You watched him battle SpiderMan in the pivitol role as the “carjacker” who shot killed Uncle Ben, you know him as Guard Papajohn from “The Longest Yard” - next you will see him in “Terminator Salvation”, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” the HBO series “True Blood”.
Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat welcomes Michael and they discuss acting, stunts, the movie business and his career which includes over 55 professional credits. You must listen to the incredible insights Michael shares as he discuss movie making and story telling.
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Michael graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 1983.
The Texas Rangers drafted him in 1985, but he chose instead to attend Louisiana State University on a baseball scholarship. He was the starting center-fielder on the first LSU team to go to the College World Series in 1986, and again in 1987.
In 1987, Everybody’s All-American came to shoot in Baton Rouge, and Michael was chosen as Dennis Quaid’s stunt double for the football scenes. He caught the attention and earned the admiration of director Taylor Hackford, who encouraged Michael to pursue a career in stunt work.
While filming Charlie’s Angels, Michael was kicked in the jaw with a stiletto boot. He found himself in an emergency room, insisting that he was not the victim of domestic violence. The spousal abuse representatives had a hard time believing that he had been kicked by Cameron Diaz.
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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Chats with actor Michael Papajohn
Michael is most widely known as “The Car Jacker” in Spider-Man, whose actions ultimately lead Peter Parker to become Spider-Man. Michael first met director Sam Raimi when he played Kevin Costner’s nemesis in For Love of the Game.
Another notable role was as Guard Papajohn in The Longest Yard for producer Adam Sandler. They met when Michael did all of Adam’s stunts in The Waterboy, making the hard hits as Bobby Boucher. In The Longest Yard, things came full circle when Michael had his own stuntman.
He has also appeared in Terminator 3, House of Sand and Fog, and the soon to be released Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen, G-Force, Land of the Lost, and Terminator Salvation.
Some other credits include: Titanic, Mulholland Falls, Starship Troopers, Enemy of the State, Predator 2, Little Big League, Charlie’s Angels, Hulk, and plenty of television including, The Shield, The Unit, CSI: NY, Without A Trace and much much more.
He has produced one film, Rustin, that went on to win festival awards.
