Michael Owen Rosenbaum (born July 11, 1972 in Oceanside, New York) is an American actor and voice actor. As an on-screen actor, he's best known for playing Lex Luthor on Smallville, Adam/Adina in Sorority Boys, Kip in Kickin' It Old School, and Dutch Nilbog in the short-lived Breaking In. As a voice actor, he's best known as the voice of the Wally West incarnation of The Flash in Justice League (replacing Charlie Schlatter, who voiced him on Superman: The Animated Series), Agent West in The Zeta Project, and Nick Carlyle in Lollipop Chainsaw.
He returned to voice the Flash in Justice League: Doom, this time playing Wally West's uncle and predecessor, Barry Allen—mirroring his predecessor as DCAU!Wally, Charlie Schlatter, who voiced Barry on The Batmannote . He'd later voice Barry in Infinite Crisis and LEGO DC Super-Villains.
These days, he hosts a podcast called Inside of You
, wherein he interviews various celebrities across the entertainment industry about themselves and their careers, mostly actors.
Notable roles from Michael Rosenbaum:
- Batman: Arkham Knight: Johnny Charisma
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker: Ghoul
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Deadman
- Breaking In: Dutch Nilbog
- DC Showcase: The Phantom Stranger : Seth
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Martinex
- Impastor: Buddy Dobbs
- Justice League: The Flash (Wally West), Deadshot, and Doctor Polaris
- Justice League: Doom, Infinite Crisis, LEGO DC Super-Villains: The Flash (Barry Allen)
- Jackie Chan Adventures: Drago
- Kickin' It Old School: Kip
- Lollipop Chainsaw: Nick Carlyle
- Poolhall Junkies: Danny
- Smallville: Lex Luthor
- Sorority Boys: Adam/Adina
- Teen Titans: Kid Flash
- Urban Legend: Parker Riley
- Yakuza: Akira Nishiki
- The Zeta Project: Agent West
Tropes associated with Michael Rosenbaum:
- Berserk Button: He says he's annoyed at people saying that he "left" Smallville. He counters that he was contracted for six seasons, and did seven, which isn't leaving.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Ghoul in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and Deadshot in Justice League were based on impressions Rosenbaum did of Christopher Walken and Kevin Spacey respectively.
- Dyeing for Your Art: He had his head shaved to play Luthor on Smallville.
- Directed by Cast Member: He directed the Smallville episode "Freak".
- Role Reprise: Unlike most of the rest of the League and 3/7 of the Legion of Doom in Justice League: Doom, this was averted as the Flash there was Barry Allen, not Wally West. Played straight in Infinite Crisis and LEGO DC Super-Villains, though, because of his voicing Barry in Doom.
- Played with in a very roundabout way in the Justice League Unlimited episode The Great Brain Robbery. During that episode, The Flash (voiced by Rosenbaum) switches bodies with Lex Luthor. The characters' voices remain the same, meaning Rosenbaum is voicing Lex Luthor possessing The Flash's body.
- Uncredited Role: For some reason, he isn't credited in the 2005 film Cursed, despite playing a significant supporting role.
- What Could Have Been:
- He screen-tested for the role of Peter Quill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before the casting of Chris Pratt. He would eventually go on to portray Martinex in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
- He was offered an unspecified role in The Suicide Squad, but turned down the offer due to complications with his neck surgery at the time.
- The Arrowverse crew asked him to reprise his Smallville role as Lex Luthor for Crisis On Infinite Earths, but due to a combination of the "Writing by the Seat of Your Pants" approach taken and the fact they asked him about this while he was visiting a sick relative, he turned them down.
