest appearances on series like Lost Girl and Private Practice during this period.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Recent work (2014–present)Edit
From 2015 to 2019, Ashmore co-starred as John Jaqobis on Syfy's space drama Killjoys.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was one of the three leads in the series, portraying a bounty hunter. Killjoys ran for five seasons, ending in 2019. That same year, Ashmore received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his work on the show.<ref name="CSA2019">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In film, Ashmore had a supporting role in Regression (2015) and appeared in TV movies such as Lifetime's Swept Under (2015)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Wish Upon a Christmas (2015).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He later starred as Sean, a morally ambiguous tow-truck driver, in the Toronto-set crime thriller 22 Chaser (2018).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2020, Ashmore appeared as Duncan Locke in the fantasy television series Locke & Key, first in a recurring role during the first season and later as part of the main cast in the second season.<ref name="DeadlineLockeKey">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He went on to appear in the second season of Ginny & Georgia (2023) as Gil Timmins, Georgia's ex-boyfriend and the father of her son, Austin. Since 2022, Ashmore has co-starred as Captain William "Wheezer" Heaseman in the Canadian medical drama series SkyMed, which follows the lives of air ambulance crews in remote Northern Canada. The series was renewed for a third season in 2024, when he was promoted to series regular.<ref name="DeadlineSkyMedS3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ashmore also co-stars in the Great American Media's mystery franchise The Ainsley McGregor Mysteries. He plays Jake Trenton, the love interest of Ainsley McGregor, in A Case for the Winemaker (2024)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and A Case for the Yarn Maker (2025).<ref name="YarnMakerPR">Template:Cite press release</ref>
Personal lifeEdit
Ashmore and his twin brother Shawn have matching tattoos on their wrists reading "GMA," which stands for "Good Man Ashmore." Aaron has said the tattoo is a tribute to their step-grandfather Gangu Jagtiani, who married their grandmother before the twins were born and was always regarded as their grandfather.<ref name="SoapCentral">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On June 20, 2014, Ashmore married Zoë Kate.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The couple's first daughter was born in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite tweet </ref> Their second daughter was born in 2019.<ref name="Second daughter">Template:Cite tweet</ref>
In March 2025, Ashmore revealed on the Inside of You podcast that he and Kate had quietly separated and finalized their divorce during the COVID‑19 pandemic.<ref name="People2025">Template:Cite news</ref>
A longtime science fiction fan, Ashmore has cited Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and The X-Files among his favorite shows.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
FilmographyEdit
FilmEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Married to It | Student in pageant | |
| 2001 | The Safety of Objects | Bobby Christianson | |
| Treed Murray | Dwayne | ||
| 2002 | The Skulls II | Matt "Hutch" Hutchinson | |
| 2004 | My Brother's Keeper | Eric / Lou Woods | |
| Safe (short) | Bobby | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 2007 | Palo Alto | Alec | |
| The Stone Angel | Matt Currie | ||
| 2008 | Christmas Cottage | Pat Kinkade | |
| 2009 | The Thaw | Atom Galen | |
| Fear Island | Mark | ||
| 2010 | Privileged | Blake Webber | |
| The Shrine | Marcus | ||
| 2011 | Conception | Eric | |
| Servitude | Chase Vanhaver | ||
| 2014 | I Put a Hit on You | Ray | |
| Big News from Grand Rock | Video store manager | ||
| 2015 | Regression | George Nesbitt | |
| 2018 | 22 Chaser | Sean | |
| 2019 | Tammy's Always Dying | Reggie Seamus | |
| 2020 | Sugar Daddy | Angus | |
| 2021 | The Retreat | James | |
| 2023 | Suze | Rick |
TelevisionEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer | Young Byron Spencer | Television film | |
| Are You Afraid of the Dark? | Billy | Episode: "The Tale of the Thirteenth Floor" | ||
| 1999 | Crime in Connecticut: The Story of Alex Kelly | Luke Lawson | Television film | |
| Love Letters | Bob Bertram | Television film | ||
| Emily of New Moon | Harrison Bowles | Episode: "A Fall from Grace" | ||
| 2000 | Run the Wild Fields | Charlie Upshall | Television film | |
| The Famous Jett Jackson | Robert | Episode: "Something to Prove" | ||
| Are You Afraid of the Dark? | Jake | Episode: "The Tale of the Lunar Locusts" | ||
| La Femme Nikita | Neil Hudson | Episode: "Time to Be Heroes" | ||
| Twice in a Lifetime | Paul Harper | Episode: "Grandma's Shoes" | ||
| 2001 | Le porte-bonheur | Jean Philippe | Television film | |
| Blackout | Second Son | Television film | ||
| Haven | Myles Billingsley Jr. | Television film | ||
| The Familiar Stranger | Chris Welsh | Television film | ||
| Dying to Dance | Jason | Television film | ||
| Blue Murder | Episode: "Baby Point" | |||
| 2002 | Charms for the Easy Life | Ted | Television film | |
| Conviction | Whiff | Television film | ||
| A Christmas Visitor | John Boyajian | Television film | ||
| The Eleventh Hour | Trevor Gordon | Episode: "Tree Hugger" | ||
| 2003 | The Pentagon Papers | Randy Kehler | Television film | |
| 2004 | Brave New Girl | Tyler | Television film | |
| Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story | Marc Hall | Television film | ||
| A Separate Peace | Chad | Television film | ||
| A Bear Named Winnie | Randy Taylor | Television film | ||
| 2004–2006 | Veronica Mars | Troy Vandegraff | 4 episodes, including "The Rapes of Graff" | |
| 2005 | The Eleventh Hour | Taz Thomas | Episode: "Kettle Black" | |
| The West Wing | Trevor | Episodes: "365 Days", "King Corn" | ||
| 2005–2006 | Missing | Colin McNeil | Recurring role (season 3) | |
| 2006–2009, 2011 | Smallville | Jimmy Olsen | Recurring role (season 6); main role (seasons 7–8); guest role (season 10) | |
| 2010 | CSI: NY | Cam Vandemann | Episode: "Pot of Gold" | |
| The Bridge | Ben | Episode: "God Bless the Child" | ||
| Private Practice | Carl | Episode: "Second Choices" | ||
| Fringe | Matthew Rose | Episode: "Amber 31422" | ||
| 2010–2012 | In Plain Sight | Scott Griffin | Recurring role (season 3); guest role (season 5) | |
| 2011 | The Listener | Peter Duquette | Episode: "Jericho" | |
| XIII: The Series | Dylan Masters | 4 episodes | ||
| Fanboy Confessional | Narrator | 6 episodes | ||
| 2011–2012 | Lost Girl | Nate | Recurring role (season 2) | |
| 2011–2014 | Warehouse 13 | Steve Jinks | Recurring role (season 3); main role (seasons 4–5) | |
| 2012 | Murdoch Mysteries | Jack London | Episode: "Murdoch of the Klondike" | |
| 2015–2019 | Killjoys | John Jaqobis | Main role | |
| 2015 | Swept Under | Nick Hopewell | Television film | |
| Wish Upon a Christmas | Jesse | Television film | ||
| 2017 | Ransom | Sydney Graves | Episode: "The Artist" | |
| 2019 | Cardinal | Randall Wishart | 4 episodes | |
| Designated Survivor | Phil Brunton | 4 episodes | ||
| Hudson & Rex | Galen Wheatcroft | Episode: "The French Connection" | ||
| 2020 | The Santa Squad | Gordon Church | Television film | |
| Pretty Cheaters, Deadly Lies | Counselor Parker | Television film | ||
| Private Eyes | Larry Bateman | Episode: "The Proof is Out There" | ||
| 2020–2022 | Locke & Key | Duncan Locke | Recurring role (seasons 1 & 3); main role (season 2) | |
| 2022 | Cider and Sunsets | Curtis | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 2022–present | SkyMed | William "Wheezer" Heaseman | Main cast | |
| 2023 | Accused | Max | Episode: "Ava's Story" | |
| Ginny & Georgia | Gil Timmins | Recurring role (season 2) | ||
| 2024 | Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: A Case for the Winemaker | Jake Trenton | Television film | |
| 2025 | Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: A Case for the Yarn Maker | Jake Trenton | Television film |
Awards and nominationsEdit
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Leo Awards | Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama | The Thaw | Template:Nominated | <ref name="Leo2010"/> |
| 2019 | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Lead Actor, Drama Series | Killjoys | Template:Nominated | <ref name="CSA2019"/> |
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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