Aurora Starchild
Kim Coates’ legacy as an actor is astounding. He’s played over 150 different roles in TV and film, and dozens more on theatre stages. But did you know that his daughter, Brenna, is following in his footsteps? She’s already won two prestigious awards for theatre. And her rise to stardom is undeniable as she keeps getting cast in TV and film roles — one of which was recently with her father.
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Kim Coates’ Career
Kim Coates is a Canadian-born actor with dual citizenship in the U.S. after years of working here. He’s most known for his role as Tig in Sons of Anarchy and Mayans M.C., but he’s been cast in countless films and TV shows. Kim’s striking features are unforgettable as is his talent, as he can play roles on-stage as well as on-camera.
Kim told Coming Soon that he never anticipated becoming an actor, but “stumbled into it.” He took an acting class “for fun” while attending the University of Saskatchewan. He started acting in plays like A Streetcar Named Desire and Macbeth, eventually moving on to film and TV. Kim has been in movies like Waterworld and Black Hawk Down, and TV shows like Sons of Anarchy, Godless, Van Helsing, and CSI: Miami.
Kim Coates won the award for Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards for the TV series Bad Blood. He was recently in Neon Lights, Double Down South, TV series The White House Plumbers, and Super Dicks, which is in post-production.
After almost three decades away from a theatre stage, Kim Coates returned for Jez Butterworth’s play, Jerusalem, in Toronto. That was five years ago when daughter Brenna was only 23. And Brenna happened to star in the play, too!
Brenna Coates’ Career
Brenna Coates’ birthday isn’t publicly available online, but she was born in Toronto, Ontario, and is about 28 years old now. She graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts.
Brenna landed a starring role in the hit Off-Broadway play The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe in 2016. Brenna won an Obie and a Drama Desk Award for her role. The Wolves was originally produced at The Duke Theatre in New York City. Because of the play’s success, the production moved on to Broadway and then to The Lincoln Center.
Soon after The Wolves’ prestigious run, Brenna started rehearsals for the play, Jerusalem, in Toronto, along with her father. Brenna was also in the Canadian TV movie Ice Girls and a short film titled Shebang in 2016. She played Lucy in the TV series Coroner from 2019-2020, then Tori Davidson in The Sinners and Fred in Cage Fight. Last year, Brenna played #7 in the TV movie The Wolves and then went on to star as Laila in Neon Lights alongside her father, Kim. She also recently played Ava Williams in Burden. That film just won the Audience Choice Award at Forest City Film Festival.
Neon Lights Is the First Film That Brenna and Kim Coates Have Been in Together
Neon Lights is a thriller, and its synopsis reads: “Tech tycoon, Clay Amani, retreats to an off-the-grid location in search of meaning and peace, with disconnected siblings and their offspring, only to be caught in a bone-chilling killing spree within his new estate. Talking to Coming Soon about the film, Kim described his daughter as “the real Coates actor.”
“She’s the real Coates actor from day one,” Kim Coates said, gushing about his daughter’s success in Wolves, her diligence towards her degree, and the hard work she’s put in to fulfilling her dream. “I’m pretty proud of Brenna and all the theater she’s done and all the movies she’s done,” he said. “It’s exciting to watch your kid do so well.”
Brenna Coates once told The Interval NY that she wanted to be an actor since she was 5 years old. That has to make her father proud!
I’ve known that I wanted to be an actor since I was five years old,” she said. “I think that when you know something about yourself and there’s no other option, no Plan B, you’re just driven by it 100%. There’s nothing else. You don’t want anything else to stand in your way. I’ve been really lucky, I’ve been supported my whole life. My family supports me in everything I do.
Brenna Coates, Speaking to The Interval NY
Kim Coates’ Daughter Is Down-to-Earth
One more thing that Brenna Coates and Kim Coates have in common is their will to change the world and make it a better place. Kim Coates has an ongoing mentoring project called One Heart Source. And Brenna uses her social media to discuss issues that are important to her and advocate for change.
The video above shows Brenna reciting a poem outside of Pasadena City Hall last year. She was advocating for women’s right to choose what to do with their bodies. Other issues that Brenna has advocated for include LGBTQIA+ rights and ending racism.
