Michael Ironside

Michael Ironside
Michael Ironside at the 2004 London Film and Comic Con
Born	Frederick Reginald Ironside February 12, 1950 (1950-02-12) (age 61) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor, voice actor, film producer, screenwriter, film director, film editor, playwright
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Karen Dimwiddie (1986-present)

Michael Ironside (born February 12, 1950) is a Canadian-born actor. He has also worked as a voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in movie and television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has also portrayed sympathetic characters. Ironside is a method actor, who stays in character between takes.

Early life

He was born Frederick Reginald Ironside^[1] in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Robert Walter Ironside and Patricia June Passmore. His father was a street lighting technician,^[1] and his mother a homemaker.

Ironside attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and wrote a play at the age of 15, The Shelter, which won the first prize in a university contest.^[2] He also won the Senior writing award for Riverdale Collegiate Institute in 1967.

In a January 2010 interview,^[3] Ironside stated in response to a question about his many roles in science fiction movies that he has always been a big fan of science fiction and often received science fiction short story collections from his grandfather that he kept in a shoebox under his bed. He stated that his favourite science fiction novels are Dune by Frank Herbert and "anything involving adventure."

Career

One of Ironside's first roles was a memorable turn as evil telepath Darryl Revok in Scanners (1981), an early film by David Cronenberg. He appeared as "Miler Crane" in The A-Team episode "Taxicab Wars" (1983). His breakthrough role was as cynical anti-hero Ham Tyler in the television miniseries V: The Final Battle (1984). He is also known for his roles in Top Gun (1986) as Naval Aviator Lieutenant Commander Rick 'Jester' Heatherly, Extreme Prejudice (1987) as Major Paul Hackett, and Total Recall (1990) as Richter (the murderous henchman of Ronny Cox's villain Cohaagen). Ironside played the villainous General Katana in the science fiction sequel Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) and, after a brief stint in ER's inaugural season, he was tapped to replace Roy Scheider as captain of the high-tech submarine seaQuest in the third season of seaQuest DSV as Captain Oliver Hudson. However, NBC cancelled the series after only thirteen episodes with Ironside as the star. In 1992, he starred as M. Emmet Walsh's brother in David Winning's thriller Killer Image. In 1997, Ironside was reunited with Total Recall director Paul Verhoeven for Starship Troopers. He also appeared in The Perfect Storm (2000) and The Machinist (2004). He also starred in the movie Chaindance as a small time crook, unable to make it on the outside, who was paired up with a handicapped man. Ironside recently starred as Resistance General Ashdown in Terminator Salvation, reunited with his co-star Christian Bale from The Machinist.

Ironside has also been recognized for his voice acting. He played iconic comic book villain Darkseid in Superman: The Animated Series and its sequel, Justice League to great accolade. In one episode of The New Batman Adventures, he played Batman in a Batman: The Dark Knight Returns sequence. Another part he also happened to play in the DC Comics universe was Lois Lane's father, General Sam Lane in three episodes of Smallville.

He has also worked in video games as the voice-talents of Tom Clancy's character Sam Fisher in the Splinter Cell games and is cast as the Global Defense Initiative's Lieutenant General Jack Granger in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Ironside recently signed a 5-year deal to portray Captain Jonas Trager in the SpaceWorks Television science fiction series, Ice Planet.

In 2009, he starred in The Beacon under the direction of Michael Stokes.^[4]

In 2010, Ironside guest starred in Season 4, Episode 1 ("Friends and Enemies") of Burn Notice.^[5]

In 2011, Ironside appeared in the film: X-Men: First Class, playing the Captain of the 7th fleet.

Personal life

Ironside is married to Karen Marls Dinwiddie. Ironside and Karen have two daughters: Adrienne Lynn Ironside (from Ironside's previous marriage) and Findlay Ironside (born 1998).

Filmography

Actor

• Outrageous! (1977) - Drunk
• For the Record (TV) (1978) - Policeman
• High-Ballin' (1978) - Butch
• Summer's Children (1979) - Pimp
• Stone Cold Dead (1979) - Murdered Police Detective
• The Littlest Hobo (TV) (1979) - Bill
• The Family Man (1979) - Bartender
• Clown White (1980) - Max
• Deadly Companion (1980) - Edgar
• Suzanne (1980) - Jimmy
• Coming Out Alive (1980) - Gateway
• Scanners (1981) - Darryl Revok
• Surfacing (1981) - Wayne
• Best Revenge (1982) - Dealer
• Visiting Hours (1982) - Colt Hawker
• American Nightmare (1983) - Sgt. Skylar
• Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983) - Overdog
• The Sins of Dorian Gray (1983) - Alan Campbell
• The A-Team (TV) (1983) - Miler Crane
• Cross Country (1983) - Det. Sgt. Roersch
• Hill Street Blues (TV) (1983) - Schrader
• V: The Final Battle (TV) (1984) - Ham Tyler
• Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (TV) (1984) - Wade Bennett
• The Cap (1984)
• The Surrogate (1984) - George Kyber
• V: The Series (TV) (1984–1985) - Ham Tyler
• The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) - Lead FBI Agent
• Murder in Space (1985) - Captain Neil Braddock
• The Hitchhiker (TV) (1985) - Sheriff Lee
• Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986) - Det. Lawrence
• Top Gun (1986) - Lt. Cmdr. Rick "Jester" Heatherly
• Race for the Bomb (TV) (1987) - Werner Heisenberg
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV) (1987) - Lt. Rick Muldoon
• Extreme Prejudice (1987) ... Major Paul Hackett
• Ford: The Man and the Machine (1987) - Harry Bennett
• Nowhere to Hide (1987) - Ben
• Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987) - Principal Billy "Bill" Nordham
• Danger Bay (TV) (1987) - Charles Fuller
• The Ray Bradbury Theater (TV) (1988) - Acton
• Hostile Takeover (1988) - Larry Gaylord
• Watchers (1988) - Lem Johnson
• Murder by Night (1989) - Det. Carl Madsen
• Mindfield (1989) - Kellen O'Reilly
• Thunderground (1989)
• Chaindance (1990) - J.T. Blake
• Total Recall (1990) - Richter
• Tales from the Crypt (TV) (1990) - Jerry
• Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) - Gen. Katana
• Payback (1991) - Sheriff Pete
• McBain (1991) - Frank Bruce
• Guncrazy (1992) - Mr. Kincaid
• Neon City (1992) - Harry M. Stark
• Killer Image (1992) - Luther Kane
• Deadly Surveillance (1991) - Fender
• The Vagrant (1992) - Lt. Ralf Barfuss
• Cafe Romeo (1992) - Natino
• Black Ice (1992) - Quinn
• Marked for Murder (1993) - Bats O'Bannion
• Night Trap (1993) - Bishop
• Sweet Killing (1993) - Insp. Garcia
• Free Willy (1993) - Dial
• Father Hood (1993) - Jerry
• Point of Impact (aka Spanish Rose) (1993) - Roberto Largo
• The Killing Machine (aka The Killing Man) (1994) -Mr. Green
• Bolt (1994) - Billy Niles
• Tokyo Cowboy (1994) - Lyle
• Save Me (1994) - Oliver
• Fortunes of War (1994) - Carl Pimmler
• Dead Man's Revenge (1994) - Luck Hatcher
• Forced to Kill (1994) - Sheriff Wilson
• Red Scorpion 2 (1994) - Col. West
• The Next Karate Kid (1994) - Col. Dugan
• Red Sun Rising (1994) - Capt. Meisler
• Probable Cause (1994) - Gary Yanuck
• Singapore Sling: Road to Mandalay (1995) - Steiger
• Tales from the Crypt (TV) (1995) - Burrows
• Major Payne (1995) - Lt. Col. Stone
• The Glass Shield (1995) - Baker
• ER (TV) (1995, 1998, 2002) - Dr. William 'Wild Willy' Swift
• seaQuest 2032 (TV) (1995–1996) - Captain Oliver Hudson
• The Destiny of Marty Fine (1996) - Mr. Capelli
• Terminal (1996) - Sterling Rombauer
• Too Fast Too Young (1996) - Capt. Floyd Anderson
• Portraits of a Killer (1996) - Sgt. Ernie Hansen
• One Way Out (1996) - Walt
• Kids of the Round Table (1997) - Butch Scarsdale
• The Arrow (1997) - CIA Director
• F/X: The Series (TV) (1997) - Montree
• One of Our Own (1997) - Det. Jack Cooper
• Cold Night Into Dawn (1997) - Frank Parr
• Starship Troopers (1997) - Jean Rasczak
• Captive (1998) - Detective Briscoe
• Black Light (1998) - Insp. Frank Schumann
• Ivory Tower (1998) - Marshall Wallace
• Witness to Yesterday (TV) (1998) - Vladimir Lenin
• Voyage of Terror (1998) - McBride
• Death Row the Tournament (1998) - Judge
• Going to Kansas City (1998) - Mike Malone
• Johnny 2.0 (1998) - Frank Donahue
• Desert Blue (1998) - Agent Frank Bellows
• Chicago Cab (aka Hellcab) (1998) - Al
• The Arrangement (aka Blood Money) (1999) - Det. Francis John 'Jack' Connor
• Question of Privilege (1999) - Lt. Robert Ingram
• Southern Cross (1999) - Garrison Carver
• A Twist of Faith (1999) - Alex Hunt
• The Omega Code (1999) - Dominic
• Cold Squad (TV) (1999) - Chief Magnus Mulray
• The Outer Limits (TV, episode Summit) (1999) - Ambassador Prosser
• Cause of Death (2000) - Jonas Phifer
• The Perfect Storm (2000) - Bob Brown
• Borderline Normal (2000) - Coach Rehmer
• Crime and Punishment in Suburbia (2000) - Fred Skolnick
• Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) - Tyler (voice)
• Nuremberg (2000) - Col. Burton C. Andrus
• Walker, Texas Ranger (TV) (2000) - Nolan Pierce
• The Red Phone: Manhunt (2001) - Bremer
• Down (aka The Shaft) (2001) - Gunter Steinberg
• The Outer Limits (TV, episode Rule of Law) (2001) - General Quince
• Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001) - Priest
• Jett Jackson: The Movie (2001) - Dr. Kragg
• Ignition (2001) - Jake Russo
• Mindstorm (2001) - Senator Bill Armitage
• Dead Awake (2001) - Skay
• Extreme Honor (2001) - Baker
• The Last Chapter (TV) (2002) - Bob Durelle
• The District (TV) (2002) - Dmitri Putin
• Fallen Angels (2002) - Sheriff Ed Rooney
• Fairytales and Pornography (2002) - Justice Coulton
• The Last Chapter II: The War Continues (TV) (2003) - Bob Durelle
• Hemingway vs. Callaghan (2003) - Harry
• The Failures (2003) - Depressor
• The Red Phone: Checkmate (2003) - Bohr
• Maximum Velocity (2003) - General Amberson
• Andromeda (TV) (2003, 2004) - The Patriarch
• The Machinist (2004) - Miller
• Smallville (TV) (2004, 2010) - General Sam Lane
• Medical Investigation (TV) (2004) - Ben Graybridge
• Young Blades (TV) (2005) - Cardinal Mazarin
• Desperate Housewives (TV) (2005, 2006) - Curtis Monroe
• Reeker (2005) - Henry
• Bloodsuckers (aka Vampire Wars: Battle for the Universe) (2005) - Muco
• Guy X (2005) - Guy X
• Deepwater (2006) - Walnut
• 1st Bite (2006) ... Theo
• Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York (2006) - Levering
• Stargate SG-1 (TV) (2006) - Seevis
• Masters of Horror (TV, episode The V Word) (2006) - Mr. Chaney
• The Veteran (TV) (2006) - Mark 'Doc' Jordan
• Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (VG) (2007) - Lieutenant General Jack Granger
• The Alphabet Killer (2008) - Captain Nathan Norcross
• Surveillance (2008) - Captain Billings
• Storm Cell (2008) - James
• Criminal Minds (TV) (2008) - John
• Mutants (2008) - Colonal Gauge
• Terminator Salvation (2009) - General Ashdown
• The Butcher (2009) - Teddy Carmichael
• Level 26: Dark Origins (2009) - Tom Riggins
• The Jazzman (2009) - Bernie
• Cold Case (TV) (2009) - Commandant Murillo
• Hardwired (2009) - Hal
• The Beacon (2009) - Officer Ned Hutton
• Eva (2009)
• Abduction of Jesse Bookman (2009) - Captain Jones
• The Bannen Way (2010) - Chief Bannen
• Castle (TV) (2010) - Victor Racine
• Beneath the Blue (2010) - Blaine
• Burn Notice (TV) (2010) - Gregory Hart
• Lake Placid 3 (2010) - Sheriff Tony Willinger
• X-Men: First Class (2011) - Captain of the 7th fleet

Voice acting

• in animated series
  • Superman: The Animated Series - as Darkseid
  • The New Batman Adventures - as The Dark Knight Returns Batman
  • Justice League / Justice League Unlimited - as Darkseid
  • Heavy Metal 2000 - as Tyler
  • Wolverine and the X-Men - as Colonel Moss

• in video games
  • Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In (2000) - as David Llewellyn Jones (screams)(uncredited)
  • Run Like Hell (2002) - as Cmdr. Mason
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (video game) (2002) - as Sam Fisher
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2004) ...as Sam Fisher
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005) - as Sam Fisher
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials (2006) - as Sam Fisher
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006) - as Sam Fisher
  • TimeShift (2006) - as Doctor Krone
  • Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (2007) - as Gen. Jack Granger
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (2010) - as Sam Fisher
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Retribution (TBA) - as Sam Fisher
  • Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (2012) - as Megatron

Director

• The Arrangement (aka Blood Money) (1999)

Screenwriter

• The Arrangement (aka Blood Money) (1999)
• Chaindance (1990)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Celebrity Page by theboop
2. ^ Michael Ironside Biography - Yahoo! Movies
3. ^ I Heart Chaos
4. ^ THE BEACON sneaks onto Texas big screens; new photos
5. ^ IGN.com; Burn Notice: "Friends and Enemies" Review

External links

• Michael Ironside at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Ironside at AllRovi
• Michael Ironside Interview at Sci-fi-online.com

Persondata
Name	Ironside, Michael
Alternative names	Ironside, Frederick Reginald
Short description	Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Director, Editor, Playwright
Date of birth	February 12, 1950
Place of birth	Toronto, Ontario
Date of death
Place of death