If you go see Fifty Shades Darker, the steamy sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey, take note of the distinguished-looking auctioneer during the masquerade ball scene. He’s played by Akron native Michael Meneer.
Meneer, 43, who grew up in West Akron and attended St. Sebastian grade school and Firestone High School (class of 1992), has appeared in more than 20 productions since he started auditioning for parts about three years ago.
“It was a tremendous experience filming Fifty Shades,” said Meneer on the phone from Vancouver, British Columbia. “The production created this gorgeous, spectacular masquerade scene, with 100-plus background actors in ball gowns and masks.”
In the film, shot in Vancouver, lovers Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) attend the charity ball thrown by Grey’s parents and bid on some of the big items. The sequel has been largely trashed by critics, but it has already scored nearly $100 million at the domestic box office.
It’s the biggest project Meneer has worked on. If you’re a fan of movies on Lifetime and the Hallmark Channel, you may also have seen him in Family for Christmas, Happy Face Killer or Murder, She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery.
Meneer, who lives in Vancouver with his wife, Elizabeth Marshall, and their 10-year-old daughter, Maisie, has the friendly yet authoritative look of a television news anchor.
He studied history at Ohio State, has a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from American University in Washington, D.C., and worked in TV news for a time, so it’s fitting that he is often cast as a reporter (nine times) or anchor (seven times).
“These aren’t lead roles,” he said. “I’m a character actor who helps move the plot along.”
Vancouver is a hotbed of film and television production, and a few years ago a friend recommended Meneer get in on the fun.
He first got the bug, he said, at Firestone High School, acting and singing in several productions under Basil Kochan. “He was the music teacher and performing arts director, and he really pushed us toward excellence.”
Meneer, who has a guest role coming up on the TV series Supernatural (on The CW), also can be seen later this year in the inspirational feature film Live Like Line starring Helen Hunt.
It’s a busy acting schedule and it’s not even his day job. He is the head of fundraising and communications for the Pacific Salmon Foundation, a Canadian environmental organization that advocates for stream conservation and restoration. He and his wife moved west 10 years ago when Elizabeth was hired as a professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
Meneer said he gets back to Akron about once a year in the summer to see his parents, who are divorced. He also helps out at his dad’s basketball camp in Cuyahoga Falls. (His father, Mike Meneer, was the longtime basketball coach at Central-Hower High School and is now an assistant coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary.)
His Akron roots have served him well in landing parts, especially in the folksy films on Lifetime and Hallmark. “They tell me they like my Midwest-Ohio accent.”
One major fan of his burgeoning career is his mom, Patty Roetzel, who taught special education in Akron Public Schools for 35 years.
“I have always been so proud of Michael from the time he was very young,” Roetzel said. “He’s just one of those people who always shined.” As for having a son whose face is now seen on big and small screens, Roetzel said, “I’m awestruck by the whole thing.”
And what does she think of Fifty Shades Darker?
“There’s no way I’m going to go see that movie,” she said. “It’s not my genre.”
The film, based on E.L. James’ novel, is rated R for “strong erotic sexual content, some graphic nudity, and language.”
Meneer hopes she’ll change her mind and get out to the theater.
“I want to assure you that I am fully clothed throughout the entire movie,” he joked. “There are a few scenes that might make some people blush, but I think my mom will be OK. She has to support the cause.”
Clint O’Connor can be reached at 330-996-3582 or coconnor@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClintOMovies .