Michael Patrick Thornton is an American actor and theater director. He played the character of Dr. Gabriel Fife in the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
drama series ''
Private Practice''. He is also known for his performances on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
including as Lennox in the
Sam Gold
Sam Gold is an American theater director and actor. Having studied at Cornell University and Juilliard School he became known for directing both musicals and plays, on Broadway and Off-Broadway. He has received the Tony Award for Best Direction ...
revival of ''
Macbeth
''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'' (2022), and Dr. Rank in the
Jamie Lloyd
Jamie Lloyd is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the ''Halloween'' franchise. Introduced in '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' as the series' new protagonist after Jamie Lee Curtis declined to return as Laurie ...
revival of ''
A Doll's House
''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...
'' (2023).
Early life and education
Thornton is from
Jefferson Park, a neighborhood on
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
's northwest side.
He is a graduate of The School at
Steppenwolf,
, and The Second City Directing Program. At 24, Thornton had two spinal strokes which paralysed him.
Since then he has used a wheelchair.
Career
Thornton is artistic director and co-founder of The Gift Theatre.
He acted in productions including ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
'' at Steppenwolf,
where he became the first actor to act onstage while wearing a
robotic exoskeleton.
He has also portrayed
Iago
Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's '' Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...
in ''
Othello
''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...
'' at The Gift Theatre and in
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Actors Theatre of Louisville is a non-profit performing arts theater located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.
Actors Theatre was founded in 1964 following the merging of two local companies, Actors, Inc. and Theatre Louisville, operated by Louis ...
’s 50th anniversary production of ''
Our Town
''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...
''.
Thornton received a Jeff Nomination for his performance in The Gift's premiere of ensemble member Andrew Hinderaker's ''Suicide, Incorporated''.
In 2005, he won the Jeff Award for Best Actor in a Solo Performance for his role in ''The Good Thief'' at The Gift Theatre.
Thornton also directs at The Gift, including the world premiere of David Rabe's ''Good For Otto'', ''War of the Worlds'', the Chicago Premiere of Will Eno's ''Oh, The Humanity (and other exclamations)''.
As a writer, his plays have been workshopped in New York through Young Playwrights, Inc. and in Chicago through Second City.
Thornton has appeared in episodes of Elementary (CBS), The Exorcist (FOX), Private Practice, The Chicago Code, Ron Howard's The Dilemma, and the independent feature film The View From Tall.
Selected filmography
Feature films
Television
Theater
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Michael Patrick
American male television actors
American theatre directors
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Male actors from Chicago