Stephen McHattie

Stephen McHattie is a Canadian actor born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, on February 3, 1946, who was raised in Guysborough County. He began acting in local amateur productions at age sixteen, and at nineteen relocated to New York City to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Over the course of a career spanning more than five decades, he has accumulated over 200 credits across film, television, and theatre.

McHattie's Broadway career began in 1968 and extended through 1992. His stage work includes The American Dream, Mourning Becomes Electra in 1972, The Iceman Cometh in 1973, You Never Can Tell, Heartbreak House, Search and Destroy, and Ghetto, Yehoshua Sobol's play in which he portrayed a role that earned him a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1989. He also won an Obie Award for his performance in Mensch Meier.

His film debut came in 1970 with The People Next Door. Subsequent film roles include Beverly Hills Cop III, Secretary, A History of Violence, 300, Shoot 'Em Up, The Fountain, and the Canadian production The Rocket, in which he played hockey coach Dick Irvin. His performance in The Rocket earned him the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actor, and he received a Genie nomination for Best Actor for his work in the 2009 Canadian thriller Pontypool. He also appeared in the supernatural thriller Pay the Ghost in 2015 and the Canadian thriller Summer's Blood the same year as Gant Hoxey.

On television, McHattie portrayed James Dean in the 1976 television film James Dean, based on a biography by Bill Bast. He appeared in the miniseries Centennial and Roughnecks, and played Major-General Sir Isaac Brock in Canada: A People's History. He had a recurring role as Dr. Reston, Elaine Benes's psychiatrist boyfriend, in multiple episodes of Seinfeld beginning with "The Pitch," and appeared in two episodes of The X-Files. From 1998 to 2000, he played Jimmy Murray in the CBC drama Emily of New Moon, based on Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1923 novel, and from 1999 to 2001 he portrayed Sgt. Frank Coscarella in the Canadian police procedural Cold Squad. Beginning in 2005, he appeared as Captain Healy of the Massachusetts State Police Homicide Division in the first eight Jesse Stone television films, which are adapted from the novels of Robert B. Parker. He also portrayed Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl, in the film adaptation of Watchmen, and voiced the villain The Shade in Justice League.

Among his most recognized television appearances is his role as Romulan Senator Vreenak in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine sixth-season episode "In the Pale Moonlight," an episode frequently cited as one of the finest in the Star Trek franchise. His delivery of the line "It's a fake!" became a widely circulated online meme. McHattie also appeared in episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise and Highlander: The Series, and in American Playhouse's Life Under Water in 1989. He has worked with directors including Darren Aronofsky, Bruce McDonald, and David Cronenberg.

McHattie is married to actress Lisa Houle, with whom he has three children. He was previously married to actress Meg Foster. His older brother is actor Wendell Smith.