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- Actress
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Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy (born April 16, 1996) is a British-American actress. She is best known for her roles as Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit (2020), Thomasin in the period horror film The Witch (2015), as Casey Cooke in the horror-thriller Split (2016), and as Lily in the black comedy thriller Thoroughbreds (2017). She has been the recipient of the Cannes Film Festival's Trophée Chopard and was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award.
Anya was born in Miami, the youngest of six children. Her father is Scottish who was born in South America, and her mother is Spanish-English who was born in Zambia in Africa, to an English diplomat father and a Spanish mother from Barcelona. Anya lived her childhood between Argentina and England. Her father was a banker and a powerboat racer, and her mother is a psychologist. Anya was raised in Argentina until the age of six, then moved to London, where the family lived in Victoria. She attended Northlands School in Buenos Aires, then preparatory school Hill House and Queen's Gate School in London, and is also a former ballet dancer. Anya's dream of becoming an actress came when she was very young and it finally became possible when she was offered a modeling job. It wasn't long until Taylor-Joy received her first part in the Show Business. When she was fourteen, she used her savings to move to New York, and at 16, she left school to pursue acting.
Anya's outstanding performance as Thomasin in Robert Eggers' period horror film The Witch (2015), and the positive reviews it got at the Sundance festival revealed her incredible potential to the world; it was widely released and viewed in 2016. She then starred as the title character in the thriller Morgan (2016), directed Luke Scott and also starring Kate Mara. She also starred in Vikram Gandhi's film Barry, which focused on a young Barack Obama in 1981 New York City. Taylor-Joy played one of Obama's close friends. In 2017, she headlined M. Night Shyamalan's horror-thriller film Split (2016), playing Casey Cooke, a girl abducted by a mysterious man with split personalities. In 2019, she reprised her role as Casey in the film Glass. Anya was also the lead actress in the music video for Skrillex's remix of GTA's song Red Lips. She was nominated for the 2017 BAFTA Rising Star Award.
Taylor-Joy is attached to star in Nosferatu, a remake of the film of the same name, to be directed by Eggers in her third collaboration with him. She will also star in The Sea Change.- Actress
- Music Department
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Sadie Sink is an American actress. She started her career in the theater, and rose to prominence for her roles as Max in Netflix's science fiction drama series Stranger Things (2016) and Ziggy Berman in the horror films Fear Street: Part Two - 1978 (2021) and Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (2021).
Sadie was born in Brenham, Texas. She began taking acting classes and performing in community theatre in Houston at age nine. She performed in musical productions of White Christmas in 2011, and the title role of Annie in a regional production. She then auditioned for Broadway, and played the title role as well as Duffy in the 2012 revival of Annie. While starring in the play, she appeared in the Emmy-winning series The Americans (2013). In 2015, she played Suzanne Ballard in the NBC television series American Odyssey (2015), and portrayed a young Queen Elizabeth II alongside Helen Mirren in the Broadway production of The Audience. She also made guest appearances in the shows Blue Bloods (2010) and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015). She has since appeared in the films Chuck (2016), The Glass Castle (2017), and Eli (2019), and was one of the narrators for the documentary Dominion (2018). In 2021, she played the lead role in the short film All Too Well: The Short Film (2021).- Actress
- Producer
From pioneering women's MMA to blazing a trail in movies, GINA CARANO is one of Hollywood's most unique rising stars. Carano began her training with Muay Thai to competitive MMA, where she competed in Strikeforce and EliteXC. Her popularity led to her being called the "Face of Women's MMA" and she was the fastest-rising search on Google and third-most-searched person on Yahoo and ranked 5th on a list of the "Top 10 Influential Women" of 2008. In August 2009, Carano fought Cris Cyborg in Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, the first time two women headlined a major MMA event and at the time was the highest rated fight in Showtime history. Carano compiled a competitive record of 12-1-1 in Muay Thai and a 7-1 in women's MMA.[4]
Outside the ring, Carano served as a mentor to aspiring fighters in the 2007 Oxygen reality series Fight Girls and performed as 'Crush' in the revamped television series American Gladiators before her breakout performance in Steven Soderbergh's film HAYWIRE, holding her own against the likes of Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Bill Paxton and Antonio Banderas. Gina's authenticity to making the Action look real earned her performance a Critics Choice Award Nomination for Best Actress in an action film. Hot on the heels came a role in the worldwide hit FAST AND FURIOUS 6 for Universal Pictures opposite Dwayne Johnson furthering her appeal as an Action Star. Next up, she co-starred alongside Robert DeNiro, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Dave Bautista in Lionsgate's film HEIST followed by the role of 'Angel Dust' in the smash hit MARVEL/FOX film DEADPOOL opposite Ryan Reynolds based on the popular comic book. The film grossed over $870 Million dollars at the Box Office. After starring in the independent films DAUGHTER OF THE WOLF opposite Richard Dreyfuss and the dark comedy MADNESS IN THE METHOD with Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, Gina had secured a lead role in Jon Favreau's highly reviewed Star Wars TV show THE MANDALORIAN for Disney +. Gina played 'Cara Dune', a former Rebel Shock Trooper in the series. However, after sharing a controversial post on social media, Gina was fired by Lucas Film and her character was written out of the show.
Carano was born in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Dana Joy (née Cason) and professional football player Glenn Carano who played for the Dallas Cowboys and was the backup quarterback to Roger Staubach. She has two sisters, one older and one younger.
*Gina became the first recipient of ActionFest's Chuck Norris (Best Female Action Star) Award, given to the female action star of the year.
*Gina received the Artemis Action Warrior Award for her contributions to the female action genre and women's MMA. The award was presented to her by Action legend Zoe Bell- Actress
- Producer
Offbeat, unconventionally pretty, and utterly mesmerizing, Ellen Barkin was born on April 16, 1954 in the Bronx, New York, to Evelyn (Rozin), a hospital administrator, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman. Her parents were both from Russian Jewish families. Raised in the South Bronx and Queens, New York area, she wanted to be an actress as early as her teens and was eventually accepted into Manhattan's High School of the Performing Arts.
Barkin then attended Hunter College and received her degree after double majoring in history and drama. At one point she wanted to teach ancient history, but instead turned her thoughts back to her first love: acting. Barkin then continued her education at New York's Actor's Studio. Fearful of the auditioning process, she studied acting for seven years before finally landing her first audition. While continuing her studies, she worked as a waitress at the avant-garde Ocean Club. Performing off-Broadway in such plays "Shout Across the River" (1979), "Extremities" (1983), "Fool for Love" (1984) and "Eden Court" (1985), she was applauded across the board for her first film lead in Diner (1982) opposite Mickey Rourke and Daniel Stern, and pursued sexy tough-cookie status thereafter with such quirky roles in The Big Easy (1986) starring Dennis Quaid and Siesta (1987) with Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, whom she married in 1987 and separated from in 1993 after producing a son and daughter. She and Byrne divorced in 1999.
With trademark squinting eyes and slightly off-kilter facial features, Barkin continued the fascination of her seamy/steamy girl-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks status most notably opposite Al Pacino in the thriller Sea of Love (1989). In addition, she was well cast as Robert De Niro's abused wife in This Boy's Life (1993), and portrayed "Calamity Jane" in Wild Bill (1995) with earnest. Other impressionable offbeat projects included roles in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) and Mercy (2000). On TV, she was well-cast in the mini-movie Blood Money (1988) and won an Emmy award for her gripping performance in Before Women Had Wings (1997) opposite Oprah Winfrey as another abused wife who, in this case, turns her violent anger on her own daughters.
In 2000, Barkin married billionaire Ronald O. Perelman, eleven years her senior and chairman of the Revlon company, and put her career relatively on hold, appearing sporadically in edgy films like She Hate Me (2004) and Palindromes (2004). Barkin and Perelman went through an acrimonious divorce in 2006.
Just prior to her divorce in late 2005, Barkin ventured into independent film production with Applehead Pictures, a company she set up with her brother George Barkin, who is a scriptwriter and former editor-in-chief of National Lampoon and High Times, and former Independent Film Channel executive Caroline Kaplan. In her first major acting appearance since her divorce from Perelman, Barkin co-starred in Ocean's Thirteen (2007) with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and former co-star Pacino. She followed up Ocean's with a supporting role in Antoine Fuqua's Brooklyn's Finest (2009), Happy Tears (2009) with Parker Posey and Demi Moore, and Twelve (2010).
Barkin has produced features over time, including Letters to Juliet (2010) and Another Happy Day (2011) (she also starred in the latter project). On the small screen, she appeared in an episode of Modern Family (2009) and her new NBC show, The New Normal (2012), got a sneak peek during the Olympics.
More recent sightings have included the films The Chameleon (2010), Very Good Girls (2013), The Cobbler (2014), Hands of Stone (2016) and Active Adults (2017). She has had regular roles on the TV series The New Normal (2012) and Animal Kingdom (2016).- Actress
- Producer
Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is an English actress. She studied acting at the Liverpool John Moores University and the Oxford School of Drama and made her screen debut in the pilot of the supernatural comedy series Being Human, in 2008. Following her professional stage debut at the Royal National Theatre, she played the title role in the BBC One miniseries Little Dorrit (2008), and made her film debut in the American historical fantasy drama Season of the Witch (2011). Following leading roles in the television series The Promise (2011) and Crossbones (2014), Foy received praise for portraying the ill-fated queen Anne Boleyn in the miniseries Wolf Hall (2015).
Foy gained international recognition for portraying the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series The Crown (2016-2017), for which she won a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, among other awards. In 2018, she starred in Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller Unsane and portrayed Janet Shearon, wife of astronaut Neil Armstrong, in Damien Chazelle's biopic First Man. For the latter, she was nominated for the BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
Foy was born in Stockport. She has said that her mother, Caroline, comes from "a massive Irish family". Her maternal grandparents were from Dublin and Kildare, respectively. She grew up in Manchester and Leeds, the youngest of three children. Her family later moved to Longwick, Buckinghamshire, for her father's job as a salesman for Rank Xerox. Her parents divorced when she was eight.
Foy attended Aylesbury High School, a girls' grammar school, from the age of twelve; she then attended Liverpool John Moores University, studying drama and screen studies. She also trained in a one-year course at the Oxford School of Drama. She graduated in 2007 and moved to Peckham to share a house "with five friends from drama school".- Actor
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Jonathan Niven Cryer is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Born into a show business family, he made his motion picture debut as a teenager photographer in the 1984 romantic comedy No Small Affair; his breakout role came in 1986, in the John Hughes-written film Pretty in Pink. In 1998, he wrote and produced the independent film Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five.- Actor
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Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an African-American comedian, producer, writer, director and actor. He is known for his roles in the Bad Boys trilogy, Martin, Def Comedy Jam, Big Momma's House, Open Season, House Party, Boomerang, Wild Hogs, What's Happening Now!!, Nothing to Lose, Life and Blue Streak. He has three daughters.- Phoebe Fox was born on 16 April 1987 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Eye in the Sky (2015), The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2014) and The Aeronauts (2019). She has been married to Kyle Soller since 2010.
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Lukas was born on April 16, 1976 in West Hollywood, California. His Texas-born mother, Emily Tracy, is a writer, and his German-born father, Berthold Haas, is an artist. He has twin brothers, Simon and Nikolai. It's widely noted that Lukas was discovered at the age of five by casting director Margery Simkin while he was in kindergarten.
While his first screen role was as the youngest of the doomed children in the 1983 nuclear Holocaust film Testament (1983), it was his second appearance, in Witness (1985) opposite Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis, that earned attention and acclaim. In Peter Weir's 1985 film, Lukas portrayed Samuel, an Amish child who was the sole witness to an undercover cop's murder, and his work earned him starring roles in such films as Lady in White (1988), The Wizard of Loneliness (1988), and Alan & Naomi (1992) - the latter film co-written by his mother.
He continued to distinguish himself in film in starring roles including: Music Box (1989) with Jessica Lange and director Costa-Gavras; Convicts (1991) and Rambling Rose (1991) (both with Robert Duvall); and Boys (1996) with John C. Reilly and Winona Ryder.
On stage, in 1988, Lukas performed alongside Steve Martin and Robin Williams in Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" at Lincoln Center in New York City for director Mike Nichols. He also starred with Martin in the film Leap of Faith (1992).
Lukas went on to work with directors Woody Allen in Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Tim Burton in Mars Attacks! (1996), and Alan Rudolph in Breakfast of Champions (1999). He had a pivotal role in Brick (2005), Rian Johnson's directorial debut with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He next appeared in the Kurt Cobain-inspired Last Days (2005), directed by Gus Van Sant, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Roles in Material Girls (2006), slasher movie send-up The Tripper (2006), Who Loves the Sun (2006), Gardener of Eden (2007), While She Was Out (2008), and Death in Love (2008) followed.
Recently, Lukas had a supporting role in Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010) opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Elliot Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine and Marion Cotillard. He then appeared in Red Riding Hood (2011) for director Catherine Hardwicke, and Contraband (2012), director Baltasar Kormákur's English-language remake of the movie he starred in, Reykjavik-Rotterdam (2008).
Lukas was most recently seen in Crazy Eyes (2012). He has several projects in production, including Meth Head (2013) written and directed by Jane Clark.
Also a talented musician, Lukas plays drums and piano in the band The Rogues.- Writer
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Considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, Charlie Chaplin lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular character, the Little Tramp; the man with the toothbrush mustache, bowler hat, bamboo cane, and a funny walk.
Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in Walworth, London, England on April 16, 1889, to Hannah Harriet Pedlingham (Hill) and Charles Chaplin, both music hall performers, who were married on June 22, 1885. After Charles Sr. separated from Hannah to perform in New York City, Hannah then tried to resurrect her stage career. Unfortunately, her singing voice had a tendency to break at unexpected moments. When this happened, the stage manager spotted young Charlie standing in the wings and led him on stage, where five-year-old Charlie began to sing a popular tune. Charlie and his half-brother, Syd Chaplin spent their lives in and out of charity homes and workhouses between their mother's bouts of insanity. Hannah was committed to Cane Hill Asylum in May 1903 and lived there until 1921, when Chaplin moved her to California.
Chaplin began his official acting career at the age of eight, touring with the Eight Lancashire Lads. At age 18, he began touring with Fred Karno's vaudeville troupe, joining them on the troupe's 1910 United States tour. He traveled west to California in December 1913 and signed on with Keystone Studios' popular comedy director Mack Sennett, who had seen Chaplin perform on stage in New York. Charlie soon wrote his brother Syd, asking him to become his manager. While at Keystone, Chaplin appeared in and directed 35 films, starring as the Little Tramp in nearly all.
In November 1914, he left Keystone and signed on at Essanay, where he made 15 films. In 1916, he signed on at Mutual and made 12 films. In June 1917, Chaplin signed up with First National Studios, after which he built Chaplin Studios. In 1919, he and Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists (UA).
Chaplin's life and career was full of scandal and controversy. His first big scandal was during World War I, at which time his loyalty to England, his home country, was questioned. He had never applied for American citizenship, but claimed that he was a "paying visitor" to the United States. Many British citizens called Chaplin a coward and a slacker. This and other career eccentricities sparked suspicion with FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), who believed that he was injecting Communist propaganda into his films. Chaplin's later film The Great Dictator (1940), which was his first "talkie", also created a stir. In the film, Chaplin plays a humorous caricature of Adolf Hitler. Some thought the film was poorly done and in bad taste. However, the film grossed over $5 million and earned five Academy Award Nominations.
Another scandal occurred when Chaplin briefly dated 22 year-old Joan Barry. However, Chaplin's relationship with Barry came to an end in 1942, after a series of harassing actions from her. In May 1943, Barry returned to inform Chaplin that she was pregnant and filed a paternity suit, claiming that the unborn child was his. During the 1944 trial, blood tests proved that Chaplin was not the father, but at the time, blood tests were inadmissible evidence, and he was ordered to pay $75 a week until the child turned 21.
Chaplin also was scrutinized for his support in aiding the Russian struggle against the invading Nazis during World War II, and the United States government questioned his moral and political views, suspecting him of having Communist ties. For this reason, HUAC subpoenaed him in 1947. However, HUAC finally decided that it was no longer necessary for him to appear for testimony. Conversely, when Chaplin and his family traveled to London for the premier of Limelight (1952), he was denied re-entry to the United States. In reality, the government had almost no evidence to prove that he was a threat to national security. Instead, he and his wife decided to settle in Switzerland.
Chaplin was married four times and had a total of 11 children. In 1918, he married Mildred Harris and they had a son together, Norman Spencer Chaplin, who lived only three days. Chaplin and Harris divorced in 1920. He married Lita Grey in 1924, who had two sons, Charles Chaplin Jr. and Sydney Chaplin. They were divorced in 1927. In 1936, Chaplin married Paulette Goddard, and his final marriage was to Oona O'Neill (Oona Chaplin), daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1943. Oona gave birth to eight children: Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Chaplin, Josephine Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin, Eugene Chaplin, Jane Chaplin, Annette-Emilie Chaplin, and Christopher Chaplin.
In contrast to many of his boisterous characters, Chaplin was a quiet man who kept to himself a great deal. He also had an "un-millionaire" way of living. Even after he had accumulated millions, he continued to live in shabby accommodations. In 1921, Chaplin was decorated by the French government for his outstanding work as a filmmaker and was elevated to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1952. In 1972, he was honored with an Academy Award for his "incalculable effect in making motion pictures the art form of the century". He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1975 New Year's Honours List. No formal reason for the honour was listed. The citation simply reads "Charles Spencer Chaplin, Film Actor and Producer".
Chaplin's other works included musical scores that he composed for many of his films. He also authored two autobiographical books, "My Autobiography" (1964) and its companion volume, "My Life in Pictures" (1974).
Chaplin died at age 88 of natural causes on December 25, 1977 at his home in Vevey, Switzerland. His funeral was a small and private Anglican ceremony according to his wishes. In 1978, Chaplin's corpse was stolen from its grave and was not recovered for three months; he was re-buried in a vault surrounded by cement.
Six of Chaplin's films have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress: The Immigrant (1917), The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), and The Great Dictator (1940).
Charlie Chaplin is considered one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of American cinema, whose movies were and still are popular throughout the world and have even gained notoriety as time progresses. His films show, through the Little Tramp's positive outlook on life in a world full of chaos, that the human spirit has and always will remain the same.- Actress
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Cassandra Naud (SHE/HER), a queer Canadian actor, dancer and entrepreneur known for her role of CW in Influencer (Shudder). She is the second eldest of four children; two boys and two girls. She left her hometown of Fort McMurray, Alberta at the age of 19 and headed straight to Hollywood where she tackled her endeavors head on. After receiving her Bachelors of Fine Arts and a couple solid dance credits she decided to relocate to Vancouver where she began acting. She made her television debut as Fiona in Snowpiercer (TBS/Netflix), followed by recurring roles in "See" (Apple TV) and "The Good Doctor" (ABC).
Alongside her acting career Cassandra co-Founded Somedays. A queer owned mission driven brand helping people manage menstrual pain through innovative products, health literacy and community advocacy. They've made their mark with their viral campaign entitled "People Have Periods" which celebrates queer and trans folks by including them in everything Somedays.
Inclusion is something that Cassandra is passionate about. Having faced adversity herself she fully understands the power of media and the important part it plays in today's society. The narrative around "beauty" has changed drastically these past few years, and she feels unbelievably lucky to be a part of it.- Actor
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Max Beesley was born on 16 April 1971 in Burnage, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Gentlemen (2024), Hijack (2023) and The Outsider (2020). He is married to Jennifer Beesley. They have one child.- Actress
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Eva Birthistle was born on 16 April 1974 in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. She is an actress and director, known for Imagine Me & You (2005), A Fond Kiss (2004) and Brooklyn (2015). She is married to Ross John Barr. They have two children. She was previously married to Raife Patrick Burchell.- Actress
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Born in Taiwan, Qi Shu has won the prestigious Golden Horse Award in Taiwan (regarded as the East Asian Oscar) for Best Supporting Actress in 1998. She has also received a Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress in 2005. She appeared with Jackie Chan in the romantic comedy Gorgeous (1999) ("Gorgeous"). Her name is spelled in a variety of ways, including Hsu Qi, Hsu Chi, Qi Shu, and Shu Kei, and there are quite a few other variations on her name on foreign V.C.D.s, D.V.D.s, and internet sites.- Belinda Stewart-Wilson is an English actress, born in London, England, U.K. She is best known for her role in the popular TV sitcom The Inbetweeners as Polly McKenzie. Her father is a British Army officer Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson.During childhood she grew up on various military postings in the UK, Germany, and Austria before her family finally settled in London. She was educated at Hurst Lodge School in Ascot, Berkshire, before training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, in London.Stewart-Wilson worked on a number of television shows, making mostly one-time appearances. Her most notable credits during this time period were the roles of Victoria Reynholm, the presumed dead wife of Douglas Reynholm in The IT Crowd, and Nikki in the TV series Jekyll alongside James Nesbitt and Gina Bellman. She also made an appearance in the commercially successful mockumentary feature film Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance. Belinda also played a cameo role in Stephen Poliakoff's Joe's Palace in a scene with Michael Gambon.
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David Lyons was born on 16 April 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is an actor and director, known for Safe Haven (2013), Record (2013) and Revolution (2012).- Actor
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Peter Ustinov was a two-time Academy Award-winning film actor, director, writer, journalist and raconteur. He wrote and directed many acclaimed stage plays and led numerous international theatrical productions.
He was born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinow on April 16, 1921 in Swiss Cottage, London, the son of Nadezhda Leontievna (née Benois) and Jona Freiherr von Ustinow. His father was of one-quarter Polish Jewish, one-half Russian, one-eighth Ethiopian, and one-eighth German descent, while his mother was of one-half Russian, one-quarter Italian, one-eighth French, and one-eighth German ancestry. Ustinov had ancestral connections to Russian nobility as well as to the Ethiopian Royal Family. His father, also known as "Klop Ustinov", was a pilot in the German Air Force during World War I. In 1919, Jona Freiherr von Ustinow joined his own mother and sister in St Petersburg, Russia, where he met his future wife, artist Nadia Benois, who worked for the Imperial Mariinsky Ballet and Opera House in St Petersburg.
In 1920, in a modest and discreet ceremony at a Russian-German church in St Petersburg, Ustinov's father married Nadia. In February 1921, when she was seven months pregnant with Peter, the couple emigrated from Russia in the aftermath of the Communist Revolution. Young Peter was brought up in a multilingual family. He was fluent in Russian, French, Italian and German, as well as English. He attended Westminster College (1934-37), took the drama and acting class under Michel St Denis at the London Theatre Studio (1937-39), and made his stage debut in 1938 at the Stage Theatre Club in Surrey. He wrote his first play at the age of 19. In 1939, he made his London stage debut in a revue sketch, then had regular performances with the Aylesbury Repertory Company. The following year, he made his film debut in Hullo, Fame! (1940).
From 1942-46, Ustinov served with the British Army's Royal Sussex Regiment. He was batman for David Niven, and the two became lifelong friends. Ustinov spent most of his service working with the Army Cinema Unit, where he was involved in making recruitment films, wrote plays and appeared in three films as an actor. At that time he co-wrote and acted in The Way Ahead (1944) (aka "The Immortal Battalion").
Ustinov had a stellar film career as actor, director, and writer. Among his numerous screen acting gems were his unparalleled, Academy Award-nominated interpretation of Nero in Quo Vadis (1951) and roles in Max Ophüls's masterpiece Lola Montès (1955), Barefoot in Athens (1966), The Comedians (1967), Robin Hood (1973) and Logan's Run (1976). He also wrote and directed such brilliant films as Billy Budd (1962), Lady L (1965) and Memed My Hawk (1984). He was awarded two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, one for his role in Spartacus (1960) and one for his role in Topkapi (1964), and received two more Oscar nominations as an actor and writer. His career slowed down a bit in the 1970s, but made a comeback as Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile (1978) by director John Guillermin. In the 1980s, Ustinov recreated Poirot in several subsequent television movies and theatrical films, including Evil Under the Sun (1982) and Appointment with Death (1988), while his cinema work in the 1990s also includes his superb performance as Professor Gus Nikolais in George Miller's excellent dramatic film, Lorenzo's Oil (1992), a character partially inspired by Hugo Wolfgang Moser, a research scientist who had been director of the Neurogenetics Research Center at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University.
His expertise in dialectic and physical comedy made him a regular guest of talk show hosts and late-night comedians. His witty and multidimensional humor was legendary, and he later published a collection of his jokes and quotations summarizing his wide popularity as a raconteur. He was also an internationally acclaimed TV journalist. Ustinov covered over 100,000 miles and visited more than 30 Russian cities during the making of his well-received BBC television series Russia (1986).
In his autobiographies, "Dear Me" (1977) and "My Russia" (1996), Ustinov revealed his observations on his life, career, and his multicultural and multi-ethnic background. He wrote and directed numerous stage plays, successfully presenting them in several countries. His drama, "Photo Finish", was staged in New York, London and St. Petersburg, Russia, where Ustinov directed the acclaimed production, starring Elena Solovey and Petr Shelokhonov. Ustinov also served as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and a president of WFM, a global citizens movement. Ustinov served as Rector of Dundee University for six years. He was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal from the Royal Society of Arts in 1957 and was knighted in 1990.
From 1971 until his death in 2004, Ustinov's permanent residence was a château in Bursins, Vaud, Switzerland. He died of heart failure on March 28, 2004, in a clinic in Genolier, also in Vaud. His funeral service was held at Geneva's historic Cathedral of St. Pierre, and he was laid to rest in the village cemetery of Bursins. He was survived by three daughters (Tamara, Pavla, and Andrea) and one son (Igor). His epitaph may be gleaned from his comment, "I am an international citizen conceived in Russia, born in England, working in Hollywood, living in Switzerland, and touring the World".- Actor
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William Richard Werstine is an American actor and radio personality with autism and ADHD. He grew up in both New Jersey and Boston. He became a regular cast member of the Howard Stern show. He became known for The Ren & Stimpy Show, Futurama, Doug, Space Jam and several commercials featuring the red M&M.- Originally from Alabama, Malcolm McRae relocated to Los Angeles and found a path towards music along the way. Within a year of residing in California, he began recording with the likes of Jon Brion and Tony Berg, in addition to signing with Warner Records as one half of the duo more* with Kane Richotte. more* most recently supported Haim on their North American Summer 2022 tour, and previously went on the road with Grouplove. While pursuing one artform, Malcolm also dove into the fashion editorial space, landing a cover story for ODDA Magazine as his very first solo shoot. Since that initial venture, Malcolm has engaged with brands such as Dior, Celine, and BVLGARI for partnerships. 2023 saw Malcolm recording more*'s debut album in London, UK, participating at men's fashion week in Paris, appearing in The Amazon Original Series Daisy Jones & the Six, and discovering new inspirations in the midst of it all. On the film side, Malcolm most recently wrapped the independent film TRITON alongside Freya Allen and Josh Whitehouse and is set to release later this year.
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Marshall R. Teague has appeared in over 130 film & TV shows. He is retired U.S. Navy, and a former Deputy Sheriff in Memphis, TN. His acting career has cumulated various portions from his military & law enforcement background to his firearms training to integrate & mold into his characters for the most realistic portrayals on film. His talent for balancing starring roles with powerful supporting characters has allowed him to build a varied pivotal body of work. His theatrical breakout role was as Jimmy Reno in the 1989 cult classic Road House. From there he went on to costar on two Michael Bay films "The Rock" and "Armageddon". Also a reoccurring star on the TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger", "American Heiress", and "Babylon 5". In addition to acting, Marshall is a motivational speaker, singer/songwriter, and actively working on various TV and film production concepts.- Tanya Moodie was born on 16 April 1972 in Canada. She is an actress, known for Empire of Light (2022), Motherland (2016) and A Discovery of Witches (2018).
- Actor
- Producer
Jack Cutmore-Scott was born on 16 April 1987 in Lambeth, London, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Tenet (2020), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Dunkirk (2017). He has been married to Meaghan Rath since 16 May 2020. They have two children.- David Graf was a Lancaster, Ohio native. He was a graduate of Lancaster High School in 1968. He went on to attend college at Otterbein University where he graduated in 1972 as a theater major. He attended Ohio State University grad school until 1975 when he dropped out to pursue an acting career in New York City. He broke into the movies with Four Friends (1981). David never forgot his roots. He always returned to Lancaster each year in October for the Fairfield County Fair. It was his way of keeping in touch. In a tragic coincidence, David passed away at the same age and condition that his father did. David is survived by his wife of 17 years, Kathryn Graf, two sons, Daniel and Sean; mother and brother who reside in Zanesville, Ohio.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Liliana Mumy was born in San Marcos, California. Her father is actor Bill Mumy. Among his many roles, her father appeared as a child in the 1961 The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life". Liliana appeared with her father, as his child, in the revival series' 2003 sequel episode "It's Still a Good Life". She currently voices Beth Tezuka, in the animated web series Bravest Warriors and Leni Loud in the Nickelodeon TV series The Loud House, and has been joined by her father on some episodes of both shows. She has also appeared in other motion pictures. Her most notable film appearances are in Cheaper by the Dozen, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, The Santa Clause 2, as well as The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. In 2002.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Toby Poser is a film and theater actor, writer, director, producer, and voice over artist. She was born in Huntingdon, PA and lives in both New York and California with her creative partner and husband, John Adams, and their daughters, Lulu and Zelda Adams. The four of them make independent films under the marquee of Wonder Wheel Productions.