Nigel Shawn Williams is a Canadian actor and theatre director from Toronto, Ontario.[1]

Nigel Shawn Williams
Born
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)film, television and stage actor, theatre director
Known forformer co-artistic director of Factory Theatre

Williams was born in Jamaica and moved to Canada with his family in childhood.[2] A 1990 graduate of the University of Windsor,[2] his early stage roles included Thomas Coyle's The Tyrant of Pontus, Suzan-Lori Parks' Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom, Robert E. Sherwood's The Petrified Forest and George Bernard Shaw's The Six of Calais.[2]

Career

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Williams won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role – Play in 1995 for his performance as Paul in John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation.[3]

He won a second Dora as an actor in 2012 for his performance as Lincoln in Obsidian Theatre's production of Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog,[4] and was a nominee in 2013 for his performance as Henry in Canadian Stage's production of David Mamet's Race. As a director, he won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play/Musical in 2006 for his direction of Colleen Wagner's The Monument, and was nominated in 2011 for his direction of Anusree Roy's Brothel #9.

His film and television credits include the television series The City, The Famous Jett Jackson, The Jane Show, XIII: The Conspiracy and The Listener, and the films Phantom Punch, Down in the Delta, Vendetta, Jett Jackson: The Movie, John Q and Brown Girl Begins.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 Tribulation Victor
2002 John Q. News Anchor
2008 Phantom Punch Toby Liston
2017 Brown Girl Begins Papa Legba / Jab-Jab / Brukfoot Sam
2020 Two Deaths of Henry Baker Carlos

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 E.N.G. Candidate Episode: "Full Disclosure"
1995 Forever Knight Harry Episode: "Partners of the Month"
1997 F/X: The Series Stickman Episode: "High Roller"
1998–2001 The Famous Jett Jackson Artemus / Nigel Essex 3 episodes
1999 Vendetta Samuel Foster Television film
1999 At the Mercy of a Stranger Ben Prentiss
1999 The City Detective White 4 episodes
2000 The Wonderful World of Disney Merle Brady Episode: "The Loretta Claiborne Story"
2000 Deliberate Intent Judge Williams Television film
2001 Jett Jackson: The Movie Artemus / Nigel Essex
2002 Odyssey 5 Dr. Alex Stratton Episode: "Dark at the End of the Tunnel"
2006–2007 The Jane Show Desmond 14 episodes
2008 XIII: The Conspiracy Ellery Shipley 2 episodes
2010 Unnatural History Dr. Charles Wincott Episode: "The Griffin Gang"
2011 The Listener Wes Everdon Episode: "Desperate Hours"
2014 A Day Late and a Dollar Short George Television film
2014 Saving Hope Malcolm Eldente Episode: "The Way We Were"
2015 Heroes Reborn Dr. Don Mercer Episode: "The Lion's Den"
2017 Suits Judge Ward 2 episodes
2021 Death She Wrote Mr. Tollson Television film

References

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  1. ^ "The Interview: Factory Theatre’s artistic directors Nina Lee Aquino and Nigel Shawn Williams" Archived 2013-11-29 at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Life, January 24, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Nigel Williams eschews all labels save one: good actor". Toronto Star, January 8, 1995.
  3. ^ "Dora Winners". Toronto Star, June 27, 1995.
  4. ^ "Dora Awards: Recipients" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
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