Miguel Jose Ferrer was an American actor whose captivating roles in movies and television have left a lasting impression. Actor Jose Ferrer, winner of the Academy Award, and singer Rosemary Clooney were his parents, therefore artistic talent ran in the family. He attempted a career in music at first, but acting turned out to be his true calling. Ferrer has acted in a number of films and television shows, but his breakthrough performance came in the 1987 movie “RoboCop,” when he played OCP Vice President Bob Morton. He quickly followed it up with amazing roles in a number of movies, such as “Traffic,” “Mulan,” “Hot Shots! Part Deux,” and “Iron Man 3.” In addition to his work in movies, Ferrer was a standout actor in television shows such as NCIS: Los Angeles, Crossing Jordan, Broken Badges, and Twin Peaks. Although “Crossing Jordan” placed in the top 20 series at the conclusion of the year, “NCIS: Los Angeles” emerged as the most successful television program of his career. He was incredibly gifted, and his strong dramatic presence on screen allowed him to effortlessly fit into every part. Ferrer’s final appearance on screen was in the TV show “Twin Peaks,” where he played Albert Rosenfeld again. But the program was released after the actor’s death.
Early Life & Childhood of Miguel Ferrer
Miguel Ferrer was born in Santa Monica, California, on February 7, 1955, to Rosemary Clooney and Oscar-winning actor Jose Ferrer. Of the five siblings, he was the oldest. The other two were brothers Gabriel and Rafael, and sisters Maria and Monsita.
In Hollywood, California, he was reared. He enrolled in the Beverly Hills Playhouse acting program. When Ferrer was a teenager, he had a preference for music. On Keith Moon’s “Two Sides of the Moon,” he performed drums.
Career of Miguel Ferrer
Miguel Ferrer started his career in music, following the lead of his early passion. He became a drummer and singer for “The Jenerators,” a band that included his friend Bil Mumy. Max Allan Collins and Steve Leialoha were among the other band members. They collaborated to create the album “Seduction of the Innocent.”
It’s interesting to note that Ferrer’s first acting endeavor essentially continued his musical career. He was given the role of drummer in the TV show “Sunshine” by Mumy. He was able to perform music and act at the same time in this position.
In the end, Ferrer gave his acting career real wings in the 1980s. He began making cameos in several TV series, as the younger version of his father in “Magnum P.I.”, a waiter in “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” and the helm officer of the USS Excelsior in “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.”
In 1987, Miguel Ferrer landed his first significant part in the action movie “Robocop.” He portrayed the overly ambitious and cocaine-snorting corporate CEO Bob Morton, who successfully launched his own experimental cyborg “Robocop.” Both the public and the critics gave his role play high praise. It turned out to be his career’s initial breakthrough.
He quickly moved on to other parts after his well-received performance. He played a villainous motorcyclist in “Valentino Returns,” an overly enthusiastic engineer in “DeepStar Six,” a crafty vigilante in “Revenge,” and so on.
Ferrer starred in several horror and thriller films in the early 1990s, including “The Gaurdian,” in which he played Ralph Hess, and “Twin Peaks: Walk With Me,” in which he played Agent Albert Rosenfeld.
He starred in the thriller “The Harvest” as the principal actor and then appeared as a guest in the action movie “Points of No Return” in 1993. Ferrer next attempted his hand at humor, playing Commander Arvid Harbinger in the movie “Hot Shots! Part Deux,” departing from the murder mystery genre.
Ferrer not only had a brilliant career in films but also in television. In “Shannon’s Deal,” he made his screen debut as DA Todd Spurrier. In “Broken Badges,” he portrayed Cajun police officer Beau Jack Bowman after that.
He portrayed the witty, cynical FBI forensics expert Albert Rosenfeld in the television series Twin Peaks in 1990. He played Albert Rosenfeld again in the film adaptation because he was so brilliant at it.
Miguel Ferrer portrayed “The Weatherman,” a supervillain, in the 1997 television series Justice League of America. But the audience was not impressed, and the program was eventually canceled. He provided the voice of Weather Wizard in the “Superman: The Animated Series” episode “Speed Demons” to cap off the year.
He starred in the highly regarded crime drama film “Traffic” in 2000. Ferrer played Eduardo Ruiz in the Oscar-winning movie “Traffic,” which was about a high stakes dealer who pretended to be a fisherman.
Following “Traffic’s” popularity, Ferrer embarked on a variety of films across several genres, including the science fiction story “The Manchurian Candidate,” the comic crime thriller “The Man,” the political satire “Silver City,” and the comedy drama “Sunshine State.”
Ferrer was cast in the lead role of Dr. Garret Macy, a medical examiner, in the crime/drama television series “Crossing Jordan” in 2001. The show was interesting and enjoyable, running for more than six seasons and 117 episodes in total.
In 2003, Miguerl Ferrer made his New York stage debut in the off-Broadway production of “The Exonerated,” even though he continued to play roles in movies and television shows. He provided Tarakudo’s voice in Jackie Chan Adventures that same year.
Ferrer began providing voices for the television shows American Dad! and Robot Chicken. Later, he portrayed Jonas Bledsoe in the NBC series “Bionic Woman.” In 2009, he also acted as a military leader of Gath in another NBC series, “Kings.”
After making several cameos in critically acclaimed television shows like “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “The Spectacular Spider-Man,” “Lie to Me,” and “ThunderCats,” Ferrer portrayed Lieutenant Felix Valdez of the Los Angeles Police Department for 13 episodes of the 2011 Lifetime police procedural drama “The Protector.” He then appeared in several guest episodes during the last season of “Desperate Housewives” as a follow-up.
He signed on to play a recurring character in “NCIS: Los Angeles” in 2012, filling in for Assistant Director Owen Granger of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. He was made a series regular for the fifth season of the show in 2013 thanks to his outstanding interpretation of the role and creative creativity. He played this character till 2017.
Regarding his cinematic work, Miguel Ferrer voiced characters in a number of movies, such as “This Is Not a Movie,” “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2,” “Noah,” and “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva la Fiesta!” He played Vice President Rodriguez in the 2013 movie “Iron Man 3.”
The last time Miguel Ferrer appeared in nine episodes of the 2017 revival of “Twin Peaks,” he was playing Albert Rosenfeld. Regretfully, the series came out following his passing.
Large-scale Works of Miguel Ferrer
Miguel Ferrer is best known for his role in “Robocop,” directed by Paul Verhoeven. In it, he portrayed a cunning and ambitious corporate climber who leads the Robocop program to tremendous success before being killed by his jealous boss. Ferrer received a great deal of praise for his superb interpretation of the role.
Individual Life and Heritage
After getting married to Leilani Sarelle in 1991, Miguel Ferrer had two sons: Rafael (born in 1996) and Lukas (born in 1993). In 2003, their marriage came to an end.
He was romantically involved with Kate Dornan, with whom he shared a son, Jose Robert Dornan (born in 2004).
He wed Lori Weintraub in 2005, and the two of them remained together till his passing in 2017.
On January 19, 2017, Miguel Ferrer passed away at home in Los Angeles from throat cancer.
Net worth of Miguel Ferrer
The estimated net worth of Miguel Ferrer is about $1 million.