Chuck Shamata

Chuck Shamata

History

Chuck Shamata's career spans four decades in film, television and theatre. Among his most recent credits are the feature films One Week, The Sentinal, Cinderella Man and War Games 2; the cable movies Tipping Point,The Engagement Ring and Kojak (and the ensuing series). Don Shebib's classic Between Friends - often recognized by critics as one of Canada's all time best - was the film for which Shamata received his first Genie Award nomination, and was presented with a Migliore Attore award by the legendary Vittorio De Sica at the Sorrento Film Festival. His other feature credits include The Spreading Ground with Dennis Hopper, Joshua Then and Now with James Woods, Power Play with Peter O'Toole, The Devil and Max Devlin with Bill Cosby and Night Friend with Art Carney. On the small screen, Shamata was nominated for a Gemini Award for his starring role as a family man facing his homosexuality in the network film The Running Man. Other network movie credits include A Father for Brittany, On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story, the Cable Ace Award-winning Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story, Echoes in the Darkness and Between Friends alongside Elizabeth Taylor and Carol Burnett. He played Pierre Salinger in the mini-series Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and for Showtime Networks he co-starred in the Tony Bill-directed cable feature Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story; as mafia boss Sam Giancana in The Family; The Thin Blue Lie with Rob Morrow; and Escape Clause with Paul Sorvino. On stage, Shamata played Dr. Astrov opposite Peter O'Toole in Uncle Vanya in Toronto and Chicago, Torvald in A Doll's House and leading roles in Doc, Good Woman of Setzuan, To Clothe The Naked, You're Gonna Be Alright Jamie Boy, Battering Ram, My Fat Friend, Chapter Two, The Country Girl and The Indian Wants The Bronx in theaters from Halifax to Los Angeles. - IMDb Mini Biography

Profile

Chuck Shamata

Movies

A Simple Fucking Gesture
Man
A couple in traffic doesn’t get the “thank you” wave they deserve after another driver cuts in. According to its director, “this film was written while in traffic.”
Breakthrough
Fire Chief
Tragedy strikes when a woman named Joyce's son falls through the ice on a frozen lake and is trapped underwater for over 15 minutes. After being rushed to the hospital, the 14-year-old boy continues to fight for his life as Joyce, her husband and their pastor stay by his bedside and pray for a miracle.
Miss Sloane
Bill Sanford
An ambitious lobbyist faces off against the powerful gun lobby in an attempt to pass gun control legislation.
Gone Tomorrow
Frank Thompson
Five years after taking the fall for his younger brother, a tormented ex-con flees parole to find his kidnapped baby niece. One step ahead of the police, and one behind an unraveling criminal syndicate, he must once again sacrifice everything in the name of family.
Clown
Walt
A loving father finds a clown suit for his son's birthday party, only to realize the suit is part of an evil curse that turns its wearer into a killer.
Still Mine
Judge
Craig, a fiercely determined New Brunswick farmer, sets out to build a more suitable house for his ailing wife, Irene, despite their children's concerns. As he starts building, he is blindsided by the bureaucratic codes and officials. As Irene becomes increasingly ill, Craig fights back. Based on a true story.
Break a Leg
Hit-man
A hit-man meets his mark for breakfast to discuss his assassination.
The Two Mr. Kissels
Bill Kissel
Drama based on a true story. Rich, high-flying brothers Robert and Andrew Kissel seemingly have everything: beautiful wives who love them, great jobs and huge houses. But beneath the surface lie resentments and secrets that will eventually be their horrible undoing
One Week
Gerald Tyler
Ben Tyler has been diagnosed with cancer. With a grim chance of survival in the best case scenario even if he immediately begins treatment, he instead decides to take a motorcycle trip from Toronto through the Canadian prairies to British Columbia.
WarGames: The Dead Code
Bill Carter
Computer hacker Will Farmer engages a government super-computer named Ripley in an online terrorist-attack simulation game. Little does Farmer know that Ripley has been designed to appeal to potential terrorists, and certain software glitches have in turn made him become paranoid.
Tipping Point
John Patterson
A medical student is desperate to solve a murder to prove that she's not having a psychological breakdown, as her family and friends believe her to be.
The Sentinel
Director Overbrook
A secret service agent is framed as the mole in an assassination attempt on the president. He must clear his name and foil another assassination attempt while on the run from a relentless FBI agent.
The Engagement Ring
Johnny Anselmi
A long-lost engagement ring still divides childhood sweethearts who are now in their golden years. Now, her daughter (Heaton) and his nephew meet and find that their attraction is hindered by the old feud.
The Perfect Neighbor
Detective Lupo
In Kansas City, the deranged middle-age Donna Germaine stabs and kills her lover, when he calls off their relationship to stay with his wife. Donna uses an excuse to move to the house of her aunt, and she becomes obsessed in their neighbor, the executive William Costigan. The sick Donna plots an evil scheme to take William from his wife Jeannie Costigan.
Cinderella Man
Father Rorick
The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, in the 1920s following his retirement, makes a surprise comeback in order to get him and his family out of a socially poor state.
Saving Emily
Russo
After learning that their young daughter, Emily, is suffering from leukemia, Cheryl and Greg have no choice but to seek out Cheryl's violent ex-husband, Kurt, to have him tested as a possible bone marrow donor. Cheryl is particularly disturbed about seeing Kurt again, since her testimony sent him to prison ten years earlier.
Crimes of Fashion
Sal Hugo
Brooke, a plain but creative and hard-working student at the top fashion school in the nation, who has come a long way from her tough childhood spent going from one foster home to another as an orphan. She has always dreamed of becoming a fashion designer, and is thrilled to finally be on her way. But, when the grandfather she never knew about passes away, her life is suddenly turned upside down. Not only has he left her his estate, but he's left her in charge of the family business, as mob boss to one of the top crime syndicates that has been trying to go legit. If that isn't enough, the handsome new student she's falling for is actually an undercover FBI agent aiming to get dirt on her to bring down the family empire.
DC 9/11: Time of Crisis
Shelton
This is the story of the days directly after 9/11, and the president's whereabouts. Scheduled to air shortly before the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks, DC 9/11 takes an inside look at the Bush Administration, beginning with the day of the attacks, and following the President's journey to Ground Zero, culminating with his now famous national address nine days after the attacks.
Behind the Red Door
Father
Natalie, a gifted New York photographer, has a troubled past reflected in her art. When she struggles to make ends meet in the city, her agent, arranges an assignment in Boston for a considerable sum of money. Unable to turn it down in her dire straits, Natalie takes the job -- only to find that her estranged gay brother, Roy, is the employer. Roy wants to mend their broken past, but must convince her to stay long enough to do so.
Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story
Don Brown
Based on the true story of Clarence Brandley, a black man wrongly accused in 1980 of the murder of a 16-year-old white high school girl named Cheryl Ferguson. Brandley worked at Conroe High School, where Ferguson was visiting as a member of the Belleville High School volleyball team. Three days after her body was discovered, Brandley was arrested as the murderer. Jew Don Boney, a popular activist and Houston city council member, leads the fight to uncover the truth about the Ferguson murder. Mike DeGeurin, a Texas attorney, is brought in to act as the head defense attorney for Brandley, and is joined by a former minister, Jim McCloskey. The lawyers discover that not only is there a complete lack of evidence against Brandley, but the District Attorney, James Keeshan, has been strategizing with the presiding judge. After nine years in prison, three trials and a stay of execution that saved Brandley's life, justice finally prevails as Brandley is granted his freedom.
Guilty Hearts
Det. Mike Virgilio
Quiet and unassuming church organist Jenny Moran is depressed with her marriage to working-class Matt and leaves him. Jenny begins an affair with the manipulative and charming Dr. Stephen Carrow, who is also deacon of her church and a married man. Someone kills Carrow's wife after she learns of the affair between Jenny and her husband. The murderer is caught and confesses, but that confession leads to new lies which tear apart Jenny Moran's life.
Snap Decision
One mother must fight back to prove her innocence or lose her children.
Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
Pierre Salinger
Told in flashbacks as Jackie reflects on her life, mini is divided in two parts: Life as a Kennedy and life after Camelot.
The Thin Blue Lie
Vinnie
Philadelphia, 1976. The city of Brotherly Love is waging a successful war against crime led by its tough-talking mayor, Frank Rizzo. But a maverick investigative reporter, Jonathan Neumann, has heard some troubling rumors: stories of innocent people victimized by a "goon squad" of law enforcement officers.
Spreading Ground
Capt. Neiman
Veteran Detective Ed Delopre and partner Mike McGivern have their hands full when they hit the pavement in search of a dangerous killer with five dead bodies already on his record. The mayor, in a rush to see peace restored in her city, makes a deal with the mob instead of waiting for Delopre and McGivern's results. Now that both sides of the law are involved in the killer's capture, the city is turned upside down.
When Justice Fails
Captain Tanner
A detective (Jeff Fahey) investigating the murders of two sex offenders gets involved with a beautiful district attorney (Marlee Matlin) who becomes a main suspect.
Bonanno: A Godfather's Story
Santo Trafficante
The true life story of mafia boss Joesph Bonanno. The story spans from Bonanno's early beginings in Italy, to his conquests in America.
Alegría: An Enchanting Fable
Narrator (Voice)
Frac, a mime who is suffering from a severe bout of depression, happens to meet a troupe of circus entertainers and immediately falls in love with one of the stars, Giulietta. But while his affection for Giulietta and admiration for the performers gives him a new lease on life, Giulietta's father, the leader of the troupe, opposes the relationship and is determined to keep them apart. Meanwhile, Frac and Giulietta discover a gang of children who are held prisoner by a criminal leader who forces them to do his bidding, and they devise a plan to win the kids their freedom. .
A Father for Brittany
Bob Minkowitz
Keith and Kim Lussier are a childless couple who are given custody of a 3-month-old foster child, Brittany. However, tragedy strikes when Kim dies of cancer in the middle of the adoption process, leaving Keith to fight for Brittany's custody alone.
Virus
Leo Burns
A United States Presidential bodyguard risks everything to save the day when a truck chock full of biological weapons contrives to crash in a National Park.
Escape Clause
Captain Vincent Nalli
A man finds out that his wife has paid $10,000 to have him killed. Then both the would-be killer and the wife turn up dead ...
Sugartime
Michael Delfano
The true story of a love affair between mob boss Sam Giancana and singer Phyllis McGuire.
Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story
Al Binder
The story of one of America's first female reporters.
Death Wish V: The Face of Death
Sal Paconi
Paul Kersey is back at working vigilante justice when his fiancée, Olivia, has her business threatened by mobsters
Family of strangers
Tim
Julie must disclose her family's medical history before undergoing major surgery: when she questions her family, she discovers that she was adopted and, later, that her conception was the product of a rape.
Princes In Exile
Dr. Merritt
Diagnosed as having a brain tumor, seventeen-year-old Ryan is angrily resigned to the fact that he may not live to see another year. With time running out, he clings to two goals: publishing his journal and losing his virginity. But as Ryan finds fresh strength from his new friends' optimism and defiant refusal to surrender to cancer, his perspective changes.
On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story
Connie Babilonia Sr.
The true story of Olympic champion figure skater Tai Babilonia, her rise to fame and her fall from grace.
Night Friend
Jack
A priest goes to great lengths in an effort to get a teenage prostitute off the streets.
Nowhere to Hide
Mike Watson
Marine officer Rob Cutter and his wife Barbara have a son named Johnny. Rob discovers that two newly delivered helicopters in his squadron have crashed because a defective part, a C-ring, has been made of a weaker, less expensive alloy. Before Rob can go public with this, Rob is killed on the orders of corrupt General Howard, who did not want Rob to go public with the defective part. Howard believes that Barbara, who is also a marine, now has the part, so Howard and his henchmen set out to kill Barbara and Johnny and get the part, but Howard is underestimating what Barbara is willing to do to protect Johnny.
Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star
Three aliens from the planet Taros land on Earth and are befriended by a Wyoming rancher's son.
Act of Vengeance
Millard Atler
In 1969, an administrator runs against the corrupt president of the United Coal Miners Union, and becomes the target of a murder plot.
Mafia Princess
Louie
Looks at the life of mafia boss Salvatore Giancana. Especially his troubled relationship with his family.
A Time to Live
Dr. Strathmore
The problems of a mother who helps her son in his struggles against muscular dystrophy. From the true story of Peter and Mary-Lou Weisman.
In Like Flynn
Danton
Joshua Then and Now
Seymour Kaplan
Based on a novel by Mordecai Richler, allegedly his autobiography, it tells the story of a Jewish writer, from his life as a young boy in Montreal to his more complicated grown-up life.
The Suicide Murders
Pete Staziak
The apparent suicide of a politician he was hired to follow drags private detective Benny Cooperman into a whirlwind of hard boiled double crosses and psychotherapy whose roots lie in a decades-old unsolved murder.
Unfinished Business
Carl
Seventeen year old Izzy Marks lives in Toronto with her divorced mother and finds her life boring and directionless. Meant to be a sequel to Don Owen's acclaimed 1964 film "Nobody Waved Good-bye", "Unfinished Business" looks at life two decades later for Peter and Julie's (Peter Kastner and Julie Biggs) daughter Isabelle "Izzy" Marks (Isabelle Mejias). Curious, funny and intelligent, 17 year old Izzy feels the frustrations of her limiting environment and the pull of a more exciting, larger world. She meets passionate anarchist wannabe Jessie 'Fixit' (Peter Spence) and is quickly drawn into his free living alternative lifestyle. Much to the displeasure of her once free-thinking parents and friends.
Between Friends
Dr. Seth Simpson
Two middle-aged women with nothing in common meet by accident and develop a close friendship while continuing to deal with their own lives.
The Terry Fox Story
Wilson
The true story about the Canadian cancer amputee hero who decided to run across Canada on only one leg to raise money for cancer research.
The Devil and Max Devlin
Jerry Nadler
When Max dies in an accident, he goes straight to hell. But the devil Barney makes him an offer: if he manages to get three innocent youths to sell him their souls in the next two months, he may stay on earth. Max accepts, and returns to earth, equipped with special powers. However, his task is harder than expected, especially when 7 years old Tobi demands that he marry his mother.
The Running Man
Ben Carfield
A middle-aged family man and high school teacher struggles in silence as he accepts the fact that he is gay.
Scanners
Tony (uncredited)
After a man with extraordinary—and frighteningly destructive—telepathic abilities is nabbed by agents from a mysterious rogue corporation, he discovers he is far from the only possessor of such strange powers, and that some of the other “scanners” have their minds set on world domination, while others are trying to stop them.
Running
Howard
An Olympic hopeful marathon runner hopes his success will be the answer to his marriage woes and other personal problems.
Stone Cold Dead
Sgt. Tony Colabre
Sergeant Boyd's police search to find a sniper who has been shooting hookers.
Power Play
Hillsman
A thriller, released 1st November 1978, based on the non-fiction book Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook by Edward N. Luttwak.
I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses
Gershen Isen
Successful businessman Charles Kruschen (Donald Pilon) is accused of bludgeoning to death his beautiful but manipulative model wife Magdalene (Elke Sommer). As the trial draws to a close, Charles reflects on the events leading up to the terrible incident...
Welcome to Blood City
Ricardo
Five strangers awake, finding themselves with no memory in a world resembling the wild west. Their task is to become exempt from being killed - what the townspeople refer to as being "immortal" - by killing twenty of the other inhabitants of the town under the scrutiny of the sheriff (Jack Palance), otherwise they will spend their lives in slavery.
The Italian Machine
This TV play, written and directed David Cronenberg, explores one of his enduring themes: obsessive relationships with technology. A group of bike fanatics determine to get their hands on a Ducati 900 Desmo SuperSport owned by a rich guy, by any means necessary.
Death Weekend
Harry
Harry is a rich dentist who often brings women up to his rural lakehouse. One weekend, he invites Diane, a former fashion model. On their way to the house, Diane runs a gang of thugs off the road. Humiliated, the thugs track down the couple for revenge.
Between Friends
Chino
An ex-con, his daughter and her two friends plan the elaborate heist of a nickel mine in Northern Ontario.