# Jonathan Scarfe
**Jonathan Scarfe** (born 1975) is a Canadian film and television actor, director, and producer, known for playing Chase Carter on the hospital drama *ER*, Charlie Sagansky on the courtroom drama *Raising the Bar*, and Axel Miller on the series *[Van Helsing](https://www.edgepedia.org/van-helsing-tv-series)*.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/) He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the son of the actors Alan Scarfe and Sara Botsford.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975, Toronto, Ontario, Canada[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/bio/) |
| Parents | London, England-born actor Alan Scarfe and Ontario-born actress Sara Botsford[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/bio/) |
| Breakthrough roles | R.J. Winslow on *Madison*; Chase Carter on *ER*; Charlie Sagansky on *Raising the Bar*[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe) |
| Longest series role | Axel Miller on *Van Helsing*, 49 episodes (2016–2021); also directed 11 episodes and co-executive produced 26[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/) |
| Feature film | Resnik in *The Equalizer 2* (2018)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/) |
| Awards | Two Gemini Awards: lead actor for *The Sheldon Kennedy Story* (2000) and featured supporting actor for *Above and Beyond* (2007)[4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonathan-scarfe/bio/3030346128/) |
| Spouse | Actress Suki Kaiser, married August 30, 1998; two children[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/bio/) |
## Early life and training
Scarfe apprenticed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario before landing his first small television roles in the early 1990s.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe) His screen acting debut came in the TV series *Family Passions* in 1993.[4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonathan-scarfe/bio/3030346128/) On stage he has performed Shakespeare, Stoppard, and Chekhov, with roles including the Reaper in *The Tempest*, Dumaine in *Love's Labour's Lost*, and Serebryakov in *Uncle Vanya*.[5](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=2387) • [6](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Jonathan%2BScarfe-75003)
## Television career
**Early roles.** Scarfe's first substantial part was as the high school student R.J. Winslow on the 1990s Canadian teen drama *Madison*, where he spent two years.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe) He then appeared in made-for-TV biopics, including *Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story* (1997) and *The Sheldon Kennedy Story* (1999), in which he portrayed the former NHL player who disclosed abuse by his junior coach; the performance won him a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series in 2000.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe) • [4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonathan-scarfe/bio/3030346128/)
**American television.** His recurring role as Chase Carter, the drug-abusing cousin of Dr. John Carter on *ER*, brought him to the attention of American audiences.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe) Through the 2000s he appeared as a guest on many American dramas, including *NYPD Blue*, *CSI: Miami*, *Grey's Anatomy*, *The Closer*, *Desperate Housewives*, *Smallville*, and *Law & Order: Los Angeles*, and played General George Armstrong Custer in the miniseries *Into the West* (2005).[7](https://www.metacritic.com/person/jonathan-scarfe/) He was a cast member of the courtroom drama *Raising the Bar* as Charlie Sagansky from 2008, and in 2012 he joined the crime series *Perception*, starring [Eric McCormack](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-mccormack) and [Rachael Leigh Cook](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachael-leigh-cook), as Roger Probert.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/person/jonathan-scarfe/) A second Gemini followed in 2007, for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role for *Above and Beyond*.[4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonathan-scarfe/bio/3030346128/)
**Van Helsing.** From 2016 to 2021 Scarfe played Axel Miller on the series *Van Helsing*, appearing in 49 episodes.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/) On the same show he moved behind the camera, directing 11 episodes between 2017 and 2021 and serving as co-executive producer for 26 episodes from 2019 to 2021.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/) He later directed four episodes of the 2019 Netflix mini-series *[The I-Land](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-i-land)*, on which he was also co-executive producer.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/person/jonathan-scarfe/)
## Film work
Scarfe's feature credits include the title role of [Joseph Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/joseph-smith) in *The Work and the Glory* (2004) and its sequel *The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided* (2006), the highest-rated of his films on Rotten Tomatoes at 80 percent, and Jesus Christ in the television movie *Judas* (2004).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe) • [4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonathan-scarfe/bio/3030346128/) He played the protagonist Nicholas Brady in the science-fiction film *Radio Free Albemuth* (2010), based on the [Philip K. Dick](https://www.edgepedia.org/philip-k-dick) novel.[8](https://johnsonproductiongroup.com/images/presskits/DisappearanceInYellowstone-_PRESS_KIT.pdf) His widest theatrical release was *The Equalizer 2* (2018), in which he played Resnik alongside [Denzel Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/denzel-washington).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/) Later television movies include *Disappearance in Yellowstone* (2022), in which he played Grant.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/)
## Speak and other projects
With his wife, the actress Suki Kaiser, Scarfe wrote, produced, and directed the 2001 short film *Speak*, about sexual abuse.[4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonathan-scarfe/bio/3030346128/) The film won a Best of Dances With Films Award in 2001, earned Scarfe a Leo Award nomination for Best Screenwriter in 2002, and is used as part of the university training curriculum for trauma nurses in Canada.[4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonathan-scarfe/bio/3030346128/) • [5](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=2387)
## Personal life
Scarfe married Suki Kaiser on August 30, 1998, and the couple have two children.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/bio/) From February 2012 to February 2014 the family circumnavigated the [Pacific Ocean](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-ocean), north and south, aboard their 44-foot Gulfstar sailboat, covering more than 18,000 nautical miles over two years.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/bio/) He divides his time between Los Angeles and an island home off the coast of Vancouver.[5](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=2387)
## References
1. [Jonathan Scarfe, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonathan_scarfe)
2. [Jonathan Scarfe, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/)
3. [Jonathan Scarfe, Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769157/bio/)
4. [Jonathan Scarfe Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonathan-scarfe/bio/3030346128/)
5. [Jonathan Scarfe, TVSA](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=2387)
6. [Jonathan Scarfe, Filmweb](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Jonathan%2BScarfe-75003)
7. [Jonathan Scarfe, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/jonathan-scarfe/)
8. [Disappearance in Yellowstone press kit, Johnson Production Group](https://johnsonproductiongroup.com/images/presskits/DisappearanceInYellowstone-_PRESS_KIT.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Canadian actors › Surnames R to S*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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