Biography
Michael Irby avoided being pigeonholed as a Latino actor, playing a wide swath of diverse roles ranging from Middle Eastern to Portuguese, both heroes and villains. Born on November 16, 1972 in Palm Springs, California, Irby played soccer in Europe for Team USA, retiring from the sport after being hurt in a car crash. After attending two colleges in California, he studied acting in New York at the Academy For Dramatic Arts. Afterwards, he began his career in the low-budget thriller "Silent Predator" (1997). Like nearly actor in America, he appeared on "Law & Order" (NBC 1990-2010) in three episodes, playing three different people. After several more guest-starring roles, he got his big break, playing Charles Grey on the procedural drama "The Unit" (CBS 2006-09). After the series was canceled, he had a run of guest appearances on well-known crime shows including "Hawaii Five-O" (CBS 2010-), "Person of Interest" (CBS 2011-), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS 2000-) and "Elementary" (CBS 2012-). He returned to regular series work in a supporting role on the futuristic cop show "Almost Human" (FOX 2013-) as Detective Richard Paul, an antagonistic co-worker of Detective John Kennex (Karl Urban).
