Lanky brown-haired actor Michael Rosenbaum reached a wide audience playing the slick and overconfident Jack in the teen-aimed sardonic sitcom "Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane" (The WB, 1999-2000). Raised in Newburgh, Indiana, the actor had his first major part playing Scoop Rosenbaum in a North Carolina summer stock production of Wendy Wasserman's "The Heidi Chronicles". He later made the move to New York, where he landed a recurring role on NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien", playing one of "The Amsterdam Kids" in a sketch parodying the American view of the city's liberal social policies. In 1997 Rosenbaum landed a regular role on The WB's short lived sitcom "The Tom Show", playing Jonathan Summers, an enthusiastic production assistant who is thrilled to be working for his idol Tom Amross (Tom Arnold), the washed up ex-husband of a superstar talk show host. That same year, he appeared in a small role in Clint Eastwood's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". The actor was next featured prominently as Parker in "Urban Legend" (1998), a college campus-set thriller with students meeting untimely ends via methods outlined in the contemporary horror mythology circulated around campfires and at slumber parties. Beginning in 1999, Rosenbaum starred in The WB's midseason replacement "Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane", a New York City set sitcom often billed as a teen "Seinfeld" because of the exaggerated personality quirks, self-absorption and droll sense of humor incorporated by characters on both series. As Jack, twin of Azura Skye's acerbic Jane, Rosenbaum played a crafty and assured character whose plans are often foiled by his own vanity and cockiness. The actor utilized his sharp delivery and good comic timing as well as a physical presence that belied the awkwardness behind Jack's smug exterior, making the character very realistic and likable, and winning fans with his humorous portrayal. Not on The WB's 1999 fall schedule, the series was revamped to return as a midseason replacement, with the characters aged so that Rosenbaum (one of three twentysomethings in the cast of four playing mid-teen roles) was not quite so much older than the character he was portraying.
The retitled "Zoe" didn't make it past 2000, but Rosenbaum resurfaced on the network in the enviable role of arch villain in training Lex Luthor (complete with shaved head) on "Smallville" (2001- ), The WB's take on Superman's teen years. A conflicted but charismatic rich kid with trauma-related premature baldness he could blame on witnessing the baby of steel's fall to earth, Lex offered Rosenbaum a relatively rich and rewarding role on the hit series.
Rosenbaum returned to the big screen with a supporting role in the 2001 remake of "Sweet November", which briefly featured the actor in drag. He would take that art much further in the 2002 comedy "Sorority Boys", where his Adam and two friends (Harland Williams and Barry Watson) don women's clothing to pledge a sorority in a bid to win acceptance at a fraternity and learn the importance of internal beauty while delivering numerous tasteless punchlines. He made appearances in the comedy feature "Bringing Down The House" as well as the independent film "Poolhall Junkies" (both 2003), in which Rosenbaum portayed a musician who has to choose between his love for music or his love for hustling
Profession(s):
Actor, telemarketer
Sometimes Credited As:
2003 Cast in the feature "Bringing Down The House"
2003 Portrayed Danny in the drama "Poolhall Junkies"
2002 Appeared alongside Barry Watson and Harland Williams as the titular "Sorority Boys", three fraternity brothers who don drag and pledge at a sorority
2001 Cast in remake of "Sweet November"
2001 Had lead role as drug dealer in "Rave Macbeth"
2001 Returned to series TV as Lex Luthor in The WB's "Smallville", about a young Superman; shaved head for the role
1999 - 2000 Played Jack in The WB's sitcom "Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane/Zoe"
1998 Was featured in the college set thriller "Urban Legend"
1997 Primetime series debut as regular, played TV production assistant Jonathan Summers on The WB sitcom "The Tom Show"
1997 Appeared in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"
Raised in Newburgh, Indiana
Played Scoop Rosenbaum in a North Carolina summer stock production of "The Heidi Chronicles"
Had a recurring role on NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" as part of the sketch "The Amsterdam Kids"
