Michael Rosenbaum
| Michael Rosenbaum | |
|---|---|
 Michael Rosenbaum, circa September 2010 |
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| Born | Michael Owen Rosenbaum July 11, 1972 Oceanside, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, director, producer, writer |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Website | |
| www.michaelrosenbaum.com | |
Michael Owen Rosenbaum (born July 11, 1972) is an American film and TV actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for portraying Lex Luthor on the Superman television series Smallville, a role that TV Guide included in their 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time.[1]
Rosenbaum is also known for portraying Dutch Nilbog on FOX's Breaking In, and voiceover work in animation, such as his role of the Flash in the DC animated universe.
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Early life [edit]
Rosenbaum was born in Oceanside, New York, and raised in Newburgh, Indiana.[2] His mother, Julie, is a writer, and his father, Mark Rosenbaum, worked in pharmaceuticals.[3] He has a brother named Eric and a sister named Laurie. He is Jewish, and was "closer to religion" in New York than in Indiana.[4] Rosenbaum graduated from Castle High School in Indiana and from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, with a degree in theatre arts. Immediately after, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.
Career [edit]
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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2007) |
Once in New York, an MTV Networks intern named Vincent Letizia spotted his 8 x 10 black-and-white photo in a batch of other casting submissions for a pilot called "Talk Girl". The pilot was never green-lighted, but Rosenbaum stood out as a newly discovered talent. A new MTV pilot was conceived specifically for Rosenbaum with the working title of "The Michael Rosenbaum Project." The project later became known as "The Temp" and covered Rosenbaum in a reality television setting as a temp, who would walk into a different job each day. The pilot featured Rosenbaum as a Cat filling in on Broadway's "Cats" musical, and as a zoo keeper filling in at the zoo, sweeping animal manure and the like. The pilot never took off with MTV Executives.
In 2001, Rosenbaum received a Saturn Award for his portrayal of Lex Luthor on Smallville. Continuing in the comic book genre, he played Wally West (a.k.a. The Flash) in the DC Comics animated series Justice League, Static Shock, and Justice League Unlimited as well as portraying a younger Wally West as Kid Flash in Teen Titans. In the third season Justice League episode "Great Brain Robbery", Rosenbaum reprised his role as Lex Luthor when his character was trapped in Clancy Brown's Lex Luthor's body. In February 2007, Rosenbaum confirmed that he would be leaving Smallville after season seven of the show, but later returned to the show's final episode.
Rosenbaum has a few notable vocal impressions in his repertoire, including Christopher Walken, Keanu Reeves, and Kevin Spacey. The makers of the DCAU have used these impressions in their work, having Rosenbaum do his Walken voice for Ghoul in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and his Spacey voice for Deadshot; coincidentally, Spacey portrayed Lex Luthor in the film Superman Returns, and Walken played Max Shreck in Batman Returns. He is currently filming the SyFy comedy series Saved By Zeroes [5][6] and Breaking In.
After many months of speculation and him first turning down the contract to return, it was finally announced on February 11, 2011 that Rosenbaum would return to Smallville for the two-hour series finale, which aired on May 13, 2011[7] with Rosenbaum reprising his role as Lex Luthor.[8]
Personal life [edit]
Rosenbaum is an ardent New York Rangers fan and often plays in charity hockey games. His favorite band is Guns N' Roses. His favorite animal is a wolf. In an episode of MTV Cribs, Rosenbaum shows his love of singing, karaoke, exercising and Cap'n Crunch. He is left-handed. Rosenbaum often likes to play miniature golf. He was voted Sexiest Villain by TV Guide and People magazine voted him one of the sexiest men alive in 2006.
Filmography [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Tom Show | Jonathan Summers | Episode: "The Talk" |
| 1999 | Rocket Power | Sports Announcer | Voice Episode: "Super McVariel 900/Loss of Squid" |
| 1999–2000 | Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane | Jack Cooper | Main Cast: 24 Episodes |
| 1999–2001 | Batman Beyond | Terminal/Carter Wilson Wendell Ollie Carl Agent West |
Voice 6 Episodes |
| 2000 | The Wild Thornberrys | Tom Ravenhearst | Voice Episode: "A Shaky Foundation" |
| 2000–2004 | Static Shock | Trapper The Flash Speedtrap |
Voice 5 Episodes |
| 2001–2008, 2011 [7] | Smallville | Lex Luthor | 154 episodes: Seasons 1-7 (Main Cast for 153 episodes), Season 10 (Special Guest for the series finale) Directed the 125th episode "Freak"; Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series (2002) SFX (magazine) Best Newcomer (2003) Nominated - Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor on Television (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006) Nominated - Satellite Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Drama (2003) Nominated - Teen Choice Awards TV - Choice Sidekick (2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009) |
| 2001 | Friends | Television's director | 3rd season |
| 2001–2002 | The Zeta Project | Agent West | Voice 8 Episodes |
| 2001, 2002 | The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn | Himself | 2 Episodes |
| 2001–2006 | Justice League | Wally West/The Flash Deadshot Ghoul |
Voice 56 Episodes |
| 2003 | Player$ | Himself | Episode: Charlie's Angels |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Himself | 1 Episode | |
| 2004–2005 | Jackie Chan Adventures | Drago | Voice 11 Episodes |
| 2005–2006 | Teen Titans | Kid Flash | Voice 2 Episodes |
| 2005 | The Tony Danza Show | Himself | 1 Episode |
| Cribs | Himself | 1 Episode | |
| It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Colin | Episode: "Gun Fever" | |
| Last Call with Carson Daly | Himself | 2 Episodes | |
| 2007 | The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | Himself | 1 Episodes |
| 2008 | PG Porn | Charlie Brown | Episodes: "Peanus", "A Very Peanus Christmas" |
| 2009 | Untitled Family Pilot[9] | Derek | Signed on for a currently untitled NBC family program |
| Batman: The Brave and the Bold | Deadman/Triad Boss | Voice Episode: "Dawn of the Dead Man!" |
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| 2010 | Saved by Zeroes | Mikey Doyle | Pre-production[10] |
| 2011-2012 | Breaking In[11] | Dutch Nilbog | Recurring (8 episodes) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Devil & the Angel | The Devil | |
| The Day I Ran Into All My Ex-Boyfriends | Bart | ||
| Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | George Tucker | ||
| 1998 | 1999 | Brick | |
| Urban Legend | Parker Riley | ||
| 2000 | Eyeball Eddie | Skelley | Short film |
| Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker | Ghoul | Provided Voice | |
| 2001 | Sweet November | Brandon/Brandy | |
| Rave Macbeth | Marcus | ||
| 2002 | Poolhall Junkies | Danny | |
| Sorority Boys | Adam/Adina | ||
| 2003 | Special | Fred Molinski | |
| Bringing Down the House | Todd Gendler | ||
| 2005 | Cursed | Kyle | Uncredited |
| Racing Stripes | Ruffshodd | Provided Voice | |
| 2007 | Cutlass | Background Extra #2 | Short film |
| Kickin' It Old Skool | Kip | ||
| Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight | Tanis Half-Elven | Provided Voice | |
| 2008 | Shear Love [12] | Short film | |
| 2009 | Wing Man | Rumored | |
| 2010 | Father of Invention | Eddie | |
| Catch .44 | Brandon | ||
| Ghild | Brauly Gullivan | Short film | |
| 2012 | Justice League: Doom | Barry Allen / The Flash | Voice |
| Hit and Run | Gil | ||
| Holy Takedown! | Father Wright | Also Producer; Pre-Production [13] | |
| 2013 | Old Days | Jim Owens | Also Director, Writer, Executive Producer; Pre-Production [14] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Gladius | Valens | Provided Voice |
| 2006 | Yakuza | Akira Nishiki | Provided Voice |
| 2008 | Dark Sector | Hayden Tenno | Provided Voice |
| 2012 | Lollipop Chainsaw | Nick Carlyle | Provided Voice |
Cameos in animation/comic [edit]
- In the Justice League episode Tabula Rasa, Amazo, while looking for Lex Luthor, runs into a character which shares a striking resemblance to Michael Rosenbaum (the character has never been confirmed to be an intentional look-a-like of Rosenbaum, though).
- In Justice League Unlimited #38: On page 10, Giganta and Flash are having a discussion while sitting on a billboard. It reads: INJURED? Call Rosenbaum and Associates (the person in the picture bears a strong resemblance to Michael Rosenbaum).
References [edit]
- ^ Bretts, Bruce; Roush, Matt; (March 25, 2013). "Baddies to the Bone: The 60 nastiest villains of all time". TV Guide. pp. 14 - 15.
- ^ "Michael Rosenbaum Biography (1972-)". 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/523348%7C0/Michael-Rosenbaum/
- ^ Kraus, Haggay (April 2002). "Smallville Interview". Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ Kevin Coll. "TV News: Michael Rosenbaum and Syfy Team Up for Comedy Series Saved by Zeroes". FusedFilm.
- ^ Jon Lachonis. "Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum Returning to TV". TV Overmind.
- ^ a b Lynette Rice and James Hibberd (February 11, 2011). "'Smallville' scoop: Michael Rosenbaum will return for series finale". ew.com. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
- ^ "Michael Rosenbaum Returning to Smallville For Series Finale". TVGuide.com. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 27, 2009). "Missi Pyle joins NBC family pilot". The Hollywood Reporter.[dead link]
- ^ Saved by Zeroes at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Breaking News: Fox Comedy Has Big Plans For Smallville Vet Michael Rosenbaum". TVLine.
- ^ Shear Love the Movie
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1714849/
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2246887/
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michael Rosenbaum |
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| Preceded by John Shea for Lois and Clark |
Actors portraying Lex Luthor 2001-2008 for Smallville |
Succeeded by Kevin Spacey for Superman Returns |
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