Michael Zelniker

Michael Zelniker
Born
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupations
  • Actor
  • screenwriter
  • director
Years active1980s–2020s
SpouseDea Lawrence

Michael Zelniker is a Canadian born actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his performance as Red Rodney in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award-winning film Bird (1988) and as Doug Alward in The Terry Fox Story (1983), for which he won a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 5th Genie Awards in 1984.[1]

Early life and education

Originally from Montreal, Quebec, Zelniker studied acting and theatre at Dawson College, Dome Theatre.[2]

Career

Zelniker appeared in the films Pick-up Summer (1980), Ticket to Heaven (1981), Heartaches (1981), Bird (1988),[3] Glory Enough for All (1991),[4] Naked Lunch (1991),[5] Queens Logic (1991),[5]Mercenary (1996) and Snide and Prejudice (1997), and made guest appearances in the television series The Littlest Hobo, In the Heat of the Night, Murder, She Wrote, Profiler, Strong Medicine, The Dead Zone and Millennium.

He wrote the screenplay for the 1998 film Stuart Bliss, in which he also played the title character.[2] Stuart Bliss was also produced by Zelniker, and won the Northampton Film Festival's Best of Fest Award in 1998.

Zelniker wrote, produced, and directed Falling, which won Indie Fest USA International Film Festival's Best of Festival Award in 2012. In 2013 he began teaching Acting for Film, Chekhov Technique and Performing Shakespeare at the Los Angeles Campus of the New York Film Academy after teaching Acting for the Camera, Acting Technique and Shakespeare at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy from 2004 to 2013.

In 2018, Zelniker became a climate leader with the Climate Reality Project, trained by former Vice President Al Gore. He served as the Co-Chair of Climate Reality's Los Angeles Chapter from 2018 - 2021. He wrote, produced, edited and directed, The Issue with Tissue - a boreal love story. a documentary about the little known, largely untold story of the boreal forest and the Indigenous Peoples who call it home.

The Issue with Tissue held its world premiere at Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival on September 18, 2022, where it was recognized with their Audience Choice Runner-up Award. Playing in theaters in Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, Marin County and Quebec City and at film festivals across North America, The Issue with Tissue qualified for major awards' consideration, including being nominated for the 2023 Next Generation Indie Film Awards for Best Documentary Feature and the 2026 Raindance Film Festival Best Documentary Feature.

In 2024 Zelniker embarked on a 219 day journey, traveling to 21 countries around the world, focused on uplifting the stories of those on the frontlines of the global water crisis, those whose voices too often go unheard. This transformative journey yielded The Struggle for Mother Water, an 8-part/52 minutes per episode documentary series centered on the women who are waging a courageous, determined fight to protect and defend water. It premiered at the Berlinale International Film Festival in February 2026.

The Struggle for Mother Water also screened at the Taormina Film Festival where Zelniker was recognized for his documentary work with a Special Sustainability Award. The 8-part series be released to the public in the fall of 2026.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1980 Hog Wild Pete Crenshaw
1980 Pick-up Summer Greg
1981 Heartaches Andy
1981 Ticket to Heaven Danny
1985 Eleni Sidney Cohn
1986 Touch and Go McDonald
1988 Bird Red Rodney
1991 Queens Logic Marty
1991 Naked Lunch Martin
1995 Night Canvas William Bannister
1996 Mercenary Alan Bailey
1997 Snide and Prejudice Joseph Goebbels
1998 Stuart Bliss Stuart Bliss
2000 Nostradamus John Doe
2001 After Image Rye
2003 Killer Rats Ernst
2005 Nature Unleashed: Earthquake Viktor
2012 Falling Writer/Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor
2023 The Issue with Tissue - a boreal love story Writer/Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1983 The Terry Fox Story Doug Alward Television film
1983 A Case of Libel David
1986 Crossings Jean-Jacques Metzger 2 episodes
1988 Glory Enough for All James Collip Television film
1989 The Neon Empire Burt Stone
1990 In the Heat of the Night Paul Borden Episode: "Bubba's Baby"
1992 Air Time Rickey Television film
1993 Bodies of Evidence Ozzie Hanson Episode: "Trial by Fire"
1993–1996 Murder, She Wrote Various roles 3 episodes
1996 Within the Rock Archer Television film
1996 Millennium Galen Calloway Episode: "Kingdom Come"
1997 Chicago Hope Gerry Clanahan Episode: "Guns 'n' Roses"
1998 Profiler Robert Carter Episode: "Dying to Live"
2002 For the People Dr. Bushnell Episode: "Our Own"
2002 Tornado Warning Steve Television film
2003 Strong Medicine Dr. Janovitch Episode: "Vaccinations"
2003 Veritas: The Quest Isaac Episode: "The Name of God"
2005 The Inside James Havens Episode: "Pre-Filer"
2007 The Dead Zone Philip Episode: "Switch"
2026 The Issue with Tissue - a boreal love story Writer/Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor Limited Edition Television Series
2026 The Struggle for Mother Water Writer/Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor Limited Edition Television Series

References

  1. ↑ "Terry Fox Story wins best picture Genie". The Globe and Mail, March 22, 1984.
  2. 1 2 "Blissful success: Former Montrealer Michael Zelniker is wowing critics and audiences with his new movie Stuart Bliss". Montreal Gazette, August 31, 1998.
  3. ↑ "'Bird' who gave jazz new wings". Vancouver Sun (1988), October 12, 1988.
  4. ↑ "Banting, Best earned their glory". Windsor Star, October 15, 1988.
  5. 1 2 "Actor can only dream of Tangiers". Toronto Star, February 6, 1991.
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