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Michael Shanks Biography

Birth Name:
Michael Garrett Shanks
Birth Place:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Profession
Actor, writer, director

Fast Facts

  • Dreamed of playing professional hockey as a teen
  • Studied business in college but switched to theater after failing a calculus course
  • Was inspired to pursue an acting career after seeing future Stargate SG-1 costar Richard Dean Anderson shoot a scene from MacGyver on a Vancouver beach
  • Performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival for two seasons
  • Met his wife, Lexa Doig, while guest-starring in an episode of her sci-fi series, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda
  • Played hockey on the Stargate SG-1 team that competed against other productions, such as Smallville, that also shot in British Columbia

Relationships