Writers
List activity
175 views
• 12 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
300 people
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Dan Harmon was born on January 3, 1973 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He is best known as the creator, writing, and producer for Community (2009) and Rick and Morty (2013). He also is known for writing and producing earlier works such as Computerman (2003), and Laser Fart (2004). He was previously married to Erin McGathy.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Tony Danza is an American actor, perhaps best known for starring on some of television's most beloved and long-running series, including "Taxi" (1978-1983) and "Who's the Boss?" (1984-1992).
Danza was born in Brooklyn, New York to Anne (Cammisa), a bookkeeper, and Matty Iadanza, a garbageman. His mother was an Italian immigrant, and his father was also of Italian descent. He grew up in Malverne, Long Island and received a wrestling scholarship to the University of Dubuque in Iowa, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history education. Before finding a teaching job, he earned his living as a professional boxer and envisioned himself as the next Rocky Graziano. Changing his name to "Dangerous" Tony Danza, he entered the New York Golden Gloves in 1975. Shortly afterward, on Aug. 13, 1976, he started his professional boxing career. Fighting as a middleweight, Danza became a crowd favorite for his walk-in slugging style. He compiled a record of 9-3 with nine knockout victories, seven in the first round.
During a gym workout, Tony was discovered for the part of Tony Banta on the ABC TV show Taxi (1978). Danza still hoped to be a world champion and scored knockouts in 1978 and 1979, but when he was unable to secure a title shot, he retired from boxing and totally dedicated himself to his acting career. "Taxi" was critically acclaimed, earning him a place in television history and making him a household name. He followed "Taxi" with a starring role in the classic ABC comedy series Who's the Boss? (1984), which ran for eight seasons and broke all syndication records. He became known for his lovable sitcom persona.
Danza received an Emmy nomination for a guest-starring role in The Practice (1997) and acclaim for his performance in the Broadway revival of "The Iceman Cometh" by Eugene O'Neill. He also starred in the comedy series Hudson Street (1995) and The Tony Danza Show (1997), for which he was executive producer. His additional television credits include an acclaimed performance opposite George C. Scott and Jack Lemmon in the remake of the film classic 12 Angry Men (1997), and the television movies The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon (1998), Noah (1998), The Girl Gets Moe (1997), North Shore Fish (1997), and Deadly Whispers (1995).
Among his motion-picture credits are Angels in the Outfield (1994), She's Out of Control (1989), A Brooklyn State of Mind (1998), Glam (1997), and Illtown (1996). He also wrote, directed, and starred in the short film Mamamia (1995).
Eventually Tony explored his love for the stage, and among his many stage credits is his exciting run on Broadway in Mel Brooks' hit musical "The Producers", playing Max Bialystock (2006-2007), and his reprise of the role in the Las Vegas production at Paris Las Vegas (2007).
For his theatrical debut in "Wrong Turn at Lungfish" (1993), he earned an Outer Critic's Circle Award nomination. Other stage credits include the critically acclaimed "The Iceman Cometh", opposite Kevin Spacey, Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning play "A View from the Bridge", and "I Remember You". Most recently, Tony returned to the stage in the pre-Broadway run of the much-buzzed-about and highly-acclaimed smash hit musical "Honeymoon In Vegas", which he starred in at the Paper Mill Playhouse along with Tony Award nominee Rob McClure ("Chaplin"), and Brynn O'Malley ("Annie"). With music and lyrics by Tony Award winner, Jason Robert Brown ("Parade", "The Last Five Years"), the musical is written by Andrew Bergman ("Fletch", "The Freshman", "Blazing Saddles", "Soap Dish", "The In-Laws") and based on his hit Castle Rock/New Line comedy of the same title. Both the show and Tony's performance received amazing reviews, including a love letter from The New York Times that compares Tony's performance to "the cooler-than-cool spirit" of Frank Sinatra.
He garnered accolades performing in his song-and-dance stage show, which debuted in Atlantic City in 1995. He later took it on the road to major venues throughout the country, from Las Vegas to New York.
In 2013, Tony returned to the big screen and received great buzz and fantastic reviews for his performance as Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character's father in Gordon-Levitt's much-buzzed-about and acclaimed directorial debut, "Don Jon". The film, which stars Gordon-Levitt, Danza, Julianne Moore, Brie Larson, and Scarlett Johansson, was released in theaters in the fall of 2013.
In 2009-2010, Tony took on his most challenging role yet: teaching tenth-grade English at Philadelphia's Northeast High School. His experience working as a real teacher was taped and aired on A&E last year in the form of the critically-acclaimed seven-part documentary series, Teach.
In September 2012, Crown Publishers (a division of Random House) released Tony's book, "I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High", a much-buzzed-about and critically acclaimed reflection of his experience teaching for a year. The book premiered on the New York Times Best Sellers list at number 16 and stayed on the list for two months. The paperback edition hit bookstores in September of 2013. In 2010, AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with more than 35 million readers, presented Tony with their Inspire Award. The Inspire Awards pay tribute to extraordinary people who inspire others to action through their innovative thinking, passion and perseverance. In December of 2012, Tony was among the iconic celebrities who participated in the Weinstein Company's historic concert for Hurricane Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden. He was featured in the documentary about the concert, released by the Weinstein Company in the fall of 2013, in which Tony reminds people of the forgotten motto of America, "E pluribus unum", or "out of many one", or as Tony's father would say "we're all in this together, pal".
With great belief in the spirit of that motto, Tony participates in many charity efforts. In April 2013, USAToday honored Tony at their annual National Make A Difference Day Awards for his commitment to helping others through his numerous charity efforts.
Danza is married to Tracy Robinson and has three children.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Terry Gilliam was born near Medicine Lake, Minnesota. When he was 12 his family moved to Los Angeles where he became a fan of MAD magazine. In his early twenties he was often stopped by the police who suspected him of being a drug addict and Gilliam had to explain that he worked in advertising. In the political turmoil in the 60's, Gilliam feared he would become a terrorist and decided to leave the USA. He moved to England and landed a job on the children's television show Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967) as an animator. There he met meet his future collaborators in Monty Python: Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Michael Palin. In 2006 he renounced his American citizenship.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Sasheer Zamata is a comedian, actress and writer. She was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and This American Life. She serves as ACLU's Celebrity Ambassador for Women's Rights. She hosts a live variety show called Sasheer Zamata Party Time, and you can watch her standup special Pizza Mind on Amazon Prime and Starz, and listen to it on iTunes and Spotify.
She's been listed in Time Out New York's Top 10 Funniest Women in NYC, Brooklyn Magazine's 50 Funniest People in Brooklyn, and Complex Magazine's Women in Comedy You Should Be Paying Attention to Right Now.
She co-created and co-starred in the webseries Pursuit of Sexiness, which was named one of the Top 10 Web Series of 2013 by Variety, and part of Glamour's 7 Web Series We Can't Stop Watching in 2015.
She's performed at Clusterfest, Just for Laughs (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver), Bonnaroo, SXSW, Moontower Comedy Festival, Outside Lands, SF Sketchfest, Vodafone Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Festival, Brooklyn Comedy Festival, Limestone Comedy Festival, Woodstock Comedy Festival, North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival, Great American Comedy Festival, and Women in Comedy Festival.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Born August 29, in Middletown Township, New Jersey, US, Nicole Byer is an American comedian, actress, and television host, best known for hosting the bake-off competition show Nailed It! (2018). She moved to New York City in the early 2000s and worked as a waitress to support herself. She found she was bad at the job, but that people found her to be funny, which led her to the decision to study improv. She eventually graduated the American Musical and Dramatic Academy Certificate Program in Professional Performance. She first came to recognition and popularity in the early 2010s by appearing on MTV shows, and in 2016 the network produced Byer's own show *Loosely Exactly Nicole (2016). Since 2018 she's been hosting Nailed It and since 2021 she's been hosting a reboot of Wipeout (2021), along John Cena and Camille Kostek. She also hosts a number of podcasts, including Why Won't You Date Me? (2017) and Newcomers: Marvel, with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus (2020). She lives in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Comedian, actor, writer, and producer Lil Rel Howery is a movie star. His role as TSA agent Rod Williams in the Oscar-winning instant classic Get Out (2017), written and directed by Jordan Peele ushered Howery into superstar status. His keen ability to mesh humor and honor resonated so deeply with audiences that Howery became not only the breakout star but a cultural champion. Winner of the Best Comedic Performance in a Movie at the MTV Movie & Television Awards, nominated for IMAGE Award for Best Supporting Actor and crowned Bernie Mac Comedy King of the Year, Howery is experiencing success at a rate bestowed upon few in Hollywood's history. As Howery ascends, he also had the lead role in the film Uncle Drew, and guest stars alongside Issa Rae in the fearlessly funny HBO smash comedy series Insecure as Quentin.
From the impressionable age of eleven, Milton "Lil Rel" Howery set out to make the world laugh. With influential comedians like Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, and Louie Anderson in their prime, Lil Rel spent the early '90s tuned into classic programs like Def Comedy Jam and Raw. While other young adolescents in his West Side Chicago neighborhood were doing typical juvenile things, he was studying and mastering the art of comedy. Now a well-respected comedian, actor and writer, Lil Rel has become a comedic staple in Chicago and a star nationally.
As a teen who sought worldwide fame and success, Lil Rel wanted much more than to tell jokes to his family and loved ones. He was immediately drawn to the production and performance aspects of entertaining. At seventeen years old, Lil Rel wrote original comedic scenes for one of the most critical audiences he'd face: his high school peers. After starring in the school play and effortlessly delivering side-cramping laughs, his impact was undeniable. His peers and teachers offered enthusiastic approval that left Lil Rel humbled and reflective.
After finishing high school, Lil Rel set out in search of the comedy spot that would offer him a chance to perform. He found that opportunity at The Lion's Den in Chicago's East Side. Too young to get in, he arrived earlier than most in hopes that the owner would bend the rules. He did. After walking out on to the stage, Lil Rel delivered his routine. An apparent hit, Lil Rel became a weekly regular at The Lion's Den, before continuing on to become one of Chicago's most prominent comedians and hosts at an innumerable amount of comedy clubs and showcases.
As Lil Rel's fan base grew, so did his opportunities. He submitted a performance tape to BET's Comic View casting department and was offered his first paid television spot in 2001. Proving to be a natural comedian with an undeniable stage presence, he was invited to perform again on the following season. With Comic View at its peak of popularity, the exposure launched him to the next phase of his career. By earning the respect of powerful show executives through his hilarious story-telling and knowledgeable off-stage demeanor, Lil Rel became a regularly featured comedian all over television and the nation.
With small appearances like his national film debut in MGM Studio's "Barbershop 2" along with featured roles in urban hits like TV One's "Bill Bellamy's: Who Got Jokes" and HBO's "Diddy's Bad Boys of Comedy," Lil Rel has been a welcome guest in inner-city homes for years. One of Lil Rel's most valuable television appearances was NBC's Last Comic Standing. Though he did not win the show, his memorable characters (including the infamous "neighborhood hoodrat") resonated well with at-home viewers. His crossover appeal landed him a spot on NBC's Diversity Showcase, as well as his hometown's second largest comedy experience, the "Just for Laughs Chicago Festival."
In 2009, Lil Rel began his first business, The Lil Rel Company. Initially launched as the holding company for his stand-up comedy material, The Lil Rel Company now houses the entire Lil Rel brand. Lil Rel continues to perform at comedy clubs, showcases, and colleges around the country. In July of 2010, he appeared on Comedy Central's "Russell Simmons Presents: Stand-up at the El Rey." His new CD, "I Know You Hear Me, But Are You Listening," is available on iTunes.
Lil Rel starred in the critically-acclaimed weekly primetime NBC comedy series The Carmichael Show, appearing alongside fellow cast members Loretta Devine and David Alan Grier as star Jerrod Carmichael's brother "Bobby." Rel also was a executive produced, wrote and starred in the "gleefully absurd" (Chicago Sun Times) weekly sketch comedy show Friends of the People on TruTV. Rel's first hour standup special RELevent premiered two years ago on Comedy Central. The hour was Executive Produced by superstar comedian and actor Kevin Hart and was named one of "The 10 Best Stand-Up Specials of 2015" by Vulture. Once making the leap to Netflix, RELevent rapidly became a must watch on Netflix. There audiences paired the power of his pen with the might of their cultural icon. Howery's comedy was rediscovered by millions, marrying the might of who he is with what he does. RELevent is bonafide and showcases Rel's captivating story-telling style. His uncanny ability to transport audiences into his hilarious world of loveable & outrageously fleshed-out characters makes Howery one of comedy's finest. Lil Rel Howery, is the one to watch. With "Rel" in the works for Fox and four new movies slated to hit theatres in 2018, Howery shows Hollywood how!- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
British actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was born in Hammersmith, London. He is the son of Daniella (Weiser), a movement instructor, and Gerald Baron Cohen, a clothing store owner. His father, born in England and raised in Wales, was of Eastern European Jewish descent, while his mother was born in Israel, to German Jewish parents. He was educated at a private school, Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Hertfordshire, and went on to read History at Christ's College, Cambridge. Baron Cohen had an interest in performing from an early age, forming a breakdancing group as a teenager and acting in amateur plays with a Jewish youth group. While at university he joined the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, and took part in such plays as "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Fiddler on the Roof".
Upon leaving University, Baron Cohen briefly worked as a model, before moving on to work as a host on a satellite TV station. In 1995, Channel 4 put out an open call for new presenters, and Baron Cohen sent in a tape featuring himself in character as an Albania TV reporter (an early prototype for Borat). He was hired and worked on various 'youth TV' projects before, in 1998, appearing in The 11 O'Clock Show (1998) which became a cult hit thanks to his character, Ali G. Ali G proved so popular that a spin-off show Da Ali G Show (2000) and film Ali G Indahouse (2002) where produced.
America soon beckoned with a stateside version of Da Ali G Show. Feature film work followed with Baron Cohen providing the voice of Julien in Madagascar (2005) and appearing as Jean Girard alongside Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). He followed this with the smash-hit Borat (2006), for which he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for a writing Oscar. His other film work includes supporting roles in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Hugo (2011), and starring in the title roles of Brüno (2009), The Dictator (2012), and The Brothers Grimsby (2016).- Actor
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Lynch was born on 26 December 1961 in Corrinshego, Newry, Northern Ireland, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Black Death (2010), The Secret Garden (1993) and Best (2000). He was previously married to Mary McGuckian.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Sarah Podemski is an award winning Anishinaabe/Ashkenazi multidisciplinary artist from Toronto. She is passionate about recreating the Indigenous narrative that has been misrepresented since the beginning of cinema. She can be seen pulling double duty on television. She stars in the critically acclaimed award-winning series "Reservation Dogs" on FX. Co-created and executive produced by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, Sarah plays Bear's mother 'Rita,' who is on a journey to discover herself and her role as a mom. In the Syfy comedy "Resident Alien" Sarah portrays 'Kayla,' cousin to 'Asta' (Sara Tomko). Kayla is a Lawyer, and Asta's best friend/support system who is in a period of self-reflection while balancing the responsibilities of motherhood.
Sarah began in the performing arts at the tender age of six years old. She booked her first role in the German TV series "Blue Hawk" at 11 and went on to appear in the iconic series "Goosebumps". Sarah's long career also includes roles in CBS' "Bull," Amazon's "Tin Star" and CBC's "The Coroner." Her feature film work includes winning 'Best Supporting Actress' at the American Indian Film Festival for the TIFF Official Selection "Mekko", written and directed by Sterlin Harjo.
Throughout her career, Sarah has been passionate about raising awareness and elevating Indigenous and Jewish narratives in the entertainment industry. In addition to her on-camera presence, she writes and produces alongside her husband James Gadon. They are in the works on a 6-episode "road trip" documentary series that took place during the pandemic in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Included in the documentary are local business owners, visual artists and Indigenous activists who provided a sense of community while the region navigated many Covid-19 related challenges. The series also includes an episode highlighting the first Residential School in Canada.
Beyond her work in film and television, Sarah runs 'Totem Designs', where she makes handmade dream-catchers with a modern twist. In 2019, she was a featured artist at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto and her products have been included in various markets across North America, as well as the 2019 HGTV holiday gift guide.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Melissa Villaseñor was born on 9 October 1987 in Whittier, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Hubie Halloween (2020), Saturday Night Live (1975) and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018).- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Judd Apatow is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He directed The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, This is 40, Funny People, Trainwreck and The King of Staten Island. He also developed the television shows Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, Girls, Love and Crashing. He is married to Leslie Mann and has two children.- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
Jameela Alia Jamil was born on February 25, 1986 in Hampstead, London, England. She was discovered at 22 years old when she was teaching English in London, UK. Her first job in media was a main host on T4, the UK's leading youth entertainment show where she made a name for herself interviewing famous actors and musicians. She also became a journalist for Cosmopolitan Magazine and the Huffington Post. After 2 years she became the face of Maybelline and Nails Inc and in 2012, she released her own clothing line after much success in the fashion industry and having shot for both British and American Vogue, Glamour Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine and Japanese teen vogue. 2012 also saw her nominated for the PPA and BSME awards for her writing. Later that year she was recruited by BBC Radio 1, to host her own show on their network, which would lead to a promotion in 2013, where she made history as the first woman in its 60 years on air, to host the Official Chart on the esteemed radio station. With much success, including several awards for radio and a growing DJ career she stayed on at the network until 2015, when she left to pursue a writing career in the United States. After signing as a comedy writer at 3ARTS and being taken on by UTA, in spite of never having acted before, she was sent to audition for Michael Schur's latest project on NBC, The Good Place (2016), to star opposite Ted Danson and Kristen Bell. The comedy series will air in the fall of 2016 for 13 episodes.- Producer
- Writer
- Actress
Radha Blank is a proud Native New Yorker, Performer and Writer for TV, stage and film. Her plays include HappyFlowerNail, Casket Sharp, nannyland and the critically acclaimed SEED which The Huffington Post called "fresh, lively...and poetic". She's a Helen Merrill Playwriting Award recipient, an NEA New Play Development Award recipient (for SEED) and a NYFA Fellow. Radha's TV writing work include The Get Down (Netflix), Empire (FOX) and She's Gotta Have It (Netflix), where she's worked as Producer/Writer for two seasons. She co-wrote the screen adaptation of Walter Dean Myers best-selling novel Monster. Radha was a fellow for both the 2017 Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Labs with her original screenplay The 40-Year-Old Version (FYOV), which won The 2017 Adrienne Shelly Women's Filmmaker Award and The 2018 Maryland Film Festival Producers Club Award. When not writing for the stage or screen, Radha performs as emcee RadhaMUSprime, whose brand of Hip Hop Comedy, has sold out shows from NY to Norway. She is currently writing the feature film script for Malcolm Lee's latest Universal Pictures comedy "Real Talk". This year, Radha will write, direct and star in her first feature film, The 40-Year-Old Version (F.Y.O.V.)- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Bradley Whitford's credits in film, television and theater include work with some of the most noted writers, directors and playwrights in the arts, and constitute a career worthy of a Juilliard-trained actor -- which he is. But stardom is something else altogether, and it remained elusive, at least until 1999 and his appearance on NBC's acclaimed political drama, The West Wing (1999).
Bradley Whitford was born in Madison, Wisconsin, to Genevieve Smith Whitford, a poet and writer, and George Van Norman Whitford. He studied theater and English literature at Wesleyan University and earned a master's degree in theater from the prestigious Juilliard Theater Center. Whitford's first professional performance was in the off-Broadway production of "Curse of the Starving Class," with Kathy Bates. He also starred in the Broadway production of "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin's "A Few Good Men." His additional theater credits include "Three Days of Rain" at the Manhattan Theatre Club, "Measure for Measure" at the Lincoln Center, and the title role in "Coriolanus" at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Some of Whitford's most memorable performances include roles in such films as The Muse (1999) with Albert Brooks and Bicentennial Man (1999) with Robin Williams. He has also appeared in Scent of a Woman (1992), A Perfect World (1993), Philadelphia (1993), The Client (1994), My Life (1993), Red Corner (1997), Presumed Innocent (1990), and My Fellow Americans (1996). He also had a prominent supporting part in the horror thriller Get Out (2017), as a suspicious suburban father.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Valerie Perez is known for The Adventures of Paula Peril (2014), Paula Peril: Trapped in the Flames (2007) and Paula Peril: The Invisible Evil (2010).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Actress, writer, and producer on both the big and small screen, Abigail Spencer is quickly making a name for herself in Hollywood.
Spencer was seen in Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), a prequel take on The Wizard of Oz (1939), alongside James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams.
She has starred in the Sundance Channel's first scripted series, Rectify (2013). The series follows "Daniel Holden" (played by Aden Young), who must put his life back together, after serving 19 years on Georgia's Death Row before DNA evidence calls his conviction into question.
Spencer also was on the indie, Kilimanjaro (2013), opposite Brian Geraghty, and reprising her role of "Annie" for the online series, "Burning Love" on YouTube, which got picked up for a second and third season. The series, produced by Red Hour, is a funny parody of a "Bachelor"-esque show. She also reprised her role on the USA hit show, Suits (2011), and was seen in the season of Childrens Hospital (2008) for Adult Swim.
Abigail was the lead in Daniela Amavia's cinematic piece A Beautiful Now (2015), produced by Keith Kjarval/Unified Pictures.
As a screenwriter and producer, Spencer is in development on Wrong Number, with James Franco producing through his "Rabbit Bandini Productions" banner. Spencer will also star in the indie romantic comedy directed by AnnaRose King. Spencer also co-wrote, with Lauren McBrayer Miller, the television series "Teach", which was purchased by ABC Family and deals with the lives of high-school teachers.
Spencer starred, alongside Gerard Butler in Curtis Hanson's, Chasing Mavericks (2012). The film follows surfer "Jay Moriarity", who sets out to ride the Northern California break, known as "Mavericks". She was also seen opposite Jon Hamm on AMC's award-winning and critically-acclaimed original series Mad Men (2007), in the series' third season, as Don Draper's latest love interest, who also happens to be his daughter's school teacher. Other film credits include McG's This Means War (2012) and Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens (2011).- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
Zerlina Maxwell is known for Zerlina (2021), Flip the Script with Liz Plank (2015) and The Choice from MSNBC (2022).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Trae Crowder is known for Communin' with the Void (2019), Untitled WellRED Project and Veronica Mars (2004).- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Jon Avery Abrahams is an American actor. His most notable film roles include Bobby in Scary Movie (2000), Denny Byrnes in Meet the Parents (2000), and Dalton Chapman in the House of Wax (2005). Abrahams was born in New York City. He attended Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn. Abrahams' great-uncles were actor Mack Gray - long time confidant of entertainers George Raft, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra - and stuntman and fight coordinator Joe Gray. His father is the artist Martin Abrahams.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Kay Cannon is a screenwriter, actress and producer, best known for Pitch Perfect (2012), Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), and Pitch Perfect 3 (2017). She is also known for her work on NBC's 30 Rock (2006) and the Netflix Original Series Girlboss (2017).
Cannon has won three Writers Guild of America Awards and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
John Howard Carpenter was born in Carthage, New York, to mother Milton Jean (Carter) and father Howard Ralph Carpenter. His family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his father, a professor, was head of the music department at Western Kentucky University. He attended Western Kentucky University and then USC film school in Los Angeles. He began making short films in 1962, and won an Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Subject in 1970, for The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970), which he made while at USC. Carpenter formed a band in the mid-1970s called The Coupe de Villes, which included future directors Tommy Lee Wallace and Nick Castle. Since the 1970s, he has had numerous roles in the film industry including writer, actor, composer, producer, and director. After directing Dark Star (1974), he has helmed both classic horror films like Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), and The Thing (1982), and noted sci-fi tales like Escape from New York (1981) and Starman (1984).- Actress
- Writer
Mary Pat Gleason was born on 23 February 1950 in Lake City, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Intolerable Cruelty (2003), The Crucible (1996) and A Cinderella Story (2004). She died on 2 June 2020 in Burbank, California, USA.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Christine Taylor is an American actress from Allentown, Pennsylvania. She is known for acting in The Brady Bunch film series and for her collaborations with American filmmaker, actor and comedian Ben Stiller. She acted in Zoolander, DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, Zoolander 2 and many more. She has two children with husband Ben Stiller.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Actor, director, and writer Sarah Wayne Callies most recently starred in the ABC series "The Company You Keep". On the comedy front, Sarah appeared as Anita Dyck in the breakout comedy series, "Letterkenny." Prior to that, Sarah starred in the NBC series "Council Of Dads." Sarah is best known for nuanced and complex leading roles in hit television series including the USA series "Colony," as Lori Grimes in the AMC mega-hit "The Walking Dead", and on FOX's "Prison Break" as Sara Tancredi. Sarah also starred in the critically acclaimed NatGeo limited series, "The Long Road Home," based on the Martha Raddatz book of the same name.
Sarah led the Sundance TV/CBC limited series, "Unspeakable," where she also kept into directing. Sarah also directed an episode of the final season of "Colony." Since then, Sarah has directed several episodes of "The Good Doctor," the CBS hit "Fire Country," "Family Law," and most recently Netflix's "Firefly Lane."
As a film actress, Sarah appeared in Giancarlo Esposito's "The Show," opposite Josh Duhamel and Famke Jannsen, 20th Century Fox's "The Other Side of the Door," Voltage Pictures' "Pay the Ghost," opposite Nicolas Cage, Warner Brothers' and Broken Road's geo-thriller, "Into the Storm," and "Black November" opposite Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger.
Expanding her passion for storytelling, Sarah is the creator, writer, director, and voice of the science fiction, post-apocalyptic scripted podcast "Aftershock," the second season of which released in April of last year from iHeart radio. Most recently, Sarah launched her podcast "Prison Breaking" which she co-hosts with Paul Adelstein - a rewatch podcast for FOX's, "Prison Break"." As a writer, Sarah has several screenplays in development with various television and motion picture entities.
Sarah is a dual-citizen of the United States and Canada.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Lydia Cornell, a women & children's advocate whose great-great grandmother was Harriet Beecher Stowe, is also an award-winning director, writer, actor, and recovery speaker (with 29 years of sobriety.)
With 20-34 million viewers Tuesday nights on ABC prime time, and more in worldwide syndication, Best Actress nominee for AFI at Method Fest and People's Choice Award winner Cornell is best known for her starring role on the hit ABC series "Too Close for Comfort" as Emmy legend Ted Knight's daughter 'Sara'. More recently seen on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, Variety's Power of Comedy, and the Kelsey Grammer Comedy Hour, she has over 200 shows and films in 27 countries to her credit.
She won Best Director Honors at the Los Angeles Movie Awards and for Best Comedy Film at Paramount Studios UIFF (United International Film Festival) for directing the SAG film "It's My Decision."
In 2024, she was named a finalist in the Catalyst Studios "Empowering Women's Script Competition" for her feature-length screenplay 'Venus Conspiracy.'
In 2023, she costarred in a new film 'Something About Mother,' with Lawrence Hilton Jacobs and Jayne Kennedy, directed by Millena Gay and produced by Noreen McClendon.
Cornell wrote and directed the acclaimed stage show "Relationshop;" wrote "Venus Conspiracy" and is set to direct "The Awesome Adventures of Frankie Stargazer."
Cornell received the Southern California Motion Picture Council's Golden Halo Lifetime Achievement Award, and the first Elizabeth Montgomery Humanitarian Award (2018.) One of TV's most popular sex symbols, she is now a writer, director, mother, comedienne, talk show host, women and children's advocate, teen mentor and inspirational public speaker.
Sober since September 11, 1994, she had a "catastrophic spiritual awakening" that changed her life. An addiction and recovery expert, she sponsors and mentors young women who are suffering from addiction and depression.
With an active following on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and other social media, she also hosts a mental health podcast called "Godshots® all about synchronicity. (Miracle or mere coincidence?)
Her Beats 'n Eats Stitcher award-winning podcast on iTunes started in 2013. Her articles have appeared in People, US, Herald de Paris; A&E Biography, Huffington Post, Editor & Publisher, Macon Daily, and Lone Star Icon.
She is the author of an upcoming book of hilarious Hollywood stories, and a book series based on her US Trademark "Godshots® as well as two upcoming books. She wrote a book on Stalin.
Cornell is creating a new comedy series for 2024 based on her upcoming book. She is also in development on a reboot of "Too Close for Comfort" with the original producers of the show (D.L. Taffner, LTD.) based on a pilot script written by Cornell and her partner Lawrence H. Levy, an Emmy-nominee and WGA award winner. Lydia is a lecturer at the LMU School of Film and Television, teaching Acting and Directing for Screenwriters. She is also an inventor and has a show ready for Discovery Channel.
Fact Check: Lydia Cornell went through a frightening incident with a stalker, a convicted felon who posed as a disabled war hero and JAC-C military attorney. He sued Kelsey Grammer, falsely using Lydia Cornell's name to get publicity. Cornell never sued Kelsey, though this was falsely reported in the tabloids and various news outlets. "Kelsey and I both knew the truth all along. We ran into each other at Soho House and discussed how we had both been duped by this stalker but the tabloids refused to correct the story."
She has been Invited to contribute her writings to the International Museum of Peace, which houses letters from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mother Teresa and Maya Angelou.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Kathleen Rose Perkins grew up in New Baltimore, Michigan, a small town 40 miles north of Detroit. The sister of four older brothers, she enjoyed her alone time making up plays and putting them on for people in the neighborhood. This inevitably led to a high school career in which she was very involved with the school's drama and choir program. Kathleen attended Western Michigan University, and in just over three years she acquired a BFA in Musical Theatre. After traveling parts of the Midwest performing in various regional theaters, Kathleen made her way to Los Angeles. She spent a few years in odd jobs and acting classes, then started working with a management company she could trust. Since then, Kathleen has worked solely as an actress in film and television. She's collaborated with such performers as Chris O'Donnell, Courteney Cox, Christina Applegate, as well as many other fine actors. Credits include Coming Home (2003), "How I Met Your Mother", "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas", a recurring role on HBO's "Tell Me You Love Me" and Michael Bay's "The Island". She has also devoted time to projects personally important to her, such as an award-winning short film she wrote and starred in, a documentary about her family, and achieving a black belt in Taekwondo.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Vanessa Born was born in Granite Bay, California, USA. Vanessa is an actor and producer, known for Bosch (2014), Better Things (2016) and Ray Donovan (2013).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Presciliana Esparolini is known in the acting community as "a strong willed actor whose work alone is worth a ticket to the show".
Born and raised in San Francisco's Mission District, Presciliana began performing at the age of five. She danced with San Francisco's Academy of Ballet for seven years before her love for the theatre started to take over. "Stepping Out" was one of her first theatre productions where she could shine as both dancer and actress.
She attained her BA in both Theatre & Mathematics from Holy Names University and a Certificate of Completion from the American Conservatory of Theatre.
Upon graduation, she was immediately picked up to play 'Celsa Guiterrez' in Michael Ondaatje's, "Billy the Kid" at the La Jolla Playhouse, under the direction of Tony Award winner Des McAnuff. Soon after, she relocated to Los Angeles and quickly began working in television and film.
In 2005, she won an award from the Coleman & Smith Artistic Company for Best Character Actress under direction of Rodger Mosely in the play "Extremities".
Presciliana also has a deep love for teaching acting with her students at The Aquila Studio.
Many people have inspired Presciliana throughout her theatrical career including her team at Global Artist Agency, her daughter Angelina and her mentors, Deb Aquila.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Madia Hill always knew that she'd leave Texas behind. The eldest child of a Liberian/Lebanese expatriate mother and an American father whose family endured several military tours, Madia found her strength and purpose in her love for the performing arts. As a young girl, she booked regular national commercial and modeling jobs. Enrolling in Booker T. Washington Performing Arts High School, she excelled both academically and artistically. So much so that she later turned down offers from Harvard University and Southern Methodist University to attend University of Southern California, where she could pursue both an education and an acting career.
During her college years, Madia created an impressive commercial, dance and hosting career, while booking notable roles in several independent features and acclaimed web series. In 2011, her first television acting role was on "Ringer," starring Sarah Michelle Gellar on CW Network. She played opposite of Kristoffer Polaha.
In 2012, Madia entered the realm of filmmaker, writing and producing her first dramatic short, "Solely" - an intense, provocative film that she stars in as well.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Sasha Wexler was born in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She is known for Sound of My Voice (2011), Xeno and Ray Donovan (2013).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Carrie Finn was born on 15 October 1988 in Portland, Oregon, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Elephant (2003), The Roommate (2011) and The Mentalist (2008).- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Christy is an accomplished actress and voice talent based in Los Angeles, California. She has worked on major film, television, commercial, and voice-over projects including a recurring role opposite Jon Voight on Showtime's Ray Donovan.
Christy is also the founder of Sinc Studios and hosts BIRTH, a documentary podcast series dedicated to equipping parents-to-be everywhere with the honest truth about what it takes to thrive on the journey through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood by sharing detailed birth stories, education, conversations with experts, and as much laughter as possible.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Cheryl Texiera is an actress/writer/producer most known for playing Katy Hart on Disney's Girl Meets World and Jane Ponderosa on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. In 2012, she began creating her own content and opened the production company: CrazyChic Productions. Her directorial debut, Mama's Boys was an Official Selection of HBO's Women in Comedy Film Festival (2018) and her web series Confessions of a Bitter(sweet) Actress was nominated for a 2014 Independent Television Award for Best Web Comedy. Originally from Mahopac, NY and one of five children, Cheryl loves living as bicoastal as possible and spending time with her family.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Cathryn Dylan Ortiz is a Mexican American actress who was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA by her mother, Actress Ana Alicia Ortiz, and father, Producer Gary R. Benz. Cathryn grew up on the stage and the soccer field. She received her BFA in Acting from Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama where she was awarded Excellence in Acting by the Kennedy Center. Since graduating college, Cathryn can be seen on hit TV shows such as "Grey's Anatomy", "Law and Order: SVU", and "Ray Donovan". In 2018, Cathryn shot a pilot for Fox 21 and Hulu based on Brett Easton Ellis's debut novel, "Less Than Zero," and has since made her LA stage debut at the Odyssey Theatre, originating the role of Mary Jo Kopechne in Peter Lefcourt's world premiere of "The Death and Life of Mary Jo Kopechne." Cathryn is committed to her mission to help mental health, specially in youth, and is in development of a Unt. feature film inspired by Amy Challengers article; "Living and Dying on TikTok."- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Samaire Rhys Armstrong is an American actress and fashion designer. She is known for her roles in Stay Alive, The O.C., It's a Boy Girl Thing, and as Juliet Darling in the ABC television series, Dirty Sexy Money. She has appeared on television as Elaine Richards in the ABC fantasy-drama Resurrection. She has also appeared in music videos for "Penny & Me" by Hanson and "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Sandy Martin began her acting career at the age of 15 touring the country with Martha Raye in Good-bye Charley. After several East Coast touring productions she settled in New York City. Martin began working in many of New York City's esteemed theatres: Lincoln Center, La Mama, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Horizon, The American Place Theatre acting in over 70 stage productions.
Martin was a founding company member for two renowned New York City's theatre companies: the Wpa Theatre and the Perry Street Theatre. During this period she played opposite Armand Assante, Christopher Lloyd, John Savage and Ellen Barkin. Martin then joined the improvisational troupe, Second City. First, in New York City at the Eastside Playhouse and the Plaza Hotel before moving on as a company member in Chicago. There she worked with John Belushi, Bill & Brian Murray, and Harold Ramis.
In 1976 Martin was asked to guest direct senior plays at the American Academy Of Dramatic Arts in both New York and Los Angeles. During this period she co-founded Hothouse Stage Co. with Susan Streitfeld. Together they produced (with Streitfeld directing and Martin acting) the award winning productions of: Hothouse (Matrix Theatre), East/West Game by John Cassavetes, (Co-staring with Nick Cassavetes at the Callboard Theatre) and Welcome to Andromeda (Matrix Theatre) ending their tenure with Best Revival of the Year - L.A. Weekly 1991, The Killing of Sister George. Sandy went on to direct - Line by Israel Horovitz (Best Direction Award - Dramalogue / (Matrix Theatre), Saturday Night by Jerome Kass (Starring Robert Pastorelli / Cast Theatre), Una Vida (Cheech Merin / Actor's Studio), Talking With... (Starring Cch Pounder). Martin also directed a reading of The Team by Terrence Feely, starring Kevin Spacey, Lenny Von Dohlan and Sheryl Lee.
After their enormous hit with the stage play, Hothouse by Megan Terry, Sandy wrote the screen adaptation which she packaged with her good friends, Amy Madigan and Ed Harris, both whom she acted with in the award winning world premiere of, Prairie Avenue by Edward Allen Baker, both in New York City. (at Est.) & Los Angeles's Callboard Theatre.
Esparza/Katz Prod. quickly acquired Hothouse, and thus began a long working relationship with Moctesume Esparza and Robert Katz that lasted over ten years. Starting as a Development Executive, Sandy worked her way up to being the Associate Producer of the company, working on the critically acclaimed feature films: Milagro Bean Field Wars and Selena. She was also Associate Producer of Gettysburg for Turner and Bowl Of Beings starring the famed comedy troupe, Culture Clash for Great Performances on PBS.
During her tenure with Esparza/Katz Prod., Martin wrote several treatments and screenplays; Underdogs, which was optioned by Avnet/Kerner (Risky Business, Fried Green Tomatoes), Thirteenth Duke, commissioned by Marchelo Danon (Producer of the original, La Cage aux Folles), The James Dean Story (Mini-series - Marvin Worth Prod.), she also co-wrote a musical revival of Reefer Madness with Dan Gerrity - directed by the late, great Ron Link. Martin penned Ms. Prez a screenplay that she co-authored with Patrick O'Neal about the first African American Woman President.
Martin produced and directed two documentaries. The Great Meddler about the founding of the American Society for the Protection Of Cruelty To Animals) and The United Farm Workers - A Tribute to Caesar Chavez. The short, Lovely Rita, stars her friend, Cch Pounder - (The Shield) Martin was also President of Edward James Olmos's production company, Olmos Prod. at ABC for four years in early 2000.
Thrilled to go back to acting, Martin was very happy to score a recurring role on HBO's drama, Big Love as the creepy he/she Selma Green, as well as the comedy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, as Mac's Mom. Sandy has guest starred on numerous hit shows: CSI, Nip Tuck, Shameless, Saving Grace, Weeds, Cold Case, 2 Broke Girls, Parenthood, The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles etc. She looks forward to continuing her role as Grandma from Napoleon Dynamite for Fox's animated version of the 2004 mega indie hit.
She played the lead in Tennessee William's last full-length play; A House Not Meant To Stand in it's critically acclaimed West Coast Premiere at the Fountain Theatre in 2011. Her performance was nominated for an Ovation Award - Best Female Lead in 2011.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Jenny Leonhardt was born in Fort Worth, Texas as Jennifer Gilmartin to Patti (Harris), a ballet dancer from Fort Worth, and David Gilmartin, an economist from Tulsa, OK. She has two sibling, an older sister, Alice and a younger brother, Aaron. The family moved when she was six months from Texas to Washington DC where she attended the Washington Waldorf School at Hearst Hall on the Washington Cathedral grounds. They moved to New England when she was twelve, where she attended High Mowing School, an hour outside of Boston.
After graduating from Booker School for the Performing Arts she went on to study at California Institute of the Arts and then to London to study Shakespeare and speech with Peter and Barbara Bridgemont at the Chrysalis Theatre. She also attended Bryn Mawr College as part of their Writing Program.
Jenny performed at many regional and professional theaters before returning to Los Angeles where she booked numerous roles in national commercials and smaller roles in television and film. She is also a published writer, musician and filmmaker. Her directorial debut, Kitchen Help, was shot in 2003 in Los Angeles and Mexico.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Asia Argento was born in Rome, Italy, into a family of actors and filmmakers, both occupations which she has herself pursued. She made her debut when she was only nine years old in Sergio Citti's Sogni e bisogni (1985). In 1988 she had the leading role in Cristina Comencini's first film, Zoo (1988), and was part of the cast of The Church (1989), directed by Michele Soavi. The following year she played Nanni Moretti's daughter in Red Wood Pigeon (1989) (also directed by Moretti).
It was with Close Friends (1992), written and directed by Michele Placido, that Asia's career really took off and she was able to move on from playing very young girls to more mature, complex roles. The movie was well-received at the Cannes International Film Festival. In Trauma (1993), she worked for the first time with her father, famed Italian horror director Dario Argento (her mother is one of Argento's favorite actresses, Daria Nicolodi, playing an anorexic girl in search of her parents' killer. The Phantom of the Opera (1998) is the third film she has made with her father, the others being Trauma (1993) (filmed in the US) and The Stendhal Syndrome (1996).
Asia's absorbed, intense style of acting was well-used in Giuseppe Piccioni's Condannato a nozze (1993). In 1993 she co-starred in Carlo Verdone's Perdiamoci di vista (1994) in which she played Arianna, a physically disabled girl--an intricate, difficult role that won her the David di Donatello for best actress (1993-1994). She also had a featured role in the international cast of Queen Margot (1994), directed by Patrice Chéreau. In 1995 she worked with Michel Piccoli in Peter Del Monte's Traveling Companion (1996), which again won her a David di Donatello and a Grolla d'oro.
In 1994 Asia turned her hand to directing and turned out two short films: "Prospettive" (an episode of the film DeGeneration (1994)) and "A ritroso". In 1996 she directed a documentary on her father and, in 1998, one on cult director Abel Ferrara, Abel/Asia (1998), which won an award at the Rome Film Festival. In 1999 Asia made her feature-directing debut with Scarlet Diva (2000), in which she was the leading actress and author of the screenplay. The film was released in May 2000 in Italy and the rest of the world. It won an award at the Williamsburg Film Festival in Brooklyn, New York. In 2001, after directing a number of music videos, she gave birth to her first daughter, Anna Lou. In 2002 she starred in The Red Siren (2002) by Olivier Megaton with Jean-Marc Barr and the action thriller xXx (2002), directed by Rob Cohen, with Vin Diesel.
Asia is also the author of a number of short stories published in many prestigious magazines such as "Dynamo," "L'Espresso," "Sette," and "Village," Her first novel, "I Love You, Kirk," was published in Italy by Frassinelli Editrice in October 1999 and in France by Florent Massot in 2001.- Stunts
- Actor
- Writer
- Actress
- Writer
Joanna Canton's career boasts an impressive list of television credits. Her first series regular role was given to her by "American Horror Story" creator Ryan Murphy, in a pilot that he wrote and directed for Warner Bros. She has also starred in pilots for ABC, CBS, and USA. Joanna first became known for her recurring role in the fifth season of "That 70's Show", as Fez's girlfriend Nina. She was cast by "Friends" creator Marta Kauffman in a major recurring role on Kauffman's series "Related", and she recently recurred on Showtime's hit series "Masters of Sex".
Joanna was directed by legendary film director Garry Marshall in Wrong Turn at Lungfish, a play at Marshall's Falcon Theater in Los Angeles. She was trained in the Meisner technique at Playhouse West (Los Angeles) and she is a proud alum of The Governor's School for the Arts. Joanna is also an accomplished writer with her focus on television.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Katie Elizabeth Walder is the youngest of 5 children - 2 brothers and two sisters. She started acting at a young age in musicals and plays in school, and did some print work as a young teen in such magazines as Teen and YM. She went on to study theatre in college, and upon moving to NYC after graduation, started working professionally in theatre with notable Broadway directors such as Michael Greif (original director for "Rent"), Keith Reddin and Daniel Aukin. Katie soon moved to Los Angeles and quickly landed a recurring role on the 4th Season of Gilmore Girls (2000) as "Janet Billings", the quirky/tough/athletic college roommate of Rory. She has been working steadily in film & TV ever since.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Adrienne Kress is known for American Gods (2017), Lost Girl (2010) and Ryan Gosling Must Be Stopped (2014).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Yetide Badaki is an actress, writer and producer known for This Is Us, American Gods and Call of Duty Infinite Warfare. She wrote, produced and starred in Hollywoodland. Yetide was born and raised in Nigeria and has also lived in England, Canada and the United States. She was nominated for Joseph Jefferson award for her portrayal of Juliet in the stage play "I have Before Me a Remarkable Document Written By a Young Lady From Rwanda"- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Amy Louise Sedaris is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She played Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central comedy series Strangers with Candy (1999-2000) and the prequel film Strangers with Candy (2005), which she also wrote.
Sedaris appeared as Hurshe Heartshe in the Adult Swim comedy series The Heart, She Holler (2013-2014), as Princess Carolyn in the Netflix animated comedy series BoJack Horseman (2014-2020), and as Mimi Kanasis in the Netflix sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-2020). She received further critical acclaim as the creator and star of the TruTV surreal comedy series At Home with Amy Sedaris (2017-2020) which earned her two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.
Sedaris appeared in various films, including Maid in Manhattan (2002), School of Rock (2003), Elf (2003), Bewitched (2005), Chicken Little (2005), Shrek the Third (2007), Jennifer's Body (2009), Puss in Boots (2011), Chef (2014), Ghost Team (2016), Handsome (2017), and The Lion King (2019). More recently, she has appeared in both The Mandalorian (2019-2020) and The Book of Boba Fett (2022) as Peli Motto.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Samantha Quan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Samantha is an actor and producer, known for Red Rocket (2021), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) and The Florida Project (2017).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Zuleikha Robinson was born in London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Hidalgo (2004), The Merchant of Venice (2004) and Homeland (2011). She was previously married to Sean Doyle.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Keegan-Michael Key was born in Southfield, Michigan and raised in Detroit. He was adopted as a child by a black father and a white mother. In 1989, he graduated from Shrine Catholic High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. Key attended the University of Detroit Mercy as an undergraduate and earned his Master of Fine Arts in Theater at Pennsylvania State University. While at The University of Detroit Mercy, he was a brother of Phi Kappa Theta.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Jordan Peele is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning director, writer, actor, producer, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions. Peele's first feature film, "Get Out," was a critically acclaimed blockbuster, recognized with four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film would earn Peele the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. His second feature, "Us," broke numerous box-office records, becoming the biggest opening for an R-rated original film in history when released in March of 2019 to widespread critical praise. Peele's third feature, the original horror epic, "Nope," opened in the summer of 2022 to rave reviews, the No. 1 slot at the box office, and once again becoming a widely discussed cultural phenomenon. Five years in the making, Peele produced and co-wrote Henry Selick's stop-motion animated feature, "Wendell & Wild," to which he also lent his voice as one of the title characters. Under the Monkeypaw banner, Peele co-wrote and produced Nia DaCosta's "Candyman" which made history as the first film helmed by a Black woman director to open at No. 1 at the box office. He also produced Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," which earned a nomination for Best Picture and won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He has also served as executive producer for numerous television series, including "Hunters" (Amazon), "Lovecraft Country" (HBO), and "The Twilight Zone" (CBS). Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Peele was a celebrated comedian who was the co-star and co-creator of "Key & Peele" on Comedy Central.- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Nyima Funk was born on 22 March 1975 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Key and Peele (2012) and Teachers (2016). She has been married to Joshua Funk since 25 November 2000. They have two children.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Minnesota-born Brianna Brown began acting in elementary school and local community productions. After high school and a brief stint at St. Olaf College, Brianna moved to Los Angeles when she was 19 to pursue an acting career full-time. She snagged a part in the pilot show for Judd Apatow's quirky, fondly remembered series Freaks and Geeks (1999). From there she got parts in several theatrical features, mostly comedies, and in 2004 secured a part in Spider-Man 2 (2004). She worked steadily over the next few years, playing everything from a farmer's wife to a killer of zombies (Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)), and worked again for Apatow in two more of his comedies, The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007).
She also kept busy with guest-starring roles on some of the top series on TV, such as CSI: Miami (2002), Without a Trace (2002), Smallville (2001) and had a memorable turn as a serial-killing call girl in Criminal Minds (2005). She had a long-running part on the soap General Hospital (1963) as Dr. Lisa Miles.
Outside the film industry, she has been involved in giving women the opportunity to empower themselves financially, co-founding the "Green Goddess Investment Club" and starting a women's group called "The New Hollywood Women's Goal Group".- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Lindsey Poinsett Stoddart was born in Carmel, California though she spent most of her childhood in Palos Verdes before moving to La Quinta, Ca. during her freshman year of high school. After graduating Palm Desert High School in 1992, Lindsey moved back to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling career. As a model she lived in Tokyo and Milan and modeled for designers such as Calvin Klein, Nicole Miller and Wacoal, among others. Lindsey retired from modeling at age 20 and moved back to Los Angeles full time to pursue an acting career. Starting as a Production Assistant on MTV's Singled Out in the mid-90's, Lindsey has been fortunate enough to work consistently on both sides of the camera and in 2012 optioned her debut script, a half hour-single camera sitcom, to Amazon Studios. Lindsey Stoddart has been happily married since 2000 and has 2 children, 1 boy and 1 girl. Together they live with their cat, 'Amigo', and their Prius, 'Rocket', in Los Angeles, Ca.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
AGAM DARSHI is an award winning actress, writer and director working internationally in TV, Film and Theater.
She worked with Ava DuVernay's series DMZ for HBOMAX, as Mia Franklin working opposite Rosario Dawson. She also starred in Oscar nominated director Deepa Mehta's newest film FUNNY BOY based on Shyam Selvadurai's best selling novel, for which Agam was nominated for a CANADIAN SCREEN AWARD IN 2021, and won a Leo Award for her performance.
Agam wrote, produced and directed DONKEYHEAD. The film, starring Agam as Mona Ghuman, also stars Kim Coates (Son's of Anarchy), Sandy Sidhu (Nurses), Stephen Lobo (Nancy Drew, Snow Piercer) and Husein Mandhavji (Shitt's Creek), was Executive Produced by Deepa Mehta. DONKEYHEAD was acquired by Array Distribution and premiered on Netflix USA/UK/AUS/NZ on January 21 2022. It was the opening film for the Mosaic Film Festival where it screened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, and won Best Feature Film Award, Best Support Actor and Best editing. Agam won best direction in a feature film at the Vancouver Women's International Film Festival and was the opening film at 75th Yorkton International Film Festival in May. Donkeyhead won 3 Leo Awards in 2022 for best screenplay, best lead actress and best lead actor. Agam was also awarded best director at the 43rd Durban International Film Festival in 2022. Agam was been nominated for outstanding achievement in directing for the 2022 Director's Guild of Canada Awards and wonBest Lead Performance by a Female at the 2022 ACTRA/UBCP awards.
Agam recently co created and directed the pilot episode of the TV Series Our Big Punjabi Family, set to premiere in 2023.
Agam is a recipient of the illustrious Film Independent Project Involve 2020 Fellowship as a writer, and is the co-founded the VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL (VISAFF). Currently in its tenth year, the festival focuses on 'bridging the gap' between South Asian talent and mainstream audiences, by breaking stereotypes and expanding North American views on South Asian culture.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Amanda Catherine Crew was born in Langley, British Columbia. Her mother is a legal secretary and her father is a telecommunication worker. Amanda attended Brookswood Secondary School in Langley. She began her acting career when she was cast in the musical Dragon Tales during her fourth grade in elementary school. Three agents contacted her, and she has been acting ever since. She did a Coca-Cola commercial and acted in stage plays like Stalling, Cordstons Courts, and Langley, the Musical. Crew attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jennifer Robertson was born on 24 November 1971 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is an actress and writer, known for Schitt's Creek (2015), Twitches (2005) and Comedy Inc. (2002).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Jenny Mollen was born in Phoenix, Arizona to a family of doctors. Her work in local theater led to experiences with The Old Globe in San Diego, California, The Idywild School, and the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. For College Jenny attended UCLA's School of theater, film, and television. While at UCLA, she earned immediate industry attention for a one woman show she both wrote and produced entitled Not A Pretty Girl. Graduating with her degree in just three years, Jenny has also studied and lived in Paris, France and Heidelberg, Germany. She is fluent in both languages.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
The original glamour ghoul herself, "Vampira", of late night 1950s television, was actually born Maila Syrjäniemi (later changed to the easier surname Nurmi) on December 11, 1922 in Gloucester, Massachusetts (not Finland as she often claimed). Her uncle was the multiple Olympic medal runner Paavo Nurmi.
It was director Howard Hawks, of all people, who discovered Maila while she was performing in Mike Todd's Grand Guignol midnight show "Spook Scandals". Hawks escorted the lovely blonde beauty to Hollywood with the hopes of grooming her into the next Lauren Bacall. Cast in the film version of the Russian novel "Dreadful Hollow", the project was put on hold so many times that Maila walked out of her contract in frustration. She became a cheesecake model and an Earl Carroll dancer for several years in his revues, sharing a chorus line at one time with future burlesque stripper Lili St. Cyr.
Married at the time to child actor-turned-screenwriter Dean Riesner, she came up with the idea of "Vampira" at a masquerade contest where she based her costume on Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. Heavily painted up with long fingernails, a mane of raven-colored hair, and slim-waisted black attire, the Morticia gimmick won the best costume award that night... and more. She caught the attention of local television and was placed under contract to Channel 7 in Hollywood to see if she could encourage late night viewers to stay up and watch its regular programming of cheapjack horror schlock. The macabre madam was a genuine hit (for one season, at least, in 1954-55), adding a sexy nuance and silly double entendres to her campy horror set.
She earned an Emmy Award nomination in 1954 for "Most Outstanding Female Personality". Fan clubs sprouted up all over the world. She appeared in "Life", "TV Guide" and "Newsweek" magazine articles, and could be seen around and about town and in Las Vegas judging contests and making variety special appearances. Songs were written about the "Queen of Horror". She even appeared with arms outstretched and ghoulishly attired in the worst cinematic failure of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr.'s Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), as Bela Lugosi's zombie-like mate, for which she is infamously associated. Lugosi actually was a huge fan of hers and had always wanted to work with her. Wood shot some footage of her years later as a tribute to Lugosi (he died in 1956 during filming) and added it before the film's release.
By the late 1950s, Maila's extended "15 minutes" of fame was over. With her career at stake (pun intended), she stretched things out with haphazard appearances in abysmal movies [The Beat Generation (1959); Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)] before closing the lid permanently on "Vampira". In later years, Maila divorced her writer/husband and became passionately involved in animal protection rights. A painter on the sly, she created some "Vampira" portraits that became a collector's item. Living very modestly in Southern California, she appeared in a small gag cameo in the film I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998). Malia Nurmi died at age 85 of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2008.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Emerald Lilly Fennell is an English actress, filmmaker, and writer. She has received many awards and nominations, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. Fennell first gained attention for her roles in period drama films, such as Albert Nobbs (2011), Anna Karenina (2012), The Danish Girl (2015), and Vita and Virginia (2018). She went on to receive wider recognition for her starring roles in the BBC One period drama series Call the Midwife (2013-17) and for her portrayal of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in the Netflix period drama series The Crown (2019-20).- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Pam Grier was born in Winston-Salem, NC, one of four children of Gwendolyn Sylvia (Samuels), a nurse, and Clarence Ransom Grier Jr., an Air Force mechanic. Pam has been a major African-American star from the early 1970s. Her career started in 1971, when Roger Corman of New World Pictures launched her with The Big Doll House (1971), about a women's penitentiary, and The Big Bird Cage (1972). Her strong role put her into a five-year contract with Samuel Z. Arkoff of American-International Pictures, and she became a leading lady in action films such as Jack Hill's Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974), the comic strip character Friday Foster (1975) and William Girdler's 'Sheba, Baby' (1975). She continued working with American-International, where she portrayed William Marshall's vampire victim in the Blacula (1972) sequel, Scream Blacula Scream (1973).
During the 1980s she became a regular on Miami Vice (1984) and played a supporting role as an evil witch in Ray Bradbury's and Walt Disney Pictures' Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), then returned to action as Steven Seagal's partner in Above the Law (1988). Her most famous role of the 1990s was probably Jackie Brown (1997), directed by Quentin Tarantino, which was an homage to her earlier 1970s action roles, She occasionally did supporting roles, as in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! (1996), In Too Deep (1999) and a funny performance in Jawbreaker (1999). She also appeared in John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001) and co-starred with Snoop Dogg in Bones (2001). Her entire career of over 30 years has brought only success for this beautiful and talented actress.
A sister of Grier's died from cancer in 1990 and the son of that sister committed suicide because of his mother's illness. Pam herself was diagnosed with cancer in 1988 and given 18 months to live, which has had an effect on how she has chosen to live. She has never been wed, although she has been romantically linked to Richard Pryor and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the past.- Writer
- Actress
- Director
Filmmaker Magazine rated her #1 in their "25 New Faces of Indie Film" in 2004!
She is a performance artist and published short story writer. Since becoming a filmmaker, her debut feature, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) has won several film awards.
Daughter of Lindy Hough and Richard Grossinger, writers and publishers who founded North Atlantic Books.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Hamish Linklater is an American actor. He is known for playing Matthew Kimble in The New Adventures of Old Christine, Andrew Keanelly in The Crazy Ones, and Clark Debussy in Legion. He is the son of dramatic vocal trainer Kristin Linklater. In 2021, he starred as Father Paul in the Netflix horror miniseries Midnight Mass, for which he received high critical acclaim.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Born in Rome. His father gave him a passion for cinema, taking him to Cinecittà as a child. At the age of ten, the British brother-in-law, director of documentaries for the London BBC, gave him a camera in super 8. He began to shoot many films, involving his friends. He does everything by himself, writes, directs and edits. After completing his classical studies, he worked as an editing assistant and later as an assistant director. At 20 years he made his first feature film in Super 8: "Paure e Realtà". And at 25, "Pasaggi" won the Ischia film festival in 1979. In 1981, the 35 mm debut with the film: "Difendimi dalla Notte" that wins: the San Sebastian Film Festival, the Nice Film Festival and the festival of Annency. It is selected in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. But in Italy without political recommendations, nor previous in the family, does not find work, then "emigrate" turning the world, directing many films for the foreign market. All in English, with American and European actors. So he meets his friend, Bruno Mattei. Together they make all genres: horror, western, science fiction, adventure, thriller, war and detective. Later he divides himself from Bruno Mattei, but continues to travel the world, making other horror movies, science fiction and zombies. In 1984 an American production called him to direct the rock star Alice Cooper, as protagonist of the film: "Monster Dog". In 1985 he directed the cult "After Death" in the Philippines. In 1989 he directed in America, the film phenomenon that has lasted for almost thirty years, "Goblin", later called Troll2 from the American distribution, creating a misunderstanding that became the success of the film, because Troll2 was never the sequel of the first Troll, but a comic horror story for families, without blood, called Goblin. In 1993 he returned to Italy, returning to his first love, the cinema of civil commitment. He created the award-winning "Teste Rasate", sold in many countries around the world. In 1995 he made his most successful work "Palermo Milano Solo Andata" with 20th Century Fox Italy. The film is in competition in Venice, and sold in 83 countries. He has made more than 40 films. He discovered many young actors who are stars today. He supervises young directors in their films and never stops, because cinema is his life. Claudio Fragasso is a versatile director, one of the few in Italy, to try his hand at all genres, always experimenting with new things.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Offbeat funnyman Martin Mull was born on August 18, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois, the oldest of three children of Betty, an actress and director, and Harold Mull, a carpenter. He was raised in Ohio. The blond-maned, blue-eyed comedian with the sad, droopy mustache first came in contact with the arts by honing in on his innate talents as a painter. In order to pay his art school tuition, he started organizing bands. At around the same time, he discovered that stand-up comedy was another way to allow his creative juices to flow.
Martin's early recognition as a humorist led to a recording contract, and, over the years, he would be Grammy-nominated several times for a number of eccentric comedy albums. His gimmick and allure came in the form of a dry, humorless delivery and a bland, highly conservative-looking demeanor, which masked a sly, witty and ultra-hip philosophy.
Gaining popularity in the 1970s, he finally broke into TV with the cult soap opera parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) in which he played Garth Gimble, a volatile wife abuser whose comeuppance occurred in the form of an aluminum Christmas tree (impaled) in his home closet. Martin was so popular on the show that he was resurrected in the spin-off series Fernwood Tonight (1977) as twin brother Barth Gimble, who was a co-host of the town's television program along with Fred Willard's Jerry Hubbard character.
After this peak, Martin became a sought-after guest on the talk show circuit, not to mention variety specials and TV movies. He tried his hand at producing and starring in his own sitcom Domestic Life (1984) but the series failed. He also added his special brand of merriment to films over the years, some of them being decent, such as FM (1978), Serial (1980), Mr. Mom (1983) and Clue (1985) in the role of the tweedy-looking Colonel Mustard, while most have been either formula schtick or just plain drivel, as in Take This Job and Shove It (1981), Rented Lips (1987), which he produced and wrote, Cutting Class (1989), Far Out Man (1990) with Cheech & Chong, and Mr. Write (1994).
Martin's extensive TV credits include starring roles in the comedy series His & Hers (1990) co-starring Stephanie Faracy as a fellow doctor; and The Jackie Thomas Show (1992) starring Tom Arnold; and recurring comedy roles including a restaurant boss in the hit "domestic goddess" series Roseanne (1988); a principal in Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996); a high school teacher in The Ellen Show (2001); plus 'Til Death (2006), Life in Pieces (2015), I'm Sorry (2017), Arrested Development (2003), The Cool Kids (2018) and The Ranch (2016). Martin has also lent his voice to the animated comedies Family Dog (1993), Teamo Supremo (2002), Danny Phantom (2003) and American Dad! (2005). Millennium film credits include featured roles in The Year That Trembled (2002), Come Away Home (2005), Relative Strangers (2006), Killers (2010), And They're Off (2011) and A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018).
Martin's first passion has always been art and the distinguished multi-media artist's work has been showcased in galleries throughout the world. He also authored the book "Painting, Drawing and World," which is a compilation of ten years of his work. Mull is married to a composer and musician, Wendy, and they have a daughter, Maggie Mull.- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Brea Grant was born in Marshall, Texas and attended high school at Marshall Public High School. She earned an MA at the University of Texas in Austin. Her first television acting job was on Friday Night Lights. She went on to play characters on Dexter and Heroes. She now resides in Los Angeles.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Kate Berlant is an actress, stand-up comedian, and writer who was recently profiled by The New York Times as a "magnetic improvisational comic" at the forefront of experimental comedy. Kate was named a New Face at the 2014 Montreal Comedy Festival and was one of Comedy Central's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2013. She has performed in festivals such as SXSW, the New York Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Moontower, San Francisco Sketchfest, and the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival. She was recently named by Splitsider as one of the Top 10 Up-And-Coming Comedians and was named by Time Out New York as one of the "Three Comics to Watch" in 2012. Kate was commissioned by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles to create material for their online channel and was a featured performer on IFC's "Comedy Drop." She just wrapped a pilot for Comedy Central and for TruTV. Kate recently finished an international tour opening for musician Father John Misty and a national tour with musician Lo-Fang. She has been featured in Rookie Magazine, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Los Angeles Magazine.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Jacqueline Novak is a comedian whose Off-Broadway, one-woman stand-up show, "Get on Your Knees" is a New York Times "Critic's Pick." Recognized by the Times on "Best Theater of 2019" and "Best Comedy of 2019" lists, the show has been extended four times in New York City and earned Jacqueline a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance. Jacqueline is a regular on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" and "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." She has appeared on "The Late Late Show with James Corden," HBO's "2 Dope Queens," "Watch What Happens Live" with Andy Cohen, and in her own half-hour stand-up special on Comedy Central's "The Half Hour." Jacqueline's memoir How to Weep in Public: Feeble Offerings on Depression from One Who Knows was published by Crown in 2016.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Natasha Rothwell was born on 18 October 1980 in Wichita, Kansas, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), The Characters (2016) and Insecure (2016).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Rachel Feinstein is known for Trainwreck (2015), I Feel Pretty (2018) and Grand Theft Auto V (2013). She has been married to Peter Brennan since 8 September 2018.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Zina Wilde was born in 1980 in London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Billions (2016), Madoff (2016) and Chuck (2016).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
When he was 11, he wanted to be a comedian like Sid Caesar. Then, when he was 15 and saw Lee J. Cobb in 'Death of a Salesman,' he decided he would be a comedy actor and found that Mel Brooks was a great influence on his screen writing. He combined both talents with directing in The World's Greatest Lover (1977), followed by The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Aisling Bea is an actor, stand-up comedian, and writer from Ireland. In 2020 she won a BAFTA for Breakthrough Talent for her television series This Way Up, in which she also starred. In 2014 she won the British Comedy Award for Best Female TV Comedian. She trained at LAMDA (The London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art). In 2012 she won the Gilded Balloon So You Think You're Funny? stand-up competition; she was the first woman to win it in 20 years.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Erin Pineda was born on 25 August 1980 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for American Princess (2019) and Grace and Frankie (2015).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Dick Gautier was born on 30 October 1931 in Culver City, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Transformers (1984), G.I. Joe (1985) and Get Smart (1965). He was married to Tess Hightower, Barbara Stuart and Beverly J. Gerber. He died on 13 January 2017 in Arcadia, California, USA.- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jessica Chobot serves as the host for Nerdist News, Nerdist News Talks Back and Nerdist News: WTFridays over at Nerdist. She is the host of ESL's Player Vs Player on Hulu, and host/creator of the Bizarre States podcast on iTunes.
Jessica spent the first half of her career at IGN Entertainment where she hosted the popular web shows, IGN Strategize and The Daily Fix. From there it was only natural for her to jump into television where she hosted G4TV's Proving Ground, alongside Ryan Dunn, and as a correspondent for G4's Attack of the Show and X Play. She also hosted the 2 part special, Sand Wars, on the Travel Channel. She is the sideline reporter for Season 7 of BattleBots on the Discovery Channel & Science Channel and had served as a judge on seasons 1 and 2 of BattleBots on ABC.
Jessica's twelve year career has focused on in studio productions and event coverage, including the highly successful Nerdist News show, 343's Halo 5 live streamed launch event, The Coalition's Gears of War 4 live streamed launch event, and various other live events and e-sports coverage throughout the entertainment industry.
As a notable and knowledgeable woman in the entertainment industry, Jessica Chobot has made appearances as an industry expert for ABC World News, Extra!, FOX News Live, CBS News and much more.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was half of a duo with the late Rick Roman. Dropped out of Temple University. Moved to Los Angeles in 1994. Met actor Jay Johnston through their mutual friend, Adam McKay, and created a live sketch show called "The Skates", which led to his being hired on HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995).- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Stephen James Merchant is an English actor, comedian, director, presenter and writer.
Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series The Office (2001-2003), and co-writer, co-director, and co-star of both Extras (2005-2007) and Life's Too Short (2011-2013). With Gervais and Karl Pilkington, he hosted The Ricky Gervais Show in its radio, podcast, audio-book, and television formats; the radio version won a bronze Sony Award. He also provided the voice of the robotic "Intelligence Dampening Core" Wheatley in the 2011 video game Portal 2. Merchant co-developed the Sky1 travel series An Idiot Abroad (2010-2012) and co-created Lip Sync Battle (2015-present). In 2021 he starred in, co-wrote, co-produced, and co-directed the 12-part comedy crime series The Outlaws.
Merchant has also performed as a stand-up comedian, which led to him writing and starring in the HBO series Hello Ladies (2013-2014), which was based on his stand-up material. He starred in his first play, Richard Bean's The Mentalists, at London's Wyndham's Theatre in 2015. He also appeared as the mutant Caliban in the superhero film Logan (2017), and as serial killer Stephen Port in the 2022 television drama Four Lives. He has received numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, three BAFTA Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four British Comedy Awards.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
British actress Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer was born in Hammersmith, London, England, to writer and barrister Sir John Mortimer and his second wife, Penelope (née Gollop). She was educated at St Paul's Girls' School in West London, and it was whilst there she began acting. Mortimer moved on from school to Lincoln College, Oxford University, where she studied English Literature and Russian, and spent two terms at the Moscow Arts Theater Drama School, studying acting.
While appearing in an Oxford University student production, Mortimer was spotted by a TV producer who cast her in an adaptation of Catherine Cookson' s The Glass Virgin (1995). She made her feature film debut in 1996 alongside Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996). Roles in various projects have followed, including Elizabeth (1998), Love's Labour's Lost (2000), Match Point (2005), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Shutter Island (2010) and Hugo (2011).
During the making of Love's Labour's Lost (2000), Mortimer met her husband Alessandro Nivola. The couple have two children, Sam Nivola and May Nivola.- Actress
- Writer
Jess Salgueiro comes from her Portuguese-Canadian heritage, with her parents, John and Maria Salgueiro, moving from Alcanena and Santa Bárbara DE Nexe, respectively. Jess has two sisters, Julie and Nancy.
Salgueiro's talents extend beyond acting. She also earned writing credits for the short film "Attic for Rent." Additionally, her skills in voice acting are featured in the video game "Far Cry 6," set to release in 2021.
Salgueiro's passion for writing is not limited to screenplays. A few years ago, she launched a website titled "Bitches Be Witches." The site's mission is to challenge, redefine, and reshape the concept of womanhood in contemporary times. It serves as a platform for continuous discovery and rethinking, aiming to create a world where women can move forward naturally and genuinely.- Actress
- Writer
The daughter of Canadian actor Christopher Plummer and American actress Tammy Grimes, Amanda Plummer was born in New York City on March 23, 1957. Her breakthrough role came when she starred opposite Robin Williams in The Fisher King (1991). However, Plummer may be best remembered for her work in the Quentin Tarantino classic Pulp Fiction (1994). Tarantino wrote the parts of two robbers who hold up a restaurant specifically for Plummer and her partner-in-screen-crime Tim Roth. Since that stand-out role, Plummer has continued to appear in a wide variety of films, including The Prophecy (1995), Freeway (1996), and My Life Without Me (2003). Plummer has also appeared in the films Butterfly Kiss (1995) as "Eunice" by Michael Winterbottom, My Life Without Me (2003) by Isabel Coixet, Pax (1994) by Eduardo Guedes, Daniel (1983) by Sidney Lumet, Ken Park (2002) by Larry Clark and, lately, The Making of Plus One (2010) and Inconceivable (2008), both by Mary McGuckian.
She has often performed on stage. Her highly acclaimed work on Broadway has garnered her a Tony award and two Tony Award nominations as well as the Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award. She was honored with three Emmy awards, and one Emmy nomination, a Saturn Award, a DVDX nomination, a CableAce Award and a Golden Globe nomination. In 1988, she was honored with the Anti-Defamation League Award for Woman of Achievement.
On stage, Plummer appeared as Alma in Tennessee Williams's "Summer and Smoke" with Kevin Anderson, directed by Michael Wilson. At the Stratford Theater in Ontario, she was Joan of Arc in an original adaptation of "The Lark" by Jean Anouilh, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.
She appeared as Polly in "The Gnadiges Fraulein" with Elizabeth Ashley, and as Kyra in the world premiere of "One Exception", both by Tennessee Williams, at the Hartford Stage.
On Broadway, she appeared as Jo in "A Taste of Honey" (nominated for a Tony Award, and Drama Desk Award, and received the Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World Awards); as Agnes in "Agnes of God" with Geraldine Page (Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle, and Boston Critics Awards); as Eliza in "Pygmalion" with Peter O'Toole and John Mills (Tony Award nomination); as Laura in "The Glass Menagerie" with Jessica Tandy; and as Dolly in "You Never Can Tell" by George Bernard Shaw.
Among her off-Broadway shows are "A Lie of the Mind" as Beth, directed and written by Sam Shepard with Harvey Keitel, Aidan Quinn and Geraldine Page, "Killer Joe" by Tracy Letts, "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Any More" by Tennessee Williams, and "A Taste of Honey" with Valerie French. In England, at the Guilford Theatre, she appeared as Eliza Doolittle in "Pygmalion," and at the Royal Court Theatre performed in "This Is a Chair," directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Carol Churchill.
Her regional work includes Juliet in "Romeo & Juliet" (Hollywood Dramalogue Award) and Sonya in "Uncle Vanya," Frankie in "A Member of the Wedding," "Two Rooms," and "The Wake of Jamey Foster" by Beth Henley.
In television, she is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, one Emmy nomination, a Cable Ace Award, and a Golden Globe nomination. She appeared as Lucky in the filmed workshop, "Core Sample - Goli Otok" with Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave, directed by Lenka Udovicki, the artistic director of The Ulysses Theater on Brijuni, Croatia, and also in Lucky McKee's film Red (2008).- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Dick Gregory was born on 12 October 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Hot Chick (2002), The Leisure Seeker (2017) and Reno 911! (2003). He was married to Lillian Gregory. He died on 19 August 2017 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Alan Tudyk was born in El Paso, Texas, but grew up in Plano, where he attended Plano Sr. High. In 1990, he went on to study drama at Lon Morris Jr. College. While there, he was awarded the Academic Excellence Award for Drama. He was also named Most Likely to Succeed and Sophomore Beau. During this time, Alan was also an active member of the Delta Psi Omega fraternity.
After leaving LMJC, Alan went on to study at the prestigious Juilliard conservatory but left in 1996 before earning a degree.
After a number of smaller stage productions and a small role in the movie Patch Adams (1998), Alan landed his first Broadway role in 1999 with "Epic Proportions." He quickly became a sought-after comedic actor, with roles in such films as 28 Days (2000) and A Knight's Tale (2001).
In 2002, Alan got the role of Wash, the wise-cracking pilot of Serenity on the short-lived series Firefly (2002). Although it lasted only eleven episodes, this may be Alan's most well-known and best-loved role. No other networks would buy the failed series, but Universal Pictures began courting creator Joss Whedon to produce a big-screen version of the series. While awaiting the final news of Firefly's fate, Alan played the beloved Steve the Pirate in the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) and the voice of the robot Sonny in I, Robot (2004).
In 2005, Alan finally reprised the role of Wash in Serenity (2005), the feature-film version of the series Firefly. The same year, he went back to Broadway from June to November, taking over the role of Lancelot for Hank Azaria in the successful musical "Spamalot."
He lives in New York City but also has a place in Los Angeles, California- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Marc Menchaca was born on 10 October 1975 in San Angelo, Texas, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Ozark (2017), Homeland (2011) and She's Lost Control (2014). He has been married to Lena Headey since 8 October 2022.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Roisin Conaty is an actress, comedian and writer from London. She is best known for GameFace (2017) which she created and stars in, Ricky Gervais' film David Brent: Life on the Road (2016) and Man Down (since 2013). A celebrated stand-up, Roisin won the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award 2010 for Best Newcomer. She is a one of the most prominent comic faces on television, appearing regularly on entertainment shows such as Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You, 8 Out of 10 Cats does Countdown and Would I Lie To You.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Versatile veteran character actor Jonathan Banks was born in Washington, D.C. in 1947. While growing up he always had an interest in acting and stage work, so decided to pursue a career in entertainment. To this day he is a very accomplished stage actor. While acting in film, he usually plays sinister types or villains. He can be seen in Better Call Saul (2015) as Mike Ehrmantraut.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Burly, talented character actor who remained consistently busy playing "rough edged" or scary characters, often on the wrong side of the law. Young was born on April 30, 1940, in New York City, the son of a high school shop teacher. He is of Italian descent. Young received his dramatic arts training under acting coach Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.
Young first gathered notice playing tough thugs in such films as The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), Across 110th Street (1972), Chinatown (1974) and The Gambler (1974). Director Sam Peckinpah cast Young as the getaway driver/assassin, "Mac", in The Killer Elite (1975), and Young came to the attention of newcomer Sylvester Stallone, who cast him as future brother-in-law "Paulie" in the 1976 sleeper hit Rocky (1976).
Young was nominated for an Oscar, and has gone on to reprise the role in all five "Rocky" sequels to date! Peckinpah re-hired him to play renegade trucker "Pigpen" in the moderately successful Convoy (1978) (watch for "Pigpen's" Mack truck where the writing on the door states "Paulie Hauling"!).
Young also appeared in Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) and The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002).- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
Linda Marsh was born in New York City. Her father was a physician and her mother was an off-Broadway actress and producer. After attending Bennington College, she appeared in three short-lived off-Broadway productions. In 1963, despite having only two TV episodes to her credit, she was selected by Elia Kazan to play "Thomna Sinnikoglou" in America America (1963) , receiving a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. The following year (1964), she played "Ophelia" on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in John Gielgud's production of Hamlet (1964), which was filmed on-stage and released as a movie. The production boasted, among others, Hamlet (1964), Hume Cronyn, Alfred Drake, and Eileen Herlie.
Subsequent to this stage role, Linda underwent operations to reduce and reshape her nose. From this point in the mid-1960s to the late-1970s, she garnered roles in popular television programs, such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), The Wild Wild West (1965), It Takes a Thief (1968), and I Spy (1965). Outside of guest appearances, she made four feature films and three television movies.
In 1979, after her third appearance on Hawaii Five-O (1968), she was to receive no further screen or TV credits; however, she applied her talents to television production and writing. An article by Jack Gaver in the March 22, 1964 edition of the Pittsburgh Press noted that Marsh had been selected for roles from directors such as Elia Kazan and John Gielgud over many other actresses, some with more experience.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Howard Hesseman was a leading counter-culture figure since the late 1960s. He was a member of the improv group, "The Committee", for a decade in the 1960s/1970s. A character actor for many years on different television shows since the 1960s, he took small parts in The Andy Griffith Show (1960), Dragnet 1967 (1967), Soap (1977), and Sanford and Son (1972). The role that brought him to prominence was Howard Johnson in the cult classic Billy Jack (1971).
He was a frequent guest star on The Bob Newhart Show (1972) but would become best-known for his role on the classic series WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), as anti-disco hipster DJ "Dr. Johnny Fever". Also in the 1970s, he appeared in The Sunshine Boys (1975), Tunnel Vision (1976), Silent Movie (1976) and The Big Bus (1976). After the cancellation of WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), he went on to star as the husband of Ann Romano in One Day at a Time (1975). After that series was cancelled, Hesseman starred in This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Doctor Detroit (1983), Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985), Clue (1985), and Flight of the Navigator (1986).
He then starred as history teacher Charlie Moore in Head of the Class (1986). He left that show in 1990 and appeared in a steady stream of television guest roles. In 1987, he appeared in Amazon Women on the Moon (1987). In 1991, he starred in Rubin and Ed (1991). Afterward, he appeared in other films, including Gridlock'd (1997) (with Tupac Shakur). His work in later years concentrated mostly on television, where he took mostly small guest roles, in such shows as That '70s Show (1998), Touched by an Angel (1994), The Practice (1997), and Crossing Jordan (2001).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Cristin Milioti was born and raised in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She has Jewish, Italian, Belgian, Czech, and Irish ancestry, and calls her family "Olive Garden Italian." In middle school, she found her love of acting at Long Lake Camp for the Arts in New York. She attended Cherry Hill High School East, graduating in 2003. She took acting classes at New York University, but dropped out during her freshman year. However, she is listed in the university's advertising.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Ken Marino was born on 19 December 1968 in Long Island, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Wanderlust (2012), The State (1993) and The Ten (2007). He has been married to Erica Oyama since 8 October 2005. They have two children.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Adam Scott was born in Santa Cruz, California, the son of Anne and Dougald Scott. He has two older siblings, Shannon and David. Scott has said that his brother David "looks like me but is far more cerebral and inherited the intellect of our parents," both of whom are retired teachers. He graduated from Harbor High School and he is an alumnus of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, California, class of 1993.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Ronny Chieng is a Chinese comedian and actor born in Malaysia and raised in New Hampshire and Singapore. He started performing stand-up in 2009 after graduating with a dual degree in Law and Commerce from The University of Melbourne, Australia. His act caught the attention of the esteemed Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, where he performed in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016. There he was noticed by comedians and talent scouts who helped him launch sold-out stand-up tours in Australia, Hong Kong, and Canada.
Trevor Noah was among the many who loved Ronny's work at the JFL Festival and hired him for Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' where he's been a correspondent since 2015. Back in Australia, Ronny co-created and starred in the sit-com 'Ronny Chieng: International Student', which aired in the US on Comedy Central and was based on his law school experiences. In 2016, he was named one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch. In 2018, Ronny starred as Eddie Cheng in the blockbuster Warner Bros. film 'Crazy Rich Asians'. Ronny can most recently be seen in the Amazon film, 'Bliss' opposite Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek and Warner Bros.'s Godzilla v. Kong'.
Ronny's stand-up has been televised on four Australian specials and NBC's 'Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'. He recently released his first Netflix Special, 'Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America!'.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Nasim Pedrad (born November 18, 1981) is an American actress and comedian best known for her five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (1975) from 2009 to 2014. She has since gone on to co-star in sitcoms such as Mulaney (2014), Scream Queens (2015), People of Earth (2016), and New Girl (2011).
Pedrad was born in Tehran, Iran, to a Muslim family. Her parents are Arasteh Amani and Parviz Pedrad. Pedrad's family emigrated to the United States in 1984 when she was three years old. Her younger sister is comedy writer Nina Pedrad. Both sisters are fluent in Persian. The sisters were raised in Irvine, California, and graduated from University High School. Nasim graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2003. She was a member of the UCLA Spring Sing Company.
Pedrad was a performer with the Sunday Company at The Groundlings. She frequently performed her one-woman show Me, Myself & Iran at the Los Angeles divisions of ImprovOlympic and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. The show was selected for the 2007 HBO Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. She received an LA Weekly Best Comedic Performance of the Year Award as the lead in the comedic spoof After School Special.
Pedrad made her first television appearance on an episode of Gilmore Girls (2000). In 2007, she made a guest appearance on The Winner (2007). She had a recurring role on ER (1994) as Nurse Suri. In 2009, she had a guest appearance on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005).
Pedrad joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2009 as part of the 35th (2009-2010) season. Pedrad is one of a handful of cast members born outside North America (joining Italian-born Tony Rosato, New Zealand-born Pamela Stephenson, English-born Morwenna Banks, and Chilean-born Horatio Sanz). Pedrad became a repertory player in the 2011-12 season after two years of being a featured player. Pedrad left SNL in 2014 to work on Mulaney.
In 2011, she was a recurring voice on the Fox animated series Allen Gregory (2011). She appeared with a small role in the 2011 film No Strings Attached (2011). In 2012, she had a supporting voice role in the animated feature film The Lorax (2012) and a small appearance in The Dictator (2012). In 2013, Pedrad had another supporting voice role in Despicable Me 2 (2013). In the autumn of 2014, she left Saturday Night Live to star in a new Fox sitcom, Mulaney. On October 18, 2014, Fox shut down production of the series by reducing the 16-episode order by three episodes. Filming for the thirteenth episode had just been completed prior to the order reduction, and the fourteenth episode was about to enter production.
Beginning in 2015, Pedrad has a recurring guest role as LAPD officer Aly Nelson on the Fox sitcom New Girl. She portrayed Gigi Caldwell in season one of Fox horror-comedy Scream Queens.
In 2016, she appeared in a commercial for Old Navy alongside comedian Kumail Nanjiani and other SNL cast members Cecily Strong and Jay Pharoah.
In 2017, she joined the cast of season two of the TBS comedy series People of Earth. Later that same year, she also made guest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013).- Actress
- Writer
Bo Martynowska is a Slavic-Canadian artist born on the Baltic island of Uznam 27/09/1991. Martynowska is a graduate of Humber College's Arts program and later majored in Psychology at York University in Toronto. Bo is best known for her role as Temperance Hudson on The CW's Nancy Drew and Tiffany Gimble on Designated Survivor.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Anja Savcic is an actor and producer, known for Loudermilk (2017), Big Sky (2020) and Ricky Stanicky (2024). Anja is married to Jeremy Laurie.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Sam Richardson is an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known for playing Richard Splett in the HBO political comedy series Veep (2012-2019), co-creating and co-starring in the Comedy Central comedy series Detroiters (2017-2018) alongside Tim Robinson, and playing various characters in the Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019-present), and co-starring in The Afterparty (2022).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Zoë Chao was born in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Love Life (2020), Downhill (2020) and Strangers (2017).- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Caitlin Fowler is known for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014), 30 Rock (2006) and The Dance Lesson (2019).- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Charles Peckham Day was born in New York City, NY, and raised in Middletown, Rhode Island. His parents are both music teachers - his mother, Mary (Peckham), is a piano teacher, and his father, Dr. Thomas Charles Day, was a professor of music at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. Charlie plays both piano and guitar. He has Italian (from his paternal grandfather), Irish, and English ancestry.
He attended Merrimack College in Massachusetts, majoring in art history. After graduating, he began acting at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and in small television roles. He supplemented his income by waiting tables and answering phones for a telethon selling a Motown anthology. He got his first agent after performing a funny blues song he'd written at a cabaret night.
His big break came in 2005 after he pitched a home video he shot with his friends Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton. This eventually became the hit series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005). As well as starring in the show, Charlie is also an Executive Producer and one of the writers. His breakthrough film role was Horrible Bosses (2011).
He resides in Los Angeles with his wife.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Jenny Sarah Slate is an American actress, comedian, and author. Born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Slate was educated at Milton Academy and studied literature at Columbia University, where she became involved in the improvise and comedy scene. She lent voice performances to the animated films The Lorax (2012), Zootopia (2016), The Secret Life of Pets (2016), The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Despicable Me 3 (2017), and The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019), and she ventured into dramatic roles with her supporting performance as Bonnie in Gifted (2017). She also appeared in the critically acclaimed science-fiction film, Everything Everywhere All At Once.- Daniella Pineda is a Mexican-American actress, writer, and comedian from Oakland, California.
In January 2013 it was announced that she was cast as the witch Sophie for season 4 episode 20 of The CW's hit series The Vampire Diaries. This episode serves as a backdoor pilot for a possible spin-off series, revolving around The Originals and taking place in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Season one of The Originals was set to premiere on Tuesday, October 15. However, on July 29, 2013, The CW announced that the series premiere would instead air on October 3, 2013, following the fifth-season premiere of The Vampire Diaries in order to attract fans of the series. On October 10, 2013, the CW ordered three additional scripts for the series.
Pineda graduated from Mills College. She resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.