{"id":8883,"date":"2021-03-04T01:24:56","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T01:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8883"},"modified":"2026-02-03T04:06:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T04:06:06","slug":"stefan-michaels-stand-up-comedian-who-became-movie-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8883","title":{"rendered":"Stefan Michaels, Stand-Up Comedian who became a Movie Star"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Stefan Michaels is a talented actor, writer, and\ncomedian from England. He has appeared on numerous British television shows and\nBritish films as well as being a professional writer for both British Film and\nthe West End.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He started his career as a performer in British\nclubs before getting his break on ITVS Michael Barrymore show and Trisha Show\nfollowed shortly after by performances on channel 4\u2019s \u201cThe Big Breakfast\u201d and\nItv2\u2019s \u201cSo you think your funny\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His television acting career began in 2009 with an\nappearance on channel 4\u2019s Jack Whitehall show and since then his acting career\nwent from strength to strength. He became the regular delivery on ITVs\nEmmerdale and also appeared in the huge British soap Coronation Street.\nNumerous television commercials for major firms such as Pepsi and Vodafone and virgin\nholidays followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan\u2019s professional writing career began in 2012\nwhen he wrote for the new London West End show Hellsing that was performed at\nthe Bloomsbury theatre in London. The show was performed by the west end cast\nof Dirty Dancing and Stefan appeared in the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018 Stefan wrote the British film \u201cInnocent\nCandy<\/em>\u201d which stars some of the UK\u2019s finest acting talent including John\nAltman from Quadrophenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels has helped raise money for numerous\ncharities including The Rainbows Children Trust and Macmillan Cancer research.\nHe set up a local charity fundraiser that helped build the butterfly hospice\nfor terminally ill cancer patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He now works with \u201cSpeak your mind\u201d the mental health charity to promote mental health awareness through comedy with the founder of Jongleurs Maria Kempinska MBE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Still from the movie Innocent Candy alongside actor Stacey Gough_Photo by Gaz De Vere<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Interview with Actor, Writer,\nand Comedian Stefan Michaels <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve got tons of acting experience. Give\nus a brief rundown.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>I have been a professional\ncomedian and actor for over 20 years. I trained with David Johnson who was\nresponsible for training some of the biggest names in film and British television\nsuch as \u201cAnna Friel\u201dand \u201cMichael Palin\u201d. I have appeared on two of the biggest\nsoap operas in Britain, \u201cCoronation Street\u201d and \u201cEmmerdale\u201d as well as a wide\nrange of television commercials for companies such as Pepsi and Virgin\nHolidays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am currently one of the lead\ncharacters in a British Film \u201cInnocent Candy\u201d due for release in 2021 and a\nnumber of other independent British movies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you working on anything new at the\nmoment? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>Covid restrictions have\nimpacted heavily on the industry. However, I have recently finished working on\na film called \u201cThe Ascension Chronicles\u201d directed by a talented young British\ndirector called Danny Cotton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What other projects do you have\ncoming up?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>I have recently been working with\na mental health charity called Speak Your Mind. I\u2019ve done a radio interview and\npresentation online to highlight the mental health issues that I have dealt\nwith over the years. These include OCD, Depression, PTSD and anxiety disorders.\nThe treatments that I undertook, CBT AND CAT AND EMDR therapies, and the\nrelationships between mental health and performers. Hopefully with a view to\nremoving stigma around mental health and assisting others who find themselves\nin similar situations.Next year I will be doing more to help with the charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has Covid-19 impacted life in your city\nand the film industry in UK. What challenges did you face as an artist? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>Covid has had a huge impact on\nfilm production and live performances. Live standup comedy has all but ceased\ndue to lockdown restrictions. I have written a movie called Innocent Candy and\nlockdowns in the UK had significantly delayed its production. The whole\nindustry has in some way been adversely affected by the Covid virus. A recent\ngovernment campaign in the UK encouraged people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the arts industry to retrain for other jobs. But all art is essential, and many people have spent their lives training to be in this industry and we should support it and hope that soon the industry will be back to normal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Stefan Michaels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What has been your experience in the\nindustry as an actor and comedian.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>I have been very fortunate in\nmy career to have appeared on British Television many times in my career as a\nboth and actor and comedian and have worked alongside some incredible talent.\nAs a comedian I have travelled the UK in many comedy clubs and appeared on ITV\nand ITV2 as a comedian. I have been the Stage Newspapers featured showman and appeared\non Britain\u2019s Got Talent also. I have also written comedy lyrics for the West\nEnd Show Hellsing at the Bloomsbury theatre in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should an audience expect when they\nsee you perform? What\u2019s your act like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>I have always been great\nbeliever in unpredictability as a comedian and the art of ad-living and working\nwith crowds. I try to mix my comedy with the art of opening up an audience and\nreacting to the one liners and audience reaction. Heavily inspired as a comic\nand actor by the late great Robin Williams. Fast paced and unpredictable comedy\nwith a built-in script to support it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What types of events have you done?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>\u201cMichael Barrymore show\u201d, ITVS\n\u201cThe Trisha Show\u201d, channel 4s \u201cthe big breakfast\u201d and \u201cJack Whitehall show\u201d and\nITV 2 so you think you\u2019re funny. I supported Danny Dyer in a live show. I\u2019ve\nperformed at Jongleurs in the Uk. I have done lots of prestigious private\nfunctions, but my proudest moments were the three times I hosted the\nillumination switch ons in my hometown of Skegness to thousands of people\noutdoors. Working with Ray Quinn, Jake Quickenden and Chico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How would you describe your humor or style?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>I have always loved the art of ad-libbing and being unpredictable. It is important of course to have a script to work from. But feeling the energy of an audience and allowing them to be part of the performance is key to me. Inspired by the likes of Robin Williams, Freddie Starr, Michael Barrymore and the great double act Morecambe and wise. I always want the audience to feel part of a performance and to watch my show knowing that it will never be the same show twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Still from Sky1 Nurses Who Kill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your most accomplished moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>The one achievement I hold\ndearest is the West End Show \u201cHellsing\u201d that was performed at the Bloomsbury\nTheatre in London and performed by the cast of the West End Show Dirty Dancing.\nI wrote and created comedy characters and lyrics for the show and to watch\nthese talented people bring these characters to life, perform the lyrics to\ngreat applause was an incredible feeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, I played one of\nthe characters \u201cGordon Bennett Mild Schizophrenic\u201d. The buzz of the west end\nand the achievement and feeling of seeing your work performed to great applause\nat such a high level was one of the greatest professional moments in my career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How would you rehearse a scene if your\npartner was absent? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>It is critical to understand\nthe character and break down the emotion of the piece when performing a\nduologue. Working with your partner is of course critical. And you can converse\nvia phone or the internet. However, you can also work with a reader to enable\nyou to practice the script until you are able to perform together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long you have an\nunderstanding of the character and the emotions involved is the most critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What marks a great script or stage play? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>Clearly the quality of the\nwriting is key. However often a great script is down to interpretation. What\none considers to be a great script, others may not value as greatly. With of\ncourse the exceptions for writers such as Shakespeare and the greats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me I have always been\ninspired by writing that has twists and turns and does not follow convention.\nStories where you think you know the outcome and then the story takes you\nelsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have a formula for storytelling? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>For me I have always thought of\na single idea. The movie Innocent Candy was born from a single scene that I\nthought of and showed to a friend. The movie was written around that one scene\nand then grew into a fabulous movie with many deep plot twists and character\nturns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a writer, a lyricist and\ncomedy writer, often single ideas pop into my head and, if they have merit,\ngrow into larger bodies of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you view the actor\/writer\nrelationship? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>On \u201cInnocent Candy\u201d I got view\nthe actor\/writer relationship firsthand. As both the writer of the film and an\nactor in the film I saw the key elements from both sides firsthand. I think\nthat as a writer it\u2019s key to be fluid enough to allow minor vocabulary changes\nto actors that request them. And for the actors, if required to have the\ncourtesy to request these changes. Working closely together to create a piece\nof work that stays true to the writer\u2019s vision whilst adapting enough to create\na smoother performance. At least this is my view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s in the future for you? What do you\nhope to accomplish in 2021? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Michaels: <\/strong>Next year I will continue\nwriting further and work more with speak your mind the mental health charity to\npromote mental health awareness through standup comedy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innocent Candy<\/em> is due for release next year and hopefully, as long as Covid is not an issue, I will be able to perform live more and get back into a stage with an audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Article Cover Photo Credit: Stefan Michaels Photo by Nicholas Dawkes<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stefan Michaels is a talented actor, writer, and comedian from England. He has appeared on numerous British television shows and British films as well as being a professional writer for both British Film and the West End. He started his career as a performer in British clubs before getting his break on ITVS Michael Barrymore […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19214,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8883\/revisions\/19214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}