Good-looking, with thin lips and searing eyes, Stephen McHattie alternated between leads on stage, supporting roles in films, and character parts, generally as petty criminals, on television. A familiar face due to his numerous guest shots on TV series, the Canadian-born actor began his career on the stage in the Broadway production of "The American Dream" (1968). While he made his TV debut in an episode of the CBS limited series "Benjamin Franklin" (1975), it was his portrayal of the iconic movie star "James Dean" in the 1976 NBC biopic which was supposed to be his breakthrough. Despite a valiant try, McHattie failed to find stardom. He was also well-cast as the grown-up son of the devil in the small screen sequel "What Ever Happened to Rosemary's Baby?" (ABC, 1976) and as a French-Canadian trapper in the NBC miniseries "Centennial" (1978-79). He tried his hand at regular roles on two series ("Highcliff Manor" NBC, 1979; "Mariah" ABC, 1987) but neither caught on with viewers.The actor was also unable to find the right big screen vehicle to propel him to stardom. "Gray Lady Down" (1977) put him in the thick of the action and he offered fine support to Armand Assante in "Belizaire the Cajun" (1985) and to Eddie Murphy in "Beverly Hills Cop III" (1994). Between his film and TV assignments, McHattie has returned to the stage where he has won praise for his work, At San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, he appeared in 1983 productions of "Henry IV" and "Macbeth". McHattie appeared in support of Rex Harrison and Amy Irving in an acclaimed Broadway revival of George Bernard Shaw's "Heartbreak House" at Circle in the Square (although he was unavailable when the production was filmed for Showtime in 1985). More recently, in addition to guest roles on such series as "The X-Files" and "Seinfeld", he has found steady employment in a series of TV-movies, ranging from "Convict Cowboy" (Showtime, 1995), with Jon Voight, to "Mary Higgins Clark's 'Remember Me'" (CBS, 1995).
Profession(s):
Actor
Sometimes Credited As:
Stephan McHattie
Steve McHattie
Gemini Award Best Actor in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series "Life With Billy" 1995
OBIE Award Performance "Mensch Meier" 1983 - 1984
2007 Appeared opposite Clive Owen in "Shoot 'Em Up," an action film written and directed by Michael Davis
2006 Co-starred in "The Fountain," written and directed by Darren Aronofsky
2005 Co-starred with Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello in David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence"
2004 Played the Senator in "Twist" a queer 'Oliver Twist' update set in the hustler district of modern-day Montreal
2002 Cast as Burt Holloway in the indie hit "Secretary" starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal
1998 Narrated the comedy "BASEketball," starring the creators of 'South Park'
1995 Starred in "Mary Higgins Clark's: Remember Me" (CBS)
1989 Co-starred in the film "Bloodhounds of Broadway"
1987 Returned to series TV as regular on the short-lived ABC prison drama "Mariah"
1983 Played Shakespeare at the Old Globe Theatre in productions of "Macbeth" and "Henry IV"
1983 Cast as Hector in an acclaimed Circle in the Square production of "Heartbreak Hotel"
1979 TV series debut as regular, "Highcliff Manor" (NBC)
1978 - 1979 Portrayed Jacques Pasquinel in the NBC miniseries "Centennial"
1977 Co-starred in "Gray Lady Down"
1976 Played the title role in the TV biopic "James Dean" (NBC)
1975 TV debut, "The Statesman" episode of the limited series "Benjamin Franklin" (CBS)
1970 Film debut in "The People Next Door"
1968 Broadway debut, "The American Dream"
