Michael Seater | |
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Born | Michael Bruce Patrick Seater January 15, 1987 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Occupations | |
Years active | 1997–present |
Known for | The Zack Files Strange Days at Blake Holsey High Life with Derek 18 to Life |
Michael Seater (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. His most notable roles are Spencer Sharpe in The Zack Files , Lucas Randall in Strange Days at Blake Holsey High , Tom Bellow in 18 to Life , and Derek Venturi in Life with Derek . [1] He later portrayed James Gillies in Murdoch Mysteries , from 2009 to 2017. [2]
Aside from acting, Seater has ventured into filmmaking, with the independent feature films People Hold On (2015) and Sadie's Last Days on Earth (2016), which he wrote, directed, and co-produced. [3] [4]
Seater was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts and worked as a child actor. [5]
Seater began acting in the late 1990s and appeared in the short films, direct-to-video films, made-for-television films, several television series. [5] [6]
Seater voiced the title character in the series Mattimeo: A Tale of Redwall, which aired in 2000, starred as Lucas Randall in the television series Strange Days at Blake Holsey High , which began airing in 2002 and ended in 2006, and had a role in the 2005 film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio , which starred Julianne Moore. [5] Seater then appeared in the recurring role of Owen on the series ReGenesis , which ended after its fourth season. [6]
Seater garnered wider public recognition for his role as Derek Venturi on the popular Canadian family sitcom, Life with Derek , which was a hit with teens at the time. [6] Seater starred on the series from its premiere in 2005 to its finale in 2009, for a total of 70 episodes and four seasons. [7] [8] Before the show's cancellation, Seater had written a script for an episode of the fourth season with his brother, Graham. [9]
In 2009, following the conclusion of Life with Derek, Seater played a character in the Degrassi movie Degrassi Goes Hollywood and in 2010 he starred in the CBC series 18 to Life . [10] He also played the recurring role of murderer and criminal mastermind James Gillies in the Canadian series Murdoch Mysteries . [2]
From 2012 to 2013, Seater also had a recurring role on the Canadian television series Bomb Girls . [11] He also appeared in Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy , a television film based on the series. [12]
In 2015, Seater wrote and directed the feature film People Hold On , which was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Song (by Noah Reid). [13] The film premiered at the Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival in 2015. [3] It received mixed reviews from critics. [14] [15] [16] [17]
In 2016, Seater wrote and directed his second feature film, Sadie's Last Days on Earth , [18] which was produced by Shaftesbury Films. [19] It was released on December 9, 2016, in theatres. [20] It received mostly negative reviews from critics, [21] [22] [4] and scored a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. [23]
Seater identifies as queer, [24] and had input into the creation of his character James, a gay man, on The Wedding Planners . [25] [26] He is close friends with his Life with Derek co-star Ashley Leggat. [27] He has spoken publicly about the struggles of working in the industry as a child actor, in the wake of the documentary film Quiet on Set in 2024. [28]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Night of the Living Dead | Zack | Short film |
Future Fear | Young Daniel | ||
1999 | The Stone Skipper | Simon | Short film |
2005 | The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio | Bub Ryan (age 15) | |
2012 | Adventures in the Sin Bin | Brian | |
Water's Edge | Lorne | Short film Writer Producer | |
2013 | Bank$tas | Neal | |
2014 | Sly Cad | Jack | Short film Writer Director Producer |
2015 | People Hold On | n/a | Writer Director Producer |
Flush | |||
2016 | Sadie's Last Days on Earth | Calvin | |
2017 | The Definites | Fitz | |
2019 | Majic | Eastman |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples | Peter | TV film |
1998–1999 | Noddy | Grit | 4 episodes |
1999 | Twice in a Lifetime | Steven Stovall (age 12) | Episode: "Death and Taxes" |
Real Kids, Real Adventures | Robby Naylor | Episode: "Desert Rescue: The Robby Naylor Story" | |
Vanished Without a Trace | J.J. Porterson | TV film | |
Jenny and the Queen of Light | Eli | ||
1999–2000 | Noddy | 2 episodes | |
2000 | Dirty Pictures | Ian Barrie | TV film |
2000–2001 | Redwall | Mattimeo (voice) | 13 episodes |
2000–2002 | The Zack Files | Spencer Sharpe | Main role; 52 episodes |
2001 | I Was a Rat | Pikey | Miniseries |
2002–2006 | Strange Days at Blake Holsey High | Lucas Randall | Main role; 42 episodes |
2003 | On Thin Ice | Jason McCartle | TV film |
2004 | Wild Card | Episode: "Dr. Sidney Loses a Kidney" | |
2005 | Cyber Seduction: His Secret Life | Nolan Mitchell | TV film |
2005–2009 | Life with Derek | Derek Venturi | Lead role Writer - 2 episodes |
2006 | Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story | Young Conrad Black | TV film |
2006–2007 | ReGenesis | Owen | Recurring role |
2007 | Naturally, Sadie | Cole | Episode: "As the Whirly Turns" |
She Drives Me Crazy | Pete Valenti | TV film | |
2009 | Degrassi Goes Hollywood | Michael Ray | |
Family Biz | Warren Silverman | 2 episodes Writer - Episode 17: "The Consultant" | |
2009–2017, 2023 | Murdoch Mysteries | James Gillies | Recurring role; 8 episode, Guest; 1 episode |
2010 | Vacation with Derek | Derek Venturi | TV film |
2010–2011 | 18 to Life | Tom Bellow | Main role; 25 episodes |
2013 | Bomb Girls | Ivan Buchinsky | 10 episodes |
Long Story, Short | Dave | 4 episodes | |
2014 | Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy | Ivan Buchinsky | TV film |
2016 | The Brief | Scoot | Miniseries |
2017–2018 | Upstairs Amy | n/a | Director - 20 episodes |
2019 | Hudson & Rex | Tad Harrison | Episode: "The Mourning Show" |
Emerald Code | n/a | Direct and producer - 20 episodes | |
2020 | The Wedding Planners | James Clarkson | Main role |
2023 | Life with Luca | Derek Venturi | TV film |