Biography: Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California.  Her family moved to New York City when her father was cast in a role on the daytime drama Love of Life.  As an 11-year-old student at the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City, she joined the drama club and her experience there encouraged her to pursue acting as a career.  She studied further at New York’s High School of Performing Arts.  She graduated in 1987 and landed roles in the off-Broadway production For Dear Life, at New York’s Public Theater, and Dancing on Checkers’ Grave.

Aniston’s television career began after being cast as a series regular on Molloy and The Edge.  She had guest-starring roles on Quantum Leap and Burke’s Law, and a starring role on Ferris Bueller, the television series.  She was then cast in perhaps her most well-known role as Rachel Green in the classic television comedy, Friends.  For her role as Rachel, she received five Emmy nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations.  She won an Emmy (2002) and a Golden Globe (2003) for Lead Actress in a Comedy.  The generosity of her fans lead to her winning five People’s Choice Awards. Read more

Q & A: ‘Happy Endings’ stars Eliza Coupe and Damon Wayans Jr. on prime-time frustrations and if dramatic roles are in their future

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:01 — 9.6MB)

Happy Endings premiered last April to some modest ratings but the show wasn’t guaranteed a slot on ABC’s fall season. When the network finally announced that the show was coming back, it posed a problem for one cast member: Damon Wayans Jr. went off and got himself another role on FOX’s hit, New Girl.

That’s worked out now – the character on New Girl moved out – and Damon made sure to tell us that he’s perfectly happy with he way things ended up. Happy endings, right?

Wayans and his on-screen wife Eliza Coupe talked to me in a conference call about the pick-up, shooting an R-comedy for a network and if they ever want to try a dramatic role.

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

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes

Damon, I know that your character wasn’t officially written off of New Girl, you just sort of were taken out of the picture so that you moved out. Do you think that there’s a chance that you might make a cameo on the show?

Damon Wayans, Jr.: I doubt it.  I – I don’t think that that will happen.  But I have, you know, I don’t think that I’m going to be on it again.

You don’t want to be on it or…

Damon Wayans, Jr.: I mean, it’s, you know, I want to be on Happy Endings. 

Damon, what is it about the Wayans family that produces so many funny people?  If the previous generation hadn’t done comedy, if they were a family of dentists or mechanics or pro tennis players, would have you gone into that instead of being an actor and a comedian?

Damon Wayans, Jr.: None of those jobs are appealing to me, the ones you named.  I would never be a dentist, I’d never be a mechanic, never.  Honestly I don’t know. 

I mean, everybody’s pretty funny in my – in my – in my family, it’s just who’s going to take that next step, you know, who’s going to take that leap, you know, into the audition rooms and just slowly get, you know, more and more insecure in life.  Just – that’s what happens when you become an actor, you just get more and more insecure.  Did you like that?  Is that okay?  So it’s like whoever wants to deal with that for the rest of their life and potentially go bald like half my family.   Read more

The Excuse Cocoon

I have a friend in California who is a producer of a festival where new plays are given lively readings by a troupe of actors. Several times per year, she solicits submissions from local playwrights, and hand picks a group of actors to bring each play to life. It’s a short commitment – just 2 rehearsals for the one-night reading – and the actors and playwrights really enjoy the art being created and community being built.

But no matter how many plays are produced, or how happy the participants are to be involved, there is always one actor or another who drops out of the festival last minute. And they almost always use the same excuse, “I’m sorry, turns out I my job needs me that day. I know I committed to the project but I can’t really afford to miss this day of work.” And, as usual, the producer doesn’t argue with the actor and struggles to find a last minute replacement. I mean, seriously, how can you argue with an actor who is short on funds? We’ve all been there. Right?

Read more

John Krasinski: Wanted for Murder! (On An Old Episode of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”)

If you’ve seen one episode of The Office, you know that light-hearted, fun-loving paper salesman Jim Halpert (played by John Krasinski) would never hurt a fly, unless that fly was named Dwight Schrute. As Moviefone notes, though, Krasinski portrayed a possibly-murderous high school basketball player on a 2004 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent before he hit it big as everybody’s favorite card stock vendor.

Since Krasinski is now so inextricably linked to his Office character, it’s hard to believe the guy who married his sweetheart at Niagara Falls as a morally-questionable hoopster. In a clip from the episode, available after the jump, Krasinski’s character starts a fight with a teammate after lying to police during a questioning.

However, Krasinski isn’t the only actor to make a cameo as someone completely opposite from the roles that made them famous — in fact, the TV landscape is littered with them. To keep this Office-related, remember Amy Adams as Halpert’s love interest in the show’s early days? Or Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston as a dentist on Seinfeld before his Malcolm in the Middle run?

Read more

Critics and Reviews – They’re Not as Awful as You Think

This is a guest post by Sean Pratt

Not only should an actor learn how to deal with what critics think of their work, but also how to use these reviews to their advantage.

For most actors the dread that is associated with reading a critic’s review of their work ranks right up there with getting a root canal at the dentist’s office. Their insecurity, coupled with their desire to have everyone like them, leaves them vulnerable to the emotional rollercoaster that comes about from the writings of some capricious critic. Many actors simply refuse to read them at all, or wait until after the show has closed to peruse them. Either way they’re missing out on a great opportunity to promote themselves and boost their career.

Like Oscar Wilde says…

“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about and that is not being talked about.” He really hit the nail on the head as it concerns marketing and advertising…and yes, he was thinking about it in those general terms. It’s true, there’s almost no such thing as bad press. A painter I once modeled for, Sylvia Sleigh had a wonderful response to garnering a bad review for her work. She would pull out a ruler and measure the column length of the critique, delighting in how much magazine or newspaper space was taken up with the article. “Love me or hate, but please just write about me,” she’d say.

She and Oscar had the right attitude. They understood that no matter what the critic thought, the fact that their names were in print meant they were just that much more recognizable to the public at large…and all from this free advertising. You too can capitalize on this with just a little extra work by creating your own promotional “review sheet.”

Read more

SXSW Interview: Director Sebastian Gutierrez talks about his new films, ‘Elektra Luxx’ and ‘Girl Walks Into A Bar’ (the 1st internet movie!)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:44 — 10.1MB)

Sebastian Gutierrez has written movies like Gothika and Snakes on a Plane but recently, he’s directing some small, wonderful films that include some incredibly talented actors.

Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Danny Devito, Rosario Dawson and Carla Gugino are just some of the actors that have recently worked with Sebastian. His films, Women in Trouble and its sequel, Elektra Luxx and the very first movie to premiere on the internet, Girl Walks Into A Bar are mostly anthology-based and he says that’s a great way to get actors to come out and work for a couple days.

Elektra Luxx is now playing and it follows Gugino (in a continuation of her role in Women in Trouble) as a pregnant porn star who is trying to reinvent herself.

Girl Walks Into A Bar (watch it below) stars Zachary Quinto as a dentist who teams up with a feisty would-be assassin (Gugino again) to put the final touches on the plan to kill his wife.

I talked to Sebastian about his two newest films, his secret to casting and how he can shoot a film in 15 days.

Elektra Luxx, I wouldn’t say it’s a sequel but it’s kind of a trilogy that you’re making?

Sebastian Gutierrez: Yes. I think in Europe, they call a companion piece which is a pretentious way to say sequel.  Women in Trouble, was a very experimental, low-budget, 10 vignettes that a group of actors and I put together to string together as a film to go to some film festivals.

Midway through, we thought, “Hey, it would be cool to explore these characters in different situations.”  How they do in graphic novels or books.  You can have a small character here, become the lead over there. Why shouldn’t we do that? Elektra Luxx picks up about month after the events of Women in Trouble and it centers more on the character of Elektra Luxx played by Carla Gugino. About half of the other cast members of Women in Trouble return and revolve around her sort of like 3 storylines happening at the same time.

Read more

Q & A: Henry Winkler on ‘Royal Pains’, ‘Arrested Development’ acting!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:29 — 16.8MB)

Henry Winkler. I could write a dozen openings for this but really, all I need to say is Henry Winkler!

He’s a TV icon; the leather jacket he wore as ‘Fonzie’ is on display in the Smithsonian. He’s a successful producer (MacGyver), written several books and has managed to stay away from being typecast.

He’s now recurring on the hit USA show, Royal Pains. His character, ‘Eddie Lawson’, is the father of Hank (Mark Feuerstein) and Evan (Paulo Costanzo) and he loves playing the character.

Henry’s a really great guy and if you get a chance, you should listen to the audio portion of the interview. He talks about his character, working on Royal Pains, what’s going on with Arrested Development and so much more!

Royal Pains airs on Thursdays at 9/8c on USA.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download from iTunes

How did you initially get involved with working on Royal Pains?

Henry Winkler: The producer, Andrew, was sitting at dinner and next to him was my dentist and his wife. They overheard them talking that they’re looking for the father for Royal Pains.  My dentist’s wife was a fan; she said, “Oh, you know who it should be?  Henry Winkler.”  A little while later I had breakfast with Michael and Andrew who run the show, brilliantly I might add and they asked me if I would join the cast and I embarrassed myself in the restaurant.

What do you find the most challenging about bringing your character of Eddie to life on screen?

Henry Winkler: That’s a good question.  If I had to pick something, the challenge is to make sure that I am toe-to-toe with Mark and Paolo, Jill and Reshma because they are really good; they are the real deal and I want to carry my weight.

Read more

Mad Men’s Jon Hamm on working with child actors, acting with John Slattery and more

Mad Men just started season 4 and from the looks of it, it’s back in a big way.

Don Draper just keeps getting more interesting (and sometimes, not in a good way) and as played by Jon Hamm, deserves all the props he gets.

Here’s an interview from AMC.com

Q: What do you think are some of [Don Draper's] traits that should be learned and adopted? – Piper

A: Don makes a pretty good case for ambition and for kind of being adaptive, and I think that those things can be good things when done with good intentions…  I think he really loves his kids — I think that’s important… What makes him so fascinating to a lot of people is the fact that we really want to like him and yet he’s disappointing in so many ways…

Q: Jon, do people ever assume that you are like Don in real life? (ie a hard drinker and smoker AND philanderer). As a result, do women hit on you as a result of Don’s image? – Spinny Boo Arbierre

A: Women don’t really hit on me… I don’t really put myself out there in that aspect. There’s a pretty significant line of demarcation between Don Draper and my existence in real life.

Q: How would you react if you hear of someone who has a secret so deep as that of Don? – Lucas Olarte

A: I think I would react differently if I was in a relationship with that person than maybe I would if I had only business contact with them or something a little less personal or intimate. I think we saw last season how Betty responded upon finding out this information, which was probably deeper and scarier and weirder than even in her worst nightmare she thought it was going to be. I think it really depends upon how much you invested in believing in this person.

Q: I want to know how you and January Jones approach working with the child actors who play your kids. – Kelli Peduzzi

A: Any time you’re working with children it’s significantly different from working with adults. You want to respect the fact that they’re little kids and you don’t want to curse around them and you don’t want to be inappropriate around them. But acting with them you just try to be as real as you can. And take what they give you. Kids can be remarkably raw and real and in the moment and scary good… It’s tricky. The most important thing is to have a respect for the work and if they see you doing it then that’s what they want to do, as well.

Read more

Ricky Gervais is the man of the moment

Ricky Gervais as a leading man? Don’t laugh. That is, do laugh – just don’t be surprised if you shed a tear or two in “Ghost Town,” in which Gervais plays a misanthropic dentist who develops the ability to see ghosts, then falls in love with a young widow whose late husband he meets on the other side.

Click here for another interview.