Mike Akel

Mike Akel is an American TV / Film actor, director and professor from Nashville, Tennessee.  Mike’s stage performances include Shakespeare’s, The Merchant of Venice and the musical Little Shop of Horrors where he played the lead role of Seymour.

As an improv actor, Mike’s TV/Film directing style is what he calls “Jazz-filmmaking.” He develops the story, characters and scenes with the lead actors and then allows for improvised dialogue within each scene. 

His award winning comedy CHALK was released theatrically and aired on the Sundance Channel and Starz Network. CHALK was also nominated for the prestigious John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award. 

THE TINY LIFE OF BUTCHER DUKE is Mike’s latest feature comedy and was the Grand Jury Winner at the Hill Country Film Festival. ~ “Napoleon Dynamite meets Rocky on a Tennis Court!” The film can be seen on Amazon Prime and other streaming services. Mike is also the proud co-founder of the kids content production company New Sky Kids, which has more than 2.4 million YouTube subscribers and over 1.5 billion views.

As an acting and filmmaking instructor Mike taught 6 years at the high school level and 5 years at the University of Texas in Austin. Currently Mike is producing and starring in his new TV comedy series, CHURCHVILLE  – Hailed as Portlandia meetsThe Office set in the world of religion.