Robin Williams On His Broadway Debut

Elizabeth Hurley Joins NBC’s ‘Wonder Woman’ As “the evil villain”

A few weeks ago The Daily Actor reported that “Friday Night Lights” star Adrianne Palicki will be playing Wonder Woman in NBC’s new pilot. Today it was reported that Elizabeth Hurley will be joining the cast as the show’s villain.

Today on her Twitter page Hurley wrote, “Thrilled to be doing the NBC pilot Wonder Woman. I’ll be playing the evil villain. Can’t wait.” (@ElizabethHurley)

The actress hasn’t confirmed what role she will be playing but an early draft of the pilot’s script suggest she will be taking on the role of Veronica Cale, a scientist and rival business woman who creates an evil drug that makes people stronger.

Hurley’s part was originally written as a guest spot, but could be changed to a recurring role if the pilot gets picked up.

Written by David E. Kelley, the pilot  is a reinvention of DC Comics series, in which Wonder Woman, otherwise known as Diana Prince, fights crime while trying to balance her life as a corporate executive and modern woman.

LA: Auditions for ‘God Of Carnage’

GOC Broadway LP is casting God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza with translation by Christopher Hampton. Robert Fox, David Pugh, Dafydd Rogers, Stuart Thompson, Scott Rudin & Jon B. Platt, prods.; Matthew Warchus, dir. Contract starts Mar. 21. Rehearsals start Mar. 29. Performances run Apr. 5-May 29 at the Ahmanson in L.A.

Equity principal auditions will be held Mar. 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (sign-in 9 a.m.) at the Music Center Annex, 601 West Temple St., L.A. (street parking or Cathedral parking lot, $10/day discounted rate). EPA rules are in effect. A monitor will be provided. Sides will be provided at the audition. Bring pix & résumés. Equity Production League Contract ($1653).

Seeking—Michael U/S: 40s, outwardly warm and initially conciliatory, but becomes quite volatile married to Veronica, role played by James Gandolfini; Alan U/S: 40s, lawyer in the midst of an important case, initially seems emotionally removed and focused solely on his work, married to Annette, role to be played by Jeff Daniels. Note: One understudy for both roles. Open to all types, all ethnicities and actors with disabilities.

Christopher Sieber leaves “Chicago” to take over for Jeffrey Tambor in “La Cage Aux Folles”

When it was announced Jeffrey Tambor would leave La Cage Aux Folles due to medical issues, understudy Chris Hoch was tapped to fill in as Georges until a permanent replacement could be found. That person will be Christopher Sieber who will leave his role as Billy Flynn in Chicago, to take over the role from Hoch.

Sieber’s Broadway debut was in the musical Triumph of Love with Betty Buckley and F. Murray Abraham. He has appeared as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Trevor Graydon in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Billy Flynn in Chicago, and as Rapunzel’s Prince and alternate for the role of the Wolf in Into the Woods. Most recently, Sieber played the role of Lord Farquaad in Shrek the Musical, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance.

Four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein will continue in his role as Albin, playing opposite Sieber as Georges. A date for Sieber stepping into the role has yet to be announced.

Broadway and Warner Bros. wage war over Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe has a bit of  a dilemma: he stars in both “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and as Harry Potter in the final installment of the extraordinarily successful series of Potter films, with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2″ scheduled to premiere July 7,  at London’s Trafalgar Square.

“How To Succeed” started previews on Feb. 26 and runs through Nov. 6,  and Warner Bros. feel that this leaves little room for Radcliffe to be available to promote “Harry Potter”. When “How To Succeed” producers refused to release Radcliffe in order to accomodate the appearances Warner Bros. scheduled, the studio was forced to buy out the theater for the performances he would miss.

A source at the studio revealed,  ”Warner Bros. is furious that Radcliffe committed to Broadway when he should be promoting ‘Harry Potter.’ This is the final film, so it’s a big deal. A grand world premiere is being planned as well as a US premiere and a press tour. They absolutely couldn’t do it without their big star. But the theater producers dug their heels in and said they wouldn’t release Radcliffe unless Warner bought out the entire theater for the nights they need him. Studio bosses are furious, but they have no choice but to pay up for five nights costing over $500,000.”

Diane Lane is the new Martha Kent

Rumors have been flying that Kevin Costner is considering the role of Jonathan Kent in Warner Bros. new “Superman” movie. With Henry Cavill, 27 already cast as their new Man of Steel,  very real surprise was expressed when it was confirmed that 46 year old Diane Lane has been signed to fill the role of Martha Kent. In the past, the super hero parental roles have almost entirely been filled by more “mature” actors, but apparently that is a trend of the past.

Zack Snyder explained his casting choice in a press release:

“This was a very important piece of casting for me because Martha Kent is the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman. We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination.”

’30 Rock’ guest star, Cristin Milioti: “They didn’t tell me Tina Fey was going to be in the callback, so I walked in and couldn’t speak. I cried afterward because I thought I had totally blown it”

Last week’s 30 Rock had Tina Fey‘s ‘Liz Lemon’ hiring writer ‘Abby Flynn’ because people were thinking that “TGS With Tracey Jordan,” hated women. The actress playing Abby, Cristin Milioti, made a huge splash in that eposide.

She got so much attention for her role, Entertainment Weekly chatted with her. She talked about how she got the part, what the audition process was like and what she was doing before the show.

Milioti says she auditioned for the role and was very excited when she was asked to return for a callback. What she did not expect to find was Tina Fey waiting for her. ” They didn’t tell me Tina Fey was going to be in the callback, so I walked in and couldn’t speak. I cried afterward because I thought I had totally blown it. But she’s the nicest woman alive. She was like, “Hi, how are you? I’m Tina.” And I’m like “Uhh.” Then I read with the casting director and she said, “That was great. Have a great day.” And I said, “Uhh.” The next day Milioti found herself on the set of one of her favorite shows.

Milioti realizes just how lucky she has been since leaving NYU to pursue her acting career full time. “I do a lot of theater in New York, and I am in Year of the Carnivore, a film that opened the Toronto Film Festival last year. I did a small indie film that’s supposed to come out later this year, I Am Ben, and I just did the Nurse Jackie finale, and an episode of The Good Wife early in the season.”

Read more

Random Choices Will Equal A Random Career

This is a guest post by Gywn Gillis. Check out her website, The Actors Market!

RANDOM Choices = A RANDOM Career

“Random” -without an identifiable pattern, plan, system or connection,hit or miss…all over the place… slapdash, sloppy..ineffective.

Ever wonder why your career isn’t working? As Marketing Expert I see this
syndrome over and over…

“I need new head shots…oh, I’m waiting for that student clip for my demo reel…oooh- it’s so bad I can’t show it to an agent!…I guess I’ll take YET another class to meet that casting director…maybe they’ll hire me…or not… I should cut my hair…ok, I’ll pay to meet with a top agent…gee, that didn’t work out…why didn’t they call? They really LIKED ME. I’M SO TALENTED so why can’t I get in the door to audition for that TV series? I know I could do the role better than _____…I’ll
take another workshop…no, I’ll get new headshots…”

This list of RANDOM CHOICES goes on and on… “quick fixes” for a career that is going …nowhere, at least for the present.

Why?

Because you lack a PLAN and the guidance of a MENTOR to make your career more successful. Nobody can do this on their own or without a roadmap.

PILOT SEASON IS  COMING UP ..thatmeans wherever you are in NY or LA there are more jobs, more offers, more contracts, more roles out there than ever before…are you MISSING OUT?

Read more

The Cast of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark’ on Letterman

The cast of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark appeared on the Late Show With David Letterman Tuesday night singing the song, Rise Above.

Reeve Carney (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Jennifer Damiano (Mary Jane Watson) and T.V. Carpio (Arachne) sang the U2 song from the 1st Act and I have to say, I liked it more on Letterman than in the actual show.

And by the way, I still don’t understand why Reeve Carney was wearing a Spider-Man jacket in the show – the same one he’s wearing here in the video.
Read more

Guy Pearce candidly reflects on his career in Hollywood

Guy Pearce is a rare sort of actor, one who is comfortable reviewing his career and very candidly noting the high points and the low. He speaks freely of the benefits of working in Hollywood and the inevitable challenges that arise for anyone with a career in entertainment.

When Pearce was on set filming the soon to be released  “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark”, he says interviews became one of the challenges he preferred to avoid while in character. “Yeah, I really struggle. It’s funny, though – I’m probably better at having the moment of trying to talk about it, but it’s afterwards that I feel really regretful that I’ve even attempted to, because all of my energy in trying to be successful in what I’m doing is in trying to understand what I’m doing. And if I’ve stepped off to the side and tried to explain that, I feel like I’ve used something up, so I just make it a blanket rule.” When one Producer expressed concern, Pearce had an answer ready, “I’m like, listen – I’ll do it a week after we’re finished. Let me finish the shooting and then I’ll give it to you. So that’s my policy.”

Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »