Brandon Jay McLaren

Canadian American actor Brandon Jay McLaren is well known for his extensive work portraying a diverse range of characters on both the big and small screen. Notable television credits include fan favorite 'Xavier Watkins' on the comedy/action series Turner & Hooch, Disney+'s reboot of the classic 1989 buddy-cop film, the ABC action series The Rookie, alongside Nathan Fillion, and as 'Buckley' on season five of the acclaimed FX series Snowfall, created by Dave Andron, Eric Amadio and John Singleton. In 2021, McLaren starred on the hit Netflix drama series Firefly Lane, alongside Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke. Previously, he portrayed psychological profiler 'Oliver Yates' for three seasons on the popular CBS action/drama series Ransom and starred as 'Dr. Simon' on the third season of the Emmy-nominated Lifetime series UnReal, opposite Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer, for which he was nominated for a UBCP/ACTRA Award. From 2013 through 2015, McLaren starred as undercover agent 'Dale Jakes' on the USA drama series Graceland, for which he won a Best Actor Golden Maple Award in 2015. Other television credits include recurring roles on Chicago Fire (NBC), Slasher (Chiller Network), Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce (Bravo), Falling Skies (TNT), Harper's Island (CBS) and The Killing (AMC), for which he was nominated for a 2012 Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series. McLaren's work in film includes the independent feature Plush, directed by Catherine Hardwicke and starring Emily Browning, and the cult horror comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, which became a Sundance Film Festival favorite and won the 2012 SXSW Audience Award. Other film credits include the comedies She's The Man and Dead Before Dawn 3D. In 2015, McLaren executive produced and starred in the independent film Almost Anything, which premiered at Cinequest. Born and raised in Vancouver, Brandon is of Trinidadian and Grenadian descent. He attended high school at Johnston Heights Secondary, where he took theater courses and his love for acting began. A star soccer player in his youth, he received a full athletic scholarship to attend the State University of New York at Albany. After graduating with a degree in Human Biology, McLaren returned to Vancouver to pursue acting full time. He now resides in Los Angeles. You can follow him on Instagram at @brandonjaymclaren and on Twitter at @brandojay.