 | This biographical article is written like a résumé .(May 2025) |
Cameron McHarg | |
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| Born | Everett, Washington, U.S. |
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| Website | thisismcharg |
Cam McHarg is an American actor and film director. He is known for his leading role in Zero (2024), [1] as well as his direction and acting in the short film "Deer Season." [2]
McHarg was born and raised in Everett, Washington, where he attended Cascade High School. Following high school he served a brief stint in the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps. [3]
McHarg studied at the Lee Strasberg Actors Workshop in Seattle before relocating to Los Angeles, where he trained as a work observer at The Actors Studio under Mark Rydell and Martin Landau. He was active in theater in Seattle before transitioning to film. [4] He received a BFA in film from the Art Center College of Design, [5] where he received Gold Addy and Silver Telly Awards for his spec commercial "Invisible Children" [6] and was shortlisted for the Cannes Young Director Award. [7]
McHarg's directorial debut, "Kicking Sand in Your Face" (2009), is a black comedy about a man whose plan to get in shape backfires. [8] He wrote, directed, and starred in the film, which later aired on cable networks internationally. [9] His short "the end" [10] also screened at international film festivals.
He also wrote, directed, and starred in "Deer Season" (2018), [11] a thriller about two estranged friends on a hunting trip, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner. [12] Film Threat rated it 7.5 out of 10, praising the film as "beautifully shot in the woods of Washington state." [13] For his performance, he won Best of Fest from The Actors Awards and Best Actor from the Independent Shorts Awards. [9] [14] The film also featured Hus Miller, who later co-starred with McHarg in Zero.
In Kirby McClure's feature film Spaghetti Junction (2021), McHarg played Dave Greenfield, a grieving alcoholic father. [15] [16] The film premiered at the Austin Film Festival [17] and subsequently screened at the Manchester Film Festival [18] and the San Diego International Film Festival. [19] [20] Spaghetti Junction was the first of McHarg's films to be widely released on streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video. [21]
The action thriller Zero (2024), directed by Jean-Luc Herbulot and shot in Dakar, Senegal, features McHarg in a lead role. [22] The film, Herbulot's first English-language feature following Saloum , stars Hus Miller and McHarg as two Americans who wake up in Dakar with bombs strapped to their chests, forced to carry out dangerous tasks by a mysterious voice (played by Willem Dafoe). [23] [24] [1]
Zero premiered at Beyond Fest and won the Orbita Award at the Sitges Film Festival. [25] [26] It had its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in March 2025. [27] The film was released theatrically in the United States on April 11, 2025, by Well Go USA Entertainment, and in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2025, by Blue Finch Film Releasing. [28] Zero became McHarg's most widely distributed film, subsequently streaming on Apple TV+, Prime Video, and Tubi. [29]
McHarg created and hosted the Triumph & Disaster podcast, featuring conversations with creative professionals about their artistic process. [30] Guests included directors Mark Pellington and Tony Kaye, [31] and actor Doug Jones, who revealed information about Star Trek: Discovery on the podcast. [32]