Mike McShane
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" McShane (born June 25, 1955) is an American actor, singer, and improvisational comedian who first became known through his appearances in the early 1990s on the British version of the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway?
, McShane had performed on stage, on television, and in film, and was an alumnus of Los Angeles Theatresports
. One of his larger TV roles was as Kramer
's nemesis Franklin Delano Romanowski (FDR) on Seinfeld
. He also had a cameo role as a doomed hypnotherapist in the film Office Space
and played the friendly scientist, Professor Keenbean, in the 1994 movie Ri¢hie Ri¢h.
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 Kansas. Touted as being somewhat biographical of McShane's childhood, the film has never been released on video or DVD. McShane appeared in Tom and Huck
as Muff Potter and on Brotherly Love as the experienced but wisecracking mechanic, Lloyd.
He provided the voice for Cid
in the video games Final Fantasy X
and Final Fantasy X-2
, and played Friar Tuck
in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
. He appeared in Tower of Terror
, a TV movie based on the Disney attraction as "Q" along with Steve Guttenberg
and Kirsten Dunst
. He had also appeared with Tony Slattery
in the comedy sketch show S&M, starred in the sitcom The Big One
, and provided voice work in 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 A Bug's Life
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
.He also voiced the character of Baron Rakan Harkonnen in the 2002 strategy game Emperor: Battle for Dune
.
He also voiced Marlon, Caracticus P. Doom and various other characters in Cosgrove Hall's Avenger Penguins
, Rabbit's dastardly neighbour Wolf in Granada
's Don't Eat the Neighbours
, Thunderpig, several characters in Clerks: The Animated Series
, Hands in the Disney film Treasure Planet
, a Mountain Man in King of the Hill
, Quozmir in Dave the Barbarian
and Rumpelstiltskin in Happily N'Ever After
.
He also narrated several episodes of Animated Tales of the World
. In 2003, McShane underwent gastric bypass surgery
, losing a significant amount of weight. In 2005 he made an appearance as Dr.Phelps in Malcolm in the Middle
. In 2006 he was in a production of Talk Radio directed by Stewart Lee
, with Stephen K. Amos
, Phil Nichol
. It was the first dramatic production in the Udderbelly, a performing space housed in a giant, inverted purple cow.
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
at the Menier Chocolate Factory
in Southwark
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
theatre. In September 2007 he took part in the British Library'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 as Dr. Vaabit in episode 5 of BBC's Sitcom Lab Rats
, and appeared on the BBC radio programme Just a Minute
.
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
Biography
Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Roeland Park, KansasRoeland Park, Kansas
Roeland Park is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 6,817 at the 2000 census.-History:The City of Roeland Park was originally named after John Roe, an immigrant from Ireland who settled on in 1883, part of which Roeland Park now stands...
, McShane had performed on stage, on television, and in film, and was an alumnus of Los Angeles Theatresports
Theatresports
Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges...
. One of his larger TV roles was as Kramer
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Michael Richards...
's nemesis Franklin Delano Romanowski (FDR) on Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
. He also had a cameo role as a doomed hypnotherapist in the film Office Space
Office Space
Office Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
and played the friendly scientist, Professor Keenbean, in the 1994 movie Ri¢hie Ri¢h.
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 Kansas. Touted as being somewhat biographical of McShane's childhood, the film has never been released on video or DVD. McShane appeared in Tom and Huck
Tom and Huck
Tom and Huck is a 1995 Disney film starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Joey Stinson, and Rachael Leigh Cook; it is based on Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In the film, mischievous young Tom Sawyer witnesses a murder by the vicious Native American known as "Injun Joe"...
as Muff Potter and on Brotherly Love as the experienced but wisecracking mechanic, Lloyd.
He provided the voice for Cid
Cid
Cid may refer to:* Cid , a series of fictional characters in the Final Fantasy series of computer role-playing games* Cid Corman, a poet* Cid, a slang term for Lysergic acid diethylamide...
in the video games Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square as the tenth title in the Final Fantasy series. It was released in 2001 for Sony's PlayStation 2, and will be re-released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in 2012...
and Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy X-2
is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation 2. It was released in 2003 and is the sequel to the best-selling 2001 game Final Fantasy X...
, and played Friar Tuck
Friar Tuck
Friar Tuck is a companion to Robin Hood in the legends about that character. He is a common character in modern Robin Hood stories, which depict him as a jovial friar and one of Robin's Merry Men. The figure of Tuck was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th...
in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood...
. He appeared in Tower of Terror
Tower of Terror (film)
Tower of Terror is a 1997 made-for-TV supernatural thriller directed by D. J. MacHale. It is based on the theme park attraction, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and was originally a presentation of The...
, a TV movie based on the Disney attraction as "Q" along with Steve Guttenberg
Steve Guttenberg
Steven Robert "Steve" Guttenberg is an American actor and comedian. He became well known during the 1980s, after a series of starring roles in major Hollywood films, including Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, and Short Circuit.-Early life:Guttenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the...
and Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
. He had also appeared with Tony Slattery
Tony Slattery
Anthony Declan James "Tony" Slattery is an English actor and comedian who has appeared on British television regularly since the mid 1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? As a film actor, both comedic and serious, his credits include The...
in the comedy sketch show S&M, starred in the sitcom The Big One
The Big One (TV series)
The Big One is a 1992 British comedy-drama television series starring Sandi Toksvig as Deddie Tolbert and Mike McShane as James Howard.Seven episodes were broadcast on Channel 4 from 5 March to 16 April 1992. The series was written by Elly Brewer and Toksvig, and directed by John Henderson. Guest...
, and provided voice work in the anime Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
is a 2000 anime film written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The film is based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D novels, D - Demon Deathchase.The film began production in 1997 and was completed with the intention of being shown in American theaters...
, 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 A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
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
Castle in the Sky
All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" – 2:27#"Morning in Slag Ravine" – 3:04#"A Fun Brawl " – 4:27#"Memories of Gondoa" – 2:46#"Discouraged Pazu" – 1:46#"Robot Soldier " – 2:34...
.He also voiced the character of Baron Rakan Harkonnen in the 2002 strategy game Emperor: Battle for Dune
Emperor: Battle for Dune
Emperor: Battle for Dune is a Dune video game, released by Westwood Studios on June 12, 2001. It is based in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe....
.
He also voiced Marlon, Caracticus P. Doom and various other characters in Cosgrove Hall's Avenger Penguins
Avenger Penguins
Avenger Penguins was an animated series produced by Cosgrove Hall Films in 1993, it was animated by Alfonso Productions, a Spanish based animation studio also responsible for bringing Cosgrove's previous show Fantomcat to life. It aired largely on Children's ITV and was originally to be called...
, Rabbit's dastardly neighbour Wolf in Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
's Don't Eat the Neighbours
Don't Eat the Neighbours
Don't Eat the Neighbours is a children's comedy series that originally aired in the United Kingdom and Canada in 2001-2002. It was filmed mainly with puppets, but occasionally used computer graphics. The series was focused on the characters Rabbit, Wolf, and their children...
, Thunderpig, several characters in Clerks: The Animated Series
Clerks: The Animated Series
Clerks is an American animated sitcom based on Kevin Smith's 1994 comedy of the same name. It was developed for television by Smith, Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier and former Seinfeld writer David Mandel with character designs by Stephen Silver.-Cast:- Broadcast history :Only two episodes...
, Hands in the Disney film Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet is a 2002 animated science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 27, 2002...
, a Mountain Man in King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
, Quozmir in Dave the Barbarian
Dave the Barbarian
Dave the Barbarian is an American animated television series created by Doug Langdale, creator of The Weekenders, that premiered on January 23, 2004 on Disney Channel and ended on January 22, 2005. Continuing to air in other countries after the show ended, the show follows a barbarian named Dave,...
and Rumpelstiltskin in Happily N'Ever After
Happily N'Ever After
Happily N'Ever After is a 2007 American computer-animated film based on the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. It is a Vanguard Animation production, released by Lions Gate Films on January 5, 2007...
.
He also narrated several episodes of Animated Tales of the World
Animated Tales of the World
Animated Tales of the World is a 2001 American animated series that aired on HBO. It won two Primetime Emmy Awards in 2001, for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation and Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for Peter Macon.-External links:...
. In 2003, McShane underwent gastric bypass surgery
Gastric bypass surgery
Gastric bypass procedures are any of a group of similar operations that first divides the stomach into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then re-arranges the small intestine to allow both pouches to stay connected to it. Surgeons have developed several different ways...
, losing a significant amount of weight. In 2005 he made an appearance as Dr.Phelps in Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
. In 2006 he was in a production of Talk Radio directed by Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
, with Stephen K. Amos
Stephen K. Amos
Stephen Kehinde Amos is a British stand-up comedian of Nigerian origin. A regular on the international comedy circuit, he is known for including his audience members during his shows...
, Phil Nichol
Phil Nichol
Phil Nichol is a Canadian comedian, singer-songwriter, and actor.-Comedy:Nichol was born in Scotland to a Scottish mother, but raised in Canada. He first found fame as a member of the musical comedy trio Corky and the Juice Pigs, known for the song " Eskimo"...
. It was the first dramatic production in the Udderbelly, a performing space housed in a giant, inverted purple cow.
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 (musical)
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
in Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
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
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at the Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
theatre. In September 2007 he took part in the British Library'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
Paul Merton's Impro Chums
Paul Merton's Impro Chums is an improvisational comedy stage show, consisting of comedian Paul Merton heading a cast of Richard Vranch, Suki Webster, Mike McShane and Lee Simpson, as well as a special guest performer....
, a live improv show, and as Dr. Vaabit in episode 5 of BBC's Sitcom Lab Rats
Lab Rats
Lab Rats is a 2008 BBC 2 situation comedy set in a university science laboratory. It stars Chris Addison, who has co-written the series with Carl Cooper...
, and appeared on the BBC radio programme Just a Minute
Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....
.