Michael Rapaport, who made his film acting debut in the Detroit-filmed “Zebrahead,'' returns to perform stand-up comedy at Emagine Royal Oak from Thursday through Saturday, April 18-20. (Photo provided by Michael Rappaport)
He was born and raised in New York and many of his entertainment business deals are done in Hollywood. But Michael Rapaport also has a near-lifelong affinity for Detroit.
There's a good reason for that.
When I was a kid, I was interested in the Detroit Pistons from the Bad Boys era. “I love that team. Isiah Thomas, Rick Mahone, those guys,” said Rapaport, 54, who carries “Rappaport in the D!” The stand-up comedy actor appeared at Imagine Royal Oak this week, he said by phone during a recent visit to Israel. “The Pistons were my team at the time. I just loved them.”
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Rapaport was in Detroit for his first film role in “Zebrahead,” director Anthony Dreizen's provocative 1992 drama about race relations in the city. He played the lead role of Zach, an aspiring rapper and DJ who begins an interracial relationship with his best friend's cousin and navigates the community's polarizing reaction.
“I just remember how excited I was,” Rappaport says. “How naive I was about what show business was, how movies were made, what it meant to be an actor, all that stuff…”
“I was a kid, right? I had hopes and dreams. Some of them I've accomplished, some I haven't yet. But I still rock and roll. I keep going, that’s the most important thing.”
Rappaport's career has certainly been multifaceted. The son of a radio personality mother and a radio executive father, he grew up on Manhattan's Upper East Side and “honestly, I wanted to be a basketball player.” But he was better suited for humor than for hoops, and at the age of 19 Rapaport moved to Los Angeles, where he began a stand-up career with the help of his stepfather, Mark Ronau, who co-owned The Improv. started.
“I love doing stand-up,” he says. “I started acting with stand-up comedy, and I quickly realized, 'This is what I'm good at.' This is what's easiest for me, and this is what I'm going to do. It made the most sense of anything I had ever done.”
Rapaport's big break as an actor came in a 1990 episode of the ABC television drama “China Beach.” That led to countless TV appearances, including “Murphy Brown,” “NYPD Blue,” “ER,” “My Name Is Earl,” “Justified” and now Hulu’s “Rye and Beth.” Meanwhile, “Zebrahead” opened its doors and has continued to work almost every year since, most recently appearing as the voice of the comedy “I'll Be Right There” and the animated series “Glisten and the Merry Mission.” are doing.
Rapaport has also appeared in video games and music videos, including the 2011 documentary “Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest” and ESPN's “30 for” about the New York Knicks' 1970 NBA championship. directed 30″ episodes. He hosts the podcast “I Am Rapaport” and published “This Book Has Balls” in 2017.
And last year, he appeared on Fox Television's “The Masked Singer” as Pickle.
“I don't take for granted the opportunities that have been given to me,” Rappaport explains. I'm currently developing a TV project, but I'm not ready to talk about it. “I've been lucky to do a lot of different things over the years, and I'm very proud of everything I've done.”
But he added: “There are still so many movies I want to do, so many performances I want to do, so many more… There's just so much creativity. I want to continue acting, I want to continue directing, and I want to continue creating.” That's what I'm most dissatisfied with.”
Michael Rapaport will present his “Rapaport in the D1” comedy show Thursday and Friday, April 18-19 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at Imagine Royal Oak, 200 N. Main St. 248-414-1000 or at Imagine. -Entertainment.com. Tickets can be purchased at eventbrite.com.