Supporting actor Michael Jace was a regular on the short-lived ABC network drama Dangerous Minds (1996-1997). He has also appeared in feature films since 1996. The tall African-American did not originally aspire to perform, but a smart-aleck comment and a challenge led him to the bright lights. It happened while Jace was in college: A marketing major, he'd gone to watch his then-girlfriend rehearse for a campus play. Acting looked easy and he said so. The director overheard him and suggested he go up and read some lines. Jace accepted and proved to be a natural. Thus inspired, he enrolled in drama classes at the Classic Stage Conservatory in New York. Following graduation, Jace worked in regional theater across the U.S. before he moved to Los Angeles to further his career. It wasn't long before opportunity knocked and he was cast as the leader of the militant Black Panthers in Forrest Gump (1994). He has subsequently appeared in several films, including Strange Days (1995). His other television credits include guest-starring roles on L.A. Law, Bridges, and N.Y.P.D. Blue.
by Sandra Brennan
biography
