# Michael Nouri
**Michael Nouri** (full name Michael David Nouri) is an American television, film, and stage actor, born in 1945 in Washington, D.C., best known for playing Nick Hurley, the love interest of [Jennifer Beals](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-beals)'s character, in the 1983 film *Flashdance*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) Over a career beginning in 1969, he has accumulated more than 130 acting credits, moving between Broadway musicals, daytime dramas, prime-time guest and recurring roles, and supporting parts in major studio films.[3](https://thebiography.org/about-michael-nouri-wife-net-worth-children-ethnicity-wiki/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945, Washington, D.C.; birth name Michael David Nouri; height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/) |
| Breakout role | Nick Hurley in *Flashdance* (1983)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) |
| Awards | Daytime Emmy nomination, 1976, for *Search for Tomorrow*; Catalonian International Film Festival Best Actor, 1987, and Saturn Award nomination, 1988, both for *The Hidden*[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/awards/) |
| Broadway | *Forty Carats* (1968–1970), *Victor/Victoria* (1995–1997, King Marchan), *South Pacific* revival (2001–2002, Emile de Becque)[5](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/michael-nouri-54725) |
| Notable TV roles | Eli David on *NCIS*, Dr. Neil Roberts on *The O.C.*, Phil Grey on *Damages*, Bob Schwartz on *Yellowstone*[6](https://www.arabamerica.com/arabamericans/michael-noury/) |
| Recent work | Roger Kaplan in *The Watcher* (2022), Jeremy Stonehouse in *Devils*, Nathaniel Montrose in *The Pitt* (2025)[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/9177/michael-nouri) |
| Heritage | Irish and Iraqi descent; father born in Baghdad[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/) • [6](https://www.arabamerica.com/arabamericans/michael-noury/) |
## Early life and education
Nouri was born in Washington, D.C., at the Walter Reade Army Hospital, the son of Gloria (née Montgomery) and Edmond Nouri.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/) His father was born in Baghdad in 1918; an education at Jesuit Baghdad College won him an IBM scholarship to [Georgetown University](https://www.edgepedia.org/georgetown-university) in 1938, and in 1942 he enlisted in the US Army as an Iraqi national, serving in China and Burma before becoming an American citizen. He later worked as a staff writer for *Stars and Stripes* and *The New Yorker*.[6](https://www.arabamerica.com/arabamericans/michael-noury/) Nouri is of Irish and Iraqi descent.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/)
He grew up in New Jersey and New York, and after misbehaving in his early teens was sent to the Avon Old Farms School, an all-boys boarding school in Avon, Connecticut, where he made his acting debut as a judge in a staging of "Trial by Jury," became student body president, and broke the school's javelin-throw record.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) • [3](https://thebiography.org/about-michael-nouri-wife-net-worth-children-ethnicity-wiki/) He attended [Rollins College](https://www.edgepedia.org/rollins-college) in Florida and majored in drama at [Emerson College](https://www.edgepedia.org/emerson-college) in Boston before moving to New York City to pursue acting.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) He also worked as an insurance salesman, like his father, before deciding to act full time.[8](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/michael-nouri/bio/3030518098/)
## Stage career
Nouri's first professional break came quickly. After his first audition he won a small part in the 1969 comedy film *Goodbye, Columbus*, and soon afterward joined the Broadway comedy *Forty Carats*, in which he performed for about two years; the Internet Broadway Database credits him as the original Pat and as an assistant stage manager for the production, which ran from December 1968 to November 1970.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) • [5](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/michael-nouri-54725) In a later interview he recalled being cast in the lead opposite [Julie Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-harris) and playing the show for 18 months on Broadway.[9](https://www.guidoblanco.com.ar/interview-with-michael-nouri)
His most prominent Broadway engagement came in 1995, when he returned after more than two decades to play King Marchan, the part originated on film by [James Garner](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-garner), opposite [Julie Andrews](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-andrews) in the stage version of *Victor/Victoria*, directed by [Blake Edwards](https://www.edgepedia.org/blake-edwards); the production ran from October 1995 to July 1997.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) • [5](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/michael-nouri-54725) He later starred as Emile de Becque in the 2001–2002 Broadway revival of *South Pacific*.[5](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/michael-nouri-54725) Other stage work includes the musical *Nefertiti* (1977), a Goodspeed Opera production of *Camille Claudel* as Auguste Rodin (2003), and the City Center Encores! revival of *Can-Can* (2004).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) • [10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/nouri-michael-1945)
## Film breakthrough: Flashdance and The Hidden
After early television work on the daytime dramas *Somerset* and *Search for Tomorrow* beginning in 1974, and a turn as [Lucky Luciano](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucky-luciano) in the NBC miniseries *The Gangster Chronicles* (1981), Nouri's career changed with *Flashdance* (1983).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) He played Nick Hurley, the boss and boyfriend of Jennifer Beals's steel-mill welder and dancer, in the surprise hit directed by [Adrian Lyne](https://www.edgepedia.org/adrian-lyne). In interviews Nouri has said he expected "a nice little movie" and did not anticipate it becoming a number-one film.[11](https://surrealgeneration.com/2022/01/09/michaelnouri/)
The exposure positioned him for a film career, but his subsequent theatrical releases underperformed. *The Imagemaker* (1986) disappeared quickly from theaters, and *The Hidden* (1987), a science-fiction action film in which he played Detective Tom Beck opposite [Kyle MacLachlan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyle-maclachlan), earned above-average reviews and success on video and cable but weak theatrical numbers.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) The role nonetheless brought him his main awards recognition: a Best Actor award at the Sitges–Catalonian International Film Festival in 1987 and a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actor from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in 1988.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/awards/)
## Television career
Television provided Nouri's steadiest work. After short-lived series such as *Bay City Blues* (NBC, 1983) and *Downtown* (CBS, 1986–87), he had a three-season run as the egotistical actor Kip Zakaris on the CBS sitcom *Love & War* (1992–95).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/) His earliest Emmy recognition came from daytime television: a 1976 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series for *Search for Tomorrow*, on which he played Steve Kaslo.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/awards/) • [3](https://thebiography.org/about-michael-nouri-wife-net-worth-children-ethnicity-wiki/)
From the 2000s onward he became a familiar recurring and guest performer. He played Dr. Neil Roberts on *The O.C.* (2003–2007), Phil Grey, the husband of [Glenn Close](https://www.edgepedia.org/glenn-close)'s character, on *Damages*, and Mossad Director Eli David, father of [Ziva David](https://www.edgepedia.org/ziva-david), on *NCIS*, a role in which his character was killed off in a 2013 shooting-spree episode.[6](https://www.arabamerica.com/arabamericans/michael-noury/) • [12](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/michael-nouri/3030518098/) In a 2026 interview he named playing Glenn Close's husband in *Damages* as a career highlight.[9](https://guidoblanco.com.ar/interview-with-michael-nouri)
His later credits include Bob Schwartz on *Yellowstone* (2018–2021), Roger Kaplan in the Netflix series *The Watcher* (2022), Jeremy Stonehouse in the Italian-American series *Devils* (2020–2022), and Nathaniel Montrose in *The Pitt* (2025).[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/9177/michael-nouri) • [13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/fullcredits) Supporting film roles in this period include Max in [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s *The Terminal* (2004) and Chairman Bergen in *The Proposal* (2009).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/)
## Personal life and advocacy
Nouri was married to photographer Lynn Goldsmith, with the marriage ending in divorce in 1978; sources differ on the wedding year, with IMDb recording September 18, 1976, and Encyclopedia.com recording 1977.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/) • [10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/nouri-michael-1945) He married talent agent Vicki Light in 1986; that marriage also ended in divorce, in 2001.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/) He has two daughters, Jennifer and Hannah.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/)
Because his ex-wife has multiple sclerosis, Nouri has served as an ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society; [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) also lists him as an ambassador for Seeds of Peace.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/) • [8](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/michael-nouri/bio/3030518098/)
## References
1. [Michael Nouri – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/bio/)
2. [Michael Nouri – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/michael-nouri/)
3. [About Michael Nouri: Wife, Net Worth, Children, Ethnicity, Wiki, TheBiography.org](https://thebiography.org/about-michael-nouri-wife-net-worth-children-ethnicity-wiki/)
4. [Michael Nouri – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/awards/)
5. [Michael Nouri – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/michael-nouri-54725)
6. [Michael Nouri, Arab America](https://www.arabamerica.com/arabamericans/michael-noury/)
7. [Michael Nouri, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/9177/michael-nouri)
8. [Michael Nouri Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/michael-nouri/bio/3030518098/)
9. [Interview with Michael Nouri | Guido Blanco](https://www.guidoblanco.com.ar/interview-with-michael-nouri)
10. [Nouri, Michael 1945–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/nouri-michael-1945)
11. [A walk with Michael Nouri in Rome, Surreal Generation](https://surrealgeneration.com/2022/01/09/michaelnouri/)
12. [Michael Nouri, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/michael-nouri/3030518098/)
13. [Michael Nouri – Full credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636694/fullcredits)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Mo to N*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license