David Nykl (born 7 February 1967) is a Czech-Canadian actor who has worked in film, television,

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

. He is best known for portraying Dr. Radek Zelenka in the SyFy television series ''

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

'' and Anatoly Knyazev in the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

series ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

''.

Early life and education

Nykl was born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, to a nurse mother and a structural engineer father. After the Soviet invasion in 1968, he and his family left then-Communist

for Canada. Upon arriving at

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Nykl briefly attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, where he majored in

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

and marketing, but did not graduate.

Career

Nykl has appeared frequently in Vancouver and Prague in dozens of theater, film and television productions. Known for his versatility and depth as an actor, he has also produced theatre and film projects, and in 1994, he co-founded Prague's Misery Loves Company Theatre with Richard Toth and Ewan McLaren. Nykl is known to

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

fans as the recurring ''

'' character of Dr.

Radek Zelenka Doctor (title), Dr. Radek Zelenka is a fictional character of a scientist in the 2004 television series ''Stargate Atlantis,'' portrayed by David Nykl. He is a member of the original expedition from Earth to the Ancient (Stargate), Ancient city ...

, a Czech scientist on Earth's expedition to the "lost city" of

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

. His character is often seen working with the main scientist Dr.

Rodney McKay Meredith Rodney McKay, Ph.D., is a fictional character in the 2004 Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series ''Stargate SG-1'' and ''Stargate Atlantis'', two military science fiction television shows about military teams exploring two ...

, with their disagreements recurring throughout the series. He also played the role in the ''

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

'' episode "The Pegasus Project". Nykl is fluent in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

, English, French and Spanish. Though his character on ''Stargate Atlantis'' speaks English with a Czech accent, Nykl normally speaks with a Canadian accent. Whenever Zelenka spoke Czech in ''Stargate Atlantis'', Nykl was given the lines in English, and he translated them. In 2012 he made a brief guest appearance on "Once Upon A Time" as dock man turned fish by evil Cora.

Personal life

He has three children: daughters Judi and Maddie, and son Sam.

Filmography

References

External links

Official Site

Letters from Pegasus
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nykl, David 1967 births Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian people of Czech descent Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada Living people Male actors from Prague Male actors from Victoria, British Columbia Naturalized citizens of Canada University of British Columbia alumni