A Hockey Goalie and Aria Head? Actor Michael Riley Fits the Bill

Michael Riley is a stranger in a strange land.

And the strange land is--where else?--Los Angeles.

Two weeks ago, the Canadian native and his girlfriend threw all their worldly possessions in the back of their car and headed for Hollywood.

“It’s a little overwhelming,” Riley says of the City of Angels. “The first thing we did was buy a bed. I have to ask people, ‘Where are the shopping centers?’ ”

A graduate of Canada’s National Theatre School, Riley came to Los Angeles because the roles he was offered back home weren’t “artistically” challenging. He also timed his move with the L.A. opening this past week of his first feature, “Perfectly Normal.”

In the quirky comedy, Riley plays a loner who works in a brewery by day and drives a cab at night. A goalie for his company’s ice hockey team, he secretly desires to sing opera. His “perfectly normal” life changes when he meets a larger-than-life, smooth operator (Robbie Coltrane).

The actor had to learn Italian and how to sing opera for his role. “I got a liberal education in opera,” Riley explains. “I had never sung in front of people. I was a shower singer. I went to three opera coaches who taught me Italian and the music.”

And though he moves like Wayne Gretzky on the ice, Riley didn’t have a clue how to play hockey. “I will make a terrible confession to you,” he says, laughing. “Not only did I not play hockey, I didn’t know how to skate. That statement could get me exiled from my country.”

So every morning, Riley would practice at local ice rinks. “I began to like it,” he says.

And he even found a second career. “There was a team who played around Toronto,” he says. “They said, ‘Hey, we hear you’re tending goal. Would you like to come and play for us?’ I actually played with them. It was great!”