Michael Ironside

Nobody plays bad quite like actor Michael Ironside, who's built a career on portraying nasty characters in films ranging from 1981's Scanners (in which he plays a cult leader) to 1993's Free Willy (in which he plays an evil theme park owner).

Born Feb. 12, 1950, in Toronto, Ironside was a writer before he became an actor, penning his first play at age 15 and writing, directing and starring in his first film, Down Where the Lights Are, while attending Ontario College of Art. Soon, the young actor had become a regular in Canadian film and TV productions, and in 1983, he moved to Los Angeles, where he promptly landed leading roles in the miniseries V: The Final Battle and "V: The Series."

Since then Ironside has been a prolific performer in films such as The Falcon and the Snowman, Total Recall and Mindstorm, as well as on TV, with recurring roles on "ER," "Desperate Housewives" and more.

Filmography