Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known as Michael
Ironside, is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He has worked as a
voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in film and
television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is
best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has
also portrayed sympathetic characters.Ironside was born in Toronto,
Ontario, the son of Robert Walter Ironside and Patricia June Ironside
(née Passmore). His father was a street lighting technician and
laborer and his mother a housewife. He is of English, Irish and
Scottish descent, and is one of five children. Ironside attended the
Ontario College of Art in Toronto and at age 15 wrote a play, The
Shelter, which won the first prize in a university contest. He also
won the Senior writing award at Riverdale Collegiate Institute in
1968.Ironside specializes in playing villains and tough-guys. One of
his first roles was as evil telepath Darryl Revok in Scanners (1981),
an early film by David Cronenberg. He played the role of a serial
killer, Colt Hawker, in the 1982 slasher film Visiting Hours, directed
by Jean-Claude Lord, and appeared as Miler Crane in The A-Team episode
"Taxicab Wars" (1983). His breakthrough role was as cynical anti-hero
Ham Tyler in the television miniseries V: The Final Battle and its
following 19 episode series (1984). He is also known for his roles in
Top Gun (1986) as Naval Aviator Lieutenant Commander Rick "Jester"
Heatherly, Extreme Prejudice (1987) as Major Paul Hackett, Watchers
(1988) as a conscience-free mutant assassin, and Total Recall (1990)
as Richter, the murderous henchman of Ronny Cox's villain Cohaagen.
Ironside played the villainous General Katana in the science fiction
sequel Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) and, after a brief stint
in ER's inaugural season, he was tapped to replace Roy Scheider as
captain of the high-tech submarine seaQuest in the third season of
seaQuest DSV as Captain Oliver Hudson. However, NBC cancelled the
series after only thirteen episodes with Ironside as the star. In
1992, he starred as M. Emmet Walsh's brother in David Winning's
thriller Killer Image. In 1994, Ironside starred as Luck Hatcher in
the western Dead Man's Revenge. In 1995, Ironside had a brief cameo as
Lt. Col. Stone in Major Payne. In 1997, Ironside was reunited with
Total Recall director Paul Verhoeven for Starship Troopers. He
appeared in The Perfect Storm (2000) and The Machinist (2004). He
starred in the film Chaindance as a small-time crook, unable to make
it on the outside, who was paired up with a handicapped man. Ironside
starred as Resistance General Hugh Ashdown in Terminator Salvation,
reunited with his co-star from The Machinist, Christian Bale.He voiced
comic book villain Darkseid in Superman: The Animated Series and its
sequels, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. In 2020, he once
again reprised his role in the DC Universe web series Harley Quinn. In
one episode of The New Batman Adventures, he voiced Batman in a
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns sequence. Another part he played in
the DC Comics universe was Lois Lane's father, General Sam Lane in
three episodes of Smallville.
Ironside, is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He has worked as a
voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in film and
television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is
best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has
also portrayed sympathetic characters.Ironside was born in Toronto,
Ontario, the son of Robert Walter Ironside and Patricia June Ironside
(née Passmore). His father was a street lighting technician and
laborer and his mother a housewife. He is of English, Irish and
Scottish descent, and is one of five children. Ironside attended the
Ontario College of Art in Toronto and at age 15 wrote a play, The
Shelter, which won the first prize in a university contest. He also
won the Senior writing award at Riverdale Collegiate Institute in
1968.Ironside specializes in playing villains and tough-guys. One of
his first roles was as evil telepath Darryl Revok in Scanners (1981),
an early film by David Cronenberg. He played the role of a serial
killer, Colt Hawker, in the 1982 slasher film Visiting Hours, directed
by Jean-Claude Lord, and appeared as Miler Crane in The A-Team episode
"Taxicab Wars" (1983). His breakthrough role was as cynical anti-hero
Ham Tyler in the television miniseries V: The Final Battle and its
following 19 episode series (1984). He is also known for his roles in
Top Gun (1986) as Naval Aviator Lieutenant Commander Rick "Jester"
Heatherly, Extreme Prejudice (1987) as Major Paul Hackett, Watchers
(1988) as a conscience-free mutant assassin, and Total Recall (1990)
as Richter, the murderous henchman of Ronny Cox's villain Cohaagen.
Ironside played the villainous General Katana in the science fiction
sequel Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) and, after a brief stint
in ER's inaugural season, he was tapped to replace Roy Scheider as
captain of the high-tech submarine seaQuest in the third season of
seaQuest DSV as Captain Oliver Hudson. However, NBC cancelled the
series after only thirteen episodes with Ironside as the star. In
1992, he starred as M. Emmet Walsh's brother in David Winning's
thriller Killer Image. In 1994, Ironside starred as Luck Hatcher in
the western Dead Man's Revenge. In 1995, Ironside had a brief cameo as
Lt. Col. Stone in Major Payne. In 1997, Ironside was reunited with
Total Recall director Paul Verhoeven for Starship Troopers. He
appeared in The Perfect Storm (2000) and The Machinist (2004). He
starred in the film Chaindance as a small-time crook, unable to make
it on the outside, who was paired up with a handicapped man. Ironside
starred as Resistance General Hugh Ashdown in Terminator Salvation,
reunited with his co-star from The Machinist, Christian Bale.He voiced
comic book villain Darkseid in Superman: The Animated Series and its
sequels, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. In 2020, he once
again reprised his role in the DC Universe web series Harley Quinn. In
one episode of The New Batman Adventures, he voiced Batman in a
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns sequence. Another part he played in
the DC Comics universe was Lois Lane's father, General Sam Lane in
three episodes of Smallville.
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