Shawn Ashmore

Shawn Robert Ashmore (born October 7, 1979) is a Canadian actor who is known for roles in film, television, and interactive media. He is the identical twin brother of actor Aaron Ashmore. He began acting in his youth, notably portraying Jake Berenson in Nickelodeon's television series Animorphs (1998–1999), Tyler Connell in Disney Channel's television series In a Heartbeat (2000–2001), and Brad Rigby in the Disney Channel Original Movie Cadet Kelly (2002). At age 14, Ashmore received a Gemini nomination for Best Performance in a Children's/Youth Program for his starring role in the television film Guitarman (1994).

Ashmore gained international recognition for his role as Bobby Drake / Iceman in the 20th Century Fox's X-Men films (2000–2014), winning the 2004 MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Male Performance for X2. His later film roles include Canadian hero Terry Fox in Terry (2005), and lead roles in the horror films The Ruins (2008) and Frozen (2010).

On television, Ashmore portrayed FBI agent Mike Weston in The Following (2013–2015), and since 2018, he has starred as attorney Wesley Evers in the police procedural drama The Rookie. He has also headlined several video games, providing voice and performance capture for Quantum Break (2016), The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan (2019), Alan Wake II (2023), and others. Ashmore received a Leo Award for Legend of Earthsea (2004) and has earned multiple Gemini and Saturn Award nominations.

Early life and education

Shawn Robert Ashmore was born on October 7, 1979, in Richmond, British Columbia, to Linda Davis, a homemaker, and Rick Ashmore, a senior manager in the floor-covering industry. When he was a few weeks old, his family moved to St. Albert, Alberta, where he spent much of his early childhood. Around age ten, Ashmore relocated with his family to Brampton, Ontario, where he later attended Turner Fenton Secondary School.

Ashmore and his identical twin brother, Aaron, began appearing in television commercials while still in elementary school. According to Shawn, the brothers began acting after a talent agent approached their mother and invited the twins to audition for a commercial. Aaron was initially cast but when he fell ill on the day of filming, Shawn replaced him, landing his first acting role. Early in their careers, casting directors sometimes chose between the identical twins by flipping a coin.

Career

Early work and breakthrough (1990s–2004)

At age nine, Ashmore made his screen debut on the CTV series Katts and Dog (1990). The following year, he and his brother appeared in minor roles in the feature film Married to It (1991). Ashmore's first starring role was in the family television film Guitarman (1994), which, at age 14, earned him a Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance in a Children's/Youth Program. In his late teens, Ashmore chose to pursue acting full-time after realizing he was happiest while working on set.

Ashmore's first regular television role was Jake Berenson in Animorphs (1998–1999), a Nickelodeon adaptation of K. A. Applegate's popular children's science fiction books. Reflecting on the series in 2022, Ashmore said the show's enduring popularity "is so crazy to me", adding he is "always amazed" when fans still recognize him from the show. He then starred as EMT cadet Tyler Connell in the Disney Channel series In a Heartbeat (2000–2001) and portrayed cadet major Brad Rigby in the Disney Channel Original Movie Cadet Kelly (2002). He later described this phase of his career during his late teens and early twenties as "a real Nickelodeon/Disney moment".

Ashmore debuted as Bobby Drake / Iceman in X-Men (2000). The film was a commercial success, grossing US$296.3 million worldwide and launching a franchise in which Ashmore reprised his role in sequels. He guest-starred as Eric Summers in two episodes of Smallville (2002, 2004), a series in which his brother later portrayed Jimmy Olsen. Ashmore returned as Iceman in an expanded role in X2 (2003), receiving the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Male Performance in 2004. During the lead-up to the film's release, Ashmore reflected on the growing public attention, saying his family "were a little freaked out when they started realizing that my face was going to be on buses and at movie theatres".

In December 2004, Ashmore starred as the young wizard Ged in the Syfy miniseries Legend of Earthsea an adaption of Ursula K. Le Guin's novels. The production received mixed reviews; Tom Shales of The Washington Post wrote: "Ashmore makes a likable and modest hero". His performance earned him the 2005 Leo Award for Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama.

Film and television (2005–2015)

In 2005, Ashmore portrayed Canadian athlete Terry Fox in the CTV biographical film Terry (2005), dramatizing Fox's long-distance run Marathon of Hope. Reflecting on the role, Ashmore noted: "the roughest part is the physicality, learning the skip-hop to make it real, and remembering and knowing the movement". His performance earned him a Gemini Award nomination for Best Actor. Also in 2005, he played Rob Donovan, a prep school student who is coerced into a stolen-car ring, in the action-comedy Underclassman. He also headlined one of three intersecting stories in the HIV/AIDs drama 3 Needles, anchoring the Canadian segment, which depicts the ripple effects of a hidden HIV diagnosis. He closed the year with the psychological thriller The Quiet, portraying basketball player Connor Kennedy, who befriends a social outcast named Dot.

In May 2006, Ashmore reprised his role as Iceman in X-Men: The Last Stand, the third installment of 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series. He also voiced the character in the tie-in video game X-Men: The Official Game, bridging the events between X2 and The Last Stand. In 2008, he starred as Eric in the horror film The Ruins, portraying an American tourist in Mexico who is enticed to visit a remote Mayan ruin in the jungle. The following year, Ashmore starred in the CTV telefilm Diverted (2009), playing an air‑traffic manager dealing with flights grounded in Newfoundland during the 2001 September 11 attacks in the United States. He also voiced Iceman again in several episodes of the animated series The Super Hero Squad Show.

In 2010, Ashmore portrayed Joe Lynch in Adam Green's dramatic thriller Frozen and co‑starred as George Barnum in the ensemble horror remake Mother's Day. Subsequently, he starred as Fitz, a hard-living air-ambulance doctor in the eight-part miniseries Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, which was adapted from Vincent Lam's Giller Prize–winning stories. Ashmore also served as an executive producer on the series, which received nine Gemini nominations. That November, Ashmore and his brother Aaron guest-starred in the Fringe episode "Amber 31422"; Den of Geek praised their performances, describing both actors as "rather good". The episode marked the first project on which the brothers had collaborated in fifteen years. Discussing their decision to work together, Ashmore said: "It's usually because the stuff that came along is kind of hokey, but I think the quality of Fringe is really high and the episode is done well and our characters are intelligent. We're going to have some fun."

In 2011, Ashmore played Adam, one of five survivors who are besieged by cannibals, in the post-apocalyptic thriller The Day. The film premiered in the Midnight Madness programme at Toronto International Film Festival and was later acquired for U.S. distribution by WWE Studios. He next starred in the bilingual road-movie romance Mariachi Gringo (2012), portraying Edward, an aimless Kansan man who relocates to Guadalajara to become a mariachi singer. The film premiered as the opening-night gala of the 29th Miami International Film Festival. From 2013 to 2015, Ashmore starred as FBI special agent Mike Weston on Fox's crime thriller series The Following. Weston remained a central character throughout the show's three-season run. In 2014, Ashmore reprised his role as Iceman in X-Men: Days of Future Past, appearing alongside both returning cast members from the first three films and the cast of the prequel film X-Men: First Class. He praised the decision to unite the original and prequel casts into one film, calling it "a very interesting and smart way to continue telling this story".