Biography

Michael Torontow was born December 12, 1977, in Ottawa, Ontario. Son of Laurence and Silvia and older brother to Andrea, Michael didn't have true aspirations to be an actor until he did his first musical in his last year at Bell High School. Despite having been bitten by the acting bug, he enrolled in a combined Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering program at the University of Ottawa. While trying to excel in his program and follow his original dream of becoming a doctor, he started taking voice lessons with Soprano Yoriko Tanno and got involved with a variety of community theatre groups (most notably, the Orpheus Musical Theatre Society), playing leads in almost every musical he did. Eventually the dream of becoming an actor overshadowed that of becoming a doctor, and, with his parents' blessing, he changed programs, ultimately earning a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre.