Michael Nouri

Actor Michael Nouri may have received his start on stage in the hit play "Forty Carats" (1968-1970) and on daytime dramas like "Search for Tomorrow" (CBS/NBC, 1951-1986), but his notoriety increased dramatically after he played Jennifer Beals' hunky boyfriend in the smash hit "Flashdance" (1983). On the basis of that considerable exposure, Nouri was poised to be a movie star, but subsequent outings like "The Imagemaker" (1986) and "The Hidden" (1987) failed at the box office and he returned to television. After a handful of short-lived series, Nouri was granted steady employment as a supporting cast member on the sitcom "Love & War" (CBS, 1992-95) and had a run on Broadway with Julie Andrews in the stage incarnation of "Victor/Victoria" (1995-97). A string of largely terrible direct-to-video productions somewhat tarnished Nouri's standing, but he was rarely idle, guest starring on a number of prominent primetime shows and undertaking secondary roles in major pictures like "The Terminal" (2004) and "The Proposal" (2009). Although international stardom proved elusive, Nouri went on to have a long and successful career as a respected character performer alternating between television, film and the stage.