Article

Jacob Tierney

Published Online March 13, 2024

Last Edited March 13, 2024

Jacob Daniel Tierney, actor, director, writer, producer (born 26 September 1979 in Montreal, QC). Jacob Tierney began acting at the age of seven. He established a long and successful career before transitioning to writing and directing with the Genie Award-winning feature film Twist (2003). He is perhaps best known for the comedy The Trotsky (2009), starring Jay Baruchel and Emily Hampshire, and the TV series Letterkenny (2016–23), for which he has won six Canadian Screen Awards.

Early Life and Career

Jacob Tierney was born in Montreal to father Kevin and mother Terry, both of whom were teachers. Kevin Tierney taught English in Chad and Algeria and was a professor in Montreal, but his passion for film led him to switch to a career as a publicist in 1986.

Around that time, at the age of seven, Jacob Tierney began acting. He landed small roles in TV movies and series before being cast in a leading role in Dracula: The Series (1990–91). He was also a regular on the TV series Watatatow and Are You Afraid of the Dark? He then landed lead roles in the coming-of-age movie Josh and S.A.M. (1993), with Joan Allen and Maury Chaykin, Terence Davies’s The Neon Bible (1995), This Is My Father (1998) opposite Aidan Quinn and James Caan, and Jerry Ciccoritti’s The Life Before This (1999) with Catherine O’Hara and Sarah Polley. Tierney also did voice work for the animated series Princess Sissi (1997–98) and The Little Lulu Show (1995–99). In 1998, he received a YTV Achievement Award for acting.

Career Highlights

Throughout the early 2000s, Tierney continued to act in TV movies and series, including the acclaimed Slings & Arrows. He also co-wrote and directed his first short film, Dad (2002), and his first feature film, Twist (2003), an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist set in contemporary Toronto. Tierney earned Genie Award nominations for his supporting performance and screenplay, and won a Genie for co-writing the film’s original song.


Kevin Tierney, who by this time had become a successful film producer (he is best known for Bon Cop Bad Cop, one of the highest-grossing Canadian films of all time), was an executive producer on Twist. He also produced Jacob’s next film, The Trotsky (2009), starring Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Colm Feore. A critical hit, the film won audience awards at several film festivals, while Tierney won two Canadian Comedy Awards and a Genie for his original screenplay.

His next film, Good Neighbours (2010), generated much controversy in Quebec when Tierney, who speaks fluent French and was promoting the film at the time, said: “Quebec society… shows only white francophones. Anglophones and immigrants are ignored. They have no place in the québécois dream. It’s shameful.”

Tierney was nominated for Canadian Screen Awards in 2014 and 2016 for directing episodes of Gavin Crawford’s Wild Wild West and Mr. D, respectively. He also enjoyed success on the festival circuit with the comedy Preggoland (2014) and co-wrote the English-language directorial debut of his close friend Xavier Dolan, The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2018).

In 2015, Tierney made what the Montreal Gazette called “an audacious directorial stage debut” with the Centaur Theatre’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Travesties. He also directed the company’s 2017 production of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, which the Gazette called “a miracle of calibrated chaos.”

In 2016, Tierney worked with actor Jared Keeso to develop his series of YouTube shorts into the comedy series Letterkenny (2016–23). It became an international cult hit known for its deadpan humour and quirky rural vernacular. Tierney also plays Pastor Glen on the show and has won six Canadian Screen Awards as showrunner on the series — three for writing and three for directing.


Awards

  • Acting, YTV Achievement Awards (1998)
  • Best Achievement in Music – Original Song (“Pantaloon in Black” from Twist, shared with Ron Proulx), Genie Awards (2005)
  • Audience Award (The Trotsky), Atlantic Film Festival (2009)
  • Audience Award (The Trotsky), Tokyo International Film Festival (2009)
  • Best Writing – Film (The Trotsky), Canadian Comedy Awards (2010)
  • Best Direction – Film (The Trotsky), Canadian Comedy Awards (2010)
  • Audience Award (The Trotsky), Sofia International Film Festival (2010)
  • Best Screenplay, Original (The Trotsky), Genie Awards (2011)
  • Most Popular Canadian Film (Preggoland), Vancouver International Film Festival (2014)
  • Audience Award, Best Film (Preggoland), Omaha Film Festival (2015)
  • Best Music, Comedy or Variety Program or Series (Letterkenny), Leo Awards (2017)
  • TV Comedy (“Super Soft Birthday” from Letterkenny, shared with Jared Keeso), Writers Guild of Canada Awards (2017)
  • TV Comedy (“Relationships” from Letterkenny, shared with Jared Keeso), Writers Guild of Canada Awards (2018)
  • Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series (Letterkenny, shared with Jared Keeso), Canadian Screen Awards (2018, 2019, 2020)
  • Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series (Letterkenny), Canadian Screen Awards (2018, 2019, 2020)