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Billy Merasty

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Billy Merasty
Born1960 (age 63–64)
Brochet, Manitoba, Canada
EducationCentre for Indigenous Theatre
RelativesTomson Highway (cousin)
René Highway (cousin)

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

Early life

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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

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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

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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

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1989 Justice Denied Donald Marshall Jr.
1990 The Shaman's Source Mathew Hare
1994 Exotica Man at Opera
1995 The Confessional Moose
1995 Pocahontas: The Legend Kocoum
1998 Honey Moccasin Zachary 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
2019 The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw William Bearclaw
2019 It Chapter Two Shokopiwah Man
2022 Stellar Auntie 1
2023 Café Daughter
2024 Aberdeen Alfred

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1989 Red Earth, White Earth Tom Redfox Television film
1991 Counterstrike Hawk Episode: "Native Warriors"
1992 The Broken Cord Frank Cree Television film
1993 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues William Two-Feathers Episode: "Shaman"
1993 X-Rated Nathan Jones Television film
1993–1994 The Red Green Show Joshua Two Feathers 4 episodes
1994–1995 Liberty Street Nathan Jones 26 episodes
1995 Tales of the Wild Mawaki Episode: "Les légendes du Grand Nord"
1999 War of 1812 John Norton 4 episodes
2000 The Virginian Lee Talltrees Television film
2002 Relic Hunter Inuit Hunter Episode: "Under the Ice"
2003 An American in Canada Apak Episode: "True North Strong and Almost Free"
2004 Wonderfalls Jerry Episode: "Totem Mole"
2005 This Is Wonderland Brian Perot Episode #2.8
2005 Into the West Yellow Bird Episode: "Ghost Dance"
2006 Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis John Cree 4 episodes
2007 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Young Man Afraid Television film
2007 Moose TV Leonard Sky 8 episodes
2007 Elijah Elijah Harper Television film
2008 Northern Lights Jacob
2009 American Experience Warrior Episode: "Tecumseh's Vision"
2009, 2010 Mixed Blessings Mark 2 episodes
2011 Moby Dick Tashtego
2013 Hard Rock Medical Thompson Morris
2015 Murdoch Mysteries Elder Episode: "All That Glitters"
2016–2018 Frontier Kaagwa 7 episodes
2018 Cardinal Billy Ralph Northwind Episode: "Northwind"
2021 The Secret History of: The Wild West Poundmaker Episode: "Peacemaker"
2021 Diggstown Chief Thomas Episode: "Jojo Carvery"
2022 Acting Good Roger Laughingstick

References

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  1. ^ Highway, Tomson (June 29, 2007). "— This I Believe". Cbc.ca. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  2. ^ "For Godly and Divinia". Canadianshakespeares.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-09-15. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  3. ^ Rezolution Pictures. "Billy Merasty". Moosetv.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  4. ^ a b "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.
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