After a stint in the United States Navy, Michael Cavanaugh began to pursue acting, appearing on the stage before moving to TV and movies in 1976. Earning his first major part early in his career, Cavanaugh played Feyderspiel in Clint Eastwood's action film "The Gauntlet," about a death race from Las Vegas to Phoenix. It wasn't until "Any Which Way You Can" in 1980, the second of three films he made with Eastwood, that Cavanaugh had another significant part. While he worked consistently through the '80s, Cavanaugh's only major film role was in the Chuck Norris flick "Forced Vengeance." On television, Cavanaugh starred as George Fox on the sci-fi series "Starman," an intergalactic family drama. His career picked up in the '90s, when he appeared in a new version of the '60s horror series "Dark Shadows" and played Marcek on "Vanishing Son." He played Dr. Malcolm Keogh in the horror film "The Haunting," starring Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Cavanaugh continued to receive minor parts, and was cast in recurring roles on "The Young and the Restless" and the cult phenomenon "24" in 2004.