Hubbry Logo
Sebastian RochéSebastian RochéMain
Open search
Sebastian Roché
Community hub
Sebastian Roché
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Sebastian Roché
Sebastian Roché
from Wikipedia

Sebastian Roché (born 4 August 1964[1][2]) is a French-American actor. He is known for his roles as Kurt Mendel in Odyssey 5, Jerry Jacks in General Hospital, Thomas Jerome Newton in Fringe, Balthazar in Supernatural, Mikael in both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, and Reichsminister Martin Heusmann in The Man in the High Castle.

Key Information

Roché has appeared in the films The Last of the Mohicans (1992); The Peacemaker (1997); 15 Minutes (2001); Earthsea (miniseries) (2004); Sorry, Haters (2005); The Namesake (2006); New York City Serenade (2007); Beowulf (2007); Happy Tears (2009); Safe House (2012); Wer (2013); A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014); and We Love You, Sally Carmichael! (2017). He also starred in the Broadway plays Salome (1992) and The Green Bird (2000).

Early life

[edit]

Roché was born in Paris to a Scottish mother, Gail (née Stewart), and a French father, Philippe Roché.[3] From age 12 to 18, Roché lived on a sailboat with his parents and brothers, travelling to the Mediterranean, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean.[4] He is fluent in French, English, German, Spanish and Italian.[5]

Roché was educated at the Lycée International de St Germain en Laye. He then studied acting at the Cours Florent in Paris and the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre, and also attended the prestigious French National Academy of Dramatic Arts or CNSAD, from which he graduated in 1989.[6] He moved to New York City in 1992.[4]

Career

[edit]

Roché began his acting career in the made-for-television film The Murders in the Rue Morgue, appearing opposite Ian McShane and Val Kilmer, which aired on CBS on 7 December 1986. Throughout the late 1980s, he had roles in French television and cinema, including the films Adieu je t'aime (1988), La Queue de la comète (1988), La Révolution française (1989), and A Woman's Revenge (1990), and the television series Bonjour maître (1987) and The Hitchhiker (1989–1991).

Roché 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, directed by Julie Taymor;[7] Macbeth (1994) at the Classic Stage Company, directed by Jack Stehlin;[8] and Arms and the Man (1995) in Hartford, Connecticut, directed by Mark Lamos.[9] He appeared in a supporting role in the Daniel Day-Lewis-starring historical epic The Last of the Mohicans, which was released in the United States on 25 September 1992. On American television, he appeared in Loving (1992), South Beach (1993), New York Undercover (1996), Swift Justice (1996), and Liberty! (1997).

In 1997, Roché was part of the main cast in the Fox fantasy adventure series Roar, playing the role of Saint Longinus. He starred opposite Heath Ledger and Vera Farmiga.[10] The series was cancelled due to low ratings later that same year. Roché's many 1990s television credits include recurring and guest starring stints in series such as Feds (1997), Dellaventura (1997), Sex and the City (1998), Merlin (1998), Law & Order (1993 & 1999), and Big Apple (2001). In 1998, he returned to the stage in the Off-Broadway production of Trainspotting at the Players Theater.[11] In 2000, he portrayed Prince Renzo in the Broadway production of The Green Bird at the Cort Theatre. The play marked his second collaboration with director Julie Taymor.[12] That same year, he appeared in the television film The Crossing opposite Jeff Daniels, which aired on A&E on 10 January 2000. He also had a minor role in the thriller film 15 Minutes starring Robert De Niro, released on 9 March 2001.

In 2002, Roché began portraying Kurt Mendel in the Canadian science fiction series Odyssey 5 for Showtime. He remained in the role until the show's cancellation a year later. In the pilot episode, he spoke French. He also guest starred in episodes of Touching Evil (2004), Charmed (2005), Alias (2005), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2005), and The Unit (2006). Roché then co-starred in the Mira Nair-directed drama film The Namesake, released on 9 March 2007, and in the Darby Crash biopic What We Do Is Secret, released on 8 August 2008. He subsequently co-starred with Freddie Prinze, Jr. the comedy-drama New York City Serenade, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 13 September 2007.

Roché with the cast of The Vampire Diaries in June 2013

Roché next starred in the motion capture epic fantasy film Beowulf, alongside Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie, which was directed by Robert Zemeckis and released to cinemas on 16 November 2007. He reprised his role as Wulfgar from the film in the accompanying video game Beowulf: The Game, released on 13 November 2007.[13] In 2007, Roché began appearing in the ABC soap opera General Hospital as terrorist/criminal Jerry Jacks . Roché returned to the series in a recurring capacity. He starred in a total of 319 episodes, and has spoken Russian, Spanish, and French in the series.[14]

In 2009, Roché guest starred in The Mentalist as Shirali Arlov, and as John Quinn in both 24: Redemption (2008), and the 2009 season of 24. He then appeared in the comedy-drama film Happy Tears with Demi Moore and Parker Posey, released on 19 February 2010, and lent his voice to the animated film The Adventures of Tintin, directed by Steven Spielberg and released on 21 December 2011.[15] In 2010, Roché 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.[16] He was next cast in the Fox science fiction drama series Fringe, recurring in the second and third seasons as Thomas Jerome Newton, the leader of an army of shapeshifters from a parallel universe and a main antagonist of the series.[17][18]

In 2011, Roché began recurring as Mikael, the father of the Original Vampires, in The CW's supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries.[19] He then recurred as Clyde Easter in the CBS procedural crime drama series Criminal Minds.[20] Roché next had a supporting role in the action-thriller film Safe House, starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington, which was released on 10 February 2012.[21] Also in 2012, he made a guest appearance in NBC's procedural fantasy drama series Grimm.[22] In 2013, he made a guest appearance on Burn Notice playing Roger Steele. He then starred in William Brent Bell's horror film Wer, released first in Japan on 16 November 2013.[23]

Roché with Rob Benedict at the Supernatural Convention in May 2014

From 2014 to 2015, and continuing through 2018, Roché reprised his role as Mikael in The Vampire Diaries spin-off series, The Originals.[24] Roché then starred in the American crime thriller film A Walk Among the Tombstones alongside Liam Neeson, released on 19 September 2014.[25] In March 2014, he joined ABC's political drama series Scandal in a recurring capacity.[26] In December 2014, it was announced that Roché would guest star in season four of ABC's fairy tale drama series Once Upon a Time as King Stefan.[27] Roché starred as Pierre Curie in an episode of the documentary miniseries The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements, which aired on PBS on 19 August 2015.[28] Roché then guest starred in season seven of CBS' procedural drama series NCIS: Los Angeles, as Lee Ashman.[29]

In 2016, Roché co-starred as Cardinal Michel Marivaux in Paolo Sorrentino's drama series The Young Pope, alongside Jude Law and James Cromwell.[30] He also had a starring role in the second and third season of Amazon Video's drama series The Man in the High Castle as Martin Heusmann, the estranged Nazi father of main character Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank).[31] Roché co-starred in Christopher Gorham's directorial debut comedy We Love You, Sally Carmichael! (2017), portraying film star Perry Quinn, alongside Gorham and Bitsie Tulloch.[32] He then appeared as Emile Gilot, the father of French painter Françoise Gilot, in the second season of the National Geographic anthology series Genius.[33] Roché performed in a modern-day adaptation of the Molière play Tartuffe, making his West End theatre debut as Orgon.[34] He portrayed Klaus Jager in the war film Burning at Both Ends, opposite Cary Elwes and Judd Hirsch.[35] He appeared in Tides directed by Tim Felhbaum opposite Iain Glen and Nora Arnezeder as well as the Michael Bay film 6 Underground with Ryan Reynolds for Netflix. He recurred as Dr. Ethan Campbell in the CW series Batwoman. He also guest starred as Hannibal Teague in the series MacGyver in 2020.

By 2021, he was recurring in both the NBC sci fi drama Debris as the enigmatic MI6 agent Brill and in the ABC drama Big Sky as the corrupt Sheriff John Wagy.

He appeared in Heatwave opposite Kat Graham, and the independent film Lone Star Bull as Chuck Moore. Roché also shot the NBC pilot Getaway and can also be seen in Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities as Roland, opposite Tim Blake-Nelson.

In the Paramount+ TV series 1923, the sequel to Taylor Sheridan's critically acclaimed 1883, he appears as Father Renaud, a French Roman Catholic priest and the abusive headmaster of the Catholic boarding school.

Roché appeared opposite Kim Soo-Hyun and Kim Ji-Won in the highest rated K-drama of 2024, Queen of Tears as Dr Liam Braun.[36]

Roché was cast as a series regular in the new Netflix series Gringo Hunters set in Mexico.

Personal life

[edit]

Roché met American actress Vera Farmiga while co-starring with her in the Fox series Roar. They eloped to the Bahamas after the series ended in 1997,[37] and lived on a 125-acre estate in Upstate New York.[38] After seven years of marriage, Roché and Farmiga separated in 2004.[37]

On 31 May 2014, he married Korean Australian actress Alicia Hannah-Kim at the Chateau Les Bouysses in Mercuès, France.[39]

Roché is an American citizen.[40]

Filmography

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Sebastian Roché (born 4 August 1964) is a French actor of dual French and Scottish parentage, recognized for portraying complex antagonists and recurring characters in American television productions. Born in Paris to father Philippe Roché, a French publisher, and mother Gail Stewart, of Scottish origin, Roché spent his adolescent years from ages 12 to 18 circumnavigating the globe aboard a sailboat with his parents, an experience that shaped his early independence. He trained at the prestigious French National Academy of Dramatic Arts (Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique) before embarking on a career spanning theater, film, and television since 1986. Roché's breakthrough in U.S. media came with the role of scientist Kurt Mendel in the sci-fi series Odyssey 5 (2002), followed by long-running portrayals such as corporate fixer Jerry Jacks on the soap opera General Hospital (2007–2013, with returns) and the ancient vampire Mikael in The Vampire Diaries and its spin-off The Originals (2011–2018). Other defining roles include the enigmatic Thomas Jerome Newton in Fringe (2008–2009), Nazi official Martin Heusmann in The Man in the High Castle (2015–2018), and the diabolical priest Father Renaud in 1923 (2023–2025), where his character's descent into savagery highlighted his versatility in embodying morally ambiguous figures. His work often features multilingual proficiency, drawing on his Franco-Scottish roots and global upbringing to authenticate portrayals across genres from supernatural drama to historical fiction.

Early life and education

Childhood and formative travels

Sebastian Roché was born on August 4, 1964, in , , to a French father, Philippe Roché, and a Scottish mother, Gail Stewart. His bicultural parentage facilitated a bilingual upbringing in French and English from an early age, immersing him in both Gallic and Anglo influences amid the cosmopolitan environment of . From ages 12 to 18, Roché resided aboard a 45-foot with his parents and brothers, embarking on an extended voyage initiated by his father's decision to abandon corporate life for family time at sea. The family navigated from through the Mediterranean, extending to ports in , , , and the over six years, exposing Roché to varied cultures, self-reliant , and navigational challenges that demanded adaptability and resourcefulness. These itinerant experiences honed his fluency in Italian and Spanish through direct immersion in Mediterranean and Latin American locales, broadening his linguistic repertoire beyond his native tongues. Such peripatetic youth cultivated Roché's independence and cultural versatility, as he later reflected on the rigors of boat life instilling practical and a tolerance for uncertainty—qualities evident in his later professional resilience across international productions.

Theater training and early influences

Roché pursued formal acting training at the prestigious (CNSAD) in , graduating in 1989 after intensive study in classical theater techniques. This institution, known for its rigorous curriculum emphasizing dramatic arts, provided foundational skills in performance, voice, and movement, drawing from French theatrical traditions. He supplemented this with earlier coursework at , a private drama school in established for aspiring actors. Prior to his institutional education, Roché's nomadic upbringing—from ages 12 to 18 living aboard a family traversing the Mediterranean, , , and the —fostered self-taught resilience and adaptability that complemented his later training. These experiences exposed him to diverse cultures and languages, enhancing his versatility in accents, physicality, and improvisational presence on stage, qualities he credits for transitioning from global wanderer to committed performer. Bilingual from a background, he developed an early affinity for storytelling through observation of varied human narratives during travels. Following graduation, Roché debuted professionally in French theater productions, gaining initial experience in work that built upon his classical training amid the competitive Parisian scene. These early appearances honed his command of dramatic roles, bridging the gap between academic preparation and practical performance without reliance on screen opportunities.

Acting career

Early theater and film work

Roché commenced his professional theater career in immediately after graduating from the Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique in 1989, performing in various productions that capitalized on his fluency in French and English. His early work emphasized classical , including roles in adaptations of literary works that demanded linguistic versatility, though specific credits from this period remain limited in . This foundation in European theater provided intensive training in character depth and live performance, contrasting with the technical demands of . Transitioning to screen acting, Roché secured his debut film role as Martin, a scout, in (1992), a directed by . Subsequent supporting appearances included a German backpacker in The Peacemaker (1997), a thriller starring and , and additional minor parts in films like (2001). These early credits, numbering fewer than a half-dozen features between 1992 and 2001, underscore a measured entry into cinema, with roles often brief and ensemble-based, indicative of building visibility amid competition for substantive parts.

Television breakthrough and genre roles

Roché's transition to television prominence began in 2002 with his role as Kurt Mendel, a Nobel Prize-winning behavioral , in the Showtime sci-fi series . This series, which involved a crew time-traveling to avert Earth's destruction, represented his entry into serialized , where he appeared across 24 episodes until the show's cancellation in 2004. Mendel's intellectual yet ethically ambiguous character highlighted Roché's ability to portray scientists entangled in existential crises, a motif recurring in his genre work. Building on this, Roché took on the antagonistic Thomas Jerome Newton in Fringe from 2008 to 2009, leading the shape-shifters in the parallel-universe conflict central to the series' mythology. As a cunning operative for the antagonists, Newton's role spanned multiple episodes in seasons 2 and 3, emphasizing infiltration and espionage tactics that underscored Roché's suitability for sophisticated villains in speculative narratives. Roché further solidified his genre niche with Balthazar, a rogue and ally-turned-adversary to Castiel, in 's sixth season (2010–2011), appearing in six episodes including "" and "." Balthazar's irreverent, self-serving demeanor—stealing heavenly artifacts and aiding in angelic civil war—earned fan acclaim for Roché's charismatic portrayal of supernatural mischief. Concurrently, from 2011 onward, he recurred as Mikael, the ancient vampire progenitor and relentless hunter of his immortal children, first in and extending into The Originals through 2018, with appearances in key arcs like season 1's "A Closer Walk With Thee." Mikael's portrayal as a formidable, vengeful across over a dozen episodes in both series reinforced patterns of Roché in immortal roles, often leveraging his French-Scottish accent for authoritative, otherworldly menace amid industry preferences for accented performers in fantasy hierarchies. These roles, totaling dozens of genre episodes, reflected sustained demand for his versatile depiction of cunning, eternal foes in supernatural and sci-fi frameworks.

Soap opera tenure and recurring characters

Roché portrayed Jerry Jacks, the cunning and amoral brother of Jasper "Jax" Jacks, on the ABC daytime General Hospital beginning January 25, 2007. Initially on contract through 2012, he transitioned to recurring status, with returns including August 2012 and up to December 22, 2015, contributing to key arcs such as the character's orchestration of the Metro Court hostage crisis in February 2007 and subsequent plots involving extortion, poisoning outbreaks, and alliances with mob figures like Cesar Faison. Jacks evolved from a one-off terrorist to a recurring whose schemes tested ensemble dynamics, appearing across more than 200 episodes that highlighted Roché's ability to sustain narrative tension in serialized formats. In procedural television, Roché took on recurring roles that showcased his range in ensemble-driven stories. He played Clyde Easter, a shady ex-Interpol agent and associate of Emily Prentiss, in five episodes of spanning seasons 6 (2011) and 7 (2012), including "" and "Run," where Easter's duplicitous aid in tracking international threats added layers to Prentiss's backstory. Earlier, in 2008–2009, he appeared as the mercenary assassin John Quinn in 24: Redemption and two episodes of season 7, aiding Starkwood's bioweapon plot during high-stakes sequences. These parts, while not fantasy-centric, underscored his proficiency in morally ambiguous figures within tight procedural frameworks, often involving and covert operations. Roché also guest-starred as the elusive thief Edgar Waltz in the 2012 episode "Cat and Mouse" of NBC's Grimm, pursuing Grimm artifacts in a storyline blending investigation with pursuit, further evidencing his adaptability to hybrid procedural-supernatural ensembles without relying on lead status. His soap and recurring work emphasized endurance in dialogue-heavy, arc-spanning narratives, where consistency in portraying complex villains—marked by intellectual menace over brute force—distinguished him amid genre conventions of exaggerated peril and redemption teases.

Recent television projects

In the mid-to-late 2010s, Roché portrayed Reichsminister Martin Heusmann, a high-ranking Nazi official and ambitious plotter in the alternate-history series The Man in the High Castle, appearing in seasons 2 and 3 from 2016 to 2018. His role involved intricate political machinations within the Greater Nazi Reich, contributing to the series' exploration of authoritarian power struggles. That same year, Roché took on the recurring part of Cardinal Michel Marivaux, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, in HBO's , a satirical drama directed by . The character navigated Vatican intrigue and the eccentric reforms of the titular pontiff, blending ecclesiastical authority with personal ambition in a prestige format. Roché's most recent major television role came in Paramount+'s (2022–2025), the Yellowstone prequel where he played Father Renaud, the ruthless French headmaster of a Catholic for Native American children, serving as a primary opposite Harrison Ford's Dutton. The character's arc, spanning both seasons, depicted a descent into fanaticism and violence, culminating in Renaud's death during season 2 amid escalating conflicts in . This streaming-era project highlighted Roché's versatility in villainous authority figures within historical Western .

Personal life

Marriages and relationships

Roché's first marriage was to American actress on October 18, 1997. The couple met while co-starring in the short-lived adventure series Roar, in which Roché portrayed the warrior Fergus and Farmiga played the queen's daughter. Their union lasted seven years before separating in 2004, after which they divorced; no public details on the reasons for the split have been disclosed by either party. Following his divorce from Farmiga, Roché began a relationship with Australian actress Alicia Hannah-Kim, whom he married on May 31, 2014, at Château Les Bouysses in Mercuès, France, during a weeklong celebration. Hannah-Kim, known for portraying the antagonist Kim Da-Eun in Netflix's Cobra Kai, shares Roché's acting profession, and the pair have navigated the demands of location-based filming schedules in their ongoing partnership, which marked its tenth anniversary in 2024. No prior long-term relationships between Roché's divorces are documented in public records or verified interviews.

Family and current life

Sebastian Roché has been married to Australian-Korean actress Alicia Hannah-Kim since May 31, 2014, when they wed at Chateau Les Bouysses in Mercuès, . The couple, both active in television and film, frequently collaborate informally by supporting each other's projects, such as attending premieres together in , including the February 2025 events for 1923 Season 2 and 's series finale. As of 2025, Roché and Hannah-Kim maintain a peripatetic lifestyle centered on demands, with 2024 marked by "constant travel" that led them to overlook their tenth in May, despite initial plans for a . They are based in , where they prioritize professional pursuits over family expansion, with no or statements indicating children; instead, they emphasize mutual support in acting endeavors and simple rituals like exchanging flowers to mark milestones. Recent disclosures highlight their focus on ongoing work, including Roché's role in 1923 and Hannah-Kim's in action series, without announced plans for retirement or relocation.

Public statements and views

Expressed opinions on politics and society

Roché has occasionally voiced opinions on political matters via social media and interviews, emphasizing the importance of public discourse as a civic responsibility. In a 2016 interview, he argued against avoiding political topics, stating, "I’ve found that a lot of people would rather ‘not talk about politics’ and would rather be quiet. I believe that it is our right as citizens, and if you look at the constitution it is our right to voice our opinion." He linked this to broader societal duties, paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr. by noting "there’s nothing more criminal than to be silent," particularly in opposition to policies such as repealing healthcare coverage for millions, which he described as "unconscionable" compared to norms in other developed nations. Roché has critiqued specific Republican figures and policies on , including a July 22, 2022, post labeling Senator a "coward" and emblematic of the Republican Party, in response to coverage of Hawley's actions. Earlier posts similarly targeted , such as a 2016 tweet calling him a "clown" unfit for office due to undignified behavior, and a 2015 reference to an artwork protesting Trump's rhetoric. These statements reflect criticism of perceived , , and incompetence on the political right, though Roché has not engaged in formal endorsements, campaigns, or organized . Public records show limited expressions beyond these instances, with no verified involvement in partisan organizations or sustained commentary on societal issues like free speech principles explicitly tied to causal mechanisms of political engagement. His remarks appear isolated rather than indicative of broader ideological commitment, aligning with sporadic commentary amid Hollywood's prevailing norms favoring left-leaning views.

References

Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.