Michael Anthony Claudio Wincott (born January 21, 1958 or 1959 or 1960 ) is a Canadian actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Guy of Gisbourne in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Top Dollar in The Crow and Paul Rothchild in The Doors. He is recognized for his rough, gravelly voice.
Wincott was born in Scarborough, Ontario. His father, an English immigrant from Blackpool, England, worked as a constructor, welder and salesman, and his mother was an Italian immigrant from Milan; the two met in England and immigrated to Canada in 1952. He is the younger brother of actor Jeff Wincott. Wincott was raised in Scarborough, Ontario, attending Cedarbrae Collegiate and then briefly the University of Toronto. michaelbio.html" target="_blank">http://www.northernstars.ca/actorsvz/wincott_michaelbio.html and graduated from _Juilliard Drama School in 1986.
Wincott is identifiable for playing either small character roles in indie films or villains in more mainstream fare. His most recognizable role was Guy of Gisbourne in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. Other roles include Jean-Michel Basquiat's mentor Rene Ricard in Julian Schnabel's biopic Basquiat (1996), the evil crime lord Top Dollar in 1994's The Crow, Rochefort in the 1993 film Three Musketeers, Doors producer Paul A. Rothchild in Oliver Stone's The Doors, Armand Dorleac, a sadistic prison warden in 2002's The Count of Monte Cristo, and the equally despicable villain of the 1997 Eddie Murphy movie Metro.
Wincott is known for his apathetic stance on celebrity and the ideals of Hollywood, often stating that he holds art in higher regard than money. In his early years in theater, he drew inspiration from Gary Oldman and Sean Penn and still retains a great deal of admiration for both. He also has great appreciation for the works of Johnny Depp, having worked with him on a number of films.
Wincott is a keen fencer and is known for starring in many swordfighting roles. He also plays drums, guitar and harmonica.
In an acting career that has spanned almost 30 years, Michael Wincott has appeared in feature films, theatre, and television. He grew up in Scarborough, (Toronto) Canada. In 1986, he graduated from the prestigious Juilliard School of Drama. He appeared on the New York Stage as Kent, in Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio (1987), a role which he later reprised in the Oliver Stone (I) film version (Talk Radio (1988)). He also appeared in leading roles in the controversial US premiere of David Hare (I)'s The Secret Rapture (1989) and the world premiere of Sam Shepard's States of Shock (1991). He has worked with movie directors such as Stone, Jim Jarmusch, Julian Schnabel, Ridley Scott, Kevin Reynolds (I), Michael Cimino (I) and others. Recently, he has provided voice roles for popular video game titles such as N.A.R.C. and Halo 2.
