ABOUT

 

 

 

 

Michael Sheen Cuddy is a writer, singer-songwriter and actor based in Toronto, Canada.


Michael Sheen Cuddy

Writing

 

While working for many years as a professional writer of technical, marketing and business-to-business communications, I’ve also had poems and short fiction published in a number of literary magazines, including Exit, Broadside, Freezer, Creeping Bent, Point Blank and Refrigerator.

My first novel, The Labor of Sleep, was submitted to a publisher where it received an encouraging response. I should probably follow up on that some day.

My second book-length project was The Blizzard of Osborn, a contemporary rewrite of L. Frank Baum’s classic childrens’ story, The Wizard of Oz. A friend who read it asked if I’d ever thought of turning it into a podcast. I hadn’t but once the idea was planted it took root. You can check out the ongoing podcast version here.

 

Music

I’m a singer-songwriter drawn to melodic songs that often tell stories. My stylistic interests are eclectic, from reflective acoustic to driving electric rock.

Depending on the subject, I try to let the song itself determine the musical style. So some songs have a “roots” sound while others are jazz-inflected. Elements of Celtic, Country, Prog Rock–even R&B / Funk–influence my songs.

When I chance upon a chord progression or melodic phrase I like I try to follow where it might go. If it drifts to an oddball jazz/cabaret sound I’ll go with it. Or if a riff sounds like something from Aerosmith’s back catalog I’ll run with that. Or if it feels like it should be a cryin’-in-my-beer country song, so be it.

Currently, I’m recording an album of original material with guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Tim Bovaconti (Ron Sexsmith, Burton Cummings), David Macmichael (Danger Bees, Bee Sting Ghost Roll into the Ocean), and Paul Brennan (The Odds, Big Sugar, Sarah McLaughlin). I’m also collaborating with the multi-talented musician and producer Rob Greenway (brilliantfish), conjuring experimental soundscapes.

Acting

 

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making plans.” John Lennon said it so who’s to argue? Decades ago, if anyone told me I’d end up acting on TV and in films I’d have laughed at the absurdity. But sooner or later absurdity gets the final say, which is why it’s absurd!

During an in-between-jobs phase a friend suggested I look into an ad calling for background actors for TV and film production. I laughed it off. A month later I thought, why not, and answered the ad. A background agent signed me up and soon I found myself kitted up as an executive businessman sitting at a boardroom table in an episode of Suits. I ended up doing about a dozen Suits episodes. Everyone asks if I’ve met Meghan Markle. I haven’t, though in one scene I did stumble on the sidewalk and nearly tripped up Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht).

Long story short, my background agent told me of a colleague who teaches acting classes. I signed up, got a principal agent, then found myself playing a Texan wannabe cowboy who adopts a wayward Russian teen only to find that she’s too much for him to handle. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Though acting was never part of my youthful plans, it turns out to be a trip—a fun, challenging and surprisingly rewarding way of doing essentially what I’ve always hoped to do through writing and music: amuse, entertain, communicate, tell a story, have a laugh, spill a tear, and—as the song says—“pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again.”