Hugh Dillon (born May 31, 1963) is a Canadian singer, actor, and television producer. The lead vocalist of the rock bands Headstones and Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir, his notable acting roles include Mike Sweeney in Durham County, Edward "Ed" Lane in Flashpoint, Nick in Left 4 Dead 2, Duncan Sinclair in X Company, and Donnie Haskell in Yellowstone. He is also a co-creator, executive producer, and series regular of the Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown.[1]

Hugh Dillon
Dillon performing in 2017
Dillon performing in 2017
Background information
Born (1963-05-31) May 31, 1963 (age 61)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
GenresHard rock, rock 'n' roll
Occupation(s)Singer, actor, producer
Years active1987–present
Member of
Websitehughdillon.com

Early life edit

Dillon was born and grew up in Kingston, Ontario.[2] Dillon grew up living on the same street as future NHL star Doug Gilmour and played hockey with him on the frozen swamp in their neighbourhood. Dillon also played hockey with Paul Langlois,[3] future guitarist of The Tragically Hip. Dillon attended the Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute at the same time that David Usher, and members of The Tragically Hip such as Gord Downie attended the school.[4] After high school, Dillon briefly attended Queen's University[5] and lived in London, England,[1] before moving to Toronto[6] and now divides his time between there and Los Angeles.[7]

Music career edit

Dillon performing at K-Days 2015

Dillon is the lead singer for rock band Headstones. Formed in 1987, the band's debut album Picture of Health was released in 1993 and featured the singles "When Something Stands For Nothing", "Cemetery", "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" and "Three Angels". The album was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, being certified platinum in Canada for selling in excess of 100,000 copies. In a recording career that has spanned three decades, the band has released ten studio albums and numerous chart-topping singles.

After the Headstones broke up in 2003, Dillon formed the band Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir, an indie rock band whose style draws from country, pop, punk and new wave influences. Band members were guitarist J.P. Polsoni, Chris Osti on bass, keyboardist Ben Kobayashi, and percussionist Derek Downham.[8] The band released an album, The High Co$t of Low Living, in 2005 through The Tragically Hip guitarist Paul Langlois's Ching Music label.[9][10] Dillon also released a solo album entitled Works Well with Others in 2009 through Ching Music.

After their hiatus, original Headstones members (Dillon, Carr & White) reformed the band in 2011. In 2013, they crowdfunded their album, Love + Fury,[11][12] through PledgeMusic. Love + Fury is the band's first top 10 album, and it garnered the band a No. 1 hit single. The Headstones followed up with another crowdfunded album in 2014, One in the Chamber Music. In 2015, Fuck It became the band's first-ever vinyl release.

Little Army was released on Cadence Music in 2017. The album included the No. 1 hit "Devil's On Fire". In 2019, the Headstones released Peopleskills, which yielded "Leave It All Behind" and "Horses", two No. 3 singles on the US Billboard charts.[13]

Acting career edit

Dillon's first large-screen acting role was in director Bruce McDonald's 1995 film Dance Me Outside.[14] He then played a leading role as Joe Dick in McDonald's 1996 feature film, Hard Core Logo.[15][16]

Dillon has appeared in a number of feature films, including Lone Hero, Assault on Precinct 13, and Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.[17] In 2007, he was nominated for a 2007 Genie Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Trailer Park Boys: The Movie.[18] He starred opposite Vera Farmiga in the Sundance Film Festival award-winning movie, Down to the Bone. Dillon has guest-starred on various television programs, including The Eleventh Hour, ReGenesis, and Degrassi: The Next Generation. He has also created voice-overs a number of television and radio advertisements.[citation needed]

Dillon starred as Mike Sweeney in the Canadian dramatic series Durham County.[19] His performance earned him a Gemini nomination for Best Actor in 2008;[20] the show itself won five Gemini awards and its second season was aired on TMN and Movie Central.

Dillon starred as Sergeant Ed Lane in the CTV/CBS police drama series Flashpoint, set in Toronto, which ran for five seasons between 2008 and 2012.[21][22] Dillon won the "Shaw Media Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role" at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2014 for his performance in the episode "Fit for Duty" on Flashpoint.[23]

Dillon is the co-creator and Executive Producer of the streaming service series Mayor of Kingstown on Paramount Plus. On August 5 via Deadline[24] it was announced that Dillon would also become a series regular playing the role of Ian Ferguson, alongside Jeremy Renner, and he will return as Sheriff Donnie Haskell on season 4 of the cable series Yellowstone on Paramount, alongside Kevin Costner. He also played the role of Francis Becker on the third season of the American crime drama series, The Killing[25] opposite Joel Kinnaman, simultaneously appearing on Continuum. Dillon played a lead role for three seasons of CBC's X Company. Dillon has also appeared in Twin Peaks, the film Wind River alongside Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner, Syfy's The Expanse, and the films The Humanity Bureau and I Still See You.[26]

Filmography edit

Film edit

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994Dance Me OutsideClarence Gaskill
1995Curtis's CharmSpitting White Trash Thug
1996Hard Core LogoJoe Dick / Joseph Mulgrew
1999JohnnyDell and Alice's Dad
2002Lone HeroKing
2004Down to the BoneBob
2004Ginger Snaps Back: The BeginningReverend Gilbert
2005Assault on Precinct 13Tony
2006Hope and a Little SugarBar Construction Worker
2006Trailer Park Boys: The MovieSonny
2008SurveillanceSteven
2008About FaceThe Agent
2008Down to the DirtRenny
2011IssuesBobbyShort film
2015The OfferRichardShort film
2016Dark HarvestVincent
2017Wind RiverCurtis
2017The Humanity BureauAdam Westinghouse
2018I Still See YouMathison

Television edit

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000Twitch CityHoward the Cannibal / Guy in the Convenience Store2 episodes
2002–2003Degrassi: The Next GenerationAlbert Manning3 episodes
2003Blue MurderKevin MarshallEpisode: "Necklace"
2003StarhunterGusEpisode: "Biocrime"
2004The Eleventh HourEddieEpisode: "Hard Seven"
2004The Love Crimes of Gillian GuessBobby TomahawkTV movie
2004The Wool CapLeather JacketTV movie
2004–2005ReGenesisDanny Dexter3 episodes
2005Our FathersJohnny DeFrancoTV movie
2007The GatheringDetective Gamble2 episodes
2007–2010Durham CountyMike SweeneySeries lead
2008The Quality of LifeJean TellierTV movie
2008Of Murder and MemoryVincent NicholTV movie
2008Ink: Alter Egos ExposedNarratorTV movie
2008–2012FlashpointEd LaneSeries lead
2013The KillingFrancis Becker12 episodes
2013ContinuumMr. Escher7 episodes
2014Things You Shouldn't Say Past MidnightGene8 episodes
2015–2017X CompanyColonel Duncan SinclairSeries regular
2017The ExpanseLieutenant Sutton3 episodes
2017Twin PeaksTom PaigeEpisode: "Part 7"
2018The DetectivesDetective Rod PiukkalaEpisode: "Stranger Calling"
2018–presentYellowstoneSheriff Donnie HaskellSeries regular
2021–presentMayor of KingstownIan FergusonSeries regular, also Co-creator &

Executive Producer

Video games edit

YearTitleRoleNotes
2009Left 4 Dead 2NickValve
2012DishonoredCity WatchBethesda
2013Resident Evil 6NickCapcom X Valve Crossover DLC

Discography edit

Headstones edit

Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir edit

Solo edit

  • Works Well with Others (the first solo album, released October 13, 2009, many of its songs are featured on the television show Flashpoint, track listing:
  1. "Friends of Mine"
  2. "Sentimental Me"
  3. "Well on Your Way"
  4. "Ten Feet Tall"
  5. "Surface of the Sun"
  6. "Reel to Reel"
  7. "Lucky"
  8. "Lost at Sea"
  9. "Radio Plays"
  10. "Bottom of a Dream"
  11. "My Mistakes"
  12. "Ignore That Call"
  13. "Puzzle I Am"
  14. "Don't Be Fooled"

References edit

  1. ^ a b Hart, Courtney (January 20, 2020). "Hugh Dillon Co-Created Show Gets Green Light from Paramount Network". kingstonherald.com.
  2. ^ "The Hour: Hugh Dillon". CBC Television. Season 6, Episode 25, October 28, 2009
  3. ^ "Hab at Heart: Paul Langlois". NHL.com. February 4, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  4. ^ "Headstones song recalls halcyon early days in Kingston". thewhig. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "Hugh Dillon | The Canadian Encyclopedia". thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  6. ^ Hampson, Sarah (2013). "Hugh Dillon and the mathematics of a happy life". The Globe and Mail.
  7. ^ "Headstones' Hugh Dillon Has Seen Some Shit". vice.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  8. ^ "Hugh Dillon covers a lot of ground on Works Well With Others". The Georgia Strait, by Steve Newton, November 13, 2009
  9. ^ Steve McLean (June 2006). Hot Canadian Bands. Lone Pine Pub. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-894864-53-4.
  10. ^ "The Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir — The High Co$t Of Low Living"[usurped]. Chart Attack, June 7, 2005
  11. ^ "Fans Fund New Album for The Headstones". Kingston Herald, 2013/02/20 in Entertainment/Featured by Merideth Smith
  12. ^ "'Gasoline and fire'". By Greg Burliuk, Kingston Whig-Standard, December 20, 2013
  13. ^ Gerard, Steve (August 3, 2020). "Headstones Single "HORSES" Gallops Up Billboard Chart".
  14. ^ " Hard-rocking Headstones driven by soft spot". Barrie Advance, November 13, 2015. By Laurie Watt
  15. ^ "Hugh Dillon changes direction" Archived March 31, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. MIKE ROSS, Edmonton Sun, September 9, 2005
  16. ^ Pike, David L. (2012). Canadian Cinema Since the 1980s: At the Heart of the World. University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division. ISBN 978-1-4426-1240-2.
  17. ^ "Headstones' Hugh is acting up again". Canoe Showbiz, STEVE TILLEY, November 30, 2004
  18. ^ "Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor", Wiki How, January 12, 2021, retrieved January 13, 2021
  19. ^ "Durham County: Season 1". By Sam Sutherland", Exclaim!, August 22, 2008
  20. ^ "No more Mr. Tough Guy". CBC News, Sarah Liss, October 26, 2009
  21. ^ "Hugh Dillon's intensity rocks "Durham County"". Channel Guide Magazine, August 19, 2009, Elaine Bergstrom
  22. ^ " Television ripped from the headlines". GAYLE MacDONALD, Globe and Mail, July 9, 2008
  23. ^ "Flashpoint - Fit for Duty CTV (Bell Media) Hugh Dillon". academy.ca. Shaw Media. 2014. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  24. ^ Denise, Petski (August 2021). "'Mayor Of Kingstown': Hugh Dillon, Pha'rez Lass & Tobi Bamtefa Join Cast As Production Begins On Taylor Sheridan's Series For Paramount+".
  25. ^ "'Flashpoint's Hugh Dillon joins 'The Killing'". The Loop. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  26. ^ "Table 2: IMDB results". doi:10.7717/peerj-cs.252/table-2. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links edit