Michael T. Burgess

Michael T. Burgess

Deelen with Trouble, Inc.
Screenwriter

Toronto, Canada

Member Since:
September 2011
Last online:
> 2 weeks ago
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About Michael

MICHAEL T. BURGESS is a Hamilton native who trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, in New York City.

Michael has worked as an Assistant Director and in the Background Casting Department on many feature film projects ranging from Jim Sheridan’s GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN’ for Paramount Pictures to Disney’s ICE PRINCESS, THE ROCKER, RED, SPOTLIGHT, and SUICIDE SQUAD. On the television side of things, he performed in the Emmy award winning “Color of Friendship” for Disney, as well as behind the camera for the series "Suits", "The Expanse", "Defiance", Murdoch Mysteries", “CRA$H & BURN”, “Flashpoint”.

Michael is currently working on a number of projects with his production company Deelen with Trouble.

Michael lives in Toronto with his wife, Courtney Deelen, and their amazing dog.

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  • How Not to Look for Love

    How Not to Look for Love (2016)
    Film (Short and Comedy) Director Andie, our firecracker heroine, suffers though the roller-coaster Manhattan dating scene looking for love.

  • Suits

    Suits (2011 - 2016)
    Television (Comedy and Drama) Casting department While running from a drug deal gone bad, Mike Ross, a brilliant young college-dropout, slips into a job interview with one of New York City's best legal closers, Harvey Specter. Tired of cookie-cutter law school grads, Harvey takes a gamble by hiring Mike on the spot after he recognizes his raw talent and photographic memory. Mike and Harvey are a winning team. Even though Mike is a genius, he still has a lot to learn about law. And while Harvey may seem like an emotionless, cold-blooded shark, Mike's sympathy and concern for their cases and clients will help remind Harvey why he went into law in the first place. Mike's other allies in the office include the firm's best paralegal Rachel and Harvey's no-nonsense assistant Donna to help him serve justice. Proving to be an irrepressible duo and invaluable to the practice, Mike and Harvey must keep their secret from everyone including managing partner Jessica and Harvey's arch nemesis Louis, who seems intent on making Mike's life as ... Written by USA Network

  • Spotlight

    Spotlight (2015)
    Film (Biography, Drama and History) Casting department When the Boston Globe's tenacious "Spotlight" team of reporters delves into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston's religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world. Written by Open Road

  • The Day Santa Didn't Come

    The Day Santa Didn't Come (2014)
    Film (Short, Comedy and Family) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director In the final days before Christmas, young Curtis is concerned about his status on Santa's 'List'. Despite his good intentions, Curtis is roped into questionable acts by his evil older brother and delinquent father. Curtis and his best friends - Rex the dog, and his Canuck-Man action figure, come up with a plan to turn things around. But considering the title of this short, their odds of success are low. "The Day Santa Didn't Come" is a story of dearly dysfunctional family life in small-town Canada, and the little guy's struggle to overcome it all. Written by Curtis Harrison

  • Defiance

    Defiance (2013 - 2014)
    Television (Action, Drama and Sci-Fi) Casting department In the year 2046, it's a new Earth - with new rules. Over thirty years after various alien races arrived on Earth, the landscape is completely altered, terraformed nearly beyond recognition. To the town of Defiance, on what used to be St. Louis, comes the mysterious Nolan (Grant Bowler) and his charge, Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas). As they settle into town - overseen by the mayor, Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz) and filled with residents like the powerful Rafe McCawley (Graham Greene), enterprising lounge owner Kenya (Mia Kirshner) and the ambitious, alien Tarrs (Tony Curran and Jaime Murray) - events begin to unfold that threaten the fragile peace this border town has fought for. Written by Official site

  • Rookie Blue

    Rookie Blue (2012 - 2014)
    Television (Crime and Drama) Casting department The stakes are high for five young cops fresh out of the Academy and ready for their first day with one of the most elite units in the city. Under the watchful guidance of their officers, Andy McNally and her four fellow rookies quickly learn that no amount of training could prepare them for this new world where every day is a first. Each case they tackle and choice they make will impact their lives, but it's their personal relationships that may play an even greater role in defining the cops they become. Written by Official site

  • Murdoch Mysteries

    Murdoch Mysteries (2012 - 2014)
    Television (Crime, Drama and Mystery) Casting department In the late 1890s, police Detective William Murdoch takes a new, more scientific approach to solving crimes. Assisted by coroner Dr. Julia Ogden and Constable George Crabtree, Murdoch introduces such concepts as finger marks and lie detecting machines. He has the support of his somewhat doubtful superior, Inspector Brackenreid, though at times, even he finds Murdoch's methods - and claims - somewhat astounding. Written by garykmcd

  • Bronson Goodyear, Background Professional

    Bronson Goodyear, Background Professional (2014)
    Film (Short, Comedy, Drama and Romance) Actor A workaholic background performer must choose between an actor upgrade and true love.

  • Cracked

    Cracked (2013)
    Television (Crime, Drama and Mystery) Miscellaneous Crew After an embarrassing and public breakdown, Detective Aidan Black (David Sutcliffe) is reassigned from his beloved SWAT team to the newly created Psych Crimes and Crisis Unit. There, he's dismayed to find his partner is not another cop, but forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Daniella Ridley (Stefanie von Pfetten). The unit also includes Detective Poppy Wisnefski (Luisa d'Oliveira) and psychiatric nurse Leo Beckett (Dayo Ade), with Inspector Diane Caligra (Karen LeBlanc) keeping a close watch over the unique partnerships. Passionate and opposing viewpoints are an inherent part of the job in Psych Crimes, and the answers the teams seek never come easy. Aidan's deep insight and investigative skills combine brilliantly with Daniella's keen ability to decipher human behaviour. Learning to work cohesively, the Psych Crimes and Crisis Unit investigates city's most troubling and psychologically complex crimes. Whether or not the unit is still around in a few months... is completely up to them. Written by Anonymous

  • Dave vs Death

    Dave vs Death (2011)
    Television (Short, Comedy and Horror) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Having just been attacked, David Kane is rushed to the hospital where he slips into a coma. On his deathbed, Dave is confronted by the Grim Reaper/Death, who he challenges to a chess match to determine his fate. Each of Dave's chess pieces represents a loved one in his life - the King being Dave himself - with each piece taken by Death meaning the demise of that loved one into Death's hands. Dave systematically assigns the chess pieces to those loved ones. In the end, will Dave have a game plan for saving himself and his loved ones? Written by Huggo

  • Jesus Henry Christ

    Jesus Henry Christ (2011)
    Film (Comedy) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Henry is a precocious young boy, conceived in a petri-dish, raised by his single mother, Patricia, and is smarter than all of his peers. However, the one question he can't answer is, who is his father? Henry's attempts at locating his father lead him to Dr. Slavkin O'Hara, a university professor who has decided to raise his daughter, Audrey, as a psychology experiment in a world free of gender bias. Patricia starts fearing that she's losing her son, Audrey wishes she didn't have a father, Dr. O'Hara has no idea how to keep his daughter happy, and Henry may just have found the family he was looking for. Written by napierslogs

  • Nikita

    Nikita (2010)
    Television (Action, Crime, Drama and Thriller) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director When she was a deeply troubled teenager, Nikita was rescued from death row by a secret U.S. agency known only as Division, who faked her execution and told her she was being given a second chance to start a new life and serve her country. What they didn't tell her was that she was being trained as a spy and assassin. Throughout her grueling training at Division, Nikita never lost her humanity, even falling in love with a civilian. When her fiancé was murdered, Nikita realized she had been betrayed and her dreams shattered by the only people she thought she could trust, so she did what no one else before her had been able to do: she escaped. Now, after three years in hiding, Nikita is seeking retribution and making it clear to her former bosses that she will stop at nothing to expose and destroy their covert operation. Written by The CW

  • Cra$h & Burn

    Cra$h & Burn (2009)
    Television (Drama) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Add a Plot »

  • Flashpoint

    Flashpoint (2008 - 2009)
    Television (Action, Crime, Drama and Thriller) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director When the Strategic Response Unit arrives, the rules change. The bad guy's caught - he just doesn't know it yet. The SRU, inspired by Toronto's Emergency Task Force, is a handpicked team of elite cops. High risk is their business and these men and women do it all: rescue hostages, bust gangs, defuse bombs. Talk down suicidal teens. Protect the Pope. They handle state-of-the-art weapons - sniper rifles, flash-bang grenades, tasers. They climb the sides of buildings. See through walls. But they're different from other SWAT teams. Because their arsenal also includes a gift for words. A knowledge of human intuition. An instinct for when it's time to negotiate - and when the 'solution' calls for something more. On the scene, they're in charge. No one knows their job better. SRU Constables outrank senior Inspectors - and the Inspectors don't like it. Regular uniforms grumble when pushed aside by the SRU 'prima donnas.' While secretly wishing they were in their place. It's a tough job. A job ... Written by Anonymous

  • Bull

    Bull (2008)
    Film (Comedy, Drama and Mystery) Casting department Deep within heatwave-baked skyscraper canyons, a hapless stockbroker gets caught up in a twisty web where no one - at all - is telling the truth. A darkly comic neo-noir about deception, identity, money, murder, and really tall buildings.

  • The Last Hit Man

    The Last Hit Man (2008)
    Video (Crime and Thriller) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Ageing hit man, Harry, has just botched a job and is now the target. His daughter is also in the assassin trade and is now a target too. A young hit man called Billy is sent to take Harry out but they form an uneasy alliance...

  • Runaway

    Runaway (2006 - 2008)
    Television (Drama) Casting department The Raders look like a normal middle-class American family, with a dad, Paul Rader, his lovely wife Lily, teenagers Henry and Hannah and 8-year-old Tommy. Those are their real names, but as they struggle to blend into a new life in Bridgewater, Iowa, they are all using secret identities. This family is on the run, hiding from the legal system that unjustly convicted Paul Rader of a terrible and violent crime. Adding to the danger, the real killer is now threatening the lives of the Rader children. As Paul works to protect his loved ones and uncover the evidence that will clear him, he lives with the daily fear that someone will accidentally reveal the family's dark secret. Written by Anonymous

  • The Rocker

    The Rocker (2008)
    Film (Comedy and Music) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director The Rocker tells the story of a failed drummer who is given a second chance at fame. Robert "Fish" Fishman is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n' roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies are destroyed, just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew's high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band, giving him a chance to reclaim the rock God throne he's always thought he deserved, and taking the young band along for the ride of their lives. Written by Fox Atomic

  • The Incredible Hulk

    The Incredible Hulk (2008)
    Film (Action, Adventure and Sci-Fi) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Depicting the events after the Gamma Bomb. 'The Incredible Hulk' tells the story of Dr Bruce Banner, who seeks a cure to his unique condition, which causes him to turn into a giant green monster under emotional stress. Whilst on the run from military which seeks his capture, Banner comes close to a cure. But all is lost when a new creature emerges; The Abomination. Written by Graham Kroon

  • The Best Years

    The Best Years (2007)
    Television (Drama) Casting department Samantha Best is girl who's been in orphanages and foster homes. She gets a scholarship to an Ivy league school. The school thinks she doesn't belong there but Dorothy O'Sullivan, the woman who gave her the scholarship is behind her. And she tries to fit in and interact with the other students. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com

  • How She Move

    How She Move (2007)
    Film (Drama) Casting department Unable to afford the tuition needed to fund her private school education, Rayanna or Raya (Rutina Wesley) returns to her family home in the city while reluctantly re-evaluating her future. Upon learning that the top prize for an upcoming step-dancing competition is $50,000, Raya uses her impressive moves to earn a coveted slot in her good friend Bishop's (Dwain Murphy) predominantly male JSJ crew. Isolated from the local females due to jealousy and separated from her fellow dancers by gender, the ambitious dancer is subsequently kicked-off the team for showing off during a preliminary competition. Now, if Raya has any hope of realizing her medical school dreams, she will have to either earn back Bishop's trust or organize her own dance crew and start over from scratch. In the end, she eventually learns "how she move". Written by jck movies

  • Breakfast with Scot

    Breakfast with Scot (2007)
    Film (Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance and 1 More) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director The hockey career of former Toronto Maple Leaf Eric McNally, who was known as a tough enforcer, came to an end with a shoulder injury. He is now a sportscaster. Except to his assistant Nula, what he hasn't told his work colleagues is that he is gay and that he is in a long term relationship with a sports lawyer named Sam. Eric feels that he can't be openly gay as an ex-hockey player or as a public figure still associated with professional hockey. Eric and Sam's life is turned upside down when they take temporary custody of Scot Latour, whose drug addict mother, Julie, recently passed away from a drug overdose. Julie assigned custody of Scot to her ex-boyfriend, Billy, who is Sam's deadbeat brother. Sam is certain that Billy will eventually come for Scot when he learns that Julie's insurance money also comes with custody. Having only had Julie's influence in his life, Scot is a flamboyant adolescent, who wears make-up, a feather boa and his mother's charm bracelet, and who loves ... Written by Huggo

  • Dead Silence

    Dead Silence (2007)
    Film (Horror) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Every town has its own ghost story, and a local folktale around Ravens Fair is about a ventriloquist named Mary Shaw. After she went mad in the 1940s, she was accused of kidnapping a young boy who yelled out in one of her performances that she was a fraud. Because of this she was hunted down by townspeople who in the ultimate act of revenge, cut out her tongue and then killed her. They buried her along with her "children," a handmade collection of vaudeville dolls, and assumed they had silenced her forever. However, Ravens Fair has been plagued by mysterious deaths around them after Mary Shaws collection has returned from their graves and have come to seek revenge on people that killed her and their families. Far from the pall of their cursed hometown, newlyweds Jamie and Lisa Ashen thought they had established a fresh start, until Jamie's wife is grotesquely killed in their apartment. Jamie returns to Ravens Fair for the funeral, intent on unraveling the mystery of Lisa's death. Once... Written by Christopher Hernandez

  • Beautiful People

    Beautiful People (2006)
    Television (Drama) Casting department An academically gifted teen, her model-beautiful older sister and their newly single mother leave small town New Mexico in search of a new life in New York City. After their father runs off with his teenage mistress, SOPHIE and KAREN KERR decide their family needs a fresh start. They convince their mother, LYNN, that the big city holds promise for all of them. Sophie has gotten a scholarship to a prestigious Manhattan private school, Karen can pursue her dreams of modeling, and Lynn can leave the painful memories of her failed marriage behind her, while reviving the ambitions of becoming a fashion designer she put on hold to raise a family. The Kerr women arrive in New York ready to build a new life, as they try their hand at making it in this rarified place that promises as many challenges as it does possibilities. Manhattan. Global big shots, CEOs, diplomats, and the self-important social elite all make their homes there, and they send their precious children to the Brighton school.... Written by Noel Eisenberg

  • Save the Last Dance 2

    Save the Last Dance 2 (2006)
    Video (Drama, Music and Romance) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Sara joins Julliard in New York to fulfill her and her mother's dream of becoming the Prima ballerina of the school. She befriends her roommates, Zoe and Miles, who teach hip-hop classes. She has ballet classes with the rigid and famous Monique Delacroix that she idolizes - Monique requires full commitment, discipline and hard work from her students. When Miles, who is a composer, invites Sara to help him compose the music for the dance choreography Sara's passion for hip-hop is sparked and she also falls in love with Miles. When she is assigned to perform Giselle in an important event, she feels divided between the technique of the ballet and the creative work offered by Miles. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  • Get Rich or Die Tryin'

    Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)
    Film (Biography, Crime, Drama and Music) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.

  • Ice Princess

    Ice Princess (2005)
    Film (Comedy, Drama, Family and Sport) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director A high-school bookworm transforms into a swan. Brainy Casey Carlyle has never quite fit in. Caught between her fantasy of becoming a championship figure skater and her strong-willed mother, who has her on the fast track to Harvard, she can only hope to be like Nikki, Tiffany and Gen--three elite skating prodigies who are ruthlessly competing on the US National circuit (and have attitudes to match). But when Casey gets the chance to train with Gen and her coach, a disgraced former skating champion who also happens to be Gen's mother, she must dash her own mother's hopes in order to pursue her dream. Now, with only the support of Gen's teenage brother, a hunky Zamboni driver, Casey takes on the challenge of her life when she finds herself competing against the best to make it into the championship circuit and become a real "ice princess." Written by Anonymous

  • Resident Evil: Apocalypse

    Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
    Film (Action, Horror, Sci-Fi and Thriller) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Alice awakens from a terrible sleep to find her worst fears realized--the bloodthirsty Undead, which she and the now-annihilated squad of elite military fought to destroy, have been unleashed on the city that surrounds the secret facility of the Umbrella Corporation. Discovering she was an Umbrella experiment, Alice has been bio-genetically enhanced with new strengths, senses and dexterity--and she will need them. In the heart of the ravaged Raccoon City, a small group of uninfected people, including Jill Valentine, a recently demoted member of Umbrella Corp's elite Special Tactics and Rescue Services team, and S.T.A.R.S team leader Carlos Oliveira, fight for their lives against swarms of Undead and the deadlier and faster Lickers. Running out of luck and resources, the group is rescued by Alice, and they begin to wage an exhilarating battle to survive and escape before the Umbrella Corporation erases its experiment from the face of the earth. Their only hope lies somewhere within ... Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

  • The Circle

    The Circle (2002)
    Film (Thriller) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Five friends unite to constitute a circle of sneaks and cheaters at a private boys boarding school. A file cabinet containing test papers is found tampered with and the group is implicated as a result of getting top grades for the paper. All A students are brought before the honors council for questioning. One member of the council, Smitty, vows intently to find the cheaters. Someone narcs on one of the Circle, Frazier, who soon expelled. The rest of the Circle agree to give the narc no mercy. They believe it was Faulkner, also an A student but not a member of the Circle. Faulkner is Alex's roommate; Alex is a member and believes he is innocent. Jetson Harlow, another member, sends Faulkner a fake rejection letter from MIT for revenge. Faulkner ends up dead, his death labeled a suicide. Written by kwedgwood@hotmail.com

  • Strange Days at Blake Holsey High

    Strange Days at Blake Holsey High (2002)
    Television (Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy and 1 More) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Black Hole High (Blake Holsey High) is a private school with a difference. The atmosphere seems to be charged and many strange phenomena are regularly witnessed, including, water running up walls, spontaneously exploding desks and teachers being sucked into a vortex. Follow the adventures of five teenagers as they initiate all manner of secret science experiments. Written by Orthello357

  • The Color of Friendship

    The Color of Friendship (2000)
    TV Movie (Biography, Drama and Family) Actor Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African. Written by Dragomir R. Radev <radev@cs.columbia.edu>

  • Foreign Objects

    Foreign Objects (2000)
    Television (Drama) Actor Add a Plot »

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