Michael A. Goorjian (born February 4, 1971)^[1] is an American actor, filmmaker, and writer. Goorjian won anEmmy Award forOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special for his role as David Goodson in the television filmDavid's Mother (1994). He is also known for his role as Justin,Neve Campbell’s love interest on the seriesParty of Five (1994–2000), as well as Heroin Bob in the filmSLC Punk! (1998) and its sequel,Punk's Dead (2016). As a director, Goorjian achieved recognition for his first major independent film,Illusion (2004), which he wrote, directed and starred in alongsideKirk Douglas. In 2022, Goorjian wrote, directed, and starred inAmerikatsi, an Armenian-language feature that premiered to strong critical acclaim and was selected as Armenia’s submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 96th Academy Awards.^[2][3]

Goorjian was born and raised in theSan Francisco Bay Area. His father, Peter, isArmenian, with his paternal grandparents being survivors of theArmenian genocide; his mother, Sarah, is ofScottish-American descent.^[4] Goorjian grew up inOakland,California, and attendedBishop O'Dowd High School, which had a strong drama program.^[5] At the age of 14, he decided to audition for a local theatre company, thinking it was a ‘cool way’ to skip class; after successfully landing the lead role in a 'not-so-cool' play calledComputer Crazy, Goorjian soon found out that the rest of the cast were all senior citizens and that he would have to perform the play at his own junior high school. Despite this seemingly rather humiliating experience, Goorjian stuck with acting, eventually training atUCLA’s School of Theatre, Film and Television.^[6]

Goorjian won anEmmy Award forOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special for the TV movieDavid's Mother (starringKirstie Alley).^[7] Ray Loynd commented that Goorjian contributed "a wealth of physical and emotional detail that underscores the familial havoc".^[8]

Goorjian’s first big Hollywood break came as a dancer when, in 1992, he was cast as ‘Skittery’ in the Disney filmNewsies (starringChristian Bale andRobert Duvall). What followed were roles in numerous subsequent films, includingChaplin (withRobert Downey Jr.),Forever Young (withMel Gibson), the Oscar-nominatedLeaving Las Vegas,Hard Rain (withMorgan Freeman andChristian Slater),SLC Punk! (withDevon Sawa),The Invisibles (withPortia de Rossi),Broken (withHeather Graham) andConversations with God.^[4]

Goorjian has also guest-starred in a number of television series, includingLie to Me,House,Alias,Monk,CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,Without A Trace, andChicago Hope, as well as a recurring role onLife Goes On (as Ray Nelson). He also appeared in the 2005 TV filmReefer Madness, a satirical musical adaptation of the anti-marijuanapropagandafilm from the 1930s.

Goorjian is a founding member of the Los Angeles-based theater group Buffalo Nights, and starred in the West Coast-premiere of Dennis McIntyre’s dramaModigliani (which won him anL.A. Weekly Theater Award nomination for Best Lead Actor). He played the title roles in both productions ofThe Apollo of Bellac (byJean Giraudoux) andJ.B. (byArchibald MacLeish). Goorjian also won at theL.A. Critics’ Choice Awards and the Garland Backstage West Awards for his original choreography for the L.A. production of the musicalReefer Madness.^[9]

Goorjian made his first real foray into directing with the mock-documentaryOakland Underground, a comedy about an underground occult music scene in Oakland, CA. From there, Goorjian madeIllusion withKirk Douglas, which was released theatrically in 2006 after racking up over a dozen festival awards, including Best Screenplay at The Hampton’s International Film Festival, Best Feature at theLake Tahoe International Film Festival and The Audience Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival. With Illusion Goorjian was critically lauded for his ability to blend great filmmaking with philosophical depth. Soon afterIllusion, Goorjian began collaborating with the publishing companyHay House to produce and direct a number of films including the documentaryYou Can Heal Your Life (2007), starring metaphysical author and teacher,Louise L. Hay andThe Shift, starring author Dr.Wayne Dyer, along with Michael DeLuise andPortia de Rossi. His most recent work with Hay House is an original film anthology calledTales of Everyday Magic, which explores meaningful philosophical ideas through intimate character-driven stories.

Additional directing credits include the short filmPlayers’ Club, which swept the 2006 Elevate Film Festival in Los Angeles, including Best Director andThe War Prayer, an adaptation ofMark Twain’s short story by the same title starringJeremy Sisto. Occasionally, Goorjian also moonlights directing a circus/cabaret show in Eastern Europe calledPalazzo.^[9]

Goorjian debuted as a novelist with his workWhat Lies Beyond the Stars, the first book in an intended trilogy commissioned by Hay House Publishing. The second book in the series,Beyond the Fractured Sky, will be released in the fall of 2018.^[10]

In the 2020s, Goorjian returned to feature filmmaking withAmerikatsi (2022), a project he wrote, directed, and starred in. Shot on location in Armenia, the film follows an Armenian-American navigating life under Soviet rule in the postwar era.Amerikatsi screened at several international festivals, including the Seattle International Film Festival and the Woodstock Film Festival, and received positive reviews from outlets such asVariety^[11] andScreenDaily.^[12] Armenia selected the film as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 96th Academy Awards.^[13]

• Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square (1991) (Short video)
• Oakland Underground (1997)
• Call Waiting (1998) (Short film)
• Illusion (2004)
• Players' Club (2006) (Short video)
• The War Prayer (2007) (Short film)
• You Can Heal Your Life (2007) (Documentary)
• The Shift (2009) (Direct-to-DVD)
• Entanglement (2012) (Television film)
• The Magic Hand of Chance (2012)
• Tales of Everyday Magic (2012)
• Painting the Future (2012)
• My Greatest Teacher (2012)
• Amerikatsi (2022)

• Oakland Underground (1997)
• The Mesmerist (2002)
• Illusion (2004)
• Tales of Everyday Magic (2012)
• My Greatest Teacher (2012)
• Amerikatsi (2022)

• Oakland Underground (1997)
• The Invisibles (1999)
• Part Time Fabulous (2011)
• Amerikatsi (2022)

• Official website
• Michael A. Goorjian atIMDb
• Blood Drips On Newsies Square
• The Face and the Voice: Michael Goorjian

• 1971 births
• Living people
• American male film actors
• American people of Armenian descent
• Male actors from Oakland, California
• Film directors from San Francisco
• American male screenwriters
• Screenwriters from California
• Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners
• Bishop O'Dowd High School alumni

• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia