Michael Dolan (born June 21, 1965) is an American

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and educator.

Acting career

Michael Dolan was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. His interest in cinema started at the age of 10, when he filmed a remake of ''

Summer of '42 ''Summer of '42'' is a 1971 American coming-of-age film based on the memoirs of screenwriter Herman "Hermie" Raucher. It tells the story of how Raucher, in his early teens on his 1942 summer vacation on Nantucket Island (off the coast of Cape ...

'' (1971), entitled ''Summer of '76''. He dropped out of high school when he was 17 and moved to New York to become an actor. His professional career commenced in 1985, at age 20, with an off-broadway stage debut in the

Albert Innaurato Albert Francis Innaurato Jr. (June 2, 1947 – September 24, 2017) was an American playwright, theatre director, and writer. Early career Innaurato was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1947. After graduating from the prestigious Central Hi ...

play ''Coming of Age in Soho'' and a pair of TV appearances. This was followed in 1987 with roles in the films ''

Light of Day ''Light of Day'' is a 1987 American musical drama film starring Michael J. Fox, Gena Rowlands and Joan Jett in her film debut. It was written and directed by Paul Schrader. The original music score was composed by Thomas Newman and the cinemato ...

'' with

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...

and the ensemble cast ''

Hamburger Hill ''Hamburger Hill'' is a 1987 American war film set during the Battle of Hamburger Hill, a May 1969 assault during the Vietnam War by the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) "Screaming Eagles" on a rid ...

''. On

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

Dolan appeared in the stage productions of ''

Breaking the Code ''Breaking the Code'' is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II and a pioneer of computer science. The play th ...

'' (1987–88) and ''

A Few Good Men ''A Few Good Men'' is a 1992 American legal drama film based on Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play. It was written by Sorkin, directed by Rob Reiner, and produced by Reiner, David Brown and Andrew Scheinman. It stars an ensemble cast including Tom C ...

'' (1989–91). In 1988 Michael Dolan won the role of Pvt. James J. Hennesey in the film version of

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's '' Biloxi Blues'' with

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. His roles include the Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of the title character in '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), the voice of adult Simba in Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994) ...

and the role of

Scott Thorson Scott Thorson (born January 23, 1959) is an American known for his relationship with and lawsuit against the entertainer Liberace. Liberace Relationship A teenaged Thorson met Liberace in 1976 through his romantic friendship with dancer B ...

in the Canada-US

made-for-TV 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 ...

movie biography '' Liberace: Behind the Music''. Among his other film credits are '' Necessary Roughness'' (1991), '' The Turning'' (1992), ''

Courage Under Fire ''Courage Under Fire'' is a 1996 American war film directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan. It is the second collaboration between Washington and director Zwick. The film was released in the United States on July ...

'' (1996) and '' Lolita'' (1997); on TV three episodes of ''

I'll Fly Away "I'll Fly Away" is a hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company in a collection titled ''Wonderful Message''.Richard Matteson, Jr.''The Bluegrass Picker's Tune Book'' Mel Bay Publications, 2006 ...

'' (1992), one episode of '' The Outer Limits'' (1995), and two episodes of '' Law & Order'' (1993–95). Dolan appears in the 1999 TNT Network made-for-cable movie '' The Hunley'' telling the tale of the '' H.L. Hunley'', a submarine of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. He is featured in

Geoff Marslett Geoff Marslett is an American film director, writer, producer, animator and actor. His early career started with the animated short ''Monkey vs. Robot'' which was distributed internationally by "Spike and Mike's Classic Festival of Animation" on vi ...

rotoscoped Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced o ...

2010 sci-fi romantic comedy film ''Mars'' as ESA Commander David Jones.''Mars''
, SwervePictures.com; accessed December 28, 2017.

Subsequent careers

Dolan wrote and directed the 1997 film ''Arrow Shot'' that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. "My short film was very successful with Sundance, over 50 festivals and many European sales and a two-year run on Bravo", he said in a recent interview". Using the moniker of "Mike Dolan," his feature film directorial debut was in 2010 with '' Dance with the One'', shot in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, with a primarily local cast, crew and soundtrack. "I wanted to spend more time writing so I accepted a three-year fellowship to the

Michener Center for Writers The Michener Center for Writers is an interdisciplinary Masters of Fine Arts program in fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin. It is widely regarded as one of the top creative writing programs in the wo ...

at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 2004. There I became involved in the development of several feature projects including ''Dance with the One''", says Dolan. "When the University of Texas Film Institute decided to make ''Dance'' they asked me to pitch to direct it". Dolan's accreditation includes

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

Empire State College Empire State College (SUNY Empire or ESC) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Empire State College is a multi-site institution offering associate, ...

, MS at City College of New York and MFA at the University of Texas.

References

External links

* * *
''Dance with the One'' Trailer

Michael Dolan ''Dance with the One'' Video Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Michael American male television actors American male film actors Living people 1965 births Michener Center for Writers alumni City College of New York alumni Empire State College alumni