Roché was born in Paris to a Scottish mother, Gail (née Stewart), and a French father, Philippe Roché.[3] From age 12 to 18, Roché lived on a sailboat with his parents and brothers, travelling to the Mediterranean, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean.[4] He is fluent in French, English, German, Spanish and Italian.[5]
In 1997, Roché was part of the main cast in the Fox fantasy adventure series Roar, playing the role of Saint Longinus. He starred opposite Heath Ledger and Vera Farmiga.[10] The series was cancelled due to low ratings later that same year. Roché's many 1990s television credits include recurring and guest starring stints in series such as Feds (1997), Dellaventura (1997), Sex and the City (1998), Merlin (1998), Law & Order (1993 & 1999), and Big Apple (2001). In 1998, he returned to the stage in the Off-Broadway production of Trainspotting at the Players Theater.[11] In 2000, he portrayed Prince Renzo in the Broadway production of The Green Bird at the Cort Theatre. The play marked his second collaboration with director Julie Taymor.[12] That same year, he appeared in the television film The Crossing opposite Jeff Daniels, which aired on A&E on 10 January 2000. He also had a minor role in the thriller film 15 Minutes starring Robert De Niro, released on 9 March 2001.
Roché next starred in the motion capture epic fantasy film Beowulf, alongside Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie, which was directed by Robert Zemeckis and released to cinemas on 16 November 2007. He reprised his role as Wulfgar from the film in the accompanying video game Beowulf: The Game, released on 13 November 2007.[13] In 2007, Roché began appearing in the ABC soap opera General Hospital as terrorist/criminal Jerry Jacks . Roché returned to the series in a recurring capacity. He starred in a total of 319 episodes, and has spoken Russian, Spanish, and French in the series.[14]
In 2009, Roché guest starred in The Mentalist as Shirali Arlov, and as John Quinn in both 24: Redemption (2008), and the 2009 season of 24. He then appeared in the comedy-drama film Happy Tears with Demi Moore and Parker Posey, released on 19 February 2010, and lent his voice to the animated film The Adventures of Tintin, directed by Steven Spielberg and released on 21 December 2011.[15] In 2010, Roché joined the recurring cast of The CW's drama series Supernatural. He starred in six episodes of the sixth season as Balthazar, a rogue angel and longtime friend of fellow angel Castiel.[16] He was next cast in the Fox science fiction drama series Fringe, recurring in the second and third seasons as Thomas Jerome Newton, the leader of an army of shapeshifters from a parallel universe and a main antagonist of the series.[17][18]
In 2011, Roché began recurring as Mikael, the father of the Original Vampires, in The CW's supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries.[19] He then recurred as Clyde Easter in the CBS procedural crime drama series Criminal Minds.[20] Roché next had a supporting role in the action-thriller film Safe House, starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington, which was released on 10 February 2012.[21] Also in 2012, he made a guest appearance in NBC's procedural fantasy drama series Grimm.[22] In 2013, he made a guest appearance on Burn Notice playing Roger Steele. He then starred in William Brent Bell's horror film Wer, released first in Japan on 16 November 2013.[23]
By 2021, he was recurring in both the NBC sci fi drama Debris as the enigmatic MI6 agent Brill and in the ABC drama Big Sky as the corrupt Sheriff John Wagy.
He appeared in Heatwave opposite Kat Graham, and the independent film Lone Star Bull as Chuck Moore. Roché also shot the NBC pilot Getaway and can also be seen in Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities as Roland, opposite Tim Blake-Nelson.
In the Paramount+ TV series 1923, the sequel to Taylor Sheridan's critically acclaimed 1883, he appears as Father Renaud, a French Roman Catholic priest and the abusive headmaster of the Catholic boarding school.
Roché was cast as a series regular in the new Netflix series Gringo Hunters set in Mexico.
Personal life
Roché met American actress Vera Farmiga while co-starring with her in the Fox series Roar. They eloped to the Bahamas after the series ended in 1998,[37] and lived on a 125-acre estate in Upstate New York.[38] After seven years of marriage, Roché and Farmiga separated in 2004.[37]
On 31 May 2014, he married Korean Australian actress Alicia Hannah-Kim at the Chateau Les Bouysses in Mercuès, France.[39]