About Mike
Originally from Chicago, Mike Vanderhei is a literary manager & producer who started in original scripted programming at AMC where he harnessed his taste working on BREAKING BAD, MAD MEN, THE KILLING, and THE WALKING DEAD.
After AMC, Mike assisted at Principato-Young Ent. and AEFH Talent Agency where he discovered his passion for working with storytellers and championing their careers leading to Avalon Management & TV where he started to develop a client roster while also working in development & production on their series WORKAHOLICS, LAST WEEK TONIGHT, and CATASTROPHE.
Vanderhei then took an opportunity to solely focus on his client roster at Protocol Ent. working alongside industry veteran John Ufland before moving to Rain in 2019. Mike’s client have written and produced shows including: WESTWORLD, SNOWPIERCER, THE BLACKLIST, HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, BILLIONS, AEON FLUX, BLOODLINE, AMERICA’S MOST WANTED, DR. DEATH, LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, CHARMED, THE MORNING SHOW, and THE EQUALIZER among others.
I GOT INTO THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS BECAUSE…
I got into this business to champion storytellers and their points of view as well as make compelling films and television.
THE MOVIE/BOOK/TV SHOW THAT INSPIRED ME MOST WAS…
The movie that inspired me / changed my career path is Paddy Chayefsky’s 1976 classic NETWORK. While finishing my degree in broadcast journalism, I found that studying this classic film lead me away from daily news journalism and toward documentary style storytelling and adaptation. Arthur Jenson’s speech is still haunting almost 50 years later.
WHAT I LOVE MoST ABOUT WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING IS…
I love helping a client land that dream job, giving the news that they booked it or they sold their original work is the best feeling in the world. It’s hard to describe the physical reaction, it’s as if your goosebumps had goosebumps.
MY HAPPY PLACE IS…
My happy place is an afternoon or evening at the ballpark. Baseball is imperfect, romantic, and sublime. You can meet folks from all walks of life at the park, experience the pride of an entire community, unique architecture, and food while cheering for the home team and feeling the heartbreak of defeat. The game can be slow but can change in a moment to exhilaration, it’s unpredictable.
ONE SONG FROM THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE WOULD BE…
Architects by Rise Against (off the album Endgame) – “Do you care to be the layer of the bricks that seal your fate? Or Would you rather be the architect of what we might create?”. Let’s create together and not be complacent in all aspects of our lives.