Michael Dorman (born 26 April 1981) is a New Zealand actor, best known for his starring roles as NASA astronaut Gordo Stevens in the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series For All Mankind and as John Tavner in the comedy-drama series Patriot.
Dorman was born in Auckland, New Zealand. His mother's side of the family is Māori (specifically, Ngāti Porou people from the east coast of the north island), and his father's ancestors are 'Pākehā' (the Māori term for New Zealanders of European descent). He moved to Australia with his family at the age of ten, and settled in Bundaberg, Queensland, where he attended Bundaberg State High School.[1] He subsequently studied a degree in drama at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane.[2]
Dorman's first role was as Christian on The Secret Life of Us. He was a fan of the show when it premiered in 2001 and he was in his final year of university. He landed the role in 2002 after having moved to Sydney.[2]
One of Dorman's breakthrough performances came in the critically acclaimed Australian film Suburban Mayhem (2006). Other lead roles followed in the Australian films Prime Mover (2009) and Needle (2010), as well as supporting work on further Australian films such as West (2007), Acolytes (2008), Triangle (2009), Daybreakers (2009) and Killer Elite (2011). Notably, he also featured in a main role as Tom Wilcox in the Australian television comedy-drama Wonderland for the entirety of its run (2013-2015).
After befriending Russell Crowe while working on The Water Diviner (2014), Crowe paid for Dorman's flight to the United States to further his acting career there.[1] He picked up significant roles in TV series For All Mankind and Patriot, and a small role in blockbuster film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). Dorman went on to star as Tom Griffin in the horror film The Invisible Man and as Jesse in Hard Luck Love Song (both 2020).
In 2021, it was announced that he would star as the title character of the Joe Pickett television series, based on the books by C.J. Box. The show premiered for viewing on the Spectrum Network in December, 2021 and Paramount+ streaming service in February, 2022. He has been cast as Gol D. Roger in Netflix's series One Piece (2023).
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Sleeping Beauty also stars Michael Dorman (Daybreakers), Mirrah Foulkes (Animal Kingdom)…