INTERESTING ACTORS
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- One of Australia's leading actors, Lincoln recently starred in the celebrated Paramount+ drama Last King Of The Cross as the central character of John Ibrahim opposite Academy Award nominated actor Tim Roth. Following this he completed filming on the Stan Original dark-comedy C*A*U*G*H*T alongside Academy Award winning actor Sean Penn. He also made a special guest appearance on the period comedy Gold Diggers for ABC/CBS. Both are set to premiere midway through 2023.
In 2019 Lincoln starred as Danny in Grand Hotel for ABC US, executive produced by Eva Longoria, before being cast in the coveted role of Benjamin in the television adaptation of The Lost Boys for THE CW which ceased production due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
First appearing on Australian television screens in the role of Romeo Kovac in the celebrated Foxtel series Tangle opposite Ben Mendelsohn, Lincoln received the 2013 ASTRA Award for Most Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor for his performance.
His other television credits include Ollie in After The Verdict for Channel Nine, as well as roles in the special event SBS drama Dead Lucky, Channel Nine's Love Child and Doctor Doctor, ABC TV's Barons and Hiding, Channel Seven's City Homicide and his portrayal of 'River Boy' Casey Braxton in Seven's Home and Away which garnered national and international acclaim.
Heralded for his starring role as Hassim in Abe Forsythe's feature film Down Under, Lincoln has also appeared in The Wedding Party and in Forsythe's latest feature Little Monsters. - Actor
- Producer
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Tom Riley born 5 April 1981 is an English actor, producer and director. Riley was born in Maidstone, Kent. He became involved in drama in his hometown at the age of four, and spent his school years writing and directing plays. He attended Maidstone Grammar School. He studied English literature and drama at the University of Birmingham, graduating in 2002 with first class honours.[He then set up a small theatre company before starting a three-year acting course at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art completing his studies in 2005.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard Coyle was born and raised in Sheffield, in the UK with his four brothers. He began his career when, studying languages and the history of art at York University (1992 - 1995), he got interested in student drama and traveled to the Edinburgh festival twice.
A decision to raise funds to study at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School resulted in an extra's job on a new film adaptation of the classic novel Jane Eyre. When director Franco Zeffirelli heard Richard was about to start drama school he gave him a line, his first on screen: "Mr. Rochester, Mr. Rochester, your house sir!"
After graduating drama school he took a number of small roles in television and film before landing a larger role in the 1998 ITV drama Episode #1.1 (1998) and a super cameo turn in Justin Kerrigan's Human Traffic (1999) as "Andy" - a party goer engaged in some seriously "deep" debate on Star Wars and drugs culture with Danny Dyer's character "Moff".
In 2000 Richard landed the two roles that would launch him into the limelight: "Jeff" in BBC2's inspired comedy series Coupling (2000) and "John Ridd" in the BBC's Christmas production of Lorna Doone (2000). Richard has trodden the boards in the West End, firstly at The Royal Court Theatre in Peter Gill's "The York Realist" and then alongside Gwyneth Paltrow in "Proof" at the Donmar Warehouse. Also "Don Carlos" in 2005 and "The Lover/The Collection" in 2008. Polar Bears at the Donmar Warehouse in 2010, Macbeth in New York in 2014, and Ink at the Almeida and West End in 2017/2018.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Mark Stanley was born on 29 April 1988. He is an actor, known for Run (2019), Sulphur and White (2020) and Dark River (2017).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Australian actor Brendan Cowell was raised in the beach side suburb of Cronulla by parents Yvonne and Bruce. His older sisters, both singers and dancers, encouraging Brendan to create his own shows to perform after dinner in front of the family. At age 8, he was cast in a TV commercial while awaiting one of his sisters to come out of a dance rehearsal. He worked in television drama during his teens, before getting his BA in Communication, Theatre and Media from Charles Sturt University, Bathurst in 1998. He continued to work in film, theatre and television as an actor, but then began writing his own plays in the late 1990's to immediate success. Brendan was the recipient of the 2003 Griffin Playwright award for most outstanding new work in a given year, and his play 'Bed' earned him a share of the 2001 Patrick White Playwrights award, the richest playwriting award in Australia for new talent. Brendan ran Wharf2Loud at the Sydney Theatre Company for two years, a company later succeeded by Cate Blanchett. Brendan's next foray into television saw him writing for the SBS TV satire 'Life Support', of which he played Todd the Toolman, and the widely acclaimed 'Love My Way', which he played Tom Jackson, and wrote several episodes. Brendan acted in a number of Australian films, including Matthew Saville's 'Noise', and the war epic 'Beneath Hill 60', later directing the film adaptation of his most successful play 'Ruben Guthrie', which opened the Sydney Film Festival in 2015 and played at the London BFI the following year. After the overseas success of the ABC TV adaptation of 'The Slap' a single series drama which Brendan wrote and acted in, winning the AFI for best screenplay in TV in a given year - Brendan boldly moved to London in 2016, where he achieved immediate success on stage with the Simon Stone directed 'Yerma' starring Billie Piper, at which Joe Wright, the well-renowned film maker (Atonement), spotted him for the lead role in the Young Vic production of 'Life of Galileo' which played to full houses and featured the music of The Chemical Brothers. Brendan has also starred in season 7 of 'Game of Thrones' since his move to the UK, enjoying a small role in 'A Current War' next to Michael Shannon, and 'Press', a TV series about the tabloids for BBC 1, before he heads off to Broadway with 'Yerma' in 2018. Brendan has two original TV scripts in development with UK producers and networks and a new stage play for England called 'London Bridge'. He is single, 41, and has no pets.- Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Bella Heathcote has emerged as one of Hollywood's most sought after talents. She can most recently be seen in 'Relic' starring alongside Emily Mortimer, which received rave reviews at its premiere at Sundance 2020. Prior to that, Bella starred in CBS All Access drama series 'Strange Angel' with Jack Reynor and Rupert Friend as well as a major role on Amazon's acclaimed original drama series 'The Man In The High Castle.'
Heathcote will next begin filming Netflix original series 'Pieces of Her' alongside Toni Collette. Set in a sleepy Georgia town where a random act of violence sets off an unexpected chain of events for 30-year-old Andy Oliver (Heathcote) and her mother (Collette). Desperate for answers, Andy embarks on a dangerous journey across America, drawing her towards the dark, hidden heart of her family. - Actor
- Editor
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Aden Young was born on 30 November 1971 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and editor, known for Killer Elite (2011), I, Frankenstein (2014) and The Unseen (2016). He has been married to Loene Carmen since 2014. They have two children.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Don has worked extensively in Australian television since the late 90's. His American television credits include Childhood's End, the ABC pilot Warriors and he has just completed shooting NBC's medical drama Heartbeat. His latest Australian works include Devil's Playground, The Broken Shore, Serangoon Road, Jack Irish: Black Tide and Rake.
Don recently concluding shooting the Australian feature Ali's Wedding. Some of Don's film credits include Healing and Lucky Miles which won the audience award at the 2007 Sydney Film Festival. His US features include Big Top, The TV Set, Winning The Peace and California King and the Telemovies Devil's Dust and The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce for ABC Australia.
In 2010 Don won the TV Week Silver Logie for most outstanding actor for the role of Zane Malik in the SBS series East West 101. He received AFI nomination in 2008 and 2009 for Best Lead Actor in a TV drama and in 2011 was nominated for the TV Week Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor for his role in Foxtel series Tangle. In 2012, Don was again nominated for the AACTA for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama for East West 101.- Boris Van Severen was born in 1989. He is an actor, known for Baptiste (2019), Skunk (2023) and Moresnet.
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Tom Hollander was born the second child of educated parents, both teachers. He grew up in Oxford, (UK).
Hollander credits the happy atmosphere of the Dragon School with his childhood introduction to acting. There, encouraged by an influential teacher named Andrew Roberts, he won the title role in "Oliver". His studies continued at Abingdon, as did his pursuit of acting. At about this point, he won a place in the National Youth Theatre, a UK organization for young people in the field of musical theatre, based in London, and later at the Children's Music Theatre. It was during CMT's "The Leaving of Liverpool" (1981) that he came to the attention of BBC television, and subsequently found himself front and center as the young protagonist in a well-regarded John Diamond (1981), based on the popular Leon Garfield adventure novel. He was just fourteen years old.
Other early projects included two roles in Bertholt Brecht's "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" (1985) for the National Youth Theatre, and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for Oxford University Dramatic Society.
Hollander attended Cambridge University at about the same time as his childhood friend Sam Mendes in a visually bold (and well-remembered) staging of "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1988). Other collaborations with Mendes have followed, including work at the West End production of "The Cherry Orchard" (1989, with Judi Dench), and the Chichester Festival Theatre (1989) as well as a Toronto staging of "Kean" (1991) with Derek Jacobi. He also appeared in the Cambridge Footlights Revue (1988).
Upon graduation, Hollander hoped to gain entry to drama school, but found himself disappointed. The oversight did nothing to discourage a successful career already well under way: he garnered an Ian Charleson Award for his turn as Witwould in "The Way of the World" (1992), was nominated again for a "splendidly sinister, manic" performance as "Tartuffe" (1996), and yet again as a finalist for his Khlestakov ("a performance of ideal vigour and impudence"), in Gogol's "The Government Inspector" (1997). Inevitably, Hollander was urged to try films, and appeared in two films as early as 1996. True Blue (1996) (aka "Miracle at Oxford") found him in a small but memorable role as the cox for Oxford's noted 1987 "mutiny crew" that went on to win the that year's boat race against Cambridge, and in a thankless role in Some Mother's Son (1996), a sober drama about an IRA gunman, playing a Thatcher representative.
Hollander's career has featured a number of memorable gay roles. His fans are especially fond of the larger-than-life Darren from Bedrooms and Hallways (1998), a romantic comedy with what one reviewer called the "funniest bedroom scene of the year" involving Hollander's character and Hugo Weaving. The over-the-top Darren was so convincing that some viewers assumed Hollander was gay. "Sometimes I call myself a professional homosexual impersonator," he told an interviewer at the time, quickly adding, "you could say that ...Sir Ian McKellen and Rock Hudson do straight actors." The following year, he would take on a very different kind of "gay" role, playing the notorious "Bosie" (Lord Alfred Douglas) against Liam Neeson's Oscar Wilde in "The Judas Kiss" (1998).
"Martha -- Meet Frank Daniel and Laurence" (aka The Very Thought of You (1998), with Joseph Fiennes and Rufus Sewell, brought accolades for his standout role as Daniel, a difficult music executive. Variety, impressed, noted him for "U.K. legit work" and called him the "undisputed hit of the pic".
2001 brought Gosford Park (2001), Robert Altman's masterfully stylized murder mystery, in which he played the quietly desperate Anthony Meredith against Michael Gambon's callously indifferent paterfamilias. Hollander's name figures in a half dozen or more "Best Ensemble" awards for this complex, multi-storied film.
Considered the character-actor-of-choice for roles with comedic qualities, Hollander has challenged assumptions about his capacity by taking on difficult, troubled characters such as the tightly-wound King George V in Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince (2003) for BBC and the demented fascist dictator Maximillian II in Land of the Blind (2006). Hollander himself is particularly proud of the film Lawless Heart (2001), a slyly humorous, cleverly constructed comedy-drama told from three viewpoints. Hollander's character, the heart of the film, is a decent man, devastated by the death of his partner, and grieving privately as the stories of friends and family unfold around him. A study of desire, loyalty and courage, the film was very well reviewed and much respected.
More recent film work has brought him to the attention of mainstream movie audiences, who now know him as the magnificently petty tyrant Lord Cutler Beckett in the second and third installments of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). This role brought another kind of achievement: Hollander could now say that he'd been commemorated in collectible action-figure form.
He's worked three times with director Joe Wright, beginning with the prissy, yet strangely likeable Mr. Collins in Pride & Prejudice (2005), as a clueless classical cellist in an unfortunately truncated role in The Soloist (2009), and as Issacs, the German henchman in Hanna (2011).
With In the Loop (2009), Hollander brought a perfectly unbearable, delicate tension to the role of Simon Foster, the earnestly clueless "British Secretary of State for International Development" who says the wrong thing at exactly the wrong moment. The film acted as a kind of companion piece to the critically-acclaimed The Thick of It (2005) on BBC2, Armando Iannucci's furious political satire on the machinations of war and media. Hollander's contribution to the expanded story was apparently so well-received he was "brought back" (but in a different role, entirely) from film to television for a series-ending surprise-appearance in series 3, delighting fans of the show.
Recent work in television has brought him the opportunity to expand on his special capacity for conveying nuanced and contradictory characters. He earned an award for Best Actor at the FIPA International Television Festival for his portrayal of Guy Burgess in Cambridge Spies (2003), and earned praise for the monstrously rude yet oddly endearing Leon in the satire Freezing (2008), with Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) for BBC. He was unforgettable in an elegantly brief but very moving portrayal of King George III for HBO's John Adams (2008).
2010 brought Hollander to widespread attention with Rev. (2010), which he co-created with James Wood. The show, initially described in what was assumed to be familiar terms ("vicar", "comedy") became something entirely new: "...an exploration of British hypocrisy and a warmly played character piece", wrote Giles Fraser, Canon Chancellor at St Paul's Cathedral in a piece for The Sunday Telegraph. Rev. was much more than it appeared: reviews called it intelligent, realistic and very funny, with a stellar cast headed by Hollander as the sympathetic and very human vicar, Adam Smallbone. The show would garner a BAFTA in 2011 for Best Situation Comedy, among other awards and recognition.
Hollander supports a variety of charitable causes in innovative ways. In 2006 he ran his first race for the Childline Crisis hotline, and in 2007 ran for the Teenage Cancer Trust. He is a long-time supporter of the Helen and Douglas House in Oxford, which provides Hospice care for children, and continues to support charitable organizations by contributing readings and other appearances throughout the year. Hollander is a patron of BIFA, the British Independent Film Awards, and has supported the efforts of the Old Vic's "24 Hour Plays New Voices" Gala, which forwards the cause of young writers for the British stage.
Hollander continues to diversify with voicework roles in radio, reading audiobooks, doing voiceover work and onstage. He appeared in the Old Vic's production of Georges Feydeau's "A Flea in Her Ear" (2010), playing a demanding dual role: the upstanding Victor Emmanuel Chandebise and the lame-brained Poche. Reviews called it "insanity", and his performance "a breathtaking combination of lightning physical precision and shockingly true confusion".
Hollander is in production for series 2 of the winning comedy Rev. (2010).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Tcheky Karyo grew up in Paris. He studied drama at the Cyrano Theatre and became a member of the Daniel Sorano Company, where he played numerous classical roles. He next joined the National Theatre of Strasbourg, where he starred in contemporary theatre as well as in such classical works as "Tartuffe", "Macbeth" and "Othello." He is one of France's most popular actors. Nominated for a Cesar Award for his starring role in La balance (1982), Karyo received the prestigious Jean Gabin Prize in 1986 in recognition of his talent.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Danila Valeryevich Kozlovsky is a Russian stage and screen actor. He was born in Moscow, USSR. From a very young age he was into music, dancing and playing football (soccer). He has two brothers, an elder Egor and a younger Ivan.
In 1996, at the age of 11, Danila, following his brothers, went to a special navy school preparing students for the Military Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2002 he graduated from the school, but eventually acting won him. However, he does not think that the years spent at the navy school were wasted.- Actor
- Producer
- Editorial Department
Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK on January 30, 1974, to English parents Jennifer "Jenny" (James) and David Bale. His mother was a circus performer and his father, who was born in South Africa, was a commercial pilot. The family lived in different countries throughout Bale's childhood, including England, Portugal, and the United States. Bale acknowledges the constant change was one of the influences on his career choice.
His first acting job was a cereal commercial in 1983; amazingly, the next year, he debuted on the West End stage in "The Nerd". A role in the 1986 NBC mini-series Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986) caught Steven Spielberg's eye, leading to Bale's well-documented role in Empire of the Sun (1987). For the range of emotions he displayed as the star of the war epic, he earned a special award by the National Board of Review for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor.
Adjusting to fame and his difficulties with attention (he thought about quitting acting early on), Bale appeared in Kenneth Branagh's 1989 adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry V (1989) and starred as Jim Hawkins in a TV movie version of Treasure Island (1990). Bale worked consistently through the 1990s, acting and singing in Newsies (1992), Swing Kids (1993), Little Women (1994), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), The Secret Agent (1996), Metroland (1997), Velvet Goldmine (1998), All the Little Animals (1998), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999). Toward the end of the decade, with the rise of the Internet, Bale found himself becoming one of the most popular online celebrities around, though he, with a couple notable exceptions, maintained a private, tabloid-free mystique.
Bale roared into the next decade with a lead role in American Psycho (2000), director Mary Harron's adaptation of the controversial Bret Easton Ellis novel. In the film, Bale played a murderous Wall Street executive obsessed with his own physicality - a trait for which Bale would become a specialist. Subsequently, the 10th Anniversary issue for "Entertainment Weekly" crowned Bale one of the "Top 8 Most Powerful Cult Figures" of the past decade, citing his cult status on the Internet. EW also called Bale one of the "Most Creative People in Entertainment", and "Premiere" lauded him as one of the "Hottest Leading Men Under 30".
Bale was truly on the Hollywood radar at this time, and he turned in a range of performances in the remake Shaft (2000), Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), the balmy Laurel Canyon (2002), and Reign of Fire (2002), a dragons-and-magic commercial misfire that has its share of defenders.
Two more cult films followed: Equilibrium (2002) and The Machinist (2004), the latter of which gained attention mainly due to Bale's physical transformation - he dropped a reported 60+ pounds for the role of a lathe operator with a secret that causes him to suffer from insomnia for over a year.
Bale's abilities to transform his body and to disappear into a character influenced the decision to cast him in Batman Begins (2005), the first chapter in Christopher Nolan's definitive trilogy that proved a dark-themed narrative could resonate with audiences worldwide. The film also resurrected a character that had been shelved by Warner Bros. after a series of demising returns, capped off by the commercial and critical failure of Batman & Robin (1997). A quiet, personal victory for Bale: he accepted the role after the passing of his father in late 2003, an event that caused him to question whether he would continue performing.
Bale segued into two indie features in the wake of Batman's phenomenal success: The New World (2005) and Harsh Times (2005). He continued working with respected independent directors in 2006's Rescue Dawn (2006), Werner Herzog's feature version of his earlier, Emmy-nominated documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997). Leading up to the second Batman film, Bale starred in The Prestige (2006), the remake of 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and a reunion with director Todd Haynes in the experimental Bob Dylan biography, I'm Not There (2007).
Anticipation for The Dark Knight (2008) was spun into unexpected heights with the tragic passing of Heath Ledger, whose performance as The Joker became the highlight of the sequel. Bale's graceful statements to the press reminded us of the days of the refined Hollywood star as the second installment exceeded the box-office performance of its predecessor.
Bale's next role was the eyebrow-raising decision to take over the role of John Connor in the Schwarzenegger-less Terminator Salvation (2009), followed by a turn as federal agent Melvin Purvis in Michael Mann's Public Enemies (2009). Both films were hits but not the blockbusters they were expected to be.
For all his acclaim and box-office triumphs, Bale would earn his first Oscar in 2011 in the wake of The Fighter (2010)'s critical and commercial success. Bale earned the Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of Dicky Eklund, brother to and trainer of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg. Bale again showed his ability to reshape his body with another gaunt, skeletal transformation.
Bale then turned to another auteur, Yimou Zhang, for the epic The Flowers of War (2011), in which Bale portrayed a priest trapped in the midst of the Rape of Nanking. Bale earned headlines for his attempt to visit with Chinese civil-rights activist Chen Guangcheng, which was blocked by the Chinese government.
Bale capped his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Dark Knight Rises (2012); in the wake of the Aurora, Colorado tragedy, Bale made a quiet pilgrimage to the state to visit with survivors of the attack that left theatergoers dead and injured. He also starred in the thriller Out of the Furnace (2013) with Crazy Heart (2009) writer/director Scott Cooper, and the drama-comedy American Hustle (2013), reuniting with David O. Russell.
Bale will re-team with The New World (2005) director Terrence Malick for two upcoming projects: Knight of Cups (2015) and an as-yet-untitled drama.
In his personal life, he devotes time to charities including Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Foundation. He lives with his wife, Sibi Blazic, and their two children.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Eric Bana was born Eric Banadinovic on August 9, 1968, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is the younger of two brothers. His father, named Ivan Banadinovic, came from Zagreb, Croatia, and worked as a manager for Caterpillar Inc. His mother, named Eleanor Banadinovic, came from a German family and was a hairdresser.
Young Bana grew up in suburban Melbourne. He was popular among his schoolmates for his talent of making comic impressions of his teachers. At that time, he was fond of Mel Gibson in Mad Max (1979) and also decided to become an actor. He moved to Sydney and worked odd jobs to support himself. In 1991, he began a career as a stand-up comedian, while working as a barman at Melbourne's Castle Hotel. In 1993, Bana made his television debut on Steve Vizard's Tonight Live with Steve Vizard (1990) talk show, then joined the Full Frontal (1993) TV-series. He gained popularity for making impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruse and "Columbo". In 1996, he started his own show titled Eric (1997), then launched a comedy series titled The Eric Bana Show Live (1997). The show was canceled for the lack of substantial audience. However, in 1997, Bana received the Logie Award for "Most Popular Comedian" for his work on The Eric Bana Show Live (1997).
He made his film debut in The Castle (1997), in a supporting comic role. That same year, he was cast to portray Mark "Chopper" Read, the notorious Australian underworld figure. For the role, Bana gained 30 pounds, by eating junk food; he also spent a few days with Read in prison, in order to perfect his mimicry. Bana completely transformed himself into a bald, plump, disturbed criminal. He would arrive on the film set at four in the morning, spending several hours in makeup, being tattooed exactly like Read. Chopper (2000) became an international success and won three Australian Film Institute Awards. Bana won the Best Actor at the 2000 Stockholm Film Festival and also the AFI 2000 Best Actor Award. Then he co-starred in Black Hawk Down (2001), then starred in Hulk (2003). In 2002, he was cast as the Trojan Prince Hector in the historical epic Troy (2004), after being recommended by Brad Pitt, who admired Bana for his work in Chopper (2000). In 2005, Bana co-starred with Daniel Craig and Geoffrey Rush in the political drama Munich (2005) directed by Steven Spielberg.
In 1995, he began dating Rebecca Gleeson, a publicist and daughter of Australian High Court Chief Justice Murray Gleeson. The following year, he was named "Bachelor of the Year" by Cleo magazine, and won a trip for two to the United States. He invited Gleeson, and proposed to her during that romantic trip. In 1997, the two were married; their son, Klaus, was born in 1999, their daughter, Sophia, was born in 2002. He currently resides in Melbourne with his wife and their two children. Bana is a passionate supporter of Australian football. He was appointed Member of the Order of Australia at the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to the performing arts and to charitable organisations.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Richard Crispin Armitage was born and raised in Leicester, England, to Margaret (Hendey), a secretary, and John Armitage, an engineer. He attended Pattison College in Binley Road, Coventry, where he discovered his love for acting. He took part in many theatre productions all over the UK, from musical theatre (Cats) to classical theatre (Death of a Salesman). He enrolled at LAMDA in 1995 and starred in The Cherry Orchard and The Normal Heart among others.
He started working in cinema in 1999 with some small roles in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Cleopatra and This Year's Love (1999). In 2000 he took part in the RSC Macbeth tour of the USA and Japan with Antony Sher as the lead actor. In 2002, he had a breakthrough with his role as the charming but a bit odd character John Standring in Sparkhouse (2002), a BBC Miniseries in three parts, opposite Sarah Smart. After two guest-roles in Cold Feet (1997) in 2003 and Between the Sheets (2003), he landed a role as Steven in Frozen (2005). In 2004, he became famous throughout the whole UK with his role of mill-owner John Thornton in North & South (2004) (BBC). He landed a key role in BBC Robin Hood from 2006 to 2009 as the dark and evil Guy of Gisborne, then from 2008 to 2010 he played Lucas North in the successful British series Spooks (MI-5 in the USA). He kept working on British TV (Strike Back: Origins in 2010) and had a small but pivotal role in Captain America: the first Avenger, till he became known worldwide with his role of Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's trilogy of The Hobbit (2012/2014), for which he received a Saturn Award. In 2014 he was the protagonist of Yael Farber's acclaimed version of Arthur Miller's The Crucible at the Old Vic in London, for which role he was nominated for an Olivier Award. He starred in the third season of Hannibal (2015) in the role of serial killer Francis Dolarhyde, which got him another Saturn Award. In 2016 he starred in the Epix original series Berlin Station in the lead role of Daniel Miller, and in the same year he received many positive reviews for his role of Kenneth in Mike Bartlett's Love, love, love for Roundabout Theatre in NYC. In 2017 He worked on Ocean's Eight, and on the second season of Berlin Station. In July 2017 the film Pilgrimage came out with many positive reviews. He has narrated several audio books with Audible, for which he has received two nominations for an Audie Award. He has recently given the voice to Trevor Belmont in the series Castlevania on Netflix.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom was born on January 13, 1977 in Canterbury, Kent, England. His mother, Sonia Constance Josephine Bloom (née Copeland), was born in Kolkata, India, to an English family then-resident there. The man he first knew as his father, Harry Bloom, was a legendary political activist who fought for civil rights in South Africa. But Harry died of a stroke when Orlando was only four years old. After that, Orlando and his older sister, Samantha Bloom, were raised by their mother and family friend, Colin Stone. When Orlando was 13, Sonia revealed to him that Colin is actually the biological father of Orlando and his sister; the two were conceived after an agreement by his parents, since Harry, who suffered a stroke in 1975, was unable to have children.
Orlando attended St. Edmund's School in Canterbury but struggled in many courses because of dyslexia. He did embrace the arts, however, and enjoyed pottery, photography and sculpturing. He also participated in school plays and was active at his local theater. As a teen, Orlando landed his first job: he was a clay trapper at a pigeon shooting range. Encouraged by his mother, he and his sister began studying poetry and prose, eventually giving readings at Kent Festival. Orlando and Samantha won many poetry and Bible reciting competitions. Then Orlando, who always idolized larger-than-life characters, gravitated towards serious acting. At the age of 16, he moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre, spending two seasons there and gaining a scholarship to train with the British American Drama Academy. Like many young actors, he also auditioned for a number of television roles to further his career, landing bit parts in British television shows Casualty (1986), Midsomer Murders (1997) and Smack the Pony (1999). He also appeared in the critically acclaimed movie Wilde (1997).
He then attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. It was there, in 1998, that Orlando fell three stories from a rooftop terrace and broke his back. Despite fears that he would be permanently paralyzed, he quickly recovered and returned to the stage. As fate would have it, seated in the audience one night in 1999 was a director named Peter Jackson. After the show, he met with Orlando and asked him to audition for his new set of movies. After graduating from Guildhall, Orlando began work on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, spending 18 months in New Zealand bringing to life "Legolas", a part which made him a household name. Today, he is one of the busiest and most sought-after actors in the industry.- Actor
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Douglas John Booth is an English actor. Booth was born in London, England, the son of Vivien (De Cala), an artist, and Simon Booth, who works in shipping for Citigroup. He has appeared on English television as (Christopher and His Kind (2011), Great Expectations (2011)), starred in the film Romeo & Juliet (2013), and played Shem, one of the sons of Noah, in Noah (2014). More recently, he played Harry Villiers in The Riot Club (2014) and Titus Abrasax in Jupiter Ascending (2015). Booth was educated at at Solefield School, a boys independent school in Sevenoaks, Kent, followed by Bennett Memorial Diocesan School, and Lingfield Notre Dame School, an independent school in Lingfield, Surrey.
His mother is of half Spanish and half Dutch ancestry, and his father is of English descent.- Actor
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Warren Brown is one of Britain's most illustrious actors and a former 2 x World Thai Boxing Champion. Following his performance in the BAFTA-winning, three-part event Occupation, appearing opposite Stephen Graham, Warren went on to star alongside Idris Elba as DS Ripley, the role for which he became most well-known, in the BBC's multi award-winning series Luther. He was nominated in 2014 for a Critics Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal. Warren can currently be seen as 'Sergeant Thomas 'Mac' McAllister' in the highly anticipated reboot of the Emmy-nominated series, Strike Back, for Sky/HBO Cinemax.
Following his numerous TV starring credits, namely three seasons on the hit Canadian Series X-Company for CBC, By Any Means, written by Tony Jordan, Inside Men alongside Steven Mackintosh, and King for a Term, a single comedy written and directed by Idris Elba, came the incomparable BBC mini-series Good Cop. Here he brought a breath-taking performance which was received with critical acclaim, and the show was awarded the RTS award for best drama.
The move in to film saw Warren take on the title role in Captain Webb for Marathon Films/Miramax and the leading role in the independent Feature Cargo due for release in 2018.
Warren made his London stage debut in 2016 as 'Kent' in Neil Le Bute's Reasons To Be Happy directed by Mike Attenborough at Hampstead Theatre. 2017 brought him back to our screens as part of ITV/AMC's critically acclaimed 6 part drama series 'Liar' opposite Joanne Froggatt and Ioan Gruffudd.
Other credits include Kicking Off, Genesis, Homefront, Single Father, Criminal Justice, Accused, Moving On, and Charlie Brooker's Dead Set.- Actor
- Producer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Gerard James Butler was born in Paisley, Scotland, to Margaret and Edward Butler, a bookmaker. His family is of Irish origin. Gerard spent some of his very early childhood in Montreal, Quebec, but was mostly raised, along with his older brother and sister, in his hometown of Paisley. His parents divorced when he was a child, and he and his siblings were raised primarily by their mother, who later remarried. He had no contact with his father between the ages of two and 16 years old, after which time they became close. His father passed away when Gerard was in his early 20s. Butler went on to attend Glasgow University, where he studied to be a lawyer/solicitor. He was president of the school's law society thanks to his outgoing personality and great social skills.
His acting career began when he was approached in a London coffee shop by actor Steven Berkoff, who later appeared alongside Butler in Attila (2001), who gave him a role in a stage production of "Coriolanus" (later, Butler played Tullus Aufidius in a big screen Coriolanus (2011). After that, Butler decided to give up law for acting. He was cast as Ewan McGregor's character "Renton" in the stage adaptation of Trainspotting. His film debut was as Billy Connolly's younger brother in Mrs. Brown (1997). While filming the movie in Scotland, he was enjoying a picnic with his mother near the River Tay when they heard the shouts of a young boy, who had been swimming with a friend, who was in some trouble. Butler jumped in and saved the young boy from drowning. He received a Certificate of Bravery from the Royal Humane Society. He felt he only did what anyone in the situation would have done.
His film career continued with small roles, first in the "James Bond" movie, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and then Russell Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, Butler was cast in two breakthrough roles, the first being "Attila the Hun" in the USA Network mini-series, Attila (2001). The film's producers wanted a known actor to play the part but kept coming back to Butler's screen tests and decided he was their man. He had to lose the thick Scottish accent, but managed well. Around the time "Attila" was being filmed, casting was in progress for Wes Craven's new take on the "Dracula" legacy. Also wanting a known name, Butler wasn't much of a consideration, but his unending tenacity drove him to hounding the producers. Eventually, he sent them a clip of his portrayal of "Attila". Evidently, they saw something because Dracula 2000 (2000) was cast in the form of Butler. Attila's producers, thinking that his big-screen role might help with their own film's ratings, finished shooting a little early so he could get to work on Dracula 2000 (2000). Following these two roles, Butler developed quite a fan base, and began appearing on websites and fancasts everywhere.
Since then, he has appeared in Reign of Fire (2002) as "Creedy" and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003) as "Terry Sheridan", alongside Angelina Jolie. The role that garnered him the most attention from both moviegoers and movie makers, alike, was that of "Andre Marek" in the big-screen adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel, Timeline (2003). Butler played an archaeologist who was sent back in time with a team of students to rescue a colleague. Last year, he appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera (2004), playing the title character in the successful adaptation of the stage musical. It was a role that brought him much international attention. Other projects include Dear Frankie (2004), The Game of Their Lives (2005) and Beowulf & Grendel (2005).
In 2007, he starred as Spartan "King Leonidas" in the Warner Bros. production 300 (2006), based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, and Shattered (2007), co-starring Pierce Brosnan and Maria Bello, which aired on network TV under the title, "Shattered". He also starred in P.S. I Love You (2007), with Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank.
In 2007, he appeared in Nim's Island (2008) and RocknRolla (2008), and completed the new Mark Neveldine / Brian Taylor film, Gamer (2009). His next films included The Ugly Truth (2009), co-starring Katherine Heigl, which began filming in April 2008, The Bounty Hunter (2010), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Chasing Mavericks (2012) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013). In recent years, he has appeared in films such as Gods of Egypt (2016), Geostorm (2017), Den of Thieves (2018), The Vanishing (2018) and Hunter Killer (2018). Butler is related to writer-director Mark Flood.- Actor
- Soundtrack
With charm to spare and dark, unassumingly handsome looks, British actor Ben Chaplin arrived on the Hollywood scene in smart and sexy fashion with the comedy The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996). While his habit for avoiding mainstream artificiality in favor of small, intense, independent vehicles is quite intact, in retrospect it looks as if he has purposely avoided glossy Hollywood stardom in search of quality work.
Chaplin was born Benedict John Greenwood in Windsor, England, where he was raised, the youngest of four children of Cynthia (Chaplin), a drama teacher, and Peter Greenwood, a civil engineer. He first developed an interest in acting while appearing in a school play. He attended London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but did not conform well to the school's program layout and left after his first year to scout out the local theatre scene. A one-time statistician for the London Transport Authority during his fledgling years as a young actor, he made his TV debut in 1990. His first role of note occurred with a co-starring role in the TV-movie Bye Bye Baby (1992). This led to an introduction to film-making with a small part as a footman in the Merchant Ivory period drama The Remains of the Day (1993) starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. After a breakthrough playing a social misfit in the film Feast of July (1995) and a show-stopping, offbeat role in the BBC TV series Game-On (1995), Hollywood quickly took notice and he was offered the role of the photographer who gets caught between two women in The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996) co-starring Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofalo.
Just as in acting school, he was unwilling to conform to the Hollywood system and immediately sought out work on the London stage. Following theatre roles in "The Neighbour" (1993) and "Peaches" (1994), he earned winning reviews and an Olivier Award nomination for his compelling portrayal of Tom Wingfield opposite theatre legend Zoë Wanamaker in "The Glass Menagerie" on the London stage.
Quite in demand by this time for films he appeared alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh and Albert Finney in Washington Square (1997), Agnieszka Holland version of the Henry James novel that had previously appeared on screen as The Heiress (1949) starring Montgomery Clift and winning Olivia de Havilland the Academy Award for Best Actress of 1949. This period piece failed to achieve its predecessor's financial success or critical praise, but Ben did receive kudos for his touching performance in the role of Private Bell in Terrence Malick much-admired remake of The Thin Red Line (1998).
Since then Ben has concentrated on risk-taking and quality rather than on mainstream filming. In the exorcist-themed Lost Souls (2000) he played an atheistic crime writer deemed to become Satan himself; played a modest bank clerk who tangles with a Russian mail-order bride (Nicole Kidman) in Birthday Girl (2001); portrayed Sandra Bullock's rookie partner in the crimer Murder by Numbers (2002); and melded beautifully into a number of period pieces such as The Touch (2002), Stage Beauty (2004), The New World (2005) and Me and Orson Welles (2008).
The dark-eyed, thick-browed, soulful-eyed actor also showed off his transatlantic appeal on stage after making his 2003 Broadway debut in "The Retreat from Moscow" and earning a Tony nomination in the process. Recent filming has included a prime role in yet another portrait of Dorian Gray (2009).- Hayden Christensen was born April 19, 1981 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His parents, Alie and David Christensen, are in the communications business. He is of Danish (father) and Swedish and Italian (mother) descent. Hayden grew up in Markham, Ontario, with siblings Kaylen, Hejsa, and Tove. Hayden set out to become an actor when a chance encounter at the age of eight placed him in his first commercial, for Pringles. When he was thirteen, he had starring roles in several dramatic television series.
His biggest break was a major part in the Fox Family Network's Higher Ground (2000). On the series, Hayden showed off his acting talent as a teen who was sexually molested by his stepmother, and turns to drugs in despair. Later, he appeared in the television movie Trapped in a Purple Haze (2000), where he co-starred with his friend Jonathan Jackson. Hayden also had a role in the film The Virgin Suicides (1999).
On May 12, 2000, it was announced that Christensen would star as Anakin Skywalker in the prequels Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). The star was chosen by director George Lucas because he felt that Hayden had raw talent and good chemistry with actress Natalie Portman. Lucas stunned the movie world by picking the then-unknown actor after he had turned down such big names as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonathan Jackson, as well as 400 other candidates.
His role as the troubled, misunderstood teenager Sam Monroe in Irwin Winkler's Life as a House (2001) won him 'Breakthrough Performance of the Year' from the National Board of Review. The film also placed him as a nominee for 'Best Supporting Actor' at both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Hayden then starred in Shattered Glass (2003), quoted by some of the real Stephen Glass' colleagues as giving an eerie and uncanny portrayal.
Since his Star Wars days, Hayden has headlined several action films, including Jumper (2008) and Takers (2010).
When not working, he enjoys spending quality time with his family (such as big brother Tove), hanging out with his friends, and exploring other hobbies such as the blues, jazz and piano.
Hayden was in a relationship with actress Rachel Bilson from 2007 to 2017. The two have a child, born in 2014. - Actor
- Producer
Warren Christie was born on 4 November 1975 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Apollo 18 (2011), Alphas (2011) and This Means War (2012). He has been married to Sonya Salomaa since 2007.- Actor
- Producer
Jason Clarke is an Australian actor, known for often being cast in antagonist roles in feature films. In 1969, Clarke was born in Winton, Queensland, a small town where the main industries are sheep and cattle raising. Winton was established as a township in 1879, but its main claim to fame are a number of dinosaur fossils located within the town's limits.
Clarke was the son of a sheep shearer, but decided to follow an acting career instead. By 1995, the 26-year-old Clarke had started appearing in small parts in various television series. He then started appearing as an extra in films. His early film appearances included the action comedy "Wanted" (1997), the action film "Dilemma" (1997), and the neo-noir crime drama "Twilight" (1998). Clarke had a more substantial role in the crime comedy "Our Lips are Sealed" (2000), where he played the assassin Mac.
Clarke returned to playing small roles in films such as the period drama "Rabbit-Proof Fence" (2002) and the serial killer-themed black comedy "You Can't Stop the Murders" (2003). Clarke had a breakthrough television role as the co-star of the crime drama television series "Brotherhood" (2006-2008). In the series, Clarke played career politician Tommy Caffee, who has a complex relationship with his brother, the Irish-mob employed gangster Michael Caffee (played by Jason Isaacs). The series was loosely based on the lives of two real-life brothers with different careers, the Democratic politician and academic William Bulger (1934-) and the crime boss Whitey Bulger (1929-2018). The series won much critical praise for Clarke, though some critics disliked its humorless approach to its subject matter.
In 2008, Clarke played the leading role of Howard Ferp in the live-action short film "Hole in the Paper Sky". In the film, Howard is a lonely misanthrope. He finds himself feeling genuine affection for a dog, which is used as a laboratory animal. The short film won awards by the Beverly Hills Film Festival and the Florida Film Festival. Also in 2008, Clarke played T. Ulrich, one of the main villains in the action thriller film "Death Race".
In 2009, Clarke portrayed the Canadian gangster John "Red" Hamilton (1899-1934) in the crime drama film "Public Enemies". The film was an adaptation of the non-fiction book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34", which depicted the lives and deaths of a number of professional criminals during the Great Depression. Clarke next had a small role in the drama film "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" (2010), as the New York Fed Chief. The film was a sequel to the drama film "Wall Street", and depicted the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Clarke also played the role of FBI agent Doug Tate in the thriller film "Trust" (2010), which focused on the relationship between a teenage girl and an online predator.
In 2011, Clarke played the abusive father Gordon O'Hara in the drama film "Yelling to the Sky". In 2011, the film was nominated for the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival, but lost the award to the Iranian drama film "A Separation". Clarke also played the police officer Frank in the neo-noir thriller "Swerve" (2011). Finally, in 2011, Clarke gained another leading role in television. He played the Polish-American homicide detective Jarek Wysocki in the short-lived police procedural series "The Chicago Code" (February-May, 2011). In the series, Jarek is the leader of a special unit of the Chicago Police Department, which investigates political corruption, and the connections between Chigago politicians and organized crime.
In 2012, Clarke played moonshine smuggler Howard Bondurant in the crime-drama film "Lawless". The film was an adaptation of the historical novel "The Wettest County in the World" by Matt Bondurant, and depicts the lives of moonshine smugglers in Virginia from 1931 to 1933. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, but lost the award to the French-language romantic tragedy "Amour".
Also in 2012, Clarke played the role of the CIA intelligence officer Dan in the thriller film "Zero Dark Thirty". The film depicted the then-recent assassination of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (1957-2011) by personnel the United States Navy SEALs. The film earned about 133 million dollars at the worldwide box office. and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Clarke himself was nominated for the "Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor" for his role in the film. But the award for that year was instead won by rival actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014).
In 2013, Clarke played the mechanic George Wilson in the romantic drama "The Great Gatsby", an adaptation of the novel "The Great Gatsby" by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896-1940). Also in 2013, Clarke played the mercenary leader Emil Stenz in the action thriller "White House Down".
In 2014, Clarke played the illiterate farmer and carpenter Thomas Lincoln (1778-1851) in the historical film "The Better Angels". Thomas was the father of politician Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), and the film focuses on the family life of the Lincoln family in Indiana from 1817 to 1821. Clarke also played a prominent role in the science fiction film "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (2014), cast as Malcolm, a human friend of the apes' leader Caesar (played by Andy Serkis).
In 2015, Clarke gained the main cast role of John Connor in the science-fiction film "Terminator Genisys", the fifth film of "The Terminator" franchise. John Connor is the main protagonist of the franchise, and had previously been played (at various ages of his life) by the actors Dalton Abbot, Edward Furlong, Michael Edwards, Nick Stahl, Christian Bale, John De Vito, and Thomas Dekker. The film gained about 441 million dollars at the worldwide box office, becoming the second-most lucrative film in "The Terminator" franchise, following "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991).
Also in 2015, Clarke played the mountaineer Rob Hall (1961-1996) in the biographical film "Everest". The film was based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, when 8 mountaineers were killed in a blizzard on Mount Everest. Most of them had successfully climbed on the summit of the mountain, but were caught in the blizzard while attempting to descend from the summit. Hall was the most experienced mountaineer among them, as he had reached the summit of Everest five times (a record for non-Sherpa mountaineers). The film earned abut 203 million dollars at the worldwide box office.
In 2016, Clarke played the ambiguous role of James in the psychological drama "All I See Is You". In 2017, Clarke returned to playing leading roles in historical films. He portrayed Reinhard Heydrich (1904-1942), the Director of the Reich Main Security Office (term 1939-1942) in "The Man with the Iron Heart", and Ted Kennedy (1932-2009), the United States Senator from Massachusetts (term 1962-2009) in "Chappaquiddick". The first film focused on "Operation Anthropoid" (1942), the successful assassination of Heydrich by Czechoslovak exiled soldiers, who were trained and equipped by the Special Operations Executive (1940-1946) of the United Kingdom. The second film focuses on the Chappaquiddick incident of 1969, when Kennedy's negligence during and after a single-vehicle car accident caused the death of political campaign specialist Mary Jo Kopechne (1940-1969). Kennedy was driving the vehicle with Kopechne as a passenger. The accident trapped Kopechne inside the submerged vehicle, but Kennedy did not try to help her and only reported the accident to the police 10 hours later. Kennedy received a two-month suspended jail sentence for his role in the incident.
Also in 2017, Clarke played the role of Henry McAllan in the period drama "Mudbound". Henry is depicted as a farmer living in near poverty in Mississippi during the late 1930s and 1940s, while having to care for an aging father who is a bigoted member of the local Ku Klux Klan, and for a war veteran brother who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The film was nominated for a "Satellite Award for Best Film", but the award for that year was instead shared by the films "God's Own Country" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri".
In 2018, Clarke played the supporting role of Dr. Eric Price in the horror film "Winchester". The film presents a fictionalized account of the life of Sarah Winchester (1839-1922), co-owner of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, and her survival in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Also in 2018, Clarke played astronaut Ed White (1930-1967) in the historical film "First Man", which depicted the Space Race of the 1960s. The historical White was the first American to walk in space (in a June, 1965 space mission), and the second person to manage to do so following the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov (1934-) (who performed the original space walk in March, 1965).
In 2019, Clarke played the abusive stepfather Frank Zariakas in the neo-noir thriller "Serenity", the British colonel Lewis Morgan in the war-themed drama "The Aftermath", and Dr. Louis Creed in the resurrection-themed horror film "Pet Sematary". By 2019, Clarke was 50-years-old, but he was busier than ever in appearing in more film productions.- Actor
- Producer
Joe Cole is an English actor, born in Kingston-upon-Thames, London. He has four younger siblings, including fellow actor Finn Cole.
Cole was taught acting by the National Youth Theatre. He started his career with theatrical roles. In 2010, he had guest star roles in the police procedural "The Bill" (1984-2010) and the medical drama "Holby City" (1999-).
Following a number of minor film and television roles, Cole was cast as a series regular in the crime drama "Peaky Blinders" (2013-). The series takes place in the aftermath of World War I and depicts the activities of a criminal gang called "Peaky Blinders". Cole plays John Shelby, a World War I veteran who serves as one of the gang's leaders.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Toni Collette is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actress, best known for her roles in The Sixth Sense (1999) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006).
Collette was born Toni Collett (she later added an "e") on November 1, 1972, in Blacktown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is the first of three children of Judith (Cook), a customer service representative, and Bob Collett, a truck driver. From age six, she was brought up in suburban Sydney. At the age of eleven, she showed her phenomenal acting skills when she faked appendicitis out of boredom and longing for attention; her act was so convincing that doctors had to remove her appendix, even though the test showed nothing was wrong with it. At 16, she left school and enrolled in the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA). At that time, she was a struggling actress, supporting herself by delivering pizzas. After 18 months of studies, she left NIDA for her feature film debut as "Wendy Robinson", opposite Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins, in The Efficiency Expert (1991), and earned herself a nomination for Best Supporting Actress from the Australian Film Institute. Collette made her stage debut with the Sydney Theatre Company, as "Sonya" in Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya", a performance that won her a critic's circle award as Best Newcomer. She also appeared in stage productions at the Belvoir Street Theatre, under directorship of Geoffrey Rush. In 1994, she won the Australian Best Actress in a Lead Role for her work in Muriel's Wedding (1994), for which she had to gain 40 pounds in seven weeks. In 1995, Toni Collette came to Hollywood with a supporting role in The Pallbearer (1996), then had a string of supporting roles. Her first lead as "Diana Spencer", an Australian woman who shares the name and birthday of Princess Diana, in the comedy, Diana & Me (1997), was obscured by the real Diana's death, which practically occurred at the same time when the movie was released. Her breakthrough came with the role as "Lynn Sear" in The Sixth Sense (1999), for which she quite rightly won an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her latest memorable role as "Sheryl", a beaten-down but loving mother, in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), is also a fine ensemble work with Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, and Alan Arkin. Since 2003, Toni Collette has been married to musician Dave Galafassi, with whom she recorded her singing and songwriting debut album, titled "Beautiful Awkward Pictures", in 2006. She co-owns an independent production company in Australia, and also continues her music career as a singer. Toni resides with her husband in Sydney, Australia, and owns a second home in Ireland.