Michael Mahonen (born 27 April 1964) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

actor,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and

screen writer A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, televisio ...

History

Mahonen has Finnish ancestry. After graduating from the Theatre Arts Program at

George Brown College The George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology is a public, fully accredited college (Canada), college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, George ...

in 1989, he auditioned for a young company formed for the

Citadel Theatre The Citadel Theatre is the major venue for theatre arts in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located in the city's downtown core on Churchill Square. It is the third largest regional theatre in Canada. History It began in a former Salvati ...

in Edmonton. His first job as a professional actor involved the role of James Keller in "The Miracle Worker," as well as the roles of Lucius and Popilious Lena in "Julius Caesar." In 1990, Mahonen was chosen for the role of Gus Pike for the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

program ''

Road to Avonlea ''Road to Avonlea'' is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the '' CBC Family Hour'' anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created ...

''."A trip down Avonlea lane"
by Gayle MacDonald at www.theglobeandmail.com He garnered three

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...

nominations in 1993, 1994, and 1995 for his work on the television series. In 1992, he starred as a jazz trumpet player with

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...

in the film ''Giant Steps''. He then played Lee Colgan in the CBC miniseries ''Conspiracy of Silence'', directed by

Francis Mankiewicz Francis Mankiewicz (March 15, 1944 in Shanghai, China – August 14, 1993 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) was a Canadian film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and v ...

. In 1994, Mahonen co-starred with

Michael Riley Michael Riley (born February 4, 1962) is a Canadian actor. From 1998 to 2000, he portrayed Brett Parker in ''Power Play (1998 TV series), Power Play''. He has acted in over 40 films and television series, including ''This Is Wonderland'', for wh ...

in the television special "The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios". He played the character of Paul, a young man dying of the

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

virus after contracting it from a

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...

a few years earlier. In the summer of 1994, he played the role of Jacob Mercer in "Salt Water Moon". This was part of David French's Mercer family saga set in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. Mahonen also guest-starred in numerous American and Canadian television projects, including an episode of '' Star Trek: Voyager'' entitled "Nemesis", in which he played a humanoid named "Brone." In 1997, Mahonen starred in

Judith Thompson Judith Clare Thompson, OC (born September 20, 1954) is a Canadian playwright. She has twice been awarded the Governor General's Award for drama, and is the recipient of many other awards including the Order of Canada, the Walter Carsen Performi ...

's "Sled" at

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

's Tarragon Theatre. He then returned to film, co-starring in the 1998 film ''Captured''. He went on to make several more films including ''

Blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

''. In 2003, Mahonen began work on his first feature film ''Sandstorm''. The film involved a fact-based drama about the persecution of

Falun Gong Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a new religious movement founded by its leader Li Hongzhi in China in the early 1990s. Falun Gong has its global headquarters in Dragon Springs, a compound in Deerpark, New York, United States, near t ...

practitioners in China. He wrote, directed, and produced the entire film for under $5,000. The cast was made up of volunteers. The film received 29 awards including Best Feature Film, Best Drama, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahonen, Michael 1964 births Living people Film directors from Ontario Film producers from Ontario Canadian male screenwriters Canadian male television actors People from Kirkland Lake Canadian people of Finnish descent Falun Gong practitioners George Brown College alumni Male actors from Ontario 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male writers