Michael Birnbaum was born in Hannover and studied drama at Essen's Folkwang University from 1997 to 2001. Already during his studies, he performed at Theater Heidelberg ("Die Räuber", directed by Wolfgang Maria Bauer) and Volkstheater München ("Glaube Liebe Hoffnung", also directed by Bauer and "Top Dogs", directed by Sewan Latchinian). His first professional engagement brought him to the Wiesbaden State Theatre in 2002, where he has since performed a myriad of roles, including Marquis de Posa in "Don Carlos", Werner in Lessing's "Minna von Barnhelm", Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet", Spiegelberg in "Die Räuber", Macduff in "Macbeth" and Robert Chiltern in "The Ideal Husband".