Scott Hylands

Scott Hylands, born Scott Hylands Douglas in 1943 in Lethbridge, Alberta, is a Canadian actor whose work spans film, television, and stage. His mother, Ruth (née White) Douglas, worked as a public health nurse and later as a mathematics teacher; his father, Walter Norman Douglas, was killed in action during World War II in 1945. Hylands grew up in southwest British Columbia and received his education at Shawnigan Lake Boys School on Vancouver Island before enrolling at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He initially pursued zoology there, but transferred into the theater arts program when the university introduced that major, graduating in 1964.

Following graduation, Hylands moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. His first role was the lead in an off-Broadway production of the comedy Billy Liar in 1965, the same year he began what would become a Broadway career lasting until 1982. His Broadway credits include The Queen and the Rebels and And Things That Go Bump in the Night. After his New York debut, he spent several years in San Francisco performing with the American Conservatory Theater.

His transition to film came in 1969, when director Mark Robson cast him in the suspense film Daddy's Gone A-Hunting, following an audition Robson had requested in 1968. The film received positive notices, though its release coincided with Midnight Cowboy. In August 1975, Hylands appeared as Mercutio in the Los Angeles Free Shakespeare Society's production of Romeo and Juliet at the John Anson Ford Theater, then known as The Pilgrimage Theatre, in the Cahuenga Pass. Throughout his years in the United States, he appeared in American television series including Cannon, The Waltons, Kung Fu, Baretta, and Ironside, frequently cast in roles as tough characters and villains.

In the early 1980s, Hylands returned to Canada. He took on the recurring role of Detective Kevin "O.B." O'Brien in the Toronto-produced police drama Night Heat, which aired on CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States from 1985 to 1989, marking his first starring role in a television series. After Night Heat concluded, he settled on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, where he lived for 25 years with his wife Veronica, a nurse, and their two children, before the family later relocated to Victoria.

He continued working across both American and Canadian productions during this period. His television appearances included the role of Father Travis in the ABC series V, a 1995 episode of NYPD Blue, the 1992 television film To Catch a Killer, and four episodes of the revived Outer Limits between 1996 and 2001. He also returned to the Canadian stage, directing and performing in a 2006 production of Under Milk Wood in Victoria, producing and directing a 2008 staging of Waiting for Godot, and performing in a solo version of A Christmas Carol. He appeared as an actor in a 2015 production of Waiting for Godot and a 1994 production of The Tempest.

In 2021, at the age of 78, Hylands was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia shortly before his daughter's wedding. His wife established a GoFundMe account to assist with the cost of Venclexta, the medication prescribed for his chemotherapy treatment. His involvement with theater continued until he was sidelined by health issues.