Michael Raymond-James (born Michael Weverstad; December 24, 1977) is an American actor. He is best known for playing René Lenier in the first season of the HBO series True Blood, Britt Pollack on the FX series Terriers, Neal Cassidy/Baelfire on the ABC series Once Upon a Time, and Mitch Longo on the CBS All Access series Tell Me a Story.
Michael Raymond-James | |
|---|---|
 Raymond-James in 2013. | |
| Born | Michael Weverstad December 24, 1977 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Life and career
editRaymond-James was born in Detroit, Michigan, and graduated Clarkston High School in 1996, where he was a football and track standout. He started out doing theater and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York, with George Loros, Geoffrey Horne and Robert Castle.[1] Following several stage appearances in New York, including The Petrified Forest at the Pantheon Theater, he relocated to Los Angeles.
He has guest starred in such series as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Medium, Boston Legal, ER and the season two premiere of Lie to Me. He starred in the FX original series Terriers[2] which was canceled by FX on December 6, 2010 after the first season. Raymond-James also played the role of Rene Lanier on the HBO original series True Blood.
In his feature debut Raymond-James played the best friend of Justin Timberlake's character in Black Snake Moan with Christina Ricci and Samuel Jackson. The actor also starred in Jonny Hirschbein's award-winning short film 'The Fix,' working alongside Robert Patrick and David Paymer. His feature-film credits include 'Moonlight Serenade,' starring as a piano prodigy opposite Academy Award Nominee Amy Adams.
In an episode of The Walking Dead titled "Nebraska", Raymond-James played a young man named Dave, who presents a threat to series protagonist Rick Grimes and his group.[3]
He starred in Once Upon a Time as Neal Cassidy/Baelfire, who is Henry's father as well as Rumpelstiltskin's son and is later revealed to be the grandson of Peter Pan.[4][5][6]
In 2020, Raymond-James was cast to play the lead role of Gavin Wolcott in the NBC apocalyptic drama pilot La Brea which was written by David Appelbaum; [7] however, he left the project and was replaced by Eoin Macken.[8] In the 2021-22 season he recurs on Law & Order: Organized Crime as Jon Kosta.[9]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Minor Blues | Dill | |
| 2006 | Black Snake Moan | Gill | |
| 2010 | The Twenty | Unknown | |
| 2011 | Bowman | Mickey | Short film |
| 2012 | Jack Reacher | Linsky[10] | |
| 2013 | Road to Paloma | Irish | |
| 2014 | The Salvation | Paul | |
| 2016 | The Finest Hours | D.A. Brown | |
| 2017 | Carter & June | Carter Jennings | |
| 2021 | Sweet Girl | FBI Detective John Rothman | |
| 2021 | American Insurrection | Gabe | |
| 2022 | The Integrity of Joseph Chambers | Lone Wolf |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Line of Fire | Threat | Episode: "Take the Money and Run" |
| The Handler | Mace | Episode: "Off the Edge" | |
| 2004 | ER | Mr. Tunny | Episode: "Try Carter" |
| North Shore | Damien Pruitt | Episode: "Meteor Shower" | |
| 2005 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Aaron Colite | Episode: "Unbearable" |
| 2006 | Boston Legal | Kevin Armus | Episode: "Ivan the Incorrigible" |
| Medium | Travis McQueen | Episode: "Ghost in the Machine" | |
| 2008–2011 | True Blood | Rene Lenier | 14 episodes |
| 2009 | ER | ||
| Stuart Moore | Episode: "The Family Man" | ||
| Cold Case | John "Shameless" Clark '76 | Episode: "Jackals" | |
| Lie to Me | Gavin Howell | Episode: "The Core of It" | |
| Life | Tex | Episode: "Canyon Flowers" | |
| Last of the Ninth | Tommy "Babyface" Leone | Television film | |
| 2010 | Saving Grace | Westy Stevenson | Episode: "Hear the Birds?" |
| Terriers | Britt Pollack | 13 episodes | |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Eddie Skinner | Episode: "Smoked" |
| 2012 | The Walking Dead | Dave | Episode: "Nebraska" |
| 2015 | Sons of Liberty | Paul Revere[11] | TV miniseries |
| 2012–2016 | Once Upon a Time | Neal Cassidy/Baelfire | 24 episodes |
| 2016 | Game of Silence | Gil Harris[12] | 10 Episodes |
| Lethal Weapon | Chad Jackson | Episode: "Spilt Milk" | |
| 2018 | Frontier | Fortunato | Main role |
| 2018–2019 | Tell Me a Story | Mitch Longo | Main role (Season 1) |
| 2019–2020 | Prodigal Son | Paul Lazar | Recurring role,[13] 3 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | Billions | Jackie Connerty | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | Big Sky | Blake Kleinsasser | 4 episodes |
| 2021 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Jon Kosta | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
| 2022 | See | Ranger | Main role (Season 3) |
| 2023 | Godfather of Harlem | Joseph Columbo | Main role (Season 3) |
| 2024 | FBI: Most Wanted | Ethan McPherson | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
References
edit- ^ Exclusive Audio Interview with Michael Raymond-James, True-Blood.net
- ^ "Interview: 'Terriers' stars Donal Logue & Michael Raymond-James". Uproxx. September 2, 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "True Blood's Michael Raymond James joins 'The Walking Dead'". www.digitalspy.com. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ "True Blood's Michael Raymond-James Joins 'Once Upon a Time'". www.tvguide.com. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ "'Once Upon a Time': Michael Raymond-James on Neal's Mysterious Background (Q&A)". www.hollywoodreporter.com. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ "Once Upon a Time: Michael Raymond-James returns for 100th episode". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ Petski, Denise (February 20, 2020). "Michael Raymond-James To Star In NBC Drama Pilot 'La Brea', Karina Logue & Zyra Gorecki Also Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 4, 2021). "'La Brea': Eoin Macken To Star, Jon Seda To Return As NBC Series Also Casts Jack Martin & Lily Santiago". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ Mitchell, Molli (September 23, 2021). "Meet the new 'Law & Order Organized Crime' cast and characters". Newsweek. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ "True Blood's Michael Raymond-James Joins Tom Cruise In One Shot". www.cinemablend.com. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ "'Sons Of Liberty': Michael Raymond-James On Recreating Paul Revere's Midnight Ride". www.accesshollywood.com. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ "Michael Raymond-James Previews Game of Silence's Looming 'Hurricane,' Weighs In on Once Upon a Time Encore". tvline.com. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ Kinane, Ruth (9 October 2019). "'Prodigal Son' adds 'True Blood' actor Michael Raymond-James in a recurring role". Entertainment Weekly.