Michael Craig(I)
- Actor
- Writer
A veritable everyman of stage and screen, both big and small, but
relatively unfamiliar to American audiences, Michael Craig is of Scots
heritage, born in India to a father on military assignment. When he was
three, the family returned to England, but by his eleventh year, they
moved on to Canada - where he undoubtedly acquired his North American
accent. He left school for the Merchant Navy at 16, but finally
returned to England and the lure of the theater. By 1947, he debuted on
stage and, in 1953, Sir Peter Hall
gave him his first lead stage role. In the meantime, he was trying his
hand at extra work and had speaking roles by 1954. This eventually led
to discovery by Rank Films and a list of lead movie roles into the
early 1960s. When his 7-year contract with that company expired, he was
optioned by Columbia Pictures and his Hollywood career commenced. Yet
his American work is perhaps only modestly remembered in two films,
ironically co-American productions with the UK,
Mysterious Island (1961), and
Australia, the Disney TV installment,
Ride a Wild Pony (1975).
By the mid-1970s, Craig's TV and film work was heavily concentrated in Australia (where he still resides) and composed a depth or roles, both comedic and dramatic, that has included memorable and solid character pieces as he has matured in age. As a screen writer, he has written for and created several British TV series. And he has never been far from the stage, remaining a familiar face in both London and New York theater.
By the mid-1970s, Craig's TV and film work was heavily concentrated in Australia (where he still resides) and composed a depth or roles, both comedic and dramatic, that has included memorable and solid character pieces as he has matured in age. As a screen writer, he has written for and created several British TV series. And he has never been far from the stage, remaining a familiar face in both London and New York theater.
