Keira Knightley: “The thing about acting is, it does require life, because you have to have things to draw from”

At the premier of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in L.A.  this weekend, Keira Knightley said that being a part of the first three Pirates, “was an amazing experience, I was 17 when I started and 22 by the time the last one came out. It was a considerable chunk of time. It was extraordinary but I think, what is that, five years of my life?”

The demanding shoot schedule for Pirates 2 and 3 also convinced Knightley she would not continue with the franchise. ”Doing it solidly for two years at that time was definitely enough. And I mostly just wanted to do something else. The thing about acting is, it does require life, because you have to have things to draw from,” she said.

After an impressive number of films,  including The Duchess, Atonement and the Pirates trilogy, Knightley says, ”I very much felt like I’d hit a brick wall and was regurgitating as opposed to actually finding anything new.”

via usatoday.com

In Will Ferrell’s new film, “Everything Must Go” the actor shows off his serious side

In Will Ferrell’s new film “Everything Must Go,” the actor plays an alcoholic dealing with the fallout of his domestic life while living on his front lawn in full view of his neighbors. There are some physical gags and a few deadpan lines but they are simple in tone. This is the first feature film from writer-director Dan Rush, and is adapted from Raymond Carver‘s short story, “Why Don’t You Dance?”

The serious tone of Ferrell’s role in this film is only one deviation from the actor’s usual big budget movies. This film was shot in 23 days and a distribution deal was sought out at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it screened ahead of its official release date of May 13.

Ferrell says no audition was necessary for his role, because Rush already knew he wanted Ferrell for the part. “I just met with Dan. The fear was in casting a more conventional actor the material might seem even darker than it is. He felt I would give it a lightness and at the same time pull off those emotional moments with integrity. My wife’s reaction was, “This is a great script. Why do they want you?” And I agreed.”

While he enjoyed the opportunity to stretch his acting skills, Ferrell does not intend to give up his comedy roles and only focus on dramatic films, from now on. “It’s not so much a plan that in 3.7 years we’ll be able to do this or that. It’s more about taking advantage of these opportunities to do different things. I did “Stranger Than Fiction” and it wasn’t like the floodgates opened and I got sent a bunch of serious dramatic roles. I don’t think I got sent any. So that may happen again after this.”

Though known for his zany, goofy antics in film, Ferrell says he was guided by the story as it was written in the script. “There’s a reaction to watching me in a role like this where people think, “Oh, were your impulses to go crazy at some point?” It’s really easy: You read the script and you see that it doesn’t call for any of that. It was a pretty easy transition.”

via wsj.com

Daniel Radcliffe says he doesn’t feel snubbed by Tony Awards: “The people that do this job for awards and recognition are kind of worshipping at the wrong altar”

Daniel Radcliffe seems almost puzzled by all of the stories swirling about regarding his apparent “snub” of a Tony Award nomination. Radcliffe insists he did not get into acting for the awards ceremonies.

“I think I speak for 99% of actors when I say that… while it’s lovely to get recognized by your peers, it’s not the reason why we do it.”

The actor, who was recently recognized as the highest-paid actor under the age of 30, is currently starring on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and he is pleased with the shows positive reviews, including those for his first lead role in a musical.

“The people that do this job for awards and recognition are kind of worshipping at the wrong altar, and I’m not really quite sure if I want to know those people.”

The actor offered up a bit of a tease regarding his “other” well recognized role: in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two, the final chapter in the wizard series, the pace moves at “200 miles an hour from the word go” Radcliffe promises.

via nypost.com

Melissa McCarthy on “Bridesmaids” and hitting her stride at 40

Most people recognize Melissa McCarthy from her role as the loveably daffy chef Sookie on the hit CW show Gilmore Girls. McCarthy’s star is on the rise and her fan base is steadily growing over her charming new hit sitcom Mike & Molly. And there is little doubt McCarthy could achieve star status after audiences see her in the new film Bridesmaids. The 40-year-old actress loves her delightfully weird Bridesmaids character Megan, she is frustrated by the of lack interesting women’s roles available on Tv and film, and is overjoyed by audiences response to her show Mike & Molly.

McCarthy was thrilled to receive a call from Bridesmaids co-writer Annie Mumolo requesting she read for producer Judd Apatow, as the actress is a fan of Apatow’s work.

“Back in 2006 I had done the table read for the first draft of the movie. Now in that one I played a completely different person. I played a bridesmaid who just kept crying all the time, who kept getting overwhelmed. Totally different character, a much smaller part. And in this party I didn’t think there was a spot for me. So when they called with this one, strangely, I think Megan is exactly in my wheelhouse. Those are the women at least at Groundlings that I spent 10 years just enjoying so much portraying. So Annie Mumolo called me and said ‘We want you to come in for this, can you come in and read for Judd Apatow and Paul Feig?’

McCarthy has no regrets that she is 40 years old and just now hitting her stride. With several projects in the works, from her hit sitcom to co- writing a comedy with Mumolo to Feig creating a romantic comedy for her,  the actress could not be more excited.

“I’m 40, I feel 22. Maybe there’s more pressure on women where their main thing is their beguiling beauty. But I’m always like ‘Oh, can I wear a weird wig and maybe black out my front teeth?’

To read more, go to: ew.com

Matthew Morrison: “I get frustrated with shows like American Idol”

As Matthew Morrison’s first solo album, Matthew Morrison, arrives in stores, the Glee star reflected on his early career and the fact that he had to work to get to where he is today.

Morrison’s career began on Broadway at age 19 and he has enjoyed a gradual rise to fame, even before the stardom that came with Glee. He says he almost enjoyed the struggle more than the success, which makes him ponder the effects of instant fame thrust upon the winner of  shows like American Idol. ”I love the journey I’ve had, really worked my way up to where I am now,” the actor says. “Sometimes, I get frustrated with shows like American Idol, shows that just create people like that, like you get instant fame. I don’t think that’s the way to go about it. I don’t think you really appreciate what you have if you can get it that way. I’ve had people ask me, back in the day, why don’t you audition for Idol? No interest at all.”

Despite Morrison’s view of American Idol, Kris Allen, one of the show’s winners, co-wrote the first single on Morrison’s album, which features duets with such musical icons as Elton John and Sting, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Morrison will perform Still Got Tonight on the Glee finale May 24.

via usatoday.com

WhoSay offers celebrities the right to retain control over their images

Tom Hanks likes to use Twitter to share the occasional on set photo with his 1.8 million followers. Now there is a site where those photos can be sent that allow him and other celebrities to have a new sense of control over their presence on social media.

People on Twitter can use services like TwitPic, Yfrog or Plixi to share photos with their friends and family.  Celebrities have concerns with these services because they aquire ownership rights to uploaded photos and can place ads alongside them. Enter a new company called WhoSay that offers similar services, but ownership of uploaded images are retained by the stars themselves.

WhoSay has been up and running out of the Los Angeles office building of the Creative Artists Agency since last year. CAA represents an impressive list of famous names, including Hanks. His WhoSay site includes the words “copyright Tom Hanks” along with fine print at the bottom declaring his legal ownership of all content and a warning of “fines and imprisonment” for improper use.

There are 15 people on staff at WhoSay in offices in New York, London and Los Angeles.  Creative Artists and Amazon.com are among investors in the company.
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Tom Hiddleston auditioned for Thor but got Loki: “When I see what Chris [Hemsworth] has delivered I know I could never have done that”

Tom Hiddleston is tearing up the screen as Loki in Thor and he recently talked to The Guardian about what it was like to see his face on a poster for a big-time film. “It’s a wildly exciting time. I’ve never been in a film that has posters on the tube. And it’s not even my face on the poster,” he said. The poster shows Chris Hemsworth as Thor, the god of thunder, while Hiddleston plays his amoral brother Loki, the god of mischief. But the actor says,  director Kenneth Branagh originally had him in mind for the lead role.

“Ken found out he’d got the job in late 2008, when we were appearing at the Donmar together, knocking eight bells of ideological crap out of each other every night in Chekhov’s Ivanov. Dressed as the self-righteous 19th-century doctor Lvov, with wire-rimmed spectacles, a pocket watch, grey trousers, a linen jacket and a goatee, I ran up to Ken’s dressing room holding a massive empty water cooler that I pretended was Thor’s hammer. He looked at me and said, ‘Don’t joke, love, you never know.”

Hiddleston was in Los Angeles when he was asked to audition for the role of Thor. He knew a part as significant as this one could make him an international star, yet he insists he wasn’t nervous. “I thought, well Ken knows what I can do. Every English-speaking actor over six foot was being seen for the part. I got down to the final few, which also included Chris’s younger brother Liam Hemsworth, Alexander Skarsgård, and Charlie Hunnam.”

Hiddleston was given six weeks to bulk up, before his audition. “I’ve inherited my father’s lean Glaswegian genes, but I managed to put on three and a half stone in lean muscle. I ate nothing but chicken and just lifted and lifted weights till I could barely walk. Initially it was hard and then it got quite addictive. I outgrew my clothes and started to stand differently.”

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Jim Parsons on his Broadway debut, “The Normal Heart”: “There’s something about this play… that, in many ways, is for me exactly why I got into acting to begin with”

Jim Parsons is probably best known for his portrayal of Sheldon on the hit CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory“. The actor says people are often disappointed to learn he is NOT as brilliant his alter ego. “I’m not stupid. But I’m no genius,” Parsons says.

Having won both the Golden Globe and an Emmy for his portrayal of the beloved geek, Parsons was amused by a repeated question posed by the press during awards season: did he feel bad for the other cast members on the show?

“No. I don’t feel bad for the rest of the cast members,” Parsons laughed. “Are you kidding me? They’re doing fine.” He added,  ”It’s been a fantastic four years. We’ve gotten better and better, and literally the word on the street, you run into people all the time that are watching it, and they vary in age, gender, size. Just all sorts of people that are watching it, and I really appreciative that ‘A,’ we get to keep doing it and ‘B’ that it is appealing to so many different types of people. I hesitate to call it family entertainment. But I think that’s exactly kind of what we’ve done.”

Parsons admits when his name was called Emmy night, he could not believe it was happening. He explains, “I really felt that way as I walked up the steps. It was LL Cool J and Eva Longoria … up there and that seemed just about weird enough. And I don’t know. It was wonderful. It was wonderful. But it was very odd. They had a dream quality to it.”

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Eva Mendes: “With every character, I go over the script with my acting coach and we break down a character”

Eva Mendes new film, “Last Night” opens on May 6  and co-stars Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington as a married couple lured by temptation. Mendes, who plays Laura in the film,  says she liked the gray areas threaded throughout this film, because she feels life is neither black nor white.

“It’s not anything that calculated as far as when I’m presented with a film. I look to see obviously the script. And if I respond to it, I look to see whose directing it and who I will actually be onscreen with. So I’m really particular about the people I work with. I make my decisions based on character, director, co-stars. And a lot of times those roles call for being sexy, some call for being goofy or emotional or whatever it is they call for. In no way is that a thought in my head.”

Mendes says an actor need not draw upon personal experience in order to portray a certain type of character, rather it is all in the prep work.

“I do what I do with every character, I go over the script with my acting coach and we break down a character, whether it’s a cartoon, a comic book character. A big movie I did with Werner Herzog, playing a prostitute, obviously I had no experience, thank god, playing that role. So what you do is you just break down the character and it becomes somewhat of a case study and that’s what I love about acting. That process of sitting down and breaking down a character and finding out the reason why someone does what they do. We all have reasons for doing things and I think the more extreme the act the deeper the reason is. It’s just about getting into that head space and really exploring that.”

via speakeasy

Chris Hemsworth describes how it felt to beat out little brother Liam for the role of “Thor”:“We’re competitive,” Chris says, “but in the best way.”

Director Kenneth Branagh had narrowed his list to four actors who might be able to fill the starring role in his blockbuster film Thor, and what may surprise many fans and critics who are raving about the film, that list did not include the name of star Chris Hemsworth. But it did include the name Liam Hemsworth, the star’s younger brother.

Branagh had invited Liam, 21, whose credits include the Miley Cyrus movie The Last Song and the upcoming  The Hunger Games, to do a screen test, but the director also decided to re-evaluate a few previous audition tapes, one of those happened to belong to Chris.

“We’re competitive,” Chris says, “but in the best way.” Liam gave his older brother a few tips based on his audition with Branagh. And a phone call from producer Joss Whedon in support of Chris didn’t hurt his chances, either. Branagh and Marvel Studios were both impressed by the older Hemsworth brother.

“We did two or three interview sessions before we tested him,” Branagh says. “We pretty much knew as we were shooting the test that he was the guy. It seemed, across these meetings, he had grown into it. He understood it better. And crucially, he was at ease.”

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