Jared Keeso
Born (1984-07-01) July 1, 1984
Listowel, Ontario, Canada
Occupations
  • Actor
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active2004–present
Spouse
Magali Brunelle
​
(m. 2018)​

Jared Keeso (/ˈkiːsoʊ/ KEE-soh; born July 1, 1984) is a Canadian actor, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedy series Letterkenny (2016–2023), which won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy Series in 2017. He is also known for his roles as Ben Chartier in the 2014 series 19-2 (2014–2017), for which he won a Canadian Screen Award, as Don Cherry in the television films Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story (2010) and The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story II (2012), for which he won a Leo Award and Gemini Award.

Early life

Keeso was born in Listowel, Ontario, on July 1, 1984, the son of Anne and Richard Keeso. His family owned and operated the Keeso Sawmill Company, which was founded in 1872, and Keeso spent several years working in the sawmill before embarking on his acting career. The sawmill was destroyed by a fire on September 9, 2018.[1] As a youth, like most boys his age in town, Keeso played junior hockey; he played for the Strathroy Rockets of the WOHL with future two-time Stanley Cup champion Jeff Carter, and also the Listowel Cyclones of the GOJHL.[2]

Career

Keeso starred as hockey coach, player, and commentator Don Cherry in two CBC television movies about Cherry's life.[3] The first, Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story, aired in early 2010, and was followed by The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story II in 2012. For his performances, he won a Leo Award for Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama and a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series.[4]

In 2013, Keeso and Mike Borden created Play Fun Games Pictures on YouTube. The channel became an immediate success thanks to a series of shorts sketches depicting the quintessential Canadian farmer and the associated struggles. The series, Letterkenny Problems, has attracted over 100 million views (as of January 2022), and became the basis for the hit 2016 sitcom Letterkenny. The sketches and TV series are both shot in Sudbury, Ontario.

In 2014, Keeso starred in a Heritage Minute about the Winnipeg Falcons, a team of Icelandic-Canadian hockey players who served in the First World War, and later won the country's first Olympic gold medal in hockey.[5]

Following the cult success of Letterkenny, in 2022 Keeso created a spin-off series focusing on the titular character of Shoresy which is also set and shot in Sudbury.[6]

Keeso has had a variety of other roles in both television series and movies, including as Ben Chartier in the 2014 English-language adaptation of 19-2, for which he won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role.[7] He also has less prominent roles in a few other films, such as Nicholas in Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball; Adam in the high-school themed Lifetime original movie Seven Deadly Sins; and Simon in the drug-themed Charlie.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004Eve's ChristmasBartenderTV
2006Firestorm: Last Stand at YellowstoneSean EllisTV
Shock to the SystemPaul HaleTV
Seventeen & MissingCurtTV
2007The Party Never Stops: Diary of a Binge DrinkerKeithTV
White Noise: The LightJerry
2009CharlieSimon
I Love You, Beth CooperDustin Klepacki
CapricaRod JenkinsBattlestar Galactica spin-off; untitled pilot aired as TV-movie
2010A Trace of DangerAdrianmade-for-TV
Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' BallAgent Nicholas
Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry StoryDon CherryTV miniseries movie
Seven Deadly SinsAdam MorganLifetime TV miniseries movie
A Beginner's Guide to Endings"Juicebox"
2012The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story IIDon CherryTV miniseries movie
2013NearlywedsMr. HunkyHallmark Movie
The Marine 3: HomefrontHarkinDirect to video
ElysiumRico
2014GodzillaJump Master
PreggolandDr. Ted
2018The Death & Life of John F. DonovanJames Donovan

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Life As We Know It Hockey Player #2 Episode: "Secrets & Lies"
Smallville Nate Episodes: "Facade" and "Devoted"
2005 The 4400 Roy Keith Marsden Episode: "Hidden"
2006 Supernatural Matt Harrison Episode: "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things"
2006–2007 Monster Warriors Luke 53 episodes
2008 ReGenesis Tom Wiley Episode: "Suspicious Minds"
2008–2009 The Guard Rob Chambers 8 episodes
2010 Psych Gabe McKinley Episode: "Chivalry is Not Dead... But Someone is"
2011 Hellcats Luke Powell Episode: "God Must Have My Fortune Laid Away"
2012 The Secret Circle Witch Hunter Episode: "Family"
2013 Falling Skies Lars Episode: "On Thin Ice"
2014–2017 19-2 Ben Chartier Lead role
2016–2023 Letterkenny Wayne, Shoresy Lead role; also creator, writer, and director
2022–present Shoresy Shoresy Lead role; also creator and writer

Awards and nominations

Accolades for Jared Keeso
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2015 Canadian Screen Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role 19-2 Won [8]
Leo Awards Best Lead Performance By a Male in a Dramatic Series Nominated [9]
2016 Canadian Screen Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role Nominated [10]
Leo Awards Best Lead Performance By a Male in a Dramatic Series Won [11]
2017 Canadian Screen Awards Best Comedy Series Letterkenny Won [12]
Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series Won
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role Nominated
Writers Guild of Canada Best Writing in a TV Comedy Won [13]
Best Script from a Rookie Series Nominated
Leo Awards Best Music, Comedy or Variety Program or Series Won [14]

References

  1. ↑ McNee, Dan (September 27, 2018). "Keeso family weighing future options in wake of sawmill fire". WaterlooChronicle.ca.
  2. ↑ "Jared Keeso at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com.
  3. ↑ "Don Cherry biopic to shoot in Manitoba"
  4. ↑ ""Excited over the best of B.C.'s films, TV shows"".
  5. ↑ Heritage Minutes: Winnipeg Falcons, retrieved February 9, 2023
  6. ↑ "Letterkenny spinoff Shoresy to begin shooting in Sudbury shortly".
  7. ↑ "You are being redirected..." www.academy.ca. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
  8. ↑ "2015 Canadian Screen Awards Television Nominations" (PDF). Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  9. ↑ "2015 Leo Awards, Winners by Name". Leo Awards. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Bell Media Congratulates Independent Production Partners on 127 Television and 82 Film Nominations for the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards" (Press release). Bell Media. January 19, 2016. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  11. ↑ "2016 Leo Awards, Winners by Name". Leo Awards. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  12. ↑ "2017 TV Nominees". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  13. ↑ "2017 WGC Screenwriting Awards Finalists". Writers Guild of Canada. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  14. ↑ "2017 Leo Awards Nominees by Name". Leo Awards. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
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