Mahonen has
Finnish ancestry. After graduating from the Theatre Arts Program at
George Brown College in 1989, he auditioned for a young company formed for the
Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. His first job as a professional actor involved the role of James Keller in "The Miracle Worker," as well as the roles of Lucius and Popilious Lena in "Julius Caesar." In 1990, Mahonen was chosen for the role of Gus Pike for the
CBC Television program
Road to Avonlea. He garnered three
Gemini Award nominations in 1993, 1994, and 1995 for his work on the television series. In 1992, he starred as a jazz trumpet player with
Billy Dee Williams in the film
Giant Steps. He then played Lee Colgan in the CBC miniseries
Conspiracy of Silence, directed by
Francis Mankiewicz. In 1994, Mahonen co-starred with
Michael Riley in the television special "The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios". He played the character of Paul, a young man dying of the
AIDS virus after contracting it from a
blood transfusion a few years earlier. In the summer of 1994, he played the role of Jacob Mercer in "Salt Water Moon". This was part of David French's Mercer family saga set in
Newfoundland. Mahonen also guest-starred in numerous American and Canadian television projects, including an episode of
Star Trek: Voyager entitled
"Nemesis", in which he played a humanoid named "Brone." In 1997, Mahonen starred in
Judith Thompson's "Sled" at
Toronto's Tarragon Theatre. He then returned to film, co-starring in the 1998 film
Captured. He went on to make several more films including
Blindness. In 2003, Mahonen began work on his first feature film
Sandstorm. The film involved a fact-based drama about the persecution of
Falun Gong practitioners in China. He wrote, directed, and produced the entire film for under $5,000. The cast was made up of volunteers. The film received 29 awards including Best Feature Film, Best Drama, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. == Filmography ==