Michael Ontkean
Michael Ontkean | |
---|---|
Born | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | 24 January 1946
Alma mater | University of New Hampshire |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1955–2011 |
Spouses | Frances E. Knight
(m. 1971; div. 1980)Jamie Smith-Jackson
(m. 1987; div. 2019) |
Children | 2 |
Michael Ontkean (born 24 January 1946)[1] is a retired Canadian actor.[2] Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ontkean relocated to the United States to attend the University of New Hampshire on a hockey scholarship before pursuing a career in acting in the early 1970s.
He initially came to prominence portraying Officer Willie Gillis on the crime drama series
Early life
Ontkean was born and raised in
Career
Ontkean began in Hollywood by guest starring in
Other early movie roles included Necromancy (1972) with Orson Welles; Voices (1979) with Amy Irving; Willie & Phil (1980) with Margot Kidder; The Blood of Others (1984); Kids Don't Tell (1985) with JoBeth Williams; The Right of the People (1986); The Allnighter and Maid to Order (both 1987) (the latter with Ally Sheedy); Clara's Heart (1988) with Whoopi Goldberg, and Bye Bye Blues (1989).[7]
Making Love
Making Love (1982) is about a married man who discovers his homosexuality. Ontkean was not the director's first choice for the film: Arthur Hiller had previously approached Tom Berenger, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, William Hurt and Peter Strauss to play the lead, before finally approaching Ontkean. According to Hiller, the reaction of most actors was to tell him not to even consider them for the role.[8] The film reunited Ontkean with Kate Jackson; the two had previously co-starred together in The Rookies. Many years later, Ontkean tried to prevent clips from the film from being included in The Celluloid Closet, a 1995 documentary about LGBT characters in film, but he was unsuccessful.[9]
Twin Peaks
Ontkean appeared as
After Twin Peaks
Ontkean subsequently appeared in many film and television productions including In Defense of a Married Man (1990); In a Child's Name (1991) with Valerie Bertinelli; Legacy of Lies (1992); Rapture and Vendetta II: The New Mafia (both 1993); Swann: A Mystery and The Stepford Husbands (both 1996); Summer of the Monkeys and A Chance of Snow (both 1998; the latter again with JoBeth Williams); Bear with Me (2000), and Mrs. Ashboro's Cat (2003).
Ontkean had a recurring role on Fox's short-lived series North Shore in 2004, and also appeared in the 2008 comedy TV show Sophie.
The Descendants and retirement
He had a supporting role in the 2011 film The Descendants, which was his last role to date before he decided to retire from acting.[12] The movie was filmed in Hawaii, where he lives.
Ontkean was approached to reprise his role as Sheriff Truman for the
Ontkean's role was replaced by Robert Forster, playing Sheriff Truman's brother Frank. Forster was initially David Lynch's first choice to play Harry Truman in 1990.[14]
Personal life
Michael was married to Jamie Smith-Jackson, an actress and design director and owner of Jamie Jackson Design. The couple later divorced; they have two daughters, Jenna Millman and Sadie Sapphire Ontkean.[15][16][17]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1971 | The Peace Killers | Jeff | |
1972 | Necromancy | Frank Brandon | |
1972 | Pickup on 101 | Chuck | |
1972 | Hot Summer Week | Will | |
1977 | Slap Shot | Ned Braden | |
1979 | Voices | Drew Rothman | |
1980 | Willie & Phil | Willie Kaufman | |
1982 | Making Love | Zach | |
1984 | The Blood of Others | Jean | |
1984 | Just the Way You Are | Peter Nichols | |
1987 | The Allnighter | Mickey | |
1987 | Maid to Order | Nick McGuire | |
1987 | Street Justice | Curt Flynn | |
1988 | Clara's Heart | Bill Hart | |
1989 | Bye Bye Blues | Teddy Harper | |
1989 | Cold Front | Derek McKenzie | |
1990 | Postcards from the Edge | Robert Munch | |
1992 | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | Sheriff Harry S. Truman | Scenes deleted. Later featured in Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces. |
1996 | Swann | Stephen | |
1998 | Summer of the Monkeys | John Lee | |
1998 | Nico the Unicorn | Tom Gentry | |
1999 | Just a Little Harmless Sex | Jeff | |
2011 | The Descendants | Cousin Milo | Final role (to date) |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1956 | Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans | Cochea | Episode: "The Wild One" |
1959 | Hudson's Bay | Jeremy Warrant | Episode: "Pierre's Three Evils" |
1970 | Ironside | Man | Episode: "Noel's Gonna Fly" |
1970 | Dan August | Mike Foschke | Episode: "The Soldier" |
1971 | Disneyland | Alcide | 2 episodes |
1971 | The Partridge Family | Lester Braddock | Episode: "Not With My Sister, You Don't!" |
1971 | Longstreet | David De Carie | Episode: "So, Who's Fred Hornbeck?" |
1972–1974 | The Rookies | Officer Willie Gillis | 47 episodes |
1979 | Tales of the Unexpected | Tommy | Episode: "The Man from the South" |
1985 | Kids Don't Tell | John Ryan | Television film |
1986 | The Right of the People | Christopher Wells | Television film |
1989 | The Hitchhiker | Gordon Brooks | Episode: "Square Deal" |
1990–1991 | Twin Peaks | Sheriff Harry S. Truman |
30 episodes |
1990 | In Defense of a Married Man | Robert | Television film |
1991 | In a Child's Name | Ken Taylor | Miniseries |
1992 | Legacy of Lies | Zach Resnick | Television film |
1993 | Rapture | Jeff Lisker | Television film |
1993 | Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica | Jan DeBoer | Television film |
1993 | Bride of Violence 2 | Hank Parnell | Television film |
1994 | Family Album | Ward Thayer | Miniseries |
1999 | PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal |
John Doe / Wesley Addison | Episode: "John Doe" |
1996 | The Man Next Door | Eli Cooley | Television film |
1996 | The Stepford Husbands | Mick Davison | Television film |
1997–2000 | The Outer Limits | Dr. Field / Dr. Charles McCamber | 2 episodes |
1998 | A Chance of Snow | Matthew Parker | Television film |
2000 | Green Sails | John Scott | Television film |
2002 | A Killing Spring | Tom Keaton | Television film |
2004 | Ghost Cat | Wes Merritt | Television film |
2004–2005 | North Shore | Gordon Matthews | 4 episodes |
2008 | Sophie | Victor Hearst | 3 episodes (Final television role to date) |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Production | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Genie Award
|
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Bye Bye Blues | Nominated |
1991 | Soap Opera Digest Award
|
Outstanding Hero: Prime Time | Twin Peaks | Nominated |
References
- Cleveland.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
- ^ a b c Jason Buchanan (2015). "Michael Ontkean". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015.
- ^ "Michael Ontkean: Movies, TV, and Bio". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
- ^ "Michael Ontkean profile". HockeyDB. 28 January 2019.
- ^ "Michael Ontkean Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
- ^ O'Connor, John (16 March 1975). "TV View". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (24 August 1990). "Review/Film; Balladlike Wartime Tale Of Maturing". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ISBN 978-1555833596.
- ISBN 978-1851441723.
- ^ O'Connor, John J. (6 April 1990). "TV WEEKEND; A Skewed Vision of a Small Town In 'Twin Peaks'". The New York Times.
- ^ "'Twin Peaks': Watch 'Fire Walk With Me' lost scenes before entire series hits Blu-ray -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- ^ "Michael Ontkean Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ Dom, Pieter (8 October 2015). "Actor Michael Ontkean Not Picking up Harry S. Truman's Sheriff Badge for the New Twin Peaks". welcometotwinpeaks.com.
- ^ Testa, Yohana (4 May 2017). "Who's Missing from This Spine-Tingling Twin Peaks Teaser?". Vanity Fair.
- ^ "Mildred Smith". Marshall Democrat-News. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "Jamie Jackson Design Director and Owner". Jamie Jackson Design. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- ^ "FASHION I". Sadie Sapphire. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
External links
- Michael Ontkean at IMDb
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database