Araya Mengesha

Araya Mengesha (born July 23, 1987) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as himself on the kids documentary mystery series Mystery Hunters and as Mark Yohannes in Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, in which he currently stars. He had a role in the Bob Odenkirk action film Nobody, and had a recurring role in the period drama Anne with an E. He is a claimant to the throne of Ethiopia, abolished in 1974.

Biography Mengesha was born in Toronto to Ethiopian-Canadian International business consultant Prince Stefanos Mengesha Seyoum and Eritrean-Canadian Selamawit Kiros. Through his father, he is a member of the Imperial family of Ethiopia. He is the cousin of theatre director Weyni Mengesha.

From 2002 to 2009, together with David Acer and Christina Broccolini he was a presenter of the documentary television series Mystery Hunters.

His short film Defund, co-directed with Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah, premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, and was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2021.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2002–2009 Mystery Hunters Himself 78 episodes 2002 Conviction William Conamacher TV movie 2008 Nurse.Fighter.Boy Kandae 2010 Nikita Ben Prentice 2011 Degrassi: The Next Generation Frat Guy #1 2012 Cul de sac Michael Short 2013 Saving Hope Den Bailli 2014 Ruby Skye P.I.: The Maltese Puppy Zoffi Web series Ryan Gosling Must Be Stopped Bus Stop Guy TV Miniseries 2018–2019 Anne With An E Elijah5 episodes 2020 Tiny Pretty Things Tyler Stroyer 5 episodes 2021 Nobody Pavel Defund Brother 2022 Revenge of the Black Best Friend Phil Hello (Again) Douggie Series regular 2023 Regular Reggie Short film 2024–present Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent Mark Yohannes Series regular