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Actor, Producer and Founder of independent film company Entangled Entertainment, Noel Guglielmi was raised in Los Angeles and first cast -- without a formal audition -- in a Taco Bell commercial at the age of 15.
Discovered during an acting class as a boy, today he is one of Hollywood's most recognized faces with more than 150 large and small-screen credits to his name over a 25-year career.
Noel has worked with some of the best in the business, with roles in Fast and Furious, Training Day, Bruce Almighty, Purge Anarchy, The Dark Knight Rises, Fresh Off the Boat, CSI Miami, Bones, The Walking Dead and literally hundreds more.
His personal dedication to entertainment spans not only acting and producing but writing, digital content creation, stand-up comedy, talent recruitment, coaching and mentoring as well as motivational speaking.
For Noel, the opportunity to engage audiences across cultures, ages and borders is made even more rewarding when he can draw from his dramatically unique personal experiences to enlighten and improve the quality of life for others, especially at-risk youth and criminal offenders to pop and car culture enthusiasts and more.
After groundbreaking years in the profession as one of Hollywood's original Latino celebrities, Noel was honored to be invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017 as part of its diversity efforts and in recognition of his contributions.
Noel credits much of his success to learning from his peers. Attentive to every important aspect of film creation and being true to his roots and community help him stand out to succeed in one of the world's most competitive professions and against challenging odds.
Today, he makes time to mentor others both in business and life.- Actor
- Director
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Bill Camp was born on 22 October 1964 in Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Sound of Freedom (2023), 12 Years a Slave (2013) and The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017). He has been married to Elizabeth Marvel since 4 September 2004. They have one child.- Actress
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- Producer
Jennifer Coolidge is a versatile character actress and experimental comedienne, best known for playing Stifler's mom in American Pie (1999).
She was born on August 28, 1961, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to Gretchen (Knauff) and Paul Constant Coolidge, a plastics manufacturer. Young Coolidge was dreaming of becoming a singer. She attended Norwell High School and Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and earned her bachelor's degree in theatre in 1985. She moved to New York and joined the Gotham City improv group. Then, she headed to Los Angeles where she became a long-running member of "The Groundlings" comedy troupe. Coolidge made her television debut in a guest role on NBC's Seinfeld (1989), playing a voluptuous masseuse who won't offer her professional services to boyfriend Jerry in a 1993 episode. The following year, she had a regular gig on ABC's short-lived sketch series She TV (1994), then briefly became a cast member and writer on another short-lived sketch comedy series, Fox's Saturday Night Special (1996) produced by Roseanne Barr.
Coolidge made her big screen debut as a nurse in Not of This Earth (1995), then in the courtroom comedy Trial and Error (1996). Then, she appeared in small roles in several more feature films, and also continued her television work. Coolidge had her breakthrough role in American Pie (1999), as a boozed-up and sultry mom who seduces her son's classmate with the comment that she liked her scotch and men the same way: aged 18 years. She recreated the character in the sequel American Pie 2 (2001). Then, she reprized her role as "Paulette" opposite Reese Witherspoon in the "Legally Blonde" franchise. Although, she lost the part of "Lynette Scavo" on Desperate Housewives (2004) to Felicity Huffman, Coolidge graced several TV comedies as well, with major guest appearances on Frasier (1993) and Sex and the City (1998). Then, she landed a recurring role in the ABC sitcom Joey (2004), as "Bobbie Morgenstern", Joey's agent, appearing in 37 episodes over two seasons.
Eventually, Coolidge emerged as a versatile character actress with her no-holds-barred approach to comedy and her vanity-free comfort with playing uninhibited, unappealing characters, and delivering lines with sexual innuendo. Her talent shines in a range of characters, from a gold-digging dog owner in Best in Show (2000), to a scheming wife of an elderly mogul in Down to Earth (2001), to an opportunistic mother in American Dreamz (2006). Coolidge's gift for altering her appearance and manner, as well as her mastery of timing, shines in her perfectly hideous performance as "Fiona", a wicked stepmother in A Cinderella Story (2004) opposite Hilary Duff, for which Coolidge won a 2005 Teen Choice Award. Her lasting collaboration with director Christopher Guest continues in For Your Consideration (2006).
She has been sharing her time between her two homes, one is in Hollywood, California, and one in New Orleans, where she bought a historic mansion before the Hurricane Katrina hit the city, and then became involved in its restoration.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Diana Dale Dickey is an American actress who has worked in theater, film, and television. Dickey won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance as Merab in the 2010 independent drama film Winter's Bone. She is also known for her character roles in a number of mainstream and independent films as of the early 2000s, and for recurring performances in television shows such as My Name Is Earl, Breaking Bad, True Blood, and Justified. She also appeared on the television series Vice Principals on HBO.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Walton Goggins is an actor of considerable versatility and acclaim who has delivered provocative performances in a multitude of feature films and television series. He won a Critics' Choice Award for his performance in the HBO comedy series "Vice Principals" and landed an Emmy nomination for his role of 'Boyd Crowder' on FX's "Justified," among numerous accolades.
Goggins is the producer/star of the hit new CBS single-camera comedy "The Unicorn," which debuted as TV's #1 New Show and has been picked up for a full season. The series is about a tight-knit group of best friends and family who help 'Wade' (Goggins) embrace his "new normal" in the wake of the loss of his wife one year ago. As a sometimes ill-equipped but always devoted single parent to his two adolescent daughters, he is taking the major step of dating again. To Wade's amazement, he's a hot commodity with women, and his friends explain that he's the perfect single guy - a "unicorn": employed, attractive, and with a proven track record of commitment.
He has also re-teamed with his former "Vice Principals" co-star Danny McBride on HBO's comedy series "The Righteous Gemstones," which has been renewed for a second season. Written, directed and EP'ed by McBride, it tells the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed and charitable work. Goggins plays 'Baby Billy,' a former child star who clogged and sang for Jesus. As an aging man, he's fallen on hard times and comes to the Gemstones for salvation.
On the feature front, Goggins plays the role of 'Christ' in THREE CHRISTS, which IFC Films will release in theaters, VOD and Digital on January 10, 2020. The story follows a doctor (Richard Gere) who is treating paranoid schizophrenic patients at the Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan, each of whom believe they are Jesus Christ. The film made its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Goggins recently starred opposite Oscar winner Olivia Colman in the Appalachian thriller THEM THAT FOLLOW, which made its World Premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released in August 2019. The film followed members of an isolated community of Pentecostal snake handlers led by 'Pastor Lemuel' (Goggins). In the can is the indie feature WORDS ON BATHROOM WALLS.
In 2018, Goggins appeared in three major studio features: He starred opposite Alicia Vikander in Warner Bros./MGM's TOMB RAIDER reboot, in the role of villain 'Mathias Vogel.' The film opened as the #1 film globally. In its review, Variety proclaimed, "Goggins, a magnetic actor who projects the lean, hungry anger of vintage-period Jack Nicholson, never hits you over the head with evil; he lets Vogel's sleazy cruelty seep through his pores."
In Disney/Marvel's ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, the sequel to the superhero feature starring Paul Rudd, Goggins played 'Sonny Burch,' a character deep in the Marvel mythos. Additionally, he appeared in Twentieth Century Fox's MAZERUNNER: THE DEATH CURE, the third installment of the highly successful franchise that also opened at #1.
In recent years, Goggins has had pivotal roles in films by two of Hollywood's most important auteurs: Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg. His integral role as 'Chris Mannix,' a southern renegade who claims to be the new sheriff of Red Rock in Tarantino's THE HATEFUL EIGHT, marked his second collaboration with the Academy Award-winning writer/director. He previously played slave fight trainer 'Billy Crash' in Tarantino's 2012 DJANGO UNCHAINED. That same year, Goggins also appeared in Steven Spielberg's LINCOLN, where he portrayed Congressman 'Wells A. Hutchins.'
For television, Goggins headlined and executive-produced season two of the contemporary espionage thriller "Deep State." He starred as 'Nathan Miller,' a former CIA operative who now works in the private sector as a fixer for the deep state and is at the heart of the new season. The series aired in the U.S. on EPIX, and Fox Networks Group Europe & Africa aired it globally in 50 markets in the summer of 2019.
Goggins won a Critics Choice Award for his role opposite Danny McBride in the HBO series "Vice Principals," which aired for two seasons. Created by McBride and Jody Hill, who also created "Eastbound & Down," "Vice Principals" is a dark comedy about a high school and the two people who almost run it, the vice principals (McBride and Goggins).
He starred in the first season of HISTORY's "Six," a military action drama from A+E Studios and The Weinstein Co that was the top new cable series of 2017 in total viewers. Inspired by current events, it followed an elite team of Navy SEALs whose mission to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan went awry when they uncovered a U.S. citizen working with the terrorists. Goggins played 'Rip Taggart,' the one-time leader of the SEAL team SIX squad.
For over a decade, Goggins has been one of the most magnetic and intense actors on television. He received an Emmy® nomination and four Critics Choice Award nominations for his mesmerizing portrayal of 'Boyd Crowder' on FX's Peabody Award-winning Drama series "Justified," which ran for six seasons. Goggins' 'Boyd' was the long-time friend, yet ultimate nemesis to U.S. Marshal 'Raylan Givens' (Timothy Olyphant). Elmore Leonard, EP and writer of the short story "Fire in the Hole" on which the show is based, says of 'Boyd,' "There has never been a more poetic bad guy on television in the way that he sees the world."
Goggins' critical turn as the complex transgender prostitute 'Venus Van Dam' on the FX drama series "Sons of Anarchy" earned him two Critics Choice Award nominations and helped shed a fresh light on the transgender community.
For seven years Walton garnered much acclaim for his complex and edgy portrayal of 'Detective Shane Vendrell' on FX's gritty, award-winning drama series "The Shield." He was nominated for a Television Critics Association (TCA) Award in the category of "Individual Achievement in Drama."
He has also taken his turn behind the camera. Goggins' collaborations with his partners at Ginny Mule Pictures include winning an Academy Award® for their 2001 short film, THE ACCOUNTANT, which he produced and starred in. The team produced, directed and starred in their first feature, CHRYSTAL, starring Billy Bob Thornton, which was accepted into the 2005 Sundance Film Festival's Dramatic Competition. For their third collaboration, Goggins produced and starred in the feature RANDY AND THE MOB, which won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2007 Nashville Film Festival.
Goggins and his Ginny Mule partners completed their fourth feature, THAT EVENING SUN, starring Hal Holbrook and Goggins. The film made its world premiere at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, TX in 2009, where it won the Narrative Feature Audience Award and received the Special Jury Award for "Best Ensemble Cast." It went on to win awards at over 14 film festivals, culminating with the honor of the "Wyatt Award" from the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and two Independent Spirit Award nominations.
Goggins is co-owner of Mulholland Distilling, a portfolio of premium spirits reflecting the vibrant, rich culture of Los Angeles and one of the first spirits companies from the city of Los Angeles since prohibition. Its namesake William Mulholland was the visionary who expanded the boundaries and possibilities of L.A. by bringing water to the desert town. Now, Mulholland Distilling is bringing a different kind of water to the city, the water of life. American Whiskey. Vodka. Gin. "The Spirit of Los Angeles." With a mission to create artisanal spirits inspired by the diversity and verve of Los Angeles, the brand has worked with top distillers, blenders and mixologists across the nation to bring only the best to the City of Angels (www.mulhollanddistilling.com).
Goggins enjoys traveling the world and has spent time in Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Central America, Morocco and India. He is an avid photographer and has captured many of his journeys on film.- Actress
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Beth Grant has the unique honor of having co-starred in three Academy Award winning Best Pictures - Barry Levinson's Rain Man, the Coen Brothers's No Country For Old Men and Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist. Furthering her reputation as an Oscar lucky charm was her work with Johnny Depp in Gore Verbinski's Rango, the Academy's Best Animated Feature. Grant received the Screen Actors Best Ensemble Award for No Country For Old Men and Dayton-Faris's Little Miss Sunshine.
Grant co-starred in David O. Russell's Amsterdam, playing Robert De Niro's wife, opposite Margot Robbie, Christian Bale and John David Washington. As a Southerner she is particularly proud of her critically acclaimed role as "Addy Bundren" in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying directed by James Franco, premiering at Cannes. Grant enjoys cult status with hits Donnie Darko, To Wong Foo and Sordid Lives.
Grant had a blast in a five-episode arc on the final season of Amazon's Goliath where she gave hell to Billy Bob Thornton, Nina Arianda, Bruce Dern, Jena Malone, and J.K. Simmons. Grant stars as Carlotta Mayfair on Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches on AMC, AMC+, two seasons as "Cat Lady" in Dollface with Kat Dennings on Hulu, and 6 seasons as fan favorite "Beverly" on The Mindy Project now on Fox, Hulu and Netflix.
Her 140+ films include Lucky with Harry Dean Stanton and David Lynch, Pablo Larrain's Jackie, starring Natalie Portman, Words On Bathroom Walls with Charlie Plummer and Taylor Russell, Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men starring Nic Cage, and her four movies with Sandra Bullock - Speed, A Time To Kill, All About Steve and Bullock directed Making Sandwiches.
Grant delights in having created so many well known and popular, if often wacky, characters who she remembers as dear friends. Among her favorites are characters in Friends, Child's Play 2, Flatliners, CSI, Criminal Minds, The X-Files, Coach and recurring roles on Elmore Leonard's Maximum Bob, and Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events both directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.
She adored working with writer/director Todd Holland on The Wizard, Malcolm In The Middle, and Wonderfalls, co-created with Bryan Fuller who also wrote roles for her on Pushing Daisies, Mockingbird Lane and American Gods.
Beth Grant loves doing theatre! She received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, LA Stage Alliance Ovation, LA Weekly Award, Backstage West Award for Lead Actress in Del Shores's The Trials And Tribulations Of Trailer Trash Housewife. Grant starred Off Broadway in Tony George's Tricks The Devil Taught Me at The Minetta Lane Theater. Grant has won three Ovation Awards, including Lead Actress for Grace And Glorie at The Colony Theatre directed by Cameron Watson who also directed her in his beloved feature Our Very Own opposite Allison Janney, Robert Carradine and Jason Ritter.
Theatre credits also include world premieres by Maya Angelou, Romulus Linney, Horton Foote and Mark V. Olsen. Grant had two stints at The Ahmanson in Picnic with Jennifer Jason Leigh and Gregory Harrison and Summer And Smoke, directed by renowned Broadway director Marshall Mason, starring Christopher Reeve.
Grant enjoys claiming several hometowns in the South from Ft. Payne, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia to Wilmington, North Carolina. She was a Page in the North Carolina Senate, attended the NC Governor's School for Gifted And Talented, was a two term president of the College Democrats at her Alma Mater, East Carolina University, and was Governor Robert Scott's appointee to Arts and Recreation Commission at age 19. Early on she studied film acting with Clu Gulager. In later year years she found an acting home as student of Milton Katselas's Master Class.
Grant is a co-executive producer on upcoming release of Flannery O'Connor's Wildcat directed by Ethan Hawke. She produced and plays the title role in Del Shores' film Blues For Willadean, co-starring with Octavia Spencer and Dale Dickey.
Grant directed a multi-award winning short, The Perfect Fit, also starring Spencer along with Lauren Miller Rogen, Ahna O'Reilly, Frances Fisher, Jennifer Zaborowski and Grant's daughter, Mary Chieffo.
Chieffo graduated with honors from The Juilliard School and is the first female Chancellor of The Klingon Empire on Star Trek: Discovery. Grant and her daughter produced Operation Othello with Julius Tennon and Viola Davis's JuVee Productions and Oculus Story Studio, wherein Chieffo re-imagined Shakespeare's Othello, playing his nemesis "Iago" as a woman.
Beth Grant has been married to Mary's father, actor Michael Chieffo, for 37 years. She attributes much of her success to them and to her family of origin, brother Bubba Grant, his wife Dr. Mary Grant, and Beth's always beloved and remembered parents, activist Southern Belle Libba and mild-mannered Southern Gentleman William Grant, all of whom supported her wild and crazy dreams. Beth Grant says she is the luckiest woman in Hollywood.- Actor
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Benedict Wong is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Kublai Khan in Netflix's Marco Polo (2014-2016), Bruce Ng in The Martian (2015), and Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Doctor Strange (2016). Wong was born on 3 July 1971 in Eccles, Greater Manchester, the son of Hong Kong immigrant parents who had traveled through Ireland before settling in England. He was brought up in Eccles, and attended Salford City College (then called De La Salle Sixth Form College) in the surrounding area of Salford. He then took a two-year performing arts course at Salford City College.- Actor
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James Hong was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He studied civil engineering at the University of Minnesota, but at some point along the way became interested in acting. He graduated from the University of Southern California and practiced for 1½ years as a road engineer with the County of Los Angeles. He took sick leaves and vacation time to do films. He finally quit engineering to focus on acting full time.
He is one of the founders of the East-West Players, the oldest Asian American theater in Los Angeles. He served as president and charter member of the Association of Asian Pacific American Artists.
Hong is one of the most prolific and well-recognized Asian-American character actors of movies and television. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is planning to produce and direct his own films.- Eccentric-looking Chinese-American actor with a slightly drooping face (the result of a bout of Bell's palsy) who studied political science, art & journalism before becoming a news reporter for a San Francisco public TV station in the late 1960s.
Apart from a brief stint in the mid-1970s on the TV soap opera Search for Tomorrow (1951), Wong didn't break into movies until he was in his late fifties in the minor telemovie Nightsongs (1984). He then appeared in the explosive Mickey Rourke gang movie Year of the Dragon (1985), followed by the heart warming Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985), before scoring the role he is probably best remembered for, as the Chinese wizard "Egg Shen" helping truck driver Kurt Russell defeat the evil "Lo-Pan" in Big Trouble in Little China (1986).
His offbeat style remained in demand with more work in Prince of Darkness (1987) and then as an opportunistic store owner, who gets more than he bargained for, in the tongue-in-cheek horror film Tremors (1990). Wong then appeared as the wise grandfather / retired ninja in the kids' martial arts adventure 3 Ninjas (1992), plus he repeated his popular role for the sequels 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994), 3 Ninjas: Knuckle Up (1995) and for his final film appearance 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998).
Wong retired from acting in 1998 due to ill health, and passed away in September 2001 from heart failure. - Actor
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Yayan Ruhian was born in Tasikmalaya (West Java) on October 19, 1968. He found his passion in Pencak Silat and other martial arts, becoming a professional martial arts instructor. Ruhian is also known as an instructor of an inner breathing technique designed to condition of the body to withstand any impact. In 1988, he began teaching at Perguruan Silat Tenaga Dasar Indonesia (Inner Breathing Technique Silat School in Indonesia). During his term as an instructor he traveled regularly to teach in different cities and abroad.
Ruhian was a member of a demonstration team who performed at Festival des Arts Martiaux de Paris Bercy in Paris, France, while also participating at Institude Judo Paris in France to showcase Silek Minang (West Sumatra - Minang-style Silat.)
In 2008, Ruhian was hired as one of the choreographers for Merantau as a specialist in both Silat Harimau and Silat Minang. While casting the role of Eric, Gareth was unable to find an actor who would handle both the acting and fighting required for the role. Ruhian auditioned and won the co-starring role.- Actor
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Imposing, barrel-chested and often silver-haired Brian Dennehy was a prolific US actor, well respected on both screen and stage over many decades. He was born in July 1938 in Bridgeport, CT, and attended Columbia University in New York City on a football scholarship. Brian majored in history, before moving on to Yale to study dramatic arts. He first appeared in minor screen roles in such fare as Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Semi-Tough (1977) and Foul Play (1978) and proved popular with casting directors, leading to regular work. However, he really got himself noticed by movie audiences in the box-office hit First Blood (1982) as the bigoted sheriff determined to run Vietnam veteran "John Rambo" (played by Sylvester Stallone) out of his town. Dennehy quickly escalated to stronger supporting or co-starring roles in films including the Cold War thriller Gorky Park (1983), as a benevolent alien in Cocoon (1985), a corrupt sheriff in the western Silverado (1985), a tough but smart cop in F/X (1986) and a cop-turned-writer alongside hit man James Woods in Best Seller (1987). In 1987, Dennehy turned in one of his finest performances as cancer-ridden architect "Stourley Kracklite" in Peter Greenaway's superb The Belly of an Architect (1987), for which he won the Best Actor Award at the 1987 Chicago Film Festival. More strong performances followed. He reprised prior roles for Cocoon: The Return (1988) and F/X2 (1991), and turned in gripping performances in three made-for-TV films: a sadistic small-town bully who gets his grisly comeuppance in In Broad Daylight (1991), real-life serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the chilling To Catch a Killer (1992) and a corrupt union boss in Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992). In 1993, Dennehy appeared in the role of police "Sgt. Jack Reed" in the telemovie Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993), and reprised the role in four sequels, which saw him for the first time become involved in co-producing, directing and writing screen productions! Demand for his services showed no signs of abating, and he put in further memorable performances in Romeo + Juliet (1996), as bad-luck-ridden "Willy Loman" in Death of a Salesman (2000) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award), he popped up in the uneven Spike Lee film She Hate Me (2004) and appears in the remake Assault on Precinct 13 (2005). The multi-talented Dennehy also had a rich theatrical career and appeared both in the United States and internationally in dynamic stage productions including "Death of a Salesman" (for which he picked up the 1999 Best Actor Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award), "A Touch of the Poet", "Long Day's Journey into Night" (for which he picked up another Tony Award in 2003) and in Eugene O'Neill's heart-wrenching "The Iceman Cometh."- Actor
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Ben Stein (Benjamin J. Stein) was born on Nov. 25, 1944 in Washington, D.C. The son of noted economist and writer Herbert Stein, he grew up in Silver Spring, Md., and attended Montgomery Blair High School. Some of his classmates included journalist Carl Bernstein, and actors Goldie Hawn and Sylvester Stallone. He graduated from Columbia University in 1966 with honors in economics and as valedictorian of the 1970 Yale Law School class. He has worked as a poverty lawyer, a trial lawyer, a university adjunct (American University, University of California at Santa Cruz and Pepperdine University), a speech writer for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Herald Examiner, King Features Syndicate, Los Angeles Magazine, New York Magazine, E! Online and The American Spectator. He also writes frequently for The Washington Post. Stein has written and published 16 books (seven novels, nine nonfiction books), the most recent of which is about life with his 12-year-old son, Tommy. He has been a longtime screenwriter and was one of the creators of the TV series Fernwood Tonight (1977). He has acted and made guest appearances in numerous movies and TV series, appears in many TV commercials and is the host of two Comedy Central TV series, Win Ben Stein's Money (1997) (October, 1997-2002) and Turn Ben Stein On (1999). He is married to entertainment-industry attorney Alexandra Denman, son Tom Stein,- Actor
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Peter Riegert was born on 11 April 1947 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and director, known for The Mask (1994), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) and Local Hero (1983).- Actor
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Born into a military family in Huntsville, Alabama -- his father was an army vet who had served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, while his mother held a somewhat mysterious job in the Department of Defence -- Reg E. Cathey spent much of his early childhood living on a rural farmhouse in Germany. There, he watched American TV shows dubbed into German and first became theatre-struck at the age of nine after attending a USO performance of "Guys and Dolls". That same year, he also took up playing the saxophone. That he became an actor and not a jazz musician was happenstance, but, as he once admitted "he was no Lester Young". An incisive and eloquent personality with a uniquely expressive baritone voice, Cathey was to bring a soulful dignity and often unexpected sense of humour to a wide variety of roles on both stage and screen.
Cathey attended the University of Michigan and later studied acting at the Yale School of Drama. The theatre remained his lifelong passion and New York his preferred place of residence. As he later explained: "I learned how to act at Yale but learned how to be an actor in NYC. I escaped wandering lost in the desert that is Los Angeles after a decade (which I'll never get back) and being psychically traumatized, I didn't audition for film and television, immersing myself in the 'Classics.'" And so, Cathey went on to tackle diverse (non-stereotypical) roles, ranging from Prospero in a musical version of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' to 'Red' Redding in a British production of 'The Shawshank Redemption' (a part made famous by Morgan Freeman in the film version).
Though performing more often than not in New York, Cathey did ultimately return to Hollywood. His formidable screen characters have often been marked by a uniquely erudite fierceness. They have included powerful authority figures, scientists and occasional villains in films (The Mask (1994), Tank Girl (1995), Se7en (1995), Fantastic Four (2015)) and shows like The Wire (2002), Outcast (2016) and House of Cards (2013) (his recurring role as Freddy Hayes, owner of Frank Underwood's favourite BBQ joint and secret hangout, which won him an Emmy Award in 2015 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series). In keeping with his credo that "the dark stuff is fun", he also proved excellent value as a shadowy keeper of secrets ('The Caretaker') in an episode of The Blacklist (2013) and as the top-hatted zombie master Baron Samedi, in an episode of Grimm (2011). One of his most poignant roles came near the end as the estranged father of Luke Cage (2016). Not long after, Reg E. Cathey passed away as a result of lung cancer in February 2018 at the untimely age of just 59, never having had the chance of fulfilling his longstanding ambition to play a baritone saxophonist.- Actor
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For the last 20 or so years, Clark has been doing stand-up comedy on the club circuit, on "The Tonight Show", on HBO comedy specials, on [error] and Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993). In addition, he has been in over 50 feature motion pictures and hundreds of episodic TV shows. A decorated Infantry Platoon Leader in Vietnam, Clark brought the plight of the Vietnam Veteran to the people of America in a humorous way in the 1980s and was "adopted" by numerous Veteran Organizations throughout the United States. Having moved from his home state of Georgia to Hollywood, Clark soon landed his first The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) and soon, thereafter, was cast in his first of many recurring roles on television as "Fred the Chauffeur" on Remington Steele (1982). Since then, he has been "Harry" on Home Improvement (1991), "Jules Lambermont" on The Drew Carey Show (1995), "Chet Hunter" on Boy Meets World (1993) and "Bob Nelson" on The Jamie Foxx Show (1996). But Clark is perhaps best known as "Farmer Fran" in The Waterboy (1998). And he recently received critical acclaim as "Marlin Whitmore" in 50 First Dates (2004). He has traveled the world doing comedy and recently went to Iraq for an extended USO Tour with Drew Carey. Clark is a warm, smart, funny and innovative social commentator and a man of all seasons with a quiet patriotism that he lives as well as portrays. His comedy runs the gamut from observation on the current military conflict to his Southern root in Georgia.- Actor
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Tobin Bell is an American actor with a career in film, television and theater spanning three decades. He was born in Queens, New York and raised in Weymouth, Mass. His mother is the British actress Eileen Bell. He is perhaps best known for his role as the iconic villain "Jigsaw" in the Saw film series...for which he received MTV Award nominations in 2007 & 2009. He's a graduate of Boston University and has a Masters Degree in Education from Montclair State University. He studied acting with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse and Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York. He is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio and a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.- Actor
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Steve Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Dorothy (Wilson), a restaurant hostess, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker. He is of Italian (father) and English, Dutch, and Irish (mother) descent. He became interested in acting during his last year of high school. After graduating, he moved to Manhattan to study acting with John Strasberg. He began writing and performing original theatre pieces with fellow actor/writer Mark Boone Junior. This led to his being cast in his first lead role in Parting Glances (1986). Since then, he has worked with many of the top filmmakers in Hollywood, including Quentin Tarantino, Jerry Bruckheimer, and The Coen Brothers. He is a highly respected actor.- Actor
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From his acting debut at age two on "The Andy Griffith Show" to his first lead role in the TV series "Gentle Ben," including roles throughout so many blockbuster films, art-house films, ever-popular cult horror films, and valued comedies, with a rare voice adding life to multiple characters of Disney, Clint Howard is an iconic Hollywood Legend who is ever solid, energetic, and always readily prepared to contribute his talents.
He is one of very few if any who has had a unique five-generation Star Trek run, including episodes in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds", "Star Trek: Discovery," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "Star Trek: Enterprise," all the way to "Star Trek: The Original Series."
Clint has played a variety of characters over the years in several classic films including "Frost/Nixon," "Apollo 13," the Austin Powers trilogy, "The Waterboy," "The Rocketeer," "Tango and Cash," and Disney's "The Jungle Book," along with hundreds of other titles through his 60 years of acting.
Clint Howard has played such a variety of roles ready to take on any acting challenge. He is the ultimate chameleon of television and film. He has consistently worked well alongside Hollywood's fellow top actors throughout the decades, and has fully committed himself to every character in parts large and small. He has carried unique roles echoing through the generations in some of Hollywood's most memorable roles, still driving forth full steam ahead, ready to take on his next acting persona.- Actor
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Michael Madsen is an enigmatic force in the entertainment industry, widely regarded as one of the most intense and compelling actors of our time. With an electrifying presence both on and off the screen, Madsen has captivated audiences worldwide with his mesmerizing performances, making an indelible mark on the realm of cinema. Known for his rugged charm and brooding charisma, Madsen has perfected the art of bringing complex characters to life, seamlessly transitioning between nuanced vulnerability and unbridled intensity. Michael Madsen continues to command attention and leave an indelible impact on the industry.
Born with an innate talent for acting, Madsen's journey in the entertainment industry has been nothing short of extraordinary. His powerful performances have earned him critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base, cementing his status as a true Hollywood icon. Madsen's distinctive ability to effortlessly portray characters with a captivating blend of sensitivity and grit has led to collaborations with renowned directors and fellow actors, garnering him numerous accolades and nominations. His unparalleled versatility has allowed him to effortlessly navigate between genres, delivering unforgettable performances in films such as "Kill Bill: Vol. 1," "Thelma & Louise," and "Donnie Brasco," among others.
Beyond his remarkable acting career, Michael Madsen's multifaceted talents extend to other creative endeavors. An accomplished poet, he has published several volumes of poetry, revealing a profound depth and introspection that mirrors the complexity of his on-screen persona. With an unparalleled body of work and an undying passion for his craft, Michael Madsen remains an indomitable force, continuously pushing the boundaries of cinematic storytelling and leaving an indelible mark on the entertainment landscape.- Actor
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Christopher Shannon Penn was born on October 10, 1965 in Los Angeles, California, the third son of actress Eileen Ryan (née Annucci) and director, actor, and writer Leo Penn. His siblings are musician Michael Penn and actor Sean Penn. His father was from a Lithuanian Jewish/Russian Jewish family, and his mother is of half-Italian and half-Irish descent.
Penn set out to follow in his parents' footsteps and started acting at age twelve in the Loft Studio. While in high school he and his brother Sean made several shorts with their classmates, which included such would-be stars as Emilio Estevez and Rob Lowe. Penn made his onscreen debut in the Christopher Cain movie, Charlie and the Talking Buzzard (1979). After a few years Penn caught the eye of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, who cast him in a supporting role in the teen drama Rumble Fish (1983). Although the film was a flop critically and commercially, Penn's career was well under way.
That same year he acted in All the Right Moves (1983), a high school drama film starring a young Tom Cruise. The next year Penn gave a performance in Footloose (1984), starring Kevin Bacon and dealing with a small town which bans rock & roll music. The movie was a smash hit, and remains a classic to this day. Penn followed this up with a villainous role in Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider (1985), and the crime movie At Close Range (1986), starring Christopher Walken.
Penn acted in a few smaller productions until he was cast as Travis Brickley in the sports drama Best of the Best (1989). Penn's character is a martial arts fighter who joins the other main characters when they enter a taekwondo tournament against the Korean team. The movie spawned several sequels, though Penn only appeared in the first and second films. A few more jobs followed until Penn landed what is known as his most famous movie: Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992). The indie crime film concerned a heist gone wrong, as the criminals search for a rat in their midst. Penn played the role of Nice Guy Eddie, the son of the old gangster that arranges the heist. The film continues to receive acclaim as a classic movie and as the start of Tarantino's directing career. Penn also acted in the Tarantino-scripted Tony Scott crime movie True Romance (1993), albeit in a much smaller role. Penn also took a supporting role in the ensemble film Short Cuts (1993) by Robert Altman.
After participating in these acclaimed films, Penn took on several smaller projects, including a role as the villain in the second "Beethoven" movie. In this period of time, Penn acted in such films as the crime film Mulholland Falls (1996), set in the 1950s. Penn then gave one of his greatest performances in the Abel Ferrara crime drama The Funeral (1996). The movie starred Christopher Walken, Penn, and Vincent Gallo as three brothers who are involved in the world of crime, even as it threatens to take them all down. Penn plays Chez, the middle brother, who has a very short temper. Penn also sang a song in the film as his character. While the film was well received critically and Penn received an award for Best Supporting Actor at the Venice Film Festival for his excellent performance, The Funeral (1996) went largely unseen. Penn followed up with the Canadian film The Boys Club (1996), the crime thriller One Tough Cop (1998), and a supporting role in the hit comedy Rush Hour (1998).
Following his latest success, Penn acted in the drama-comedy The Florentine (1999), the English comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2001), and the crime thriller Murder by Numbers (2002). Penn was also one of the many stars that acted in the box office failure Masked and Anonymous (2003), starring Bob Dylan. The last few years of his career mainly featured supporting roles in such movies as After the Sunset (2004), Starsky & Hutch (2004), and the Canadian crime film King of Sorrow (2007), his last film appearance. Throughout his life Penn had had battles with heart disease and multiple drug use. He was found dead in his home on January 24, 2006. He was only forty years old.
Penn left behind a career that featured many roles in small, independent productions as well as several very well-known films. Penn worked with several esteemed directors and fellow actors, lending his talent to both television and film. Although he never received nearly as much attention or as many awards as his brother Sean, Chris Penn will always be remembered by those who watch movies and appreciate his work.- Actor
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Sean Patrick Astin (né Duke; February 25, 1971) is an American actor, voice actor, screenwriter, director, producer, family man, author, marathon runner, political activist and philanthropist who is well known for his film debut portraying Mikey in Steven Spielberg's The Goonies (1985), for playing the title role in the critically acclaimed Rudy (1993), and for his role as the beloved Sam Gamgee in the Academy Award winning trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Astin was born Sean Patrick Duke on February 25, 1971 in Santa Monica, California. His mother was actress Patty Duke. At the time of his birth, his biological father was believed to be entertainer Desi Arnaz Jr., but Astin discovered through a DNA test in the 1990s that his biological father is music promoter Michael Tell, who was married to Patty Duke in 1970. Sean was raised by his stepfather, actor John Astin, who married Patty Duke in 1972 and whose surname Sean took. Sean's mother was of Irish and more distant German ancestry, and Sean's biological father is of Austrian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent.
At age nine, Sean starred with his mother in the after-school special Please Don't Hit Me, Mom (1981). Followed by Sean's feature debut The Goonies (1985) and since then, he has had a steady stream of roles. Starring in Toy Soldiers (1991), Where the Day Takes You (1992), Rudy (1993) and Harrison Bergeron (1995). He directed and co-produced the short film Kangaroo Court (1994), which was nominated in the best short film category at The 67th Annual Academy Awards (1995). Sean's adoptive father John Astin was nominated for the same award in 1969.
Sean experienced another career breakthrough with his role as the epitome of loyal sidekicks, Samwise Gamgee, in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, released in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Along with the many awards bestowed upon the trilogy (particularly its final installment The Return of the King), Sean received nominations for his own performance. He took home the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, and awards from the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, the Seattle Film Critics, the Utah Film Critics Association, and the Phoenix Film Critics Society. As an ensemble, the Return of the King cast received awards from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and the Screen Actors Guild. In 2004, Sean authored the NY Times best seller "There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale," chronicling his acting career with emphasis on his experiences filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Sean has been a long-distance runner since his teens. His marathons include the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC, where he had the honor of officially starting the race, the 2015 Boston Marathon as a member of charity fund-raising team MR8, and the New York City Marathon in 2016. He has done numerous half marathons and countless 5Ks, 10Ks, and races of other distances. He successfully completed the Ironman World Championship Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii, in October 2015; the grueling event consisted of a 2.4 mile open ocean swim, a 112 mile bike race and a 26.2 mile marathon.
In 2012, while training for the LA Marathon, he began a Twitter campaign using #Run3rd, a way to dedicate his runs to causes and ideas that mattered not just to him, but to others. The principle of #Run3rd is that Sean runs first for himself, since running is ultimately a solitary act, second for his ever-patient and supportive family, and third for others. #Run3rd has grown to include a team of runners, walkers, and others who dedicate their activities to the causes of others. A $25,000 grant from the Ironman Foundation will allow the charity to fund after school running programs for children in under-served school districts. More information on #Run3rd, including sponsored 5Ks, is available at run3rd.com.
Sean has served as a philanthropist on the board of several non-profit organizations, including the Creative Coalition, National Center for Family Literacy, and Los Angeles Valley College's Patrons Association and Arts Council. He is a vocal advocate on many issues including literacy, mental health awareness and civic engagement. After the passing of his mother in late March 2016, Sean began fund-raising to create a foundation to carry on her life's work as an advocate for mental health
Politically, Sean has been very active having served in two non-partisan Presidential appointments. Sean also hosts a live weekly 2 hour in-studio bi-partisan political radio talk show, 'Vox Populi Radio' which was made possible by a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2013. In 2004, Sean broke into the publishing world and authored the NY Times Best Selling release of There and Back Again a memoir of his film career (co-written with Joe Layden).
In addition to acting in live action films and television, Sean is also an accomplished voice actor. He has voiced several different characters in animated series, cartoons, animated movies, anime dubs and video games. His voice is also familiar to many. He narrated the Animal Planet series "Meerkat Manor" (2006-2007), and voiced the title characters in the animated Disney Channel series "Special Agent Oso" (2009-2012) and the animated feature film "Ribbit" (2014). He was the voice of Raphael in Nickelodeon's popular "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (2012-2017) as well as it's video games. He voiced the paranoid Siamese cat Chester in "Bunnicula" (2016-2018), a Warner Brothers produced series based on children's books by James Howe and narrates "The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants" (2018-2019) a series on Netflix, based on the Dav Pilkey's children's books. He can be heard in a plethora of other animated shows, anime dubs, video games, audio dramas and narrations. More recently, Sean was the Narrator of the Documentary called Remember the Sultana, which released on March 1st, 2018.
After four decades in front of camera or microphone, Sean has ventured in front of a theater audience, first as Joseph Stalin in a multimedia stage production of "Shostakovich and the Black Monk: A Fantasy," (2018-2019) and then as Dr. Moricet in "Bang Bang!" (2018), John Cleese's adaptation of a 19th century French farce.
Sean is also comfortable behind the camera, directing episodic TV and serving as producer on several films. He directed and co-produced with his wife Christine the short film "Kangaroo Court," nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1995. While working on "The Lord of the Rings," Sean made "The Long and Short of It." The film premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and appears on the DVD for "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," along with a making-of video. He is currently working to bring "Number the Stars," based on Lois Lowry's Newbery Award winning children's classic, to the big screen.
While maintaining a career as a professional actor (in live action films and television) and a voice actor for characters in animated series, cartoons, animated movies, anime dubs and video games, Sean is also a political activist. Sean has been actively engaged in the political world since early in his life. He served in two non-partisan Presidential appointments. In 1995, under President Bill Clinton, he became a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, serving for 10 years under six secretaries in two administrations. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to his Council on Service and Civic Participation, whose mission was to promote a culture of volunteerism and civic engagement. He campaigned for presidential candidates John Kerry in 2004, and Hillary Clinton in 2008 and 2016. He also served as campaign manager for his friend, Dan Adler, in a special election for California's 36th congressional district race in 2011.
Sean attended Crossroads High School for the Arts and studied with the famous Stella Adler. He graduated with honors from UCLA; B.A. in History & B.A. in English American Literature and Culture. Sean is married to Christine Astin, his co-producer on Kangaroo Court (1994). He resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife Christine Louise and daughters Alexandra (Ali) Louise, Elizabeth Louise, and Isabella (Bella) Louise. All of his daughters attend Harvard University.- Vincent Schiavelli, selected in 1997 by Vanity Fair as one of the best character actors in America, had made over 120 film and television appearances. He studied acting at NYU's Theatre Program. Aside from his acting career, Vincent was the author of three cookbooks, and has written numerous articles on food for magazines and newspapers. In 2001, he received the James Beard Journalism Award.
- American character actress Anne Ramsey was born Anne Mobley in Omaha, Nebraska to Eleanor (Smith), a national treasurer of the Girl Scouts, and Nathan Mobley, an insurance executive. Her uncle was U.S. Ambassador David S. Smith. An ancestor was Mayflower Pilgrim William Brewster. She attended Rosemary Hall (then an elite girls' school in Greenwich, Connecticut) and Bennington College, and was active in numerous on- and off-Broadway productions. After she married actor Logan Ramsey, the couple founded Philadelphia's Theatre of the Living Arts. In the early 1970s she began her lengthy film career. In 1971 she starred opposite her husband in The Sporting Club (1971), then settled into bit parts.
Eventually, she was noticed for her trademark brusque, gruff, usually comedic roles, after which she received more film offers, notably Goin' South (1978), Any Which Way You Can (1980), The Goonies (1985), and Deadly Friend (1986). Unfortunately, in the mid-1980s she discovered she was suffering from throat cancer and was forced to have parts of both her tongue and jawbone removed, which obviously affected how she spoke and the effects of which are evident in Throw Momma from the Train (1987). She received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Danny DeVito's inimitably nightmarish mother in Throw Momma from the Train (1987) which she managed to finish by bravely soldiering on even as her cancer remorselessly worsened. She died in 1988, aged 59, just weeks after Throw Momma from the Train (1987) was released. - Actor
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John Carroll Lynch was born August 1, 1963 in Boulder, Colorado, and was raised in Denver. It was there John found a passion for acting and became a Denver Broncos fan. He graduated in the mid-80s with a B.F.A. in theatre from the The Catholic University of America / Hartke Theatre Acting program. From then, he continued to work in theatre around the country, but concentrated mostly on his work at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, acting in many plays from Shakespeare to Shaw to Chekhov. In the early nineties, John was able to find time away from the theatre to work in film, as productions came through Minnesota. In 1996, he received critical acclaim for his role as Marge Gunderson's simple husband Norm Gunderson in Fargo (1996). He went on to make two more films that year, both of which were conveniently set in Minnesota, the acclaimed Beautiful Girls (1996) and Feeling Minnesota (1996). Since then, John's film career has been on an amazing climb. Much like other well respected actors from the theatre, such as John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, he chooses to play very interesting and diverse roles.- Actor
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Towering 7' 2" tall actor who cornered the market on playing giants, intimidating henchmen, bayou swamp monsters and steel toothed villains! Kiel worked in numerous jobs including as a night club bouncer and a cemetery plot salesman, before breaking into film & TV in several minor roles in the late 1950s / early 1960s. Noted among these was the alien "Kanamit" in the classic The Twilight Zone (1959) episode "To Serve Man", and terrorizing Arch Hall Jr. while clad in a loincloth in the prehistoric caveman meets virile teenage drama Eegah (1962).
Kiel turned up in two episodes of the classic horror TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974). On one occasion playing a Native American evil spirit with the ability to transform into various animals. On his second appearance, Kiel was unrecognizable as a Spanish moss covered, Louisiana swamp monster brought to life by a patient involved in deep sleep therapy.
However, his biggest break came in 1977 when he was cast as the unstoppable, steel toothed henchman "Jaws" in the finest Roger Moore film of the Bond series The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Such was Kiel's popularity with movie audiences, that his character was brought back for the next Bond outing Moonraker (1979). However, audiences were quite split on opinions when Kiel's "Jaws" character changes sides near the film's conclusion and assists 007, Roger Moore, in saving the Earth.
Over the next few years, Kiel appeared in relatively non-demanding comedy or fantasy type films taking advantage of his physical stature and presence. Kiel then decided to try his hand behind the camera and co-wrote and produced, plus took the lead role, in the well received family movie The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1990). Demand for Kiel's unique attributes dropped very sharply in the 1990's, leading to only a handful of roles including reprising his "Jaws" character in the Matthew Broderick film Inspector Gadget (1999). In 2002, Kiel penned his informative autobiography entitled "Making it BIG in the movies". He passed away in 2014.- Actor
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Lochlyn Munro started his acting career after a serious sports injury ended his dream of playing professional hockey. A talented musician, Lochlyn turned his attention to the performing arts. While playing music in various clubs around Vancouver, British Columbia, Lochlyn studied drama and improvisational comedy with many of the industry's top professionals, including the late Susan Strasberg. Having done a lot of stage work, Lochlyn then jumped into the television and film world with instant success. Lochlyn landed roles on various American projects such as, 21 Jump Street (1987), Wiseguy (1987), and others.
After numerous guest roles and leads on TV shows and Films, Lochlyn landed a role in Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992). He has gone on to show tremendous range throughout his acting career by creating memorable characters in such films as Dead Man on Campus (1998), A Night at the Roxbury (1998), and Scary Movie (2000). Lochlyn will always remain one to watch in Hollywood as his career continues to follow a bright path.- Actor
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Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. Raised on Chicago's South Side by his single mother, Jean, a house cleaner, Duncan grew up resisting drugs and alcohol, instead concentrating on school. He wanted to play football in high school, but his mother wouldn't let him, afraid that he would get hurt. He then turned to acting and dreamed of becoming a famous actor.
After graduating from high school and attending community college, he worked digging ditches at People's Gas Company in Chicago. When he quit his job and headed to Hollywood, he landed small roles while working as a bodyguard. Duncan's role in the movie Armageddon (1998) led to his breakthrough performance in The Green Mile (1999), when his Armageddon co-star Bruce Willis called director Frank Darabont, suggesting Duncan for the part of convict John Coffey. He landed the role and won critical acclaim as well as many other Awards and Nominations, including an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
After suffering a heart attack on July 13, 2012, he was taken to a Los Angeles hospital, in which his girlfriend Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth tried to save his life with CPR. Unfortunately, on September 3, 2012, Michael Clarke Duncan died at age 54 from respiratory failure.- Actor
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Tall, dark and imposing American actor Paul Sorvino made a solid career of portraying authority figures.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York City. His mother, Angela (Renzi), was a piano teacher, of Italian descent. His father, Ford Sorvino, was an Italian immigrant who worked in a robe factory as a foreman. Paul originally had his heart set on a life as an opera singer. He was exposed to dramatic arts while studying at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. He furthered his studies with Sanford Meisner and eventually made his film debut in Where's Poppa? (1970).
Sorvino suffered from severe asthma, and worked hard at mastering various breathing techniques to manage the illness. He wrote a best-selling book entitled "How to Become a Former Asthmatic". He also started the Sorvino Asthma Foundation based in New York City.
Sorvino appeared in a variety of film, TV, and theatrical productions over five decades. He received critical praise for his role in the Broadway play "That Championship Season", and played the role again in the 1981 film alongside Robert Mitchum and Martin Sheen. Other noteworthy performances during the 1980s and 1990s included a stressed-out police chief in Cruising (1980), Mike Hammer's cop buddy in I, the Jury (1982), Lips Manlis in Dick Tracy (1990) with James Caan and in a standout performance as mob patriarch Paul Cicero in the powerhouse Goodfellas (1990).
Always keeping himself busy, Sorvino performed over 100 theatrical movies and over 30 TV movies throughout his career, including a dynamic and under-appreciated portrayal of Henry Kissinger in Nixon (1995), as "Fulgencio Capulet" in the updated Romeo + Juliet (1996) and in the Las Vegas thriller The Cooler (2003). At the time of his death in 2022, there were three more films in which he appeared yet to be released, including The Ride in which he worked alongside his wife Dee Dee Sorvino.
Sorvino was the proud father of Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino.- Joe Viterelli was born on 10 March 1937 in The Bronx, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002). He was married to Catherine Brennan. He died on 28 January 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
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Steven Ralph Schirripa is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Bobby Baccalieri on The Sopranos and Detective Anthony Abetemarco on Blue Bloods. Schirripa is a producer and host of two Investigation Discovery series: Karma's A B*tech! and Nothing Personal. He was a regular cast member of The Secret Life of the American Teenager and the voice of Roberto in the Open Season series.- Actor
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Danny Trejo was born Dan Trejo in Echo Park, Los Angeles, to Alice (Rivera) and Dan Trejo, a construction worker. A child drug addict and criminal, Trejo was in and out of jail for 11 years. While serving time in San Quentin, he won the lightweight and welterweight boxing titles. Imprisoned for armed robbery and drug offenses, he successfully completed a 12-step rehabilitation program that changed his life. While speaking at a Cocaine Anonymous meeting in 1985, Trejo met a young man who later called him for support. Trejo went to meet him at what turned out to be the set of Runaway Train (1985). Trejo was immediately offered a role as a convict extra, probably because of his tough tattooed appearance. Also on the set was a screenwriter who did time with Trejo in San Quentin. Remembering Trejo's boxing skills, the screenwriter offered him $320 per day to train the actors for a boxing match. Director Andrey Konchalovskiy saw Trejo training Eric Roberts and immediately offered him a featured role as Roberts' opponent in the film. Trejo has subsequently appeared in many other films, usually as a tough criminal or villain.
Trejo is of Mexican descent.- Actor
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Robert Davi is an award-winning actor, screenwriter, director, producer and jazz vocalist.
From his portrayal of the opera singing baddie in "The Goonies" and one of the most popular James Bond villains Franz Sanchez in "License to Kill" to FBI Special Agent Big Johnson in "Die Hard" or Al Torres in "Showgirls" to most recently Leo Marks in "The Iceman " Robert Davi is one of the film industry's most recognized tough guys. He has also starred in the small screen in hit shows like Profiler, Stargate Atlantis, Criminal Minds and CSI. With over 140 film and TV credits he has frightened us, romanced us, made us cry or split our seams laughing. He is also one of the top vocalists of our day in interpreting the Great American Songbook, thrilling audiences by playing top venues like the Venetian in Las Vegas where he headlines or for 10,000 people at the Harry Chapin Theater in East Meadow, Long Island or the Orleans in Vegas where he gave 3 sellout shows with Don Rickles. His debut album Davi Sings Sinatra- On the Road to Romance produced by Phil Ramone shot to number 6 for more than several weeks on Billboard's Jazz Charts.
In his early acting years, Davi attended Hofstra University on a drama scholarship. He then moved to Manhattan, New York where he studied with the legendary acting coach Stella Adler, who became his mentor. Davi became a lifetime member of the Actors Studio, where he studied with acting teacher Lee Strasberg. Always perfecting his craft, Davi studied under Sandra Seacat, Larry Moss, Milton Katselas, Martin Landau, Mala Powers and George Shdanoff, the creative partner and collaborator with Michael Chekhov.
Robert Davi was born in Astoria, Queens, to Maria (Rulli) and Sal Davi. His father was an Italian immigrant and his mother was of Italian descent. Davi was introduced to film when he was cast opposite Frank Sinatra in the telefilm, "Contract on Cherry Street." Later, his work as a Palestinian terrorist in the award-winning television movie, "Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami" brought him critical acclaim and caught the eye of legendary James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli and writer Richard Maibaum, who cast Davi as Colombian drug lord and lead villain Franz Sanchez in the Bond film "License to Kill." Today, Davi is one of the top Bond villains of all time ranking at the top on many lists. Davi also received critical acclaim within the industry for his provocative portrayal of Bailey Malone in "Profiler." The show struck a chord with audiences, paving the way for such shows as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Without a Trace," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Criminal Minds" and many others. In 2004, Davi joined the cast of television's "Stargate: Atlantis," which earned Davi many science fiction fans. He has also shown his comedic strength in films such as "The 4th Tenor" with Rodney Dangerfield and "The Hot Chick," produced by Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler.
Having appeared in more than 100 motion pictures, some of Davi's most notable film credits span 30 years and include cult-classics and blockbuster hits with roles as Jake Fratelli in "The Goonies," Max Keller in "Raw Deal," Special Agent Big Johnson in "Die Hard," Al Torres in "Showgirls," Leo Marks in "The Iceman" with Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, Chris Evans and James Franco, and most recently, with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger among a large A-list cast in "Expendables 3." He has worked with such directors as Steven Spielberg, Richard Donner, Blake Edwards, John McTiernan, Paul Verhoeven and Patrick Hughes. In addition, he has worked on film projects with acting talent such as Marlon Brando, Roberto Benigni, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Christopher Walken, Benicio Del Toro, Danny Glover and Catherine Zeta Jones, to name a few.
In 2007, Davi produced, directed, co-wrote, and starred in "The Dukes," which tells the story of a once-successful Doo Wop group who fall on hard times. The film won nine awards including the coveted Coup de Coeur award. Davi was also awarded Best First-time Director and Best Screenplay in the Monte Carlo Festival of Comedy by the legendary director Ettore Scola where Prince Albert presented him with the awards. Davi was the only first-time director in the Premiere Section of the International Rome Film Festival along with Sean Penn, Robert Redford, Sidney Lumet, Julie Taymor and others.
In October of 2011, Davi released his debut album, Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance (produced by Grammy award-winning producer Phil Ramone) to rave reviews. Within weeks of its highly anticipated release, the album soared onto Billboard Magazine's Top 10 Jazz Chart taking the number 6 spot for several weeks. In response to the release, the legendary Quincy Jones stated, "As FS would say, 'Koo, Koo.' Wow! I have never heard anyone come this close to Sinatra's sound - and still be himself. Many try, but Robert Davi has the voice, tone, the flavor and the swagger. What a surprise. He absolutely touched me down to my soul and brought back the essence and soul of Ol' Blue Eyes himself." In support of the album release, Davi is touring the U.S. with his live stage show, receiving standing ovations. He has performed at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas for a three-night engagement, the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza with a 55-piece orchestra, the National Italian-American Foundation's (NIAF) special tribute to the 25th anniversary of its Lifetime Achievement Award to Frank Sinatra at the Washington Hilton in D.C., the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, Calif., with David Foster at the Beverly Hilton, and in August of 2013, at Long Island's Eisenhower Park for more than 10,000 people. In November of 2013, Davi released the Christmas single, "New York City Christmas."
Besides working in film, television, and music and raising his five children, four dogs and two cats, Davi keeps busy volunteering his time with such charities as The Dream Foundation, Exceptional Children's Foundation, Heart of a Child Foundation, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Youth Foundation, The Humane Society of the United States, Heart of a Horse, NIAF, The Order 'Sons of Italy' in America (OSIA), and UNICO. Since its inception in 1998, Davi has been the National Spokesperson for i-Safe America, which is regarded by many internet experts as the most complete internet safety program in the country and is available in grades K-12 in all 50 U.S. states.
Among his numerous awards for career achievement and community involvement, Davi has received the George M. Estabrook Distinguished Service Award from the Hofstra University Alumni Association (past recipients include Francis Ford Coppola and William Safire). In 2000, Davi was awarded the FBI's Man of the Year Award in Los Angeles. In 2004, Davi was named KNX radios' "Citizen of the Week" for saving a young girl from a fire in her home. The same year, he also received the Sons of Italy's Royal Court of the Golden Lion Award, including a $20,000 donation to a foundation in which he is involved. In addition, he received the 2004 STEP Award (Science, Technology and Education Partnership). In 2007, Davi was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Italian Board of Governors in New York, where New York State recognized his value as an artist and community leader. In 2008, he received the Italo-Americano Award from the Capri-Hollywood Festival. In 2011, Davi was awarded the "Military Order of the Purple Heart" (MOPH) Special Recognition Award for dedication and service honoring America's service members, veterans, and their families. In June of 2013, Davi was honored with a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Canada.
Davi is on The Steering Committee for George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute and is the only entertainer among 28 members, which consists of mainly Senators and former heads of the FBI and CIA. Davi has developed Civilian Patrol 93, which is at Homeland Security, where a lesson plan is being written.- Actor
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Bronx-born and raised Chazz Palminteri was a natural choice to continue the Italianate torch in film. In the tradition set forth in the 1970s by such icons as director Martin Scorsese and actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, John Cazale and Joe Pesci, Palminteri has brought grit, muscle and an evocative realism to the sidewalks of his New York neighborhood, violent as they are and were.
Chazz was born Calogero Lorenzo Palminteri in 1952 in the Bronx, New York, the son of Rose, a homemaker, and Lorenzo Palminteri, a bus driver. He grew up in a tough area of the Bronx, giving him the life lessons that would later prove very useful to his career. He graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School and started out pursuing his craft in 1973 studying at the Actor's Studio. He appeared off-Broadway in the early 1980s while paying his dues as a bouncer and doorman in nightclubs, among other jobs.
In 1986 he headed west and found that his ethnic qualifications was well-suited for getting tough-talker parts. Slick attorneys, unflinching hoods and hard-nosed cops were all part of his ethnic streetwise persona in such TV shows as Wiseguy (1987), Matlock (1986) and Hill Street Blues (1981). In films he started off playing a 1930s-style gangster in Sylvester Stallone's Oscar (1991). Although his roles were sharp, well-acted and with a distinct edge to them, there was nothing in them to show that he was capable of stronger leading parts.
In 1988 he wrote for himself a play entitled "A Bronx Tale," a powerful one-man stage commentary in which he depicted his bruising childhood in great detail, which included witnessing gangland slayings. Palminteri brought each and every character to life (18 in all) in this autobiographical piece -- his friends, enemies, even his own family. He showcased for years in both Los Angeles and New York, finally sparking the interest of his film idol, Robert De Niro. DeNiro, wanting to direct for the first time, saw the potential of this project and brought both it and the actor/writer to the screen. Palminteri played one of the flashier roles, Sonny, a gangster, in the movie version. An unknown film commodity at the time, Chazz had stubbornly refused to sell his stage property (the offers went into the seven figures) unless he was part of the package as both actor and screenwriter. DeNiro, who became his mentor, backed him up all the way, and the rest is history. A Bronx Tale (1993), which featured his actress/producer/wife Gianna Palminteri, earned strong reviews.
At age 41 Palminteri had become an "overnight" star. Other important projects quickly fell his way. He received a well-deserved Oscar nomination the following year for his portrayal of a Runyonesque hit man in Woody Allen's hilarious jazz-era comedy Bullets Over Broadway (1994). He was on the right side of the law in both The Perez Family (1995), his first romantic lead, and then the classic crimer The Usual Suspects (1995). He played the ill-fated brute in Diabolique (1996) and wrote a second screenplay, Faithful (1996), in which he again plays a hit man, terrorizing both Cher and Ryan O'Neal.
Though Palminteri was invariably drawn into a rather tight-fitting, often violent typecast, it has been a secure and flashy one that continues to run strong into the millennium. Surprisingly, the one obvious show he missed out on was HBO's The Sopranos (1999). True to form his trademark flesh-lipped snarl was spotted in gritty urban settings playing a "Hell's Kitchen" cop in One Eyed King (2001) starring actor/producer Armand Assante; a pool hustler and mentor in Poolhall Junkies (2002); a mob boss in In the Fix (2005); a dirty cop in Running Scared (2006); the titular scam artist as Yonkers Joe (2008); a karaoke-loving Italian psychiatrist in Once More with Feeling (2009); and an abusive husband and father in Mighty Fine (2012).
Other millennium filming includes starring presences in Body Armour (2007), The Dukes (2007), the title conman as Yonkers Joe (2008), Once More with Feeling (2009) and Mighty Fine (2012), as well as prime supports in Running Scared (2006), A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006), Push (2006), Jolene (2008), Once Upon a Time in Queens (2013), Legend (2015), Vault (2019), Clover (2020). TV crime continues to occupy his time as well, clocking in such series' credits as Kojak (2005), Rizzoli & Isles (2010) and Godfather of Harlem (2019). Occasionally he will lighten up -- as in his recurring role as Shorty on the popular sitcom Modern Family (2009).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Molly Shannon has become one of Hollywood's most sought-after talents on television and the silver screen.
Shannon spent six seasons as a member of the repertory company on "Saturday Night Live," primarily known for the eclectic characters she created, such as Mary Katherine Gallagher and Sally O'Malley. She is also praised for her parodies of Courtney Love, Liza Minnelli, Helen Madden and Terry Rialto. In 2000, she received an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program." Prior to joining "SNL," Shannon appeared at The Up Front Comedy Theater in Los Angeles in "The Rob and Molly Show," an improvisational show she co-wrote with Rob Muir. Additionally, Molly was awarded the 2017 Independent Spirit Award for "Best Supporting Actress" for her performance in the highly acclaimed drama Other People, written and directed by SNL writer, Chris Kelly. Shannon received rave reviews for her portrayal of Joanne, a mother who is struggling with terminal cancer whose son moves home to take care of her.
Shannon's extensive film credits include Zach Braff's A Good Person; Spin Me Round; the Academy Award-nominated film, Promising Young Woman; Wild Nights with Emily; Private Life; Half Magic; The Little Hours; Fun Mom Dinner; The Layover; We Don't Belong Here; Me, Earl and the Dying Girl; Life After Beth; the 5th installment of the popular Scary Movie franchise; the animated comedy, Hotel Transylvania and the sequel Hotel Transylvania 2; Bad Teacher; Superstar, portraying everybody's favorite Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher; Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette; Year of the Dog; Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby; Evan Almighty; Igor; Little Man; Scary Movie 4; Ron Howard's How the Grinch Stole Christmas; A Night at the Roxbury; Analyze This; Happiness; Never Been Kissed; The Good Boy!; Serendipity; Osmosis Jones; The Santa Clause 2 and Wet Hot American Summer.
Her television credits include Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider's "The Other Two" (her portrayal of the entrancingly hilarious Pat Dubek earned Molly a nomination in the comedy supporting actress category at the 2021 Critics' Choice Awards;" "I Love That For You," which earned her a nomination in the supporting television actor category at the Film Independent Spirit Awards; Mike White's critically acclaimed limited series, "The White Lotus;" "Divorce," opposite Sarah Jessica Parker; a guest starring role on NBC's revival of "Will & Grace," for which she received a Primetime Emmy nomination, the "Wet Hot American Summer" miniseries for Netflix, an eight-episode series which served as a prequel to the cult comedy classic film of the same name (that Shannon also starred in); a guest arc on the HBO series, "Enlightened" for which she received an Emmy nomination for 'Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.' She also made several guest appearances on "Raising Hope," CBS's "Life in Pieces," HBO's comedy "Getting On," the ABC Rebel Wilson comedy, "Super Fun Night," the IFC mini-series "The Spoils of Babylon" alongside Tobey Maguire and Kristen Wiig, "Up All Night," "The Middle;" Lisa Kudrow's "Web Therapy;" a recurring guest starring role on the Fox hit "Glee," the TBS animated series "Neighbors from Hell," the U.S. version of the popular Australian sitcom "Kath and Kim," as well as "Cracking Up," "Will & Grace," "Sex and the City," "Seinfeld," "Pushing Daisies," and "30 Rock," among many others. Her television movies include "More of Me," "12 Days of Christmas Eve" and "The Music Man."
Shannon's critically acclaimed memoir, Hello, Molly! was released by HarperCollins in April 2022 and garnered respect from both critics and readers alike. The hilariously candid and heartbreaking book tells the story of resilience and redemption through the eyes of Molly, both before and after the childhood tragedy that would end up shaping her entire life. The memoir received numerous accolades in addition to becoming a New York Times bestseller. In 2011, Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS, released Molly's first children's picture book, Tilly the Trickster. The book tells the tale of Tilly, "a mischief maker of the best kind-one who learns her lesson but never lets the reader stop having fun."
In 2010, Shannon made her Broadway debut replacing Tony Award winner Katie Finneran in the hit musical "Promises, Promises" alongside Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth.
In 2018, Shannon teamed up with Will Ferrell to provide commentary on the 2018 Rose Parade in character as eccentric broadcasters, Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan. Presented by Funny or Die, the parody, The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish was live streamed on Amazon Prime Video. The duo returned to cover Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's nuptials with The Royal Wedding Live with Cord and Tish! which aired on HBO and this year, they covered the Rose Parade for the second year in a row.
Born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Molly earned a BFA in drama from New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. She lives in California with her husband and two children.- Tubby and engaging character actor Cliff Emmich was born on December 13, 1936 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Los Angeles, California. His father Clifford was a popular exotic car dealer whose celebrity customers included Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, and Ozzie Nelson. Following graduation from John Muir High School, Emmich served in the air force for four years as a photo technician. He first began acting on stage. Veteran character actor Keenan Wynn advised Emmich to enroll at the Pasadena Playhouse. He studied at the Pasadena Playhouse for eight months. Emmich then toured the country with the American Repertory Players and spent a summer performing in summer stock at the Pink Garter Theatre in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He made his film debut in Gaily, Gaily (1969).
Later memorable roles were as a coroner in Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973), as sexist jerk business executive who insults Yvette Mimieux at the beginning of Jackson County Jail (1976), as a bumbling small town deputy in Barracuda (1978), as the ill-fated hospital security guard Mr. Garrett in Halloween II (1981), as an asylum doctor in the trashy Hellhole (1985), and as a small town sheriff in Digital Man (1995). He has appeared in such television shows as Crossing Jordan (2001), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), Nash Bridges (1996), Coach (1989), Baywatch (1989), Murder, She Wrote (1984), Knots Landing (1979), Night Court (1984), Hunter (1984), Riptide (1984), Simon & Simon (1981), CHiPs (1977), Knight Rider (1982), The Incredible Hulk (1978), Vega$ (1978), Fantasy Island (1977), Happy Days (1974), Little House on the Prairie (1974) (this is one of Emmich's favorite parts), Charlie's Angels (1976), Baretta (1975), Police Woman (1974), and Starsky and Hutch (1975). He is a member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Harold Gould earned a Ph.D. in theater and taught speech and drama at Cornell University.
Pursuing off-Broadway work in the 1950s, he decided to practice what he preached and became a full-time professional actor in the 1960s.
He appeared in hundreds of TV programs during his distinguished performing career, usually playing a father, grandfather, or other varieties of authority figures.- Actor
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John C. McGinley's path to stardom is a story that reads like a classic Hollywood script. While an understudy in New York in the Circle-In-The-Square production of John Patrick Shanley's "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea," he was spotted by director Oliver Stone and soon after was cast in "Platoon," the first of a long list of collaborations between Stone and McGinley which includes "Wall Street," "Talk Radio," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Nixon" and "Any Given Sunday."
He stars as the title character in IFC's scripted comedy-horror series, "Stan Against Evil," on which he also serves as a producer. John C. stars as disgruntled former police sheriff 'Stanley Miller,' a sour, aging bulldog who has recently lost his position as head honcho due to an angry outburst at his wife's funeral. When the new sheriff opens his eyes to the plague of angry demons haunting their small New Hampshire town, 'Stan' begrudgingly joins an alliance with her to fight them off.
John C.'s deep commitment to independent films has driven him to star in and complete production on three upcoming motion pictures in 2016 alone! James Gunn's "The Belko Experiment," Paul Shoulberg's "The Good Catholic" and Richard Dresser's "Rounding Third."
He is an audience favorite for his hilarious portrayal of 'Dr. Perry Cox' in the Emmy-nominated medical comedy series, "Scrubs," which ended its successful nine season run in 2010. He starred for two seasons in TBS's workplace comedy series "Ground Floor," which reunited him with creator Bill Lawrence ("Scrubs"). John C. played 'Mr. Mansfield,' the critical boss to hot-shot young banker 'Brody' (Skylar Austin). He also made a memorable arc on season 6 of USA Networks' hit drama series "Burn Notice."
John C.'s impressive career in film spans a diverse range of characters in over seventy films to date, including such features as the recent "Get A Job," "Alex Cross," "Wild Hogs," "Identity," "The Animal," "The Rock," "Nothing to Lose," "Set It Off," "Seven," "Office Space," "Mother," "Wagons East," "Surviving the Game," "On Deadly Ground," "Point Break," "Highlander II," "A Midnight Clear" and "Fat Man and Little Boy." He also previously starred opposite Ice Cube in Sony/Revolution Studios' feature, "Are We Done Yet?," the sequel to the hit comedy "Are We There Yet?" He recently received critical acclaim for his role as Brooklyn Dodgers' radio broadcaster 'Red Barber' in Warner Bros.' "42," the life story of Jackie Robinson and his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
As a testament to his passion for the independent film community, John C. has appeared in director Eriq La Salle's "Crazy As Hell" and director Scott Silver's "Johns." He also worked on "Truth or Consequences, N.M.," Kiefer Sutherland's feature directorial debut and on "Colin Fitz," a film John C. co-produced which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. He starred in director D.B. Sweeney's independent feature, "Two Tickets to Paradise," which received raves on the festival circuit. For his performance in the later film, John C. was awarded Method Fest's Festival Director's Award, which is awarded for special recognition/excellence in film.
John C. is a partner at McGinley Entertainment Inc., an independent film production company with several projects currently in development. John C. first worked both sides of the camera, serving double duty as actor and producer for the romantic comedy "Watch It!" (with Peter Gallagher and Lili Taylor).
He received stunning reviews for his starring role in Dean Koontz's gripping and highly rated suspense drama, "Intensity," a four-hour original film for FOX-TV. He executive-produced and starred opposite John Cusack in HBO Pictures' western, "The Jack Bull," directed by John Badham; and he appeared in HBO NYC's "The Pentagon Wars."
In addition to film and television, John C.'s background is heavily rooted in theater. He received stellar reviews for his starring performance as 'Dave Moss' in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Glengarry Glen Ross." According to Newsday, "John C. McGinley is especially dazzling as the hothead who plans the office crime." The play also starred Al Pacino and Bobby Cannavale and ran through January 20, 2013.
He was previously featured on Broadway in "Requiem for a Heavyweight" and off-Broadway in "The Ballad of Soapy Smith" and the original cast production of Eric Bogosian's "Talk Radio," both at the renowned Joseph Papp Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival. He often cites Papp as the most instrumental force behind his career.
In May 2005, John C. was invited and honored to deliver the keynote address at the commencement ceremony for the University of California San Francisco's (UCSF) School of Medicine, one of the top medical schools in the nation.
As the father of Max, his eighteen-year-old son with Down syndrome, John C. is committed to building awareness and acceptance of people with Down syndrome. He serves as an Ambassador for Special Olympics and is a board member of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. John C. is also one of the original creators, in conjunction with Special Olympics, of the groundbreaking "Spread the Word to End the Word" national campaign to eradicate the "R" word (retard). He has blogged repeatedly on the Huffington Post, advocating acceptance and awareness of people with special needs as well as the importance of eliminating the "R" word.
He can be seen in high profile commercial campaigns for Speed Stick (as Coach Speedman), Halls Cough Drops (as Tough Love/menthol-lyptus and Soft Love/honey-lemon) and Carhartt (as the voice of founder Hamilton Carhartt).
John C. resides in Los Angeles and enjoys stand-up paddle surfing, weight lifting and golf. He married Nichole Kessler on April 7, 2007 at the couple's home in Malibu and they now have two young daughters Billie Grace and Kate Aleena, in addition to big brother Max.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Actor, producer, writer, and director Til Schweiger is Germany's best-known actor and also the country's most successful director. With more than 51 Million admissions no other German filmmaker drew more people to cinemas. He runs his own production company Barefoot Films based in Berlin, Germany.
Til Schweiger (born December 19, 1963) was raised along with his two brothers in his hometown Giessen. In his early years, Schweiger began studying German and Medicine. He decided to drop out of university to pursue his career as an actor and went to drama school from 1986-1989. After graduation, he played at several theaters as a stage actor to gain more experience.
In 1991, Schweiger landed his first lead role in Manta, Manta (1991) following his big breakthrough role on Maybe... Maybe Not (1994) with the support of Germany's renowned film producer and mentor Bernd Eichinger. In 1996, Til Schweiger founded his first film production company Mr. Brown Entertainment together with business partner and film producer Tom Zickler. Schweiger debuted as producer with Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997) winning several Festival Awards. The road movie remains a cult favorite with audiences worldwide. Within the same year, Schweiger was the first foreign actor to win the "Polish Oscar" at the International Warsaw Film festival for his performance in in Bandyta (1997). He has since built up acting credits in dozens of German movies including Der Eisbär (1998), where Schweiger made his debut as director.
Judas Kiss (1998) was Schweiger's first role in an international film. He then appeared in several internationally acclaimed movies including SLC Punk! (1998), The Replacement Killers (1998), Driven (2001), Intimate Affairs (2001), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003), King Arthur (2004), New Year's Eve (2011), and many more.
To this day, Schweiger has delivered a series of German-language hits and won numerous Awards as actor/writer/director/producer: Barefoot (2005) grossed about $7,7 million with 1,5 million admissions, Rabbit Without Ears (2007) was up to 2014 Schweiger's most successful film and earned some $74 million locally, followed by the sequel Rabbit Without Ears 2 (2009). In 2011, Schweiger wrote, produced and directed Kokowääh (2011), which grossed $43 million, starring alongside his youngest daughter Emma. A sequel hit theaters in 2013.
As an actor, he received widespread critical acclaim and further recognition for his portrayal as the legendary Hugo Stieglitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009).
In December 2014, Til Schweiger released the family-friendly dramedy Head Full of Honey (2014) , which he co-wrote, directed, produced and starred in. It is his most successful film to date breaking the 6, 3 million admissions barrier of his 2007 hit Rabbit Without Ears (2007).
Schweiger, who started his career in German TV, plays the lead role on hit local crimes series Tatort (1970)(Hamburg) (Scene of the Crime). His debut generated the best ratings for the long-running procedural in 20 years.- Actor
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- Producer
Beginning his life with the same flair for the dramatic that would come to define his career, Udo Kier was born in Köln, Germany near the end of the 2nd world war. The hospital was bombed and buried Kier and his mother in the rubble. Both survived, and Kier would later move to London as a young adult to study English. Kier was discovered in London by Michael Sarne, who cast him in his first role as a gigolo in "Road To Saint Tropez". Kier then starred in Michael Armstrong's extremely controversial "Mark Of The Devil". He would go on to work with Paul Morrissey in Andy Warhol's "Flesh For Frankenstein" and "Blood For Dracula", Dario Argento in "Suspiria", and Rainer Werner Fassbinder in "The Third Generation", "Lili Marllen", and "Lola".
Kier entered the American independent cinema scene many years later after meeting Gus Van Sant at the Berlin Film Festival. Van Sant offered Kier the role of Hans, the lamp-singing john in "My Own Private Idaho" with Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix. He would later have roles in Gus Van Sant's "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues" and "Don't Worry He Won't Get Far On Foot" as well as such 90s Hollywood hits as "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective", "Johnny Mnemonic", "Barb Wire", "End Of Violence", "For Love Or Money", "Armagedden", "Blade", and "End Of Days". Kier is probably best known for his collaboration with Lars von Trier, appearing in most of his films including "Medea", "Europa", "Breaking The Waves", "Dancer In TheE Dark", "Dogville", "Manderlay", "Melancholia", "Nymphomaniac (Vol. II)" and "The Kingdom" (Danish TV). Kier's recent renaissance has seen him play memorable roles in the Activision game "Call Of Duty", numerous television roles in North America and Europe, and in the films "Iron Sky", "Brawl In Cell Block 99", "Downsizing", "American Animals", "Bacurau", "The Painted Bird", "The Blazing World" and "Swan Song", among many others.- Actor
- Producer
William McChord Hurt was born in Washington, D.C., to Claire Isabel (McGill) and Alfred McChord Hurt, who worked at the State Department. He was trained at Tufts University and The Juilliard School and has been nominated for four Academy Awards, including the most recent nomination for his supporting role in David Cronenberg's A History of Violence (2005). Hurt received Best Supporting Actor accolades for the role from the Los Angeles Film Critics circle and the New York Film Critics Circle.
Hurt spent the early years of his career on the stage between drama school, summer stock, regional repertory and off-Broadway, appearing in more than fifty productions including "Henry V", "5th of July", "Hamlet", "Uncle Vanya", "Richard II", "Hurlyburly" (for which he was nominated for a Tony Award), "My Life" (winning an Obie Award for Best Actor), "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" and "Good". For radio, Hurt read Paul Theroux's "The Grand Railway Bazaar", for the BBC Radio Four and "The Shipping News" by Annie Proulx. He has recorded "The Polar Express", "The Boy Who Drew Cats", "The Sun Also Rises" and narrated the documentaries, "Searching for America: The Odyssey of John Dos Passos", "Einstein-How I See the World" and the English narration of Elie Wiesel's "To Speak the Unspeakable", a documentary directed and produced by Pierre Marmiesse. In 1988, Hurt was awarded the first Spencer Tracy Award from UCLA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
One of stage, screen and TV's finest transatlantic talents, slight, gravel-voiced, pasty-looking John Vincent Hurt was born on January 22, 1940, in Shirebrook, a coal mining village, in Derbyshire, England. The youngest child of Phyllis (Massey), an engineer and one-time actress, and Reverend Arnould Herbert Hurt, an Anglican clergyman and mathematician, his quiet shyness betrayed an early passion for acting. First enrolled at the Grimsby Art School and St. Martin's School of Art, his focus invariably turned from painting to acting.
Accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1960, John made his stage debut in "Infanticide in the House of Fred Ginger" followed by "The Dwarfs." Elsewhere, he continued to build upon his 60's theatrical career with theatre roles in "Chips with Everything" at the Vaudeville, the title role in "Hamp" at the Edinburgh Festival, "Inadmissible Evidence" at Wyndham's and "Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs" at the Garrick. His movie debut occurred that same year with a supporting role in the "angry young man" British drama Young and Willing (1962), followed by small roles in Appuntamento in Riviera (1962), A Man for All Seasons (1966) and The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967).
A somber, freckled, ravaged-looking gent, Hurt found his more compelling early work in offbeat theatrical characterizations with notable roles such as Malcolm in "Macbeth" (1967), Octavius in "Man and Superman" (1969), Peter in "Ride a Cock Horse" (1972), Mike in '"The Caretaker" (1972) and Ben in "The Dumb Waiter" (1973). At the same time he gained more prominence in a spray of film and support roles such as a junior officer in Before Winter Comes (1968), the title highwayman in Sinful Davey (1969), a morose little brother in In Search of Gregory (1969), a dim, murderous truck driver in 10 Rillington Place (1971), a skirt-chasing, penguin-studying biologist in Cry of the Penguins (1971), the unappetizing son of a baron in The Pied Piper (1972) and a repeat of his title stage role as Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (1974).
Hurt shot to international stardom, however, on TV where he was allowed to display his true, fearless range. He reaped widespread acclaim for his embodiment of the tormented gay writer and raconteur Quentin Crisp in the landmark television play The Naked Civil Servant (1975), adapted from Crisp's autobiography. Hurt's bold, unabashed approach on the flamboyant and controversial gent who dared to be different was rewarded with the BAFTA (British TV Award). This triumph led to the equally fascinating success as the cruel and crazed Roman emperor Caligula in the epic television masterpiece I, Claudius (1976), followed by another compelling interpretation as murderous student Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment (1979).
A resurgence occurred on film as a result. Among other unsurpassed portraits on his unique pallet, the chameleon in him displayed a polar side as the gentle, pathetically disfigured title role in The Elephant Man (1980), and as a tortured Turkish prison inmate who befriends Brad Davis in the intense drama Midnight Express (1978) earning Oscar nominations for both. Mainstream box-office films were offered as well as art films. He made the most of his role as a crew member whose body becomes host to an unearthly predator in Alien (1979). With this new rush of fame came a few misguided ventures as well that were generally unworthy of his talent. Such brilliant work as his steeple chase jockey in Champions (1984) or kidnapper in The Hit (1984) was occasionally offset by such drivel as the comedy misfire Partners (1982) with Ryan O'Neal in which Hurt looked enervated and embarrassed. For the most part, the craggy-faced actor continued to draw extraordinary notices. Tops on the list includes his prurient governmental gadfly who triggers the Christine Keeler political sex scandal in the aptly-titled Scandal (1989); the cultivated gay writer aroused and obsessed with struggling "pretty-boy" actor Jason Priestley in Love and Death on Long Island (1997); and the Catholic priest embroiled in the Rwanda atrocities in Shooting Dogs (2005).
Latter parts of memorable interpretations included Dr. Iannis in Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), the recurring role of the benign wand-maker Mr. Ollivander in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), the tyrannical dictator Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta (2005) and the voice of The Dragon in Merlin (2008). Among Hurt's final film appearances were as a terminally ill screenwriter in That Good Night (2017) and a lesser role in the mystery thriller Damascus Cover (2017). Hurt's voice was also tapped into animated features and documentaries, often serving as narrator. He also returned to the theatre performing in such shows as "The Seagull", "A Month in the Country" (1994), "Afterplay" (2002) and "Krapp's Last Tape", the latter for which he received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award.
A recovered alcoholic who married four times, Hurt was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen in 2004, and Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in 2015. That same year (2015) he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In July of 2016, he was forced to bow out of the father role of Billy Rice in a then-upcoming London stage production of "The Entertainer" opposite Kenneth Branagh due to ill health that he described as an "intestinal ailment". Hurt died several months later at his home in Cromer, Norfolk, England on January 15, 2017, three days after his 77th birthday.- Actor
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Jeffrey Duncan Jones was born in Buffalo, New York. He is a very tall, fair-haired character actor who is recognized all over for his excellent work. He is a veteran stage actor having such plays as "The Elephant Man" and Neil Simon's "London Suite" under his belt. His first film role was in The Revolutionary (1970).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Multi talented and award winning actor Neal McDonough has been blessed to have an incredible career in the film industry.
He is now producing films alongside his wife Ruvé for the McDonough company. Films such as THE WARRANT, BREAKERS LAW, REDSTONE, BOON, BLACK SPARTANS ,and most recently the hit film THE SHIFT for Angel Studios.
McDonough is about to start filming THE LAST RODEO which he has written with his partner Derek Presley.
The McDonough company will be producing this film with Jon Avnet directing.
After that they will going into production on their next western he has written called THE WICKED AND THE RIGHTEOUS .
McDonough is well known for performances in productions, such as BAND OF BROTHERS, MINORITY REPORT, WALKING TALL and STAR-TREK FIRST CONTACT. He also started in many stage productions, and most recently playing Whitey Bulger on stage in FINDING WHITEY at the Wilbur theater in Boston.
He also recently played Daddy Warbucks in ANNIE and numerous other stage productions as well.
His voice over career is what really started him. The voice of many cartoons, including Bruce Banner in the INCREDIBLE HULK and in many video games such as CALL OF DUTY ZOMBIES.
He has also been the long term voice of FIDELITY AND CADILLAC.
But he's most proud of his relationship with God, his wife, Ruvé, and their five children.
McDonough trained at Syracuse University and studied at LAMDA in London.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Martin Klebba was born on 23 June 1969 in Troy, Michigan, USA. He is an actor, known for The Electric State (2024), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and Knee High P.I. (2003). He has been married to Michelle Dilgard since 18 June 2011.- Actor
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- Producer
Dave Foley dropped out of an alternative high school to do stand-up comedy. He met Kevin McDonald at an improv class and, while employed as movie ushers, they began working as a comedy team. In 1984 they merged with another team to form "The Kids in the Hall". Foley made his film debut at 22 as the lead in the Canadian film High Stakes (1986).- Actor
- Producer
- Executive
DJ Qualls grew up in the small city of Manchester in Tennessee, USA, one of five children. After studying in the UK at King's College, University of London, he returned to Tennessee where he began acting in a local theatre. During that time, he was discovered by photographers David La Chappelle and Steve Klein, which led to modeling work for Prada, as well as other advertising campaigns. In addition to his professional accomplishments, Qualls is proud to be a cancer survivor and an advocate for cancer research and awareness.
Qualls made his feature film debut in Road Trip (2000). Qualls is also seen in the comedy thriller Cherry Falls (1999), in which he co-stars with Jay Mohr, Brittany Murphy, and Gabriel Mann in a story of the killings of virgins in a small town high school. His earlier credits include the miniseries Mama Flora's Family (1998), based on the book by Alex Haley, and "Against The Wall".- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Larry Miller was born on 15 October 1953 in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Pretty Woman (1990) and A Mighty Wind (2003). He has been married to Eileen Conn since 6 March 1993. They have two children.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Robert Carradine was born on 24 March 1954 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Revenge of the Nerds (1984), Escape from L.A. (1996) and The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003). He was previously married to Edith (Edie) Mani.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Originally from Kentucky, Sean O'Bryan moved to Los Angeles over ten years ago and has worked extensively in film and TV. Some major key TV guest appearances include Chicago Hope, Beverly Hills 90210, and Felicity. Sean has done several major films including, Phenomenon (1996), Exit to Eden (1994), The Princess Diaries (2001), and Frankie and Johnny (1991). Not only has he focused on working in front of the camera, he's also done several theatrical performances, including: The Lisbon Traviata, It's Only a Play, Money and Friends et al.
In 1995, Sean married Samantha Follows (sister to Megan Follows - star of Anne of Green Gables) and they currently have two children. In 2001, Sean joined the entire Follows family to perform in Noel Coward's "Hay Fever" at the Gravenhurst Opera House in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. As all the Follows are Canadian, Sean was the only American on stage in this British play; however, his character was the only American character so he had it made!
Sean can be seen in the new kids flick, Big Fat Liar (2002) starring Frankie Muniz.- Actor
- Stunts
- Visual Effects
At 6' 4", Brandon Molale is no stranger to standing out on the big screen.
Brandon, a former college and pro football player, is best known from his scene-stealing performance as Kevin Ward, the obnoxious NY Jets Quarterback in Mr. Deeds (2002) starring Adam Sandler and as Blazer in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004).
Brandon continues to be one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood.
Molale's good looks, athletic prowess and talent often get him cast in very physical roles. He has appeared in over 200 feature films and television shows. Brandon is involved with numerous national and local charities.
Raised in Concord, California, Molale is also known as "Hollywood Dog". He played football for the Fresno State Bulldogs where he graduated with a BA in Advertising and Marketing. It was in college that he started taking drama and acting classes. His football skills led him to performing football stunts in The Waterboy (1998) starring Adam Sandler.
Molale lives in Los Angeles with his son. Brandon collects vintage guitar picks from famous rock bands and guitarists.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Judge Reinhold has been in over seventy-five motion picture and television roles and enjoys a 25-year relationship with an international audience of all ages. His films include Stripes, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ruthless People, and Disney's Christmas franchise, The Santa Clause 1, 2 & 3. Beverly Hills Cop 1, 2, 3 play continually internationally, making Judge a familiar presence worldwide. Fast Times and Beverly Hills Cop were voted by the American Film Institute as two of the "Top 100 American Comedies."
Judge received an Emmy nomination for his performance as "The Close Talker" on Seinfeld, and his guest star appearances in Seinfeld and Arrested Development received two of the highest ratings on both series. Judge most recently co-starred with Bruce Campbell in the indie comedy Highly Functional
Judge has been an active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1987.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Kevin Nealon is an American comedian and actor known for Saturday Night Live, Stanley the Gatekeeper from Little Nicky, Mr. Cheezle from Grandma's Boy, Doug Wilson from Weeds and the voice of Glenn Martin DDS. He acted in many other films starring Adam Sandler including Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, and Eight Crazy Nights.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Erick Avari was born on April 13, 1952 in Darjeeling, India. His credits include leading roles in films from Kevin Reynolds' cult classic The Beast of War (1988) to commercial megahits such as Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), The Mummy (1999) and Planet of the Apes (2001). His comedic skills have landed him starring roles in the Adam Sandler remake Mr. Deeds (2002), For Love or Money (1993) and Woody Allen's only television film Don't Drink the Water (1994). He is also featured in Revelation (2002), The Glass House (2001) and has a starring role in Michael Meredith's Three Days of Rain (2002) and Dancing in Twilight (2007). His long theatrical background has garnered him critical acclaim for several roles at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre in New York City, including his portrayal of Vasquez in "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" and the Broadway hit, "The King and I".
Avari has had the pleasure of performing in some of the most prestigious regional theatres in the country, including The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Chicago's Goodman Theater and The Cleveland Playhouse, playing roles such as the King in "King Lear" and Joseph Smith in the Mabou Mines production of "The Morman Project". On television, in addition to his recurring role as Kasuf on Stargate SG-1 (1997), he has played notable roles on Heroes (2006), Cybill (1995), Cheers (1982), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Murder, She Wrote (1984), NYPD Blue (1993) and several made-for-television films.- Michael Bailey Smith grew up as an Air Force brat, traveling the world, and he graduated from high school in Tehran, Iran. He later served in the renowned 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper. He attended college at Eastern Michigan University, where his athletic talents earned him a spot as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. After a career-ending knee injury, he moved to San Diego and became a competitive bodybuilder. Michael stumbled upon acting when he accompanied a friend to an audition for A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989). Michael landed the role of Super Freddy and the rest is history. The "acting bug" bit Michael, and he hasn't stopped since.
- Actor
- Sound Department
- Writer
Mark knew he wanted to be an actor at age nine; he took his career and studies to Europe to fulfill his dream. Once there, he was asked by five major acting schools to join them. He chose the Drama Centre London, where he studied for five years. Mark then beat out 2,000 others for an important position in the Theatre Communications Group National Finals. This led to a year's tour of the United States in the lead role in "Richard II." This was the beginning of his U.S. career.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bob Gunton is an American actor, primarily known for portraying strict and authoritarian characters in popular films. His better known roles include Chief George Earle in "Demolition Man" (1993), Prison Warden Samuel Norton in "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994), medical school dean Dr. Walcott in "Patch Adams" (1998), and politician Cyrus Vance in "Argo" (2012).
In 1945, Gunton was born Santa Monica, California. His parents were labor union executive Robert Patrick Gunton Sr. and his wife Rose Marie Banovetz. Gunton was raised in California and attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. His college years were spent in the Paulist Seminary St Peter's College, in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of California, Irvine.
Gunton joined the United States Army in 1969, when 24-years-old. He served until 1971. He served as a radio telephone operator with the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He was assigned to the Fire Support Base Ripcord during the Vietnam War. When the base was evacuated during a siege by North Vietnamese Army (NVA), Gunton manage to retrieve important radios that were in danger of falling in enemy hands. He was awarded with a Bronze Star commendation for his deed.
Gunton was primarily known for theatrical roles in the late 1970s and 1980s. He played Raoul in the Broadway musical "King of Hearts" (1978). For this role he was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. The award was instead won by rival actor Ken Jennings (1947-).
From 1979 to 1983, Gunton played the role of President of Argentina Juan Perón (1895-1974, term 1946-1955, 1973-1974) in "Evita". He won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
In 1980, Gunton acted in the play How I Got That Story. He won both the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Performer and the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actor. He was also nominated Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play.
In 1985, Gunton played the King in the musical "Big River". The musical was an adaptation of the novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884) by Mark Twain. For this role Gunton was again nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.
From 1987 to 1990, Gunton played protagonist Sweeney Todd in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. While critically acclaimed for this role, Gunton won none of these awards.
In the 1990s, Gunton started focusing more on film roles. More often playing antagonists than heroes or supporting characters,. In 2007, Gunton joined the main cast of the popular action drama television series "24", playing politician Ethan Kanin. He played the role until the end of the series in 2010. In 2015, Gunton joined the main cast of the superhero series "Daredevil". He played the super-villain Leland Owlsley (codenamed "the Owl in the comics).
By 2020 Gunton was 74-years-old. He has never retired, and continues to appear regularly in film and television.- Lee de Broux was born on 7 May 1941 in La Mesa, California, USA. He is an actor, known for RoboCop (1987), Pumpkinhead (1988) and Chinatown (1974).
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Offbeat character actor Tom Noonan, born in Connecticut on April 12, 1951, started off his career in various theater troupes that utilized his skills as a guitarist and composer. A graduate from Yale's acting school, he founded the Paradise Theatre in 1983, which was instrumental later in his growth as an artist.
Gravitating toward film and TV in the 80s, he began appearing regularly in edgy, unsympathetic roles, most notably as the "Tooth Fairy" serial killer in Manhunter (1986) which was the first feature length film to introduce the infamous Hannibal Lector character. Most of his other work at this time was solid but unrewarding, including such looming parts in Easy Money (1983), Best Defense (1984), The Monster Squad (1987) and RoboCop 2 (1990), so he began to take classes in writing and directing in order to extend himself.
In the mid-90s, by appearing in a number of mainstream parts, he was able to finance his own first play-turned-art house film project What Happened Was... (1994), which became the darling of the Sundance Film Festival that year and won the Grand Jury Prize, not to mention an Independent Spirit nomination. He filmed it in eleven days at a cost of $300,000, and managed to edit it only hours before the Sundance deadline. The success of the two character film, which starred Tom and Karen Sillas as an awkward couple on their first date, induced Tom to finance another film, The Wife (1995), based on his Obie-winning (for writing) play "Wifey", which co-starred Tom with Julie Hagerty, Wallace Shawn and his one-time wife Karen Young. This film, which was warmly received at the Sundance Festival as well, was barely released theatrically, however, as was his third hands-on feature Wang Dang (1999).
Notable 90s TV work included roles in The X-Files (1993) and the miniseries North & South: Book 3, Heaven & Hell (1994), in which he also composed the score. Into the millennium, Tom was seen in such films as The Egoists (2003), Madness and Genius (2003), Seraphim Falls (2006), The Alphabet Killer (2008), The House of the Devil (2009), Night of the Wolf (2014), The Shape of Something Squashed (2014) and Wonderstruck (2017). TV offerings included "CSI," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and recurring roles on Damages (2007) (as Detective Huntley), Hell on Wheels (2011) (as Reverend Cole) and 12 Monkeys (2015) (as Pallid Man).
The New York-based actor continues to perform as well as teach acting at the Paradise Theatre, where many of his plays-turned-films got off the ground. He has also written short works of fiction.- Son of Edward & Nora Hickey. Best known as the ancient Mafia don in Prizzi's Honor (1985), Hickey had a long, distinguished career in film, television, and the stage. Began career as a child actor on the variety stage. Made Broadway debut as walk-on in George Bernard Shaw's "Saint Joan" (1951 production, starring Uta Hagen). Performed often during the golden age of television, including appearances on Studio One and Philco Playhouse. His most important contribution to the arts, however, remains his teaching career at the HB Studio in Greenwich Village, founded by Hagen and Herbert Berghof. George Segal, Sandy Dennis, and Barbra Streisand all studied under him.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Raymond Herbert "Ray" Wise (born August 20, 1947) is an American actor. Some of his best-known roles include Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks (1990), henchman Leon C. Nash in RoboCop (1987), Jack Taggart Sr. in Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003), the Devil in the CW television series Reaper (2007), Donald Wadsworth in Suburban Gothic (2014).
Wise was born in Akron, Ohio, graduated from Garfield High School in 1964 and attended Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He is of Romanian descent on his mother's side.- Actor
- Director
- Cinematographer
Miguel Ferrer was an American actor known for playing Morton from RoboCop, Shan Yu from Mulan, Martian Manhunter from Justice League: The New Frontier, Slade Wilson from Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Death from Adventure Time, Sesa Refumee from Halo 2 and Vice President Rodriguez from Iron Man 3. He passed away in January 2017 due to throat cancer. He is survived by his wife and three children.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Paul David McCrane is an American film, television and theatre actor, as well as a television director and singer. He is known for his portrayal of Montgomery MacNeil in the 1980 film Fame, Frank Berry in the 1984 film The Hotel New Hampshire, Emil Antonowsky in RoboCop, and Robert Romano on the NBC medical drama television series ER.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Christopher Nash Elliott is an American actor, comedian and writer. He appeared in comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman (1982-1988), created and starred in the comedy series Get a Life (1990-1992) on Fox, and wrote and starred in the film Cabin Boy (1994). His writing has won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards. His other television appearances include recurring roles on Everybody Loves Raymond (2003-2005) and How I Met Your Mother (2009-2014), starring as Chris Monsanto in Adult Swim's Eagleheart (2011-2014) and starring as Roland Schitt in Schitt's Creek (2015-2020). He also appeared in the films Groundhog Day (1993), There's Something About Mary (1998), Snow Day (2000) and Scary Movie 2 (2001).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
William Thomas Sadler was born on April 13, 1950 in Buffalo, New York, to Jane and William Sadler. He began his acting career in New York theaters, appearing in more than 75 productions over the course of 12 years. His roles included that of Sgt. Merwin J. Toomey in Neil Simon's Tony Award winning play "Biloxi Blues". He is best remembered for his roles in Die Hard 2 (1990), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995). He is also a television star, appearing in such sitcoms as Roseanne (1988) and Murphy Brown (1988) and such movies-of-the weeks as Charlie and the Great Balloon Chase (1981). Sadler also starred as Sheriff Jim Valenti on the WB science fiction television series Roswell (1999).- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
A tall, wavy-haired US actor with a deep, resonant voice, Clancy Brown has proven himself a versatile performer with first-class contributions to theatre, feature films, television series and even animation.
Clarence J. Brown III was born in 1959 in Urbana, Ohio, to Joyce Helen (Eldridge), a concert pianist, conductor, and composer, and Clarence J. "Bud" Brown, Jr., who helped manage the Brown Publishing Company, the family-owned newspaper started by Clancy's grandfather, Clarence J. Brown. Clancy's father and grandfather were also Republican congressmen from the same Ohio district, and Clancy spent much of his youth in close proximity to Washington, D.C. He plied his dramatic talents in the Chicago theatre scene before moving onto feature film with a sinister debut performance bullying Sean Penn inside a youth reformatory in Bad Boys (1983). He portrayed Viktor the Monster in the unusual spin on the classic Frankenstein story in The Bride (1985), before scoring one of his best roles to date as the evil Kurgan hunting fellow immortals Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery across four centuries of time in Highlander (1986).
Brown played a corrupt American soldier in the Walter Hill-directed hyper-violent action film Extreme Prejudice (1987), another deranged killer in Shoot to Kill (1988) and a brutal prison guard, who eventually somewhat "befriends" wrongfully convicted banker Tim Robbins, in the moving The Shawshank Redemption (1994). His superb vocal talents were in demand, and he contributed voices to animated series, including Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (1995), Street Sharks (1994), Gargoyles (1994) and Superman: The Animated Series (1996). Brown then landed two more plum roles, one as a "tough-as-nails" drill sergeant in the science fiction thriller Starship Troopers (1997), and the other alongside Robin Williams in the Disney comedy Flubber (1997).
The video gaming industry took notice of Clancy's vocal abilities, too, and he has contributed voices to several top selling video games, including Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (2001), Lands of Lore III (1999), Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (2002) and Crash Nitro Kart (2003). His voice is also the character of cranky crustacean Mr. Eugene H. Krabs in the highly successful SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) animated series and films, and he contributed voices to The Batman (2004), Jackie Chan Adventures (2000) and Justice League (2001) animated series. A popular and friendly personality, Clancy Brown continues to remain busy both through his vocal and acting talents in Hollywood.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born on October 1, 1921, in White Plains, New York, gruff veteran character actor James Whitmore earned early and widespread respect with his award-winning dramatic capabilities on Broadway and in films. He would later conquer TV with the same trophy-winning results.
The son of James Allen Whitmore and Florence Crane, he was educated at Connecticut's Choate School after receiving a football scholarship. He later earned his BA from Yale University in 1944 before serving with the Marines in World War II. Following his honorable discharge he prepared for the stage under the G.I. bill at the American Theatre Wing, where he met first wife Nancy Mygatt. They married in 1947 and went on to have three sons together -- Steve, Dan and actor/director James Whitmore Jr..
Applause and kudos came swiftly for Whitmore while under both the Broadway and film banners. After appearing with the Peterborough, New Hampshire, Players in the summer of 1947 in "The Milky Way," Whitmore made a celebrated Broadway debut as Tech Sergeant Evans in "Command Decision" later that year. His gritty performance swept the stage acting trifecta -- Tony, Donaldson and Theatre World awards. In later years Whitmore would often comment that most of his satisfaction came from performing on the live stage.
Hollywood soon took notice of Whitmore. Clark Gable happened to be starring in the film version of Command Decision (1948), and it was hoped that Whitmore would get to recreate his award-winning role. But it was not to be. Song-and-dance star Van Johnson, who was looking for straight, serious roles after a vastly successful musical career, was given the coveted part. The disappointment didn't last long, however, and Whitmore made an auspicious film bow the following year with a prime role in the documentary-styled crime thriller The Undercover Man (1949) starring Glenn Ford and Nina Foch. Whitmore scored brilliantly with his second film as well. Battleground (1949), another war picture, was highly praised and the actor became the talk of the town upon its initial release, grabbing both the Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for "supporting actor" for his efforts.
Hardly the handsome, matinée lead type, Whitmore nevertheless primed himself up for leading roles in a character vein and found a fine range of material come his way. He showed off his soft inner core as a religious, moral-minded family man opposite Nancy Reagan [Reagan] in the inspirational drama The Next Voice You Hear... (1950); featured his usual saltier side alongside Marjorie Main in Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950); ably portrayed a hunchbacked crook in The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and displayed customary authority as a security chief in the stoic military drama Above and Beyond (1952) starring Robert Taylor. Elsewhere, he played it strictly for laughs as a Runyonesque gangster partnered with Keenan Wynn in the classic MGM musical Kiss Me Kate (1953); portrayed a valiant cop fighting off gigantic mutant ants in the intelligent sci-fi thriller Them! (1954); a hard-hitting social worker in Crime in the Streets (1956) and even made the most of his small role as Tyrone Power's manager in The Eddy Duchin Story (1956).
By 1959, the craggy-faced actor known for his trademark caterpillar eyebrows, turned more and more toward the small screen, with memorable roles in The Twilight Zone (1959), The Detectives (1959) (working again with Robert Taylor), Ben Casey (1961) and a host of live theater dramas. He also starred in his own series as attorney Abraham Lincoln Jones in The Law and Mr. Jones (1960), which lasted two seasons.
Every so often a marvelous character would rear its pretty head and interest him back to the big screen. Notable of these were his white man passing for black in the controversial social drama Black Like Me (1964); his weary veteran cop in Madigan (1968); and his brash, authoritative simian in the classic sci-fi Planet of the Apes (1968).
Divorced from wife Nancy after more than two decades, Whitmore married actress Audra Lindley, best known on TV as Mrs. Roper of Three's Company (1976) fame, in 1972. The couple forged a strong acting partnership as well, particularly on stage, and maintained a professional relationship long after their 1979 divorce. Whitmore and Lindley were lauded for their appearances together in such plays as "The Magnificent Yankee," "On Golden Pond," "The Visit," "Foxfire" and "Love Letters," among others.
In the 1970s the actor transformed into a magnificent one-man-show machine playing such celebrated and inspiring historical/entertainment icons as Will Rogers, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt. He disappeared into these historical legends so efficiently that even the powers-that-be had the good sense to preserve them on film and TV in the form of Will Rogers' USA (1972); Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975), which earned him his second Oscar nomination; and Bully: An Adventure with Teddy Roosevelt (1978).
In his twilight years, Whitmore showed he still had what it took to touch movie audiences, most notably as the fragile prisoner-turned-parolee who cannot adapt to his late-life freedom in the classic film The Shawshank Redemption (1994). On TV he continued to win awards, copping a TV Emmy for a recurring part on The Practice (1997) in the late 1990s. A household face in commercials as well, one of his passions was gardening and he eventually became the spokesman for Miracle-Gro plant food.
Whitmore remarried (and re-divorced, 1979-1981) his first wife Nancy briefly before finding a lasting union with his fourth wife, actress-turned-author Noreen Nash, whom he married broaching age 80 in 2001. Whitmore died of lung cancer on February 6, 2009, after having been diagnosed in mid-November 2008.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lewis was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Marlene, a nursing administrator, and Jim Lewis, an air traffic supervisor. She has a sister, Denise. She most recently starred as Countess Lili in Darko Tresnik's production of 'Anastasia' on Broadway. She starred as Velma Kelly in the Broadway revival of 'Chicago' opposite Charlotte d'Amboise, and played Gloria Thorpe in the Broadway revival of 'Damn Yankees', directed by Jack O'Brien. She portrayed Mary Warren in the Roundabout's production of 'The Crucible', directed by Gerald Freedman. She appeared in 'Pal Joey' with Bebe Neuwirth and Patti LuPone for Encores at the NY City Center. Off-Broadway productions in which Lewis has appeared include: Nassim, Snoopy, and Angry Housewives.
She starred as Beth on the critically acclaimed NBC series NewsRadio (1995) for its full run of 4.5 seasons. She also appeared on Three Sisters (2001) and Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures (2006) for their full runs. She had recurring roles on How I Met Your Mother (2005) on Sonny with a Chance (2009). Guest roles include such series as Modern Family (2009), The Blacklist (2013), Angie Tribeca (2016), Doll & Em (2013), Melissa & Joey (2010), Bones (2005), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000),Murphy Brown (1988), Seinfeld (1989), Grey's Anatomy (2005), The Middle (2009), Pushing Tin (1999), Grace Under Fire (1993), Norm (1999), and Caroline in the City (1995). She has appeared in such films as The Ugly Truth (2009), Breakfast of Champions (1999), Mousehunt (1997), California Dreaming (2007), and Godzilla (1998). She has voiced hundreds of animation characters, most notably Deb/Flo in Pixar's blockbuster films, Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016), and such animated TV series as The Wild Thornberrys (1998), Rugrats Pre-School Daze (2005), Mission Hill (1999), and Rugrats (1991).- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
The award-winning Canadian-American character actor Maury Chaykin was born on July 27, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Professor Irving J. Chaykin and his wife Clarice. Irving Chaykin, an American citizen, taught accountancy at the City College of New York. The former Clarice Bloomfield, his mother, was born in Winnipeg, raised in Montreal, and educated at the Beth Israel Hospital nursing school in Newark, New Jersey. Because of his parents, Maury held dual Canadian and American citizenship.
He was raised in New York City but moved to Toronto after graduating from the State University of New York, Buffalo, where he studied drama. His uncle, George Bloomfield, made his name in Canada as a movie and television writer, director and producer. Maury would later star in two theatrical movies, one TV movie and 14 TV episodes directed by his uncle.
Maury made his debut in the 1975 Canadian film Me (1975). In his 35-year-long career, he appeared in over 150 parts in films and TV series shot in Canada and the U.S. He was best known for his eccentric role as Kevin Costner's commanding officer in the Oscar-winning Dances with Wolves (1990), three films of Atom Egoyan, including The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and his role as Nero Wolfe on cable TV. (His uncle George Bloomfield directed some of the Nero Wolfe episodes.)
He won a Genie Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Oscar, as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a has-been rock star in Whale Music (1994) and two Gemini Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy. Recently, he had a semi-recurring role as a movie producer based on Harvey Weinstein in the cable-TV series Entourage (2004) and a regular role on the Canadian TV series Less Than Kind (2008).
Chaykin was suffering from kidney disease in the last years of his life. He died on his 61st birthday, July 27, 2010, at Toronto General Hospital, surrounded by members of his family. He was married to the Canadian actress Susannah Hoffmann, by whom he had a daughter, Rose.- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Michael Jeter was an American actor from Tennessee. His best known roles were that of math teacher and assistant football coach Herman Stiles in the sitcom "Evening Shade" (1990-1994) and "Mr. Noodle's brother, Mister Noodle" in "Sesame Street", a role he played from 2000 to 2003. He specialized in playing "eccentric, pretentious, or wimpy characters".
In 1952, Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, located between Chattanooga and Memphis. The town is mostly associated with local hero Davy Crockett (1786-1836), who owned a powder mill there in the early 19th century. The area is home to the David Crockett State Park.
Jeter's father was dentist William Claud Jeter (1922-2010), and his mother was housewife Virginia Raines (1927-2019). The Jeters were a large family, and Jeter had one brother and four sisters. Jeter enrolled at the Memphis State University (later renamed to the University of Memphis) with the intention to follow a medical career. His interests changed, and he pursued an acting education instead.
Jeter started his career as a theatrical actor, regularly performing at the Circuit Theatre and Playhouse on the Square, both located in Memphis. He made his film debut in the anti-war film "Hair" (1979), playing Woodrow Sheldon. The film depicted the hippie counterculture and the Vietnam War.
Jeter's early film roles included appearing in the historical drama "Ragtime" (1981), the sex comedy "Soup for One" (1982), the mockumentary "Zelig" (1983), the comedy film "The Money Pit" (1986), the action thriller "Dead Bang" (1989), and the action comedy "Tango & Cash" (1989). Meanwhile he appeared in guest-star roles in then-popular television series, such as "Night Court" and "Designing Women". His first recurring role in television was that of Dr. Art Makter in the short-lived medical drama "Hothouse". He appeared in all 7 episodes of the series.
Jeter found fame and critical success when playing the nerdy Herman Stiles in the sitcom "Evening Shade". He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and the Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Comedy Series. The series lasted for 4 seasons, and a total of 98 episodes
Jeter guest starred as Peter Lebeck in three episodes of "Picket Fences". For this role he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 1993, but the award was won by rival actor Laurence Fishburne (1961-). Jeter had another notable television role as Bob Ryan in an episode of "Chicago Hope". He was again nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 1996 for this role, but the award was instead won by rival actor Peter Boyle (1935-2006).
Jeter played mostly supporting roles in 1990s film. He played (amon others_ a homeless cabaret singer in "The Fisher King" (1991), Father Ignatius in the Catholic nun-themed comedy "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" (1993), the inventor Old Gregor in the post-apocalyptic film "Waterworld" (1995), alcoholic clown Norm Snively in the sports comedy "Air Bud" (1997), and sympathetic prisoner Eduard 'Del' Delacroix in "The Green Mile" (1999).
Jeter next earned the recurring role of "Mr. Noodle's brother, Mister Noodle" in "Sesame Street", His character replaced Mr. Noodle (played by Bill Irwin) in the "Elmo's World" segments of the series. Both character were silent mimes who made mistakes, but were able to correct them with the help of "enthusiastic kid voice overs". Jeter was enthusiastic about his role, and called it a career favorite. He played the role until his death.
The openly gay Jeter was HIV positive, but had been in good health for many years. In March 2003, Jeter was found dead at his home in Los Angeles. According to his life partner Sean Blue, the death was caused by an epileptic seizure. Jeter was 50-years-old at the time of death.- Actor
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- Producer
Ioan Gruffudd was born on October 6, 1973 in Cardiff, Wales, UK to educators Gillian (James) and Peter Gruffudd. He has a brother, Alun, who is two years younger and a sister, Siwan, who is seven years younger. He got his start at age 13 in the Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm (1974). He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1992 to 1995, and was then cast as the title role of the television remake Poldark (1996). After playing Oscar Wilde's lover John Gray in Wilde (1997) and Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in Titanic (1997), Gruffudd became a leading man in the Hornblower series of television movies between 1998 and 2003. He then played Pip in the big budget BBC production of Great Expectations (1999). Other film roles include 102 Dalmatians (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), King Arthur (2004), Amazing Grace (2006), Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).
He resides in Los Angeles, California.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Gérard Depardieu was born in Châteauroux, Indre, France, to Anne Jeanne Josèphe (Marillier) and René Maxime Lionel Depardieu, who was a metal worker and fireman. Young delinquent and wanderer in the past, Depardieu started his acting career at the small traveling theatre "Café de la Gare", along with Patrick Dewaere and Miou-Miou. After minor roles in cinema, at last, he got his chance in Bertrand Blier's Going Places (1974). That film established a new type of hero in the French cinema and the actor's popularity grew enormously. Later, he diversified his screen image and became the leading French actor of the 80s and 90s. He was twice awarded a César as Best Actor for The Last Metro (1980) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), also received an Oscar nomination for "Cyrano" and a number of awards at international film festivals. In 1996, he was distinguished by the highest French title of "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur". He married Elisabeth Depardieu in 1971, and they divorced in 1996; she appeared with him in Jean de Florette (1986) and Manon of the Spring (1986); their children Guillaume Depardieu and Julie Depardieu are both actors.- Actor
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Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, playwright, director, and songwriter. co-creator of Monty Python on TV, stage, and five films, including The Life of Brian and The Holy Grail, which he later adapted for the stage with John Du Prez as Monty Python's Spamalot, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005, a Grammy, a Drama Desk Award, and playing for almost five years on Broadway. They also wrote the comic oratorio Not the Messiah, He's a Very Naughty Boy, in 2007, which played round the world and at The Hollywood Bowl and was filmed live at The Royal Albert Hall, and a musical play What About Dick? available soon on iTunes. He created and directed the first mockumentary The Rutles for NBC, starred as Ko-Ko in the English National Opera version of The Mikado in London and Houston, and appeared last year in The Pirates of Penzance in Central Park and in Not the Messiah at Carnegie Hall. He is also one of the conceivers of the musical Seussical. In 2012 he appeared live in front of a billion people worldwide singing his song Always Look on the Bright Side of Life at the Closing Ceremony of the London Olympics. Last year he created, directed, and appeared in the sold-out final Monty Python reunion show One Down Five to Go at London's O2 Arena for 10 nights, whose final performance was broadcast live round the world.
He has also acted in several movies, including Nuns on the Run, Splitting Heirs, Casper, Shrek the Third, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; and written two novels, The Greedy Bastard Diary and Pass the Butler, a West End play.- Actor
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Billy Connolly was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He left school to work in the shipyards, becoming a welder, and joined the Territorial Army (in the parachute regiment) at around the same time. He developed an interest in folk music, eventually being an accomplished banjo player and a member of the band Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty (later of Baker Street fame). The jokes he told between songs eventually took over his act and he became a full-time comedian. Already a big star in Scotland, he became a household name in the UK after appearing on Parkinson (1971) in the early seventies. Billy has released many recordings and videos of his concert performances over the years. He has expanded his repertoire to include acting, appearing in a number of television dramas and films, most recently in the USA. In the 90s he made two documentary series for the BBC, about Scotland and Australia respectively, and in 1997 he starred in the award winning film Mrs. Brown (1997). He is one of the UK's top comedians.- Actor
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Jim Carter was born on 19 August 1948 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Downton Abbey (2019). He has been married to Imelda Staunton since October 1983. They have one child.- Actor
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John Heard was a very talented actor who established himself as a respected thespian in the late 1970s and early '80s, though he is perhaps better known for his turn as Peter McCallister, Kevin McCallister's (Macaulay Culkin) father in the Home Alone (1990) movies.
John was born in Washington, D.C., to Helen (Sperling), who acted in community theatre, and John Heard, who worked for the U.S. government. John established himself with roles in the movies Between the Lines (1977), Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979) (a.k.a. "Head Over Heels"), and Heart Beat (1981) (in which he played Jack Kerouac to Nick Nolte's Neal Cassady and Sissy Spacek's Carolyn Cassady), before giving a tour de force performance as a hideously wounded (both physically and psychologically) Vietnam veteran in Cutter's Way (1981) (a.k.a. "Cutter and Bone") opposite Jeff Bridges. He also shined as Reverend Dimmesdale (one of America's first religious hypocrites) in the 1979 PBS version of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1979).
Both "Chilly Scenes of Winter" and "Cutter's Way" (originally released as "Head Over Heels" and "Cutter and Bone", respectively) had been re-released under new titles after failing in their first go-rounds, such was the quality of the films. The two re-releases helped redefine the practice by which major studios handled smaller, art house quality pictures by releasing them carefully to select theaters with bespoke marketing campaigns so they reached the proper audience. (Studios would later develop their own art film-independent film subsidiaries to handle such pictures, so they didn't "fall through the cracks" like the first releases of the two Heard films.)
By the early 1980s, Heard seemed on his way to establishing himself as a major American actor, if not on the path to movie stardom. At the time, there was a joke that involved confusing Heard with John Hurt and William Hurt because of the similarity of their last names. At the time these contemporaries were considered equal in terms of their star power.
In the early '80s, it would not have been unreasonable to predict that Heard would become an Oscar winner or a multiple nominee. He continued to work on A-List projects, playing the not-so-sympathetic son to Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful (1985) (for which Page won her own Oscar) and Tom Hanks's adult rival in Big (1988), but by the latter part of the decade he had failed to establish himself as a leading man and was playing supporting roles. Also appearing on television, he was nominated for an Emmy for his turn as a corrupt police detective on The Sopranos (1999).
John Heard died on July 21, 2017, in Palo Alto, California.- Actor
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Devin Ratray was born on 11 January 1977 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Nebraska (2013), R.I.P.D. (2013) and Masterminds (2015).- Actress
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Missi Pyle was born Andrea Kay Pyle on November 16, 1972 in Houston, Texas, and was raised in Memphis, Tennessee. The daughter of Linda and Frank Pyle, she has four older siblings, sisters Debbie and Julie, and brothers Sam and Paul. Pyle attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and graduated in 1995. Since then, Pyle has had a significant career in many films and television series. She has also established in parallel a singing career as a member of the country-rock band Smith & Pyle with actress Shawnee Smith.
Pyle has started an acting career playing a minor role in the comedy film As Good as It Gets (1997) starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. Her following notable roles were in the sci-fi parody Galaxy Quest (1999), Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002) where she played her first role as a villain, Tim Burton films Big Fish (2003) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) starring Johnny Depp and Christopher Lee, Just My Luck (2006) starring Lindsay Lohan, and Soccer Mom (2008) where she had a double role. Pyle has also played guest roles on many television series such as Mad About You (1992) also starring Helen Hunt, Frasier (1993), The One with Ross' Teeth (1999), Ally McBeal (1997), three episodes of Two and a Half Men (2003), three episodes of Boston Legal (2004), Grey's Anatomy (2005), two episodes of Heroes (2006), and two episodes of The Mentalist (2008). Pyle is also an occasional voice actress, and has voiced characters in one episode of series Family Guy (1999) and two episodes of American Dad! (2005).
Pyle began a career as a singer when she met Shawnee Smith in 2007 while filming an ABC comedy pilot. Pyle stated that her dream was to be in a rock band, and Smith gave her the opportunity by creating the country-rock band Smith & Pyle in Los Angeles, California. Their debut album "It's OK to Be Happy" (2008) was recorded in Joshua Tree, California and was released under their own record label when they became business partners. Their first live performance was in Texas on January 18, 2008 and since then, the band performed in many other states, especially in West Virginia, until May 29, 2010 in California. In 2011, the actresses officially disbanded before their second album was completed.- Actor
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One of England's most versatile character actors, Jim Broadbent was born on May 24, 1949, in Lincolnshire, the youngest son of furniture maker Roy Laverick Broadbent and sculptress Doreen "Dee" (Findlay) Broadbent. Jim attended a Quaker boarding school in Reading before successfully applying for a place at an art school. His heart was in acting, though, and he would later transfer to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Following his 1972 graduation, he began his professional career on the stage, performing with the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and as part of the National Theatre of Brent, a two-man troupe which he co-founded. In addition to his theatrical work, Broadbent did steady work on television, working for such directors as Mike Newell and Stephen Frears. Broadbent made his film debut in 1978 with a small part in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout (1978). He went on to work with Frears again in The Hit (1984) and with Terry Gilliam in Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985), but it was through his collaboration with Mike Leigh that Broadbent first became known to an international film audience. In 1990 he starred in Leigh's Life Is Sweet (1990), a domestic comedy that cast him as a good-natured cook who dreams of running his own business. Broadbent gained further visibility the following year with substantial roles in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game (1992) and Mike Newell's Enchanted April (1991), and he could subsequently be seen in such diverse fare as Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Widows' Peak (1994), Richard Loncraine's highly acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III (1995) and Little Voice (1998), the last of which cast him as a seedy nightclub owner. Appearing primarily as a character actor in these films, Broadbent took center stage for Leigh's Topsy-Turvy (1999), imbuing the mercurial W.S. Gilbert with emotional complexity and comic poignancy. Jim's breakthrough year was 2001, as he starred in three critically and commercially successful films. Many would consider him the definitive supporting actor of that year. First he starred as Bridget's dad (Colin Jones) in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), which propelled Renée Zellweger to an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Next came the multiple Oscar-nominated film (including Best Picture) Moulin Rouge! (2001), for which he won a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA award for his scene-stealing performance as Harold Zidler. Lastly, came the small biopic Iris (2001), for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as devoted husband John Bayley to Judi Dench's Iris Murdoch, the British novelist who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. The film hit home with Jim, since his own mother had passed away from Alzheimer's in 1995.- Actor
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Mark Williams was born on 22 August 1959 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), 101 Dalmatians (1996) and Shakespeare in Love (1998).- Actor
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In 2014 Whilst being interviewed by Jonathon Ross on his show, he announced his immediate retirement from Stand Up and Touring after the premature death of his manager from a heart attack. He is now determined to spend more time with his wife Heather and daughter Molly, or Little Mo as he calls her.- Actress
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Celia Imrie is an Olivier award-winning and Screen Actors Guild-nominated actress, a Variety magazine 'Icon' and Women in Film and Television 'Lifetime Achievement award' winner. As well as her acclaimed film, television and theatre work, she is also a Sunday Times best-selling author. Celia is much loved for her film roles including The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel film series, The Bridget Jones film series, Calendar Girls, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, Finding Your Feet and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. Most recent film work include Mrs Green in independent horror feature, Malevolent and Joan Erikson in Year By The Sea.
Television roles include, Phyllis in Pamela Adlon's semi-autobiographical comedy Better things, Kettle in Sky Atlantic and Showtime's Patrick Melrose, Vera in Barbara Vine's A Dark Adapted Eye and Maggie Pit in unconventional comedy Hang Ups.
Celia also has an extensive list of theatre credits and she has performed in many of London's major theatres. These include, Tony and Olivier Award winning comedy Noises Off at The Old Vic Theatre, Acorn Antiques: The Musical! at Theatre Royal Haymarket in which Celia won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2005, The Sea at The National Theatre opposite Dame Judi Dench and the universally acclaimed production of King Lear at the Old Vic in 2016.
Celia will soon take to the stage in Party Time/Celebration, the sixth double-bill of one-act plays in The Jamie Lloyd Company's Pinter at the Pinter Season, commemorating the 10th anniversary of Nobel Prize-winning writer Harold Pinter.- Actor
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Steve Coogan was born on 14 October 1965 in Middleton, Manchester, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Philomena (2013), Alan Partridge (2013) and 24 Hour Party People (2002). He was previously married to Caroline Hickman.- Actor
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A blond-haired, fair-complexioned actor with a toothy grin and capable of an unsettling glint in his eyes, Gary Busey was born in Goose Creek, Texas, and was raised in Oklahoma. He is the son of Sadie Virginia (Arnett), a homemaker, and Delmar Lloyd Busey, a construction design manager. He has English, as well as Irish, Scottish, and German, ancestry. He graduated from Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1962 and for a while was a professional musician. A talented drummer, he played in several bands, including those of country-and-western legends Leon Russell, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.
Busey's first film appearance was as a biker in the low-budget Angels Hard as They Come (1971) and, over the next few years, he landed several film roles generally as a country hick/redneck or surly, rebellious types. His real breakthrough came in the dynamic film The Buddy Holly Story (1978), with Busey taking the lead role as Buddy Holly, in addition to playing guitar and singing all the vocals! His stellar performance scored him a Best Actor nomination and the attention of Hollywood taking overcasting agents. Next up, he joined fellow young actors William Katt and Jan-Michael Vincent as surfing buddies growing up together in the cult surf film Big Wednesday (1978), directed by John Milius. However, a string of appearances in somewhat mediocre films took him out of the spotlight for several years, until he played the brutal assassin Mr. Joshua trying to kill Los Angeles cops Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the runaway mega-hit Lethal Weapon (1987). Further strong roles followed, including alongside Danny Glover once again in Predator 2 (1990). He was back on the beaches, this time tracking bank robbers with FBI agent Keanu Reeves, in Point Break (1991) and nearly stole the show as a psychotic Navy officer in league with terrorists led by Tommy Lee Jones taking over the USS Missouri in the highly popular Under Siege (1992).
The entertaining Busey has continued to remain busy in front of the cameras and has certainly developed a minor cult following among many film fans. Plus, he's also the proud father of accomplished young actor Jake Busey, whose looks make him almost a dead ringer for his famous father.- Actor
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Jake spent his childhood in sunny southern California, as well as a plethora of film sets around the country. His childhood similar to a "military brat", a series of strung-together extended-stay location shoots, alternating with tours on the road with his father's various bands and associates. In a world of gypsies & artists, spending many years on tour buses and side-stage-studying such acts as Willie Nelson, Leon Russell, Little Feat, the Band, and Fleetwood Mac, Jake found his passion for music and performing live.
Busey entered the industry at the age of 5 in his first motion picture, Dustin Hoffman's opus, "Straight Time" (1977) playing Son to his father and Cathy Bates, . After finishing high school at Crossroads School, and college in Santa Barbara , Jake returned to L.A to study the craft of acting for film seriously. He started auditioning at 20yrs old, and booked his first role in a PBS film, "Shimmer", shot on location in Iowa. Slowly but surely bit parts playing supporting characters in independent films would follow. After a few years of hard work and little returns, He was Cast as the villain in Showtimes "rebel highway series" Motorcycle Gang, by Director John Milius. The film was part of an 8 film series, and drew great attention amongst the "up and coming actor" buzz of hollywood. He made his true debut to the big screen in 1994 alongside Stephen Dorff and Reese Witherspoon in grind house grunge film "SFW", but that Buzz caught the eye of Robert Zemekis & Peter Jackson which led jake to star opposite Michael J. Fox in the Frighteners. .soon after wrapping, big changes came from a 3 page monologue about religion vs. science, when he landed "Contact" with Jodi Foster and Matthew McConnaghey. Then "Enemy of the State", then Vince Gilligan scribed "Home Fries," and most memorably as the smart-mouthed Private Ace Levy in the Sci-Fi cult classic "Starship Troopers." Jake was a force to be reckoned with in the late 1990's A-list film market. Then in the early 21st century, after the great success of "Identity", Jake took some risks with projects, leaps of faith, stepping up into starring roles in such studio disasters as "Tomcats" and "the First 20million is always the hardest", Films hyped to glory among the Hollywood machine, which failed miserably, and left him needing to reassess his position . It was time for a break.some time away was needed.
After a few-year hiatus from acting as he pursued directing films, "road-tripping" the country , and playing in his band around hollywood, he was ready for his come-back. Jake blasted onscreen as a pyrotechnic specialist in the final season of FX's hit series "Justified", leaving many an audience member aghast, having thought he was a solid new addition to the show...alas, just a masterfully crafted cameo, blowing up in 30 seconds. When Robert Rodriguez cast him as the new Sex Machine for all three seasons of "From Dusk Till Dawn, Things started heating up again. In The History Channel mini-series "Texas Rising", Busey plays Samuel Wallace, the man credited with reciting the legendary warning, "Remember the Alamo!" directed by Roland Joffe.
His recent projects include "Mr. Robot", and Stranger Things", Showtime's "Ray Donovan", CBS television's "NCIS" Episode 346(1516) , ABC's "Marvels agents of S.H.E.I.L.D.., Episode 513 & 519, and in the summer of 2018 he made his return to the summer tent-pole event scene with 20th Century Fox's "the_Predator".
A bit of a modern-day Renaissance man, Jake's passions in life includes fatherhood, acting, desert racing, architecture, playing music, flying planes when necessary, and fabricating anything mechanical in his metal shop. .- Actress
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Rachel Dratch grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts. After graduating from Dartmouth College with a degree in Drama and Psychology, she moved out to Chicago, where she studied with Del Close at Improvolympic. She was on the house team, "Victim's Family", with Adam McKay. Rachel went on to tour with the Second City Touring Company and eventually advanced to the Second City Mainstage, where she appeared in four revues: "Pinata Full Of Bees", "Citizen Gates", "Paradigm Lost" and "Promisekeepers Losers Weepers". For the latter two, she received the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress in a Revue. After leaving the mainstage, she wrote and performed in the 2-person sketch show, "Dratch and Fey", with Tina Fey. The show was seen at Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC, and the Aspen Comedy Festival. In the fall of 1999, Rachel joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975), where she performed for 7 years. Her memorable characters include Boston teen "Denise", the "Lovers" professors with Will Ferrell, junior high school student "Sheldon" and "Debbie Downer".- Actor
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Jackie Earle Haley is an American actor who started his career with The Bad News Bears. He had more adult roles in Little Children, the cult classic Zack Snyder film Watchmen, Alita: Battle Angel, and Freddy Krueger from a remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. He has been married three times and has two children.- Actor
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Nicholas Hope is a British-Australian actor who is known for playing Bubby from Bad Boy Bubby and Old Man Smithers in the 2002 Raja Gosnell/James Gunn film Scooby-Doo. He also acted in Ash vs Evil Dead, a deleted scene of Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, The Daughter and Picnic at Hanging Rock.- Actor
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Rhys Darby was born on 21 March 1974 in New Zealand. He is an actor and writer, known for Yes Man (2008), Flight of the Conchords (2007) and The Boat That Rocked (2009). He has been married to Rosie Carnahan-Darby since 25 January 2004. They have two children.- Actor
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John Michael Higgins was born on 12 February 1963 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for A Mighty Wind (2003), Pitch Perfect (2012) and Best in Show (2000). He has been married to Margaret Welsh since 1 February 2003. They have two children.- Actress
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Molly Sims was born on May 25, 1973 in Murray, Kentucky to James and Dottie Sims. Following her graduation from high school, Molly attended Vanderbilt University with hopes of pursuing a law career. Two years into college, she submitted a few photographs of herself to a modeling agency at the suggestion of her roommate. When Sims received a call from NEXT Models, she dropped out of college to pursue modeling. Although Molly has appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and has a multi-year contract with CoverGirl, she is most famous for her role as Delinda Deline in NBC's comedy series Las Vegas (2003). Molly Sims has also appeared in several movies including Starsky & Hutch (2004) and The Benchwarmers (2006).- Actor
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Aaron Takahashi was born in Torrance, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Yes Man (2008), The Wedding Ringer (2015) and Mr. Robot (2015).- Actor
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After graduating from the University of Missouri, Brent Briscoe began his career as an apprentice at The Burt Reynolds Jupiter Theatre in 1985. Thereafter, he spent several years on the road, starring in the theatrical productions "Greater Tuna" and "A Tuna Christmas." In 1994, he switched gears and spent the year as a staff writer for the television series Evening Shade (1990) before penning the teleplay The Right to Remain Silent (1996) for Showtime with his friend and partner Mark Fauser, his old college roommate. In 1996, Brent moved to Los Angeles permanently on the heels of his role as Scooter in Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade (1996), the first of several efforts linking the two. Since then he has worked in a considerable number of films for some of the industry's most notable directors. His most memorable and critically acclaimed role was that of Lou in Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan (1998), also a project involving Thornton. Other highlights include roles in U Turn (1997), The Green Mile (1999), The Majestic (2001), Mulholland Drive (2001), Driven (2001), Madison (2001), and Spider-Man 2 (2004). He also played a role alongside his partner Fauser in Waking Up in Reno (2002) for Miramax, for which they wrote the screenplay.- Actor
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He was born in Sacramento, California, the eldest of three sons of a career Air Force Officer. A military "brat", he attended many schools in the United States and abroad, graduating Stateside from Pemberton Township High School in New Jersey. Very athletic, Chelcie lettered in Baseball, Football and Basketball. Up until this point, he still had yet to discover acting. It wasn't until he was a Senior at Southwest Texas State University, that he took on his first theatre production, playing the Title Role in William Shakespeare's King Lear. Along with acting, he continued his collegiate baseball career, and also became the Commander of the AFROTC Corp of Cadets.
After college Chelcie became a radio disc jockey in Texas, but left that line of work in order to go on active duty as a Commissioned 2nd lieutenant in the USAF. He spent one year in Than Son Nhut, Saigon, Viet Nam, and was a recipient of the Bronze Star. The following year he was stationed at the Pentagon, and after that assignment, Captain Ross resigned his commission to become an actor.
In 1970, he entered the MFA program at the Dallas Theatre Center. It was during that time, in which he appeared in his first feature film, Keep My Grave Open. He spent the next four years as a member of the resident acting company of the DTC. In 1975, Chelcie left Dallas and moved to Chicago, where his stage debut was in a local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ten years later, He was cast opposite Gene Hackman in Hoosiers It would be the first of many major film roles.- J.T. Walsh was born on 28 September 1943 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Breakdown (1997), Sling Blade (1996) and Needful Things (1993). He was married to Susan West. He died on 27 February 1998 in La Mesa, California, USA.
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Began his professional career as a stand up comic in the Seattle area in the mid '80s, though was acting in Seattle theater since a child. He got his proverbial 'big break' in 1990 as a stand up on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. An HBO special followed as well as a two year deal for his own show at Fox television, which did not produce a series. While at Fox he wrote and starred in several short films for the TV show The Sunday Comics (1991) which led to a starring role in the film Baby's Day Out (1994). Several other movies followed including Little Giants (1994) where he played overzealous father Mike Hammersmith (aka Spike's Dad), the presidents secret service agent Mitch in Mars Attacks! (1996) and muscular dope Christie in McHale's Navy (1997).
During the 1995 Super Bowl he was in a popular Miller Lite beer commercial where he played hard luck quarterback Elmer Bruker, the man who was on every winning Super Bowl team, but never played. In 1996 he replaced Lowell the mechanic (played by Thomas Haden Church on the NBC series Wings (1990) and in 1999 he played bartender Tom Vanderhulst on the short lived CBS series Maggie Winters (1998) with Faith Ford.
He has also played more serious rolls, including playing a detective in both Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006) and the Cohen brothers film The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). He lives in New York and has a production company Sky Blue House Productions.- Jeffrey DeMunn was born on April 25, 1947 in Buffalo, New York. He studied in England at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, then returned to America and was a member of the National Shakespeare Company. He has starred in many theatre productions, both on and off Broadway, including "K2" (for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor), "Spoils of War" and "Comedians".
He is known as a favorite of director Frank Darabont, who has cast him in all four of his films: "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994), "The Green Mile" (1999), "The Majestic" (2001) and "The Mist" (2007).
He has appeared in such films as "The Blob" (1988), "The X-Files: Fight the Future" (1998), "Hollywoodland" (2006), "Burn After Reading" (2008) and such television shows as "Hill Street Blues" (1981), "Kojak: The Price of Justice" (1987), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999) and "The Walking Dead" (2010-2012), the latter developed by Frank Darabont and based on the eponymous comic book series created by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. - Actor
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Dabbs Greer was a very familiar face in films and especially on TV. He was a sort of "everyman" in his roles and played merchants, preachers, businessmen, and other "pillars of the community" types as well as assorted villains. With his plain looking face, wavy hair and mellow, distinctive voice he was a solid supporting actor.
He was born on April 2, 1917, in Fairview, Missouri, to Randall Alexander Greer and Bernice Irene Dabbs. Reared in Anderson, Missouri, he was the only child of a pharmacist father and a speech therapist mother. His first acting experience was on stage in a children's theatre production when he was eight years old. He attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, where he earned a BA and headed the drama department and Little Theatre in Mountain Grove, Missouri, from 1940-43. He then moved on to the famed Pasadena Playhouse in California as actor, instructor and administrator from 1943-50. He made his film debut in Reign of Terror (1949) (aka "The Black Book") in an uncredited bit part and went on to appear in many parts during the next 50 years. He is probably best remembered for his role as Rev. Alden on Little House on the Prairie (1974) but he was also a regular on the TV series Gunsmoke (1955) as a merchant, Mr. Jonas; Hank (1965) as Coach Ossie Weiss and Picket Fences (1992) as Rev. Henry Novotny. He also appeared in made-for-TV movies and guest-starred on such series as Adventures of Superman (1952); The Rifleman (1958); Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958); Trackdown (1957); Perry Mason (1957); Bonanza (1959); The Fugitive (1963) and The Brady Bunch (1969). He died in 2007, aged 90. He never married, had no children, and left no immediate relatives.- Actor
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Gary Michael Cole is an American television, film and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the TV series Midnight Caller, American Gothic, The West Wing, Crusade, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Veep, Chicago Fire, and Mixed. In film, he has appeared in The Brady Bunch Movie, One Hour Photo, Office Space, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Breach, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. He is also known for voicing the title character on the Adult Swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Principal Shepherd on Family Guy, and James Timothy Possible on Kim Possible. As of season 19, Cole joined NCIS, taking over from Mark Harmon, who left the show, as FBI Special Agent, and new head of Gibbs' team, Alden Parker.- Actor
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Bill McKinney, the movie and television character actor who was one of the great on-screen villains, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on September 12, 1931. He had an unsettled life as a child, moving 12 times before joining the Navy at the age of 19 during the Korean War. Once, when his family moved from Tennessee to Georgia, he was beaten by a local gang and thrown into a creek for the offense of being from the Volunteer State.
In his four years on active duty in the Navy, McKinney served two years on a mine sweeper in Korean waters. He was also stationed at Port Hueneme in Ventura County, California, and he would journey to nearby Los Angeles while on liberty from his ship. During his years in the Navy, McKinney decided he wanted to be an actor and would make it his life if he survived the Korean War.
Discharged in Long Beach, California, in 1954, McKinney settled in southern California. He attended acting school at the famous Pasadena Playhouse in 1957, and his classmates included Dustin Hoffman and Mako. McKinney supported himself as an arborist, trimming and taking down trees, a job he continued into the 1970s, when he was appearing in major films. McKinney has had a life-long love affair with trees since he was a child.
After his time at the Pasadena Playhouse, McKinney was admitted to Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. He made his movie debut in the exploitation picture, She Freak (1967), and was busy on television, making his debut in 1968 on The Monkees (1965) and attracting attention as "Lobo" on Alias Smith and Jones (1971). But it was as the Mountain Man in John Boorman's Deliverance (1972), a movie nominated for Best Picture of 1972 at the Academy Awards, that brought McKinney widespread attention and solidified his reputation as one of moviedom's all-time most heinous screen villains.
In his autobiography, McKinney's Deliverance (1972) co-star, Burt Reynolds (whose character dispatches The Mountain Man with an arrow in the back) said of McKinney, "I thought he was a little bent. I used to get up at five in the morning and see him running nude through the golf course while the sprinklers watered the grass...."
McKinney denies this, and also disputes Reynolds contention that he was overly enthusiastic playing the infamous scene where his character buggers Ned Beatty.
"He always played sickos", Reynolds said of McKinney, "but he played them well. With my dark sense of humor, I was kind of amused by him.... McKinney turned out to be a pretty good guy who just took the method way too far".
McKinney told Maxim magazine in an interview honoring him and his Mountain Man partner 'Herbert "Cowboy" Coward' as the #1 screen villains of all time that Reynolds' stories were untrue. "If you lose control on a movie set", McKinney told Maxim, "it's not acting, it's indulgence".
McKinney's wild-and-reckless screen persona and penchant for on-screen villainy attracted offers from A-list directors, which is a testament to his professionalism. He began appearing in films directed by top directors: Sam Peckinpah's Junior Bonner (1972), John Huston's The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Peter Yates's For Pete's Sake (1974) and, most chillingly, as the assassin in Alan J. Pakula's The Parallax View (1974). (One director who did not hire him was Stanley Kubrick, who had considered him for the role of the Marine drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket (1987) but demurred as he thought he came across as too scary after screening "Deliverance".)
McKinney also appeared in the classic TV movie, The Execution of Private Slovik (1974), while guest-starring on some of the top TV shows, including He'll Never See Daylight (1975) and Columbo (1971).
It was on the set working for a new director, who would go on to win an Oscar that McKinney made a fateful connection. He played the aptly named "Crazy Driver" in Michael Cimino's Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), starring Clint Eastwood. McKinney became part of the Eastwood stock company and enjoyed one of his best roles as the commander of the Red Legs in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), under the direction of Eastwood, himself. McKinney appeared in another six Eastwood films from The Gauntlet (1977) to Pink Cadillac (1989), when the Eastwood stock company disbanded, and had another terrific turn in Eastwood's well-reviewed Bronco Billy (1980), this time playing a member of Bronco Billy's circus, a character that was neither crazy, demented or odd.
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), which Orson Welles praised as an extremely well-directed film at a time when respectable critics did not associate Clint Eastwood with art, let alone craftsmanship, and Bronco Billy (1980), which was a hit with the critics but not with Eastwood fans, established the laconic superstar's reputation as a director, and McKinney was in both films. In the mid-'70s, McKinney also was a memorable misanthrope as 'Ron Howard''s employer who is done in by John Wayne's The Shootist (1976) in the eponymous film directed by Don Siegel, Eastwood's mentor. Other memorable movies that McKinney has appeared in during his career include the initial Rambo film, First Blood (1982), Against All Odds (1984), Heart Like a Wheel (1983), Back to the Future Part III (1990) and The Green Mile (1999).
He never retired, continuing to act into his late seventies. He also performed as a singer and recorded a CD, "Love Songs from Antry", featuring Sinatra-like numbers and some country & western tunes.
Bill McKinney died on December 1, 2011 in Van Nuys, California from cancer of the esophagus. He was 80 years old.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
While he's never been a typical leading man, Crispin Glover has distinguished himself as one of the most intriguing personalities in the movie business. His unusual characters and personal projects have inspired a cult-like following that has dubbed him both madman and genius.
The son of actress and dancer Betty Glover and actor Bruce Glover, Crispin Hellion Glover was born in New York City and raised in Southern California. He was named after the Saint Crispin's Day speech in Shakespeare's Henry V. His middle name, Hellion, was also used by his father. Crispin picked up his father's trade while still in elementary school--by age thirteen, he already had an agent scouting out parts. A lead in a stage production of "The Sound of Music" (starring Florence Henderson) led to guest spots on the TV shows Happy Days (1974), Hill Street Blues (1981) and Family Ties (1982), which in turn led to roles in made-for-TV movies. The adolescent Glover felt "confined" by TV work, however, so he opted to stick to movie parts. He made his big-screen debut in the teen hi-jinx movie in My Tutor (1983), then followed up with a supporting role in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984).
Glover's most defining Hollywood moment happened the next year, when he appeared as George McFly (Michael J. Fox's father) in the instant classic Back to the Future (1985). The underdog character struck a chord with moviegoers. Oddly enough, the actor delivered one of his favorite performances around the same time--playing a small-town kid obsessed with Olivia Newton-John in the indie The Orkly Kid (1985)--but the smaller film was completely overshadowed by his commercial success. Glover did, however, receive critical praise for his next indie role, a starring turn as a high-strung murder witness in River's Edge (1986). Glover and the producers did not come to a financial agreement for him to reprise the role of George McFly in Back to the Future Part II (1989). The producers brought the character back to life by splicing together archived footage and new scenes (using an actor in prosthetic makeup). Glover, who hadn't given permission for his likeness to be used, sued the film's producer, Steven Spielberg, and won. The case prompted the Screen Actors Guild to devise new regulations about the use of actors' images.
In 1990 Glover teamed up with fellow eccentric David Lynch to play the maniacal Cousin Dell in Wild at Heart (1990). He filled the next decade with similarly quirky, peripheral roles, including a turn as Andy Warhol in The Doors (1991) and a cameo as a train fireman in Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man (1995). His small but memorable appearances in films like What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) and The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) often outshone the main action.
When he's not stealing scenes from Hollywood hotshots, Glover pours his considerable energy into other creative endeavors. He wrote his first book, "Billow Rock", before age 18, and since then he's gone on to create a library of peculiar titles (several of which have been published through his family's Volcanic Eruptions press). Among his most famous volumes are "Rat Catching" and "Oak-Mot", both Victorian-era stories updated with macabre illustrations and cut-up text. In 1989 he released an album of spoken word readings and cover tunes (including a rendition of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'") entitled "The Big Problem [does not equal] the Solution. The Solution = Let it be."
In 1995 Glover began shooting his directorial debut, What Is It? (2005), a surreal film populated entirely by actors with Down's Syndrome. He tours with the film and its sequel It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (2007) and his show, "Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show," which is a one hour dramatic narration of eight different profusely illustrated books. The artist in Glover has been said to be inspired by "the aesthetic of discomfort," a theme which seems to have been carried over into an artistic public performance on David Letterman's NBC show in 1987, Glover emerged wearing a wig and platform shoes, then delivered a swift kick toward Letterman's head that prompted the producers to cut to a commercial. Late 2000 saw him hitting the multiplex with roles in Nurse Betty (2000) and Charlie's Angels (2000), and the titular Willard (2003). He re-teamed with Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis as Grendel in Beowulf (2007) and has worked with Johnny Depp for the third time in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010). Other Glover projects loom on the not-too-distant horizon.