Christian Campbell


Christian Bethune Campbell is a Canadian-American stage and screen actor, writer, and photographer. He is best known for his roles as Gabriel in the movie Trick, Greg Ivey in Big Love and on stage as Jimmy Harper in the musical Reefer Madness. He is married to actress America Olivo.

Early life

Campbell was born in Toronto, Ontario. Campbell's mother, Marnie, is a yoga instructor and psychologist from Amsterdam, Netherlands, who also ran a theatre in Guelph, Ontario. His father, Gerry Campbell, a British immigrant to Canada from the East End of Glasgow, Scotland, taught high school drama classes in Mississauga, Ontario — first at Westwood Secondary School, later at Lorne Park Secondary School, and now at Erindale Secondary School. Campbell's maternal grandparents ran a theatre company in the Netherlands and his paternal grandparents were also performers. On his mother's side, Campbell descends from Sephardi Jews who immigrated to the Netherlands and converted to Catholicism.
Campbell's parents divorced when he was three years old. His siblings are actress Neve Campbell, actor Alex Campbell, and Damian McDonald. He and his sister, Neve, resided largely with their father, with regular periods at their mother's home. Born into an acting family and his father an acting teacher, Campbell began training at an early age. He was acting professionally by the age of fourteen and attended Claude Watson School for the Arts in Toronto, Ontario.

Film

Campbell starred in the gay-themed romantic comedy Trick in 1999. The feature film was a Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominated film. It grossed the most per-screen average for a gay-themed film at the time. In celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of the picture, Campbell spoke of the social climate at the time and how he, a straight actor, had taken on a gay role. "Having been in that movie... opened up a community," he said. "The gay community was incredibly supportive of me."
In 2001, Campbell teamed up with Trick co-star John Paul Pitoc in the feature-film Thank You, Good Night, co-starring with Mark Hamill and Sally Kirkland. He then starred in the 2004 short film Pretty Dead Girl. In 2009, Campbell starred in the feature film Neighbor along with America Olivo, who would later become his wife. He played conservative American political activist Ralph Reed in the 2010 movie Casino Jack.
Campbell starred along with Amy Smart in director Russell Friedenberg's 2014 feature film Among Ravens.

Television

At the age of 16, Campbell made his television debut on the Canadian television series Degrassi High. Campbell's first starring role was in the television movie City Boy, in which he starred alongside James Brolin and Sarah Chalke. Campbell then starred in the 1995 ABC telefilm Picture Perfect. He moved to the United States in 1995 where he was soon cast as Teddy Delacourt in producer Aaron Spelling's primetime teen drama/soap opera Malibu Shores.
Campbell joined the cast of The $treet in 2000 as Tim Sherman. He then starred in the science fiction-action animated series Max Steel from 2000-2002, providing the voice of the protagonist, Josh McGrath, a 19-year-old fictional extreme sports star. Campbell joined All My Children as the recast Bobby Warner from 2004 to 2005, replacing Brian Gaskill for the role after a seven-year absence for the character. Along with Shannon Elizabeth, he starred in the 2008 made-for-TV movie You Belong To Me.
Before its abrupt cancellation, he had a starring role in the NBC drama The Book of Daniel.
In May 2010, Campbell had a guest-starring role as victim Ben Rooney in season 8, episode 21, "Meltdown".
In 2013, Campbell joined the cast of the Lifetime original movie An Amish Murder, in which he played the brother of Kate Burkholder, who was played by his real life younger sister, Neve Campbell.
Campbell has a recurring role in the second season of HBO's True Detective. He can also be seen playing the villain Pierce Peters in the 2015 Disney Channel Original Movie Bad Hair Day.

Theatre

Campbell's theatre training began early and was extensive due to his father being an acting teacher and his mother's acting background. His earliest acting roles were on the stage for his father's panto productions for the Association for Scottish Traditions and Arts in Etobicoke, Ontario. Campbell said of his early work with his father that "Dad was always throwing Neve and me on the stage. The pantos are comedies, sort of fantasies-sometimes fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk. In these shows there's a lot of humor, and always a cross-dresser. That's part of the genre." His first starring role on the stage was as the role of Nick in A Thousand Clowns, which was held at his mother's dinner theatre. He then toured Europe in the early 1990s, acting in stage plays such as Der Ritter Von Mirakel and A Clockwork Orange at the Schaulspielhaus, Nürnberg.
Shortly after his move to Los Angeles in 1995, Campbell co-founded the theatre company Blue Sphere Alliance. He began producing stage plays while working as an actor. Campbell made his directorial debut with Reach, a one-act play that starred Matthew Lillard and Sandra Thigpen.
In 2000, Campbell produced his first off-Broadway play, Trust, in New York City. Campbell starred in Reefer Madness in 2001. He then joined ill-fated Rent playwright Jonathan Larson's tick... tick... BOOM! in 2002, in which he performed on a national tour of the United States and in London at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Campbell went on to work on Great Expectations with Kathleen Chalfant in 2004.
In July 2015 it was announced that Campbell would lead the cast of Harold Chapin's The New Morality at the Mint Theater.

Other work

Campbell has been a photographer for the last two decades and showcases his work on his personal website.
He currently sits on the board of directors of the Players Club in New York City.
He served as producer and director of the documentary concert series Live from Gramercy Park and is the producer and director of the Broadway Dreams documentary series. Both series are produced by Campbell and wife America Olivo's production company EsoteriCam Productions.

Personal life

Campbell married Erin Matthews in 2001, divorcing in 2003. He was in a long term relationship with actress Nikki Snelson, from 2005 to 2007.
Campbell met his second wife, actress America Olivo, in 2009 on the set of the horror film Neighbor. They were engaged after two weeks and married five months later, in a ceremony on Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy. Their first child, a daughter, was born in 2012, but died three days later due to the genetic condition Edwards syndrome. After facing infertility issues of their own, Campbell and his wife America Olivo decided to become spokespeople for the BabyQuest Foundation, a 501 charitable organization that is "dedicated to helping couples and/or individuals build families through advanced fertility treatments".
Campbell became a U.S. citizen in 2008 and holds passports for Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Awards