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An unusually
subtle actor with an uncanny ability to become
the role he plays, Michael Ontkean consistently
chooses parts that offer challenges. And in
Willie Kaufman, a teacher of high school English
who would really like to be a jazz pianist, he
has found one that allows him to express his
gifts for both comedy and drama.
The Canadian-born star of Paul Mazursky’s
“Willie & Phil” is in real life a searcher and
seeker of new experiences and has survived the
rough and tumble world of ice hockey while
sustaining his natural skills as both poet and
performer.
“Poetry has been the one constant in my life,”
says Ontkean, the author of four published
volumes of verse, with a fifth in the writing
stage. “Acting and hockey have come and gone at
different times but the poems always seen to be
there.”
On previous film locations (including “Slap
Shot” and “Voices”), Ontkean frequently burned
the midnight oil working on poems. But when he
went to New York for “Willie & Phil” he
deliberately left his typewriter at home in
Maine. Ontkean’s entire sensibility is instead
concentrated on his characterization of Willie
Kaufman.
Three months prior to the start of shooting,
Ontkean took an apartment in Greenwich Village
to submerge himself in the atmosphere of
Willie’s world.
This act of immersion in his character’s
environment is in keeping with Ontkean’s
approach to acting. “I’ve got to feel and smell
all those details, all those influences - - by
working through the senses I begin to discover
that other world outside.”
The seeds for acting were planted early. Both
his parents were performers. Ontkean played his
first role on stage at age three in a production
of his father’s repertory theatre. His career as
a child actor blossomed at eight when he moved
with his family from his Vancouver birthplace to
Toronto, the canter of Canada’s entertainment
industry. There, Ontkean worked regularly for
the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, the
Canadian Broadcasting Company and for the
National Film Board until, at age fourteen, he
drifted away from acting to devote himself to
ice hockey.
During high school Ontkean played for a Toronto
Maple Leafs farm club and also for semi-pro
teams in Quebec and British Columbia. As a high
school senior, he received offers of athletic
scholarships from numerous American
universities, eventually choosing the University
of New Hampshire where he majored in literature.
In this junior year, he was right wing on the
nation’s highest scoring college line and was
flooded with offers from the pros, but at age 20
he opted to leave school and return to the
theatre.
On stage, Ontkean was spotted by Canadian-born
director Norman Jewison (who was also
responsible for Margot Kidder’s discovery) who
brought him to Hollywood to do a screen test for
an important role in the film version of the
smash Broadway hit “Fiddler on the Roof.” He
didn’t get the part but his dynamic test led to
many other roles in movies and television,
including a two-year stint as co-star of the
popular series “The Rookies.”
As Paul Newman’s teammate and conscience in
“Slap Shot,” Ontkean got a chance to combine his
hockey prowess with his acting skills. Most
recently he was lauded for his portrayal of Drew
Rothman, a street-toughened New Jersey youth who
dreams of becoming a successful popular singer
in MGM’s “Voices.”
Now, with his sensitive performance in “Willie &
Phil,” Ontkean takes a further step in his
development as an actor whose arresting screen
presence and poetic sensibilities assure him
continued high standing in his profession.
Transcribed by Christos Spirou for use on The
Rookies Online:
http://www.therookies.gr
For entertainment purpose only. No profit or
copyright infringement intended.
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