Canadian actor, director, and writer Michael Shanks is famous for playing the iconic role of Dr Daniel Jackson in the military sci-fi series, Stargate SG–1. His representation of Dr. Charles Harris in Saving Hope, a Canadian medical drama also contributed to making him a household name. Apart from television, Shanks has some acting experience performing on stage. His acting dexterity has been widely appreciated by fans and critics alike.
Shanks has also featured in the direct-to-DVD productions of Stargate films such as Stargate: Continuum and Stargate: The Ark of Truth. He has starred in other movies including Suddenly Naked, All Around Town, Suspicious River, and Door to Door. On the director side of things, he co-owns Slacktwaddle Productions, alongside his friend and co-star Christopher Judge. He also directed a couple of Stargate SG–1 episode. Shanks has received a number of awards and nominations for his acting, let’s keep up with him a bit…
Michael Shanks’ Bio
The popular actor was born Michael Garrett Shanks on December 15, 1970, in Vancouver, Canada. He was raised in Kamloops, British Columbia, and was a very athletic child involved in a number of extracurricular activities: he served as a member of his high school’s student council, performed with the theatre group, and played on the hockey and rugby teams. He was really good at hockey and entertained the dream of someday playing at a professional level, however, he abandoned the dream in favor of a more stable career.
Shanks went off to British Columbia to secure a degree in Business, but after struggling with and failing calculus, he decided to become a Theatre major instead and subsequently graduated with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in 1994. Upon leaving school, he apprenticed for two years at the Stratford Festival, Ontario, and featured in a few productions. While he was there, he nursed the hope that he would one day be called upon to give life to the character of Henry V.
In 1993, Michael Shanks scored a role in Highlander: The Series, an American sci-fi adventure TV show, in which he played Jesse Collins. He also featured in other series such as Madison, The Commish, Eye Level, and University Hospital. He bagged his first movie role in 1995, in A Family Divided. His appearance in the film paved the way for features in other movies including The Call of the Wind: Fog of the Yukon, The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon, Arctic Blast, Faces in the Crowd, Under The Mistletoe, and Sumuru.
He got his big break when he auditioned for Stargate SG–1 and received a callback to play the archaeologist, Dr. Daniel on the show. He stayed on for five seasons before deciding to leave the show because he felt his character wasn’t getting the attention he deserved. He returned to feature in three episodes in season six after fans clamored for him to be brought back.
Shanks kicked off his directorial career with season four of the series, receiving glowing reviews for his work. Later on, he expanded his professional resume to include a writer after he scripted an episode called Resurrection, in season 7 of Stargate SG–1. He has also guest-starred on television series such as Andromeda, Outer Limit, Eureka, and 24. He portrayed the character, Victor Stecker-Epps in the Burn Notice series.
His acting has brought him a couple of awards including a 2004 Leo Award for Best Lead Performance in a Drama Series, and a 2009 Leo Award for Lead Performance in Feature Length Drama.
His Net Worth
Michael Shanks has been actively appearing on small and large screens for over two decades. In this time, he has managed to take in a small fortune for himself. He has been earning an annual income of about $25 million for some time now, and his net worth is estimated to be $215 million. This figure is only going to grow bigger as the years go on if he continues at his current pace.
Wife – Lexa Doig and Children
Shanks met his wife, Lexa Doig on the set of Andromeda, where they played two androids on the cusp of falling in love with each other. They began going out shortly after, and after successfully dating for several years, the two tied the knot on August 2, 3003.
The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Mia Tabitha Shanks on September 13, 2004. Shanks and Lexa had another child together, a son named Samuel David Shanks, born on March 19, 2006. The family shows no signs of breaking up anytime.
Michael Shanks has another daughter named Tatiana, from a previous relationship with actress Vaitiare Bandera. The actor enjoys spending his leisure time with his family or playing ice hockey.
