Billy Merasty
ActingBiography
Billy Merasty is an actor, playwright, Cree translator, and language keeper. He was born to Viola and Pierre Merasty in 1960 in Brochet, Manitoba. His grandfather was Joe Highway, a famous caribou hunter and champion dogsled racer. He moved to Toronto at age eighteen in search for his uncle René Highway, who was at the time working for the Toronto Dance Theatre. At age twenty-three Billy launched his acting career after graduating from the Native Theatre School for aspiring Indigenous artists. He then went on to work for the renowned Indigenous performing arts company Native Earth Performing Arts. Billy has worked as a film, television, and stage actor for decades and notably played the first Indigenous gay character on television on the CBC series, Liberty Street, in the role of Nathan. Billy received the Order of Manitoba (Order of the Buffalo Hunt) in recognition for his many years as an Indigenous role model in 2010.
Movies
(26 total)
It Chapter Two
as Shokopiwah Man
The New World
as Kiskiak
Exotica
as Man at opera
The Big White
as Cam
Casino Jack
as Bartender
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
as Young Man Afraid
Northern Lights
as Jacob
The Confessional
as Moose
Battle of the Brave
as Owashak
Pocahontas: The Legend
as Kocoum
The Virginian
as Lee Talltrees
Aberdeen
as Alfred
The Broken Cord
as Frank Cree
The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw
as William Bearclaw
X-Rated
as Nathan Jones
Falls Around Her
as Draven
Stellar
as Auntie 1
Honey Moccasin
as Zachary John
Café Daughter
as Amos Horseknife
TV Shows
(14 total)
Relic Hunter
as Inuit Hunter
Cardinal
as Billy Ralph Northwind
Wonderfalls
as Jerry
SkyMed
as Glen
American Experience
as Warrior
Moby Dick
as Tashtego
Diggstown
as Chief Thomas
Liberty Street
as Nathan Jones
Acting Good
as Roger Laughingstick
This Is Wonderland
as Brian Perot (as William Merasty)
Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis
as John Cree