Michael Groo Massee (September 1, 1952 – October 20, 2016) was an American actor. Active on screen during a three decade career, he frequently portrayed villainous characters. His film roles include Funboy in the dark fantasy The Crow (1994), Newton in the horror anthology Tales from the Hood (1995), Andy in the neo-noir Lost Highway (1997), and the Gentleman in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and its 2014 sequel. Massee also voiced Bruce Banner in the first two entries of Marvel Animated Features in 2006. On television, he played Ira Gaines on the first season of the Fox action drama 24 (2001–2002), Isaiah Haden on the NBC fantasy mystery Revelations (2005), Dyson Frost on the ABC science fiction drama FlashForward (2009–2010), and Charles Hoyt on the first two seasons of the TNT police procedural Rizzoli & Isles (2010–2013).
Michael Massee | |
|---|---|
 Massee in 2014 | |
| Born | Michael Groo Massee September 1, 1952 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | October 20, 2016 (aged 64) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Hunter College |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1984–2016 |
| Spouse |
Ellen Sussdorf (m. 1997) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editMichael Groo Massee was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1952, the younger of two children born to Jack Groo Massee and his wife, Holly (née Hoover), of Prairie Village, Kansas.[1][2]
The family moved to Paris, France, where Massee grew up and, after high school, he came back to the United States settling in New York, where he graduated from Hunter College and studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.[citation needed]
Career
editIn 1993, Massee portrayed the character Funboy in the film The Crow, starring Brandon Lee. Massee was the actor who fired the shot that accidentally killed Lee on the set, as the result of an improperly prepared prop gun. Traumatized by the event, he returned to New York and took a year off from acting, and never saw the film. In an interview in 2005, 12 years after the incident, Massee said that he still had nightmares about it, stating, "I don't think you ever get over something like that."[3]
In 1995, Massee played the cop Newton in the film Tales from the Hood. He provided the voice for the villain Spellbinder in The Batman, as well as appearing on the television series 24 as the villain Ira Gaines. He provided the voice of Bruce Banner for the Ultimate Avengers animated film and its sequel, Ultimate Avengers 2. He appeared in the film Seven alongside Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. He appeared in David Lynch's Lost Highway as Andy. He played the physical manifestation of Management (a.k.a. Lucius Belyakovin) on HBO's Carnivàle. He guest-starred in The X-Files episode "The Field Where I Died". He also appeared in the 2005 NBC TV miniseries Revelations as the main antagonist. In 2006, he guest-starred in Criminal Minds as a serial killer on death row. He also guest-starred in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Reunion" as a rock star. He appeared in the American TV series FlashForward as villain Dyson Frost. He appeared as a hunter, Kubrick, on the series Supernatural in 2007.[citation needed]
Massee portrayed imprisoned serial killer "Dr." Charles Hoyt in the first two seasons of the TV series Rizzoli & Isles. He played Gustav Fiers (alias The Gentleman) in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man and reprised the role in the 2014 sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.[4] In 2014, Massee, who spoke French, appeared in the French series Interventions.[citation needed]
Personal life
editMassee married Ellen Sussdorf in 1997, with whom he had two children: Jack and Lily. The couple owned a clothing boutique in Los Angeles.
Death
editMassee died of stomach cancer in Los Angeles on October 20, 2016, at the age of 64.[2]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | My Father Is Coming | Joe | |
| 1994 | The Crow | Funboy | |
| Six Days Six Nights | Uncredited | ||
| Home of Angels | Detective Baines | ||
| 1995 | The Low Life | Bartender | |
| Tales from the Hood | Newton | ||
| Se7en | Man in Booth at Massage Parlor | ||
| Sahara | Leroux | ||
| Burnzy's Last Call | Luke | ||
| 1996 | Guy | Mark | |
| Mojave Moon | Fifth Guy | ||
| One Fine Day | Eddie Parker | ||
| 1997 | Lost Highway | Andy | |
| The End of Violence | Guy in Bar | ||
| The Game | Airbag EMT Galliano | ||
| Playing God | Gage | ||
| Amistad | Prison Guard | ||
| Jamaica Beat | Ian Benjamin | ||
| 1999 | The Florentine | Nick | |
| Bad City Blues | Eugene Grimes | ||
| The White River Kid | Ralph Pines | ||
| 2001 | Corky Romano | Angry Gunman | |
| The Theory of the Leisure Class | McMillon | ||
| 2004 | Catwoman | Armando | |
| 2006 | Ultimate Avengers | Bruce Banner (voice) | Direct-to-video[5] |
| Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther | |||
| 2007 | Underdog | Supershep (voice) | [5] |
| 2009 | Pandemic | Federal Prisoner | |
| 2011 | The Resident | Security Tech | |
| 2012 | The Amazing Spider-Man | Gustav Fiers / Gentleman | |
| Reclamation | Lawrence Shiftlet | Short | |
| 2013 | CBGB | Officer Stan | |
| 2014 | At the Devil's Door | Uncle Mike | |
| The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | Gustav Fiers / Gentleman | ||
| The Last Survivors | Walker | [6] | |
| The Wolves of Savin Hill | Theo | ||
| 2016 | Everlasting | Leor | [7] |
| Last Man Club | John | Final film role[8] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Marshal | Stanley | Episode: "Protection" |
| Sahara | Leroux | Television film | |
| 1996 | Picket Fences | Episode: "Bloodlines" | |
| The X-Files | Vernon Ephesian | Episode: "The Field Where I Died" | |
| Murder One | Donny McKee | 2 episodes | |
| 1997 | The Big Easy | Roland Sava | Episode: "Night Music" |
| 1997–2001 | Nash Bridges | Gerard Marquette / Harley Corzine | |
| 1997 | The Last Don | Jim Losey | Episodes #1.2 & #1.3 |
| 1998 | Millennium | Purdue | Episode: "The Pest House" |
| 1999 | L.A. Doctors | Howard | Episode: "Where the Rubber Meets the Road" |
| 2001–2002 | 24 | Ira Gaines | 12 episodes |
| 2002 | The Practice | Norman Tucker | Episode: "Fire Proof" |
| 2003–2005 | Carnivàle | Russian Soldier Young Lucius Belyakov |
5 episodes |
| 2003 | Threat Matrix | Campbell Prokop | Episode: "Patriot Acts" |
| Dragnet | Victor Hellman | Episode: "The Magic Bullet" | |
| 2005 | Revelations | Isaiah Haden | 6 episodes |
| The Batman | Spellbinder (voice) | Episode: "The Butler Did It"[5] | |
| 2005–2006 | Alias | Dr. Gonzalo Burris | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Criminal Minds | Jacob Dawes | Episode: "Riding the Lightning" |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Kiril | Episode: "Cargo" |
| Supernatural | Kubrick | 2 episodes | |
| 2008 | Shark | Duncan Mercer | Episode: "Partners in Crime" |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Jordie Black | Episode: "Reunion" | |
| 2009–2010 | FlashForward | D. Gibbons Dyson Frost |
8 episodes |
| 2009 | CSI: NY | Casey Steele | Episode: "Hammer Down" |
| 2010–2013 | Rizzoli & Isles | Charles Hoyt | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | Law & Order: LA | Denis Watson | Episode: "Echo Park" |
| 2011 | Human _target | Henry Claypool | Episode: "The Trouble with Harry" |
| House | Frank | Episode: "Twenty Vicodin" | |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Stan Richardson | Episode: "Crime After Crime" | |
| 2012 | Fringe | Anson Carr | Episode: "A Short Story About Love" |
| Dakota | George | Episode: "Down $770" | |
| 2013 | Ironside | Stan Nagy | Episode: "Pentimento" |
| 2013 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Michael 'Pa' Williams | Episode: "Imprisoned Lives" |
| 2014 | Interventions | Jean-Francois Montfort | |
| 2015 | The Blacklist | Karakurt | 2 episodes |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | Additional voices |
References
edit- ^ Another Me (pp. 46-47), books.google.com. Accessed December 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Slotnick, Daniel E. (October 26, 2016). "Michael Massee, 64, Screen Villain Haunted by the Accidental Death of Brandon Lee, Dies". The New York Times. p. A24.
- ^ "'Extra' Archive: Michael Massee on Brandon Lee's Death (2005 Interview)". extratv. YouTube. October 27, 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
- ^ Schwerdtfeger, Conner (October 27, 2016). "How Andrew Garfield Feels About One Of Spider-Man's Biggest Mysteries". CinemaBlend. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Michael Massee (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 13, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Barton, Steve (May 21, 2014). "First Clip From The Well Fights Back". Dread Central. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ Unsworth, Martin. "EVERLASTING - STARBURST Magazine". Starburst Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ Qateel, Nav (April 24, 2016). "Last Man Club (2016) Review". INFLUX Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2024.