Christian Michael Leonard Slater was born on August 18, 1969 in New York City, to Michael Hawkins, a well-known soap actor, and Mary Jo Slater (née Lawton), a casting agent. Christian started in show business early, appearing on the soap opera The Edge of Night (1956) in 1976 at the age of 7.
Let’s share some interesting facts about this famous Actor:
(December 29, 1989) Arrested in West Hollywood, California, after allegedly leading sheriff’s deputies on a car chase. A sheriff’s spokesman said Slater crashed into a telephone pole, kicked a cop after getting out of his car, then tried to escape over a fence. He was charged with evading police, driving under the influence, assault with a deadly weapon {his cowboy boots} and driving with a suspended license.
Won the roles of the Interviewer in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) and Eric Draven in The Crow (1994) after the death of friend and fellow actor River Phoenix (who had been cast in the first role and turned down the second). Slater also turned down the lead in The Crow (1994), leading producers to actor Brandon Lee – who would become permanently linked with the film and its story when he was accidentally killed on the set.
The long-standing rumor about Christian’s eyebrows (that he shaved them off to look like Spock and they never grew back properly) is actually false. Christian was joking with a reporter in one of his first interviews, and it was somehow printed as fact. He actually stated that he regretted mentioning it, as he still gets asked about the “Halloween costume gone bad” nearly two decades later.
Both Christian’s paternal grandfather, Thomas G. Slater, and Christian’s paternal great-uncle, Bill Slater, were prominent radio personalities.