Michael Ensign (born February 13, 1944Ragan, David (1992).
Who's Who in Hollywood, 1900–1976 : The Largest Cast of International Film Personalities Ever Assembled
'. New York : Facts on File. p. 496. .) is an American actor who mostly played small roles. One of his most-known roles was Benjamin Guggenheim in the 1997 film ''Titanic''.

Early life

A native of

Safford, Arizona Safford (Western Apache language, Western Apache: Ichʼįʼ Nahiłtį́į́) is a city in Graham County, Arizona, Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population of the city is 10,1 ...

, Ensign was raised in both the United States and England. Born into a family in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, he later became a member of the Episcopal Church, attending a parish which is in the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

tradition. He trained at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

and spent the first ten years of his professional career working in the theatre in Britain.

Career

He was a member of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

in the 1970s, appearing in productions of ''As You Like It'', ''Love's Labour's Lost'', and ''Cymbeline'' amongst others. He has appeared in ''

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

'', '' Curse of the Starving Class'', and '' The Red Devil Battery Sign'' in the West End. Ensign's film credits include ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' (1978), ''

Pink Floyd – The Wall ''Pink Floyd – The Wall'' is a 1982 British live-action/animated musical surrealist drama film directed by Alan Parker, based on Pink Floyd's 1979 studio album '' The Wall''. The screenplay was written by Pink Floyd vocalist and bassist ...

'' (1982), '' WarGames'' (1983), ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...

'' (1984), '' Dr. Hackenstein'' (1988),Dr. Hackenstein
".

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production company, production and film distributor, distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz in 1974. They are the longest running independent film ...

. Retrieved February 6, 2010. ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' (1997), '' Solaris'' (2002), '' Bringing Down the House'' (2003), ''

Down with Love ''Down with Love'' is a 2003 romantic comedy film directed by Peyton Reed. It stars Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor and is a pastiche of the early-1960s American "no-sex sex comedies", such as '' Pillow Talk'' and ''Lover Come Back'' (both ...

'' (2003) and ''

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-hors ...

'' (2003). Ensign's many television appearances include ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

'', Three’s Company'', Alias'', ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'', '' JAG'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', '' Star Trek: Enterprise'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'', ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...

'', ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

'', ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...

'', '' M*A*S*H,'' ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

'', and ''

The Dukes Of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

''. He appeared in the TV miniseries '' The Winds of War'' and '' Dream West''. Ensign provided the voice of the villainous Doctor Nefarious Tropy in the video games '' Crash Bandicoot: Warped'', '' Crash Team Racing'', ''

Crash Nitro Kart ''Crash Nitro Kart'' is a 2003 kart racing game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Universal Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox (console), Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance, with abridged ports later released in 2004 for the ...

'' and '' Crash Twinsanity''. His role of N. Tropy was later passed down to

Corey Burton Corey Burton is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformers'', Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Count Dooku and Cad Bane in ...

, who voiced the character in '' Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex'', '' Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy'', and '' Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled'', and then passed to JP Karliak, who currently voices the latter in '' Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time''. He gave his voice for Dr. Sebastian Wolfe in 2011 video game inFamous 2. In 2009 Ensign was given the Distinguished Alumnus Award for Theatre from the College of Fine Arts at

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. Writing in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' in 2011, David M. Ewalt noted,

"Ensign is a classic example of "Hey! It's that guy!" --a versatile character actor with a long and illustrious career, but who you probably can't identify by name, or even where you've seen him"

before going on to list some of Ensign's key film appearances.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

Michael Ensign
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

*
Michael Ensign
(Aveleyman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ensign, Michael 1944 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American people of British descent Living people People from Safford, Arizona Royal Shakespeare Company members Former Latter Day Saints American Episcopalians