Michael Harrelson is an award-winning American actor of Irish-Scottish-Danish descent, whose early life was marked by chance encounters with screen idols Tyrone Power and Leif Erickson that inspired him to pursue a career in the performing arts.
Born in Pensacola, Michael grew up along the Gulf Coast, the youngest of three children to a former World War II combat infantryman father and a homemaker mother who sometimes worked as a secretary. As a child, Michael started working at the age of six, picking grapes along the Florida-Alabama state line to help his family make ends meet.
Throughout his youth, Michael held a series of disparate jobs, including working as a restaurant bus boy, a stevedore unloading cargo ships, a tugboat deckhand sailing the Caribbean, a furniture mover, a taxi driver, a bouncer, a bartender, a real estate broker, a photography studio salesman, a car salesman, and a popular local television personality.
Michael's life experiences and cultural diversity proved a rich vein for him to tap into as an actor, allowing him to draw from his own stories and experiences to bring authenticity to his performances.
In his free time, Michael studied journalism and business at Pensacola and Miami-Dade junior colleges, completing a course for a real estate license and taking on-camera acting classes in Chicago. He eventually decided to pursue a professional acting career, moving to Arizona and Los Angeles, where he has since become a sought-after character actor.
Throughout his career, Michael has had significant roles opposite notable actors such as Eric Roberts, Tom Sizemore, Dean Cain, and Lin Shaye, and has received accolades including best actor honors from the Almost Famous Film Festival. He has also been drawn to faith-based projects, earning a nomination for best supporting actor at a prestigious Los Angeles film festival.
In recognition of his contributions to the arts, Michael was one of only 14 artists nominated for a 2017 Arizona Governor's Arts Award, which is bestowed by the Arizona Citizens for the Arts in partnership with the Office of the Arizona Governor.
