Born and raised in San Mateo, California, he graduated from Santa Clara University with a BA in Theatre Arts and was quickly headed to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of a career in Film and Television. He didn't have to wait long. A recurring role on
Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) brought Michael the recognition he sought and he followed that with a starring role on the CBS Series
Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1997) opposite
James Brolin for two seasons. After that, he landed notable recurring roles on shows such as
Arli$$ (1996),
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996),
One Tree Hill (2003),
Castle (2009),
How I Met Your Mother (2005),
Revenge (2011), and the animated series
Young Justice (2010) as Adam Strange. Some of his most memorable guest appearances include
The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis (2008),
Smut (2008),
Angels (2014),
John May (2010),
Dead Man's Curveball (2011), and
Baby Made a Mess (2014). He can be seen recurring on
Grandfathered (2015) on the FOX network. But he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Samuel T. Anders on the critically acclaimed Sci-Fi series
Battlestar Galactica (2004) and for Justin Patrick on the USA Network series
Fairly Legal (2011). He can be seen in the thriller/horror films
Hush (2016),
The Bye Bye Man (2017), and
Hunter Killer (2018). He is currently starring in
Rutherford B. Haze (2017) as Tae Kwon Doug. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Sandra Hess and their two dogs and two cats.