Prior to his becoming an actor, Kristen Holden-Reid was a champion rider and fencer, and a former member of the Canadian National Pentathlon Team, winning silver medals in both the Pan American and Pan Pacific Pentathlon Championships. Holden-Reid then segued into acting, landing the title role in the Czechoslovakian production of "Young Ivanhoe" (1995). After a supporting role in the dustbin title "Night of the Demons 3" (1997), he had a small part in the Lifetime movie-of-the-week "When Innocence is Lost" (1997), followed by a more prominent supporting role in the Sci-Fi Channel's cautionary tale about the depleting ozone layer, "Habitat" (1997). Holden-Reid continued to play supporting roles in features and television movies, appearing in "The Defenders: Taking the First" (Showtime, 1998), "Going to Kansas City" (1998) and "Forget Me Never" (CBS, 1998). He gained significant prominence playing bassist Noel Redding in "Hendrix" (2000), Showtime's interesting, but ultimately lackluster biopic on the life and music of Jimi Hendrix (Wood Harris).