Michael Fairman / Adelai Niska

"I'm anticipating that being at sea with the Browncoats on this cruise would be like rocketing the Serenity to ...oh...where...ah yes...Skyplace!!! Where they will all immediately become my prisoners. They will learn that Niska can be fun -- with good food, the sea and the stars, they will discover that it will be five days of delightful torture.

I am so excited by the prospect of spending time with this pack of joyous souls I've nearly wet myself. Believe it or not after meeting a swarm of them in England and in Los Angeles, they've made me believe I have a heart; that I'm capable of even... affection. I look forward to their energy, their comradeship and their spirit of fun."

 

Biography

MICHAEL FAIRMAN, a native New Yorker, became interested in acting while serving as a navigator with the U.S. Air Force near Tokyo, Japan. After his discharge in 1958, he studied acting at New York University then with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen. He worked on Broadway in such hits as Cactus Flower with Lauren Bacall, Finishing Touches with Barbara Bel Geddes and toured in Neil Simon's Gingerbread Lady and in That Championship Season.

A character actor of great versatility he played leads in plays by Williams, Chekov, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Becket and has had running roles on the popular soap operas, Love of Life and Ryan's Hope and General Hospital. Of course, no one can forget his role as Adelai Niska in Firefly.

In the 80's he had recurring roles in the hit shows Hill Street Blues, L.A. and Cagney and Lace - concurrently. He continues to work in scores of dramas, sitcoms and movies of the week including King of Queens, Without a Trace, Cold Case to name a few.

Among many feature films he was cast as Ben Affleck's father in Forces of Nature, Adlai Stevenson in the political thriller Thirteen Days and just completed a lead role in James Wan's Silence for Universal Studios. He continues to bring truth, excitement and unpredictability to each role which makes him a valued actor by directors, producers and the general public.