Childhood & Early Life
Michael Eklund was born on July 31, 1962, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. His parents were movie lovers, and this sparked his initial interest in acting. He was 5 years old when he watched his first film in the theater. Soon, he started dreaming of becoming an actor.
As he grew up, he became more interested in studying acting, but he was clueless about where to start. He, however, regularly participated in his school’s theatrical productions. His girlfriend during his high-school years did not think he could be an actor and thus pushed him to follow other endeavors. Michael loved art. Thus, he decided to paint. Following his high-school graduation, he joined a college to learn graphic designing.
Following his break-up, he began questioning his decision of learning art. He decided that it was not suitable for him. He was studying in Calgary at that time. As he met more people from the art world, he became surer about pursuing acting.
He took a break from art school and returned to his hometown. He began working at a local movie theater. He met another girl while working there. She was learning acting at that time. Inspired, he dropped out of art school sometime later and moved to Vancouver to start a professional career in acting. He began auditioning and eventually made his acting debut in 2000.
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Career
Though he had made his acting debut in ‘The Other Side of Being’ in 2000, Michael made his full-fledged film debut with a supporting role in the 2001 film titled ‘Blackwoods,’ playing ‘Billy.’ The film received hugely polarized reviews and turned out to be a box-office debacle. The same year, he made his TV debut, playing the small role of ‘Will’ in an episode of the series ‘Smallville,’ titled ‘Jitters.’
After starring in the 2002 independent film titled ‘Killer Bees!,’ he appeared in the supporting role of ‘Hugh’ in the German–Canadian–American horror film titled ‘House of the Dead.’ The film received bad critical ratings and was an average box-office success.
After appearing in the TV film titled ‘Painkiller Jane’ and the series titled ‘Alice, I Think.’ he made the first acting breakthrough of his career, playing ‘Aaron’ in the thriller–drama film ‘Walk All over Me.’ The film was hailed critically and also turned out to be a box-office success in Canada and US.
His TV career was not as regular as his film career. In 2005, however, he earned a major recurring role, when he was cast as ‘Rene Desjardins’ in the Canadian crime-drama series titled ‘Intelligence.’ He also appeared in guest roles in series such as ‘Psych’ and ‘Smallville.’
In 2007, he received a huge break when he was signed to play the supporting role of ‘J. T. Rycker’ in the Al Pacino-starrer film titled ‘88 Minutes.’ The film received bad critical reviews and was also just an average box-office-grosser.
In 2009, he was cast in a major American fantasy–drama film titled ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,’ starring Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp in the main roles. The film was hugely awaited, but upon its release, it received a lukewarm response from both critics and audiences.
In 2010, he appeared as a co-op man in the apocalyptic thriller ‘The Final Storm.’ However, the film failed to secure a wide release and was made available directly on DVD.
In 2011, he had a huge acting breakthrough when he was signed to play one of the main roles in the post-apocalyptic drama ‘The Divide.’ The film, however, failed miserably at the box office and was also panned by critics. The same year, Michael appeared playing supporting roles in films such as ‘Tactical Force,’ ‘Kits,’ ‘Pressed,’ and ‘The Day.’
In 2013, he appeared in a negative role in the Halle Berry-starrer psychological thriller film ‘The Call.’ The film received average reviews, but the performances received appreciation. The film also became a major commercial success.
In the early 2010s, his TV career slowed down, with him playing small roles in series such as ‘Arrow’ and ‘Alcatraz.’ He, however, appeared in the recurring role of ‘Zane Morgan’ in the psychological horror–drama series ‘Bates Motel.’ The series ran successfully for five seasons, covering 50 episodes.
In 2016, he earned a breakthrough TV role when he was cast in the series ‘Wynonna Earp,’ as ‘Bobo Del Rey,’ a key character. He then appeared in a key role in the series titled ‘Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.’
More recently, he has appeared in films such as ‘The Sound’ and ‘The Package.’
He worked as an executive producer for the 2017 movie ‘The Hitman Never Dies’ and as an assistant producer for the 2015 movie ‘Eadweard.’
