Christopher Makepeace (born April 22, 1964) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former actor, known for his starring roles in the coming-of-age film ''

My Bodyguard ''My Bodyguard'' is a 1980 American family comedy drama film directed by Tony Bill (his directorial debut), and written by Alan Ormsby. The film stars Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin (in his first film role), Matt Dillon, Martin Mull, and Ruth ...

'' (1980) and

comedy horror Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary genre, literary, television genre, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three ty ...

Vamp The VaMP driverless car was one of the first truly autonomous cars Dynamic Vision for Perc ...

'' (1986), and supporting roles in the screwball comedy '' Meatballs'' (1979) and the dystopian sci-fi film ''

The Last Chase ''The Last Chase'' is a 1981 Canadian-American dystopian science fiction film directed by Martyn Burke who was also the producer on the film, produced for Argosy Films. The film stars Lee Majors, Chris Makepeace and Burgess Meredith in a futuris ...

'' (1981), during his teen and young adult years.

Life and career

Makepeace was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, the son of Doreen and Harry Makepeace. His older brother, Tony Makepeace, is a Canadian

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

. He began his acting career in a 1974 Canadian television special, ''The Ottawa Valley''. His next role was in a 1979 Canadian comedy, '' Meatballs'', in which he starred opposite

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

, portrayed as a shy, loner teen attendee of a summer camp, who has trouble fitting in. The movie was a hit, grossing more than $43 million at the box office, and Makepeace received good notices for his work in the film. He was then cast in the lead role in the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

film, ''

'', released in July 1980 to positive reviews, earning $22.5 million domestically. In his review of the film, critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

said that Makepeace's performance resulted in "one of the most engaging teenage characters I've seen in the movies in a long time." Makepeace also starred opposite

Lee Majors Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary; April 23, 1939) is an American actor. Majors portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley in the American television Western series ''The Big Valley'' (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin in the American televisio ...

and

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

in the 1981 film ''

''. Makepeace's subsequent roles included appearances in

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

films and a few more feature films, including ''

Mazes and Monsters ''Mazes and Monsters'' (also known as ''Rona Jaffe's Mazes and Monsters'') is a 1982 American made-for-television film directed by Steven Hilliard Stern about a group of college students and their interest in a fictitious role-playing game (RPG ...

'' with Tom Hanks, ''

The Falcon and the Snowman ''The Falcon and the Snowman'' is a 1985 American spy drama film directed by John Schlesinger. The screenplay by Steven Zaillian is based on the 1979 book ''The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage'' by Robert Lin ...

'' in 1985 and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

's ''

Vamp The VaMP driverless car was one of the first truly autonomous cars Dynamic Vision for Perc ...

''. In 1981, Makepeace recorded spoken dialogue for the

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

album ''

Music from "The Elder" ''Music from "The Elder"'' is the ninth studio album released by American rock band Kiss on the Casablanca Records label in 1981. The album marked a substantial departure from their previous output with the concept and orchestral elements. ''Mus ...

'' with Producer Bob Ezrin, but it was not used in the final mix; plans to turn the album into a feature film never materialized. He has not appeared in any films since 2001, moving instead behind the camera as an assistant director.

Filmography

Film and television credits

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Makepeace, Chris 1964 births Anglophone Quebec people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Living people Male actors from Montreal