Actors, Actresses & People of Interest
List activity
375 views
• 3 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
359 people
- A native of Southern California, Fiona Gubelmann was raised in San Diego and then moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA, where she studied Theater. While at UCLA, she met her husband, actor Alex Weed.
Fiona is best known as the female lead on FX's critically acclaimed Wilfred (2011) and has appeared in many of television's top series, including Mad Men (2007), Modern Family (2009), and New Girl (2011) to name a few. In 2016 she was the lead in the successful Hallmark film Tulips in Spring (2016), the independent film 911 Nightmare (2016), and the Lifetime film Mommy's Little Girl (2016).
As of early 2017, she can be seen on two new series. She plays Lori on the hit Netflix/ Norman Lear series One Day at a Time (2017) and in the spring will be starring on the Star Jones produced series Daytime Divas (2017) opposite Vanessa Williams. Her current hit is The Good Doctor (2017), where she stars as Dr. Morgan Reznick. - Actress
- Director
Paige Spara is an American actress. She is known for appearing in films such as Home Again (2017) and series such as The Good Doctor (2017).
She graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 2008, and also studied acting for two years.
Spara appeared in two short films, before make her debut on the big screen in Home Again (2017).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Freddie Highmore is an English actor who came to prominence for his roles in Five Children and It (2004), Finding Neverland (2004), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).
He was born Alfred Thomas Highmore in Camden Town, London, England, to Sue (Latimer), a talent agent, and Edward Thomas Highmore, an actor. Highmore has a younger brother, Albert "Bertie" Highmore. He attended Highgate School, and later earned a double-first degree in Spanish and Arabic from Cambridge University's Emmanuel College.
In 1999, Highmore made his big screen debut in the comedy Women Talking Dirty (1999), portraying Helena Bonham Carter's son. His next prominent role was in the family drama Two Brothers (2004). Highmore's breakout role came when he was cast in Finding Neverland (2004), alongside Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. He was then cast in the title role of Charlie Bucket in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and was reportedly recommended by co-star Johnny Depp. Roles in A Good Year (2006) and Arthur and the Invisibles (2006) soon followed, before he portrayed the title role in August Rush (2007), opposite Keri Russell and Robin Williams.
In 2013, he began starring as the iconic Norman Bates in the drama thriller series Bates Motel (2013), alongside Vera Farmiga as his mother. Highmore received much acclaim for his performance throughout the series' run, and was nominated for multiple Saturn Awards and Critics' Choice Television Awards.
2017- Stars in The Good Doctor as Shaun Murphy -a young autistic surgeon who has savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join the surgical unit at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Shaun is alone in the world and unable to personally connect with those around him, but he finds his niche using his extraordinary medical skill and intuition to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Alia Shawkat was born in Riverside, California, to Dina Burke and actor Tony Shawkat. Her maternal grandfather, Paul Burke, was also an actor. Her father is from Baghdad, Iraq, and her mother has Irish, Italian, and Norwegian ancestry. Success arrived early for Alia. Her career began at the young age of 11 when she landed a role on the ABC Family series State of Grace (2001). She later starred as "Maeby Funke" on Fox's Emmy-award winning Arrested Development (2003) where she portrayed a rebellious and mischievous member of a dysfunctional Orange County family trying to adjust to their loss of wealth.
Alia was introduced to show business by appearing in a Calvin Klein catalog, which immediately attracted the attention of commercial and theatrical agents in Hollywood. She soon landed a role opposite George Clooney in Three Kings (1999). This was followed by a supporting lead in the Ron Perlman' movie The Trial of Old Drum (2000).
But it was State of Grace (2001) that catapulted her into the forefront of young actresses. She has also had guest-starring roles on JAG (1995), Without a Trace (2002), Boomtown (2002) and Presidio Med (2002) and she recently starred opposite Martin Lawrence in Rebound (2005).
At 16 years old, when she was not filming, Alia attended a private school near her home in Rancho Mirage where she was able to continue her studies in English, Physics, Math, Geography and Drama. Her ambition is eventually to attend Yale University studying International Relations.
In her free time, Alia enjoys horseback riding, ice-skating and dancing. She is an accomplished pianist and speaks several languages. She splits her time between her home and Rancho Mirage and Los Angeles where she resides with her parents and her two brothers.- Actor
- Producer
- Art Department
Jeffrey Leon Bridges was born on December 4, 1949 in Los Angeles, California, the son of well-known film and TV star Lloyd Bridges and his long-time wife Dorothy Dean Bridges (née Simpson). He grew up amid the happening Hollywood scene with big brother Beau Bridges. Both boys popped up, without billing, alongside their mother in the film The Company She Keeps (1951), and appeared on occasion with their famous dad on his popular underwater TV series Sea Hunt (1958) while growing up. At age 14, Jeff toured with his father in a stage production of "Anniversary Waltz". The "troublesome teen" years proved just that for Jeff and his parents were compelled at one point to intervene when problems with drugs and marijuana got out of hand.
He recovered and began shaping his nascent young adult career appearing on TV as a younger version of his father in the acclaimed TV- movie Silent Night, Lonely Night (1969), and in the strange Burgess Meredith film The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go (1970). Following fine notices for his portrayal of a white student caught up in the racially-themed Halls of Anger (1970), his career-maker arrived just a year later when he earned a coming-of-age role in the critically-acclaimed ensemble film The Last Picture Show (1971). The Peter Bogdanovich- directed film made stars out off its young leads (Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Cybill Shepherd) and Oscar winners out of its older cast (Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman). The part of Duane Jackson, for which Jeff received his first Oscar-nomination (for "best supporting actor"), set the tone for the types of roles Jeff would acquaint himself with his fans -- rambling, reckless, rascally and usually unpredictable).
Owning a casual carefree handsomeness and armed with a perpetual grin and sly charm, he started immediately on an intriguing 70s sojourn into offbeat filming. Chief among them were his boxer on his way up opposite a declining Stacy Keach in Fat City (1972); his Civil War-era conman in the western Bad Company (1972); his redneck stock car racer in The Last American Hero (1973); his young student anarchist opposite a stellar veteran cast in Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh (1973); his bank-robbing (also Oscar-nominated) sidekick to Clint Eastwood in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974); his aimless cattle rustler in Rancho Deluxe (1975); his low-level western writer who wants to be a real-life cowboy in Hearts of the West (1975); and the brother of an assassinated President who pursues leads to the crime in Winter Kills (1979). All are simply marvelous characters that should have propelled him to the very top rungs of stardom...but strangely didn't.
Perhaps it was his trademark ease and naturalistic approach that made him somewhat under appreciated at that time when Hollywood was run by a Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino-like intensity. Neverthless, Jeff continued to be a scene-stealing favorite into the next decade, notably as the video game programmer in the 1982 science-fiction cult classic Tron (1982), and the struggling musician brother vying with brother Beau Bridges over the attentions of sexy singer Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989). Jeff became a third-time Oscar nominee with his highly intriguing (and strangely sexy) portrayal of a blank-faced alien in Starman (1984), and earned even higher regard as the ever-optimistic inventor Preston Tucker in Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988).
Since then Jeff has continued to pour on the Bridges magic on film. Few enjoy such an enduring popularity while maintaining equal respect with the critics. The Fisher King (1991), American Heart (1992), Fearless (1993), The Big Lebowski (1998) (now a cult phenomenon) and The Contender (2000) (which gave him a fourth Oscar nomination) are prime examples. More recently he seized the moment as a bald-pated villain as Robert Downey Jr.'s nemesis in Iron Man (2008) and then, at age 60, he capped his rewarding career by winning the elusive Oscar, plus the Golden Globe and Screen Actor Guild awards (among many others), for his down-and-out country singer Bad Blake in Crazy Heart (2009). Bridges next starred in Tron: Legacy (2010), reprising one of his more famous roles, and received another Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role in the Western remake True Grit (2010). In 2014, he co-produced and starred in an adaptation of the Lois Lowry science fiction drama The Giver (2014).
Jeff has been married since 1977 to non-professional Susan Geston (they met on the set of Rancho Deluxe (1975)). The couple have three daughters, Isabelle (born 1981), Jessica (born 1983), and Hayley (born 1985). He hobbies as a photographer on and off his film sets, and has been known to play around as a cartoonist and pop musician. His ancestry is English, and smaller amounts of Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), Irish, Swiss-German, and German.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Amy Frederica Brenneman was born in New London, Connecticut, to Frederica (Shoenfield), a judge in the Connecticut State Superior Court, and Russell Langdon Brenneman, Jr., an environmental lawyer. Amy's mother was one of the first women to graduate from Harvard. Amy is also a graduate of Harvard, where she majored in comparative religion. She spent one semester studying sacred dances in Nepal. While in college, she formed the Cornerstone Theater Company, a touring production company that takes classics to small towns and encourages locals to participate in them. After touring for five years, she moved to New York, where she became a teacher in Brooklyn. She landed her first TV role in 1992.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Jen Richards was born in Natchez, Mississippi, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Her Story (2015), The Acolyte (2024) and Mrs. Fletcher (2019).- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Judy Reyes was born on 5 November 1967 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Scrubs (2001), Smile (2022) and Devious Maids (2013). She was previously married to Edwin M. Figueroa.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Celia Imrie is an Olivier award-winning and Screen Actors Guild-nominated actress, a Variety magazine 'Icon' and Women in Film and Television 'Lifetime Achievement award' winner. As well as her acclaimed film, television and theatre work, she is also a Sunday Times best-selling author. Celia is much loved for her film roles including The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel film series, The Bridget Jones film series, Calendar Girls, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, Finding Your Feet and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. Most recent film work include Mrs Green in independent horror feature, Malevolent and Joan Erikson in Year By The Sea.
Television roles include, Phyllis in Pamela Adlon's semi-autobiographical comedy Better things, Kettle in Sky Atlantic and Showtime's Patrick Melrose, Vera in Barbara Vine's A Dark Adapted Eye and Maggie Pit in unconventional comedy Hang Ups.
Celia also has an extensive list of theatre credits and she has performed in many of London's major theatres. These include, Tony and Olivier Award winning comedy Noises Off at The Old Vic Theatre, Acorn Antiques: The Musical! at Theatre Royal Haymarket in which Celia won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2005, The Sea at The National Theatre opposite Dame Judi Dench and the universally acclaimed production of King Lear at the Old Vic in 2016.
Celia will soon take to the stage in Party Time/Celebration, the sixth double-bill of one-act plays in The Jamie Lloyd Company's Pinter at the Pinter Season, commemorating the 10th anniversary of Nobel Prize-winning writer Harold Pinter.- Sam Reid was born on February 19, 1987 in New South Wales Australia. He relocated to London where he graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art as the 'star' student in 2010. During his final semester at LAMDA, he was cast in Anonymous (2011). He has worked with some of the biggest names in the British film industry including Vanessa Redgrave, Tom Wilkinson and Miranda Richardson.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jacob Basil Anderson is an English actor and musician. As an actor, he is known for his role as Grey Worm in the television series Game of Thrones, and his recurring appearances in the first seasons of Episodes and Broadchurch. As a musician, he uses the alias Raleigh Ritchie (named after his favorite characters from The Royal Tenenbaums); his debut album, You're a Man Now, Boy, was a soul and trip hop album released in 2016 to positive reviews. Anderson's second studio album, Andy, was released in 2020.- Actress
- Producer
- Cinematographer
Bailey Bass, a native New Yorker, Black and Belarusian actress, began acting and modeling at the age of 2, booking numerous Commercials and Ad Campaigns. At Age 13, after auditioning among thousands of young actors, she was cast as Tsireya, in James Cameron's Avatar sequels, encompassing Avatar: The Way of Water which went on to become the 3rd highest grossing film of all time, and the upcoming Avatar's 3 through 5. Soon after, she went on to lead AMC's Interview With The Vampire, playing the iconic and critically acclaimed role of Claudia in what is undoubtedly one of her strongest performances to date.
Outside of acting, Bailey is an entrepreneur who launched her slow fashion concept BaiBai in 2022 which currently includes a jewelry line, BaiBai Jewelry. Her first collaboration with AMC sold out in just 3 weeks.
Bailey is also a tv/film producer, recently launching a production company. Under her production company's slate Bailey's efforts include projects across all mediums with the goal of sharing stories that highlight a number of important topics, such as giving voice to underrepresented communities, the earth & climate change, education, mental health and so much more.
In addition to her entrepreneurial efforts, Bailey is a dedicated earth lover, a philanthropist whose focus on sustainability exists at the core of every effort both on and off screen. She has spoken on the cause many times, most recently during the 2023 climate conference at the U.N.
Lastly, Bailey is also a songwriter whose music has been licensed for the screen and she continues to write, create and advocate. Bailey is represented by Rebel Creative Group.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa was born on August 1, 1979, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the son of Coni (Lemke), a photographer, and Joseph Momoa, a painter. His father is of Native Hawaiian and Samoan descent; and his mother, who is from Iowa, is of German, Irish, and Native American ancestry. Jason was raised in Norwalk, Iowa, by his mother. After high school, he moved to Hawaii, where he landed a lead role, beating out of thousands of hopefuls in the TV series Baywatch (1989) (known as "Baywatch Hawaii" in its 10th season). When the show ended, he spent the next couple of years traveling around the world. In 2001, he moved to Los Angeles, where he continued to pursue an acting career. In 2004, after the short-lived TV series North Shore (2004), he was cast as the popular character "Ronon Dex" in the TV series Stargate: Atlantis (2004), which achieved a cult-like following. In 2010, he appeared in the Emmy-nominated HBO series Game of Thrones (2011), playing the Dothraki king, Khal Drogo. To illustrate to the producers that he was Khal Drogo, he performed the Haka, a traditional war dance of the Maori of New Zealand. The audition was with the same casting director who was casting the titular role in the reboot of Conan the Barbarian (2011). Four weeks after being cast as the popular Robert E. Howard character, Momoa began shooting in Bulgaria. His approach, like that of the filmmakers, was to pull from the eight decades of comics and stories as well as the Frank Frazetta images rather than the hugely popular 1982 movie. Jason has a production company, Pride of Gypsies, in which he is expanding his career from actor to filmmaker. He has directed a couple of short films and is working on his feature film debut Road to Paloma (2014), which is pulled from a series of stories that he's been developing over the years, which he calls the Brown Bag Diaries: Ridin' the Blinds in B Minor (2010). Jason lives with his wife, actress Lisa Bonet, with whom he has two children, Lola and Nakoa-Wolf.- Dulcé Sloan was born on 4 July 1983 in Miami, Florida, USA. She is an actress, known for Chick Fight (2020), Baby Mama's Club (2010) and The Ignored (2006).
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Alan lived in Loughton, Essex for most of his life, until he left to pursue a career in comedy. He now lives in Islington in north London. He is the second of three children, born in Essex, and has an older brother and a younger sister. He was raised by his father, an accountant when his mother died when he was just 6 years old.
In 1982 he left Bancroft's School in Woodford Green with 8 O-levels. He then attended Loughton College of Further Education and got 4 GCSEs and two A levels, in Theatre Studies and Media Studies. He was taught theatre skills by Piers Gladhill.
Alan is best known for playing the title role in Jonathan Creek (1997) written by David Renwick, as a man who designs magic tricks for Adam Klaus but he also teams up with Maddy Magellan to solve baffling crimes. He is also known from the Abbey National adverts. Since 2003, he has appeared in a panel game show QI (2003).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Writer, actor, comedian, doer of good works, excellent good friend to the famous and not, Fry lives in his London SW1 flat and his Norfolk house when not traveling. Famous for his public declaration of celibacy in the "Tatler" back in the 1980s, Emma Thompson has characterised her friend as "90 percent gay, 10 percent other."
Stephen Fry was born in Hampstead, London, to Marianne Eve (Newman) and Alan Fry, a physicist and inventor. His maternal grandparents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants, while his father's family was of English background. He grew up in Norfolk and attended Uppingham School and Stout's Hill. After his notorious three months in Pucklechurch prison for credit card fraud, he attended Queens College, Cambridge in 1979, finishing with a 2:1 in English in 1981/2. While at Cambridge, he was a member of the Cherubs drinking club, and Footlights with Thompson, Tony Slattery, Martin Bergman, and Hugh Laurie (to whom he was introduced by E.T.). His prolific writing partnership with Laurie began in 1981 with resulting Footlights revues for (among others) Mayweek, Edinburgh Festival, and a three month tour of Australia. In 1984, Fry was engaged to do the rewrite of the Noel Gay musical "Me and My Girl," which made him a millionaire before the age of 30. It also earned him a nomination for a Tony award in 1987. (Sidenote: It was upon SF's suggestion that Emma Thompson landed a leading role in the London cast of this show.) Throughout the 1980s, Fry did a huge amount of television and radio work, as well as writing for newspapers (e.g. a weekly column in the "Daily Telegraph") and magazines (e.g. articles for "Arena"). He is probably best known for his television roles in Blackadder II (1986) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990).
His support of the Terence Higgins Trust through events such as the first "Hysteria" benefit, as well as numerous other charity efforts, are probably those works of which he is most proud. Fry's acting career has not been limited to films and television. He had successful runs in Alan Bennett's "Forty Years On," Simon Gray's "The Common Pursuit" with John Sessions, Rik Mayall, John Gordon Sinclair, and others. Michael Frayn's "Look Look" and Gray's "Cell Mates" were less successful for both Fry and their playwrights, the latter not helped by his walking out of the play after only a couple of weeks. Fry has published four novels as well as a collection of his radio and journalistic miscellanea. He has recorded audiotapes of his novels (an unabridged version of "The Liar" was released in 1995), as well as many other works for both adults and children.- Writer
- Actress
- Script and Continuity Department
The Danish-British star, a long-term member of the union, is a well-known broadcaster, actor, comedian, novelist and producer, familiar to audiences fronting shows including QI, The Great British Bake Off and 15 to 1. Her writing credits span theatre, TV, radio, and she has written more than 20 fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults. In 2019 her adaptation of Mamma Mia the Party will open at London's 02.
Toksvig's experience as a political activist and long-time champion for gender equality, including co-founding the Women's Equality Party, stands her in good stead to continue to build on the union's legacy of campaigning for equality and diversity.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Patton Oswalt has been headlining at comedy clubs all over the United States since 1996, as well as appearing in his own standup specials on Comedy Central and HBO. He was chosen as Entertainment Weekly's "It" comedian in 2002. He is a regular on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993). His other television credits include appearances on Seinfeld (1989) and NewsRadio (1995).
As a writer, Oswalt spent two seasons on Mad TV (1995) and has also written for the MTV Music Video Awards. He is currently writing screenplays and has appeared in the feature films Starsky & Hutch (2004), Man on the Moon (1999) and Magnolia (1999).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Martin Freeman is an English actor, known for portraying Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy, Tim Canterbury in the original UK version of sitcom mockumentary The Office (2001), Dr. John Watson in the British crime drama Sherlock (2010) and Lester Nygaard in the dark comedy-crime drama TV series Fargo (2014).
His other notable film roles include the romantic comedy Love Actually (2003) and the comic science fiction film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Tyler James Williams is an American actor, most recognizable for having played the title character of the Chris Rock-inspired sitcom Everybody Hates Chris (2005) and songwriter Cyrus DeBarge in the Disney Channel movie Let It Shine (2012). He became known for playing the lead role in the show Everybody Hates Chris and at the age of just 14 became the youngest person to win an NAACP Image Award. He also had a supporting role as Noah on AMC's The Walking Dead. he is also a rapper, martial artist and musician.
Williams was born on October 9, 1992 in Westchester County, New York, and was raised in Yonkers, by his father, police sergeant Le'Roy Williams, and his mother, singer and songwriter Angela Williams. He has two younger brothers, actors Tyrel Jackson Williams (born on March 16, 1997) and Tylen Jacob Williams (born in December 8, 2001) with Tyrel starring on the Disney XD series, Lab Rats and Tylen starring on Instant Mom as James. Williams had also appeared on Lab Rats, portraying his brother's character's future self.
Before fame and beginning his acting career, He was raised in Yonkers, New York, and began acting at the age of just four when he voiced Bobby on the children's show Little Bill replacing Devon Malik Beckford in 2000, and played himself (or an eponymous character, "Tyler") on the children's show Sesame Street from 2000 to 2005. He rose to fame in 2005 by playing the title character in the hit series Everybody Hates Chris, which finished in 2009. He won a Young Artist Award in 2007 for his work on the show. He has also been a guest star in Two for the Money, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the show Hi-Jinks. In late 2009, Williams appeared in the second season of True Jackson, VP as True's love interest Justin "Lil' Shakespeare" Weber in the two-part episode "Flirting with Fame". In 2012, Williams got the role of Owen in the series Go On. He also played the lead role of Cyrus DeBarge in the Disney Channel Original Movie Let It Shine alongside Coco Jones, Trevor Jackson, and Brandon Mychal Smith. Williams was also featured on nine songs on the film's soundtrack, showing off his rapping skills. The movie premiered on June 15, 2012, and his songs "Don't Run Away", "Me and You", "Guardian Angel", "Let It Shine", and "Moment of Truth" all received airplay on Radio Disney. The videos were also played frequently on the Disney Channel. Williams also stars in the Disney XD series, Lab Rats as a future version of the character his little brother Tyrel Jackson Williams played. In 2014 Williams starred in Justin Simien's 2014 independent film Dear White People. In 2014, Williams was cast as the recurring character Noah on the television series The Walking Dead
In an amazing trivia, He won a Young Artist Award for his work on Everybody Hates Chris in 2007 and played the role of Simon in 2013's Tyler Perry Presents Peeples. He appeared in the 2012 Disney Channel movie, Let it Shine, alongside Coco Jones. Tyler also associated himself with his two younger brothers Tyrel and Tylen on Everybody Hates Chris, where Tyrel and Tylen played a younger version of Chris. Tyler resides in Los Angeles, California with his two younger brothers and when he's not busy acting, he answers interviews, and hangs out with his brothers and friends playing sports and other games. His father is a sergeant in the NYPD with nearly 20 years on the force.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Quinta Brunson is a writer, actress and Stand-Up Comedian living in LA. Born and raised in Philadelphia PA, Quinta started studying comedy in Chicago at the Second City. She moved to LA in 2013. Her 2014 viral series "The Girl Who's Never Been on a Nice Date" launched her into viral fame, eventually leading her to a relationship with BuzzFeed Motion pictures. She now develops shows in traditional and digital entertainment and performs stand up around the country.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Lisa Ann Walter was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Parent Trap (1998), Bruce Almighty (2003) and Shall We Dance? (2004). She was previously married to Sam Baum.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Janelle James is a New York- and Los Angeles-based comedian who can be seen on The Comedy Lineup on Netflix, Black Monday on Showtime, and Abbott Elementary. James has toured with Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, and David Cross among others, and runs the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival (now the Janelle James Comedy Festival) in Brooklyn, NY. Included in the Just For Laughs Montreal's New Faces category for 2016, named one of The 50 Most Funny People in Brooklyn 2016 and was Variety's Top Ten Comedians to Watch 2020. Her debut comedy album, Black and Mild, was released in 2017 on all major streaming networks and is still hilarious. Janelle writes and voices a character on Central Park for Apple TV and writes and appears on the third season of Showtime's Black Monday. Her podcast, You In Danger Gurl, was listed as one of Spotify's top comedy podcasts for 2020.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Rachel Hannah Weisz was born on 7 March, 1970, in London, U.K., to Edith Ruth (Teich), a psychoanalyst, and George Weisz, an inventor. Her parents both came to England around 1938. Her father is a Hungarian Jewish immigrant, and her mother, from Vienna, was of Italian and Austrian Jewish heritage. Rachel has a sister, Minnie, a curator and photographer.
Rachel started modeling when she was 14, and began acting during her studies at Cambridge University. While there, she formed a theater company named "Talking Tongues", which won the Guardian Award, at the Edinburgh Festival, for its take on Neville Southall's "Washbag". Rachel went on to star on stage in the lauded Sean Mathias revival of Noël Coward's "Design For Living". It was a role that won her a vote for Most Promising Newcomer by the London Critics' Circle.
She has starred in many movies, including The Mummy (1999), Enemy at the Gates (2001) and Stealing Beauty (1996). Rachel can also be seen in the movies The Shape of Things (2003), About a Boy (2002), Constantine (2005) and The Constant Gardener (2005), for which she won an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Rachel has a son with her former partner, director Darren Aronofsky. In June 2011, she married "James Bond" actor Daniel Craig in a private ceremony in New York.- Actor
- Producer
- Art Department
Brendan James Fraser was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Canadian parents Carol Mary (Genereux), a sales counselor, and Peter Fraser, a journalist and travel executive. He is of Irish, Scottish, German, Czech, and French-Canadian ancestry. As his parents frequently moved, Brendan can claim affinity with Ottawa, Indianapolis, Detroit, Seattle, London and Rome. His early exposure to theatre, particularly in London, led him to Seattle's Cornish Institute. After graduation he found a minor role as Sailor #1 in River Phoenix's Dogfight (1991), then somewhat more substantial roles in Encino Man (1992) and School Ties (1992). He expresses a preference for playing "fish out of water" men. Five more years of supporting work led finally to the title role in George of the Jungle (1997), a role which fully utilized his charm and beefy good looks, as well as offering him a chance to show off his comic talents. He describes this role as the one which dramatically altered his career. Critical raves for his role in Gods and Monsters (1998) pointed to yet another dimension to his dramatic persona.- Actress
- Soundtrack
- Writer
Bella Ramsey made their professional acting debut as fierce young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in Season 6 of HBO's 'Game of Thrones', a role that quickly became a fan favorite and saw Bella return for the next 2 seasons. Bella will be returning to HBO as the leading role of 'Ellie Williams' in their new flagship show 'The Last of Us' opposite Pedro Pascal. Bella is also known for playing the titular character Mildred Hubble in the newest adaptation of 'The Worst Witch' for which they won the Young Performer BAFTA in 2019. Bella lends their voice to 'Hilda', an award winning animation series for Netflix. Bella was recently on screens in the second season of BBC/HBO's adaptation of 'His Dark Materials'.
On the big screen, Bella was recently seen as the titular role in Lena Dunham's feature film 'Catherine, Called Birdy'. In 2020, Bella had a leading role alongside Jesse Eisenberg in the Marcel Marceau biopic 'Resistance'. In 2019, Bella starred opposite Renée Zellweger, playing her daughter Lorna Luft, in the biopic film 'Judy'. Other film work includes 'Two For Joy' opposite Samantha Morton and Billie Piper, and 'Holmes and Watson' with Will Ferrell. Bella's short films include 'Zero', 'On The Beaches', 'Three Minutes of Silence' and 'Requiem'.
Bella is an ambassador for Greenpeace and Young Minds, and a patron for Bamboozle Theatre Company.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Pedro Pascal is a Chilean-born actor. He is best known for portraying the roles of Oberyn Martell in the fourth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011), Javier Peña in the Netflix series Narcos (2015), the titular character in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019) and Joel Miller in the HBO series The Last of Us (2023).
He's long-time friends with Triple Frontier (2019) co-star Oscar Isaac.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Anna Torv (born 7 June 1979) is an Australian actress known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox television series Fringe (2008-2013). Torv was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the daughter of Susan (née Carmichael) and Hans Torv, also grew up in Gold Coast, Queensland. Her father is of Estonian descent, but was born in Stirling, Scotland. Her mother is of Scottish descent.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Diane Lane was born on January 22, 1965, in New York. She is the daughter of acting coach Burton Eugene "Burt" Lane and nightclub singer/centerfold Colleen Farrington. Her parents' families were both from the state of Georgia. Diane was acting from a very young age and made her stage debut at the age of six. Her work in such acclaimed theater productions as "The Cherry Orchard" and "Medea" led to her being called to Hollywood. She was 13 when she was cast by director George Roy Hill in his wonderful 1979 film A Little Romance (1979), opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. The film only did so-so commercially, but Olivier praised his young co-star, calling her the new Grace Kelly. After her well-received debut, Diane found herself on magazine covers all over the world, including "Time", which declared her the "new young acting sensation". However, things quietened down a bit when she found herself in such critical and financial flops as Touched by Love (1980), Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1980), Movie Madness (1982), Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (1982) and, most unmemorably, Six Pack (1982), all of which failed to set her career on fire.
She also made several TV movies during this period, but it was in 1983 that she finally began to fulfill the promise of stardom that had earlier been predicted for her. Acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola took note of Diane's appeal and cast her in two "youth"-oriented films based on S.E. Hinton novels. Indeed, Rumble Fish (1983) and The Outsiders (1983) have become cult classics and resulted in her getting a loyal fan base. The industry was now taking notice of Diane Lane, and she soon secured lead roles in three big-budget studio epics. She turned down the first, Splash (1983) (which was a surprise hit for Daryl Hannah). Unfortunately, the other two were critical and box-office bombs: Walter Hill's glossy rock 'n' roll fable Streets of Fire (1984) was not the huge summer success that many had thought it would be, and the massively troubled Coppola epic The Cotton Club (1984) co-starring Richard Gere was also a high-profile flop. The back-to-back failure of both of these films could have ended her career there and then -- but thankfully it didn't. Possibly "burned out" by the lambasting these films received and unhappy with the direction her career was taking, she "retired" from the film business at age 19, saying that she had forgotten what she had started acting for. She stayed away from the screen for the next three years. Ironically, the two films that were the main causes of her "retirement" have since grown in popularity, and "Streets of Fire" especially seems to have found the kind of audience it couldn't get when it was first released.
The process of rebuilding her career was a slow and gradual one. First came the obscure and very sexy straight-to-video thriller Lady Beware (1987), followed by the critically acclaimed but little seen The Big Town (1987) with Matt Dillon and Tommy Lee Jones. In the former, Diane plays a very mysterious and sexy stripper and her memorable strip sequence is a highlight of the film. Despite her sexy new on-screen image, it wasn't until 1989's smash hit TV mini-series Lonesome Dove (1989) that Diane made another big impression on a sizable audience. Her performance in the hugely popular and critically acclaimed western epic as a vulnerable "whore with a heart" won her an Emmy nomination and much praise. Film producers were interested in her again. Another well-received TV production, Descending Angel (1990), was followed by smaller roles in major films like Richard Attenborough's Chaplin (1992) and Mike Binder's Indian Summer (1993), and larger parts in small independent films like My New Gun (1992), Vital Signs (1990) and Knight Moves (1992). Indeed, the latter two films co-starred her then-husband, Christopher Lambert, with whom she had a daughter named Eleanor.
Diane was now re-established in Hollywood and started to appear in higher-profile co-starring roles in some big-budget, major movies like Walter Hill's Wild Bill (1995), the Sylvester Stallone actioner Judge Dredd (1995), the Robin Williams's comedy Jack (1996) and Murder at 1600 (1997) co-starring Wesley Snipes. However, all of these still did not quite make Diane a "big-name star" and, by 1997, she found herself, possibly by choice, back in smaller, personal projects.
Her next role as a frustrated 1960s housewife in the independent hit A Walk on the Moon (1999) deservedly won her rave notices and, at last, gave her career the big lift it needed. The cute but tear-jerking comedy My Dog Skip (2000) also proved to be a small-scale success. However, it was the £330-million worldwide grossing blockbuster hit The Perfect Storm (2000) that finally made Diane Lane the household name that she always should have been.
After the worldwide success of "The Perfect Storm", she was more in demand than ever. She played Leelee Sobieski's sinister junkie guardian in the slick thriller The Glass House (2001), and co-starred with Keanu Reeves in the #1 smash hit Hardball (2001). However, her greatest career moment was still to come with her lead role in the enormous critical and commercial hit Unfaithful (2002), in which she superbly portrayed Richard Gere's adulterous wife. Her performance won the respect of critics and audiences alike, as well as many awards and nominations including Best Actress Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.
Her follow-up films including Under the Tuscan Sun (2003), Must Love Dogs (2005), Hollywoodland (2006), Secretariat (2010), and the blockbuster, Man of Steel (2013), were all received and her performances were highly praised. She won further Best Actress Golden Globe nominations for her roles in Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) and Cinema Verite (2011).
She is very well regarded within the industry, adored by film fans, and has a credibility and quality that is all too rare today. Her immense talent at playing human and real characters, her "drop dead gorgeous" beauty and down-to-earth grittiness guarantees that she will stay on top, and she guarantee has already shown the kind of resilience that will keep her working for a long, long time.- Actress
- Art Department
- Additional Crew
Juliette Binoche was born in Paris, France, to Monique Yvette Stalens, a director, teacher, and actress, and Jean-Marie Binoche, a sculptor, director, and actor. Her mother was born in Czestochowa, Poland, of French, Walloon Belgian, and Polish descent, while her father is French. Juliette was only 23 when she first attracted the attention of international film critics with The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times film critic with an international following of his books on film and TV reviews, wrote that she was "almost ethereal in her beauty and innocence". That innocence was gone by the time Binoche completed Louis Malle's Damage (1992) (aka "Fatale"). In an interview after the film was released, Binoche said: "Malle was trying direct and wanted something more sophisticated". A year later, Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors: Blue (1993) was added to her film credits. After a sabbatical from film-making to become a mother in 1994, Binoche was selected as the heroine of France's most expensive ($35 million) movie ever: The Horseman on the Roof (1995). More recently, she has made The English Patient (1996), for which she won an Oscar for 'Best supporting actress' and Chocolat (2000).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. He was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one named 'The Kids'. When he married Lori A. Depp, he took a job as a ballpoint-pen salesman to support himself and his wife. A visit to Los Angeles, California, with his wife, however, happened to be a blessing in disguise, when he met up with actor Nicolas Cage, who advised him to turn to acting, which culminated in Depp's film debut in the low-budget horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), where he played a teenager who falls prey to dream-stalking demon Freddy Krueger.
In 1987 he shot to stardom when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular TV series 21 Jump Street (1987). In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim Burton came about when Depp played the title role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). Following the film's success, Depp carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity by appearing in many features before re-joining with Burton in the lead role of Ed Wood (1994). In 1997 he played an undercover FBI agent in the fact-based film Donnie Brasco (1997), opposite Al Pacino; in 1998 he appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), directed by Terry Gilliam; and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film The Astronaut's Wife (1999). The same year he teamed up again with Burton in Sleepy Hollow (1999), brilliantly portraying Ichabod Crane.
Depp has played many characters in his career, including another fact-based one, Insp. Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001). He stole the show from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez's "mariachi" trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). In that same year he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Capt. Jack Sparrow. The film's enormous success has opened several doors for his career and included an Oscar nomination. He appeared as the central character in the Stephen King-based movie, Secret Window (2004); as the kind-hearted novelist James Barrie in the factually-based Finding Neverland (2004), where he co-starred with Kate Winslet; and Rochester in the British film, The Libertine (2004). Depp collaborated again with Burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and later in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Dark Shadows (2012).
Off-screen, Depp has dated several female celebrities, and has been engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He was married to Lori Anne Allison in 1983, but divorced her in 1985. Depp has two children with his former long-time partner, French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis: Lily-Rose Melody, born in 1999 and John Christopher "Jack" III, born in 2002. He married actress/producer Amber Heard in 2015, divorcing a few years later.- Actress
- Music Department
- Director
Dame Judi Dench was born Judith Olivia Dench in York, England, to Eleanora Olive (Jones), who was from Dublin, Ireland, and Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor from Dorset, England. She attended Mount School in York, and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and at Old Vic Theatre. She is a ten-time BAFTA winner including Best Actress in a Comedy Series for A Fine Romance (1981) in which she appeared with her husband, Michael Williams, and Best Supporting Actress in A Handful of Dust (1988) and A Room with a View (1985). She received an ACE award for her performance in the television series Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill (1985). She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1970, a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1988 and a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 2005.- Producer
- Actress
- Music Department
Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Her mother, Helga Bullock (née Helga Mathilde Meyer), was a German opera singer. Her father, John W. Bullock, was an American voice teacher, who was born in Alabama, of German descent. Sandra grew up on the road with her parents and younger sister, chef Gesine Bullock-Prado, and spent much of her childhood in Nuremberg, Germany. She often performed in the children's chorus of whatever production her mother was in. That singing talent later came in handy for her role as an aspiring country singer in The Thing Called Love (1993). Her family moved back to the Washington area when she was adolescent. She later enrolled in East Carolina University in North Carolina, where she studied acting. Shortly afterward she moved to New York to pursue a career on the stage. This led to acting in television programs and then feature films. She gave memorable performances in Demolition Man (1993) and Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993), but did not achieve the stardom that seemed inevitable for her until her work in the smash hit Speed (1994). She now ranks as one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood. For her role in The Blind Side (2009) she won the Oscar, and her blockbusters The Proposal (2009), The Heat (2013) and Gravity (2013) made her a bankable star. With $56,000,000, she was listed in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the highest-paid actress in the world.- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
Elegant Nicole Kidman, known as one of Hollywood's top Australian imports, was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, while her Australian parents were there on educational visas.
Kidman is the daughter of Janelle Ann (Glenny), a nursing instructor, and Antony David Kidman, a biochemist and clinical psychologist. She is of English, Irish, and Scottish descent. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where Nicole's father pursued his research on breast cancer, and then, three years later, made the pilgrimage back to her parents' native Sydney in Australia, where Nicole was raised. Young Nicole's first love was ballet, but she eventually took up mime and drama as well (her first stage role was a bleating sheep in an elementary school Christmas pageant). In her adolescent years, acting edged out the other arts and became a kind of refuge -- as her classmates sought out fun in the sun, the fair-skinned Kidman retreated to dark rehearsal halls to practice her craft. She worked regularly at the Philip Street Theater, where she once received a personal letter of praise and encouragement from audience member Jane Campion (then a film student). Kidman eventually dropped out of high school to pursue acting full-time. She broke into movies at age 16, landing a role in the Australian holiday favorite Bush Christmas (1983). That appearance touched off a flurry of film and television offers, including a lead in BMX Bandits (1983) and a turn as a schoolgirl-turned-protester in the miniseries Vietnam (1987) (for which she won her first Australian Film Institute Award). With the help of an American agent, she eventually made her US debut opposite Sam Neill in the at-sea thriller Dead Calm (1989).
Kidman's next casting coup scored her more than exposure. While starring as Tom Cruise's doctor/love interest in the racetrack romance Days of Thunder (1990), she won over the Hollywood hunk hook, line and sinker. After a whirlwind courtship (and decent box office returns), the couple wed on December 24, 1990. Determined not to let her new marital status overshadow her fledgling career, the actress pressed on. She appeared as a catty high school senior in the Australian film Flirting (1991), then as Dustin Hoffman's moll in the gangster flick Billy Bathgate (1991). She reunited with Cruise for Far and Away (1992), the story of young Irish lovers who flee to America in the late 1800s, and starred opposite Michael Keaton in the tear-tugger My Life (1993). Despite her steady employment, critics and moviegoers still had not quite warmed to Kidman as a leading lady. She tried to spice up her image by seducing Val Kilmer in Batman Forever (1995), but achieved her real breakthrough with Gus Van Sant's To Die For (1995). As a fame-crazed housewife determined to eliminate any obstacle in her path, Kidman proved that she had an impressive range and deadly comic timing. She took home a Golden Globe and several critics' awards for the performance. In 1996, Kidman stepped into a corset to work with her countrywoman and onetime admirer, Jane Campion, on the adaptation of Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady (1996). A few months later, she tore across the screen as a nuclear weapons expert in The Peacemaker (1997), adding "action star" to her professional repertoire.
She and Cruise then disappeared into a notoriously long, secretive shoot for Stanley Kubrick's sexual thriller Eyes Wide Shut (1999). The couple's on-screen shenanigans prompted an increase in public speculation about their sex life (rumors had long been circulating that their marriage was a cover-up for Cruise's rumored homosexuality); tired of denying tabloid attacks, they successfully sued The Star for a story alleging that they needed a sex therapist to coach them through love scenes. Family life has always been a priority for Kidman. Born to social activists (mother was a feminist; father, a labor advocate), Nicole and her little sister, Antonia Kidman, discussed current events around the dinner table and participated in their parents' campaigns by passing out pamphlets on street corners. When her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, 17-year-old Nicole stopped working and took a massage course so that she could provide physical therapy (her mother eventually beat the cancer). She and Cruise adopted two children: Isabella Jane (born 1993) and Connor Antony (born 1995). Despite their rock-solid image, the couple announced in early 2001 that they were separating due to career conflicts. Her marriage to Cruise ended mid-summer of 2001.- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of Broadway and Hollywood's perennial and cleverer talents who tends to shine a smart, cynical light on her surroundings, Stockard Channing was born Susan Williams Antonia Stockard on February 13, 1944 in New York City to a Protestant father and a Catholic mother of Irish descent. Her parents were Mary Alice (née English) and well-to-do shipping executive Lester Napier Stockard; the latter died when his daughter was 16 and left her a sizable estate.
Channing attended the eminent Chapin School in NYC, then later attended the Madeira School, a girls' boarding school in Virginia. She majored in both literature and history at Radcliffe College, from which she graduated summa cum laude in 1965. In 1964 she married Walter Channing Jr., a businessman whose surname she kept for part of her own stage moniker after their divorce four years later.
Interested in acting, she made her stage debut in a production of "The Investigation" at the experimental Theatre Company of Boston in 1966. She went on to play a number of offbeat roles with the company. She eventually migrated to New York where she took her first Broadway bow as a chorus member and understudy in the musical version of 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' in 1971. Two years later she would take over the prime role of Julia in the L.A. national company. Other theater roles during this time included 'Adaptation/Next' (1970) 'Arsenic and Old Lace' (1970), 'Play Strindberg' (1971), and 'No Hard Feelings' (1973).
Somewhat plaintive yet magnetic and unique-looking, the dark-haired actress began first appearing in pictures with small parts in the dark comedy The Hospital (1971) and the edgy Barbra Streisand fantasy-drama Up the Sandbox (1972). Taking on the top female lead as an heiress and potential victim of shysters Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty in Mike Nichols' comedy The Fortune (1975), the film, despite its male star power and her Golden Globe nomination, would not become the star-making hit for Channing as initially predicted.
While her next two films, (The Big Bus (1976) and Sweet Revenge (1976)), didn't get her to first base with the public either, Channing hit a major home run with the TV-movie The Girl Most Likely to... (1973), a clever black comedy written by Joan Rivers wherein she played a former ugly duckling-turned-beauty (à la plastic surgery) who decides to attract and knock off the men who cruelly cast her aside earlier. Channing found her niche with this smart, sardonic character and it would take her quite far in Hollywood.
At age 33(!), Stockard was handed the feisty role of high-school "tough girl" Betty Rizzo in the box-office film version of the hit musical Grease (1978), starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. While long in the tooth for such a role (as were most of the others in the lead cast), she compelled the audience to suspend disbelief in her sly performance, which earned her a People's Choice Award (Favorite Motion Picture Supporting Actress). This blockbuster clinched her place as a top-ranking star contender.
Handed two sitcom vehicles of her own within a year on CBS, Stockard Channing in Just Friends (1979) had her playing a newly-separated wife starting life anew in another city (L.A.) while The Stockard Channing Show (1980) starred her as a divorced lady again trying to find herself in L.A. Neither caught on and lasted but a few months. Stalled at a critical juncture in her career, she decided to return to her first love -- the theater. With 'Vanities', 'Absurd Person Singular', and 'As You Like It' (as Rosalind) already on her resume, she earned fine notices on Broadway with the musical 'They're Playing Our Song', succeeding Lucie Arnaz in 1980, then garnered rave reviews as the mother of a developmentally disabled child in the New Haven production of Peter Nichols' 'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg' in 1982. The actress repeated her role on Broadway a few years later (the title now shortened to "Joe Egg") and copped the 1985 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Subsequent Tony nominations came her way for her offbeat work in 'The House of Blue Leaves' (1986); 'Six Degrees of Separation' (for which she also won an Off-Broadway Obie), 'Four Baboons Adoring the Sun' (1992); and for her Eleanor of Aquitaine in 'The Lion in Winter' in 1999.
Award-worthy projects again came her way on TV. Nominated for an Emmy for the CBS miniseries Echoes in the Darkness (1987), she also won a CableACE Award for her work in Tidy Endings (1988). In film, she received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations when her stage triumph, Six Degrees of Separation (1993), was turned into a film. This was followed by a rare vulnerable role as an abused, small-town housewife in the popular drag queen dramedy To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), a co-star role alongside Jennifer Tilly as two divorce-bound women who meet in Reno in Edie & Pen (1996), a prime role in the remake of Moll Flanders (1996) and as an eccentric aunt in the comedy/fantasy Practical Magic (1998). She also provided the voice of Barbara Gordon in several episodes of Batman Beyond (1999).
Channing has remained a highly productive, award-winning presence into the millennium on film, TV and the occasional stage. Beginning with a London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in the film The Business of Strangers (2001), her other movies have included co-star or featured roles in Life or Something Like It (2002), Behind the Red Door (2003), The Divorce (2003), Must Love Dogs (2005), Sparkle (2007), Multiple Sarcasms (2010), and Pulling Strings (2013).
As part of the acclaimed cast of The West Wing (1999) as "First Lady" Abigail Bartlet, audiences were so drawn to her shrewd, classy character that producers wisely started featuring her regularly into the third season, winning both Emmy and SAG awards and a slew of nominations for this long-running role. Other awards came for social dramas. She received a second Emmy for her supporting turn as mother Judy Sheppard in The Matthew Shepard Story (2002), a docudrama about the gay-bashing murder of young Matthew Shepard, a Daytime Emmy for her role in the TV movie Jack (2004) in which she plays a wife who finds out her husband is gay, and a SAG nomination as a mother who discovers her teenage daughter is lesbian in The Truth About Jane (2000).
Stockard thought she finally found sitcom success with the series Out of Practice (2005) and was even Emmy-nominated for her role as a sharp-tongued but caring doctor. As luck would have it, however, a core audience was not to be found and the show lasted but a mere season. She fared better in a recurring part as Julianna Margulies' mother on the popular dramatic series The Good Wife (2009).
Returning to the stage, Stockard played "Lady Bracknell" in a 2010 Dublin production of 'The Importance of Being Earnest', and the following year was nominated for a Tony and Drama Desk for 'Other Desert Cities'. In 2018, she appeared in the play 'Apologia', co-starring Hugh Dancy in London.
Divorced four times, including to actor Paul Schmidt and writer/producer David Debin, she has no children. She has been in a three-decade-long relationship with cinematographer/gaffer Dan Gillham.- Writer
- Producer
Alice Hoffman was born on 16 March 1952 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Practical Magic (1998), Aquamarine (2006) and Independence Day (1983). She is married to Tom Martin. They have two children.- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of three children (she has two brothers, Greg and Don), Dianne Wiest was born in Kansas City, Missouri, USA on 28 March 1946. Her original ambition was to be a ballerina, but she was bitten by acting bug after some stage work, most notably playing Desdemona to James Earl Jones' Othello on Broadway. She made her film debut in 1980, but did not make a name for herself until her performance as Emma, a prostitute during the 1930s Depression, in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985). Allen was so impressed by Wiest's acting ability that he has directed her on four more occasions since. Under Allen's direction, Wiest won a well deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, for her brilliant performance as the neurotic, wannabe actress Holly in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). She followed her Academy Award success with performances in The Lost Boys (1987) and Bright Lights, Big City (1988) before stealing the show from the likes of Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Keanu Reeves and Martha Plimpton in Ron Howard's Parenthood (1989).
Playing Helen Buckman, the divorced mother of two difficult teenagers, Wiest was both touching and hilarious, and received her second Oscar nomination. Arguably her most beloved role came as Peg Boggs, the kindly Avon Lady who discovers the titular Edward Scissorhands (1990). Wiest returned to Woody Allen for Bullets Over Broadway (1994), a superb comedy film set in 1920s New York, winning her second Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her magnificent portrayal of Helen Sinclair, a boozy, glamorous and neurotic star of the stage, who could made the words "Don't speak!" the funniest sentence ever captured on film. Recently enjoying great success with witchy roles in the comedy film Practical Magic (1998) and the television miniseries The 10th Kingdom (2000), Dianne Wiest lives in New York City with her two adopted daughters, Emily and Lily.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Aidan Quinn was born on 8 March 1959 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Benny & Joon (1993), Practical Magic (1998) and Flipped (2010). He has been married to Elizabeth Bracco since 1 September 1987. They have two children.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Evan Rachel Wood was born September 7, 1987, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her father, Ira David Wood III, is a theatre actor, writer and director, and her mother, Sara Wood, is an actress and acting coach. She has two older brothers--Dana Wood, a musician, and Ira David Wood IV, who has also acted. Evan and her brothers sometimes performed at Theatre In The Park in Raleigh, which her father founded and where he serves as executive director.
At the age of five she screen-tested against Kirsten Dunst for the lead role in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) after a long auditioning process. She moved to Los Angeles with her mom and brother Ira in 1996 and has had success ever since, appearing in a TV series, TV movies and feature films. She has appeared in Practical Magic (1998), starred in the comedy S1m0ne (2002) as Al Pacino's daughter, and followed that with Thirteen (2003), with Holly Hunter. Her breakout role as Tracy in "Thirteen" garnered her a Golden Globes nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture: Drama and for a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. At the time of this SAG nomination, she was the youngest actress to be nominated in the Leading Role category. She received a Golden Globe and Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie" for her portrayal of Veda Pierce in the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce (2011).
She also earned acclaim for her powerful performance as Stephanie, Mickey Rourke's estranged daughter, in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler (2008).- Margo Martindale was born July 18, 1951 in Jacksonville, Texas, to Margaret (Pruitt) and William Everett Martindale, a lumber company owner and dog handler. She is the youngest of three children, and the only daughter. Margo attended Lon Marris College, and later transferred to University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and did a summer study at Harvard University. She made her film debut appearance in Days of Thunder (1990), she played the minor role of Donna. Notable roles include: Sister Colleen, Susan Sarandon's fellow nun in Dead Man Walking (1995). She played a brief but memorable role as the selfish mother to Hilary Swank's character in Million Dollar Baby (2004).
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Jennifer Coolidge is a versatile character actress and experimental comedienne, best known for playing Stifler's mom in American Pie (1999).
She was born on August 28, 1961, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to Gretchen (Knauff) and Paul Constant Coolidge, a plastics manufacturer. Young Coolidge was dreaming of becoming a singer. She attended Norwell High School and Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and earned her bachelor's degree in theatre in 1985. She moved to New York and joined the Gotham City improv group. Then, she headed to Los Angeles where she became a long-running member of "The Groundlings" comedy troupe. Coolidge made her television debut in a guest role on NBC's Seinfeld (1989), playing a voluptuous masseuse who won't offer her professional services to boyfriend Jerry in a 1993 episode. The following year, she had a regular gig on ABC's short-lived sketch series She TV (1994), then briefly became a cast member and writer on another short-lived sketch comedy series, Fox's Saturday Night Special (1996) produced by Roseanne Barr.
Coolidge made her big screen debut as a nurse in Not of This Earth (1995), then in the courtroom comedy Trial and Error (1997). Then, she appeared in small roles in several more feature films, and also continued her television work. Coolidge had her breakthrough role in American Pie (1999), as a boozed-up and sultry mom who seduces her son's classmate with the comment that she liked her scotch and men the same way: aged 18 years. She recreated the character in the sequel American Pie 2 (2001). Then, she reprized her role as "Paulette" opposite Reese Witherspoon in the "Legally Blonde" franchise. Although, she lost the part of "Lynette Scavo" on Desperate Housewives (2004) to Felicity Huffman, Coolidge graced several TV comedies as well, with major guest appearances on Frasier (1993) and Sex and the City (1998). Then, she landed a recurring role in the ABC sitcom Joey (2004), as "Bobbie Morgenstern", Joey's agent, appearing in 37 episodes over two seasons.
Eventually, Coolidge emerged as a versatile character actress with her no-holds-barred approach to comedy and her vanity-free comfort with playing uninhibited, unappealing characters, and delivering lines with sexual innuendo. Her talent shines in a range of characters, from a gold-digging dog owner in Best in Show (2000), to a scheming wife of an elderly mogul in Down to Earth (2001), to an opportunistic mother in American Dreamz (2006). Coolidge's gift for altering her appearance and manner, as well as her mastery of timing, shines in her perfectly hideous performance as "Fiona", a wicked stepmother in A Cinderella Story (2004) opposite Hilary Duff, for which Coolidge won a 2005 Teen Choice Award. Her lasting collaboration with director Christopher Guest continues in For Your Consideration (2006).
She has been sharing her time between her two homes, one is in Hollywood, California, and one in New Orleans, where she bought a historic mansion before the Hurricane Katrina hit the city, and then became involved in its restoration.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Danny Trejo was born Dan Trejo in Echo Park, Los Angeles, to Alice (Rivera) and Dan Trejo, a construction worker. A child drug addict and criminal, Trejo was in and out of jail for 11 years. While serving time in San Quentin, he won the lightweight and welterweight boxing titles. Imprisoned for armed robbery and drug offenses, he successfully completed a 12-step rehabilitation program that changed his life. While speaking at a Cocaine Anonymous meeting in 1985, Trejo met a young man who later called him for support. Trejo went to meet him at what turned out to be the set of Runaway Train (1985). Trejo was immediately offered a role as a convict extra, probably because of his tough tattooed appearance. Also on the set was a screenwriter who did time with Trejo in San Quentin. Remembering Trejo's boxing skills, the screenwriter offered him $320 per day to train the actors for a boxing match. Director Andrey Konchalovskiy saw Trejo training Eric Roberts and immediately offered him a featured role as Roberts' opponent in the film. Trejo has subsequently appeared in many other films, usually as a tough criminal or villain.
Trejo is of Mexican descent.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Aduba began earning recognition for her work in 2003, with a performance in "Translations of Xhosa" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts that won her a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Play. Her Broadway debut was in 2007 as Toby in "Coram Boy". She was a member of the Original Revival Cast of "Godspell" at the Circle in the Square Theatre from 2011 through 2012. She also played the mother of the title character of "Venice" at The Public Theater in New York.
Her first television appearance was on the TV Series "Blue Bloods" in 2012. In 2013 she began to receive wider recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Suzanne Warren, also known as "Crazy Eyes", in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black (2013).- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Tall (5'10"), lovely, statuesque Seattle native Jean Elizabeth Smart was born on September 13, 1951. The second of four children born to a teacher and his wife, she developed an early interest in acting and attended the University of Washington following her graduation from Seattle's Ballard High School. She attained a BA degree in fine arts there.
Jean's first professional season was with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where she went on to perform in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing" and "A Moon for the Misbegotten," among others. During the late 1970's she built up a strong resume in regional theater with such companies as the Seattle Repertory Theatre ("Equus," "Fallen Angels"), ACT ("A Christmas Carol"), Pittsburgh Public Theatre (as Lady Macbeth), Alaska Repertory Theatre ("Terra Nova"), and Alliance Theatre ("A History of the American Film"). Her first significant break came with a starring role in the potent, critically-acclaimed lesbian drama "Last Summer at Bluefish Cove," which earned her an Off-Broadway Drama Desk nomination in 1980. She capped this honor with a Los Angeles Drama Critics award in 1983 when she repeated her triumph on the West Coast.
Jean made a highly auspicious Broadway debut in 1981 playing Marlene Dietrich in "Piaf" starring Jane Lapotaire, and it was the subsequent TV taping of that show, Piaf (1984), that brought about major Hollywood interest. A regular on the short-lived sitcoms Teachers Only (1982), Reggie (1983) and Maximum Security (1984), Jean hit pure gold in her fourth attempt as the delightfully ditzy Charlene Frazier on Designing Women (1986). The show was an instant hit and it was here that she would meet future husband Richard Gilliland, who played the recurring role of co-player Annie Potts' boyfriend J.D. for several seasons.
Feeling confined and fearing typecasting, Jean left the show in 1991 to find more challenging work. She drew major acclaim, giving a chilling portrayal of a true-to-life serial killer in the TV movie Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story (1992), long before Charlize Theron copped an Oscar for her equally chilling cinematic version. In other TV movies, Jean earned strong applause for her roles as a mentally challenged woman in The Yarn Princess (1994); as a concerned rural mother in Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' classic The Yearling (1994); as an attorney involved in a high-profile murder case in Undue Influence (1996); as a wife who discovers her longtime husband is gay in A Change of Heart (1998); co-starring with real-life husband Richard Gilliland in Audrey's Rain (2003) as new parents after her sister commits suicide; and as an FBI profiler in Killer Instinct: From the Files of Agent Candice DeLong (2003).
On stage, Jean she earned a Tony nomination for her delightfully madcap part in the Moss Hart/George S. Kaufman classic comedy farce "The Man Who Came to Dinner" opposite Nathan Lane. The Broadway show was later made as a TV movie, The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000), with both Lane and Smart.
Having made her debut with a small role in the crimer Hoodlums (1980), films would never be as strong a venue for Jean as the stage or TV. She did, however, show off her versatility in both comedy and drama with secondary roles with such films as Flashpoint (1984), the Goldie Hawn vehicle Protocol (1984), Fire with Fire (1986), Project X (1987), Mistress (1992), Edie & Pen (1996) and The Odd Couple II (1998). Jean topped the decade off well with two independent films -- earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her role as Sarah Polley's ill-natured mother in Guinevere (1999), and first-billed in the mother/daughter road trip dramedy Forever Fabulous (1999) co-starring Jennifer Elise Cox.
Remaining extremely busy into the millennium, Jean went on to win bookend Emmy awards for her guest appearances on the sitcom Frasier (1993) and earned two more Emmy nominations for her potent perms in the crime drama 24 (2001) starring Kiefer Sutherland. She also graced a host of other series with regular/recurring roles on the romantic comedy In-Laws (2002); the crimer The District (2000); the family comedy Center of the Universe (2004) (co-starring John Goodman); the animated program Kim Possible (2002) (as the voice of Dr. Ann Possible); the mystery comedy Samantha Who? (2007) starring Christina Applegate; the revamped crimer Hawaii Five-0 (2010) (as the governor); the crime dramedy Harry's Law (2011); the dark thriller Fargo (2014); the action sci-fi drama Legion (2017); and the detective series Mare of Easttown (2021).
More recent films include Youth in Revolt (2009), Barry Munday (2010), Hope Springs (2012), Waking (2013), Warren (2014), Miss Meadows (2014), The Accountant (2016), Life Itself (2018) and Brampton's Own (2018).
Diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 13, Jean has played an active part over the years in public awareness. She has two children with her late husband Richard, son Connor and adopted son (from China) Forrest.- Actor
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Rhys Nicholson is a Multi-award winning Australian stand-up, writer, podcaster and collager.
After moving to Sydney in 2009 at the age of 18, Rhys was very enthusiastic but had limited success as a comedian until in 2012 when they won the Best Newcomer award at the Sydney Comedy Festival. For a few years Rhys quietly plodded along performing all over the place, trying to get better and not doing anything particularly special until 2016 when they were selected to perform at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala, they sold out their run, received a nomination for the illustrious Melbourne Comedy Festival Award for Best Show award for best show and went on to sell out shows throughout Australia and the UK. Also that year, to highlight the importance of marriage equality in Australia, Rhys publicly married lesbian and fellow comedian Zoe Coombs Marr at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Zoe won the award for best show. Rhys is fine with that.
With an enormous passion for performing stand up, their live work continues to receive awards and accolades around the world. Within two years they were nominated for an Aria Award for best Comedy Album, twice nominated for a The Helpmann Award for best Comedy Show and in 2018 they won the New Zealand Comedy Festival Best Show award. Alongside a booming stand-up career, Nicholson is fast becoming a favourite across our small screens too. With a whole bunch of TV credits in Australia including various acting roles, panels shows, a documentary and an hour stand up special commissioned by ABCTV. In 2018 Rhys was invited to film yet another of their shows for the the BBC making is UK TV debut at the prestigious BBC Broadcasting House in London. Later that year they would go on perform in the Comedy Central UK smash hit Roast Battle. Rhys lost and is fine with that. Then early 2019 the inconceivable happened and Rhys was hand picked to be one of three opening acts for Conan O'Brien during his Australian tour. Then a couple months later they were invited to Los Angeles where they made their USA television debut with a stand up spot on the Conan Show. Conan hugged Rhys. They were fine with it.
Never happy to sit still for very long, Nicholson is currently splitting their time between Australia, America and the UK where they have a number of exciting bookings and projects in development.- Actress
- Producer
Christina Chang was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, by her Chinese-Filipino father and American mother. At 17 she moved to the United States to study Theatre & Film in her mother's home state of Kansas and later studied acting in Seattle, USA. Chang went on to gain a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Washington in Seattle, where she won her first professional acting job in the play "Naomi's Road" at the Seattle Children's Theater. From there, she progressed to the off-Broadway production of Tina Landau's the "Trojan Women."
Once in New York, Chang gained several guest and recurring roles on various programs including Cosby, Guiding Light, and As the World Turns. She appeared in the feature films Random Hearts (1999), 28 Days (2000), Deadline (2000) and Girls Club (2002). She also hosted Globe Trekker, also known as Globe Trekker (1994).
Chang's other interests include working with children, following in the footsteps of her mother who is a school counselor. She speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, has studied the trapeze, and has an interest in social work.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Alex Hirsch is an animator, television writer, and voice actor from Piedmont, California. His primary claim to fame is serving as the show creator for the hit animated series "Gravity Falls" (2012-2016), a mystery comedy series where twin protagonists investigate the local mysteries of a strange town in Oregon. Hirsch also served as the voice actor for Grunkle Stan/Stan Pines, his sidekick Soos Ramirez, and the demon Bill Cipher.
In 1985, Hirsch and his twin sister Ariel were born in Piedmont, California. Piedmont is a small city, which had about 10,500 residents in 1980. It is completely surrounded by the neighboring city of Oakland. Piedmond has a reputation for racial segregation, and was formerly identified as a "sundown town" (an all-white municipality where "colored people" had to leave town by sundown).
Hirsch reportedly has Jewish descent on his father's side of the family, but he was raised to be agnostic. The family regularly celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah, without sharing in theistic beliefs. From 1994 to 1998, Hirsch and his sister Ariel spend their summer vacations living with their great-aunt Lois in a cabin in the woods. Hirsch has credited these summer vacations as an inspiration for "Gravity Falls".
Hirsch received his secondary education at Piedmont High School, a co-educational school established in 1922. The school was highlighted in news stories during the 1990s, when it was discovered that its social clubs and charity organizations were actually drinking clubs for students. In 2002, Hirsch won the school's annual Bird Calling Contest. Shortly after, he had a guest star appearance in "Late Show with David Letterman".
Hirsch received his college education at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts, 1961-), a private art university located in Santa Clarita, California. The university has a decades-long history of training aspiring animators. During his college years, Hirsch developed several animated short films. One of his films was chosen by Nicktoons Network for broadcast as part of their short-lived variety series "Shorts in a Bunch" (2007). In 2006, while still a college student, Hirsch was hired by the animation studio Laika to work in an upcoming animated feature. The film ended in development hell. Hirsch graduated from CalArts in 2007.
Shortly after his graduation, Hirsch was hired as a writer and storyboard artist for an animated series which was still in its development stages. It was "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" (2008-2010), which lasted for 3 seasons and 46 episodes. The series focused on an innocent young boy who finds a mentor in the person of the ill-tempered Captain K'nuckles, an Irish pirate who has semi-retired due to old age. The series was noted for its steampunk-like depictions of the 19th century, and for its moral ambiguity.
Hirsch was later credited with the development of the animated series "Fish Hooks" (2010-2014), which lasted for 3 seasons and 110 episodes. The series featured anthropomorphic fish in an high school setting. Part of the plot focused on the unrequited love of the character Oscar for his best friend Bea Goldfishberg, while she was oblivious to his affections for most of the series' duration. For this series, Hirsch voiced the recurring character Clamantha. She was the school's head cheerleader who had an unrequited love for Oscar. The series had an unusual visual style, a mix of 2D digital animation and photo collages. It won a BAFTA award, and was nominated for several other awards.
In 2012, Hirsch launched his own animated series, "Gravity Falls" (2012-2016). Hirsch reportedly based several of the characters on members of his family and past acquaintances. It featured twin siblings Dipper and Mabel Pines investigating paranormal incidents in a small town of Oregon. The series started with monster-of-the-week episodes, but had a series-wide story arc concerning a number of peculiar journals and their initially unnamed author. The series received critical acclaim and high ratings, winning two Emmy Awards, three Annie Awards, and a BAFTA Children's Award. The series lasted for 2 seasons and 40 episodes, with Hirsch not interested in further continuing its plots.
In 2018, Hirsch published a graphic novel based on "Gravity Falls". It became a New York Times Best Seller. Also in 2018, Hirsh served as a story contributor to the animated film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse". In 2020, Hirsch started voicing several characters in the animated series "The Owl House" (2020-). The series was created by animator Dana Terrace, who is Hirsch's longtime girlfriend.
In 2021, Hirsch started serving as an executive producer for the science fiction comedy series "Inside Job" (2021-). The series focuses on a shadow government organization which strives to keep secret a number of conspiracies. The series is largely inspired by real-life conspiracy theories. It features (among other things) reptilian shapeshifters, human-animal hybrids, and survivors from the hollow Earth. The series has received critical praise for both its satirical elements, and for its semi-realistic portrayal of real-life problems, such as "office politics, sexism, classism, jingoism".
As of 2022, Hirsch is 36-years-old, and has no interest in retiring. He remains popular among animation fans, and he has been noted for his vocal criticism of censorship in the medium.- Rachel True has been working for most of the 1990s. She broke into the business with a pair of guest roles on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984) In 1993, Rachel moved to L.A.; she then appeared in the rap parody CB4 (1993) with Chris Rock. She also landed another pair of guest spots on the HBO sitcom Dream On (1990). She made guest appearances on several other television series, including Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) and Boston Common (1996). Television movies followed, including Moment of Truth: Stalking Back (1993) and A Walton Wedding (1995). In 1994, she was seen alongside Alyssa Milano in the erotic thriller Embrace of the Vampire (1995).
It was in 1996 that the biracial actress started getting noticed by the press, after appearing as a teenage witch in the cult hit The Craft (1996). Following that came the indie flick Nowhere (1997), and then she played Dave Chappelle's romantic interest in Half Baked (1998). During 1997, she also had a role on the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show (1995). In 1999, she was seen in another ABC sitcom, Once and Again (1999). Recent projects include The Big Split (1999) and Groove (2000). - Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Neve Campbell was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, to Marnie (Neve), a Dutch-born psychologist and yoga instructor (from Amsterdam), and Gerry Campbell, a Scottish-born teacher (from Glasgow). Campbell first came to our TV screens in the hit Drama series Party of Five (1994). Described as TV's most believable teenager, her first major film role came in the form of innocent victim "Sidney Prescott" in Scream (1996), the film which re-defined the slasher genre.
She joined the cast of the acclaimed series House of Cards In 2016, playing Leann Harvey, shortly after in 2018 she starred opposite Dwayne Johnson in the action movie Skyscraper.
Many film offers came Neve's way but, as she was filming Party of Five (1994) for nine months of the year, the filming schedules often clashed. So in 2000, she announced that she was to leave the award-winning show to concentrate on a film career. Working in many genres, her film credits include the romantic comedy Three to Tango (1999) alongside Matthew Perry and the erotic thriller Wild Things (1998) with Denise Richards and Matt Dillon, though she has turned to a more art house approach with the critically acclaimed Panic (2000) and, more recently, Last Call (2002), both directed by Henry Bromell.
She is an animal lover and describes herself as having a dry, often offensive sense of humor.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Robin Tunney studied acting at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, spending her summer performing in such plays as "Bus Stop" and "Agnes of God". She moved to Los Angeles at the age of eighteen and shortly landed roles in such television shows as Life Goes On (1989), Class of '96 (1993) (recurring), Law & Order (1990), HBO's Dream On (1990) and the ABC mini-series J.F.K.: Reckless Youth (1993), in which she played "Kit Kennedy". The Craft (1996) was Tunney's first film lead though she has appeared in many supporting roles.- Actress
- Soundtrack
"Fairuza!" ("Turquoise" in Farsi), her father exclaimed as he saw her blue eyes: Fairuza Alejandra Balk had just been born on May 21, 1974 in Point Reyes, California. Her father, Solomon Ben Feldthouse, was a traveling musician originally from Idaho, and her mother, Cathryn Balk, was a belly dancer. Her parents split up soon after. Fairuza grew up just north of San Francisco, California on a commune-type ranch. Her mother later found work in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was there that Fairuza began her career at age 9 on the ABC special The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983). Two years later, she went to the United Kingdom where she attended the Royal Academy of Ballet, the Ramona Beauchamp Agency, and the Bush Davies Performing Arts School. Fairuza worked for the Walt Disney Company for a while; at 11, she was chosen from 1,200 girls to star as Dorothy in Return to Oz (1985). The next year she starred, prophetically enough, as The Worst Witch (1986) a harbinger of her breakout role in The Craft (1996) 10 years later.
Fairuza and her mother remained in London until 1988, then went to Paris where the 15-year-old starred in Valmont (1989). The next year they returned to Vancouver and Fairuza enrolled in high school, but ended up doing correspondence courses after proving shy in class. Back in Hollywood she starred in a string of movies, including Gas Food Lodging (1992), for which she received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress. Following further television and film work, she achieved cult status with her starring role as a teenage witch in her breakout film, The Craft (1996). That year she also appeared in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), in which she did some belly-dancing and attracted the attention of Lancashire, England-born co-star David Thewlis. They did another movie together, American Perfekt (1997).
Fairuza was also the love interest in the wildly-popular The Waterboy (1998) and had a major role in American History X (1998). With a half-dozen movies for 2000, Fairuza is much in demand. Her interests are writing poetry and stories, playing the guitar, singing (her main enjoyment), and dancing. She lives in Venice, California and has an apartment in New York City.- Visual Effects
- Additional Crew
Paul Hynek is known for The Adventures of Tintin (2011), Flying Objects: A State Secret (2020) and Interview with the Extraterrestrial.- Additional Crew
J. Allen Hynek was a professor of Astronomy at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He was also the Founder of the Center for UFO Studies and first coined the phrase "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as a way to catagorize direct contact with aliens.- Producer
- Writer
- Sound Department
Andrew Gentile was born on 5 March 1972 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Why Files (2020), The Naughty Show (2011) and Stoned Science (2018). He is married to Jennifer M. Gentile.- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Phil Rosenthal was born on 27 January 1960 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), The Simpsons Movie (2007) and Coach (1989). He has been married to Monica Horan since 22 April 1990. They have two children.- Christian Convery has landed his position among young actors to watch working alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Christian, now 14, will next be seen starring opposite Theo James in Neon's Stephen King adaption: The Monkey. Additionally, he will next be seen starring opposite Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor in the J.J. Abrams and Warner Bros. feature film, Flowervale Street. To top it off, Christian will star opposite Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac in Guillermo Del Toro's Netflix feature film, Frankenstein.
Christian is best known for playing the title character in the chart-topping, award winning Netflix series, Sweet Tooth. Produced by Robert Downey Jr and Susan Downey, it is based on the popular comic books of the same name and ran for 3 seasons.
Most recently, Christian voiced the lead role of 'Chase' in Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Animation's Paw Patrol together with an A-list packed ensemble cast (including Kristen Bell, Jimmy Kimmel, James Marsden, Tyler Perry and Yara Shahidi) that smashed it at box offices, released September 29th, 2023.
This followed Christian's guest star appearance as 'Young Sanji' I in the Netflix series One Piece with hugely memorable scenes opposite Craig Fairbrass, released August 31st, 2023.
Additionally, Christian starred as 'Henry' in the Elizabeth Banks-directed comedy-horror-thriller epic Cocaine Bear alongside Keri Russell and O'Shea Jackson Jr. The Universal Pictures opened top of the box office when it released in theaters on February 24, 2023.
Christian's prior film/TV credits include: Highland Films' drama Tiger Rising (2022); Disney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021); Paramount Pictures' Playing with Fire (2019); Amazon's critically-acclaimed film Beautiful Boy (2018) opposite Timothee Chalamet and Steve Carell; Netflix's Pup Academy (2019-2022); Disney's Descendants 3 (2019); Marvel's Venom (2018); Syfy's Van Helsing; CW's Supernatural (2016) and more.
Since booking his first project at the age of six, Christian has showed no signs of slowing down and has upcoming project on the books. He is quickly garnering recognition as one of the more sought after young actors in Hollywood. His accolades include 21 awards, enjoying the added adventures of traveling the globe to meet fans at Comic Cons, Christian is a Los Angeles native and continues to relish in his passions of mountain, sand and surf activities to continue. - Actress
- Additional Crew
India Amarteifio was born on 17 September 2001 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Sex Education (2019), Line of Duty (2012) and Doctor Who (2005).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Adjoa Andoh was born on 14 January 1963 in Bristol, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Invictus (2009), Bridgerton (2020) and Fractured (2019). She has been married to Howard Cunnell since March 2001. They have two children.- Ruth Gemmell was born in October 1967 in Bristol, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Fever Pitch (1997), Primeval (2007) and Bridgerton (2020). She was previously married to Ray Stevenson.
- Golda Rosheuvel was born on 2 May 1970 in Guyana. She is an actress, known for Lady Macbeth (2016), Luther (2010) and Silent Witness (1996).
- Arsema was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but has lived most of her life across sub-Saharan Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Togo and Benin), where she picked up an interest in acting as a storytelling device. Born of a Nigerian father and Ethiopian mother, Arsema received her B.A. in Biological Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016 and her Masters of Public Health in Health Policy from Yale University in 2018.
After receiving her degree, she moved to South Africa where she auditioned for an agent, leading to her first professional screen role. In 2020 she enrolled into the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in London, UK, where she is working towards her Masters of Fine Arts in Professional Acting. She is due to graduate in the summer of 2022. - Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Julia Elizabeth Wells was born on October 1, 1935, in England. Her mother, Barbara Ward (Morris), and stepfather, both vaudeville performers, discovered her freakish but undeniably lovely four-octave singing voice and immediately got her a singing career. She performed in music halls throughout her childhood and teens, and at age 20, she launched her stage career in a London Palladium production of "Cinderella".
Andrews came to Broadway in 1954 with "The Boy Friend", and became a bona fide star two years later in 1956, in the role of Eliza Doolittle in the unprecedented hit "My Fair Lady". Her star status continued in 1957, when she starred in the TV-production of Cinderella (1957) and through 1960, when she played "Guenevere" in "Camelot".
In 1963, Walt Disney asked Andrews if she would like to star in his upcoming production, a lavish musical fantasy that combined live-action and animation. She agreed on the condition if she didn't get the role of Doolittle in the pending film production of My Fair Lady (1964). After Audrey Hepburn was cast in My Fair Lady, Andrews made an auspicious film debut in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (1964), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Andrews continued to work on Broadway, until the release of The Sound of Music (1965), the highest-grossing movie of its day and one of the highest-grossing of all time. She soon found that audiences identified her only with singing, sugary-sweet nannies and governesses, and were reluctant to accept her in dramatic roles in The Americanization of Emily (1964) and Alfred Hitchcock's thriller Torn Curtain (1966). In addition, the box-office showings of the musicals Julie subsequently made increasingly reflected the negative effects of the musical-film boom that she helped to create. Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) was for a time the most successful film Universal had released, but it still couldn't compete with Mary Poppins or The Sound of Music for worldwide acclaim and recognition. Star! (1968) and Darling Lili (1970) also bombed at the box office.
Fortunately, Andrews did not let this keep her down. She worked in nightclubs and hosted a TV variety series in the 1970s. In 1979, Andrews returned to the big screen, appearing in films directed by her husband Blake Edwards, with roles that were entirely different from anything she had been seen in before. Andrews starred in 10 (1979), S.O.B. (1981) and Victor/Victoria (1982), which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
She continued acting throughout the 1980s and 1990s in movies and TV, hosting several specials and starring in a short-lived sitcom. In 2001, she starred in The Princess Diaries (2001), alongside then-newcomer Anne Hathaway. The family film was one of the most successful G-Rated films of that year, and Andrews reprised her role as Queen Clarisse Renaldi in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). In recent years, Andrews appeared in Tooth Fairy (2010), as well as a number of voice roles in Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), Enchanted (2007), Shrek Forever After (2010), and Despicable Me (2010).- Michelle was born in July 1965, the second child of publican Brian and nurse Theresa Fairley. As a teenager she attended the Ulster Youth Theatre before moving to Belfast , where she was a member of Fringe Benefit, a repertory company where she acted alongside Conleth Hill, with whom she would later appear in television juggernaut 'Game of Thrones'. In 1986 she came to London and established herself as a considerable stage actress in 'Oleanna 'at the Royal Court, 'Dancing at Lughnasa' at the Old Vic, as Lady Macbeth with the West Yorkshire Playhouse and as Emilia, wife of the villainous Iago in the Donmar Warehouse's production of 'Othello', for which she was nominated for an Olivier award and on the strength of which she was offered the part of the fiercely matriarchal Lady Stark in 'Game of Thrones'. Following that character's demise she appeared in several American television series - '24', 'Suits' and 'The Lizzie Borden Chronicles ' - as well as playing the wife of (Southern) Irish Brendan Gleeson in the epic period film 'In the Heart of the Sea'. In 2015 she returned to Britain to appear in the play 'Splendour' in London and the television series 'Rebellion' chronicling the 1916 Easter Rising.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Visual Effects
Mike was born to Mr. & Mrs. Eddie Lee Colter Sr. He attended Benedict College where he was mentored and groomed his drama professor Scott Blanks. After transferring to the University of South Carolina where he attained a B.A. degree in theater, Mike went on to study at Mason Gross School of the Arts under renowned acting teachers William Esper and Maggie Flanigan. Upon receiving his MFA degree, Mike moved to L.A. where parts did not come easy, but after a few months he was able to grab a co-star on Spin City with Charlie Sheen followed by guest stars on E.R. and The Parkers with Mo'Nique. Mike then moved back to NYC to allow for the possibility of working in the theater as well, but as luck would have it Hollywood came calling again. He landed a role in 2005 Best Picture winner Million Dollar Baby opposite Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank and Morgan Freeman. He got the role without ever meeting Clint in person prior to the first day of shooting. The following year he received exceptional reviews for his turn as CJ Memphis a guitar-playing blues singer in The 2005 revival of the Pulitzer prize winning "A Soldier's Play." The play had been a big off-Broadway success and was made into a movie starring Denzel Washington and many of Hollywood's up-and-coming African-American actors in 1984. Mike kept his nose to the grindstone with a role in Adam Bock's new play "Drunken City" that world premiered at Playwrights Horizon in 2008. Mike splits his time between New York and L.A. working in film and television.- Katja Herbers is the daughter of violinist Vera Beths and oboist Werner Herbers. Growing up she spent time in America, accompanying her mother on tour with the chamber music group L'Archibudelli. Her mother remarried cellist Anner Bylsma and her father remarried costume designer Leonie Polak, who introduced her to the theater. She had a Canadian au pair and learned to speak Dutch, German, and English growing up.
Herbers went to the Ignatius Gymnasium in Amsterdam. She studied psychology at the University of Amsterdam. During her psychology studies she attended the local theatre school De Trap. She moved to New York and went to the HB Studio. She then got accepted to the Theaterschool in Amsterdam.
During her studies, she starred in the films Pietje Bell (2002) and Brush with Fate (2003). After graduation, Herbers became a member of Johan Simons' Theater Company NTGent in Ghent. She then joined the renowned Munich Kammerspiele in Germany. She worked with directors such as Alex van Warmerdam, Ivo van Hove and Theu Boermans under whose direction she performed many Schnitzler plays, including his monologue Fräulein Else, for which she received rave reviews. In 2013, she won the Guido de Moor Award for young talent, for her portrayal of Irina in Chekhov's Three Sisters. She played a lead role in Theu Boermans' The Chosen, which won an International Emmy and the prestigious Prix D'Europe.
Katja is also a gifted singer and has performed Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai - a composition inspired by the great Schubert and Schumann songs by Reinbert de Leeuw especially written for an actress.
While achieving many successes on stage, Katja continued filming as well. She worked with the Oscar Nominated and International Emmy Awarded Director Ben Sombogaart on the Dutch blockbuster feature De storm (2009). Critics raved about her portrayal of the Dutch Queen (then Princess) Maxima in the mini-series Beatrix, Oranje onder Vuur (2012). Rudolf van den Berg directed her in the feature film Süskind (2012), in which she played the right hand of Dutch war hero Walter Süskind, who helped escape over a thousand children during World War II. Jelle de Jonge directed her in the romantic comedy Love Over Distance (2017), which she co-wrote.
Really all of Holland knows her for her portrayal of the emotionally unstable but lovable Joyce in the TV hit series Divorce (2012), which glues a record breaking 25% of all Dutch television viewers to the screen every Sunday evening.
Internationally, Katja is known for playing physicist Helen Prins on Sam Shaw's Manhattan (2014). She had a recurring role on season three of FX's The Americans (2013). She played Dr. Eden on the final season of HBO's The Leftovers (2014), and starred opposite Mark Duplass in Manhunt (2017).
In 2018 she joined HBO's Westworld (2016) as Grace/Emily.
Katja divides her time between Los Angeles, New York and Amsterdam. - Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Aasif Mandvi was born on 5 March 1966 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. He is an actor and producer, known for Million Dollar Arm (2014), Evil (2019) and The Proposal (2009). He has been married to Shaifali Puri since 26 August 2017.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Michael Emerson was born on 7 September 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. He is an actor, known for Saw (2004), Lost (2004) and Person of Interest (2011). He has been married to Carrie Preston since 5 September 1998.- Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
Christine Lahti was born April 4, 1950 in Birmingham, Michigan, to Elizabeth Margaret (Tabar), a painter and nurse, and Paul Theodore Lahti, a surgeon. She is of half Finnish and half Austro-Hungarian descent. She studied fine arts at Florida State University and received a bachelors degree in drama from the University of Michigan. In New York, Christine worked as a waitress and did commercials before she found her breakthrough role in And Justice for All (1979) with Al Pacino. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Swing Shift (1984) and won an Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action for Lieberman in Love (1995) in which she starred and directed. Throughout her acting career, Christine primarily focused on television, with performances in Chicago Hope (1994), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Heralded as "one of the funniest women on Broadway" by the New York Times, ANDREA MARTIN is a multi-talented award-winning actress who won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in MY FAVORITE YEAR. She has since become the featured actress with the most Tony Award nominations in a musical, with a record number for her performances in CANDIDE (also Drama Desk Award nomination), OKLAHOMA! (also Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (also Drama Desk Award nomination), and PIPPIN for which she received Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Elliot Norton, and IRNE Awards. Her Broadway appearance in the revival of NOISES OFF earned her an additional Tony Award nomination. She has also been seen on stage in the revival of EXIT THE KING (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), in the Broadway adaptation of Moss Hart's ACT ONE (Outer Critics Circle Award), which also aired on PBS, and in her one-person play NUDE NUDE TOTALLY NUDE (Drama Desk Award nomination).
Martin received two Emmy Awards for writing and an Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Variety Series for her work on the legendary sketch comedy show SCTV. She also received a special Emmy Award for her contributions on SESAME STREET and had her own special for Showtime, ANDREA MARTIN, TOGETHER AGAIN. Her additional television appearances include HAIRSPRAY LIVE!, MODERN FAMILY, UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT, 30 ROCK, THE GOOD FIGHT, and HARLEM. Following her simultaneous runs on the NBC comedy series GREAT NEWS and the Hulu series DIFFICULT PEOPLE. Martin appears in the hit Hulu show, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, as well as the Paramount + series EVIL, for which she received a Critics Choice Award nomination.
Martin's film appearances include CANNIBAL GIRLS, CLUB PARADISE, STEPPING OUT, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS, WAG THE DOG, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, ALL OVER THE GUY, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 3, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (SAG Award nomination for Best Ensemble and People's Choice Award), and its sequels MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2 and 3.
Martin recently received a star on the Canada Walk of Fame. Her critically acclaimed book LADY PARTS was released by Harper Collins.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Peter Scolari was born on 12 September 1955 in New Rochelle, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Newhart (1982), Girls (2012) and That Thing You Do! (1996). He was married to Tracy Shayne, Cathy Trien, Debra Steagall and Lisa Kretzschmar. He died on 22 October 2021 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Actress
- Writer
- Stunts
Melissa Navia is a Colombian-American actor and writer. Born and raised in New York, she has portrayed a myriad of singular characters on both the stage and screen, including guest star appearances on Billions, Dietland, and Bull. Navia stars in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as Lt. Erica Ortegas, helmsman of the USS Enterprise. She also plays the banjo and is trained in martial arts and sword fighting.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Rebecca Alie Romijn was born on November 6, 1972 in Berkeley, California. Her father was Dutch-born and worked as a custom-furniture maker. Her mother was American-born, with Dutch and English ancestry, and was a teacher of English. Rebecca attended Berkeley High School where her nickname was the "Jolly Blond Giant", then she attended the University of California at Santa Cruz where she majored in Music, but left in 1995.
She was a natural for modeling, and has posed for Sports Illustrated, Christian Dior and Victoria's Secret, to name but a few. Rebecca first met John Stamos in 1994, at a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and had her first date with him at Disneyland. They married in September 1998, but have since gotten divorced.
Rebecca's favorite foods are fillet mignon, tuna sashimi and Häagen-Dazs Cappuccino Commotion ice cream. But to keep her weight at a svelte 130 pounds, she stays fit with a rigorous stretching and strengthening routine (her firm body tone is evident when compared to photos of her earlier modeling, where she was very slim but not toned). Rebecca's most famous movie role, so far, was as the shapeshifting Mystique in X-Men (2000), based on the long-running comic book series about teenage mutant superheroes (that Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created in 1962). To play Mystique every day, Rebecca had to start out nude, and then two female makeup artists would apply blue body paint and other stick-on parts for 8 hours a day. Rebecca told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) that things like tissue paper would stick to her hips; and, one day, the long hours of wearing sticky paint makeup made her so upset that director Bryan Singer told her to have a glass of white wine and relax. Notwithstanding those technical difficulties, X-Men (2000) was a box-office bonanza, and Rebecca's future in films was assured.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Babs Olusanmokun is an actor, best known for Denis Villeneuve's Academy Award-winning Dune (2021), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022 - ), Nicolas Winding Refn's Too Old To Die Young (2019), Black Mirror (2017). He is multilingual, fluent in Portuguese, French and Yoruba and a third degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He lives in New York City.- Celia Rose Gooding is an American actress and singer. They made their Broadway debut and rose to prominence for the role of Mary Frances "Frankie" Healy in the rock musical Jagged Little Pill for which they won a 2021 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and was nominated for a 2020 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest nominees in the category at age 20. Their mother is LaChanze, an American actress, singer, and dancer. Gooding plays the role of Nyota Uhura in the Paramount+ original series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-present).
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
American stage, screen and television actress, and comedian Carol Kane (b. Carolyn Laurie Kane, June 18, 1952, in Cleveland, Ohio), was born to Elaine Joy (née Fetterman), a jazz singer and pianist, and Michael Myron Kane, an architect. Her family is Jewish (from Russia, Poland, and Austria). Due to her parents' divorce, Carol spent most of her childhood in boarding schools until 1965. She also attended Professional Children's School in Upper West Side New York, and made her professional theater debut in a 1966 production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) starring Tammy Grimes. Kane, just 14 years old.
At 20 years old, Kane landed the lead role in William Fruets World War II film, Wedding in White (1972). Kane starred as Jeannie Dougall, a teenager whom after is raped is left with a moral dilemma when she discovers that the incident has left her pregnant. The actress received a surprise Academy Award nomination for her performance in the 1974 independent film, Hester Street (1975); Times of Israel describes Kane's character, Gitl, as "a straight-from-the-shtetl immigrant who, with her young son, joins her husband (Steven Keats) who is already halfway assimilated in New York's Lower East Side; the push and the pull between tradition and change drive the story to its bittersweet conclusion."
The following decade, from 1980-1983, she appeared on the television series Taxi (1978). Kane portrayed Simka Dahblitz-Gravas, wife of Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman). She received two Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe nomination for her work in the series. Over the years, Kane racked up tons of credits from Taxi and The Princess Bride (1987), to Scrooged (1988), and more recently, the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015); the actress is making audiences laugh by playing Lillian Kaushtupper, in a recent interview, Kane described Lillian as "a hardworking landlady in Harlem who is very attached to the life in New York as she's known it."- Kyo Ra was born on 23 April 2001. She is an actress, known for The Sandman (2022), Geeked Week Unlocked: Sandman (2022) and IMDb on the Scene - Interviews (2017).
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Kirby is an actress who is best known for her memorable roles in "Killing Eve," "The Good Place," "Barry," "Why Women Kill," and "Veronica Mars." Her other television credits include "Infinity Train," "Love," 'Downward Dog," "House Of Lies," and "Comedy Bang! Bang!."
In 2021, Kirby was seen in the Disney feature "Cruella", opposite Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, and starred in the STX Films comedy "Queenpins," a two-hander with Kristen Bell and Kirby in co-leading roles. She was also seen in the independent feature "Silent Night," and appeared in Saban Films' dark romantic comedy "Happily."- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Max Casella was born in Washington D.C. to David Deitch, a fiercely political journalist and second-generation Jewish immigrant to The Bronx, and Doris Casella, a social worker and activist from Long Island and daughter of Italian fashion designer John Casella.
His father's writing for The Boston Globe, among other publications, took the family of four to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they lived through Max's high school years.
Casella's acting career began with iconic roles; he filmed Disney's Newsies while on set breaks from playing Vinnie Delpino on the series Doogie Howser, M.D., and has since added every category to his arsenal, from Broadway, Shakespeare and an Ethan Coen play on stage, festival hits to blockbusters in film, video game voicing, and many memorable characters in culturally-iconic period television shows.
Most recently, Max starred in the Onur Tukel masked indie film Scenes From an Empty Church made during quarantine, opposite Blake Lively and Jude Law in The Rhythm Section directed by Reed Morano, and in Sundance favorites Late Night by Mindy Kaling and Night Comes On, starring Dominique Fishback and directed by Jordana Spiro. Other film credits include the Academy Award-nominated Jackie with Natalie Portman, Woody Allen titles Wonder Wheel and Blue Jasmine with Cate Blanchett, Ben Affleck's crime drama Live By Night, Spike Lee's Oldboy, the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis, Tukel's Applesauce, The Last of Robin Hood (as legendary director Stanley Kubrick), Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly, Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road, Harold Ramis' Analyze This with Robert DeNiro, Tim Burton's Ed Wood, and Newsies. As a filmmaker himself, he's collaborated with friends on independent marvels, most notably a folkloric showcase of Italian musicians by John Turturro called Passioné.
On television, Casella spent five seasons on The Sopranos as Benny Fazio and was a series regular on HBO's Vinyl, as well as in Woody Allen's Crisis In Six Scenes, NBC's Shades of Blue, and HBO's Boardwalk Empire. He recurs on Amazon's award-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and on seasons of Ray Donovan and TBS' The Detour.
Casella made his Broadway debut as Timon in the original cast of Julie Taymor's Tony Award-winning musical The Lion King, for which he received a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut and a Drama Desk Nomination. Often getting cast in shows for which he plays multiple roles, his many stage credits include Ethan Coen's collection of vignettes 'A Play is A Poem' with the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, Simon McBurney's stage adaptation of the Robert Evans autobiography 'The Kid Stays In The Picture' at the Royal Court Theatre in London, Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park production of 'Troilus And Cressida', and as Nick Bottom in Julie Taymor's critically acclaimed production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at Theatre for a New Audience, which was filmed for theatrical release by Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto. As a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company, he starred alongside Ellen Burstyn in The Atmosphere of Memory, and at BAM in Endgame with again longtime collaborator John Turturro; they as well led Souls of Naples, which then toured to Italy as the country's beloved play. Later in Italy, Max starred in and curated music for John's and his adaptation (with Katherine Borowitz and Carl Capatorto) of author Italo Calvino's folk tales, Fiabe Italiane.
An animated storyteller and illustrator, Max is writing a TV series and other works about being raised by raucous iconoclasts while living with pituitary dwarfism, a hormonal condition that inhibits growth, and that in fact accounted for his eligibility for many of the roles he landed as a "child actor" when in his twenties.
He has two children, Mia and Gioia, with educator and set teacher Leona Casella.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Sylvester Stallone is an athletically built, dark-haired American actor/screenwriter/director/producer, the movie fans worldwide have been flocking to see Stallone's films for over 40 years, making "Sly" one of Hollywood's biggest-ever box office draws.
Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6, 1946, in New York's gritty Hell's Kitchen, to Jackie Stallone (née Labofish), an astrologer, and Frank Stallone, a beautician and hairdresser. His father was an Italian immigrant, and his mother's heritage is half French (from Brittany) and half German. The young Stallone attended the American College of Switzerland and The University of Miami, eventually obtaining a B.A. degree. Initially, he struggled in small parts in films such as the soft-core The Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970), the thriller Klute (1971) and the comedy Bananas (1971). He got a crucial career break alongside fellow young actor Henry Winkler, sharing lead billing in the effectively written teen gang film The Lords of Flatbush (1974). Further film and television roles followed, most of them in uninspiring productions except for the opportunity to play a megalomaniac, bloodthirsty race driver named "Machine Gun Joe Viterbo" in the Roger Corman-produced Death Race 2000 (1975). However, Stallone was also keen to be recognized as a screenwriter, not just an actor, and, inspired by the 1975 Muhammad Ali-Chuck Wepner fight in Cleveland, Stallone wrote a film script about a nobody fighter given the "million to one opportunity" to challenge for the heavyweight title. Rocky (1976) became the stuff of cinematic legends, scoring ten Academy Award nominations, winning the Best Picture Award of 1976 and triggering one of the most financially successful movie series in history! Whilst full credit is wholly deserved by Stallone, he was duly supported by tremendous acting from fellow cast members Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith and Burt Young, and director John G. Avildsen gave the film an emotive, earthy appeal from start to finish. Stallone had truly arrived on his terms, and offers poured in from various studios eager to secure Hollywood's hottest new star.
Stallone followed Rocky (1976) with F.I.S.T. (1978), loosely based on the life of Teamsters boss "Jimmy Hoffa", and Paradise Alley (1978) before pulling on the boxing gloves again to resurrect Rocky Balboa in the sequel Rocky II (1979). The second outing for the "Italian Stallion" wasn't as powerful or successful as the first "Rocky", however, it still produced strong box office. Subsequent films Nighthawks (1981) and Victory (1981) failed to ignite with audiences, so Stallone was once again lured back to familiar territory with Rocky III (1982) and a fearsome opponent in "Clubber Lang" played by muscular ex-bodyguard Mr. T. The third "Rocky" installment far outperformed the first sequel in box office takings, but Stallone retired his prizefighter for a couple of years as another series was about to commence for the busy actor.
The character of Green Beret "John Rambo" was the creation of Canadian-born writer David Morrell, and his novel was adapted to the screen with Stallone in the lead role in First Blood (1982), also starring Richard Crenna and Brian Dennehy. The movie was a surprise hit that polarized audiences because of its commentary about the Vietnam war, which was still relatively fresh in the American public's psyche. Political viewpoints aside, the film was a worldwide smash, and a sequel soon followed with Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), which drew even stronger criticism from several quarters owing to the film's plot line about American MIAs allegedly being held in Vietnam. But they say there is no such thing as bad publicity, and "John Rambo's" second adventure was a major money spinner for Stallone and cemented him as one of the top male stars of the 1980s. Riding a wave of amazing popularity, Stallone called on old sparring partner Rocky Balboa to climb back into the ring to defend American pride against a Soviet threat in the form of a towering Russian boxer named "Ivan Drago" played by curt Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV (1985). The fourth outing was somewhat controversial with "Rocky" fans, as violence levels seemed excessive compared to previous "Rocky" films, especially with the savage beating suffered by Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers, at the hands of the unstoppable "Siberian Express".
Stallone continued forward with a slew of macho character-themed films that met with a mixed reception from his fans. Cobra (1986) was a clumsy mess, Over the Top (1987) was equally mediocre, Rambo III (1988) saw Rambo take on the Russians in Afghanistan, and cop buddy film Tango & Cash (1989) just did not quite hit the mark, although it did feature a top-notch cast and there was chemistry between Stallone and co-star Kurt Russell.
Philadelphia's favorite mythical boxer moved out of the shadows for his fifth screen outing in Rocky V (1990) tackling Tommy "Machine" Gunn played by real-life heavyweight fighter Tommy Morrison, the great-nephew of screen legend John Wayne. Sly quickly followed with the lukewarm comedy Oscar (1991), the painfully unfunny Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), the futuristic action film Demolition Man (1993), and the comic book-inspired Judge Dredd (1995). Interestingly, Stallone then took a departure from the gung-ho steely characters he had been portraying to stack on a few extra pounds and tackle a more dramatically challenging role in the intriguing Cop Land (1997), also starring Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta. It isn't a classic of the genre, but Cop Land (1997) certainly surprised many critics with Stallone's understated performance. Stallone then lent his vocal talents to the animated adventure story Antz (1998), reprised the role made famous by Michael Caine in a terrible remake of Get Carter (2000), climbed back into a race car for Driven (2001), and guest-starred as the "Toymaker" in the third chapter of the immensely popular "Spy Kids" film series, Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003). Showing that age had not wearied his two most popular series, Stallone has most recently brought back never-say-die boxer Rocky Balboa to star in, well, what else but Rocky Balboa (2006), and Vietnam veteran Rambo (2008) will reappear after a 20-year hiatus to once again right wrongs in the jungles of Thailand.
Love him or loathe him, Sylvester Stallone has built an enviable and highly respected career in Hollywood, plus, he has considerably influenced modern popular culture through several of his iconic film characters.- Actor
- Cinematographer
- Producer
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Greg Newkirk is an award winning producer, full-time paranormal investigator, and founder of the world's only mobile museum of the unexplained. In other words, he's a professional weirdo. For the last two and a half decades, Newkirk has been tracking down and investigating cases of high strangeness ranging from flying saucer crashes to cursed artifacts and everything in between. Whether he's guiding beloved actor Jeff Goldblum on a Bigfoot hunt for Disney+, building ancient spirit communication devices on the Travel Channel, or orchestrating mind-blowing alien abduction experiments in the hit series Hellier, Greg has become the go-to source for new and exciting adventures into the unknown. When the going gets weird, the weird call Greg Newkirk.- Actor
- Writer
Chris Barnett is known for Pay to Play (2020), How They Met Themselves (2022) and Sucks for us all (2018).- Producer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Jaime Maussan is known for El mito y la magia de Rufino Tamayo (1978), Los archivos secretos de Jaime Maussan (2009) and El sexto sol (1991).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Da'Vine Joy Randolph made her Broadway and West End debuts starring as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost the Musical (2012 Tony Award® Nomination, Best Featured Actress in a Musical). A Philadelphia native, she is an alum of Temple University in Theater with a concentration in Musical Theater and then attended Yale School of Drama for her Masters. Regional stage credits include Servant of Two Masters at Yale Repertory Theater and Hair at Prince Music Theater.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Zoë Kravitz has captivated audiences in diverse group of acclaimed major motion picture films, notable independent releases and blockbuster franchises including The Batman, Mad Max and Fantastic Beasts, as well as the celebrated EMMY® Award-winning series Big Little Lies.
Following her role both starring in and Executive Producing the critically acclaimed series adaption of High Fidelity for Hulu, Kravitz most recently starred as Selina Kyle in Matt Reeves and Warner Bros.' acclaimed blockbuster film The Batman. In 2024, Kravitz will make her directorial debut with the original motion picture film, Blink Twice. Written by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum, the film will star Naomi Ackie alongside Channing Tatum.
At the onset of this multi-talented entertainer's career, Variety touted her among its "10Actors to Watch," while Forbes spotlighted Kravitz on their coveted "30 Under 30 List." She has since gained global recognition and was recently named one of "the most influential people of 2022" by TIME.
Outside of her film endeavors, Kravitz is the global face of YSL Beauty and a brand ambassador for Saint Laurent, as well as the face of YSL's Black Opium fragrance.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
David H. Holmes is known for High Fidelity (2020), Mindhunter (2017) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).- Rainbow Sun Francks was born on 3 December 1979 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), Stargate: Atlantis (2004) and The Listener (2009).
- Actress
- Producer
- Stunts
Anjali was born in Cleveland, OH and raised in Orange County, CA, by Drs. Ela and Bharat Bhimani. After performing in school and community theatre for most of her young life, she went on to earn a degree in theatre from Northwestern University's highly acclaimed theatre school, with a certificate in musical theatre. After leaving Northwestern, she went on to perform at several regional theatre companies including the Goodman, the Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and others and to collaborate extensively with director Mary Zimmerman, eventually moving to New York when Mary's Metamorphoses moved to Second Stage off -Broadway and Circle in the Square on Broadway, earning the play a Tony nomination for Best Play. Anjali continued performing on Broadway when she joined the cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams, going on to take over the role of Bollywood diva Rani in the hit musical. Other collaborations include working with Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak on their production of Comedy on the Bridge/Brundibar, the world premiere of The Existents, starring and with music by Ty Taylor, A Widow of No Importance by Shane Shakrani, and as Safia Das in playwright D. Tucker Smith's epic adventure romance, Roof of the World, among many more. On television and film, Anjali has been seen as tiger mom Nina Patel on ABC's hit comedy, Modern Family. Other notable appearances include Marvel's Runaways, S.W.A.T., Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Grace and Frankie, Miss India America, Silicon Valley, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Fosters, Necessary Roughness, Law and Order: SVU, The Sopranos, and more. Since 2016, Anjali has been known worldwide as the voice of the reality bending hero Symmetra in Blizzard Entertainment's wildly popular video game Overwatch, along with other gaming heroes and villains such as Nisha from Fallout 4: Nuka World and Kala in Indivisible. In the gaming community she is also known for her work as the headstrong Mrs. Miriam Landisman on the series Undeadwood, produced by Critical Role Studios, and as the hardened sniper Stingray We're Alive: Frontier by Geek and Sundry. In 2017, she created the positivity and life-hacking webseries I Am Fun Size on YouTube, a series in which she shares her experiences and interviews other well-known performers in order to help people looking to live fuller, bigger lives.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Javier "Harvey" Guillén is a Mexican-American actor who is best known for his role as the human familiar Guillermo de la Cruz in the 2019 television series "What We Do in the Shadows." Guillén has appeared in recurring roles on a number of television series, such as Alistair Delgado on "Huge" (2010), Cousin Blobbin on "The Thundermans" (2013-2018), George Reyes in "Eye Candy" (2015), and Benedict Pickwick on "The Magicians" (2017-2018). He also appeared in the 2013 film "The Internship."- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Antonio Banderas, one of Spain's most famous faces, was a soccer player until breaking his foot at the age of fourteen; he is now an international movie star known for playing Zorro in the eponymous movie series.
He was born José Antonio Domínguez Banderas on August 10, 1960, in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. His father, Jose Dominguez, was a policeman in the Spanish civil guards. His mother, Doña Ana Banderas Gallego, was a school teacher. Young Banderas was brought up a Roman Catholic. He wanted to play soccer professionally and made much success playing for his school team until the age of 14, albeit his dream ended when he broke his foot. At that time, he developed a passion for theatre after seeing the stage production of "Hair". Banderas began his acting studies at the School of Dramatic Arts in Málaga, and made his acting debut at a small theatre in Málaga. He was arrested by the Spanish police for performance in a play by Bertolt Brecht, because of political censorship under the rule of General Francisco Franco. Banderas spent a whole night at the police station, he had three or four such arrests while he was working with a small theatre troupe that toured all over Spain and was giving performances in small town theatres and on the street.
In 1979, at age 19, he moved to Madrid in pursuit of an acting career. Being a struggling young actor, he also worked as a waiter and took small modeling jobs. At that time, he joined the troupe at the National Theatre of Spain, becoming the youngest member of the company. Banderas' stage performances caught the attention of movie director Pedro Almodóvar, who cast the young actor in his movie debut Labyrinth of Passion (1982). Banderas and Almodovar joined forces in making innovative and sexually provocative movies during the 1980s. In 1984, Banderas made headlines in Spain with his performance as a gay man, making his first male-to-male on-screen kiss in Almodovar's Law of Desire (1987). Banderas' long and fruitful collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar eventually prepared him for international recognition that came with his work in the Academy Award-nominated film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988). In 1991, he appeared as an object of Madonna's affection in Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991).
In 1992, Banderas made his Hollywood debut with The Mambo Kings (1992). Because he did not speak English at that time, his dialogue for the movie was taught to him phonetically. Banderas shot to international fame with his sensitive performance as a lover of Tom Hanks' AIDS-infected lawyer in Philadelphia (1993), then played opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994). Banderas further established himself as one of Hollywood's leading men after co-starring in Evita (1996) opposite Madonna in the title role. In 1998, he won acclaim for his portrayal of Zorro, opposite Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones, in The Mask of Zorro (1998). For the role as Zorro, Banderas took training with the Olympic national fencing team in Spain, and practiced his moves with real steel swords, then he used the lighter aluminum swords in the movie. He also took a month-long course of horse-riding before the filming. He later returned to the role in The Legend of Zorro (2005). In 1999, Banderas made his directorial debut in Crazy in Alabama (1999), starring his wife, Melanie Griffith. He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros opposite Salma Hayek in Frida (2002). He voiced Puss in Boots in the Shrek franchise.
Banderas established himself as internationally known Latin heartthrob with charismatic looks, and was chosen as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People magazine in 1996. He won numerous awards and nominations for his works in film, including three ALMA awards and three Golden Globe nominations, among many other. From 1996 to 2014, Banderas was married to American actress Melanie Griffith and the couple have one daughter, Stella (born 1996). Outside of his acting profession, Banderas has been a passionate soccer fan and a staunch supporter of the Real Madrid Football Club. He shares time between his two residencies, one in the United States, and one in the South of Spain.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Betsy Sodaro was born on 10 June 1984 in Leadville, Colorado, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), The Out-Laws (2023) and The To Do List (2013).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Matteo Lane was born on 28 June 1986 in Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Matteo Lane: The Advice Special Part 2 (2023), Upgraded (2024) and Molli and Max in the Future (2023). He has been married to Rodrigo Aburto since 19 August 2023.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Keegan-Michael Key was born in Southfield, Michigan and raised in Detroit. He was adopted as a child by a black father and a white mother. In 1989, he graduated from Shrine Catholic High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. Key attended the University of Detroit Mercy as an undergraduate and earned his Master of Fine Arts in Theater at Pennsylvania State University. While at The University of Detroit Mercy, he was a brother of Phi Kappa Theta.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Jordan Peele is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning director, writer, actor, producer, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions. Peele's first feature film, "Get Out," was a critically acclaimed blockbuster, recognized with four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film would earn Peele the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. His second feature, "Us," broke numerous box-office records, becoming the biggest opening for an R-rated original film in history when released in March of 2019 to widespread critical praise. Peele's third feature, the original horror epic, "Nope," opened in the summer of 2022 to rave reviews, the No. 1 slot at the box office, and once again becoming a widely discussed cultural phenomenon. Five years in the making, Peele produced and co-wrote Henry Selick's stop-motion animated feature, "Wendell & Wild," to which he also lent his voice as one of the title characters. Under the Monkeypaw banner, Peele co-wrote and produced Nia DaCosta's "Candyman" which made history as the first film helmed by a Black woman director to open at No. 1 at the box office. He also produced Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," which earned a nomination for Best Picture and won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He has also served as executive producer for numerous television series, including "Hunters" (Amazon), "Lovecraft Country" (HBO), and "The Twilight Zone" (CBS). Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Peele was a celebrated comedian who was the co-star and co-creator of "Key & Peele" on Comedy Central.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Captivating, gifted, and sensational, Angela Bassett's presence has been felt in theaters and on stages and television screens throughout the world. Angela Evelyn Bassett was born on August 16, 1958 in New York City, to Betty Jane (Gilbert), a social worker, and Daniel Benjamin Bassett, a preacher's son. Bassett and her sister D'nette grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida with their mother. As a single mother, Betty stressed the importance of education for her children. With the assistance of an academic scholarship, Bassett matriculated into Yale University. In 1980, she received her B.A. in African-American studies from Yale University. In 1983, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale School of Drama. It was at Yale that Bassett met her husband, Courtney B. Vance, a 1986 graduate of the Drama School.
Bassett first appeared in small roles on The Cosby Show (1984) and Spenser: For Hire (1985), but it was not until 1990 that a spate of television roles brought her notice. Her breakthrough role, though, was playing Tina Turner, whom she had never seen perform before taking the role, in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). Bassett's performance earned her an Academy Award nomination and a Golded Globe Award for Best Actress.- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Actress Tantoo Cardinal is a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honors. The order recognizes Cardinal for her contributions to the growth and development of Aboriginal performing arts in Canada.
Arguably the most widely recognized Native Actress of her generation, Cardinal has appeared in numerous plays, television programs, and films, including Legends of the Fall, Dances With Wolves, Black Robe, Loyalties, Luna, Spirit of the Whale, Unnatural & Accidental, Marie-Anne, Sioux City, Silent Tongue, Mothers & Daughters, and Smoke Signals. Recent work includes the films Eden, Maina, Shouting Secrets and From Above.
Her stirring performance in Loyalties earned her a Genie nomination, American Indian Film Festival Best Actress Award, the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, plus Best Actress Awards at International Film Festivals in Zimbabwe and Portugal.
Cardinal was recently honored with the 2015 ACTRA Award of Excellence; other honors include Best Actress - Elizabeth Sterling Award in Theatre for All My Relations, and First Americans in the Arts Totem Award for her portrayal of the character Katrina in Widows at the Forum Stage in Los Angeles. She won the American Indian Film Festival's Best Actress Award as well as the first Rudy Martin Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Native American in Film for Where the Rivers Flow North, a Gemini Award for North of 60, and a Leo Award for Blackstone.
Her television credits include recurring roles on the series: Blackstone, The Killing, Arctic Air, Strange Empire, The Guard, North of 60, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, The Lightening Field, Street Legal, The Campbell's, Gunsmoke, Tom Stone, Myth Quest, Lonesome Dove, and Renegade Press.com. MOW's include Full Flood, The Englishman's Boy, Dreamkeeper and the PBS documentary Nobody's Girls.
For her contributions to the Native Artistic community, Cardinal won the Eagle Spirit Award. She has also been honored with the MacLeans' magazine Honor Roll as Actress of the Year, the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Toronto Women in Film and Television, an International Women in Film Award for her lasting contribution to the arts, and induction to the CBC/Playback Hall of Fame.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
David Harewood was born on 8 December 1965 in Birmingham, England, UK. He is an actor and director, known for Blood Diamond (2006), The Merchant of Venice (2004) and Supergirl (2015). He has been married to Kirsty Handy since 26 February 2013. They have two children.- Abigail Lawrie was born in 1997 in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. She is an actress, known for Tin Star (2017), Our Ladies (2019) and The Man with the Iron Heart (2017).
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Often mistaken for an American because of his skill at imitating accents, actor Tim Roth was born Timothy Simon Roth on May 14, 1961 in Lambeth, London, England. His mother, Ann, was a teacher and landscape painter. His father, Ernie, was a journalist who had changed the family name from "Smith" to "Roth"; Ernie was born in Brooklyn, New York, to an immigrant family of Irish ancestry.
Tim grew up in Dulwich, a middle-class area in the south of London. He demonstrated his talent for picking up accents at an early age when he attended school in Brixton, where he faced persecution from classmates for his comfortable background and quickly perfected a cockney accent to blend in. He attended Camberwell Art College and studied sculpture before he dropped out and pursued acting.
The blonde actor's first big break was the British TV movie Made in Britain (1982). Roth made a huge splash in that film as a young skinhead named Trevor. He next worked with director Mike Leigh on Meantime (1983), which he has counted among his favorite projects. He debuted on the big screen when he filled in for Joe Strummer in the Stephen Frears neo-noir The Hit (1984). Roth gained more attention for his turn as Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent & Theo (1990) and his work opposite Gary Oldman in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990).
He moved to Los Angeles in search of work and caught the eye of young director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino had envisioned Roth as a possible Mr. Blonde or Mr. Pink in his heist flick Reservoir Dogs (1992), but Roth campaigned for the role of Mr. Orange instead, and ultimately won the part. It proved to be a huge breakthrough for Roth, as audiences found it difficult to forget his performance as a member of a group of jewelry store robbers who is slowly bleeding to death. Tarantino cast Roth again in the landmark film Pulp Fiction (1994). Roth and actress Amanda Plummer played a pair of robbers who hold up a restaurant. 1995 saw the third of Roth's collaborations with Tarantino, a surprisingly slapstick performance in the anthology film Four Rooms (1995). That same year Roth picked up an Academy Award nomination for his campy turn as a villain in the period piece Rob Roy (1995).
Continuing to take on disparate roles, Roth did his own singing (with an American accent to boot) in the lightweight Woody Allen musical Everyone Says I Love You (1996). He starred opposite Tupac Shakur in Shakur's last film, the twisted comedy Gridlock'd (1997). The pair received positive critical notices for their comic chemistry. Standing in contrast to the criminals and baddies that crowd his CV, Roth's work as the innocent, seafaring pianist in the Giuseppe Tornatore film The Legend of 1900 (1998) became something of a fan favorite. Grittier fare followed when Roth made his directorial debut with The War Zone (1999), a frank, critically acclaimed drama about a family torn apart by incest. He made his next high-profile appearance as an actor as General Thade, an evil simian in the Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes (2001). Roth was, of course, all but unrecognizable in his primate make-up.
Roth has continued to enjoy a mix of art house and mainstream work, including everything from the lead role in Francis Ford Coppola's esoteric Youth Without Youth (2007) to becoming "The Abomination" in the special effects-heavy blockbuster The Incredible Hulk (2008). Roth took his first major American television role when he signed on to the Fox-TV series Lie to Me (2009)- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Bassem Ra'fat Mohamed Youssef is an Egyptian cardiac surgeon, satirist, and the host of El Bernameg ("The Program"), a satirical news program broad casted by Egyptian television station Capital Broadcast Center (CBC). The press has compared Youssef with American comedian Jon Stewart, whose satire program The Daily Show inspired Youssef to begin his career. Bassem began his first satirical show in March 2011 in response to the Egyptian Revolution. Entitled The B+ Show, the program was uploaded to his YouTube Channel.[4] The show mainly consisted of satirical political programs via the Internet after the revolution of January 25. Bassem began his presentation on YouTube on March 8, 2011, with more than 108 episodes of the program. The episode view count has surpassed 15 million views on YouTube After the success of The B+ Show, Egyptian channel ONTV, owned by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, offered Youssef a deal for El Bernameg (literally, "The Show").[5] The show premiered during Ramadan 2011 with Egyptian-American engineer Muhammad Radwan as its first guest.[6][7] Youssef has parodied Egyptian celebrities like talk show host Tawfik Okasha, composer Amr Mostafa, Salafist presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, and Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and onetime presidential candidate, in his show. Bassem Youssef was also hosted by Jon Stewart on his show on the 21st of June, 2012. The show "El Bernameg" was renewed for a second season after a contract with a second channel, CBC (Capital Broadcast Center) , which premiered on November 23rd, 2012. Just three episodes into the show, several lawsuits have been filed against Bassem Youssef and his show, mainly for "insult and defamation". On the season's premiere, Bassem made the owner and coworkers of his channel the subject of his show, as an assurance that he is granted full freedom of expression, and that no topic was off limits.[8][9] CBC did not, however air his second episode, which also featured further criticism of a TV show host who filed a lawsuit against Bassem. "The Show" was resumed, however on its third episode. The program, which began with a small group working at home with Youssef, moved from the smallest studio broadcasting on an Online TV Channel to the Cinema Radio downtown, a theatre redesigned in the likeness of New York's Radio City, where The program broadcasts in front of a live studio audience. The contents of a typical show's broadcast have evolved, which began with a sarcastic take on current political events, and eventually incorporating the hosting of public figures and stars from various fields, as well as various artists' performances