Bio
Michael is
a passionate
storyteller. As an
actor, writer, director
and producer, Michael's work
ranges from film and television to
live theater, music, and
the multidisciplinary.
Focusing recently on screen work, Michael was scheduled to appear on the 6th season of Showtime's BILLIONS opposite Paul Giamatti, but due to a breakthrough Covid infection had to bow out. Michael plays the lead role of professor Bradley Gilmore in the psychological thriller WOMEN (2021). Directed by Icelandic filmmaker Anton Sigurdsson, Michael plays a charming, brilliant sociology professor with a deadly, hidden dark side. Watch trailer here
Michael recenty appeared in HBO's Emmy and Golden Globe winning I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE opposite Mark Ruffalo, and Netflix's THE POLITICIAN, in between performances of the award-winning new musical HENRY BOX BROWN, currently performing across the US after five star rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019. Michael also appeared recently in the feature THE DARK END OF THE STREET by Kevin Tran.
Michael is currently attached as the lead/host for a new children's TV show in development, Possibility's Place, and is developing a film and theater piece about the controversial Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson. His other recent film and television projects include THE DEUCE for HBO opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal, HOMING IN (BFI London, Champs-élysées, MoMA) by Parker Hill (Cusp - Sundance/Showtime) sponsored by the Kevin Spacey Foundation, produced by Lioneyes Pictures - Evan Kelman (Where there is Smoke - Tribeca), LA FOLIA by Filmelodic (Best Experimental Short, Manhattan Film Festival), ASHE '68 by Brad Lichenstein and Janicza Bravo (Sundance, Tribeca), THE LEFTOVERS and THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF ROBERT DURST for HBO.
Michael celebrates the full range of human experience in his work, ranging from projects you might describe as pure entertainment, to stories and characters who are deeply introspective, exploring both our personal and collective yearning for meaning and connection in this new millennium world. On the never ending journey to integrate these elements in all of his work, Michael's projects have received support from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, The Here Arts Center, the Brooklyn Community Foundation and others.
A professional entertainer since the age of seventeen, Michael has appeared on stages from LaMama Etc. to New York City Opera and Carnegie Hall, in regional productions, Broadway national and international tours, and in two one-man shows seen from coast to coast. For the stage, Michael currently plays the powerful role of abolitionist Reverend James Smith in HENRY BOX BROWN by Mehr Mansuri and directed by Tony Award winner Ben Harney. At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, they recieved 5 stars and were nominated for Best Musical and won Best Play for Social Change, and are currently developing the show further in between performances across the US. Michael created the comedic tour de force role of Milton in THE IRONWORKERS' HAYRIDE, a two character musical set in 1910, with music by Emmy Award winner Lanny Meyers and libretto by Pulitzer Award winner Robert Olen Butler, based on his short story, directed by Eric Michael Gillett. Michael played the title role in the Centennial Anniversary of PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN and also the role of Thomas MacDonagh in EASTER RISING 1916, both conceived and directed by Olivier Award winner Jim Culleton of Fishamble Theatre Company, at Symphony Space, NYC. He created the lead character of Henry Chisholm for the international IEEE HONORS CEREMONY, portraying a fictional assistant to Thomas Edison, who travels from 1903 to the present, to honor some of the finest scientific minds from across the globe, including Elon Musk and nanotechnologist Mildred Dresselhaus, known as the "Queen of Carbon Science". Michael was also creative consultant on this project, developing the concept and the script, where his co-star was a state-of the art robot.
Michael was Co-founder of Performers at Work Theater Company, creating one of the first new play festivals in NYC; a member of the Workshop at the Neighborhood Playhouse, contributing to the development of over 75 new stage works; and Co-chair of the Playwrights Roundtable.
His diverse plays and performance pieces include the multimedia docudrama THE PIECES OF PAPER PROJECT - about the 9/11 volunteer experience; THE USUAL SPACE; OH, VERY YOUNG; and I WANT TO BE A DANCIN' MAN - A Celebration of Fred Astaire and the Music that Made him Famous - which have been presented at Here Arts Center, the Neighborhood Playhouse, the Joyce Soho, the Irondale Center and others, as well as music venues such as the fabled Roseland and Tatou, and the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Hollywood. Michael's work as a light installation designer has been seen at the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jay Z's 40/40 Club and others, and was featured in NY Times Sunday Styles. His collaborations include a range of forms including work with minimalist composer and Laureate of the International Tchaikovsky competition Anton Batagov, multiple Emmy Award winning composer and arranger Lanny Meyers, trailblazing cellist Matt Haimovitz, and Pulitzer Award winning author Robert Olen Butler.
“An artist’s job is to draw attention to the beauty in life,
to allow people to stand back from it and look at it from a different angle.”