About Michael Shanks
Michael Garrett Shanks (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and as Dr. Charles Harris in the Canadian medical drama Saving Hope. He is also known for his work on low budget genre work filmed in Canada. == Early life == Shanks was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and grew up in Kamloops. After witnessing Richard Dean Anderson prepare for a scene of MacGyver, Shanks "decided to pursue [acting] a little further", opting to attend the University of British Columbia's fine arts program until 1994. He later appeared in several stage productions while serving a two-year apprenticeship with the prestigious Stratford Festival in Ontario. His television career began with guest appearances on shows including Highlander and The Commish. Parts in the television movies A Family Divided and The Call of the Wild preceded his casting in his breakthrough role as Daniel Jackson in Stargate SG-1. == Career == === Stargate franchise === Shanks played archaeologist Dr Daniel Jackson throughout the first five seasons of Stargate SG-1 before leaving the show at the end of its fifth season, citing creative differences concerning the under-use of his character and the direction of the show as a whole.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.