Michael Anthony Angarano (born December 3, 1987) is an American actor. He became known for his roles in the film ''

Music of the Heart ''Music of the Heart'' is a 1999 American biographical film, biographical musical film, musical drama (film and television), drama film directed by Wes Craven and written by Pamela Gray, based on the 1995 documentary ''Small Wonders''. The film i ...

'' (1999) and the television series '' Cover Me'' (2000–2001), as well as for playing a recurring role as Elliott in the sitcom ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), ...

''. Since then he has starred in a number of films including '' Sky High'' (2005), ''

The Forbidden Kingdom ''The Forbidden Kingdom'' (: ''Gong Fu Zhi Wang'' ( Mandarin) or ''Gung Fu Ji Wong'' (Cantonese) and translated ''King of Kung Fu'' (English); Working title: ''The J & J Project'') is a 2008 wuxia film written by John Fusco, and directed by Rob ...

'' (2008), '' Haywire'' (2011), '' The English Teacher'' (2013), and '' Sun Dogs'' (2017). He has also appeared in the television series ''

I'm Dying Up Here ''I'm Dying Up Here'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by David Flebotte. The pilot was written by Flebotte and directed by Jonathan Levine. It premiered on Showtime on June 4, 2017. The series is executive produced by Fleb ...

'' (2017–2018) and ''

This Is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American family drama television series that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents, and their three children, in several different time frames. It s ...

''. The latter earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination as an Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2019.

Early life

Angarano was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, to Michael and Doreen Angarano; he has two sisters and a younger brother. He is of Italian descent. His family owns and operates the dance studio Reflections in Dance in

Canoga Park, California Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and the ...

. Angarano graduated from

Crespi Carmelite High School Crespi Carmelite High School, shortly known as Crespi, is a private Catholic all-male four-year college preparatory high school located in Encino District, Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The ...

Career

In the late 1990s, Angarano was one of the finalists for the role of young

Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'', but lost to

Jake Lloyd Jake Matthew Lloyd (born March 5, 1989), also known as Jake Broadbent, is an American former actor who portrayed young Anakin Skywalker in the 1999 film '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and Jamie Langston in '' Jingle All the Way ...

. Angarano played the 11-year-old version of William Miller in

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, for wh ...

's semi-autobiographical film ''

Almost Famous ''Almost Famous'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, and starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, and Patrick Fugit. It tells the story of a teenage journalist writing for ''Rolling Stone'' ...

'' in 2000. In 2000, 12-year-old Angarano acted in '' Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family''. The following year, he landed his first major film role in '' Little Secrets'', opposite

Evan Rachel Wood Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress and activist. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations for her work in ...

and

David Gallagher David Lee Gallagher (born February 9, 1985) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor and model at the age of two, Gallagher is a five-time Young Artist Award nominee and Teen Choice Award winner. He is b ...

. Three years later, he starred in the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

TV-movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

Maniac Magee ''Maniac Magee'' is a novel written by American author Jerry Spinelli and published in 1990. Exploring themes of racism and inequality, it follows the story of an orphan boy looking for a home in the fictional town of Two Mills. Two Mills is ha ...

''. He played the lead role in 2005's '' Sky High'' alongside

Kelly Preston Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), known professionally as Kelly Preston, was an American actress. She appeared in more than 60 television and film productions, including ''Mischief'' (1985), ''Twins'' (1988), '' ...

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the Westerns on television, western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (19 ...

Danielle Panabaker Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the Disney films '' Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), '' Sky High'' (2005) and ''Read It and Weep'' ( ...

, and

Mary Elizabeth Winstead Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Her first significant role was that of Jessica Bennett (Passions), Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' (1999–2000). She went on to appear in se ...

. Other film roles include parts in ''

The Bondage ''Bondage'' is a 2006 drama film written and directed by Eric Allen Bell, his feature film debut. The film was selected to premiere at the 2006 South by Southwest Film Festival. Premise ''Bondage'' is the story of a youth from Orange County, Calif ...

'', '' Black Irish'', '' Man in the Chair'', '' Snow Angels'', ''

The Final Season ''The Final Season'' is a 2007 baseball film starring Sean Astin, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tom Arnold, Powers Boothe, Larry Miller, Brett Claywell, Michael Angarano, and Marshall Bell and directed by David Mickey Evans. The film wrapped production i ...

'', '' One Last Thing...'', ''

'' alongside

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

and

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, Chinese martial arts, martial artist, and retired wushu (sport), Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singapo ...

, ''

Ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

'', '' The Brass Teapot'', and ''

Red State Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in b ...

''. Angarano did not study

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

before starring in ''

'' with

and

. Once cast he studied in China for eight hours a day for two weeks with action choreographer Woo-Ping Yuen. Over the seven months of shooting his skills and confidence grew. Angarano's fight scenes were filmed during the last 35 days of shooting. On television, from 2001 to 2006, he had a recurring role on ''

'' as Elliott, the son of

Jack McFarland John Philip "Jack" McFarland is a fictional character on the American television sitcom ''Will & Grace'', played by Sean Hayes. Character overview Jack is Will Truman's (Eric McCormack) best friend in the American television sitcom Will & ...

, a role he reprised in an episode of the show's 2017 reboot. In 2007, he appeared in four episodes of the show '' 24'' as Scott Wallace, a teenager taken hostage by a terrorist. From 2014 to 2015, he played Dr. Bertram "Bertie" Chickering, Jr. on

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent net ...

's period drama ''

The Knick ''The Knick'' is an American medical period drama television series on Cinemax created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The series follows Dr. John W. Thackery (Clive Owen) and the staff at a fictionalized vers ...

''. Angarano has also played Eddie Zeidel on the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series ''

''.

Personal life

From 2005 to early 2009, Angarano was in a relationship with American actress

Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2012, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Acad ...

. He then dated English actress

Juno Temple Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Mag ...

from 2013 to 2016. In September 2019, he confirmed his relationship with American actress

Maya Erskine Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...

. On November 2, 2020, the couple revealed that they were engaged and expecting a child. Their son, Leon Frederick, was born in 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
UltimateDisney.com Interview – November 2005
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Angarano, Michael 1987 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from New York City American people of Italian descent People from Brooklyn