Michael Wiseman

'Michael Wiseman' (qv) is an experienced, versatile actor who is best known for playing Mafia boss "Johnny Rizzo" on the TV Series _Vegas (2012)_ (qv). Born on April 12, 1967 in Northern California, USA, he grew up in Lafayette where his mother taught at their local elementary school for 35 years and his grandfather owned a local restaurant.From an early age, Michael knew he wanted to be an actor-even listing it as his stated goal in his Jr. high school yearbook. Days after graduating high school, Michael moved south-determined to achieve his dream. He began a rigorous intro to the arts in college-where he studied dance (Ballet and Jazz), singing, stage design, lighting, and acting. He then went on to attend Robert F Lyons Acting Academy in Los Angeles with focuses on Scene Study, Cold Reading, and extensive Improvisation. He began performing at several Los Angeles theaters while continuing to study under Robert F, including taking his Masterclass for 5 years.A first job in Los Angeles working for Joel Silver at Silver Pictures on the Warner Bros lot led to many connections and insights about the business while picking up or delivering scripts to studios such as Fox, Disney, Sony, and Paramount. Out of that, he met director Stephen Hopkins who changed his course by getting him a line in the movie _Predator 2 (1990)_ (qv) (Staring Danny Glover and Gary Busey)-earning him his SAG card and sending him on his way.From there, Michael's acting career began to take shape. A first TV role on the series _Cheers_ (Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman), was followed by a part in the Feature Film _Judgment Night (1993)_ (qv) (Director Stephen Hopkins), along with guest roles in _Melrose Place_ (Heather Locklear), Renegade (Lorenzo Lamas), and _Walker, Texas Ranger (1993)_ (qv) (Chuck Norris).His first big break came when he was cast for a 3-episode arc in _NYPD Blue (1993)_ (qv) (Jimmy Smits), playing the character Tommy Richardson. The character was very well received by critics and Michael landed a stream of guest star and recurring roles in other popular shows including _Diagnosis Murder (1993)_ (qv) (Dick Van Dyke), Nash Bridges (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), _The Pretender (1996)_ (qv) (Michael T. Weiss), _JAG (1995)_ (qv) (David James Elliott), _Star Trek: Voyager (1995)_ (qv) (Kate Mulgrew), _The X-Files (1993)_ (qv) (Gillian Anderson), _Judging Amy (1999)_ (qv) (Amy Brenneman), _CSI: Miami (2002)_ (qv) (David Caruso), _Cold Case (2003)_ (qv) (Kathryn Morris), _The Closer (2005)_ (qv) (Kyra Sedgwick), _Boston Legal_ (William Shatner), _Nip/Tuck (2003)_ (qv) (Dylan Walsh), _Prison Break (2005)_ (qv) (Dominic Purcell), _The Mentalist (2008)_ (qv) (Simon Baker), and _Lie to Me (2009)_ (qv) (Tim Roth) along with major supporting roles in the Mystery-Thriller films: _Rancid_ (Fay Masterson) and _The Wicker Man (2006)_ (qv) (Nicholas Cage).After a brief lull which left him questioning whether it was time to move on, Michael had his greatest acting experience to date when he landed the role of the suave but hotheaded Chicago mobster Johnny Rizzo, a character who spanned 10 episodes, on the TV Series _Vegas (2012)_ (qv) (starring opposite Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis).Since Vegas, Michael has continued to act in popular shows such as: _NCIS (2003)_ (qv) (Mark Harmon), and _Scorpion (2014)_ (qv) (Elyes Gabel); and multiple films including: _Running Wild (2017)_ (qv) (Sharon Stone), _Pray for Rain (2017)_ (qv) (Jane Seymour), and _In Search of Fellini (2017)_ (qv) (Ksenia Solo).Besides acting, Michael enjoys skiing, golf, spending time with his family, and doing as much Yoga as time permits. He has been married to actress and Emmy-nominated makeup artist 'Caroline Keenan' (qv)-Wiseman since 2001. They have two children.::Rachel Kuchar