Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy (born 9 February 1955) is a British actor and hereditary peer. His roles on American television include Shane Donovan on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, Maxwell Sheffield on the sitcom The Nanny, and the voice of Dennis the Goldfish on Stanley for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award. He had recurring roles as Christopher Plover on The Magicians and St. John Powell on Mad Men. Shaughnessy was a series regular on ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital in the role of villain Victor Cassadine.
Along with his brother, David Shaughnessy, and Ophelia Soumekh, he is a partner in 3S Media Solutions Inc.
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Early life
Shaughnessy was born on 9 February 1955 in London, the son of Alfred Shaughnessy, a television writer who was the scriptwriter for Upstairs, Downstairs, and actress Jean Lodge. His brother, David Shaughnessy, is also an actor and a television producer and director. His great-grandfather Thomas Shaughnessy, the 1st Baron Shaughnessy, was an American–Canadian railway administrator. Charles inherited the title when his second cousin Michael (1946–2007), the 4th Baron Shaughnessy, died without issue.
Having been born into a show-business family, Shaughnessy started appearing in plays during primary school. After attending Eton College, he read for a law degree at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he wrote a thesis on the House of Lords. While at Cambridge, he joined the Footlights club. After graduating, he decided to return to acting and enrolled in a London drama school, which led to his touring in a repertory company. He moved to the United States and married the actress Susan Fallender in 1983, with whom he has two daughters, Jenny (born 1990) and Maddy (born 1995).
Career
Shaughnessy appeared as Shane Donovan on the soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1984 to 1992. His character's romance with Patsy Pease's character, Kimberly Brady, made the duo into a soap supercouple and revived interest in Days among teenage viewers in the 1980s. In 1986, he appeared with Betty White and Bert Convy on Super Password, and in January 1993, Shaughnessy appeared in an episode of Murphy Brown as the title character's date to the inaugural ball.
Shaughnessy portrayed Maxwell Sheffield opposite Fran Drescher on CBS's The Nanny from 1993 to 1999. He and Drescher resumed acting together in Drescher's next sitcom, Living with Fran, wherein Shaughnessy appeared fairly frequently as her philandering but needy ex-husband, Ted. Living with Fran was cancelled on 17 May 2006, after two seasons.
In 1996, Shaughnessy reunited with another Days of Our Lives co-star—Charlotte Ross, who portrayed Shane's daughter, Eve Donovan—in the TV movie A Kiss So Deadly. Ross played the roommate of Shaughnessy's daughter (Dedee Pfeiffer); Shaughnessy's character, although married, forms an obsessive, Lolita-esque relationship with Ross. When she tries to break it off, Shaughnessy's character murders Ross's character; gradually, his daughter uncovers the truth.
Shaughnessy appeared (in a dual role) in the Disney Channel 2002 made-for-TV movie Get a Clue. He was also in the 2000 made-for-TV Halloween movie Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire starring Caroline Rhea; she guest-starred on The Nanny in 1998 as part of a cross-over with Hollywood Squares. That same year, Shaughnessy made two appearances on The WB's Sabrina (starring Rhea, Melissa Joan Hart, and Beth Broderick), playing two different characters. He played Alec Colson in the 8th-season episode "Covenant" of Stargate SG-1. He also voiced Dr. Quintaine in the PC game Freelancer.
Shaughnessy appeared on an episode of NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and is also the voice of Dennis the Goldfish on the Disney Channel cartoon series Stanley. On 11 May 2002, Shaughnessy won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his portrayal of Dennis.
On 8 August 2008, Shaughnessy portrayed the murder victim (Samuel, Guru) in Murder 101: The Locked Room Mystery. As of September 2008, his voice was heard in television commercials for Range Rover cars. In December 2008, he provided the voice of Pietro in The Tale of Despereaux. He also portrayed the Cockney English accent for "The Boss" in the game Saints Row 2.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Soap Opera Digest Awards
Won, 1985, for Outstanding New Actor in a Daytime Serials
Won, 1986, for Favorite Daytime Super Couple on a Daytime Serial (shared with Patsy Pease)
Won, 1988, for Outstanding Super Couple: Daytime (shared with Patsy Pease)
Nominated, 1990, for Outstanding Super Couple: Daytime (shared 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 (Stanley)
Broadway World Boston Theater Awards
Won, 2011, for Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Large Theater)