American actor Michael Stahl-David was born on August 27, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Lincoln Park High School in 2001; he was part of the school’s theater program. He eventually graduated from Columbia College in Chicago. During this time, he was already active in local theater, having played roles in local productions such as Cider House Rules, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, and Lost in Yonkers, and was also an established graffiti artist. His first film role came in 2001, when he played a minor role in the drama release New Port South. Two years later, he got a role in independent release Uncle Nino.
Stahl-David moved to New York in 2005, and immediately made his name in several off-Broadway productions. His most notable performance during the time was his role in an off-Broadway production of The Overwhelming, which earned critical praise. In 2007, he started appearing on television, his debut being a guest role in the police series Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He then got a regular role in the ensemble drama The Black Donnellys; he played the youngest of the Donnelly brothers, Sean, who is popular among women but is kept out of his older brothers’ dealings with organized crime. The series was cancelled midway through its first season.
Stahl-David earned more popularity with the 2008 film, Cloverfield. Produced by Alias and Lost’s J.J. Abrams, he played one of the main characters, Robert Hawkins. He gets a job in Japan, and during a send-off party thrown by his friends, a giant monster attacks New York, and as his friends are killed off one by one, he seeks to rescue his platonic friend Elizabeth McIntyre (Odette Yustman); this is where most of the movie revolves. The film earned generally positive reviews from critics and was a hit at the box office.