Billy Merasty

Biography

Billy Merasty is a Cree actor and playwright born in 1960 in Brochet, Manitoba, to Viola and Pierre Merasty. He launched his acting career at 23 after graduating from the Native Theatre School, working extensively with Native Earth Performing Arts before transitioning to film and television. A trailblazer for Indigenous representation, Merasty received the Order of Manitoba in 2010 for his years as an Aboriginal role model, notably playing Canada's first Indigenous gay character on TV in Liberty Street.