Kim Frederick Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian and American actor and producer. He is known for his starring roles as Alexander "Tig" Trager on the FX television series Sons of Anarchy (2008–14) and as Declan Gardiner on the Citytv series Bad Blood (2017–18). He has also had notable roles on Prison Break, CSI: Miami, Ghost Wars, Godless, Van Helsing, and as Brigham Young on American Primeval, and played Ronnie Hortense in the cult hockey comedy Goon (2011) and its sequel Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017).
Coates has been nominated for five Canadian Screen Awards, winning Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for Bad Blood. He won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role – Play for his role in Jez Butterworth's play Jerusalem. He first saw a play while attending the University of Saskatchewan, where he enrolled in a drama course as an elective. This experience inspired him to pursue an acting career.
Career
Theatre
Coates joined the Stratford Festival during its 1985–86 season and, at 28 years old, was the youngest-ever actor to play the title character in Macbeth at the festival. He made his Broadway debut as Stanley Kowalski in the 1988 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. In 1989, he starred in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.
In 2018 he had his first stage role in almost thirty years, playing Johnny "Rooster" Byron in the Outside the March production of Jez Butterworth's play Jerusalem. He won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role – Play at the 2018 Dora Awards.
Film and television
Coates has appeared in over 100 film and television titles to date. He made his screen acting debut in the Canadian sports biopic The Boy in Blue (1986). He appeared in a number of Canadian TV shows and films, before making his Hollywood debut as a memorable henchman in the Bruce Willis-Damon Wayans action comedy The Last Boy Scout (1991).
He appeared in the films Innocent Blood (1992), The Client (1994), Waterworld (1995), Bad Boys (1995), Battlefield Earth (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), Black Hawk Down (2001), Open Range (2003), Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), The Island (2005), Silent Hill (2006), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Goon (2011), Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2016), and Fantasy Island (2020).
Coates starred as Alexander "Tig" Trager in the FX crime drama series Sons of Anarchy (2008-14). He also appeared in the television series Prison Break, CSI: Miami, Ghost Wars, Godless, Van Helsing, and American Primeval.
At the 7th Canadian Screen Awards, Coates won the award for Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for his performance as gangster Declan Gardiner in the television series Bad Blood, and was also nominated for Best Dramatic Series. Coates' performance was critically acclaimed, with some deeming him as one of the best villains The Walking Dead has ever had.
Coates played a supporting role with Kevin James in the 2026 romantic comedy film Solo Mio.
Honours
On June 6, 2017, Coates received an honorary doctorate at the University of Saskatchewan. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Saskatchewan) on March 28, 2023.
Philanthropy
Coates supports the One Heart Source, a non profit organization aiming at ending poverty by designing high quality global initiatives focused on education and health.
Coates participates in Rally for Kids events in support for The Pinball Clemons Foundation.
Personal life
thumb|right|Coates (right) joins [[Theo Rossi and Dayton Callie on a USO visit to Southwest Asia.]]
Coates splits his time between Los Angeles and Toronto. He lives with his wife, Diana Chappell, and two children, Kyla and Brenna. He is known to be good friends with Prison Break co-star William Fichtner, as well as Kevin Costner and Sons of Anarchy co-star Theo Rossi.
Coates is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, he received his American citizenship in 2010.
Stage credits
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- "
! Year
! Title
! Role
!Venue
! Notes
|-
| 1985
| The Two Noble Kinsmen
| Theseus
| rowspan="3" |Festival Theatre, Stratford
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1986
| Shakespeare's Lovers
| Mercutio
|
|-
| 1987
| The Passion of Dracula
| Count Dracula
|Alliance Theatre, Atlanta
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| Cold Case
| Alessandro Rossilini
| Episode: "Sabotage"
|-
| data-sort-value="Gunfighter's Pledge, A" | A Gunfighter's Pledge
| Tate
| TV movie
|-
| 2008–11
| Entourage
| Carl Ertz
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2008–09
| CSI: Miami
| Ron Saris
| 6 episodes
|-
| 2008–14
| Sons of Anarchy
| Alexander "Tig" Trager
| Main role
|-
| 2010
| Human Target
| Bertram
| Episode: "Salvage & Reclamation"
|-
| 2013
| Crossing Lines
| Genovese
| 5 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2017
| Godless
| Ed Logan
| TV Miniseries (5 episodes)
|-
| Kevin Can Wait
| Terry Labasco
| Episode: "Unholy War"
|-
| 2017–18
| Ghost Wars
| Billy McGrath
| Main role
|-
| 2017–18
| Bad Blood
| Declan Gardiner
| Main role
|-
| 2019–20
| Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure
| Hector (voice)
| 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="4" | 2021
| data-sort-value="Crew, The" | The Crew
| Rob Walton
| Episode: "My Name's Kevin And I Care About Feelings"
|-
| Pretty Hard Cases
| Bill Misiano
| 5 episodes
|-
| Van Helsing
| Count Dalibor
| Main role (season 5)
|-
| Corner Gas Animated
| Biker (voice)
| Episode: "Plots and Plans"
|-
| 2022
| Mayans M.C.
| Alexander "Tig" Trager
| Episode: "When the Breakdown Hit at Midnight"
|-
| 2023
| White House Plumbers
| Frank Sturgis
| 5 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2025
| American Primeval
| Brigham Young
| 4 episodes
|-
| The Walking Dead: Dead City
| Bruegel
| 5 episodes
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- "
! Award
! Year
! Category
!Work
! Outcome
|-
| rowspan="5" | Canadian Screen Award
| 2013
| Best Supporting Actor
|Goon
|
|-
|2018
| rowspan="2" |Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
| rowspan="3" |Bad Blood
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2019
|
|-
|Best Dramatic Series
|
|-
|2022
|Best Guest Performance in a Comedy Series
|Pretty Hard Cases
|
|-
|Dora Mavor Moore Award
|2018
|Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role – Play
|Jerusalem
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |Gemini Award
| rowspan="2" |1998
|Best Guest Performance in a Dramatic Series
|Poltergeist: The Legacy ("Transference")
|
|-
|Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Program or Series
|Dead Silence
|
|-
|Leo Award
|2022
|Best Supporting Male Performance in a Motion Picture
|Donkeyhead
|
|-
|PAAFTJ Television Award
|2013
|Best Cast in a Drama Series
|Sons of Anarchy
|
|}