Aaron Poole

Aaron Poole grew up in the town of Barrie and attended the Barrie Central Collegiate Institute, a public secondary school, before studying acting at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, which he attended with future collaborators Ed Gass-Donnelly and Christopher MacBride. Poole then landed bit roles in both Canadian television and American product lensed in Canada. Bit parts on "The X-Files" (Fox, 1993-2002) and films like "All I Wanna Do" (1998) led to supporting roles in "The Safety of Objects" (2001), with Glenn Close, and recurring turns on series like "Strange Days at Blake Holsey High." In 2007, Poole landed his breakthrough role in Gass-Donnelly's "This Beautiful City." His immersion in the role, which required him to drop 30 pounds and remove a crown on one of his teeth to suggest the devastating effects of crack addiction, won near-universal acclaim, as well as a prestigious Genie Award nomination. Poole, who also served as co-producer and story editor on "This Beautiful City," was soon in demand as a lead in independent features and Canadian television. Canadian director Atom Egoyan cast him in his 2008 drama "Adoration" before Poole took recurring roles in several Canadian television projects, including the miniseries "ZOS: Zone of Separation" (The Movie Network, 2009), the crime drama "Cra$h & Burn" (Showcase/Global, 2009), and the comedy-drama "Living in Your Car" (HBO Canada, 2010-2011). During this period, Poole also remained active in features, most notably in Gass-Donnelly's acclaimed second feature "Small Town Murder Songs" (2010). After playing a detective on the debut season of the police drama "King," Poole co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson in the neo-noir "The Samaritan (2012), and then took his second turn in the producer's chair for "The Conspiracy" (2012), director Christopher MacBride's horror feature-cum-faux documentary about a secret society with a far-ranging and terrifying influence on world events. That same year, he also began work as a former Union soldier who plots to destroy New York City on "Copper."