Michael McShane (born June 25, 1955) is an American actor, singer, and improvisational comedian. He appeared on the original British version of the television show ''

Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. The three major versions of the show are the original 1988 British radio programme (from which all subsequent versions are ada ...

'' (1988–97) and went on to appear in films such as '' Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)'', '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (1991), '' Richie Rich'' (1994), and ''

Office Space ''Office Space'' is a 1999 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes the office work life of a typical 1990s software company, focusing on a handful of individuals weary of their jobs. It stars Ron ...

'' (1999). McShane has also been involved in several

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

productions, including ''

Tom and Huck ''Tom and Huck'' is a 1995 American adventure comedy-drama film based on Mark Twain's 1876 novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'', and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Mike McShane, Eric Schweig, and Amy Wright. The film was d ...

'' (1995), the television series '' Brotherly Love'' (1995–97), '' Tower of Terror'' (1997), and ''

A Bug's Life ''A Bug's Life'' (stylized in all lowercase) is a 1998 American animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter from a screenplay written by Andrew Stanton, Donald McEnery, and Bob Shaw, and a story conceived by Lasseter, Stanton, and Joe Ran ...

'' (1998). He also voiced the Revolting Slob in the Canadian-American variety television series '' Crashbox''. McShane voiced Marlon, Caracticus P. Doom and various other characters in

Cosgrove Hall Films Cosgrove Hall Films was a British animation studio founded by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, headquartered in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Cosgrove Hall was a major producer of children's television and animated programmes/films, which are s ...

's '' Avenger Penguins'' (1993–94), Gareb in '' Todd McFarlane's Spawn'' (1997–99), and Quosmir in '' Dave The Barbarian'' (2004–05).

Career

McShane studied drama at San Joaquin Delta College and

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

, performing with Faultline Theatre, the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival,

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The American ...

and the Eureka Theatre. McShane is also an alumnus of Los Angeles Theatresports. McShane gained exposure in 1988 on the British show ''

''. He remained a regular performer on the show for the next ten years. McShane and fellow ''Whose Line'' regular Tony Slattery starred in the comedy sketch show ''S&M'' in 1991. In 1992 McShane starred in the sitcom '' The Big One'' alongside another ''Whose Line'' performer

Sandi Toksvig Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She ha ...

. Other TV roles include a guest appearance on ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' as Kramer's nemesis Franklin Delano Romanowski (FDR). McShane played Friar Tuck in '' Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves'' in 1991, had a small role as a doomed

hypnotherapist Hypnotherapy, also known as hypnotic medicine, is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy is generally not considered to be based on scientific evidence, and is rarely recommended in clinical practice guidelines. However, several p ...

in the 1999 film ''

'', and played the friendly scientist, Professor Keenbean, in the 1994 movie '' Richie Rich''. In 1998 he appeared in an episode of ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'' as Frank, the manager of the Shangri-La apartments. He also co-starred with Sir John Gielgud, Emily Watson and Rosemary Harris in "A Summer's Day Dream" for BBC "Performance" series. In 1995, McShane starred as Harley in the BBC Screen Two TV Movie ''Crazy For A Kiss'', about a young boy who is sent to a mental institution for teenagers in McShane's home state of Kansas. McShane appeared in ''

'' as Muff Potter and on '' Brotherly Love'' as the experienced but wisecracking mechanic, Lloyd. In 1997 he appeared in '' Tower of Terror'', a TV movie starring

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for playing Carey Mahoney in the '' Police Academy'' films from 1984 to 1987. He also acted in '' Three Men and a Baby ...

and Kirsten Dunst based on the Disney attraction, as "Q". McShane also appeared with Dunst in the 1999 comedy film '' Drop Dead Gorgeous'', playing a quick-tempered beauty pageant judge who serves as caretaker for his learning disabled brother. McShane provided voice work for the anime '' Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust'', as D's sarcastic possessed left hand. He also provided the voice of Detective Twitch in the HBO animated series ''Spawn''. Other voice work by McShane includes the characters of Tuck and Roll, the twin pill bugs in ''

'' and the video game of the same name in 1998. He also provided the voice of Shalulu in Disney's redub of '' Castle in the Sky'', and Baron Rakan Harkonnen in the 2001 strategy game '' Emperor: Battle for Dune''. He provided the voice for Cid in the

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s '' Final Fantasy X'' and '' Final Fantasy X-2''. McShane appeared as the voice of Audrey II (as well as playing a number of peripheral characters) in the London revival of ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 American film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986 film), a 1986 American film based on th ...

'' at the Menier Chocolate Factory in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

between December 2006 and February 2007. The show was a critical success and was sold out for the duration of its run, and Mike had been contracted to continue in the role following the show's transfer to the West End at the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

theatre. In September 2007 he took part in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

's celebration of Jack Kerouac, reading excerpts from On The Road on the 50th anniversary of its publication. In 2008, McShane appeared as a guest performer in '' Paul Merton's Impro Chums'', a live improv show, and was asked to join the permanent company for three UK tours, and is still ongoing with the group. and as Dr. Vaabit in episode 5 of BBC's sitcom '' Lab Rats'', and has appeared twice on the BBC radio programme ''

Just a Minute ''Just a Minute'' is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game. For more than 50 years, with a few exceptions, it was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Following Parsons' death in 2020, Sue Perkins became the permanent host, starting with the 87th ser ...

''. In September 2012, McShane appeared as the character Grayle in the television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' in the series 7 episode " The Angels Take Manhattan". In November 2012, Mike starred as a CIA military consultant in

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

comedy series '' Bluestone 42''. In February 2013, Mike created the role of Louis B. Mayer in the new musical "The Tailor Made Man" at The

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It opened on April 20, 1927. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre cen ...

in London's West End, garnering rave reviews. On May 17, 2013, Radio 5 Live's breakfast show accidentally announced Mike McShane had died. This was following the death of

Paul Shane Paul Shane (19 June 1940 – 16 May 2013) was a British actor and comedian. He was known for his television work, in particular for playing Ted Bovis in the 1980s BBC sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. Early life Shane was born on 19 June 1940 as George ...

on May 16, 2013. A retraction was issued. In 2014, McShane was in the horror comedy film '' Love in the Time of Monsters''. From November 2014 through March 2015, he appeared in the

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

musical '' Assassins'' at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In August 2015 McShane appeared at an Edinburgh Fringe gala regarding mental health issues. At the same time he paid tribute to his friend

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

. McShane said: "I worked with Robin when we were young and he came to see me backstage in the past, too. Any improviser my age or younger was inspired by him...Even with his condition he was still doing benefit gigs, making servicemen laugh and championing young acts. He would pick you up and make you feel like the exploration of your imagination and expression was a good thing. Laughter is good. It's group consensus and a release of tension." In 2016, McShane starred as Sam in the Western web series ''Red Bird''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Podcast

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McShane, Mike Living people American male comedians American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors San Francisco State University alumni 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians American Conservatory Theater alumni Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Naturalized citizens of Canada 1955 births