Kenneth Welsh, CM (born March 30, 1942) is a Canadian film and television actor (sometimes credited as Ken Welsh). He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.

In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his portrayal of Reno Colt in the film "Reno and the Doc", written and directed by Charles Dennis. In 1997 Welsh directed Dennis in the latter's play "SoHo Duo" at the West Bank Theatre in New York City.

Welsh was born in Edmonton, Alberta to a father who worked for the Canadian National Railway.^[1] He grew up in Alberta and studied drama at school. He later moved to Montreal and attended the National Theatre School. Following graduation, he auditioned for the Stratford Festival in Ontario and then spent the first seven years of his career on stage.

Welsh has portrayed historical figures including Thomas E. Dewey, Colin Thatcher, Harry S. Truman (twice), Thomas Edison, James "Scotty" Reston, General Harry Crerar and James Baker.

He has made guest appearances on the acclaimed TV series Due South and Slings and Arrows.

In 2003, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

His role as the Vice-President of the United States in the 2004 environmental disaster film The Day After Tomorrow sparked some controversy due to his physical resemblance to Dick Cheney, who at the time was the real Vice President. Director Roland Emmerich later confirmed that he deliberately chose Welsh for that very reason. Emmerich stated that the character of the Vice-President in the film was intended to be a not-so-subtle criticism of the environmental policies of the Presidency of George W. Bush.^[2]

  Filmography

• Portraits of a Killer (1996) as Jim Miller
• Habitat (1997) as Coach Marlowe
• Edison: The Wizard of Light (1998) (TV) as Thomas Edison
• Law & Order
  • Disappeared (1998 TV Episode) as Ben O'Dell
• Thunder Point (1998) (TV) as Armstrong
• Thanks of a Grateful Nation (1998) (TV) as Sen. Shelby
• External Affairs (1999) as Michael Riordan
• Who Killed Atlanta's Children? (2000) (TV) as William Kunstler
• Dr. Watson in four Hallmark Sherlock Holmes television films:
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles (2000) (TV)
  • The Royal Scandal (2001) (TV)
  • The Sign of Four (2001) (TV)
  • The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire (2002) (TV)
• Witchblade (2000) (TV) as Joe Siri
• Haven (2001) (TV) as Harry Truman
• Focus (2001) as Father Crighton
• The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001) (TV) as James Baker
• Ice Bound: A Woman's Survival at the South Pole (2003) (TV) as Dr. Ben Murdoch
• Eloise at the Plaza (2003) (TV) as Sir Wilkes
• The Pentagon Papers (2003) (TV) as John McNaughon
• Eloise at Christmastime (2003) (TV) as Sir Wilkes
• Miracle (2004) as Doc Nagobads
• The Wild Guys (2004) as Andy
• The Day After Tomorrow (2004) as Vice President/President Raymond Becker
• H₂O (2004) (TV) as Randall Spear
• The Aviator (2004) as Dr. Hepburn
• Bailey's Billion$ (2005) as Mouse Delaney
• This Is Wonderland
  • Episode #2.3 (2005) TV Episode
• Tilt
  • The Aftermath (2005 TV Episode) as Seymour Henderson
  • The Whale (2005 TV Episode) as Seymour Henderson
  • Risk Tolerance (2005 TV Episode as Seymour Annisman
  • The Game (2005 TV Episode) as Seymour Henderson
• Our Fathers (2005) (TV) as Bishop Murphy
• Four Brothers (2005) as Robert Bradford
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) (as Ken Welsh) as Dr. Mueller
• The Fog (2005) as Tom Malone
• ReGenesis
  • Spare Parts (2004 TV Episode) as Dr. Shelby Sloane
  • Baby Bomb (2004 TV Episode) as Dr. Shelby Sloane
  • The Face of God (2005 TV Episode) as Dr. Shelby Sloane
• "Category 7: The End of the World (2005) (mini TV Series) as Chief of Staff Alan Horst
• Smallville
  • Lexmas (2005 TV Episode) as Drunk Santa
• The Snow Queen (2005) (TV) as King
• Above and Beyond (2005) (mini TV Series, in post-production) as Lord Beaverbrook
• Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008) as Uncle Hendrick
• Survival of the Dead (2009)
• Human Target (2010) as Belvilacqua
• Haven (2011) (episode "The Tides That Bind") as Cole Glendower

  References

  External links

• Kenneth Welsh at the Internet Movie Database
• Kenneth Welsh at northernstars.ca
• Excerpts from an Interview with Kenneth Welsh, conducted by Charles Prepolec on September 8, 2000.