Robert Cormier, Actor on ‘Heartland’ and ‘Slasher,’ Dies at 33

Robert Cormier, a Toronto-born bartender-turned-actor who appeared on such TV shows as American Gods, Heartland and Slasher, has died. He was 33.

Cormier died Friday in a hospital in Etobicoke, Ontario, of injuries suffered in a fall, his sister Stephanie told The Hollywood Reporter.

In perhaps his most prominent role, Cormier portrayed the ill-fated Kit Jennings on the 2019 third season of the Netflix horror anthology series Slasher. He also worked on Ransom, which aired on CBS in the U.S., that year.

In 2021, he showed up on two episodes of Starz’s American Gods and on one installment of the long-running CBC family drama Heartland, where he arrived at the ranch as Finn Cotter, grandson of Duncan Fraser’s Al Cotter. He was thought to be a potential love interest for Amber Marshall’s Amy Fleming.

Born in Toronto on June 14, 1989, Cormier said his favorite actor was Jean-Claude Van Damme. “I told my dad, ‘Daddy, call me Robbie Van Damme,'” he said.

He studied economics at York University before graduating from the Toronto Academy of Acting for Film & Television in 2014. Two years later, he scored a guest spot on ABC’s Designated Survivor, starring Kiefer Sutherland.

“Life hasn’t always dealt me the best hands, and I have been let down more times than I can count, but I always preserve,” he wrote on his LinkedIn page. “I recite this daily. … There is really no difference between the hero and the coward in what they feel. It’s what they do that makes them different.”

Survivors include his parents, Robert and Lisa; sisters Brittany, Krystal and Stephanie; and grandmother Joanne. His funeral has been set for Sunday in Etobicoke.

“Robert was an athlete, an actor and a great brother,” his family said. “He had a passion for helping others and was always looking to achieve more. He enjoyed movie nights with his family and looked up greatly to his father. He impacted many people throughout his life, whether it was family, teammates and friends. Rob’s memory will live on through his passion for art and film as well as his three sisters, who meant the world to him.”