Michael Beck (born February 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Swan in '' The Warriors'' (1979) as Sonny Malone in '' Xanadu'' (1980), and as Koda in '' Triumphs of a Man Called Horse'' (1983).

Early life

Beck was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the third of nine children. He attended Memphis University School and then Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi with a football scholarship. While in college, he was a member of the

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha, KA, or simply The Order, is an American social fraternity founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Along with Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Nu, the order constitu ...

fraternity. After graduating with a degree in economics, he was one of 30 (out of 2,500) applicants chosen for London's

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

. Beck's stage credits, beginning with college, include ''

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

'' (as

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

), ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a 1937 novella written by American author John Steinbeck. It describes the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant worker, migrant ranch workers, as they move from place to place in California ...

'' (as George Milton), ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' (as

Tybalt Tybalt () is a fictional character and the principal antagonist in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is the son of Lady Capulet's brother, Juliet's short-tempered first cousin, and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name ...

), and ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his ...

.''

Career

Beck is known predominantly for his roles as Swan for the action movie '' The Warriors'' (1979), Sonny Malone for '' Xanadu'' (1980), Lieutenant Commander Dallas in ''

Megaforce ''Megaforce'' (or ''MegaForce'') is a 1982 action film directed by former stuntman Hal Needham and written by James Whittaker, Albert S. Ruddy, Hal Needham and André Morgan based on a story by Robert S. Kachler. The film starred Barry Bos ...

'' (1982), and Koda for '' Triumphs of a Man Called Horse'' (1983). Both the ''Xanadu'' and ''Megaforce'' roles garnered him Razzie nominations, for Worst Actor and Worst Supporting Actor, respectively. Beck has appeared in other movies such as '' Warlords of the 21st Century'' (1982), '' Wes Craven's Chiller'' (1985), '' Gone to Texas'' (1986) as

James Bowie James Bowie ( ) (April 10, 1796 – March 6, 1836) was an American military officer, landowner and slave trader who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him ...

, and ''

Forest Warrior ''Forest Warrior'' is a 1996 American adventure film starring Chuck Norris and directed by Norris's brother Aaron Norris. The film was released on direct-to-video in the United States on November 5, 1996. Plot The film opens with a campfire st ...

'' (1996). Beck appeared as Hans Helms in the 1978 television miniseries ''

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

'', and featured with

Michael Paré Michael Kevin Paré (born October 9, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Eddie and the Cruisers'' (1983), '' Streets of Fire'' (1984), and '' The Philadelphia Experiment'' (1984), and on the series '' Star ...

in the CBS police drama '' Houston Knights'' (1987–1988). He appeared in television shows such as '' JAG'', ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'', '' In the Heat of the Night'', as the Mars-born terrorist-turned-cyborg assassin Abel Horn in ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'' (episode "

Spider in the Web ''Spider in the Web'' is a 2019 Spy film, spy thriller film directed and co-produced by Eran Riklis, produced by Sabine Brian, Jacqueline de Goeij, Leon Edrey and Michael Sharfstein with screenplay written by Gidon Maron and Emmanuel Naccahe. Sta ...

"), and as Mr. Jones in the spin-off television series ''

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

''. Beck has narrated numerous audiobooks of

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955) is an American novelist, lawyer, and former politician, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the Academy of Achievement, American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 ...

's novels. He also narrated ''Confederates in the Attic'' by Tony Horwitz, ''A Darkness More Than Light'' by

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of Detective fiction, detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and cr ...

, ''State of the Union'' by David Callahan, the unabridged version of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's ''My Life''., and numerous religious books including the Bible. He also reprised his role as Swan in 2005, lending his voice to the popular video game adaptation of ''The Warriors''.

Personal life

Beck is a born-again Christian.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Audiobooks

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Michael 1949 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Living people Male actors from Memphis, Tennessee