Career
After graduating from the Theatre Arts Program at George Brown College in 1989, Michael auditioned for a young company being formed for The Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. His first job as a professional actor was the role of James Keller in "The Miracle Worker," and the roles of Lucius and Popilious Lena in "Julius Caesar."
In 1990 he was chosen for the role of Gus Pike on the Canadian Broadcasting Company television program Road to Avonlea. He garnered three Gemini Award nominations in 1993, 1994 and 1995 for his work on that series.
He starred opposite Billy Dee Williams in his 1992 film debut as Arvo Leek, the jazz trumpet prodigy, in Giant Steps.
He auditioned for the part of Lee Colgan in the Canadian Broadcasting Company miniseries Conspiracy of Silence. Under the direction of the late Frances Mankiewicz, the film focuses on the chilling 16-year silence of an entire town that knew the identity of the four assailants who murdered a young native girl, Helen Betty Osborne, in The Pas, Manitoba.
In 1994 Michael co-starred with Michael Riley in The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, a breakthrough television special based on a short story of the same name. Michael played the character of Paul, a young man dying of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 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, part of David French"s Mercer family saga set in Newfoundland.
He guest starred in numerous American and Canadian television projects including an episode of Star Trek: Voyager entitled "Nemesis" in which he played the recognizable humanoid, Brone. In 1997, Michael starred in the world premiere of Judith Thompson"s Sled at Toronto"s Tarragon Theatre then returned to film, co-starring in the cult thriller Captured. He went on to record The Red Badge of Courage for Canadian Broadcasting Company Radio and was seen in the television productions of This is Wonderland.
He went on to make several more films including a cameo in the 2008 mystery-drama Blindness starring Julianne Moore.
He wrote, directed and produced the entire project for under $5,000 with an all-volunteer cast.