Contemporary Actors
Gerard McCarthy was born in 1981 in Belfast. He is best known for his role as ‘Kris Fisher’ in “Hollyoaks”. Hos other TV roles are in “The Vikings” and the current “The Fall” with Gillian Anderson. His movies include “On Eagles Wing” and “Belonging to Laura”.
Ruth Negga was born in Ethopia but brought up in Ireland by her Irish mother after the death of her father. She is best known for her performances in TV’s “Love/Hate” and “The Misfits”. Her movies include “Breakfast on Pluto” with Cillian Murphy.
Scott Glenn was born in Pittsburgh in 1941. His films include “Nashville” in 1975, “Personal Best” in 1982, “The Right Stuff” and “Silence of the Lambs”.
TCM overview:
An intense and highly respected performer who excelled in a variety character roles, Scott Glenn struggled for nearly a decade before breaking through as the main antagonist in the box office hit, “Urban Cowboy” (1980). Prior to that, Glenn first became a known commodity with a standout turn in Robert Altman’s large ensemble classic “Nashville” (1975), but in the ensuing decade he catapulted to fame as an Olympic track coach in “Personal Best” (1982), astronaut Alan Shepard in “The Right Stuff” (1983), and one of four accused outlaws out for revenge in “Silverado” (1985). After playing a submarine commander who joins “The Hunt for Red October” (1990), he was the head of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit in the Oscar-winning thriller “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991). Glenn kept busy with appearance in a variety of low-profile features before turning up with character parts as a murderous Secret Service agent in “Absolute Power” (1997), a cop-turned-drug dealer who meets a grizzly fate in “Training Day” (2001), and the Director of the CIA in both “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007) and “The Bourne Legacy” (2012). Though he never quite became a leading man, Glenn was a vibrant character actor who routinely surprised with the depth of his performances.
Born on Jan. 26, 1941, Glenn was raised in Pittsburgh, PA, by his father, Theodore, a business executive, and his mother, Elizabeth, a homemaker. As a child, Glenn routinely battled illness and was bedridden for a full year with scarlet fever. During that time, a legend that poet Lord Byron was in the family ancestry kept Glenn’s imagination active with dreams of becoming a poet himself, and he wrote as much as his illness would allow. His long recovery marked the beginning of an intense and lifelong passion for physical fitness and adventurous sports, though his literary leanings remained closest to his heart. After graduating high school in Pittsburgh, Glenn attended the College of William and Mary, where he earned a journalism degree. But his professional plans were put on hold because of a three-year stint in the marines, during which he served in Southeast Asia. Following his discharge from the military, Glenn worked as a crime reporter for a short time at the Kenosha Evening News in Kenosha, WI, before being offered a newspaper job in the Virgin Islands.
Though he accepted the job offer, Glenn decided to finish a play he had been writing before he began work. Since he was struggling with creating dialogue, a friend suggested that acting classes might help him with the problem. Two weeks in, Glenn realized that he was born to act and he continued studying with renowned actor William Hickey, before training with the legendary Lee Strasberg at the Actor’s Studio while working as a laborer and bouncer. Within a year, he was onstage in off-Broadway productions at La Mama and The Public theaters, and by 1969 he was receiving regular paychecks for a recurring role on the daytime soap “The Edge of Night” (CBS/ABC, 1956-1984). In 1970 he was cast in his first feature, playing opposite Barbara Hershey in “The Baby Maker,” which led to a decision to move to Los Angeles in pursuit of more film work. But for the next several years, Glenn struggled to find his footing, landing roles in low budget biker films like “Angels Hard as They Come” (1971) and horror flicks like “The Gargoyles” (1972) and “Hex” (1973).
Frustrated by the lack of quality work, Glenn finally began to break out when director Robert Altman cast him in his landmark film, “Nashville” (1975), in which he played a Vietnam war veteran who has arrived in the capital of country-western music to see popular singer Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley) perform while seemingly harboring ulterior motives. With a large ensemble cast that included Lily Tomlin, Ned Beatty, Shelley Duvall, Jeff Goldblum, Barbara Harris and Keith Carradine, “Nashville” helped open doors for Glenn and he was next seen briefly in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” (1979), as an army colonel who was sent to exterminate the mad Colonel Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando), only to be seduced into joining his private army. But after co-starring in the Western “She Came to the Valley” (1979), Glenn was so disillusioned by Hollywood that he moved to Ketchum, ID, where he worked as a bartender and mountain ranger for two years, though he did stay in fighting shape on stage in Seattle. Following this brief interlude, Glenn was lured back into showbiz by playing an ex-convict and arch-rival of John Travolta’s Bud Davis in the hit “Urban Cowboy” (1980).
With his career finally kicked into high gear in his early forties, Glenn began to enjoy steady and varied work on the big screen, playing Mariel Hemingway’s track coach in “Personal Best” (1982) and the first man in space, Alan Shepard, in “The Right Stuff” (1983), an epic docudrama about the birth of America’s space program. After starring opposite Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson in the family drama, “The River” (1985), he joined Kevin Kline, Kevin Costner and Danny Glover for Lawrence Kasdan’s revisionist Western, “Silverado” (1985), where the four played a group of disparate outlaws going up against a crooked sheriff (Brian Dennehy). Glenn went on to play notorious mob hit man Verne Miller in “Gangland: The Verne Miller Story” (1987), before co-starring with Willem Dafoe and Gregory Hines in the action thriller “Off Limits” (1988). Meanwhile, his reputation continued to grow in the following decade with a turn as a submarine commander in the Tom Clancy-based thriller “The Hunt for Red October” (1990) and stoic F.B.I. agent Jack Crawford, who helps a young recruit (Jodie Foster) track down a serial killer (Ted Levine) with the help of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in the Oscar-winning Best Picture, “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991).
Glenn continued his box office hot streak by playing the arsonist firefighter in “Backdraft” (1991), for which the middle-aged actor also contributed his own stunt work, and reunited with “Nashville” director Robert Altman for a memorable cameo opposite Lily Tomlin in “The Player” (1992). Following a series of forgettable thrillers – “Slaughter of the Innocents” (1993), “Extreme Justice” (1993) and “Night of the Running Man” (1995) – Glenn scored with his portrayal of an investigative reporter in “Courage Under Fire” (1996), a political drama about the investigation of a friendly fire incident starring Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington. He went on to play a Secret Service agent embroiled in scandal after taking part in the shooting death of the president’s (Gene Hackman) mistress in “Absolute Power” (1997), which starred Clint Eastwood as a master jewel thief who bears silent witness to the crime. Branching out into indie dramas, Glenn had a small role as a priest in Sofia Coppola’s film debut “The Virgin Suicides” (1999), and went on to further acclaim for his acting – and stunt work – in the Mt. Everest action thriller, “Vertical Limit” (2000), starring Bill Paxton and Chris O’Donnell.
Slipping comfortably into character parts, Glenn shined as a former cop-turned-drug dealer in “Training Day” (2001) and was an eccentric fisherman who owns a local Newfoundland newspaper in “The Shipping News” (2001), starring Kevin Spacey and Julianne Moore. He turned to television in the early part of the new century, starring as a cotton farmer in “A Painted House” (CBS, 2003) and an FBI agent brought in to organize the new government bureaucracy of “Homeland Security” (NBC, 2004). Glenn next played Admiral Jack McCain in “Faith of My Fathers” (A&E, 2005), and returned to indie filmmaking with a starring turn opposite Brendan Fraser in the crime thriller “Journey to the End of the Night” (2006). After supporting Hilary Swank in “Freedom Writers” (2007), he was the director of the CIA in “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007) and portrayed U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in Oliver Stone’s satirical biography, “W.” (2008). Sticking with real-life personages, Glenn portrayed businessman and thoroughbred horse owner Christopher Chenery in “Secretariat” (2010), before being seen as the Wise Man in the action-fantasy “Sucker Punch” (2011) and reprising his CIA director role for “The Bourne Legacy” (2012).
Tom Berenger was one of the major movie stars of the 1980’s. Among his films from that period were “The Big Chill”, “Platoon”,”Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Major League”. In 1990 he starred with Richard Harris in “The Field”. In recent years he has emerged as a powerful character actor in such movies as “Inception”.
“When Tom Berenger smiles out of hi studio stills he seems a sweet-tempered gentle ma, but there are others in which he stares out as disdainfully, with his mouth twisted cruelly. That suggests a wide range, which he effortlessly has, but even in villainy he can seem lost, wistful.” – David Shipman in “The Great Movie Stars – The Independent Years” (1991).
TCM overview :
Having first established himself in brooding, aggressive roles, actor Tom Berenger first came to the public’s attention as the self-effacing Tom Selleck-like television star in Lawrence Kasdan’s iconic drama, “The Big Chill” (1983). But it was his hard-edged turn as the Vietnam War-scarred Sergeant Barnes in “Platoon” (1986) that turned the relatively known actor into a bona fide star. Berenger next emerged in the unlikeliest of places, playing a professional baseball player in the surprise hit comedy “Major League” (1989), a role he reprised five years later in the inferior sequel. From there, he specialized in playing historical figures like Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet in “Gettysburg” (1993) and Theodore Roosevelt in “Rough Riders” (TNT, 1997), while churning out a series of low-quality genre films – many of which went straight to DVD – like “Sniper” (1993) and its two sequels. Whether occasionally popping up in more acclaimed movies like “Training Day” (2001) and “Inception” (2010), co-starring on his first regular primetime series “October Road” (ABC, 2007-08), or winning an Emmy for his work in the acclaimed miniseries “Hatfields & McCoys” (History, 2012), Berenger seemed content playing a wide array of villains and antiheroes in non-theatrical releases.
Born on May 31, 1950 in Chicago, IL, Berenger was raised in a working class home headed by a father who worked as a printer for The Chicago Sun-Times. After graduating Rich East High School in 1967, he attended the University of Missouri to study journalism, only to discover acting after trying out for a school play on a bet. Berenger made his debut in a college production of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?” before moving on to regional theater following graduation. He soon relocated to New York City, where he studied with Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof at HB Studio while working in off-Broadway productions like “End as a Man” (1975) for the Circle Repertory Company and “The Rose Tattoo” (1977) at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT. Making his screen debut, Berenger spent a year portraying Tim Siegel on the daytime soap “Once Life to Live” (ABC, 1968-2012) before landing a small role in the biopic about a young John F. Kennedy (Paul Rudd) in “Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye” (NBC, 1977).
Following his feature debut in “The Sentinel” (1977), Berenger landed a significant role as Gary Cooper White, the psychopathic killer of “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” (1977), who threatens a young teacher (Diane Keaton) looking for sexual excitement outside of her usually mundane existence. He next had his first starring role in the erotic drama, “In Praise of Older Women” (1978), which cast him in the underdeveloped role of a Hungarian stud recalling two decades’ worth of sexual conquests. Berenger fared better as the young Butch Cassidy in Richard Lester’s “Butch and Sundance: The Early Years” (1979) while returning to the small screen to take the leading role of a street tough-turned-prison boxer in the two-part miniseries “Flesh & Blood” (CBS, 1979). After a return to the stage to play Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1981) at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Berenger played a mercenary soldier opposite Christopher Walken in “The Dogs of War” (1981). Two years later, the actor gained his first widespread attention for his standout performance as an insecure television star in the ensemble drama “The Big Chill” (1983), a film that marked similar breakthroughs for Glenn Close, William Hurt and Jeff Goldblum.
Hot on the heels of “The Big Chill,” Berenger earned a cult following with “Eddie and the Cruisers” (1983), playing the former piano player and lyricist for the leader of the titular band (Michael Pare), whose alleged death in a car accident comes into question a few years later. He was underutilized as a smarmy strip club owner in the derided crime thriller “Fear City” (1984), while in “Rustler’s Rhapsody” (1985) he tried to revive the gentle singing cowboy from 1940s Hollywood Westerns, only to have the film fall off the radar and remain forgotten for the rest of his career. But Berenger hit his stride and became a star with his next film, “Platoon” (1986), director Oliver Stone’s searing and realistic look at the Vietnam War as seen from the eyes of the average infantryman. Berenger played Staff Sgt. Barnes, a battle-scarred leader of a platoon who will stop at nothing to ensure his authority, even if it means killing a rival sergeant (Willem Dafoe) while trying to corrupt a young recruit (Charlie Sheen). With his face masked by prosthetic scar tissue, Berenger delivered perhaps the finest performance of his career, earning numerous award nominations, including one for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards.
Building off that triumphant performance, Berenger starred opposite Mimi Rogers in the Ridley Scott thriller “Someone to Watch Over Me” (1987), before proving both forceful and unpredictable as the vulnerable macho white supremacist leader in “Betrayed” (1988). As veteran catcher Jake Taylor, whose damaged knees signal the end of his career, Berenger was the heart and soul of the hit baseball comedy “Major League” (1989), thanks in large part to his comedic chemistry with Charlie Sheen and romantic chemistry with Rene Russo. Following a small role in Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), he projected the smoldering charisma of a young Brando as the half-breed Cheyenne mercenary who goes native in Hector Babenco’s “At Play in the Fields of the Lord” (1991), adapted from Peter Matthiessen’s 1965 novel. He next delivered a solid portrayal of Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet in “Gettysburg” (1993), while appearing in several Hollywood genre films like “Sniper” (1993) and “Sliver” (1993), the former of which fizzled at the box office, while the latter was panned by most critics.
Around this time, Berenger began a short-lived recurring role during the waning days of the hit sitcom, “Cheers” (NBC, 1982-1993), playing the plumber husband-to-be of bar manager Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley). His performance earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Following a reprisal for Jake Taylor for the woeful sequel “Major League II” (1994), Berenger appeared in a series of misfires like “Chasers” (1994), “Avenging Angel” (1995) and “An Occasional Hell” (1996), which he also executive produced, before playing a mercenary-turned-teacher in “The Substitute” (1996). He next turned in a fine portrayal of Theodore Roosevelt in the original made-for-cable movie, “Rough Riders” (TNT, 1997), which he followed with a supporting role in Robert Altman’s meandering adaptation of John Grisham’s “The Gingerbread Man” (1998). Berenger starred in “One Man’s Hero” (1998), the story of a group of Irish immigrants who fled to Mexico and fought for their adopted country as the St. Patrick Brigade in the Mexican-American War. Meanwhile, he continued appearing in low-quality genre fare like “Enemy of My Enemy” (1999), “Cutaway” (2000) and “Cruel and Unusual” (2001), which did nothing but help dim memories of strong performances like in “Platoon.”
Though only onscreen for a few minutes, Berenger delivered a memorable turn as a powerful lawyer in the District Attorney’s office who runs cover for a corrupt cop (Denzel Washington) in “Training Day” (2001). He reprised his role from the theatrically released “Sniper” for the direct-to-DVD release, “Sniper 2” (2003) and “Sniper 3” (2004), which he followed with a notable guest appearance on “Third Watch” (NBC, 1999-2005) and a supporting role among an all star cast for Steven Spielberg’s epic 12-hour miniseries, “Into the West” (TNT, 2005). For his first regular series role, Berenger played the gruff, but ultimately kindhearted father of an accomplished writer (Bryan Greenberg) who returns home after 10-year sojourn on the short-lived “October Road” (ABC, 2007-08). Berenger returned to features with several small movies like the direct-to-DVD releases “Stiletto” (2008) and “Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassin’s Ball” (2010) and low budget indies “Charlie Valentine” (2009) and “Breaking Point” (2009). He had his first taste of a major Hollywood film in a long time with “Inception” (2010), director Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster psychological thriller inspired by people’s experiences with lucid dreaming. Following a small turn as the nameless warden in the Dwayne Johnson actioner “Faster” (2010), Berenger shined in a standout performance as Jim Vance in the acclaimed miniseries “Hatfields & McCoys” (History, 2012), which brought huge ratings to the cable network and earned praise from all corners. But most importantly for the actor, it earned him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2012. The TCM overview can also be accessed online here.
Clifton Collins was born in 1970 in Los Angeles. He is the grandson of actor Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez. His movies include “Traffic” and “The Wonderful Ice cream Suit”.
Morris Chestnut was born in California in 1969. He is best known for his role in “Boyz n the Hood” in 1991.
IMDB entry:
A tall, handsome, and versatile black actor, Morris Chestnut first came to be recognized by moviegoers starring as Ricky in Boyz n the Hood (1991), a role where he played a high school running back using his football skills to escape the violent surroundings of his South Central Los Angeles neighborhood. His half brother was played by Ice Cube who in the movie did not have the same motivation. Two years later, he landed a lead role in Civil Rights Drama The Ernest Green Story (1993), showing courage and perseverance as one of the Arkansas Nine high school students. He later starred in action films like Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), G.I. Jane (1997) and Half Past Dead (2002) as well as the romantic comedies The Best Man (1999), The Brothers (2001), Two Can Play That Game(2001), and Breakin’ All the Rules (2004). In 2004, he appeared in Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) and Ladder 49 (2004).
– IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
The above IMDB entry can be accessed online here.
Gerard Butler was born in 1969 in Paisley, Scotland. He has become one of the major international movie stars of the 2000’s. He made his film debut in 1997 in “Mrs Brown” with Billy Connolly and Judi Dench. Other films include “Tomorrow Never Dies”, “Reign of Fire” and “The Phantom of the Opera”.
TCM overview:
With his thick Scottish brogue and manly scruff, Gerard Butler rose to big screen fame as an appealing hero in stylish, battle-oriented epics. His first big break came with the title role in Joel Schumacher’s “Phantom of the Opera” (2004) in which Butler sang his heart out, but no one really listened. The viewers who did considered him a second-rate Michael Crawford, so Butler’s supposed star-making vehicle stalled. But it became quickly apparent that he really drew the crowds when donning a shield and little else, charging into battle as a seemingly invincible warrior. Woman swooned while men stood and cheered Butler on in the historic actioners “Beowulf and Grendel” (2005) and “300” (2007), where, in the latter, he essayed the sword-wielding King Leonidas of Sparta to an over $400 million worldwide box office take. Riding the crest of post-“300″fame – during which Entertainment Weekly named him fifth on their “Ultimate Male Hottie” list – Butler proved that even with a shirt on, he still possessed appeal while grounded in the here and now. Other late-decade work included an uneven mix of action and romantic comedy films, such as “RocknRolla” (2008), “The Ugly Truth” (2009), “Gamer” (2009), and “The Bounty Hunter” (2010), alongside rumored love interest, Jennifer Aniston. By 2011, Butler’s leading man credentials were firmly established; the only question that remained was whether or not he could parlay that reputation into a sustainable career as a headlining star.
Born in Glasgow on Nov. 13, 1969, Butler moved to Montreal, Canada when he just six months old. Following the break-up of his parents two years later, his mom moved Butler and his two siblings back to Scotland, where they grew up in her home town of Paisley. The youngster was an avid moviegoer as a youth, developing the acting itch and joining the Scottish Youth Theatre, where one of his first stage roles was as a street urchin in “Oliver!” Though the seeds were sown early on, Butler veered down a very different avenue before becoming a professional actor, enrolling in the law program at Glasgow University, where he achieved exceptional grades, served a term as president of the school’s law society, and earned an honor’s degree. But he found himself uncertain about his career choice, so after graduation, moved to Los Angeles for a short time and appeared as an extra in “The Bodyguard” (1992), starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. After dipping his toe unsuccessfully in the Hollywood pool, he returned to Scotland and began a traineeship at a top law firm in Edinburgh. But the lure of Tinseltown still lingered.
Two years later, after seeing a stage performance of “Trainspotting” at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Butler concluded that he had made the wrong career move. He left law practice and pursued acting while working a series of odd jobs, including an obligatory stint as a waiter. During this time, he amassed a resume of stage roles in the lesser-known Shakespeare tragedy, “Coriolanus,” and as the lead in the same production of “Trainspotting” that had rekindled his desire to act. Butler transitioned to film with a supporting role in the historical drama “Mrs. Brown” (1997), starring Dame Judi Dench and Billy Connolly. A small role the 18th installment in the James Bond series, “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) was followed with a steady stream of British film work in “Fast Food” (1998), “One More Kiss” (1999), and an adaptation of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” (1999). Butler scored a leading role as the title character in Wes Craven’s “Dracula 2000” (2000), but despite the Craven tag, the movie flopped with audiences and critics alike. He followed up with “Harrison’s Flowers” (2002), a sobering drama set in war-torn Yugoslavia, co-starring Adrien Brody and Andie MacDowell.
With his starring role in the epic television miniseries, “Attila” (USA Network, 2001), Butler made such an impression that he was sought out by directors for similarly heroic actioners. The following year, he co-starred alongside Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey in “Reign of Fire” (2002), an international hit about a medieval fire-breathing dragon terrorizing the streets of futuristic London. He enjoyed an enviable position alongside Angelina Jolie in “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life” (2003), before shifting gears to play a professor in the Michael Crichton adaptation “Timeline” (2003), which came and went without much notice. Joel Schumacher provided Butler with his leading man opportunity in 2004’s “The Phantom of the Opera” (2004), hopeful that the actor could bring the right blend of sensitivity to the commanding character. But the casting choice was not well-received, with Butler being a tad too handsome to inspire fear. Even more off-putting was the fact that, while not a bad singer, Butler had only a passable singing voice for a role that required power, control and passion, thus not making anyone forget the definitive vocals of the famed stage Phantom, Michael Crawford.
Despite the anti-climactic outcome of what should have been the star-making role of his career, Butler continued to broaden his range with a starring role as a stranger who becomes the World’s Greatest Dad to a nine-year-old deaf boy in “Dear Frankie” (2005), a manipulative Miramax drama. But better projects laid ahead, as Butler returned to battle – this time on the big screen – in “Beowulf & Grendel” (2006), starring as the legendary Norse warrior who faces off with the mystical monster, Grendel, in the adaptation of the literary landmark. Butler earned his share of positive notice for imbuing the foul-mouthed, swashbuckling role with a hint of the historic poem’s human themes. For his testosterone-fueled efforts, he was rewarded with a starring role as Spartan King Leonidas in “300” (2007), Frank Miller’s lavish comic book take on the famous Battle of Thermopylae between 300 Spartan warriors and the massive army of Persia’s King Xerxes. The extremely violent production drew huge audiences for its bold, sepia-toned visual style and enormously staged battle sequences. Butler’s abs alone were ticket-worthy, with the actor sheepishly being asked his workout regime in nearly every interview with the media during the film’s publicity blitz. After breaking box office records for the month of March, the unlikely hit went on to earn over $400 million in international box office sales.
Now a certified blockbuster star and certified “hottie” by every magazine and website in the world, Butler and longtime manager Alan Siegel launched their own production shingle, Evil Twins, in 2008. Their first project hoped to showcase the successful action fantasy star in another light, with Butler playing closer to home as an assistant district attorney in the thriller “Law Abiding Citizen.” Meanwhile, the actor reigned in his curse-riddled battleground training in the considerably tamer family adventure “Nim’s Island” (2008), appearing in a dual role that showed his potential as a sensitive dad, as well as a seafaring adventurer. Later in the year, he appeared in the latest stylized heist from British director Guy Ritchie, “Rocknrolla” (2008). While appearing in the modest romantic comedy, “The Ugly Truth” (2009) opposite Katherine Heigl, and the brutal actioner, “Gamer” (2009) released in quick succession, Butler was garnering headlines of a different kind while he shot the action comedy, “The Bounty” (2010) opposite media magnet, Jennifer Aniston. Portrayed as a bit of playboy throughout the summer of 2009, the press followed he and Aniston’s every move on and off set, marking Butler’s first real introduction to tabloid scrutiny. Meanwhile, he starred in the negatively received biopic, “Machine Gun Preacher” (2011), playing the real-life Sam Childers, a former biker gang member who converted to Christianity and traveled to the Sudan, where he saved hundreds of children from being abducted by a renegade guerilla group. Following the commercial and critical failure of that film, Butler was again under tabloid scrutiny; this time for entering the Betty Ford Clinic in February 2012 to treat an alleged addiction to painkillers, which he had been taking since the grueling production of “300.”
Dougray Scott was born in 1965 in Fife, Scotland. He made his movie debut in “Princess Caraboo” in 1994. Other movies include “The Day of the Triffids” and “My Week With Marilyn” as ‘Arthur Miller’.
TCM overview:
orn Nov. 25, 1965 in Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland, Stephen Scott was the son of Elma, a nurse, and Alan Scott, an actor and salesman. Since “Stephen Scott” was already an actor registered with Equity, he later adopted his French grandmother’s surname, Dougray, professionally. Scott went on to attend the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, earning an award for most promising drama student, and began to make regional theater and minor TV appearances. He briefly appeared in the Phoebe Cates romantic drama “Princess Caraboo” (1994) as a dragoon captain, but made a much more lasting impression on the British TV series “Soldier Soldier” (ITV, 1991-97) as Major Rory Taylor. His professional momentum increasing, Scott notched a memorable role as an ill-fated detective in the indie black comedy “Twin Town” (1997) and appeared as a coworker of Téa Leoni in the big-budget smash disaster movie, “Deep Impact” (1998).
Scott next earned the plum role of Prince Henry in the fiercely feminist reimagining of the Cinderella fairy tale “EverAfter” (1998) opposite Drew Barrymore. Written by Susannah Grant and featuring a fantastic cast that also included Anjelica Huston, Jeanne Moreau and Melanie Lynskey, the intelligent, funny and genuinely romantic film transcended its teen girl target audience. Successful with critics as well, the beloved film did much to increase Scott’s international reputation as an attractive up-and-coming talent. (Not to mention as a heartthrob, with Scott’s princely turn garnering nominations for a Teen Choice and Blockbuster Entertainment Award). A rising star, Scott was not only chosen by Tom Cruise to play the villain in “Mission: Impossible II” (2000), but was also cast as Wolverine in “X-Men” (2000). Unfortunately, the infamous production delays that plagued Cruise’s film ended up costing Scott his adamantium-clawed role, and he had to cede the character to Hugh Jackman. Although most critics dismissed it as an exceptionally well-made popcorn movie, “Mission: Impossible II” was an enormous financial success and featured many cutting-edge special effects for the time, including several sequences with photorealistic facial masks. Still, Scott’s career leveled off while Jackman’s shot up the Hollywood A-list, buoyed in great part by his portrayal of the enormously appealing Wolverine across a series of sequels. Scott’s Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination for Favorite Villain was small consolation.
Scott experienced another close brush with superstardom when producers of the legendary James Bond franchise began eyeing him to replace Pierce Brosnan, but despite rampant speculation to the contrary, Scott was passed over to play the world’s most famous spy in favor of Daniel Craig. Nonetheless, the actor starred opposite Kate Winslet in the film adaptation of Robert Harris’s World War II codebreakers novel “Enigma” (2001), which was a moderate success. Television proved an excellent source of roles for the actor, with roles as Moses in a special effects-heavy version of “The Ten Commandments” (ABC, 2006), a professional jewel thief in the short-lived but impressively pedigreed series “Heist” (NBC, 2006), and the latest cast member on “Desperate Housewives” (ABC, 2004- ). On the latter hit series, the actor raised pulses as the suave Ian Hainsworth, love interest for Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) while Mike Delfino (James Denton) remained in a coma. Along with the rest of the cast, Scott earned two Screen Actors Guild ensemble acting nominations.
Scott returned to the big screen with a supporting role as a sympathetic Interpol agent tracking the titular assassin (Timothy Olyphant) in the video game adaptation, “Hitman” (2007). While the film made a decent killing at the box office, critics were less than impressed. Offscreen, Scott married actress Claire Forlani, and returned to television the following year by starring in a modern take on the classic tale of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (ION, 2008). Scott and Forlani appeared together in the Australian thriller miniseries “False Witness” (UK.TV, 2009), playing an onscreen couple. The actor went on to star in an acclaimed British/Irish collaboration, the family drama/crime thriller “Father & Son” (RTÉ One, 2009; ITV, 2010), and the two-part TV reimagining of the classic sci-fi thriller “The Day of the Triffids” (BBC, 2009). Fans were excited to hear that Scott had been cast as the playwright Arthur Miller in the highly anticipated dramatization of the English adventures of Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) in “My Week with Marilyn” (2011), starring alongside Kenneth Branagh, Emma Watson and Judi Dench.
Elizabeth McGovern is best known known for her major role as ‘Lady Cora’ in TV’s “Downton Abbey”. She has however had a very respectable film career also. She made her first impact on film in 1980 in Robert Redford’s “Ordinary People”. Her other films include “Ragtime”, “Once Upon A Time in America” and “The Handmaid’s Tale”. Born in Illinois, she is now a resident in Britain.
TCM overview:
A stage-trained actress with a vulnerable, vibrant screen presence, Elizabeth McGovern made her film debut as the sympathetic girlfriend to Timothy Hutton in the Oscar-winning “Ordinary People” (1980), and followed it up with an Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated turn as chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit in Milos Forman’s “Ragtime” (1981). She was memorably paired with Robert De Niro in “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984) and Kevin Bacon in “She’s Having a Baby,” (1988), as well as impressed as a lesbian rebel in the dystopia-set “The Handmaid’s Tale” (1990) and in the unusual romantic comedy “The Favor” (1994). She moved to Great Britain to marry English producer-director Simon Curtis in 1992 but returned to the States for work, appearing in Jean-Jacques Annaud’s “Wings of Courage” (1995), various theatrical productions, and starring with Hank Azaria on her own sitcom, “If Not for You” (CBS, 1995). The actress took supporting roles in a string of highly acclaimed, literary-inspired projects, including the Oscar-nominated “The Wings of the Dove” (1997) and “The House of Mirth” (2000). She landed big screen roles as mothers to the heroes of “Kick-Ass” (2010) and “Clash of the Titans” (2010) but dazzled critics on the small screen with her masterful portrayal of the Countess of Grantham on the international smash “Dowtown Abbey” (ITV, 2010). A fascinating talent, Elizabeth McGovern brought a unique intelligence and beauty to her roles that only deepened and improved with age.
Born July 18, 1961 in Evanston, IL, Elizabeth McGovern moved with her family to Los Angeles when her father was hired at UCLA as a professor. Growing up, she appeared in many theatrical productions and was spotted by an agent in a performance of Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth.” Determined to hone her craft, McGovern began her formal training at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco before transferring to Juilliard. She dropped out, however, when she earned her first film role, as Jeannine, the supportive girlfriend of the suicidal Conrad (Timothy Hutton) in the Oscar-winning “Ordinary People” (1980). McGovern’s luminous beauty and vivid intelligence helped her stand out on screen, and she followed up her initial success with a stunning turn as Evelyn Nesbit in Milos Forman’s adaptation of “Ragtime” (1981). Playing a willowy chorus girl sexually and emotionally enmeshed in a murder, McGovern earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination as well as a Golden Globe nomination.
Established as a fascinating new talent, McGovern played the object of Robert De Niro’s obsession in Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984) and soldier Sean Penn’s sweetheart in “Racing with the Moon” (1984), with the latter onscreen romance becoming a brief, real-life engagement. Mainstream audiences were more familiar with McGovern’s work as Kevin Bacon’s pregnant wife in John Hughes’s “She’s Having a Baby” (1988). She stood out in the chilling film adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” (1990), with an earthy performance as a lesbian rebelling against a futuristic, misogynistic society, but all too often delivered memorable turns in underperforming or lower-profile projects. She took supporting roles in the 1950s-set comedy “Tune in Tomorrow ” (1990) and Steven Soderbergh’s Depression-era drama “King of the Hill” (1993). McGovern nabbed a bigger role opposite Harley Jane Kozak, Bill Pullman and a young Brad Pitt in the romantic dramedy “The Favor” (1994), but it failed to achieve its hoped-for sleeper hit status.
Part of the reason for the slowing of McGovern’s mainstream professional momentum was her move to England in 1992 after she married producer-director Simon Curtis, but she continued to work in a variety of interesting projects, including the groundbreaking “Wings of Courage” (1995), Jean-Jacques Annaud’s period adventure and the first dramatic film shot in the IMAX 3-D format. Showing her flair for comedy, McGovern charmed opposite Hank Azaria as a pair of accident-prone but destined-for-each-other co-workers in the short-lived romantic comedy sitcom “If Not for You” (CBS, 1995) and guested as a mysterious woman who repeatedly crosses paths with a jewel thief in and out of his dreams in an especially memorable episode of “Tales from the Crypt” (HBO, 1989-1996). Supplementing all of her screen work, McGovern continued to grace the stage in various productions, including “Painting Churches,” “A Map of the World” and a Central Park performance of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”
She notched an acclaimed supporting role opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the Oscar-nominated Henry James adaptation of “The Wings of the Dove” (1997) and delighted as Richard E. Grant’s wife in the TV series version of the classic “The Scarlet Pimpernel” (BBC, 1999-2000). Enjoying a lower-profile stardom but high-quality roles in challenging projects, McGovern essayed well-received supporting roles in the Edith Wharton adaptation opposite Gillian Anderson in “The House of Mirth” (2000) and the Martha Coolidge comedy “The Flamingo Rising” (CBS, 2001). She booked a series regular role on the David E. Kelley dramedy “The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire” (CBS, 2003) and the lead role on the aggressively quirky fantasy series “Three Moons Over Milford” (ABC Family, 2006). Active in the U.K. entertainment industry, the actress played Ellen Doubleday, a love interest of the famed author Daphne Du Maurier in “Daphne” (BBC Two, 2007), as well as appearing as an American expatriate actress in the semi-autobiographical, three-part comedy series “Freezing” (BBC, 2007-08) opposite Hugh Bonneville.
Continuing to work in literary-themed projects, she played Lucy Honeychurch’s free-spirited mother in the TV adaptation of “A Room with a View” (ITV, 2007) and returned to the U.S. to play a teacher hiding secrets in an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC, 1999- ). She guested in an episode of “Agatha Christie’s Poirot” (ITV, 1989- ) and earned two small but memorable roles as doomed mothers to an unlikely superhero in “Kick-Ass” (2010), as well to Perseus (Sam Worthington) in the remake of “Clash of the Titans” (2010). It would be back on television, however, where McGovern would once again dazzle critics and audiences alike as the good-natured but long-suffering Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, on the international smash “Downton Abbey” (ITV, 2010- ). Presided over by the prickly dowager Dame Maggie Smith, the series told the sprawling tale of a British country estate and the legal complications of its inheritance after the death of its male heirs on the Titanic. A fascinating panorama of upstairs and downstairs life in a dying class and service system, the series was rapturously received, with McGovern earning an Emmy nomination for her masterful portrayal.
The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.
Anyone who knows me are aware that I am a bit of a movie buff. Over the past few years I have been collecting signed photographs of my favourite actors. Since I like movies so much there are many actors whose work I like.