Chris Potter (actor)

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Chris Potter
Potter at the 2015 CBC Con
Born
Christopher Jay Potter

(1960-08-23) August 23, 1960 (age 63)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)Actor, musician, pitchman
Years active1988–present
Spouse
Karen Potter
(m. 1985)
Children4

Christopher Jay Potter (born August 23, 1960) is a Canadian actor, director, musician, and pitchman. He is primarily known for his roles on soap operas and prime-time television. Potter is known for his roles as Peter Caine, the son of Kwai Chang Caine (played by David Carradine) on the 1990s crime drama Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Dr. David Cameron on the first season of Queer as Folk, as the voice of Gambit in the animated X-Men series, and for his recurring role as con-artist Evan Owen on The Young and the Restless. He plays Tim Fleming on the drama Heartland.

Early life[edit]

The oldest of three children, Potter was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Ron Potter, an ex-pro-football player and insurance executive, and Judith Potter, a singer.[1] Potter was raised in London, Ontario and attended Oakridge Secondary School. He developed an interest in sports as well as in music and community theater.[1]

Potter wanted a career as a professional athlete; however, his father would not permit it. He later quit college to start a career as a rock musician. He discovered a love for the theater and became a professional stage actor. He also worked on an oil rig in Northern Canada, sold cars, and later became an insurance salesman. He left the insurance company to start his career on TV, as an actor and a pitchman.

Career[edit]

After being a spokesman on many commercials in the 1980s, and his role in Material World, he finally made his mark in TV playing David Carradine's son and crime-fighting partner, Det. Peter Caine on Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, after receiving a contract with Warner Bros. in 1992, and remained close friends with Carradine until his death in 2009.[2] His first role, in 1993, was a hit in both Canada and United States. He also appeared on Silk Stalkings and provided the voice of Gambit for at least the first four seasons of the X-Men animated series.[3]

Potter was featured in Rocket's Red Glare (2000). He appeared on the first season as Dr. David Cameron on Queer as Folk opposite Hal Sparks, and he starred in a mini-series A Wrinkle in Time (2003) for ABC. He also co-starred with Joely Fisher in Wild Card from 2003 to 2005. Potter also appeared in Spymate (2006). He also played Graydon Jennings in the movie Thrill of The Kill.

The following year, he landed another role opposite Amber Marshall in the CBC Television series Heartland playing the role of Tim Fleming.[2] Also in 2007, Potter joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in a recurring role as Evan Owen, playing opposite Judith Chapman, with whom he had previously appeared on an episode of Silk Stalkings; Potter remained on The Young and the Restless until being written out in early 2008.[4]

From 2008 to 2014 Potter was in a series of TV movies featuring The Good Witch, portraying Jake Russell. On three of the films, The Good Witch's Charm, The Good Witch's Destiny and The Good Witch's Wonder, he was co-executive producer. One of his co-stars Catherine Disher had previously worked with him, on the X-Men and two episodes of KF:TLC.[5] Potter was unable to continue the role on the Good Witch television series because of scheduling conflicts with his work on Heartland.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Potter is married to Karen, and they have four children.[5]

Selected filmography[edit]

Films[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1998 The Waiting Game Adrian Seville
2000 Spiders Hero
2000 Rocket's Red Glare Tom Young
2001 The Shrink Is In Jonathon
Arachnid Lev Valentine
Final Jeopardy Jed Seigel
2003 Rush of Fear Sam Bryant
A Wrinkle in Time Dr Jack Murry
2004 Open House David Morrow
Right Hook: A Tall Tail Fisherman Short film
Sex Traffic Tom Harlsburgh
2005 The Pacifier Captain Bill Fawcett
Trump Unauthorized Fred Trump Jr., adult
2006 Spymate Mike Muggins
2007 Superstorm Dan Abrams
2008 The Good Witch Jake Russell
2009 The Good Witch's Garden Jake Russell
2010 The Good Witch's Gift Jake Russell
2011 A Warrior's Heart Seamus "Sully" Sullivan
The Good Witch's Family Jake Russell
2012 The Good Witch's Charm Jake Russell
2013 The Hunt Bart Short film
The Good Witch's Destiny Jake Russell
2014 The Good Witch's Wonder Jake Russell
2015 Angels in the Snow Charles Montgomery

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1988 War of the Worlds Episode: "The Walls of Jericho"
1989 Katts and Dog Episode: "Fatal Obsession"
Street Legal Episode: "Confession"
Knightwatch Episode: "Cops: Part 2"
1990-1992 Top Cops Various 6 episodes
Material World Tim Lyons Seasons 1-3
1992 Counterstrike Episode: "The Three Tramps"
1992-1996 X-Men Remy LeBeau / Gambit Voice
1993-1997 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Peter Caine Main cast
88 episodes
1995 Spider-Man Remy LeBeau / Gambit (voice) 2 episodes
1996 The Nightmare Stepbrother Adrian Williams Television movie
1996-2000 Legends of Achilles Achilles (voice) Lead role
96 episodes
1996-1999 Silk Stalkings Detective Sergeant Tom Ryan Main cast
66 episodes
1999 The Outer Limits Captain Turner Episode: "Stranded"
2000 Queer as Folk Dr. David Cameron Recurring role (Season 1)
Will & Grace Michael Episode: "Hey La, Hey La, My Ex-Boyfriend's Back"
2001 Touched by an Angel Michael Reilly Episode: "Angels Anonymous"
2003 Andromeda Able Ladrone Episode: "The Right Horse"
2003-2005 Wild Card aka Zoe Busiek: Wild Card Dan Lennox Co-lead
2004-2006 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 2 episodes
2005 One Tree Hill Ray Green Episode: "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning"
2007 The Young and the Restless Evan Owen
2007-present Heartland Tim Fleming Main Cast
2024 X-Men '97 Cable / Nathan Summers[7] Voice

Director[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Ex-Londoner Chris Potter has forged a long, successful career in TV". The London Free Press. November 10, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Chris Potter : Canadian TV's Busiest Actor". jamesbawden.blogspot.ca. October 2, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "Saturday Morning Rewind: Cartoon Podcast". saturdaymorningrewind.podbean.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  4. ^ "Spotlight on Y&R's Chris Potter". soapoperadigest.com. May 16, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Chris Potter Actor | Magazine Interview with Chris Potter". yourteenmag.com. October 25, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "Why did Good Witch; kill off Jake? Catherine Bell explains". zap2it.com. March 7, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  7. ^ https://ew.com/x-men-97-trailer-legacy-costumes-casting-confirmed-theo-james-8580432

External links[edit]