Michael Seater

For the English rugby union, association football (soccer), and rugby league footballer of the 1960s, and 1970s, see Michael Seatter.

Michael Seater
Born
Michael Bruce Patrick Seater

(1987-01-15) January 15, 1987 (age 37)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupations
Years active1997–present
Known forThe Zack Files
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High
Life with Derek
18 to Life

Michael Seater (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. His most notable roles are Spencer Sharpe in The Zack Files, Lucas Randall in Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, Tom Bellow in 18 to Life, and Derek Venturi in Life with Derek.[1] He later portrayed James Gillies in Murdoch Mysteries, from 2009 to 2017.[2]

Aside from acting, Seater has ventured into filmmaking, with the independent feature films People Hold On (2015) and Sadie's Last Days on Earth (2016), which he wrote, directed, and co-produced.[3][4]

Early life

Seater was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts and worked as a child actor.[5]

Career

Early work

Seater began acting in the late 1990s and appeared in the short films, direct-to-video films, made-for-television films, several television series.[5][6]

Seater voiced the title character in the series Mattimeo: A Tale of Redwall, which aired in 2000, starred as Lucas Randall in the television series Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, which began airing in 2002 and ended in 2006, and had a role in the 2005 film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, which starred Julianne Moore.[5] Seater then appeared in the recurring role of Owen on the series ReGenesis, which ended after its fourth season.[6]

2005–2014: Life with Derek and further acting work

Seater garnered wider public recognition for his role as Derek Venturi on the popular Canadian family sitcom, Life with Derek, which was a hit with teens at the time.[6] Seater starred on the series from its premiere in 2005 to its finale in 2009, for a total of 70 episodes and four seasons.[7][8] Before the show's cancellation, Seater had written a script for an episode of the fourth season with his brother, Graham.[9]

In 2009, following the conclusion of Life with Derek, Seater played a character in the Degrassi movie Degrassi Goes Hollywood and in 2010 he starred in the CBC series 18 to Life.[10] He also played the recurring role of murderer and criminal mastermind James Gillies in the Canadian series Murdoch Mysteries.[2]

From 2012 to 2013, Seater also had a recurring role on the Canadian television series Bomb Girls.[11] He also appeared in Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy, a television film based on the series.[12]

2015–present: Transition into filmmaking

In 2015, Seater wrote and directed the feature film People Hold On, which was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Song (by Noah Reid).[13] The film premiered at the Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival in 2015.[3] It received mixed reviews from critics.[14][15][16][17]

In 2016, Seater wrote and directed his second feature film, Sadie's Last Days on Earth,[18] which was produced by Shaftesbury Films.[19] It was released on December 9, 2016, in theatres.[20] It received mostly negative reviews from critics,[21][22][4] and scored a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes.[23]

Personal life

Seater identifies as queer,[24] and had input into the creation of his character James, a gay man, on The Wedding Planners.[25][26] He is close friends with his Life with Derek co-star Ashley Leggat.[27] He has spoken publicly about the struggles of working in the industry as a child actor, in the wake of the documentary film Quiet on Set in 2024.[28]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Night of the Living Dead Zack Short film
Future Fear Young Daniel
1999 The Stone Skipper Simon Short film
2005 The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio Bub Ryan (age 15)
2012 Adventures in the Sin Bin Brian
Water's Edge Lorne Short film
Writer
Producer
2013 Bank$tas Neal
2014 Sly Cad Jack Short film
Writer
Director
Producer
2015 People Hold On n/a Writer
Director
Producer
Flush
2016 Sadie's Last Days on Earth Calvin
2017 The Definites Fitz
2019 Majic Eastman

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples Peter TV film
1998–1999 Noddy Grit 4 episodes
1999 Twice in a Lifetime Steven Stovall (age 12) Episode: "Death and Taxes"
Real Kids, Real Adventures Robby Naylor Episode: "Desert Rescue: The Robby Naylor Story"
Vanished Without a Trace J.J. Porterson TV film
Jenny and the Queen of Light Eli
1999–2000 Noddy 2 episodes
2000 Dirty Pictures Ian Barrie TV film
2000–2001 Redwall Mattimeo (voice) 13 episodes
2000–2002 The Zack Files Spencer Sharpe Main role; 52 episodes
2001 I Was a Rat Pikey Miniseries
2002–2006 Strange Days at Blake Holsey High Lucas Randall Main role; 42 episodes
2003 On Thin Ice Jason McCartle TV film
2004 Wild Card Episode: "Dr. Sidney Loses a Kidney"
2005 Cyber Seduction: His Secret Life Nolan Mitchell TV film
2005–2009 Life with Derek Derek Venturi Lead role
Writer - 2 episodes
2006 Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story Young Conrad Black TV film
2006–2007 ReGenesis Owen Recurring role
2007 Naturally, Sadie Cole Episode: "As the Whirly Turns"
She Drives Me Crazy Pete Valenti TV film
2009 Degrassi Goes Hollywood Michael Ray
Family Biz Warren Silverman 2 episodes
Writer - Episode 17: "The Consultant"
2009–2017, 2023 Murdoch Mysteries James Gillies Recurring role; 8 episode, Guest; 1 episode
2010 Vacation with Derek Derek Venturi TV film
2010–2011 18 to Life Tom Bellow Main role; 25 episodes
2013 Bomb Girls Ivan Buchinsky 10 episodes
Long Story, Short Dave 4 episodes
2014 Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy Ivan Buchinsky TV film
2016 The Brief Scoot Miniseries
2017–2018 Upstairs Amy n/a Director - 20 episodes
2019 Hudson & Rex Tad Harrison Episode: "The Mourning Show"
Emerald Code n/a Direct and producer - 20 episodes
2020 The Wedding Planners James Clarkson Main role
2023 Life with Luca Derek Venturi TV film

References

  1. ^ "The Guy From 'Life With Derek' Grew Up And He Looks Totally Different Now". Elite Daily. April 28, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "The Wedding Planners' Michael Seater: "It speaks to themes I think everybody can get" | TV, eh?". www.tv-eh.com. April 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Check out who's coming to this year's Cinéfest". Sudbury.com. September 18, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Sadie's Last Days on Earth: All quirk, no play – it's the Cancon way". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Seasoned Young Actor and Actress Stacey Farber & Michael Seater | Beaches|Life magazine". www.beachesliving.ca. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Derek From Life With Derek Looks Quite Different Now". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  7. ^ LWD EXTRA // Cast Interview with Michael Seater [SEASON 1], December 18, 2013, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved June 1, 2016
  8. ^ Malchuk, Carlye (September 7, 2005). "Season 2 of popular kids' series 'Life With Derek' begins on Family Channel". Canada.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2007.
  9. ^ "Life with Derek…In Muskoka". Seater Source - A Michael Seater Fansite. July 23, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  10. ^ "Meet 18 to Life's Michael Seater". Seventeen. August 3, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  11. ^ Vlessing, Etan (August 9, 2012). "Michael Seater boards Bomb Girls' second season". Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  12. ^ "'Bomb Girls: Facing The Enemy' TV movie set to air March 27". Global News. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  13. ^ Jancelewicz, Chris. "2016 Canadian Screen Awards nominees: 'Rookie Blue,' 'Vikings,' 'Big Brother Canada' nominated". Global News. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  14. ^ "People Hold On review: So no one told you life was gonna be this way". National Post. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  15. ^ "Review: People Hold On". Toronto Film Scene. Retrieved June 1, 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "People Hold On". www.firstweekendclub.ca. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  17. ^ Wheeler, Brad (October 9, 2015). "People Hold On: Film on the daunting prospects of adulthood". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  18. ^ Tweedle, Sam (January 6, 2017). "High school as the end of the world: Sadie's Last Days on Earth". kawarthaNOW. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  19. ^ "Sadie's Last Days on Earth". shaftesbury.ca. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  20. ^ Joy, Helene; Chambers, Munro; Flanery, Lola; Hoyos, Ricardo (December 9, 2016), Sadie's Last Days on Earth, retrieved January 30, 2017
  21. ^ "'Donnie Darko this ain't': In which Sadie's Last Days on Earth include sneaking into a bar and kissing a boy". National Post. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  22. ^ "Reel Brief: Mini reviews of Miss Sloane, Sadie's Last Days on Earth and Sugar Mountain, plus Little Men and Suicide Squad on DVD | Toronto Star". thestar.com. December 8, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  23. ^ Sadie's Last Days on Earth, retrieved January 30, 2017
  24. ^ "26 former Disney stars who have come out as LGBTQ+". www.pride.com. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  25. ^ "The Wedding Planners' Michael Seater: "It speaks to themes I think everybody can get" | TV, eh?". www.tv-eh.com. April 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  26. ^ Trapunski, Charles (March 26, 2020). "Interview: The Wedding Planners' Michael Seater, Kimberly-Sue Murray and Madeline Leon". Brief Take. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  27. ^ Stacey Grant (May 31, 2016). "These Life With Derek Siblings Grew Up Together, Then Reunited For A Film About Growing Up". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  28. ^ Zhu, Eva (March 21, 2024). "Quiet on Set: how Nickelodeon failed to protect its child actors". CBC. Retrieved May 30, 2024.