Michael Goorjian, a multi-talented individual, hails from the San Francisco Bay Area and has established himself as an accomplished actor, filmmaker, and writer. His impressive acting career began at the tender age of 14, when he decided to audition for a local theatre company, thinking it was a "cool way" to skip class. Despite being initially cast in a play called "Computer Crazy" alongside senior citizens, Michael persevered and eventually trained at the prestigious UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television.
Michael's first major Hollywood break came in 1992, when he was cast as Skittery in the Disney film "Newsies," starring Christian Bale and Robert Duvall. This led to a string of starring roles in numerous films, including "Chaplin" (1992) with Robert Downey Jr., "Forever Young" (1992) with Mel Gibson, "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995),"Hard Rain" (1998) with Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater, "SLC Punk!" (1998),"The Invisibles" (1999) with Portia de Rossi, "Broken" (2006) with Heather Graham, and "Conversations with God" (2006).
As a television guest star, Michael has appeared in numerous series, including "Lie to Me" (2009),"House" (2004),"Alias" (2001),"Monk" (2002),"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (2000),"CSI: Miami" (2002),"Without a Trace" (2002),"Chicago Hope" (1994),and "Life Goes On" (1989) as Ray Nelson. He also had a recurring role on the latter series.
In addition to his acting pursuits, Michael is a founding member of the Los Angeles-based theater group, Buffalo Nights, and has starred in the West Coast premiere of Dennis McIntyre's powerful drama, "Modigliani," which earned him a L.A. Weekly Theater Award nomination for Best Lead Actor. With the "Nights," Michael received critical acclaim for playing title roles in productions of "The Apollo of Bellac" by Jean Giraudoux and "J.B." by Archibald MacLeish. Furthermore, he won a Los Angeles Critics Choice and a Garland Backstage West award for his original choreography for the L.A. production of the musical "Refer Madness."
