Serge Houde (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian film and television character actor.
He is best known for his role in Jon Cassar's Emmy-nominated miniseries The Kennedys playing the notorious Chicago mafia boss Sam Giancana opposite Tom Wilkinson and Barry Pepper.
GQ's Tom Carson said Houde's performance was "a terrific Sam Giancana (Serge Houde, and where has this formidable actor been all of Martin Scorsese's life?). It will probably set off Camelot guardians' alarm bells to hear that Giancana, the Chicago Mob boss, appears at all—and tête-à-tête with papa Joe, who's committing hubris's fatal error by negotiating with him."[1]
Houde began acting at age 35, and he has over 160 film and TV productions to his credit.[2]
Besides his role as Sam Giancana in The Kennedys, Houde also appeared in the Seth Rogen-starring feature, 50/50, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. In it, he played Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character's father and Anjelica Huston's character's husband; his character suffered from Alzheimer's. He also starred as The Doctor in episode 9 of Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Kevin Tancharoen's web series anthology inspired by the popular video game of the same name.
In 2014, Houde received a Leo Award nomination for Best Guest Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series for his role as drug kingpin David Thorpe on CTV's undercover cop series Played.[3]
The following year, he attracted attention for his moving portrayal of a homeless man suffering from Tourette's in the hit Canadian police drama 19-2.[4][5]
| Title | Year | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empire of Ash III | 1989 | 2nd Shepherd | Michael Mazo Lloyd A. Simandl |
Feature film |
| The Resurrected | 1991 | Physician | Dan O'Bannon | Feature film |
| North of Pittsburgh | 1992 | Simpson | Richard Martin | Feature film |
| Stay Tuned | 1992 | Yogi Beer | Peter Hyams | Feature film |
| Love and Human Remains | 1993 | The Cowboy | Denys Arcand | Feature film |
| Tomcat: Dangerous Desires | 1993 | Dr. Pace | Paul Donovan | Direct-to-video |
| Look Who's Talking Now! | 1993 | Maitre D' | Tom Ropelewski | Feature film |
| Breaking Point | 1994 | IA investigator | Paul Ziller | Feature film |
| Octobre | 1994 | Pierre Laporte | Pierre Falardeau | Feature film |
| Windigo | 1994 | Major Binette | Robert Morin | Feature film |
| Black List | 1995 | Ministre Paul Rhéaume | Jean-Marc Vallée | Feature film |
| Highway of Heartache | 1996 | Clive Turnpike | Gregory Wild | Feature film |
| The Peacekeeper | 1997 | Secretary of Defense | Frederic Forestier | Feature film |
| Dancing on the Moon | 1997 | Joseph Morrison | Kit Hood | French version |
| The Jackal | 1997 | Beaufres | Michael Caton-Jones | Feature film |
| Little Men | 1998 | John Brooke | Rodney Gibbons | Feature film |
| Musketeers Forever | 1998 | Roland Locksley | Georges N. Chamchoum | Feature film |
| Sublet | 1998 | CIA Director Price | John Hamilton | Feature film |
| The Last Breath | 1999 | Sheriff Mitchum | Richard Ciupka | Feature film |
| Requiem for Murder | 1999 | P.M. Courtland | Douglas Jackson | Feature film |
| Taxman | 1999 | Frank Seymour | Alain Zaloum | Cameo appearance |
| Grey Owl | 1999 | Second Hunter | Richard Attenborough | Cameo appearance |
| Running Home | 1999 | Ray Vanloo | Marc F. Voizard | Feature film |
| Wilder | 2000 | Walker Grimes | Rodney Gibbons | Feature film |
| Traitor or Patriot | 2000 | Himself | Jacques Godbout | Documentary |
| Hidden Agenda | 2001 | Paul Elkert | Marc S. Grenier | Feature film |
| The Score | 2001 | Laurent | Frank Oz Robert De Niro (uncredited) |
Feature film |
| The Adventures of Pluto Nash | 2002 | Agent FBI | Ron Underwood | Cameo appearance |
| Paycheck | 2003 | William Dekker | John Woo | Feature film |
| The Perfect Score | 2004 | Kurt Dooling | Brian Robbins | Feature film |
| Manners of Dying | 2004 | Harry Parlington | Jeremy Peter Allen | Feature film |
| Eighteen | 2005 | Earl | Richard Bell | Feature film |
| The Rocket | 2005 | Connie Smythe | Charles Binamé | Feature film |
| Sisters | 2006 | Detective Kalen | Douglas Buck | Independent film |
| My Daughter, My Angel | 2007 | Robert Brault | Alexis Durand-Brault | Feature film |
| The Invisible | 2007 | Martin Egan | David S. Goyer | Feature film |
| Summit Circle | 2007 | Jean-Pierre Deniger | Bernard Émond | Feature film |
| La belle empoisonneuse | 2007 | M. Angelopoulos | Richard Jutras | Feature film |
| Still Life | 2007 | Shep | Jeffrey Blatt | Feature film |
| Boot Camp | 2008 | Karl | Christian Duguay | Feature film |
| The Day the Earth Stood Still | 2008 | Scientist #1 | Scott Derrickson | Feature film |
| The American Trap | 2008 | Agent Thompson | Charles Binamé | Feature film |
| Personal Effects | 2008 | Judge Wettick | David Hollander | Feature film |
| Tomorrow | 2009 | Richard | Maxime Giroux | Feature film |
| Grace | 2009 | Henry Matheson | Paul Solet | Feature film |
| The Kate Logan Affair | 2010 | Sergeant McBean | Noël Mitrani | Feature film |
| Messages Deleted | 2010 | Det. Breedlove | Rob Cowan | Feature film |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules | 2011 | Mr. Salz | David Bowers | Feature film |
| 50/50 | 2011 | Richard Lerner | Jonathan Levine | Feature film |
| Dragons 3D | 2013 | Dr. Vulnet Grazinar (voice) | Marc Fafard | Short film |
| Lonesome Dove Church | 2014 | Charles Stone | Terry Miles | Feature film |
| Nine Lives | 2016 | Board Member Stein | Barry Sonnenfeld | Feature film |
| Boundaries | 2016 | Deputy Minister Dustin Torpe | Chloé Robichaud | Feature film |
| Coffee & Kareem | 2020 | Jerome | Michael Dowse | Streaming film |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murphy's Law | 1988-1989 | Ed | Television series |
| Wiseguy | 1989 | N.D. Agent / Agent #1 | 2 episodes |
| MacGyver | 1989-1990 | French Delegate / Lawyer | 2 episodes |
| Neon Rider | 1989-1990 | Mr. Trumble | Episode: "Under Pressure" |
| Omen IV: The Awakening | 1991 | Morris Creighton | Television film |
| Fly by Night | 1991 | Rene | Episode: "Furs Flying" |
| Silent Motive | 1991 | Officer | Television film |
| Urban Angel | 1992 | Commander | Episode: "Deadly Force" |
| Space Cases | 1996 | Neinstein | Episode: "Forever Young" |
| Largo Winch | 2001-2003 | John Sullivan | 35 episodes |
| Smallville | 2002-2009 | John Frankle / Priest | 3 episodes |
| Supernatural | 2006-2013 | Ed Stoltz / Dr. Mason |
2 episodes |
| The Kennedys | 2011 | Sam Giancana | 4 episodes |
| Mortal Kombat: Legacy | 2011 | The Doctor | 2 episodes |
| Played | 2013 | David Thorpe | Episode: "Drugs" |
| iZombie | 2015-present | Donald Thorne | 3 episodes |
| 19-2 | 2015 | Leon the Tourette's Guy | Episode: "Borders" |
| When Calls the Heart | 2015 | Judge Roy Parker | Episode: "Trials of the Heart" |
| Santa Hunters | 2015 | Principal Welsh | Television film |
| On the Farm | 2016 | Vancouver Mayor | Television film |
| Chesapeake Shores | 2016-2019 | Del Granger | 10 episodes |
| The Wedding March | 2016 | Johnny | Television film |
| Somewhere Between | 2017 | Richard Ruskin | 4 episodes |
| A Series of Unfortunate Events | 2017 | Milt | Episode: "The Hostile Hospital: Part One" |
| Trial & Error | 2018 | Milton Buckley / Houseboy | 3 episodes |
| The Baker's Son | 2021 | Jean Pierre Duval | Television film |
