Biography

Mike Messier is an 86 award-winning producer, screenwriter, director, TV host, and actor. He is also a playwright, acting coach, live event host, visual artist, and guest speaker. He is the author of novels A Distance from Avalon - When the Dying and the Dead Reunite and Fight or Play Basketball. Both of these stories have also been written as feature film screenplays.

Mike's other books include Bad Girls with Good Tattoos, the graphic novel Wrestling with Sanity, and Art and War of Directing Student, Low & No Budget Movies: A Primer for Creating and Participating in Independent Films, Television & Web Series.

As an actor, Mike has shared scenes with Meryl Streep & Elisabeth Shue in Hope Springs, Mario Van Peebles, Wesley Snipes & Cybill Shepherd (as her son) in Hard Luck, and Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins in Olive Kitteridge. Mike's YouTube channels are Mike Messier Stuff and 1 Mike Messier.

Mike founded "Avalonia Festival of Short Films etc." in 2017 and manages the annual live events and website. Avalonia Photography Competition, All Comedy Short Film Festival, and All Horror Short Film Festival followed. Mike participated heavily in the 2017 Play in a Day four-month series of performances from Natick, Massachusetts. Three of Messier's scripts from that series became short films he also directed; The Impeccable, So, You're the Guy?, and Dalmation. From 2015 to 2019, Messier hosted and produced the interview show Messier Mantra and the six-part Messier Peace Theater out of Seekonk TV 9 in Massachusetts.

Mike and frequent collaborator Tim Labonte completed a silent short film titled Disregard, with a musical score by Tony Caramadre. A few months later, the three teamed again to complete Many Keys - The Heartbreak Monologue, derived from Messier's A Distance from Avalon novel/screenplay/stage play. Both Disregard and Many Keys premiered at the Austin Revolution Film Festival. Mike won Best Screenwriter from San Angelo Revolution Film Festival for his prison drama script Also Ran.

MIKE MESSIER ART has become a new passion, with a growing following on TikTok and InstaGram. "The Art of Mike Messier" short film won a Best Documentary Award from Couch Film Festival and a Best Art Film Award from Alternative Film Festival in 2025.

Mike continues to promote his catalog of accomplishments while also seeking new opportunities as a screenwriter, actor, and artist.
- IMDb mini biography by: Mike Messier

On the set of the film "Hope Springs", starring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steve Carell, Mike was worked into the bar scene as "Mike" sharing a moment with Streep and the bartender played by Elisabeth Shue, whose comedic improvisations lead to the scene being added to the film. This scene can be found on Mike's acting reel.

Mike Messier is credited with creating Avalonia Festival of Short Films etc., which had its first Live Event in 2017. The festival's Live Events first three Live Events took place in Rhode Island and subsequently later migrated to Florida. The festival is an off-shoot of Messier's novel A Distance from Avalon.

Cybill Shepherd chose Mike to play her son in the film Hard Luck after Director Mario Van Peebles asked the legendary Actress to choose her favorite among the final audition tapes.

Mike's Open Chair Books has released the following titles, all available on Amazon: A Distance from Avalon - when the dying and the dead reunite; Fight or Play Basketball - every shot counts; Wrestling with Sanity - a Pro Wrestling graphic novel; Bad Girls with Good Tattoos by Kate Spain, and Pro Wrestling Trivia.

[from the feature film screenplay Distance from Avalon, by Mike Messier] JOE:I've been working on a theory. Would you like to hear it? HEARTBREAK: Of course. JOE: Our "past" equals who we've been. Our "present" equals who we are. Our "future" equals who we will be. Our "eternal" means who we will be for eternity. So where is the exponential? Where is the magic, the magnificence? Where is that "M-Life?" "M-Life" equals the combination of two or more of the these (past, present, future, eternal) at the same time. To live in the M-Life is to dig beneath the surface of the "societal norm of living" and live through and process time and space unique to oneself including "past life experiences." M-Life is to go beneath the plateau of common reality into past life experience while simultaneously, at least at times, experiencing reality with and common to, other traditional humans.

Pro wrestling means a lot to me. As a child, the larger than life characters were like real-life superheroes but with more humanity and more of an edge. I actually stopped with cartoons and comic books in order to watch wrestling and read wrestling magazines. I had a pro wrestling card game, called The Superstar Pro Wrestling Game, that I played for hours and perfected. I played with the action figures etc. Both of my parents were generous in their support of this and took me to many live pro wrestling shows. Years later, I got involved in the local circuit as a ring announcer, commentator, timekeeper and I even wrestled thirteen matches myself. I had an interview with the human resources representative at Titan Tower (WWE Headquarters) for the WWE Creative Writing Team. However, I think it's more of a personal reference business. If anyone has direct connections to the WWE, my comprehensive tournament based storyline would still be a good fit for the company, and I'd love to share it with the true higher-ups at WWE.

It can be difficult to write something and allow someone else to direct it. Their choices may be great ones, but if the vision is different than the writer's, even in a small way, then this can lead to conflict, either with the production itself or inner turmoil within the mind and soul of the writer, and writers have enough inner turmoil as it is. I mention this because I think it's an important lesson; if one is capable of writing, then that same writer might and even perhaps does "owe it to himself/herself" to also direct the project. This is from my own experience, others will feel differently. I know that every project is unique and some writers simply do not want to or are not equipped to direct, but for those that have a feeling they "could" or "should" direct, I would encourage them to give it a shot and see what happens.

"I did discover in these early projects that it can be difficult to write something and allow someone else to direct it. Their choices may be great ones, but if the vision is different than the writer's, even in a small way, then this can lead to conflict, either with the production itself or inner turmoil within the mind and soul of the writer, and writers have enough inner turmoil as it is. I mention this because I think it's an important lesson; if one is capable of writing, then that same writer might and even perhaps does "owe it to himself/herself" to also direct the project. This is from my own experience, others will feel differently. I know that every project is unique and some writers simply do not want to or are not equipped to direct, but for those that have a feeling they "could" or "should" direct, I would encourage them to give it a shot and see what happens." from the article/interview "All About Mike Messier" by Jaime Reborn, April 14, 2016