Matthew Weiner on How He Cast Jessica Paré in ‘Mad Men’

Jessica Pare has made a huge splash Mad Men this season, from singing ‘Zou-Bisou-Bisou’ to finally (as far as we can see) taming new husband, Mr. Don Draper.

Pare was a series-regular on the show Jack & Bobby and also appeared in Hot Tub Time Machine has appeared but when it came time to audition for Mad Men, she first read for the role of… a hooker. 

While talking to Vulture, series mastermind Matt Weiner explained that Pare “actually first auditioned for the prostitute [who slaps Don in the face during sex in the season four premiere] and I thought she was wonderful. And then my casting people were like, “You know, she was in the top three for the people to get that part. You’re looking for this Megan character. Have you thought about Jessica?” Read more

Interview: Jamie Anne Allman On ‘The Killing’ and Taking Risks at Auditions

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:11 — 13.9MB)

If you’re not watching AMC’s The Killing, then you are missing out on some great work by one of the best cast’s on TV.

The show revolves around the murder of teenager Rosie Larsen and as the story deepens, we’re finding out that Rosie’s aunt Terry, played by Jamie Anne Allman also has some secrets she’s been hiding. 

I talked to Jamie recently and had a really fun conversation with her about the show and what it’s like on-set when you have to deal with such a depressing subject. She also talked about taking risks when you audition and had a perfect example on when she auditioned for The Shield. She took a chance, nailed it and walked away with a recurring role on that show.

At the end of The Killing‘s season, we’ll find out who killed Rosie and that will unfortunately end Jamie’s time on the show. But, you can soon check her out in the upcoming film, Any Day Now (which also stars Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt).

Want more of The Killing? Check out our interview with Eric Ladin! Read more

Biography: Hugh Dancy

Hugh Dancy most recently appeared in Our Idiot Brother directed by Jesse Peretz and Martha Marcy May Marlene, with both films receiving critical acclaim at 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to his leading man role in Hysteria, in 2012 Dancy will voice the character of Marshall Mallow in the animated Dorothy of Oz.

Dancy’s other film credits include: Adam, Confessions of a Shopaholic, The Jane Austen Book Club, Evening, Beyond The Gates, King Arthur, Ella Enchanted, The Sleeping Dictionary, Black Hawk Down and Young Blades.

On television, Dancy had a recurring role in The Big C starring Laura Linney, and has been seen in Tom Hooper’s critically acclaimed series Elizabeth I opposite Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons. Dancy received an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his role as Earl of Essex, and the series received the 2007 Golden Globe® Award for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and the Emmy® Award for Best Miniseries. Read more

Biography: Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson has become one of the leading international motion-picture actors today. Whether it is his Academy Award®-nominated role of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s highly acclaimed Schindler’s List (1993), his award-winning portrayal of the legendary Irish Republican hero in Michael Collins (1996), or his role as controversial sex therapist Alfred Kinsey in the critically acclaimed Kinsey (2004), Neeson continues to display an acting range matched by few.

In January 2012, Neeson starred in the box-office hit The Grey. Directed by Joe Carnahan, this action-adventure featured an oil drilling team that struggled to survive after a plane crash that stranded them in the wild of Alaska. Hunting the humans was a pack of wolves that saw them as intruders.

In February 2011, Neeson was seen opposite Diane Kruger and January Jones in Unknown, a psychological thriller about stolen identity. Neeson also co-starred in the Warner Bros. remake of the 1981 film Clash of the Titans, which tells the myth of Perseus and his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken monster in order to save the princess Andromeda. A sequel is currently in the works for release in 2012. Read more

Review: ‘Cock’ at The Duke on 42nd Street (NYC)

A play with the provocative title Cock is going to raise eyebrows (especially with the marquee outside the Duke on 42nd Street says it).  The provided plot description makes it even more appealing: “When John and his boyfriend take a break, the last thing he expects is to suddenly meet the woman of his dreams. Now he has a big choice to make.”

Based on that description, it would seem like John (Cory Michael Smith) would be the central focus of the play’s story, and in some regards he is.  But once the set-up behind John’s unqiue predicament is established, boyfriend M (Jason Butler Harner), and girlfriend W (Amanda Quaid) take the lead by talking to and about John rather than with him, he sits or lies down in total frustration at not knowing what he truly wants.  It makes it even more difficult when M’s father, F (Cotter Smith) arrives and begins to advise John from his perspective as both a concerned father and a supporter of gay rights.  That ultimatum — that John has to choose to be with a man or a woman — actually flies in the face of the whole idea of F’s insistence that it is okay for him to be whoever he is, since John doesn’t want to make a choice but finds himself forced to between the one(s) he loves on criteria that isn’t as simple as who he loves more.  Read more

Biography: Mindy Kalling

Mindy Kaling is a quadruple threat to be reckoned with.

Kaling is an actor, producer, writer and director on the critically acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning NBC show The Office. Additionally, she is a New York Times best-selling author and has recently written a pilot for FOX, which she will star in, write and executive produce.

Kaling can currently be seen on the eighth season of The Office, where she stars as Kelly Kapoor. She has written more than 18 episodes for the show, including Niagara, for which she received an Emmy nomination.

She has also ventured into directing and was recently named an executive producer of The Office. In 2009, she debuted as a director with the episode Subtle Sexuality.

In early 2004, Kaling was hired as a writer and performer for the American version of The Office. At first, executive producer Greg Daniels wasn’t sure where to use her on screen in the series, until a point in the episode Diversity Day required Steve Carell’s insensitive character, Michael Scott, to be slapped by a minority character. In a 2007 interview with The A.V. Club, Kaling stated that the Kelly character is “an exaggerated version of what I think the upper-level writers believe my personality is.” Read more

Biography: Luke Evans

Luke Evans is a Welsh actor primed to turn heads among U.S. moviegoers and the film industry with his upcoming starring roles in notable studio films. Evans will next be seen in Paul W.S. Anderson’s star-studded 3-D spectacle The Three Musketeers. Evans stars as Aramis, one of the disgraced musketeers taking on Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) and The Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) in the hope of restoring their reputation as a force to be reckoned with. The film also stars Logan Lerman and Milla Jovovich.

Soon thereafter, Evans again graces multiplexes as the Greek god Zeus in Tarsem Singh’s Immortals, a stylish and spectacular 3-D action adventure starring Mickey Rourke, Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto and Isabel Lucas.

Evans recently completed his second turn with director Mat Whitecross in the contemporary film noir Ashes, starring alongside Ray Winstone, Jim Sturgess, Lesley Manville and Jodie Whittaker. The actor has also completed production on No One Lives, directed by Ryûhei Kitamura. This horror film focuses on a ruthless gang of killers who are surprised by their victims’ resistance. Next, Evans begins filming his role as Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Read more

Biography: Aubrey Plaza

Actor, writer, and comedian Aubrey Plaza is quickly becoming one of her generation’s brightest young talents.

Plaza currently stars in the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation as ‘April Ludgate,’ ‘Ron Swanson‘s’ underachieving assistant. The series, from the creators of The Office, is a half-‐hour mockumentary that looks at the world of local government. Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones co-‐star. The show was just nominated for an Emmy in the “Best Comedy Series” category and will return for a fourth season in September.

She will next begin production on Roman Coppola‘s new film A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charlie Swan III. The independent film produced by Youree Henley stars Charlie Sheen as the title character, a successful graphic designer whose fame, money and charm have made him irresistible to women. When his girlfriend breaks up with him, his life swirls into a downward spiral of doubt, confusion and reflection. Through delirious fantasies involving his many failed romances, he begins the hard road of self-‐evaluation to come to terms with life without her. Plaza will play Marnie, a producer who works with the protagonist at his company, Swan Design. Read more

Biography: Jackie Earle Haley

Jackie Earle Haley has had one of the most interesting career trajectories in the industry. He started out as a successful child actor before virtually disappearing from Hollywood.

After 15 years, he made an almost unprecedented comeback in back-to-back 2006 feature releases: Steven Zaillian‘s All the King’s Men and Todd Field‘s controversial drama Little Children. Haley’s courageous performance as convicted sex offender Ronnie McGorvey in the latter brought him numerous accolades, culminating in an Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was also honored with a Screen Actors Guild Award® nomination and won Best Supporting Actor awards from several critics groups, including the New York Film Critics Circle and the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Haley then appeared in the Will Ferrell basketball comedy Semi-Pro. In 2009, he joined the ensemble cast of Watchmen, Zack Snyder‘s ambitious film adaptation of the seminal graphic novel, earning acclaim from critics and fans alike for his portrayal of the enigmatic Rorschach.

The following year, Haley co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in the dramatic thriller Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese. Also in 2010, Haley took on the role of the monstrously terrifying killer Freddy Krueger in the reimagining of the horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. On television, Haley starred for two seasons on FOX’s action series Human Target.

Haley first came to fame in the mid-1970s with his scene-stealing performance as Kelly Leak, the cigarette-smoking, motorcycle-riding hellion, in Michael Ritchie‘s comedy hit The Bad News Bears, reprising his role in two sequels. He again won praise from critics and audiences for his role as the romantic but short-tempered Moocher in Peter Yates‘ Oscar®-winning 1979 sleeper hit Breaking Away. In 1983, Haley played the sex-obsessed Dave in Curtis Hanson‘s Losin’ It, with Tom Cruise. That same year, he made his Broadway debut, starring in John Byrne‘s play Slab Boys, with Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, and Val Kilmer.

When the transition to more adult roles proved difficult, Haley turned his focus to directing. He began helming industrial videos, which eventually led to commercials. He had been off the screen for more than a decade when, in 2004, Steven Zaillian tracked him down for the role of Sugar Boy in All the King’s Men. That, combined with his work in Little Children, resulted in the resurgence of his acting career.

Later this year, Haley portrays Alexander Stephens in Steven Spielberg’s historical drama Lincoln, opening in December 2012.

This Biography/Filmography of Jackie Earle Haley is courtesy of Warner Brothers

Biography: Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer has received numerous honors for her work on the big screen, including three Academy Award® nominations. Her first Oscar® nomination, for Best Supporting Actress, came in 1989 for her portrayal of the long-suffering Madame de Tourvel in the Stephen Frears-directed period drama Dangerous Liaisons, also winning a BAFTA Award in the same category.

The following year, Pfeiffer earned Oscar® and BAFTA Award nominations and won a Golden Globe Award, all for Best Actress, for her performance as sexy chanteuse Susie Diamond in The Fabulous Baker Boys, opposite Jeff and Beau Bridges. For her role in that film, Pfeiffer was also named Best Actress by a number of critics groups, including the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago Film Critics, the National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics.

Pfeiffer received another Best Actress Oscar® nod, as well as another Golden Globe nomination, for her work as Dallas housewife Lurene Hallett in Love Field. In addition, she has received Golden Globe nominations, all for Best Actress, for her performances in The Age of Innocence, Frankie and Johnny, The Russia House and Married to the Mob. Read more

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