Actor Chris Gauthier, best known to Disney fans as “Smee” on the ABC series “Once Upon a Time,” has passed away at age 48.
His Career
Gauthier was an English-born Canadian actor who made a career as a character actor in several series and films.
His first big role was in 2002’s “40 Days and 40 Nights,” but his first big break was as Vincent in the SyFy series, “Eureka,” from 2006 through 2012.
He then had supporting and guest roles in series like “Smallville,” “Harper’s Island,” and “Supernatural” before landing the role of William Smee in ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.” He played the role on the show from 2012 through the series end in 2018.
The actor’s most recent role was as Randy Pope in the Paramount+ series, “Joe Pickett.”
Gauthier passed away from an unspecified short illness, according to his management. He is survived by his wife and children.
Remembrances
Colin O’Donoghue, who played Hook to Gauthier’s Smee, posted a message to his Instagram. Several other co-stars from the show, like Lana Parrilla, and Josh Dallas also left messages in the comments:
Gauthier’s manager also posted to Facebook, saying, “Chris was the literal textbook definition of a character actor. You may not have known his name but you knew his face, you knew his voice, and you knew that if he was onscreen, you were in for a helluva ride. Whether he was standing toe-to-toe against Clark Kent on “Smallville” as the Toyman, tormenting Dean on “Supernatural”, on deck with Hook as Smee in “Once Upon A Time” or in guest roles in the numerous productions he was in, he ALWAYS gave it his all when the camera was rolling.”