Stephen McHattie

Stephen McHattie Smith, actor (born at Antigonish, NS 3 Feb 1947). Stephen McHattie grew up in Guysborough County, NS, and at age 16 began acting in local amateur plays. At 19 he moved to New York to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first professional role came in producer Joseph Papp's Central Park production of Shakespeare'sHenry IV and he spent the next 15 years on stage in New York. He appeared in Edward Albee'sAmerican Dream, and won off-Broadway awards for best actor forMensch Meier andGhetto.

McHattie then moved to Los Angeles. A gaunt, brooding character actor with deep-set eyes, he primarily played villains and vicious killers in scores of films and television series. His early credits include the television movieJames Dean (1976; as Dean),Kojak, the NBC miniseriesCentennial (1978-79),Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, Law & Order, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998; as Romulan Senator Vreenak) andBeverly Hills Cop III (1994) with Eddie Murphy. For fans of the popularSeinfeld series, McHattie is known as "Dr. Reston," Elaine's psychiatrist, appearing in 4 episodes in 1992.

Returning to Canada in the early 1990s, Stephen McHattie made an impression as a savage wife-beater in the CBC television dramaLife with Billy in 1994 and won theGEMINI AWARD for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a dramatic program. His other Canadian credits includeEmily of New Moon, BruceMCDONALD's live television production ofAmerican Whiskey Bar (1998),Cold Squad (2000-01, series),One Dead Indian (2006), ClementVIRGO'sPoor Boy's Game (2007),Murdoch Mysteries (2008),The Trojan Horse (2008), Bruce McDonald'sPontypool (2009) andThis Movie Is Broken (2010), and Michael McCowan'sScore: A Hockey Musical (2010).

Stephen McHattie won aGENIE AWARD for best supporting actor as bombastic broadcaster Dick Irvin in Charles Binamé'sThe Rocket (2005) starring RoyDUPUIS as Maurice "Rocket"RICHARD, and he was memorable as one of the menacing killers in the opening scenes of DavidCRONENBERG's Oscar-nominated filmA History of Violence (2005). McHattie also appeared in300 (2006) and inWatchmen (2009), based on the best-selling graphic novel, as the first Nite Owl, and is seen in the TV seriesHaven (2010) andXIII: The Series (2011).