October 5, 2012 by Nostra - 27 Comments

The Many Faces of… Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke was born on November 6, 1970 in Austin, Texas. He moved a lot together with his mother and ended up in New York. He attended several schools and aspired to be a writer when he was in high school. He also started acting and did his first play when he was 13. He decided to follow acting classes and eventually studied actign at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg.

He dropped out when he got a role in 1989 in Dead Poets Society. His first movie was Explorers in 1985 (which also starred River Phoenix). Dead Poets Society however meant his breakthrough. He had the leading role in White Fang and also acted in A Midnight Clear and Alive. He has since starred in many films including Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, Waking Life, Training Day, Before Sunset and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Continue reading →

September 28, 2012 by Nostra - 23 Comments

The Many Faces of… Ryan Gosling

Overview of the career and roles of actor Ryan Gosling

With the weekend about to start it’s time to take a look again at the career of an actor or actress, with this week’s choice for Ryan Gosling. He was born November 12, 1980 in London, Ontario. He didn’t like being a child and really didn’t have any friends until he was in his teens. He got in some trouble after watching First Blood and decided he would take stake knives to school and throw them at other kids. Luckily no one got hurt, but he was suspended. He had trouble reading and eventually was placed in a class for special-needs students. His mother also gave him home schooling.

As for acting, he started out as a mouseketeer and became close friends with Justin Timberlake. After his contract with Disney ended he appeared in several TV shows, including the adventure series Young Hercules. In 2000 he made the move to movies, appearing in Remember the Titans. It wasn’t until 2004 that people started really noticing him when he starred in The Notebook. Other notable performances are those in Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, Blue Valentine, The Ides of March and Drive. Continue reading →

September 21, 2012 by Nostra - 19 Comments

The Many Faces of… Vin Diesel

It’s Friday and time for a new installment of this weekly series. This time I decided to take a look at action star Vin Diesel. He was born as Mark Sinclair Vincent on July 18, 1967 in New York. He first appeared in a play at the age of seven. The reason he was in that play was because him, his brother and several friends had broken into the theater planning to vandalize it, but were offered parts by the artisitc director when he found them.

When he went to Hunter college he remained interested in acting and as he loved writing he started writing screenplays and making films. His first (uncredited) movie role was in Awakenings and the next movie was Multi-Facial, which he wrote, directed and starred in. He also did so for his next movie, Strays. Saving Private Ryan was the first big movie he starred in and he also did voice work for the giant in The Iron Giant. Next up were the Boiler Room and Pitch Black, but it was when The Fast and Furious came out he really became famous. He has since starred in a lot of action movies, but also tried different types of roles in both comedies and dramas. Continue reading →

September 14, 2012 by Nostra - 15 Comments

The Many Faces of… Emma Stone

overview roles and movies of actress Emma Stone

Welcome to a new installment of this weekly series. This week I decided to shine the light on an actress who might not have a very long filmography, but Emma Stone has impressed me since the first time I saw her in Paper Man.

She was born on November 6, 1988 in Arizona. When growing up she was part of the Valley Youth Theatre and appeared in a play when she was 11 and many followed. She was mostly home schooled and convinced her parents to move to Hollywood to pursue an acting career.

They moved when she was 15 and she won the part of Laurie in a reality tv competition looking for actor for a new series called The New Partridge Family. Apart from a pilot episode the show didn’t go anywhere, but it meant more TV work for her as she appeared on several shows. She had her movie debut in Superbad as the girl Jonah Hill’s falls in love with. Stone has since appeared in several movies including Zombieland, Easy A, The Help and The Amazing Spider-Man. Continue reading →

September 7, 2012 by Nostra - 32 Comments

The Many Faces of… Bill Murray

It’s Friday again, so I already want to wish you a very enjoyable weekend and present you with a new installment of “The Many Faces of…”. Born on the 21st of September, 1950, Bill Murray has been picked as this week’s star. He comes from a big family (he had 8 brothers and sisters). When growing up he kept himself busy as lead singer of a rockband and to earn some money he worked as a golf caddy. He already acted in high school. After graduating he started taking premedical course, but never finished.

He started doing improvisational comedy together with his brother and was eventually recruited by John Belushi to star on a comedy radio show. He appeared on Saturday Night Live and TVTV. His first movie role was in Meatballs and he played Hunter S. Thompson in Where the Buffalo Roam. With movies like Caddyshack and Tootsie he quickly became a well-known actor. He was the star of Ghostbusters and Groundhog day and has appeared in lots of movies over his career, including more serious roles. Continue reading →

August 31, 2012 by Nostra - 25 Comments

The Many Faces of… Cillian Murphy

Overview of the roles and movies of actor Cillian Murphy

So with the weekend about to start it is time to give you another installment of “The Many Faces of…”. This week’s choice is Cillian Murphy. He was born in Douglas in 1976. He went to a catholic school where he performed in a drama. It is something he really liked. He first tried to become a rock star as he played guitar. He later became interested in acting again and acted in a play at University College Cork. He started acting professionally in 1996 in a play called Disco Pigs. He started appearing in small movies in 1997 and also the BBC television miniseries The Way We Live Now. His first big movie was Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and this he appeared in Hollywood movies like Cold Mountain and GIrl with a Pearl Earring. With his role in the Batman movies as Dr. Jonathan Crane a wider audience noticed him (he originally was asked to audition for the role of Bruce Wayne). Continue reading →

August 10, 2012 by Nostra - 31 Comments

The Many Faces of… 50 actors & actresses

Last week was the 50th installment of “The Many Faces of…”. For those who don’t know the series, it’s a weekly post on Friday where I make an overview of all the roles of a specific actor or actress.

As I’m currently taking a small break (to enjoy a well deserved holiday) I thought it would be a nice moment to create an overview of the 50 actors and actresses I’ve looked at during the past 50 weeks. Each picture links to the installment of that specific actor/actress. I hope it eases the “pain” of not having a new entry and I hope you enjoy it!

August 3, 2012 by Nostra - 22 Comments

The Many Faces of… Denzel Washington

Welcome to a new installment of the Friday Faces, but before we get into it let me state that I will have a small break the coming two weeks. Don’t worry though as I have scheduled some posts for you to enjoy while I am away. Now back to the regular program:

Denzel Washington was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon. When he was 14 he was sent to a military academy after his parents divorced. He got a bachelors degree in drama and journalism from University in 1977. He tried his hand at acting when someone at a summer camp suggested it to him. He decided he would and after acting in several plays and made his movie debut in a very small role in Death Wish. He appeared in several other movies and played Dr. Philip Chandler in St. Elsewhere. He became a large name in Hollywood after he teamed up with Spike Lee. He has played the inconic role of Malcolm X and has since had a steady career. He won 2 Oscars, one for Best Actor in Training Day and Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Glory and has been nominated 3 other times. Continue reading →

July 27, 2012 by Nostra - 37 Comments

The Many Faces of… Joe Pesci

It’s almost weekend and as you have come to expect from me it means a new installment of “The Many Faces of…”, this week starring Joe Pesci. He was born February 9, 1943 in Newark, New Jersey. He went to Belleville High School and started acting at a young age. He appeared in plays when he was five and when he was ten he appeared on the TV show Startime Kids.

He stopped acting though and became a barber in the sixties. At the same time he played in several bands and released a record under the name “Joe Ritchie” (he would release another one in 1998 on which he even rapped on the track Wise Guy). He even did a comedy act, but allegedly wasn’t very successful.

He made some small appearances on TV, but it was his small role in the movie The Death Collector which was noticed by Robert de Niro, who convinced Martin Scorcese to cast him in Raging Bull. Through the years Pesci has appeared in a lot of movies, but is best known for his roles in various gangster movies and successful franchises as the Lethal Weapon and Home Alone series. He retired from acting in 1999, but did appear in The Good Shepherd and Love Ranch. Continue reading →

July 20, 2012 by Nostra - 19 Comments

The Many Faces of… Will Smith

Overview of the roles and movies of actor Will Smith

Welcome to a new installment of the “Friday Faces”, with this week’s choice, Will Smith. He was born on September 25 1968 in West Philadelphia and was raised there as well (which will come as not surprise if you are familiar with the lyrics of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme). He went to the Overbrook High School and was named Prince because of his charm. He received good grades, but was very interested in making music. Together with Jeffrey A. Townes he formed the group DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and was very succesful with hits like “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and “Summertime”. He made a lot of money with his music, but spent so much and underpayed his taxes, which nearly meant bankruptcy.

Luckily NBC was interested in creating a show about a kid from Philadelphia who went to live with his family in Beverly Hills. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” aired in 1990 and lasted six years. During this period he slowly started expanding his acting to movies as well, impressing with his role in Six Degrees of Separation. His big breakthrough though were his roles in Bad Boys and Independence Day and he has managed to stay in the spotlight, being one of the best paid actors around. Continue reading →