Spy Game 2001 premiere
Monday November 19th, Mann National Theatre 10925 Lindbrook Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024
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William Bradley "Brad" Pitt was born on December 18, 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri to Jane Etta Pitt (née Hillhouse), a school counselor & William Alvin "Bill" Pitt, a truck company manager. At Kickapoo High School, Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government and school musicals. Pitt attended the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism with a focus on advertising. He occasionally acted in fraternity shows. He left college two credits short of graduating to move to California. Before he became successful at acting, Pitt supported himself by driving strippers in limos, moving refrigerators and dressing as a giant chicken while working for El Pollo Loco.
Pitt's earliest credited roles were in television, starting on the daytime soap opera Another World (1964) before appearing in the recurring role of Randy on the legendary prime time soap opera Dallas (1978). Following a string of guest appearances on various television series through the 1980s, Pitt gained widespread attention with a small part in Thelma & Louise (1991), in which he played a sexy criminal who romanced and conned Geena Davis. This led to starring roles in badly received films such as Johnny Suede (1991) & Cool World (1992).
But Pitt's career hit an upswing with his casting in A River Runs Through It (1992), which cemented his status as an multi-layered actor as opposed to just a pretty face. Pitt's subsequent projects were as quirky and varied in tone as his performances, ranging from his unforgettably comic cameo as stoner roommate Floyd in True Romance (1993) to romantic roles in such visually lavish films as Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) and Legends of the Fall (1994), to an emotionally tortured detective in the horror-thriller Se7en (1995). His portrayal of frenetic oddball Jeffrey Goines in 12 Monkeys (1995) won him a Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.
Pitt's portrayal of Achilles in the big-budget period drama Troy (2004) helped establish his appeal as an action star and was closely followed by a co-starring role in the stylish spy-versus-spy flick Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). It was on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith that Pitt, who married Jennifer Aniston in a highly publicized ceremony in 2000, met Angelina Jolie. Pitt left Aniston for Jolie in 2005, a break-up that continues to fuel tabloid stories years after its occurrence.
He continues to wildly vary his film choices, appearing in everything from high-concept popcorn flicks such as Megamind (2010) to adventurous critic-bait like Inglourious Basterds (2009) and The Tree of Life (2011). He has received two Best Actor Oscar nominations, for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Moneyball (2011). In 2014, he starred in the war film Fury (2014), opposite Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, and Michael Peña.
Pitt and Jolie have 6 children, 3 adopted & 3 biological.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Catherine McCormack was born on 3 April 1972 in Epsom, Surrey, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for Braveheart (1995), Spy Game (2001) and A Sound of Thunder (2005).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Stephen Dillane was born on 27 March 1957 in London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Hours (2002), Game of Thrones (2011) and Darkest Hour (2017).- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Tony Scott was a British-born film director and producer. He was the youngest of three brothers, one of whom is fellow film director Ridley Scott. He was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England to parents Jean and Colonel Francis Percy Scott. As a result of his father's career in the British military, his family moved around a lot. Their mother loved the going to the movies and instilled a love of cinema in her children. At age 16, Tony made his first appearance on screen as 'the boy' in his brother's directorial debut, the short film Boy and Bicycle (1965). In 1969, Tony directed his own short film One of the Missing (1969) about a soldier in the American civil war.
Tony had a talent for art and painting. He spent a year in Leeds College of Art and Design and went on to study for a fine arts degree at the School of Art at the University of Sunderland. He won a scholarship to study for his Masters of fine arts at the Royal College of Art. Following university, he spent several years as a painter. But life as a painter proved a struggle, so he decided to forge a different career path and partnered with Ridley in advertising at Ridley Scott Associates. It was there that he began shooting commercials. In 1971 he wrote, produced and directed Loving Memory however his vampire movie The Hunger (1983) starring Susan Sarandon, David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve wasn't a critical success but it attracted attention from Hollywood. He was asked by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to direct Top Gun (1986) starring Tom Cruise. He would work again with Cruise on another high adrenaline film Days of Thunder (1990), which proved less successful. He followed the success of Top Gun with the sequel Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) with Eddie Murphy, which was well received.
In 1993, he directed True Romance (1993), which was written by emerging director Quentin Tarantino. Scott had a lot of control over the film and received some great reviews.
Tony has worked five times with actor Denzel Washington with Crimson Tide (1995), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), Deja Vu (2006), Man on Fire (2004) and Scott's final film in the director's chair Unstoppable (2010).
Tony Scott passed away at age 68 on August 19, 2012 in California, USA.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Douglas Wick is known for Gladiator (2000), The Great Gatsby (2013) and Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). He has been married to Lucy Fisher since 1986.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Novel Writing from the University of Southern California under PEN/Faulkner winner T.C. Boyle, Michael Frost Beckner became writer's assistant to Academy Award winner Barry Levinson before launching his writing career in the 1990's with three multi-million-dollar script sales. Today, with dozens of screenplays and rewrites for major studios, and more than twenty pilots for commercial and cable networks, Beckner has, from his first film "Sniper" (currently in release with its 8TH franchise sequel), built a reputation for character-based espionage, military, and historical dramas and thrillers.
Beckner's "Texas, Lead and Gold" (1990), broke the record for the highest selling screenplay. He beat his own record a year later with "Cutthroat Island," and again a year after that with a live-action "Hunchback of Notre Dame" (Disney). At the same time, Beckner was making a name for himself with assignments and originals for major directors (John Hughes, Paul Verhoeven, Wolfgang Petersen), actors (Eddie Murphy, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Geena Davis, Dennis Quaid), Academy Award producers (Mark Johnson, Doug Wick), and novelists (John Le Carre, Tom Clancy, Ken Follett). Produced films from this period include "Cutthroat Island" (Carolco Pictures), "Prince Valiant" (20th Century Fox) and "Deep Blue Sea" (uncredited/Warner Bros.).
In 1997, Beckner returned to the spec script market with "Spy Game" (Universal Pictures/Beacon Pictures). Teaming Robert Redford with Brad Pitt. Opening at #1 it went on to be a top-ten global success. That same year, Sydney Pollack approached Beckner to adapt the John Le Carre spy thriller "The Night Manager." This began a collaboration in film and television between the writer and the Academy Award-winning director that would last until Mr. Pollack's death.
"The Agency" (2000-2003), an original series Beckner created for CBS, re-teamed the writer/producer with director Wolfgang Petersen. "The Agency" posited a CIA confronting a "war on terror" sparked by a Bin-Laden/Al Qaeda attack on the West. The first series allowed to film at the CIA, Beckner's pilot became international news for predicting a 9/11-style attack four months before the event. The series would go on to predict three more international terrorist acts. Beckner has written/produced episodes ranging from "CSI: Las Vegas" to Discovery Channel docudramas, and the upcoming Civil War miniseries "Battle Hymn" (Jeff Sagansky, producing partner).
Beckner's European work includes the "The Forgotten Soldier" (from Guy Sajer's bestselling memoir/Paul Verhoeven); "The Plan" (from Alex Dryden's bestsellers Red to Black and Moscow Sting); "City of Lies" (ZDF/Wolfgang Petersen); and "The Sleepwalkers" (from Christopher Clark's award-winning history of WWI).
Presently, Beckner has created two cable dramas: "Kaleidoscope" (Amasia Entertainment), and "Escapade" (eOne). Beckner's latest feature film is "Terminal Island" (Middleton Media/David Oyelowo). He has recently completed "A Very Special Guest," biopic of America's greatest jewel thief; WWII spy novel Berlin Mesa; and the first three books of his Spy Game Trilogy: Muir's Gambit, Bishop's Endgame, and Aiken in Check (basis for pending series reboot).
Beckner has been a Sundance Film Festival featured panelist. As a commentator on American espionage, Beckner has appeared on CNN, Fox News, CBS News, TF1 in France, and was a featured guest on Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect (HBO).- Writer
- Producer
David Arata is a screenwriter, writer, director, and producer. Born and raised outside of San Francisco, Arata attended The University of California at Santa Cruz, where he studied painting, photography, and theater, and began making experimental films in the vein of Robert Frank and Jean Luc Godard. After graduating with a degree in film, he continued his education at the American Film Institute, ultimately concentrating on screenwriting.
David made an impressive screenwriting debut in 1999 with Fox 2000's Brokedown Palace starring Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale. He is best known for his work on Children of Men (2006) starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore where he received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay and his other credits include Spy Game (2001) starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, and The Angel (2018) starring Marwan Kenzari, Toby Kebbell and Hannah Ware.
As of October 2018, David is attached to a variety of active projects including, Bend (film, writer, director), Prometheans (film, writer, director) Dreamland (TV series, writer, creator, EP) From Hell (TV series, writer, creator, EP, based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell) Rio (TV series, writer, creator, EP), (and others).
In addition to his work in Hollywood, David is a creative advisor at the Sundance Film Institute's screenwriting lab. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Kathy.- Composer
- Music Department
- Producer
Harry Gregson-Williams is one of Hollywood's most sought-after and prolific composers whose long list of film and television credits underscore the diverse range of his talents. He most recently wrote the music for "The Last Duel" and "House of Gucci" both directed by Ridley Scott. In addition, he wrote the music for Disney's live action feature film "Mulan" which was directed by Niki Caro with whom he worked previously having scored her film "The Zookeeper's Wife." Gregson-Williams also co-wrote the original song "Loyal Brave True" for "Mulan" performed by Christina Aguilera. He and his brother, composer Rupert Gregson-Williams, wrote the original score for both seasons 1 & 2 of the HBO drama series "The Gilded Age". He also co-wrote the original score for the Netflix documentary "Return to Space" with his friend Mychael Danna, directed by Oscar-winning directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin for which he received an Emmy nomination.
Upcoming 2023 releases include "Meg 2: The Trench" starring Jason and directed by Ben Wheatley and Aardman's animated feature "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget" directed by Sam Fell and the action thriller "Retribution" directed by Nimród Antal and starring Liam Neeson. Gregson-Williams was the composer on all four installments of the animated blockbuster "Shrek" franchise, garnering a BAFTA Award nomination for the score for the Oscar-winning "Shrek." He received Golden Globe and Grammy Award nominations for his score for Andrew Adamson's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." He has collaborated multiple times with a number of directors including Ben Affleck on "Live by Night," "The Town" and "Gone Baby Gone", Joel Schumacher on "Twelve," "The Number 23," "Veronica Guerin" and "Phone Booth", Tony Scott on "Unstoppable," "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," "Déjà Vu," "Domino," "Man on Fire," "Spy Game" and "Enemy of the State", Ridley Scott on "The Martian," "Prometheus," "Exodus: Gods and Kings," "Kingdom of Heaven," "The Last Duel" and "House of Gucci", Bille August on "Return to Sender" and "Smilla's Sense of Snow", Andrew Adamson on the "Shrek" series, "Mr. Pip" and the first two "Narnia" movies, and Antoine Fuqua on "The Replacement Killers," "The Equalizer," The Equalizer 2" and "Infinite". Some of his more recent film projects include Disney Nature's feature film "Polar Bear" which streamed exclusively on Disney+ in 2022, "The Ambush" directed by Pierre Morel, "Life in a Day 2020" directed Kevin Macdonald, "The Meg" directed by Jon Turteltaub, Aardman's "Early Man" directed by Nick Park for which he received an Annie Award nomination and Disney Nature's "Penguins." His television credits include "Whiskey Cavalier," the miniseries "Catch-22" co-composed with his brother Rupert Gregson-Williams and additionally he wrote the main title theme for "Electric Dreams" and earned an Emmy nomination for the episode entitled "The Commuter." Over the past two decades he has scored three of the five games in the highly successful "Metal Gear Solid" franchise for Konami as well as "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" for Activision, which became the top-selling video game of 2014 and earned him various music gaming awards. Throughout his illustrious and successful career, Gregson-Williams has also collaborated with a diverse array of recording artists such as Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, Tricky, Peter Murphy, Flea, Hybrid, Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, Trevor Horn, Trevor Rabin, Lebo M., Perry Farrell and Tony Visconti.
Born in England to a musical family, Gregson-Williams earned a music scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge, at the age of 7 and later gained a coveted spot at London's Guildhall School of Music & Drama, from which he recently received an honorary fellowship. He started his film career as assistant to composer Richard Harvey and later as orchestrator and arranger for Stanley Myers, and then went on to compose his first scores for director Nicolas Roeg. His subsequent collaboration and friendship with composer Hans Zimmer led to Gregson-Williams providing music for such films as "The Rock," "Armageddon" and "The Prince of Egypt" and helped launch his career in Hollywood.
In 2018, Gregson-Williams received the BMI Icon Award, in recognition of his unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers, as well as the Society of Composers & Lyricists' prestigious Ambassador Award.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Jennifer Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California, to actors John Aniston and Nancy Dow. Her father was Greek, and her mother was of English, Irish, Scottish, and Italian descent. Jennifer spent a year of her childhood living in Greece with her family. Her family then relocated to New York City where her parents divorced when she was nine. Jennifer was raised by her mother and her father landed a role, as "Victor Kiriakis", on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives (1965). Jennifer had her first taste of acting at age 11 when she joined the Rudolf Steiner School's drama club. It was also at the Rudolf Steiner School that she developed her passion for art. She began her professional training as a drama student at New York's School of Performing Arts, aka the "Fame" school. It was a division of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and the Arts. In 1987, after graduation, she appeared in such Off-Broadway productions as "For Dear Life" and "Dancing on Checker's Grave". In 1990, she landed her first television role, as a series regular on Molloy (1990). She also appeared in The Edge (1992), Ferris Bueller (1990), and had a recurring part on Herman's Head (1991). By 1993, she was floundering. Then, in 1994, a pilot called "Friends Like These" came along. Originally asked to audition for the role of "Monica", Aniston refused and auditioned for the role of "Rachel Green", the suburban princess turned coffee peddler. With the success of the series Friends (1994), Jennifer has become famous and sought-after as she turns her fame into movie roles during the series hiatus.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Courteney Cox was born on June 15th, 1964 in Birmingham, Alabama, into an affluent Southern family. She is the daughter of Courteney (Bass) and Richard Lewis Cox (1930-2001), a businessman. She was the baby of the family with two older sisters (Virginia and Dottie) and an older brother, Richard, Jr. She was raised in an exclusive society town, Mountain Brook, Alabama. Courteney was the archetypal daddy's girl, and therefore was understandably devastated when, in 1974, her parents divorced, and her father moved to Florida.
She became a rebellious teen, and did not make things easy for her mother, and new stepfather, New York businessman Hunter Copeland. Now, she is great friends with both. She attended Mountain Brook High School, where she was a cheerleader, tennis player and swimmer. In her final year, she received her first taste of modeling. She appeared in an advert for the store, Parisians. Upon graduation, she left Alabama to study architecture and interior design at Mount Vernon College. After one year she dropped out to a pursue a modeling career in New York, after being signed by the prestigious Ford Modelling Agency. She appeared on the covers of teen magazines such as Tiger Beat and Little Miss, plus numerous romance novels. She then moved on to commercials for Maybeline, Noxema, New York Telephone Company and Tampax.
While modeling, she attended acting classes, as her real dream and ambition was to be an actress. In 1984, she landed herself a small part in one episode of As the World Turns (1956) as a young débutante named Bunny. Her first big break, however, was being cast by Brian De Palma in the Bruce Springsteen video "Dancing in The Dark". In 1985, she moved to LA to star alongside Dean Paul Martin in Misfits of Science (1985). It was a flop, but a few years later, she was chosen out of thousands of hopefuls to play Michael J. Fox's girlfriend, psychology major Lauren Miller in Family Ties (1982).
In 1989, Family Ties (1982) ended, and Cox went through a lean spell in her career, featuring in unmemorable movies such as Mr. Destiny (1990) with Michael Caine. Fortunes changed dramatically for Cox, when in 1994, she starred alongside Jim Carrey in the unexpected hit Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), and a year later she was cast as Monica Geller on the hugely successful sitcom Friends (1994). It was this part that turned her into an international superstar and led to an American Comedy Award nomination. In 1996 Cox starred in Wes Craven's horror/comedy Scream (1996) . This movie grossed over $100 million at the box office, and won Cox rave reviews for her standout performance as the wickedly bitchy and smug TV reporter Gale Weathers. She went on to play this character again in each of the three sequels. Not only did her involvement in this movie lead to critical acclaim, but it also led to her meeting actor husband David Arquette. He played her on-screen love interest Dewey, and life imitated art as the two fell in love for real. Their wedding took place in San Francisco, at the historic Grace Cathedral atop Nob Hill, on June 12th, 1999. Joined by 200 guests, including Cox's film star friends Liam Neeson and Kevin Spacey, the happy couple finally became Mr. and Mrs. Arquette.- Producer
- Actor
- Director
The youngest of five, David Arquette was born in Winchester, Virginia and is part of the illustrious Arquette family, whose work has spread over several generations. His parents, Lewis Arquette, an actor, and Brenda Denaut (née Nowak), an acting teacher and therapist, had 4 other children: Rosanna Arquette, Richmond Arquette, Patricia Arquette, and Alexis Arquette, all actors. His paternal grandfather, Cliff Arquette, was also an entertainer. David's mother was from an Ashkenazi Jewish family (from Poland and Russia), while David's father had French-Canadian, Swiss-German, and English ancestry.
Like his siblings, Arquette started working at an early age, and his first major role came as Luke Perry's character's best friend in the hit film Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). But his major break both personally and professionally didn't come until 1996 when he was cast in the slasher flick Scream (1996) starring opposite close friend Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell and more importantly Friends (1994), with Courteney Cox who he married in San Francisco in the summer of 1999. Scream (1996) earned worldwide success and acclaim as did Arquette for his role as lovable simple cop "Dewey". His role proved to be so popular that in the original script his character was meant to die, but due to test audiences response to Dewey the script was changed and he returned for both Scream 2 (1997) and Scream 3 (2000). Usually known for his goofiness in more mainstream roles, his greatest performances and reviews have come for his indie films such as Johns (1996), Dream with the Fishes (1997) and The Grey Zone (2001). David and wife Courteney Cox reside in LA and produce their own DIY show Mix It Up (2003) because of their love for home improvement.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Hardly the dumb blonde of Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), Lisa was born in Encino, California on July 30, 1963. Her mother, Nedra S. (Stern), worked as a travel agent, and her father, Lee N. Kudrow, is a physician. Her parents are both from Jewish families (from Belarus, Russia, and Hungary). Lisa was raised in Tarzana and played varsity-level tennis in high school and college, and is a pool shark who has mastered some of the more difficult trick shots (so beware). She graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychobiology. At first, she wanted to pursue a career in research, so she returned to Los Angeles to begin working with her father. However, Lisa got inspired to perform by one of her brother's friends, comedian Jon Lovitz, and so the tall (5' 8") blonde-haired, green-eyed beauty entered show biz. Lisa auditioned for the improv theater group, The Groundlings, based in Los Angeles. Cynthia Szigeti, a well-known improv teacher, took Lisa under her wing. In that class, Lisa became a friend of Conan O'Brien. Graduating with honors in 1989, Lisa became a full-fledged member of The Groundlings. Breaking into TV, she got a recurring role as Ursula, the ditsy waitress on Mad About You (1992). This led to her starring role on Friends (1994). In the debut season (1994-95) of Friends (1994), Lisa earned an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series; in 1998, she won that award for her role as Phoebe, the ditsy but lovable folk singer. Lisa has also been nominated for Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and American Comedy Awards for her performances.
Lisa made the transition to the big screen with a lot of success. In 1997, she starred opposite Oscar winner Mira Sorvino in the above-mentioned Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997). Lisa garnered more praise for her film work when she got the New York Film Critics Award for her starring role in The Opposite of Sex (1998).
Lisa married Michel Stern, an advertising executive, on May 27, 1995. On May 7, 1998, they were blessed with a son, Julian Murray; they live in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
David William Duchovny was born on August 7, 1960, in New York City, New York, USA. His father, Amram Ducovny, was a writer and publicist who was from a family of Jewish immigrants (from Ukraine and Poland), and worked for the American Jewish Committee. His mother, Margaret (Miller), was a Scottish-born school teacher. David has a sister, Laurie, and an older brother, Daniel Ducovny, an award-winning director of commercials, as well as a director of photography.
David earned an undergraduate degree from Princeton University, and also attended Yale University, where he undertook a Master's Degree in English Literature. A keen poet and writer, David's work was well recognized by his peers and teachers while he was in attendance at Yale. He was even nominated for a college prize by the Academy of American Poets for his outstanding work within the literary field. While at Yale, he began commuting to New York to study acting and was soon appearing in off-Broadway plays. In 1987, he abandoned his doctoral studies at Yale to pursue acting full time.
Like any actor or celebrity, David began his career on the bottom, by acting in numerous commercials in the late-eighties. He crossed over into films with bit parts in low key films such as New Year's Day (1989) and Bad Influence (1990). Although these parts were small and somewhat insignificant, it was a start and David was able to get his foot in the door.
In 1991, David got offered the role of DEA Dennis Bryson on the acclaimed TV series, Twin Peaks (1990). He only appeared in three episodes, but at that early stage, it was his biggest claim to fame yet, as Twin Peaks (1990) was watched by millions of people worldwide. Needless to say, David's talents as an actor would finally be recognized and he would get the acknowledgment that he so richly deserved.
In the early 1990s, he got more bit parts in films, this time, however, the films weren't "low key", but hits, such as Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991) and the family favorite comedy, Beethoven (1992). David's role in Beethoven (1992) was small, but it was hard to forget the poor guy who was dragged across the lawn by the giant St. Bernard!
A year later, in 1993, David got the lead role in the independent film Kalifornia (1993). The film also starred another up-and-coming young actor, Brad Pitt. In Kalifornia (1993), David played a journalist who goes on a cross-country tour of famous murder sites with his girlfriend as research for a book he is writing about serial killers. He takes Pitt's character along to help pay the bills, unaware that Pitt's character is in fact a serial killer himself. Although it did not do much business at the box office, it is still a great film and has become somewhat of a cult favorite among fans.
That same year, David was offered the role of FBI Agent Fox "Spooky" Mulder on the long-running TV series The X-Files (1993). The show was a tremendous international success and propelled David (and his co-star Gillian Anderson) into super-stardom. His character of Mulder has become somewhat of a pop culture legend and is renowned the world over for his satirical wit and dry sense of humor. Fans loved the fact that he could keep a straight face and still crack and joke in the face of extreme danger. David improvised a lot of his own lines of dialogue while on the show and even penned and directed a few episodes. The series ended in 2002 and still has a strong, dedicated following. To date, David has reprised his role of Fox Mulder in two "X Files" feature films: The X Files (1998) and The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008).
During the initial run of The X-Files (1993), David kept busy and made several films, such as: Return to Me (2000), alongside actress Minnie Driver and the comedy favorite Evolution (2001), with Julianne Moore, Seann William Scott and Orlando Jones. He even had a hysterical cameo as a self-obsessed, simple-minded hand model in the comedy-smash Zoolander (2001).
In 2007, after a few years out of the limelight, David struck gold again after landing the plum role of Hank Moody in Californication (2007). The raunchy series follows the life of womanizing writer Hank Moody (Duchovny) as he tries to juggle his career and his relationship with his daughter and his ex-girlfriend. The show has become a hit for its off-the-wall humor and Duchovny's ability to always turn in a brilliant performance.
It may have taken a while, but David has worked his way to the top and notched up an impressive resume along the way. We can expect to see a lot more of him in the future.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni was born on February 25, 1966 in New York City. Her father, Anthony Pantaleoni, was a corporate lawyer, and her mother, Emily Ann (Patterson), worked as a dietitian and nutritionist. She is of Italian (from a paternal great-great-grandfather), Polish, English, Irish, Scottish, and German descent. Téa attended but did not complete studies at Sarah Lawrence College. She started out in acting as Lisa DiNapoli in Santa Barbara (1984) in 1989 and followed up with small roles in Switch (1991) and A League of Their Own (1992).
In 1992 she starred in the short-lived sitcom Flying Blind (1992). In 1994 she appeared in Wyatt Earp (1994) opposite Kevin Costner and The Counterfeit Contessa (1994) opposite D.W. Moffett. In 1995 she starred opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the popular film Bad Boys (1995). She also had a guest appearance on Frasier (1993) that same year.
She appeared in many successful films after that, such as Flirting with Disaster (1996), Deep Impact (1998), The Family Man (2000), Spanglish (2004), You Kill Me (2007) and most recently, she starred in the film Ghost Town (2008) opposite Greg Kinnear.
Tea was married to television commercial producer Neil Joseph Tardio Jr. from 1991 to 1995. In 1997 she married actor David Duchovny, with whom she has two children: Daughter West Duchovny (born April 24, 1999) and Son Kyd Miller Duchovny (born June 15, 2002).- 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
- Producer
- Director
New Zealand icon Lucy Lawless is most known for her role as "Xena the Warrior Princess." Lucy is married to producer Rob Tapert (Robert Gerard Tapert) and resides in New Zealand. They have two sons, Julius Robert Bay Tapert and Judah Miro Tapert, who were both born in New Zealand. Lucy also has a daughter, Daisy Lawless, from her first marriage to Garth Lawless.
Lucy was born Lucille Frances Ryan in Mount Albert, Auckland, to Julie, a teacher, and Frank Ryan, a banker and the city's mayor. She was awarded an Order of Merit in the New Zealand Queen's Birthday Honor List in June 2004. Lucy, whose role as Xena in "Xena: Warrior Princess" made her a cult television star, has been involved with the Starship Foundation and has held a role on its board of trustees. She was awarded the Order of Merit for services to entertainment and the community.
In 1995, Lucy landed the role of "Xena: Warrior Princess" in the show, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995), in a three-story arc, that led to her own spin-off show, Xena: Warrior Princess (1995), for six seasons.
Whilst she has been primarily known for her role on "Xena: Warrior Princess," Lucy has also appeared in the classic TV series, Battlestar Galactica (2004), in the semi-regular role of "D'anna Biers," among her other many and varied roles, including the hit Adam Sandler movie, Bedtime Stories (2008). Lucy was also in several made-for-TV movies including: Locusts (2005) and Vampire Bats (2005). She also lent her voice to the straight-to-video movies: Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (2008). During 2011, Lucy appeared in the "No Ordinary Family" as the mysterious "Mrs. X" and also appeared in the prequel to Spartacus (2010), Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011) and "Spartacus Vengeance" as "Lucretia."
She portrayed "Caroline Platt" in Jane Campion's Top of the Lake (2013), a BBC Mini-Series in New Zealand, with Holly Hunter and Elisabeth Moss, the recurring character of "Diane Lewis" on NBC's Parks and Recreation (2009), and "Velma Kelly" in the Auckland Theatre Company's adaptation of "Chicago: The Musical," the latter from November 1-24, 2013.
As of 2019 she can be seen starring as Alexa Crowe in the light, colorful, Auckland-set mystery, "My Life is Murder."- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Stylish Rupert James Hector Everett was born on May 29, 1959, in Burnham Deepdale, Norfolk, to Sara (Maclean) and Anthony Michael Everett, a Major in the British Army, who later worked in business. Of royal stock, he is of primarily English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry with a dash of German and Dutch thrown in for good measure.
Everett grew up in privileged circumstances, but the wry, sometimes arrogant intellectual was a rebel from the very beginning. At the age of seven, he was placed into the care of Benedictine monks at Ampleforth College where he trained classically on the piano. He was expelled from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London for clashing with his teachers and instead apprenticed himself at the avant-garde Glasgow Citizen's Theatre in Scotland, performing in such productions as "Don Juan" and "Heartbreak House." He moved from stage to British TV in 1982 with sophisticated appearances on such series as "Strangers" "Play for Today" and "The Agatha Christie Hour" and the more visibly seen mini-series Princess Daisy (1983) and The Far Pavilions (1984).
In 1984, Everett filmed a leading gay role in the acclaimed collegiate-themed picture Another Country (1984), which he had performed earlier on stage in 1981. Earning a BAFTA nomination and shooting to international attention, Rupert became one of England's hottest crossover stars. Top patrician roles in quality films came his way such as Dance with a Stranger (1985) opposite Miranda Richardson and Duet for One (1986) starring Julie Andrews and Alan Bates. The rebel went international instead of Hollywood, however, with top-billing in the Aussie feature The Right Hand Man (1987) with Hugo Weaving; the Italian-made Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1987) and the French drama Tolérance (1989) opposite Ugo Tognazzi.
Again, however, the wickedly sharp and suave actor doused his own star fire by clashing with the press and even his own fans in the late 1980's. In 1989, Everett openly and proudly declared his homosexuality which put an initial damper on his status as a romantic leading man. Appearing sporadically in such featured roles as the Prince of Wales in the majestic drama The Madness of King George (1994) and Lord Rutledge in the family comedy Dunston Checks In (1996), Rupert's popularity was re-energized after playing Julia Roberts' gay confidante to droll effect in the box-office comedy hit My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), earning him both BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. He continued to impress thereafter, notably in such classical-styled pieces as Shakespeare in Love (1998) (as Christopher Marlowe), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) (as Oberon), and the Oscar Wilde plays An Ideal Husband (1999) (as Lord Goring, Golden Globe nominee) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) (as Algy). On the lighter, fun side, his predilection for mischief was demonstrated as the cartoonish villain Dr. Claw, the nemesis of Matthew Broderick's title character, in Inspector Gadget (1999).
Into the millennium, Rupert continued to be a vibrant presence on stage with a tour of "Private Lives" (in Italian) in 2008, a 2009 Broadway revival of "Blithe Spirit" (his New York debut) and as Henry Higgins in Shaw's "Pygmalion" in Munich the following year. He went on to play Oscar Wilde in "The Judas Kiss" in 2013 and was about to play George on Broadway in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" when the play closed before it officially opened due to the COVID pandemic in 2020. On TV, he played the effortlessly suave Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004), the Marquis de Feron in the British series The Musketeers (2014) and Carroll Quinn in a second British series Adult Material (2020).
On film, Everett enhanced the royal dramas To Kill a King (2003) and Stage Beauty (2004) as King Charles I and King Charles II, respectively. Known for his aloof handsomeness and often smug, piss-elegant characters, he engagingly portrayed a jet-setter in the contemporary film People (2004); provided the voice of the unprincely Prince Charming in the animated features Shrek 2 (2004) and Shrek the Third (2007); played a British defector opposite Sharon Stone in the romantic thriller A Different Loyalty (2004); a millionaire playboy involved in a hit-and-run in Separate Lies (2005); an eccentric tycoon in Hysteria (2011); King George VI (father of Queen Elizabeth) opposite Emily Watson's Queen Mum in the romantic dramedy A Royal Night Out (2015); a monsignor in If I Had a Heart (2013); and tortured gay playwright Oscar Wilde during his last days in The Happy Prince (2018), which he wrote and directed.
A novelist on the sly with Hello, Darling, Are You Working? (1989), Rupert has also published two volumes of memoirs: Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins (2006) and Vanished Years (2012), produced documentaries .- Actor
- Stunts
- Director
Mark Dacascos is an actor, director, martial artist, and television personality. Whether seen on the big screen or small, playing the good guy or the bad, Mark has been making audience stand up and take notice for many years.
This May, Mark will be seen in highly anticipated film John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum playing the lethal assassin, Zero, opposite Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Asia Kate Dillon, and Laurence Fishburne.
Later this summer Mark can be seen in Roger Avary's film Lucky Day in the scene stealing role of Louis opposite Nina Dobrev and Crispin Glover and the new Netflix series Wu Assassins opposite Katheryn Winnick.
Dacascos has appeared in over 40 feature films including the haunting French film and box office success, Brotherhood of the Wolf, nemesis to Jett Li in Cradle to the Grave, and cult classic action film, Drive. He has also reprised the iconic role of Wo Fat in the hit CBS series Hawaii 5-0, Mr. Giyera on the hit television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as the star of the series The Crow. Mark has appeared in numerous television shows such as Chicago P.D., Lucifer, and the hugely popular Hallmark franchise, The Perfect Bride and it's follow up The Perfect Bride: Wedding Bells.
Mark's turn as The Chairman on the Food Network's hit show, Iron Chef America launched him into pop icon status with over 200 episodes and counting on the Food Network. He also took his turn on the dance floor transforming his martial arts moves into dancing magic on ABC's hit show, Dancing With the Stars. Many millions have also enjoyed watching Mark in the hugely popular and uber successful web series Mortal Kombat Legacy and the international web series The Way.
Besides starring in television and films, Mark achieved a career milestone by directing his first feature film titled Showdown in Manilla starring Casper Van Dien and Tia Carrere.
The darkly exotic, multi-lingual, multi-skilled Dacascos is a mix of Japanese, Filipino, Spanish, Irish, and Chinese heritages. He was born in Hawaii and attended school in Germany. He is married and the proud father of 3 children.- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
Maria Shriver was born on 6 November 1955 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is a producer and actress, known for Last Action Hero (1993), Still Alice (2014) and Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert (2014). She was previously married to Arnold Schwarzenegger.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
With an almost unpronounceable surname and a thick Austrian accent, who would have ever believed that a brash, quick talking bodybuilder from a small European village would become one of Hollywood's biggest stars, marry into the prestigious Kennedy family, amass a fortune via shrewd investments and one day be the Governor of California!?
The amazing story of megastar Arnold Schwarzenegger is a true "rags to riches" tale of a penniless immigrant making it in the land of opportunity, the United States of America. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born July 30, 1947, in the town of Thal, Styria, Austria, to Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born Jadrny) and Gustav Schwarzenegger, the local police chief. From a young age, he took a keen interest in physical fitness and bodybuilding, going on to compete in several minor contests in Europe. However, it was when he emigrated to the United States in 1968 at the tender age of 21 that his star began to rise.
Up until the early 1970s, bodybuilding had been viewed as a rather oddball sport, or even a mis-understood "freak show" by the general public, however two entrepreneurial Canadian brothers Ben Weider and Joe Weider set about broadening the appeal of "pumping iron" and getting the sport respect, and what better poster boy could they have to lead the charge, then the incredible "Austrian Oak", Arnold Schwarzenegger. Over roughly the next decade, beginning in 1970, Schwarzenegger dominated the sport of competitive bodybuilding winning five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles and, with it, he made himself a major sports icon, he generated a new international audience for bodybuilding, gym memberships worldwide swelled by the tens of thousands and the Weider sports business empire flourished beyond belief and reached out to all corners of the globe. However, Schwarzenegger's horizons were bigger than just the landscape of bodybuilding and he debuted on screen as "Arnold Strong" in the low budget Hercules in New York (1970), then director Bob Rafelson cast Arnold in Stay Hungry (1976) alongside Jeff Bridges and Sally Field, for which Arnold won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture". The mesmerizing Pumping Iron (1977) covering the 1975 Mr Olympia contest in South Africa has since gone on to become one of the key sports documentaries of the 20th century, plus Arnold landed other acting roles in the comedy The Villain (1979) opposite Kirk Douglas, and he portrayed Mickey Hargitay in the well- received TV movie The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980).
What Arnold really needed was a super hero / warrior style role in a lavish production that utilized his chiseled physique, and gave him room to show off his growing acting talents and quirky humor. Conan the Barbarian (1982) was just that role. Inspired by the Robert E. Howard short stories of the "Hyborean Age" and directed by gung ho director John Milius, and with a largely unknown cast, save Max von Sydow and James Earl Jones, "Conan" was a smash hit worldwide and an inferior, although still enjoyable sequel titled Conan the Destroyer (1984) quickly followed. If "Conan" was the kick start to Arnold's movie career, then his next role was to put the pedal to the floor and accelerate his star status into overdrive. Director James Cameron had until that time only previously directed one earlier feature film titled Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), which stank of rotten fish from start to finish. However, Cameron had penned a fast paced, science fiction themed film script that called for an actor to play an unstoppable, ruthless predator - The Terminator (1984). Made on a relatively modest budget, the high voltage action / science fiction thriller The Terminator (1984) was incredibly successful worldwide, and began one of the most profitable film franchises in history. The dead pan phrase "I'll be back" quickly became part of popular culture across the globe. Schwarzenegger was in vogue with action movie fans, and the next few years were to see Arnold reap box office gold in roles portraying tough, no-nonsense individuals who used their fists, guns and witty one-liners to get the job done. The testosterone laden Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), Predator (1987), The Running Man (1987) and Red Heat (1988) were all box office hits and Arnold could seemingly could no wrong when it came to picking winning scripts. The tongue-in-cheek comedy Twins (1988) with co-star Danny DeVito was a smash and won Arnold new fans who saw a more comedic side to the muscle- bound actor once described by Australian author / TV host Clive James as "a condom stuffed with walnuts". The spectacular Total Recall (1990) and "feel good" Kindergarten Cop (1990) were both solid box office performers for Arnold, plus he was about to return to familiar territory with director James Cameron in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). The second time around for the futuristic robot, the production budget had grown from the initial film's $6.5 million to an alleged $100 million for the sequel, and it clearly showed as the stunning sequel bristled with amazing special effects, bone-crunching chases & stunt sequences, plus state of the art computer-generated imagery. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) was arguably the zenith of Arnold's film career to date and he was voted "International Star of the Decade" by the National Association of Theatre Owners.
Remarkably, his next film Last Action Hero (1993) brought Arnold back to Earth with a hard thud as the self-satirizing, but confusing plot line of a young boy entering into a mythical Hollywood action film confused movie fans even more and they stayed away in droves making the film an initial financial disaster. Arnold turned back to good friend, director James Cameron and the chemistry was definitely still there as the "James Bond" style spy thriller True Lies (1994) co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Arnold was the surprise hit of 1994! Following the broad audience appeal of True Lies (1994), Schwarzenegger decided to lean towards more family-themed entertainment with Junior (1994) and Jingle All the Way (1996), but he still found time to satisfy his hard-core fan base with Eraser (1996), as the chilling "Mr. Freeze" in Batman & Robin (1997) and battling dark forces in the supernatural action of End of Days (1999). The science fiction / conspiracy tale The 6th Day (2000) played to only mediocre fan interest, and Collateral Damage (2002) had its theatrical release held over for nearly a year after the tragic events of Sept 11th 2001, but it still only received a lukewarm reception.
It was time again to resurrect Arnold's most successful franchise and, in 2003, Schwarzenegger pulled on the biker leathers for the third time for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Unfortunately, directorial duties passed from James Cameron to Jonathan Mostow and the deletion of the character of "Sarah Connor" aka Linda Hamilton and a change in the actor playing "John Connor" - Nick Stahl took over from Edward Furlong - making the third entry in the "Terminator" series the weakest to date.
Schwarzenegger married TV journalist Maria Shriver in April, 1986 and the couple have four children.
In October of 2003 Schwarzenegger, running as a Republican, was elected Governor of California in a special recall election of then governor Gray Davis. The "Governator," as Schwarzenegger came to be called, held the office until 2011. Upon leaving the Governor's mansion it was revealed that he had fathered a child with the family's live-in maid and Shriver filed for divorce.
Schwarzenegger contributed cameo roles to The Rundown (2003), Around the World in 80 Days (2004) and The Kid & I (2005). Recently, he starred in The Expendables 2 (2012), The Last Stand (2013), Escape Plan (2013), The Expendables 3 (2014), and Terminator Genisys (2015).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Christian Michael Leonard Slater was born on August 18, 1969 in New York City, to Michael Hawkins, a well-known soap actor, and Mary Jo Slater (née Lawton), a casting agent. Christian started in show business early, appearing on the soap opera The Edge of Night (1956) in 1976 at the age of 7. He went on to star in many Broadway shows in the early-1980s. He rose to fame in Hollywood after landing the role of Binx Davey in The Legend of Billie Jean (1985). He moved to Los Angeles in 1987 to pursue a further acting career after dropping out of high school. After having a starring role in the cult classic Heathers (1988), he became somewhat known as the Hollywood bad-boy, having many run-ins with the law. He is also well-known for having dated stars such as Winona Ryder, Christina Applegate, Samantha Mathis and was at one time engaged to actress/model Nina Huang. In 2000, he married Ryan Haddon, the daughter of 1970s model Dayle Haddon. The couple have two children, Jaden Christopher (b. 1999) and Eliana Sophia (b. 2001). As of early 2005, they separated and later divorced, but remain dedicated to bring up their children.- 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
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Kiefer Sutherland was born in London, England, UK, to Canadian actors Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland, who moved to California shortly after his birth. His maternal grandfather, Tommy Douglas, was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who was a Premier of Saskatchewan for over 17 years and led the national NDP party for almost 10.
Kiefer got his first film role in the comedy drama Max Dugan Returns (1983). Sutherland's first major role was in the Canadian drama The Bay Boy (1984), which earned Sutherland and director Daniel Petrie, Genie award nominations for best actor and best director, respectively. Following his success in The Bay Boy, Sutherland eventually moved to Los Angeles and landed television appearances in "The Mission", an episode of Amazing Stories (1985) and in the telefilm Trapped in Silence (1986) with Marsha Mason.
In 1992, Sutherland starred opposite Ray Liotta and Forest Whitaker in Article 99 (1992) and in the military drama A Few Good Men (1992) also starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. Later, in 1994, he starred with Jeff Bridges and Nancy Travis in the American version of The Vanishing (1993) for 20th Century Fox. In 1997, he co-starred with William Hurt and Rufus Sewell in Dark City (1998), directed by Alex Proyas, which was a special presentation at the Cannes Film Festival. Sutherland also added his second directorial credit and starred in Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997) alongside Kevin Pollak, Mykelti Williamson, Rod Steiger and Martin Sheen. He stars in the Fox drama series 24 (2001) as Jack Bauer for which he has earned a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Most recently, he has been seen in the movie Phone Booth (2002) as a man who calls up someone at a phone booth and threatens to kill them if they hang up.- Throughout her diverse career, Selma Blair has been one of the most versatile and exciting actresses on screen. Blair's longstanding career began with her comedic roles in pop culture classics in the early 2000s. Blair has worked with an array of acclaimed directors including Guillermo del Toro and Todd Solodnz, to name a few. Additionally, Blair was named one of Time Magazine's Person of The Year in 2017 as one of their Silence Breakers.
Upcoming, Blair will be seen as the subject of the documentary, Introducing, Selma Blair, which premiered to rave reviews at the 2021 SXSW Festival. At the festival, the feature won the Special Jury Recognition for Exceptional Intimacy in Storytelling. Following SXSW, DEADLINE wrote "Selma Blair's unflinching and raw vulnerability in Introducing, Selma Blair, coupled with director Rachel Fleit's almost voyeuristic chronicling of her MS diagnosis, invites us not just to feel empathy for the star. More than that, it invites us into her fight, prompting anyone watching to feel joined with her in battle." The documentary, which reveals Blair's intimate and raw journey with Multiple Sclerosis, was acquired by Discovery+ and is slated for release in Fall 2021.
Previously, Blair starred in the comedy/horror thriller Mom and Dad, alongside Nicholas Cage. The film, which follows a teenage girl and her younger brother as they must survive a wild 24 hours during which a mass hysteria of unknown origin causes parents to turn violently on their own kids. The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and later screened at the 2017 Sitges Film Festival and the 2017 Molins Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Jury Prize for Best Film and the Audience Award for Best Films. VARIETY critic Dennis Harvey wrote "She [Blair] covers a gamut from bittersweet sympathy to farce to monstrousness, running amok like a cat on piano keys, yet hitting each note perfectly. "Mom & Dad" isn't the kind of movie they give acting awards to - but in a just world, it would be."
On television, Blair was recently seen co-starring as "Kris Jenner" in FX's The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story for Ryan Murphy.
Blair also starred in Todd Solodnz's Dark Horse in 2011 as Miranda (formerly 'Vi'), alongside Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow. The film debuted at the Venice Film Festival and was later released by Virgil Films & Entertainment. Blair also starred in Todd Solodnz's Storytelling in 2001.
In 2008, Blair reprised her role as Liz Sherman in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army, after starring in the original Hellboy in 2004 (also directed by del Toro).
Blair is perhaps best well known for her scene stealing performance as 'Vivian Kesington' in MGM's hit Romantic comedy Legally Blonde, alongside Reese Witherspoon. The film was nominated in 2002 for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.
In 1999, Blair played the role of Cecile Caldwell in Cruel Intentions, alongside Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Ryan Phillippe. Columbia Pictures released the film, which was directed by Roger Kumble.
Other film credits include the YA film After (2019) and its sequel, After We Collided (2020), based on the popular romance novels of the same name. Blair also starred in Robert Benton's Feast of Love in 2007, and John Water's A Dirty Shame in 2004. In 2002, Blair reconnected with her Cruel Intentions director Roger Kumble in The Sweetest Thing for Columbia Pictures, alongside Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, and Jason Bateman.
Blair also starred on television as 'Kim' on Kath & Kim for NBC from 2008-2009, opposite Molly Shannon. Blair has made memorable guest star appearances including Friends, Another Life, Heathers, Portlandia and Web Therapy.
On stage, Blair starred in the World Premiere production of Rajiv Joseph's Gruesome Playground Injuries at The Alley Theater and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Spoken Word Recording" for her reading of The Diary of Anne Frank.
Blair currently resides in Los Angeles. - Actress
- Director
- Writer
Madeleine Stowe was born in Los Angeles, California, to Mireya Maria (Mora Steinvorth) and Robert Alfred Stowe, a civil engineer. Her mother was a from a prominent political family in Costa Rica. Stowe grew up in Eagle Rock, a working-class neighborhood of Los Angeles. At age ten she started practicing for a career as a concert pianist and trained every day for hours. However, when her instructor died in 1976 she more or less quit playing.
She went to University of Southern California and studied cinema and journalism before taking up acting at Beverly Hills' Solaris Theater. She made a few appearances in TV and on film but her breakthrough came in 1987 with Stakeout (1987). Other major credits include The Last of the Mohicans (1992) and Short Cuts (1993).
When not filming, she spends her time at her ranch in Texas, which she shares with her husband Brian Benben.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Charming, compactly built, extremely affable American actor Brian Edward Benben was born on June 18, 1956, in Winchester, Virginia, to Gloria Patricia (Coffman) and Peter Michael Benben Sr., a produce buyer. His paternal grandparents were Polish.
Deciding on an acting career while quite young, he started things out at age 17 performing in off-off-Broadway shows in New York. Such late 1970s theater works included "Wild Oats," "The Tooth of Crime," "The Overcoat," "Gossip," "A Moon for the Misbegotten," and the role of Bottom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
During his early twenties he began to pursue TV work and made an auspicious debut on the very serious side with the infamous The Gangster Chronicles (1981), in which his Michael Lasker character was a barely disguised version of real-life mobster Meyer Lansky. He also played a gay lover in the TV movie drama Family Business (1983), starring a straight-acting Milton Berle, and then portrayed Tom Hayden, the California senator who was once convicted, along with others, of inciting riots that disrupted the 1968 Democratic National Convention, in the redramatization of Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 (1987). Brian also had supporting roles that also accentuated his serious side, in the feature films Clean and Sober (1988), Dark Angel (1990) and Mortal Sins (1989).
He got regular series work in the late 1980s playing a chauvinistic hospital resident who felt women had no place being surgeons on the short-lived medical drama Kay O'Brien (1986). But it was the sexually frank sitcom Dream On (1990) that catapulted Brian to stardom as the self-effacing, newly divorced book editor Martin Tupper. The cable show, which took on a whimsical, if much more hormonal, Thurber-like feel, lasted six seasons. During that run he was given a choice starring part in the film Radioland Murders (1994). Had the series been on a first-rank network (it was on Fox briefly in 1995), his star power might have luminesced even more brightly. Nevertheless, this led to his second starring sitcom role, in which he used his real name to play a news co-anchor, on the very aptly titled The Brian Benben Show (1998) for CBS. The show, for which he was co-executive producer, had a much shorter life than "Dream On."
Since then, Brian has maintained amenably on TV, particularly in mini-movies. He was found mixing it up with Diane Keaton in the irreverent Sister Mary Explains It All (2001), playing at odds with William Hurt in the drama The Flamingo Rising (2001) and returning to his mob roots in the mini-series Kingpin (2003), this time as a morally tormented surgeon. Other series work included a doctor in the "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff Private Practice (2007) and a clever grifter in Imposters (2017) On stage, Brian took his initial Broadway bow in "Slab Boys" alongside Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Val Kilmer.
Brian has been married since 1982 to actress Madeleine Stowe, who played his wife Ruth Lasker in the "Gangster" series. The couple has a daughter (May Theodora, born 1996) and own a working cattle ranch in Texas.- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Dermot Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, to Ellen and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova. Since being discovered at Northwestern University by a Hollywood talent agent 28 years ago, Mulroney has been seen in over 70 films. Mulroney is a classically trained cellist who began playing in Alexandria, Virginia's public school system when he was 7 years old. He plays with the scoring orchestras on many films for Academy Award winning composers such as James Newton Howard and Michael Giacchino.- Actress
- Producer
- Casting Department
Catherine Keener is an American actress, Oscar-nominated for her roles in the independent films Being John Malkovich (1999) and Capote (2005). Acclaimed in her community for her quirky roles in independent film and mainstream such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Keener got her start as a casting director in New York City.
Catherine Ann Keener was born in Miami, Florida, and was raised in Hialeah, FL. She is the daughter of Evelyn (Jamiel) and James Keener, who owned an auto shop. She is of Lebanese (mother) and English, Scottish, and German (father) descent. Keener attended Wheaton College in Massachusetts. She began taking acting classes when she was unable to sign up for a photography class. After graduating, Keener managed a McDonalds in New York City before becoming an assistant casting director and soon relocating to Los Angeles.
Not long after, Keener told her superior of her aspirations for acting and she landed a one-worded role as a waitress in About Last Night (1986). Two years later, she landed a role in a film called Survival Quest (1988), where she met her future husband, Dermot Mulroney. After struggling for years in the industry, Keener landed a role in an independent film, opposite the unknown Brad Pitt, in Johnny Suede (1991). Her ascent in independent film began as she starred in Living in Oblivion (1995) and Walking and Talking (1996) before her mainstream break with Being John Malkovich (1999) in 1999, which earned Keener her first Oscar nomination. Since then, Catherine Keener has starred in several critically acclaimed films.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Anne Archer was nominated for an Academy Award®, a Golden Globe and the British (BAFTA) Academy Award for her role as Michael Douglas' sympathetic, tortured wife, "Beth Gallagher", in Adrian Lyne's 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction (1987). Archer is also well-known for her poignant Golden Globe-winning performance in the ensemble cast of Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993) and for playing CIA agent Jack Ryan's beleaguered wife, "Cathy", in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), both based on Tom Clancy bestsellers.
Archer was born into a show business family in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actors Marjorie Lord (née Marjorie F. Wollenberg), who appeared on TV's The Danny Thomas Show (1953), and John Archer (born Ralph Bowman), who starred in White Heat (1949). Her ancestry includes German, English, Czech, and Scots-Irish.
Archer studied theatre arts at Claremont College before debuting on the motion picture screen opposite Jon Voight in The All-American Boy (1973). She won critical acclaim for her leading role in Lifeguard (1976) as Sam Elliott's old flame.
Throughout her motion picture career, Archer has starred opposite some of Hollywood's most dynamic and respected leading men, not only Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford, but also Gene Hackman in Narrow Margin (1990), Tom Berenger in director Alan Rudolph's romantic comedy Love at Large (1990), Donald Sutherland in Eminent Domain (1990) and Sylvester Stallone in Paradise Alley (1978). In 2000, she appeared in The Art of War (2000) with Wesley Snipes and Rules of Engagement (2000) (her first project with Tommy Lee Jones), which was one of the box office hits in Spring of that year.
With husband Terry Jastrow (an Emmy-winning sports producer), she co-produced and starred in the feature Waltz Across Texas (1982), a modern romance set in the Texas oil fields. In 1998, Archer worked with husband Jastrow again as co-producer and co-host, with Isabella Rossellini, on ABC's World Fashion Premiere from Paris (1998), a history-making two-hour special. Again the following year, she served as a producer on the telecast. With complete backstage access, the shows spotlighted the haute couture shows of the most famous designers in the world.
Archer has essayed dramatic roles as complex and disparate characters in cable productions of equally distinct genres. She starred with Michael Murphy in the contemporary romantic drama Indiscretion of an American Wife (1998) for Lifetime and opposite William Petersen in Present Tense, Past Perfect (1995), based on a bittersweet story by Richard Dreyfuss, who also directed the Showtime drama. Previously, for the same network, she portrayed Dennis Hopper's sexy former wife in the contemporary, gritty Nails (1992) and for HBO, again, starred with Jon Voight in the period piece The Last of His Tribe (1992).
Her television performances have also included Neil Simon's Jake's Women (1996) opposite Alan Alda and CBS's Jane's House (1994) opposite James Woods. Recently, she received acclaim for a three episode arc on Fox-TV's series Boston Public (2000), created by David E. Kelley.
She had a starring role opposite Courteney Cox in the independent feature November (2004) and appeared in Revolution Studios' comedy Man of the House (2005), portraying Prof. Molly McCarthy, opposite Tommy Lee Jones. She also had a role on Showtime's provocative series The L Word (2004) with Jennifer Beals, Mia Kirshner and Pam Grier.
Her stage work includes the world premiere of "The Poison Tree" at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" in Massachusetts and the starring role in the London West End production of "The Graduate", for which she received rave reviews. Archer's New York stage debut was as "Maude Mix" in the celebrated Off-Broadway production of John Ford Noonan's "A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking".- Producer
- Actor
- Director
Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair in Alameda County, California, along with his fraternal twin brother, Paul Vincent. He was raised by his astrologer/psychologist mother, Delora Sherleen (Sinclair), and adoptive father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theatre manager, in an artists' housing project in New York City's Greenwich Village. He never knew his biological father. His mother is white (with English, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry), and his adoptive father is African-American; referring to his biological father's background, Diesel has said that he himself is "definitely a person of colour".
His first break in acting happened by chance, when at the age of seven he and his friends broke into a theatre to vandalize it. A woman stopped them and offered them each a script and $20, on the condition that they would attend everyday after school. From there, Vin's fledgling career progressed from the New York repertory company run by his father, to the Off-Off-Broadway circuit. At age seventeen and already sporting a well-honed physique, he became a bouncer at some of New York's hippest clubs to earn himself some extra cash. It was at this time that he changed his name to Vin Diesel.
Following high school, Vin enrolled as an English major at Hunter College, but dropped out after three years to go to Hollywood to further his acting career. Being an experienced theatre actor did not make any impression in Hollywood and after a year of struggling to make his mark, he returned to New York. His mother then gave him a book called "Feature Films at used Car Prices" by Rick Schmidt. The book showed him that he could take control of his career and make his own movies. He wrote a short film based on his own experiences as an actor, called Multi-Facial (1995), which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Multi-Facial (1995) was eventually accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it got a tumultuous reception.
Afterwards, Vin returned to Los Angeles and raised almost $50,000 through telemarketing to fund the making of his first feature, Strays (1997). Six months after shooting, the film was accepted for the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and although it received a good reception, it did not sell as well as hoped. Yet again Vin returned disappointed to New York only to receive a dream phone call. Steven Spielberg was impressed by Multi-Facial (1995) and wanted to meet Vin, leading him to be cast in Saving Private Ryan (1998). Multi-Facial (1995) earned Vin more work, when the director of The Iron Giant (1999) saw it and decided to cast Vin in the title role. From there, Vin's career steadily grew, with him securing his first lead role, as Richard B. Riddick in the sci-fi film Pitch Black (2000). The role has earned him a legion of devoted fans and the public recognition he deserves.
Since then, he has headlined a series of blockbusters, often but not only centered on fast-driving motor vehicles: The Fast and the Furious (2001), xXx (2002), The Pacifier (2005), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), and Furious 7 (2015). He also voiced Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and starred in the lower-budgeted courtroom drama Find Me Guilty (2006), the latter directed by Sidney Lumet.- Actress
- Producer
- Executive
Camryn grew up in Peoria, Illinois before moving to Long Beach California for middle school. She went on to receive a B.F.A. from U.C. Santa Cruz and then went on to earn a M.F.A from New York University in 1987. Her mother, Sylvia (Nuchow), was a schoolteacher, and her father, Jerry, was a math professor.
She developed an interest in acting at an early age. While studying at New York University, Camryn learned sign language and worked as an interpreter and job coach while pursuing her acting career. In her early years in New York City she met and worked with Tony Kushner, Michael Mayer, and long list of theater luminaries. Her first play in New York was Hydriotaphia, written and directed by Tony Kushner. She went on to work at such renowned theaters as The New York Shakespeare Festival, Lincoln Center, Yale Repertory, New York Theater Workshop, The Atlantic Theater, Classic Stage Company, & Second Stage.
In 1994 she won an OBIE Award for her portrayal of Gemma in Craig Lucas' Missing Persons, directed by Michael Mayer. In 1995 she wrote and starred in her one-woman show, Wake Up, I'm Fat!, which played to sold out audiences at The Public Theater. She played the "Nurse" in Romeo and Juliet, directed by Michael Greif at the New York Shakespeare Festival and just completed a spectacular run of the Tony nominated rock musical, Spring Awakening on Broadway.
Manheim spent eight years playing defense attorney "Ellenor Frutt" on the Emmy Award winning drama, The Practice. Her portrayal of the feisty attorney garnered her an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Manheim was nominated once again for an Emmy and Golden Globe for her portrayal of "Gladys Presley" in the CBS miniseries Elvis.
In 1999 Manheim fulfilled a lifelong dream and became a New York Times best-selling author when her book Wake Up, I'm Fat! was published by Broadway Books. Camryn teaches and lectures all over the United States and abroad.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Marlee Beth Matlin was born on August 24, 1965 in Morton Grove, Illinois, to Libby (Hammer) and Donald Matlin, an automobile dealer. She has two older brothers. Her family is of Russian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent.
Marlee lost much of her hearing at the age of eighteen months. That did not stop her from acting in a children's theater company at age seven; she was Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz". Her deafness never held her back. As an adult, she said it so eloquently: "I have always resisted putting limitations on myself, both professionally and personally." Marlee studied criminal justice at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, and maintained her passion for acting after graduating. While performing on stage through Chicago and the Midwest, Marlee attracted notice for her performance in a production of the Tony Award-winning play "Children of a Lesser God" and was cast in the movie version Children of a Lesser God (1986). Although this was her movie debut, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. While shooting her next movie Walker (1987), in Nicaragua, large-hearted Marlee took time to visit both hearing and hearing-impaired children. She continued this tradition of visiting local children through her travels to Germany, England, Italy, Australia, Mexico, Canada, etc.
Her interest in the criminal justice field played a role in her on screen career; she portrayed an assistant D.A. on the television series Reasonable Doubts (1991), while off screen she married police officer Kevin Grandalski on August 29, 1993. The couple has four children: Sarah (born 1996), Brandon (born 2000), Tyler (born 2002), and Isabelle (born 2003). In 1994, Marlee was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance as Laurie Bey on the television series Picket Fences (1992). Marlee is also a spokeswoman for the National Captioning Institute. In 1995, she testified at a congressional hearing and helped get a law passed that requires all television sets 13 inches or larger to be manufactured with built-in chips to provide closed captioning on their screens; this was a godsend for deaf viewers.
Marlee serves as the national spokeswoman for the largest provider of television closed captioning, and has spoken on behalf of CC in countries such as Australia, England, France and Italy. She also serves on the boards of a number of charitable organizations, including Very Special Arts, the Starlight Foundation, and other charities that primarily benefit children. As someone who loves children so much, it is only fitting that she has four of her own. Professionally, Marlee has even tried producing, being the executive producer for Where the Truth Lies (1999).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ming-Na ("enlightenment") was born on the island of Macau, forty miles from Hong Kong. Her mother, Lin Chan Wen, divorced her father when Ming-Na was only a toddler. She has an older brother named Jonathan. After the divorce, they moved to Hong Kong where her mother became a nurse. There her mother met Soo Lim Yee, a U.S. businessman. They soon married, and at four years, Ming-Na moved with her family to Queens, New York. Five years later, they transferred to Yee's hometown of Pittsburgh where his family runs the Chinatown Inn restaurant. Jonathan and half-brother, Leong, now manage this restaurant. Struggling to fit in at school, she changed her name to Maggie & Doris. She found a love for acting while appearing in a third grade Easter play, where she played a klutzy bunny. Her mother was not excited about her desire to pursue acting, She preferred that she go into medicine. Nonetheless, Ming-Na graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in theatre. She got her first acting job in 1988 on the soap As the World Turns (1956). Her big break came when she was cast in The Joy Luck Club (1993). When she needed a ride to the premiere of the film, her acting instructor sent one of his students, Eric Michael Zee. The two started dating in 1994 after Ming-Na moved permanently to Los Angeles and married in 1995, dropping her last name, Wen, at that time. She says she is now like Ann-Margret. Zee is a screenwriter and, with Ming-Na, manages At Last, a boy band.- Embeth Davidtz was born on August 11, 1965 in Lafayette, Indiana. She is known for her role as Miss Honey in the film Matilda (1996).
Her parents, Jean and John Davidtz, were South Africans, with Dutch, English, and French ancestry. The family moved to Trenton, New Jersey, before returning to her parents' native country, where her father was a university professor. Davidtz studied at Rhodes University. Her acting started with the National Theatre Company's "Romeo & Juliet" for which she received good reviews.
She got a small role in South African-filmed American horror, Mutator (1989). She moved to Los Angeles in 1992, and landed a role in her first American film, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness (1992). Also, she appeared Television film Till Death Us Do Part (1992). After Director Steven Spielberg cast her in Schindler's List (1993) as Helen Hirsch.
In Matilda (1996), based on Roald Dahl's children's book, she played the role of Miss Honey. She is most often recognized for her role in this film. She also starred in the Bicentennial Man (1999), which was released in 1999. She got a supporting role in the film Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), as Natasha. Also in 2001, her role included horror thrillers Thir13en Ghosts (2001).
In 2009, she played Felicia Koons on Californication season 3. Davidtz played in Marc Webb's Spider-Man reboots, as Peter Parker's mother, Mary Parker. She married Jason Sloane on June, 2002. - Actress
- Producer
- Writer
With an engaging personality, comedic sensibilities and unquestionable talent, Jennifer Aspen breathes life and authenticity into every role she undertakes. As an actor Jennifer has close to 100 credits to her name. She has starred on multiple series, from the classic FOX hit "Party of Five" as Daphne Jablonsky, to the working class comedy "Rodney" on ABC as Trina and the controversial ABC show "Good Christian Bitches (GCB)" as Sharon Peacham.
Jennifer won a SAG honor as a recurring guest star on the first season of Fox's hit show "Glee," where she stirred things up as "Kendra Giardi," sister to "Terri Del Monico" (Jessalyn Gilsig).
Becoming a mother in 2012 has inspired Jennifer to expand into creating, directing and producing her own projects. She created, produced, directed and starred in her own web series "Los Angeles, RIGHT NOW!" to critical acclaim. She has been the Executive Producer for 5 movies for The Hallmark Channel, 3 of which she created and sold, 2 of which she co-starred in and 1 of them received the honor of being the Hallmark Hall of Fame in 2019, A Christmas Love Story.
She currently has projects in development at Netflix, Hallmark and Disney Plus.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Steve Valentine was born in Bishopbriggs, Scotland, UK. He is an actor and director, known for Monster High 2 (2023), Monster High: The Movie (2022) and Mom (2013). He has been married to Inna Korobkina since 28 August 2010. They have two children. He was previously married to Sharon Ray Anderson.- Tammy Lynn Michaels was raised in Lafayette, Indiana, graduating from Lafayette Jefferson High School. She grew up with a keen interest and physical gift in the athletic arena. Later Tammy's interests grew from the sports arena, to include the theatrical arena as well, even performing leads in musicals. Following high school graduation, she moved to New York City to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy where she was trained in everything from improv, dialects, ballroom dance, to Stage Combat. In 1998, Tammy appeared in several national commercials for brands such as Sprint, Dupont, Secret, GTE and Ponds. However, it was in 1999, in her role as "Nicole Julian", that introduced us all to Tammy's genius comic timing, and found Tammy relocating to Los Angeles. She is best known for her roles on the hit television shows Popular (1999), Committed (2005) and The L-Word (2004). Tammy lives in Los Angeles with her family.
- Actress
- Composer
- Music Department
Melissa Etheridge was born on 29 May 1961 in Leavenworth, Kansas, USA. She is an actress and composer, known for An Inconvenient Truth (2006), Money Train (1995) and The Devil's Own (1997). She has been married to Linda Wallem since 31 May 2014.- Producer
- Executive
Lucy Fisher is known for The Great Gatsby (2013), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and Jarhead (2005). She has been married to Douglas Wick since 1986.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Daryl Christine Hannah was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She is the daughter of Susan Jeanne (Metzger), a schoolteacher and later a producer, and Donald Christian Hannah, who owned a tugboat/barge company. Her stepfather was music journalist/promoter Jerrold Wexler. Her siblings are Page Hannah, Don Hannah and Tanya Wexler. She has Scottish, Norwegian, Danish, Irish, English, and German ancestry.
Daryl graduated from the University of Southern California School of Theatre. She practiced ballet with Maria Tallchief and studied drama at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. In her twenties, she played keyboard and sang backup for Jackson Browne. Hannah, a tall (5' 10") blond beauty, with haunting blue-green eyes, was a natural for show biz.
She started with small roles, such as a student in The Fury (1978) and as Kim Basinger's kid sister in Hard Country (1981). Daryl's breakout role was as the acrobatic, beautiful replicant punk android Pris in Blade Runner (1982); Pris was the vixen who wanted to live beyond her allotted years and risked the wrath of the title character. Showing her versatility, from there she portrayed a mermaid, Madison, who falls in love with Tom Hanks's character in Ron Howard's zany comedy Splash (1983), and a Cro-Magnon in The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986). Hannah played Roxanne in the eponymous Steve Martins contemporary take on the Cyrano de Bergerac story, and co-starred as Elle Driver in Quintin Tarantino's box office hit Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004).
Hannah has been a consistent, strong supporter of independent cinema, both acting in and producing many films, starring in such indie films as John Sayles's Casa de los babys (2003) as well as his political satire Silver City (2004). She worked on several films with the revered Robert Altman, including The Gingerbread Man (1998), as well as several films with the Polish Brothers including Northfork (2003) and Jackpot (2001). Daryl starred in the experimental improvised Michael Radford film Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000) and made As a filmmaker, Hannah wrote, directed, and produced an award winning short film, entitled The Last Supper (1995). Hannah also directed, produced and shot the documentary Strip Notes (2002) which was inspired while researching her role for Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000) that was shown on HBO and UK's Channel 4.
Daryl is in the process of shooting a documentary on Human Trafficking and has traveled undercover to South East Asia to document this atrocity and has become and advocates raising awareness and ending slavery. She has made over 40 video blogs for various websites including her popular dhlovelife.com. She designed dhlovelife.com (online since 2005) her website dedicated to sharing solutions on how to live more harmoniously with the planet and all other living things. Daryl has been passionate, committed and effective advocate for a more ethical relationship with each other and all life on the Planet. She has produced, hosted and shot numerous environmental awareness/ health documentaries, TV appearances and is a frequent speaker on both the conservative and progressive news.
Hannah has been a greening consultant for events such as the Virgin Music Festival, attended by over 150,000 people. Her many speaking engagements include keynote speeches at the UN Climate Change Summit, UN Global Business Conference on the environment, Natural and Organic Products Expo, LOHAS and numerous national and international universities, conferences and events. She has written articles on self sufficiency and sustainability for many magazines and has done a plethora of interviews on the topic in thousands of publications. The site features weekly five-minute inspirational video blogs which Daryl produces and films. There are daily news updates, alerts, community and access to goods and services. She is a member of the World Future Council, sits on the boards of the Sylvia Earle Alliance, Mission Blue, Eco America, Environmental Media Association (EMA), The Somaly Mam Foundation, and the Action Sports Environmental Coalition, She is the founder of the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance (SBA).- Publicist
- Additional Crew
Cindy Guagenti was born on 16 October 1974. She is a publicist.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Hilary Shepard was born and raised in New York City. In the late 1980s, Hilary, who has also sometimes been credited under her married name Hilary Shepard-Turner, was a lead singer and percussionist in the short-lived all-girl group the American Girls.
When that group disbanded, she turned to acting. Appearing in numerous motion pictures and television series, Shepard is known for playing the evil pirate queen Divatox in "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie," and after a maternity leave, during the latter half of "Power Rangers Turbo," replacing Carol Hoyt. She also had two roles on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine": the Benzite ensign Hoya and Lauren, one of the genetically enhanced humans, and played Zena in the film "Scanner Cop."
Shepard and actress Daryl Hannah co-created two board games, "Love It or Hate It" and "LIEbrary," the latter having been previewed by Hannah on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in December of 2005.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Named one of People Magazine's highly coveted 50 Most Beautiful in 2014, Haitian-born actress Garcelle Beauvais immigrated to the United States at the age of seven with her mother and sisters, and has since charmed audiences with her dramatic and comedic abilities. A seasoned actress, Garcelle Beauvais starred in the indie film, "A Girl Like Grace," from executive producer Dan Garcia.
Garcelle was also seen as the host of "Window Warriors," a store front skill-based design reality series on GSN. Her latest film role includes starring alongside Michael Keaton in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."
In addition to all of the above, Garcelle served as host on Fox's daytime talk-show, Hollywood Today Live, where she breaks down the latest in entertainment, pop culture, and celebrity news. Above all, Garcelle's most important job is being a mother. She has been inspired by motherhood to write a children's book series entitled 'I AM,' addressing identity issues relevant to many children today.
Garcelle got her start when she began modeling at the age of seventeen and easily transitioned to acting in the Aaron Spelling series "Models, Inc." After that, she co-starred opposite Jamie Foxx for five years on the popular WB sitcom "The Jamie Foxx Show." For four seasons she also starred on the highly rated Emmy© Award-winning series "NYPD Blue." In between her acting projects, she also co-hosts for shows like E!'s "Fashion Police" and "Access Hollywood Live" on NBC.
Garcelle supports the Step Up Women's Network, a national non-profit that empowers women and girls to be strong and reach their full potential. She is also active with March of Dimes and Fonkoze. She resides in Los Angeles and has three sons, Oliver, Jax and Jaid.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ever Carradine was born on 6 August 1974 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for The Requiem Boogie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and Bubble Boy (2001). She has been married to Coby Brown since 1 October 2005. They have two children.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Marsha Thomason is a British television and film actress who is known for playing Sara Evers in Disney's The Haunted Mansion, Naomi Dorrit on the ABC series Lost, FBI agent Diana Berrigan on the USA Network series White Collar, Francine Bridge on Sky's Cobra and DS Jenn Townsend in ITV crime series The Bay.- Actor
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- Producer
David Hemmings, one of the great English cinema icons of the 1960s, was born in Guildford, Surrey, on November 18, 1941, to a cookie merchant and his wife. He was educated at Glyn College, Epsom, but while still a child, Hemmings made his first forays into the world of entertainment. An accomplished singer, he toured as a boy soprano with the English Opera Group, famed for his performances of the works of Benjamin Britten. Britten, who befriended the youngster, wrote some roles specifically for Hemmings, including that of "Miles" in "The Turn of the Screw". Hemmings subsequently took up painting after his career as a soprano was ended by his transit through puberty. He studied painting at the Epsom School of Art, where he staged the first exhibition of his work at the school when he was 15 years old.
Hemmings made his film debut in 1954, with The Rainbow Jacket (1954) for Ealing Studios. He also had bit part in Otto Preminger's 1957 version of Saint Joan (1957). In his 20s, he returned to singing, appearing at nightclubs before concentrating on the stage and the cinema. As the youth culture hit Britain in the late 50s (the Notting Hill race riots of August 1958 limned in Julien Temple's 1986 film Absolute Beginners (1986) being a kind of bookmark signaling its arrival), Hemmings was in the right place at the right time to capitalize on his skills and looks. Boyish-looking, with large, protuberant blue eyes covered with heavy lids, his face was at once startling and decadent while simultaneously conveying an air of fragility. He starred in pop music movies Sing and Swing (1963) and Be My Guest (1965), as well as co-starring in one of Michael Winner's first films, The Girl-Getters (1964), with Oliver Reed.
The 24-year-old Hemmings desperately wanted what would become his career-defining role, as the morally jaded fashion photographer Thomas in master-director Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up (1966). He was up against the crème of British actors, including Terence Stamp, who already had an Oscar nomination under his belt and was conventionally handsome.
Hemmings thought he had blown his audition as Antonioni shook his head constantly throughout his audition. However, he later found out the great director had a mild form of Tourette's which caused him to move his head from side to side.
The role made him a star and, for a while, a darling of the pop culture filmmaking that was expected to revolutionize the English-speaking cinema in the 1960s, after the 1964 Best Picture Oscar-win of Tony Richardson's Tom Jones (1963). He was cast as Mordred in the big-screen adaptation of Lerner & Lowe's musical Camelot (1967) with Richard Harris and Hemmings Blow-Up (1966) co-star Vanessa Redgrave to critically panned results. The same year that "Camelot" was released (1967), he put out a pop single ("Back Street Mirror") and an album, "David Hemmings Happens", recorded in Los Angeles. His album was produced by Jim Dickinson, the early producer of The Byrds, and featured instrumental backing by several members of group. It was re-released on CD in 2005.
In 1968, he appeared as Dildano opposite Jane Fonda (in her incarnation as a sexpot) in Roger Vadim's kitsch classic Barbarella (1968).
However, to reduce stereotyping and his identification with pop culture filmmaking, he took on the role of the anti-hero Captain Nolan in Tony Richardson's masterful satire The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and later, the eponymous role in Alfred the Great (1969). While both films were imbued with the counter-cultural attitudes of their times, the roles themselves were rather straightforward. Hemmings had reached the summit of his career as an actor. These were the heights he never reached again.
As the quality of his roles declined, Hemmings turned more to directing. He had directed his first film in 1972, helming the thriller Running Scared (1972) which starred Gayle Hunnicutt, his wife from 1968 to 1974. Hemmings also co-wrote the script. In the 1970s, he had relocated to Malibu, California to live with Hunnicutt, and the fabled beach community which was his home for the next generation. In 1975, he starred as Bertie Wooster in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, "Jeeves", one of Lord Webber's few flops.
Hemmings formed the independent production company Hemdale Corp. with his business partner, John Daly, in the early 1970s as a tax shelter. He was able to use Hemdale and his role as a producer to vivify his directing career. In 1979, Hemmings the director first attracted major attention with Just a Gigolo (1978), but the film was a flop in spite of its interesting cast. After directing the 1981 adventure film Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr (1981) and an adaptation of James Herbert's novel "The Survivor", he focused on TV directing. He soon became one of the top directors of American action TV programs, including The A-Team (1983), Airwolf (1984), Magnum, P.I. (1980) and Quantum Leap (1989).
However, in the nineties, he abandoned directing, and returned to live in the UK. The role of "Cassius" in Gladiator (2000) heralded his full-time return to acting. He was also memorable in a small role in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002). But it was his last major role, in the cinema adaption of Graham Swift's Last Orders (2001), that showed Hemmings at the top of his talent. Unrecognizable from the boy-man of 1966-70, he was memorable as the ex-boxer who ruefully remembers the past with his remaining buddies as they travel to throw the ashes of a departed friend into the sea. That two of the other major roles were filled by Michael Caine and Tom Courtenay, two other British actors whose careers first flourished in the 1960s, added to the poignancy of this tale of men trying to recapture lost time. He also appeared, less memorably, in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) opposite the ultimate 60s male British cinema icon, Sean Connery.
David Hemmings died of a heart attack on December 3, 2003, in Bucharest, Romania, on the set of Blessed (2004), after playing his scenes for the day. He was 62 years old. His autobiography, "Blow Up... and Other Exaggerations" was published in 2004.- Actress
- Producer
Nancy O'Dell began her broadcast career as a reporter and anchor at WPDE-TV in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She later worked as morning news anchor and crime reporter at WCBD-TV. While in Charleston, O'Dell's reports on the lenient police approach to DUI cases led to a State Law Enforcement Division investigation that resulted in state authorities re-issuing a more stringent directive regarding these cases. Ms. O'Dell was honored by the Associated Press with the Best Report of the Year Award (all media, South Carolina). Following her work in Charleston, O'Dell served as co-anchor and investigative reporter for NBC's Miami station, WTVJ-TV, before joining Access Hollywood (1996) as a weekend co-anchor and weekday correspondent in 1996. In addition to her current work as a lead anchor on Access Hollywood (1996), Ms. O'Dell also contributes to NBC News' Today (1952), and also to Dateline NBC (1992). She has covered such events as The Oscars, The Emmys, The Grammys and The Golden Globe Awards, as well as co-hosting a number of Pre-Show/Arrivals shows for The Emmys and the Golden Globes. She also co-hosted the Miss USA 2005 pageant, and the Miss Universe 2005 pageant.
Although O'Dell maintains a busy work schedule, she regularly makes time for philanthropic endeavors. The American Red Cross, the March of Dimes, Best Buddies, and Childhelp USA have all benefited from her efforts. A leader from the start, Nancy was valedictorian of her high school class, and is a summa cum laude honors graduate of Clemson University. A native of South Carolina, O'Dell was inducted into that state's Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in 1998. She was the youngest member ever and was awarded in recognition of her journalistic success.