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Brooklyn-born Michael Jai White survived his rough urban upbringing and
entered the entertainment industry on the strength of his martial arts
credentials, backing fellow black belt Steven Seagal in a soup commercial
for Japanese television, making his feature debut as Alley Guy 1 in "True
Identity" (1991, billed as Michael White) and playing a bit part in Roland
Emmerich's "Universal Soldier" (1992), starring another martial arts
maestro, Jean-Claude Van Damme.
He appeared in straight-to-video fare like "Ring of Fire" (also 1992), "Full
Contact" (1993) and "Lion Strike" (1994), as well as on episodes of "Living
Single", "Martin" (both Fox) and ABC's "NYPD Blue", before coming to
prominence as the eponymous star of the critically-lauded HBO special, "Tyson"
(1995), cutting an imposing figure as boxing's former Heavyweight Champ.
White, who had Tyson's mannerism's down cold, used his karate background to
sell the boxing scenes while delving deep into Iron Mike's tortured psyche
to deliver a top-quality acting performance that complemented his impressive
athleticism.
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In his first feature starring role as "Spawn" (1997), the CIA assassin-turned-superhero
based on the Todd McFarlane comic book figure, White weighed in with a
presence both menacing and touching, despite being hampered by his mask,
makeup and costume. Murdered by double-crossing colleagues, Spawn makes a
Faustian bargain with the Devil, agreeing to lead the armies of Hell against
mankind in exchange for seeing his beloved wife one last time. Along the way,
the good in Spawn awakens, and the story becomes a war for control of his
soul. Special effects superstar Mark Dippe in his directing debut together
with visual effects coordinator Steve 'Spaz' Williams pushed the envelope to
create an unforgettable visual experience. Unfortunately, the flashy style
did not manage to triumph over the movie's lame substance. Not wanting "to
move like a man in a suit," White created a movement style for the character
that was hard for the stuntmen to duplicate, necessitating he perform most
of the physical action. Long days confined within Spawn's external trappings
challenged the champion athlete to pace himself and preserve energy for
scenes in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth hours.
Since "Spawn", White has split his time between the small and large screen.
"Ringmaster" (1998), starring Jerry Springer in an art-imitates-life take on
Springer's popular daytime show, gave the actor a chance to play Demond, a
ladies' man whose less than discriminating tastes about where to "stick" it
made him and his "project" posse perfect for the segment on "My Traitor
Girlfriend". When his wandering eye lands on "trailer-trash" fleshpot Angel
(Jaime Pressly) there for "I Slept with My Step Daddy", the plot thickens,
resulting in, well, something right out of "The Jerry Springer Show". On a
much more serious note, he starred in the NBC movie "Mutiny" (1999), a true
story based on the landmark case that forced the military to fully integrate
blacks into its ranks. That year White also earned some of the best reviews
of his career as Pointy, the gangster-Renaissance Man of "Thick as Thieves"
and reteamed with Van Damme in "Universal Soldier: The Return", this time
playing supercomputer SETH and getting, in his own words, to "KICK HIS [Van
Damme's] ASS." |
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MICHAEL JAI WHITE PICTURES |
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