The Story

Michael was born in Albany, New York and raised in the nearby village of Castleton-on-Hudson. 

He started acting early. 

While still in grade school, he debuted as Tree #2 in OH, CHRISTMAS TREE! OH, CHRISTMAS TREE!  He followed this with the role of the somewhat questionably named Injun Joe in TOM SAWYER, before achieving 6th grade renown as the Captain VonTrapp in THE SOUND OF MUSIC.  

During High School, Michael involved himself in every school, local community and professional theatre project he could before graduating and moving to New York City in 1980 to study drama full time.

After immersing himself in a wide range of acting techniques, vocal production techniques, and a few dance moves, he graduated in 1984 with a BFA in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. 

Even as he began pursuing work in theatre, film and television, he continued to hone his acting skills as a member of such NYC theatre companies as Naked Angels and Circle Rep Lab. He also started acting regionally in theatres from Miami (Coconut Grove Playhouse) to Knoxville (Clarence Brown Company) to Stony Point , N.Y (Penguin Rep).

In 1995 he made his Broadway debut in Terrence McNally’s Tony Award winning LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! when he went on for a laryngitic Mario Cantone in the role of Buzz Hauser.  (Cantone swears to this day that he lost his voice due a throat burn caused by a scalding burrito overheated in a restaurant microwave.) 

Afterwards, a long series of Broadway roles followed. He played opposite Christopher Plummer in BARRYMORE. He spent several years as Ziggy in Warren Leight’s Tony award winning play SIDE MAN with Edie Falco and Frank Wood.  He also performed in The National Actors Theatre’s JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG with, among others, Maximillian Schell, Marthe Keller and George Grizzard; CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF with Jason Patric, Ashley Judd, Margo Martindale and Ned Beatty; and in the Roundabout’s hit stage adaptation of TWELVE ANGRY MEN.  After establishing his pedigree in all of these starry productions, he then naturally assumed the role (and the orange sequined spandex) of Harry Bright in MAMMA MIA!  His most recent Broadway appearance was in the role of Glad Hand in the 2009 Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY, directed by the inimitable Arthur Laurents.

He continues to pursue acting work in both New York and regionally. He’s acted in such plays as THE SUNSHINE BOYS along with Jack Klugman and Paul Dooley at the George Street Playhouse, THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., and he even recently reprised his role of Glad Hand in a world class Tokyo production of WEST SIDE STORY.  He is very proud of his most recent appearance at the fabled Paper Mill Playhouse in the pre-Broadway tryout of the new musical based on the classic TV series, THE HONEYMOONERS, alongside Tony winner Michael McGrath, Leslie Kritzer and Laura Bell Bundy. He co-starred in a role he was perhaps born to play: the iconic Ed Norton. 

Television audiences can see him several times a year in his recurring role as Judge Serani on “LAW & ORDER: SVU.  He has made guest appearances over the years on many series including “BLACK LIST,” “NURSE JACKIE,” “MAGIC CITY,” and, maybe, most memorably as a Russian mobster on the hit ABC TV series “ALIAS.”  

Last year he played the role of Charles Peck in the independent feature film and 2020 Sundance entry, TESLA, starring Ethan Hawk. Prior to that, HBO’s PATERNO directed by Barry Levinson saw him in the role of Guido D’Elia opposite Al Pacino.  He is also often remembered for the role of Martin in indie cult favorite KISSING JESSICA STEIN. And there are others.

In between gigs, he enjoys directing, as well as sharing what he knows with others as a teacher and a coach. If they’ll have it. But that’s for another site entirely...