Misha Collins
Collins at the 2017 Comic Con in San Diego
Born
Dmitri Tippens Krushnic

(1974-08-20) August 20, 1974 (age 49)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Actor, author
Years active1998–present
Spouse
Victoria Vantoch
​
​
(m. 2001; div. 2022)​
Children2

Dmitri "Misha" Collins[1] (born Dmitri Tippens Krushnic;[2] August 20, 1974) is an American actor best known for his role as the angel Castiel on the CW television series Supernatural (2008–2020).[3]

Early life

Misha Collins was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother is Rebecca Tippens.[4] He was raised in an irreligious family.[5] Growing up, his family was poor and often homeless.[6][7] He has said that his surname, Krushnic, "goes back six generations in Canada, and we're not sure where they came from."[2] He is of partial Jewish descent.[8]

Collins attended Greenfield Center School, Northfield Mount Hermon School and the University of Chicago, where he studied social theory.[9][10]

Career

Interning

Before acting, he interned for four months at the White House during the Clinton Administration in the Office of Presidential Personnel.[3][11]

Acting

His film work includes an uncredited appearance in the 1999 movie Liberty Heights, as well as roles in Girl, Interrupted; Finding Home; Karla; and Loot (on which he also served as Associate Producer).

He starred as the angel Castiel on the CW television series Supernatural from 2008 to 2020. As well as his work on Supernatural, other television shows includes Legacy, Charmed, NYPD Blue, 24, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, ER, Monk, and Timeless.

He has appeared on several podcasts. He has several guest appearances. For his acting work in podcasts, in 2018, he voiced the role of Adler Harrison in The Angel of Vine produced by Vox Populi.[12] In 2021, he starred as Jeremy Bradshaw as the main role on Bridgewater produced by Grim & Mild.[13]

He hosted Roadfood: Discovering America One Dish at a Time on PBS, a TV show focused on local foods in America.[14]

In 2022, he was cast as Harvey Dent/Two Face in the Gotham Knights show on the CW.[15][16]

Writing

Collins is a published poet. His poems, including "Baby Pants" and "Old Bones", can be found in the 2008 edition of Columbia Poetry Review #21.

Collins has also co-written a cookbook, The Adventurous Eaters Club, with his wife, Vicki Collins. It is reported that much of the book's sales will go to charitable organizations who specialize in food nutrition.[17]

Collins and Kathryn Leonard, together with several other collaborators, are authors of "The 2D Shape Structure Dataset", an academic research paper on a crowd-sourced database on the structure of shapes.[18]

Collins's poetry book, Some Things I Still Can't Tell You, was published on October 12, 2021 and is a full collection of poems at 144 pages.[19] It reached the NYTimes bestseller list.[20]

Charity work

Collins is the co-founder and board president of Random Acts,[21] a non-profit organization dedicated to funding and inspiring acts of kindness around the world.[22] Collins founded the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen (GISHWHES) in 2011.[23] Entrance fees for the international competition go towards Random Acts, and in 2012, GISHWHES broke the world record for most pledges to perform an act of kindness.[24]

Personal life

On October 6, 2001, Collins married Victoria Vantoch in Maine. They have a son born in 2010 and a daughter born in 2012.[25][26]

In the acknowledgments of his 2021 poetry book, Some Things I Still Can't Tell You, Collins stated that he and his wife had separated. [27] In 2022 Collins's divorce from Vantoch was finalized.[28]

In April 2022, Collins clarified that he is straight after a fan convention appearance led to reports he had appeared to come out as bisexual.[29]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Liberty Heights Guy Uncredited
Girl, Interrupted Tony
2002 Par 6 Al Hegelman
2003 Moving Alan Tony Derrick
Finding Home Dave
2004 The Crux Man Hanging from the Rope Short film
2006 Karla Paul Bernardo
2008 Over Her Dead Body Brian
The Grift Buster
2013 TSA America: Just Relax Officer Franklin Short films; also producer, director and writer
2014 TSA America: Suspicious Bulge
TSA America: Yeah, But Is It Ticking?
2021 Encounter Dylan

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Legacy Andrew Episode: "The Big Fix"
1999 Charmed Eric Bragg Episode: "They're Everywhere"
2000 NYPD Blue Blake DeWitt Episode: "Welcome to New York"
2001 Seven Days Sergei Chubais Episode: "Born in the USSR"
2002 24 Alexis Drazen Recurring role; 7 episodes
2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Vlad Episode: "Nesting Dolls"
20 Things to Do Before You're 30 Unknown role Unaired television series
2005–2006 ER Bret Recurring role; 3 episodes
2006 NCIS Justin Farris Episode: "Singled Out"
Monk Michael Karapov Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage"
Close to Home Todd Monroe Episode: "There's Something About Martha"
2007 Without a Trace Chester Lake Episode: "Run"
CSI: NY Morton Brite Episode: "Can You Hear Me Now?"
Reinventing the Wheelers Joey Wheeler Unaired television pilot
2008–2020 Supernatural Castiel / Jimmy Novak / Himself / Leviathan / Lucifer / Cosmic Entity Recurring role; (Seasons 4 and 8)
Main role; (Seasons 5–6, 9–15)
Guest role; (Season 7 and 8);

147 episodes
also Director: Season 9, episode 17
People's Choice Award for Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor (2015)

2009 Nip/Tuck Manny Skerritt Episode: "Manny Skerritt"
2010 Stonehenge Apocalypse Jacob Television film
2012 Ringer Dylan Episode: "Whores Don't Make That Much"
2014 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Himself Episode: "Misha Collins"
2015 Kittens in a Cage Porn Director Episode: "Punch and Lemon Squares"
2015–2018 The Hillywood Show Ghostbusters Receptionist / Dancer Guest role; 2 episodes
2016 The Venture Bros. Prisoner 2 / Maestro Wave Episode: "Red Means Stop"; voice role
2017 Kings of Con Doug Walderman Episode: "Arlington, VA"
Timeless Eliot Ness Episode: "Public Enemy No. 1"
2021-2022 Roadfood: Discovering America One Dish at a Time Himself Host
2023 Gotham Knights Harvey Dent Main role

Podcasts

Acting roles are in bold.

Year Title Role Air Date Notes Episode Title
2012 Winchester Radio Himself Nov 11, 2012 Guest Role Winchester Radio - Special edition with guest Misha Collins
2013 ID10T with Chris Hardwick Himself Jul 1, 2013 Guest Role
2014 girl on guy Himself February 4, 2014 125: misha collins
2016 Hype Podcast Himself Jun 17, 2016 Guest Role Hype Special #13 – Talking G.I.S.H.W.H.E.S. with Misha Collins
2016 Too Beautiful To Live Himself Dec 27, 2016 Guest Role City of Subdued Podcasting w/ Misha Collins
2018 The Angel of Vine Adler Harrison Nov 2018 - Jan 2019 4 Episodes
2019 Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum Himself Oct 2, 2019 Guest Role
2019 The Art of Fatherhood Himself Nov 5, 2019 Guest Role
2020 The "Doctor Mom" Podcast Himself Jan 2020 Guest Role Raising Adventurous Eaters with Misha and Vicki Collins
2020 Craft Service Himself Dec 2020 Guest Role The Unpredictability of Life ft Misha Collins
2021 Kings of Con: The Pocast Himself Jan 27, 2021 Guest Role Misha Collins and kitchen decor
2021 Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry Himself Jul 12, 2021 Guest Role Supernatural's Misha Collins on Acting, Activism, and What's Next
2021 Bridgewater Jeremy Bradshaw Aug 5, 2021 - Oct 1, 2021 Main Role; 10 Episodes
2022 Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum Himself Mar 22, 2022 Guest Role Misha Collins On Supernatural End, Jared and Jensen, Standing Out, Cult Fans & More

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Ghostfacers Castiel Episode: "Ghostfacers Meet Castiel"
Divine: The Series Father Christopher Also producer and writer[30]

Producer

Year Title Notes
2008 Loot Documentary film; also associate producer[31]

Director

Year Title Notes
2010 Stranger Danger Short film; also writer

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2014 People's Choice Awards Favorite TV Bromance (shared with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) Supernatural Won[32][33]
2015 Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor
2016 Nominated[34]

References

  1. ^ "Misha Collins in LA 09: On his name". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. "My mom went to Russia when she was in college, and […] she had a boyfriend whose name was Mitya, which she thought was the same as Misha, which it's not. And his real name was Dmitri, so my real name, actually—my birth certificate says Dmitri. But she always calls me Misha, so I have the wrong nickname. But, you know, too late to change it now."
  2. ^ a b "Misha Collins Answers Our Top 3 Q's – EveryJoe". EveryJoe. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2013. "My mother went to Russia when she was in college. She had a boyfriend named Misha, and much to my father's chagrin she named me after him. And the last name, Krushnic, goes back six generations in Canada, and we're not sure where they came from—could be Russian or Ukrainian or Polish."
  3. ^ a b "Supernatural Cast Bios Misha Collins". The CW. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  4. ^ "Misha Collins". TV Guide. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  5. ^ O'Hare, Kate (November 18, 2008). "Misha Collins is Supernatural's Dark Angel". Screener. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  6. ^ Rossow, Andrew (March 5, 2018). "Behind The Cape: Supernatural's Misha Collins, Advocates Against Cyberbullying Through 'Random Acts'". Forbes. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  7. ^ Molloy, Parker. "Inspired by his family, Misha Collins is fighting homelessness for a very personal reason". Upworthy. No. 22 November 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  8. ^ "Jewish comics stump against Trump". The Times of Israel.
  9. ^ "Just try to find a stranger scavenger hunt than this". The Recorder. August 16, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2014. GISHWHES was created by American actor Misha Collins, who attended Greenfield Center School and graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School in 1992.
  10. ^ Hale, Mike (April 18, 2014). "Eternal Life, Thanks to Angels and Abs". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  11. ^ Krushnic, Dmitri (January 29, 1998). "Lewinsky wasn't the only infatuated intern". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  12. ^ "CREDITS". The Angel of Vine: A Fictional Podcast. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  13. ^ "Bridgewater". Grim & Mild. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  14. ^ "Roadfood TV: Discovering America one dish at a time with our host Misha Collins". Roadfood. September 29, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Maas, Jennifer (March 23, 2022). "'Supernatural' Alum Misha Collins to Play Harvey Dent in The CW's 'Gotham Knights' Pilot". Variety. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  16. ^ Iannucci, Rebecca (March 23, 2022). "Misha Collins Eyes CW Return, Joins Gotham Knights Pilot as Harvey Dent". TVLine. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  17. ^ "Cover Released for Misha and Vicki Collins' Cookbook". Nerds and Beyond. June 25, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  18. ^ Carlier, Axel; Leonard, Kathryn; Hahmann, Stefanie; Morin, Geraldine; Collins, Misha (August 2016). "The 2D shape structure dataset: A user annotated open access database". Computers & Graphics. 58: 23–30. doi:10.1016/j.cag.2016.05.009.
  19. ^ "Some Things I Still Can't Tell You". Andrews McMeel Publishing. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  20. ^ "Paperback Trade Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Oct. 31, 2021 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  21. ^ "Random Acts – Our Staff". Random Acts.
  22. ^ "Random Acts – Non-profit dedicated to acts of kindness worldwide". Random Acts. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015.
  23. ^ Mandy, Chaos (October 11, 2012). "GISHWHES – International Scavenger Hunt". Wired. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  24. ^ Hayes, Molly (August 14, 2013). "Wanted: Rooster costume and Russian colonel". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  25. ^ Raftery, Liz (September 28, 2012). "Supernatural's Misha Collins, Wife Have a Baby". TV GUIDE. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  26. ^ "We got this on tuesday. No..." September 28, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  27. ^ ""Some Things I Still Can't Tell You" by Misha Collins is an Upcoming Must Read!". August 18, 2021.
  28. ^ "Misha Collins - Biography". IMDb.
  29. ^ Jackson, Dory; Garner, Glenn (April 25, 2022). "Supernatural's Misha Collins Apologizes for 'Misspeaking' After Appearing to Come Out as Bisexual". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  30. ^ Divine the Series Cast Archived September 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on May 16, 2011.
  31. ^ Loot: Home. HBO. Retrieved on March 1, 2011.
  32. ^ "People's Choice Awards: Fan Favorites in Movies, Music & TV - PeoplesChoice.com". www.peopleschoice.com. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  33. ^ "People's Choice Awards: Fan Favorites in Movies, Music & TV - PeoplesChoice.com". www.peopleschoice.com. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  34. ^ "People's Choice Awards: Fan Favorites in Movies, Music & TV - PeoplesChoice.com". www.peopleschoice.com. Retrieved November 5, 2016.

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