Michael Aronov is a Tony Award winning actor that has made a name for himself by pushing the boundaries on stage and screen. He has worked opposite titans in the field like Sir Ben Kingsley in "Operation Finale", playing real life Nazi hunter Zvi Aharoni; took on the disarming and ferocious role of head Chechen Warlord Chovka in "The Drop" with Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini; spent three seasons on the award winning series "The Americans" as a physicist torn from his family; three seasons as the fast-talking lovable hustler Smokey Putnum on "The Blacklist"; and was lead detective Jackie Dillon — fighting for love and loyalty in the HBO series "Jett". Most recently he was seen as Isaac, a nightclub owner with a sordid past in the Netflix show “Hit and Run." Up next for the artist is the highly anticipated showtime project "The First Lady", where Aronov portrays Obama’s controversial chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, going toe-to-toe with Academy Award Winner Viola Davis as Michelle Obama.
Earlier in his career Aronov earned respect for his unique level of immersion into a role as he lost nearly fifty pounds to reflect the authentic downfall of Sacco Valenzia, a charismatic and boundless addict in the Sundance Film Festival and Independent Spirit Award nominated film - “Lbs.” Just prior to that, the actor’s film debut was in another Sundance Film Festival favorite, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” - playing the long-haired, diesel glam-rock drummer, Schlatko.
For his Theatre work, Aronov has won the Tony Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Obie Award, and the Elliot Norton Award. The actor has also been nominated for the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the IRNE Award. He originated the roles of Uri Savir in “Oslo” on Broadway; Paul in Lyle Kessler's “First Born” at The Actors Studio, and Dennis in Theresa Rebeck's “Mauritius.” Other Theatre highlights include: Siggie, in the Tony-nominated revival of “Golden Boy” on Broadway, the American premiere of “Blood and Gifts” by J.T. Rogers at Lincoln Center; his solo-show “Manigma” (NYC); Stanley Kowalski in the classic “A Streetcar Named Desire” (Europe); Jean in “Miss Julie” at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Dionysus in “The Bacchae 2.1,” and Edgar in an award winning production of “King Lear.”
As a writer Aronov has penned the plays “Seaguts", “Loyal T and the King”, and “Manigma"; the screenplays “Masterpiece” and “The Fazanulli Brothers”; and a pilot for television entitled “Breezewood.”