August Schellenberg

Actor

  • Born: July 25, 1936
  • Place of Birth: Montreal, Canada
  • Died: August 16, 2013
  • Also known as: August Werner Schellenberg

Contribution: August Schellenberg was an Emmy Award–nominated Canadian actor best known for his roles in the Free Willy film franchise and the television film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007).

Background

August Werner Schellenberg was born on July 25, 1936, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Schellenberg developed an interest in acting early in life and pursued formal theater training at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. After graduating in 1966, he began his acting career as a member of a touring theater company. In 1967 he won the award for most promising young actor at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario.

Career

After obtaining a role in the educational television show Castle Zaremba in 1970, Schellenberg made his film debut in the 1971 drama Rip-Off. He went on to appear in a number of films during the 1970s, including One Man (1977), Power Play (1978), and Bear Island (1979). He also took on various television roles and in 1974 played nineteenth-century Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux leader Sitting Bull in an episode of the historical series Witness to Yesterday.

In 1981 Schellenberg acted in Kings and Desperate Men and the action drama Death Hunt. He continued to play supporting roles throughout the 1980s, with appearances in Latitude 52° (1982), Running Brave (1983), Best Revenge (1984), and Confidential (1986). As his career progressed into the 1990s, Schellenberg began to transition from supporting roles to lead roles. In 1991 he costarred in Black Robe, a historical drama about a Christian missionary’s travels among the First Nations people of seventeenth-century Quebec. The following year he appeared in the television film The Broken Cord.

In 1993 Schellenberg made his first appearance in what would become one of his most famous roles, that of whale keeper Randolph Johnson in the film Free Willy. The story revolves around a wayward teenager who befriends an orca named Willy and works to free the whale from captivity with the help of Schellenberg’s character. The film was a great financial success, and Schellenberg went on to play Randolph in two sequels, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995) and Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997).

In the years following Schellenberg performed in a number of films focusing on indigenous North American peoples; he himself was of Mohawk descent. In the 1993 biographical television film Geronimo, Schellenberg plays the major character of Cochise. He also appeared in Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee (1994), a television film about American Indian civil rights activist Mary Crow Dog. In 1996 Schellenberg portrayed Sitting Bull for a second time, playing a supporting role in the television film Crazy Horse.

Though Schellenberg worked less frequently after 2000, he began to obtain increasingly prominent roles in major projects. In 2005 he played Chief Powhatan in writer-director Terrence Malick’s historical drama The New World. The film tells the story of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, in the early seventeenth century and the relationship between colonist John Smith and Pocahontas, the daughter of Schellenberg’s Powhatan. Though The New World was not a great financial success, it was generally well received by critics and was nominated for a number of awards.

Schellenberg again played Sitting Bull in HBO’s historical drama Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007), based on the 1970 nonfiction book by Dee Brown. The film chronicles the treatment of American Indians by European Americans during the late nineteenth century, a time of significant westward expansion. The film received widespread acclaim, and in 2007 Schellenberg was nominated for the Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or movie for his performance.

In 2011 Schellenberg took on the lead role in a production of William Shakespeare’s King Lear at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada. The production was unique in that its cast consisted solely of actors of First Nations descent. Schellenberg remained with the production throughout the 2011–12 season.

In addition to film and stage, Schellenberg also appeared in several television series between 2007 and 2011. These included Saving Grace, Grey's Anatomy, and Stargate Universe.

Schellenberg died in Dallas, Texas, on August 16, 2013.

Impact

Over the course of his lengthy career, Schellenberg played numerous indigenous North American historical figures, appearing frequently in influential films chronicling the marginalization of American Indians and First Nations peoples. In recognition of his performances, Schellenberg was nominated for numerous awards, including the Emmy Award and Canada’s prestigious Genie Award.

Personal Life

Schellenberg was married to fellow actor Joan Karasevich, with whom he had three children.

Bibliography

“All-Aboriginal King Lear in NAC Season.” CBC News. CBC/Radio Canada, 19 Apr. 2011. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.

“August Schellenberg, 77, Actor in ‘Free Willy’ Movies.” New York Times 17 Aug. 2013: B8. Print.

"August Schellenberg." IMDb, www.imdb.com/name/nm0770763/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.

Mitovich, Matt. “Emmy Nominations: TV-Movies and Miniseries Races.” TV Guide. CBS Interactive, 19 July 2007. Web. 19 Aug. 2007.

“Native Son August Schellenberg.” Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate. Advocate Magazine, 1 Aug. 2008. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.

“Wounded Knee, Sopranos Lead Emmy Nominees.” CBC News. CBC/Radio Canada, 19 July 2007. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.