Sebastian Roche

Early life

Roche was born in Paris, France on 4 August 1964. He is of Scottish descent on his mother's side and French descent on his father's. He is also fluent in four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Italian. As a teenager, he lived for six years on a sailing boat with his family, travelling from France to the Mediterranean, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. He is a graduate of the prestigious Conservatoire National Superieur d'Art Dramatique (CNSAD) of Paris. Roche also studied at the Cours Florent and the Conservatoire de la Rue Blanche (ENSATT). Upon his graduation from the CNSAD in 1989, Roche started working in French theatre, films and television with actors such as Michel Serrault, Isabelle Huppert, and Beatrice Dalle.

1986–2001: Career beginnings

Roche began his acting career in the made-for-television film The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986), appearing opposite Ian McShane and Val Kilmer. Throughout the late 1980s, he had roles in French television and cinema, including the films Adieu je t'aime (1988), La Queue de la comete (1988), La Revolution francaise (1989), and La vengeance d'une femme (1989), and the television series Bonjour maitre (1987) and The Hitchhiker (1989–91). Roche also has an extensive classical theatre background, notably starring in Salome (1992) with Al Pacino at the Circle in the Square Theatre; Titus Andronicus (1994) with the Theatre for a New Audience, Off-Broadway, directed by Julie Taymor; Macbeth (1994) at the Classic Stage Company, directed by Jack Stehlin; and Arms and the Man (1995) in Hartford, Connecticut, directed by Mark Lamos. In 1992, he appeared in a supporting role in the Daniel Day-Lewis-starring historical epic The Last of the Mohicans.

On American television, he appeared in Loving (1992), South Beach (1993), New York Undercover (1996), Swift Justice (1996), and Liberty! (1997). In 1997, Roche was part of the main cast on the FOX fantasy adventure television series Roar. He played the role of Longinus, opposite Heath Ledger and Vera Farmiga. The series was cancelled due to low ratings later that same year. Roche's many 1990s television credits include recurring and guest starring stints on series such as Feds (1997), Dellaventura (1997), Sex and the City (1998), Merlin (1998), Law & Order (1999), and Big Apple (2001). In 1998, he returned to the stage and starred in the Off-Broadway production of Trainspotting at the Players Theater. In 2000, he portrayed the character Renzo in the Broadway production of The Green Bird at the Cort Theatre. The play marked his second collaboration with director Julie Taymor. That same year, he appeared in the television film The Crossing (2000), opposite Jeff Daniels. In 2001, he had a minor role in the Robert De Niro-starring thriller film 15 Minutes.

2002–present: Breakthrough on television

In 2002, Roche portrayed Kurt Mendel on the Canadian science fiction series Odyssey 5 for Showtime. He remained in the role until the show's cancellation in 2003. On the pilot episode of Odyssey 5, he spoke in French. He also guest starred in episodes of Touching Evil (2004), Charmed (2005), Alias (2005), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2005), and The Unit (2006). Roche then co-starred in the drama film The Namesake (2006), directed by Mira Nair; the biopic What We Do Is Secret (2007), alongside Shane West; the comedy-drama New York City Serenade (2007), with Freddie Prinze, Jr.; and the motion capture epic fantasy film Beowulf (2007), also starring Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie. He reprised his role as Wulfgar from the latter film in the video game Beowulf: The Game, released in November 2007.

In 2007, Roche began appearing on the ABC soap opera General Hospital as terrorist/criminal Jerry Jacks (although, when the character reappeared, he was going by the pseudonym James Craig). In April 2007, it was announced that Roche had been signed to a contract on General Hospital, keeping his character around for the foreseeable future. His first contractual airdate was 23 April 2007, which was also the date that his character's true identity was revealed. By 2009, Jerry had minimal screen time and was written out. From July to August 2009, Roche returned to the series in a recurring capacity. He returned again to the role in December 2010. From August 2012 to October 2013, Roche again returned as Jerry on a recurring basis. Roche starred in a total of 315 episodes, and has spoken in Russian, Spanish, and French on the series. In 2009, he guest starred on The Mentalist as Shirali Arlov, and as John Quinn in both 24: Redemption (2008), and the 2009 season of 24. He appeared in the 2009 independent comedy-drama Happy Tears with Demi Moore and Parker Posey, and leant his voice to the 2011 animated film The Adventures of Tintin, directed by Steven Spielberg.

In 2010, Roche joined the recurring cast of The CW's drama series Supernatural. He starred in six episodes of the sixth season as Balthazar, a rogue angel and longtime friend of fellow angel Castiel. On the television series Fringe, Roche was cast as the recurring character Thomas Jerome Newton, the leader of an army of shapeshifters from a parallel universe and a main antagonist of the series. His character recurred in seasons two and three; Newton died in the episode "Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?", which was aired on 14 October 2010. In 2011, Roche appeared as the recurring character Mikael Mikaelson, the father of the Original Vampires, on The CW's supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries. From 2011 to 2012, he starred as the recurring character Clyde Easter on CBS' Criminal Minds. The following year, Roche had a supporting role in the action thriller Safe House, also starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington. Also in 2012, he guest starred on NBC's procedural fantasy drama Grimm, in the episode "Cat and Mouse". He then starred in William Brent Bell's horror film Wer (2013).

From 2014 to 2015, Roche reprised his role as Mikael in the spin-off series of The Vampire Diaries, titled The Originals. Roche then starred in the American crime drama-thriller A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014), alongside Liam Neeson. In March 2014, he joined ABC's Scandal in a recurring capacity. On 22 December 2014, it was announced that Roche would guest star in season four of ABC's fairy tale drama series Once Upon a Time as King Stefan. He made his debut as the character in the episode "Enter the Dragon", which was aired on 15 March 2015. Roche starred as Pierre Curie in the episode "Unruly Elements" of documentary miniseries The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements, which was aired on PBS on 19 August 2015. He then guest starred in season seven of CBS' procedural drama series NCIS: Los Angeles. He appeared in the episode "An Unlocked Mind" as Lee Ashman. In 2016, Roche will co-star in the Paolo Sorrentino-directed miniseries The Young Pope, alongside Jude Law, Diane Keaton, and James Cromwell.

Personal life

Roche moved to the United States in 1992. He met American actress Vera Farmiga while co-starring together on the short-lived television series Roar. They eloped to the Bahamas after the series ended in 1997. The couple resided on a 117-acre estate in Upstate New York. Roche and Farmiga separated in 2004, and were divorced in 2005 following eight years of marriage. Through his marriage to Farmiga, he was the brother-in-law of actress Taissa Farmiga.

In 2007, Roche purchased a 3-bedroom house in Venice, Los Angeles for $1.52 million. On 31 May 2014, he married Australian actress Alicia Hannah in a private ceremony at the Chateau Les Bouysses in Mercues, France.