Next person biography:
Michael Stehlin's family background is a unique blend of circus performers and coal miners, with his great-grandparents being trapeze artists, jugglers, and acrobats, while his other ancestors worked as coal miners and minor league baseball players. He began his acting career at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, where he landed a role in Henry VI, Part I alongside notable alumni Kevin Spacey, Val Kilmer, and Mandy Patinkin.
After graduating from Juilliard, Stehlin joined the New York Shakespeare Festival, where he acted in numerous plays, including Richard II, Henry V, Casanova, Julius Caesar, Timon of Athens, Don Juan, and Romeo and Juliet, among others. His stage work has been widely praised by theatre critics, who have described him as "one of our very best actors", "unpredictable", "dangerous", "brimming with energy", and "an electrified presence on stage".
In 1983, Stehlin founded his own theatre company, Circus Theatricals, which has since produced over 50 plays in New York City and Los Angeles. The company's first performance was a production of Chekov's Uncle Vanya, in which Stehlin starred alongside Kevin Spacey and Tom Hewitt. Stehlin runs the company with his wife and partner, actress/producer Jeannine, whom he met in 1995.
In addition to his stage work, Stehlin has also appeared in a number of films, including the cult sensation Boston Strangler: The Untold Story, the thriller Blackout Effect, and the Oscar Wilde adaptation Salomaybe?, which was written and directed by Al Pacino. He has also completed filming the role of Marshall Jones in The Chicago 8, a drama based on the true story of the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests.
On television, Stehlin has guest-starred on numerous hit shows, including Without a Trace, Monk, NCIS, ER, and NYPD Blue, and has had recurring roles in fan favorites such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, JAG, and The Practice.
