Christopher Heyerdahl (born September 18, 1963) is a Canadian actor who portrayed Alastair in ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

,'' the Wraith Todd in ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Coop ...

'', Sam in '' Van Helsing,'' "Swede" in ''

Hell on Wheels Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pacific railroad workers westward as they constructed the First transcontinental railroad in 186 ...

,'' and Marcus in '' The Twilight Saga''.

Early life and family

Heyerdahl was born in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, and is of Norwegian and Scottish descent. His father emigrated from Norway to Canada in the 1950s.

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000& ...

was his father's cousin. Heyerdahl also speaks Norwegian and studied at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

Career

Heyerdahl is primarily known for his recurring role as the enigmatic "Swede" in AMC's ''

''. This post-

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

drama debuted as the second highest rated original series in AMC history. He is also known for his role as Leonid in the ''

Are You Afraid of the Dark? ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' is a horror anthology television series. The original series aired on Nickelodeon from 1992 to 1996; the pilot episode aired respectively on YTV and Nickelodeon in 1990 and 1991. It led to two revival series, wi ...

'' episode "The Thirteenth Floor" and as Nosferatu in the episode "Midnight Madness". He played the characters Halling and Wraith commander

Todd Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

in ''

'', and Pallan in the ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...

'' episode "

Revisions Revision is the process of revising. More specifically, it may refer to: * Update, a modification of software or a database * Revision control, the management of changes to sets of computer files * '' ReVisions'', a 2004 anthology of alternate ...

". He played H. P. Lovecraft in the film '' Out of Mind: The Stories of H. P. Lovecraft'' (1998) and a punk, new at drug dealing, in ''Cadavres'' (2009). He played the part of the demon Alastair in three episodes of ''

''. He also played the part of

Zor-El Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A Kryptonian, he is the brother of Jor-El, husband of Alura, father of Supergirl, and paternal uncle of Superman. Traditional depictions of Zor-El in Golde ...

in the television series ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/G ...

'', as well as playing

John Druitt The characters in the Canadian science fiction-fantasy television series ''Sanctuary (TV series), Sanctuary'' are predominantly "abnormals": advanced humans or creatures, and the show centers on bringing other abnormals to the Sanctuary in the ...

and

Bigfoot Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...

in the series ''

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

''. He played the part of Dieter Braun on ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The ser ...

'' during the show's 5th season. His most notable film role was in the feature film ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar ecl ...

'', an adaptation of

Stephenie Meyer Stephenie Meyer (; née Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire romance series ''Twilight'', which has sold over 100 million copies, with translations into 37 differ ...

's second book in her Twilight Saga. In this film, he played a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

, Marcus, who is part of a powerful Italian family called the Volturi. He reprised that role in both parts of ''

Breaking Dawn ''Breaking Dawn'' (stylized as ''breaking dawn'') is the 2008 fourth novel in ''The Twilight Saga'' by American author Stephenie Meyer. Divided into three parts, the first and third sections are written from Bella Swan's perspective, and the ...

'', the two-part adaptation of the fourth book in the Twilight Saga. He has also performed on stage and was a member of the Young Company at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

in 1989 and 1990. In 2015, Heyerdahl hosted the

Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

gala ceremony.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Note and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heyerdahl, Christopher 1963 births Living people Male actors from British Columbia Canadian male television actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian people of Norwegian descent Canadian people of Scottish descent