Biography

Johnathan Brownlee is an award-winning Canadian-American director, producer, writer and actor with a diverse international body of work spanning more than 25 years. His feature films, documentaries, television programs and digital content collectively have been viewed in more than 100 countries in 14 languages.

A highly respected producer, Brownlee has worked in 20+ countries 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. His major films as Executive Producer or Producer include Decoding Annie Parker with Helen Hunt, as well as The Standoff at Sparrow Creek, Occupy, Texas, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich.

With two-plus decades of experience overseeing directors and writers, along with every other aspect of film and television production, Brownlee founded Torfoot Films to personally direct and write films. His inaugural effort was the acclaimed Three Days in August, starring Barry Bostwick, Meg Foster and Mariette Hartley. Building on the success of Three Days in August, Brownlee is signed on to direct and direct/write several upcoming feature-length films, including The Eyes of Jefferson (director/writer), The Only Jewels I Need (director/writer), Hallmark's An Island Light (director), and The Devil's Country (director/writer).

Brownlee began his career as a classically trained actor, performing in all 36 of Shakespeare's first folio plays, as well as in more than 100 plays and musical productions on Broadway and off-Broadway.

Active philanthropically, Brownlee and serves as CEO & President of the non-profit Dallas Film, which produces the internationally recognized Dallas International Film Festival and the new North Texas Film Festival. He recently created the Veterans Institute for Film & Media (VIFM), a training program for military veterans. Brownlee has served on the First Credit Union's Community Board as Vice Chair and as the LA representative for the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

A sought-after speaker and lecturer, Brownlee 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 the prestigious Booker T. Washington High School for the Arts in Dallas.

Fun Facts: Trained as an actor in Toronto, NYC and Boston, Brownlee was also a stuntman for several years. Among his acting credits, he played Elaine's boyfriend on a famous episode of Seinfeld.
- IMDb mini biography by: The Wilbins Group

His son's name is Jack