Early Life & Family
Michael Evans Behling was born on March 5, 1996, in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. He is also known by his nickname, Mike B.
Michael, who is biracial, was adopted by Mike and Carol Behling, a white couple, and grew up in Columbus, Indiana.
He has three siblings: brothers Matt and Adam and sister Andrea.
In a YouTube video posted in March 2020, he stated that his father was of Nigerian descent and his mother was German. He also stated that his last name is German.
Michael's adoptive family owned a 10-acre farm, countless dogs and cats, and a chicken coop.
Michael Behling attended the Columbus North High School. In school, Michael was quite active and played soccer, baseball, and volleyball.
He ran track for his school for 2 years. He was part of the honor roll and graduated in 2015. He ran track in college, too, participating in the 400-meter hurdles. However, he quit sports after breaking his foot twice and going through two surgeries.
He attended the Indiana State University in Terre Haute as a pre-med student for 2 years. He then dropped out to build a career as a model and actor.
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Career
Michael had first thought of being an actor during his freshman year in high school, inspired by Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight.
While in college, Michael Behling began modeling and soon featured in ad campaigns for brands such as Adidas, Finish Line, Macy’s, Isotoners, and White Castle. He then moved to Los Angeles. Before venturing into acting, he also worked as an assistant director at the Donner Aquatic Center in Columbus, Indiana.
In 2017, he began his acting career with the role of Handsome Dude in the TV series Empire. He only made a brief one-episode appearance in the third season of the series.
He auditioned for the lead role of Jordan Baker in the sports-drama series All American in February 2018. He bagged the role after several call-backs. He was eventually cast as Jordan Baker in March 2018. The series premiered on The CW in October 2018 and was renewed for a second season in 2019.
Michael Behling also appeared in the brief single-episode role of Brady in the popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy in 2019.
Michael is represented by HRI Talent and Management 101, based in Los Angeles, California. He also owns a clothing line, named DesignedAt5AM. He began the line with three high-school friends, Drew Thompson, Nicholas Stevens, and Floyd Athaide. He promotes it through the Instagram account, designedat5am, which has more than 22 thousand followers. The company operates from Bloomington and Los Angeles, and sells raincoats, sweaters, hoodies, and embroidered shirts.
Relationships
Though the identity of Michael’s girlfriend is not known, he did hint at being in a relationship in a February 2019 interview with the women’s lifestyle magazine xoNecole, mentioning that he was “taken.”
Michael Behling also mentioned that his ideal woman would have a sense of humor and should be able to talk to him about anything.
He chooses women by their eyes and their teeth. The one thing he hates in women is when they lie, and he believes his ideal partner should be someone he can trust wholeheartedly.
Michael as a Person
Michael’s all-time favorite show is The Looney Tunes Show. He dreams of working with Denzel Washington and Leonardo DiCaprio someday.
If he were to return to school someday, he would study business to understand his taxes better.
He works for animal welfare and mental-health awareness programs.
When he first moved to Los Angeles, his financial situation was dismal. He could not rent a place and stayed with a friend instead, sleeping on the floor.
He and co-star Daniel Ezra are good friends.
