François Arnaud (actor)
François Arnaud is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Cesare Borgia in the Showtime period drama series The Borgias, Manfred Bernardo in the NBC supernatural drama series Midnight, Texas '', and Scott Hunter in the Crave sports romance series Heated Rivalry ''.
Early life and education
Arnaud was born on July 5, 1985, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is French Canadian. The first play he saw was Cyrano de Bergerac at age nine. He was so inspired that he went home and tried to learn the monologues. In 2007, Arnaud trained at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique in Montreal.Career
Arnaud started his career in his home country by landing a role in a comedy series called Taxi 0-22 and guest starring in several other Canadian shows. He also starred as Antonin Rimbaud in the French-Canadian film J'ai tué ma mère, an Oedipal coming-of-age drama directed by Xavier Dolan. Arnaud received a VFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film for the role, and credits this with getting him an agent in Hollywood who helped him get auditions for larger roles.Arnaud became known for his performance as Cesare Borgia in the Showtime series The Borgias. He portrayed Oscar in the NBC drama series Blindspot. He also starred in Midnight, Texas portraying the troubled psychic Manfred Bernardo from 2017 to 2018. The show filmed in Albuquerque and Arnaud enjoyed exploring the mountains and waterfalls near by during his five months there.
In 2016, Arnaud filmed Permission in New York City. Later, Arnaud filmed sci-fi thriller Origami, a French-Canadian movie that was shot in his home town of Montreal. The film was so physically and psychologically exhausting for Arnaud that he could not work for a month afterwards so he retreated to a cabin in the woods. In 2017, Arnaud filmed the indie film, She's in Portland with Tommy Dewey, which was released in 2020.
Arnaud featured in an episode of the Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning show, Schitt's Creek as Sebastien Raine, David's ex-boyfriend and photographer. In 2019, the film Rapid Eye Movement was released which saw Arnaud playing a radio DJ whose ratings are falling so he plays a stunt by going without sleep to break a world record. Arnaud shot this in Times Square in a glass booth where he interacted with passersby. Also in 2019, Arnaud started shooting a psychological thriller called Home about a young couple dealing with raising a newborn. He plays opposite Emily Hampshire, whom he met while working on Schitt's Creek. He was cast because Emily would only accept her role if Arnaud played her husband. Arnaud portrayed Dan Moody in The Moodys over two seasons until its cancellation in 2021.
In 2024, Arnaud starred in the music video for "How Far Will We Take It?" by Orville Peck and Noah Cyrus. In 2025, Arnaud starred as ice hockey player Scott Hunter in the Canadian gay sports romance television series Heated Rivalry. The show is based on Canadian writer Rachel Reid's Game Changers book series. Arnaud also filmed German director Wiebke von Carolsfeld's upcoming drama Someone's Daughter, portraying a man who is kidnapped along with the criminal lawyer who defended him against a rape charge.
Personal life
On November 19, 2020, Arnaud came out as bisexual on his Instagram.Arnaud speaks English and French. He learned Spanish in high school. He later traveled to Latin America and had a Chilean girlfriend who helped improve his command of the language, though he did not use Spanish for a decade before working on The Borgias, which required it.