Michael A. Goorjian (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor, filmmaker, and writer. Goorjian won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special for his role as David Goodson in the television film '' David's Mother'' (1994). He is also known for his role as Justin, Neve Campbell’s love interest on the series '' Party of Five'' (1994–2000), as well as Heroin Bob in the film '' SLC Punk!'' (1998) and its sequel, '' Punk's Dead'' (2016). As a director, Goorjian achieved recognition for his first major independent film, ''

Illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may ...

'' (2004), which he wrote, directed and starred in alongside Kirk Douglas.

Biography

Acting

Goorjian was born and raised in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. His father, Peter, is

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

, with his paternal grandparents being survivors of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

; his mother, Sarah, is of Scottish-American descent. Goorjian grew up in Oakland,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and attended Bishop O'Dowd High School, which had a strong drama program. At the age of 14, he decided to audition for a local theatre company, thinking it was a ‘cool way’ to skip class; after successfully landing the lead role in a 'not-so-cool' play called ''Computer Crazy'', Goorjian soon found out that the rest of the cast were all senior citizens and that he would have to perform the play at his own junior high school. Despite this seemingly rather humiliating experience, Goorjian stuck with acting, eventually training at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

’s School of Theatre, Film and Television. Goorjian won an

for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special for the TV movie '' David's Mother'' (starring Kirstie Alley). Ray Loynd commented that Goorjian contributed "a wealth of physical and emotional detail that underscores the familial havoc". Goorjian’s first big Hollywood break came as a dancer when, in 1992, he was cast as ‘Skittery’ in the Disney film '' Newsies'' (starring Christian Bale and Robert Duvall). What followed were roles in numerous subsequent films, including ''

Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * ''Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * Chaplin (film), ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * Chaplin (2011 fi ...

'' (with Robert Downey Jr.), '' Forever Young'' (with Mel Gibson), the Oscar-nominated '' Leaving Las Vegas'', '' Hard Rain'' (with Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater), '' SLC Punk!'' (with Devon Sawa), '' The Invisibles'' (with Portia de Rossi), '' Broken'' (with Heather Graham) and '' Conversations with God''. Goorjian has also guest-starred in a number of television series, including '' Lie to Me'', ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'', '' 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 ...

'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', '' Without A Trace'', and '' Chicago Hope'', as well as a recurring role on '' Life Goes On'' (as Ray Nelson). He also appeared in the 2005 TV film '' Reefer Madness'', a satirical musical adaptation of the anti-

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

from the 1930s.

Theater

Goorjian is a founding member of the Los Angeles-based theater group Buffalo Nights, and starred in the West Coast-premiere of Dennis McIntyre’s drama ''Modigliani'' (which won him an '' L.A. Weekly'' Theater Award nomination for Best Lead Actor). He played the title roles in both productions of ''The Apollo of Bellac'' (by

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

) and ''J.B.'' (by

Archibald MacLeish Archibald MacLeish (May 7, 1892 – April 20, 1982) was an American poet and writer, who was associated with the modernist school of poetry. MacLeish studied English at Yale University and law at Harvard University. He enlisted in and saw action ...

). Goorjian also won at the L.A. Critics’ Choice Awards and the Garland Backstage West Awards for his original choreography for the L.A. production of the musical ''Reefer Madness''.

Director

Goorjian made his first real foray into directing with the mock-documentary ''Oakland Underground'', a comedy about an underground occult music scene in Oakland, CA. From there, Goorjian made ''

'' with Kirk Douglas, which was released theatrically in 2006 after racking up over a dozen festival awards, including Best Screenplay at The Hampton’s International Film Festival, Best Feature at the Lake Tahoe International Film Festival and The Audience Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival. With Illusion Goorjian was critically lauded for his ability to blend great filmmaking with philosophical depth. Soon after ''Illusion'', Goorjian began collaborating with the publishing company Hay House to produce and direct a number of films including the documentary '' You Can Heal Your Life'' (2007), starring metaphysical author and teacher, Louise L. Hay and ''The Shift'', starring author Dr. Wayne Dyer, along with Michael DeLuise and Portia de Rossi. His most recent work with Hay House is an original film anthology called '' Tales of Everyday Magic'', which explores meaningful philosophical ideas through intimate character-driven stories. Additional directing credits include the short film ''Players’ Club'', which swept the 2006 Elevate Film Festival in Los Angeles, including Best Director and ''The War Prayer'', an adaptation of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

’s short story by the same title starring Jeremy Sisto. Occasionally, Goorjian also moonlights directing a circus/cabaret show in Eastern Europe called ''Palazzo''.

Writing

Goorjian debuted as a novelist with his work ''What Lies Beyond the Stars'', the first book in an intended trilogy commissioned by Hay House Publishing. The second book in the series, ''Beyond the Fractured Sky'', will be released in the fall of 2018.

Filmography

Actor

Film

Television

Director

*''Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square'' (1991) (Short video) *''Oakland Underground'' (1997) *''Call Waiting'' (1998) (Short film) *''

'' (2004) *''Players' Club'' (2006) (Short video) *'' The War Prayer'' (2007) (Short film) *''You Can Heal Your Life'' (2007) (Documentary) *''The Shift'' (2009) (Direct-to-DVD) *''Entanglement'' (2012) (Television film) *''The Magic Hand of Chance'' (2012) *''Tales of Everyday Magic'' (2012) *''Painting the Future'' (2012) *''My Greatest Teacher'' (2012) *'' Amerikatsi'' (2022)

Writer

*''Oakland Underground'' (1997) *''The Mesmerist'' (2002) *''

'' (2004) *''Tales of Everyday Magic'' (2012) *''My Greatest Teacher'' (2012) *''Amerikatsi'' (2022)

Producer

*''Oakland Underground'' (1997) *''The Invisibles'' (1999) *''Part Time Fabulous'' (2011) *''Amerikatsi'' (2022)

References

External links

* *
Blood Drips On Newsies Square

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goorjian, Michael A. 1971 births Living people American male film actors American people of Armenian descent Male actors from Oakland, California Film directors from San Francisco American male screenwriters Screenwriters from California Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Bishop O'Dowd High School alumni