Billy Merasty

Last updated
Billy Merasty
Born1960 (age 6364)
Education Centre for Indigenous Theatre
Relatives Tomson Highway (cousin)
René Highway (cousin)

Billy Merasty (born 1960) is an Aboriginal Canadian actor and writer of Cree descent.

Contents

Early life

Merasty was born in Brochet, Manitoba, Canada. He is the ninth of fourteen siblings born to Viola and Pierre Merasty, and a grandson of Joe Highway, a famous caribou hunter and champion dogsled racer; [1] and related to playwright Tomson Highway and dancer, choreographer, actor, and director René Highway. [2]

Career

Merasty moved to Toronto at the age of 18 in search of René Highway, who was then working for the Toronto Dance Theatre. [3] At the age of 23, he launched his acting career after graduating from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre for aspiring First Nations artists. [4] He then worked for the Native Earth Performing Arts for a long period. [4]

Merasty has worked extensively on the stage and films as an actor and has written one play, Fireweed, produced in 1992. His second play, Godly's Divinia, is in development. [5]

In 2010, Merasty received the Order of Manitoba (Order of the Buffalo Hunt) in recognition for his many years as an Aboriginal role model from Manitoba. [6]

Stage work

His stage credits include appearances in Tomson Highway's The Sage, The Dancer and the Fool, Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing and The Rez Sisters , Daniel David Moses' The Indian Medicine Show, Lanford Wilson's Rain Dance, Marie Clements' Copper Thunderbird, Kevin Loring's Where the Blood Mixes, Steven Cole Hughes' Ghost Dance and David S. Craig's The Neverending Story.[ citation needed ]

In 2012, he performed the role of Gloucester in an all-aboriginal production of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, alongside a cast that also included August Schellenberg as Lear, Tantoo Cardinal as Regan, Jani Lauzon in a dual role as Cordelia and the Fool, and Craig Lauzon as Kent. [7]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1989 Justice Denied Donald Marshall Jr.
1990The Shaman's SourceMathew Hare
1994 Exotica Man at Opera
1995 The Confessional Moose
1995 Pocahontas: The Legend Kocoum
1998Honey MoccasinZachary John
2004 Battle of the Brave Owashak
2005 The Big White Cam
2005 The New World Kiskiak
2010 Casino Jack Bartender
2018 Falls Around Her Draven
2019The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi BearclawWilliam Bearclaw
2019 It Chapter Two Shokopiwah Man
2022 Stellar Auntie 1
2023 Café Daughter

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1989Red Earth, White EarthTom RedfoxTelevision film
1991 Counterstrike HawkEpisode: "Native Warriors"
1992 The Broken Cord Frank CreeTelevision film
1993 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues William Two-FeathersEpisode: "Shaman"
1993X-RatedNathan JonesTelevision film
1993–1994 The Red Green Show Joshua Two Feathers4 episodes
1994–1995 Liberty Street Nathan Jones26 episodes
1995Tales of the WildMawakiEpisode: "Les légendes du Grand Nord"
1999War of 1812 John Norton 4 episodes
2000The VirginianLee TalltreesTelevision film
2002 Relic Hunter Inuit HunterEpisode: "Under the Ice"
2003 An American in Canada ApakEpisode: "True North Strong and Almost Free"
2004 Wonderfalls JerryEpisode: "Totem Mole"
2005 This Is Wonderland Brian PerotEpisode #2.8
2005 Into the West Yellow Bird Episode: "Ghost Dance"
2006Indian Summer: The Oka CrisisJohn Cree4 episodes
2007 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Young Man Afraid Television film
2007 Moose TV Leonard Sky8 episodes
2007 Elijah Elijah Harper Television film
2008 Northern Lights Jacob
2009 American Experience WarriorEpisode: "Tecumseh's Vision"
2009, 2010 Mixed Blessings Mark2 episodes
2011 Moby Dick Tashtego
2013 Hard Rock Medical Thompson Morris
2015 Murdoch Mysteries ElderEpisode: "All That Glitters"
2016–2018 Frontier Kaagwa7 episodes
2018 Cardinal Billy Ralph NorthwindEpisode: "Northwind"
2021The Secret History of: The Wild West Poundmaker Episode: "Peacemaker"
2021 Diggstown Chief ThomasEpisode: "Jojo Carvery"
2022 Acting Good Roger Laughingstick

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References

  1. Highway, Tomson (June 29, 2007). "— This I Believe". Cbc.ca. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  2. "For Godly and Divinia". Canadianshakespeares.ca. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  3. Rezolution Pictures. "Billy Merasty". Moosetv.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  4. 1 2 "Interview With Billy Merasty". Playwrightsworkshop.org. 1998-06-12. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  5. Giese, Rachel (April 26, 2001). "Merasty improving with age". Eye Weekly . Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
  6. "Billy Merasty Inducted into Order of the Buffalo Hunt". News.gov.mb.ca. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  7. "Aboriginal cast in staging of King Lear" [ permanent dead link ]. Ottawa Citizen , May 12, 2012.