Misha Osherovich is an American activist, filmmaker, and actor who came into the limelight after playing the role of Josh Detmer in the film Freaky (2020). In 2020, he identified himself as non-binary, and he uses they/them pronouns or just his name. [1]them.
Wiki/Biography
Born and raised in Maryland in the United States, Misha Osherovich grew up as a closeted queer. [2]them.
Childhood picture of Misha Osherovich
During his freshman year of high school, Osherovich was introduced to drugs by a fellow student. At the time, he was already diagnosed with eating disorder issues, which soon compounded with serious drug addiction. As a result, he was hospitalized, which led him to essentially miss out on his high school education altogether. After getting kicked out of two local high schools, his parents decided to enroll him in a residential treatment center, i.e., recovery programs that require patients to check themselves in a controlled environment to overcome their addictions. While describing his horrendous experiences at the facilities in Utah and Connecticut in an interview, he said,
Basically two big, muscly men, they come and take you in the middle of the night without any explanation…There are guards everywhere, you pee with somebody watching you, you get strip-searched, you get a flashlight shined on you every 15 minutes while you’re sleeping to make sure you haven’t offed yourself. “
He hopped around various treatment facilities until 2013. He succeeded in escaping the toxic environment when he became outspoken about his queerness towards the end of a program in the East Coast. Considering it a non-compliance act, the authorities decided to expel Osherovich and sent him to an even more intense wilderness program back in Utah. When Osherovich’s mother came across this news, she was devastated. In an interview, Misha said,
My mom looked at him (the principal) and told him that at this point, this man had hundreds of thousands of her dollars…So if he was going to expel her child because I was too gay for his taste and send me right back to the beginning, then this was not the place for her child. Because the fact of the matter is — she loves her child.”
Consequently, his mother decided to withdraw him from the treatment facility center and admit him to a normal high school. Later, he attended Montclair State University, where he pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. [3]Misha Osherovich LinkedIn Account
Physical Appearance
[4]Montclair Showcase Height: 5’ 6”
[5]Montclair Showcase Weight: 63.5 kg
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Family & Ethnicity
Misha Osherovich was born in a Jewish family from Russia [6]Pride and PreJewdice. p. 4.. His mother’s name is Elena Romm.
Misha Osherovich with his mother
Career
Short Film
In 2015, Osherovich made his debut with the short film ‘Never Born’ in which he played the role of a government agent named Theron Gray. Set in a futuristic society, the film centers around Eli Bennet, who juggles between murdering a girl in obedience to law or saving her after she warns him of the government’s savage operating methods.
Never Born (2015)
In 2019, he wrote, co-produced, and starred in the short film ‘E.very D.ay’ as a young man, battling the problem of an eating disorder. The short film showcases a day of two individuals simultaneously who are living with active eating disorders.
He also appeared in the horror short film ‘#Nofilter’ (2021) in which he played the role of Micah.
Theater
In the 2016 Stanley Drama Award-winning play ‘Omen Road to Starrville,’ Osherovich played the role of Kendle. Later, in the same year, he played the role of Mitchel in the theatrical production ‘Cloud Illusions.’ The play centers around Mitchel, an overworked lawyer who stumbles upon a bride named Joan lying on the grass watching the clouds wearing her wedding dress. As the story goes, the unusual encounter follows a life-altering conversation for both of them.
Misha Osherovich in Cloud Illusions (2016)
In 2016, he joined the ensemble cast of Lesley Currier’s regional theatrical production ‘Twelfth Night.’ In the play, he inter-changeably played the roles of Valentine, a gentleman attending the Duke, and Sebastian, the twin brother of the protagonist named Viola.
Misha Osherovich in Twelfth Night (2016)
Misha Osherovich made his New York stage debut in 2017 when he played the role of Pete in the off-Broadway production of ‘A Clockwork Orange.’ The dystopian chronicle exhibits the crime and punishment journey of a charismatic antisocial criminal named Alex DeLarge, whose interests include classical music, committing rape, theft, and ultra-violence. In the narrative, the youngest member of the gang of droogs, Pete, is a loyal follower of Alex and views him as a God-like leader. An avid lover of the drug-laced milk called “Moloko,” Pete is always up for some ultra-violence.
Misha Osherovich in A Clockwork Orange (2017)
In Douglas Maxwell’s internationally acclaimed play ‘Decky Does a Bronco’ (2019), he starred as one of the members of Decky, a gang of nine-year-old boys who spend the summer of 1983 together. Staged at Royal Family Performing Arts Space, New York, the play is a tragi-comic story of Decky, the only gang which cannot perform a Bronco (kicking the swing over the bar) as per the social benchmark.
Misha Osherovich in Decky Does a Bronco (2019)
Other theatrical productions in which he starred include Christopher Owens’ ‘Antony and Cleopatra,’ Steven Breese’s ‘All’s Well That Ends Well,’ and Shawn Fisher’s ‘Streetlight Woodpecker.’
OTT/Web Series
Osherovich made his digital debut with the 2016 drama ‘History’ in which he played the recurring role of Collin, a gay man who rekindles his relationship with Jack Tracy (the protagonist) after a year. Titled Best Web Series at the Los Angeles Film Awards (2017), the LGBTQIA series showcases the relationships, breakups, hook-ups, and friendships of gay men living in New York City.
Misha Osherovich in History (2016)
Television
He made his television debut in 2016 when he appeared in the SyFy Channel’s reality television series ‘The Internet Ruined My Life.’ The series features people who have experienced severe impacts on their lives due to excess use of internet technology and social media. Later, he made a cameo appearance in the 2009 American documentary and news program ‘On the Case with Paula Zahn.’ The program explores in-depth stories of crime mysteries and features interviews of individuals involved in the case. In 2019, he played the role of Simon in the American supernatural horror drama ‘NOS4A2.’ The series follows the life of a gifted young woman who uses her uncanny supernatural abilities to track an immortal being who preys on children.
Misha Osherovich in NOS4A2 (2019)
Film
In 2017, Misha Osherovich made his film debut with ‘The Prey’ in which he played the role of The Witness. The film follows a detective. Engaged in a case with patients of a psychiatric ward, the detective crosses paths with a girl claiming to be one of the murdered victims.
The Prey (2017)
He played the role of Shirley T in the 2019 American drama film ‘The Goldfinch.’ In 2020, he struck stardom with the American horror comedy film ‘Freaky’ in which he played the role of Josh Detmer. The film follows the bullied high school student Millie Kessler who magically swaps her body with a serial killer named Blissfield Butcher after he stabs her with La Dola, an ancient dagger. In the film, Josh Detmer is Millie’s best friend who helps her to switch back to her body by stabbing Butcher with La Dola before it becomes permanent.
Misha Osherovich in Freaky (2020)
Facts/Trivia
- In 2020, Osherovich actively took part in the rally held by the American celebrity Paris Hilton in protest of alleged abuse at Provo Canyon School and other residential treatment centers. Paris Hilton’s allegations included drugging students with unknown medications, allegedly restraining and forcibly transporting students to the school, being strip-searched, and placing students in seclusion rooms for nearly twenty-four hours.
- In an interview, he accused the residential treatment centers of hiring skilled marketing teams that fool parents into admitting their kids to abusive rehabilitation programs.
- Apart from acting, Misha is skilled in playing the classical piano. He is also a trained ballet dancer.
- Osherovich’s past experience with an eating disorder helped him create the short film ‘E.very D.ay’ (2019). In an interview, he said,
Due to my and Angelica’s personal experience with eating disorders and recovery, Angelica and I essentially play versions of our past selves in the film. The title comes from a belief that Angelica and I share that both the struggle and recovery aspect of eating disorders is something that is an everyday battle.”
- His special skills include headstands, ice skating, rollerblading, and gymnastics disciplines like trampolining and tumbling.
References