T. J. Scott

T. J. Scott is a Canadian film and television director, screenwriter, producer, and former stuntman and actor. For his work as a director on the BBC America-Space television series Orphan Black, Scott won a Canadian Screen Award in 2015. He received a second nomination for the same award in 2018 for directing Caught.

Scott grew up in Canada working as an actor and stuntman, before making the move to Los Angeles to pursue a career behind the camera in Hollywood. Scott studied film and TV production at York University in Toronto.

1990s–2000s: Early feature film and television work

Scott began directing feature films in the early 1990s, with the action-science fiction martial arts film TC 2000 (1993). Of the experience as a first-time director, Scott said:

You know, I was very young... I took the first feature that was offered to me... I think we all learned a lot while we were making it.

Later that decade, Scott directed Legacy (1998), starring David Hasselhoff and his future wife, Victoria Pratt. Legacy screened as the opening night film for the Las Vegas Film Festival in 1999.

The following year, Scott wrote, directed, and produced the HBO film Blacktop (2000), starring Kristen Davis. Around this time, Scott's career as a television director began to take off. He first worked in New Zealand with filmmakers Robert Tapert and Sam Raimi on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1999) and subsequently directed several episodes of the spin-offTV series Xena: Warrior Princess (1996–2001).

After working on Xena, Scott directed several episodes of the series Cleopatra 2525 (2000–2001) before its cancellation. He then moved onto other shows, including the controversial ESPN series Playmakers (2003). Scott's episode of Playmakers was named by the American Film Institute as one of the top 10 television episodes of 2003. Around this time, Scott also directed several episodes of Mutant X (2001–2002).

His most recent feature film work includes the made-for-television film Deadliest Sea (2009), which aired on the Discovery Channel and was nominated for five Gemini Awards in 2010 including Best Director.

2010s: Breakthrough as a television director

Throughout the 2010s, Scott directed dozens of television episodes for series such as Spartacus (2012–2013), Bitten (2014–2015), Longmire (2014–present), Gotham (2014–2019), The Strain (2015–present) Dark Matter (2015–2018).

In 2015, Scott directed episodes of the BBC America-Space television series Orphan Black, which, upon release, garnered a cult following, and significant critical acclaim. In January 2015, it was announced that Scott was nominated by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, Canada's equivalent to the Emmys, for his work on the show. In February 2015, Scott won the award for Best Direction in a Dramatic Series at the 3rd annual Canadian Screen Awards for his work on Orphan Black. Following Orphan Black, Scott continued to direct high-profile television series, such as Star Trek: Discovery and Taken.

In 2018, his work on the Canadian miniseries Caught garnered him his second Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series. The following year, he executive produced and directed a six-part miniseries called Departure. The series, commissioned by Global Television Network as a Canada/U.K. co-production, stars Archie Panjabi and Christopher Plummer, among others. It is slated to premiere on Universal TV outside of Canada.

Other work

In addition to directing, Scott is also a well-known photographer. He also works as a freelance writer in Hollywood, co-writing the story for the film Tracers (2015), starring Taylor Lautner. In September 2011, it was announced that filmmaker Chris Columbus signed on to direct Scott's screenplay titled The Secret Lives of Road Crews for Paramount Pictures. As of 2019, the film has not been produced.

From 2015 to 2017, Scott served as an executive producer on the popular web series Teenagers (2014–present).

Scott married Canadian actress and model Victoria Pratt in 2000; they subsequently divorced in 2016.