Toronto based actor Jeff Teravainen was born and raised in Oshawa. After years of being the lead singer/bassist in an award-winning band, The Life, he got the acting bug which also included voice acting. He began slowly building his career on camera while his voice career exploded. In 2006 he was the Voice of the Olympics for Canada, a role he would repeat again in 2014. He has also played characters in popular animation and video games such as Far Cry, Splinter Cell and Resident Evil. After a hiatus from on-camera acting when he was the voice of Canadian Broadcaster CBC, FIFA’s World Cup and the intro to Hockey Night in Canada, he came back with a vengeance with roles on Beauty and the Beast, Played, Suits and others. In 2015 he nabbed the role of Lieutenant Anders on SYFY’s hit, Dark Matter. Watch for Jeff in SYFY’s 12 Monkeys in Season 2 along with other movies, shows and video games. Jeff won a Jim Russell car racing school scholarship in 1996, although his favourite sport is MotoGP. You can usually find him on weekends at the cottage, or digging for fossils. He is a massive fan of palaeontology, science and history.
This is me in July on the set of The Expanse. Being on set is magic for me. I love what I do so much, but just the buzz and electricity on set is intoxicating. You won’t find a happier guy there!This is me voicing on the latest Starcraft game. In this case, voicing in Toronto with the Director etc in Hollywood. Video games and animation are so much fun and you get to really stretch your voice range in them.Auditioning is ultra important and rarely easy. Besides all the prep, you have to own it when you get in the room. Looking like a confident Lawyer is tough when you are in that environment having been up all night learning 8 pages of dialogue! But when you pull it off it is magic!This is a shot from my apartment in Vancouver last year during pilot season. I am speaking to the picture practicing a scene. I left my family and went out for the opportunities. It is always a gamble and expensive. But you never know. When the call comes in for an audition, the world STOPS. Whatever plans you had, family dinner, etc are now cancelled. That is the job. Then I will sit, usually in the basement and get my lines and character down. This is were the real work is. You have to know and own those lines in the room in the morning. Screw up, and you may not only lose the part, but that casting director may think twice about bringing you back in the future.When I was the Voice of CBC you were oncall everyday. Even holidays. This is me on a very steep street in San Francisco voicing promos first thing in the morning. The cars acoustics are great, and I have a portable setup. The looks I got were priceless!Ah yes, the Glamour! Nothing like walking a red carpet at TIFF or going to some swank event. In this industry when you work you work! There is lots of time when you are not to worry when you will work! So when you get a chance to this kind of stuff it is fun, and really all about making connections in the end.Everyday, no matter how I feel, I have to hit the gym! Important for so many reasons beyond acting. But for acting I have to be ready and look like the soldier I play on Dark Matter for example. I recently had a bedroom scene on the upcoming feature film Goliath. I was glad I had been going to the gym!Hurray up and wait. This is us from the show Played doing just that. I love the friendships you get on set between takes etc. There is usually a lot of waiting for things to be ready. For me it is always a special time.Below and above. No day is complete without my Family. They are the most important part of my life.
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What neighbourhood are you in?
Queensway /Royal York Area
What do you do?
Actor/Voice actor
What are your working on right now?
Dark Matter Season 3 and Various TV and Radio spots for voice
