As I did it, I began to realize that my instincts, and everything that I sort of naturally possess - where my brain tended to go when I was working always was more the director place than even the actor place, always looking at the overall big picture instead of just your part in it.
Being allow to ad lib, or try things out does create a more collaborative process.
But I don't bet the farm on any of those possibilities, either. I'm also preparing, intelligently, to walk away from this, and walk away from it happy to have had the experience.
But it's important to have a good sense of humor and not take things too seriously.
By the end of last year we solved a lot of threads, and it's really good for this new way we're taking the show to really have these new people and these new energies, frankly.
For some reason, it popped into my head the notion that a lot of the Next Generation cast in the long run of that show managed to step behind the camera.
Giving someone a chance - and giving someone a fair show - as a director, this isn't exactly the best situation for.
I couldn't be playing him for this long if I didn't like him.
I find directing more satisfying.
I had the benefit of taking a year off the show, so I came back with a whole renewed energy and enthusiasm for the process.
I like playing the character's flaws.
I think I'd certainly be lying to say I would have wanted to play the character in somebody else's interpretation for 8 years that way.
I think that you can take things personally or get hurt feelings as a result of something not working out just because your psyche said it should or you deserve it, or whatever it is.
I think the writing on the wall is definitely there this year that this is probably our last year.
I was doing Hamlet in the off-season, and I had a specific idea in my mind about what I wanted that character to look like, and because it's going to lead into the next year, I knew that it was going to have to be established somewhere in the show.
I'd done a few jobs, but not much, and I'd come from a family that exercises caution when it comes to anything to do with job security.
I've always found ways to bend the rules.
If you're going to steal from somebody, I'd love to steal from Spader... It beats stealing from Pauley Shore.
In the meantime, I just have to create those realistic goals about the fact that I don't have a ton of options as an actor who's been on a science fiction show for 8 years.
It dawned on me about midway through that season when Showtime was very happy about the show and about how it was being received and everything, and they decided right then and there - halfway through our first season - to pick it up for another two years.
It was absolutely trial by fire, I make no bones about it, and I failed at every turn and I learned a tremendous amount.
It was nice, though, to have the long term benefit to be able to pare away those things and eventually make the character my own and put my own unique stamp.
It's absolutely true that it's almost impossible to play a character without having any affection for him.
It's fun to play a character who doesn't deal well with adversity and has to make up for his mistakes as he goes.
It's fun to play the character and then watch him later.
It's the innate pot-stirrer in me that finds a way to work within the confines of the guidelines and find a way to cheat a little bit.
Make no bones about it - I ripped off Spader left, right, and center, especially at the outset.
Now we get to sit around, and the same way the cast bonds I get to bond with my wife.
So already, you go from not having a job and thinking you're going to get fired after the pilot, to knowing that you've got a guaranteed job for 4 years.
So I think at the start of the 3rd year, that's when the character became sort of more like myself than it was about the original interpretation.
The environment on set is very encouraging.
There was concern whether SCI FI would want the show back with all the recent changes. But now, the changes have made it feel fresh, like starting over.
There's a way about it: tearing people down, but not tearing them apart.
There's one right now that's sort of a Canadian independent film that Don Davis and I are working to put together, and that's kind of a labor of love.
We never thought the show would last this long.
With network shows, writers can be so protective of every syllable.
You know, I did actually find a Daniel Jackson action figure based on the feature film, except he had this brown shirt and a baseball cap, which the character never actually wears in the movie, and on the box cover is James Spader's face with this huge arm with the machine gun.
You know, if it doesn't work, we can always cut it.
Many
Michael welcomed his third child (Samuel David Shanks) with wife
Michael's natural eye color is blue.
Michael's Chinese sign is Dog.
When Michael was a kid, he loved Star Wars,
Michael's Surname ("Shanks") is Scottish
Michael was inspired to pursue an acting career while watching
Michael's favorite hockey team is the Vancouver Canucks.
Michael's character, Remiel, killed Hector, played by
Michael met his wife (
Michael turned 35 years old on December 15 th 2005.
Michael has two daughters and a son. His older daughter, Tatiana, was with
Michael has appeared in the following theatre productions: Amadeus Eye Level King Lear Love of the Nightingale Lover's Labour Lost Macbeth - Menteith Merchant of Venice - Lorenzo Translations Wait Until Dark
Michael originally was studying Commerce before deciding to study acting at the University of B.C. where he graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. After his graduation, he performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival for two seasons.
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