Shawn Ashmore may not yet have become a household name, but nothing can take away from the Canadian actor’s talent, which has earned him the Canadian equivalent of the Emmys, a Gemini Prize. From his roles in the X-Men film series as Bobby Drake/Iceman and The Following (2013-2015) as Agent Mike Weston, Ashmore deserves to be mentioned at least in the same breath as some of the best in the film industry.
Shawn Ashmore Early Life And Career
Shawn Robert Ashmore was born in Richmond, British Columbia on October 7, 1979, as the twin of Linda and Rick Ashmore, but he grew up in St. Albert, Alberta, and then in Brampton, Ontario. From a very young age, Ashmore showed some remarkable acting talents together with his twin brother, which made them the talk of the town.
While attending Earnscliffe Senior Public School and Turner Fenton Secondary School, Shawn Ashmore managed to get roles in episodes of Katts and Dog (1989) and The Ray Bradbury Theater (1992) as well as in the film Married To It (1991). In 1994 Ashmore’s acting career took off after he was nominated for a Gemini Prize in Guitarman (1994). This drove him to roles in Any Mother’s Son (1996), Promise the Moon (1997), Animorphs (1998-1999), and In a Heartbeat (2000-2001).
Around this time Ashmore appeared in Marvel Comics X-Men (2000), where he played the character of Iceman. His brief appearance in the film made an impression on the producers and led to him resuming his role in the sequel X-Men 2 (2003), where he had his breakout performance. His role in the film earned him the MTV Movie Award for Best Groundbreaking Performance and other nominations. Before that, however, he had won the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Cadet Major Brad Rigby in Disney’s Cadet Kelly (2002).
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In 2004, Ashmore offered a Leo Award-winning performance in the sci-fi channel mini-series Earthsea and then appeared in Underclassman (2005), 3 Needles (2005), and The Quiet (2005) before appearing as Terry Fox in the biography Terry (2005), which earned him a nomination for the Gemini Award. He then showed his acting abilities by taking roles in the horror movie The Ruins (2008), the thriller Frozen (2010), and the apocalyptic war movie The Day (2011).
More recently, Shawn Ashmore has revived his role as Iceman in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and has appeared alongside Bruce Willis in the series The Following (2013-2015) and the film Acts of Violence (2018).
Is Shawn Ashmore Gay or Married to a Wife?
Shawn Ashmore is definitely not gay, because he is married to the beautiful Dana Renee (née Wasdin), a film producer known for movies like Red Menace, Mob City (2013), and Tales of Halloween (2015). The X-Men actor made headlines suggesting that he might be gay after suggesting to play his character in the movie, Bobby Drake/Iceman, as a gay superhero. He said this would send a positive message to the LGBT community and also reinforce the film’s message about diversity.
In his private life, however, Ashmore enjoys a very healthy heterosexual marriage, which began on the set of the drama-thriller movie Frozen in 2010. The couple was together for two years before they entered into a marriage in July 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Together the couple has a son named Oliver Ashmore, born in July 2017.
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His Brother
As mentioned above, Shawn Ashmore has an identical twin brother named Aaron. Like Shawn, Aaron is also an actor, and the two have played twin roles in several movies. However, Aaron hasn’t quite reached the heights his brother, who has received several awards, has reached because he said that he is always cast in antagonist roles while Shawn gets to play the nice guy. In spite of everything, the two stay very close and should always spend time together, listening to music, playing guitar, and snowboarding.
Aaron Ashmore is best known for the roles of Jimmy Olsen in Smallville (2006-2009, 2011), Steve Jinks in Warehouse 13 (2011-2014), and Colin McNeil in Missing (2005-2006).
Height
With a height of 1.80 m, Shawn Ashmore is the smaller of the Ashmore twins, as his brother Aaron, who is one minute older than him, measures 1.83 m.