About
| Birth Name: | Frederick Reginald Ironside |
| Birth Notes: | 12 February 1950, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Height: | 5' 10" |
| Family: | * Karen Marls Dimwiddie (30 September 1986 - present); 1 child * '?' (? - ?) (divorced); 1 child |
| 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. He first began acting in movies in the late 70s. Ironside received plenty of recognition with his frightening turn as deadly and powerful psychic Darryl Revok in David Cronenberg's "Scanners". He was likewise very chilling as vicious misogynistic psychopath Colt Hawker in the underrated "Visiting Hours". Other memorable film roles include weary Detective Roersch in the sadly forgotten thriller "Cross Country", the crazed Overdog in the immensely enjoyable "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone", the hard-nosed Jester in the blockbuster smash "Top Gun", ramrod Major Paul Hackett in "Extreme Prejudice", loner Vietnam veteran Ben in "Nowhere to Hide", the ferocious Lem Johnson in "Watchers", and lethal immortal General Katana in "Highlander II: The Quickening". 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" and typically excellent as the rugged Lieutenant Jean Rasczak in "Starship Troopers". 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"; 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 TV mini-series "V", its follow up "V: The Final Battle", and subsequent short-lived spin-off TV show. Ironside also had a recurring role on the TV series "SeaQuest DSV". Among the television programs Michael has done guest spots on are "The A-Team", "Hill Street Blues", "Mike Hammer", "The Hitchhiker", "Tales from the Crypt", "Superman", "Walker, Texas Ranger", "The Outer Limits", "ER", "Smallville", "ER", "Desperate Housewives", "Justice League", and "Masters of Horror". 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 mini-series "The Last Chapter". In addition to his substantial film and TV work, Michael Ironside has also lent his distinctive deep voice to TV commercials and video games. He's the father of actress Adrienne Ironside. |
Filmography
| Chaindance (1991) as J.T. Blake |
| Cold Night Into Dawn (1997) as Frank Parr |
| Crime and Punishment in Suburbia (2000) as Fred Skolnick |
| Eva (2009) |
| Extreme Prejudice (1987) as Maj. Paul Hackett |
| Free Willy (1993) as Dial |
| Guncrazy (1992) as Mr. Kincaid |
| Guy X (2005) as Guy X |
| Hardwired (2009) as Hal |
| Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987) as Bill Nordham |
| Mutants (2008) as Colonal Gauge |
| Night Trap (1993) as Bishop |
| Save Me (1994) as Oliver |
| Soulkeeper (2001) as Voice of Mr.M |
| Starship Troopers (1997) as Jean Rasczak |
| Surveillance (2008) as Captain Billings |
| Terminator Salvation (2009) as General Ashdown |
| The Alphabet Killer (2008) as Captain Nathan Norcross |
| The Bannen Way (2010) as Chief Bannen |
| The Next Karate Kid (1994) as Col. Dugan |
| The Omega Code (1999) as Dominic |
| The Perfect Storm (2000) as Bob Brown |
| Top Gun (1986) as Jester |
| Total Recall (1990) as Richter |
| Visiting Hours (1982) as Colt Hawker |
| 1st Bite (2006) as Theo |
| A Twist of Faith (1999) as Alex Hunt |
| Abduction of Jesse Bookman (2008) as Captain Jones |
| American Nightmare (1983) as Sgt. Skylar |
| Beneath the Blue (2010) as Blaine |
| Best Revenge (1982) as Dealer |
| Black Ice (1992) as Quinn |
| Black Light (1998) as Insp. Frank Schumann |
| Bolt (1994) as Billy Niles |
| Borderline Normal (2000) as Coach Rehmer |
| Cafe Romeo (1992) as Natino |
| Captive (1998) as Detective Briscoe |
| Cause of Death (2000) as Jonas Phifer |
| Chicago Cab (1997) as Al |
| Coming Out Alive (1980) as Gateway |
| Conduct Unbecoming (2010) as Col. Dodd |
| Cross Country (1983) as Det. Sgt. Roersch |
| Dead Awake (2001) as Skay |
| Death Row the Tournament (1998) as Judge |
| Deepwater (2005) as Walnut |
| Desert Blue (1998) as Agent Frank Bellows |
| Destiny to Order (1989) as Kenrick |
| Double Negative (1980) as Edgar |
| Down (2001) as Gunter Steinberg |
| Extreme Honor (2001) as Baker |
| Fairytales and Pornography (2002) as Justice Coulton |
| Fallen Angels (2002) as Sheriff Ed Rooney |
| Father Hood (1993) as Jerry |
| Forced to Kill (1994) as Sheriff Wilson |
| Fortunes of War (1994) as Carl Pimmler |
| Going to Kansas City (1998) as Mike Malone |
| Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) as Tyler |
| High-Ballin' (1978) as Butch |
| Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) as Gen. Katana |
| Hostile Takeover (1988) as Larry Gaylord |
| I, Maureen (1980) as Dr. Paul Johnson |
| Ignition (2001) as Jake Russo |
| Ivory Tower (1998) as Marshall Wallace |
| Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986) as Det. Lawrence |
| Kids of the Round Table (1997) as Butch Scarsdale |
| Killer Image (1992) as Luther Kane |
| Level 26: Dark Origins (2009) as Tom Riggins |
| Level 26: Dark Prophecy (2010) as Tom Riggins |
| Liberty (2010) as Fischer |
| Major Payne (1995) as Lt. Col. Stone |
| Maximum Velocity (2003) as General Amberson |
| McBain (1991) as Frank Bruce |
| Mindfield (1989) as Kellen O'Reilly |
| Mindstorm (2001) as Senator Bill Armitage |
| Neon City (1991) as Harry M. Stark |
| Nowhere to Hide (1987) as Ben |
| On That Day (2005) as Daniel's Father |
| One of Our Own (1997) as Det. Jack Cooper |
| One Way Out (1996) as Walt |
| Outrageous! (1977) as Drunk |
| Payback (1991) as Sheriff Pete |
| Point of Impact (1993) as Roberto Largo |
| Portraits of a Killer (1996) as Sgt. Ernie Hansen |
| Power Play (1978) as Torturer |
| Question of Privilege (1999) as Lt. Robert Ingram |
| Red Scorpion 2 (1994) as Col. West |
| Red Sun Rising (1994) as Capt. Meisler |
| Reeker (2005) as Henry |
| Safe House (2011) as Rivers |
| Scanners (1981) as Darryl Revok |
| Southern Cross (1999) as Garrison Carver |
| Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983) as Overdog |
| Stone Cold Dead (1979) as Murdered Police Detective |
| Summer's Children (1979) as Pimp |
| Surfacing (1981) as Wayne |
| Suzanne (1980) as Jimmy |
| Sweet Killing (1993) as Insp. Garcia |
| Terror in the Aisles (1984) as Darryl Revok ('Scanners') |
| The Arrangement (1999) as Det. Francis John 'Jack' Connor |
| The Beacon (2009) as Officer Ned Hutton |
| The Butcher (2009) as Teddy Carmichael |
| The Destiny of Marty Fine (1996) as Mr. Capelli |
| The Failures (2003) as Depressor |
| The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) as FBI Agent |
| The Glass Shield (1994) as Baker |
| The Jazzman (2009) as Bernie |
| The Killing Machine (1994) as Mr. Green |
| The Machinist (2004) as Miller |
| The Moravian Massacre (1996) as John, Floyd |
| The Surrogate (1984) as George Kyber |
| The Vagrant (1992) as Lt. Ralf Barfuss |
| Thunderground (1989) |
| Tokyo Cowboy (1994) as Lyle |
| Too Fast Too Young (1996) as Capt. Floyd Anderson |
| Watchers (1988) as Lem Johnson |
| The Arrangement (1999) |
Trivia
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* Came to notice in the Canadian sci-fi horror classic Scanners (1981) in which he played the mind-controlling, head-blowing megalomaniac Daryl Revok, which led to a dynamic, infamous career of out-and-out baddies or edgy anti-heroes. * Has a daughter Findlay (born 1998) by second wife Karen. * His brother is a high school shop teacher in his hometown of Toronto, Canada. * Father of Adrienne Ironside. * Said in an interview he is mostly recognized by the public from his voice over work in the Splinter Cell (2002) (VG) series. * His daughter Adrienne is from a previous marriage. * Moved to Los Angeles, California, USA in 1982. * Was for some time attached to play the title role in RoboCop (1987), but the crew had to give up on the idea when they realized that he would have to have a much smaller frame to fit into the costume envisaged. * At the age of fifteen he wrote a play called "The Shelter" which won first prize in a Canada-wide university contest. He used the prize money to mount his own production of said play. * Like Terence Stamp, he has played both a Superman foe and friend. The foe he played was Darkseid, one of Superman's greatest enemies, in the animated show "Justice League" (2001). The friend he played was Gen. Sam Lane, father of Lois Lane (Clark Kent's future bride) on the TV show "Smallville" (2001). * A talented arm wrestler in his youth, he ironically often loses an arm and / or other limb in his films: Total Recall (1990), Starship Troopers (1997), The Machinist (2004) and Guy X (2005). If he hadn't been too bulky he also would have played Murphy in RoboCop (1987), who loses both his arms. * Good friends with WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler. * Huge fan of Professional Wrestling. * Is of Scottish, English and Irish heritage. * His father, Robert, was a streetlight maintenance man, his mother, Patricia, a housewife. * Has had a love of reading since childhood, with which he credits his father instilling in him: "My dad gave me and my brother this rule - as long as we were reading and doing nothing else, we could stay up until dawn or until we passed out...whichever came first. That's why, to this day, I'm a sucker for a good book". * Lives in Los Angeles, California. |
Quotes
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* I like to play bad guys, since good guys are always beaten up several times during the movie. Bad guys are beaten only once, in the end. * I get to bring these misshapen, emotionally unbalanced people to life. * If I didn't like the attention, I suppose I wouldn't be doing this job. What do you do? Destroy someone's fantasy about you or play it to the limit? I still haven't quite worked it all out and I don't know how to resolve it. It's said actors act because they fear death and it's the one and only certainty for some kind of immortality. My attitude is: screw the future, let's get on with here and now. You don't know how long it'll last. * The weirder the role, the more toys around to help suspend reality, the easier it is - and the better I think my work gets. All of these things make it easier to take risks. Children - and actors - take risks all the time. * Acting itself is a very childlike thing. You're asked to suspend reality and to play - and what better place than when you're sitting there looking like the most weird villain imaginable? You have all these toys around you. It brings out the child in you much easier than when you're standing around in a suit playing a cop. * [in a 1984 magazine interview] The characters I've played until now have been very sick people. These people are emotionally or physically damaged. Since I played killers so well, they wanted me to play a killer the next time. I used to call my roles "dog-eating" parts; you know, the director says, "We need somebody to bite a dog in this scene. Let's call Ironside". * [on being typecast as a villain] I use the analogy that if you hit an old lady on screen with a shovel and kill her and somebody makes money from that moment, then they really don't want you to step out from that parameter. They don't want you to do anything but hit more old ladies with shovels and if that's the trunk that I have to build my tree from, that's fine. * The word "career" scares me! It's the sort of thing you say about dead actors, old guys. I think this festival wanted to do a retrospective on me a few years ago and I told them to fuck off. Jesus, that's for guys that are on crutches and in wheelchairs and that you need to spoon-feed . . . Aargh! I plan to be around for at least another 20 years! * [on shooting numerous fight scenes for such movies as Total Recall (1990) and The Next Karate Kid (1994)] I trained for some time in taekwondo, until I blew out both my legs and had to quit. Since then, I've been blessed to work with some of the more talented martial arts-trainers and choreographers in the business. I've also got field experience, from being in my share of real-life barroom brawls. |
Photos
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