Michael Landes Biography

MICHAEL LANDES

Date of Birth: September 18, 1972

Born and raised in New York, Michael Landes landed his first television role when he was just 15, playing Winnie Cooper's boyfriend from 1988 to 1991 on The Wonder Years. After guest appearances on major TV series such as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, thirtysomething, The New Lassie and Blossom, Landes won a regular role on a new sitcom, The Torkelsons. In it, he played Riley Roberts, the Torkelson's handsome next-door neighbor, adored from afar by the beautiful, but only 13-year-old Dorothy Jane Torkelson.

Landes soon found himself in demand, landing the starring role in An American Summer (1991), as well as a major role in the TV movie Please God, I'm Only Seventeen, for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award as Best Young Actor in a Television Movie. In 1993, he won the plum role of cub reporter Jimmy Olsen in the series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. However, after the first season, the producers made changes to the cast, leaving out some old characters and adding new ones. As well, Landes found himself replaced by another actor, reportedly because viewers were confusing him with the star of the show, Dean Cain, due to their similar good looks.

His career picked up in 1995 when he landed a recurring role in the new sitcom, Too Something, followed by a regular role in the sitcom Union Square, which ran from 1997 to 1998. While filming the feature The Gentleman from Boston, Landes met actress Wendy Benson, and the two fell in love and were subsequently married.

He took another shot at television with the UPN series Special Unit 2 in 2001, but the series only lasted a year. However, his career took an upswing when he landed a role in Hart's War(2002), starring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell. Landes followed that up with another feature, Final Destination 2 (2003).

Landes' latest projects include the horror flick The Disappointments Room (2016), starring Kate Beckinsale, and the adventure drama Gold (2017), starring Matthew McConaughey.

Landes lives with his wife, Wendy Benson-Landes, in Los Angeles. The couple have two children, Mimi and Dominic.

Filmography:

Gold (2017)
The Disappointments Room (2016)
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Hart's War (2002)
The Gentleman from Boston (2000)
Getting Personal (1999)
Dream for an Insomniac (1988)
When the Party's Over (1992)
An American Summer (1991)