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Born in Inglewood, California, Michael was raised and educated in both the US and Ireland - the homeland of his parents - and double majored in English and History at UCLA. He traveled through Europe, parts of Africa and India, supporting himself as a bartender and in various construction jobs. All the while he photographed, wrote, and chronicled his experiences. It was probably the best education anyone could have had - and almost certainly influenced his work later as an actor and award-winning writer-director.
His first major series role was on "Days of Our Lives"; he got the part of Tanner Scofield when he was 25, and this began a long relationship with Daytime. Michael was also named one of People's "50 Most Beautiful", appeared in several primetime television movies, and things began to click for his career as an actor. But he put everything on hold when his mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer two years later in 1993, and returned to Los Angeles to care for her until her death in 1994.
Michael returned to acting with Fox's VR-5 as Duncan, and followed up with an intriguing turn as identical twin brothers in legendary showrunner Stephen J. Cannell's "Two", for which he wrote the episodes "AD" and the series finale, "The Reckoning". His appearance on the iconic series "Ally McBeal", as nude model Glen, was almost as memorable as the Dancing Baby. The episode went on to win an Emmy, and Michael continued to play the role on both "Ally McBeal" and sister show, "The Practice" - both brainchildren of series producer David Kelley.
In 1997 he landed a role on Damon Wayans' 413 Hope Street with Jesse L. Martin and Richard Roundtree. Easton played Nick Carrington, a former drug addict and counselor at an inner-city crisis center. The show tackled topics including the struggles of drug addiction and recovery, homelessness, racism, hate crimes, HIV and AIDS, social justice, income inequality, and disproportionate Black conviction and incarceration. Easton later described the experience as one of the most creatively and personally rewarding of his career.
After a Gemini-nominated turn as the detective David Hume in Showtime's "Total Recall 2070", Michael returned to Daytime with ABC's "Port Charles", a spinoff of "General Hospital" - with a decidedly more supernatural bent - and the start of an extraordinary run playing an unprecedented five characters within the overall "General Hospital" universe.
Michael helped shape and create the now-iconic Caleb Morley - a vampire, rockstar, and bad boy the viewers loved. The character was wildly popular with viewers and was arguably a forerunner to later vampire protagonists in "Angel", "True Blood", "The Vampire Diaries", and even "Twilight". When "Port Charles" ended, Michael began work as John McBain on "One Life to Live" in 2003 - a role he played for the next nine years - and later carried over to "General Hospital". Currently he plays Dr. Hamilton Finn, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist. His performance as the character battled addiction and subsequent struggle in withdrawal and recovery earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2018.
His 2011 graphic novel trilogy "Soul Stealer" was a critical success and praised by Aint It Cool News as "Graphic Novel of the Year". Michael's story, combined with artist Christopher Shy's masterful visualizations, made for a stunning partnership of words and pictures. Michael had also struck a friendship with Peter Straub - who had been a dedicated "One Life to Live" viewer. The author visited the set in New York and left a gift in Michael's mailbox - a copy of his novel "Koko". It was a novel Michael's mother had loved, and in that way things have of coming full circle, Michael later collaborated with Straub, writing the terrifying novel "The Green Woman" for DC Comics.
A proud member of the Writers Guild of America, Michael also adapted and wrote the screenplay for "Daedelus is Dead", a short film based on an unfinished script by Doors legend Jim Morrison. The film has screened at more than a dozen major film festivals and was bought by The Sundance Channel. His feature detailing the life of actor Montgomery Clift is being produced by Relativity Media, while another screenplay about Ella Fitzgerald is in development with Norman Lear.
Michael penned the gritty novel "Credence", published by Blackwatch Comcs - a company he formed and co-owns with Christopher Shy and Emmalee Pearson. In 2015, he also wrote and directed short films "Dreamliner" and the award-winning "Ultraviolent" - both starring his friend and former OLTL castmate Trevor St. John. In 2020 he teamed up again with St. John, and former co-stars Sherri Saum and Rebecca Budig on the short film About a Girl, written by Budig and directed by Easton. The film won the Outstanding Achievement Award in the 2020 Best Shorts Film Festival, praising the "Deft direction, beautiful craft, and achingly authentic performance by Budig."
