Michael Massee
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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 ''Tales from the Hood'' is a 1995 American comedy horror anthology film directed by Rusty Cundieff and executive-produced by Spike Lee. The film presents four short urban-themed horror stories based on problem concepts that affect the African-Am ...
'' (1995), Andy in the neo-noir '' Lost Highway'' (1997), and the
Gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the r ...
in ''
The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...
'' (2012) and its 2014 sequel. Massee also voiced Bruce Banner in the first two entries of ''
Marvel Animated Features ''Marvel Animated Features'' (''MAF'') is a series of the first eight direct-to-video animated superhero films made by MLG Productions, a joint venture between Marvel Studios (later Marvel Animation) and Lions Gate Entertainment. History ...
'' 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 The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
fantasy mystery '' Revelations'' (2005), Dyson Frost on the ABC science fiction drama ''
FlashForward A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward, and more formally known as prolepsis) is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards a ...
'' (2009–2010), and sadistic serial killer "Dr." Charles Hoyt on the first two seasons of the
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
police procedural ''
Rizzoli & Isles ''Rizzoli & Isles'' is an American crime drama television series starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles. Based on the series of ''Rizzoli & Isles'' novels by Tess Gerritsen, the plot follows Boston Homicide po ...
'' (2010–2013).


Early life

Michael Groo Massee was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1952, the younger of two children born to Jack Groo Massee and his wife, Holly ( Hoover), of
Prairie Village, Kansas Prairie Village is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,957. History After the successful development of the Country Cl ...
. 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 Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admin ...
and studied acting at the
Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of th ...
.


Career

In 1993, Massee portrayed the character Funboy in the film '' The Crow'', starring
Brandon Lee Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor and martial artist. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the dark fantasy film ''The ...
. Massee was the actor who fired the shot that killed Lee by accident on the set in 1993, due to 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 revealed that he still had nightmares about it, stating, "I don't think you ever get over something like that." In 1995, Massee played the cop Newton in the film ''
Tales from the Hood ''Tales from the Hood'' is a 1995 American comedy horror anthology film directed by Rusty Cundieff and executive-produced by Spike Lee. The film presents four short urban-themed horror stories based on problem concepts that affect the African-Am ...
''. He provided the voice for the villain Spellbinder in ''
The Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman or The Batman may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Characters * Batman (Terry McGinnis) * Batman (Thomas Wayne) * Batman (Earth-Two) * Bat ...
'', 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, as well as the sequel '' Ultimate Avengers 2''. He appeared in the film '' Seven'' alongside
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...
and
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
. He appeared in
David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
's '' Lost Highway'' as Andy. He played the physical manifestation of Management (a.k.a. Lucius Belyakovin) on HBO's ''
Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate g ...
''. He guest-starred in ''
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 series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'' episode "
The Field Where I Died "The Field Where I Died" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. It was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode originally aired in the ...
". He also appeared in the 2005
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
TV miniseries '' Revelations'' as the main antagonist. In 2006, he guest-starred in ''
Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...
'' as a serial killer on
death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ...
. He also guest-starred in the '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' episode "Reunion" as a rock star. He appeared in the American TV series ''
FlashForward A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward, and more formally known as prolepsis) is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards a ...
'' as villain Dyson Frost. He appeared as a hunter, Kubrick, on the series ''
Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
'' in 2007. Massee portrayed imprisoned serial killer "Dr." Charles Hoyt in the first two seasons of the TV series ''
Rizzoli & Isles ''Rizzoli & Isles'' is an American crime drama television series starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles. Based on the series of ''Rizzoli & Isles'' novels by Tess Gerritsen, the plot follows Boston Homicide po ...
''. He played Gustav Fiers (alias The Gentleman) in 2012's ''
The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...
'' and reprised the role in the 2014 sequel, ''
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (internationally titled ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro'') is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The film was directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi ...
''. In 2014, Massee, who spoke French, appeared in the French series ''Interventions''.


Personal life

Massee married Ellen Sussdorf in 1997, with whom he had two children: Jack and Lily. The couple owned a clothing boutique in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. Massee died of
stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Ly ...
at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over ...
in Los Angeles on October 20, 2016 at the age of 64.


Filmography


Film


Television


Video games


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Massee, Michael 1952 births 2016 deaths American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Male actors from Kansas City, Missouri Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from stomach cancer 20th-century American actors 21st-century American actors