User:Tdhildy/sandbox/Tim Hildebrand

Tim Hildebrand is a Canadian actor, singer, writer and director living and working in Los Angeles.

Tim Hildebrand was born on July 26, 1973, to David Robert Hildebrand, and Jean (Fuller) Hildebrand, in the now defunct Providence Hospital in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Growing up in the nearby town of Caronport, Tim's primary extra-curricular activities were athletic. In high school he was a provincial medallist in basketball and track and field (400 m., 4x100 m, 4x400 m), and was a provincial all-star in football (running back). Though active in choirs and humorous skits in his high school's assembly sessions, it wasn't until college that Tim began indulging a true love for acting. At the small religious college Tim attended directly out of high school, he joined an improv and sketch team called "Manna" that toured to different communities and events, and also starred in larger stage productions at the school. After completing a Bachelors degree in Religious Studies, Tim experienced the tragic loss of both parents in an automobile accident, and the dissolution of his new marriage, all in the span of a few short months. Seeking new direction in life, he went to the University of Saskatchewan to study education, eventually switching his major to theatre, and graduating in 2002.

Initially, Tim struggled to find professional acting work, but eventually landed a role in a small touring show called Winning the Prairie Gamble, directed by Tibor Feheregyhazi, artistic director of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan's Persephone Theatre. The show was a surprise hit, and led to Tim getting his first main stage role in an Equity production, as Nils Krogstad in Persephone Theatre's A Doll's House. Tim went on to star in a string of financially and critically successful shows at Persephone Theatre, forging a warm, collaborative relationship with Feheregyhazi that continued until the Artistic Director's death of cancer in 2007.

It was at this point that Tim accepted a role as coordinator of a drama program for at-risk youth with Family Service Saskatoon. For the next six years Tim dedicated himself full-time to the 8-month annual programs, teaching work and social skills through the arts to young people from diverse, at-risk circumstances. Tim was actively involved in coaching and building theatre pieces collaboratively with the youth, while hiring teachers, creating curriculum, chairing production committees and building relationships with donors and partner organizations. During slower times in the programming year, Tim would accept Equity acting contracts locally at Dancing Sky Theatre and Persephone...rehearsing at the theaters during the day, and working at Family Service in the evenings; then flipping the schedule once the plays went into performance. In the summers Tim worked as the narrator of the Canadian Badlands Passion Play in Drumheller, Alberta.

In 2013 Tim received Equity contract offers from Persephone Theatre, BC's Theatre Northwest and Western Canada Theatre, and Alberta's Rosebud Theatre. He also received directing and teaching offers in Uttarakhand, India and Frankfurt, Germany. Taking a 1-year leave of absence from Family Service, he pursued all of these opportunities.

During the course of this leave of absence, Tim entered a scholarship contest for the Acting program at the New York Film Academy on a whim, while auditioning for other projects in Orlando, Florida. He won the contest, and found himself with the opportunity of a free year of Graduate studies at the school's Los Angeles campus. After much deliberation he decided to accept the scholarship, and worked with the leadership of Family Service to develop a succession plan.

Tim began his studies at the Academy in the Fall of 2014, and completed his MFA, with honors, in January of 2016.

Signing with Midwest Talent Management after graduation, Tim immediately began work as an actor in Los Angeles. In 2016 he played the lead role in the celebrated Victory Theatre's world premiere production of The Engine of Our Ruin. The production was Ovation-nominated, an LA Times Critics Pick, and a Drama Critics' Circle Award Winner. In 2017 Tim won the "Best Actor" award at Brazil's Festival de Cinema de Pinhais, for his portrayal of Bernard Leone in the film BID, about the corruption scandal that eventually brought down the Dilma government. Tim was active in film and television during this time, and appeared in three films at the Festival De Cannes, the third of which, Embrace, he wrote and produced.