Birthdate: Jan 21, 1958
Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Michael Wincott (birthname: Michael Anthony Claudio Wincott) is a distinctive, veteran character actor who has worked regularly in the movies since 1979. From his first years, Wincott has worked in supporting roles with many major filmmakers, starting with the great film noir director Jules Dassin on his final film, Circle of Two (1981), with Richard Burton and Tatum O’Neal.
What followed was a filmography with Michael Wincott working with many of the major filmmakers of our era: Michael Cimino (The Sicilian in 1987); Oliver Stone (Talk Radio in 1988, Born on the Fourth of July in 1989, The Doors in 1991); Ridley Scott (1492: Conquest of Paradise in 1992); Peter Medak (Romeo is Bleeding in 1993); Jim Jarmusch (Dead Man in 1996); Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days in 1995); Melvin Van Peebles (Panther in 1995); Julian Schnabel (Basquiat in 1996, Before Night Falls in 2000, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in 2007); Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Alien Resurrection in 1997); Lee Tamahori (Along Came a Spider in 2001); Barry Levinson (What Just Happened in 2008); Terrence Malick (Knight of Cups in 2015). One of Wincott’s biggest roles to date is the character of Antler Holst in Jordan Peele’s horror-western-science fiction thriller, Nope (2022).
Michael Wincott was born in Toronto and raised by an English-born father William Wincott and an Italian-born mother Lucia. He has two older brothers, including actor and martial artist Jeff Wincott. Wincott attended the University of Toronto’s Victoria University and graduated with a BA. Wincott studied drama and acting at Julliard School in Manhattan, graduating in 1986.
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The Man Who Said No: Wincott turned down roles in the ABC hit series, Lost (2004), Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises (2012), and the film Detachment (2011).