John Michael Herndon(1955-2022)
- Actor
- Additional Crew
John Michael Herndon was born in the small rural town of Linn,
Missouri, but spent his remaining childhood years in Jefferson City,
MO. As an exceptionally shy and introverted child, he expressed himself
by being the class 'artist.' In an effort to break out of his shell, he
transferred to the much larger public high school where he participated
in all the speech and drama classes available, and subsequently began
his transition from the visual arts into the dramatic arts.
However, convinced by his family to declare a "practical" major, he spent two years at Lincoln University, a local and historic black college, as a Business student before transferring to SMSU (now called Missouri State.) While at SMSU, he expanded his studies and completed separate undergraduate degrees: a B.S. degree in Business, a B.F.A. degree in Theatre, as well as a Master's degree in Theatre. (Other noted students from the Theatre program are John Goodman and Kathleen Turner.)
In the ensuing years in Los Angeles, he has served dueling objectives -- bouncing back and forth between business and acting. He gained business success by producing events for national charities, major film studios and the City of L.A. During this time, he also pursued an acting career and appeared in a number of indie films and television shows such as Buffy, The Vampire Slayer.
When his oldest sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2005, he returned to Missouri and stayed until her death a year later. That personal experience and time for reflection allowed him to return to LA with a reinvigorated sense of purpose and artistic passion. That renewed focus on his acting has led to numerous film roles in subsequent years.
The character portrayals have ranged from urbane lawyers and compassionate doctors to hard edged southern characters like Barry in The Abattoir, the murderous Confederate Army Captain in Deserted or the evil and sadistic Mr. Abaddon in Beneath The Top Hat. Although he is known for his personal sensitivity and joviality, John Michael obviously relishes performing the depth and complexity of a well written antagonist or villain role.
However, convinced by his family to declare a "practical" major, he spent two years at Lincoln University, a local and historic black college, as a Business student before transferring to SMSU (now called Missouri State.) While at SMSU, he expanded his studies and completed separate undergraduate degrees: a B.S. degree in Business, a B.F.A. degree in Theatre, as well as a Master's degree in Theatre. (Other noted students from the Theatre program are John Goodman and Kathleen Turner.)
In the ensuing years in Los Angeles, he has served dueling objectives -- bouncing back and forth between business and acting. He gained business success by producing events for national charities, major film studios and the City of L.A. During this time, he also pursued an acting career and appeared in a number of indie films and television shows such as Buffy, The Vampire Slayer.
When his oldest sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2005, he returned to Missouri and stayed until her death a year later. That personal experience and time for reflection allowed him to return to LA with a reinvigorated sense of purpose and artistic passion. That renewed focus on his acting has led to numerous film roles in subsequent years.
The character portrayals have ranged from urbane lawyers and compassionate doctors to hard edged southern characters like Barry in The Abattoir, the murderous Confederate Army Captain in Deserted or the evil and sadistic Mr. Abaddon in Beneath The Top Hat. Although he is known for his personal sensitivity and joviality, John Michael obviously relishes performing the depth and complexity of a well written antagonist or villain role.
