Known For
Acting
Born
Jan 01, 1960
Place of Birth
Brochet, Manitoba, Canada
Credits
42 titles
Billy Merasty
Biography
Billy Merasty is an actor, playwright, Cree translator, and language keeper. He was born to Viola and Pierre Merasty in 1960 in Brochet, Manitoba. His grandfather was Joe Highway, a famous caribou hunter and champion dogsled racer. He moved to Toronto at age eighteen in search for his uncle René Highway, who was at the time working for the Toronto Dance Theatre. At age twenty-three Billy launched his acting career after graduating from the Native Theatre School for aspiring Indigenous artists. He then went on to work for the renowned Indigenous performing arts company Native Earth Performing Arts. Billy has worked as a film, television, and stage actor for decades and notably played the first Indigenous gay character on television on the CBC series, Liberty Street, in the role of Nathan. Billy received the Order of Manitoba (Order of the Buffalo Hunt) in recognition for his many years as an Indigenous role model in 2010.
Known For
Filmography
Aberdeen
Alfred
Café Daughter
Amos Horseknife
Acting Good
Roger Laughingstick
Stellar
Auntie 1
SkyMed
Glen
The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw
William Bearclaw
It Chapter Two
Shokopiwah Man
Diggstown
Chief Thomas
Falls Around Her
Draven
Cardinal
Billy Ralph Northwind
Heritage Minutes: Queenston Heights
John Norton
Moby Dick
Tashtego
Casino Jack
Bartender
Northern Lights
Jacob
Elijah
Elijah Harper
Murdoch Mysteries
Gravekeeper Gary Cardinal
Mixed Blessings
Mark
Moose TV
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Young Man Afraid
Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis
John Cree
The New World
Kiskiak
The Big White
Cam
Battle of the Brave
Owashak
Wonderfalls
Jerry
This Is Wonderland
Brian Perot (as William Merasty)
Stardom
The Virginian
Lee Talltrees
Relic Hunter
Inuit Hunter
Honey Moccasin
Zachary John
The Confessional
Moose
Pocahontas: The Legend
Kocoum
Les Légendes du Grand Nord
Mawaki
Liberty Street
Nathan Jones
No Price Too High
Exotica
Man at Opera
X-Rated
Nathan Jones
The Broken Cord
Frank Cree
Heritage Minutes
John Norton
The Shaman's Source
Mathew Hare
Justice Denied
Donald Marshall, Jr.
Snake Treaty
American Experience
Warrior