Michael Beck (born February 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Swan in The Warriors (1979) as Sonny Malone in Xanadu (1980), and as Koda in Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983).

Early life

Beck was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the third of nine children. He attended Memphis University School and then Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi with a football scholarship. While in college, he was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. After graduating with a degree in economics, he was one of 30 (out of 2,500) applicants chosen for London's Central School of Speech and Drama. Beck's stage credits, beginning with college, include Camelot (as King Arthur), Of Mice and Men (as George Milton), Romeo and Juliet (as Tybalt), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Career

Beck is known predominantly for his roles as Swan for the action movie The Warriors (1979), Sonny Malone for Xanadu (1980), Lieutenant Commander Dallas in Megaforce (1982), and Koda for Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983). Both the Xanadu and Megaforce roles garnered him Razzie nominations, for Worst Actor and Worst Supporting Actor, respectively. Beck has appeared in other movies such as Warlords of the 21st Century (1982), Wes Craven's Chiller (1985), Gone to Texas (1986) as James Bowie, and Forest Warrior (1996). Beck appeared as Hans Helms in the 1978 television miniseries Holocaust, and featured with Michael Paré in the CBS police drama Houston Knights (1987–1988). He appeared in television shows such as JAG, Walker, Texas Ranger, In the Heat of the Night, as the Mars-born terrorist-turned-cyborg assassin Abel Horn in Babylon 5 (episode "Spider in the Web"), and as Mr. Jones in the spin-off television series Crusade. Beck has narrated numerous audiobooks of John Grisham's novels. He also narrated Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz, A Darkness More Than Light by Michael Connelly, State of the Union by David Callahan, the unabridged version of Bill Clinton's My Life. , and numerous religious books including the Bible. He also reprised his role as Swan in 2005, lending his voice to the popular video game adaptation of The Warriors.

Personal life

Beck is a born-again Christian.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Audiobooks