Michael Mahonen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Mahonen (born April 27, 1964 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario) is a Canadian actor best known for his role as "Gus Pike" in the Emmy Award-winning television series Road to Avonlea.

Michael Mahonen, who likes to be referred to as "Mickey" by family and friends, was born and raised in Kirkland Lake, a Northern Ontario town known for gold mining and breeding a disproportionately large number of professional hockey players. As a child he didn’t have a particular interest in acting and even looks back on his first acting experience as something he wasn’t the least bit interested in or inspired to do. "It was some sort of ‘Charlie Brown’ show in grade three or four," he says. "I was given the part of Charlie and I remember having to be forced to learn my lines at the last minute, and was quite bored with the actual work aspect. I liked just hanging out with the other kids when we rehearsed. The poor teacher was so frustrated with me and my lines and was quite nervous about the whole thing from what I remember."

For some unknown reason however, Michael felt prompted to take an acting class in seventh grade. Once a week he made the pilgrimage across town in the middle of winter, not knowing why he was doing it. The class ended abruptly, but the teacher took him aside and told him that when it came time to think of what he wanted to do for a living he should seriously consider acting. The teacher wasn’t from Kirkland Lake and Michael never saw him again, but he planted a seed. Other seeds were planted by friends and family, but he didn’t give them serious thought.

It wasn’t until Michael was attending Northern College that he began to think about his future. His passion for basketball made him realize that he loved the "stage" of a basketball court and getting lost in the game. He took some time off and worked at different jobs while searching his heart as to what he might like to do with his life. Since he wasn’t sure how to go about acting, and because it was a bit frightening, he was eager to take on the challenge. He auditioned for the Theater Arts Program at George Brown College, was accepted, and from the first day of school was pulled in. Peter Wylde, head of acting at the school, had a profound influence on him as an actor and a person. Wylde also directed a production of "Hamlet" in which Michael had the title role.

After graduating from George Brown, Michael auditioned for a young company being formed for The Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. Auditions were held across Canada for actors under the age of 35 and Michael secured one of fifteen coveted positions in this prestigious company. His first job as a professional actor, he played the role of James Keller in "The Miracle Worker," and the roles of Lucius and Popilious Lena in "Julius Caesar." A whirlwind of leading roles in theaters across Canada followed, including "Biloxi Blues" at Stage West in Calgary, "D Street and Broadway" at Toronto’s Factory Theater, and "Bordertown Cafe" at Theater New Brunswick.

In 1990 he was chosen for the role of Gus Pike, the teenage ship-wrecked orphan, on the award winning television program "Road to Avonlea." Although he was originally scheduled to appear in only two episodes, the character he created won the praise of the critics and was so endearing to the hearts of the viewers, that Gus was written into two more episodes in season two and his contract was extended for several more seasons.

Michael’s big break came when he auditioned for the role of Lee Colgan in the CBC miniseries "Conspiracy of Silence." Bernard Zuckerman, executive producer, literally auditioned hundreds of actors for the part, but when Michael came through the door Zuckerman instinctively knew he had found "Lee." Zuckerman felt Michael was able to bring a small town quality to the role that actors who had lived in big cities all their lives didn’t have. Under the direction of the late Frances Mankiewicz, the film focuses on the chilling 16 year silence of an entire town that knew the identity of the four assailants who murdered a young native girl, Helen Betty Osborne, in The Pas, Manitoba. Central to the plot is the life of Colgan chronicled out from the age of 17 to 33, and the living hell he experienced from the night of Betty’s slaying.

His role in "Conspiracy of Silence" drew rave reviews and garnered him a 1993 Gemini Award. What also speaks highly of Michael’s talent is that he was filming episodes of "Road to Avonlea" simultaneously along with "Conspiracy of Silence." Some days he literally flip-flopped back and forth playing teenage Gus in the morning, and 33 year old hardened, alcoholic Colgan in the afternoon. No doubt his absorption of mind and ability to focus in on what is at stake in the scenes and characters he plays, helped carry him through the transition between characters and the long hours demanded of him.

The capacity to go to the deep levels of the characters he plays is due in part to the preparation he puts into various roles. In preparing to be Lee Colgan, Michael visited bars and a local detox center. He followed a drunk down a Toronto street and found the character’s walk. While preparing for his role as a young trumpet prodigy in the jazz film "Giant Steps" (starring opposite Billy Dee Williams), Michael met Terence Blanchard at a Jazz club in Toronto. Mr. Blanchard had coached Denzel Washington in the film "Mo’ Better Blues" and gave Michael some excellent advice. "He told me to ‘Work your fingers till they feel like they’re going to fall off.’", Michael said. He followed this advice and went on to learn the actual fingerings to eight song exerpts in the film.

Although Michael felt his role as Gus Pike in "Road to Avonlea" was a tremendous experience, he had a desire to do more feature films. This in part accounted for his decision to pursue a career in the U.S. as well as the challenge of starting a career in Hollywood. He also had reached a place in his role as Gus where he felt the character’s credibility and mystique would be heightened if he only appeared on the series intermittently. In a heart rending episode (Otherwise Engaged) Gus said goodbye to Avonlea and his beloved Felicity. He gave her his ruby ring and said, "You haven’t seen the last of me Felicity King," while television viewers and fans were hoping they hadn’t seen the last of Michael Mahonen.

His own harshest critic, Michael is reluctant to be over zealous with praise for his own work. But shortly after moving to Los Angeles, he returned to Canada to co-star in "The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios," a role he claims he is indeed proud of. Michael plays the character of Paul in the story, a young man dying of the AIDS virus after contracting it from a blood transfusion a few years earlier. Michael Riley, another brilliant Canadian actor, plays the role of the "Author" Paul’s friend. The two friends are students at the University of Toronto when the symptoms manifest. To cope with Paul’s impending death, they dream up a game to pass the time, and as the "Author" puts it, "to make sense out of nonsense." The game involves a story about the Roccamatios, a fictional family. The two take turns telling stories based on 20th century historical events. As Paul’s disease progresses, the events he chooses to focus on are the darker parts of history and the stories become an expression of the anger and grief the two men feel. Michael felt the role of Paul was especially challenging because he had to come up with huge depths of emotion without much or sometimes any build-up in the scenes. Out of the challenge a real life friendship developed between the two Michael’s that was strengthened by the support they gave one another during filming.

After moving to Los Angeles, Michael returned to Canada on several occasions to perform various roles in theater and also to film episodes for the final two seasons of "Road to Avonlea." In the summer of ‘94 he played the role of Jacob Mercer in "Salt Water Moon," part of David French’s Mercer family saga set in Newfoundland. He also filmed an episode of "Road to Avonlea" (The Return of Gus Pike) while in Canada. To the delight of "Road to Avonlea" and Gus Pike fans, he appeared in two episodes of "Avonlea’s" final season, one episode being the series finale. His role as Gus garnered him three Gemini nominations, one in 1993, 1996, and 1997.

Early in l997, Michael starred in the world premier of Judith Thompson’s "Sled" at Toronto’s Tarragon Theater. Another example of his extensive acting range, Michael’s character commits two brutal murders by the end of the first act. In the next two acts, the character goes on to brutalize and violate his newly found half-sister and cause the death of her new found love. A very disturbed, dark and violent character, people speaking with Michael after the performance often commented that they had been frightened and upset while watching his interpretation. Michael has said of playing darker characters, "I don’t judge the characters that I play no matter how ‘bad’ they may seem from the outside. My job is to attempt to understand them from a point of innocence and build from there."

During the course of his career, Michael has enjoyed various guest star roles in Canadian as well as American television. Especially enjoyable was his guest role in an episode of "Star Trek: Voyager" entitled "Nemesis." Playing "Brone," a recognizable humanoid, Michael is credible and convincing as the leader of a group of commandos at war with an alien nation. A role with very particular challenges, Michael jokingly describes it as "‘Platoon’ mixed with ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ in space."

In 1998, Michael co-starred in the Peter Liapis thriller "Captured". While the film had limited theatrical success, it has become a 'cult' favorite on cable and in video/dvd rental. The film is set in L.A. where Joey (Michael Mahonen) and his older brother are car thieves, clashing with a highpowered businessman who is on the verge of losing a construction project which has been a lifelong dream. Joey is caught off guard while ripping off his car, leading to many conflicts involving revenge and retribution.

Most recently, Michael has been seen, on the small screen, in an episode of "Strong Medicine" and Canada's acclaimed series, "This Is Wonderland".

In 2002 he wrote a script about persecution of a spiritual group, Falun Gong, in China. The script became a movie called "Sandstorm" which Michael not only wrote and directed, but was also the co-producer. "Sandstorm" has, as of January 1, 2005, won 17 awards in various film festivals around the world. Awards for "Best Film", "Best Director" and "Best of the Festival".

Michael is currently working on another film.

It is evident Michael Mahonen has enjoyed success as an actor, writer, director and producer, because of his strong work ethics, combined with enormous talent. He enjoys reading, writing, hiking in the mountains, working out at the gym, and roller blading in his spare time.


[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/i/c/Michael_Mahonen_ed1c.html"