Michael Teh
Michael is an ethnically ambiguous leading man and character actor, who came to acting after graduating with top MBA and law degrees, followed by years of intense corporate careers on the East Coast, primarily in management consulting and as a start-up executive. After a number of life challenges and realizations, he quit corporate life and commenced full-time theater training in New York and three years later, moved to Los Angeles to become a professional actor.
He started his career in independent film, often in lead and strong supporting roles. Early films included: one opposite Adrian Paul in "Lost Colony: The Legend of Roanoke" (SyFy prime-time premiere); and as the antagonist in martial arts film "White Wall". He played the heroic Queequeg in "2010: Moby Dick" opposite Renee O'Connor and Barry Bostwick; and the Han Solo-esque Captain Simms in "Air Collision" with Jordan Ladd & Reginald VelJohnson. His micro-budget feature film "The Daughter" won its category (Best Thriller) at WorldFest (2013). Two of his films were featured at the Cannes Film Festival: "Flame of the West" and "Check, Please!".
He is, perhaps, better known for his network television work, with roles on "Sleepy Hollow" (Fox), "Criminal Minds" (CBS), "Castle" (ABC) and his heavily recurring role as a villain on Days of Our Lives (NBC). He has also booked many series regular roles in pilots, including: an "Untitled Fantasy Pilot" (Obsidian Entertainment); "The Flip Side" (sketch comedy); "The Other Brother" (a Grazer comedy); "Blend In" (comedy); and "Flashing Lives" (drama). He also had a series regular role in the award-winning dramatic series "Breaking Point"; and recurred in webisodes for "Burn Notice" (USA).
Fine teachers such as Larry Moss (Michael has trained in his master class for well over a decade), Susan Batson (Nicole Kidman's coach) and Austin Pendleton have commended his ability. In fact, years ago in New York, Susan wrote a recommendation for him for a lead role opposite Meryl Streep in "Dark Matter". In the 2005 TNT Dramatic Auditions monologue competition, he was named a Semi-Finalist & Prize-Winner out of thousands of nationwide contestants. Since moving to LA he has trained (in many cases for years) with Lesly Kahn, Stan Kirsch, John Rosenfeld, Margie Haber, K.C. Clyde, Matt Beisner, Gulu Monteiro, Jean-Louis Rodrigue, Kristof Konrad, and at UCB.
Michael has traveled to 45 countries and 45 states, and having lived for many years in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, he is an expert at multiple dialects and can work as a local in multiple countries and cities.