DATE OF BIRTH
August 20, 1974
BIOGRAPHY
Actor Misha Collins took a while before finally pursuing an acting career. After graduating in 1992, he worked as a producer for NPR, an intern for the White House, and dabbled in construction. While finishing his degree at the University of Chicago, he went to Nepal and Tibet, where he stayed in a monastery.
Collins’ first on-screen role was a guest stint in the TV series Legacy. His first major role was in the first season of 24, where he played Alexis Drazen, member of the villainous Drazen family. He also held a recurring role in the 12th season of ER. Perhaps his best-known role to date is in the series Supernatural, where he played the angel Castiel.
Apart from acting, Collins is also a published poet and an avid Twitter user. He is married to his high school sweetheart Victoria Vantoch, with whom he has a son.
PLACE OF BIRTH
Boston, MA
BIRTH NAME
Misha Dmitri Tippens Krushnic
GENDER
Male
FUN FACTS
– He is a published poet. Two of his poems; “Baby Pants” and “Old Bones”, can be found in the 2008 edition of the Columbia Poetry Review #21.
– He once worked as an intern for the NPR show Weekly Edition.
– Misha’s name comes from the time his mother whilst at college visited Russia and had a fling with a man named Mischa.
– Before becoming an actor, Misha worked for six months as a White House intern for the Clinton administration. He was placed in The Office of Presidential Personnel.
– Years ago, he spent time at a monastery in Nepal that was full of Tibetan monks. Not only did the experience expose him to Buddhist meditation, which he still practices, but the Himalayan setting was about as physically close to the heavens as humans can get.
– His real last name, Krushnic, goes back six generations in Canada and he’s not sure where they came from. He thinks it could be Russian or Ukrainian or Polish.
– Misha’s brother’s name is Sasha. They aren’t Russian but their mom wished they were, Misha thinks.
AWARDS
None
FILMOGRAPHY
FILM:
– Girl, Interrupted (1999)
– Par 6 (2002)
– Moving Alan (2003)
– Finding Home (2003)
– The Crux (2004)
– Karla (2006)
– Over Her Dead Body (2008)
– The Grift (2008)
TELEVISION:
– Legacy (guest, 1998)
– Charmed (guest, 1999)
– NYPD Blue (guest, 2000)
– Seven Days (guest, 2001)
– 24 (regular, 2002)
– ER (recurring, 2005-2006)
– Monk (guest, 2006)
– NCIS (guest, 2006)
– Close to Home (guest, 2006)
– CSI: NY (guest, 2007)
– Without a Trace (guest, 2007)
– Supernatural (regular, 2008-present)
– Nip/Tuck (guest, 2009)
NICKNAME
Misha
HEIGHT
5′ 11″
QUOTES
On playing Barnardo in Karla: “Up until the first violent scene I was unsure of whether I was going to be able to put it off. And when we started shooting some of the more violent scenes, I was really surprised to see lurking somewhere in the depths of my psyche were these seeds of violence that I had never given any fertilizer or water to, that had never sprouted in any way in my ordinary life, and yet there was something I could tap into there. And that really took me aback. Really was frightening.”
“The philosophical underpinnings of my approach to acting are that there are universal human qualities, and that every character is actually available within each one of us, that if we tap down into that universal humanness, we can find whatever character it is that we need to play already there within ourselves, and it’s just a matter of peeling apart the onion that is you and finding that character within you, because of this universal human quality.”
“A lot of times I think the cast members, the lead characters in a show really set the tone for the show. On some shows, the stars of the show will just be whining and complaining and spending the whole time texting their boyfriends on their Blackberries, and there’s just no attention given to the work. Jared and Jensen are very serious about the work, and at the same time they are light and upbeat and sarcastic. They’ve got good senses of humor, and that actually really helps.”
On Supernatural: “I think the show works because it’s not just about two guys chasing down evil monsters, it’s about two very different brothers who are fighting forces of darkness in order to resolve their own personal histories and to exorcise their own inner demons. In other words, the show is compelling because the brothers are personally compelled.”
“I played a Serb on 24 for several episodes and the producers of the show came in to talk to me, like five episodes in. Denzel Washington had just won an Oscar and they said, ‘isn’t it great that minorities are finally getting recognition at the Oscars? It’s great for people like you and for Denzel Washington.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry but I don’t think I qualify. I’m a white guy from Massachusetts.”
