Ian Paul Cassidy was born in Harrogate, England, to a Royal Marine and an aspiring world-class equestrian. By the time he was nine years old, he had lived in over 11 countries due to his father's military career. When his father retired, Ian and his family moved to Perth, Australia.
After completing high school in Rockingham, Ian attended and graduated from the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He spent several seasons performing in repertory theater around Yorkshire and later joined the Sydney Opera House Repertory Theater Company, where he appeared in productions of "Richard III" and "The Taming of the Shrew".
Ian's talent soon caught the attention of TV producers, who cast him in the National Saturday morning children's variety show "Kids Company". After two seasons, he moved to Los Angeles in 1990 and began studying with acting coach John Sarno. He landed several national commercials and guest star roles before landing his breakout role as "Paddy" on the CBS drama "EZ Streets", written and directed by Oscar winner Paul Haggis.
His performance as "Paddy" earned him the attention of casting director John Aiello, who brought him in to meet with producers for the NBC hit drama "The Pretender". Ian's audition was so impressive that producers were concerned he would upstage lead actor Michael T. Weiss. He was cast in the role of "Zed" and became the show's most popular character, marking a significant turning point in his career.
Ian's performance as "Zed" caught the attention of producers Peter Davis, William Panzer, and director Doug Aarniokoski, who were casting for "Highlander: Endgame". Aarniokoski praised Ian's immersion in the character of "Zed", which led to his immediate casting as "Cracker Bob" in the film.
In 2000, Ian took on the role of "Ryan Brown", a politically incorrect Aussie cameraman, on the critically acclaimed ABC/Touchstone/Imagine television drama "The Beast". The show featured a talented cast, including Frank Langella, Harriet Hanson-Harris, Naveen Andrews, and Elizabeth Mitchell, and was the brainchild of producer/director Ron Howard and executive producer/director Mimi Leder.
In 2006, Marc Cherry, creator and executive producer of the ABC hit "Desperate Housewives", praised Ian's natural comedic instincts by casting him as "Durkin", opposite Eva Longoria. Ian has guest-starred on over two dozen series, including "Drake & Josh", "24", "Monk", "Numb3rs", and "The Pacific".
For several years, Ian has been performing motion capture in video game hits such as "Army of Two" and "Wolfenstein: The New Order". He has also been performing on stage as "Hamlet" and "Cassius" in theatre productions of Shakespeare's classic plays.
