Sean Michael (South African actor)
Encyclopedia
Sean Cameron Michael is a South Africa
n actor, writer and singer. A native English
speaker, he is also fluent in Afrikaans
.
. After completing high school he did his two years compulsory National Service as an infantryman in the South African Defence Force
in Potchefstroom. After a number of part-time jobs (including being a waiter, chef and working for Telkom) he decided to become a full time actor and singer.
In 2006 Michael again teamed up with director Regardt van den Bergh, this time to play the support lead of Fergus Buchan in Faith Like Potatoes. Years later, this feature is still winning awards around the world.
He returned to local TV screens in 2008 as Mr Muller in Mnet’s dramatic mini-series, Ella Blue, for director Darrell James Roodt. Since then, other notable local appearances have been in Themba: A Boy called Hope, Confessions of a Gambler, Cape of Good Hope and soon to be screened on Mnet, Heart & Soul. Sean plays the lead role of Doctor Christiaan Barnard
in this New Directions feature.
Internationally, Michael was first seen back in 1997 in the popular US TV series, The Adventures of Sinbad, as Young Timur. He then played a number of cameo roles in British and American TV series and features, including CI5: The New Professionals, Ernest in the Army, Pavement, Home Alone 4, Shark Attack 2, Pirates of the Plein, Blast and Charlie Jade.
In 2005 Sean landed the support lead role of Don Beatty in Bryan Singer and Dean Devlin’s Emmy winning sci-fi mini-series, The Triangle (opposite Eric Stolz, Bruce Davison and Sam Neill).
2008 was a bumper year for Sean internationally, playing the title role in Allan Quatermain & the Temple of Skulls, psychotic mutineer, Nolan Moore, in NBC’s Crusoe and as French United Nations worker, Charles Solenz in Fox’s multi Emmy and Golden Globe winning feature 24: Redemption (opposite Jon Voight, Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Carlyle). Over 12 million viewers tuned into FOX for the film premier. Adam Buckman from the NY Post was quoted as saying that 24 had found a new villain in Africa and that Michael's character was possibly the most spineless, loathsome character ever created for the series.
This was followed by Natalee Holloway for Sony Pictures, Special Forces Heroes for the BBC, Albert Schweitzer for Warner Bros (opposite Jeroen Krabbe and Barbara Hershey) and Outcasts for BBC America.
Recent international releases include Lost Boys: The Thirst (Warner Bros), Get Out Alive: Utah Library Shootout (Discovery Channel
), the major CGI fantasy TV special Mermaids for Animal Planet
and America: The Story of Us as Thomas Edison, scoring the highest viewership ratings in network TV history.
Sean is currently shooting Safe House (with Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington) for Universal and Beaver Falls for the BBC. He is also attached to play leading roles in A Tin of Paint for director Roy Zetisky (recently presented at Cannes) and Hostages of Fortune.
Highlights include:
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n actor, writer and singer. A native English
South African English
The term South African English is applied to the first-language dialects of English spoken by South Africans, with the L1 English variety spoken by Zimbabweans, Zambians and Namibians, being recognised as offshoots.There is some social and regional variation within South African English...
speaker, he is also fluent in Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
.
Early life
Michael was born in Cape TownCape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. After completing high school he did his two years compulsory National Service as an infantryman in the South African Defence Force
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
in Potchefstroom. After a number of part-time jobs (including being a waiter, chef and working for Telkom) he decided to become a full time actor and singer.
Acting career
Sean Cameron Michael, has performed in over 30 theatre productions and 40 television and film productions in his home country over the past 25 years. He first caught the local public eye in Regardt van den Bergh’s multi-award winning feature, The Gospel of Matthew, as the disciple Thomas. This was followed by a recurring role in Mnet’s daily Egoli, as drug dealer Brett. He next played the leading role of Miles Stuart in the South African version of the controversial UK cult adult drama This Life which screened for a year on SABC3.In 2006 Michael again teamed up with director Regardt van den Bergh, this time to play the support lead of Fergus Buchan in Faith Like Potatoes. Years later, this feature is still winning awards around the world.
He returned to local TV screens in 2008 as Mr Muller in Mnet’s dramatic mini-series, Ella Blue, for director Darrell James Roodt. Since then, other notable local appearances have been in Themba: A Boy called Hope, Confessions of a Gambler, Cape of Good Hope and soon to be screened on Mnet, Heart & Soul. Sean plays the lead role of Doctor Christiaan Barnard
Christiaan Barnard
Christiaan Neethling Barnard was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant.- Early life :...
in this New Directions feature.
Internationally, Michael was first seen back in 1997 in the popular US TV series, The Adventures of Sinbad, as Young Timur. He then played a number of cameo roles in British and American TV series and features, including CI5: The New Professionals, Ernest in the Army, Pavement, Home Alone 4, Shark Attack 2, Pirates of the Plein, Blast and Charlie Jade.
In 2005 Sean landed the support lead role of Don Beatty in Bryan Singer and Dean Devlin’s Emmy winning sci-fi mini-series, The Triangle (opposite Eric Stolz, Bruce Davison and Sam Neill).
2008 was a bumper year for Sean internationally, playing the title role in Allan Quatermain & the Temple of Skulls, psychotic mutineer, Nolan Moore, in NBC’s Crusoe and as French United Nations worker, Charles Solenz in Fox’s multi Emmy and Golden Globe winning feature 24: Redemption (opposite Jon Voight, Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Carlyle). Over 12 million viewers tuned into FOX for the film premier. Adam Buckman from the NY Post was quoted as saying that 24 had found a new villain in Africa and that Michael's character was possibly the most spineless, loathsome character ever created for the series.
This was followed by Natalee Holloway for Sony Pictures, Special Forces Heroes for the BBC, Albert Schweitzer for Warner Bros (opposite Jeroen Krabbe and Barbara Hershey) and Outcasts for BBC America.
Recent international releases include Lost Boys: The Thirst (Warner Bros), Get Out Alive: Utah Library Shootout (Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
), the major CGI fantasy TV special Mermaids for Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
and America: The Story of Us as Thomas Edison, scoring the highest viewership ratings in network TV history.
Sean is currently shooting Safe House (with Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington) for Universal and Beaver Falls for the BBC. He is also attached to play leading roles in A Tin of Paint for director Roy Zetisky (recently presented at Cannes) and Hostages of Fortune.
Highlights include:
- InvictusInvictus (film)Invictus is a 2009 biographical sports drama film directed by Clint Eastwood starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.The story is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World...
- Lost Boys: The ThirstLost Boys: The ThirstLost Boys: The Thirst is a 2010 horror film directed by Dario Piana and stars Corey Feldman, Tanit Phoenix and Jamison Newlander. It is the second sequel to the 1987 vampire horror film The Lost Boys.-Plot:...
- Allan Quatermain and the Temple of SkullsAllan Quatermain and the Temple of SkullsAllan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls is a 2008 direct-to-DVD adventure film created by American studio The Asylum. The film follows the adventures of explorer Allan Quatermain, and was filmed entirely on location in South Africa...
- CrusoeCrusoe (TV series)Crusoe is a television adventure drama based loosely on the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The series' 13 episodes aired on NBC during the first half of the 2008-2009 television season. It follows the adventures of Robinson Crusoe: a man who has been shipwrecked on an island for six years...
(NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
) - 24: Redemption (FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
) - This Life (SABC3),
- The Triangle (Sci-Fi Channel (United States)SyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
), - To be First (BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
), - Faith Like PotatoesFaith Like PotatoesFaith Like Potatoes is a 2006 South African biographical drama film based on the 1988 book written by Angus Buchan, "Faith like Potatoes." It is written and directed by Regardt van den Bergh, and stars Frank Rautenbach, Jeanne Wilhelm, Hamilton Dhlamini, and Sean Michael Cameron...
, - Supernova (Hallmark ChannelHallmark ChannelThe Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
), - Home Alone 4: Taking Back The House (20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
), - CI5: The New ProfessionalsCI5: The New ProfessionalsCI5: The New Professionals is a British crime drama that aired on the Sky1 satellite channel from 19 September to 19 December 1999. An updating of the late 1970s television series The Professionals, the series is set in a fictional government agency CI5 .-Synopsis:The original group of three men...
, - Jesus the Christ
- The Adventures of Sinbad II.