Michael Dorman (born 26 April 1981) is a New Zealand actor, best known for his starring roles as NASA astronaut Gordo Stevens in the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series For All Mankind and as John Tavner in the comedy-drama series Patriot.
Michael Dorman | |
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Dorman in 2017 | |
Born | Auckland, New Zealand | 26 April 1981
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2001–present |
Early life
editDorman was born in Auckland, New Zealand. His mother's side of the family is Māori (specifically, Ngāti Porou people from the east coast of the north island), and his father's ancestors are Pākehā (the Māori term for non-Māori, but most commonly applied to New Zealanders of European descent). He moved to Australia with his family at the age of ten, and settled in Bundaberg, Queensland, where he attended Bundaberg State High School.[1] He subsequently studied a degree in drama at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane.[2]
Career
editDorman's first role was as Christian on The Secret Life of Us. He was a fan of the show when it premiered in 2001 and he was in his final year of university. He landed the role in 2002 after having moved to Sydney.[2]
One of Dorman's breakthrough performances came in the critically acclaimed Australian film Suburban Mayhem (2006). Other lead roles followed in the Australian films Prime Mover (2009) and Needle (2010), as well as supporting work on further Australian films such as West (2007), Acolytes (2008), Triangle (2009), Daybreakers (2009) and Killer Elite (2011). Notably, he also featured in a main role as Tom Wilcox in the Australian television comedy-drama Wonderland for the entirety of its run (2013-2015).
After befriending Russell Crowe while working on The Water Diviner (2014), Crowe paid for Dorman's flight to the United States to further his acting career there.[1] He picked up significant roles in TV series For All Mankind and Patriot, and a small role in blockbuster film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). Dorman went on to star as Tom Griffin in the horror film The Invisible Man and as Jesse in Hard Luck Love Song (both 2020).
In 2021, it was announced that he would star as the title character of the Joe Pickett television series, based on the books by C.J. Box. The show premiered for viewing on the Spectrum Network in December, 2021 and Paramount+ streaming service in February, 2022. He has been cast as Gol D. Roger in Netflix's series One Piece (2023).
Filmography
editFilm
editYear | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | A Love Story | Ben | Short film |
2001 | Spudmonkey | Trent | |
2002 | Stuffed Bunny | Chris | Short film |
2005 | Rob God | Jeff | Short film |
2005 | Small Claims: White Wedding | Sean | TV movie |
2005 | 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous | Jamie | |
2006 | The Silence | Eddison | TV movie |
2006 | Suburban Mayhem | Rusty | |
2007 | West | Mick | |
2007 | Walnut | Isaac | Short film |
2007 | Katoomba | Aaron | Short film |
2008 | Acolytes | Gary Parker | |
2008 | The Weight of Sunken Treasure | Michael Dooley (young) | Short film |
2009 | Prime Mover | Thomas | |
2009 | Triangle | Greg | |
2009 | Daybreakers[3] | Frankie Dalton | |
2009 | Change Given | Jon | Short film |
2009 | At the Breakfast Table | Short film | |
2010 | Needle | Ben Rutherford | |
2010 | The Premonition | Nate | Short film |
2010 | Post Apocalyptic Man | Hunter | Short film |
2010 | How to Make a Monster | Jesse | Short film |
2011 | Blood Brothers | Jeff Gillham | TV movie |
2011 | Killer Elite | Jake | |
2011 | Sleeping Beauty[4] | Cook | |
2013 | Breath | Michael | Short film |
2014 | The Water Diviner | Greeves | |
2016 | Lifeline | Jonas | Short film |
2016 | Goldstone | Patch | |
2017 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales | First Officer Wade | |
2020 | The Invisible Man | Tom Griffin | |
2020 | Hard Luck Love Song | Jesse |
Television
editYear | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002–05 | The Secret Life of Us | Christian Hayden | |
2010 | Sea Patrol | Travis | 1 episode |
2011 | Rescue: Special Ops | Will Pike | 1 episode |
2011 | Wild Boys | Dan Sinclair | 10 episodes |
2012 | Reef Doctors | Scottie | |
2012 | Underbelly: Badness | Paul Leaske | Miniseries |
2012 | The Time of Our Lives | Joel | 3 episodes |
2013 | Serangoon Road | Conrad Harrison | Miniseries, 10 episodes |
2013–2015 | Wonderland | Tom Wilcox | 44 episodes |
2015–2018 | Patriot | John Tavner | 18 episodes |
2016 | Black Comedy | 1 episode | |
2019–2021 | For All Mankind | Gordo Stevens[5] | 20 episodes |
2020 | The Secrets She Keeps | Jack O'Shaughnessy | 6 episodes |
2021-2023 | Joe Pickett | Joe Pickett | 20 episodes |
2023 | One Piece | Gol D. Roger |
Theatre
editYear | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean | Joe | QUT |
2001 | The Taming of the Shrew | Lucentio | QUT |
2001 | The Art of Success | Frank | QUT |
2001 | 48 Shades of Brown | Dan | La Boite Theatre Company |
References
edit- ^ a b "An episode with Michael Dorman". NZ Herald. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Australian Television: The Secret Life of Us: profiles". www.australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ Catsoulis, Jeanette (7 January 2010). "'Daybreakers': Futuristic World Where Vampires Rule [NYT Critics' Pick Directed by Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller R 1h 38m]" (movie review). The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ Davis, Cindy (17 April 2011). "Date Rape for Pay: Sleeping Beauty Trailer" (movie review). Pajiba. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
Sleeping Beauty also stars Michael Dorman (Daybreakers), Mirrah Foulkes (Animal Kingdom)…
- ^ "'For All Mankind' to launch alternate space race on Apple TV+". collectSPACE. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ https://shanahan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DORMAN-Michael-110418.pdf