Michael Forest

Michael Forest
Born	Gerald Michael Charlebois April 17, 1929 (1929-04-17) (age 80) Harvey, North Dakota
Other name(s)	Mike Forest, Michael Forrest, Mike Forrest, Alfred Thor, Russell Thor, Russel Thor
Occupation	Voice Actor/Actor
Spouse(s)	Diane Hale
Official website

Gerald Michael Charlebois, better known as Michael Forest (born April 17, 1929 in Harvey, North Dakota) is an American actor who provides the voices for many anime titles. At the age of 71, he provided the voice of Prince Olympius in Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue. In his earlier years, Forest was a film and television actor, notably playing the part of Apollo in the 1967 Star Trek episode Who Mourns for Adonais?. Forest was also a rugged-looking addition to Roger Corman's list of leading men during their 1950s heyday.

In some of his roles he does for non-union animation dubbing he is known as Mike Forest, Michael Forrest, Mike Forrest, Alfred Thor, Russell Thor, and Russel Thor.

Beginning of Career

Born in Harvey, North Dakota, he moved with his family at a very early age to Seattle, Washington where he attended the University of Washington for a year and then made his way south to the sunnier campuses of San Jose State University. He graduated with a B.A. in English and drama.

Forest, excelled in athletics in his school years, and was training to be a boxer when his coach suggested he choose between boxing and acting, since he could possibly have his face smashed in the ring, and that could end any acting career to which he might be aspiring. Michael decided to choose acting.

Early Acting Career

In 1955, Michael arrived in Los Angeles, he began to study with veteran actor/acting teacher Jeff Corey where he first met Roger Corman who asked him to be in “The Saga of the Viking Women” (1957), a film he was directing. His brother, Gene Corman, then cast him to co-star in “Beast from Haunted Cave,” followed by Roger’s “Ski Troop Attack” (1959) and then “Atlas” (1960), which was filmed in Greece. In between these movies, Mike continued as a stage actor in Shakespearean plays and other legitimate productions. For the next ten years, he juggled his theatre career and his starring roles in hundreds of television shows. He played “Othello” three times at the San Diego Old Globe Theatre] where he also appeared as Petruchio in “Taming of the Shrew.”

Forest was cast as ‘Apollo’ in the famous episode of "Star Trek", entitled "Who Mourns For Adonais?" There was a call out for an actor who could handle Shakespeare’s dialogue and had the stature necessary for the character. At the time, Mike was appearing at the Globe Theatre and was the one actor they recommended. Throughout the late ‘50s and ‘60s, Michael went from one television show to another. He was under contract to Warner Brothers and Universal and it was at the height of westerns, cops and robbers and other episodic shows. Michael starred or co-starred in most of them, all the while appearing on stage in regional theatres around the country.^[1]

Living in Rome

From 1968 to 1978, Michael lived in Rome, but made films throughout Spain, France and England. While Forest was living there he learned to speak fluent Italian. When he arrived, he was immediately cast in “100 Rifles,” went on to make 26 films and dubbed over 500 films while he was in Rome. His last feature overseas was Mohammad, Messenger of God (known also as The Message) on which he worked for a year all over North Africa. Forest did almost all of his own stunts over there. In 1979, just after Michael returned to Los Angeles, he was asked to co-star in a film with Franco Nero, “Shark Fighters,” which was made in Cozumel. When he returned from location, Michael was contracted to play a leading role on “As The World Turns.” He relocated to New York City where he lived for the length of his contract playing Nick Andropolous and even traveled to Greece to film segments of the soap opera.^[1]

Living in New York

While living in New York, he even ended up in a Broadway Show, “Breakfast With Les and Bes”, back on stage. After a few years on another soap, “The Catlins,” shooting in Atlanta, He is a member of an Equity-Waiver theatre company, and was nominated for an award for Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama for his performance in “Painting Churches.”

Currently

Since Mike was a teenager, he had a fascination with airplanes. In fact, he was learning to fly seaplanes in Washington. When he moved, all that was put on hold. However, while he was living in New York, he started flying Ultralights and that led to the realization of his boyhood dream. Mike now holds a pilot’s license and goes flying as often as time allows. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and a cat named “Puffy.”^[1]

Filmography

Anime Roles

• The Big O - Alex Rosewater
• Eureka Seven - Braya
• WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 - Detective Takeshi Kusumi
• Gatchaman (1994) - Chief
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Kubota
• Mars Daybreak - EF Commander
• Scrapped Princess - King Balteric
• Street Fighter II V - Captain Dorai (Animaze Dub)
• Teknoman - Commander Jamison
• Wings of Honneamise - Dr, Gnomm
• Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team - Commander Kojima
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Arakawa
• Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit - Balsa'a friend, the Swordsmith /Blacksmith

Live Action Roles

• Masked Rider - Lavasect (voice, credited as Alfred Thor)
• Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue - Olympius (voice)

TV Roles

• Dick Van Dyke Show - Father Joe Coogan
• The Outer Limits - Stuart Peters
• Gilligan's Island - Ugundi
• Star Trek -Apollo

Movie Roles

• Mohammad, Messenger of God - Khalid bin Walid
• Cast Away - Pilot Jack
• Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - Ticket
• Mobile Suit Gundam F91 - Theo Fairchild
• King Kong Lives - Vance
• Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo - Agent Gordon (Streamline)
• The Castle of Cagliostro - Additional Voices
• Ninja Scroll

Maggie May The Musical - Judder Johnston

Video Games Roles

• Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance - Zanetti (uncredited)
• Dynasty Warriors 5 - Zuo Ci (uncredited)
• Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires - Zuo Ci (uncredited)
• Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends - Zuo Ci (uncredited)
• Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise From the Ashes - Additional Voices
• Operation Darkness - Lieutenant-Colonel James Gallant (uncredited)
• Romancing SaGa - Theodore (uncredited)
• The Bouncer - Master Mikado (uncredited)
• Warriors Orochi - Zuo Ci (uncredited)

Documentaries

• Adventures in Voice Acting - Himself

References

External links

• The official Michael Forest website
• Michael Forest at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Michael Forest at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Forest at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Michael Forest at TV.com
• Michael Forest at the English Voice Actor & Production Staff Database