The Many Faces of… James Franco

Overview in pictures of the roles and movies of actor James Franco

James Franco was born on April 19, 1978 in Palo Alto, California. He went to Palo Alto High School and appeared in several plays. During high school he got into trouble with the law for various things like graffiti and shoplifting and briefly was a ward of the state, looking at juvenile hall. He managed to change and went to university in California where he majored in English. He decided to drop out after his freshman year to pursue an acting career. He took lessons with Robert Cearnegie at the Playhouse West. His first appearance on a screen was in a Pizza Hut commercial, but he soon acted in several TV shows like Pacific Blue, 1973, To Serve and Protect and Freaks and Geeks. His first movie role was in Never Been Kissed and played James Dean in the James Dean TV movie for which he got nominations for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award. His next role would introduce him to a world wide audience, playing Harry Osborn in Spider-Man. Looking at his filmography you can say he is a very hard working actor, acting since 1997, with 84 titles to his name. These include City by the Sea, Tristan + Isolde, Flyboys, Pineapple Express, Milk, Eat Pray Love, 127 Hours, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Spring Breakers and Oz the Great and Powerful. Continue reading

The Many Faces of… Jim Carrey

Overview of the roles of Jim Carrey in pictures

This past weekend I decided to try something new in regards to these posts and I’m happy to see you have been voting a lot for your favorite actor or actress to appear this week. Most votes count and Jim Carrey was the clear winner with over 47% of the votes.

He was born on January 17, 1962 in Newmarket, Canada. When growing up his father lost his job and he, together with his family lived out of a van. At age 15 he stopped school and started working as a janitor. He later attended various schools, but never finished high school. He started doing impersonations, but wasn’t having much succes with them. When his parents finally had a house again he returned to the stage and started getting paid for his performances. He started touring with Rodney Dangerfield and performed in Las Vegas. He finally moved to Los Angeles where he also did stand up work. He tried to get a job at Saturday Night Live, but wasn’t selected. He did start appearing in movies in 1983 like Rubberface and Copper Mountain. He landed a leading role in the TV show The Duck Factory, which was unfortunately cancelled. He kept appearing in various shows and movies and thanks to his role in Earth Girls Are Easy got a recurring role in the TV show In Living Color. He managed to land a leading role in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (a movie he partly rewrote) and immediately became a star. He has since starred in many comedies including Dumb and Dumber, Liar Liar, The Mask and Bruce Almighty. He also played various serious roles in movies like The Majestic, The Number 23 and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Continue reading

The Many Faces of… Michelle Williams

Overview of the roles of actress Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams was born on September 9, 1980 in Kalispell, Montana. She was interested in acting at the age of 9. Her first roles were in TV shows including Baywatch, Lassie, Step by Step and Home Improvement. Her first movie role was that of Young Sil in the science fiction movie Species. When she moved to L.A. she managed to get a role in Dawson’s Creek. Besides the show she also appeared in movie like Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and The Station Agent. Since 2004 she has focussed on movie roles, appearing in movie like Brokeback Mountain, I’m Not There, Synecdoche, New York, Blue Valentine, Shutter Island, Meek’s Cutoff, My Week with Marilyn and Oz the Great and Powerful. Continue reading

The Many Faces of… Ben Affleck

Overview of the career and roles of actor Ben Affleck

On August 15, 1972 Ben Affleck was born in Berkeley, California. He became friends with Matt Damon at the age of 8. He started acting when he was young, appearing on several TV shows and movies. He worked together with director Kevin Smith in various movies like Mallrats, Jersey Girl, Chasing Amy and Clerks 2. His real breakthrough came when he starred in Good Will Hunting, which he wrote together with Damon. Movies he has been in include Boiler Room, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Daredevil, Gigli and Hollywoodland. He earned a lot of respect as a director with the movies Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo (appearing in the last two). Continue reading

The Many Faces of… Rachel Weisz

Overview of the roles of actress Rachel Weisz

Rachel Weisz was born on March 7, 1970 in London. As she was growing up, she started modelling at the age of 14. She was offered to star in King David, together with Richard Gere, but she turned it down. She graduated from Trinity Hall, Cambridge with Bachelor of Arts degree in English. At university she played in various production and co founded a student drama group, which won a Student Drama Award in 1991. She has remained active on the stage throughout her career. Her first appearance on TV was in 1992 on Advocates II and a role in an episode of Inspector Morse. Her first big role was together with Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman in Chain Reaction. Her breakthrough came when she starred in The Mummy, opposite of Brendan Frasier, she also appeared in the sequel. Other movies in her career were Beautiful Creatures, The Runaway Jury, About a Boy, Constantine, The Constant Gardener, The Fountain, The Brothers Bloom and Dream House. Continue reading

The Many Faces of… Ewan McGregor

Overview of the roles of actor Ewan McGregor

Ewan McGregor was born on March 31st, 1971 in Perth, Scotland. Several family members were actors and actresses as well. He went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studied drama. Before he graduated he landed roles in the TV show Family Style and series Lipstick on Your Collar and he has been acting a lot since. His first performance that got him a lot of praise was his role in Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave and worked with Boyle in other movies like Trainspotting and A Life Less Ordinary. He has starred in movies like Nightwatch, Star Wars, Moulin Rouge!, Black Hawk Down, Big Fish, I Love You Phillip Morris, The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Ghost Writer, Beginners, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and The Impossible. Continue reading

The Many Faces of… Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan was born on April 12th 1994 in The Bronx, New York City. When she was 3 she moved to Ireland with her parents, where she was raised. She started acting in the TV shows The Clinic (2003) and Proof (2005). Her first movie role was in the movie I Could Never Be Your Woman. She has since starred in movies like Atonement, City of Ember, The Lovely Bones, The Way Back, Hanna and The Host. Continue reading

The Many Faces of… Hugh Jackman

Overview of the many roles of Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman was born on October12th 1968 in Sydney, Australia. When his parents divorced he remained in Australia while his mother moved to the United Kingdom. He loved travelling and wanted to see the world. When he was young he wanted to become a chef on the plane because it would allow him to see places. In 1985 he appeared in the stage production of My Fair Lady at his Grammar school. He studied at the University of Technology in Sydney where got a BA in communications. When he decided to follow drama lessons he felt at home. He followed an acting course at the Actors’ Centre in Sydney and was offered a role in the Australian soap series Neighbours, which he turned down. Instead he decided to attend at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

On the night he graduated he was offered a role in Correlli, a drama series on ABC. He appeared in several plays after it, including Beauty and the Beast and Sunset Boulevard. He appeared in several TV shows and smaller movies, but went back to theater to star in Oklahoma! for which he won an award. I Throughout his career he has kept doing stage plays as well.
It was his role in X-Men which meant his breakthrough to a global audience. He has since starred in movie like Kate & Leopold, Swordfish, The Prestige, The Fountain, Scoop, Australia and Les Miserables. He was considered for the role of James Bond, but lost out to Daniel Craig. Continue reading

The Many Faces of… Jennifer Lawrence

Welcome to the 75th installment of “The Many Faces of…”!

Jennifer Lawrence was born August 5, 1990 in Louisville, Kentucky. She started acting in a local theater, never having followed acting lessons. She wanted to pursue a career in acting and finished high school two years earlier to be able to do it. Her first work was in TV shows starting in 2006 and had her breakthrough in Winter’s Bone. She has since acted in The Beaver, The Hunger Games, XMen: First Class and her Oscar winning performance in Silver Linings Playbook. Continue reading

The Many Faces of… Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 28, 1974. His parents were part of the religious cult the Children of God, which they left in 1978 and they returned to the U.S. Growing up the kids performed on the streets and in L.A. he was discovered, together with his siblings, after which he started appearing on TV shows (his first in 1982), initially under the name Leaf Phoenix. He has since starred in To Die For, U Turn and Inventing the Abbotts. It was his role in The Gladiator as Roman emperor Commodus which made him famous and he has since appeared in many other movies, including Hotel Rwanda, Sings, The Village, Walk the Line. He surprised everyone when he retired and stated he was focussing on a rap career. It eventually lead to the “documentary” I’m Still Here. He returned to acting in The Master. Continue reading