Canadian actor Michael Garrett Shanks was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on December 15, 1970. He earned his Fine Arts degree from the University of British Columbia in 1994. He first started on stage, then made guest appearances on shows such as Highlander and The Outer Limits. He had a daughter with his girlfriend Vaitiare Bandera, who played Sha're on Sg1 pilot Children of the God. In 2001, on Andromeda set, he met Lexa Doig, they married in 2003 and have two children.
Daniel Jackson is played by Michael Shanks on the Sci-Fi Channel original series Stargate SG-1. Jackson is an expert of many cultures, an anthropologist and a linguist who can speak many languages, including those of ancient Egypt. He is a member of the SG-1.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Lived with Vaitiare Bandera
Daughter, Tatiana (born late 1998) with Vaitiare Bandera.
Bears an uncanny resemblance to his Stargate (1994) feature film counterpart James Spader, whose character, Dr. Daniel Jackson, he portrays on "Stargate SG-1" (1997).
Favorite hockey team is the Vancouver Canucks.
He was born in Vancouver and grew up in Kamloops, BC, Canada.
His best friend is "Stargate SG-1" (1997) co-star Christopher Judge.
Played hockey (defense) and rugby (flyhalf then wing) in high school.
Vaitiare Bandera, the mother of his child, played his character's wife on "Stargate SG-1" (1997).
Was inspired to pursue an acting career while watching future "Stargate SG-1" (1997) co-star Richard Dean Anderson film an episode of "MacGyver" (1985).
Daughter, Mia Tabitha Shanks, with Lexa Doig, born 13 September 2004.
Played three different characters in a single episode of "Stargate SG-1" (1997): Dr. Daniel Jackson, Thor and Penegal in the second half of the Season Eight premiere 'New Order Part II'.
Has appeared in four different productions with the late Don S. Davis: A Family Divided (1995) (TV), "Stargate SG-1" (1997), The Artist's Circle (2000) and Suspicious River (2000).
His character, Remiel, killed Hector, played by Christopher Judge, in the "Andromeda" (2000) episode "Day of Judgement, Day of Wrath". In the "Stargate SG-1" (1997) episode "Moebius Part 2", his character, Dr. Daniel Jackson, was killed by Judge's character, Teal'c.
Met his wife, Lexa Doig when he guest starred in the "Andromeda" (2000) Season One episode "Star-Crossed".
His character, Dr. Daniel Jackson (and various versions of him), was killed in four different episodes during the eighth season of "Stargate SG-1" (1997) alone: "Avatar", "Reckoning Part 2" and "Moebius Part 2", He was also shot several times, severely injured and tortured during the season.
Appeared with Torri Higginson in "Stargate SG-1" (1997) and "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004) who co-starred with his wife Lexa Doig in TekWar (1994) (TV), _"TekWar" (1994)_, TekWar: TekLords (1994) (TV) and Jungleground (1995).
Wife Lexa Doig gave birth to their second child together, a son named Samuel David on March 19, 2006. Michael announced it at a Vancouver Convention on March 25th.
Had an emergency appendectomy when his appendix ruptured the day before filming was to begin on Stargate SG-1 Season 3 episode "Nemesis". The script had to be rewritten to explain his character's reduced role. The writers decided to have the character recovering from an appendectomy as well.
Coincidentally enough, there is another Michael Shanks (no relation) who is a real life archaeologist, while Michael Shanks the actor portrays an archaeologist on the television show Stargate SG-1.
Grew up as a huge Star Wars and Star Trek fan. Michael was also a fan off the cult television series, Xena: Warrior Princess.
His character on Stargate SG1 is close to six years older than he actually is.
1. Stargate: Continuum (2008) (V) (completed) .... Dr. Daniel Jackson
... aka Continuum (USA: short title)
... aka Stargate Continuum: The Movie (USA: promotional title)
2. Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008) (V) .... Dr. Daniel Jackson
... aka The Ark of Truth (USA: short title)
3. "Eureka" .... Christopher Dactylos (1 episode, 2007)
... aka A Town Called Eureka (Ireland: English title) (UK)
- All That Glitters (2007) TV episode .... Christopher Dactylos
4. Mega Snake (2007) (TV) .... Les
5. "24" .... Mark Bishop (3 episodes, 2007)
- Day 6: 3:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m. (2007) TV episode .... Mark Bishop
- Day 6: 2:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m. (2007) TV episode .... Mark Bishop
- Day 6: 1:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m. (2007) TV episode .... Mark Bishop
6. Judicial Indiscretion (2007) (TV) .... Jack Sullivan
7. "Stargate SG-1" .... Dr. Daniel Jackson / ... (197 episodes, 1997-2007)
... aka Porte des ?toiles, La (Canada: French title: dubbed version)
- Unending (2007) TV episode (voice) .... Dr. Daniel Jackson / Thor
- Dominion (2007) TV episode .... Dr. Daniel Jackson
- Family Ties (2007) TV episode .... Dr. Daniel Jackson
- Talion (2007) TV episode .... Dr. Daniel Jackson
- Bad Guys (2007) TV episode .... Dr. Daniel Jackson
(192 more)
8. Under the Mistletoe (2006) (TV) .... Kevin Harrison
9. "CSI: Miami" .... Doug Stets (1 episode, 2005)
- Payback (2005) TV episode .... Doug Stets
10. Swarmed (2005) (TV) .... Kent Horvath
11. "Stargate: Atlantis" .... Dr. Daniel Jackson (1 episode, 2004)
... aka Porte d'Atlantis, La (Canada: French title: dubbed version)
... aka Stargate: Atlantis (USA: Spanish title)
- Rising (2004) TV episode .... Dr. Daniel Jackson
12. "Andromeda" .... Balance of Judgment / ... (2 episodes, 2001-2003)
... aka Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda (USA: complete title)
- Day of Judgement, Day of Wrath (2003) TV episode .... Remiel / Balance of Judgment
- Star-Crossed (2001) TV episode .... Gabriel / Balance of Judgment
13. Sumuru (2003) .... Adam Wade
... aka Sax Rohmer's Sumuru (South Africa: English title: complete title)
14. "The Twilight Zone" .... Danny (1 episode, 2002)
- Shades of Guilt (2002) TV episode .... Danny
15. "The Chris Isaak Show" .... Trevor (1 episode, 2002)
- The Hidden Mommy (2002) TV episode .... Trevor
16. Door to Door (2002) (TV) .... John
17. All Around the Town (2002) (TV) .... Justin Donnelly
... aka Nous n'irons plus au bois (Canada: French title) (France)
... aka Mary Higgins Clark's 'All Around the Town' (USA: complete title)
18. Suddenly Naked (2001) .... Danny Blair/Donny Blitzer
... aka Mise ? nu (Canada: French title)
19. Suspicious River (2000) .... Ball cap man
20. "The Outer Limits" .... Dr. Will Olsten / ... (2 episodes, 1998-2000)
... aka The New Outer Limits (USA: promotional title)
- Manifest Destiny (2000) TV episode .... Dr. Will Olsten
- Mary 25 (1998) TV episode .... Melburn Ross
21. Mr. Fortune's Smile (2000) .... James
22. The Artist's Circle (2000) .... Artist
23. Escape from Mars (1999) (TV) .... Bill Malone, Mission Architect
24. The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon (1997) (TV) .... Fellow Gambler #1
... aka Jack London's The Call of the Wild
... aka Jack London's The Call of the Wild Dog of the Yukon
25. "University Hospital" .... Jake (1 episode, 1995)
- Shadow of a Doubt (1995) TV episode .... Jake
26. A Family Divided (1995) (TV) .... Todd
27. "Madison" .... Gordon (1 episode, 1994)
- Junior Partner (1994) TV episode .... Gordon
28. "The Commish" .... Sean (1 episode, 1993)
- Rising Sun (1993) TV episode .... Sean
29. "Highlander" .... Jesse Collins (1 episode, 1993)
... aka Highlander (France)
... aka Highlander: The Series
- The Zone (1993) TV episode (as Michael G. Shanks) .... Jesse Collins
Writer:
1. "Stargate SG-1" (2 episodes, 2003-2004)
... aka Porte des ?toiles, La (Canada: French title: dubbed version)
- Resurrection (2004) TV episode (writer)
- Evolution: Part 1 (2003) TV episode (story)
Director:
1. "Stargate SG-1" (1 episode, 2001)
... aka Porte des ?toiles, La (Canada: French title: dubbed version)
- Double Jeopardy (2001) TV episode
Self:
1. Sci Fi Inside: Sci Fi Friday (2005) (TV) .... Himself / Daniel Jackson
2. From Stargate to Atlantis: Sci Fi Lowdown (2004) (TV) .... Himself / Daniel Jackson
3. Preview to Atlantis (2004) (TV) (uncredited) .... Himself / Daniel Jackson
4. 1st Annual Spaceys (2003) (TV) .... Himself
5. Stargate: The Lowdown (2003) (TV) .... Himself - Host
Archive Footage:
1. Sci Fi Inside: Stargate SG-1 200th Episode (2006) (TV) .... Himself/Daniel Jackson
2. Sci Fi Lowdown: Behind the Stargate - Secrets Revealed (2005) (TV) .... Himself/Daniel Jackson
3. "Andromeda"
- A Symmetry of Imperfection (2004) TV episode .... Gabriel
4. "Stargate SG-1"
- Inauguration (2004) TV episode .... Dr. Daniel Jackson/Thor
-I couldn't be playing him for this long if I didn't like him.
-I've always found ways to bend the rules.
-There's a way about it: tearing people down, but not tearing them apart.
-The environment on set is very encouraging.