---
name: "Michael Moriarty"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/michael-moriarty"
fi1m_id: "michael-moriarty"
imdb_id: "nm0605363"
tmdb_id: 21030
wikidata_id: "Q531869"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "5 April 1941"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-17T23:40:29.877807+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Michael Moriarty

## Identity

Michael Moriarty

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/michael-moriarty
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** michael-moriarty
- **IMDb ID:** nm0605363
- **TMDB ID:** 21030
- **Wikidata ID:** Q531869
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moriarty, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q531869, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0605363/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21030

Actor. Born 5 April 1941 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 5 April 1941, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- **Active:** 1985–1990
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 3 Emmys (3 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 77 (1), 1990s 72 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moriarty, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q531869, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0605363/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21030

## Fi1m on Michael Moriarty

> Michael Moriarty is worth watching for the thought he gives even familiar characters. His effortful decency in *Pale Rider* is particularly rewarding; Larry Cohen's genre films make use of his more eccentric instincts.

In *Pale Rider* (1985), Michael Moriarty makes doing the decent thing look like work. His Hull Barret gives Clint Eastwood's solemn stranger a necessary human counterweight. Eastwood is so certain of himself that the people needing his help could easily become an afterthought. Moriarty keeps our attention on them without competing for the stranger's authority. We warmed to Barret because his decency feels like a choice he has to keep making.

The early breakthrough came with *Bang the Drum Slowly* (1973), playing Henry Wiggen opposite Robert De Niro, and *Report to the Commissioner* (1975). Larry Cohen subsequently cast him as Jimmy Quinn in *Q* (1982), making use of an intense, improvisatory style. *The Stuff* (1985) continued a collaboration that made room for eccentric outsiders and anti-heroes. In *Law & Order* (1990–1994), he played prosecutor Ben Stone, taking a sustained television role after those contrasting film parts. His recurring casting as intelligent, morally complicated men suits an actor whose work depends on thought and detail.

The limitation in *Pale Rider* is how much attention Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack's screenplay reserves for Eastwood. Moriarty keeps the film close to the people asking for help, but those people are not always given enough to do. Sydney Penny's Megan Wheeler brings feeling too, while Carrie Snodgress's Sarah Wheeler needs more space. There is only so much a supporting actor can supply when the writing keeps returning to its leading man. Moriarty's performance is one reason this old-fashioned Western remains worth an evening despite that imbalance.

The Cohen films are the place to go for the more eccentric performances, but we would begin with Barret. Moriarty makes a familiar supporting part matter without asking the Western to stop and admire him. Give him the attention the stranger usually gets.

## Biography

Michael Moriarty is an American actor. Born on 5 April 1941 in Detroit, Michigan, he studied theatre at Dartmouth College and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on a Fulbright Scholarship.

He is known for his stage work, winning a Tony Award in 1974 for *Find Your Way Home*, and for screen roles including Erik Dorf in the miniseries *Holocaust* (1978), for which he received an Emmy and Golden Globe, Hull Barret in *Pale Rider* (1985), and Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone in the first four seasons of *Law & Order* (1990–1994). Moriarty has also worked as a jazz pianist and singer.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Law & Order* (1990), Fi1m 72, as Ben Stone — [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)
- *Pale Rider* (1985), Fi1m 77, as Hull Barret — [page](https://film.one/film/pale-rider.md)

## Complete filmography (83)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Of Things Past* (2023), as Michael Dietrich
- *Gunfight at Dry River* (2021), as John 'Boone' Hawkins
- *The Yellow Wallpaper* (2011), as Mr. Isaac Hendricks
- *Hitler Meets Christ* (2007), as Hitler · Screenplay
- *Santa Baby* (2006), as T.J. Hamilton
- *Deadly Skies* (2006), as General Dutton
- *12 Hours to Live* (2006), as Donald Saunders
- *Pick Me Up* (2006), as Jim Wheeler
- *Masters of Horror* (2005), series, as Jim Wheeler
- *Neverwas* (2005), as Dick
- *Fugitives Run* (2005), as Callohan
- *The 4400* (2004), series, as Orson Bailey
- *Mob Princess* (2003), as Eddy
- *Taken* (2002), series, as Colonel Thomas Campbell
- *Living with the Dead* (2002), as Adrian, Psychic
- *Living with the Dead* (2002), series, as Adrian - Psychic
- *Swimming Upstream* (2002), as Morris Bird II
- *Out of Line* (2001), as Larry Frank
- *James Dean* (2001), as Winton Dean
- *Along Came a Spider* (2001), as Senator Hank Rose
- *Mindstorm* (2001), as Schmidt
- *House of Luk* (2001), as Mr. Kidd
- *Children of Fortune* (2000), as Sheriff Bast
- *Cold Blooded* (2000), as Mark Solomon
- *Becoming Dick* (2000), as Director / Mirkin
- *The Art of Murder* (1999), as Cole Sheridan
- *Woman Wanted* (1999), as Richard
- *Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season* (1999), as Ray Preston
- *Earthquake in New York* (1998), as Paul Stenning
- *Emily of New Moon* (1998), series, as Douglas Starr
- *Major Crime* (1997), as Gordon Tallas
- *The Arrow* (1997), as President Dwight D. Eisenhower
- *The Arrow* (1997), series, as Dwight D. Eisenhower
- *Galileo: On the Shoulders of Giants* (1997), as Galileo Galilei
- *Calm at Sunset* (1996), as Russell Pfeiffer
- *Shiloh* (1996), as Ray Preston
- *Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal* (1996), series, Actor
- *Crime of the Century* (1996), as Governor Harold Hoffman
- *Courage Under Fire* (1996), as Brigadier General Hershberg
- *Managua* (1996), Actor
- *Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions* (1996), as Matthew Wylie
- *Broken Silence* (1995), as Father Mulligan
- *The Outer Limits* (1995), series, as Solicitor-General Wallace Gannon
- *Children of the Dust* (1995), series, as John Maxwell
- *Touched by an Angel* (1994), series, as Dr. Chester Crayton
- *Baseball* (1994), series, as Various (voice), (voice)
- *Born Too Soon* (1993), as Fox Butterfield
- *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Ben Stone — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)
- *Full Fathom Five* (1990), as Garvin
- *Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy* (1989), as Hank Daniels
- *The Secret of the Ice Cave* (1989), as Manny Wise
- *Frank Nitti: The Enforcer* (1988), as Hugh Kelly
- *Windmills of the Gods* (1988), series, as Ellison
- *Dark Tower* (1987), as Dennis Randall
- *A Return to Salem's Lot* (1987), as Joe Weber
- *Odd Birds* (1987), as Brother T.S. Murphy
- *It's Alive III: Island of the Alive* (1987), as Stephen Jarvis
- *The Hanoi Hilton* (1987), as Williamson
- *Troll* (1986), as Harry Potter Sr.
- *The Twilight Zone* (1985), series, Actor
- *The Equalizer* (1985), series, as Dr. Peter Kapik, Wayne 'Seti' Virgil
- *Pale Rider* (1985), as Hull Barret — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/pale-rider.md)
- *The Stuff* (1985), as David 'Mo' Rutherford
- *The Sound of Murder* (1982), as Charles Norberry
- *Blood Link* (1982), as Keith Mannings / Craig Mannings
- *Q* (1982), as Jimmy Quinn
- *Hotel* (1982), series, Actor
- *Cagney & Lacey* (1982), series, Actor — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/cagney-and-lacey.md)
- *Reborn* (1981), as Mark
- *Too Far to Go* (1979), as Richard Maple
- *The Winds of Kitty Hawk* (1978), as Wilbur Wright
- *Who'll Stop the Rain* (1978), as John Converse
- *Holocaust* (1978), series, as Erik Dorf
- *The Deadliest Season* (1977), as Gerry Miller
- *Report to the Commissioner* (1975), as Bo Lockley
- *Shoot It Black, Shoot It Blue* (1974), as Herbert G. Rucker
- *The Glass Menagerie* (1973), as Jim
- *The Last Detail* (1973), as Marine O. D.
- *A Summer Without Boys* (1973), as Abe Battle
- *Bang the Drum Slowly* (1973), as Henry Wiggen
- *Hickey & Boggs* (1972), as Ballard
- *My Old Man's Place* (1971), as Trubee Pell
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Russell Pfeiffer

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 3 won

- 2002: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (won), for *James Dean*
- 1978: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (won), for *Holocaust*
- 1974: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (won), for *The Glass Menagerie*

### Other awards — 2 won

- Theatre World Award 1974: Theatre World Award (won)
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play 1974: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/michael-moriarty