(written from a Production point of view)
Michael Alan Welch (born 25 July 1987; age 36) is the actor who played Artim, the Ba'ku child befriended by Data, in Star Trek: Insurrection. For this role, Welch won a Young Artist Award in the category "Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor." Star Trek: Insurrection was his first feature film.
Welch was born in Los Angeles, California. He made his acting debut playing a young Niles Crane on a fifth season episode of NBC's hit comedy series Frasier, which starred Kelsey Grammer. This was followed by an appearance on Veronica's Closet, the NBC series which starred Kirstie Alley and Wallace Langham.
Following his work on Star Trek: Insurrection, Welch landed a brief recurring role on the comedy series Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. He then appeared on the drama series 7th Heaven, working alongside Stephen Collins and Catherine Hicks. In 1999, he had a recurring role on the CBS comedy series Jesse.
After playing Jeffrey Nordling's son in 2000 CBS movie Personally Yours, Welch appeared in the 2001 comedy film Delivering Milo. Anton Yelchin played the title role in this film, while John Cho also had a supporting role. Both Yelchin and Cho starred in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, released in 2009. In the 2002 film The Angel Doll, Welch played a young boy who is played by Star Trek: Enterprise guest actor Keith Carradine as an adult.
Welch played a cloned teenage version of Colonel Jack O'Neill in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Fragile Balance". Prior to this, Welch had guest-starred on such popular television series as The X-Files, Touched by an Angel, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. On the latter two, he worked with James MacDonald; on CSI, he was directed by Charles Correll. In addition, Andrew J. Robinson directed Welch in a 2001 episode of Judging Amy. Welch also voiced Disney's Pinocchio on the animated series House of Mouse.
From 2003 through 2005, Welch starred as Luke Girardi in the CBS drama series Joan of Arcadia. Becky Wahlstrom was also a regular on this series, while David Burke had a recurring role. Welch won his second Young Artist Award – in the category "Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Supporting Young Actor" – for his performance on this show.
Since Joan of Arcadia wrapped, Welch has guest-starred on such series as Without a Trace (starring Enrique Murciano), NCIS (directed by Terrence O'Hara), Crossing Jordan (directed by and co-starring Miguel Ferrer), Cold Case, and Law & Order: Space Victims Unit. More recently, he and Leslie Hope played son and mother in an episode of CBS' CSI: Miami. He has also been recurring on The Riches, a series which stars Todd Stashwick and Welch's Insurrection co-star, Gregg Henry.
Welch's recent film credits have included The United States of Leland, All the Girls Love Mandy Lane, and An American Crime. He also had a supporting role in 2007's Choose Connor, in which he worked alongside fellow Star Trek alumni Erick Avari, April Grace, James Horan, Don McManus, Richard Riehle, John Rubinstein, and (in the title role) Steven Weber. He more recently had a supporting role in the direct-to-DVD remake of George A. Romero's Day of the Dead.
Welch's most recent films include the drama Lost Dream (in which he has the lead role) and The Coverup. In the latter, Welch plays Kevin Thacker, a repeat drunk driving offender whose mysterious death in 1983 led to a criminal case against the police department of Marshalltown, Iowa. The film also features John Savage as Thacker's father, as well as Ivar Brogger, the aforementioned Don McManus, and Patti Yasutake. Welch has been seen most recently as Mike Newton in the vampire romance Twilight saga films, based on the novels in the young adult book series by Stephenie Meyer.
External links
- MichaelWelchOnline.com – official site
- Michael Welch at Wikipedia
- [1]
- Michael Welch at the Internet Movie Database