Tag Archives: career

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The Many Faces of… Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale roles movies

Kate Beckinsale was born on July 26 in London, England. Her parents were both actors. When she was growing up she already was involved with theatre and writing, winning the WH Smith Young Writers Award twice for both poetry and fiction. As a teenager she suffered from anorexia. At Oxford University she did theater. She didn’t finish university because she decided to focus completely on acting. In 1991 she appeared on TV in Devices and Desires and the TV movie One Against the Wind. She had a role in Much Ado about Nothing. Together with Christian Bale she starred in Prince of Jutland. She did various other films and also appeared in stage plays. Around 1998 she decided to head to the United States. Her first American movie was The Last Days of Disco. Other movies she appeared in are Pearl Harbor, Serendipity, the Underworld movies, The Aviator, Van Helsing, Contraband an Total Recall. Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of… Jared Leto

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Looking at this long running series I was surprised to see that I had not done an instalment on Jared Leto, who was in one of my all time favourite films, Mr.Nobody. He was born on December 26, 1971 in Bossier City, Louisiana. Growing up he moved around a lot because his grandfather was in the army. His father took his own life when Jared was just eight years old. His mother stimulated him to be creative. He was so interested in art that he ended up going to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Because he liked visual art so much, which included filmmaking he stopped in Philadelphia and went to the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He also started acting and did some small roles on various TV shows, including Camp Wilder, Almost Home and Rebel Highway. He landed a bigger part in the show My So-Called Life. He slowly started acting in movies like The Last of High Kings and Prefontaine. He got a supporting role in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. He acted in Black and White, “Girl, Interrupted”, Fight Club and American Psycho. He starred in Requiem for a Dream and lost 28 pounds for the role. Other movies he was in include Alexander, Panic Room, A Beautiful Lie and Lonely Hearts. For his role in Chapter 27 he gained a stunning 67 pounds. For his role in Dallas Buyers Club he lost a lot of weight and his performance earned him an Oscar. Besides his acting career he also is part of the band Thirty Seconds to Mars. Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of… Anthony Hopkins

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Anthony Hopkins was born on 31 December 1937 in Wales. When at school he wasn’t too interested in studying and rather spend his time on painting/drawing and playing music. Actor Richard Burton encouraged him to become an actor and he went to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. He graduated in 1957. He went into the British Army for national service for 2 years. After this he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He started acting on the stage and became understudy for Laurence Olivier in 1965. He wasn’t too fond of playing the same part each evening and he started to become interested in films. He first appeared on screen in the BBC’s A Flea in Her Ear and his first movie was The Lion in Winter (which also stars Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn and Timothy Dalton). He still did theatre but slowly did more and more TV and movie acting. Movies he played in include War and Peace, A Bridge Too Far, The Elephant Man, The Bounty, The Mask of Zorro, Meet Joe Black, Hitchcock and Thor. His most famous role though is his portrayal of serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, for which he received an Oscar for best actor. Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of… Jonah Hill

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With the release of 22 Jump Street this week, starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill I thought I’d be a good time to look at the many roles of the latter one. Jonah Hill was born on December 20 1983 in Los Angeles. When he was in college he was writing and performing his own plays. He managed to be successfull and it resulted in him pursuing a career in film. Thanks to him being friends with the kids of Dustin Hoffman he managed to get a audition for what would be his first movie role in I Heart Huckabees. He played a small role in The 40 Year Old Virgin and Judd Apatow would later give him a bigger role in Knocked Up and Superbad and would continue to work with him. He was in the TV show Campus Ladies. His roles in Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street earned him Oscar nominations. Except acting he also is a writer and co wrote Bruno and 21 Jump Street. Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of… Kevin Costner

Overview movies roles Kevin Costner

I always like it when actors make a comeback. Kevin Costner was big during movies like Intouchables, The Bodyguard, JFK, Dances With Wolves but after Postman and Waterworld you didn’t see him that much anymore. Lately he has appeared in some very high profile movies so I thought it would only be right do an installment on him.

Kevin Costner was born on January 18, 1955 in California. Growing up he enjoyed sports a lot and also liked to sing. He got a BA in marketing and finance, but started acting and appeared in his first movie in 1981. It wasn’t until his role as Eliott Ness in The Untouchables that he became famous. He has acted in movies like No Way Out, Field of Dreams, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and A Perfect World. He was scheduled to act in Django Unchained, but had to drop out. Some of his newer films include The Company Men, Man of Steel, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and 3 Days to Kill. His most succesfull movie was Dances with Wolves for which he won 2 Oscars (best picture and best director). He also is a singer in a country rock band (Kevin Costner & Modern West) Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of… Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood was born on May 31, 1930 in San Francisco. He grew up in Pledmont, California. When he attended Oakland Technical High School there were teachers who wanted him in school plays, but he wasn’t interested. In 1951 he went into the army where he worked as swimming instructor and lifeguard. He survived a Douglas AD bomber crash. He was noticed when Universal Studios was shooting in Fort Ord, it resulted in his first small role in Revenge of the Creature (1955). He continued playing small roles in other films. He appeared in the CBS show Rawhide (1959), which he did for several years. During this time he started to get interested in directing, but it wouldn’t be until 1971 he started directing movies.

Sergio Leone cast him in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), the start of the so-called spaghetti westerns. Eastwood would play in a lot of other westerns throughout his career including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Hang ‘Em High and Unforgiven. One of his most iconic roles is that of Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry, which is still quoted a lot. Movies he was in include High Plains Drifter, Escape from Alcatraz, The Rookie, In the Line of Fire, The Bridges of Madison County, Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino. He won 4 Oscars (Best Motion Picture and Best Achievement in Directing for Letter from Iwo Jima, Best Picture and Best Director for Unforgiven). Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of… Emile Hirsch

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This week I decided to take a look at the career of Emile Hirsch. Born on March 13, 1985 in Topanga, California he grew up in Los Angeles and Sante Fe. Thanks to his sister he got interested in acting and it was already at the age of 8 that he had his first role in Woodstock, Illinois. After that he started appearing in television shows (3rd Rock from the Sun, Early Edition, Two of a Kind, Promised Land) and TV movies. After playing a role in NYPD Blue he started getting cast for more serious roles and he appeared in ER for two episodes. His first movie was The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. Other movies included The Girl Next Door, The Mudge Boy, Imaginary Heroes and Lords of Dogtown. Into the Wild is the movie where I first noticed him as it was an impressive movie, partly thanks to his acting. Other movies he has starred in include Speed Racer, Milk, Taking Woodstock, The Darkest Hour and Prince Avalanche. Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of… Catherine Keener

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Catherine Keener was born on March 23, 1959 in Miami, Florida. When she was studying she majored in English and history. When she could not get into a photography class she chose theater instead. In 1986 she started appearing on TV shows, with her first bigger role as Lt. Cricket Sideris in the show Ohara, featuring Pat Morita. Her first movie was About Last Night. She earned her first Oscar nomination for her role in Being John Malkovich. She has starred in a big number of movies including S1m0ne, The Interpreter, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Capote (for which she received a second Oscar nomination), Friends With Money, Into the Wild, Synecdoche, New York and A Late Quartet. Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of… Idris Elba

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Idris Elba was born on the 6th of September 1972 in London. He made his first steps into acting when he was at school. In 1986 he helped his uncle to DJ at weddings and with that experience he started a DJ company together with friends. In 1988 he left school and went to the National Youth Music Theatre. He appeared in Crimewatch where he played roles in reconstructions of crime scenes. His first proper role was in Bramwell (1995). After this he appeared in various British shows like Absolutely Fabulous, The Bill, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Family Affairs, Ultraviolet and Dangerfield. What shot him to stardom was his starring role in The Wire, in which he played the character “Stringer” Bell. He has since starred in various movies, including 28 Weeks Later, RocknRolla, Legacy, The Losers, Takers, Thor, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Prometheus, Pacific Rim and Long Walk to Freedom. Continue reading →

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The Many Faces of… John Goodman

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John Goodman was born on June 20, 1952 in St. Louis, Missori. Het went to Affton High School and played football. He also appeared on stage. He received a football scholarship and went to Missouri State University. He joined the drama program and when he had to end his football career because of an injury he wanted to become a professional actor. He moved to New York, but had difficulties finding acting roles. He stuck with it though and eventually got work in plays, commercials and voiceovers. His first movie was a B-movie called Jailbait Babysitter in 1977. He started appearing in TV-shows as well and slowly rose to fame. He would work with Coen Brothers on several movies, his first being Raising Arizona. His role in the sitcom Roseanne is probably his most famous role, playing Dan Conner. According to IMDB he currently has appeared in an impressive 138 productions. Continue reading →