Jim Byrnes (actor)

Jim Byrnes OBC CM
Byrnes at Japan Expo 2010
Born	James Thomas Kevin Byrnes (1948-09-22) September 22, 1948 (age 76) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Citizenship	United States Canada
Occupations	Actor musician [1]
Years active	1966–present
Website	jimbyrnes.ca

James Thomas Kevin Byrnes ^[1] OBC CM (born September 22, 1948) is an American actor and blues musician.

Life and career

Byrnes was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 22, 1948. ^[1] His mother was a homemaker, and his father was a municipal accountant. ^[1] In 1968, during the Vietnam War, Byrnes was drafted and served in the 196th Infantry Brigade for a year. ^{[2] [3]} He has lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, since the mid-1970s. On February 26, 1972, he was struck by a passing car while he attempted to help move a stalled truck on the Island Highway North of Parksville, which injured his legs and forced them both to be amputated. ^[2]

In 1987, Byrnes started appearing on Wiseguy as Daniel Burroughs, better known as Lifeguard. It was his first major role and lasted until 1990. Later, he starred in the fantasy television series Highlander: The Series as Joe Dawson, a member of a secret society known as the "Watchers." He reprised his role as Dawson in Highlander: Endgame and Highlander: The Source , installments of the Highlander film series, as well as providing voices for the anime Highlander: The Search for Vengeance . He starred in his own short-lived TV show, called The Jim Byrnes Show. He played a recruiting sergeant for the Union Army in an episode of Copper called "The Children of the Battlefield."

His other television roles include Higher Ground and cartoon voices in Beast Wars: Transformers , Beast Machines: Transformers , Shadow Raiders , Stargate Infinity , Dinosaur Train as Percy Paramacellodus , Nick Fury in X-Men: Evolution , and Duke Dermail in Gundam Wing . He appeared in the Taken mini series, which broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel and an episode of The Twilight Zone entitled "Harsh Mistress". He has also appeared on the Syfy series Sanctuary , appearing as the father of Helen Magnus, played by Amanda Tapping and as Shineoa San in an episode of Andromeda as well as the voice of Virgil Vox in nine additional episodes.

As a musician, Byrnes has won the Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year three times, for That River in 1996 and House of Refuge on Black Hen Music in 2007, and for Everywhere West in 2011. ^[4] Byrnes was also honoured at the 2006 Maple Blues Awards, as Male Vocalist of the Year. ^[5] The Canadian Folk Music Awards recognized him as the Contemporary Singer of the Year in 2006 and 2009. ^{[6] [7]}

In 2018, Byrnes performed with the Sojourners at a concert organized by the North Island Concert Society. ^[8]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Out of the Blue	Party Singer
1989	The First Season	Band Leader
1992	Harmony Cats	Frank Hay
1992	Invader	Engineer Powell (scenes deleted)
1994	Whale Music	Dewey Moore
1995	Suspicious Agenda	Lt. Rayburn
1995	Dream Man	Jim Garrity 'The Loot'	(Video)
1996	Starlight	Rod MacArthur
1997	Masterminds	Larry Millard (uncredited)
1997	Drive, She Said	Dr. Glen Green
2000	Monster Mash	The Prosecutor	video
2000	Highlander: Endgame	Joe Dawson
2003	My Boss's Daughter	George
2005	Edison	Local Merchant
2005	Fetching Cody	Harvey
2008	Heart of a Dragon	Ivan
2011	She's a Soul Man	Joe Cameron
2014	Hastings Street	Bartender
2015	Wanderlust	Graham
2018	24 Piedmont Drive	Bernard Donnelly
2019	Ada	Murray

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Hands of a Stranger	Band Leader (uncredited)	Television film
1987	Danger Bay	Tony Walter	Episode: "Deep Trouble"
1988	The Red Spider	Jack Fine	Television film
1990	In the Best Interest of the Child	Kurt	Television film
1990	A Klondike Christmas	Wolfie (voice)	Television film
1987–1990	Wiseguy	Daniel Benjamin 'Lifeguard' Burroughs	74 episodes
1991	Omen IV: The Awakening	Noah	Television film
1991	Christmas on Division Street	Benedetti	Television film
1992	Dirty Work	Stan	Television film
1993	The Hat Squad	Carl Drake	Episode: "Dead Man Walking"
1993	Street Justice	The Doctor	Episode: "The Wall"
1994	The Legend of the Hawaiian Slammers	Additional voices
1991–1994	Neon Rider	Kevin	12 episodes
1995	Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story	Vet	Television film
1995	Sliders	TV Announcer (uncredited)	Episode: "Pilot"
1995	The Commish	Brett Shrager	Episode: "The Kid"
1996	Wiseguy	Lifeguard	Television film
1996	Bloodhounds II	Lt. Jim McMahon	Television film
1996	For Hope	Date #1 (uncredited)	Television film
1997	Two	Col. Maxwell Foley	Episode: "The Reckoning"
1997	Lost Treasure of Dos Santos	Doc Humphries	Television film
1997	Final Descent	Duke Houston	Television film
1993–1998	Highlander: The Series	Joe Dawson	97 episodes
1998	Murder Call	Guy Hanson	Episode: "More Than Meets the Eye"
1998	The Jim Byrnes Show	Jim Byrnes
1999	Highlander: The Raven	Joe Dawson	Episode: "A Matter of Time"
1998–1999	The Net	Mr. Olivier	9 episodes
1999	Cold Squad	Dick Hofstedder	4 episodes
2000	Higher Ground	Frank Markasian	5 episodes
2000	Mysterious Ways	Ramp	Episodes: "Spirit Junction"
2000	Becoming Dick	Bartender	Television film
2000	First Wave	Tyler Greer	Episode: "Shadowland"
2000	Level 9	General Theodore Nemec	Episode: "Eat Flaming Death"
1998–2001	The Outer Limits	Merlin, Gary Latimer	2 episodes
2002	Due East	Father Berkely	Television film
2002	The Dead Zone	Vic Goodman	Episode: "Unreasonable Doubt"
2002	The Twilight Zone	Dion	Episode: "Harsh Mistress"
2002	Just Cause		Episode: "Fading Star"
2002	Taken	Busker	Episode: "Acid Tests"
2002	Snow Queen	Polar Bear (voice)	Television film [9]
2003	Jake 2.0	James Skerritt	3 episodes
2004	Stargate SG-1	Documentary Narrator	Episode: "Heroes: Part 2"
2004–2005	Andromeda	Virgil Vox, Shineoa San	13 episodes
2005	Supernatural	Professor	Episode: "Bugs"
2005–2006	Da Vinci's City Hall	Councillor Eddie Banks	2 episodes
2007	Highlander: The Search for Vengeance	Doc, Rudy	Video [9]
2007	Highlander: The Source	Joe Dawson	Television film
2007	Don't Cry Now	Steve	Television film
2007	Sanctuary	Gregory Magnus	Miniseries
2010	V	Matthew	Episode: "John May"
2011	Goodnight for Justice	Governor	Television film
2011	Hellcats	Giles	2 episodes
2008–2011	Sanctuary	Gregory Magnus	5 episodes
2011	Deck the Halls	Morgan the radio DJ	Television film
2013	Copper	Sgt. Major Atticus Reid	Episode: "The Children of the Battlefield"
2013	King & Maxwell	Roy Smalls	Episode: "Job Security"
2014	Paper Angels	Bill Price	Television film
2014	Strange Empire	Cart	Episode: "The Oath"
2015	The Romeo Section	Reverend Ortelli	4 episodes
2016	The Legend of Davy Crockett	John Patton	Television film
2018	Travelers	James Edward Bailey	Episode: "Trevor"
2021	Sister Swap: Christmas in the City	Luke Swift	Television film (Hallmark)
2022	Billy the Kid	Matthews	1 episode

Animation

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	G.I. Joe: Operation Dragonfire	Alley Viper, Crimson Guard - Fake Lama, Night-Viper	5 episodes
1989	Dragon Warrior	Wizard Moore (voice)
1989–1990	Camp Candy	Additional voices	16 episodes
1990–1991	G.I. Joe	Additional voices	19 episodes
1992–1993	Conan the Adventurer	Epimetrius	5 episodes
1993	Mega Man: Upon a Star	Dr. Light
1993–1994	Madeline	Additional voices
1992–1994	King Arthur and the Knights of Justice	Merlin	26 episodes
1994	Conan and the Young Warriors	Epimetrius the Sage	13 episodes
1995	The New Adventures of Madeline	Additional voices	13 episodes
1994–1996	Mega Man	Doctor Light, Sigma, Pharaoh Man, Air Man, Quick Man, Top Man, Gravity Man	27 episodes
1996	G.I. Joe Extreme	Nelson	Episode: "Winner Take All"
1996	Vortech: Undercover Conversion Squad	Additional voices	2 episodes
1996	Adventures of Mowgli	Father Wolf (voice)	English dub [9]
1996	Stone Protectors	Additional voices	13 episodes
1994–1996	Hurricanes	Additional voices	7 episodes
1997	Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz	Dekim Barton
1998	Mummies Alive! The Legend Begins	Additional voices
1998	The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer	Pop (voice)	Video [9]
1998	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie	Elf Crowd Member #2	[9]
1997–1999	Beast Wars: Transformers	Inferno
1997–1999	Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths & Legends	Additional voices	40 episodes
1998–1999	Shadow Raiders	Grand Vizier	8 episodes
1998–1999	RoboCop: Alpha Commando	Mr. Brink	40 episodes
1998	Fat Dog Mendoza	Brian Wallace / Dan Fantastic	[9]
1999–2000	Beast Machines: Transformers	Thrust
1999–2001	NASCAR Racers	Additional voices	26 episodes
2000–2001	D'Myna Leagues	Rip Hickory, Dodger	13 episodes [9]
2001	Spider-Man Unlimited	Fire Drake	Episode: "Cry Vulture"
2001–2002	Ultimate Book of Spells	Additional voices	26 episodes
2001–2002	Alienators: Evolution Continues	Additional voices	17 episodes
2002	Inspector Gadget's Last Case	Chief Quimby	[9]
2002	Dennis the Menace: Cruise Control	Kraigor
2002	Madeline: My Fair Madeline	Mayor of Paris	Television film [9]
2002–2003	X-Men: Evolution	Nick Fury	7 episodes
2005	Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever	Chief Quimby	[9]
2007	Madeline in Tahiti	Scarfaced Man	[9]
2009	Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5	Jack Wheeler	Episode: "Legacy" [9]
2010	Dinosaur Train	Percy Paramacellodus	Episode: "Elmer Visits the Desert" [9]
2012	War of the Worlds: Goliath	Theodore Roosevelt
2013	Slugterra	Viggo Dare	Episode: "Back to Blakk" [9]
2016	My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic	Gladmane	Episode: "Viva Las Pegasus" [9]
2018	Take Two	Josiah Carberry	Episode: "Stillwater"

Discography

Solo

• Burning (1981) Polydor (vinyl) ^[10]
• I Turned My Nights into Days (1987) Stony Plain Records (vinyl) ^[11]
• That River (1995) Stony Plain ^{[12] [13]}
• Love Is a Gamble (2001) One Coyote Music ^[14]
• Fresh Horses (2004) Black Hen Music ^[15]
• House of Refuge (2006) Black Hen Music ^[16]
• My Walking Stick (2009) Black Hen Music
• Everywhere West (2011) Black Hen Music ^[17]
• I Hear the Wind in the Wires (2012) Black Hen Music
• St. Louis Times (2014) Black Hen Music
• Long Hot Summer Days (2017) Black Hen Music

Compilation Inclusions

• Vancouver Seeds 2 (1981)
• Saturday Night Blues: 20 Years (2006) CBC ^[18]

References

1. Jim Byrnes Biography and Filmography; www.filmreference.com.
2. "The Loss of His Legs Is No Handicap for Wiseguy's Jim Byrnes". People , May 21, 1990.
3. Vancouver Magazine . "Jim Byrnes's Last Stand", 1 July 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
4. See Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year.
5. "2006 Maple Blues Awards Winners and Nominees". Toronto Blues Society. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
6. "Results 2006". Canadian Folk Music Awards / Prix de musique folk canadienne. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
7. "Results 2009". Canadian Folk Music Awards / Prix de musique folk canadienne. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
8. "Concert Society goes out on a high note" Archived 2019-02-03 at the Wayback Machine . North Island Gazette, Hanna Petersen. Apr. 17, 2018
9. "Jim Byrnes (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved February 14, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
10. CD re-release 1998, Stony Plain Records, coupled with I Turned My Nights Into Days.
11. CD re-release, 1998, Stony Plain Records, coupled with Burning.
12. 1996 Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year.
13. Re-released 1997 on Band Together label, with the tracks in a different order.
14. Limited pre-release; no general release.
15. Contains six of the nine songs found on Love Is A Gamble; see Jim Byrnes detailed discography; www.jimbyrnes.org.
16. 2007 Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year.
17. 2010 Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year.
18. A compilation album of live performances from the Saturday Night Blues radio program on CBC Radio, hosted by Holger Petersen. Byrnes' "Blood In My Eyes" (also known as "I've Got Blood In My Eyes For You" and originally recorded on Fresh Horses) is included.

External links

• Jim Byrnes Website
• Jim Byrnes at IMDb
• The Jim Byrnes Show at IMDb
• Jim Byrnes discography at Discogs