Chernus was born in Rocky River, Ohio. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School's Drama Division. An accomplished stage actor, Michael won a 2011 Obie Award and received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for his performance in Lisa Kron's In the Wake at The Public Theater in New York City. On stage, he co-starred with David Hyde Pierce in the Manhattan Theater Club production of Close Up Space at New York City Center. Other New York credits include such theaters as Playwrights Horizons, the Roundabout Theatre Company, Primary Stages, New York Theatre Workshop, The Atlantic Theater Company, and many productions at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, where he played the lead role of KJ in Annie Baker's play, The Aliens, which Charles Isherwood, of The New York Times, named the best play of 2010.