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Jon Cassar

Graduated in 1983 from the School of Media and Design

Jon Cassar is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning film director and producer. A graduate of Algonquin College’s Radio and Television Broadcasting program (1983), Jon is particularly well known for his role as director, producer and executive producer of the dramatic television series “24.” This immensely popular program has won multiple Emmy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe Award, and was considered a groundbreaking force in network television.

After seven years on the “24” set, Jon directed episodes of other well-known television series, including Fringe, Criminal Minds and Human Target before turning his attention to the feature film industry. His much-anticipated eight-hour mini-series, The Kennedys, starring Greg Kinnear and Katie Homes, premiered this past April. Jon is currently working in Australia with Steven Spielberg—this time as the executive producer and regular series director for Terra Nova. Terra Nova is a dramatic series that relates the story of a colony of humans with a second chance to build a civilization and is expected to be one of the most visually stimulating network series ever produced.

Trained as a camera operator at Algonquin College, Jon began his career in Ottawa. To differentiate himself in a highly competitive field, he became a Steadicam specialist—one of just 20 in the world at the time. It was a savvy move that put him in constant demand. In 1993 he secured the chance to direct an episode of a show, launching the next phase of career. As a director alone, Jon now has more than 35 different productions to his credit.

A key creative contributor on “La Femme Nikita,” “Due South,” “Profiler” and other popular prime time series, Jon received the television industry’s highest honour in 2006: an Emmy for Outstanding Direction in a Drama Series for his work on “24″. He also shared in the Emmy awarded to the program itself for Outstanding Drama Series.

Jon’s off-camera passion is teaching: shaping the next generation of creative talent. The impulse to nurture young talent led him to hold an impromptu workshop with a group of film students while in South Africa filming the “24” TV movie. That same motivation prompted him to volunteer for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation and create the first episode in an educational video series to raise awareness about the many roles in the film industry. Despite his success, Jon finds time to contribute to Algonquin College. The year after graduation, he was back at Algonquin teaching TV and Remote Production. He continues to make time in his busy schedule to speak on different occasions to students, teachers and potential students. He envisions that someday teaching will take over as his full-time vocation.

How College Education Contributed Directly to Career Achievements:
Jon Cassar vows that the real-world experience he gained at Algonquin profoundly benefited his career. “We learned what it’s really like to be on set, how the different disciplines work together,” says Jon. “The scale of the productions was smaller, but the dynamics are all the same. It was invaluable.”

Jon is quick to point out that he can trace his entire career back through the connections he made at Algonquin. “The film industry is a business where relationships count.” It was his professor, Ron Cormack—well known in the Ottawa production scene—who got him his first job. And Jon has reciprocated. It is no accident that the first 18 episodes of the 2008-2009 run of “24” were helmed by Canadians!