# Billy Merasty

Billy Merasty (born 1960) is an Aboriginal Canadian actor and writer of Cree descent.

## Early life

Merasty was born in Brochet, Manitoba, Canada. He is the ninth of fourteen siblings born to Viola and Pierre Merasty, and a grandson of Joe Highway, a famous caribou hunter and champion dogsled racer; and related to playwright Tomson Highway and dancer, choreographer, actor, and director René Highway.

## Career

Merasty moved to Toronto at the age of 18 in search of René Highway, who was then working for the Toronto Dance Theatre. At the age of 23, he launched his acting career after graduating from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre for aspiring First Nations artists. He then worked for the Native Earth Performing Arts for a long period.
Merasty has worked extensively on the stage and films as an actor and has written one play, Fireweed, produced in 1992. His second play, Godly's Divinia, is in development.
In 2010, Merasty received the Order of Manitoba (Order of the Buffalo Hunt) in recognition for his many years as an Aboriginal role model from Manitoba.

### Stage work

His stage credits include appearances in Tomson Highway's The Sage, The Dancer and the Fool, Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing and The Rez Sisters, Daniel David Moses' The Indian Medicine Show, Lanford Wilson's Rain Dance, Marie Clements' Copper Thunderbird, Kevin Loring's Where the Blood Mixes, Steven Cole Hughes' Ghost Dance and David S. Craig's The Neverending Story.
In 2012, he performed the role of Gloucester in an all-aboriginal production of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, alongside a cast that also included August Schellenberg as Lear, Tantoo Cardinal as Regan, Jani Lauzon in a dual role as Cordelia and the Fool, and Craig Lauzon as Kent.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1989 | Justice Denied | Donald Marshall Jr. |
| 1990 | The Shaman's Source | Mathew Hare |
| 1994 | Exotica | Man at Opera |
| 1995 | The Confessional | Moose |
| 1995 | Pocahontas: The Legend | Kocoum |
| 1998 | Honey Moccasin | Zachary John |
| 2004 | Battle of the Brave | Owashak |
| 2005 | The Big White | Cam |
| 2005 | The New World | Kiskiak |
| 2010 | Casino Jack | Bartender |
| 2018 | Falls Around Her | Draven |
| 2019 | The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw | William Bearclaw |
| 2019 | It Chapter Two | Shokopiwah Man |
| 2022 | Stellar | Auntie 1 |
| 2023 | Café Daughter | |
| 2024 | Aberdeen | Alfred |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1989 | Red Earth, White Earth | Tom Redfox | Television film |
| 1991 | Counterstrike | Hawk | Episode: "Native Warriors" |
| 1992 | The Broken Cord | Frank Cree | Television film |
| 1993 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | William Two-Feathers | Episode: "Shaman" |
| 1993 | X-Rated | Nathan Jones | Television film |
| 1993–1994 | The Red Green Show | Joshua Two Feathers | 4 episodes |
| 1994–1995 | Liberty Street | Nathan Jones | 26 episodes |
| 1995 | Tales of the Wild | Mawaki | Episode: "Les légendes du Grand Nord" |
| 1999 | War of 1812 | John Norton | 4 episodes |
| 2000 | The Virginian | Lee Talltrees | Television film |
| 2002 | Relic Hunter | Inuit Hunter | Episode: "Under the Ice" |
| 2003 | An American in Canada | Apak | Episode: "True North Strong and Almost Free" |
| 2004 | Wonderfalls | Jerry | Episode: "Totem Mole" |
| 2005 | This Is Wonderland | Brian Perot | Episode #2.8 |
| 2005 | Into the West | Yellow Bird | Episode: "Ghost Dance" |
| 2006 | Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis | John Cree | 4 episodes |
| 2007 | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Young Man Afraid | Television film |
| 2007 | Moose TV | Leonard Sky | 8 episodes |
| 2007 | Elijah | Elijah Harper | Television film |
| 2008 | Northern Lights | Jacob | Television film |
| 2009 | American Experience | Warrior | Episode: "Tecumseh's Vision" |
| 2009, 2010 | Mixed Blessings | Mark | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Moby Dick | Tashtego | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Hard Rock Medical | Thompson Morris | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Murdoch Mysteries | Elder | Episode: "All That Glitters" |
| 2016–2018 | Frontier | Kaagwa | 7 episodes |
| 2018 | Cardinal | Billy Ralph Northwind | Episode: "Northwind" |
| 2021 | The Secret History of: The Wild West | Poundmaker | Episode: "Peacemaker" |
| 2021 | Diggstown | Chief Thomas | Episode: "Jojo Carvery" |
| 2022 | Acting Good | Roger Laughingstick | |