Michael Jace

A frequent guest star who played a wide variety of characters on popular television shows, actor Michael Jace finally received his due as the spiritual, but closeted homosexual police officer Julien Lowe on Shawn Ryan's hard-hitting cop show "The Shield" (FX, 2002-08). While surrounded by criminals and corruption on all side, Jace's character brought a sense of noble inner turmoil to a show celebrated for its edgy external conflicts. Prior to "The Shield," Jace played a diversity of characters on shows like "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005), "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010) and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (syndicated, 1993-99), while breaking into features with parts in "Forrest Gump" (1994), "Strange Days" (1995) and "Boogie Nights" (2001). He gained a degree of stardom thanks to playing NBA icon Michael Jordan in the TV movie, "Michael Jordan: An American Hero" (Fox Family Channel, 1999), but became a known commodity following his seven seasons on "The Shield." After the show finished its run in 2008, Jace went back to guest turns on shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15), "Burn Notice" (USA Network, 2007-13) and "The Mentalist" (CBS, 2008-15), while continuing to look for that one role that could propel his career to the next level. However, Jace's life took an unexpectedly dark turn on May 19, 2014, when he was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife April. Jace was convicted of second-degree murder for that crime on May 31, 2016.