Mark Meer is a Canadian actor, writer and improvisor, based in Edmonton, Alberta. He is known for his role in the Mass Effect trilogy, in which he stars as the voice of the player character, Commander Shepard. His voice is featured in a number of other games from BioWare Corp., notably the Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age series. Meer stars as the voice of the player character William Mackenzie in The Long Dark from Hinterland Studio. He also works in animation, providing the voice for several characters in a series of cartoon shorts produced by Rantdog Animation Studios, and the voice of Horse in the Captain Canuck web series starring Kris Holden-Ried and Tatiana Maslany.

Mark Meer
Meer at the 50-Hour London Improvathon in 2011.
Born (1971-07-22) July 22, 1971 (age 53)
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, improvisor
SpouseBelinda Cornish

Career

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Meer starred as the male voice of the main player character, Commander Shepard, in the Mass Effect trilogy. His voice is featured in a number of other games from BioWare Corp., notably the Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age series.[1] Meer starred as the voice of the player character William Mackenzie in The Long Dark from Hinterland Studio, which also features his Mass Effect counterpart, Jennifer Hale.[2]

Meer is a core company member of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, and was the first performer to complete the annual 53-hour long Die-Nasty Soap-A-Thon without sleep.[3] He is a longtime member of Rapid Fire Theatre, a founder of the sketch comedy/improv troupe Gordon's Big Bald Head, and performs regularly at Edmonton's Varscona Theatre. He is a performer and writer on CBC Radio's sketch comedy program The Irrelevant Show and APTN's Caution: May Contain Nuts, and is a co-creator, writer and star of Super Channel's Tiny Plastic Men.[4]

In 2005, Meer was nominated for an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for co-writing the surreal sketch comedy show, Lobster Telephone (in which he also played Salvador Dalí), with the ladies of Panties Productions. In 2006, he was honored with the Sterling Award for Outstanding Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role for playing multiple roles in Helen's Necklace, produced by Shadow Theatre. In 2011, he was nominated for five Canadian Comedy Awards, including Best Male Improvisor, for which he was also nominated in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.[5][6] In December 2012, Mark Meer was voted Edmontonian of the Year in an online poll held by Gig City, an Edmonton arts and entertainment website.[7][8] Tiny Plastic Men, which Meer co-created and writes for Canada's Super Channel, has been nominated at the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Comedy Series in 2014, 2015, and 2016, and Meer himself was nominated for the CSA for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role in 2015 for his work on the show. [9] In 2016, Meer won the AMPIA Award for Best Performance by an Actor for the Tiny Plastic Men episode "Crisis on Infinite Octobers". [10] [11]

Meer appeared at Dragon*Con 2012 cosplaying as Commander Shepard, his most famous character. Though his attendance was not publicly advertised, some fans immediately recognized him.[12]

In 2021, Meer became a player in The Black Dice Society, a Ravenloft themed Dungeons & Dragons actual play show on the official Wizards of the Coast channels.[13][14]

Personal life

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Meer is married to Belinda Cornish, an actress who has done work in BioWare games as well, most notably voicing Rana Thanoptis in the Mass Effect series, and Goldanna and The Baroness in the Dragon Age series. Cornish also co-stars with Meer in Tiny Plastic Men, and been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for her work on the show.[15]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 Turnbuckle The Electrocutioner
2010 FUBAR 2 Car Salesman

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2010-2018 Caution: May Contain Nuts Moonrod Mastertrick, Leonard the Vulcan, various 48 episodes
2012–2015 Tiny Plastic Men October, various 32 episodes
2015 A Frosty Affair Brad Television film
2017 Legendary Myths: Raven Adventures Raven (voice) 5 episodes

Video games

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All roles listed are voice roles and for the English versions where applicable.

Title Year Role(s) Notes
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn 2000 Bhaal Cleric
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal 2001 Cyric, additional roles
Neverwinter Nights 2002 Orc Shaman, Balor Demon, additional roles
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2003 Carth (demo only)
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark Durnan, additional roles
Jade Empire 2005 Zhong the Ox-Carrier, The Watcher, Lotus Assassin, additional roles
Mass Effect 2007-2009 Commander Shepard (male), additional roles
Dragon Age: Origins 2009 Athras, Gatekeeper, Werewolf, Unscrupulous Merchant, Pearl Dwarf Companion, additional roles
Mass Effect 2 2010-2011 Commander Shepard (male), Niftu Cal, Vorcha, Prazza, additional roles
Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening 2010 The Withered, The Lost, The First, The Herald, additional roles
Dragon Age II 2011 Jethann, Hybris, additional roles
Mass Effect 3 2012-2013 Commander Shepard (male), Blasto, Vorcha, additional roles
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition 2012 Rassad yn Bashir, Baeloth, Elan Garaq, Ghlouralk, Adoy, Goblin, additional roles
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition 2013 Rassad yn Bashir, Baeloth, additional roles
Dragon Age: Inquisition 2014 Cabot, Lyrium Merchant, Red Templar, additional voices
The Long Dark 2015 William Mackenzie
Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear 2016 Rassad yn Bashir, Baeloth, Volghiln, Adoy, Einar, Bertram, additional roles
Slayaway Camp Skullface
The Long Dark: Wintermute 2017 William Mackenzie
Arcade Spirits 2019 Deco Nami
Jupiter Hell The Protagonist
Hyper-galactic Psychic Table Tennis 3000 2020 Paddles
Raid Land Warrior/Bersker/Hunter/General Voice Effects
Mass Effect Legendary Edition 2021 Commander Shepard (male), Blasto, Niftu Cal, Vorcha, Prazza, additional roles
Gotham Knights 2022 Starro
Mythforce 2023 Deadalus

Web shows and series

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Title Year Role(s) Notes
Bucketheads: A Star Wars Story 2018 TK-683 Voice role. A fan-made Star Wars short.[16][17]
L.A. By Night 2018–2019 Chaz Price Guest role; 4 episodes. A Vampire: The Masquerade actual play show presented by Geek & Sundry and World of Darkness.[18][19][20]
Game the Game 2019 Himself Guest role; 2 episodes. A tabletop game play-through series presented by Geek & Sundry.[21][22]
Stitch of Fate 2020–present Max (of the Nosferatu clan) Main role. A Vampire: The Masquerade actual play podcast presented by Pod by Night.[23][24]
The Black Dice Society 2021 Brother Uriah Macawber, cleric of Ezra/ Azalin Rex (lich) Main role. A Ravenloft themed Dungeons & Dragons actual play show presented by Wizards of the Coast.[25][13][14]
Bucketheads: Season One Obran Gunn Main role; 3 episodes. A fan-made Star Wars mini-series.[26][27]
Champions Of The Realm 2022 Baeloth Main role; 7 episodes. Upcoming limited series presented by Dungeons & Dragons, RealmSmith, and Lost Odyssey Events.[28][29]
Bookshops of Arkham 2023 Keeper of Arcane Lore Main role; 5 episodes. A Call of Cthulhu actual play podcast presented by Chaosium.
Gordon: A Batman Fan film 2023 The Joker Main role; A fan-made Batman short by Creative Force Films.
Graveyards of Arkham 2024 Keeper of Arcane Lore Main role; 6 episodes. A Call of Cthulhu actual play podcast presented by Chaosium.

References

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  1. ^ "The Faces Behind the Voices of Mass Effect 3". Kotaku. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  2. ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (2013-09-17). "Mass Effect voice actor Mark Meer joins The Long Dark, gameplay detailed". Polygon. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  3. ^ Ward, Dave (2010-01-11). "Mark Meer Interview". RPG Site. RPG Site. Archived from the original on 2011-09-04. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
  4. ^ Staff (2011-06-09). "Edmonton Dominates Canadian Comedy Awards". Gig City. Gig City: Edmonton's Daily Entertainment Source. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
  5. ^ Nichols, Liz (2012-06-07). "Mark Meer: The Country's Best Improv Guy?". The Edmonton Journal. CanWest. Archived from the original on 2012-06-11. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
  6. ^ Ross, Mike (2013-06-13). "Mark Meer tops list of Canadian Comedy Awards nominations". Gig City. Gig City: Edmonton's Daily Entertainment Source. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  7. ^ Ross, Mike (2012-12-31). "Mark Meer elected Edmontonian of the Year in landslide victory". Gig City. Gig City: Edmonton's Daily Entertainment Source. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
  8. ^ Nichols, Liz (2014-06-18). "Mark Meer: Edmonton's leaders of laughter snag nominations in annual Canadian Comedy Awards". The Edmonton Journal. CanWest. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  9. ^ Simon, Houpt (2015-01-15). "Mommy, Maps to the Stars set for showdown at Canadian Screen Awards". The Globe and Mail. CanWest. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  10. ^ Griwkowsky, Fish (2016-05-07). "Edmonton filmmakers celebrate Rosie wins". The Edmonton Journal. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  11. ^ Volmers, Eric (2016-05-08). "Diablo, Hell on Wheels and Fargo win big at the Alberta Film and Television Awards". The Calgary Herald. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  12. ^ Narcisse, Evan (2012-09-04). "That's Not A Cosplayer, That's Actually Commander Shepard!". kotaku.com. Kodak. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  13. ^ a b Hoffer, Christian (April 1, 2021). "Dungeons & Dragons Launches The Black Dice Society, a Creepy Ravenloft Streaming Show". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  14. ^ a b Baird, Scott (2021-04-01). "D&D: The Black Dice Society Arrive In Ravenloft On April 1". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  15. ^ Furdyk, Brent (2016-01-09). "Canadian Screen Awards Nominees Announced". ET Canada. Global. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  16. ^ Whitbrook, James (2018-08-28). "Bucketheads Is a Fan Film That Wants to Give Stormtroopers Their Own Star Wars Story". io9. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  17. ^ "BUCKETHEADS is a Fantastic STAR WARS Fan Film". GeekTyrant. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  18. ^ "For World of Darkness, the future of tabletop RPGs is increasingly digital". VentureBeat. 2020-08-02. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  19. ^ "Instruments of Darkness | Vampire: The Masquerade - L.A. By Night | Chapter 2". YouTube. Geek & Sundry. November 26, 2018. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  20. ^ "Embrace the Dark | Vampire: The Masquerade - L.A. By Night | Season 2, Episode 9". YouTube. Geek & Sundry. May 22, 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  21. ^ "WATCH: Cthulhu Wars | Game the Game". Geek and Sundry. 2019-06-27. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  22. ^ "WATCH: The Game of Wolf | Game the Game". Geek and Sundry. 2019-06-11. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  23. ^ Meer, Mark [@Mark_Meer] (July 28, 2020). "Just finished recording session #1 for @PodByNight starring @MathasGames @GamingFTL @little_red_dot @TheBubbernaut & me! Coming Aug 14 to all major platforms incl. iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify & GooglePlay... #VampireTheMasquerade #Vampire #Vamily #RPG #ttrpg #actualplay #podcast" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Pod by Night [@PodByNight] (July 16, 2020). "Welcome @Mark_Meer to our cast of kindred! You may know him best as the voice of Commander Shepard from Mass Effect or from his time on @LAbyNight. We're thrilled to have his talents & love of horror in our new #vamily. Dare you guess his clan?! #vtm" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Gentlefolk, I give you... THE BLACK DICE SOCIETY! @TheBlackDiceSoc is an official @Wizards_DnD stream set in the horror setting of #Ravenloft, launching Thu April 1 at 4PM PT on [YouTube dndwizards]... Meanwhile, feast your eyes on this promo art by @Adam_Schumpert! #DnD". Twitter. Mark Meer. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  26. ^ "Star Wars fan film 'Bucketheads,' shot in South Surrey, makes its debut". Surrey Now-Leader. 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  27. ^ Meer, Mark [@Mark_Meer] (May 4, 2020). "Looking forward to Bucketheads: Season One!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (2021-12-30). "Dungeons & Dragons To Debut Champions Of The Realm In January". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  29. ^ "D&D Tournament Series Champions of the Realm Features Daredevil Star". ScreenRant. 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
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