William B. Davis
Better known now as an actor, particularly for his role as The Smoking Man in The X-Files, for much of his career William B. Davis has been a highly regarded director in the theatre.
Some of the positions he has held include:
- Producer & Artistic Director, The Straw Hat Players, Ontario
- Associate Director & Manager, The Civic Theatre, Chesterfield, UK
- Artistic & General Director, The Dundee Repertory Theatre, Dunde, UK
- Assistant Director, The National Theatre of Great Britain
- Artistic Director, The National Theatre School of Canada
- Artistic Director, Festival Lennoxville, Lennoxville, Quebec
- Producer & Executive Producer, CBC Radio Drama
- Artistic Director, Vancouver Playhouse Acting School
- Owner and Artistic Director, The William Davis Centre for Actors' Study
In addition to working with these companies, Davis worked as a freelance director with many theatres in Britain as well as most of the regional theatres in Canada, including The Neptune Theatre in Halifax, The Globe Theatre in Regina, Theatre New Brunswick, and three times , The Vancouver Playhouse. In 1975 he received the Best Director Award from The Montreal Star.
Since the early eighties, Davis has worked increasingly as an actor in film and television and has well over a hundred on camera credits. He has taught many courses in film acting, both at his own school, The William Davis Centre for Actors' Study, and elsewhere. He is also a produced writer for television, his episode En Ami having been part of The X-Files' seventh season.
Now in his sixties, Davis has begun a new career as a film director and screenwriter. His first short film, Exchange, had a highly successful run on the festival circuit and was broadcast by the CBC. It was nominated for Best Drama at the Yorkton Short Film Festival. His second film, Packing Up, had a successful festival run and was broadcast on Bravo.
His third on camera directing project was a sample episode of our series, 49th and Main, for the CBC. Davis was one of the two directors at the helm of the new six episodes of 49th and Main.
Davis was recently a recipient of the UBCP Award of Excellence.
