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Stephen Shellen grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, where he was the star hockey player of his high school team before moving north to work as a lumberjack. After attracting the attention of a talent scout in Vancouver, he decided to pursue acting, partly motivated by the memory of an unappreciative audience during his first junior high stage performance. He moved to Los Angeles, studied under Peggy Feury, and soon became a familiar face in films such as Casual Sex? (1988) alongside Lea Thompson and Victoria Jackson, the cult favorite The Stepfather (1987) with Terry O'Quinn and Shelley Hack, the star-studded miniseries Hollywood Wives (1985) featuring Anthony Hopkins, Candice Bergen, and Robert Stack, and the TV movie that inspired the series Murder One (1995). Returning to Canada in the early 1990s, Stephen landed a lead role in the USA Network series Counterstrike (1990), a Nikita-inspired show starring Simon MacCorkindale and Christopher Plummer, where he portrayed Luke Brenner, a member of a trio combating global terrorism. Back in the U.S., he starred in April One (1994), a film about a hostage crisis that earned critical acclaim. He also appeared as the arrogant actor brother of Craig Sheffer's character's love interest in the Academy Award-winning A River Runs Through It (1992); his scenes with Susan Trawley were praised by Newsweek as the funniest part of the film. His career has balanced major box office hits like The Bodyguard (1992) with Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, alongside smaller, critically acclaimed independent films such as Rude (1995), which won Best Canadian Feature Film at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival and received eight Genie nominations. Stephen has also made guest appearances on popular TV shows including Law & Order (1990) and Due South (1994). In 1997, he was invited to Toronto to film what he expected to be a one-time guest role on La Femme Nikita, portraying a committed police detective who uncovers more than he anticipated while investigating a serial killer. His performance resonated with fans, leading the show to bring him back for a recurring role in the fifth and final season, which aired in the U.S. starting January 2001. Additionally, Stephen appeared in the popular Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie film Gone in 60 Seconds (2000).
