Michael Fishman

Roseanne: 1988–1997, 2018

Fishman's acting career began after he met Roseanne Barr during an early audition. She asked him to tell her a joke. He said, "Why did the turtle cross the road? It was the chicken's day off." She was impressed,^[6] and although he had no experience, Barr fought for Fishman to play D.J. Conner. He worked on Roseanne from age six to fifteen.^{[citation needed]}

On April 28, 2017, it was announced that an eight-episode revival of Roseanne was in the works and being shopped around to various networks and that it would feature most of the original main cast. However, at the time, it was unknown if Fishman would reprise his role as D.J. Conner.^[7] On May 16, 2017, it was confirmed that Fishman had signed on to appear in the revival, to air mid-season in 2018 on ABC.^[8]

1997–2017

Fishman continued to act while attending the Orange County High School of the Arts at Los Alamitos High School^[9] in the Musical Theater and Technical Theater departments.

He appeared in guest roles on Walker, Texas Ranger and Seinfeld, and earned a recurring role alongside Andrew Dice Clay on Hitz just before it was canceled. Fishman also appeared in films, including Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He then reconnected with Barr as a co-host of The Roseanne Show, which ran for two years before it was canceled in 2000.

Fishman has also worked on many television shows and films in other roles aside from acting, including executive producing, writing, directing, set building, production staff and camera operating. Some of his credits include Great Job, Thanks!, The Real Roseanne Show, and Sport Science.

In 2013, he was cast in Joseph Mazzello's directorial debut sports comedy-drama film Undrafted as Antonelli. The film was released on July 15, 2016.

The Conners: 2018–2022

On June 21, 2018, ABC announced a spin-off from Roseanne, titled The Conners, with all the original cast (excluding Barr) to return; the show premiered on October 16, 2018.^[10] On March 22, 2019, ABC announced that the show had been renewed for a second season. Fishman was not listed as part of the returning main cast, but the network press release said that additional cast would be announced at a later date.^[11]

On October 5, 2020, Fishman announced he would be directing the seventh episode of the show's third season. Although it was the seventh episode to be filmed, it aired in the second week of the show, as the Halloween special.^[12]

Fishman was told he would not return for season 5 of The Conners.^[13][14]

2023

In 2023, Fishman starred in Abducted By My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story as part of its "Ripped From the Headlines" feature films where he portrayed Tad Cummins who was responsible for the kidnapping of Elizabeth Thomas.^[15]

Film

Television