Michael Eklund

Although blessed with good looks, Canadian actor Michael Eklund is really a character actor at heart, and has shown an enthusiastic ability to pursue roles that have allowed him a certain degree of anonymity. Canadian audiences will probably best recognize Eklund from his role as the shifty Det. Rene Desjardins on the Vancouver, British Columbia-set television crime show "Intelligence" (CBC, 2006-07), his stint on the hard-hitting 10-part drama "Terminal City" (The Movie Network, 2005), and his performance as ex-con Aaron in the crime film "Walk All Over Me" (2007).

American viewers, however, will know Eklund best from his co-starring role as the villain in the 2013 thriller "The Call," starring Halle Berry, and from his role as a strange experimental patient on an episode of the sci-fi favorite "Fringe" (Fox, 2008-2013). Taking a cue from the great character actors of the past, Eklund found creative freedom by becoming a chameleon. He also made a decision early on that he would never turn down a role, challenging himself to always find something of worth in even the lowliest of genre work.

Born on July 31 in Saskatoon, Canada, Eklund studied painting at the prestigious Alberta College of Art. But his interest in acting and filmmaking eventually took over, and Eklund abandoned his studies to try his hand at a new creative outlet. With his girlfriend, he moved to Vancouver, where much of the Canadian television and film production is based, and began looking for work.

Eklund did not entirely leave his love of painting behind, though; when not working in front of the cameras, the actor continued to paint in his spare time. The majority of Eklund's work has been for the small screen, frequently in science fiction or fantasy programs. His first screen credit came on an episode of "Dark Angel" (Fox, 2000-02), starring a young Jessica Alba. He also had small roles on the short-lived "X-Files" spinoff "The Lone Gunmen" (Fox, 2001), on "Stargate SG-1 (Sci-Fi, 1997-2007) and on the mini-series "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci-Fi, 2003).

The occasional film role cropped up as well: Eklund can be seen in the thriller "Blackwoods" (2001) and the horror flick "House of the Dead" (2003), both directed by the film community's go-to punching bag, Uwe Boll. Ever the anything-goes brand of actor, Eklund also landed bit parts in the panned Al Pacino feature film "88 Minutes" (2008), Terry Gilliam's modern fantasy "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (2009) and in Xavier Gens' cult horror movie "The Divide" (2012). His work out of the spotlight paid off in 2013 when Eklund starred as an unsettling serial killer opposite Halle Berry in director Brad Anderson's commercial hit thriller "The Call."