Andy Thompson is a multi-award winning producer, writer, actor, director, video designer and filmmaker based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
BIOGRAPHY
Andy was born and raised in Chilliwack, British Columbia. After graduating from Sardis Senior Secondary School with honours in science (with a special emphasis on physics and math), taking the advice of his mother he changed his plans to immediately become an engineer and spent his scholarship money to study arts at Fraser Valley College (now The University of the Fraser Valley).
Under the guidance of theatre professor Ian Fenwick, Andy was afforded several opportunities to perform in plays at the college level and soon decided that acting was the most fun he had ever had. He spoke with a college career counsellor about what an acting career might look like. The counsellor told Andy that actors manage to make a living acting about 10% of the time. The odds sounded great!
After three years at Fraser Valley College, he got accepted to the professional acting training programs at both Studio 58 and the National Theatre School. After a period of youthful indecision and a stint in both programs in 1990, Andy settled back in Studio 58 and studied the craft of acting for three years. To put himself through school, Andy worked with developmentally challenged children and adults: a line of work that Andy considers having greatly influenced the development of his personal skill set and level of community engagement.
After graduating from Studio 58 in 1993, Andy made his professional theatre debut playing Nikola Tesla in the acclaimed production of Brilliant! with The Electric Company. Since then he has worked regularly in theatre, film and television as an actor. In 2000, Andy founded The Virtual Stage, a Vancouver-based theatre company dedicated to the investigation of emerging technologies in theatre. Andy has been nominated for a total of fourteen Jessie Richardson Theatre awards as an actor, director, producer, writer and designer – as an individual artist, as well as in collaborative categories – winning twice. Thompson produced, designed the video and performed in the multi-award winning, “live-cinematic” hit production of No Exit (co-produced by The Virtual Stage and Electric Company Theatre in 2008) which won the “Outstanding Production” and “Critics’ Choice Innovation” Jessie Awards before touring across North America, including a month-long run at the prestigious American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco in 2011.
Thompson has written, directed and produced several hit shows, including the smart-phone enabled, roving theatre adventure series The Zombie Syndrome (2012–2016) and the sci-fi musical comedy Broken Sex Doll (2013–2014), which was acclaimed by critics and hailed as “the next Big Thing in Canadian Theatre” and won Vancouver’s musical theatre Ovation Award for “Outstanding New Work” before it toured across Canada.
Thompson’s film writing, directing and producing credits include the short films Cruel & Unusual (official selection: 2012 Vancouver Short Film Festival), Repairman (3rd place overall and top-ranking Canadian film: 2011 International 100-Hour Film Race), The Provider (Grand Prize winner: 2010 Bloodshots 48-Hour Horror Filmmaking Competition and ‘Coup de Coeur’ distinction: 2011 Cannes Film Festival) and Mayor Mulligan (Best Writing Award: 2010 24-Hour Vancouver Film Race).
Andy’s recent film and television acting credits include Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, Van Helsing, Arrow, Supernatural, Hit The Road, No Tomorrow, Impastor, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, 6 made-for-television Hallmark movies, ABC’s A Million Little Things, as well as recurring roles on NBC’s Trial & Error and Amazon’s Upload.