Dmitri "Misha" Collins "My mom went to Russia when she was in college, and […] she had a boyfriend whose name was Mitya, which she thought was the same as Misha, which it's not. And his real name was Dmitri, so my real name, actually—my birth certificate says Dmitri. But she always calls me Misha, so I have the wrong nickname. But, you know, too late to change it now." (born Dmitri Tippens Krushnic; August 20, 1974) is an American actor best known for his role as the angel Castiel on the CW television series Supernatural (2008–2020).
Early life Misha Collins was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother is Rebecca Tippens. He was raised in an irreligious family. Growing up, his family was poor and often homeless. He has said that his surname, Krushnic, "goes back six generations in Canada, and we're not sure where they came from". "My mother went to Russia when she was in college. She had a boyfriend named Misha, and much to my father's chagrin she named me after him. And the last name, Krushnic, goes back six generations in Canada, and we're not sure where they came from—could be Russian or Ukrainian or Polish." He is of partial Jewish descent.
Collins attended Greenfield Center School, Northfield Mount Hermon School and the University of Chicago, where he studied social theory.
Career Interning Before acting, he interned for four months at the White House during the Clinton Administration in the Office of Presidential Personnel.
Acting His film work includes an uncredited appearance in the 1999 movie Liberty Heights, as well as roles in Girl, Interrupted, Finding Home, Karla, and Loot (on which he also served as Associate Producer).
He starred as the angel Castiel on the CW television series Supernatural from 2008 to 2020. Some of his other television credits include Legacy, Charmed, NYPD Blue, 24, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, ER, Monk, and Timeless. He hosted Roadfood: Discovering America One Dish at a Time on PBS, a TV show focused on local foods in America. In 2022, he was cast as Harvey Dent/Two Face in Gotham Knights on the CW.
He has appeared on several podcasts. In 2018, he voiced the role of Adler Harrison in The Angel of Vine, produced by Vox Populi. In 2021, he starred as Jeremy Bradshaw on Bridgewater produced by Grim & Mild.
Writing Collins is a published poet. His poems, including "Baby Pants" and "Old Bones", can be found in the 2008 edition of Columbia Poetry Review #21.
Collins has also co-written a cookbook, The Adventurous Eaters Club, with his wife, Vicki Collins. It is reported that much of the book's sales will go to charitable organizations who specialize in food nutrition.
Collins and Kathryn Leonard, together with several other collaborators, are authors of "The 2D Shape Structure Dataset", an academic research paper on a crowd-sourced database on the structure of shapes.
Collins's poetry book, Some Things I Still Can't Tell You, was published on October 12, 2021, and reached the NYTimes bestseller list.
Charity work Collins is the co-founder and board president of Random Acts, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding and inspiring acts of kindness around the world. Collins founded the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen (GISHWHES) in 2011. Entrance fees for the international competition go towards Random Acts, and in 2012, GISHWHES broke the world record for most pledges to perform an act of kindness.
On May 5, 2023, Collins became an ambassador of the United 24 platform.
On May 21, 2024, Collins visited Kyiv, along with American filmmaker Darius Marder. Collins has started a fundraiser for a pyrotechnic machine for humanitarian demining.
Personal life On October 6, 2001, Collins married Victoria Vantoch in Maine. They have a son born in 2010 and a daughter born in 2012.
In the acknowledgments of his 2021 poetry book, Some Things I Still Can't Tell You, Collins stated that he and his wife had separated.
In April 2022, Collins clarified that he is straight after a fan convention appearance led to reports he had appeared to come out as bisexual.
In a 2008 interview, he said that Supernatural showrunner Eric Kripke asked him to read the Book of Revelation as research into Castiel's nature, and he was surprised by the biblical text: "In reading that, I was kind of surprised. There is a lot of destructive capacity in an angel's being."
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1999 Liberty Heights Guy Uncredited Girl, Interrupted Tony 2002 Par 6 Al Hegelman 2003 Moving Alan Tony Derrick Finding Home Dave 2004 The Crux Man Hanging from the Rope Short film 2006 Karla Paul Bernardo2008 Over Her Dead Body Brian The Grift Buster 2010 Stonehenge Apocalypse Dr. Jacob Glaser Canadian TV movie 2013 TSA America: Just Relax Officer Franklin Short films; also producer, director and writer2014 TSA America: Suspicious Bulge TSA America: Yeah, But Is It Ticking? 2021 Encounter Dylan
Television Year Title Role Notes 1998 Legacy Andrew Episode: "The Big Fix" 1999 Charmed Eric Bragg Episode: "They're Everywhere" 2000 NYPD Blue Blake DeWitt Episode: "Welcome to New York" 2001 Seven Days Sergei Chubais Episode: "Born in the USSR" 2002 24 Alexis Drazen Recurring role; 7 episodes 2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Vlad Episode: "Nesting Dolls" 20 Things to Do Before You're 30 Unknown role Unaired television series 2005–2006 ER Bret Recurring role; 3 episodes2006 NCIS Justin Farris Episode: "Singled Out" Monk Michael Karapov Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage" Close to Home Todd Monroe Episode: "There's Something About Martha"2007 Without a Trace Chester Lake Episode: "Run" CSI: NY Morton Brite Episode: "Can You Hear Me Now?" Reinventing the Wheelers Joey Wheeler Unaired television pilot 2008–2020 Supernatural Castiel / Jimmy Novak / Himself / Leviathan / Lucifer / Cosmic Entity Recurring role (Seasons 4 and 8)Main role (Seasons 5–6, 9–15)Guest role (Season 7 and 8); 147 episodesAlso Director: Season 9, episode 17 2009 Nip/Tuck Manny Skerritt Episode: "Manny Skerritt" 2010 Stonehenge Apocalypse Jacob Television film 2012 Ringer Dylan Episode: "Whores Don't Make That Much" 2014 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Himself Episode: "Misha Collins" 2015 Kittens in a Cage Porn Director Episode: "Punch and Lemon Squares" 2015–2018 The Hillywood Show Ghostbusters Receptionist / Dancer Guest role; 2 episodes 2016 The Venture Bros. Prisoner 2 / Maestro Wave Episode: "Red Means Stop"; voice role 2017 Kings of Con Doug Walderman Episode: "Arlington, VA" Timeless Eliot Ness Episode: "Public Enemy No. 1" 2021–2022 Roadfood: Discovering America One Dish at a Time Himself Host 2023 Gotham Knights Harvey Dent Main role 2026 The Boys Malchemical episode: "One-Shots"
Podcasts Acting roles are in bold. Year Title RoleAir Date NotesEpisode Title2012Winchester RadioHimselfNov 11, 2012Guest RoleWinchester Radio - Special edition with guest Misha Collins2013ID10T with Chris HardwickHimselfJul 1, 2013Guest Role 2014girl on guyHimselfFebruary 4, 2014125: misha collins2016Hype PodcastHimselfJun 17, 2016Guest Role Hype Special #13 – Talking G.I.S.H.W.H.E.S. with Misha CollinsToo Beautiful To LiveHimselfDec 27, 2016Guest Role City of Subdued Podcasting w/ Misha Collins2018The Angel of VineAdler HarrisonNov 2018 - Jan 20194 Episodes2019Inside of You with Michael RosenbaumHimselfOct 2, 2019Guest RoleThe Art of FatherhoodHimselfNov 5, 2019Guest Role 2020The "Doctor Mom" PodcastHimselfJan 2020Guest RoleRaising Adventurous Eaters with Misha and Vicki CollinsCraft ServiceHimselfDec 2020Guest RoleThe Unpredictability of Life ft Misha Collins2021Kings of Con: The PodcastHimselfJan 27, 2021Guest RoleMisha Collins and kitchen decorAlyssa Milano: Sorry Not SorryHimselfJul 12, 2021Guest RoleSupernatural's Misha Collins on Acting, Activism, and What's NextBridgewaterJeremy BradshawAug 5, 2021 - Oct 1, 2021Main Role; 10 Episodes2022Inside of You with Michael RosenbaumHimselfMar 22, 2022Guest RoleMisha Collins On Supernatural End, Jared and Jensen, Standing Out, Cult Fans & More
Web Year Title Role Notes 2011 Ghostfacers Castiel Episode: "Ghostfacers Meet Castiel" Divine: The Series Father Christopher Also producer and writerDivine the Series Cast Retrieved on May 16, 2011.
Producer Year Title Notes 2008 Loot Documentary film; also associate producerLoot: Home. HBO. Retrieved on March 1, 2011.
Director Year Title Notes 2010 Stranger Danger Short film; also writer
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2014 People's Choice Awards Favorite TV Bromance (shared with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) Supernatural rowspan=2 2015 Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor 2016
References
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