Stephen Amell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Amell in 2023 | |
| Born | Stephen Adam Amell (1981-05-08)May 8, 1981 (age 44) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | St. Andrew's College |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Known for | Green Arrow inArrow |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Robbie Amell (cousin) |
| Signature | |
 | |
Stephen Adam Amell[1] (born May 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He came to prominence for playing the lead role ofOliver Queen onthe CW superhero seriesArrow (2012–2020), based onDC Comics. Amell also appeared in subsequentArrowverse franchise media, along with reprising his role in various video games. Following the conclusion ofArrow, Amell landed the lead roles in both theStarz drama seriesHeels (2021–2023), andSuits LA, the sequel toSuits.
Outside of television, Amell portrayedCasey Jones in the superhero filmTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016). He co-produced and starred inCode 8 and its sequelCode 8: Part II with his cousinRobbie Amell. He has also made a number of appearances in theprofessional wrestling circuit.
Stephen Adam Amell was born on May 8, 1981,[2] inToronto, Ontario, the son of Sandra Anne (née Bolté) and Thomas J. Amell.[3][4] He is a first cousin of actorRobbie Amell.[5] He attendedSt. Andrew's College, a private independent school for boys, and graduated in 2000.[6]
Amell appeared in two episodes of thefourth season ofQueer as Folk as the Liberty Ride spinning instructor in 2004. Amell played Adam in the first season of the television seriesDante's Cove; he was replaced in the second season by Jon Fleming. In 2007, Amell won aGemini Award for his guest-starring role onReGenesis.[7] The same year he was also nominated for a Gemini Award in the Best Ensemble Cast Category forRent-a-Goalie.[8] He had recurring roles in the TV seriesDa Kink in My Hair andHeartland. On December 3, 2010, Amell joined the cast ofThe Vampire Diaries as werewolf 'Brady' for season 2.[9] Amell starred as the real life convicted killerJoran van der Sloot in theLifetime filmJustice for Natalee Holloway which originally aired in May 2011.[10]
On October 2, 2011, season 3 ofHBO's seriesHung premiered with Amell starring as busboy-turned-prostitute Jason, a younger rival "ho" toThomas Jane's Ray Drecker.[7] He also appeared as Jim in thefourth season of90210.[11] Amell announced on October 28, 2011, that he had just finished filming the Christmas episode ofNew Girl withZooey Deschanel andMax Greenfield. He touches on the experience of filming his first "network half-hour comedy" in an interview withDaemon's TV.[11] On November 9, 2011, Amell was announced for the recurring role of Scottie, a paramedic onABC'sPrivate Practice.[12] He also played the role of Travis McKenna inBlue Mountain State.
In January 2012, Amell was cast asOliver Queen inThe CW seriesArrow, based on theDC Comics superheroof the same name.[10] This series and role led to Amell appearing as the character on other superhero series on the network as part of the growingArrowverse, includingThe Flash,Legends of Tomorrow,Supergirl, andBatwoman, as well as theCW Seed webseriesVixen.
Amell co-starred inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (released on June 3, 2016) as vigilante "Casey Jones".[13] Amell announced in May 2017 that he would be participating on a special celebrity edition ofAmerican Ninja Warrior.[14] Amell demonstrated great physical abilities which was reflective of his athleticism in his portrayal of Oliver Queen.[15] In 2017, he took part in the directorial debut of formerHeartland co-starMichelle Morgan, a short film entitledMi Madre, My Father, playing the estranged father of a six-year-old girl. Morgan raised funds for the production through a crowdfunding campaign.[16] The film premiered at the 2018Cannes Film Festival.[17]
In March 2019, Amell announced the end ofArrow with itseighth and final season, which premiered in October 2019 and concluded in January 2020.[18]
His first post-Arrow project was announced in August 2019 asHeels, aStarz drama series set in the world ofindependent professional wrestling.[19] In December of the same year, it was announced that short-form streaming platformQuibi were developing a spin-off series starring Amell and his cousin Robbie Amell, developed from their crowd-funded filmCode 8.[20] In September 2023,Heels was canceled after two seasons.[21] In February 2024, Stephen Amell was cast as Ted Black in the upcomingNBC pilotSuits LA, based on theUSA Network original seriesSuits.[22] On July 19, 2024,Suits LA has ordered to series by NBC.[23]
Amell has also been announced as playing Henry Roland, a police officer, in the forthcomingCrave crime drama seriesUnderbelly.[24]
As an avidprofessional wrestling fan,[25] Amell campaigned for a guest appearance onWWE's weeklyRaw program.[26]
In May 2015, it was reported that he was set to wrestleStardust (Cody Rhodes) at WWE'sSummerSlam pay-per-view in August.[25] Amell made his first WWE appearance on the May 25 episode ofRaw, where he had a confrontation with Stardust.[27] Amell returned toRaw in early August; after being assaulted in the audience by Stardust, Amell got into thering to attack him until being contained by security. Following abackstage segment withTriple H, it was announced thatNeville would team with Amell to face Stardust andKing Barrett at SummerSlam.[28]
At the event on August 23, 2015, Amell and Neville defeated Barrett and Stardust in atag team match. Amell participated in the wrestling, and, behind the scenes, wrestlers were said to have been impressed with Amell's performance.[29][30] Amell became friends with Rhodes, with whom he later also worked onArrow.[31]
On December 21, 2015, Amell was awarded aSlammy for the "Celebrity Moment of the Year" for his dive onto Stardust during the match.[32]
Amell returned to professional wrestling forRing of Honor on November 17, 2017, atSurvival of the Fittest.[33] On the day of the show, Amell joined theBullet Clubfaction, and teamed with Cody Rhodes,Kenny Omega, andThe Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) in a five-on-four tag team match. They defeatedThe Addiction (Christopher Daniels andFrankie Kazarian),Flip Gordon, andScorpio Sky, and Amell again participated in the wrestling, including being put through a table by The Addiction.[34]
On August 6, 2018, it was announced that Amell would be competing atAll In, in his first-ever singles match, where he was defeated by Christopher Daniels.[35]
On February 29, 2020, Amell made an appearance atAll Elite Wrestling'sRevolution, where he accompaniedCody Rhodes alongside Rhodes'Nightmare Family for his match againstMJF.[36]
Amell has hosted a number of successful fundraising campaigns via the crowd funded merchandise platformRepresent.com.[37] In 2014, Amell partnered with the charity Fuck Cancer to raise almost a million dollars with the release of a T-shirt featuring his face on the front (with a Post-it note on his forehead and featuring the organization's name). He ended up selling over 60,000 shirts from this campaign.[38][39] In January 2015, Amell launched his second Represent.com campaign featuring a word he made up,Sinceriously, to benefit two mental health charities: Paws and Stripes and Stand For The Silent.[39] In August 2015, Amell used his guest appearance onWWE Raw withStardust to raise funds via his third campaign for children's hospice Emily's House in Toronto. The campaign raised $300,000, and Amell and Stardust presented a cheque together at Emily's House.[40] During the Red Nose Day special ofAmerican Ninja Warrior, Amell donated $35,000 for completing all six obstacles, and an extra obstacle, the Salmon Ladder.[41]
Amell married his first wife, fellow Canadian Carolyn Lawrence, on December 8, 2007, in Toronto.[42] The couple divorced in 2010.[43] Amell married actress and modelCassandra Jean on December 25, 2012, in a private ceremony inthe Caribbean,[44] and for a second time inNew Orleans on May 26, 2013.[45] The couple have a daughter who was born on October 15, 2013. They have a son, born May 13, 2022.[46]
 | This"criticism" or "controversy" sectionmay compromise the article'sneutrality. Please helpintegrate negative information into other sections or removeundue focus on minor aspects throughdiscussion on thetalk page.(May 2025) |
Amell's statements and behavior have occasionally drawn controversy. In September 2015, after aMuslim student was arrested forbringing a disassembled digital clock to his high school inIrving, Texas, Amell tweeted, "Stereotyping Texas isn't any better than stereotyping Ahmed".[47] The post drew criticism online, prompting Amell to take a break from social media.[48][49][50]
In 2018, Amell tweeted "my âpölògīés"[51] in response to criticism about his failure to use theacute accent while tweeting singerBeyoncé's name.[52][53] After he was accused by online commenters of disrespectingblack names, he said he had omitted the accent while being "lazy in the midst of a mediocre joke".[54]
In 2020, during theBlack Lives Matterprotests, Amell was criticized by comic book writerTee Franklin and others for saying that racism is a systemic problem but that he had not personally "seen it in action".[55]
In 2021, Amell was asked to leave aDelta Air Lines flight traveling from Austin to Los Angeles for yelling at his wife.[56] He later said he was intoxicated at the time.[57][58]
In July 2023, Amell was criticized for comments he made at a fan convention regarding the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. While he expressed support forSAG-AFTRA as his union, he called striking a "reductive negotiating tactic" and "myopic" and seemed to criticize that the strike banned him from promoting the second season ofHeels.[59][60] He later clarified his opinion, saying that while he does not like striking, he "[understands] fundamentally why we're here" and stated that his support for the union was unconditional and that he stood with them.[61] Amell did not attend theArrow cast reunion on the picket line outside the Warner Bros. studio lot inBurbank, California, as he was in New York City at the time, but on the day of the reunion, he was photographed on the picket line in front of theWarner Bros. Discovery offices in New York and reportedly sent his regards to his former showrunners in California.Marc Guggenheim, executive producer ofArrow and organizer of the revival, interpreted his attendance in New York as a symbolic stand in solidarity.[62][63]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Tracey Fragments | Detective | |
| Closing the Ring | Teddy Gordon | ||
| 2009 | Screamers: The Hunting | Guy | Direct-to-video |
| 2011 | Stay with Me | Travis | Short film |
| 2016 | Code 8 | Drone Operator #1 | Voice; short film; also producer |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows | Casey Jones | ||
| 2018 | Mi Madre, My Father | Hal Nelson | Short film[17] |
| 2019 | Code 8 | Garrett Kelton | Also producer |
| 2024 | Calamity Jane | Wild Bill Hickok | [64] |
| Code 8: Part II | Garrett Kelton | Also producer | |
| 2025 | Little Lorraine | Jimmy |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Queer as Folk | Spinning Instructor | 2 episodes |
| Degrassi: The Next Generation | Doorman | Episode: "Ghost in the Machine: Part 2" | |
| 2005 | Missing | Ian Harrington | Episode: "Paper Anniversary" |
| Tilt | Bellboy | Episode: "Rivered" | |
| Beautiful People | Jason | 5 episodes | |
| Dante's Cove | Adam | 2 episodes | |
| 2006 | The House Next Door | Buddy Harrelson | Television film |
| 2006–2008 | Rent-a-Goalie | Billy | Main role |
| 2007 | ReGenesis | Craig Riddlemeyer | 2 episodes |
| 2007–2009 | Da Kink in My Hair | Matthew | 4 episodes |
| 2007–2012 | Heartland | Nick Harwell | 6 episodes |
| 2009 | Flashpoint | Peter Henderson | Episode: "Exit Wounds" |
| 2010 | Blue Mountain State | Travis McKenna | 2 episodes |
| CSI: Miami | Peter Truitt | Episode: "Sleepless in Miami" | |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Marine Gunnery Sergeant Andrew Weaver | Episode: "Bounty" | |
| The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice | Philip Seaverm | Television film | |
| 2011 | The Vampire Diaries | Brady | 2 episodes |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | A.J. Gust | Episode: "73 Seconds" | |
| Justice for Natalee Holloway | Joran van der Sloot | Television film | |
| Hung | Jason | Main role (season 3); 10 episodes | |
| 90210 | Jim | 2 episodes | |
| 2011–2012 | New Girl | Kyle | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Private Practice | Scott Becker | 7 episodes |
| 2012–2020 | Arrow | Oliver Queen / Green Arrow | Main role |
| 2013 | When Calls the Heart | Wynn Delaney | Television film |
| 2014–2023 | The Flash | Oliver Queen / Green Arrow | 9 episodes |
| 2015 | Reelside | Himself | Episode: "Superheroes" |
| WWE Raw | Himself | 2 episodes | |
| 2016–2020 | Legends of Tomorrow | Oliver Queen / Green Arrow | 6 episodes |
| 2017 | American Ninja Warrior | Himself | Episode: "Celebrity Ninja Warrior for Red Nose Day" |
| 2017–2019 | Supergirl | Oliver Queen / Green Arrow | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | Batwoman | Oliver Queen / Green Arrow | Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two" |
| 2021–2023 | Heels | Jack Spade | Main role |
| 2025 | Suits LA | Ted Black | Main role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Injustice: Gods Among Us | Green Arrow | |
| 2014 | Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham | [65] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Dudes Being Dudes in Wine Country | Himself | Also co-creator |
| 2015–2016 | Vixen | Oliver Queen / The Arrow / Green Arrow | Voice; 5 episodes |
| 2017–2024 | Being The Elite | Himself | Cameo |
| 2021–2024 | Shot of Brandi | Himself | Cameo |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
