Braveheart 1995 premiere
Friday May 19th, Paramount Pictures 5515 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
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Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born January 3, 1956 in Peekskill, New York, USA, as the sixth of eleven children of Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Anne Patricia (Reilly) Gibson (who died in December of 1990). His mother was Irish, from County Longford, while his American-born father is of mostly Irish descent.
Mel and his family moved to Australia in the late 1960s, settling in New South Wales, where Mel's paternal grandmother, contralto opera singer Eva Mylott, was born. After high school, Mel studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, performing at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts alongside future film thespians Judy Davis and Geoffrey Rush.
After college, Mel had a few stints on stage and starred in a few TV shows. Eventually, he was chosen to star in the films Mad Max (1979) and Tim (1979), co-starring Piper Laurie. The small budgeted Mad Max made him known worldwide, while Tim garnered him an award for Best Actor from the Australian Film Institute (equivalent to the Oscar).
Later, he went on to star in Gallipoli (1981), which earned him a second award for Best Actor from the AFI. In 1980, he married Robyn Moore and had seven children. In 1984, Mel made his American debut in The Bounty (1984), which co-starred Anthony Hopkins.
Then in 1987, Mel starred in what would become his signature series, Lethal Weapon (1987), in which he played "Martin Riggs". In 1990, he took on the interesting starring role in Hamlet (1990), which garnered him some critical praise. He also made the more endearing Forever Young (1992) and the somewhat disturbing The Man Without a Face (1993). 1995 brought his most famous role as "Sir William Wallace" in Braveheart (1995), for which he won two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
From there, he made such box office hits as The Patriot (2000), Ransom (1996), and Payback (1999). Today, Mel remains an international superstar mogul, continuously topping the Hollywood power lists as well as the Most Beautiful and Sexiest lists.- Actress
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Catherine McCormack was born on 3 April 1972 in Epsom, Surrey, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for Braveheart (1995), Spy Game (2001) and A Sound of Thunder (2005).- Actor
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David Patrick O'Hara was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Martha (née Scott) and Patrick O'Hara, a construction worker and raised in the Pollok section of Glasgow in a large Catholic family of Irish descent. His paternal great-grandfather was Irish.
After leaving school he was accepted for a Youth Opportunities Programme, at a community theatre based at the Glasgow Arts Centre. It toured local schools under the direction of Robin Peoples. He moved to London at age 17 to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama but left after two terms because of a shortage of funds. He went back to Scotland and landed a role in Bill Forsyth's Comfort and Joy (1984), then returned to Central to finish his last term. He was understudy to Ralph Fiennes in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
He performed in "Romeo and Juliet" as Tybalt, directed by Declan Donnellan for the New Shakespeare Company, at the Open Air Theatre in London's Regent Park, which was followed by a European tour. Other stage credits include "The Comedy of Errors" at the Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland, and "Aff the Other Man" at the Haymarket. He spent a year at the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford and the Barbican, in "Fashion", and in Jonathan Miller's productions of "Taming of the Shrew", "Romeo and Juliet", "Cymbeline", and "Bite of the Night" (directed by Danny Boyle).
His big break came as Stephen, the rampaging Irishman who joins forces with William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in Braveheart (1995). The following year, 1996, saw him co-starring opposite Helen Mirren as a slightly independent policeman in Granada Television's Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgement (1996), which aired on PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" in 1997. That same year, he appeared in Alan J. Pakula's The Devil's Own (1997), was the romantic foil to Janeane Garofalo in The MatchMaker (1997), portrayed a biker in the Scottish film The Slab Boys (1997), and portrayed Bill Sykes in Oliver Twist (1997).- Additional Crew
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Alan Ladd Jr. was one of the film industry's most respected executives. He started in the movies as an agent in 1963. In 1969, Ladd moved to London to produce, making nine films. He returned to the States in '73 to become Head of Creative Affairs at Fox. Within three very successful years Mr. Ladd was President of Twentieth Century Fox. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Alien (1979) and Young Frankenstein (1974), were a few of the classics during his tenure. But, in 1979, Ladd left his position as President at Fox to found his own production company, The Ladd Company. He enjoyed great successes with comedies like Night Shift (1982) and Police Academy (1984) and Oscar winners' The Right Stuff (1983) and Best Picture, Chariots of Fire (1981). In 1985, Ladd joined MGM/UA, eventually becoming Chairman and CEO of Pathe Entertainment. During his tenure, MGM/UA enjoyed hits like A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Moonstruck (1987) and Thelma & Louise (1991). Ladd reformed the Ladd Company with Paramount Pictures in 1993 where he produced the hits The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and Best Picture winner: Braveheart (1995). He later produced independently with The Ladd Company.- Producer
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Bruce Davey was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is known for Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Braveheart (1995) and The Passion of the Christ (2004).- Editor
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Paul Hogan became a worldwide success with his irresistible comic performance in Crocodile Dundee (1986), which he created and co-wrote. This earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor as well as an Academy Award nomination (for Best Screenplay). The versatile actor got his start in Australian television in a recurring role as comic relief on A Current Affair (1971). An expanded version entitled The Paul Hogan Show (1973) premiered on Australia's Nine Network and quickly propelled him to the top of the ratings chart. His dramatic role on the critically acclaimed television series Anzacs (1985) and his work in promoting Australia worldwide invested him into the Order of Australia and led to his appointment as "Australian of the Year".
Hogan was the executive producer/writer/star of the feature films Almost an Angel (1990) and Lightning Jack (1994) and starred in Flipper (1996) and Floating Away (1998). American audiences also remember Hogan from his now legendary commercials for the Australian Tourist Commission in which he invited us to say "g'day" and come "down under" so he could "slip another shrimp on the barbie". In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared in commercials for Subaru Outback automobiles. He reprised his famous role as the outback adventurer in the long awaited sequel Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001).- Actor
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Christian Michael Leonard Slater was born on August 18, 1969 in New York City, to Michael Hawkins, a well-known soap actor, and Mary Jo Slater (née Lawton), a casting agent. Christian started in show business early, appearing on the soap opera The Edge of Night (1956) in 1976 at the age of 7. He went on to star in many Broadway shows in the early-1980s. He rose to fame in Hollywood after landing the role of Binx Davey in The Legend of Billie Jean (1985). He moved to Los Angeles in 1987 to pursue a further acting career after dropping out of high school. After having a starring role in the cult classic Heathers (1988), he became somewhat known as the Hollywood bad-boy, having many run-ins with the law. He is also well-known for having dated stars such as Winona Ryder, Christina Applegate, Samantha Mathis and was at one time engaged to actress/model Nina Huang. In 2000, he married Ryan Haddon, the daughter of 1970s model Dayle Haddon. The couple have two children, Jaden Christopher (b. 1999) and Eliana Sophia (b. 2001). As of early 2005, they separated and later divorced, but remain dedicated to bring up their children.- Actor
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Dennis William Quaid was born on April 9, 1954 in Houston, Texas to Juanita Bonniedale "Nita" Quaid (née Jordan), a real estate agent & William Rudy Quaid, an electrician. He grew up in the Houston suburban city of Bellaire. He was raised a Baptist, and studied drama, Mandarin Chinese, and dance while a student at Bellaire High School. He continued study at the University of Houston, but dropped out before completing his degree. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career where his brother, Randy Quaid, had already began to build a successful career. However, Dennis initially had trouble finding film roles, but began to gain notice when he appeared in Breaking Away (1979) and earned strong reviews for his role in The Right Stuff (1983). Aside from acting, Quaid is also a musician, and plays with his band, "The Sharks". He holds a flying license and is a five handicap golfer.- Actress
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Principal is the elder daughter of Ree (née Veal) and Victor Rocco Principal. Her paternal grandparents were Italian, while her mother's family was from Gordon, Georgia, and South Carolina. Her father, a United States Air Force sergeant, was often transferred to different duty stations, so the family constantly moved, and Victoria grew up in London, Florida, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, and Georgia, among other places. She and her sister attended 17 different schools. Victoria's acting career began when she made a commercial at age five, and she began modeling in high school. She enrolled at Miami-Dade Community College, and wanted to study chiropractic medicine. However, being seriously injured in a car crash at age 18 made her refocus her energy on her love of acting. She moved to New York City, where she worked as a model and actress. She then studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and moved to Los Angeles, California in 1971.
Her first film was as a Mexican mistress in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), starring Paul Newman. Four years later, she became so disappointed with her career that she quit acting and spent the next three years working as an agent. In 1978, she planned on going to law school and later become a studio executive, but Aaron Spelling offered her a year's tuition to accept a role in the pilot of Fantasy Island (1977). She agreed, and soon after that, she landed the role of Pamela Barnes Ewing on CBS' long-running soap opera Dallas (1978). She left the series after nine years, and began her own production company, Victoria Principal Productions. She continues to work as an actress and producer, and has also created a line of skin care products and written three books about beauty and skin-care.- Actress
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It's fair to say that after 20 years and over 50 film appearances, Mimi Rogers should be praised for her variety of roles and acting capabilities, not for a brief marriage to a Hollywood star. In the early 1980s she began to carve a niche for herself in Hollywood, appearing on television and in films. It was her role in Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) that got her noticed and was her springboard to stardom. Cemented by a marriage to Tom Cruise, an already established young actor, Mimi went on to appear in Hider in the House (1989), Desperate Hours (1990), and The Doors (1991). She appeared in a controversial movie analyzing religion in America, The Rapture (1991), which proved a hit and delighted audiences, creating many a debate over the film's subject material. She played a bored telephone exchange operator who swaps a sinful life of sex and swinging with other couples for a devout religious one, ending unexpectedly in disaster. Despite her successes, few meaty, interesting roles came her way in the '90s. Shooting Elizabeth (1992), opposite Jeff Goldblum, the family movie Monkey Trouble (1994), Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995), and Full Body Massage (1995) were just a few of the films that she appeared in. Working consistently, she rejuvenated her career in the unexpected hit Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), playing Miss Kensington, an attractive female agent of 1960s London and the mother of Elizabeth Hurley's character. Next, Mimi was seen in the big-screen remake of the '60s sci-fi TV series Lost in Space (1998) and several guest appearances on the hugely popular television series The X-Files (1993), playing a scheming FBI agent. A role in the Canadian indie-horror Ginger Snaps (2000) did her career no harm. Soon, she was opposite Geena Davis in The Geena Davis Show (2000) from 2000-01 and playing an extremely rich Manhattan socialite in the direct-to-video Cruel Intentions 2 (2000).
More recently Mimi has appeared on cable television, including leading roles in Charms for the Easy Life (2002) (which she also executive produced) and Cave In (2003) (a true-life disaster drama in which she played the Chief Superintendent of a mine). In 2004, she gave a revealing performance in The Door in the Floor (2004), a critical success. The Loop (2006), a Chicago-based sitcom, will soon be airing in America, featuring Mimi as a flirtatious office worker. Also in 2006, Mimi will be appearing in an original horror film, Penny Dreadful (2006), playing a psychiatrist in peril. In 2003, she married her longtime boyfriend Chris Ciaffa, with whom she has a son and a daughter. A poker novice, Mimi also travels around competing in tournaments, some televised.- Composer
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Gordon Getty is known for Everest - A Graphic Novel Opera (2021), This Time Round (2023) and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2021).- Producer
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Mark Johnson was born on 27 December 1945 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a producer and assistant director, known for Rain Man (1988), The Holdovers (2023) and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). He has been married to Lezlie Brooks Johnson since 26 September 1982. They have two children.- Viacom Chairman Sumner Murray Redstone was the multi-billionaire who was the leading shareholder of media conglomerate Viacom and CBS Corp.
He was born Sumner Murray Rothstein on May 27, 1923, in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Michael Rothstein, created National Amusements, a chain of three drive-in theaters, in 1936, after starting out with one drive-in in Valley Stream, New York. In 1940, his family changed their surname to "Redstone," the English translation ("red stone") of the Yiddish Rothstein. Sumner attended Harvard College after graduating at the top of his class from the elite Boston Latin School, completing his bachelor of arts degree in three years during World War II, when college years were accelerated so that graduates could serve in the military. Redstone served in the army during World War II, working at the Pentagon decoding Japanese messages. After being demobilized, he remained in Washington and matriculated at Georgetown University Law School before transferring to Harvard Law. After graduating from Harvard Law with an LL.B, he returned to Washington, DC.
After working for the U.S. Department of Justice in San Francisco, Redstone went into private practice for several years before eventually returning to his father's National Amusements, which he turned into a major motion picture exhibitor in New England. He first made National Amusements one of the premier drive-in circuits in the country before turning to indoor exhibition. In 1964 National Amusements started building multi-screen theaters, originally called "twin theaters." These developed into the "multiplexes" and "megaplexes" that made National Amusements one of the top indoor exhibitors in the country, a great repositioning of the company, and a fortuitous one as the drive-in circuit faded away.
Redstone branched out of exhibition, as he believed that controlling the content was the way of the future--though distribution channels constantly change (from movie theaters, to TV, to cable, to videotape, to DVD), content remains constant. With this philosophy he began investing in motion picture production companies, turning a profit on buying, holding and selling shares.
In 1987 Redstone engineered a hostile takeover of Viacom International by National Amusements. Viacom began as a subsidiary of CBS, syndicating programs for the network. However, when the FCC in 1971 established its now rescinded "fin-syn" rule (that television networks could not syndicate programs they produced), Viacom was spun off from CBS. As a separate company Viacom continued to syndicate most of CBS' TV programs but was free to syndicate programs for others. After syndicating programs for cable TV channels, Viacom itself moved into cable and acquired MTV Networks in 1985. It represented a good platform from which to develop a content-distribution behemoth.
After winning voting control of Viacom, Redstone engaged in a series of acquisitions to make Viacom one of the top players in the modern media industry. During the 1990s Viacom eventually would own Columbia Pictures, Twentieth-Century Fox, Orion Pictures and Paramount Pictures, making huge profits from the sale of all but Paramount, which would become the motion picture arm of the conglomerate.
Paramount Communications, parent of Paramount Pictures, was acquired in 1993. Although criticized initially for paying too much for the company, Redstone helped pay for the acquisition by selling off some of its assets, including Madison Square Garden and its cable TV properties, and Simon & Schuster's educational publishing units. The sale of Paramount Communications' assets made the acquisition substantially profitable.
Redstone then acquired Blockbuster Entertainment, which gave Viacom Aaron Spelling's TV production company and a huge library of films, most of which were absorbed into Paramount Pictures' own library. Blockbuster eventually was spun off into its own independent entity. In 2000 Viacom pulled off arguably its most important acquisition when it acquired its former corporate parent, CBS Corp. In December of 2005 Paramount acquired Dreamworks SKG for an estimated $1.6 billion.
Under Redstone's management, Viacom has assembled one of the largest and most diversified media conglomerates, covering TV broadcasting, cable TV, radio broadcasting (Infinity Broadcasting), outdoor advertising, music publishing, motion pictures, television production, and its original business of TV syndication (King World Productions, which syndicates The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986)).
In 2005 Viacom International was split into two companies, Viacom and CBS Corp. Redstone was chairman of both the new Viacom and of CBS, controlling a majority of both firms. At one point, controlled over 70% of the voting stock of Viacom, which is a subsidiary of National Amusements, his private family-owned company.
National Amusements, whose president is Sumner's daughter (and probable successor) Shari E. Redstone, also owns a controlling interest (70%) of video-game maker Midway Games. In addition to its controlling interests in Viacom and CBS Corp., National Amusements is an international chain of movie theaters with 1,500 screens operated by the chains Showcase Cinemas, Multiplex Cinemas, KinoStar and Cinema de Lux banners in the U.S., the U.K., South America and Russia. It additionally operates IMAX theaters in the U.S. and Argentina. The firm is also a partner with AMC Theatres in the on-line ticketing firm "movietickets.com."
Redstone's autobiography, "A Passion To Win" (co-written by Peter Knobler), was published in 2001 by Viacom's Simon & Schuster subsidiary. In 2006, he was ranked #63 on Forbes magazine's list of the 100 richest people in the world, with an estimated worth of $7.7 billion.
He died on August 11, 2020, in Los Angeles, at the age of 97. - Jonathan Dolgen was born on 27 April 1945 in Queens, New York, New York, USA. He was married to Susan. He died on 9 October 2023 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
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Sherry was born in Chicago and pursued an acting career after graduating from Northwestern University. After appearing in two films, Loving (1970) and Rio Lobo (1970), Sherry decided to leave the acting field. In 1974, Sherry joined Talent Associates, as an executive in charge of development. In 1975 she joined MGM as an executive story editor. Three years later, she was appointed vice president in charge of production at Columbia. With the success that she achieved with a number of profitable movies, she was hired as President of 20th Century-Fox. In 1984, she joined Stanley R. Jaffe to form the independent production company, named Jaffe-Lansing. When Jaffe was appointed president of Paramount Communications in 1990, Sherry became Chairman of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group.- Actress
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Jodie Foster started her career at the age of two. For four years she made commercials and finally gave her debut as an actress in the TV series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968). In 1975 Jodie was offered the role of prostitute Iris Steensma in the movie Taxi Driver (1976). This role, for which she received an Academy Award nomination in the "Best Supporting Actress" category, marked a breakthrough in her career. In 1980 she graduated as the best of her class from the College Lycée Français and began to study English Literature at Yale University, from where she graduated magna cum laude in 1985. One tragic moment in her life was March 30th, 1981 when John Warnock Hinkley Jr. attempted to assassinate the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Hinkley was obsessed with Jodie and the movie Taxi Driver (1976), in which Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, tried to shoot presidential candidate Palantine. Despite the fact that Jodie never took acting lessons, she received two Oscars before she was thirty years of age. She received her first award for her part as Sarah Tobias in The Accused (1988) and the second one for her performance as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).- Actress
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Shelley Lee Long was born at 7:15 am on Tuesday, August 23, 1949 in Indian Village, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, the only child of Ivadine (Williams), a schoolteacher, and Leland Long, a teacher who had previously worked in the rubber industry. Shelley attended school at Kekionga Junior High for grades 6-9 and at South Side High School for grades 10-12. She enrolled at Northwestern University in 1967 as an undergraduate studying drama. Her first job was at the university as a meal plan checker. She left Northwestern to pursue a dual career in acting and modeling. She also had a brief marriage to her first husband that ended in divorce. In Chicago, she became a member of the celebrated Second City troupe, in addition to writing, producing and co-hosting a popular Chicago magazine program called "Sorting It Out" in 1975. The show ran for three years on a local NBC station and won three Emmy Awards for Best Entertainment Show.
She met her second husband, Bruce Tyson (a securities broker), on a blind date in 1979. They were married in October, 1981. In 1982, she played the character Diane Chambers in the new NBC comedy series, Cheers (1982). She played the part for five years, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, winning Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1985 and a Quality TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986. She gave birth to a daughter, Juliana, on March 27, 1985. On her summer hiatus from "Cheers", Long made feature films, receiving a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress for Irreconcilable Differences (1984). In 1987, she starred in the hit comedy Outrageous Fortune (1987) with Bette Midler. Soon after, she left "Cheers" after five years to embark on a film career. However, her films Hello Again (1987) and Troop Beverly Hills (1989) were not hits, and she returned to television appearing in the final episode of Cheers in 1993. That same year, she appeared in her own television series "Good Advice" (1993) which was canceled. She returned to feature films playing Carol Brady in the The Brady Bunch Movie (1995). The film became a hit and spawned a sequel, A Very Brady Sequel (1996), which wasn't a hit. She returned to television playing the title role in "Kelly Kelly" (1998), which was canceled after a few episodes. She also played Diane Chambers a few times on "Frasier", the spinoff of Cheers. Her personal life took a huge blow when her husband divorced her in 2004 after more than 20 years of marriage. She recovered and continued on with her career, appearing in guest-starring roles on television, including a recurring role on Modern Family (2009). She supported her daughter Juliana Long Tyson's decision to follow in her footsteps as an actress. She also encouraged Juliana to get married, which she did in 2015, to management consultant Ryan Kissick. Shelley herself never remarried after her two divorces but continues to work in television.- Bruce Tyson was previously married to Shelley Long.
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Chris Ciaffa was born on 28 April 1963. He is a producer and assistant director, known for Unstoppable (2010), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) and Doctor Mordrid (1992). He has been married to Mimi Rogers since 20 March 2003. They have two children.- Actor
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Tony Peck was born on 24 October 1956 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Fit to Kill (1993), Sliver (1993) and Hard Hunted (1992). He was previously married to Cheryl Tiegs.- Kozlowski is a Juilliard graduate with Broadway play experience, who found movie success in the billabongs of Australia with frequent co-star Paul Hogan. The film romance with her Crocodile Dundee (1986) costar grew into a real-life relationship during the filming of the first two movies. Linda married Paul Hogan in 1990 and they lived in California and have one son, named Chance. In 2001, Linda and Paul returned to their popular on-screen romance roles to complete the Crocodile Dundee trilogy. Linda and Paul divorced in 2014.
- Harry Glassman was born in 1943. He was previously married to Victoria Principal and Jane Louise Rubins.
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Catherine Zeta-Jones was born September 25, 1969 in Swansea, Wales (and raised in the nearby town of Mumbles), the only daughter of Patricia (nee Fair) and David James "Dai" Jones, who formerly owned a sweet factory. She attended Dumbarton House School (Swansea). Her father (the son of Bertram (1912-1970) and Zeta Davies Jones (1917-2008)) is of Welsh descent and her mother (the daughter of William (1921-2000) and Catherine O'Callaghan Fair (1920-2001) ) is of English, Irish, and Welsh ancestry. Her brothers are David Jones (born 1967), a development executive, and Lyndon Jones (born 1972), who works at her production company. Her birth name was simply Catherine Jones, but she added her paternal grandmother's name ("Zeta") so as to stand out from the many other young women with the exact same name.
She showed an interest early on in entertainment. She starred on stage in "Annie", "Bugsy Malone" and "The Pajama Game". At age 15, she had the lead in the British revival of "42nd Street". She was originally cast as the second understudy for the lead role in the musical but when the star and first understudy became sick the night the play's producer was in the audience, she was given the lead for the rest of the musical's production. She first made a name for herself in the early 1990s when she starred in the Yorkshire Television comedy/drama series The Darling Buds of May (1991). The series was a success and made her one of the United Kingdom's most popular television actresses.
She subsequently played supporting roles in several films including Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), the miniseries Catherine the Great (1995) and a larger role as the seductive Sala in The Phantom (1996) before landing her breakthrough role playing the fiery Elena opposite Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas in The Mask of Zorro (1998). She starred in many big-budget blockbusters like Entrapment (1999), The Haunting (1999) and Traffic (2000), for which many believed she was robbed of an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as murderous vaudevillian Velma Kelly in the musical comedy Chicago (2002). She then appeared opposite George Clooney in Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Ocean's Twelve (2004) and reprised her starring role in the sequel The Legend of Zorro (2005).
In November 2000, she married actor Michael Douglas. She gave birth to their son Dylan Michael in August 2000 followed by daughter, Carys, in April 2003. She was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.- Actor
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Best known as Robert the Bruce in Braveheart (1995), Angus McFadyen has enjoyed a fine career in the film business. He has been in a variety of different films and television shows over his life, playing such well known roles as Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach, Robert the Bruce, and Orson Welles.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland on the twenty-first of September in 1963, Angus lived a colourful childhood, being raised in such places as the Philippines, Singapore, and France. Angus found himself back in Britain, however, when it came to education. He enrolled in the University of Edinburgh, and Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Angus' first role was the role of Philip in the film made for television, The Lost Language of Cranes (1991). The film centers on a young man (Angus) who must tell his parents that he is gay. Playing the role of his father was fellow Scottish actor Brian Cox. Angus then acted in the television film 15: The Life and Death of Philip Knight (1993) and also on the television show Takin' Over the Asylum (1994) which was about a salesman who runs a radio station in an institution. This led to the biggest role of Angus's career.
In 1995, Mel Gibson's epic classic, Braveheart (1995) was released, with Angus in the role of Robert the Bruce. Next to the flamboyantly hero of William Wallace, Robert the Bruce was the human character, the man who wanted to make the right choice, but was drawn to compromise. The brilliant portrayal of the Bruce was sadly unnoticed by any awards, a tragic insult to Angus's brilliant performance.
After Braveheart (1995) won Best Picture, Angus acted in the independent film Nevada (1997), before giving the most over-the-top performance of his career in the action/fantasy Warriors of Virtue (1997). While the movie was a disaster critically and commercially, Angus's performance as the demented villain Komodo is fondly remembered by a cult following to this day. Another role for Angus was in the romantic comedy Still Breathing (1997). Regrettably, none of these matched up to Braveheart (1995)'s success. He moved on to Joseph's Gift (1999) which starred Freddy Rodríguez. Angus also co-starred alongside such names as Don Cheadle and Ray Liotta when he played Peter Lawford in the HBO film The Rat Pack (1998).
Angus also played the role of Orson Welles in Tim Robbins's third directorial film Cradle Will Rock (1999). Although the film received a nomination for the Palme D'Or at Cannes, it was a financial flop, but Angus rebounded with the Shakespearean film Titus (1999) which also featured Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Alan Cumming and Jessica Lange. Angus played the role of Lucius, eldest son of Titus Andronicus (played by Hopkins). Directed by Julie Taymor, who would go on to direct Across the Universe (2007), the film was a critical triumph and Angus delivered a solid performance, but with mediocre box office results. With the new millennium, Angus once again took up a very well-known character: the Greek God Zeus in Jason and the Argonauts (2000).
After the noir film Second Skin (2000), Angus acted in a number of poorly received films. One such film was the action film Styx (2001) which starred Peter Weller. A year later, Angus acted in the comedy film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) alongside a number of famous names as Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Smith, and Ashley Judd. The film was a commercial hit, albeit with mixed reviews. That same year, Angus took the role of Vice-Counsel Dupont in Equilibrium (2002). The film, also starring Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Taye Diggs, and Emily Watson, is about a world set in the future, where a Fascist regime forbids all emotions from being shown. The film, though clearly well-made and well-acted by all, did not get a wide release. It had already made a profit through international sales, and the studio chose to keep it a successful profit rather than risk a big release. Equilibrium (2002) has since gained a cult following, but at the time of its initial release, Angus moved on to act in the television series Miracles (2003) which was about the supernatural.
After "Miracles", Angus acted as Marcus Crassus in a more historically accurate version of Stanley Kubrick's film Spartacus (1960), the character of Bill in "The Pleasure Drivers", and the lead in the dramatic film The Virgin of Juarez (2006). He then played the pirate warlord Blackbeard in a television film of the same name. The film received mixed reviews.
What then emerged was the second major role of MacFadyen's career: the role of Jeff Denlon in Saw III (2006). Denlon is a man obsessed with revenge, and he is led into a series of traps that test his ability to forgive. The film was a smash hit for its 10 million dollar budget, earning almost two hundred million dollars worldwide. Angus co-starred in the box office bomb Redline (2007) the same year as he returned to the "Saw" franchise with the fourth film. It was also a success at the box office, though reviews for this film were lower than the previous films.
Angus continues making films, starring as the outlaw Will Tunney in his new western film Shadowheart (2009), which may be a reference to the film that made him famous. Angus has appeared on television in the series "Californication" and "Killer Wave". He has also acted in the upcoming mystery film "San Saba (2008)" and the thriller film Unnatural Causes (2008). His character of Jeff makes a reappearance in Saw V (2008), and he acted in two thrillers. One is the film Pound of Flesh (2010) alongside Malcolm McDowell which revolves around a corrupt college professor, and the other is the crime thriller Assassins Run (2013) alongside Christian Slater. Angus also acted in the second season of Lie to Me (2009), to positive acclaim, and the Cameron Crowe comedy We Bought a Zoo (2011), starring Matt Damon.
After a number of independent films, Angus found success playing two different historical figures on television in 2014. The first was detective and spy Allan Pinkerton in the Canadian series The Pinkertons (2014). Although it was short-lived, the second one was much more impactful; the British frontiersman and army officer Robert Rogers in the highly acclaimed AMC series TURN: Washington's Spies (2014). Angus appeared in 31 episodes across four seasons, even as he also made his directorial debut with the Shakespearean film Macbeth Unhinged (2016), which featured a number of collaborators from "Turn" and "Titus".
Since then, Angus has continued to find steady work, including as a guest star in the historical series Strange Angel (2018), and in the independent comedy Business Ethics (2019). He also returned to his iconic film role in a sequel film titled Robert the Bruce (2019). Angus not only reprised his role as the Bruce, he also co-wrote the film's screenplay. Sadly, the film was mostly overlooked by critics and audiences, arguably due to the film Outlaw King (2018) released by Netflix the prior year. Angus later rebounded with a recurring role of Jor-El on the well-liked CW television series Superman & Lois (2021).- Writer
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Three-time Oscar nominee Frank Darabont was born in a refugee camp in 1959 in Montbeliard, France, the son of Hungarian parents who had fled Budapest during the failed 1956 Hungarian revolution. Brought to America as an infant, he settled with his family in Los Angeles and attended Hollywood High School. His first job in movies was as a production assistant on the 1981 low-budget film, Hell Night (1981), starring Linda Blair. He spent the next six years working in the art department as a set dresser and in set construction while struggling to establish himself as a writer. His first produced writing credit (shared) was on the 1987 film, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), directed by Chuck Russell. Darabont is one of only six filmmakers in history with the unique distinction of having his first two feature films receive nominations for the Best Picture Academy Award: 1994's The Shawshank Redemption (1994) (with a total of seven nominations) and 1999's The Green Mile (1999) (four nominations). Darabont himself collected Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for each film (both based on works by Stephen King), as well as nominations for both films from the Director's Guild of America, and a nomination from the Writers Guild of America for The Shawshank Redemption (1994). He won the Humanitas Prize, the PEN Center USA West Award, and the Scriptor Award for his screenplay of "The Shawshank Redemption". For "The Green Mile", he won the Broadcast Film Critics prize for his screenplay adaptation, and two People's Choice Awards in the Best Dramatic Film and Best Picture categories. The Majestic (2001), starring Jim Carrey, was released in December 2001. He executive-produced the thriller, Collateral (2004), for DreamWorks, with Michael Mann directing and Tom Cruise starring. Future produced-by projects include "Way of the Rat" at DreamWorks with Chuck Russell adapting and directing the CrossGen comic book series and "Back Roads", a Tawni O'Dell novel, also at DreamWorks, with Todd Field attached to direct. Darabont and his production company, "Darkwoods Productions", have an overall deal with Paramount Pictures.- Actress
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Christine Taylor is an American actress from Allentown, Pennsylvania. She is known for acting in The Brady Bunch film series and for her collaborations with American filmmaker, actor and comedian Ben Stiller. She acted in Zoolander, DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, Zoolander 2 and many more. She has two children with husband Ben Stiller.- Producer
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Son of Danny Singleton, a mortgage broker, and Sheila Ward, a pharmaceutical company sales executive, and raised in separate households by his unmarried parents, John Singleton attended the Film Writing Program at USC, after graduating from high school in 1986. While studying there, he won three writing awards from the university, which led to a contract with Creative Artists Agency during his sophomore year. Columbia Pictures bought his script for Boyz n the Hood (1991) and budgeted it at $7 million. Singleton noted that much of the story comes from his own experiences in South Central LA and credited his parents with keeping him off the street.- Ed Limato was the last of the great Hollywood talent agents - a breed that dwindled with the loss of Stan Kamen and Irving "Swifty" Lazar. Over the years, Ed Limato's client list read like a who's who of Hollywood royalty and Oscar winners, including Antonio Banderas, Michael Biehn, Nicholas Cage, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, Claire Danes, Geena Davis, Robert Downey, Jr., James Franco, Matthew Fox, Ava Gardner, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Melanie Griffith, Goldie Hawn, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Thomas Jane, Frank Langella, Jennifer Lopez, Derek Luke, director Adrian Lyne, Madonna, Steve Martin, Matthew McConaughey, Bette Midler, Liam Neeson, Sam Neill, Nate Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Quaid, Doris Roberts, Diana Ross, Winona Ryder, David Selby, Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, Meryl Streep, Paul Walker, Denzel Washington, and Marlon Brando. To Limato, his clients were less business and more family. He was known to cry when one would leave him for another agent. Instead of family photographs in his living room, he kept exquisitely framed headshots of every actor he ever represented.
Ed Limato was in a class by himself - an iconoclast, as Vanity Fair once called him - a talent agent who glided through Hollywood with poise and panache. He hearkened back to the Golden Age, a time when men were more refined and elegant, as if he were preparing for an evening at the Mocambo. Yet despite his reverence for Hollywood of yore, his client list kept him active and relevant into the 21st century. He was as colorful as he was powerful. Always handsomely coiffed and impeccably dressed, Limato would promenade into the office wearing Italian suits of mustard yellow or salmon pink, rallying to his assistants, "Let's talk to the stars."
Edward Frank Limato was born on July 10, 1936 in Mount Vernon, New York into a middle class Italian-American family. As a young man, he left home and traveled the country, earning money as a disc jockey. Continued restlessness took him to Europe in 1966, where he eventually landed a job on the set of "The Taming of the Shrew" as an assistant to director Franco Zeffirelli. From a very young age, Limato loved movies and movie stars. He seemed obsessed with the business of Hollywood and studied the trades. In a 1990 Vanity Fair article, actor Michael York, who met Limato on the set, said, "I was the first person to tell him he should be an agent. I told him he must obey his destiny and go to the mailroom." With the help of Zeffirelli's agent, Limato returned to New York and took a job in the mailroom at Ashley-Famous Agency, which eventually became International Famous Agency - where he was promoted to junior agent. Later, Ashley-Famous merged with Creative Management Associates to become International Creative Management (ICM). He transferred to ICM's west coast office but was lured away to the William Morris Agency in 1978 by Stan Kamen. He remained there until 1986 when, after a series of secret meetings with ICM CEO Jeff Berg and agent Sam Cohn, he returned to the agency that gave him his start. He stayed there for two decades until trouble brewed.
In 2006, ICM merged with Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann, primarily a TV literary agency. But within a year, the seams at the new agency came apart. Limato claimed both his authority and stature were being undermined by the new regime, which, he alleged, planned on forcing him into a consultant position and early retirement. Limato wanted out of his contract. ICM refused. The dispute was taken to arbitration, where Limato challenged a 3-year non-compete clause, which forbade him to work for another agency. The battle became a publicity nightmare for ICM, as it played out in the national news.
During arbitration, Limato's lawyers argued that his contract dated back to the mid-90s and was bound by an obscure California law known as the "seven year rule," stating that anyone who renders extraordinary or unique services cannot be bound to a contract for more than seven years. On August 13, 2007, the arbitrator found in favor of the agent and against ICM. With Limato a free agent, Variety wrote, ""Ed Limato's arbitration victory over ICM...puts into play not only one of Hollywood's most senior and revered agents but also the most important client list in a generation." Limato was one of the few talent agents who could boast a fistful of clients with salaries of more than 20 million dollars a film plus first dollar gross. Almost immediately, he and his talent list made a return trip to the venerable William Morris Agency, which merged with Endeavor in June 2009 to form WME. Some industry insiders claim that ICM never recovered its movie business after Limato's exit.
When Limato wasn't negotiating deals for the rich and famous, he served on the boards of Abercrombie & Fitch, the LA Conservancy, the American Cinematheque, and the MPTF.
Limato's fame as an agent might have only been eclipsed by his annual Oscar party, a relaxed but star-studded event that was held at his home the Friday before the Academy Awards. Limato reigned supreme over the party in flamboyant regalia and bare feet. The guest list looked like the hall of fame from politics, movies, TV, music, and literature.
When Ed Limato passed away on July 3, 2010 - a few days shy of his 74 birthday - some of his most famous clients remembered him. Richard Gere said, "Ed was my dear friend and agent for 40 years. He was the best of the best. There will never be anyone like him. The mold has been broken. He was probably the most respected agent of our time who loved his clients dearly and would do anything for them." Mel Gibson said, "It's said of agents 'they have no hearts'. Ed was all heart! He was there for me 30 years. I will miss him." Steve Martin said "Ed Limato not only represented important actors in Hollywood, but also represented class and kindness."
Michelle Pfeiffer was 23 when her agent resigned and turned her over to Ed Limato, a name she recognized but a man she'd never met. Limato always envisioned her as the Marilyn Monroe-type, which wasn't quite in line with her thinking. He once called her before an award ceremony and told her that Giorgio Armani wanted to dress her. She responded, "Who's that and why on earth would I need someone to dress me?" "I think it's a good idea," Limato told her. She followed his instructions, but instead of settling on one of Armani's classic beaded gowns, she chose a black dress suit instead. "Poor Ed," she said, "I fell a tad short of the glamour-puss he had envisioned." After playing some character roles, Limato tried to chaperone her back into the glamour parts. He once warned her in his inimitable style, "If you think your public wants to see you in another wig and accent, you're mistaken." She remembers just hanging out in his office while he worked - simply because she felt safe there.
A memorial service was held for Ed Limato in the theater on the lot of Paramount Studios on January 11, 2011. He was eulogized by Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Denzel Washington. Washington told the audience that he grew up in the same town as Limato and, coincidentally, lived in a house built by Limato's father.
Sir Elton John eulogized his late friend with the song "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." - Actor
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Actor/director/producer Eriq La Salle is best known to worldwide television audiences for his award-winning portrayal of the commanding Dr. Peter Benton on the critically acclaimed and history-making medical drama ER. Educated at Juilliard and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, his credits range from Broadway to film roles opposite Eddie Murphy in Coming to America and Robin Williams in One Hour Photo and Hugh Jackman in Logan. La Salle has maintained a prolific acting career while at the same time working steadily as a director, taking the helm for HBO, Showtime, NBC, Fox and CBS. He remains a valued member of the Dick Wolf Entertainment camp after 4 years as Executive Producer and director on Chicago PD in addition to directing episodes of Law & Order, and Law and Order Organized Crime. As a writer, La Salle is the author of several critically acclaimed thrillers published in 2022 and 2023-Laws of Depravity, Laws of Wrath, and Laws of Annihilation. He has also written an episode of The Twilight Zone which made WGA's list of 101 Best Written TV Series. He lives in Los Angeles, California- Joanna Pacula was born on 30 December 1957 in Tomaszów Lubelski, Lubelskie, Poland. She is an actress, known for Tombstone (1993), Gorky Park (1983) and The Kiss (1988).
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Barry London was born on 22 September 1946 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a producer, known for Whipped (2000), Buying the Cow (2002) and Beautiful (2000).- Actor
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Brendan Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Pat and Frank Gleeson. From a very young age, he loved to learn, especially reading classical text in and outside the classroom. He took great attention to Irish play writers such as Samuel Beckett, which eventually led to him performing in his high school play production of "Waiting for Godot", and paying great attention to detail in his high school drama classes. Upon finishing 12th grade, he spent a couple of years with the Dublin Shakespeare Festival, and under the advice of a director there, headed across to London and auditioned for drama schools. Soon to follow, he was invited to audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon, and spent a couple of seasons back in England on the stage. He then, at the age of thirty five, decided to audition for films in the UK and began to build a very respectable resume playing many different diverse characters.
He made his debut as a quarryman in The Field (1990). He had several small roles in major Hollywood movies based in Ireland, such as Far and Away (1992) and Into the West (1992). Memorably played historical Irish figure "Michael Collins" in The Treaty (1991). Made his breakthrough in Scottish themed Braveheart (1995), which was largely filmed in Ireland, opposite Mel Gibson. He played Gibson's right-hand man "Hamish". Since then, he has appeared in numerous major films such as Mission: Impossible II (2000), Lake Placid (1999), Turbulence (1997). He has made a name for himself taking the titular role in The General (1998), based on the life of Irish criminal "Martin Cahill", for which he won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award. He appears in director John Boorman's film The Tailor of Panama (2001) as well as Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002) and Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001).
Ever since, he has continued to bring his huge stage presence to the screen, always delivering the character in full development to his audience. He is married to his lovely wife, Mary, since 1982. They have four sons.