Enjoy this simple clip made with all love and care for you, dear readers :)
понедельник, 24 мая 2010 г.
Gerard James Butler
(born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor, who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in English productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in the American miniseries Attila (2001). He garnered critical acclaim for his breakthrough work as the lead in Joel Schumacher's 2004 film adaptation of the musical The Phantom of the Opera. In 2007, Butler gained worldwide recognition through his portrayal of King Leonidas in the film 300. Since then, he has appeared in projects including P.S. I Love You (2007), RocknRolla (2008), The Ugly Truth (2009), and The Bounty Hunter (2010).
Robert Thomas Pattinson
(born 13 May 1986) is an English actor, model, musician, and executive producer. Pattinson is best-known for playing Edward Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight novels by Stephenie Meyer, and for the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In 2010, Pattinson was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World. His upcoming films include The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Bel Ami, Water For Elephants and Unbound Captives.
Biography of Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell (born 31 May 1976) is a Golden Globe-, IFTA- and Satellite Award-winning Irish actor, who has appeared in Hollywood films including Tigerland, Daredevil, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander, In Bruges.
Farrell was born in Dublin, the son of Rita, a housewife, and Eamon Farrell, a soccer-player who played for Shamrock Rovers FC and owned a company importing and exporting canned goods in Dublin City. He was raised Roman Catholic. His uncle Tommy Farrell also played for Rovers. Farrell has three siblings: two sisters, Claudine (who is his personal assistant) and Catherine; and a brother, Eamon Jr. When he was ten, the Farrells moved to Castleknock, a Dublin suburb. Farrell was educated at St. Brigid's National School Castleknock followed by Castleknock College and Gormanston College. Farrell auditioned for the Irish group Boyzone when he was still unknown, but was unsuccessful. Farrell attended The Gaiety School of Acting, but dropped out and was cast in the part of Danny Byrne on Ballykissangel, a BBC television drama. Farrell appeared on the show 7 times from 1998 to 1999.
Farrell appeared in the title role of Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's 2004 biopic Alexander, which, while receiving some favorable reviews internationally, received mostly mediocre and negative reviews in the United States. It was marked by controversy for portraying the ancient conqueror as bisexual, and received criticism from some historians for its portrayal of the ancient Persians, though others praised it for its accuracy in these regards as well. The movie grossed a total of $167 million worldwide, despite its poor showing within the United States, just exceeding its budget of $155 million.
Farrell's next film was 2005's Academy Award-nominated The New World, also a historical epic that was met with mixed reviews.[20] Farrell played the leading role of captain John Smith, the founder of 17th century colonial Jamestown, Virginia who falls in love with a beautiful Native American princess, Pocahontas, played by Q'Orianka Kilcher. The film received positive reviews, despite being released in only 811 theaters worldwide and having a relatively low box office gross.
The New World was followed by Ask the Dust, a romance film set in period Los Angeles and co-starring Salma Hayek. It received a very limited theatrical release and was not a financial success. 2006 brought more success in Farrell's career, as he appeared opposite Jamie Foxx in Michael Mann's action-crime film Miami Vice.
On 11 January 2009, he won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor: Musical or Comedy for his role in In Bruges, in which he co-starred with Brendan Gleeson. The same year, he starred in Terry Gilliam's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, alongside Heath Ledger and Christopher Plummer and Crazy Heart, alongside Jeff Bridges.
2010 will see the release of Ondine (film), a fantasy-drama directed by Neil Jordan, which stars Farrell as a fisherman. Farrell's next project will be in a film adaptation of Flann O'Brien's metafictional novel At Swim-Two-Birds alongside Cillian Murphy and Gabriel Byrne. Actor Brendan Gleeson will be directing the film, which will be released in 2010. In October 2009, however, Gleeson expressed fear that, should the Irish Film Board be abolished as planned by the Irish State, the production may fall through.
Farrell has a son, James Padraig (born 12 September 2003), with US model Kim Bordenave. In October 2007, Farrell revealed that his son has Angelman Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterized by intellectual and developmental delay, speech impediment, sleep disturbance, seizures, hand flapping movements, and frequent laughter/smiling.
In December 2005, Farrell voluntarily checked into a rehabilitation treatment center for addictions to recreational drugs and painkillers. His publicist commented that Farrell had started taking painkillers due to a back injury. He was released in January 2006. In May 2006, Farrell started attending rehabilitation meetings.
It was announced on 14 September 2009, that Farrell and his current partner, Alicja Bachleda-Curuś were expecting their first child together. Their son, Henry Tadeusz Farrell, was born on 7 October 2009 and was baptized in the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Krakow, Poland.
Colin Firth's Biography
Colin Firth - A Self Made Actor
Colin Firth is an actor who has worked hard to achieve the stardom that he has attained. He was no overnight success, and even had to make a comeback after losing the initial fame he enjoyed the first time.
His perseverance in fact is a lesson to all struggling actors, and to his legions of fans everywhere, not to give up.
History
Firth was born in Grayshott, Hampshire, England, the son of Shirley Jean (née Rolles), a comparative religion lecturer, and David Norman Lewis Firth, a history lecturer and education officer for the Nigerian Government.
Firth has a sister, Kate, and a younger brother, Jonathan, who is also an actor. Firth's parents were born and raised in India, because his maternal grandparents, Congregationalist ministers, and his paternal grandfather, an Anglican priest, performed missionary work abroad.
At two weeks old, his parents took him to Nigeria, where Colin spent his early years.
He also lived in St. Louis, Missouri USA when he was 11. He attended the Montgomery of Alamein Secondary School, a state comprehensive school in Winchester, Hampshire, and then Barton Peveril College in Eastleigh, Hampshire.
Colin was not very happy at school and rebelled against learning things which he considered of no interest to him. He failed his school exams and did not continue beyond his compulsory education.
He had his first taste of acting as a child when he appeared in a school play. He soon discovered that he enjoyed acting, which seemed to be the only thing for which he was praised - according to his own recollection. As a result, from the age of 14 he was determined to become an actor.
After school, he went to London where he found work as a stage door keeper at the Shaw Theatre and a workroom assistant at the National Theatre.
He also attended the National Youth Theatre and finally managed to enrol with the Drama Centre, one of the renowned London drama schools. (Drama schools in Great Britain accept students purely on the strength of their abilities.)
In the course of his drama studies, he played the title roles in Moliere's "Tartuffe", Hamlet, and Cat on A Hot Tin Roof and Shakespeare's "King Lear": and in his final year in 1983 (this soon led to talent scouts and stage success), he was tapped to replace Daniel Day-Lewis in a West End production called “Another Country.”
Early Career and stardom
Colin then decided to take off from more glamorous roles and focus on developing his art by doing more theatre.
His next big role was the title role in Valmont, a sumptuous, multi-million dollar reproduction of a French novel, and then Tumbledown, an important British work.
He explored varied opportunities in theatre, television, and film, both in London and in Hollywood. He took on many different types of roles to challenge his abilities with psychologically intense roles.
He then starred in a string of Hollywood films, including “Wings of Fame,” with Peter O’Toole, then “Femme Fatale” and “Out of the Blue,” neither of which was highly successful.
His personal life became somewhat complicated when he fell in love with his "Valmont" co-star, Canadian actress Meg Tilly. They lived together near Vancouver in Canada for some years and have a son, William. But Colin returned to England around 1993 and Will now lives with his mother in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, Colin is known to take his fatherhood extremely seriously and insists on contact with his son as often as possible. When that relationship ended, his career had lost momentum and he went back to smaller-town theatre and TV.
Colin and William (Will) just like to "hang out" when Colin is in L.A. (where Colin owns a condo): "There's nothing unconventional about our activities."
Comeback
As he continued to get back into acting, he went back to Hollywood and starred in the well-received film “Circle of Friends” with Minnie Driver. His breakthrough role came in the form of Mr. Darcy in the Jane Austen classic, “Pride and Prejudice.” This was a role he had turned down many times, as it played toward the predictable, snobby, British role, which he wanted to avoid. After his previous film failures, he decided to try it, and it was a huge success.
Colin also had a well publicized personal relationship with Jennifer Ehle who played Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, but apparently they were not well suited together in real life, and parted about a year later.
He used his new fame to pick his roles carefully, with the next one being “The English Patient.”
In 1995, whilst filming "Nostromo" on location in Colombia, Colin met and fell deeply in love with an Italian lady, Livia Giuggioli (she was taking time off from her Ph.D. studies at the University of Rome to work as a producer's assistant), 9 years his junior, who was working for the Italian co-producers of the program. They married in Italy in 1997, live in London and have two sons, Luca and Mateo, born 29-Mar-2001 in Rome and August 2003 respectively.
Colin Firth is an actor who has worked hard to achieve the stardom that he has attained. He was no overnight success, and even had to make a comeback after losing the initial fame he enjoyed the first time.
His perseverance in fact is a lesson to all struggling actors, and to his legions of fans everywhere, not to give up.
History
Firth was born in Grayshott, Hampshire, England, the son of Shirley Jean (née Rolles), a comparative religion lecturer, and David Norman Lewis Firth, a history lecturer and education officer for the Nigerian Government.
Firth has a sister, Kate, and a younger brother, Jonathan, who is also an actor. Firth's parents were born and raised in India, because his maternal grandparents, Congregationalist ministers, and his paternal grandfather, an Anglican priest, performed missionary work abroad.
At two weeks old, his parents took him to Nigeria, where Colin spent his early years.
He also lived in St. Louis, Missouri USA when he was 11. He attended the Montgomery of Alamein Secondary School, a state comprehensive school in Winchester, Hampshire, and then Barton Peveril College in Eastleigh, Hampshire.
Colin was not very happy at school and rebelled against learning things which he considered of no interest to him. He failed his school exams and did not continue beyond his compulsory education.
He had his first taste of acting as a child when he appeared in a school play. He soon discovered that he enjoyed acting, which seemed to be the only thing for which he was praised - according to his own recollection. As a result, from the age of 14 he was determined to become an actor.
After school, he went to London where he found work as a stage door keeper at the Shaw Theatre and a workroom assistant at the National Theatre.
He also attended the National Youth Theatre and finally managed to enrol with the Drama Centre, one of the renowned London drama schools. (Drama schools in Great Britain accept students purely on the strength of their abilities.)
In the course of his drama studies, he played the title roles in Moliere's "Tartuffe", Hamlet, and Cat on A Hot Tin Roof and Shakespeare's "King Lear": and in his final year in 1983 (this soon led to talent scouts and stage success), he was tapped to replace Daniel Day-Lewis in a West End production called “Another Country.”
Early Career and stardom
Colin then decided to take off from more glamorous roles and focus on developing his art by doing more theatre.
His next big role was the title role in Valmont, a sumptuous, multi-million dollar reproduction of a French novel, and then Tumbledown, an important British work.
He explored varied opportunities in theatre, television, and film, both in London and in Hollywood. He took on many different types of roles to challenge his abilities with psychologically intense roles.
He then starred in a string of Hollywood films, including “Wings of Fame,” with Peter O’Toole, then “Femme Fatale” and “Out of the Blue,” neither of which was highly successful.
His personal life became somewhat complicated when he fell in love with his "Valmont" co-star, Canadian actress Meg Tilly. They lived together near Vancouver in Canada for some years and have a son, William. But Colin returned to England around 1993 and Will now lives with his mother in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, Colin is known to take his fatherhood extremely seriously and insists on contact with his son as often as possible. When that relationship ended, his career had lost momentum and he went back to smaller-town theatre and TV.
Colin and William (Will) just like to "hang out" when Colin is in L.A. (where Colin owns a condo): "There's nothing unconventional about our activities."
Comeback
As he continued to get back into acting, he went back to Hollywood and starred in the well-received film “Circle of Friends” with Minnie Driver. His breakthrough role came in the form of Mr. Darcy in the Jane Austen classic, “Pride and Prejudice.” This was a role he had turned down many times, as it played toward the predictable, snobby, British role, which he wanted to avoid. After his previous film failures, he decided to try it, and it was a huge success.
Colin also had a well publicized personal relationship with Jennifer Ehle who played Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, but apparently they were not well suited together in real life, and parted about a year later.
He used his new fame to pick his roles carefully, with the next one being “The English Patient.”
In 1995, whilst filming "Nostromo" on location in Colombia, Colin met and fell deeply in love with an Italian lady, Livia Giuggioli (she was taking time off from her Ph.D. studies at the University of Rome to work as a producer's assistant), 9 years his junior, who was working for the Italian co-producers of the program. They married in Italy in 1997, live in London and have two sons, Luca and Mateo, born 29-Mar-2001 in Rome and August 2003 respectively.
Biography of Sir Sean Connery
While one might dispute the actual number of people who would qualify for star status, no one would dispute the premise that Sean Connery is one of them. Moreover, he is not merely a star - he is a super-star.
He began his theatrical career as an extra in the chorus, playing bit parts, and modeling. From those modest beginnings, he has become an international film icon. Many believe that his talent and appeal continue to improve with time.
His humble beginnings, growing up in a working class neighborhood in Edinburgh, gave no indication of the achievements that were destined to come. Sean was born into a working class family in August of 1930. The oldest of two boys, he spent much of his youth working at menial jobs, just to get by. He left school at an early age and went to work fulltime.
At sixteen, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Like many young men in the Navy, he opted for a tattoo. However, unlike many tattoos, his were not frivolous - his tattoos reflect two of his lifelong commitments: his family and Scotland. After six decades, his tattoos still reflect those two ideas: One tattoo is a tribute to his parents and reads "Mum and Dad," and the other is self explanatory, "Scotland Forever."
After three years of Naval service, a long bout with a stomach ulcer shortened his "naval career". He returned to Edinburgh and seemed to settle into a life of hard work: bricklayer, lifeguard, and coffin polisher. Sean spent much of his free time bodybuilding, a pastime that eventually started his acting career. His hobby of bodybuilding culminated in a bid for the 1950 Mr. Universe title where he placed third.
From his early acting days until his first superstar role, Sean's stardom was certainly not an over-night success story. From his first work in modeling, bit theatrical parts, and chorus appearances, it was almost eight years before he was cast opposite Lana Turner in Another Time, Another Place (1958). It would be another four years before he first uttered those unforgettable words, "Bond, James Bond."
He then broadened his career with an Agatha Christie whodunit, Murder on the Orient Express (1974), John Huston's adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's adventure, The Man Who Would Be King (1975), the medieval romance, Robin and Marian (1976), and Peter Hyams' sci-fi film, Outland (1981). He resurfaced as a much wiser and more mature Bond in the 1983 adventure, Never Say Never Again.
Many critics and fans alike have said that the quality of his acting has only improved with age. Certainly his personal appeal has. In 1989, at almost 60 years of age he was voted People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive." When advised of the award, Sean seemed to be unaffected as he replied, "Well there aren't many sexy dead men, are there”.
He began his theatrical career as an extra in the chorus, playing bit parts, and modeling. From those modest beginnings, he has become an international film icon. Many believe that his talent and appeal continue to improve with time.
His humble beginnings, growing up in a working class neighborhood in Edinburgh, gave no indication of the achievements that were destined to come. Sean was born into a working class family in August of 1930. The oldest of two boys, he spent much of his youth working at menial jobs, just to get by. He left school at an early age and went to work fulltime.
At sixteen, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Like many young men in the Navy, he opted for a tattoo. However, unlike many tattoos, his were not frivolous - his tattoos reflect two of his lifelong commitments: his family and Scotland. After six decades, his tattoos still reflect those two ideas: One tattoo is a tribute to his parents and reads "Mum and Dad," and the other is self explanatory, "Scotland Forever."
After three years of Naval service, a long bout with a stomach ulcer shortened his "naval career". He returned to Edinburgh and seemed to settle into a life of hard work: bricklayer, lifeguard, and coffin polisher. Sean spent much of his free time bodybuilding, a pastime that eventually started his acting career. His hobby of bodybuilding culminated in a bid for the 1950 Mr. Universe title where he placed third.
From his early acting days until his first superstar role, Sean's stardom was certainly not an over-night success story. From his first work in modeling, bit theatrical parts, and chorus appearances, it was almost eight years before he was cast opposite Lana Turner in Another Time, Another Place (1958). It would be another four years before he first uttered those unforgettable words, "Bond, James Bond."
He then broadened his career with an Agatha Christie whodunit, Murder on the Orient Express (1974), John Huston's adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's adventure, The Man Who Would Be King (1975), the medieval romance, Robin and Marian (1976), and Peter Hyams' sci-fi film, Outland (1981). He resurfaced as a much wiser and more mature Bond in the 1983 adventure, Never Say Never Again.
Many critics and fans alike have said that the quality of his acting has only improved with age. Certainly his personal appeal has. In 1989, at almost 60 years of age he was voted People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive." When advised of the award, Sean seemed to be unaffected as he replied, "Well there aren't many sexy dead men, are there”.
суббота, 22 мая 2010 г.
P A U L
Wanna some basic facts? Here you are.
Name: Paul Thane Bettany
Age: 38
Height: 6'3"
Hair: Strawberry Blond
Eyes: Blue
Born: 27 May 1971 in Harlesden, UK (soon!!!)
Sign: Gemini
Lives in: Brooklyn
Father: Thane Bettany
Mother: Anne Kettle
Siblings: Older sister Sarah, younger brother Matthew (d. 1988)
Wife: Jennifer Connelly
Wedding: 1 Jan 2003, Gilmerton House, Scotland
Children: Stellan (5 Aug 2003), Kai (1997, stepson)
Beliefs: Atheist
First Feature Role: Gangster No. 1
Trademarks: Wit, playing guitar, vodka, talking like a sailor
Admires: John Lennon, Brian Patten, Stellan Skarsgеrd, Vincent Cassel
Greatest Influence: John Jameson and Son - "the reasons are manifold"
Smoking: Quit in 2005
Favorite Film: Brief Encounter
Favorite Novel: Darkness at Noon
Sports: Arsenal
World Record: On May 16, 2006, Paul and other Da Vinci Code cast and crew members rode a Eurostar train from London to Cannes, setting an official Guinness World Record for the longest non-stop international train journey.
Quotations
- I'm English, so I can't wear a baseball cap. I'd look like white trash, like I should have a beer and a dog called Skeeter.
- My dad made a lot of stories up at bedtime. He would create these wild stories about this elephant. As I got older, I remember him reading Lord of the Rings. My strongest memory was the moment when you think Frodo is dead and I forced him to read about 250 more pages until you realized he was okay.
- In America, they shoot budgets and schedules, and they don't shoot films any more. There's more opportunity in Europe to make films that at least have a purity of intent.
четверг, 20 мая 2010 г.
I O A N
Ioan Gruffudd was born in October 1973 in Llwydcoed, Aberdare, the eldest of three children to his parents Peter and Gillian Gruffudd, both of whom were teachers.
A few years after he was born the family moved to Cardiff, where Gruffudd's grandparents had previously run an amateur dramatics society.
Gruffudd's first acting break came in Austin (1986), a BBC Cymru Wales television film written by Hazel Williams. From 1987 to 1994 he acted in the Welsh-language soap opera Pobl y Cwm, but left at the age of 18 to enrol at Rada to formally train as an actor.
In his final year at the Academy Gruffudd was cast as George (Jörgen) Tesman in Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, which in part led to him winning the role of Jeremy in the 1996 remake of the BBC's Poldark series - his first major English-language role.
The following year he played John Gray in the film Wilde, which starred Stephen Fry. Gruffudd's star was by now firmly in the ascendant, and soon after he played Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in James Cameron's Hollywood epic Titanic.
In 1998 Gruffudd landed the role of Horatio Hornblower in ITV's production of CS Forester's novels, a production he would continue to work on until 2003.
1999 saw Gruffudd star in BBC drama Warriors alongside other British talent Damien Lewis and Matthew Macfadyen. Directed by Peter Kosminsky, the drama focused upon UN peacekeepers in Bosnia during the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing in 1993.
Gruffudd also appeared as Pip in the BBC's 1999 dramatisation of Great Expectations, played the lead in BAFTA award winning Welsh film Solomon a Gaenor, and even voiced the part of God in the Welsh animation Gwr y Gwyrthiau (The Miracle Maker).
The turn of the century saw a step up the Hollywood ladder for Gruffudd as he won the role of Kevin Shepherd in Disney's 102 Dalmatians (2000). It was while working on this film that Gruffudd met future wife Alice Evans; the pair married in Mexico in 2007 and live together in Los Angeles.
"I had lived in London for 12 years and to be honest with you I haven't missed Wales - I've hardly missed London, I love Los Angeles that much," he told the Daily Post. "When you live here and get to know the place, it's just wonderful, such an easy way of life. I'm surprised that the place has offered me so much pleasure and I really enjoy it."
Gruffudd starred in Very Annie Mary and the acclaimed Black Hawk Down in 2001, with appearances in television serials The Forsyte Saga and Man and Boy the year after.
At the 2003 National Eisteddfod he was inducted into the Gorsedd of the Bards and a year later landed the role of Lancelot in Antoine Fuqua's King Arthur, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Clive Owen and Kiera Knightly.
Gruffudd's performance as Dr Reed Richards (aka Mr Fantastic), in the first of the Fantastic Four series in 2004 (based on Marvel Comics), won him adulation from his ever-growing fanbase though critical reviews of the film were mixed.
Two years later Gruffudd played abolitionist William Wilberforce in Amazing Grace and in 2007 starred in the second of the Fantastic Four series, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Gruffudd continued his journey upwards in Hollywood casting circles when picked to play former Prime Minister Tony Blair in Oliver Stone's 2008 satirical biographical film W. He also starred in a film adaptation of the children's novel The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, The Secret of Moonacre, in the same year.
And with Hollywood directors paying close attention, and a versatility which sees him turn his hand to everything from costume drama to sci-fi blockbusters, he could well follow Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins into the league of Welsh Hollywood greats.
Gruffudd became a father for the first time in September 2009 as his wife Alice gave birth to a daughter, Ella Betsi Evans Gruffudd.
In the autumn of 2009 he was involved in the Animated Myths project for the BBC Wales History website; he narrated the story Morgana's Secret Island, written by Welsh author Catrin Dafydd.
Spring 2010 saw Gruffudd begin filming on Foster, in which he stars with Toni Collette, Hayley Mills and Richard E. Grant. He is also set to star in forthcoming film The Kid, an adaptation of the international bestseller on the life of Kevin Lewis, alongside Rupert Friend and Natascha McElhone.
Quotations
- "As an actor, you have to admit you are a show-off. But with so many magazines like Heat, it's diminishing the mystery of going to see somebody on the big screen. The less you know about somebody the better."
- "Being attractive, it's not something I do consciously. It's incredibly flattering that people think I appeal to women. But that was a gift from my parents. My acting, my personality - that's what it's about."
- I'm determined not to lose my name. It's who I am. It has neither aided my progress nor hampered it. It's just who I am. My character. My make-up. My culture and heritage is a very rich one. So what if it's difficult for people to pronounce? We all learned how to say Schwarzenegger.
воскресенье, 2 мая 2010 г.
Let's congratulate Gerard Butler! He is the winer of our voting))
The second place is given to Alan Rickman!
суббота, 1 мая 2010 г.
The Legends of the British Cinema
A now - a bit of history. I dared to "steal" this thoroughly made video from the you-tube user AllenbysEyes (a deep bow for his work, no copyright was violated).