Michael Hurst (born September 20, 1957) is a New Zealand actor, director and writer, mostly on stage and television. He is the oldest of three brothers. He is probably best known internationally for playing Iolaus in the television programme Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and companion series Xena: Warrior Princess.
When he was seven his family moved to Christchurch, New Zealand.
Hurst enrolled at Papanui High School, then University of Canterbury, but for only one year.
He married New Zealand actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand in 1988. They have two sons; Jack Louis Ward Hurst, born in 1997, and Cameron Lane Ward Hurst, born in 1999.
In 2003, Hurst received the Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. He was later designated an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2005 "for services to film and the theatre".
