Michael Nouri

Michael Nouri is an American stage and screen actor born on December 9, 1945, in Washington, D.C. His father, Edmond Nouri, was an Iraqi immigrant from Baghdad who came to the United States on a Georgetown University scholarship, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and went on to write for both Stars and Stripes and The New Yorker. His mother was Gloria, née Montgomery.

Nouri's stage career began Off-Broadway in a production of The Crucible before he transitioned to Broadway, where he worked from 1968 to 2001. His first Broadway role came in Forty Carats, a production that ran for two years. He later appeared in South Pacific and starred in Victor/Victoria, playing King Marchan opposite Julie Andrews in the original Broadway production of that musical. His film debut came in 1969 with an uncredited appearance in Goodbye, Columbus.

Television work brought Nouri significant recognition early in his career. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Steve Kaslo on Search for Tomorrow. He later took on the role of Lucky Luciano in the miniseries The Gangster Chronicles, a performance he reprised in the theatrically released feature Gangster Wars. In 1979, he appeared in the Cliffhangers episode "The Curse of Dracula."

Nouri's film profile rose considerably in 1983 when he starred as Nick Hurley in the romantic drama Flashdance. The film received mixed critical notices but ranked among the highest-grossing releases of that year and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He later starred opposite Kyle MacLachlan in the 1987 horror film The Hidden, for which he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actor and won the Best Actor prize at the Sitges Film Festival.

Throughout his television career, Nouri accumulated recurring roles across a range of series. He appeared in three separate Law & Order entries, each time playing a different character, and had recurring roles on The O.C. as Dr. Neil Roberts, Damages as Phil Grey, NCIS as Eli David, and Army Wives. He spent a year on the daytime drama All My Children as Caleb Cortlandt and more recently appeared in three seasons of Yellowstone as Bob Schwartz. He also starred in the short-lived series Bay City Blues and Downtown, as well as the sitcom Love & War.

In his personal life, Nouri has been married and divorced twice, first to Lynn Goldsmith and then to Vicki Light. He has two daughters. He serves as an ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a role connected to one of his former wives having been affected by the condition. He also had relationships with Dyan Cannon and Roma Downey.