Maury Chaykin

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Maury Chaykin
Maury Chaykin in A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Born	July 27, 1949 (1949-07-27) (age 58) Brooklyn, New York

Maury Chaykin (born July 27, 1949) is a American-Canadian actor. He is known for his work as a character actor in many films and television series.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Personal life 1.2 Career 2 Filmography 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Chaykin was born in Brooklyn, New York to an American father of Russian ancestry and a Canadian mother. Raised in New York City, he studied drama at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He subsequently moved to Toronto, Ontario, where he has resided ever since. Chaykin is the nephew of film director George Bloomfield. He is married to actress Susannah Hoffman, with whom he has one daughter.

[edit] Career

A large man, Chaykin is known for portrayals of blustery supporting characters. One of his rare leading roles is as Nero Wolfe. Chaykin first played the detective genius in The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2000), an A&E telemovie adaptation of the 1953 novel by Rex Stout. Timothy Hutton costars as Archie Goodwin. The original movie's success led to the critically acclaimed series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, which played for two seasons on A&E and continues to air internationally.

Two of Chaykin's early motion picture roles brought him public recognition. He portrayed young computer programmer Jim Sting in WarGames; and as prosecution witness Sam Tipton in My Cousin Vinny, he successfully voiced a Southern accent ("No self-respectin' Southerner uses instant grits").

Chaykin has also had television roles in the series Seeing Things and Emily of New Moon, and a recurring role as the intergalactic gourmand Nerus (a nod to Nero Wolfe^[1]) in Stargate SG-1. In 1990, he had a small but pivotal role in the film Dances with Wolves. He portrayed the colorful bookie Frank Perlin opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman's compulsive gambler Dan Mahowny in Owning Mahowny, a film that critic Roger Ebert named as one of the ten best of 2003.

In 2006, Chaykin appeared in an episode of the Ken Finkleman miniseries, At the Hotel. He received a Gemini Award for best performance by an actor in a guest role. He has a semi-recurring role in the HBO series Entourage, as volatile movie producer Harvey Weingard, a send-up of the celebrated producer Harvey Weinstein. He also appeared as Stan Deane, father of Kevin Zegers' character Woody Deane, in the 2006 romantic comedy It's a Boy Girl Thing.

To celebrate the first 30 years of his career, the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film presented Chaykin with its Career So Far Award in 2006. Chaykin spoke to the Toronto Star about the honor:

"I got this strange call from Chlotrudis," he recalls. "I thought it was a disease. It's a society for independent film and they said, 'We're giving you The Career So Far Award. Not The Lifetime Achievement Award. We hope you will do a lot more indie films.' They want to fly me down to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Last year's winner was Philip Seymour Hoffman. I looked up their website and they are legit. Nero Wolfe raised orchids. Maybe he had a rare form of Chlotrudis."^[2]

[edit] Filmography

Seeing Things (TV) (1982–1986) as Randall Jackson Curtains (1983) as Monty WarGames (1983) as Jim Sting Mrs. Soffel (1984) as Guard Charlie Reynolds Harry & Son (1984) as Lawrence Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks (1985) as Harold Chamberlain Banks In Like Flynn (1985) (TV) as Williams Def-Con 4 (1985) as Vinny Wild Thing (1987) as Jonathan Trask Twins (1988) as Burt Klane Iron Eagle II (1988) as Sgt. Downs Stars and Bars (1988) as Freeborn Gage Millennium (1989) as Roger Keane George's Island (1989) as Mr Droonfield Mr. Destiny (1990) as Guzelman, Building Contractor Where the Heart Is (1990) as Harry Hearts of Fire (1990) as Charlie Kelso Dances with Wolves (1990) as Major Fambrough The Adjuster (1991) as Bubba The Pianist (1991) as Cody Hero (1992) as Winston, Bernie's Landlord Leaving Normal (1992) as Leon "Crazy-As" Pendleton My Cousin Vinny (1992) as Sam Tipton Buried on Sunday (1992) as Dexter Lexcannon Beethoven's 2nd (1993) as Cliff Klamath Money for Nothing (1993) as Vincente Goldoni Sommersby (1993) as Lawyer Dawson Camilla (1994) as Harold Cara Whale Music (1994) as Desmond Howl Cutthroat Island (1995) as John Reed Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) as Matthew Terell Unstrung Heroes (1995) as Arthur Lidz

Mousehunt (1997) as Alexander Falko A Life Less Ordinary (1997) as Tod Johnson La Femme Nikita (TV), episode "Innocent" (1997) as Rudy (Gemini Award) Jerry and Tom (1998) as Billy The Mask of Zorro (1998) as Prison Warden Emily of New Moon (TV) (1998) as Lofty John Entrapment (1999) as Conrad Greene Mystery, Alaska (1999) as Bailey Pruitt What's Cooking? (2000) as Herbie Seelig The Art of War (2000) as Frank Capella The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (TV) (2000) as Nero Wolfe Bartleby (2001) as Ernest A Nero Wolfe Mystery (TV) (2001–2002) as Nero Wolfe Owning Mahowny (2003) as Frank Perlin Being Julia (2004) as Walter Gibbs The Hunt for the BTK Killer (2005) (TV) as Robert Beattie Where the Truth Lies (2005) as Sally Sanmarco Stargate SG-1 (TV) (two episodes: 2005, 2006) as Nerus Entourage (TV), episodes "The Sundance Kids" (2005), "Malibooty", "Sorry, Harvey" and "The Cannes Kids" (2007) as Harvey Weingard At the Hotel (TV), episode "The Perfect Couple" (2006) as Jerry Mitchell (Gemini Award) Heavens Fall (2006) as Lyle Harris Eureka (TV), pilot episode (2006) as Sheriff William Cobb Boston Legal (TV) episode "Live Big" (2006) as Ryan Myerson It's a Boy Girl Thing (2006) as Stan Deane

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Maury Chaykin at the Internet Movie Database
• Canadian Film Encyclopedia
• 21st Annual Gemini Awards (October 18, 2006) — Maury Chaykin, Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series (At the Hotel, "The Perfect Couple")
• 12th Annual Chlotrudis Awards Ceremony (March 19, 2006) featuring special guest Maury Chaykin