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David Ian Hewlett (born 18 April 1968) is a British-born Canadian and American actor, writer, director and voice actor best known for his role as Dr. Rodney McKay in the Canadian/American science fiction television shows Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Stargate Universe.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Hewlett was born on April 18, 1968, in Redhill, Surrey, England, the eldest of six children and moved to Canada with his family at the age of four with his family residing in Toronto, Canada.

In later years, Hewlett became a regular in the series Traders and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and starred in the movie Cube. He ran Darkyl Media, a web site design firm. He also founded Fusefilm.com, an internet community for filmmakers.

Career[]

Hewlett got his first computer in his mid-teens and became a self-described "computer nerd". While in St. George's College Choir School for Boys in Toronto, Hewlett met future director Vincenzo Natali, and the two began creating movies together while forming a strong friendship that remains to this day. Hewlett later dropped out of high school in his senior year to pursue careers in acting and computing, beginning his acting career in 1984 when he was only sixteen years old.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hewlett guest-starred in numerous TV shows and movies, prime examples being "The Darkside" and "Pin", where Hewlett played a mentally ill man named Leon who believes that a medical dummy called "Pin" is alive.

In 1996, Hewlett joined the cast of the Canadian show "Traders", playing Grant Jansky.

A year later, in 1997, Hewlett appeared in the movie "Cube" as architect David Worth, a role that saw the rise of his stardom due to the commercial success of the low budget Canadian film.

Hewlett is also a self-confessed science fiction fan, and is quoted as saying that Doctor Who which is the world's longest-running sci-fi show and a show that originated in Hewlett's native Britain is what first sparked his love for the genre and that he made science fiction when he was younger in his native England on his 8 millimetre camera with friends. Hewlett was contacted by Robert C. Cooper while living in Los Angeles and asked to guest star in an episode of SG-1. He was originally invited to play Orlin in the Season 5 episode "Ascension", but a scheduling conflict meant he couldn't make it to Vancouver to play the part, resulting in Sean Patrick Flanery taking the role of Orlin instead.

In 2002, Hewlett was later invited to play the part of Dr. Rodney McKay and more or less had his early dreams of working in science fiction finally become a reality. It became a three-episode guest role in Stargate SG-1, which eventually grew into his later starring role on Stargate Atlantis with his role in Stargate Atlantis bringing Hewlett to international attention and making him a household name all over the world, while the role itself remains Hewlett's best-known one to date.

In 2007, David appeared as a guest star in the first episode of the web series Sanctuary as Larry Tolson – a patient suffering from a form of psychosis who was shot and injured, and taken into custody by police as the suspect of homicide.

In 2006, Hewlett made his directional debut with his movie A Dog's Breakfast, with Hewlett also writing, directing and appearing in a second movie, Rage of the Yeti, which was released in 2011.

Hewlett's third movie, Debug. which was released in Hewlett's native United Kingdom on November 3, 2014, and stars his former Stargate Atlantis co-star Jason Momoa as well as Hewlett's younger sister Kate and also includes Canadian actors Adam Butcher and Jeananne Goossen. It also serves as the third movie Hewlett himself has directed.

Unlike in A Dog's Breakfast and Rage of the Yeti, where Hewlett directed and was also either the main character or a recurring minor character, Debug is the first movie where Hewlett himself didn't appear on-screen.

Personal Life[]

Hewlett was previously married to Soo Garay, whom he divorced in 2004. He became engaged to Jane Loughman in late 2006, and announced their engagement in early January 2007. The couple shared their house with the rottweiler-terrier mix Mars, whom they adopted from an animal shelter and who starred in their new dark comedy feature film, A Dog's Breakfast. Mars passed away in 2018.

On October 6, 2007, at 9:11pm, Jane gave birth to their first child, Sebastian "Baz" Flynn Loughman Hewlett. David and Jane wed on June 21, 2008 at Warwick Castle in Warwick, Warwickshire, England.

One of his siblings, Kate Hewlett, is also an actress. She played Jeannie Miller, McKay's sister in Stargate Atlantis. She also appeared as Marilyn in his directorial debut, A Dog's Breakfast and also appeared in his third directional movie, Debug.

In addition to being British-Canadian, Hewlett is also American, having successfully earned American citizenship which he applied for during the filming of Stargate Atlantis.

Trivia[]

  • Out of the main cast of Stargate Atlantis, Hewlett has played the most characters at 10.

Roles[]

External Links[]

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