Christopher Russell is a Canadian actor who found fame with his roles in TV series such as Flashpoint, Beauty and the Beast, Star Trek: Discovery, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, UnREAL, and many others. He also appeared in the 2005 zombie film Land of the Dead and its related 2021 TV series, Day of the Dead. His performance in the latter saw him nominated for a Leo Award. He has also appeared in a great many television movies, the most recent being The Most Colourful Time of the Year and The Shell Collector.
Russell was born in Toronto in January 1983. A keen actor from a very young age, he made his screen debut aged just 12, in a 1995 horror film called The Whispering. However, he didn’t begin taking regular acting work until his early twenties, when he became a regular presence in all kinds of television shows and movies, including Land of the Dead. His first notable TV role was playing Dr Wilson in three episodes of Canadian crime drama Flashpoint. In 2013, he appeared as Noah Hawkes in the TV series adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. He also became part of the world-famous Star Trek franchise in 2017 when he played Milton Richter in Star Trek: Discovery.
Another role from 2017, and one that remains Russell’s longest-running television role, is that of Panto Trost in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, a Douglas Adams-inspired comedy sci-fi crime series made by BBC America. Recently, he has also become a staple of Hallmark and similar television movies. He has over 38,000 followers on Instagram.
