Michael Ironside
☼ Born on 12 December 1950, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Biography
Michael Ironside has made a strong and indelible impression with his often incredibly intense and explosive portrayals of fearsome villains throughout the years. He was born as Frederick Reginald Ironside on February 12, 1950 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Ironside was a successful arm wrestler in his teenage years. His initial ambition was to be a writer. At age fifteen, Michael wrote a play called "The Shelter" that won first prize in a Canada-wide university contest; He used the prize money to mount a production of this play. Ironside attended the Ontario College of Art, took acting lessons from Janine Manatis, and studied for three years at the Canadian National Film Board. Ironside worked in construction as a roofer prior to embarking on an acting career.
Ironside first began acting in movies in the late 1970s. He received plenty of recognition with his frightening turn as deadly and powerful psychic Darryl Revok in David Cronenberg's Scanners (1981). He was likewise very chilling as vicious misogynistic psychopath Colt Hawker in the underrated Visiting Hours (1982). Other memorable film roles include weary Detective Roersch in the sadly forgotten thriller Cross Country (1983), the crazed Overdog in the immensely enjoyable Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), the hard-nosed Jester in the blockbuster smash Top Gun (1986), ramrod Major Paul Hackett in Extreme Prejudice (1987), loner Vietnam veteran "Ben" in Nowhere to Hide (1987), the ferocious Lem Johnson in
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Watchers (1988), and lethal immortal General Katana in Highlander II: The Quickening (1991).
Moreover, Ironside has appeared in two highly entertaining science fiction features for Paul Verhoeven: At his savage best as the evil Richter in Total Recall (1990) and typically excellent as the rugged Lieutenant Jean Rasczak in Starship Troopers (1997). Ironside showed a more tender and thoughtful side with his lovely and touching performance as a hardened convict who befriends a disabled man in the poignant indie drama gem Chaindance (1991); he also co-wrote the script and served as an executive producer for this beautiful sleeper. Michael was terrific as tough mercenary Ham Tyler on the epic miniseries V (1984), its follow up V: The Final Battle (1984), and subsequent short-lived spin-off series.
Ironside also had a recurring role on the television series SeaQuest 2032 (1993). Among the television series he has done guest spots on are The A-Team (1983), Hill Street Blues (1981), The New Mike Hammer (1984), The Hitchhiker (1983), Tales from the Crypt (1989), Superman: The Animated Series (1996), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), The Outer Limits (1995), ER (1994), Smallville (2001), ER (1994), Desperate Housewives (2004), Justice League (2001) and Masters of Horror (2005). More recently, Ironside garnered a slew of plaudits and a Gemini Award nomination for his outstanding portrayal of shrewd biker gang leader Bob Durelle in the acclaimed Canadian miniseries The Last Chapter (2002).
In addition to his substantial film and television work, Ironside has also lent his distinctive deep voice to TV commercials and video games.
In the role of actor
BlackBerry (14/05/2023)
The story of the rise and fall of the world’s first smartphone is told in BlackBerry. Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel) and Douglas Fregin (Matt Johnson) are business partners in the upstart Waterloo, Ontario, technology company Research In Motion. The two make a pitch to Harvard-educated businessman Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton) of Sutherland-Schultz Ltd for their […]
Tin Can – Blood in the Snow 2021 (29/10/2021)
A parasitologist is kidnapped and placed in a life-suspension chamber in Tin Can. There is a fungal outbreak known as Coral raging in Eastern Canada and Fret (Anna Hopkins) is a leading parasitologist looking for a cure. However, Fret is suddenly attacked and she wakes up in a life-suspension chamber, surrounded by people in the same […]
Tin Can – Fantasia 2021 (13/08/2021)
A parasitologist is kidnapped and placed in a life-suspension chamber in Tin Can. There is a fungal outbreak known as Coral raging in Eastern Canada and Fret (Anna Hopkins) is a leading parasitologist looking for a cure. However, Fret is suddenly attacked and she wakes up in a life-suspension chamber, surrounded by people in the same […]
Bloodthirsty – Blood in the Snow 2020 (05/11/2020)
A singer-songwriter is encouraged by her new producer to give in to her primal instincts in Bloodthirsty. Grey (Lauren Beatty) is a popular singer, who is preparing to record her second album, yet she is also plagued by vivid hallucinations, where she believes that she is turning into some kind of animal. Grey travels with […]
Knuckleball (12/10/2018)
A 12 year old boy struggles to survive a trip to his grandfather’s farm in Knuckleball. Despite some apprehension from his mother Mary (Kathleen Munroe), 12 year old Henry (Luca Villacis) is dropped off at the farm of his grandfather Jacob (Michael Ironside), while Henry’s parents go to a funeral. Despite being relatively estranged from the family, Jacob quickly […]
Knuckleball (28/07/2018)
A 12 year old boy struggles to survive a trip to his grandfather’s farm in Knuckleball. Despite some apprehension from his mother Mary (Kathleen Munroe), 12 year old Henry (Luca Villacis) is dropped off at the farm of his grandfather Jacob (Michael Ironside), while Henry’s parents go to a funeral. Despite being relatively estranged from the family, Jacob quickly […]
Crime + Punishment (07/05/2018)
Twelve New York City police officers join a class action lawsuit against corruption in the NYPD in Crime + Punishment. Within the NYPD, a number of Black and Latino officers are encouraged by their superiors to perform illegal summons and arrest quotas, with those refusing to do so facing repercussions. A number of these officers, […]
Stegman is Dead (17/11/2017)
A retired criminal is called back to recover stolen evidence in Stegman in Dead. Gus (Michael Eklund) is a retired thief, who is contacted by his old boss Don (Michael Ironside), who had some incriminating security tapes stolen from him by a porn producer named Stegman, who is subsequently found dead at his house. Gus […]
Synchronicity – Toronto After Dark 2015 (16/10/2015)
This review was originally published as part of my coverage of Fantasia Fest 2015 A physicist has created a machine capable of time travel in the science fiction mind bender Synchronicity. Jim Beale (Chad McKnight) and his team of Chuck (AJ Bowen) and Matty (Scott Poythress) are preparing to perform a wormhole experiment funded by Klaus Meisner (Michael […]
Turbo Kid (24/07/2015)
A young man becomes a superhero in a post-apocalyptic society in Turbo Kid. It is the year 1997 and civilization has crumbled and is run with an iron fist by Zeus (Michael Ironside) and his henchman Skeletron (Edwin Wright). The Kid (Munro Chambers) lives on his own in the wasteland, scavenging for supplies and reading […]
Synchronicity (23/07/2015)
A physicist has created a machine capable of time travel in the science fiction mind bender Synchronicity. Jim Beale (Chad McKnight) and his team of Chuck (AJ Bowen) and Matty (Scott Poythress) are preparing to perform a wormhole experiment funded by Klaus Meisner (Michael Ironside). Worried that he is being manipulated by a mysterious woman named […]
88 (09/05/2015)
A woman seeks revenge while under a fugue state in 88. Gwen (Katharine Isabelle) finds herself in a diner with no knowledge with how she got there. It turns out that Gwen went into a fugue state after the murder of her boyfriend and she developed an alterego named Flamingo. The action switches between Gwen’s […]