Jim Byrnes grew up in St. Louis and gravitated toward music. He was just 5 when he started playing piano and by time he was 13 he was singing and playing blues guitar. But he was also interested in acting and appeared in Shakespeare in the Park in St. Louis when he was 15. He went on to study acting at Boston University and St. Louis University. But his life changed when he was in a terrible road accident. While helping to push a stalled truck, he was hit from behind by a car and lost both legs. After recuperating, he went back to music, which led him into an acting career as well. In 1981 he formed the blues group, The Jim Byrnes Band, and began playing dates throughout Canada. In 1996, they won the Juno award for Best Blues/Gospel Album for “That River”. He has played the character Joe Dawson in the Highlander TV series, made-for-TV movies, and in the 2006 feature.
Features & TV Movies:
VR indicates Direct-to-Video Release
Out of the Blue (1980)
Wiseguy (TV-1987)
Hands of a Stranger (TV-1987)
The Red Spider (TV-1988)
In the Best Interest of the Child (TV-1990)
Omen IV: The Awakening (TV-1991)
Christmas on Division Street (TV-1991)
Invader (1992)
Dirty Work (TV-1992)
Harmony Cats (1993)
Suspicious Agenda (1994)
Whale Music (1994)
Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (TV-1995)
Sliders (TV-1995)
Dream Man (VR-1995)
Starlight (1996)
Wiseguy (TV-1996)
Bloodhounds II (TV-1996)
For Hope (TV-1996)
Lost Treasure of Dos Santos (TV-1997)
Masterminds (1997)
Drive, She Said (1997)
Final Descent (TV-1997)
Mummies Alive! The Legend Begins (voice, VR-1998)
The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer (voice, VR-1998)
Monster Mash (voice, VR-2000)
Becoming Dick (TV-2000)
Highlander: Endgame (2000)
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: The Movie – Endless Waltz (TV-2000)
Inspector Gadget`s Last Case: Claw`s Revenge (TV-2002)
Madeline: My Fair Madeline (voice, TV-2002)
Snow Queen (voice, TV-2002)
My Boss`s Daughter (2003)
Edison (2005)
Fetching Cody (2005)
Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (VR-2007)
Highlander: The Source (2007)
Heart of the Dragon (2008)
Goodnight for Justice (TV-2011)
She’s a Soul Man (2011, short)
Deck the Halls (TV-2011)
Notes from the Heart Healer (TV-2012)
War of Worlds: Goliath (voice, 2012)
Hastings Street (VR-2014)
Paper Angels (TV-2014)
Wanderlust (2015, short)
The Legend of Davy Crockett (TV-2015)
24 Piedmont Drive (2018, short)
Ada (2019, short)
Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday (TV-2021)
Sister Swap: Christmas in the City (TV-2021)
TV Series – Cast:
Wiseguy (1987-1990)
Dragon Quest (voice, 1989)
Neon Rider (1990)
G.I. Joe (voice, 1990)
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice (voice, 1992)
The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (voice, 1993)
Hurricanes (voice, 1993)
Double Dragon (voice, 1993/I)
Madeline (voice, 1993)
Conan and the Young Warriors (voice, 1994)
G.I. Joe Extreme (voice, 1995)
Street Fighter (voice, 1995)
Mega Man (voice, 1995)
Highlander (1993-1998)
Stone Protectors (voice, 1996)
Two (1997)
Beast Wars: Transformers (voice, 1997-1999)
ShadowRaiders (voice, 1998)
The Jim Byrnes Show (1998)
Beast Machines: Transformers (voice, 1999)
Higher Ground (2000)
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (2000)
Stargate: Infinity (voice, 2002)
Taken (2002, mini-series)
Santuary (2007, mini-series)
TV Series – Guest appearances:
Out of This World (1988)
The Hat Squad (1993)
Street Justice (1993)
The Commish (1995)
Murder Call (1998)
Highlander: The Raven (1999)
The Net (1998, 1999)
Cold Squad (1999)
Mysterious Ways (2000)
First Wave (2000)
The Dead Zone (2002)
The Outer Limits (1998, 2002)
The Twilight Zone (2002)
Just Cause (2002)
X-Men: Evolution (voice, 2002, 2003)
Jake 2.0 (2003)
Andromeda (2004)
Stargate SG-1 (2004)
Supernatural (2005)
Da Vinci’s City Hall (2005)
Sanctuary (2008, 2010, 2011)
V (2010)
Hellcats (2011)
Copper (2013)
King & Maxwell (2013)
Slugterra (2013)
Strange Empire (2014)
The Romeo Section (2015)
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (voice, 2016)
Take Two (2018)
Travelers (2018)
Northernstars.ca is published by the Canadian Independent Visual
and Digital Media Association – A nonprofit corporation.
Toronto, Ontario, M4X 1X7
First published as Northernstars.net February 1, 1998
ISSN 2563 4895