August Werner Schellenberg was a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He played Randolph in the first three installments of the Free Willyfilm series as well as characters in Black Robe, The New World, and dozens of other films and television shows. During his career, Schellenberg won a Gemini Award in 1986 and a Genie Award in 1991, as well as being nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2007.
Life and career
Schellenberg was born and lived in Montreal, Quebec, until moving to Toronto, Ontario, in 1967. He was of Mohawk and Swiss-German descent. He established himself in Toronto until 1995. He lived in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, actress Joan Karasevich. He was the father of three daughters, two with Karasevich. He was trained at the National Theatre School of Canada. His initial work was in the Don Shebib-directed coming-of-age film, Rip-Off, in 1971. In 1981, he did voices for the animated filmHeavy Metal. During the late 1990s he had major roles in Black Robe, Free Willy and its sequels, Iron Will, True Heart, and TV filmCrazy Horse. He went on to star as Chief Powhatan in Terrence Malick's 2005 film The New World. He also had roles in Disney's Eight Below and the doco within a film The Green Chain. In 2011, he appeared in two episodes of the television series Stargate Universe as Yaozu. His favorite role was that of Sitting Bull in the film Crazy Horse, a character he reprised in the film version of the Dee Brown bestseller Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, for which he received an Emmy nomination. He also starred in Dreamkeeper as Pete Chasing Horse. Schellenberg was nominated for three Genie Awards and won one. He was also nominated for two Gemini Awards, and won one. In 2012, he performed the title role in an all-aboriginal production of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, alongside a cast that also included Billy Merasty as Gloucester, Tantoo Cardinal as Regan, Jani Lauzon in a dual role as Cordelia and the Fool, Craig Lauzon as Kent, and the play's assistant director, Lorne Cardinal, as The Duke of Albany. During his lifetime, Schellenberg taught acting seminars at Toronto's Centre for Indigenous Theatre and York University. He conducted motivational workshops in schools and for cultural and community organizations across North America. Schellenberg's younger brother played Dior in Grey's Anatomy, season 5. Shortly after that, August died of lung cancer.
Death
A very heavy smoker, Schellenberg died on August 15, 2013 in Dallas, Texas after a long battle with lung cancer. His interment was at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery.
