Seeking a Friend at the End of the World: As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.

Writer/Director: Lorene Scafaria

Cast: Keira Knightley, Steve Carell, Melanie Lynskey, Patton Oswalt, Gillian Jacobs, Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel

In Theaters: June 22, 2012

The film also stars Ben Foster, Robin Wright, Sigourney Weaver, Ice Cube and Ned Beatty. 

Check it out below!

Here’s the trailer:

Kevin Spacey

In the interview, he talks about how he can’t fathom how Lawrence Olivier, John Gielgud and Christopher Plummer performed Shakespeare drunk. If anyone’s curious, I can’t either.

He also talks about his work as the artistic director at the Old Vic Theatre in London and working with Mendes.

Check it out! 

 Clip: Spacey on Doing Shakespeare Drunk

The full interview

Written by Jamison Haase, L.A. On-Camera Training Center

Don’t miss out on Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3

The Four Principles to Captivating On-Camera Work

As an actor, I’m sure you watch a lot of film and television.  But have you really thought about what elements are used to create the performances you love?  Of course there’s talent and hard work, but what technical elements did those actors employ to make the greatest impact possible?

Over the course of the next several weeks, we’re going to distinguish and discuss the four principles to creating amazing on-camera performances, and give you real advice and tips that you can use in your auditions now. Three of these principles you are probably already highly trained in, especially if you worked in theater.  But it’s the fourth that makes all the difference in on-camera work.  It’s the fourth that most actors never learn. And it’s the fourth that can make or break any film or television audition.

Finally, here we are with the most important principle that every film and TV actors needs to utilize.  4. Maximum Exposure of the Eyes

Maximum exposure of the eyes means just that; not complete, not total, not absolute, just maximum. As much a possible, the audience needs to see your eyes. I’ve mentioned before that film and television is a medium of intimacy. When you think of those people that you are intimate with, what do you think about? What do you see in your mind’s eye? When you connect with someone, you connect with their eyes.

• We need to see your thoughts and feelings

As they say, “The eyes are the window to the soul,” so it stands to reason that your eyes are your biggest tool as a film and television actor. It’s through your eyes that the audience will see your thoughts and feelings. If they can’t see your eyes, it can only be guess work as to what you’re thinking and feeling. As an extreme example, imagine if your encountered a friend with their back turned to you. Could you determine what their thoughts and feelings might be? Of course not because you can’t see their expression: their eyes.

• Make it easy for the audience

As actors we want to make it as easy as possible for our audience not only just to see our eyes, but to connect and get drawn into what we are experiencing. We don’t want there to be anything else that will distract or cause the audience not to focus on our eyes and our performance. So what do we as actors need to do to make that intimacy happen as easily as possible, so that the audience doesn’t even realize they are being drawn in until it’s too late? The answers are simple in theory, but they can be challenging in practice.

• Nervous Ticks and Movement

Movement catches your eye; it’s simply instinct built in from evolution. 10,000 years ago, that movement might have been something that wanted to eat us, and so it instantly draws our attention. The same thing happens when an actor has a nervous tick or too much movement in their performance, it becomes a distraction and it draws the audiences’ attention away from where it should be — the eyes. Almost everyone has a nervous tick. Something that they do that they don’t even know that they do. It could be tension or repetitive movement in your forehead, your mouth, your eyebrows, wherever — but those little uncontrolled movements distract the audience from your eyes, and now the audience has to work to keep that connection with you. It’s same when there’s a lot overall head or body movement — now the audience has to chase your eyes around the frame. We want to make it easy. Your on-camera performance should always be two things: simple and relaxed.

• Adjust your volume and enunciation

When you’re performing for theatre it’s imperative that everyone in the house can hear and understand you, from the guy in the front row to the lady all the way in the back sitting in row XX. But in film and TV, the audience is only as far as the microphone and camera, so there’s no need to speak up or to even enunciate more than you would in a regular conversation. When you bring the volume down, when you allow yourself to relax and simply just say the words rather than chew them, you allow the audience a little closer, immediately establishing intimacy.

I’ve tried to make the four simple principles that I have laid out in these columns, as simple and clear as possible, and I guarantee that you will see results if you use them to their full effect. But you’re not done yet, you still have one more thing to do: PRACTICE. If you only read some articles about riding a bike, I should hope that you would have sense enough not to jump into the Tour de France. You would get killed, because you need to practice. The same is true here. The author and sociologist Malcolm Gladwell says that in order to be truly great at a skill someone must spend 10,000 hours practicing exactly that skill… better get started.

Jamison Haase opened L.A On-Camera Training Center in 2007. At LAOTC Jamison and the rest of the staff teach a simple, hands-on approach at acting for the camera developed by working actors directors and producers, geared specifically towards the audition. Would like more information about classes? Find several ways to connect with us, including our newsletters here: http://about.me/laoncamera.

Click here for the script

Director: Steve McQueen

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan

Writers: Steve McQueen, Abi Morgan

Romany Malco, who is currently appearing on The Good Wife, plays Darius, their pudgy friend. Romany said that he had been looking to do voice over work for a while. He’d done some work on American Dad but nothing steady until he found out that the Producers of Unsupervised were interested in him. He read the pilot, found out who was involved and jumped at the opportunity.

I talked to Romany in a conference call where he talked about Unsupervised, why he moved out of L.A. and back to Brooklyn and his advice to actors.

Follow Romany on Twitter!

Unsupervised airs on Thursdays at 10:30pm on FX 

I’m a big fan of Unsupervised, a big fan of your work, and I’d love to learn more about what was your interest in the show? How you first heard about it, and was there something in there that was appealing to you personally that you wanted to give it a go? 

Romany Malco: I don’t know if most actors will ever admit this, but look, I tell on myself all the time, you can just look at my timeline on Twitter and it’s obvious that I tell on myself, and straight up, I’ve always wanted to do voice over on something.  And I got to do a little bit of stuff on American Dad, but for whatever reason I had never really landed the gig that I wanted, so when I learned that there was an offer out to me to be involved with this project instantly I wanted to know more.  But when I started learning who was involved, that had a lot to do with it.  

And no matter what happens the track record of these gentlemen, they’re just brilliant people, they really have the type of taste that I like.

The game has changed so much and FX is one of the networks that is in the business of empowering their artists.  They have a different business model to the business model of a lot of these different networks, and what I mean by that is FX is encouraging co-ownership of material.  I call it the network that builds rock stars.  They don’t just throw something out and if it doesn’t get the ratings that you want in the first three or four episodes can it.  They really do take time to nurture and grow an audience around the material that they use, which tells me that they get behind the stuff that they believe in.  So that was another major factor.  Then when I realized Justin [Long] was going to be involved, you know I’m a fan, and…, everybody involved just made me excited to be involved.  And at the end of the day it was the people. 

Then lastly and most important, I read that pilot and was busting up.  My agent read the pilot and she was busting up.  My manager read the pilot and she was busting up.  My dog, who’s going through the Evelyn reading school thing, read most of the pilot.

I wanted to be in business with people that are in business with FX because somewhere down the line I will be doing that type of business with FX.  And it’s good to learn and know the options that you have, the type of business models, and the people with entrepreneurial mind sets are the people that I’m just usually attracted to.  You can take almost any job you want in Hollywood, but I’m the type of person that I want to work with a certain quality of people, a certain mindset of people, and this is giving me that opportunity.  The sensibility and the humor, the relatability of the project, all of it is just awesome.

Normally are working with other actors, you get to interact with them, see their faces, see their reactions, are you reading alone or do you get to read in the booth with all the other actors?

Romany Malco: The truth is, I’m not technically reading alone, because I do read with David.  I read with David almost every single episode, and sometimes I get to read with Rob [Rosell].  But what it is, is they’re sitting in a sound booth in LA, and I’m in New York, because I just recently moved to New York because I’ve been doing The Good Wife here.  And I’m in New York so I don’t really have anyone in the booth, which is a different experience, but I will say something about that …, I think it’s kind of cool.  One, David and Rob know what they want so they know how to guide me along.  They also encourage me to try different takes, different perspectives, we improvise together, a lot of that stuff sometimes ends up in it, sometimes it doesn’t because sometimes I just stink.  A lot of times I’m just asking them for lines, but the point is this, I have a reference point that I think a lot of people don’t have, and that reference point is I grew up in a neighborhood and amongst people like these characters.  So as a result of that there’s this picture and this idea of where they are, what the room is like, what the people are like, what it smells like, what it sounds like in my head that I’ve had since childhood, and getting to play off of that and incorporate that into the show, I can always tell when Dave and Rob are really excited about that, because, first of all, they let you know.  And second of all, it really does resonate as if it’s coming from somewhere genuine.  I guess I just sounded really arrogant right there, but you can tell.  That’s all I’m saying.  There’s a difference between a guy who talks about fighting and a guy who’s been punched in the face.  That’s all I’m saying. 

You have such an interesting career, you kind of flipped back and forth to comedy and drama and now you’re doing voice over stuff.  What’s your advice to actors?

Romany Malco: First of all, let me just tell you this, thank you so much for acknowledging that.  Thank you so much for acknowledging that.  My advice to actors is, everything I tell you comes with a story, and my advice to actors is honor the stories.  Honor the stories first.  A lot of people will jump into work because they get to do something, or they’ll jump into work because of the instant gratification of feeling like you’re working and feeling like you’re doing something, but the truth of the matter is I have a great agent, I have great management, but my best piece of representation comes from my body of work. 

And I’m beginning to believe that the patient are the ones, in the long run I believe the patient people are the ones who ultimately get to that place.  I honestly thought because of the fact that I was being so picky, and not just being picky, but being an African-American who was being picky in this industry, I really…weirdest, I don’t know why I thought this, and it doesn’t even have anything to do with race, I just thought I was being penalized because I always would see my peers getting so much press and being in so many different things, and I couldn’t bring myself to being involved in a lot of the projects that were being offered to me.  And I thought that I was maybe pissing Hollywood off and executives off because I kept saying no, thank you.  And over the last ten years it was kind of trying and I was tempted to get involved in projects that I wasn’t really excited about….

But I didn’t and suddenly I’m looking at today, I’m looking at the fact that I’ve got Unsupervised on the air, and I’m extremely proud of it.  I’ve been doing guest appearances on The Good Wife.  I’ve got a movie called Think Like a Man coming out, which is my first urban film.  I’ve got another movie coming out with Kate Hudson which is a full blown drama where I play her best friend.  I’m doing a show now, an online show, and I get to go online and meet my social people in my social network face-to-face.  And I don’t know, man, I feel really lucky and very fortunate to basically stay true to honoring good story, and that’s it, my advice to actors is to honor a good story and study.

You mentioned that you just moved to Brooklyn.  Was that because of your work on The Good Wife, or you just wanted to change things up and get out of LA?

Romany Malco: Yes, here’s a thing that I’ve noticed about Los Angeles, is that, look, I’ve been there for two decades and the thing that I learned about LA is this, what struck me one day was this, and it was in a meditation that it hit me, when you go to work you modify your behavior, whether you want to or  not you modify your behavior, especially if you’ve got a potty mouth like me.  So what I realized in Los Angeles, no matter where I go I’m at work, so there’s this modified behavior that I have all the time. 

The first 12 years of my life was spent right here in New York and then I lived in the Caribbean, and I lived in Texas, I’m used to a very culturally diversified environment, but when I say culturally diversified I mean it’s an integrated and culturally diversified environment.  So all of the stimulus that comes in those types of environments I was missing out of in LA because even though we have a lot of cultural diversity, LA is very segregated and it’s very industry based.  And as a result of that I was having modified behavior, encountering more and more people with that modified behavior because if you voice your opinion in LA it can be the difference between your kids going to public school and private school.  Literally, if you politically support an opposing party to the masses you can be penalized for that in the workspace.  If an opposing opinion is heard .., let’s make not mistakes, a big part of Hollywood is an enabler for massive egos, do you know what I mean, so let’s not make mistakes.  That’s what that is.  And for me the type of stimulus that I wanted and where I grew up the majority of my life was spent, it just wasn’t the type of environment that I saw me raising a family in and … my life.  I was literally there for work. 

And to be quite frank, there’s another part to this.  I overstayed my time in LA because I had become disconnected, or disengaged with my essence.  And actually taking a break and going away to a health institute for three weeks that it struck me that I didn’t need to be there, and naturally I wanted to come back to where I started, I like it, I like the cultural diversity and the mental stimulation of engaging and meeting people on a daily basis that do things different from what I do, that come from different places than I come, and that are proud of it.  So that’s what really drove me back to New York.  And lastly, because of the fact that I’m doing standup as Tijuana Jackson and there was no better place to do it.  Believe it or not, The Good Wife called me as I was preparing to move to New York.

What do you do when you want to step back when things get a little chaotic in this business?

Romany Malco: I go to the Optimum Health Institute annually, sometimes twice a year, detox, cleanse, meditate, eat raw food, colonics, enemas, whatever the hell.  I genuinely believe that energy and outlook have a lot to do with diet.  In fact, I’ll even go as far as saying I think food might be my religion, the way in which you eat, diet, and when I say diet I’m talking your psychological diet, your emotional diet, your nutritional diet, all of it.  For me I didn’t always take care of myself, but I started realizing that the thing for me that helped me to replenish and refresh and develop appreciation again usually had to do with solitude, going on fishing trips far away, escaping from my immediate environment, and of course spending time with family, which is one of the reasons I moved to New York. 

Do you meditate? 

Romany Malco: I meditate, I sure do.  In fact, you’re going to laugh, I’ve meditated more in the last three months in Brooklyn than I’ve meditated in the last three years in Los Angeles.

Besides Unsupervised, what can we expect from you in 2012?

Romany Malco: Here’s what’s going on, I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m just going to say it anyway, let me think about it, I’m basically going out on camera to perform a show.  I don’t want to tell too much, but I’m going out for a show and literally meeting the people within the span of my social network, so anywhere from Facebook to Twitter to whatever, I’m actually going on the road on the tour bus and meeting with people and documenting it for a show. 

I’m really excited about that, because if you looked at my social network you’d get a good sense of how I engage, and it’s very personal, because really I’m thinking out loud.  And a lot of people would prefer not to share their private life like that, but for me it’s the whole point.  The people in my personal life, when I engage them I engage them on a very real level.  Why wouldn’t I do the same?  If I could multiple my span or my outreach why wouldn’t I do the same? 

I have a movie called Think Like a Man that comes out in April with me, Kevin Hart, Taraji Henson, Michael Ealy, Gabrielle Union, Jerry Ferrara from Entourage, Gary Owen, Terrence J., who’s the host of 106 & Park, and Regina Hall.  And three weeks after that I have another movie coming out called A Little Bit of Heaven, and it’s got me, Whoopi Goldberg. I play Kate Hudson’s best friend, it’s got Kathy Bates in it, and it’s a complete opposite, it’s a drama, but it’s a really heartfelt drama.  So those are the other things that I have going on.

The production runs May 15 – June 24, 2012 with a June 7 opening night in The End Stage Theatre at the Company’s new Frank Gehry-designed home The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).

Casting will be announced at a later date.

The show is about two French mercenary knights who set out on a quest for relative moral redemption against the classic comic background of late 14th century ecclesiastical politics. It’s a story of friendship, love, noble feats of arms, indiscriminate brutality, the progressive refinement of medieval table manners and the general decline of the chivalric ideal at the onset of the Great Papal Schism of 1378. 

Tickets and season subscriptions can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 212-244-7529 or online at www.signaturetheatre.org.

Ghost The Musical

To listen, visit www.Facebook.com/GhostBroadway anytime between 12pm est. on Monday, February 13th and Wednesday, February 15th.

And, if you’re in New York, you can attend a special screening of the Academy Award-winning film Ghost on Monday, February 13th at 6:30pm at Clearview’s Chelsea Cinema (260 West 23rd Street). Tickets are $10 and available on a first come, first served basis and the evening will include raffles and ticket giveaways. You’ll also be treated to an exclusive Q&A with members of the cast and creative team of Ghost The Musical.

The new musical premieres this spring at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street). Previews begin on Thursday, March 15, 2012. Opening night will be Monday, April 23rd. 

The production will star Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy, who will reprise their starring roles as Sam and Molly, which they originated in London’s hit West End production. They will be joined by newcomer Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Oda Mae Brown and Bryce Pinkham as Carl Bruner.  

Tickets to Ghost The Musical are currently on sale and may be purchased at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Box Office (205 West 46th Street), via www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling 877-250-2929. Ticket prices range from $57 to $137 (including a $2 facility fee). Premium tickets are also available. The performance schedule during previews will be as follows: Monday – Saturday evenings at 8pm and Saturdays at 2pm. Beginning, Tuesday, April 24th, the performance schedule will be as follows: Mondays at 8pm, Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesday – Saturday at 8pm, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2pm.

Stick Fly

The show stars Dulé Hill (Psych, The West Wing) as Spoon (Kent) LeVay, Mekhi Phifer (ER, 8 Mile) as Flip (Harold) LeVay, Tracie Thoms (Rent, Cold Case, The Devil Wears Prada) as Taylor, Tony Award-winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Seven Guitars, Lackawanna Blues) as Joe Levay, Rosie Benton (Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Accent on Youth) as Kimber and Condola Rashad (Ruined) as Cheryl.

The creative team also included Alicia Keys for original music. 

Tickets for are available by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200, (800) 432-7250 outside the NY metro area, online at Telecharge.com or in person at the Cort Theatre box office (138 West 48th Street). Box office hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 12:00p.m. to 7:30p.m.

I just can’t make this sh*t up.

Once I was recruited to participate in a Reality Show about actors for a big, big studio and network (let’s call them Studio X).  It actually aired very briefly and eventually pulled mid-season. 

In the pre-production stages, I was asked to be one of the acting teachers and would be on camera to work with the actors to rehearse their scenes before being judged, and the ‘drama’ attached to ‘the process’ would be the hook of America’s voyeurism in to the back alleys of the acting world.

At first, I was told I’d be given payment, a small fee, substantially lower than a Union rate, but not low enough to dismiss.  Then I was given a series of phone calls.  The first asked that I agree not to be paid and instead donate my salary to the Marketing and Publicity Department of Studio X . . . in exchange for national exposure and a “plug” every episode for the acting school I was then employed. 

Key words:  donate my salary. 

In further discussion, they argued that although I was a Union member, I didn’t deserve a Union contract because I wouldn’t really be acting, just teaching acting  . . .  (even though I’d be in every episode and frequent closeup).  As there wasn’t hard Union contract language to cover reality television at that time, there didn’t seem to be much room for me to move.  I knew this was big trouble: I was setting myself up for big fines from the Union working as a union member on a non-union set. 

Plus, it just BUGGED ME that this enormous studio wanted me to DONATE my salary . . . !!?!?!  They aren’t a charitable organization saving puppies and feeding the blind, they’re a multi-billion dollar worldwide corporation.  Besides, I also knew the producers attached to this project and those individuals were famous and wealthy before this brainchild.  So my mind (and my mouth) went back to the essential reason of  WHY THERE ARE UNIONS:   I DESERVE TO BE PAID TO WORK.  And, that’s where I took the conversation.

I very politely asked if the Producers were donating their salary?  Shocked, she laughed, “Certainly not, he’s [famous actor] , and the Executive Producer!”.  “Okay, how about the ‘little people’ then?  Is the camera operator donating his salary?  How about the DP, the stage manager, or the wardrobe department?”  “No”, she replied, stumbling and offended.  “Then, I deserve to be paid to work, and if they get paid, so do I.  Union contract or not”.  I ended the conversation and hung up.

This was a few, short years ago.  Currently, there is much more knowledge and contract language available regarding reality television shows.  Now many celebrities are given a Union sanctioned contract and paid a rather decent amount to appear.  I’m not a celebrity, so that made me a sucker?  This incredible tale and experience is simply a testament to the fact that there are still people (and big studios) willing to snooker you.  There are no victims, only volunteers.  And I’m proud to be a Union Gal.

Bev Leech is a 30+ year veteran of stage, film, and television, and studied with the late, great Stella Adler. For more information, visit Actor Muscle

Chelsea Handler

Recently named one of Glamour Magazine’s 2011 Women of the Year, Chelsea is a permanent fixture in pop culture as she continues to build a multiplatform media empire. In July 2007, Chelsea broke into the world of late-night talk shows with her E! Entertainment series, Chelsea Lately, airing weeknights at 11:00PM and is consistently one of the network’s highest-rated programs.

Both Handler and the show have also been recognized as pioneers in late night with the show boasting five female writers to account for half of its writing staff. This is unprecedented in the late night arena that has historically been dominated by male hosts and writers.

Capitalizing on the continued success of Chelsea Lately, Handler introduced audiences to her spinoff series After Lately last spring which garnered impressive ratings and an immediate cult following. After Lately, now in its second season, follows the outside lives of Chelsea Lately stars including Chelsea, Chuy Bravo, as well as the comedians and writers who appear regularly on her late night show. Made to feel like a true reality show, each episode is outlined (a la Curb Your Enthusiasm) and draws upon the entirely ridiculous – yet absolutely real – stories, events and people encompassing the world of Chelsea Lately. The show has also featured cameos by A-listers including Reese Witherspoon, with more celebrity appearances to come in season two.

Going in front of and behind the camera on yet another TV project, Chelsea is currently shooting a new scripted series for NBC, Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, as both an executive producer and a recurring guest star. The show is based on her second bestselling book. Laura Prepon, who starred in the hit sitcom That 70’s Show, stars as the notoriously deviant and relentlessly amusing Ms. Handler, while the real Chelsea will frequently appear throughout the season as her sister Shoshanna. Chelsea is not only a beloved household name among television audiences but is also one of the leading nonfiction authors. Her first book, My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands, published by Bloomsbury, was released in the U.S. and over twenty other countries, sold over a million copies. Her second book, Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, published by Simon Spotlight, debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list in 2008, followed by Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, published by Grand Central Publishing in 2010. On March 28, 2010, Chelsea’s three books held the #1, #2, and #3 spots on the New York Times’ Best Seller lists simultaneously.

Grand Central Publishing signed Chelsea for her own imprint Borderline Amazing/A Chelsea Handler Book. Chelsea is currently signed on to pen three books for the imprint. Lies Chelsea Told Me debuted once again at #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers List. The second title, still in its preliminary stages, will be written through the eyes of Chelsea’s affable dog, Chunk. The third book is undecided at this time.

Chelsea partnered with Live Nation for her Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang comedy tour sponsored by Belvedere Vodka. Due to high demand and several sold out venues, Live Nation extended the tour three times since its launch. Chelsea performed 79 shows in 53 markets across the United States and in Canada. The Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang tour sold over 250,000 tickets total to become one of the highest grossing of 2010. In May, Chelsea once again partnered with Live Nation and Belvedere for the Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me tour, based on her recent book. This time, Handler hit the road with fellow comedians Brad Wollack, Heather McDonald, and Josh Wolf in tow. The Lies tour sold out in venues across the country in the top 20 US markets.

In 2011, Chelsea had her first feature film role with a cameo in Universal Pictures’ Hop, opposite Russell Brand and James Marsden. In 2012, she stars in two studio films – THIS MEANS WAR and in Paramount Picture’s comedy Fun Size. Chelsea launched her acting career as the star of Oxygen’s Girls Behaving Badly (now syndicated in over 90 markets) for all of its four seasons. She also starred on E! in The Chelsea Handler Show. In 2007 and 2008, Chelsea starred with Jenny McCarthy and Leah Remini in the hugely popular MSN online web series In The Motherhood.

Tom Hardy

Hardy recently appeared in Lionsgate’s drama Warrior, starring with recent-Oscar® nominee Nick Nolte and Joel Edgerton. Hardy portrayed Marine Tommy Conlon, who is haunted by a tragic past. He returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father (Nolte) to train for Sparta, the biggest winner-takes-all event in mixed martial arts history. An ode to redemption and reconciliation, Warrior is also a moving testament to the enduring bonds of family.

Hardy stars in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy opposite Colin Firth and Gary Oldman, who was Oscar nominated for his work in the picture. Based on the classic novel, the international thriller is set at the height of the Cold War years of the mid-20th century centered around the British Secret Intelligence Service.

Hardy recently wrapped Warner Bros.’ The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan. Hardy plays the villainous Bane opposite Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman.

Hardy also recently wrapped RedWagon Film’s The Wettest County, set in the Prohibition era, where three brothers find their bootlegging business under threat in Franklin County, Virgina. The Weinstein Co is distributing the film later this year.

Hardy is next set to start production on George Miller’s new post-apocalyptic Mad Max movie, Fury Road, opposite Charlize Theron.

In 2009, Hardy won a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor for his work in the title role of the 2008 thriller Bronson. His film credits also include Guy Ritchie’s action comedy RocknRolla, with Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, Idris Elba, Mark Strong and Tom Wilkinson; Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette; and the crime thriller Layer Cake, with Daniel Craig.

Released in the summer of 2010, Warner Bros.’ Inception became the 24th highest-grossing films of all time. Directed by Christopher Nolan, Hardy appeared alongside an all-star cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Caine. The film centers around a corporate espionage thief who secretly extracts valuable information from the unconscious mind of his targets while they are dreaming.

Hailing from England, Hardy began his screen career when he was plucked straight from London’s Drama Centre for a role in HBO’s award-winning World War II miniseries Band of Brothers, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. He went on to appear in the features Black Hawk Down, directed by Ridley Scott; the Star Trek: Nemesis, in which he played the lead villain; Paul McGuigan’s The Reckoning, alongside Willem Dafoe and Paul Bettany; and Dot the I, from first-time writer/director Matthew Parkhill.

On television, Hardy earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor for his performance in the HBO movie Stuart: A Life Backwards. He portrayed Heathcliff in the 2009 ITV production of Wuthering Heights. Hardy’s small screen credits also include the telefilms Oliver Twist, A for Andromeda, Sweeney Todd, Gideon’s Daughter, and Colditz, as well as the BBC miniseries The Virgin Queen, in which he starred as Queen Elizabeth’s lover, Robert Dudley.

Hardy starred in numerous plays in London’s West End, including Blood, and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings, winning the Outstanding Newcomer Award at the 2003 Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his work in both productions. For the latter play, he was also nominated for a 2004 Olivier Award. In 2005, Hardy starred in the London premiere of Brett C. Leonard’s Roger and Vanessa, under the direction of Robert Delamere. He and Delamere also run a theatre workshop/gym called Shotgun at London’s Theatre 503.

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox. This Means War opens February 14th.

Chris Pine

In 2009, Pine starred as James T. Kirk in Paramount’s box-office smash-hit feature film Star Trek for director J. J. Abrams. The film chronicles the early days of Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members. He will reprise that role in two upcoming sequels of the franchise.

Pine’s additional feature credits include the Paramount Vantage film Carriers, the educational animated feature Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey, Bottle Shock for writer/director Randall Miller, the independent feature Small Town Saturday Night for writer/director Ryan Craig, Joe Carnahan’s gritty ensemble drama Smokin’ Aces for Working Title Films and Universal Pictures, Blind Dating costarring Eddie Kaye Thomas and Jane Seymour, the Fox/New Regency romantic comedy Just My Luck opposite Lindsay Lohan and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement opposite Anne Hathaway.

On the stage, Pine was most recently seen starring in Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In Bob Verini’s review for Variety, he called Pine’s performance “spookily, spectacularly good” and went on to remark that “Inishmore audiences are present at the launch of what promises to be a truly remarkable stage career.” In March, 2011 Chris was awarded “Best Lead Performance” by the LA Drama Critics Circle for his performance.

Pine also received rave reviews and a 2009 Ovation Award nomination for his performance in the drama Farragut North starring opposite Chris Noth at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. His additional stage credits include the Neil LaBute play, Fat Pig, also at the Geffen Playhouse, and The Atheist, a one man show performed off off Broadway.

Pine graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in English and he has studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater and University of Leeds in the U.K. His extensive theater work includes performances in productions of Our Town, American Buffalo, No Exit, Waiting for Godot, and Orestes.

Pine’s parents are actors Gwynne Gilford and Robert Pine. His late grandmother, Anne Gwynne, was a film actress of the ‘30s and ‘40s.

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox. This Means War opens February 14th

In December 2010, Witherspoon received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her extraordinary performance as June Carter Cash opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the Twentieth Century Fox biopic Walk the Line, earned her the 2006 Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, a BAFTA, Golden Globe® Award, Screen Actors Guild Award®, New York Film Critics Award, Broadcast Film Critics Award, and People’s Choice Award, in addition to 11 other awards.

She is currently in production on Mud, directed by award-winning filmmaker Jeff Nichols.

Witherspoon was last seen in the adaptation of the best-selling novel Water For Elephants with Robert Pattinson and Christopher Waltz, and How Do You Know, a romantic comedy directed by Academy Award winning writer-director James L. Brooks, starring alongside Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson.

Since 2007, Witherspoon has served as Avon’s Global Ambassador and Honorary Chairman of the Avon Foundation for Women, representing a company with a conscience and strong rights for Women’s Empowerment. Witherspoon strongly supports the passage of the International Violence Against Women’s Act, which creates a comprehensive approach to combat violence. Although low key about her ongoing charity work, Witherspoon has been active on behalf of the Rape Treatment Center at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Save the Children. She currently serves on the board of the Children’s Defense Fund, with whom she has been involved for many years, raising money and awareness for their many programs. Last year, she went to New Orleans with a group of women to open the first Freedom School there, and they have since endowed thirteen more community centers in the area. 

In 2010, Witherspoon was in Monsters vs. Aliens. She voiced the role of Susan Murphy, who becomes the 49-foot tall Ginormica after the Earth is hit by a meteorite. She is rounded up and taken to a secret facility where she meets other monsters. In a desperate attempt to save the planet from impending destruction from outer space, the President asks this motley crew to help.

Previously, Witherspoon starred opposite Vince Vaughn in New Line’s hit comedy Four Christmases. The film follows a couple as they struggle to visit their four divorced parents for Christmas and the antics that ensue. To date, the film has grossed $156 million worldwide. Witherspoon was nominated for a 2009 Kids Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress.

Her illustrious career began when, at the age of 14, she hoped to be an extra in Robert Mulligan‘s coming-of-age drama, The Man in the Moon, and unexpectedly landed the lead. Witherspoon starred n the ensemble thriller Rendition, directed by Gavin Hood, whose previous effort Tsotsi, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. With a cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Saarsgard and Alan Arkin, Rendition premiered at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival. Witherspoon portrayed a spirit who refuses to accept her death in the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven, and played one of the most indelible characters in English literature, the social climbing Becky Sharpe, in Mira Nair‘s revisionist take on the Thackery novel Vanity Fair. She captured the hearts of girls everywhere with her endearing performance as Elle Woods in the surprise hit Legally Blonde and again two years later as both producer and star in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde, in which Elle Woods takes on Washington politics in defense of her beloved Chihuahua, Bruiser.

Additional film projects include Sweet Home Alabama, which was the largest opening at the time for a female-driven romantic comedy; Election as the indelible Tracy Flick whose mere existence torments her teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick). Directed by Alexander Payne, this brilliantly reviewed satirically edged comedy earned Reese a Best Actress Award from the National Society of Film Critics as well as a Golden Globe® nomination; Sony Pictures teen cult classic Cruel Intentions in which she played the object of focus for an upper east side step-siblings’ wicked games; Pleasantville, written and directed by Gary Ross, in which she and Tobey Maguire played modern-day siblings who find themselves trapped in the wholesome world of a 1950′s sitcom. In 1995, Witherspoon starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in the pulpy thriller Fear, and received rave reviews for her performance in the independent feature Freeway, a wildly conceived modern version of Little Red Riding Hood produced by Oliver Stone, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and aired to record-breaking numbers on HBO.

Witherspoon’s production company, Type A Films, in addition to producing Legally Blonde 2 and Four Christmases, produced the modern fairy tale Penelope, starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy.

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox. This Means War open nationwide February 14th

James Wolk

Calling the whole experience “humbling” and a “huge learning lesson’, Wolk backed away from TV and appeared in Next Fall at the Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse. Now, he’s back on TV in Showtime’s Shameless and has a 3-episode-arc on Happy Endings as Max’s (Adam Pally) new/old boyfriend, Grant.

I talked to James on a conference call about working on Happy Endings, theater and surviving Lone Star’s quick cancellation.

Happy Endings airs on Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30c on ABC

Happy Endings is a bit different from some of the other work you’ve been doing lately.

James Wolk: It does definitely differ from some of the work I’ve done in the past. And, you know, when I take a project on or go after a project or get excited about a particular show or film or something, to me it’s all about who’s acting in it, who’s writing it, who am I surrounded by and what that’s going to give me as an actor. 

Have you ever played gay character before?

James Wolk: Actually just prior to this – to Happy Endings I did a play that had just gotten off Broadway called Next Fall where my character was a gay male. And so I kind of went from that and then Happy Endings shortly after it.

So I have played a gay character before. And, you know, for me it has to not be different. You know and being like when I sit down and play this character, and we have these moments and we have these talks, Grant and Max’s character, you know, Max played Adam Pally, Grant is who I’m playing on the show, you know, the moments have to be real.

And you – so to me it can’t feel different. And I try to guide myself with that.

Right now, things are going great with you. You have a recurring role in Shameless and this show as well. But about a year and a half ago everything wasn’t looking so good.  What’s it like to be on a show like Lone Star where the reviews are great and then see it all come falling down in the span of like two weeks?

James Wolk: Wait, that happened? I’m just kidding. You know it’s a very humbling experience. And I think there’s a few ways to go when that happens.

But for me personally I can just say that it was a huge learning lesson as a human being which is maybe the most important thing that we do as we go on this journey. And so I’m actually, you know, something like that you never want to see happen.

But perhaps one day I’ll be thankful for having that experience early on.

As a guest star, how easy is it to come in and work with a cast that’s really clicking?

James Wolk: Yes. These guys they do have an amazing rhythm and it is, it’s like a dance that everyone does on that set. And you just have to jump in.

And luckily these guys are so giving that you kind of jump in and they take you with them. But it was – I was coming off a play when I came onto the show. And that really helped because live theater I think is probably more liken to a comedic setting, a sitcom setting more than dramatic television or a film.

And so coming off the stage really helped me to just jump into that rhythm.

Now that you’ve done this guest spot, is comedy something you would want to do more of in the future?

James Wolk: Yes. I’d love more comedy in the future. It’s a ton of fun as it would seem and it’s a really great challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.

After Lone Star and, all the casting directors and executives and people who can hire you saw how great you were in the role, after that do you just get a ton of more opportunities to work? Like how did this role come to you?

James Wolk: Yes, I mean I think, you know, Lone Star though was short lived certainly, you know, it was a great thing for me in that people were able to kind of see what work I could do.

So, you know, when – like with any job once you expose yourself and once you work, you know, good work gets work or at least gets, you know, doors open.

And so Lone Star, you know, though short lived was a great experience. And as far as this particular project goes I think it’s just about awareness. I mean I knew of the show and I think or at least I hope they were aware of me. And, you know, it was kind of like hey, we’re both really interested and both really excited.

And it’s a great show. I mean Happy Endings, and I’m not just saying that because we’re doing press and I’m on it. It’s a great show. I watch it. People I know in my life love it and so I was just excited to be on it and thankfully they were excited about me as well.

And you mentioned you were in Next Fall. Any thoughts about maybe heading to New York and doing some theatre there?

James Wolk: Yes, you know, I grew up doing theater. I studied theater in college. And this play for me was the first time I’d been back to the stage since college and was a really invigorating experience. It was like being plugged into a wall going on the stage. And I’d love to when the time is right.

And, you know, so going back to the stage would be great. And I’d love to find time to get to New York and do it there because what better place to do it than New York.

What’s your advice to actors?

James Wolk: Just work hard and then work harder and believe in your self.

You said about starting theater in college. Were in the U of M Theater School?  

James Wolk: I was in the University of Michigan Theater School. And prior to that I had just done, you know, local theater in my hometown in Michigan and did theater in high school. And I had some really great high school theater director that inspired me a lot when I was a teenager, yes.

On the show, did you get to do a lot of improv or did you keep mostly to the script?

James Wolk: Yes, there is a good deal of improv on the show. I think as a guest star you feel like, you know, you kind of want to stick more closely to the script for the writer’s sake and when they created this character and it’s like you’re – it’s kind of like you’re coming into someone else’s home. You want to be a polite houseguest. You know you’re not just going to like use your hands and not use your napkin.

That being said it was so much fun that you end up doing a little bit of that. And so a lot of it is scripted but we played a little bit as well and it’s great to be on a set where they encourage that.

The Bourne Legacy

Director: Tony Gilroy

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Albert Finney, Joan Allen, Scott Glenn, Stacy Keach, Oscar Isaac

Writers: Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroy

In theaters: August 3rd, 2012 

Ryan Reynolds

In 2011, Reynolds was seen starring in the Universal Pictures comedy The Change-Up and in the title role in DC Comics’ Green Lantern. He also recently starred in the mystery thriller Buried, a 2010 Sundance favorite in which his character, Paul Conroy, a contractor working in Iraq, wakes up in a coffin, buried alive after an attack by a group of dissidents. In the cinematically challenging film, Reynolds is the only actor to appear on camera for the duration of the 95-minute run time.

Reynolds recently wrapped production on Universal Pictures’ R.I.P.D., which he is starring in and producing. 

Reynolds starred in two other Sundance entries: Greg Mottola’s Adventureland, the amusement park-set comedy with Kristen Stewart, which premiered at the 2009 festival and was also nominated for Best Ensemble Cast at the 2009 Gotham Awards, and The Nines, in the triple role of a troubled actor, a television showrunner and an acclaimed video-game designer whose lives are intertwined in unsettling ways.

His other recent films include the comedy Paper Man, in which he starred as an imaginary superhero friend of a struggling novelist; Definitely, Maybe, in which he played a political consultant and parent to Abigail Breslin, with a questionable past; the complex drama Chaos Theory, in which he played a man experiencing a crisis after he finds out he is sterile and his child is not his own; Joe Carnahan’s crime thriller Smokin’ Aces, in which he starred as a morally centered FBI agent out to prevent a gangland hit; and a remake of the classic cult horror film The Amityville Horror.

Reynolds hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, where he harbored an affection for acting at a young age. After establishing himself on television in the sitcom Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place and in a variety of guest spots and telefilms such as In Cold Blood, he caught moviegoers’ attention with his lead role in Walt Becker’s irreverent 2002 comedy National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, which led to larger roles in such films as Blade: Trinity and the romantic comedy Just Friends.

Reynolds recently entered the production side of things, partnering with Allan Loeb in the production company DarkFire. They have two pilot deals in place: a comedy series titled Guidance and an animated series titled And Then There Was Gordon, both slated for FOX.

In addition to landing numerous leading roles, Reynolds also serves on the board of directors for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. In November 2007, Reynolds ran the New York City Marathon in honor of his father, who has long suffered from the ravages of Parkinson’s disease. Reynolds’ marathon run raised more than $100,000 for Fox’s foundation.

Biography courtesy of Universal Studios in conjunction with the film, Safe House.

Farmiga was most re­cently seen in three films: Sony Pictures Classics’ Higher Ground, a feature film which she also directed and which was in competition at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival; Duncan Jones’ Source Code, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan; and Malcolm Venville’s Henry’s Crime, opposite Keanu Reeves and James Caan. Farmiga also garnered a nomination at the 2011 Gotham Awards for Breakthrough Director. She recently wrapped production on Christopher Neil’s Goats, co-starring David Duchovny.

Farmiga received critical praise and nominations, including Academy Award®, BAFTA, Broadcast Film Critics Association, Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe award nominations, for her role in Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, opposite George Clooney. 

Her recent film credits include the dark thriller Orphan, opposite Peter Sarsgaard; Niki Caro’s The Vintner’s Luck; Carlos Brooks’ Quid Pro Quo; Miramax’s Holocaust drama The Boy in the Striped Pajamas; and Rod Lurie’s political drama Nothing But the Truth, for which she earned a nomination for a Broadcast Film Critics Association award for Best Supporting Actress. For her performance in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, she was awarded the Best Actress Award from the British Independent Film Awards.

Farmiga won a Los Angeles Film Critics Association award for Best Actress for her performance in the independent film Down to the Bone, a revelatory drama about a weary working-class mother trapped by drug addiction. She also won Best Actress awards from the Sundance Film Festival and the Marrakech International Film Festival, and earned a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for the role.

Her additional film credits include Martin Scorsese’s Oscar®-winning police drama The Departed, opposite Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson; Anthony Minghella’s Breaking and Entering, opposite Jude Law; Jonathan Demme’s The Manchurian Candidate, opposite Denzel Washington; Joshua, opposite Sam Rockwell; and Never Forever, opposite Jung-woo Ha and David Lee McInnis.

Biography courtesy of Universal Studios in conjunction with the film, Safe House.

Brendan Gleeson

Gleeson’s upcoming projects include Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep, with Shia LaBeouf and Julie Christie; The Raven, a fictionalized account of the final days of Edgar Allan Poe’s life; and Aardman Animations’ The Pirates! Band of Misfits. He can currently be seen in the period drama Albert Nobbs, starring Glenn Close.

Gleeson is perhaps most recognized now as the brilliant and eccentric Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody, the role he first played in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and reprised in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and in the penultimate movie of the blockbuster series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. 

Gleeson made his feature film debut in Jim Sheridan’s The Field, followed by small roles in such films as Mike Newell’s Into the West and Ron Howard’s Far and Away.

He first gained attention for his performance in Mel Gibson’s Oscar®-winning film Braveheart, and he went on to appear in Neil Jordan’s Michael Collins and The Butcher Boy and starred in the independent film Angela Mooney, executive produced by John Boorman.

In 1998, Boorman directed Gleeson in the role of real-life Irish folk hero Martin Cahill in the biopic The General. For his performance, Gleeson won several acting honors, including the London Film Critics’ Circle Award for British Actor of the Year. He has since collaborated with John Boorman on the films The Tailor of Panama, In My Country and The Tiger’s Tail.

Gleeson’s additional film credits include John Woo’s Mission: Impossible II; Harrison’s Flowers; Wild About Harry; Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence; Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later…; Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York; Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain; Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy; M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village; Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven; Neil Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto; Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf; Paul Greengrass’ Green Zone; and Perrier ’s Bounty.

Born in Ireland, Gleeson started out as a teacher but left the profession to pursue an acting career, and joined the Irish theater company Passion Machine. His stage credits include productions of King of the Castle, The Plough and the Stars, Prayers of Sherkin, The Cherry Orchard, Juno and the Paycock and On Such As We.

Biography courtesy of Universal Studios in conjunction with the film, Safe House.

From Trip, an embittered runaway slave in Glory, to South African freedom fighter Steve Biko in Cry Freedom; from Shakespeare’s tragic historical figure Richard III to the rogue detective, Alonzo Harris, in Training Day, Washington has amazed and entertained us with a rich array of characters distinctly his own.

In 2010, moviegoers were treated to two very different sides of Washington when he starred in Tony Scott’s fast- paced thriller Unstoppable, and in the Hughes brothers’ dystopian vision, The Book of Eli, which Washington also produced. The Book of Eli grossed more than $38 million in its opening weekend.

In 2009, Washington was directed by Tony Scott in the respected remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, also starring John Travolta.

In late December 2007, Washington directed and co-starred with Academy Award®-winning actor Forest Whitaker in The Great Debaters, a drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College in Texas who in 1935, inspired students from the school’s debate team to challenge Harvard in the national championship. In November 2007, Washington starred alongside Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster. The film grossed $43.6 million in its first weekend and earned Washington his largest opening weekend to date.

In March 2006, Washington starred in Spike Lee’s Inside Man. The film, co-starring Clive Owen and Jodie Foster, took in $29 million in its opening weekend and marked Washington’s second-biggest opening to date.

As 2006 came to an end, Washington reteamed with director Tony Scott and thrilled audiences in Touchstone Pictures’ Déjà Vu. In this flashback romantic thriller, Washington plays an ATF agent who travels back in time to save a woman from being murdered and falls in love with her during the process.

In 2004, Washington collaborated with director Tony Scott on Man on Fire, in which Washington plays an ex-marine who has been hired to protect a young girl, played by Dakota Fanning, from kidnappers. That same year, Washington was also seen in The Manchurian Candidate, a modern-day remake of the 1962 classic film for Paramount Pictures, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Meryl Streep and Liev Schreiber. In the film, Washington stars in the part that Frank Sinatra made famous.

Washington was honored with the Academy Award® for his acclaimed performance in Training Day, directed by Antoine Fuqua. The film was only one of two in 2001 that spent two weeks at the No. 1 spot at the box office.

In 2003, Washington was seen in Out of Time, directed by Carl Franklin and co-starring Eva Mendes and Sanaa Lathan, in the murder-mystery thriller for MGM.

December 2002 marked Washington’s feature-film directorial debut with Antwone Fisher. The film, based on a true-life story and inspired by the best-selling autobiography “Finding Fish,” follows Fisher, a troubled young sailor played by newcomer Derek Luke, as he comes to terms with his past. The film won critical praise, was awarded the Stanley Kramer Award from the Producers Guild of America, and won NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Motion Picture and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for Washington. Also in 2002, Washington was seen in John Q, a story about a down-on-his-luck father whose son is in need of a heart transplant. The film established an opening-day record for Presidents’ Day weekend, grossing $24.1 million. The film garnered Washington an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture.

In September 2000, he starred in Jerry Bruckheimer’s box-office sensation Remember the Titans, which took in $115 million at the domestic box office. Earlier that year, he starred in Universal Pictures’ The Hurricane, reteaming with director Norman Jewison. Washington received a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture—Drama and his fourth Academy Award® nomination for his performance.

In November 1999, he starred in Universal’s The Bone Collector, an adaptation of Jeffery Deaver’s novel about the search for a serial killer, co-starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Phillip Noyce.

In 1998, he starred in Warner Bros.’ crime thriller Fallen, for director Gregory Hoblit, and in Touchstone’s He Got Game, directed by Spike Lee. He also reteamed with director Edward Zwick on the 20th Century Fox terrorist thriller The Siege, co-starring Annette Bening and Bruce Willis.

In summer 1996, Washington starred in the critically acclaimed military drama Courage Under Fire, for his Glory director, Edward Zwick. Later that year, Washington starred opposite Whitney Houston in Penny Marshall’s romantic comedy The Preacher’s Wife.

In 1995, Washington starred as Navy Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter opposite Gene Hackman in Tony Scott’s underwater action adventure Crimson Tide; as an ex-cop released from prison to track down a computer-generated criminal in the futuristic thriller Virtuosity; and as World War II veteran “Easy” Rawlins in the 1940s romantic thriller Devil in a Blue Dress (which Washington’s Mundy Lane Entertainment produced with Jonathan Demme’s Clinica Estetico). Another critically acclaimed performance was his portrayal of Malcolm X in director Spike Lee’s biographical epic Malcolm X. For his portrayal, Washington received a number of accolades, including an Academy Award® nomination for Best Actor.

In addition to his accomplishments on screen, Washington took on a very different type of role in 2000. He produced the HBO documentary Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks, which was nominated for two Emmys. He also served as executive producer on Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream, a biographical documentary for TBS, which was nominated for an Emmy Award. Additionally, Washington’s narration of the legend of John Henry was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award in the category of Best Spoken Word Album for Children, and he was awarded a 1996 NAACP Image Award for his performance in the animated children’s special Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child.

A native of Mt. Vernon, New York, Washington had his career sights set on medicine when he attended Fordham University. During a stint as a summer camp counselor, he appeared in one of its theater productions. Washington was bitten by the acting bug and returned to Fordham that year, seeking the tutelage of Robinson Stone, one of the school’s leading professors. Upon graduation from Fordham, Washington was accepted into San Francisco’s prestigious American Conservatory Theater. Following an intensive year of study in its theater program, he returned to New York after a brief stop in Los Angeles.

Washington’s professional New York theater career began with Joseph Papp’s Shakespeare in the Park and was quickly followed by numerous off-Broadway productions, including Ceremonies in Dark Old Men; When the Chickens Came Home to Roost, in which he portrayed Malcolm X; One Tiger to a Hill; Man and Superman; Othello; and A Soldier’s Play, for which he won an Obie Award.

In 2010, Washington starred as Troy Maxson in the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s Fences, at the Cort Theatre. The record-breaking run received the most Tony Award nominations ever for a revival of a play, and Washington won his first Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. Washington’s other recent stage appearances include the Broadway production of Checkmates and Richard III, which was produced as part of the 1990 free Shakespeare in the Park series hosted by Joseph Papp’s Public Theater in New York City.

Washington was discovered by Hollywood when he was cast in 1979 in the television film Flesh & Blood.

But it was Washington’s award-winning performance on stage in A Soldier’s Play that captured the attention of the producers of the NBC television series St. Elsewhere, and he was soon cast in that long-running hit series as Dr. Philip Chandler. His other television credits include The George McKenna Story, License to Kill and Wilma.

In 1982, Washington re-created his role from A Soldier’s Play for Norman Jewison’s film version retitled A Soldier’s Story. Washington’s portrayal of Private Peterson in the film was critically well received. Washington went on to star in Sidney Lumet’s Power, Richard Attenborough’s Cry Freedom, for which he received his first Oscar® nomination; For Queen & Country; The Mighty Quinn; Heart Condition; Glory, for which he won the Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actor; and Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues. Washington also starred in the action-adventure film Ricochet and in Mira Nair’s bittersweet comedy Mississippi Masala.

His additional film credits include Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing; Jonathan Demme’s controversial Philadelphia, with Tom Hanks; and The Pelican Brief, based on the John Grisham novel.

Up next for Washington is the dramatic thriller Flight, for director Robert Zemeckis.

Biography courtesy of Universal Studios in conjunction with the film, Safe House.