UIUC
List activity
173 views
• 2 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
36 people
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Morgan Peter Brown is an actor/producer based in Los Angeles, CA. He is known primarily for his work in television shows like "American Crime Story," "New Girl" and "Colin in Black & White," as well as films in the horror/thriller genre like "Ouija," "XX" and "Absentia." He is also one of the stars of "The Dungeon Run," an interactive Dungeons & Dragons show on Twitch & YouTube. He is a founding partner of FallBack Plan Productions, whose work includes the 2022 critical hit "Glorious" starring J.K. Simmons and the Mike Flanagan films "Absentia" and "Oculus." He is originally from Columbus, Ohio and is an alumni of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
This year, Jonathan Kite can be seen starring in the film "Needle Little Christmas," with Sara Waisglass and Thomas Lenon, which he is producing and in which he also makes his feature screenwriting debut. Most recently he appeared in the Netflix comedy series, "Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!" opposite Jamie Foxx. Kite shined as Johnny Williams, Brian's (Foxx) best friend since childhood, and an honorary member of the family. The series, inspired by Foxx's real-life relationship with his daughter Corinne, is streaming globally on Netflix.
Kite may be best known for his starring role as the hilarious and lovable Ukrainian cook Oleg in CBS' long-running, award-winning comedy series "2 Broke Girls" opposite Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs. The show, created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings, ran from 2011-2017 and was nominated for 12 Emmy Awards and four People's Choice Awards.
Additional credits for Kite include indie comedy feature "The Bellman" opposite Thomas Lennon and Richard Kind, horror feature "All the Creatures Were Stirring" alongside Constance Wu, and the Jamie Foxx produced sketch show, "In the Flow with Affion Crockett" for FOX. Aside from his live-action work, Kite has lent his voice to multiple films and series including the Warner Bros. feature film "Smallfoot," Dreamworks' "Adam's Family 2", Peacock's "Cleopatra in Space," Netflix's "The Boss Baby: Back in Business," Adult Swim's "Black Dynamite," FOX's "Family Guy" and "American Dad!" As a stand-up comedian, Kite has performed nationwide and internationally to sold-out audiences.
He is an expert impressionist, boasting over 250 celebrity impressions that include Donald Trump, Vince Vaughn, Tom Hanks, Anthony Bourdain, Seth Rogen, Brendon Fraser, Jason Statham, Jeff Bridges, Robert Downey Jr., and John Lithgow, to name a few. Born and raised in Skokie, Illinois, Kite studied drama in high school and at the University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre. He performed many times on stage in Illinois before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in voice-over acting, film, and television.
Kite also studied improvisation and sketch comedy with Chicago's Second City and The Groundlings in Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the improv group, L. Ron Jeremy, which in 2010 set the national Cage Match Competition record at the Improv Olympic West Theater, winning 52 weeks in a row and then retiring undefeated. In 2009, he created, wrote, produced, and starred in his own sketch comedy television pilot, "The Skokie-Jo and Shappy Show," which has been described as "Mr. Show" meets "Quantum Leap."
Kite currently resides in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Jon Michael Hill was born on 28 July 1985 in Waukegan, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Widows (2018), Elementary (2012) and Detroit 1-8-7 (2010).- Actor
- Director
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Keith Arthur Bolden is a multi-talented artist who has been recently featured in some of the hottest shows on television. He has worked on both coasts, but calls Atlanta home. Keith Arthur is a professor of Theatre at the prestigious Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. He received his MFA in Acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After graduation, he cut his teeth in every major acting market in the US, including: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. He then set his sights on Atlanta, taking the city by storm and making major inroads with all of the notable casting directors in town. He is represented by Atlanta Models and Talent, but he is not hard to find...just turn on your TV...
Keith is a husband and a father to 3 beautiful sons.- Crystal Dickinson is known for I Origins (2014), Collateral Beauty (2016) and This Is Where I Leave You (2014). She has been married to Brandon J. Dirden since 25 August 2006. They have one child.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Brandon J. Dirden is an award-winning American actor, best known for portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in the successful Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Robert Schenkkan's All The Way opposite Bryan Cranston's Lyndon B. Johnson.
A Morehouse and University of Illinois graduate, he is also known for appearing in plays such as Prelude to a Kiss [2007 - his Broadway debut], Topdog/Underdog, Enron, Jitney, The First Breeze of Summer and Clybourne Park. In 2012 he was awarded an OBIE, a VIV [AUDELCO] and a Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Drama League and Lucille Lortell awards for his portrayal of Boy Willie in the Signature Theatre Company revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson.
A renowned interpreter of August Wilson's work, Brandon has appeared to date in 5 of the 10 of his Century Cycle. He made his directorial debut with Wilson's Seven Guitars at Two River Theater to great acclaim.
Brandon can currently be seen in FX's hit series The Americans as FBI Agent Aderholt and Ed Burn's Public Morals on TNT. He is soon to be seen in Baz Luhrmann's new Netflix series The Get Down [2016].- Jason Dirden was born on 23 August 1980 in Houston, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for Greenleaf (2016), Elementary (2012) and The Start of Dreams (2010). He has been married to Anika Noni Rose since 16 October 2022.
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Shanola Hampton was born May 27 in Long Island, NY to a Pastor and an IRS agent. She was raised in Summerville, South Carolina with her three sisters. In college she earned a degree in Theater, with emphasis in Performance from Winthrop University along with a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from University of Illinois. She moved to Los Angeles in 2001, and began appearing in commercials. Later, she made her first guest appearance in Ryan Murphy's "Popular." Her hobbies include, traveling back to South Carolina to spend time with family, Pilates, and swimming. Her hope is to one day open a Performing Arts School.- Originally from Zimbabwe, Tinashe lived in the United Kingdom and Kenya before moving to the States for college. Attended the University of Illinois where she studied under Tony Award-Winning director Daniel Sullivan. Moved to New York City where she did a Broadway and several Off-Broadway productions before relocating to Los Angeles in 2008.
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Parvesh Cheena was born in Naperville, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Barbershop (2002), Centaurworld (2021) and Transformers: Rescue Bots (2011).- Holley Fain was born in Leawood, Kansas, USA. She is an actress, known for Fatal Attraction (2023), Undone (2019) and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019).
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Christopher Denham was born in Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Argo (2012), Shutter Island (2010) and Billions (2016).- Additional Crew
- Actor
Nick Ferrin is a Chicago actor who played the lead role of Steve in The Artifact. He's been an actor or behind the scenes contributor for dozens of TV and Movie productions in Chicago including Chicago Justice, ER, Stranger than Fiction, Batman Begins, and Shameless. He was also part of the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago. He was directed in the role of 'Master Harold' by Tony-nominated K. Todd Freeman for the Steppenwolf's production of "Master Harold...and the Boys".- Cara Mantella was born in the USA. She is known for Lodge 49 (2018), Bobcat Goldthwait's Misfits & Monsters (2018) and Stranger Things (2016).
- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
Gloria Bigelow is known for Bob Hearts Abishola (2019), 24 Hotdogs (2021) and The Never List (2020).- Actor
- Producer
Christian S. Anderson was born on 14 June 1977 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Defenders (2010), Key and Peele (2012) and Got Game (2014).- Stunts
- Actor
- Marc Lessman is known for Guys and Girls Can't Be Friends (2015), You'll Be Fine (2014) and See Ya (2017).
- Actress
- Music Department
- Will Sims II is known for Flight of the Jue Jue Bee (2015) and Survivor (2000).
- Fabio Serafini is known for Garfield: The Movie (2004), Alias (2001) and Medal of Honor: Vanguard (2007).
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Born in 1954 in Pingtung, Taiwan, Ang Lee has become one of today's greatest contemporary filmmakers. Ang graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975 and then came to the U.S. to receive a B.F.A. Degree in Theatre/Theater Direction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Masters Degree in Film Production at New York University. At NYU, he served as Assistant Director on Spike Lee's student film, Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983). After Lee wrote a couple of screenplays, he eventually appeared on the film scene with Pushing Hands (1991), a dramatic-comedy reflecting on generational conflicts and cultural adaptation, centering on the metaphor of the grandfather's Tai-Chi technique of "Pushing Hands". The Wedding Banquet (1993) (aka The Wedding Banquet) was Lee's next film, an exploration of cultural and generational conflicts through a homosexual Taiwanese man who feigns a marriage in order to satisfy the traditional demands of his Taiwanese parents. It garnered Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, and won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. The third movie in his trilogy of Taiwanese-Culture/Generation films, all of them featuring his patriarch figure Sihung Lung, was Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) (aka Eat Drink Man Woman), which received a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination. Lee followed this with Sense and Sensibility (1995), his first Hollywood-mainstream movie. It acquired a Best Picture Oscar nomination, and won Best Adapted Screenplay, for the film's screenwriter and lead actress, Emma Thompson. Lee was also voted the year's Best Director by the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle. Lee and frequent collaborator James Schamus next filmed The Ice Storm (1997), an adaptation of Rick Moody's novel involving 1970s New England suburbia. The movie acquired the 1997 Best Screenplay at Cannes for screenwriter James Schamus, among other accolades. The Civil War drama Ride with the Devil (1999) soon followed and received critical praise, but it was Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) (aka Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) that is considered one of his greatest works, a sprawling period film and martial-arts epic that dealt with love, loyalty and loss. It swept the Oscar nominations, eventually winning Best Foreign Language Film, as well as Best Director at the Golden Globes, and became the highest grossing foreign-language film ever released in America. Lee then filmed the comic-book adaptation, Hulk (2003) - an elegantly and skillfully made film with nice action scenes. Lee has also shot a short film - Chosen (2001) (aka Hire, The Chosen) - and most recently won the 2005 Best Director Academy Award for Brokeback Mountain (2005), a film based on a short story by Annie Proulx. In 2012 Lee directed Life of Pi which earned 11 Academy Award nominations and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Director. In 2013 Ang Lee was selected as a member of the main competition jury at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Betsy Brandt was born on 14 March 1973 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Breaking Bad (2008), Magic Mike (2012) and The Valet (2022). She has been married to Grady Olsen since 1996. They have two children.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Michael "Mike" DiGirolamo was born in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan. When he was only a year old his father moved his family to an exurb of Cleveland called Hudson. There Mike spent his formative years before attending High School in Phoenix, Arizona at Mountain Pointe. He later graduated in the top 5% of his class at Arizona State University. Mike also has a masters degree. As of 2013, he resides in Hollywood, California where he dedicates himself full-time to acting.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Matthew-Lee Erlbach is known for We Are the Champions (2020), Masters of Sex (2013) and Human Interest (2019).- Kelly Lamont is known for Chicago Fire (2012).
- Visual Effects
- Art Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stephen Unterfranz is known for Rampage (2018), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017).- Writer
- Producer
Marlana Hope was born in Illinois, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Grey's Anatomy (2005), Army Wives (2007) and Friday Night Lights (2006).- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Jonathan Sadowski was born on 23 November 1979 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Chernobyl Diaries (2012), She's the Man (2006) and Friday the 13th (2009).- Casting Director
- Casting Department
- Additional Crew
Kendra Castleberry was born on 23 October 1978 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She is a casting director, known for Limetown (2019), Castle (2009) and October Road (2007).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Donald Welch is known for The Bachelor Party (2011), The Divorce (2014) and Love on A Two Way Street (2020).- Actress
- Producer
- Casting Director
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Samantha began her career as a stage actor; but can be see in from of the lens with coming feature films: "To Live and Die and Live", "A Girl Like Him", and "Broken English". She received a BFA in Theatre from The university of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
She was an associate producer on the feature film "Destined" (starring Cory Hardrict, Hill Harper, Lala Anthony, and Jesse Metcalfe). She produced "He Looked Like a Postcard" with Gang Rochelle (starring Tobais Truvillion, jessica Care more, Nicki Gilbert, and Donnell Rawlings). She is thrilled to return to her self-proclaimed festival home at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival with the feature film that she produced, "To Live and Die and Live" (starring Amin Joseph, Omari Hardwick, Cory Hardrict, Skye P. Marshall, Maryam Basir; directed by Qasim Basir).
Samantha debuted as a screenwriter in her first feature film script, "A Boy. A Girl. A Dream." (starring Omari Hardwick, Meagan Good, and Jay Ellis).
She is in development with Barry Waldman ("Wakanda Forever", executive producer) on a dramatic screenplay based on true events.
Samantha finds inspiration from books, short stories, and spoken word; freedom and community from improvisation; depth through the theater; subtlety and patience through the lens of film and television. Her eternal mission is to tell stories.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Tiffany Snow is known for Everything I Did Wrong in My 20s (2014), New Growth (2021) and Illicit (2020).- Daniel Tatar was born in Evanston, Illinois, USA. He is an actor, known for This Is Us (2016), Grey's Anatomy (2005) and CSI: NY (2004).