Connor Jessup

Career

Acting

Jessup began acting at the age of 11 as a child actor. After various early jobs, including a role in a stage adaptation of The Full Monty, Jessup got a lead role in the children's television series The Saddle Club, for which he is also credited with conceptualizing the plot of one episode. He served as executive producer for the independent film Amy George, which played at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2011, Jessup was cast as a main character in the TNT science fiction series Falling Skies. He starred on the show for five seasons.

In 2012, Jessup starred in the Canadian independent film Blackbird, in which he played a troubled teen falsely accused of planning a school shooting. Jessup's performance received positive reviews and the film won various awards, including the Best Canadian First Feature Film award at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. The film won three awards at the Atlantic Film Festival and won the Vancouver International Film Festival award for Best Canadian Feature Film. It also screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2015, Jessup also starred in the feature film Closet Monster, which won the Best Canadian Film Award at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, and screened at various film festivals around the world, before subsequently being released nationwide in July 2016.

In 2016, Jessup starred in the Emmy-winning ABC series American Crime as Taylor Blaine. His performance was praised by critics. He returned for the third season as Coy Henson.

In 2018, Jessup was cast as Tyler Locke, one of the main roles in the Netflix series Locke & Key, an adaptation of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's popular comic series of the same name.

Jessup will star in Apichatpong Weerasethakul's upcoming film Jengira's Magnificent Dream.

Filmmaking

Jessup has stated in numerous interviews that his intention is to work in the film industry beyond acting, as a director and filmmaker. In an interview with the * Toronto Star*, Jessup said that directing "is where my mind and heart [are] at the moment". In 2014, Jessup starred in the short film Fragments, and in 2015, Jessup's short film Boy, which he wrote and directed, and was funded by bravoFACT, premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2016, Jessup was included in Filmmaker Magazines annual list of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film. His short film Lira's Forest, which he wrote and directed, premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Jessup wants to expand this story with a feature film, Simon's Forest.

In 2017, it was announced that Jessup would be directing a documentary profile of Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul for FilmStruck and The Criterion Collection. The film was released in the second quarter of 2018.

In 2019, he produced the omnibus film 30/30 Vision: 3 Decades of Strand Releasing, which included short films by Ira Sachs, Catherine Breillat, Cindy Sherman, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Brady Corbet, Rithy Pahn, Lulu Wang and more. He contributed his own film to the program, Night Flight, inspired by the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Julian and the Wind, a short film written and directed by Jessup, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024. Jessup directed the music videos for Frances Whitney's "Biggest Fan" and Sebastian Croft's debut single "Tokyo", which were both released in 2025.

Influences

As a director, Jessup has expressed a particular fascination with Japanese film and culture and has stated in interviews that he is highly influenced by East Asian cinema, including directors Hirokazu Kore-eda, Edward Yang, Yasujirō Ozu, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. He has also expressed admiration for directors Abbas Kiarostami, Andrew Haigh, and Ira Sachs.

Personal life

Jessup is gay and came out publicly in a post on Instagram in June 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

Filmmaking credits

References

References

1. (June 5, 2016). "Connor Jessup – Interview Magazine". Interview Magazine.
2. "Mysterious Impressions: Connor Jessup on Apichatpong Weerasethakul".
3. "Connor Jessup biography and filmography | Connor Jessup movies".
4. (September 15, 2011). "Q&A: Connor Jessup talks TIFF film ''Amy George''".
5. Ngwije, Americ. (2011). "Connor Jessup Opens Up About Noah Wyle, Alien Invasions and Game Of Thrones". DaemonsTV.
6. (August 8, 2012). "Blackbird gets into TIFF12, Lead Connor Jessup gets honored".
7. (September 17, 2012). "Chester filmmaker wins TIFF award for Blackbird". [[The Chronicle Herald]].
8. [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2013/01/29/blackbird_director_jason_buxton_earns_claude_jutra_award_for_debut_film.html "Blackbird director Jason Buxton earns Claude Jutra Award for debut film"]. ''[[Toronto Star]]'', January 29, 2013.
9. "Q&A with Jason Buxton".
10. (September 29, 2015). "Closet Monster wins big at TIFF 2015 {{!}} Daily Xtra".
11. "TIFF: Breakout Star Connor Jessup on ''American Crime'' and Teen Sexuality".
12. (February 20, 2016). "Performer of the Week: Connor Jessup".
13. Wagmeister, Elizabeth. (January 6, 2016). "''American Crime'' Star Connor Jessup Discusses Season 2, 'Staggering' Scope of Male Sexual Assault".
14. Prudom, Laura. (August 17, 2016). "''American Crime'' Brings Back Connor Jessup for Season 3".
15. (December 19, 2018). "''Locke & Key'': Connor Jessup & Emilia Jones To Play Tyler & Kinsey Locke In Netflix Series From Carlton Cuse & Joe Hill".
16. Pearce, Leonard. (2025-09-26). "Apichatpong Weerasethakul to Reteam With Tilda Swinton for Jengira’s Magnificent Dream".
17. (July 15, 2016). "Connor Jessup: Toronto actor sees future as director {{!}} Toronto Star".
18. (July 14, 2016). "Canadian actor Connor Jessup easing into his right to tell stories". The Globe and Mail.
19. (July 15, 2016). "Connor Jessup: Toronto actor sees future as director {{!}} Toronto Star".
20. "TIFF: Breakout Star Connor Jessup on ''American Crime'' and Teen Sexuality".
21. "TIFF.net {{!}} Boy". Toronto International Film Festival.
22. Rizov, Vadim. (July 25, 2016). "Connor Jessup {{!}} Filmmaker Magazine".
23. "''Lira's Forest''".
24. (October 5, 2017). "MEET THE FILMMAKERS: JOSH AND BENNY SAFDIE – The Hollywood 360".
25. Macaulay, Scott. (October 22, 2019). "Strand Releasing's "30/30 Vision": Premiering New iPhone Shorts by Ira Sachs, James Schamus and Elisabeth Subrin".
26. Kohn, Eric. (2019-09-18). "30 Major Filmmakers Salute Strand Releasing's 30 Years of Arthouse Distribution With New Short Films".
27. "Connor Jessup on Instagram: "I made a little iPhone movie called NIGHT FLIGHT, inspired by the beautiful book by Saint-Exupéry. It's part of the omnibus project 30/30…"".
28. Anderson, Erik. (2024-08-09). "AwardsWatch - 2024 TIFF Lineups for Primetime and Shorts Include Alfonso Cuarón's 'Disclaimer,' New Films from Dakota Johnson, Maika Monroe, Connor Jessup".
29. (2025-03-20). "Frances Whitney - Biggest Fan (Official Video)".
30. (2025-11-07). "Sebastian Croft - Tokyo (Official Music Video)".
31. "Film Captures the Spirit in BOY {{!}} Graphic Communications".
32. (August 6, 2015). "Interview: Connor Jessup talks Falling Skies, New Projects & Life Experiences {{!}} Three If By Space".
33. nurun.com. "Short film about a boy – and his ghost".
34. (July 14, 2016). "Canadian actor Connor Jessup easing into his right to tell stories". The Globe and Mail.
35. Megarry, Daniel. (June 24, 2019). "American Crime star Connor Jessup comes out as gay".