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Michael Sopkiw

Michael Sopkiw

Actor · Born January 12, 1954 (72) · Connecticut, USA

Although his moment in the acting spotlight was regrettably fleeting, Michael Sopkiw did nonetheless prove to be a delightfully sincere, spirited and enthusiastic asset in the four enjoyably low-rent mid-80s Italian exploitation features he starred in. Born in 1954 in Connecticut, the handsome and engaging Sopkiw worked as a merchant sailor laying submarine detection cable in the North Sea in England in the 70s. He eventually began sailing yachts and later ships after spending a year in college in Miami, Florida. Michael was arrested by the DEA for shipping marijuana and served one year of a two and a half year prison sentence. Following being paroled from jail in the late 70s, he studied acting in New York City and then worked for a short spell as a catwalk and photographic model in Europe. Sopkiw made his film debut with a substantial lead part as rugged Snake Plissken-like survivalist warrior hero Parsifal in the immensely fun'n'funky post-nuke sci-fi/action romp "2019: After the Fall of New York" (1983). Sopkiw next appeared in two movies for director Lamberto Bava: he's tough ex-cop turned convicted murderer Jake "Tiger" Sharp in the exciting "Blastfighter" (1984) and dashing hunk Peter in the deliciously cheesy "Jaws" rip-off "Devilfish" (1984). Sopkiw concluded his acting career with a lively turn as scruffy bargain basement Indiana Jones-style adventurer Kevin Hall in the terrifically trashy "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley" (1985). After calling it a day as an actor, Michael Sopkiw went on to study medicinal plant science and launched Miron Violet Glass, a California-based company which makes special glass bottles that protect plants from the sun.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
January 12, 1954 (72)
From
Connecticut, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
3 on MovieCove · 5 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 26% in 30 days

What are Michael Sopkiw's films like?

Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Ideas.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
65%
Ideas
24%
Power
11%
Survival3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 0 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

3 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 3 of 3 analyzed roles.

Hero
3 of 3

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Thrilling
2
Absurd
2

How their films linger

Fun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Michael Sopkiw's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 3 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Michael Sopkiw's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

5 credits, 3 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • The Last Supper: The Final Days of the Italian Cannibal Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Actor

  • Massacre in Dinosaur Valley(1985)

    as Kevin Hall

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • Devil Fish(1984)

    as Peter

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Blastfighter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    as Jake 'Tiger' Sharp

  • 2019: After the Fall of New York(1983)

    as Parsifal

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

Career shape

Star power in the 88th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 5 titles from 1983 to 2018.

Highest rated

2019: After the Fall of New York (1983)

Midcredits 29th

Most popular right now

Massacre in Dinosaur Valley (1985)

Film career

  • 1983Screen debut· 2019: After the Fall of New York
  • 1983First top-billed film· 2019: After the Fall of New York

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting5 of 5: 5 only acting, 0 with another role

By decade

1980s4 · acting2010s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Michael Sopkiw's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 19th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 23rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

23rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

18thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

72ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 3 titles, by percentile

  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

3 of their 3 titles are Mixed.

  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor

Devil Fish (1984)

71st percentile spread · 77% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

2019: After the Fall of New York (1983)

Midcredits 29th · 33% liked

Reviewers score the acting 28/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 43, detractors 17. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Michael Sopkiw work with?

People who share at least 2 of Michael Sopkiw's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dardano Sacchetti shares the most, 2.

Writers

Cinematographers

Producers

Mixed roles