Actor info
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Name :
Michael J. Nelson
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Born :
October 11, 1964 in St. Charles, Illinois (61 years old)
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Known for :
Writing
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Gender :
Male
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Film career :
66 films (1964–2026)
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Also known as :
Mike Nelson
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Biography
Michael J. Nelson is the former host and writer of the Emmy-nominated, Peabody Award-winning Mystery Science Theater 3000. Since that time, he has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, penned a regular column for TV Guide, and authored best-selling books for both HarperCollins and Abrams. His first book, Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese, thrilled critics, including Richard Schickel of Time Magazine, who said of Mike, "He's more fun than a barrel of Val Kilmers... Smarter than a roomful of Patrick Swayzes... and almost as hilarious as Keanu Reeves." Mike's laugh-out-loud follow-up, Mind Over Matters, prompted Kirkus Reviews to enthuse, "From someplace called Minnesota comes a Nelson funnier than Ozzie, Ricky, Lord or Half," and even dared to compare him to another legendary writer, saying of his Serious Speech to Business People, "[It] could easily precede [Robert] Benchley's immortal Treasurer's Report." And Kirkus Reviews loved his novel, Death Rat!, saying, "Fast-paced, outrageous and funny, first-novelist Nelson's mockery of media mendacity is as biting as La Dolce Vita or Network--only funnier!" Nelson speaks all over the country, is a frequent guest on radio and television, and along with fellow former MST3K writers/performers Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy operate a podcast called RiffTrax, which, in a similar vein to MST3K, targets more mainstream films.
Notable films
- GrimTrax Returns (2026) as Self
- Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments — Sting of Death (2026) as Mike Nelson
- Rifftrax Live: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (2013) as Self
- Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) as Mike Nelson
- This Is MST3K (1992) as Self
