Michael Andranik Goorjian (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor, filmmaker, and writer. Goorjian won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special for his role as David Goodson in the television film ''

David's Mother ''David's Mother'' is a 1994 American made-for-television drama film directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and stars Kirstie Alley as a devoted mother trying to cope with her autistic teenage son David (Michael Goorjian). The film aired on CBS on Apr ...

'' (1994). He is also known for his role as Justin,

Neve Campbell Neve Adrianne Campbell (born October 3, 1973; ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in the drama and horror genres. She has appeared on ''People'' magazine's list of "50 Most Beautiful People" twice. Following a series of minor ...

’s love interest on the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

-winning series ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Sc ...

'' (1994–2000), as well as Heroin Bob in the film ''

SLC Punk! ''SLCPunk!'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James Merendino. The film centers around Steven "Stevo" Levy, a college graduate and punk living in Salt Lake City during the mid-1980s. ''SLCPunk!'' was chosen as the open ...

'' (1998) and its sequel, ''

Punk's Dead ''Punk's Dead'' (also known as ''Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2'') is a 2016 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James Merendino. It is a sequel to the 1998 film ''SLC Punk!'' and was released on February 11, 2016. Set 19 years after t ...

'' (2016). As a director, Goorjian achieved recognition for his first major independent film, ''

Illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may o ...

'' (2004), which he wrote, directed and starred in alongside

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

legend

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

Biography

Acting

Goorjian was born and raised in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. His father Peter is

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and his paternal grandparents were survivors of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

, while his mother Sarah is of

Scottish American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, d ...

descent. Goorjian grew up in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, and attended Bishop O'Dowd High School, which had a strong drama program. At the age of 14 he decided to audition for a local theatre company thinking it was a ‘cool way’ to skip class. After landing the lead role in a 'not-so-cool' play called Computer Crazy, Goorjian soon found out that the rest of the cast were all senior citizens and that he would have to perform the play at his own junior high. Despite this rather humiliating experience, Goorjian stuck with acting and eventually trained at UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television. Goorjian won an

for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special in the TV movie ''

'' starring

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

. Ray Loynd commented that Goorjian contributed "a wealth of physical and emotional detail that underscores the familial havoc". Goorjian’s first big Hollywood break came as a dancer when in 1992 he was cast as Skittery in the Disney film ''

Newsies ''Newsies'' (released as ''The News Boys'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1992 American musical historical comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and directed by choreographer Kenny Ortega in his film directing debut. Loosely based on ...

'' starring

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...

and

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

. What followed was roles in numerous films including ''

Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * '' Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * ''Chaplin'' (2011 film), Ben ...

'' with

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, '' Forever Young'' with

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

, the Oscar-nominated ''

Leaving Las Vegas ''Leaving Las Vegas'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis, and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having ...

'', '' Hard Rain'' with

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

and

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

, ''

'', ''

The Invisibles ''The Invisibles'' is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. It was created and scripted by Scottish writer Grant Morrison, and drawn by various artists throughout its publication. The series loosel ...

'' with

Portia de Rossi Portia Lee James DeGeneres (born Amanda Lee Rogers; 31 January 1973), known professionally as Portia de Rossi, is an Australian-American former actress. She played Nelle Porter on the American drama series '' Ally McBeal'' (1998–2002), for wh ...

, '' Broken'' with

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy ''License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaimed ...

and ''

Conversations with God ''Conversations with God'' (''CWG'') is a sequence of books written by Neale Donald Walsch. It was written as a dialogue in which Walsch asks questions and God answers. The first book of the ''Conversations with God'' series, ''Conversations w ...

''. Goorjian also guest starred in a number of television series including ''

Lie to Me ''Lie to Me'' (stylized as ''Lie to me*'') is an American crime drama television series. It originally ran on the Fox network from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The Lightma ...

'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'', ''

Without A Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', ''

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'' as well as a recurring role on '' Life Goes On'' as Ray Nelson. He also appeared in the 2005 TV film ''

Reefer Madness ''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs, revolving around the melodramat ...

'', a satirical musical adaptation of the anti-

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

from the 1930s.

Theater

Goorjian is a founding member of the Los Angeles-based theater group, Buffalo Nights, and starred in the West Coast premiere of Dennis McIntyre’s drama ''Modigliani'', which won him a L.A. Weekly Theater Award nomination for Best Lead Actor. He played the title roles in both productions of ''The Apollo of Bellac'' by

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work ...

, and ''J.B.'' by Archibald MacLeish. Goorjian also won a LA Critics Choice and a Garland Backstage West awards for his original choreography for the L.A. production of the musical ''Reefer Madness''.

Director

Goorjian made his first real foray into directing with the mock-documentary ''Oakland Underground'', a comedy about an underground occult music scene in Oakland, CA. From there, Goorjian made ''

'' with

, which was released theatrically in 2006 after racking up over a dozen festival awards, including Best Screenplay at The Hampton’s International Film Festival, Best Feature at the Lake Tahoe International Film Festival and The Audience Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival. With Illusion Goorjian was critically lauded for his ability to blend great filmmaking with philosophical depth. Soon after ''Illusion'', Goorjian began collaborating with the publishing company

Hay House Hay House is a publisher founded in 1984 by author Louise Hay, who is known for her books on New Thought. Hay House has its headquarters in Carlsbad, California, and is (as of 2018) run by Reid Tracy. Hay House descr ...

to produce and direct a number of films including the documentary ''

You Can Heal Your Life ''You Can Heal Your Life'' is a 1984 self-help and new thought book by Louise Hay. It was the second book by the author, after ''Heal Your Body'' which she wrote at age 60. After Hay appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' and ''Donahue'' in the ...

'' (2007), starring metaphysical author and teacher, Louise L. Hay and ''The Shift'', starring author Dr.

Wayne Dyer Wayne Walter Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an American self-help author and a motivational speaker. Dyer completed a Ed.D. in guidance and counseling at Wayne State University in 1970. Early in his career, he worked as a high sch ...

, along with Michael DeLuise and

. His most recent work with Hay House is an original film anthology called ''

Tales of Everyday Magic Tales may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Tales'' (album), a 1995 album by Marcus Miller * ''Tales'' (film), a 2014 Iranian film * ''Tales'' (TV series), an American television series * ''Tales'' (video game), a 2016 point-and-click adventure ...

'', which explores meaningful philosophical ideas through intimate character-driven stories. Additional directing credits include the short film ''Players’ Club'', which swept the 2006 Elevate Film Festival in Los Angeles, including Best Director and ''The War Prayer'', an adaptation of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

’s short story by the same title starring

Jeremy Sisto Jeremy Merton Sisto (born October 6, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Billy Chenowith in HBO's '' Six Feet Under'', NYPD Detective Cyrus Lupo in NBC's '' Law & Order'', George Altman in the ABC sitcom ''Suburgatory'', fo ...

. Occasionally, Goorjian also moonlights directing a circus/cabaret show in Eastern Europe called ''Palazzo''.

Writing

Goorjian debuted as a novelist with his work ''What Lies Beyond the Stars'', the first book in an intended trilogy commissioned by Hay House Publishing. The second book in the series, ''Beyond the Fractured Sky'', will be released in the fall of 2018.

Filmography

Actor

Film

Television

Director

*''Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square'' (1991) (Short video) *''Oakland Underground'' (1997) *''Call Waiting'' (1998) (Short film) *''

'' (2004) *''Players' Club'' (2006) (Short video) *''

The War Prayer "The War Prayer", a short story or prose poem by Mark Twain, is a scathing indictment of war, and particularly of blind patriotic and religious fervor as motivations for war. The structure of the work is simple: an unnamed country goes to war, and ...

'' (2007) (Short film) *''You Can Heal Your Life'' (2007) (Documentary) *''The Shift'' (2009) (Direct-to-DVD) *''Entanglement'' (2012) (Television film) *''The Magic Hand of Chance'' (2012) *''Tales of Everyday Magic'' (2012) *''Painting the Future'' (2012) *''My Greatest Teacher'' (2012)

Writer

*''Oakland Underground'' (1997) *''The Mesmerist'' (2002) *''

'' (2004) *''Tales of Everyday Magic'' (2012) *''My Greatest Teacher'' (2012)

Producer

*''Oakland Underground'' (1997) *''The Invisibles'' (1999) *''Part Time Fabulous'' (2011)

References

External links

* *
Blood Drips On Newsies Square

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goorjian, Michael A. 1971 births Living people American male film actors Armenian-American male actors American people of Armenian descent Male actors from Oakland, California American film directors American male screenwriters Screenwriters from California Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners