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The Forbidden Kingdom now in theaters
"The Forbidden Kingdom" is now playing nationwide. Produced by Casey Silver and directed by Rob Minkoff from a John Fusco script, the highly anticipated pairing of Jet Li and Jackie Chan was the number one movie in America its first week. "The Forbidden Kingdom" is rated PG-13 "for sequences of martial arts action and some violence." Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company are distributing.
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Snow Angels now in theaters
"Snow Angels" is now playing in selected cities. In David Gordon Green's "Snow Angels," Mike co-stars with Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, and Olivia Thirlby. Warner Independent Pictures is distributing. See the official site for the complete list of cities and dates, plus trailers, stills, downloads, and more.
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The Final Season now available on DVD
"The Final Season" is now available on DVD. It is rated PG for language, thematic elements and some teen smoking. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is distributing.
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Black Irish now available on DVD
"Black Irish" has now been released on DVD. Michael plays Cole McKay, a teen struggling for independence, put to the test as his South Boston Irish-Catholic family implodes around him. "Black Irish" is rated R. Echo Bridge Entertainment is distributing.
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Man in the Chair is in UK theatres now
"Man in the Chair" is now playing in the UK. Transmedia International is distributing.
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Mike to star in Gentlemen Broncos
"Gentlemen Broncos" is Michael's newest project. He plays Benjamin Purvis, an aspiring young science fiction author who attends a writing camp where his story is plagiarized and stolen by an acclaimed novelist. The film is written and directed by Jared Hess, acclaimed for his films "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Nacho Libre." Michael's "Snow Angels" co-star Sam Rockwell plays the lead character in Mike's book. Due out in 2009, the film is from Rip Cord Productions.
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Michael was born and raised in the New York area. Originating as a New York City Ford Model, he moved to film and television at the early age of five where he guest starred on shows such as The Pretender, Seven Days, and Another World. Around the age of twelve Michael was receiving more complex roles and challenges, and is when Michael notes that he "really, truly started acting." During this time he took a lead role in the television drama Cover Me, a show based on the true life of an FBI family. Most striking about this series was Michael's performances, showing us how dynamic and diverse he could be at a young age.
Michael's film career blossomed with critically acclaimed performances as Meryl Streep's son Nick in Music of the Heart, young Red Pollard in Seabiscuit, and Almost Famous, where he played the younger version of the main character, William Miller, a teenage music fan who is inspired by the bands of the time and lands himself a magazine assignment to interview and follow a new band. A string of diverse roles followed including Disney's Sky High, where Michael finds himself the son of two superheroes, mysteriously without any powers of his own. In Lords of Dogtown, Michael plays Sid, one of the legendary Z-Boys who pioneered the revival of skateboarding in the 1980s. Click HERE to see the Dogtown section.
Now in his late teens, Michael has continued to take the lead in many films both independent and wide release. In the past few years Michael has turned out some incredible performances, starting with One Last Thing, in which plays the role of a young teen struggling with complications from cancer, and his pursuit to make his last wish come true.
Michael's most recent films include Black Irish, in which he plays 15-year-old Cole McKay, a sweet-natured, baseball-loving, obedient teenager who yearns for the attentions of his emotionally remote father (Brendan Gleeson). Cole is by turns nurtured and abandoned by the rest of his family. In the true story of The Final Season, what's destined to be baseball's version of "Hoosiers," Michael plays a high school baseball player on a team who comes together to beat all the odds and win their 20th state title in what becomes their final season.
Man in the Chair centers around a 17-year-old kid who flirts with the law, underachieves at school, and is at odds with his loving mother and his constantly indifferent and derisive stepfather. Despite his flaws and problems, Michael's character dreams to be the "man in the chair," a cutting edge filmmaker, who is afforded a once in a lifetime opportunity. In Snow Angels, from acclaimed director David Gordon Green, Michael plays a teen dealing with the joy and confusion of first love. The tender relationship between Michael's character (Arthur) and Olivia Thirlby (Lila) is at the heart of this groundbreaking film. Awaiting release is The Bondage, in which he plays a youth who escapes an abusive home only to find himself shuffled into the juvenile justice system and then a psychiatric ward.
The Forbidden Kingdom is the long-awaited collaboration between martial arts masters Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Mike plays a troubled 17-year-old wannabe kung fu warrior who, after a humiliating defeat at the hands of a street gang, is sent back in time to ancient China on an impossible mission to set free the imprisoned Monkey King and return to him his all-powerful staff. Rob Minkoff directs from a John Fusco script. Casey Silver produces. "The Forbidden Kingdom" is a joint release of Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company.
In Gentlemen Broncos, directed by Jared Hess, Mike plays an aspiring young author who attends a science fiction writers' camp where he discovers his idea has been stolen by an established novelist. Michael's "Snow Angels" co-star Sam Rockwell plays the lead character in Mike's book. Writer/director Hess' previous works include the acclaimed "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Nacho Libre." From Rip Cord Productions, the film is due to be released in theaters in 2009.
Last year Michael appeared in the ever popular television action/drama 24 on FOX. Michael was seen in the first four episodes of season 6, playing the character of Scott.
Michael also recently ended filming on the long-running comedy Will and Grace. Michael, who plays Jack's (Sean Hayes) son Elliott, came into the series as a 12-year-old boy who has spent several years searching for his real dad. Both on the screen as a father/son combination and off the screen as friends, Sean and Michael have hit it off. See the Appearance Schedule to find when you can see reruns of Michael in Will and Grace.
In spite of his very busy acting career, Michael maintains a remarkably normal life. He graduated from high school and is currently looking at colleges. Michael loves to play sports, hang out with his friends, go to movies, and other normal teen activities. Michael spends a decent amount of time in Los Angeles and on location, but still remains very close to his large family in New York, returning as often as he can.
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