Michael Murphy

For over thirty-five years, Michael Murphy has performed in film, television and in the theatre. He has had major roles in many award-winning pictures, and has worked with some of the most respected filmmakers of his generation. They include: Robert Altman, Woody Allen, Paul Mazursky, Peter Weir, Tim Burton, Oliver Stone, Elia Kazan, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Ritt, Robert Aldrich, Orson Welles and Paul Thomas Anderson.

Murphy has worked in over one hundred television productions, the highlight of which was the Robert Altman - Gary Trudeau cult series Tanner ‘88 in which he played the title role. It was followed in 2004 by the mini series Tanner on Tanner. He also appeared in the classic Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, with Cicely Tyson. The film won nine Emmy Awards. A partial list of Murphy’s more interesting credits include: Silver City directed by John Sayles, Heights directed by James Ivory. Magnolia (SAG nomination for Best Ensemble), Kansas City, Batman Returns, Salvador, The Year of Living Dangerously, Manhattan, The Front, An Unmarried Woman, Nashville, What’s Up Doc?, Brewster McCloud and M*A*S*H*.

For years Murphy lived in New York, and worked in many theatrical productions in and around the city. He starred in Jon Robin Baitz’s Three Hotels, at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco.

Over the last couple of years, Murphy has turned his attention to the independent arena, where he recently completed three films. They are: Three Janes, by Jim & Iris Klein, Tart, by Christina Wayne, and Norma Jean, Jack & Me, by Cyrus Nowrasteh. Murphy and Nowrasteh recently reunited for the Paramount/Showtime The Day Regan Was Shot, also starring Richard Dreyfus. Additionally, Murphy has been busy narrating some highly acclaimed programs for Public Broadcasting that include: Long Journey Home: The Irish in America, The Last Stand of Tallgrass Prairie, and the forthcoming Mount Rushmore. He has also committed many well-known novels to tape including the Nero Wolfe series.

With co-writer David Fineman, Murphy completed an original screenplay entitled Crashing, and it appears to be making big waves in Hollywood.

Since his recent move to Canada, Michael has worked on the series This Is Wonderland for which he was awarded a 2004 Gemini award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series, and a second award in 2005. He had a recurring role on The Eleventh Hour, the critically acclaimed series for CTV, as well as leading roles in the CBC MOW Footsteps and In The Dark for Shaftesbury Films.

The Film Farm