Movie Synopsis

Rob Marshall

2010-01-23T05:27:00.000-08:00

After establishing himself as a Tony Award-winning choreographer, Rob Marshall made the rare transition to accomplished film director with the acclaimed feature adaption of the popular stage musical, “Chicago” (2002). Prior to his feature success, Marshall earned a reputation on Broadway as one of the finest choreographers working in the business, thanks to his work on such hits as “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993), “Damn Yankees” (1994) and “Cabaret” (1998). Though “Chicago” put him on the Hollywood map, Marshall actually made his screen debut with a television adaptation of the musical “Annie” (ABC, 1999), which starred Kathy Bates and earned the director his first Emmy Award. Marshall made his first foray into non-musical territory with a solid take on Arthur Golden’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” (2005), which did allow him put on his choreographer hat for an elaborate ceremonial dance. Though not as revered as “Chicago,” his second feature effort attracted Academy attention and informed critics that Marshall was a legitimate talent. With his third feature, the eagerly-awaited musical “Nine” (2009), Marshall was on firm ground to make his case for being one of Hollywood’s premiere directors.

Born on Oct. 17, 1960 in Madison, WI, Marshall first began making home movies as a youth, including a parody of "The Brady Bunch” which starred his sisters, while appearing in productions of “The King and I” and “The Sound of Music” as a child. But by the time he was preparing to enroll at Carnegie Mellon University, he had shifted his interest to dance, training in both jazz and ballet. In 1980, he took a year off from school to join in a touring company of “A Chorus Line,” directed by noted choreographer Michael Bennett. Marshall took his experiences back to Carnegie Mellon, becoming a much better dancer by the time he graduated in 1982. The next year, he landed a part in the musical “Zorba” (1983), which he followed by appearing in “The Rink” (1984) and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” (1985). All three productions were choreographed by Graciela Daniele, who took the young Marshall under her wing to become his mentor. By the time he performed in “Edwin Drood,” Marshall was Daniele’s dance captain and assistant. But his career as a dancer came to a sudden end when he suffered a back injury while performing in “Cats,” which marked his final appearance on Broadway as a performer.

Despite his career being temporarily derailed, Marshall found himself fielding offers to choreograph regional theater. He moved rapidly up to the big leagues, choreographing his first Broadway effort, "The Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1993), with music and lyrics by Kander and Ebb. Starring star Chita Rivera and directed by the legendary director Hal Prince, the popular musical earned Marshall his first Tony Award nomination for Best Choreography, which he shared with fellow choreographer Vincent Patterson. Marshall's next big moment came when he choreographed the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of "She Loves Me" (1993), which earned him an Olivier nomination when the show ran in London. He won major acclaim for his choreography of the 1994 Broadway revival of "Damn Yankees" starring Victor Garber and Bebe Neuwirth, while the show's national tour with Jerry Lewis and subsequent London production – which earned him a second Olivier nomination – only enhanced his reputation. Meanwhile, he reunited with Hal Prince to choreograph the dance moves for a revival of "Company" (1995), which closed after 60 performances, followed by a production of "The Petrified Prince" at the Public Theater.

Only two years into his Broadway career, Marshall had already established himself as a top choreographer. Following a production of Blake Edwards’ "Victor/Victoria" (1995), starring Julie Andrews, he added his touch to the smash revival of "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum" (1996) which starred Nathan Lane, and later Whoopi Goldberg. Of course, Marshall's string of successes on stage soon attracted the attention of Hollywood. He was tapped to choreograph the dance sequences in lavish musical television productions like "Mrs. Santa Claus" (CBS, 1996), starring Angela Lansbury, and an all-star small screen version of "Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella" (ABC, 1997) starring singer Brandy, Whitney Houston, Whoopi Goldberg and Jason Alexander. After working with actor-director Tim Robbins on "Cradle Will Rock" (1998), Marshall returned to Broadway to make his co-directorial debut alongside Sam Mendes and choreograph the wildly popular revival of Kander and Ebbs' sensation, "Cabaret" (1998). Starring Alan Cumming as the Master of Ceremonies and Natasha Richardson as Sally Bowles, the acclaimed production won just about every award imaginable, including the Tony, the Drama Desk Award and the Outer-Critics Circle Award. That same year, he also helmed the Tony-winning Broadway run of Neil Simon's "Little Me," starring Faith Prince and Martin Short, as well as "Promises, Promises" for the City Center Encores! Series.

Marshall made a major splash on the small screen with the ratings-earning television adaptation of "Annie" (1999) with Kathy Bates, Victor Garber, Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth. The made-for-television musical marked Marshall's first professional foray behind the camera as a director and became the most-viewed small screen movie of that year. The Peabody-award winning broadcast also resulted in Marshall winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography, as well as earning a Director's Guild of America Award nod. Marshall soon found himself being strongly beckoned by big screen Hollywood. After replacing the original director on the Broadway musical "Suessical" (2000) – which he did uncredited, working with the show's choreographer, his sister Kathleen – he began meeting with movie studio executives looking for his first feature film project. Thanks to the children of Miramax studio head Harvey Weinstein obsessively watching "Annie," Marshall found himself pitching his long-dreamed-of ambition of putting the famous musical, "Chicago," onto celluloid. Marshall had earlier directed a well-received Los Angeles production of the musical starring Bebe Neuwirth in 1992, which had earned him a Dramalogue Award, making him exactly the right person for the job.

Though there had been several failed efforts since the 1980s to bring “Chicago” to the screen that involved a revolving door of talent, Marshall believed that he had the concept that would allow contemporary filmgoers to embrace the inherent unreality of the movie musical. Marshall determined that he would keep the music sequences theatrical and showy by making them imaginary figments unfolding in the head of the delusional lead character, Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger). Miramax agreed and Marshall set to work crafting a script with writer-director Bill Condon. He also cannily cast major stars who were proven box office draws – Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere – but were not known for their musical talents. He also populated the supporting roles with highly unconventional choices, including Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu, which helped amplify the curiosity factor. But no amount of gimmicks beat Marshall's remarkably assured direction and whip-smart style, which resulted in a potent, energetic and highly original film that captured the electricity of Broadway-style dance without sacrificing a theatrical sensibility for cinematic realism. It did not hurt that “Moulin Rouge” (2001), Baz Luhrmann’s kaleidoscopic musical starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, had been released a year prior to resounding box office success; in effect, altering the public’s long-held perception of movie musicals as silly and unwatchable. This shift, as well as all of Marshall’s heartfelt efforts, proved fruitful when his musical vision was released in 2002 to gushing critical accolades and strong box office receipts, a ride that resulted in several major award nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.

Marshall found himself in non-musical territory for his next feature directing effort, the long-awaited adaptation of Arthur S. Golden’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” (2005), starring Asian heavyweights Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe and Michelle Yeoh. Despite its sweeping story, lush cinematography and Oscar-winning art direction and costume design, Marshall failed to create an emotionally satisfying or financially successful endeavor. The film followed the life of a beautiful geisha (Zhang) during World War II who is in love with a man beyond her reach (Watanabe). Returning to the more comfortable genre of musical and variety programming, Marshall directed “Tony Bennett: An American Classic” (NBC, 2006), an all-star 80th birthday tribute to the legendary crooner featuring Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Bill Crystal. Marshall won two Emmy awards for his efforts; one for Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Musical or Comedy Program; the other he shared with the other producers for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special. Back to directing features, he joined forces with the Weinsteins again to helm “Nine” (2009), a musical drama loosely based on Federico Fellini’s “8 ½” (1963), which focused on a film director (Daniel Day-Lewis) stuck in neutral as he tries to make a movie while dealing with the demands of all the women in his life, including his deceased mother (Sophia Loren). The film was indeed an A-list grab bag, as Marshall’s reputation and the material presented attracted not only Day-Lewis and Loren – two notoriously choosy actors – but also Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Dame Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard and Kate Hudson.

Also Credited As:
Robert Marshall
Born:
Robert Marshall on October 17, 1960 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Job Titles:
Choreographer, Dancer, Director

Family

Sister: Kathleen Marshall.
Sister: Maura Marshall.

Significant Others

Companion: John DeLuca.

Education

Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 1982

Milestones

1992 Directed production of Chicago, starring Bebe Neuwirth in Los Angeles
1993 Choreographed the Broadway production of She Loves Me
1993 Provided additional choreography for Kiss of the Spider Woman on Broadway
1994 Choreographed the revival of Damn Yankees, starring future collaborators Victor Garber and Bebe Neuwirth
1995 Choreographed the stage production of Victor/Victoria
1996 Choreographed the revival of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum
1996 Oversaw the dance sequences in the CBS TV movie, Mrs. Santa Claus
1997 Choreographed ABC s version of Rogers & Hammerstein s Cinderella
1998 Made Broadway co-directorial debut (with Sam Mendes) with revival of Cabaret
1998 Provided the dance numbers for director Tim Robbins The Cradle Will Rock
1999 Made television directorial debut with ABC s adapatation of the musical, Annie
2000 Uncredited directing on the Broadway show, Suessical
2002 Directed the screen adaptation of the musical, Chicago ; earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director
2005 Directed the feature adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha, from Arthur Golden s best-selling novel
2006 Produced and directed the NBC variety show, Tony Bennett: An American Classic ; also choreographed
2009 Directed the screenplay adaptation of the Broadway musical, Nine
Began career as a Broadway dancer

George Clooney

2010-01-23T05:24:00.000-08:00

After a decade spent toiling on series television, mostly in roles easily forgotten, actor George Clooney jolted to stardom with his portrayal of the charming, but troubled pediatrician Doug Ross on the acclaimed medical series, "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009). Thanks to his newfound celebrity, Clooney made the jump to films while still on the series, quickly establishing himself as a major Hollywood star with leading roles in “From Dusk Till Dawn” (1996), “Batman & Robin” (1997) and “Out of Sight” (1998). When he left the confines of the small screen for big screen pastures, Clooney transcended mere stardom to become one of the most prominent actors of his era, emulating the devil-may-care nonchalance of a Cary Grant or Clark Gable, while at the same time, becoming an Academy Award-winning performer, risk-taking director and socially-conscious activist. While raking in the box office as the breezy Danny Ocean in “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) and its two sequels, Clooney forged ahead on a directing career with “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” (2002). But it was his sophomore effort behind the camera, “Good Night, and Good Luck” (2005), that catapulted the star into the realm of top-ranking filmmakers, thanks to a number of Academy Award nominations. Meanwhile, his Oscar-winning performance as a disillusioned CIA agent in “Syriana” (2005) helped put to rest any residual notions that Clooney was just a famously devout bachelor out to have a good time.

Clooney was born on May 6, 1961 and raised in the small Kentucky town of Augusta – a scant 40 miles north of Cincinnati, OH. His father, Nick – brother of famed singer and actress Rosemary Clooney – was a local talk show host-turned-popular news anchor. His mother, Nina, was a beauty queen. Clooney grew up on the set of his father's shows, occasionally serving as a commercial pitchman and sketch player, before later working as a floor manager. With dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, Clooney was invited to tryout for the Cincinnati Reds in 1977 when he was just 16. But his best proved not good enough, and he failed to make the team. Instead, Clooney enrolled at Northern Kentucky University, where he proceeded to party, chase girls and occasionally show up for class. Not that he was entirely irresponsible – Clooney worked odd jobs to put himself through school, selling women’s shoes and men’s suits. After dropping out of NKU, Clooney’s cousin, actor Miguel Ferrer, came to Kentucky to make a low-budget movie about horseracing. Clooney was cast in a small part based on his good looks and became instantly seduced with the business.

In 1982, with money saved up from cutting tobacco, Clooney piled into his rusted 1976 Monte Carlo and drove to Los Angeles, CA in two days without stopping. His car guzzled oil and had ignition problems that forced him to keep it running on the side of the road while he caught an hour’s worth of sleep. He eventually sputtered into Beverly Hills, where he stayed with Rosemary, doing odd jobs around the house and driving his aunt and her famous friends around. Clooney then landed a job cleaning a theater – the money from which he used to pay for his first acting class. His first acting job was a Japanese commercial for Panasonic, followed by a part on the detective series “Riptide” (NBC, 1983-86). Clooney quickly made the jump from thankless television roles to forgettable horror flicks like "Grizzly II - The Predator" (1984), “Return to Horror High” (1986) and "Return of the Killer Tomatoes" 1988). But at least he was working.

Undeterred by the dearth of quality projects, Clooney continued plugging away on auditions, taking whatever job came his way (By the time he was a star, Clooney had worked on a total of 15 unsold pilots). Ironically, his first regular series role was as a young physician working in an emergency room in the short-lived sitcom "E/R" (CBS, 1984-85). He maintained a steady stream of bad recurring roles, playing a good-natured carpenter on "The Facts of Life" (NBC, 1979-1988) during the 1985-86 season; a womanizing factory manager on "Roseanne" (ABC, 1988-1997) for the 1988-89 season; and a construction worker on the short-lived sitcom "Baby Talk" (ABC, 1990-1992), which he left after clashing with the show's producer. After playing a detective on "Bodies of Evidence" (CBS, 1992-93), Clooney stayed with law enforcement, but switched to drama, starring as the married detective who falls for Teddy (Sela Ward) during the 1993-94 season of "Sisters" (NBC).

Clooney often said how his peripatetic upbringing and the experiences of both his father and aunt prepared him for the pitfalls of a showbiz career. When he finally achieved stardom on "ER,” he took his newfound success in stride. Clooney played womanizing emergency room pediatrician, Doug Ross, whose lack of personal judgment was usually trumped by compassion for his patients, though sometimes he defended an abused child with righteous indignation that bordered on professional misconduct. On the personal front, Ross was a carefree bachelor much like Clooney himself. But his darker nature lead to a stormy romantic entanglement with registered nurse, Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies), who began the series by attempting suicide after he broke her heart. Despite several twists and turns over the course of six seasons, including a few failed marriage proposals and the birth of twins, Ross and Hathaway – and consequently Clooney and Margulies – ended their stints on “ER,” having moved to Seattle to get married and raise their daughters.

As film offers poured in, Clooney began stretching as an actor, handling roles in diverse genres – though several efforts fell below expectations. He was alongside Quentin Tarantino, battling vampires in the action adventure "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996), then displayed his boyish charm opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in the romantic comedy "One Fine Day" (1996). Though the former acquired some cult status, neither fared particularly well at the box office. In a bold, but ultimately damaging turn, Clooney inherited the “Batman” franchise from Val Kilmer, making a surprisingly mediocre Bruce Wayne/Batman in Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin" (1997). Clooney took the critical drubbings with typical good humor, often joking about his part in the debacle ("I think I've buried that franchise!"). The true culprits, however, were a confusing script, overblown visuals and an ear-splitting soundtrack. Clooney’s other big blockbuster from that year, "The Peacemaker,” also proved disappointing.

Despite a tough year at the box office, Clooney was dubbed “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine in 1997, a time when he was publicly battling the paparazzi for their bounty hunter tactics, especially in light of Princess Diana’s August death in Paris while being chased in her car by photographers. The first glimmers of Clooney’s activist nature surfaced when he organized a celebrity boycott of “Entertainment Tonight” (syndicated, 1981- ) in retaliation for another Paramount show, “Hard Copy” (syndicated, 1986-1999), which used this new form of intrusive paparazzi. Clooney was joined by the likes of Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise and Madonna in an effort that proved effective – “Hard Copy” toned down its invasive tactics. Back on screen, Clooney firmly established himself as a bona fide presence in his next project, "Out of Sight" (1998), directed by Steven Soderbergh. As Elmore Leonard's smart-alecky, but fallible escaped con, Jack Foley, Clooney romanced a federal marshal (Jennifer Lopez) while en route to stealing a cache of diamonds from a crooked businessman (Albert Brook). Both Clooney and Lopez entranced critics with their sizzling onscreen chemistry, while Clooney earned praise for the easy-going charm and intelligence of his laid-back, debonair bank robber. Despite good reviews, however, few turned up in the theaters, sadly making “Out of Sight” a box office failure.

After making a cameo as a platoon leader in Terrence Malick's elegiac war film, "The Thin Red Line" (1998), his big screen fortunes changed dramatically with David O Russell's "Three Kings" (1999) – an uncommonly political Hollywood action feature set during the Gulf War that delivered a cautionary message about the responsibility accompanying America's role as policeman of the world. Clooney proved his mettle as an action star with his turn as career military man Major Archie Gates, though not without paying a price. Despite high critical praise for the film, he later cited the enormous stress of working with Russell, who routinely berated everyone on set. Russell was so combative, that the typically unflappable Clooney eventually put him in a chokehold after the director went ballistic, butting heads with the actor while daring him to strike back. Clooney later told Playboy magazine in 2000 that working on the film “was truly, without exception, the worst experience of my life.”

Regardless of his experiences with Russell, Clooney felt that his film career had warranted the decision to leave "ER" in February 2000. He made periodic returns to television, including as executive producer and star of the two-hour live broadcast of "Fail Safe" (CBS, 2000), a black-and-white homage to the days of live television and adapted from the Cold War novel by Harvey Wheeler and Eugene Burdick. Superbly acted and flawlessly produced, this welcome addition amidst the standard small screen fare failed to register with younger audiences weaned on MTV. The quality outing was the first real fruit born of Clooney’s production company, Maysville Pictures, and his contract with Warner Bros. – he previously served as executive producer and co-writer on the failed HBO pilot, "Kilroy" (1999). Clooney next reunited with "Three Kings" co-star Mark Wahlberg for Wolfgang Petersen's film adaptation of Sebastian Junger's best selling-novel, "The Perfect Storm" (2000), playing Captain Billy Tyne of the doomed fishing boat, Andrea Gail. Anxiously awaited for its tale of men in the grip of nature's fury, "The Perfect Storm" solidified Clooney as a bankable big screen star in a fine turn as the captain of the doomed boat.

Also in 2000, he starred as escaped con Ulysses Everett McGill in the Coen brothers' deliriously loopy Depression-era jail break movie, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", based loosely on Homer's Odyssey. Back behind the camera, he served as producer on "Rock Star" (2001), a dopey comedy about a cover band singer (Wahlberg) drafted into the world of his heavy metal heroes. Clooney kept his stellar career in fast motion with a starring in Steven Soderbergh's all-star ensemble hit, "Ocean's Eleven" (2001) opposite Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Bernie Mac, among others. As heist leader Danny Ocean – an ex-con obsessed with robbing a casino heavyweight (Andy Garcia) and winning back his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) from him – Clooney’s comic charm was on full blast, easily overshadowing younger co-stars Pitt and Damon. That same year, following the Sept. 11 attacks, Clooney was instrumental in rallying dozens of Hollywood friends and colleagues for a televised fundraiser for the victims of the terrorist attack, "America: A Tribute to Heroes" (2001). Clooney and company managed to raise over $30 million through the telethon. A public row with Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly erupted, however, when the conservative pundit erroneously claimed that the United Way was mishandling the money. Clooney responded with a sharply worded letter excoriating O’Reilly’s unsubstantiated accusations and questionable journalism. The two continued their public row over the years on various topics, with Clooney typically getting the better of the ill-informed O’Reilly.

In 2002, Clooney had small but memorable role as a crippled crook in "Welcome to Collinwood.” Following up, he made his directorial debut with "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," based on the book by Chuck Barris, the former host of "The Gong Show," who claimed he was a CIA hit man. Clooney aped Soderbergh’s off-kilter visual style, while at the same time, infusing his own breezy sense of humor, creating a daring first film that garnered many admirers. Clooney then co-starred with Natascha McElhorne in the thriller feature, "Solaris," a sci-fi remake of a 1972 Russian film which reunited the actor again with pal Steven Soderbergh. A metaphorical meditation on life and death co-produced by James Cameron, “Solaris” failed to attract much attention at the box office. Meanwhile, a spotty track record was being formed for Section Eight – a production company formed by Clooney and Soderbergh. Though developing an interesting array of film and television projects – including the surprisingly subdued Washington insider docudrama “K Street” (HBO, 2003-04) – Section Eight failed to generate much profit outside “Ocean’s 11.” The team rebounded – creatively at least – with "Unscripted" (2005), a chronicle of the ups and downs of a trio of actors making their way in Hollywood.

As he delved further into producing and directing, Clooney remained among the most in-demand A-list leading men in Hollywood. He reunited with the Coen Brothers, taking the lead in the disappointingly unfunny screwball comedy "Intolerable Cruelty" (2003) as divorce attorney Miles Massey, the millionaire author of a prenuptial agreement so tightly written that it has never been cracked. Meanwhile, he falls for a scheming, gold-digging serial divorcee (Catherine Zeta-Jones) looking to get even after Miles defends her ex-husband and leaves her with nothing. Clooney's disarming performance was one of the film's few comic strengths, though critics tagged the film for being intolerably cold, particularly in regards to the onscreen chemistry – or lack thereof – between Clooney and Zeta-Jones. The actor then recruited Zeta-Jones to join his ensemble of actor friends for the inevitable sequel, "Ocean's Twelve" (2004), which did tremendously at the box office, but suffered in comparison to the group's initial effort. Set in Italy, the film was more like a home movie of the gang on an extended vacation than an actual film.

Clooney the director came to full fruition with his sophomore effort, "Good Night and Good Luck" (2005), an ambitious and adroitly executed profile of pioneer newscaster Edward R. Murrow (David Straithairn) and his effort to publicly expose the headline-grabbing, bully-pulpit tactics of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his Communist witch hunt in the 1950s. Clooney, who grew up watching his broadcast journalist father in action, showed a great aptitude for the ethical journalistic issues at hand, co-writing the screenplay with his longtime friend and partner Grant Heslov; the duo took greater-than-average pains to insure the historical accuracy of the events dramatized. As director, Clooney made creative use of real news interviews with McCarthy in place of casting an actor in the part, displaying a measured hand and a stylish touch with the rich black and white footage. Clooney also took on a side role as Murrow's respected news producer and confidant Fred Friendly, a role that displayed the actor in his most assured and adult performance. Clooney earned his first award nominations as a director, earning nods at the Independent Spirit Awards, Golden Globes and Academy Awards.

As an actor, Clooney signed onto writer-director Stephen Gaghan's multi-plot potboiler, "Syriana" (2005), playing a career CIA operative who uncovers a disturbing truth about the politics of oil in the Persian Gulf, before finding himself hung out to dry by his government when a mission goes awry. Clooney grew a scraggly beard and gained several extra pounds to play the role, while suffering a painful back injury on the final day of shooting, which required therapy and rehabilitation in a scene that failed to even make the finished film. But his pain and suffering wasn’t for naught – Clooney won a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture and an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Clooney next reunited with Soderbergh for "The Good German" (2006), playing an American reporter sent to cover the final Allied summit meeting of World War II, secretly hoping to search for a lost love, but becoming tangled up in a murder mystery.

Clooney was again voted “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine in 2006 – only the second time an actor received the title – with his pal Brad Pitt being the other. Then in a third go-round, Clooney hopped back onto the gravy train for “Ocean’s 13” (2007). This time, the gang seeks revenge on a ruthless Las Vegas casino owner (Al Pacino) whose double-crossing of Danny Ocean and company leads to his downfall. He next starred in as the titular “Michael Clayton” (2007), playing a corporate fixer who takes care of all the dirty work for one of the biggest law firms in New York City. But when the firm’s top litigator (Tom Wilkinson) suffers from a nervous breakdown and threatens to sabotage the a lucrative settlement suit, Clayton tries cleaning up the mess, only to come face-to-face with who he’s really become. Meanwhile, Clooney directed his third film, “Leatherheads” (2008), a period sports comedy set in the 1920s world of professional football. While he was awaiting the release of that film, Clooney received an Academy Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for “Michael Clayton.” Unfortunately, "Leatherheads" tanked horribly, with the film and Clooney receiving some of the more brutal reviews of his career.

A turn as a slippery federal agent in The Coen Brothers’ dark farce “Burn After Reading” (2008) marked one of the filmmakers’ bigger commercial successes, and was well-suited to Clooney’s penchant for both political-leaning material and social satire, though the film’s dips into slapstick territory were a curious choice for an A-list cast. The prolific actor returned to theaters the following year alongside Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, and Kevin Spacey in “The Men Who Stare At Goats” (2009), a comedy based on a little-known U.S. military program that once trained personnel to develop psychic abilities to be used during combat. In theaters almost simultaneously was Jason Reitman’s adaptation of the novel “Up in the Air” (2009), starring Clooney as a traveling executive addicted to his peripatetic lifestyle but faced with the possibility of having to set down both figurative and literal roots. Clooney also voiced the title character of Roald Dahl’s “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” (2009) in a stop-motion animated adaptation of the classic tale helmed by Wes Anderson and also starring the voice-over talent of Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. Clooney closed out the year with a beautiful new girlfriend, Italian TV presenter, Elisabetta Canalis, on his arm, as well as nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes for Best Actor for "Up in the Air."

Also Credited As:
George Timothy Clooney
Born:
George Timothy Clooney on May 6, 1961 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Job Titles:
Actor, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Floor manager (for father s TV show), Caricaturist, Shoe salesman, Tobacco cutter

Family

Aunt: Rosemary Clooney. Appeared on two episodes during the first season of NBC s ER as an Alzheimer s patient prone to belting out songs; formerly married to actor Jose Ferrer with whom she had five children; died on June 29, 2002 of lung cancer
Cousin: Miguel Ferrer. Born Feb. 7, 1955; son of Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney
Father: Nick Clooney.
Mother: Nina Bruce Clooney. Met husband when she was crowned first runner up at Miss Kentucky pageant and he was emcee
Sister: Ada Zeidler. Born c. 1959; married with two children

Significant Others

Companion: Brooke Langton. Reportedly dated in 1999; no longer together
Companion: Dedee Pfeiffer. Briefly dated; no longer together
Companion: Elisabetta Canalis. Italian; began dating in the Summer of 2009
Companion: Kelly Preston. Dated from 1987-1989; later married actor John Travolta
Companion: Krista Allen. Reportedly dated during filming of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002); began seeing eachother again in 2003; split March 2004
Companion: Lisa Snowdon. Dated in 2001 and again in 2004, while he was filming Ocean s Twelve (2004); no longer together
Companion: Maria Bertrand. Canadian; briefly dated in 2002; no longer together
Companion: Renee Zellweger. Rumored to have dated in 2001; both claim they were only friends
Companion: Sarah Larson. Began dating in 2007; involved in motorcycle accident with Clooney on Sept. 21, 2007, both suffered broken bones; split in May 2008
Companion: Traylor Howard. Reportedly dated in 2000; no longer together
Companion: Brooke Langton. reportedly dating as of fall 1999
Companion: Celine Balitran. born c. 1973; French; former law student; dated from 1996 to 1999; met at the trendy Paris nightclub Barfly where she was waitressing while he was filming The Peacemaker (1997)
Companion: DeDee Pfeiffer.
Companion: Denise Crosby.
Companion: Jennifer Siebel. dated as of August 2002
Companion: Kelly Preston. together from 1987-89; later married actor John Travolta
Companion: Kimberly Russell. together briefly in mid-1995
Companion: Krista Allen. reportedly dated during filming of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Companion: Lisa Snowden. dated in 2001
Companion: Maria Betrand. Canadian; born c. 1974; reportedly dating as of spring 2002
Companion: Renee Zellweger. reportedly dated in fall 2001
Companion: Trayler Howard. reportedly dated as of spring 2000

Education

Augusta Independent High School, Augusta, KY
Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY

Milestones

1974 Served as a floor manager on his father s locally produced TV show
1975 Suffered for a year with Bell s palsy
1977 Tried out for Cincinnati Reds baseball team at age 16
1982 Appeared as an extra in ... And They re Off, a film starring his cousin Miguel Ferrer
1982 Moved to Los Angeles at age 21; lived with his aunt, Rosemary Clooney, working as her handyman and chauffeur
1984 Debut as TV series regular in the CBS sitcom E/R playing a young orderly named Ace
1985 Had a recurring role as carpenter George Burnett on the The Facts of Life (NBC)
1986 TV-movie debut, Combat High (NBC)
1987 Played a drug dealer in the play Vicious at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago
1987 Played role of Tom Bennett in failed NBC comedy pilot Bennett Brothers
1988 Had starring role in the horror spoof The Return of the Killer Tomatoes
1988 Played the recurring role of Booker, the male chauvinist boss on the first season of Roseanne (ABC)
1990 Cast in the short-lived detective series Sunset Beat (ABC); show cancelled after three episodes
1991 Appeared on the ABC sitcom Baby Talk ; quit in frustration over creative differences with the producers
1991 Declined Quentin Tarantino s request to read for a role in Reservoir Dogs
1993 Played Falconer, a married policeman who becomes involved with Teddy Reed (Sela Ward), on Sisters (NBC)
1994 Cast as pediatrician, Dr. Doug Ross on the hit NBC medical drama ER ; reprised role for one episode in the final season (2009)
1996 Co-starred with Quentin Tarantino in the vampire horror flick From Dusk Till Dawn
1996 Formed Maysville Pictures (formerly Left Bank Productions), named for the Kentucky town in which he grew up
1996 Played romantic lead opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in One Fine Day
1997 Portrayed Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman & Robin, the fourth installment in the series, directed by Joel Schumacher
1997 Provided the voice of Sparky the dog on an episode of the Comedy Central animated series South Park
1998 Played an escaped prisoner in Steven Soderbergh s Out of Sight
1998 Signed separate two-year development deals with CBS and Warner Bros.
1999 Contributed the voice of Dr Gouache to the feature South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
1999 Teamed with Ice Cube and Mark Wahlberg in David O Russell s critically-acclaimed Three Kings
1999 Wrote and executive produced the HBO comedy series pilot Kilroy
2000 Co-starred in the Coen brothers O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2000 Executive produced and acted in the live, two-hour broadcast of Fail Safe (CBS), adapted from the Cold War novel by Harvey Wheeler and Eugene Burdick; directed by Stephen Frears; project reteamed him with ER co-star Noah Wyle
2000 With Wahlberg, co-starred in the film version of Wolfgang Petersen s The Perfect Storm
2001 Reteamed with Soderbergh for remake of Ocean s Eleven ; made through production company Section Eight
2001 With Soderbergh, served as producer of Marc Rocco s The Jacket
2002 Cast as a divorce attorney in the Coen brothers feature Intolerable Cruelty
2002 Feature directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind ; also had supporting role
2002 Had small but memorable role as a crippled crook in Welcome to Collinwood, a farcical comedy screened at Cannes
2002 Starred in the sci-fi thriller feature Solaris, directed by Soderberg
2004 Returned with the original cast for Ocean s Twelve directed by Steven Soderbergh
2005 Directed, co-wrote and portrayed producer Fred Friendly in Goodnight, and Good Luck, the 1950s-era drama about legendary TV newsman Edward R. Murrow; earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Director; received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Directing and Screenplay; was also nominated by the Directors Guild of America
2005 Produced and starred in Syriana, a geopolitical thriller based on the real-life memoirs of CIA agent Robert Baer; earned a SAG nomination for Supporting Actor
2006 Co-starred with Cate Blanchett in The Good German, about an American journalist trying to solve a murder mystery in post-war Berlin; directed by Steven Soderbergh
2006 Formed Smoke House production company with Grant Heslov and signed a three-year first-look production and development deal with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Television
2007 Played the title role in Michael Clayton, written and directed by Tony Gilroy; also co-produced; earned Golden Globe, SAG and Oscar nominations for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama
2007 Reprised role of Danny Ocean for Ocean s 13
2008 Directed and co-starred with Renée Zellweger in the 1920s-era football comedy, Leatherheads
2008 Joined an ensemble cast for the Coen s brothers Burn After Reading
2009 Directed by Grant Heslov in The Men Who Stare At Goats ; also co-produced
2009 Nominated for the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama ( Up in the Air )
2009 Nominated for the 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role ( Up in the Air )
2009 Played an isolated man who travels around the country to terminate corporate employees in Jason Reitman s Up in the Air ; earned Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Actor
2009 Voiced the title role in Wes Anderson s stop-motion animation adaptation of the Roald Dahl book, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Beginning at age five, assisted on father s local Cincinnati talk show, The Nick Clooney Show
Feature acting debut in the unreleased Grizzly II - The Predator (Note: some sources say this was filmed in 1982 while others say 1984)
Raised in rural Kentucky and Ohio
Received first professional job, a stereo commercial, by appearing at the audition with a six-pack
With Soderbergh, formed Section Eight, a production company
Worked cutting tobacco to earn enough money to buy a car in order to drive cross-county

Matt Damon

2010-01-23T05:18:00.000-08:00

Despite his All-American persona, actor Matt Damon thrived in roles that ran counter to his mom-and-apple pie image. Whether playing a combative mathematics genius, a serial killer hunting the rich and famous, or a lethal spy unable to recall his identity, Damon built a strong and respected career tackling characters that went against type. After appearing in several supporting roles, Damon forged his own path with best friend Ben Affleck by writing and starring in “Good Will Hunting” (1997), which earned the duo an Academy Award for Best Screenplay while opening numerous doors. From there, he delivered a brief, but acclaimed performance as the titular soldier in “Saving Private Ryan” (1998), followed by a more devious part as a social-climbing killer in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (1999). Though he stalled a bit with “The Legend of Bagger Vance” (2000) and “All the Pretty Horses” (2000), Damon became a bona fide star by aptly trading one-liners with the likes of George Clooney and Brad Pitt in the stylish action comedy, “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) and its sequels. But Damon became his own man with “The Bourne Identity” (2002), which allowed him to solo drive a successful action franchise that earned big box office dollars and critical acclaim across the board. By the time he landed a meaty leading role in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning thriller, “The Departed” (2006), Damon was one of the biggest stars working in Hollywood.

Damon was born on Oct. 8, 1970 in Cambridge, MA and raised in nearby Newton. His father, Kent, was a stockbroker and his mother, Nancy, a professor of early-childhood education at Lesley College. When Damon was 2-years old, his parents divorced, leaving him to be reared by his mother in a commune-style home back in Cambridge. Because of the open and creative environment, Damon developed a taste for artistic endeavors at an early age. Although he acted onstage in school plays and declared his intention to pursue that career when he enrolled at Harvard University, Damon found it difficult at first. He made his feature debut screen with a one-line role of Adam Storke's younger brother in "Mystic Pizza" (1988). In 1991, Damon ditched Harvard 12 credits shy of his bachelor’s degree in English, choosing instead to co-star opposite Brian Dennehy as a medical school dropout in the made-for-cable movie, "Rising Son" (TNT, 1990).

With his acting career on the rise, he excelled as an anti-Semitic preppie in "School Ties" (1992), but later stated that the competition for the roles in his age range was fierce. Nearly all the young men in "School Ties" had auditioned for the co-starring role in "Scent of a Woman" (also 1992), but that plum role opposite an Oscar-winning Al Pacino went to Chris O'Donnell. In fact, Damon and O'Donnell often competed for roles, with the latter generally winning out. Meanwhile, Damon proved adequate as the narrator of Walter Hill's revisionist Western "Geronimo: An American Legend" (1993), only to be overshadowed by more seasoned actors, notably Gene Hackman and Wes Studi. On the other hand, he all but pulled the rug out from under Denzel Washington in "Courage Under Fire" (1996), offering a vivid turn as a guilt-ridden veteran of the Persian Gulf War tormented by an incident in battle. He even lost 40 pounds to achieve the gaunt, haunted look of the character.

When he was at Harvard, Damon began writing a script about a troubled mathematics genius with childhood buddy, Affleck. They fashioned a screenplay that soon became the talk of Hollywood, with studios bidding competitively for the project. Old friend and director Kevin Smith did his best to get it noticed by the Weinstein’s at Miramax, going to bat for his two buddies. In 1994, Castle Rock initially purchased the rights for over a half-million dollars in a pay-or-play deal. The story then focused on Will, a South Boston resident with superior intelligence whom the government attempts to recruit. A year later, with the project in turnaround, Miramax purchased the rights and the script evolved to focus more strongly on the emotional difficulties of the leading character. Before "Good Will Hunting" went before the cameras, however, Damon landed his first screen lead as a newly-minted crusading attorney in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of "John Grisham's 'The Rainmaker'" (1997). The one-two punch of the two leading roles – undoubtedly assisted by the resulting mythology building for Damon and Affleck as writers and actors – solidified the actor's status as the so-called “It” boy of 1997, along with Affleck. Earning a Best Actor Academy Award nomination and sharing an Oscar win for Best Screenplay with Affleck only upped his profile and provided Academy Award history with one of its most fairy-tale like moments come to life when, as their respective mothers sat in the audience, the two young bucks ran cheering to the stage, breathlessly thanking everyone in funny, quick succession. The twosome were, in fact, guys struggling to make it in the biz that everyone could relate to; thus, making their win that much sweeter.

Director Stephen Spielberg tapped Damon to play the title role in the World War II epic "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), a film worthy of critical praise for its showy camerawork and impressively staged battle set pieces. As the soldier whose three brothers have been killed in action, the All-American looking Damon was in only the last third of the film, but still managed to make a significant impression. He fared less well as the poker hustler-turned-law student who agrees to help his ex-con best friend in "Rounders" (1998). In this redux of Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" (1974), Damon relied on his winning personality, warm smile and good looks than on his acting ability, giving more of a movie star portrayal than a real performance.

Repaying writer-producer-director Kevin Smith for his assistance on "Good Will Hunting,” he joined Affleck to play a pair of fallen angels trying to get back into heaven in the oddly dark comedy, "Dogma" (1999). Damon followed by undertaking the more challenging title role of an American who decides to murder his traveling companion (Jude Law) and assume his identity in Anthony Minghella's well-crafted "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999), resulting in one of the actor's most intense performance – though the film largely built its reputation and devoted admirers after its initial release. And it was newcomer Law, in a winningly charming performance, who received the lion’s share of the spotlight. But it was Damon’s obsessive, bespectacled killer who was the glue that held the beautifully shot film together.

Damon's career hit a brief but worrisome slump with the release of three creative and box-office duds in a row: director Robert Redford's lethargic "The Legend of Bagger Vance," with Damon as a washed up golf pro opposite wise caddy Will Smith; "All the Pretty Horses,” director Billy Bob Thornton's failed adaptation of novelist Cormac McCarthy's romantic Western; and a small supporting turn in Van Sant's by-the-numbers "Finding Forrester" (2000). The actor recaptured his A-list cachet when he joined the all-star cast of Steven Soderbergh's remake of "Ocean's Eleven,” playing pickpocket and aspiring big-time thief, Linus Caldwell, in the popular hit – a role he returned to for the sequels "Ocean's Twelve" (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007). His next film was a complete about-face from those slick, polished crowd-pleasers: Damon and Casey Affleck starred (and co-wrote) the largely improvised drama, "Gerry" (2002), a little-seen effort directed by Van Sant about two men named Gerry who are stranded in the desert during a hiking mishap – an intriguing experiment that proved to be unfit for mainstream audiences.

Over the years, Damon cultivated a reputation as one of the most affable movie actors in Hollywood and frequently collaborated with friends to give their projects a boost. His desire to help others get their careers off the ground led he and Affleck to create the HBO reality series, "Project: Greenlight" (2001- ), which documented and bankrolled untried aspiring filmmakers' attempts to create a motion picture to be released by Miramax – the show resulted in the films "Stolen Summer" (2002) and "The Battle of Shaker Heights" (2003), both executive produced by Affleck and Damon. The duo also created and produced the short-lived "Push, Nevada" (ABC, 2002-03), an interactive mystery show that gave viewers the chance to solve the crime and win $1 million. Damon also had a cameo in films by his friend, Kevin Smith, including "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001) and "Jersey Girl" (2004); and in films from his "Ocean's Eleven" collaborators, including "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (2002); and up-and-coming filmmaker pals, such as the creators of the comedy "Eurotrip" (2004). As a voice actor, Damon lend his distinctive vocals to the films "Titan A.E." (2000), "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron" (2002), "The Majestic" (2001), and "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (2004).

Demonstrating his increasing diversity and believability, Damon took on the role of the amnesiac über-spy Jason Bourne in the film adaptation of Robert Ludlum's sprawling espionage novel, "The Bourne Identity" (2002), a crackerjack thriller that did solid box office business and became a mega-hit on home video. The actor would reprise the role for the equally well-crafted, but ultimately unsatisfying sequel "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004). Demonstrating a flair for goofball comedy, Damon delivered a wickedly funny turn on the small screen as Jack's scheming rival to join the gay men's chorus in a 2002 episode of the hit NBC sitcom "Will & Grace;" a role he reprised the following season. Damon next joined – literally – Greg Kinnear to play one half of a pair of conjoined twins in the flawed but still winning comedy, "Stuck On You" (2003), a silly romp from the Farrelly Brothers that proved to be a rare miss for the filmmaking duo.

His next film cast him opposite Heath Ledger as a fictionalized version of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, the Bavarian fairy tale spinners known as "The Brothers Grimm" (2005), re-imagined by director Terry Gilliam as a pair of curse-removing con artists who are suddenly tasked with solving a genuine mystery that will ultimately inspire their famous stories. Damon showed a great deal of panache and charisma as practical scoundrel Wilhelm, but the story ultimately left him too little to do; the film itself lacked the spark and imagination expected of a Gilliam project. Behind the scenes, Damon was credited with frequently playing peacemaker between the embattled Gilliam and the films' producers, the Weinstein brothers. At the end of that year Damon delivered a fine turn in the complex potboiler, "Syriana" (2005), playing an oil industry analyst living a comfortable life in Geneva until the death of his son while visiting an oil-rich country, drives him to obsession with helping the country's benevolent prince (Alexander Siddig) raise his nation with sound business dealings.

Damon next joined an all-star cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg and Jack Nicholson for “The Departed” (2006), playing a hardened criminal employed by a crime syndicate who infiltrates the police while his counterpart (DiCaprio) on the force goes undercover in the mob. Based on the excellent Hong Kong action thriller, “Infernal Affairs” (2002) and directed by Martin Scorsese, “The Departed” earned a huge helping critical kudos prior to its early October release – as well as several Academy Award wins. In “The Good Shepherd” (2006), a historical look at the beginnings of the CIA, Damon played Edward Wilson, a bright, idealistic Yale student recruited by the OSS to work intelligence during World War II. While later helping to form the CIA, he becomes disenfranchised during the heightened suspicions and deep-rooted paranoia of the Cold War. In 2007, Damon revived two favorite characters for a second time, appearing as Linus Caldwell in the much-improved “Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007), and Jason Bourne for “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), who comes out of retirement to defeat arch rival, The Jackal, in a once-and-for-all showdown.

In 2009, Damon made a cameo appearance on the hit Hollywood sitcom, “Entourage” (HBO, 2004- ), playing a hyper-real version of himself in an effort to pressure Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier) into donating money to his real-life charity, OneXOne, only to grow more and more angry as Vince continues to avoid him. Back in features, he reunited with Steven Soderbergh to star in “The Informant!” (2009), a dark political comedy in which he portrayed Mark Whitacre, a former high-ranking executive at Archer Daniels Midland who blew the whistle on the company’s illegal price-fixing scheme, only to find himself in trouble with the FBI himself when they discover he has embezzled $9 million. The role earned Damon a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. He next starred in “Invictus” (2009), director Clint Eastwood’s compelling sports drama about how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with South African rugby star Francois Pienaar (Damon) to unite their country. Damon earned his second Golden Globe nomination that year, this time for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, as well as a Screen Actors Guild award in the same category.

Also Credited As:
Matthew Paige Damon
Born:
Matthew Paige Damon on October 8, 1970 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Job Titles:
Actor, Screenwriter

Family

Brother: Kyle Damon. Born c. 1967
Daughter: Gia Zavala Damon. Born Aug. 20, 2008; mother is Luciana Bozan
Daughter: Isabella Damon. Born June 11, 2006; mother is Luciana Bozan
Father: Kent Damon. Born c. 1943; divorced from Damon s mother c. 1973
Mother: Nancy Carlsson-Paige. Divorced from Damon s father c. 1973

Significant Others

Companion: Claire Danes. Briefly dated during the filming of The Rainmaker in 1997
Companion: Minnie Driver. Met in 1997 while filming Good Will Hunting (1997); no longer together
Companion: Odessa Whitmire. Met when she was working as a personal assistant to Billy Bob Thornton and Ben Affleck; began dating in 2001; split in October 2003
Companion: Skylar Statenstein. Born c. 1961; her relationship with Damon was the basis for the Good Will Hunting (1997) character Skylar, played by Minnie Driver; later married rock musician Lars Ulrich of Metallica
Companion: Winona Ryder. Introduced by Gwyneth Paltrow at a New Year s Eve party on Dec. 31, 1997; began relationship in 1998; split in April 2000
Wife: Luciana Bozan. Argentine-born; previously went by the name Luciana Barroso; began dating in 2003 when they met in Miami Beach while Damon was filming the comedy Stuck on You ; has a daughter, Alexia, from a previous relationship; married Dec. 9, 2005 in a private ceremony in New York City
Companion: Claire Danes. dated during filming of The Rainmaker
Companion: Kara Sands. no longer together
Companion: Minnie Driver. met during filming of Good Will Hunting ; dated in 1997
Companion: Odessa Whitmire. reportedly dating as of 2001; worked as a personal assistant to Billy Bob Thornton and Ben Affleck; rumored to be engaged as of December 2002
Companion: Skylar Statenstein. reportedly the model for Minnie Driver s character in Good Will Hunting ; later married rock musician Lars Ulrich; born c. 1961
Companion: Winona Ryder. introduced by Gwyneth Paltrow at a New Year s Eve party on December 31, 1997; began relationship in 1998; separated in April 2000

Education

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, English

Milestones

1981 Met and became friends with Ben Affleck, who lived two blocks away (date approximate)
1988 Made feature film debut in Mystic Pizza ; had one line
1990 TV acting debut in the TV-movie, Rising Son (TNT)
1992 Played first prominent screen role in School Ties, also featuring Affleck
1995 Last TV acting role (to date) in the TNT movie The Good Old Boys, directed by Tommy Lee Jones
1996 Had strong supporting role in Courage Under Fire
1996 Sold script co-written with Ben Affleck, Good Will Hunting ; Damon and Affleck co-starred in feature which was released in 1997; received Oscar for Best Original Screenplay; had also been nominated as Best Actor
1997 Had first leading role in features in John Grisham s The Rainmaker, directed by Francis Ford Coppola
1997 Made cameo appearance in Chasing Amy, starring Affleck and directed by Kevin Smith
1998 Had titular role in Steven Spielberg s WWII drama Saving Private Ryan
1998 Played leading role of a reformed gambler in Rounders
1999 Co-starred with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law in The Talented Mr Ripley, scripted and directed by Anthony Minghella
1999 Reteamed with Affleck to play a pair of renegade angels in Kevin Smith s Dogma
2000 LivePlanet sponsored Project Greenlight, an Internet screenwriting competition created in partnership with HBO and Miramax
2000 Portrayed a 1930s golfer in The Legend of Bagger Vance, directed by Robert Redford
2000 Starred in the film version of All the Pretty Horses, scripted and directed by Billy Bob Thornton
2001 Was an executive producer (with Ben Affleck and others) and appeared in the HBO series Project Greenlight which followed the making of the film Stolen Summer (2002)
2001 Appeared in the ensemble of Ocean s Eleven
2002 Had lead role of a spy with amnesia in The Bourne Identity based on the Robert Ludlum novel
2002 Made rare TV acting appearance in a guest spot on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace playing a heterosexual who poses as a gay man to land a spot in a chorale group
2002 With Casey Affleck, co-wrote and co-starred in the Sundance-screened Gerry
2003 Co-Starred with Greg Kinnear in the comedy Stuck on You, directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly
2004 Reprised role of Jason Bourne in The Bourne Supremacy based on the Robert Ludlum novel
2004 Returned with the original cast for Ocean s Twelve directed by Steven Soderbergh
2005 Cast as an oil executive in the geopolitical thriller Syriana, based on the real-life memoirs of CIA agent Robert Baer; produced by George Clooney
2005 Cast in Terry Gilliam s The Brothers Grimm opposite Heath Ledger
2006 Cast as a criminal who has infiltrated the police department in Martin Scorsese s mob drama The Departed
2006 Executive produced Feast a horror film, which is a result of the third season of the Project Greenlight contest
2006 Portrayed CIA agent, Edward Wilson in Robert De Niro s long-anticipated The Good Shepherd, which recounts the history of the CIA from World War II through its involvement in the Bay of Pigs
2007 Re-teamed with the original cast for Ocean s 13
2007 Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
2007 Reprised role of Jason Bourne in The Bourne Ultimatum
2009 Nominated for the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture ( Invictus )
2009 Nominated for the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy ( The Informant )
2009 Nominated for the 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role ( Invictus )
2009 Portrayed Francois Pienaar, the South African Rugby team captain, opposite Morgan Freeman as former President Mandela in Clint Eastwood s Invictus ; earned Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Supporting Actor
2009 Portrayed Mark Whitacre, the ADM executive turned whistleblower, in Steven Soderbergh s The Informant ; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor
Acted with the prestigious American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge and with various Harvard theatre groups
Formed LivePlanet with Affleck and producers Sean Bailey and Chris Moore
Lived in a commune-like house in Cambridge with his mother and older brother
Raised in Newton and Cambridge, Massachusetts
With Ben Affleck, formed Pearl Street Productions

Clint Eastwood

2010-01-23T04:49:00.000-08:00

In a career that spanned over half a century, actor and director Clint Eastwood managed to become both a top box office draw and an Oscar-winning director, while managing to shrug off the trappings of Hollywood. Never one to worry about critical or audience reception, Eastwood amassed a staggeringly impressive body of work both in front of and behind the camera, while at the same time starring in two film series that were both legendary and notorious. After breaking through on television on “Rawhide” (CBS, 1959-1966), he personified the laconic Man With No Name in a trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns made by Italian director, Sergio Leone – “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964), “For a Few Dollars More” (1965) and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966). While continuing to churn out revisionist Westerns throughout the 1970s, Eastwood essayed another taciturn loner bucking the system in “Dirty Harry” (1971). Spawning four sequels throughout the years, Eastwood’s loose cannon police detective became both scourge and hero to audiences. Though he made his directing debut with “Play Misty for Me” (1971), Eastwood reached full fruition as a filmmaker with his Oscar-winning Western, “Unforgiven” (1992). As unpredictable as he was indefinable, Eastwood branched out into new territory in the new millennium, helming such moving and deeply rich films as “Mystic River” (2003), “Million Dollar Baby” (2004) and “Letters From Iwo Jima” (2006), all of which earned considerable acclaim and awards, while cementing Eastwood as one of the truly great creative talents in cinematic history.

Born on May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, Eastwood grew up in Depression-era California, where his parents, Clinton and Ruth, were itinerant workers. Because of his father’s difficulty in finding steady work, Eastwood moved with his family from one Northern California town to another, attending some eight elementary schools in the process. The experience profoundly affected him to the point of turning Eastwood into an isolated and lonely child. By the time he was attending Oakland Technical High School, he was excelling at swimming and basketball, while playing jazz piano for meals at a local club. After graduation, he worked as a firefighter and lumberjack in Oregon, as well as a steelworker in Seattle. In 1951, Eastwood was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he was a swimming instructor during the Korean War. It was at Fort Ord near Carmel, CA that Eastwood first became interested in acting, thanks to his friendship with actors David Janssen and Martin Milner, who encouraged him to pursue a career in Hollywood after serving in the military. Taking their advice, Eastwood made his way to Southern California, where he studied at Los Angeles City College on the G.I. Bill.

Upon his arrival in Hollywood, Eastwood signed with Universal Studios as a contract player. Soon he began landing bit parts in rather inane movies, most notoriously in "Francis in the Navy" (1955), one of several comedies featuring Francis the Talking Mule. Also that year, Eastwood made a brief appearance as a lab technician in “Revenge of the Creature,” the sequel to “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), which was years later lampooned on the popular cult television show, “Mystery Science Theater 3000” (Comedy Central/Sci Fi Channel, 1989-2000). After more small roles in B-movie fare like “Lady Godiva” (1955), “Star in the Dust” (1956) and “Never Say Goodbye” (1956), Eastwood was dropped by Universal, forcing the young actor to make ends meet digging swimming pools and pumping gas while he contemplated a return to college. But while eating lunch with a friend at the CBS cafeteria, Eastwood was approached by a producer who asked him to audition for a new Western television series, “Rawhide.” Despite blowing his lines at the audition, Eastwood was cast as Rowdy Yates, a ramrod under the command of trail boss Gil Favor (Eric Fleming) who helps lead a group of cowboys solving various problems while driving cattle along the Sedalia Trail.

Over the years, “Rawhide” steadily became a top-rated show, turning the unknown Eastwood into a television star. But film stardom, however, still remained out of his reach until he was handed a script written by up-and-coming Italian director, Sergio Leone. Though reluctant at first to read a script for a film to be shot by an Italian company in Spain, Eastwood was convinced by his agent to give the screenplay a once over. He was immediately drawn into a revisionist take on the classic Western, which featured a nameless antihero out to get what he wants rather than helping those in need. On condition that he be allowed to cut some of his dialogue – the rare instance of an actor requesting fewer lines – Eastwood traveled to Spain to film what became the first in a trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns, “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964), a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo” (1961). Eastwood played the laconic and lethal Man With No Name, who finds himself in a nameless town torn apart by two feuding families. Hiring himself out as a mercenary, the lone drifter plays one side against the other until nothing remains of either side. Onscreen, Eastwood started to develop a minimalist acting style for which he soon became famous.

Eastwood went on to revive the nameless drifter in “For a Few Dollars More” (1965), a richer, more mythologized film that focused on two ruthless bounty hunters (Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef) who form a tenuous partnership to hunt down a wanted bandit (Gian Maria Volontè). Perhaps because it was the middle film, “For a Few Dollars More” was less appreciated than its predecessor, despite enhanced character motivation, visual style and production values. But it was the last film, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), that placed the Man With No Name into the cinematic pantheon. Set during the waning days of the Civil War, Eastwood’s enigmatic loner – nicknamed Blondie – teams up with Tuco (Eli Wallach), a.k.a. The Ugly, an oafish bandito with a price on his head, in a search for $200,000 in Confederate coin. Since both possess one half of the location – Tuco knows the graveyard; Blondie knows what grave – they are forced into an uneasy partnership. Meanwhile, a bloodthirsty Union officer, Angel Eyes (Van Cleef), a.k.a. The Bad, wants in on the money and will do anything – including torture and murder – to get it. Visually stunning and stylistic – particularly the legendary three-way standoff in a circular graveyard – “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” was an immediate hit upon its American release in 1967 and caped a trilogy of films that were inspirational for generations of future filmmakers.

Returning stateside an international star, Eastwood was in demand for lead roles in Hollywood films – several of which cemented his status as a top box office draw. After forming his production company, Malpaso, he starred in a pseudo-Western, “Hang ‘Em High” (1968), playing a former lawman-turned-rancher who seeks revenge on nine men after they wrongfully accused him of stealing a herd of cattle and hang him by the neck, leaving him for dead. In “Coogan’s Bluff” (1968), a smart urban Western that marked the beginning of a long and successful collaboration with director Don Siegel, Eastwood played an Arizona sheriff sent to New York City to extradite an escaped killer (Don Stroud). He next starred in his first bona fide blockbuster, “Where Eagles Dare” (1968), a World War II espionage actioner that followed a group of British special forces lead by a secretive major (Richard Burton) on a dangerous operation behind German lines to rescue a captured American general (Robert Beatty). But the major knows more about their mission than he lets on, until it’s finally revealed – after members of his squad get killed one by one – that the operation was designed to ferret out a high-level traitor inside British intelligence. Despite the costly budget, “Where Eagles Dare” was a financial hit and became one of Eastwood’s most revered films of his early career.

By the time that the 1960s were coming to a close, Eastwood had become one of the biggest stars in the world. He did, however, get a chink in his armor from his next film, “Paint Your Wagon” (1969) a much-maligned, but ultimately enjoyable Western musical set during the California gold rush about two prospectors (Eastwood and Lee Marvin) who somehow wind up married to the same woman (Jean Seberg). Despite the strong leading cast, “Paint Your Wagon” suffered from all three stars being unable to carry a tune. Eastwood proved especially embarrassing with his strained wailing on “I Talk to the Trees” and “Gold Fever.” Somewhat redeeming himself, he took one of his first romantic leads in “Two Mules for Sister Sara” (1970), playing a tough cowboy who rescues a woman (Shirley Maclaine) from being raped. But while escorting her to a band of anti-French revolutionaries, he’s surprised to learn that she’s a nun who may or may not be what she claims.

Eastwood then joined forces with an all-star cast – which included Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O’Connor and Donald Sutherland – for “Kelly’s Heroes” (1970), a World War II action comedy that depicted a motley crew of Army soldiers who go 30 miles behind enemy lines to steal a cache of gold bars from the Nazis. Despite a discordant convergence of black comedy, anti-war commentary and action sequences, coupled with a middling critical reception, “Kelly’s Heroes” went on to become another hit for Eastwood. Then with the encouragement and guidance of mentor Don Siegel, Eastwood made his directorial debut with “Play Misty for Me” (1971), a sexual thriller about an obsessive woman (Jessica Walters) who pursues a jazz deejay (Eastwood) after they had what was supposed to be a one-night stand. Though Universal was doubtful about Eastwood in this sort of lead role, he offered his directing services gratis. The result was a successful take at the box office and confirmation that the actor’s talents extended into other avenues.

While he was laying the foundation for what turned out to be an acclaimed and award-winning career as a director, Eastwood joined forces again with Siegel to create one of the most memorable and controversial characters of the late 20th century. In “Dirty Harry” (1971), he played Inspector Harry Callahan, a loose cannon San Francisco detective who liked to shoot first and ask questions later. Eastwood injected both a seething callousness and deep sense of morality into his rogue cop, who runs afoul of the system while ridding the streets of punks and degenerates, often in an unflinchingly violent way. Both actor and director were wholly unprepared for the reception they received; they simply thought they were making an exciting action movie. Despite the controversy over the hardcore violence – film critic Pauline Kael called it a “right-wing fantasy” and “fascist medievalism” – “Dirty Harry” was an enormous success at the box office, while the character himself entered the halls of cinematic infamy with the line, “[B]eing as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?

After starring in an Americanized version of Leone’s Spaghetti Western, “Joe Kidd” (1972), Eastwood revived Dirty Harry Callahan in “Magnum Force” (1973), which followed the wayward detective as he tracks down a vigilante group that kills scofflaws set free by the courts. Not as stylistic or as memorable as the first installment, “Magnum Force” proved successful enough to warrant another sequel. In the meantime, Eastwood returned to the director’s chair for “High Plains Drifter” (1973), a bleak, apocalyptic Western in which he offered a variation on his Man With No Name, playing a mythical stranger who sweeps into a desolate town ravaged by a group of outlaws. Eastwood borrowed heavily from his experiences with Sergio Leone to create an unsettling tale about an antihero hell-bent on exacting revenge, which was publicly criticized by old school Western hero, John Wayne, for offending his sensibilities. Nonetheless, “High Plains Drifter” was the biggest box office draw of that year. Exploring new territory, Eastwood directed “Breezy” (1973), a long-forgotten romantic drama about a recently divorced middle-aged man (William Holden) who develops a love affair with a younger counterculture girl (Kay Lenz). Despite the chemistry between the two leads and sweet nature of the story, “Breezy” ranked low on the list of Eastwood’s directorial accomplishments.

In 1975, following a turn as a retired thief who teams up with an innocent drifter (Jeff Bridges) on a cross-country journey after a robbery gone bad in “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (1974), Eastwood once again directed two films in differing genres. Returning to the Western, he directed and starred in “The Outlaw Josey Wales” (1975), another revisionist take on the classic movie staple that saw him play a peaceful farmer driven to revenge after his family is murdered by gunmen. He then turned to an action thriller for “The Eiger Sanction” (1975), playing an art history professor who moonlights as a hired assassin for an international intelligence consortium. For a third time, Eastwood played Dirty Harry; this time in “The Enforcer” (1976), an underappreciated installment to the series that paired Harry with a female detective (Tyne Daly), while inserting a much-needed comedic tone with several funny and memorable verbal exchanges. Back in the director’s chair, he directed and starred in “The Gauntlet” (1977), an action comedy that was a subtle spoof on his Dirty Harry persona. Eastwood played Detective Ben Shockley, an alcoholic do-nothing tasked with escorting a Las Vegas hooker (Sandra Locke) to a mob trial in Phoenix.

By the late 1970s, Eastwood began to break away from his tough guy characterizations by diversifying his resume with more comedies and romantic roles. Despite the shift in focus, he remained one of the biggest box office draws in the world, while simultaneously adding more colors to his directing palette. In “Every Which Way But Loose” (1978), he played a bare-knuckle boxer who pals around with his orangutan, Clyde, while falling for a country-and-western singer (Eastwood’s off-screen girlfriend, Locke, again). Despite the threadbare plot and overall goofiness of the concept, the film nonetheless proved to be another gigantic hit for Eastwood. Turning to prison drama, he starred in Siegel’s tense thriller, “Escape From Alcatraz” (1979), playing real-life convict Frank Morris, who in 1962 managed to escape from the famed island prison with two other cons (Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau), only to disappear without a trace. The following year, he scored again with the sequel “Any Which Way You Can” (1980), then showed touches of a sweeter, gentler side with his modern Western, “Bronco Billy” (1980), a light-hearted look at a traveling Old West show led by a loveable loser yearning for freedom and days gone by. Despite his deft direction, “Bronco Billy” was a rare box office failure for Eastwood.

In 1982, Eastwood churned out two more films as a star and director – the Cold War-themed spy thriller, “Firefox,” in which he played an American pilot who gets smuggled into the Soviet Union in order to steal a top secret supersonic jet fighter, and “Honkytonk Man,” a touching drama about a farmer who gets one last chance at musical stardom in Nashville. Eastwood then stepped behind the camera to direct himself as Dirty Harry in "Sudden Impact" (1983), a lesser installment to the series that nonetheless bestowed the immortal line, "Go ahead, make my day,” upon the collective conscience. Always one to try a different take on a familiar character, Eastwood starred in “Tightrope” (1984), a crime thriller in which he played a New Orleans detective on the trail of a serial killer whose penchant for prostitutes and S&M mirrors his own. Eastwood then made another rare misstep with the period comedy “City Heat” (1984), playing a police detective trying to take down a mob boss with a roguish private eye (Burt Reynolds). Eastwood jumped back into the saddle again – an infrequent occurrence later in his career – for the bleak Western, “Pale Rider” (1985), in which he played the Preacher, a mysterious drifter who rides into a small gold mining town and helps the locals fight back against corporate interests threatening to take their land.

Never one to be pulled into the claptrap of Hollywood, Eastwood chose to make his residence in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, a wealthy town and artist enclave where in 1986, he ran a brief, but successful campaign for mayor. Frustrated by politics as usual, the actor decided to enter the race late in the election cycle, promising better relations between business and the community. Surprisingly, he won with an astounding 72 percent of the vote, and proceeded to strike a balance between conservationists and business development. During his one-and-only two-year term, Eastwood continued to make films, starring in “Heartbreak Ridge” (1986), in which he played an old fashioned, tough-as-nails Marine drill sergeant tasked with straightening out a squad of misfits, then returned for a fifth and perhaps last time as Dirty Harry in “The Dead Pool” (1988), the least enjoyable installment of the series. Back to directing, his portraits of tormented men with intense inner lives and little ability to communicate reached an apogee with "Bird" (1988), a moody look at troubled jazz musician Charlie “Bird” Parker (Forest Whitaker). A longtime fan of jazz, as well as an accomplished musician and composer in his own right, Eastwood was a natural fit to direct the film. One of his most accomplished features, “Bird” marked the first time that Eastwood opted to break away from straightforward narrative in favor of a more impressionistic style.

By the time the 1990s rolled around, Eastwood began to see signs that he was becoming less of a box office draw. After starring in the forgettable “Pink Cadillac” (1989), Eastwood encountered two significant financial failures: "The Rookie” (1990), a formulaic cop thriller about a veteran detective schooling a rookie (Charlie Sheen) while trying to track down a drug dealer, and “White Hunter, Black Heart” (1990), an interesting, but ultimately flawed fictional take on the shooting of John Huston’s “The African Queen” (1951). Eastwood directed the latter, which proved to be another welcome departure stylistically, though the engaging film barely made a peep at the box office. But Eastwood enjoyed a popular and critical rebirth with "Unforgiven" (1992), a so-called anti-Western which earned him Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, as well as several other major awards. A spellbinding morality tale about the effects of killing on a man’s soul, "Unforgiven" took both an ironic and sentimental view of several of Eastwood's earlier gunfighter incarnations. Dedicated to his mentors "Sergio" and "Don," the film was a commercial hit, grossing over $100 million during its long run, while single-handedly reinvigorating a favorite Hollywood genre that had seemingly run its course.

Eastwood's next star vehicle, "In the Line of Fire" (1993), was an immediate hit, turning the tide against the decline in his box office prowess. The taut political thriller pitted a veteran Secret Service agent (Eastwood), still troubled by his inability to protect John F. Kennedy in Dallas, against a brilliant, but obsessed assassin (John Malkovich) determined to kill the current president (Jim Curley). Eastwood directed his next feature, "A Perfect World" (1993), in which he played an experienced law man tracking down a dangerous escaped convict (Kevin Costner) with an eight-year-old hostage (T.J. Lowther). Even the most jaded of critics praised Eastwood's restrained adaptation of "The Bridges of Madison County" (1995), which took an overwrought best-seller and honed it into a finely-acted, adult love story. A detailed, mature look at passion, “Bridges” not only exhibited Eastwood's subtle directorial touch, but also provided him with a romantic lead that he played with confidence and charm. Starring opposite Meryl Streep, he exuded a low-key sexuality while revealing a soft, yet masculine side. Eastwood also contributed original compositions to the soundtrack, which were released on his newly-launched Malpaso Records. That same year, Eastwood made an uncredited cameo in the children’s fantasy, "Casper” (1995).

With "Absolute Power" (1997), Eastwood began to address the issue of growing old. In this uneven thriller, he portrayed a thief out to commit one last crime before retiring, but witnesses a murder involving the President of the United States (Gene Hackman). Also that year, he stayed behind the camera for “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” (1997), a slow-moving adaptation of the acclaimed true-life novel about a shocking murder in Savannah, GA that gets pinned on a high-society figure (Kevin Spacey). For "True Crime" (1999), Eastwood portrayed a burnt-out reporter who finds a last shot at redemption when he becomes convinced a death row inmate (Isaiah Washington) is innocent. He made his most blatant attempt to deal with aging with his next directorial effort, "Space Cowboys" (2000), in which he played the leader of a quartet of veteran astronauts called out of retirement to fix a satellite first sent into space 40 years earlier. In 2002, he directed and starred in "Bloodwork," a competent, but standard thriller with Eastwood as an FBI agent taunted by a clever serial killer (Jeff Daniels).

Eastwood received high praise when he stepped behind the camera for "Mystic River" (2003), an adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s crime novel which explores the interwoven history of three men (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon) and the terrible events from their boyhood that later force them to make irrevocable choices. Considered one of his best pictures since "Unforgiven," the film earned six Oscar nominations, including Eastwood's second as Best Director. Oscar buzz ignited anew with his follow up, “Million Dollar Baby” (2004), which was an even more effective effort than "Mystic River." Eastwood played Frankie Dunn, an old-school boxing trainer afraid of intimacy after a painful rift with his daughter. With the pointed advice of his friend and former boxer (Morgan Freeman), Dunn gets a last shot at coaching a champion (Hilary Swank), who in turn becomes the daughter he never had, only to be faced with a moral choice after a sudden tragedy. Praised by critics as an exquisite and subtle film, “Million Dollar Baby” received wide acclaim after earning five Golden Globe nominations, including Best Director – the trophy that Eastwood ultimately claimed. Meanwhile, the film earned seven Academy Award nods, including Best Picture, Best Director and a surprising Best Actor nomination for Eastwood – only the second of his long career. Eastwood failed to win the acting award, but did take home Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture.

As he mellowed with age, Eastwood became more ruminative and thought-provoking on a variety of themes – echoes of which were seen in his examination of violence in “Unforgiven.” With “Flags of Our Fathers” (2006), an epic World War II drama that focused on the three surviving U.S. servicemen who raised the American flag during the battle for Iwo Jima, Eastwood used the war genre to explore how a single image can rally a nation in a time of great need, while cynical politicians callously disregard the truth. Leapfrogging from the violence of the black sand beaches to the war bond campaign back home, “Flags of Our Fathers” focused on two Marines (Adam Beach and Jesse Bradford) and a Navy corpsman (Ryan Phillippe) being shuttled across the nation by the government to raise money as they cope with the official sanitized version of events.

Even before the film was released, “Flags of Our Fathers” was considered to be a top contender for Oscar consideration, including Eastwood, whose rich and deeply engaging direction seemed to poise him for a third straight nomination. But it was the companion film, “Letters from Iwo Jima” (2006), which was shot on the heels of its predecessor and focused the oft-told tale from the unique perspective of the Japanese defenders led by an ingenuous general (Ken Watanabe), that earned Eastwood major award recognition. “Letters from Iwo Jima” received Golden Globe Award nominations in 2006, including one for Best Director – Motion Picture for Eastwood. Eastwood also earned a second Best Director nod for his work on “Flags of Our Fathers.” He took one out of three nominations, winning a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film for “Letters from Iwo Jima." He went on to earn yet another Best Director nomination at the Academy Awards, but predictably lost out to Martin Scorsese for “The Departed.”

An intensely private person, Eastwood was rarely featured in the tabloid press. His only real brush came in 1989 when former co-star and live-in lover, Sandra Locke, filed a palimony suit after the couple split. Then in 2008, Eastwood was publicly criticized by director Spike Lee for not presenting a single black character in either Iwo Jima film, despite their active participation in the battle. Eastwood shot back, saying that the film was about the flag-raising and told Lee to “shut his face.” Later in the year, Eastwood was earning press for what he did best – acting and directing. He first helmed the period thriller “Changeling” (2008), starring Angelina Jolie as a distraught mother who battles a corrupt Los Angeles Police Department in 1928 after they claim to find her missing son, whom she knows is still missing. Then he directed and starred in “Gran Torino” (2008), a low-key thriller about a widowed, hateful and unhappy old man (Eastwood) who tries to reform a neighborhood Korean boy (Bee Vang) after he tries to steal his prized 1973 car, only to find himself protecting the boy’s family from a local Asian gang. Eastwood earned a Golden Globe nomination for his “Changeling” score, and also earned a nod at the same awards for the title song to “Gran Torino.” Eastwood next directed “Invictus” (2009), the true story about how South African president Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) helped unite a fractured nation by inspiring rugby captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to lead his subpar team toward an unlikely World Cup championship in 1995. Hailed by critics, “Invictus” was another inspired effort by the director, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director – Motion Picture.

Also Credited As: Clinton Eastwood Jr
Born: Clinton Eastwood Jr on May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, California, USA
Job Titles: Actor, Director, Composer, Producer, Piano player, Delivery man, Forest firefighter, Garbage man, Gas pumper, Lifeguard, Lumberjack, Politician, Pool digger, Steel worker, Steel-furnace stoker

Family

Daughter: Alison Eastwood. Born May 22, 1972; mother, Maggie Eastwood; directed by father in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
Daughter: Francesca Ruth Fisher Eastwood. Born Aug. 7, 1993; mother Frances Fisher
Daughter: Kathryn Ann Reeves. Born Feb. 2, 1988; mother, Jacelyn Reeves
Daughter: Kimber L Eastwood. Born June 17, 1964; mother, Roxanne Tunis, an actress who appeared in Rawhide (CBS) with Eastwood
Daughter: Morgan Eastwood. Born Dec. 12, 1996; mother, Dina Ruiz
Father: Clinton Eastwood Sr. Born June 11, 1906; died in 1990
Granddaughter: Graylen Spencer Eastwood. Born March 28, 1994; father, Kyle Eastwood
Grandson: Clinton Eastwood. Born c. 1984; mother, Kimber Eastwood
Mother: Ruth Eastwood. Born c. 1909; died February 2006 at the age of 97
Sister: Jean Eastwood. Older
Son: Kyle C Eastwood. Born May 19, 1968; mother, Maggie Eastwood; co-starred in Honkytonk Man (1982)
Son: Scott C Reeves. Born March 21, 1986; mother, Jacelyn Reeves

Significant Others

Companion: Frances Fisher. Met during the filming of Pink Cadillac (1989); co-starred together in Unforgiven (1992); they had a daughter, Francesca in 1993; the relationship ended in 1995
Companion: Sondra Locke. First met in 1972 and began a romantic relationship during the filming of The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976); lived together for 14 years; when their relationship ended in 1989, Locke filed a palimony suit against him, asking for $1.3 million; Locke sued him, claiming that he made her have two abortions and undergo sterilization, charges Eastwood denied; they settled out of court for a large settlement in 1999
Companion: Frances Fisher. appeared in Eastwood s film Unforgiven (1992); mother of Francesca Ruth Fisher Eastwood; no longer together
Companion: Jacelyn Reeves. mother of Scott and Kathryn
Companion: Roxanne Tunis. had relationship when both appeared on Rawhide in the early 1960s; mother of Eastwood s daughter Kimber
Companion: Sondra Locke. born in 1947; together from 1977-89; after breakup she sued him in 1990, claiming that he made her have two abortions and undergo sterilization, charges Eastwood denies

Education

Oakland Technical High School, Oakland, California, 1948
Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California, business

Milestones

1955 Film acting debut in Revenge of the Creature
1964 Breakthrough screen role as the man with no name in the Sergio Leone directed A Fistful of Dollars
1966 Re-teamed with Leone for the sequel For a Few Dollars More
1968 First film with director Don Siegel, Coogan s Bluff
1969 Made singing debut in the film musical Paint Your Wagon
1970 Directed first film, a documentary short about the filming of The Beguiled (1971)
1970 Starred opposite Shirley MacLaine in Two Mules for Sister Sara, directed by Siegel
1971 FMade feature directorial debut with Play Misty For Me ; also starred
1971 First played the role of detective Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry after Frank Sinatra turned down the part
1972 Starred in title role of Joe Kidd
1973 Directed William Holden and Kay Lenz in Breezy ; first directing assignment in which he did not also act
1973 Reprised Harry Callahan in Magnum Force
1975 First of six films with off-screen companion Sondra Locke, The Outlaw Josey Wales
1975 Moved production company, Malapaso Co. to Warner Bros. on a handshake deal
1976 Third outing as Callahan in The Enforcer
1978 Teamed with an orangutan in the comedy Every Which Way But Loose
1980 Sang on the soundtrack to Bronco Billy ; also starred in and directed
1982 Producing debut, Firefox ; also starred in and directed
1983 Last feature with Sondra Locke, Sudden Impact
1984 Earned critical praise for playing a troubled police detective in Tightrope ; also produced
1985 Made TV directorial debut with an episode of NBC s Amazing Stories entitled Vanessa in the Garden ; story by Steven Spielberg
1986 Won a landslide victory as mayor of Carmel, California; served for two years
1988 First credit as an executive producer, Thelonius Monk: Straight, No Chaser
1988 Helmed Bird the biopic of jazz legend Charlie Parker
1990 Portrayed a John Huston-like film director in White Hunter, Black Heart ; also produced and directed
1992 Re-established his superstar status and won widespread acclaim with Unforgiven ; film won the Best Picture and Best Director Oscar
1993 Documentary Clint Eastwood - The Man From Malpaso aired on Cinemax
1993 Had the Clint Eastwood Scholarship Award named after him by Warner Bros.
1993 Played an aging Secret Service agent in In the Line of Fire
1993 Teamed with Kevin Costner in the taut A Perfect World ; also directed and composed a song for the soundtrack
1995 Launched the record label, Malpaso Records; first project was the soundtrack for The Bridges of Madison County ; also directed and co-starred with Meryl Streep
1995 Produced The Stars Fell on Henrietta featuring Frances Fisher and Robert Duvall
1997 Directed (also produced) the film adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ; co-starred his daughter Alison Eastwood
1997 Portrayed a thief who becomes embroiled in a murder with political overtones in Absolute Power
1999 Directed and starred in True Crime about a journalist who becomes convinced a man on Death Row is innocent; also produced
2000 Teamed with James Garner, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland for the sci-fi adventure Space Cowboys ; also produced and directed
2000 Was subject of documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows, directed by David Ricker; screened at Venice Film Festival
2002 Starred in and directed Blood Work
2003 Directed Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon in the film adaption of Mystic River ; received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Director; was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement
2004 Produced, directed, starred in and composed the music for Million Dollar Baby starring Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman; nominated for Golden Globes for Best Picture and Best Original Score; earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor
2006 Directed Letters from Iwo Jima, the companion piece to the Iwo Jima drama Flags of Our Fathers told from the Japanese viewpoint; received Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Director and an Oscar nomination for Best Picture
2006 Helmed the WWII drama, Flags of Our Fathers, which centers around the six men that raised the American flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima; received one of two Golden Globe nominations for Best Director
2007 Composed the score for Grace is Gone starring John Cusack; earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for a Motion Picture
2008 Directed and also starred in the drama Gran Torino ; earned a Golden Globe nomination for performing the title song
2008 Directed the period thriller, Changeling starring Angelina Jolie; also scored the music; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score
2009 Directed Morgan Freeman, as former South African President Mandela, in Invictus, about the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director
2009 Nominated for the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture ( Invictus )
Made several appearances on the anthology series The West Point Story (CBS 1956-1957; ABC 1957-1958)
Starred as Rowdy Yates in the popular TV Western, Rawhide (CBS)

Jerry Bruckheimer

2010-01-23T04:21:00.000-08:00

A former advertising executive who moved into film production in the early 1970s, Jerry Bruckheimer has given audiences movies, videos and soundtracks that have topped $11 billion in grosses to date. Together with the late Don Simpson, with whom he formed Simpson-Bruckheimer Productions in 1983, the producer set the trend for the big-budget, action/adventure films that dominated Hollywood's output throughout the 1980s and 90s. Their joint ventures included "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) and "Top Gun" (1986), both among the 20 highest-grossing features of all time and both produced via the company's long-term deal with Paramount Pictures. Their pictures were honored with 15 Academy Award nominations, two Oscars for Best Song, four Grammys, and three Golden Globes. But after Simpson’s death in 1996, Bruckheimer ventured out on his own, scoring huge hits at the box office and in a new medium for the powerful film director— television.

Bruckheimer was born an only child on September 21, 1945 in Detroit, MI to German immigrant parents—his father was a manager for an exclusive clothing store and his mother was an accountant while maintaining the Bruckheimer home. Due to being slightly dyslexic, he was a slow reader, leading to lackluster student career. But he developed a passion for photography thanks to a fairly wealthy uncle who gave him hand-me-down cameras. From the time he was six, Bruckheimer was taking pictures, seeing the world differently than others. When in high school, he began printing his photos, winning several awards from Kodak and National Scholastics. A solid C-student, Bruckheimer moved on to the University of Arizona where he started studying dentistry, but quickly switched gears to psychology. His first job out of college was working in the mailroom of a New York ad agency, a job born from financial necessity rather than any burning desire to work in advertising. But when he heard that someone from his agency bolted from New York to forge a career making movies in Hollywood, Bruckheimer became determined to do likewise.

Bruckheimer moved to Los Angeles, CA in the early 1970s to make his mark as a producer, starting with an associate producer gig on the revisionist western “The Culpepper Cattle Company” (1972). In 1973, Bruckheimer met Simpson at a screening of “The Harder They Come” at Warner Bros., where he had been working. Though it would be several years before the two would work together, they became fast friends—Bruckheimer even stayed at Simpson’s Laurel Canyon home when he divorced from his first wife, Bonnie. After producing “Farewell, My Lovely” (1975) and “March or Die” (1977), Bruckheimer finally teamed up with Simpson on the Richard Gere-defining drama, “American Gigolo” (1980), a bleak, but redemptive look at a male prostitute (Gere) making a lucrative living hustling older—and wealthier—women in Los Angeles, only to be framed for the murder of a trick—a situation he can only get out of if he can convince a senator’s wife (Lauren Hutton) to provide an alibi.

After co-founding Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Productions in 1982, the two went to work on several high-concept films that redefined the business of Hollywood. In 1983, they made “Flashdance,” a high-flying drama about a female steel worker (Jennifer Beals) moonlighting as an exotic dancer with dreams of going to a real dance school. “Flashdance” became a sensation, taking in over $90 million at the box office after being shot on a modest $7.5 million budget. With the success of this iconic film, Simpson and Bruckheimer were rolling. Though their next effort, “Thief of Hearts” (1984), a cheap and cheesy thriller about a professional thief (Steven Bauer) who stumbles upon a woman’s diary and uses her private thoughts to seduce her, was easily forgettable, it would be their next project that made Bruckheimer and Simpson kings of Hollywood.

Though it was Simpson who first pitched the idea of “Beverly Hills Cop” back in 1977 when he was an executive at Paramount Studios, it took Bruckheimer’s cool business sense to finally make the fish-out-of-water story about a rough-and-tumble cop (Eddie Murphy) from Detroit forced to work with uppity Beverly Hills detectives. Again shot on a modest budget – only $14 million – “Beverly Hills Cop” took in a whopping $235 million at the box office, an astronomical sum in 1984, and defined what would become the action-comedy genre. But it was their next movie, “Top Gun” (1986), that put the producers over the top. Born when Bruckheimer found an article about naval flight schools and excitedly pointed it out to Simpson, “Top Gun”—the story of a maverick fighter pilot (Tom Cruise) who attends the top flight school and falls in love with his instructor (Kelly McGillis)—became a sensation, turning Cruise into the biggest star in the world. “Top Gun” took in $176 million at the box office, dealing Bruckheimer and Simpson yet another winner.

The producers returned to the well for “Beverly Hills Cop II” (1987), and though it proved less successful as its predecessor, Bruckheimer and Simpson were given an unprecedented production deal with Paramount: several hundred million dollars to finance movies, a large cut of the box office take, and no prior approval from the studio. The regret, however, was felt through the Paramount halls of power almost immediately with the release of “Days of Thunder” (1990), a disaster of a movie from start to finish. All indications prior to production indicated a massive hit: Tom Cruise starring in a race car movie—in effect, “Top Gun” on wheels. But cost overruns ballooned the budget from $45 million to $70 million. To make matters worse, aside from the constant rewrites to satisfy an unhappy star, Bruckheimer’s friend and producing partner—by then suffering from a crippling drug addiction—inserted himself as an actor, playing Italian NASCAR driver Aldo Benadetti (Simpson). “Days of Thunder” was an unmitigated disaster that served as a poignant lesson that many still remembered decades after the fact.

The ending of their deal with Paramount by "mutual agreement" at the end of 1990 was taken by many as the sign of a changing Hollywood mindset, with studios starting to put less emphasis on blockbuster productions and more on lower-budget films with smaller-minded subjects. Meanwhile, Bruckheimer and Simpson signed a non-exclusive, five-year deal with Disney subsidiary Hollywood Pictures in early 1991. The team were known to each other as "Mr. Inside" (Simpson) and "Mr. Outside" (Bruckheimer), the former having worked his way up through the Hollywood corporate structure and the latter drawing on a background of hands-on experience with the nuts and bolts of filmmaking.

Simpson-Bruckheimer seemed to be on a roll in 1995 with three successful films: the cop comedy "Bad Boys" with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence; Tony Scott's thriller "Crimson Tide" which pitted Denzel Washington against Gene Hackman, and "Dangerous Minds,” a fact-based drama about an inner-city schoolteacher (Michelle Pfeiffer). Behind the scenes, things were hardly pleasant. Simpson’s drug addiction was worsening and the bulk of the producing responsibilities fell to Bruckheimer. In December 1995, Bruckheimer confirmed the formal dissolution of Simpson-Bruckheimer Productions. Less than a month later, Simpson was found dead of natural causes at his Bel Air mansion. The last movie Bruckheimer produced with Simpson, "The Rock,” became the summer blockbuster of 1996, reestablishing Sean Connery as an action star and creating that image for Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage.

On his own in 1997, Bruckheimer produced "Con Air" (1997), another prison blockbuster featuring Cage as a reluctant hero. He followed up with the equally noisy, testosterone-soaked summer flick "Armageddon” (1998), which reunited the producer with Bruce Willis, the star of his moderately popular "The Last Boy Scout" (1991). The disaster flick also paired him for the first time with Ben Affleck, the handsome young actor who would star in his $135 million epic "Pearl Harbor" three years later (2001). Bruckheimer also began to venture into television production, first serving as executive producer of the 1996-97 ABC series based on "Dangerous Minds,” while "SOF: Special Ops Force/Soldier of Fortune, Inc." (1997-99) was a syndicated action series that followed a group of trained crime fighters. Bruckheimer served as executive producer of the popcorn TV-movie "Max Q: Emergency Landing" (ABC, 1998) involving the space shuttle and then switched gears with the politically-themed "Swing Vote" (ABC, 1999), which focused on a newly appointed Supreme Court justice confronting a controversial decision on abortion. The producer was back to the action genre with his second foray in network series, the 2000 CBS fall drama "C.S.I."

In 2000, Bruckheimer tackled an interesting array of big screen projects, some of which indicated Bruckheimer had an interest in broadening his horizons and taking a vacation from genre fare. In addition to the big-budget action-adventure film "Gone in 60 Seconds,” which starred Bruckheimer favorite Cage, the producer worked on the female-driven "Coyote Ugly,” a story about a young woman trying to make it as a singer, followed by "Remember the Titans,” starring Denzel Washington as a football coach dealing with racial strife. For the latter, the producer actually took a pay cut in order to insure its filming. In 2001, Bruckheimer created the reality show "The Amazing Race" where 11 teams race around the world performing various tasks in a quest to win $1 million. The show became an instant hit, spawning numerous sequels.

Returning to the feature world, Bruckheimer collaborated once again with director Michael Bay on “Pearl Harbor” (2001), a sweeping, but sappy telling of the Japanese surprise attack that pulled the United States into World War II. At the time the most expensive film ever green-lit by a studio, “Pearl Harbor” boasted of impressive battle scenes, thanks to Bay’s typically deft handling of action sequences. But the majority of the film was weighed down by an insipid love affair between a naval pilot itching for action (Ben Affleck) and a base nurse (Kate Beckinsale)—the lackluster chemistry between the two leads was almost as destructive as the Japanese bombers. Nonetheless, “Pearl Harbor” took in close to $200 million in domestic box office alone.

His next true-to-life war film, “Black Hawk Down” (2001), faired much better with critics. Director Ridley Scott crafted a gritty and realistic film about the ill-fated humanitarian mission in Somalia on October 3, 1993 that left 70 soldiers wounded and 18 dead. Bruckheimer’s next project, “Bad Company” (2002), was a buddy action-comedy about a veteran CIA agent (Anthony Hopkins) who must transform a sarcastic, street-wise punk (Chris Rock) into a savvy spy to replace his murdered twin brother to negotiate a sensitive nuclear weapons deal. “Bad Company” promised laughs from the unusual pairing of the two leads, but ultimately failed to please critics and audiences alike.

Bruckheimer continued to make quality television for the 2002-03 season, producing “Without A Trace” (CBS, 2002- ), a procedural drama about the FBI’s Missing Persons Department, and the spin-off “CSI: Miami” (CBS, 2002- ), about a team of forensic investigators in the palmed city. He toned-down his approach for his next film, “Veronica Guerin” (2003), a true-life telling of the fearsome Irish journalist (Cate Blanchett) who investigated and exposed Dublin drug gangs at great person risk—a rare small, independent feature that barely cracked seven figures at the box office. But his next project, “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003), was a rare combination of box office smash and critical darling. The swashbuckling adventure centered on the roguish, but charming Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp in an Oscar-nominated performance) who teams up a young man (Orlando Bloom) to rescue the Governor’s beautiful daughter (Keira Knightley) from Sparrow’s nemesis, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). “Pirates of the Caribbean” surprised many critics for being an entertaining—albeit lengthy—thrill ride, while taking in a considerable bounty at the box office.

Bruckheimer’s next feature, “Kangaroo Jack” (2002), a dopey kids’ comedy about two petty crooks (Jerry O’Connell and Anthony Anderson) who track down a kangaroo after it makes off with a large amount of cash, was panned by most critics for being too stupid to exist. He returned to the well for “Bad Boys II” (2003), the high-impact action sequel that reunited Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as two Miami narcotics agents chasing after a ruthless drug lord (Jordi Molla) determined to expand his empire and take control of the city’s drug trade, murdering anyone who gets in his way. Bruckheimer then produced the short-lived hour-long drama, “Skin” (Fox, 2003-2004), a modern-day “Romeo and Juliet” set in the Los Angeles porn industry, and the more popular “Cold Case” (CBS, 2003- ), a Sunday night ratings hit about a Philadelphia homicide detective (Kathryn Morris) assigned to reopen and investigate unsolved murders. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Bruckheimer and his team produced “Profiles from the Front Lines” (ABC, 2003), a reality series that followed U.S. troops as they fought terrorism in Afghanistan, the Philippines and South America. The show was canceled, however, due to sensitivities that arose from second Iraq War, leaving three episodes unaired.

Back in features, Bruckheimer put his stamp on “National Treasure” (2004), a flashy, but plodding global romp about an archeologist (Nicolas Cage) who steals the Declaration of Independence because he suspects it has an invisible map leading to the famed Knights Templar Treasure on the back. Though critics were less than enthusiastic, “National Treasure” managed to attract a significant crowd to theaters and performed well at the box office. His next feature project, “King Arthur” (2004), proved to be a rare misfire for the producer. Half-legend, half-history, the filmmakers struggled to give validity to the mythical British king, but forgot to craft a strong story or develop interesting characters. What resulted was a bland—albeit visually interesting—historical drama that tried to mimic “Braveheart” but without the action, romance and three-dimensional characters. Brushed aside by critics, “King Arthur” bombed at the domestic box office, but managed to find an audience overseas. Meanwhile, Bruckheimer developed another television spin-off, “CSI: New York” (CBS, 2004- ), the second procedural to derive from the original. And like the others, the series proved to be a solid ratings winner.

His next television project, “E-Ring” (NBC, 2005-06), was a character-driven drama set inside the Pentagon that pitted the military brass against civilian politicians in decisions on war and peace. The project failed to capture a strong audience and network placed the show on permanent hiatus. His next show, “Just Legal” (WB, 2005), a one-hour drama about a jaded, middle-aged lawyer (Don Johnson) who takes as a partner a 19-year-old idealistic prodigy (Jay Baruchel) straight out of law school, lasted a mere three episodes before it was canceled. “Close to Home” (CBS, 2005- ), another legal drama, faired better than “Just Legal” by virtue of the more universal premise of a female prosecutor struggling to build cases against criminals and balance her life at home as a new mother. In the feature world, Bruckheimer produced “Glory Road” (2006), the inspirational true-life telling of the 1966 Texas Western Miners who made NCAA history thanks to their charismatic coach (Josh Lucas), whose will to win with heart, determination and self-respect helped break down racial barriers. Meanwhile, Bruckheimer was set to release the much-anticipated sequel, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006), the continuing tale of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), who is indebted to the legendary Davey Jones (Bill Nighy)—a fate he must escape in quick time or be doomed to eternal damnation in the afterlife. A third installment, “Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End" (2007), was shot simultaneously with the second part, and was released to much fanfare in May 2007, wrapping up the multi-million dollar franchise.

Also Credited As: Jerome Leon Bruckheimer
Born: Jerome Leon Bruckheimer on September 21, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan, USA
Job Titles: Producer, Advertising executive, Mailroom worker

Family

Son: Blake Dallan Makar. Born May 27, 1988; mother, Bonnie Bruckheimer
Step-daughter: Alexandra Balahoutis.

Education

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, psychology, BA
Mumford High School, Detroit, MI

Milestones

1972 First film as associate producer, The Culpepper Cattle Company (with Dick Richards)
1975 First producing credit, Farewell, My Lovely (with Dick Richards)
1982 Debut as executive producer, the remake of Cat People
1983 Co-founded Simpson-Bruckheimer Productions with Don Simpson; signed exclusive five-year production deal with Paramount Pictures
1983 First joint production credit with Don Simpson, Flashdance
1984 Produced Beverly Hills Cop, with Eddie Murphy in his star making role
1985 Co-produced Top Gun, which solidified Tom Cruise as a star; first collaboration with director Tony Scott
1990 Contract between Bruckheimer-Simpson and Paramount ended by mutual agreement (November)
1990 Re-teamed with Tom Cruise and director Tony Scott for Days of Thunder
1990 Signed second five-year production deal with Paramount
1991 Bruckheimer-Simpson signed non-exclusive, five-year, five-picture deal with Disney subsidiary, Hollywood Pictures (January)
1991 First film with Bruce Willis, The Last Boy Scout ; re-teamed with director Tony Scott
1995 Formally dissolved Simpson-Bruckeimer partnership one month before Simpson s death in January 1996
1995 Re-teamed with director Tony Scott to produce Crimson Tide
1996 Executive produced the short-lived ABC series, Dangerous Minds
1996 First collaboration with Michael Bay and Will Smith, Bad Boys
1996 First collaboration with Nicolas Cage, The Rock ; re-teamed with director Michael Bay
1997 Formed Jerry Bruckheimer Films
1997 Produced second Cage action film, Con Air
1998 Executive produced the syndicated series, Soldier of Fortune, Inc.
1998 Produced the Michael Bay directed, Armageddon
1998 Produced the techno-thriller, Enemy of the State ; re-teamed with Tony Scott and Will Smith
2000 Executive produced Gone in 60 Seconds, starring Cage and Angelina Jolie
2000 Executive produced the CBS drama, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2001 Executive produced the CBS reality competition series, The Amazing Race
2001 Produced the Ridley Scott directed film, Black Hawk Down
2001 Produced the blockbuster, Pearl Harbor ; re-teamed with director Michael Bay
2002 Executive produced the CBS drama, Without a Trace
2002 Executive produced the CSI spin-off series, CSI: Miami (CBS)
2002 Produced the Joel Schumacher directed, Bad Company
2003 Executive produced the CBS drama, Cold Case
2003 Produced the film based on the popular Disneyland ride, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ; directed by Gore Verbinski and starred Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow
2003 Re-teamed with Michael Bay and Will Smith for the sequel, Bad Boys II
2004 Executive produced the second CSI spin-off, CSI: NY (CBS)
2004 Produced an adaptation of King Arthur, starring Clive Owen and Keira Knightley
2004 Re-teamed with Nicolas Cage for National Treasure
2005 Executive produced the NBC military drama, E-Ring
2005 Executive produced the CBS crime drama, Close to Home
2006 Again teamed with Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man s Chest
2007 Once again teamed with Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp for the third film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World s End
2007 Re-teamed with Nicolas Cage for the sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets
2009 Produced the feature adaptation of Confessions of a Shopaholic
2009 Produced the live-action comedy film, G-Force
Received attention for a Pontiac commercial he made which spoofed Bonnie and Clyde

Aloha, matey! 4th 'Pirates' to be filmed in Hawaii (AP)

2010-01-23T04:17:00.000-08:00

HONOLULU - Aloha, Captain Jack.

The fourth installment of Disney's popular "Pirates of the Caribbean" series will be filmed in Hawaii, according an announcement Monday by Gov. Linda Lingle.

Johnny Depp will return to his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," which will begin shooting this summer on Oahu and Kauai and be released in 2011. The film is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Rob Marshall.

"We've always sought out the most extraordinary and exotic locations ... Hawaii provides an amazing range of both land and seascapes, and we're delighted to return for 'On Stranger Tides,'" Bruckheimer said in a statement.

Small portions of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," were shot on Maui and Molokai.

Lingle estimated the production will generate $85 million in spending in Hawaii, which is reeling from the steep drop-off in tourism stemming from the global economic crisis.

"Hawaii competes on a global basis for productions and to have Disney choose Hawaii over other states and countries is a huge win for us," said Georja Skinner, which heads the state division that oversees the Hawaii Film Office.

Skinner said what made the difference was the combination of Hawaii's tax incentive, as well as support from the film and travel industries.

Lingle lauded Hawaii's relationship with The Walt Disney Co., saying it was a "testament to the company's confidence in our state as a great place to do business." Other Disney-involved projects in Hawaii include a new hotel-timeshare resort "Aulani" to open in 2011 and ABC's castaway drama "Lost," which has filmed in Hawaii for several years and is currently shooting its final season. ABC is owned by Disney.

"The Walt Disney Company has a great relationship with Hawaii that we're looking forward to building upon with the filming of the latest adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew," Disney President and CEO Bob Iger said.

"Pirates" is the latest of three big-budget films being shot in the islands this year. "Hereafter," directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Matt Damon, wrapped up shooting on Maui last week. Pre-production has begun for "The Descendants," starring George Clooney, with filming scheduled to begin in March.

Johnny Depp

2010-01-23T01:38:00.000-08:00

Johnny Depp spent a decade on the fringes of Hollywood as a favorite of independent directors like Tim Burton and Lasse Hallstrom, until his unbridled originality and penchant for extreme characterizations found a worldwide audience with “The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003). Throughout the 1990s the actor built a strong critical and art house following portraying societal outsiders – from the anatomic anomaly “Edward Scissorhands” (1990) to cross-dressing B-movie director “Ed Wood” (1994) to twitchy drug-addled journalist Hunter S. Thompson in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1998). He was so adept in disappearing into characters and accents that many had long ago forgotten that this respected “actor’s actor” had initially gotten his start as a posterboy of both bad behavior – numerous real-life run-ins with the press and the occasional trashing of a hotel room – as well as good, getting his big break on the teenybopper favorite, “21 Jump Street” (Fox, 1987-1991). Depp’s reputation as an “actor’s actor” solidified with leads in mainstream films “Donnie Brasco” (1997) and “Blow”(2001), but when Disney cast him as Captain Jack Sparrow, the actor’s characterization of the plundering pirate captivated international moviegoers and made box office history. While Depp remained loyal to the offbeat and fantastical films of Tim Burton, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise turned the edgy and inventive leading man into a reluctant superstar.

John Christopher Depp II was born on June 9, 1963, in Owensboro, KY. The son of a waitress and a civil engineer and the youngest of four kids, Depp was a fourth generation Kentuckian with Cherokee roots. The family moved constantly while Depp was growing up, first from Kentucky to Florida when Depp was six years old and from house to motel to apartment endlessly thereafter, racking up over 20 addresses by the actor’s estimation. His father left the family when Depp was 15 years old, at which point Depp had already been in trouble with school and the law from the use of drugs and alcohol. He had also been playing guitar for several years, and having experienced some initial success playing club gigs (and sneaking into bars as an underage performer) Depp dropped out of Miramar High School in the 11th grade to become a guitar player. In a bout of remorse, he tried to return two weeks later, but his principal suggested he might make a better rock star than student. Depp pumped gas and worked construction jobs while his band The Kids paid their dues, recorded a demo, and eventually began to land prestigious opening slots for bands like The Talking Heads, Iggy Pop, and The Ramones. When Florida became too small for an ambitious rock band, the aging “Kids” renamed themselves Six Gun Method and headed to Los Angeles in search of a record deal.

Six Gun Method were struggling little fish in a big pond in the L.A. music scene of 1983, so poverty plus Depp’s youthful marriage to fellow musician Lori Anne Allison that same year only increased tension within the band. They managed to land a few gigs and during the day, they all worked at the same telemarketing company, selling pens for $100 dollars a week. Depp’s wife introduced him to a former boyfriend, Nicolas Cage, and Cage urged Depp to pursue acting. In need of a better job, Depp followed the leads to a casting audition for Wes Craven and came away with a role as the heroine's doomed boyfriend in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) – in a quick blur, Depp being sucked into a demon bed became his auspicious cinematic start. Following his blood-soaked debut, he co-starred in the teen romp "Private Resort" (1985) and landed a small role in Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning "Platoon" (1986). In the meantime, the band fell apart, his marriage ended, and Johnny Depp the accidental actor was about to become a teen idol.

With his mop of classic movie star hair, his deep serious eyes, and his beyond chiseled cheekbones, Depp as a teen idol was a no-brainer, and was just what Fox needed to complete the cast of its first original TV series, "21 Jump Street." As Officer Tom Hanson, Depp played one of a unit of cops working undercover in high schools — ironic considering he had spent the better part of his youth on the other side of the law. The show was a hit with young audiences and Depp became an overnight sensation, his character’s leather jacket and rebellious attitude earning the actor a bad boy reputation that would follow him for years. It was an invaluable introduction to show business for the newcomer, but Depp was uncomfortable with his star status – to the point that one night, he was even caught defacing his own image on a billboard. After fulfilling his contract for three seasons, Depp was ready to move on and eager to distance himself from the career-limiting curse of teen idolhood.

Depp immediately seized the opportunity to satirize his image in John Waters’ musical “Cry-Baby” (1990). As a sneering, crooning, 1950’s juvenile delinquent, Depp established his offbeat sensibility and displayed a smoldering sexiness that could easily have paid his bills for the next two decades, but which he promptly left behind to play "Edward Scissorhands" (1990). A challenge for any actor, Depp was captivating in his nearly wordless portrayal of a mad inventor’s creation — a boy with scissors for hands who finds himself adopted by a well-meaning suburban family. Tim Burton’s gothic fable resonated strongly with audiences, Depp’s physical grace and expressive features reminiscent of the sympathetic silent characters like Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp, and worthy of a Golden Globe nomination. The film not only put him on the big screen map officially – it also introduced him to two very important people in his life. First, director Burton, with whom Depp would collaborations with on project after project, so fond of and in tune with each other were they. On a different note, “Scissorhands” also introduced Depp to co-star, starlet Winona Ryder. The two quickly became an inseparable couple, and as a unit, developed into hip icons of the early 90s with their disheveled thrift store clothes, rock star friends and devil-may-care chain smoking. Depp even stamped his love for the actress permanently on his skin, resulting in the famous “Winona Forever” tattoo.

On screen, Depp continued his quest to explore distinctive material, starring in "Arizona Dream" (1992) as a young man unwillingly called upon by his uncle (Jerry Lewis) to take over the family car dealership. "Benny & Joon" (1993) presented Depp as a modern-day circus performer who, in the course of romancing a mentally disturbed woman (Mary Stuart Masterston), performs set pieces – again reminiscent of the great silent film stars, though this time more Keaton than Chaplin. That same year, in the title role of Lasse Hallstrom's "What's Eating Gilbert Grape,” Depp played it straight as a Midwesterner trapped in a small town by familial obligations. The film hearkened back to Depp’s own past, and the actor brought a gentleness and melancholy to his moving portrait of family dysfunction and unfulfilled ambitions. Most particularly touching were his scenes with mentally disabled younger brother Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio) and obese “Momma” (Darlene Cates).

At the same time, in 1993 Depp launched the Viper Room, a low-key Sunset Strip rock club popular with famous and non-famous music lovers who came for lounge music-themed martini nights and live bands. Depp donned his guitar and made occasional appearances with P, an informal group including Depp, Gibby Haynes (Butthole Surfers), actor Sal Jenco, and a roster of local guests including Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Steve Jones (Sex Pistols). The world at large learned of The Viper Room on Halloween 1993, when actor River Phoenix died from an overdose of heroin and cocaine – a “speedball” – outside the club. The press made the event into a sensationalized story of the excesses of young Hollywood, and Depp reacted with a statement condemning the media for turning Phoenix’s death into a circus. Meanwhile, his over three year relationship with Ryder was coming to an end and the actor sought solace in a period of drugs and heavy drinking. He recorded and played live dates with ex-Pogue Shane McGowan in early 1994, which was not likely to cure him of his bender but most likely lessened the pain of all the loss he had recently experienced.

In 1994, Depp reteamed with Burton and won considerable critical acclaim for "Ed Wood" (1994), which chronicled the career of the angora sweater-wearing “Plan 9 from Outer Space” (1959) cross-dressing filmmaker and his friendship with fading horror icon, Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau). Depp brought a bouncy, post-war optimism and unflagging confidence to the portrayal, and his handling of the absurd comedy was pure genius as he chomped cigars in high heels and skirts – apparently fearless when diving into a characterization. He followed up “Ed” with a rare role that actually embraced his good looks, donning a mask and Castilian accent for "Don Juan DeMarco" (1995). The film afforded him the opportunity to act opposite the legendary Marlon Brando, who played the therapist to Depp’s Don Juan, a modern day patient with delusions of being the world-renowned 14th century Spanish libertine, with the outfit to match. Though the film did little to further his career, he looked good and worked with Brando. That was apparently enough for Depp, as it would be for any actor worth his salt.

The actor who – despite a wild image – often appeared to be a serial monogamist, announced his engagement to English model Kate Moss the same year. The two made headlines in 1994 during a stay at The Mark hotel in New York, when what was described by the actor as simply a “bad night” resulted in destruction of furniture in the couple’s suite and Depp’s arrest for felony criminal mischief. The charges were dropped, but the press had a field day, painting Depp and Moss as a tempestuous couple on a rampage. In a brief foray back into music, Depp’s band P released an album, and though the members kept the side project fairly low profile, the single “Michael Stipe” did enjoy a bit of airplay.

In John Badham's "Nick of Time" (1995), Depp was a surprising sight as a father racing the clock to rescue his kidnapped daughter, but the stylized thriller ultimately failed to deliver the unique results audiences came to expect from Depp. He rebounded with Jim Jarmusch's artfully filmed "Dead Man" (1996), playing a mild-mannered accountant mixed up in a whorehouse shooting and forced to go on the lam across 1840’s western frontier with a bullet in his chest. Jarmusch’s and Depp’s subtle sense of absurd humor proved to be highly compatible. Adding to his cast of oddball outsiders, Depp essayed the title role in Mike Newell's "Donnie Brasco" (1997), an FBI undercover agent who infiltrates a crime family, befriends its volatile leader, and begins to morph a little too well into his surroundings. Depp won praise for his layered portrayal of the real life Joe Pistone – and especially for his interplay with co-star Al Pacino, who served as Depp’s mentor onscreen and off.

The year 1997 marked Depp’s feature directorial debut with "The Brave,” a film he co-wrote with older brother D. P. Depp and in which he starred as a father who agrees to play the victim in a snuff film to earn money for his family. The film also featured Brando and Clarence Williams III, but earned mostly negative reviews following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Depp returned to the recording studio to lend guitar work to Oasis’ Be Here Now album before tackling the mighty portrayal of Raoul Duke, the drug-crazed alter ego of Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson in Terry Gilliam's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998). Depp gave a hilarious and eye-popping performance that seamlessly blended with the film’s lush, undulating, fantastical feel, and the film earned Gilliam a Golden Palm nomination at Cannes. That year, Depp and Moss finally called it quits, after a break-up and reconciliation the previous tempestuous year and press speculation of drug use.

Depp may have chosen "The Astronaut's Wife" – the first of his three 1999 thrillers – for the opportunity to play good-boy-gone-wrong under alien influence, but the result was sadly a rare one-note performance. From one movie resembling Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby” (1968), he moved to "The Ninth Gate" (1999), which was actually directed by Polanski. As a rumpled, bespectacled book dealer in search of a 17th-century volume allegedly co-authored by Satan, Depp was the soft, unassertive core of a film thought by most – but not all – to be a journey to nowhere.

The film was forgettable, but shooting in France was not, for it was there that he met French singer- songwriter Vanessa Paradis and essentially never went back Stateside again, except for work. The lovers had a daughter named Lily Rose Melody on May 27, 1999, providing the renegade drifter of sorts with an instant attitude adjustment in Depp, who now waxed poetic that the love of his daughter had caused him to finally understand the world. Several months prior to the birth, however, he had landed in a London jail after threatening a paparazzi whom he felt was being disrespectful of Paradis’ pregnancy.

With "Sleepy Hollow” (1999), based on the Washington Irving legend, Depp again paired perfectly with the imaginative gothic vision of Tim Burton. The studio nixed his notion of playing Ichabod Crane with a long pointy nose, though he did insist on going against the heroic archetype with his prissy, neurotic characterization. It became Depp’s biggest box office hit to date, but he followed up with a pair of films that barely saw the light of box office day — Julian Schnabel's "Before Night Falls" (2000), the story of Cuban poet-novelist Reinaldo Arenas – in which Depp again cross-dressed – and the period drama "The Man Who Cried" (2001) where he starred as Christina Ricci’s gypsy love interest in post World War II France. Between films, Depp returned to the recording studio, co-writing two tracks with Paradis and playing guitar on one track of her 2000 release Bliss. He also directed music videos for the singles “Que Fait la Vie?” and “Pourtant.”

Depp returned to the screen to take on another interpretation of a real-life figure in Ted Demme's "Blow" (2001), where he chronicled the rise and fall of George Jung, a major cocaine trafficker for Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar during the 1970s. In the moody thriller "From Hell" (2001), Depp took on the role of Inspector Frederick Abberline, a London detective and opium addict embroiled in the Jack the Ripper murders of the 1880s. Depp and girlfriend Paradis welcomed their second child, John III (Jack), into the family on April 9, 2002, and by all accounts, restless Depp seemed to be settling into a satisfying real life role as a family man abroad with a steady stream of moderately successful, artfully-oriented films.

In 2003, Disney executives got their first peek at the dailies for “The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and began rounds of panicked phone calls. They initially had not had high hopes for the film, as earlier attempts to build a narrative around the popular Disney World ride had failed. Convinced by director Gore Verbinski that Depp could be trusted, they fretted over the film’s release and were stunned when the finished product was a runaway blockbuster. Capping his teeth with gold and basing his performance on the swaggering, dissipated rock star Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Depp was a lively tour de force, finding himself in the unique position of not only being nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for a comedic performance, but for appearing in a commercial blockbuster at long last.

The film was the fourth highest grossing of the year and Hollywood wrongly assumed that the now mainstream viable star would be accepting scripts for blockbusters. Predictable only for being unpredictable, Depp’s next appearance was in indie icon Robert Rodriguez's "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" (2003), the third of the filmmaker’s trilogy and one that positioned Depp as a corrupt CIA agent who lures El Mariachi out of seclusion for a dangerous mission.

Depp drew little attention for his 2004 turn in the Stephen King adaptation "Secret Window" (2004), playing an author caught up in accusations of plagiarism and stalked by his accuser. But later that year the actor mesmerized critics as Peter Pan scribe J.M. Barrie in the highly-praised "Finding Neverland." Depp delivered a subtle but deeply emotional performance as the playwright who, despite his age and wisdom, wished to never grow up. Depp earned his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his performance. He also unloaded The Viper Room and launched his production company, Infinitum Nihil, in June of 2004, taking on the role of CEO and cutting a first look deal with Initial Entertainment.

Considering his infamous history of pulling off outrageous characterizations, Depp was an ideal choice to play magical candy maker Willie Wonka in Burton's adaptation of Ronald Dahl's "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory," a remake of 1971’s "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." Burton's darker interpretation hewed closer to the book, while Depp's Wonka was both inspired and a bit more unsettling. The film received favorable reviews and Depp, the new superstar of family entertainment, raked in box office receipts of $475 million dollars. That same year he provided the voice of Victor Van Dort, a Victorian lad whisked away to the underworld to wed a mysterious undead woman in Burton's stop-motion animated feature "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.”

Depp was pleased to revive Captain Jack Sparrow for the inevitable sequel, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006), a harrowing, energetic and worthy addition to the swashbuckling franchise. Depp outweighed co-star Orlando Bloom and displayed fine chemistry with a game Keira Knightley in a story that pitted the three against undead pirate Davy Jones – and sometimes themselves – in a quest to find a valued treasure that would enable control over supernatural forces. “Dead Man’s Chest” broke several box office records, including biggest single-day gross and biggest opening weekend ever, paving the way for the third installment, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (2007). “At World’s End” focused on the desperate quest undertaken by heroes Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley), both allied with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush reprising his role from the first “Pirates”), to rescue Sparrow from the trap of Davy Jones’ Locker. Detractors criticized the film as convoluted and the weakest of the franchise, but Depp’s built-in fanbase brought in over $300 million in box office.

Hollywood’s number one expatriate returned to the box office for the Christmas 2007 release of “Sweeney Todd,” the highly anticipated film adaptation of Steven Sondheim’s macabre musical. Bringing the bloody British saga of a wronged man’s revenge to the big screen was the brain child of Burton, and promised to deliver he and Depp’s signature hybrid of gloom and wit, though the R rating would mean that the Sparrow fans would be left at home with a babysitter. Fans were most anxious to see Depp sing. Having conquered every other medium, accent and quirk, Depp’s vocal debut did not disappoint, earning the actor a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

Depp returned to the screen in 2009 to portray famed Chicago bank robber John Dillinger in Michael Mann’s period heist, “Public Enemies.” Depp’s long overdue return to a dapper, non-freakish character was a breath of fresh air, though Mann’s emphasis on visuals and pyrotechnics left Depp’s potential to explore the notorious outlaw character unrealized. Regardless, the fedora-heavy crime film brought in over $100 million in box office receipts. Later that year, Depp was one of three actors tapped by filmmaker Terry Gilliam to substitute in the starring role left behind by the tragic death of actor Heath Ledger in “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” (2009). Depps shared duties with Jude Law and Colin Farrell in the role of a man who sells his daughter to the devil (Tom Waits) in exchange for extraordinary powers.

Also Credited As: John Christopher Depp II
Born: John Christopher Depp II on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Job Titles: Actor, Musician, Director, Producer, Gas station attendant, Pen salesman

Family

Brother: Daniel Depp. Older
Daughter: Lily-Rose Melody Depp. Born May 27, 1999; mother, Vanessa Paradis
Father: John Christopher Depp. Divorced Depp s mother when he was 15 (c. 1978)
Mother: Betty Sue Palmer. Depp has a tattoo with his mother s name on his left arm; divorced Depp s father when he was 15 (c. 1978)
Sister: Christie Dembrowski. Born c. 1961; handles Depp s affairs from her Florida home
Sister: Debbie Depp. Older
Son: Jack Depp. Born April 9, 2002; mother Vanessa Paradis

Significant Others

Companion: Jennifer Grey. Dated from 1988-1989; were briefly engaged, before they split
Companion: Kate Moss. Born Jan. 16, 1974; together from 1994-1998; announced engagement in 1995; separated in 1997; reunited briefly; split in May 1998
Companion: Sherilyn Fenn. Dated from 1987-1988
Companion: Vanessa Paradis. French; born c. 1972; together from June 1998; mother of Depp s two children
Companion: Winona Ryder. Together from 1990 to 1993; engaged briefly; had a tattoo of Winona Forever on his arm, which he has altered to say the more appropriate Wino Forever
Companion: Jennifer Grey. engaged; no longer together
Companion: Kate Moss. born on Janauary 16, 1974; had announced engagement in 1995; separated in 1997; reunited briefly; permanently separated in May 1998
Companion: Sherilyn Fenn. no longer together
Companion: Vanessa Paradis. French; born c. 1972; together from June 1998; mother of Depp s daughter
Companion: Winona Ryder. together from 1990 to 1993; announced engagement; Depp had a tattoo of Winona Forever on his arm, which he has altered to say the more appropriate Wino Forever : It s no coincidence that I ended up in France. I have a deep appreciation of the grape

Education

The Loft Studio, Los Angeles, CA

Milestones

1969 Moved to Miramar, Florida
1983 Moved to Los Angeles with band, The Kids; played lead guitar
1984 Introduced by his then-wife Lori Allison to actor Nicolas Cage, who helped arranged a meeting with an agent who set up audition for his feature acting debut in Wes Craven s A Nightmare on Elm Street ; the director s daughter Jessica also played a part in convincing her father to cast Depp
1985 First screen lead, Private Resort
1985 TV acting debut in episode of Lady Blue (ABC)
1986 Had small role in Oliver Stone s Platoon
1986 TV-movie debut, Slow Burn (Showtime)
1987 Starred as a baby-faced undercover cop in TV series, 21 Jump Street (Fox)
1987 Began working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation
1990 First hit movie, Tim Burton s Edward Scissorhands co-starring then-girlfriend Winona Ryder
1990 Headlined John Waters Cry-Baby playing the Elvis-inspired, leather-clad title role; first film acting with Iggy Pop
1992 Appeared along with Jerry Lewis and Faye Dunaway in Emir Kusturica s Arizona Dream
1993 Impressively recreated silent-comedy routines of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton in Benny and Joon
1993 Opened L.A. club, The Viper Room
1993 Starred in the title role of What s Eating Gilbert Grape
1994 Directed the eight-minute short film Banter for DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)
1994 Played infamous, cross-dressing, B-movie director Ed Wood ; second film with Burton
1995 Acted opposite Marlon Brando in Don Juan DeMarco
1995 Formed the rock group P, making major label debut on Capitol Records
1995 Made first action film, John Badham s Nick of Time ; cast as a mild-mannered accountant who becomes embroiled in an assassination scheme
1995 Purchased first home in Los Angeles; house once owned by Bela Lugosi
1996 Starred as William Blake in Jim Jarmusch s post-modern Western Dead Man ; film also featured Iggy Pop
1997 Earned some of the best reviews of his career as the title character in Donnie Brasco ; based on the book about an FBI agent who infiltrated the Mob
1997 Feature directorial debut, The Brave reteamed him with Brando; also wrote and co-starred; premiered at the Cannes Film Festival; Iggy Pop wrote the score
1998 Portrayed Raoul Duke in Terry Gilliam s adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ; first film with Christina Ricci
1999 Received star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (November 16)
1999 Reteamed with Burton for Sleepy Hollow starring opposite Christina Ricci
1999 Starred as corruptible rare-book dealer hired to find satanic texts in Roman Polanski s supernatural thriller The Ninth Gate
1999 Starred opposite Charlize Theron in the thriller The Astronaut s Wife
2000 Had two roles in Julian Schnabel s Before Night Falls, a biopic of gay Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas; portrayed an imprisoned drag queen with a gift for smuggling and a brutally officious army officer
2000 Reteamed with Terry Gilliam to play a modern-day ad executive whisked back in time in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote ; shooting began in 2000 but was put on hold when leading actor Jean Rochefort suffered a double disc hernia
2001 Cast as a British policeman with unorthodox means of tracking a serial killer in the thriller From Hell
2001 Portrayed American George Jung, one of the major cocaine traffickers for Columbian kingpin Pablo Escobar, in Ted Demme s Blow
2003 Played a sociopathic CIA agent in the Robert Rodriguez western feature Once Upon A Time In Mexico
2003 Starred in the blockbuster hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ; earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actor
2004 Played a writer who is accused of plagiarism by a strange man, who then starts haunting him in The Secret Window
2004 Portrayed Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland also starring Kate Winslet; received Golden Globe, SAG and Academy Award nominations for Best Actor
2005 Cast as Willy Wonka, in Tim Burton s remake of the classic tale Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor
2006 Reprised the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in Gore Verbinski s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man s Chest ; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical
2007 Reprised role of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World s End
2007 Reteamed with Burton to play The Demon Barber of Fleet Street for the film adaptation of the musical, Sweeny Todd ; earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a leading role
2009 Portrayed notorious Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger in Michael Mann s 1930s gangland flick Public Enemies
2009 Replaced the deceased Heath Ledger, portraying transformations of Ledger s character, in Terry Gilliam s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Sold ball-point pens by phone before he began acting
Started own rock group at age 13; subsequently played in 15 other bands

Dennis Quaid (Biography)

2009-12-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

Hailing from a big state known for its bigger-than-life characters, Texan Dennis Quaid was a common sight in dramatic sports films, and certainly no stranger in the role of “roguish charmer” and “Western renegade.” His career got off to an auspicious start in the early 1980s, but by decade’s end, personal problems and drug addiction seemed to have taken a toll on the quality of his work. After a period of recovery, the actor strengthened his focus and began to rebuild a solid reputation as a powerful screen presence, able to helm a box office success and increasingly earning critical kudos.

Dennis Quaid was born on April 9, 1954, and raised in Houston, TX, in the shadow of older brother Randy, who began acting at an early age. The younger Quaid decided to make his mark in school plays after the 6’1” blond was deemed not big enough to play football, the favorite sport of Texans. Quaid was a natural performer who also played guitar and sang, and after graduating from high school he headed to his big brother’s alma mater, the University of Houston, where he joined the theater department. Success in a 1974 college production of "Bus Stop" led to a decision to head to L.A., where Randy had just earned an Academy Award nomination for “The Last Detail” (1974). With his killer smile and rugged good looks, Quaid landed a rapid succession of bit parts in films including Jonathan Demme’s “Crazy Mama” (1975), “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” (1977), and finally, a larger role as one of a group of friends coping with the death of idol James Dean in James Bridges' "9/30/55" (1977). A supporting role in “Our Winning Season” (1978) introduced him to fellow castmate (and future cult figure as star of the 1979 punk classic “Rock and Roll High School) P.J. Soles, whom Quaid would marry later that year. But it was his turn as a frustrated, post-high school townie in the Midwestern coming of age drama "Breaking Away" (1979) that finally brought Quaid to the attention of Hollywood.

The following year, he teamed with brother Randy to play the outlaw Miller brothers in Walter Hill's Western "The Long Riders" (1980), before losing his momentum with a string of forgettable films, including “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” (1981) and “Jaws 3-D” (1983), which would introduce him to new love, actress Lea Thompson, around the time his marriage to Soles was disintegrating. The charismatic actor finally got a chance to demonstrate his potential with his fantastic turn as cocksure Houston astronaut Gordon Cooper in "The Right Stuff" (1983), Quaid’s most high profile film to date, as well as an Academy Award nominee for Best Picture.

After appearing on stage opposite brother Randy in Sam Shepard's blistering "True West" in New York and Los Angeles, Quaid landed starring status in flops “Dreamscape” (1984) and “Enemy Mine” (1985), before receiving a much-needed boost to the A-list in Jim McBride’s "The Big Easy" (1987), enjoying excellent reviews as a Louisiana detective. Relaxed and sporting a Cajun accent, the actor was sexy and swaggeringly charming; even more important to viewers was the palpable onscreen chemistry with co-star Ellen Barkin. Off-screen, however, Quaid had become an item with his “Innerspace” (1987) co-star and about to superstar, Meg Ryan. A year before Ryan became “America’s Sweetheart” with her unforgettable performance in “When Harry Met Sally” (1989), the new couple also appeared together in the unsuccessful 1988 remake of the film noir classic “D.O.A.”

Continuing to be in demand as a leading man, Quaid delivered a fine performance as a former high school football star in the middling "Everybody's All American" (1988), and reunited with Jim McBride to star in the biopic of explosive rockabilly legend Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls of Fire" (1989), but neither film drew in a big audience. Off-screen, it was later revealed that the actor was battling an addiction to cocaine. Following his turn as a roguishly charming cad opposite Meryl Streep in "Postcards From the Edge" (1990), he underwent treatment for substance abuse, followed by a two-year, self-imposed hiatus, during which time he married Ryan and the pair had a son, Jack. Post-rehab, Quaid returned to the big screen, starring in three little-seen 1993 pictures — the bizarre and confusing "Wilder Napalm," the precious "Thin Man" wannabe "Undercover Blues," and the well-acted family drama "Flesh and Bone." Then the actor literally transformed himself, dropping 40 pounds to play tubercular Doc Holliday in Lawrence Kasdan's epic "Wyatt Earp" (1993). Overall, the film was a disappointment, however reviewers singled out Quaid's performance. He followed up as the charming ne'er-do-well husband of Julia Roberts in "Something to Talk About" (1995) and brought a level of surprising believability to his turn as a medieval knight in "Dragonheart" (1996).

Finally Quaid scored a box office hit in 1998, co-starring with Natasha Richardson in the remake of Disney’s "The Parent Trap,” and offered a stellar performance as a mercenary in the little-seen "Savior" (1998), before turning in one of the more memorable performances of his career as an aging quarterback in the Oliver Stone-directed "Any Given Sunday" (1999). His run of solid, well-respected films continued when Quaid was included in a Screen Actors Guild Award given to the cast of “Traffic” (2000), in which he played a slippery lawyer advising the wife of a drug lord. Unfortunately, as he was savoring the success of the award-winning film, he found himself in a very public split with Ryan, after she and her “Proof of Life” (2000) co-star, Russell Crowe came out as a couple. Although there had been whispers of trouble between the couple for a few years, no one could have predicted “America’s Sweetheart” would have an affair with the then hottest actor in town at that time, Russell Crowe, her co-star in “Proof of Life” (2000), and then leave Quaid not long after. Although a brutal split, on a public relations level, Quaid came out on top, being the perceived wronged party in the scandalous love triangle.

After starring in the critically acclaimed television film "Dinner with Friends," he returned to the big screen in another sports-set drama, the surprising hit "The Rookie" (2002). Quaid had first billing in this fact-based story of a middle-aged high school baseball coach who tries out for the Major Leagues and becomes its oldest rookie. Quaid truly hit one out of the park in that year’s intense drama "Far From Heaven" (2002), earning an Independent Spirit Award for his co-starring role opposite Julianne Moore. Set in Connecticut during the 1950s, Quaid was pitch-perfect in a fearless performance as a family man who is secretly homosexual, a secret which makes him neglectful, abusive and alcoholic. Universally praised for his tragic, tormented turn, Quaid delivered a powerful performance and was a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood again.

Next up, Quaid teamed with Sharon Stone in Mike Figgis' sly but commercially lackluster take on the haunted house thriller in "Cold Creek Manor' (2003), then took on the history of his home state by portraying Sam Houston in Disney's unfortunate box-office bomb "The Alamo" (2004). Bigger at the box office than either film was director Roland Emmerich's big budget disaster film "The Day After Tomorrow" (2004), in which Quaid starred as a climatologist racing northward to find his young son after the planet experiences a radical climate change.

After a turn in the superfluous but crowd-pleasing remake "Flight of the Phoenix" (2004), Quaid soared in a career-defining role as a successful middle-aged magazine ad salesman who suddenly finds himself working under a new boss (Topher Grace) nearly half his age in writer-director Paul Weitz's comedy "In Good Company" (2004). A remake of the 1968 Lucille Ball-Henry Fonda comedy “Yours, Mine and Ours” (2005), co-starring Rene Russo as the other half of a blended family, did moderately well at the box office despite tanking critically. The limp political satire “American Dreamz” (2006), in which Quaid played a doofus president, tanked on both accounts. Quaid followed up with a very different film centering on a U.S. president, playing a secret service agent who witnesses an assassination in “Vantage Point” (2008). The film brought action-oriented audiences to the theaters but sent critics home early. Quaid had three more releases scheduled for the year, including the college-set comedy “Smart People” co-starring young Oscar nominee Ellen Page, and “The Express,” in which Quaid portrayed a football coach in the real-life story of Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman trophy.

Also Credited As:
Dennis William Quaid
Born:
Dennis William Quaid on April 9, 1954 in Houston, Texas, USA
Job Titles:
Actor, Singer, Songwriter, Producer

Family

Brother: Randy Quaid. Born in 1950; known for his roles in The Last Detail (1973), National Lampoon s Vacation (1983), Kingpin (1996) and Independence Day (1996)
Daughter: Zoe Grace Quaid. Twin of Thomas; delivered by a surrogate on Nov. 8, 2007; mother is Kimberly (Buffington) Quaid
Father: William Quaid. Divorced from Quaid s mother when Quaid was in high school; died of a heart attack in 1987
Half-brother: Buddy Quaid. Born in 1974
Mother: Nita Quaid. divorced from Quaid s father when Quaid was in high school
Son: Jack Henry Quaid. Born April 24, 1992; mother, Meg Ryan
Son: Thomas Boone Quaid. Twin of Zoe; delivered by a surrogate on Nov. 8, 2007; mother is Kimberly (Buffington) Quaid

Significant Others

Wife: Kimberly Buffington. Began dating in early 2003; engaged June 2004; married July 4, 2004 in Montana
Companion: Anna Poche. dating as of July 2002
Companion: Cynthia Garrett. dating since March 2002
Companion: Lea Thompson. met during the filming of Jaws 3-D in 1983; lived together for four years
Companion: Shanna Moakler. dated since early 2001; no longer together since December 2001

Education

University of Houston, Houston, TX

Milestones

1969 Began career as an impressionist in Houston nightclubs at age 15
1974 Moved to Los Angeles
1975 First screen appearance in an uncredited bit part, Crazy Mama
1977 Film acting debut in 9/30/55 directed by James Bridges
1978 TV acting debut, Are You in the House Alone? (CBS)
1979 Had breakthrough screen role as Mike, the high school jock, in Breaking Away
1980 Co-starred with his brother Randy in Walter Hill s The Long Riders
1981 Appeared in the CBS TV-movie Bill alongside Mickey Rooney
1981 Wrote songs for and sang on screen in The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
1983 Gained good notices for his turn as the cocky astronaut Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff
1983 Reprised his TV role in the sequel Bill on His Own (CBS)
1984 Starred opposite brother Randy in the Off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard s True West
1987 Won acclaim for his performance in The Big Easy ; directed by Jim McBride
1989 Portrayed singer Jerry Lee Lewis in the biopic Great Balls of Fire , also directed by Jim McBride
1993 Co-starred with then wife, Meg Ryan in Flesh and Bone
1994 Earned praise for his performance as Doc Holliday in Lawrence Kasdan s epic Wyatt Earp
1996 Starred as a medieval knight in Dragonheart
1998 Co-starred in the remake of Disney s The Parent Trap
1998 Made directorial debut with made-for-cable TV-movie Everything That Rises (TNT); also starred
1999 Portrayed a past his prime football quarterback in Oliver Stone s Any Given Sunday
2000 Cast as the long-dead firefighting father of a contemporary detective in the supernatural-themed Frequency
2000 Had pivotal role as a lawyer in Traffic
2001 Co-starred in the HBO adaptation of the Pulitzer-winning play Dinner With Friends
2002 Appeared with Julianne Moore in the drama Far From Heaven ; received Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Supporting Actor
2002 Portrayed a high school baseball coach in the fact-based feature The Rookie
2004 Played a climatologist who tries to find a way to save the world in Roland Emmerich s The Day After Tomorrow
2004 Starred in a remake of the 1965 film The Flight of the Phoenix
2004 Starred with Scarlett Johansson and Topher Grace in the comedy In Good Company directed by Paul Weitz
2005 Co-starred with Rene Russo in the remake of Yours, Mine and Ours, a comedy about a blended family
2005 Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (November)
2006 Portrayed the US President in Paul Weitz American Dreamz
2008 Cast in the ensemble film, Vantage Point as a Secret Service agent
2008 Joined Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church in the indie feature, Smart People
2009 Co-starred as Hawk, the team leader, in the live action film adaptation of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Born and raised in Texas
Formed Summers/Quaid Productions with Cathleen Summers

Paul Bettany (Biography)

2009-12-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

After making his mark with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in an acclaimed production of Stephen Daldry’s “An Inspector Calls” (1992), actor Paul Bettany had a memorable debut as Geoffrey Chaucer in the cheeky adventure "A Knight's Tale" (2001). From there, Bettany developed into a much sought-after supporting actor who made occasional forays into leading man territory. But it was his role as the imagined roommate of a genius mathematician suffering from schizophrenia in “A Beautiful Mind” (2001) that catapulted the actor into a rising star. More importantly, however, Bettany won the heart of his Oscar-winning co-star, Jennifer Connelly, whom he married in 2002. Following another acclaimed performance in the period adventure, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" (2003), Bettany took a bit of a misstep with the failed romantic comedy "Wimbledon" (2004), before going virtually unnoticed with the Medieval thriller, “The Reckoning” (2004). Nonetheless, he continued to have quality turns in large studio films like “Firewall” (2006) and “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), indicating that Bettany was a star who easily transitioned between supporting and leading roles in a variety of film genres.

Born on May 27, 1971 in London, England, Bettany was raised in Harelsdent by his father, Thane, a ballet dancer and actor, and his mother, Anne, a singer, stage performer and secretary. When he was 16, Bettany dropped out of school and spent the next two years as a street performer – or busker – in and around London. After a year working at a home for the elderly, he decided to enroll at the Drama Centre, where he trained from 1991 to 1994. Bettany made his stage debut in Stephen Daldry’s “An Inspector Calls,” then spent a year with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Following appearances in over a dozen productions over the next four years, Bettany was seen in one of his earliest onscreen roles, playing Prince William of Orange in “Sharpe’s Waterloo” (1997), a British drama that follows the career of soldier Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) during the Napoleonic Wars. Bettany had a memorable feature film debut in the small role of a Nazi officer in the feature adaptation of "Bent" (1997), before going on to appear in "Land Girls" (1998) and "David Copperfield" (TNT, 2000).

Already on the rise, Bettany delivered a bravura performance in the British-made crime thriller, “Gangster No. 1” (2000), playing the young incarnation of a suave, but frighteningly violent gangster learning the tricks of the trade from a mob leader (David Thewlis). After starring in the black comedy, "Dead Babies" (2000), adapted from Martin Amis' novel, and revealing himself in more ways than one in “A Knights Tale” (2001), Bettany landed a breakthrough supporting role in "A Beautiful Mind" (2001), Ron Howard’s compelling, but sometimes saccharine biopic of mathematician John Forbes Nash, Jr. (Russell Crowe). His performance as Nash’s charismatic, inspirational roommate – who turns out to be nothing more than a physical manifestation of Nash’s schizophrenia – gave Bettany some much deserved attention in America. Following a December 2002 wedding to "A Beautiful Mind" co-star Jennifer Connelly, the actor was cast in the Thaddeus O'Sullivan drama, "The Heart of Me" (2003), in which he played a loving husband who finds himself having a torrid affair with his wife's Bohemian sister (Helena Bonham Carter).

Bettany reunited with Russell Crowe for the lavish high-seas adventure "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" (2003), playing Dr. Stephen Maturin, the good doctor on the H.M.S. Surprise and close ally to Captain Jack Aubrey (Crowe). Aubrey's intent to take the crew on a perilous mission causes Maturin to question whether or not the journey is professionally or personally motivated, putting a serious strain on their longtime friendship. Bettany was hailed for his performance, which earned him a London Critics Award and a nomination for best supporting actor at the 2004 BAFTA Awards. He next tried to establish himself as a leading man, starring in the romantic comedy "Wimbledon" (2004) as a washed up tennis ace whose passions are reignited by a love match with a feisty young up-and-comer (Kirsten Dunst), leading him to compete in the sport's most prestigious competition. Despite the unique pairing of Bettany and Dunst, the film failed at the box office. Bettany then starred in Scottish filmmaker’s Paul McGuigan’s Medieval murder thriller, “The Reckoning” (2004), playing a priest on the lam after leaving the church for committing adultery. He encounters a troupe of traveling actors led by the charismatic Martin (Willem Dafoe) who stage a real-life crime drama to find the murderer.

Nicely mixing up genre and character, Bettany co-starred in “Firewall” (2006), playing a ruthless and resourceful thief who kidnaps the family of a computer security specialist (Harrison Ford) in order to rip off $100 million from a bank protected by the specialist’s own security system. He next appeared in one of the most controversial and anticipated films in decades, “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), directed by Ron Howard from Dan Brown’s mega-blockbuster book. Bettany played an albino assassin for the secretive Catholic society, Opus Dei, which tries to thwart a symbologist (Tom Hanks) called to the Louvre Museum where a curator was murdered. A trail of mysterious symbols and clues eventually leads to a 2,000 year-old secret that could destroy the very foundations of society if revealed. Following a supporting turn in “The Secret Life of Bees” (2008), Bettany was the voice of Jarvis, the artificial intelligence that assists billionaire playboy and industrialist, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), design the suit for “Iron Man” (2008). He next played Dustfinger in “Inkheart” (2009), a children’s fantasy based on Cornelia Funke’s novels about a bookbinder (Brendan Fraser) who can transport fictional characters into the real world when he reads aloud.

Born:
May 27, 1971 in London, England, United Kingdom
Job Titles:
Actor, Busker, Guitarist, Singer

Family

Brother: Matthew Bettany. Younger; died at age eight when he fell from a roof of a tennis pavilion in 1988
Father: Thane Bettany. Divorced Anne Kettle in 1993 after 25 years of marriage
Mother: Anne Kettle. Divorced Thane Bettany in 1993 after 25 years of marriage
Sister: Sarah Bettany. Older
Son: Stellan Connelly. Born Aug. 5, 2003; mother, Jennifer Connelly; named after actor Stellan Skarsgard
Step-son: Kai Dugan. Born in 1997; son of Jennifer Connelly and David Dougan

Significant Others

Companion: Emily Mortimer. Had a relationship early in Paul s career; no longer together
Wife: Jennifer Connelly. met on the set of A Beautiful Mind in 2001; began dating in 2002; married C. December 2002 in Scotland
Companion: Laura Fraser. born c. 1977; met in late 1999 when they both auditioned for a film; co-starred in A Knight s Tale

Education

The Drama Center, London, England

Milestones

1992 Acted in Stephen Daldry s acclaimed revival of An Inspector Calls
1997 Appeared as Prince William of Orange in the British TV production Sharpe s Waterloo
1997 Film acting debut, playing a Nazi captain in Bent
1998 Had supporting role in Land Girls
2000 Co-starred in the black comedy Dead Babies
2000 Debut in a US TV production, cast as James Steerforth in the TNT miniseries adaptation of David Copperfield
2000 First leading role in films, as the young incarnation of the title character in the British drama Gangster No. 1
2001 Breakthrough screen role as an often naked Geoffrey Chaucer in A Knight s Tale
2001 Cast opposite Russell Crowe, who portrayed mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., in Ron Howard s A Beautiful Mind
2003 Cast as a young monk who joins a traveling band of actors in The Reckoning
2003 Re-teamed with Crowe for Peter Weir s Master and Commander
2003 Starred in the feature The Heart of Me, an adaptation of Rosamond Lehmann s novel The Echoing Grove
2004 Co-starred with Nicole Kidman, as Tom Edison, the self-appointed town spokesman in Lars von Trier s Dogville
2004 Played an aging tennis pro, opposite Kirsten Dunst, in Richard Loncraine s Wimbledon
2006 Co-starred with Harrison Ford in the thriller, Firewall
2006 Portrayed albino monk, Silas in Ron Howard s big-screen adaptation of Dan Brown s best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code
2008 Co-starred in the feature adaption of the bestselling novel The Secret Life of Bees
Raised in Harlsden in northwest London
Spent one season with the Royal Shakespeare Company
Worked as a street performer (busker) in London

Jean Reno (Biography)

2009-12-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

After making a name for himself in his native France, particularly with his collaborations with action director Luc Besson, actor Jean Reno crossed the Atlantic to become a highly-sought character performer in big budget Hollywood fare. Though he broke the ice with American audiences with the cult classic “La Femme Nikita” (1991), Reno made his greatest impression on U.S. shores playing a reluctant hit man training a young girl (Natalie Portman) in the strangely heartwarming thriller “The Professional” (1994). Ever since, Reno made his mark playing coolly ambiguous and frighteningly cunning characters who more often than not reveal themselves to be all-too-human. Reno was perhaps most memorable in action thrillers like “Ronin” (1998) and “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), but least appreciated in silly blockbusters like “Godzilla” (1998) and “The Pink Panther” (2006). Despite not possessing a marquee name, Reno proved himself to be an invaluable character performer capable of switching from foreign films to Hollywood features with ease.

Born Juan Moreno y Herrera Jiménez on July 30, 1948 in Casablanca, Morocco, Reno was raised by his Spanish Andalusian parents who fled to North Africa to escape the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. When he was 17, Reno and family relocated to France, where he began acting after high school, attending a French-government sponsored drama school. He made his professional stage debut in a Parisian production of "Ecce Homo" (1974), then spent the next couple of years honing his craft onstage. Reno made his screen debut playing a small role in "L'Hypothese du tableau vole" (1978), and the following year, had another small role in Costa-Gavras' "Clair de femme" (1979). After appearing in several minor parts, Reno landed his first substantial feature role in his first collaboration with Luc Besson in "Le Dernier combat" (1983), the director’s dialogue-less sci-fi film about a bleak and desolate world where people are physically unable to speak. Following a second outing with Besson on "Subway" (1985), Reno teamed up with the director a third time in what proved to be his breakout film, "The Big Blue" (1988), for which he earned critical praise for his portrayal of a champion diver who fights off competition from an old friend and rival (Jean-Marc Barr).

With his career on the rise in France, it was only a matter of time until Reno was introduced to American audiences. Reno collaborated with Besson once again, playing the partner of a drug addict-turned-government assassin (Anne Parillaud) in the action thriller classic, "La Femme Nikita" (1991). Reno’s character helped establish his later onscreen persona – cool, calculating and amoral, while retaining the impression that he was human underneath it all. Released in France in 1990, the film earned a cult following after its release in the United States the next year, introducing Reno to a wider audience. Over the years, “Le Femme Nikita” became the model for which many crime thrillers were based, including an American remake starring Bridget Fonda and a long-running television series on USA Network. Reno next played a sympathetic priest who moonlights as a wrestler in order to raise money for his church's projects in "L'Homme au masque d'or" (1990). He then had a much-applauded turn as Godefroy de Montmirail, a valiant nobleman from the Musketeer-days transported to the 20th century in "Les Visiteurs/The Visitors" (1996). The film set box office records in France for its 1993 release and spawned a sequel a few years later, as well as a typically shoddy American remake in 2001.

Working with Besson once again, Reno made his English-language debut with "The Professional” (1994), a stylish, violent and oddly endearing thriller about a professional hit man who takes on a new apprentice in the form of a 12-year-old girl (Natalie Portman). With the attention he received for "The Professional,” the actor was firmly established as a notable presence on American shores. He followed up by playing a con-man thorn-in-the-side to Kevin Kline in Lawrence Kasdan's "French Kiss" (1995) then portrayed Krieger, one of the operatives chosen by Tom Cruise for a top secret operation in "Mission: Impossible" (1996). Reno suddenly became a known quantity with both Hollywood insiders and appreciative audiences, who took to the actor when he appeared in such features such as "Godzilla" (1998) and "Ronin" (1998) – the latter of which allowed him to use his ambiguous onscreen persona to great effect in John Frankenheimer’s excellent spy thriller. After reprising his role in “The Visitors” for the remake “Just Visiting” (2001), he played the scheming creator of a violent futuristic sport in the disastrous "Rollerball" (2002).

He had a brief, but potent turn in director Terry George's "Hotel Rwanda" (2004), playing a sympathetic Belgian hotel executive doing all he can to save the lives of his brave Rwandan manager (Don Cheadle) and the refugees he is sheltering during the 1994 genocide. After appearing in foreign-made features like “La Tigre e La Neve” (2005) and “L’empire des Loups” (2005), Reno played Ponton, a detective assigned to keep an eye on the ever-bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau in “The Pink Panther” (2006), the much-derided – but sadly profitable – remake of Peter Seller’s classic series of comic films. Reno was then set to be seen in one of the most controversial and anticipated movies to have come along in decades, “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), directed by Ron Howard from Dan Brown’s mega-blockbuster about a secret religious society guarding a 2000 year-old secret. After voicing Le Fog in the animated adventure “Flushed Away” (2006) and playing the war-weary commander of a World War I fighter squadron in “Flyboys” (2006), Reno starred in the gangster thriller “Cash” (2008), then reprised Ponton for the unsuccessful sequel “The Pink Panther 2” (2009).

Also Credited As:
Juan Moreno, Juan Moreno y Herrera Jiménez
Born:
Juan Moreno y Herrera Jiménez on July 30, 1948 in Casablanca, Morocco
Job Titles:
Actor

Family

Daughter: Sandra Reno. Born in 1978; mother is Genevieve
Daughter: Serena Reno. Born in 1998; mother is Nathalie
Son: Mickael Reno. Born in 1980; mother is Genevieve
Son: Tom Reno. Born in 1996; mother is Nathalie

Significant Others

Wife: Genevieve Reno. Divorced from first wife; mother of his two eldest children
Wife: Nathalie Dyszkiewicz. Divorced from second wife; mother of his two youngest children
Wife: Nathalie Reno.
Wife: Zofia Borucka. Married in Baux-De-Provence, southern France on July 29, 2006
Companion: . divorced

Education

Cours Simon Drama School, Paris, France, acting, 1970

Milestones

1960 Moved to France at the age of seventeen
1974 Made professional stage debut in Ecce Homo
1978 Screen acting debut in L Hypothese du tableau vole
1983 Made first film with director Luc Besson, Le Dernier Combat
1987 Portrayed a champion free diver in Luc Besson s The Big Blue
1990 Cast as The Cleaner in Luc Besson s La Femme Nikita
1993 Starred in the cult French film, The Visitors
1994 Made US acting debut in The Professional ; directed by Besson
1996 Featured opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible
1998 Played a French scientist in the big-budget, Godzilla
2000 Co-starred with Vincent Cassel in the French police drama, The Crimson Rivers
2001 Portrayed a French detective in Wasabi ; written and produced by Luc Besson
2001 Reprised role from The Visitors for an American remake titled, Just Visiting
2002 Co-starred with Juliet Binoche in the romantic comedy, Jet Lag
2006 Cast as Bezu Fache in Ron Howards feature adaptation of Dan Brown s best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code
2006 Co-starred with Steve Martin in a prequel to the 1964 Peter Sellers original film, The Pink Panther
2009 Co-starred as Marcel, a therapist and operator of the resort, in the comedy Couples Retreat
2009 Re-teamed with Steve Martin and reprised role for The Pink Panther 2

Matt Dillon (Biography)

2009-12-05T16:48:00.000-08:00

Once typecast as a doomed young rebel with smoldering good looks, Oscar-nominee Matt Dillon managed to outlast his teen stardom from Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders” (1983) and enjoy a respected career in both drama and comedy. His acclaimed starring role in Gus Van Sant’s “Drugstore Cowboy” (1989) helped build a bridge from Dillon’s reckless teen roles to more adult fare, though he showed a career-long penchant for seedy and duplicitous characters, to which he always brought a charismatic charm or brooding allure. While making successful forays into cartoonish, blockbuster comedies like “There’s Something About Mary” (1998) and “You, Me and Dupree” (2007), Dillon also stuck close to independent film where he displayed uncommon versatility with Ted Demme’s “Beautiful Girls” (1996), “Factotum” (2006), and Paul Haggis’ “Crash” (2005), for which he won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor. Despite the New Yorker’s Hollywood-outsider status, Dillon maintained a prolific career that while marked by numerous dips and peaks, steadily held the respect of critics and audiences for several decades.

Dillon was born Matthew Raymond Dillon on Feb. 18, 1964, and raised in Mamaroneck, NY. His artistic-leaning family including a father who painted portraits and a pair of uncles who illustrated the famous comic strips “Flash Gordon” and “Blondie.” But by the time he was a teen, Dillon seemed unlikely to follow in his family’s footsteps and was cultivating an image as a class-cutting back-talker when talent scouts stumbled across him while combing the Horrocks School in search of an unknown talent for the film “Over the Edge” (1979). During his official audition, the 14-year-old made a strong (if abrasive) impression and producers knew they had found the right kid to play a troubled teen in Jonathan Kaplan's powerful film. Following his impressive debut in the indie, he was swiftly cast in two mainstream features, playing a school bully who experiences an eventual comeuppance in "My Bodyguard" (1980) and the object of Kristy McNichol’s teen sexual desire in “Little Darlings” (1980). With his budding film career an attractive alternative to suburban high school life, Dillon left school to focus on acting and shot to stardom as the charismatic but confused lead of a trio of teen films adapted from the works of S.E. Hinton, beginning with Tim Hunter’s "Tex" (1982).

While Francis Ford Coppola’s "Rumblefish" was an artful, adult-oriented portrait of a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, his more commercial follow-up "The Outsiders" featuring an astonishing cast of up-and-coming heartthrobs including Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze, transformed Dillon into a teen magazine pinup. While his acting was sometimes clunky, he easily and believably fell into the time-tested persona of a charismatic juvenile delinquent, and in addition, the camera simply loved his moody face. Lightening his image, he starred in Garry Marshall’s period comedy "The Flamingo Kid" (1984) where his starring role as a working class Brooklyn kid with upper class envy showed the actor had more range yet to showcase. He re-teamed on screen with “Outsiders” siren Diane Lane in the 1950-set romance “The Big Town” (1987), playing a small town crapshooter whose ambitious move to Chicago finds him caught up in a tangled web of danger and illicit liaisons. After ably holding his own among the all-star cast including Tommy Lee Jones and Bruce Dern, Dillon co-starred opposite pretty boy Andrew McCarthy in the caper “Kansas” (1988), which was forgettable – though Dillon’s performance was singled out by reviewers as the film’s strength.

Under the clear, gritty vision of indie filmmaker Gus Van Sant, Dillon was reborn with “Drugstore Cowboy” (1989), which shed Dillon’s Hollywood version of seedy characters in favor of a toothy and realistic starring role as a drug addicted thief nearing the end of his run. For his assured, mature performance (opposite Kelly Lynch as his wife), Dillon won a Best Lead Actor honor from the Independent Spirit Awards and finally left his reputation as a 1980s heartthrob in the dust. "A Kiss Before Dying" (1991), a mainstream thriller, failed at the box office but earned Dillon another round of accolades for a subtle performance, and he followed up with a supporting role in Cameron Crowe’s generation X chronicle “Singles” (1992), where he gave an amusing turn as a dim-witted, flannel clad Seattle rocker. He proved convincing as a working-class Italian-American with dreams of owning a bowling alley in the light romantic comedy "Mr. Wonderful" (1993), and reunited with director Tim Hunter to play a disturbed man who is befriended by a homeless Danny Glover in "The Saint of Fort Washington" (1993), which received mixed reviews.

Van Sant tapped Dillon for a supporting role as the happily suburban (and doomed) husband of a fiercely ambitious weather girl (Nicole Kidman) in the sharply humorous "To Die For" (1995), and the same year displayed a winning chemistry with Anne Parillaud in "Frankie Starlight.” In another indie success, he appeared in the praised ensemble comedy "Beautiful Girls" (1996) and played a 1960s record producer in Allison Anders’ pop music portrait “Grace of My Heart” (1996). With his hilarious role as a self-impressed actor who unwittingly outs his closeted gay high school teacher (Kevin Kline) at the Academy Awards in "In & Out" (1997), Dillon entered the new realm of successful mainstream comedies. His follow-up performance in the Farrelly Brothers’ mega blockbuster "There's Something About Mary" (1998), however, really caused audiences to rediscover Dillon, who was praised for his comic performance as the cartoonish, mustachioed private dick who stalks, then falls in love with the woman he was hired to track down (Cameron Diaz). Further fueling the publicity machine of the gross-out hit, Dillon and Diaz became involved in a long-term romance — one of the few ever made public by the private star who had, in the past, only been linked with frequent co-star Diane Lane.

Back in the spotlight, Dillon was cast as a popular guidance counselor wrongly accused of rape in the sexy, campy thriller "Wild Things" (1998) opposite Neve Campbell, Denise Richards and Kevin Bacon. In a rare move to television Dillon directed an episode of HBO’s gritty prison drama “Oz” (1997-2003) and was not seen onscreen again until 2001, when he gave a “Mary”-reminiscent performance as a macho sleazeball in the comedy "One Night at McCool's." However even a star-studded cast including Michael Douglas, John Goodman and Liv Tyler failed to turn the film’s promising conceit into a solid comedy. In 2002, Dillon unveiled his first feature filmmaking effort, "City of Ghosts," which followed the story of con man who travels to Cambodia to get his share from an insurance scam but finds himself caught in a much more dangerous situation. From his ambitious writing and directing debut, Dillon went on to star in the Sundance-screened caper comedy "Employee of the Month" (2004).

Dillon’s career experienced another upturn with an Oscar-nominated supporting performance in the racially charged, multi-plot drama "Crash" (2005). Playing an angry LAPD patrol officer whose frustrations at home lead him to act out on the job, Dillon delivered an unflinching, complex performance that stood out even among the film's top-flight acting ensemble. In a display of unbridled versatility, Dillon played a NASCAR champ who gets beat racing a lovable, animated Volkswagen Bug in the Disney blockbuster “Herbie: Fully Loaded” (2005). “You Me and Dupree” (2005), a predictable romantic comedy where Dillon essayed the straight man whose bachelor buddy moves in with him and his new bride (Kate Hudson), proved just as big a hit with moviegoers. He returned to indie drama with “Factotum” (2005), starring in the film adaptation of one of Charles Bukowski’s autobiographical chronicles of drinking, gambling, women and poetry. Dillon’s dark, deadpan portrayal of the cult figure was well received, and he proved he had still more surprising characterizations in store with his 2008 portrayal of a federal prosecutor deciding the case of a newspaper reporter (Kate Beckinsale) who outs the identity of a CIA operative in the current-events inspired “Nothing But the Truth.”

Also Credited As:
Matthew Raymond Dillon
Born:
Matthew Raymond Dillon on February 18, 1964 in New Rochelle, New York, USA
Job Titles:
Actor, Director, Writer, Bar owner, Restaurateur

Family

Brother: Brian Dillon.
Brother: Kevin Dillon. Born in 1965; appeared in Oliver Stone s Platoon (1986) as Johnny Drama Chase HBO s Entourage
Brother: Paul Dillon, Jr.
Brother: Tim Dillon.
Father: Paul Dillon. Works for Union Camp, a packing material manufacturer
Great-uncle: Alex Raymond. Creator of the Flash Gordon comic strip
Mother: Mary Ellen Dillon.
Sister: Katy Scholz. Born in 1966

Significant Others

Companion: Elisa Shores. Rumored to have dated in 2004; no longer together
Companion: Cameron Diaz. met in 1995 while both were filming movies in Minnesota; together from 1996 until September 1998

Education

Mamaroneck High School, Mamaroneck, NY

Milestones

1979 At age 14, was spotted by casting director Vic Ramos while cutting class in junior high school
1979 Made film debut in the violent teen drama Over the Edge
1980 Cast as the bully in My Bodyguard
1980 Played a hunk who deflowers Kristy McNichol in the camp drama Little Darlings
1982 Made TV debut in American Playhouse (PBS) production of The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters
1982 Played titular character in Tex ; first of three alienated teens Dillon portrayed in films based on S.E. Hinton novel
1983 Played an alienated teen living in his brother s shadow in Coppola s Rumble Fish ; again co-starred with Lane in another film based on a Hinton book
1983 Portrayed the troubled teen leader of The Outsiders, based on the S.E. Hinton novel of the same name; first film with Francis Ford Coppola and Diane Lane
1984 Played a non-hoodlum role in Garry Marshall s The Flamingo Kid
1985 Made Broadway debut in The Boys of Winter
1989 Won rave reviews for his portrayal of a junkie who robs drugstores to support his habit in the critically acclaimed Drugstore Cowboy ; first collaboration with director Gus Van Sant
1992 Played a dim-witted Seattle grunge rocker in Cameron Crowe s ensemble comedy Singles
1993 Played a schizophrenic homeless man in The Saint of Fort Washington
1995 Starred as Nicole Kidman s doomed husband in Van Sant s black comedy To Die For
1997 Played an actor who outs his high-school English teacher (Kevin Kline) during his Oscar speech in the comedy In & Out
1998 Featured as a sleazy private detective hired by Ben Stiller to track down Cameron Diaz (then his real-life girlfriend) in the Farrelly brothers comedy There s Something About Mary
1998 Played a popular guidance counselor accused of raping two students (Neve Campbell and Denise Richards) in the campy thriller Wild Things
1999 Directed an episode of the HBO drama Oz
2001 Had featured role in the independent film Deuce s Wild
2002 Made feature directorial debut with City of Ghosts ; also co-starred
2005 Cast in the Disney feature Herbie: Fully Loaded with Lindsay Lohan and Michael Keaton
2005 Played a racist cop in Paul Haggis directorial debut, Crash ; earned Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Supporting Actor
2006 Co-starred with Kyra Sedgwick in the Kevin Bacon directed Loverboy ; premiered at Sundance (lensed 2003)
2006 Played a newlywed married to Kate Hudson in the comedy You, Me and Dupree
2008 Co-starred with Kate Beckinsale in Rod Lurie s Nothing but the Truth
Grew up in Mamaroneck, New York

Laurence Fishburne (Biography)

2009-12-04T15:05:00.000-08:00

Possessing as much flash, energy and intelligence as anyone currently in the game, Laurence Fishburne has certainly played his share of regulation black hoodlums and threats but also has benefited from color-blind casting as his tour de force Broadway performance as England's King Henry II (opposite Stockard Channing as his Eleanor) in a 1999 revival of "The Lion in Winter" attests. His role as Cowboy Curtis, best buddy to Pee-wee Herman on TV's legendary kid series "Pee-wee's Playhouse" (CBS), is another reminder of his tremendous versatility.

Although born in Georgia, Fishburne was raised by his divorced mother in Brooklyn. It was she who encouraged him to be an actor and young Larry (as he was then billed) began his professional career with a New York stage debut at age ten. For three years (from 1973 to 1976), he portrayed adoptee Joshua West Hall on the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live" and made his film debut as the "Me" in "Cornbread, Earl and Me" (1975). After 18 months filming in the Philippines, Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (1979) brought him to mainstream attention, and he subsequently appeared in the director's "Rumble Fish" (1983), "The Cotton Club" (1984) and "Gardens of Stone" (1987). Other prominent roles included playing Swain in Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" (1986) and Afro-centrist Dap Dunlap in Spike Lee's "School Daze" (1988).

Fishburne starred as a loose cannon former convict in the 1990 world premiere of August Wilson's "Two Trains Running" at Yale Repertory Theater and recreated the role on Broadway in 1992, winning several prizes including a Tony Award. After his no-holds barred histrionics elevated his psychotic killer in "The King of New York" (1990) above that of a garden-variety thug, he provided the moral center of "Boyz N The Hood" (1991) as Furious Styles, a model father who steers his son away from L.A. gang life, then radiated a sullen intensity as an undercover cop in Bill Duke's edgy thriller, "Deep Cover" (1992). On the heels of his winning an Emmy for a guest appearance in the 1992 Fox anthology series "Tribeca", Fishburne earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his riveting, unflattering portrait of 60s pop star Ike Turner, so critical to the success of the Tina Turner biopic "What's Love Got to Do With It" (1993), which reunited the actor with Angela Bassett, his estranged wife in "Boyz". He also lent solid support as a streetwise chess player in the underrated "Searching for Bobby Fischer" (also 1993).

In 1995, Fishburne appeared in four diverse features. In John Singleton's "Higher Learning", he was an articulate political science professor attempting to motivate his apathetic students. Underutilized as a spy paired with Ellen Barkin in "Bad Company", he delivered the goods as a tough cop resentful of the investigations of a law professor (Sean Connery) in "Just Cause". And despite never having performed Shakespeare before, Fishburne made screen history as the first black actor to portray the Bard's Moor in a major studio film in Oliver Parker's "Othello". 1995 saw Fishburne make his Off-Broadway debut as a playwright and director with "Riff-Raff", a popular, loosely structured drama about an African-American con man (Fishburne) and his relationship with a white junkie, which he adapted into the feature "Once in the Life" (2000). Also that year, the actor delivered an Emmy-nominated turn as a courageous WWII pilot in the superior HBO movie "The Tuskegee Airmen.”

Reuniting with Bill Duke, Fishburne executive produced and starred in "Hoodlum" (1997), essaying real-life Harlem racketeer 'Bumpy' Johnson, on whom his "The Cotton Club" character had been based. The extremely watchable Depression-era film benefited greatly from the fresh angle its black point-of-view brought to a fairly well-known historical account, and Fishburne displayed a great range of emotions lurking under Bumpy's seemingly placid exterior. He pulled down his second Emmy as executive producer of the universally acclaimed "Miss Evers' Boys" (HBO, 1997), a dramatization of the Tuskegee Study, a shameful medical experiment in which the US Public Health Service withheld treatment from a group of African-American men with syphilis to examine the effects. Fishburne also co-starred as an early participant in the study who romances Alfre Woodard's nurse Eunice Evers. After executive producing and starring as Socrates Fortlow in HBO's "Always Outnumbered" (1998), he enjoyed his biggest commercial success to date with the sci-fi actioner "The Matrix" (1999). Finding a balance between action hero and Zen Master, Fishburne offered a commanding presence as the mysterious revolutionary Morpheus, but it was the arresting visual style of its writer-directors (the Wachowski brothers) that attracted the hordes through the turnstiles.

After the mega-success of "The Matrix," Fishburne took his first turn behind the camera as the director of "Once in the Life" (2000), an adaptation of his 1994 play "Riff Raff" in which he starred as two-bit hood 20/20 Mike, a supposed expert at self-preservation whose world is thrown into chaos when his white junkie half-brother fouls up a heroin heist. The film was well-acted and handsomely filmed, but suffered from the claustrophobic confines of its theatrical origins. Fishburne next appeared in the fast-paced action film "Biker Boyz" (2003) as Smoke, the reigning champion among a ring of African American professionals by day who become motorcycle street racers by night. That same year he returned to the role of Morpheus--now exchanging his signature cool for volume and bravado in Morpheus' new incarnation as a borderline zealot--for "The Matrix Reloaded" and its filmed-back-to-back sequel, "The Matrix Revolutions."

The actor was then used to strong effect by director Clint Eastwood in "Mystic River" (2003), playing police detective Whitey Powers, who doubts the ability of his partner (Kevin Bacon) to stay impartial on a homicide case involving two of his childhood friends (Sean Penn and Tim Robbins). Next it was on to the role of a powerful crime kingpin whose arrest provokes an all-out invasion of a police precinct house in the well-assembled 2005 remake of the thriller "Assault on Precinct 13." Fishburne next costarred alongside Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Michelle Monaghan in “Mission: Impossible 3” (2006), the third installment to the popular spy franchise—directed this time by “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams—that depicted a retired Ethan Hunt (Cruise) living a slower-paced life while training new IMF agents. But he’s called back to action to due battle with Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an international weapons dealer who may turn out to be Hunt’s toughest adversary yet.

Also Credited As: Larry Fishburne, Larry Fishburne III, Laurence Fishburne III, Laurence John Fishburne III
Born: Laurence John Fishburne III on July 30, 1961 in Augusta, Georgia, USA
Job Titles: Actor, Producer, Director, Playwright, Screenwriter

Family

Daughter: Ashley Fishburne. Born in June 2007; mother, Gina Torres
Daughter: Montana Fishburne. Born in 1991; mother, Hajna Moss; godfather is actor Martin Sheen
Father: Laurence Fishburne. Worked in the Bronx; divorced from Fishburne s mother; saw son about once a month when he was young
Godfather: Maurice Anthony Watson. Taught at Brooklyn College; Fishburne based his portrayal of Mr Phipps, the college professor in John Singleton s Higher Learning (1995) on Watson
Mother: Hattie Fishburne. Taught junior high school math and science; traveled with son to Philippines during shooting of Apocalpyse Now (1979) to tutor him; divorced from Fishburne s father
Son: Langston Fishburne. Born in 1987; mother, Hanja Moss

Significant Others

Wife: Gina Torres. born c. 1971; met in 1995 on a blind date; became engaged in December 2000; first announced engagement in May 2001; again mentioned engagement on The Tonight Show in August 2001; married September 2002 IN New York
Companion: Victoria Dillard. met on set of Deep Cover (1992); no longer together

Education

Lincoln Square Academy, New York, NY, acting
Julia Richman High School, New York, NY

Milestones

1971 Professional stage debut as a young baseball fan in Charles Fuller s My Many Names and Faces at NYC s New Federal Theatre
1973 Appeared regularly on One Life to Live (ABC) as Joshua West Hall, the adopted son of a police captain
1975 Film debut in starring role in Cornbread, Earl and Me
1975 Played Tony Pridgeon in Section D at the New Federal Theatre
1976 Co-starred Off-Broadway in the Negro Ensemble Company production of Eden
1977 Went to the Philippines for 18 months to shoot Apocalypse Now (1979) under Francis Ford Coppola s direction; credited in the film as Larry Fishburne
1979 Credited as Laurence Fishburne III for Fast Break
1980 TV series debut, The Six O Clock Follies (NBC)
1983 Reteamed with Coppola for Rumble Fish
1984 Third film with Coppola, The Cotton Club ; for his role as the fictional Bumpy Rhodes, he researched the real Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson, whom he would later portray in Hoodlum (1997)
1985 Cast as Swain in Steven Spielberg s The Color Purple
1986 Had continuing role as Cowboy Curtis on Pee-wee s Playhouse (CBS); met a young production assistant named John Singleton, who would later direct him in his breakthrough role Boyz N the Hood (1991)
1987 Fourth film with Coppola, Gardens of Stone
1988 Acted in Spike Lee s School Daze
1990 Provided some of the muscle for Christopher Walken s drug operation in Abel Ferrara s King of New York
1991 Won acclaim for his lead performance as the father in Boyz N the Hood ; directed by John Singleton
1992 Co-starred as an ex-con romancing a waitress in August Wilson s stage drama Two Trains Running ; play first produced at Yale Rep before moving to Broadway; received Tony Award
1993 Earned an Emmy Award as Best Guest Actor for his turn in the pilot episode of TriBeCa (Fox)
1993 Played Ike Turner to Angela Bassett s Tina Turner in What s Love Got to Do with It ; received Best Actor Oscar nomination
1993 Portrayed the Washington Square Park mentor of a young chess prodigy in Searching for Bobby Fischer
1994 Formed Loa Productions, an independent production company
1995 Became first black actor to portray Shakespeare s Othello in major studio feature
1995 Played Hannibal Iowa Lee in the acclaimed HBO movie, The Tuskegee Airmen ; earned an Emmy nomination
1995 Reteamed with Singleton for Higher Learning
1995 Wrote, directed and starred in the Off-Broadway - one-act play, Riff Raff
1997 Executive produced (also starred) the acclaimed HBO movie Miss Evers Boys ; received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries
1997 Reteamed with Bill Duke as star of Hoodlum playing Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson, a 1930s Harlem racketeer who locked horns with Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) and Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia); also executive produced
1998 Executive produced and starred as Socrates Fortlow in HBO s Always Outnumbered
1999 Portrayed the mysterious Morpheus in the blockbusting The Matrix
1999 Starred as Henry II in a Broadway revival of James Goldman s The Lion in Winter at NYC s Roundabout Theatre
2000 Made his feature directorial debut with Once in the Life the film version of his play Riff Raff
2003 Again portrayed Morpheus in The Matrix: Revolutions
2003 Played a cop opposite Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn in Mystic River ; directed by Clint Eastwood
2003 Reprised Morpheus in The Matrix: Reloaded
2005 Starred with Ethan Hawke and Maria Bello in Assault on Precinct 13
2006 Cast in Emilio Estevez s directorial debut, Bobby
2006 Played Cruise s mentor in Mission: Impossible III directed by J.J. Abrams
2008 Cast as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in the Broadway production of Thurgood at the Booth Theatre; earned a Tony award nomination for Best Actor in a Play
2008 Played a casino security agent in 21 a film based on a group of MIT card counters
2008 Replaced departing series star William Petersen on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS) as a college lecturer and former pathologist
First part was in second grade playing Peter Pan
Raised by mother in Park Slope section of Brooklyn, New York

Armored (2009)

2009-12-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

A crew of officers at an armored transport security firm risk their lives when they embark on the ultimate heist….against their own company. Armed with a seemingly fool-proof plan, the men plan on making off with a fortune with harm to none. But when an unexpected witness interferes, the plan quickly unravels and all bets are off.

Armored Trailers

Actors
Matt Dillon	Mike Cochrane
Jean Reno	Quinn
Laurence Fishburne	Baines
Amaury Nolasco	Palmer
Fred Ward	Duncan Ashcroft
Milo Ventimiglia	Eckehart
Skeet Ulrich	Dobbs
Columbus Short	Ty Hackett
Andre Jamal Kinney	Jimmy Hackett
Andrew Fiscella	Dispatcher #1
Nick Jameson (II)	Homeless Man
Glenn Taranto	Joe the Cook
Lorna Raver	Child Welfare Agent
Garry Guerrier	Federal Guard
Robert Harvey (II)	Bank Guard

Directors
Nimrod Antal	Director

Writers
James V. Simpson	Screenplay

Producers
Russell Hollander	Executive Producer
Debra James	Executive Producer
Chris Lemos	Co-Executive Producer
Luis Guerrero	Co-Executive Producer
Josh Donen	Producer
Dan Farah	Producer
Trae Ireland	Associate Producer

Camera, Film & Tape
Henry Tirl	Steadicam Operator
Valentine Perrin	1st Assistant Camera
Matthew Tucker Korte	2nd Assistant Camera
Lacey Terrell	Still Photographer
Scott Gregory	Digital Colorist (Technicolor Digital Intermediates)
Andrzej Sekula	Director of Photography
Michael Herron	Video Assist Operator

Editors
Armen Minasian	Editor
Randy Bricker	Additional Editor

Casting
Julie Swistak	Casting Associate
David Rapaport	Casting Director
Lindsey Hayes Kroeger	Casting Director

Executives
Doug Belgrad	Studio Executive
Samuel C. Dickerman	Studio Executive
Clint Culpepper	Studio Executive
Eric Paquette	Studio Executive
Russell Hollander	Production Executive
Glenn Gainor	Production Executive

Production Management
Patricia A. Fullerton	Script Supervisor
Jennifer Corey	Production Supervisor
Debra James	Unit Production Manager
Billy Bonifield	Production Coordinator
Eric Tignini	1st Assistant Director
Hope Garrison	2nd Assistant Director
John Labrucherie	2nd 2nd Assistant Director
Ralph Coleman	Location Manager
Eric Hooge	Assistant Location Manager
Diana V. Lara	Assistant Location Manager

Art Department
Brett McKenzie	Art Department Coordinator
Vinnie Jae	Stand-By Painter
Al Lewis (II)	Assistant Art Director
Rick Lambert	Leadman
Jon Nicholson	On Set Dresser
Chris Cornwell	Art Director
Barbara Mesney	Set Designer
James E. Tocci	Set Designer
Jon Gary Steele	Production Designer
Dena Roth	Set Decorator

Wardrobe, Hair & Makeup
Andre Dubois	Key Hair Stylist
Douglas Noe	Makeup Department Head
Heidi Higginbotham	Costume Supervisor
Laura Little	Key Costumer
Cesha Ventre	Costumer
Damien A. Quinn	Costumer
Larry Waggoner	Hair Department Head
Maya Lieberman	Costume Designer
Luis Garcia (III)	Key Makeup Artist

Sound
Todd Bassman	Boom Operator
Lynn Sable	Assistant Sound Editor
Teri E. Dorman	Dialogue Editor
Rickley W. Dumm	Sound Effects Editor
Linda Folk	ADR Supervisor
Pamela Nedd Kahn	Foley Artist
Vincent Guisetti	Foley Artist
Kyle Rochlin	Foley Mixer
David Adam Weisberg	ADR Mixer
Anthony J. Ciccolini III	Supervising Sound Editor
Joseph Geisinger	Production Mixer
Jeffrey J. Haboush	Supervising Sound Mixer
Greg P. Russell	Supervising Sound Mixer

Music
John Murphy	Music
Chris Goss (II)	Song (“The Candy Song”)
Masters of Reality	Song Performer (“The Candy Song”)
John Krautner	Song (“Blue Eyes Woman”)
Robert Harlow	Song (“Blue Eyes Woman”)
The Go	Song Performer (“Blue Eyes Woman”)
Matt Dike	Song (“Loc’in On The Shaw”)
Tone Loc	Song Performer (“Loc’in On The Shaw”)
Brian Richards (II)	Music Editor
John Jacobellis	Assistant Music Editor

Visual Effects & Animation
Raoul Yorke Bolognini	Visual Effects Producer (Zoic Studios)
John Frazier	Special Effects Supervisor
Dan Cangemi	On Set Special Effects Supervisor
Bobby Bell	Special Effects Technician
Trey Shaffer	Graphic Designer
Sean Tompkins	Visual Effects Coordinator (Zoic Studios)
Zach Zaubi	Lead Compositor (Zoic Studios)
Jerry Hall (IV)	Compositor (Zoic Studios)
Susan Weeks	Compositor (Zoic Studios)
David Abuel	Compositor (Zoic Studios)
Pency Kinnard	Compositor (Zoic Studios)
Marlon Perez	CG Tracker (Zoic Studios)
Mark Shimer	CG Artist (Zoic Studios)
Tom Bremer	CG Artist (Zoic Studios)
Rocco Passionino	Visual Effects Supervisor (Zoic Studios)
Kenneth C. Clark	Special Effects Foreman

Physical Effects
Greg Anthony	Stunts
Jalil Jay Lynch	Stunts
Troy Gilbert	Stunts
James M. Lewis Jr	Stunts
Chaz Brewer	Stunts
Tim Gilbert	Stunts
Henry Kingi Jr	Stunts
Scott Wilder (II)	Stunts
John Meier	Stunts
Glen Yrigoyen	Stunts
Dean Bailey	Stunts
Tim Walkey	Stunts
Chad Randall	Stunts
Erik Rondell	Stunts
Dustin Meier	Stunts
George Fisher	Stunts
Lance Gilbert	Stunt Coordinator

Engineering, Electrical & Grips
Marc Meisenheimer	Chief Lighting Technician
Robert Trowbridge	Assistant Chief Lighting Technician
Steve Galvin	Chief Lighting Rigging Technician
Greg Mayer	Assistant Chief Lighting Rigging Technician
Robert Zullo	Key Grip
Randy Berrett (II)	Dolly Grip
Allan Scott Jackson	Best Boy Rigging Grip
Mark Broneau	Key Rigging Grip
Greg Romero	Best Boy

Construction
David Elliott (II)	Construction Coordinator
Steven D. Powell	General Foreman
Dwight Lowell	Construction Foreman
Tom Gibson (II)	Labor Foreman
Manuel Cervantes	Labor Foreman
Jay Dupuy	Plaster Foreman

Publicity
Linda Brown (IV)	Unit Publicist

Accounting
Ryan Whan	1st Assistant Accountant
Chris Romberg	Production Accountant

Craft Services
Willie Radcliff	Craft Service
Lois Radcliff	Craft Service

Props
Robert Williams (V)	Propmaker Foreman
Mychael Bates	Property Master
Douglas T. Madison	Assistant Property Master
Michael Carrillo	Assistant Property Master

Below The Line
Cory Fleming	Aerial Ground Coordinator
Erin Dicker	Assistant (to Mr Antal)
Lydia Trickey	Assistant (to Mr Donen)
Matt Mills	Assistant (to Mr Hollander)
Lisa Serra	Assistant (to Mr Dillon)
Joel Marrow	Transportation Captain
Randy Cantor	Transportation Co-Captain
Randin L. Brown	Production Assistant
Gavin Kleintop	Production Assistant
Anna Ramey	Production Assistant
Shawn Williamson (II)	Production Assistant
Cliff Fleming	Aerial Coordinator/Pilot

Worldwide Distributors
Screen Gems	Theatrical Distributor

Other Companies
Central Casting, Inc.	Extras Casting
For Stars Catering	Catering
Reel Team	Voice Casting
Sony Pictures Scoring Stage	Post Services Provider
Picture Mill	Titles
Technicolor Digital Intermediates	Digital Intermediate and Opticals
Zoic Studios	Visual Effects
Panavision, Ltd.	Cameras & Lenses
Deluxe	Prints

Invictus (December 2009)

2009-12-03T04:42:00.000-08:00

From director Clint Eastwood, “Invictus” tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Spyglass Entertainment, a Revelations Entertainment/Mace Neufeld production, a Malpaso production, “Invictus,” starring Oscar® winners Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby,” “The Dark Knight”) and Matt Damon (“Good Will Hunting,” the “Bourne” franchise). Also Known As: The Human Factor Untitled (Nelson Mandela Project) Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release Genres: Drama, Adaptation, Biopic and Sports Release Date: December 11th, 2009 (wide) MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language. Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution Production Co.: Revelations Entertainment, Mace Neufeld Productions, Malpaso Productions, Spyglass Entertainment Holdings, LLC Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures Filming Locations: South Africa Produced in: United States Invictus Trailers

Case 39 (January 2010)

2009-12-02T04:47:00.000-08:00

Family services social worker Emily Jenkins thinks she has seen it all until she meets her newest, most mysterious case, troubled 10-year old Lilith Sullivan. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to kill Lilith, their only daughter. Emily saves her and decides to take her in herself until the right foster family comes along. Also Known As: Case No. 39 Case Thirty-Nine Production Status: Released Logline: A social worker tries to rescue a young girl from abusive parents but begin to suspect the girl may not be so innocent after all. Genres: Suspense/Horror and Thriller Release Date: January 1st, 2010 (wide) MPAA Rating: R for violence and terror, including disturbing images. Distributors: Paramount Pictures Production Co.: Misher Films, Anonymous Content Studios: Paramount Pictures Filming Locations: Vancouver, Canada Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Produced in: United States Cast and Credits Starring: Renee Zellweger, Ian McShane, Bradley Cooper, Jodelle Ferland, Adrian Lester Directed by: Christian Alvart Produced by: Kevin Misher, Steve Golin, Lisa Bruce Case 39 official trailer HD

A Christmas Carol (2009)

2009-12-01T03:31:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve in Victorian England, Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter and miserly old moneylender, holds everything that embodies the joys and spirit of Christmas in contempt, refusing to visit his cheerful nephew Fred's Christmas dinner party with his family, and forcing his underpaid employee Bob Cratchit to beg to take the day off for his own family. That night, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, who had died seven years prior on Christmas Eve and is now forced to spend his afterlife carrying heavy chains forged from his own greedy ways. Marley warns Scrooge that he will suffer an even worse fate if he doesn't repent, and foretells that he will be haunted by three spirits that will help guide him. The first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past, shows Scrooge visions of his own past that take place on or around the Christmas season, reminding him of how he ended up the greedy man he is now. He had spent much of his childhood neglected by his father over the holidays at boarding school until he was finally brought home by his loving sister Fan, who died prematurely after giving birth to his nephew Fred. Scrooge later began a successful career in business and moneylending and became engaged to a woman named Belle, though she later called off the engagement when he began to grow obsessed with accumulating his own wealth. Unable to bear having to witness these events again, Scrooge extinguishes the spirit. The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, shows Scrooge the happiness of his fellow men on Christmas day. Among them are his nephew Fred, who playfully makes jokes with his family at Scrooge's expense, and Bob Cratchit and his family, who are just barely able to make do with what little pay Scrooge gives Cratchit. The Cratchits also tend to a sickly young son, Tiny Tim, whose commitment to the spirit of Christmas touches Scrooge, who is dismayed to learn from the spirit that he may not have much longer to live. Before the spirit vanishes, it warns Scrooge about the evils of Ignorance and Want, showing them as terrifying, uncivilized children doomed to grow into savage, despicable individuals. The third and final spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows Scrooge the final consequences of his greed. Tiny Tim has died, leaving the Cratchits to mourn him on Christmas. Scrooge has also died, though there is more comfort than grief in the wake of his funeral. In addition, Fred finds benefit from inheriting his wealth, and Scrooge is even robbed by his former maid. Unwilling to let this grim future come to pass, Scrooge begs to be given a second chance as the spirit forces him into his deep and empty grave leading all the way to Hell. Scrooge awakens to find himself in his bed on Christmas morning, the three spirits having guided him over the course of one night, and immediately sets out to atone for his sins, making donations to the poor, attending Fred's dinner party, and giving Cratchit a raise to care for his family, allowing Tiny Tim to live. Scrooge spends the remainder of his life a new man embodying the spirit of Christmas itself, and the film ends. Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Animation, Adaptation, Holiday and Remake Running Time: 1 hr. 36 min. Release Date: November 6th, 2009 MPAA Rating: PG for scary sequences and images. Distributors: Walt Disney Studios Distribution U.S. Box Office: $63,289,000

2012 (2009)

2009-11-30T04:10:00.000-08:00

In 2009, American geologist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) travels to India to meet his friend Satnam, who has discovered that neutrinos from a massive solar flare have penetrated the Earth and are causing the temperature of its core to increase rapidly. Adrian returns to Washington D.C. to inform White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) and US President Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover) that this will instigate a chain of events that will bring about the end of the world. At the 36th G8 summit in 2010, other heads of state and heads of government are made aware of the situation. They collaborate to begin a secret project intended to ensure the continuity of human life, strategically choosing 400,000 people for admission on a series of gigantic arks to be constructed in the Himalayas. To help fund the venture, additional individuals are allowed to purchase tickets for one billion euros apiece. In 2012, micro-quakes have started to occur causing small cracks in the earth's surface. Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is a writer in Los Angeles who works part time as a limousine driver for Russian billionaire Yuri Karpov. Jackson's ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet) and their children Noah and Lily live with her new boyfriend, plastic surgeon and amateur pilot Gordon. Jackson takes Noah and Lily on a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park, where they find their usual camping spot fenced off while government scientists, including Adrian (now a White House science advisor), monitor the situation. While in Yellowstone, Jackson meets Charlie Frost, a radio show host and conspiracy theorist. Charlie supports a theory that suggests the Mayans predicted the world would come to an end in 2012, and claims he has knowledge of the ark project and possesses a map of the arks' location. Jackson believes he is a rambling drunk and leaves. Adrian returns to the White House with ominous news - the earth's temperature rise is accelerating. The evacuation plan is set into motion. Meanwhile, Jackson's family returns home as cracks begin to develop along the San Andreas Fault in California and earthquakes occur in the San Francisco Bay area. Jackson grows suspicious and rents a private plane to rescue his family. He collects his family and Gordon when the Earth's crust displacement begins and they escape Los Angeles as it collapses into the Pacific Ocean. As millions begin dying in apocalyptic earthquakes worldwide, the group flies to Yellowstone to retrieve Charlie's map. The group narrowly escapes as the Yellowstone Caldera erupts. Charlie, who stayed behind to make a live broadcast of the eruption, is killed by the blast. Realizing the arks are in China, the group lands in Las Vegas, where they meet Yuri, his twin sons, girlfriend Tamara, and pilot Sasha. They join the group and secure a larger plane, the Antonov An-225, to head across the Pacific. Also bound for the arks aboard Air Force One are Anheuser, Adrian, and First Daughter Laura Wilson (Thandie Newton). President Wilson remained in Washington D.C. to address the nation one last time. He is soon killed by a tsunami that sends the USS John F. Kennedy crashing into the White House. With the Vice President dead and the Speaker of the House missing, Anheuser appoints himself acting Commander-in-Chief. Sasha discovers that the plane doesn't have enough fuel to get to China, so they have to make a crash landing in the ocean. But as they get near the ground, they discover that they are indeed in China, as the earth's crust has shifted. Yuri, who has purchased ark tickets for himself and his sons, deserts the Curtis family, Gordon, and Tamara upon arriving in China. However, the abandoned group is picked up by Nima, a Buddhist monk. Together, they begin sneaking onto an ark through its hydraulics chamber with the help of Nima's brother Tenzin, a welder for the ark project. In his last moments, Satnam calls Adrian to inform him that a tsunami is engulfing India and heading towards the arks. Learning of this, Anheuser orders the arks be sealed before the boarding process is complete, trapping thousands outside. Adrian manages to convince the other G8 leaders to let the remaining people on board. As the ark's tailgate is lowered, Gordon is killed when he falls in between the gears, followed by Tenzin's large electrical power drill. Yuri sacrifices his life to get his two sons on in time, but the obstruction prevents the gate from closing, rendering the ship unable to start its engines. The tsunami arrives and begins to flood the ark, drowning Tamara and setting the ark helplessly adrift. Jackson and Noah work together to free the drill and its cable from the closing mechanism. The gate closes and the crew regains control of the ark, preventing a fatal collision with Mount Everest. A title appears that says "Day 27 Month 01 Year 0001" When the floodwater from the worldwide tsunamis eventually recedes, satellite data shows that Africa rose in relation to sea level, and its Drakensberg mountains are now the highest on the planet. As the arks set sail for the Cape of Good Hope, Jackson reconciles with his family, and Adrian starts a relationship with Laura. The movie ends with a view of the Earth revealing all continents have merged, and are in the shape of the African continent. Overview