Michael Sopkiw
Birthday:
1954 in Connecticut, USA
Although his moment in the acting spotlight was regrettably fleeting, Michael Sopkiw did nonetheless prove to be a delightfully sincere, spirited and enthusiastic asset in the four enjoyably low-rent mid-80s Italian exploitation features he starred in. Born in 1954 in Connecticut, the handsome and engaging Sopkiw worked as a merchant sailor laying ...
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Although his moment in the acting spotlight was regrettably fleeting, Michael Sopkiw did nonetheless prove to be a delightfully sincere, spirited and enthusiastic asset in the four enjoyably low-rent mid-80s Italian exploitation features he starred in. Born in 1954 in Connecticut, the handsome and engaging Sopkiw worked as a merchant sailor laying submarine detection cable in the North Sea in England in the 70s. He eventually began sailing yachts and later ships after spending a year in college in Miami, Florida. Michael was arrested by the DEA for shipping marijuana and served one year of a two and a half year prison sentence. Following being paroled from jail in the late 70s, he studied acting in New York City and then worked for a short spell as a catwalk and photographic model in Europe. Sopkiw made his film debut with a substantial lead part as rugged Snake Plissken-like survivalist warrior hero Parsifal in the immensely fun'n'funky post-nuke sci-fi/action romp "2019: After the Fall of New York" (1983). Sopkiw next appeared in two movies for director Lamberto Bava: he's tough ex-cop turned convicted murderer Jake "Tiger" Sharp in the exciting "Blastfighter" (1984) and dashing hunk Peter in the deliciously cheesy "Jaws" rip-off "Devilfish" (1984). Sopkiw concluded his acting career with a lively turn as scruffy bargain basement Indiana Jones-style adventurer Kevin Hall in the terrifically trashy "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley" (1985). After calling it a day as an actor, Michael Sopkiw went on to study medicinal plant science and launched Miron Violet Glass, a California-based company which makes special glass bottles that protect plants from the sun. Show less «
I think everyone should do his best work or not bother working. We call this genre of "rip offs" exploitation films. Not sexually of course,...Show more »
I think everyone should do his best work or not bother working. We call this genre of "rip offs" exploitation films. Not sexually of course, in this case, but exploiting concepts and ideas that have already been shown to attract interest and therefore money. Generally speaking, I don't find this a very attractive or noble motivation. If this is the best work these people can do then I thank them for their efforts, thank them for allowing me to be a part of it, and hope they are not just into it for the money. I also hope for them that they can do better in the future. Show less «
