Canadian actor Gil Bellows was born on June 28, 1967 in Vancouver, British Columbia. After graduating from the Magee Secondary School there—where he attended with future actress Carrie-Anne Moss—he decided to pursue an acting career, moving to Los Angeles and studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts there.
Bellows began acting in 1988, playing minor roles in films, as well as some television guest roles. It was in 1994 when he was noticed, as part of the acclaimed film The Shawshank Redemption; viewers may remember him as Tommy, the new convict whose past experiences in prison corroborate with Andy’s (Tim Robbins) pleas of innocence. He got the role after Brad Pitt, who was originally considered for the role, turned down the offer. After several more films, he joined the cast of the television series Ally McBeal in 1997, playing the role of Billy Thomas. Films he appeared on during the time include The Assistant, Beautiful Joe, Chasing Sleep and The Courage to Love.
In 2001, Bellows starred in the drama series The Agency. He played the lead role of Matt Callan, a CIA agent who headed the Clandestine Operations branch of the agency. However, he left at the end of the first season, and his position in the cast was replaced by Jason O’Mara. In 2005, he joined the cast of the acclaimed Canadian mini-series Terminal City, which went on to win several Leo Awards.
He also appeared in the films Pursued, Blind Horizon, Keep Your Distance and The Weather Man, among others; he has since also played guest roles in shows like The Twilight Zone, Karen Sisco and the prequel movie to the seventh season of 24. He has also dabbled in producing, having co-produced the films Sweet Land and Kill Kill Faster Faster, in which he was also part of the cast.
-The exciting thing about what I do is, if you're a little lucky and you're a little busy, chances are you get to work with great directors. And if you do a Robert Altman film, chances are you'll work with all of them.
-I've had a few opportunities in my life to be a part of classic entertainment and anytime you have a chance to be a part of something that can stand the test of time, you relish it.
(about working on Ally McBeal)
-We have an opportunity here to do something that is ground-breaking, that doesn't come along very often.