Kevin Durand

A Canadian actor of formidable stature, Kevin Durand has become a go-to tough guy in both film and television productions. Adept at giving his characters an unsettling jolt of malice, he is often cast in villainous roles. However, his first major screen part was as a determined hockey player in the sports drama "Mystery, Alaska" (1999), which he followed with a series of TV gigs. Attempting to secure more of a foothold in movies, Durand finally won wider attention back on the small screen with a sinister recurring turn on "Lost" (ABC, 2004-2010), and proceeded to land more prominent roles in high-profile films.

A native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Durand, with his solid 6-foot-6-inch frame, fittingly played hockey in his youth, and put that experience to good use in one of his first significant film parts as "Tree" Lane in the sports-themed movie "Mystery, Alaska," starring Russell Crowe. After various brief TV stints, he won the recurring role of the monstrous, yet good-natured Joshua on the dystopian sci-fi/action show "Dark Angel" (Fox, 2000-02) and was a regular on the short-lived crime series "Touching Evil" (USA, 2004).

Durand subsequently shifted more towards movies, notably reuniting with his old friend Crowe in the gritty Western remake "3:10 to Yuma" (2007). The following year, he was cast as merciless soldier-for-hire Martin Keamy on the enigmatic drama "Lost," and his intense, dead-eyed performance led to other big projects, including "Legion" (2010), an action/horror movie where he portrayed the heavily armed evil angel Gabriel.

Getting a break from villainy to play the heroic Little John in Ridley Scott's sweeping "Robin Hood" (2010), Durand went on to antagonize Hugh Jackman's lead character in the fighting-robots/father-son film "Real Steel" (2011). He later joined the cast of David Cronenberg's edgy and cerebral "Cosmopolis" (2012) as the cool, detached bodyguard Torval, and opted for guns-blazing popcorn fare with his supporting part in the sci-fi/horror movie "Resident Evil: Retribution" (2012), before contributing a more nuanced performance to the emotive urban drama "Fruitvale Station" (2013).