Michael Shanks

Michael Shanks
Born	Michael Garrett Shanks December 15, 1970 (1970-12-15) (age 39) Vancouver, BC, Canada
Occupation	Actor
Spouse(s)	Lexa Doig (2003-present)

Michael Garrett Shanks (b. December 15, 1970, Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian actor who achieved fame for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson on the long-running science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.

Biography

Early life

After graduating from the University of British Columbia with a B.F.A. in Theatre in 1994, Shanks appeared in several stage productions, serving a two-year apprenticeship with the prestigious Stratford Festival in Ontario. He made guest appearances on TV series like Highlander, University Hospital, and The Outer Limits, appeared in the TV movie A Family Divided and had a small role in The Call of the Wild, before winning the role of Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG-1.

Career

Stargate Franchise

Shanks played archaeologist Dr. Daniel Jackson throughout the first five seasons of Stargate SG-1 before leaving the show, citing creative differences concerning the under-use of his character and the direction of the show as a whole. He made several guest appearances throughout the sixth season playing his own character, as well as voicing the Asgard character Thor. Following an enthusiastic fan campaign (Save Daniel Jackson), Shanks returned for the seventh and subsequent seasons, winning the Leo Award for Best Lead Performance By A Male in a Dramatic Series in 2004 for the seventh season episode "Lifeboat".^[1] He only signed up for 16 of the 20 episodes in the tenth season, taking some time off in March 2006 for the birth of his third child (second with wife and occasional co-star Lexa Doig).

He appeared in both direct-to-DVD Stargate films released in 2008; Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum, and won the 2009 Leo Award for Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama for "Continuum".^[2]

In 2004, Shanks made a crossover appearance (as Daniel Jackson) in the Stargate Atlantis pilot, "Rising". He also appeared in the tenth and eleventh episodes of Atlantis' fifth and final season,^[3] and made a cameo appearance in the pilot of third Stargate series Stargate Universe.^[4]

Other Appearances

In 2002, Shanks starred in the German/UK/South African co-production Sumuru, a science fiction film in the B-movie tradition, as astronaut Adam Wade. He also auditioned for the role of Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis and was a fan favorite to play the role of Tobin Dax on Star Trek: Enterprise (although it is unknown if he was ever actually approached for the role).

In 2007, Shanks joined the Fox Network series 24, guest-starring as lobbyist Mark Bishop in a three-episode arc for season 6.

In 2008 - 2009, Shanks had a recurring role on the second season of the USA Network spy series Burn Notice, playing Victor, spy and maniacal counterpoint to series lead Jeffrey Donovan's character.

In 2008, Shanks has a minor role in the show Eureka, as an alchemist somewhat responsible for the near destruction of the town due to a student's mixing chemicals in his lab and thereby creating the 'Alchemist curse'. The episodes "All That Glitters..." and "Night at Global Dynamics" feature him.

In 2009, Shanks appeared in an episode of Sanctuary, which stars fellow Stargate actor Amanda Tapping.

Shanks will bring to life archaeologist Carter Hall, DC Comics' superhero Hawkman, in the ninth season of the CW Network television series Smallville.^[5] The character will appear in a special 2-hour movie event titled Smallville: Absolute Justice, focusing on the Justice Society of America, that will air in early 2010.^[6]

Personal life

On August 2, 2003, Shanks married actress Lexa Doig, whom he met in 2001 while guest-starring on the series Andromeda, in which Doig played the titular character. (They would also work together on Stargate SG-1, when Doig was cast as Dr. Carolyn Lam, a recurring character in seasons nine and ten.) They have two children together: daughter Mia Tabitha Shanks (b. September 13, 2004) and son Samuel David Shanks (b. March 19, 2006). Shanks' eldest child is daughter Tatiana (b. August 1998), from his relationship with model and actress Vaitiare Bandera, who portrayed Sha're, his character's wife, on Stargate SG-1.

Shanks enjoys playing ice hockey, and once considered playing professionally. He was on the Stargate SG-1 hockey team, competing against the teams of other Vancouver-based productions such as Smallville, and also displayed his aptitude for the sport in the 2006 TV movie Under the Mistletoe, in which he played the part of a school hockey coach.

Filmography

Starring roles

Guest-starring roles

Director

Writer

Theatre

University of British Columbia

• Hamlet .... Hamlet
• Love's Labour's Lost .... Don Armando
• Love of the Nightingale .... Tereus
• Dombey and Son .... Wlater Gray
• Translations .... Lt. Yolland
• Leonce and Lena .... Leonce, Frederick Wood Theatre
• Loot .... Dennis, Frederick Wood Theatre
• Hopscotch .... Will, Frederick Wood Theatre
• You´re a Good Man, Charlie Brown .... Schröder, Dorothy Somerset Studio
• Wait Until Dark .... Roat, Dorothy Somerset Studio
• Sure Thing .... Clarke, Vancouver Men's Festival
• The Lion in Water .... ???, Western Canada Theatre Company

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michael Shanks

• Michael Shanks Online - The Official Michael Shanks Website
• Michael Shanks at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Shanks TV Guide Blog