Michael Aaron Fishman (born October 22, 1981) is an American actor, writer, and producer known for playing D.J. Conner on the long-running series ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...

'' and its spin-off show, ''

The Conners ''The Conners'' is an American television sitcom created for ABC as a renamed direct continuation of the sequel to the series ''Roseanne''. The series is produced by Werner Entertainment, with Bruce Helford serving as showrunner and features ac ...

''.

Early life

Fishman was born in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

, to a family of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent. He grew up in

Cypress, California Cypress is a city in northwestern Orange County within Southern California. Its population was 50,151 at the 2020 census. History The first people living in the area now known as Cypress were the Gabrieleno, a Native American tribe of the Ton ...

in Orange county and attended Arnold Elementary School.

Career

''Roseanne'': 1988–1997, 2018

Fishman's acting career began after he met

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988– ...

during an early audition. She asked him to tell her a joke. He said, "Why did the turtle cross the road? it was the chicken's day off." She was impressed, and although he had no experience, Barr fought for Fishman to play D.J. Conner. He worked on ''

'' from age six to fifteen. On April 28, 2017, it was announced that an eight-episode revival of ''Roseanne'' was in the works and being shopped around to various networks and that it would feature most of the original main cast. However, at the time, it was unknown if Fishman would reprise his role as D.J. Conner. On May 16, 2017, it was confirmed that Fishman had signed on to appear in the revival, to air mid-season in 2018 on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

1997–2017

Fishman continued to act while attending the

Orange County High School of the Arts Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA, ), is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual, literary arts, cul ...

Los Alamitos High School Los Alamitos High School (also known as Los Al) is a public school for grades 9 to 12 located in Los Alamitos, California, and also serving the city of Seal Beach and the community of Rossmoor. It is the only traditional high school in the Los ...

in the Musical Theater and Technical Theater departments. He appeared in guest roles on ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texa ...

'' and ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'', and earned a recurring role alongside

Andrew Dice Clay Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the fi ...

on ''

Hitz ''Hitz'' is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from August 26 until November 11, 1997. The series follows two record industry executives ( Rick Gomez and Claude Brooks) and their boss (Andrew Dice Clay) at Hitower Records in Los Angeles. Cast ...

'' just before it was canceled. Fishman also appeared in films, including

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

's ''

A.I. Artificial Intelligence ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (also known as ''A.I.'') is a 2001 American science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay by Spielberg and screen story by Ian Watson were based on the 1969 short story "Supertoys Last All ...

''. He then reconnected with Barr as a co-host of ''

The Roseanne Show ''The Roseanne Show'' was a syndicated talk show hosted by American actress Roseanne Barr following the end of her long-running sitcom. The show featured Roseanne interviewing a mixture of quirky guests along with Roseanne's signature style o ...

'', which ran for two years before it was canceled in 2000. Fishman has also worked on many television shows and films in other roles aside from acting, including executive producing, writing, directing, set building, production staff and camera operating. Some of his credits include, ''Great Job, Thanks!'', ''

The Real Roseanne Show ''The Real Roseanne Show'' is a reality show that aired briefly in 2003 about actress and comedian Roseanne Barr hosting a cooking show, called ''Domestic Goddess''. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on August 6, 2003 to 5.5 millio ...

'' & ''

Sport Science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

''. In 2013, he was cast in

Joseph Mazzello Joseph Francis Mazzello III (born September 21, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in '' Jurassic Park'', Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries '' The Pacific'', Dustin Moskovitz in ''The Social Network'', ...

's directorial debut

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film ''

Undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

'' as Antonelli. The film was released on July 15, 2016.

''The Conners'': 2018–2022

On June 21, 2018, ABC announced a spin-off from ''Roseanne'', titled ''

'', with all the original cast (excluding Barr) to return; the show premiered on October 16, 2018. On March 22, 2019, ABC announced that the show had been renewed for a second season. Fishman was not listed as part of the returning main cast, but the network press release said that additional cast to be announced at a later date. On October 5, 2020, Fishman announced he would be directing the seventh episode of the show's third season. Although it is the seventh episode to be filmed, it will air in the second week of the show, as the Halloween special. Fishman was told he will not return for season 5 of ''The Conners''.

Personal life

Fishman and Jennifer Briner married on October 22, 1999. They were separated as of June 16, 2017, according to a formal application for legal separation Briner filed on December 27, 2018. On April 22, 2019, Briner officially filed for divorce. The couple have two children, son Aaron & daughter Isabelle.Fishman in

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Emmy Award * 2007: Nominated, "Outstanding Production Design / Art Direction" - ''Sports Science'' TV Land Award * 2008: Won, "Innovator Award" - ''Roseanne'' Young Artist Award * 1989: Nominated, "Best Young Actor Under Nine Years of Age" - ''Roseanne'' * 1991: Nominated, "Best Young Actor Under Nine Years of Age" - ''Roseanne'' * 1995: Won, "Best Performance: Young Actor in a TV Comedy Series" - ''Roseanne'' YoungStar Awards * 1997: Nominated, "Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy TV Series" - ''Roseanne''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fishman, Michael 1981 births American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from Long Beach, California Orange County School of the Arts alumni