Michael Cristofer

Acting

Michael Cristofer

Born 1945-01-22 · North Trenton, New Jersey, USA

Michael Ivan Cristofer is an American playwright, filmmaker and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for The Shadow Box in 1977. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and an Antoinette Perry “Tony” Award for the Broadway production of his play, The Shadow Box. Subsequent to New York, the play was produced in every major American city and worldwide from Europe to the Far East. Other plays include Breaking Up at Primary Stages; Ice at Manhattan Theatre Club; Black Angel at Circle Repertory Company; The Lady and the Clarinet starring Stockard Channing, produced by the Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf Theater, Off-Broadway and on the London Fringe, and Amazing Grace starring Marsha Mason which received the American Theater Critics Award as the best play produced in the United States during the 1996-97 season. His film work includes the screenplays for The Shadow Box directed by Paul Newman (Golden Globe Award, Emmy nomination), Falling in Love, The Witches of Eastwick, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Breaking Up, and Casanova starring Heath Ledger. His directing credits include Gia starring Angelina Jolie, which was nominated for five Emmys and for which he won a Director’s Guild Award. He then directed Body Shots and Original Sin. For eight years he worked as artistic advisor and finally co-artistic director of River Arts Repertory in Woodstock, New York, a company which produced new plays by writers such as Richard Nelson, Mac Wellman, Len Jenkin, Eric Overmeyer and many others. Also at River Arts, he wrote stage adaptations of the films Love Me or Leave Me and the legendary Casablanca, and directed Joanne Woodward in his own adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. His most recent work for the theater, The Whore and Mr. Moore, is in workshop at the Actor’s Studio where he is a member. He's had recurring roles as Truxton Spangler on AMC's Rubicon, as Jerry Rand on Smash, and as Phillip Price on Mr. Robot. His film roles include The Other Woman, Emoticon and The Adderall Diaries.

Acting credits

Die Hard: With a Vengeance poster
7.3

New York detective John McClane is back and kicking bad-guy butt in the third installment of this action-packed series, which finds him teaming with civilian Zeus Carver to prevent the loss of innocent lives. McClane thought he'd seen it all, until a genius named Simon engages McClane, his new "partner" -- and his beloved city -- in a deadly game that demands their concentration.

Die Hard: With a Vengeance

1995

The Other Woman poster
6.2

Emilia, a law-school graduate, falls in love with her married boss, Jack. After Emilia marries Jack, her happiness turns unexpectedly to grief following the death of her infant daughter. Devastated, Emilia nonetheless carries on, attempting to forge a connection with her stepson William and to resist the interference of Jack's jealous ex-wife.

The Other Woman

2010

The Adderall Diaries poster
5.3

Writer and Adderall enthusiast Stephen Elliott reaches a low point when his estranged father resurfaces, claiming that Stephen has fabricated much of the dark childhood that that fuels his writing. Adrift in the precarious gray area of memory, Stephen is led by three sources of inspiration: a new romance, the best friend who shares his history, and a murder trial that reminds him more than a little of his own story. Based on the memoir of the same name.

The Adderall Diaries

2016

5 Flights Up poster
6.0

A long-time married couple who've spent their lives together in the same New York apartment become overwhelmed by personal and real estate-related issues when they plan to move away.

5 Flights Up

2014

An Enemy of the People poster
6.8

A small forest town is trying to promote itself as a place for tourists to come enjoy the therapeutic hot springs and unspoiled nature. Dr. Stockmann, however, makes the inconvenient discovery that the nature around the village is not so unspoiled. In fact, the runoff from the local tanning mill has contaminated the water to a dangerous degree. The town fathers argue that cleaning up the mess would be far too expensive and the publicity would destroy the town's reputation, so therefore news of the pollution should be suppressed. Dr. Stockmann decides to fight to get the word out to the people, but receives as very mixed reaction.

An Enemy of the People

1978

The Girl in the Book poster
5.8

The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.

The Girl in the Book

2015

The Little Drummer Girl poster
5.6

An American actress with a penchant for lying is forceably recruited by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, to trap a Palestinian bomber, by pretending to be the girlfriend of his dead brother.

The Little Drummer Girl

1984

The Entertainer poster
5.8

A vaudeville entertainer approaches middle age still not having attained success or stardom.

The Entertainer

1976

Chronic poster
5.8

David is a nurse who works with terminally ill patients. Dedicated to his profession, he develops strong relationships with the people he cares for. But outside of work, it's a different story altogether.

Chronic

2015

Emoticon poster
2.0

Elena Gallenti is an anthropology graduate student struggling to complete her thesis on 'modern means of communication.' All that changes when she meets her new boyfriend's teenage kids, who are going through their own journeys of self-discovery. All of them learn to navigate love and intimacy in the digital age.

Emoticon

2014

Crime Club poster
7.0

A Washington DC club comprises specialists who band together to combat crime.

Crime Club

1975

Year by the Sea poster
8.0

Hoping to reclaim who she was before marriage and children, an empty nester retreats to Cape Cod where she embarks upon a quest to set herself free.

Year by the Sea

2016

The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder poster
5.6

After returning home from the war, Vietnam veteran Julius Vrooder resides in a veteran's hospital, where he has been vaguely diagnosed as "psychiatrically impaired." Taking the news with an air of initially lighthearted defiance, Vrooder escapes and sets up camp under a highway, where he builds a paranoia-driven booby-trapped bunker for himself. Falling in love with not-so-bright nurse Zanni, Vrooder soon plans to elope with her to a remote Canadian outpost.

The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder

1974

Last Supper poster
5.1

Two hitmen share a late night meal. Vincent, the mark, has from appetizers to dessert to convince McCarthy not to kill him.

Last Supper

2018

The Last of Mrs. Lincoln poster
NR

The Last of Mrs. Lincoln depicts the final seventeen years of Mary Todd Lincoln's life, following her husband's assassination.

The Last of Mrs. Lincoln

1976

Knuckle poster
8.0

Curley Delafield, a young arms merchant, is determined to discover the secret behind the disappearance of his sister Sarah.

Knuckle

1975

Behind the camera

Original Sin poster
6.1

A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.

Original Sin

2001

Original Sin poster
6.1

A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.

Original Sin

2001

The Witches of Eastwick poster
6.5

Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted, at a cost, when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives.

The Witches of Eastwick

1987

The Bonfire of the Vanities poster
5.6

After his mistress runs over a black teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight; A down-and-out reporter breaks the story and opportunists clamber to use it to their advantage.

The Bonfire of the Vanities

1990

The Night Clerk poster
6.2

Hotel night clerk Bart Bromley is a highly intelligent young man on the Autism spectrum. When a woman is murdered during his shift, Bart becomes the prime suspect. As the police investigation closes in, Bart makes a personal connection with a beautiful guest named Andrea, but soon realises he must stop the real murderer before she becomes the next victim.

The Night Clerk

2020

The Night Clerk poster
6.2

Hotel night clerk Bart Bromley is a highly intelligent young man on the Autism spectrum. When a woman is murdered during his shift, Bart becomes the prime suspect. As the police investigation closes in, Bart makes a personal connection with a beautiful guest named Andrea, but soon realises he must stop the real murderer before she becomes the next victim.

The Night Clerk

2020

Gia poster
7.1

Gia Carangi meteorically rises to modeling fame in the late 1970s but becomes overconsumed by persistent loneliness and drug addiction.

Gia

1998

Gia poster
7.1

Gia Carangi meteorically rises to modeling fame in the late 1970s but becomes overconsumed by persistent loneliness and drug addiction.

Gia

1998

The Great Lillian Hall poster
7.0

Lillian Hall, a Broadway actress, has never missed a performance throughout her long, illustrious career. Yet in rehearsals for a new play her confidence is challenged. People and events conspire to take away her ability to do what she loves most.

The Great Lillian Hall

2024

Mr. Jones poster
5.8

The story about the relationship between a manic depressive man, Mr. Jones, and the female doctor who takes more than a professional interest in his treatment.

Mr. Jones

1993

Body Shots poster
4.9

The Los Angeles club scene is a place of booze-fueled decadence and debauchery. In a night full of possibilities, eight 20-somethings take to the clubs seeking good times, companionship and maybe a little sex. But in the harsh light of the morning after, their worlds are thrown into a spin of confusion when hungover Sara accuses hard-partying Mike of date rape. Loyalties are tested as each among them is forced to take sides.

Body Shots

1999

Falling in Love poster
6.7

During shopping for Christmas, Frank and Molly run into each other. This fleeting short moment will start to change their lives, when they recognize each other months later in the train home and have a good time together. Although both are married and Frank has two little kids, they meet more and more often, their friendship becoming the most precious thing in their lives.

Falling in Love

1984

Chuck poster
6.2

A drama inspired by the life of heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner.

Chuck

2017

Georgia O'Keeffe poster
4.8

Biopic of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz.

Georgia O'Keeffe

2009

Breaking Up poster
4.6

An aloof, struggling food photographer thinks he has found true love with a fiery grade-school teacher. At first, the relationship is all wine and roses, but as they realize they have little in common besides great sex, the romance wanes, and they struggle through a succession of break-ups and reunions as they try to work things out.

Breaking Up

1997

Candida poster
8.0

Candida is the wife of a famous clergyman, the Reverend James Mavor Morell. Morell is a Christian Socialist, popular in the Church of England, but Candida is responsible for much of his success.

Candida

1982

The Shadow Box poster
5.3

Over the course of a day in a California hospice, three terminally ill patients are observed with their families reflecting on life and death.

The Shadow Box

1980

The Metropolitan Opera: Champion poster
9.0

Six-time Grammy Award–winning composer Terence Blanchard brings his first opera to the Met after his Fire Shut Up in My Bones triumphantly premiered with the company to universal acclaim in 2021. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green is the young boxer Emile Griffith, who rises from obscurity to become a world champion, and bass-baritone Eric Owens portrays Griffith’s older self, haunted by the ghosts of his past. Soprano Latonia Moore is Emelda Griffith, the boxer’s estranged mother, and mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe is the bar owner Kathy Hagan. Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium for Blanchard’s second Met premiere, also reuniting the director-and-choreographer team of James Robinson and Camille A. Brown.

The Metropolitan Opera: Champion

2023