Charles Shaughnessy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable The Lord Shaughnessy
Shaughnessy in 2007
Born	Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy (1955-02-09) 9 February 1955 (age 70) London, England
Alma mater	Magdalene College, Cambridge
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1983–present
Spouse(s)	Susan Fallender ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	2
Parents	Alfred Shaughnessy (father) Jean Lodge (mother)
Relatives	David Shaughnessy (brother)

Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy is a British actor. He was born on February 9, 1955. He is well-known for his roles on American television.

You might know him as Shane Donovan from the soap opera Days of Our Lives. He also played Maxwell Sheffield on the popular sitcom The Nanny. Kids might recognize his voice as Dennis the Goldfish from Stanley. For this voice role, he even won a special award called a Daytime Emmy Award.

He has also appeared in other shows. These include The Magicians and Mad Men. Recently, he was a regular on the soap opera General Hospital. There, he played the character Victor Cassadine.

Charles Shaughnessy also works with his brother, David Shaughnessy, and Ophelia Soumekh. They are partners in a company called 3S Media Solutions Inc.

Early Life and Family

Charles Shaughnessy was born in London, England. His birthday is February 9, 1955. He comes from a family involved in show business. His father, Alfred Shaughnessy, was a television writer. He wrote for the show Upstairs, Downstairs. His mother, Jean Lodge, was an actress.

Charles's brother, David Shaughnessy, is also an actor. He is also a television producer and director. Charles's great-grandfather was Thomas Shaughnessy. He was the 1st Baron Shaughnessy. He was an important railway manager in America and Canada.

Charles inherited the title of Baron when his second cousin passed away. This means he became the 5th Baron Shaughnessy.

Education and Early Acting

Because his family was in entertainment, Charles started acting early. He performed in plays when he was in primary school. He went to Eton College, a famous school. After that, he studied law at Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge. While there, he wrote about the House of Lords.

At Cambridge, he joined a comedy group called Footlights. After finishing college, he decided to become an actor. He went to a drama school in London. Then, he toured with a theater company. In 1983, he moved to the United States. He married actress Susan Fallender. They have two daughters, Jenny and Maddy.

Acting Career Highlights

Charles Shaughnessy became well-known for his role as Shane Donovan. He played this character on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. He was on the show from 1984 to 1992. His character's love story with Kimberly Brady became very popular. They were known as a "supercouple." Their story helped bring many teenage viewers to Days of Our Lives in the 1980s.

In 1993, he started playing Maxwell Sheffield on the CBS sitcom The Nanny. He starred alongside Fran Drescher. The show was very popular and ran until 1999.

Other Notable Roles

Charles Shaughnessy also appeared in many TV movies and shows. In 1996, he was in the TV movie A Kiss So Deadly. He also appeared in the 2000 Halloween movie Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire. He was in Get a Clue, a Disney Channel movie, in 2002.

He has also done a lot of voice acting. He was the voice of Dennis the Goldfish on the Disney Channel cartoon series Stanley. In 2002, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for this role. He also voiced Pietro in the movie The Tale of Despereaux. He provided a voice for "The Boss" in the video game Saints Row 2.

Shaughnessy has made guest appearances on many popular shows. These include The Mentalist, Hannah Montana, CSI: NY, and The Suite Life on Deck. He also returned to Days of Our Lives for special storylines in 2010 and 2012. These appearances were often for important events, like character funerals.

He has also performed in theater. In 2010, he played King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot!. He won an award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for this role. He also starred in the web series The Bay. In 2011, he reunited with Fran Drescher on her show Happily Divorced.

More recently, he appeared on Dog with a Blog in 2014. He played a rich businessman named Tom Fairbanks. He wanted to buy the talking dog, Stan. He also had a recurring role as Christopher Plover on The Magicians. From 2021 to 2023, he played Victor Cassadine on General Hospital.

Filmography

Television and film

Video games

Awards and Nominations

Charles Shaughnessy has won several awards for his acting.

Soap Opera Digest Awards

• Won, 1985, for Outstanding New Actor in a Daytime Serial.
• Won, 1986, for Favorite Daytime Super Couple (with Patsy Pease).
• Won, 1988, for Outstanding Super Couple: Daytime (with Patsy Pease).
• Nominated, 1990, for Outstanding Super Couple: Daytime (with Patsy Pease).
• Nominated, 1991, for Outstanding Hero: Daytime.
• Nominated, 1992, for Outstanding Lead Actor: Daytime.

Daytime Emmy Awards

• Won, 2002, for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program (for Stanley).

Broadway World Boston Theater Awards

• Won, 2011, for Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Large Theater).

Arms

Images for kids

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  A robot, representing technology and entertainment.

See also

• Canadian Hereditary Peers