Johnathan Brownlee

Johnathan Brownlee is an award-winning Canadian-American director, producer, writer and actor with a diverse international body of work. His feature films, documentaries, television series and digital content have been viewed in more than 100 countries. Johnathan has won 32 Telly Awards for his recent work. He's worked with Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning talent, including Helen Hunt, Angelina Jolie, Jerry Seinfeld, Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Rashida Jones, Dan Aykroyd, Richard Gere, Aaron Paul, and William H. Macy, to name a few.

 

His feature film credits include THREE DAYS IN AUGUST, DECODING ANNIE PARKER, THE STANDOFF AT SPARROW CREEK, OCCUPY, TEXAS, and PUPPET MASTER. He is in development on Hallmark’s AN ISLAND LIGHT (story/director), HELLMARK GALAXY (director/writer), BREW MASTER: FIRST TASTE (director/writer). and currently casting two features, THE EYES OF JEFFERSON (director/writer) and MONTSERRAT (director/writer).

 

Active philanthropically, Johnathan recently served three years as CEO & President of the non-profit Dallas Film, and Executive Director Dallas International Film Festival transforming the flailing organization into a profitable venture by doubling revenue in the first two years. He created the Veterans Institute for Film & Media (VIFM), a 12-week, hands-on production training program free to honorably discharged veterans.  Johnathan also served on the Community Board for First Credit Union as Vice Chair, and as the Los Angeles representative for the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Johnathan currently serves on the Telly Awards Judging Council.

He has taught, lectured and consulted at some of the most respected institutions, including Harvard, MIT, Boston College, Vancouver Film School, LA Film School, Brandeis University, Wellesley College, NYU, University of Toronto, and Booker T. Washington High School for the Arts in Dallas.

Training in Toronto, NYC and Boston, Johnathan received his BA from Hofstra University and MFA from Brandeis University. He began his career performing on and off Broadway and at the Metropolitan Opera, including all 36 of Shakespeare’s first folio plays.

Fun Facts: Johnathan played Elaine's boyfriend in a famous episode of Seinfeld. Early in his career, he was a stuntman, and includes among his “fun” moments, being engulfed in flames and dropped four stories. He’s an expert swordsman, having trained with Errol Flynn’s stuntman Paddy Crean, and was the “fight director” for more than 100 stage and TV productions.