2Movies

Johnny Depp

Movie Critic — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:22:39 +0000

Born John Christopher Depp in Owensboro, Kentucky, on June 9, 1963, Johnny Depp was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school at age 15 in the hopes of becoming a rock musician. He fronted a series of garage bands including The Kids, which once opened for Iggy Pop. Depp got into acting after a visit to Los Angeles, California, with his former wife, Lori Anne Allison (Lori A. Depp), who introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage. He made his film debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). In 1987 he shot to stardom when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular TV series “21 Jump Street” (1987).In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim Burton came about when Depp played the title role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). Following the film’s success, Depp carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity by appearing in many features before re-joining with Burton in the lead role of Ed Wood (1994). In 1997 he played an undercover FBI agent in the fact-based film Donnie Brasco (1997), opposite Al Pacino; in 1998 he appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), directed by Terry Gilliam; and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film The Astronaut’s Wife (1999). The same year he teamed up again with Burton in Sleepy Hollow (1999), brilliantly portraying Ichabod Crane.Depp has played many characters in his career, including another fact-based one, Insp. Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001). He stole the show from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez’s “mariachi” trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). In that same year he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Capt. Jack Sparrow. Now Depp is collaborating again with Burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).Off-screen, Depp has dated several female celebrities, and has been engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He was married to Lori Anne Allison in 1983 but they divorced her in 1985. Depp is living with French singer-actress Vanessa Paradis, with whom he has two children: Lily-Rose Melody, born in 1999 and Jack, born in 2002.

Brad Pitt

Movie Critic — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:20:55 +0000

Brad Pitt was born in 1963 in Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri. His mother’s name is Jane Etta Hillhouse. His father, William (Bill) Pitt, worked in management at a trucking firm in Springfield. He has a younger brother, Douglas (Doug) Pitt and a younger sister Julie Neal Pitt. At Kickapoo High School, Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government and school musicals. Pitt attended the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism with a focus on advertising. He occasionally acted in fraternity shows. He left college two credits short of graduating to move to California. Before he became successful at acting, Pitt supported himself by driving strippers in limos, moving refrigerators and dressing as a giant chicken while working for “el Pollo Loco.”

George Clooney

Movie Critic — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:16:42 +0000

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, as son of Nick Clooney, a TV newscaster of many years, who hosted a talk show at Cincinnati and often invited George into the studios already at the age of 5. Avoiding competition with his father, he quit his job as broadcast journalist after a short time.Studied a few years at Northern Kentucky University. Failed to join the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He came to acting when his cousin, Miguel Ferrer, got him a small part in a feature film. After that, he moved to L.A. in 1982 and tried a whole year to get a role while he slept in a friend’s closet. His first movie, together with Charlie Sheen, stayed unreleased but got him the producers’ attention for later contracts.

Stephen Lang

Movie Critic — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:09:35 +0000

Stephen Lang (born July 11, 1952) is an American actor and playwright. He started in theatre on Broadway but is well known for his film portrayals of Stonewall Jackson in Gods and Generals (2003) and George Pickett in Gettysburg (1993), as well as for his 2009 roles as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar and as Texan lawman Charles Winstead in Public Enemies. His most recent notable role is Commander Nathaniel Taylor in the 2011 television series Terra Nova. Lang was the co-artistic director (along with Carlin Glynn and Lee Grant) of the famed Actor’s Studio at its headquarters in New York City from 2004 to 2006.

Angelina Jolie

Movie Critic — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:51:25 +0000

Growing up in Los Angeles, Jolie was no stranger to the film industry, being the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight. She later trained and performed at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she was seen in several stage productions.She worked as a professional model in London, New York and Los Angeles, and has also appeared in music videos for such artists as Meat Loaf, Lenny Kravitz, Antonello Venditti and The Lemonheads. In addition, she has acted in five student films for the USC School of Cinema, all directed by her brother, James Haven.

Dwayne Johnson

Movie Critic — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:47:22 +0000

Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born in Hayward, California on May 2nd 1972 to Rocky Johnson and Ata Johnson. While growing up, Dwayne traveled around a lot with his parents and watched his father perform in the ring. During his high school years, Dwayne began playing football and he soon received a full scholarship from the University of Miami where he had tremendous success as a football player. In 1995, Dwayne suffered a back injury which cost him a place in the NFL. He then signed a 3 year deal with the Canadian League but left after a year to pursue a career in wrestling. He made his wrestling debut in the USWA under the name Flex Kavanah where he won the tag team championship with Brett Sawyer. In 1996, Dwayne joined the WWE and became Rocky Maivia where he joined a group known as “The Nation of Domination” and turned heel. Rocky eventually took over leadership of the “Nation” and began taking the persona of The Rock. After the “Nation” split, The Rock joined another elite group of wrestlers known as the “Corporation” and began a memorable feud with Steve Austin. Soon the Rock was kicked out of the “Corporation”. He turned face and became known as “The Peoples Champion”. In 2000, the Rock took time off from WWE to film his appearance in The Mummy Returns (2001). He returned in 2001 during the WCW/ECW invasion where he joined a team of WWE wrestlers at The Scorpion King (2002), a prequel to The Mummy Returns (2001). He is divorced from his first wife Dany Garcia (Garcia). They have a daughter together named Simone Alexandra, born in 2001.

Jessica Alba

Movie Critic — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:41:45 +0000

Born in Pomona, California, on April 28, 1981, Jessica Alba and her family moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, when she was an infant. Three years later, her Air Force father brought the family back to California, then to Del Rio, Texas, before finally settling in Southern California when Jessica was nine. In love with the idea of becoming an actress from the age of five, she was 12 before she took her first acting class. Nine months later, she was signed by an agent. A gifted young actress, Jessica has already played a variety of roles ranging from light comedy to gritty drama since beginning her career. She made her feature film debut in 1993 in Hollywood Pictures’ comedy Camp Nowhere (1994). Originally hired for two weeks, she got her break when an actress in a principal role suddenly dropped out. Jessica cheerfully admits it wasn’t her prodigious talent or charm that inspired the director to tap her to take over the part – it was her hair, which matched the original performer’s. The two-week job stretched to two months, and Jessica ended the film with an impressive first credit. Two national TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney quickly followed before Jessica was featured in several independent films. She branched out into TV in 1994 with a recurring role in Nickelodeon’s popular comedy series “The Secret World of Alex Mack” (1994). She played an insufferable young snob, devoted to making life miserable for the the title character, played by Larisa Oleynik. That same year, she won the role of “Maya” in “Flipper” (1995) and filmed the pilot for the series. She spent 1995 shooting the first season’s episodes in Australia. An avid swimmer and PADI-certified scuba diver, Jessica was delighted to be doing a show that allowed her to play with dolphins. The show’s success guaranteed it a second season, which she also starred in. Her involvement in the show lasted from 1995 to 1997. Since the show ended, she has appeared in a number of TV shows and films. In 1996, she appeared in Venus Rising (1995) as “Young Eve”. The next year, she appeared on the “The Dini Petty Show” (1989), a Canadian talk show, and spoke about her role in “Flipper” (1995) and her general acting career. She began working on P.U.N.K.S. (1999) (V), featuring Randy Quaid, in 1998. In early 1998, she appeared in “Brooklyn South” (1997) as “Melissa”. That same year, she was in two episodes of “Beverly Hills, 90210″ (1990) as “Leanne” and in two episodes of “Love Boat: The Next Wave” (1998). She appeared in “Teen Magazine” in 1995 and various European magazines in the following several years. More importantly, she was featured in the February 1999 issue of “Vanity Fair” magazine. She also had major roles in two movies that year: Never Been Kissed (1999) and Idle Hands (1999). In 2000, she had roles in Paranoid (2000/I) and starred in the sci-fi TV series “Dark Angel” (2000).

Zac Efron

Movie Critic — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:38:47 +0000

Born in San Luis Obispo, California, and raised nearby in Arroyo Grande, Zac Efron took his first step toward acting at the age of 11 when his parents took note of his singing ability. Singing lessons soon led to an appearance in the production of “Gypsy” that ran 90 performances and he was hooked. After appearing on-stage in “Peter Pan,” “Auntie Mame”, “Little Shop of Horrors” and “The Music Man”, guest parts quickly followed on television series, including “Firefly” (2002), “ER” (1994), and “The Guardian” (2001). After guest-starring in several episodes of “Summerland” (2004), he joined the regular cast as girl-crazy Cameron Bale. Efron also starred in several pilots such as The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke (2003) (TV) and Triple Play (2004) (TV). He also recently starred as an autistic child in the television movie Miracle Run (2004) (TV), alongside Mary-Louise Parker and Aidan Quinn.Efron graduated Arroyo Grande High School in June 2006. Efron’s favorite sports include golf, skiing, rock climbing, and snowboarding. He recently added surfing after spending days on the beach for “Summerland.” He plays the piano at home, and is currently teaching himself to play the guitar. He’s also currently fixing up two cars in his spare time, a Delorean and ’65 Mustang convertible, both treasured hand-me-downs from his even-more-treasured grandfather. Efron lives at home with his parents and his younger brother Dylan. They have a highly affectionate Australian Shepherd, Puppy, and a very independent Siamese cat named Simon.

Leonardo Dicaprio

Movie Critic — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:12:10 +0000

Few actors in the world have had a career quite as diverse as Leonardo DiCaprio’s. DiCaprio has gone from relatively humble beginnings, as a supporting cast member of the sitcom Growing Pains and low budget horror movies, such as Critters 3, to a major teenage heart-throb in the 1990s, as the hunky lead actor in movies such as Romeo + Juliet and Titanic, to then become a leading man in Hollywood blockbusters, made by internationally renowned directors such as Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan. But such as rich, varied career is what you would expect from someone who has had such an unusual upbring as DiCaprio.Leonardo DiCaprio is the only child of former comic book artist George and Irmelin DiCaprio (both born 1943). Leonardo’s father, George, had achieved minor status as an artist and distributor of cult comic book titles, and was even depicted in several issues of American Splendor, the cult semi-autobiographical comic book series by the late Harvey Pekar, a friend of George’s. However, Leonardo’s performance skills became obvious to his parents early on, and after signing him up with a talent agent who wanted Leonardo to perform under the stage name ‘Lenny Williams’, DiCaprio began appearing on a number of television commercials and educational programs. DiCaprio began attracting the attention of producers, who cast him in bit part roles in a number of TV programs, such as Roseanne and The New Lassie, but it wasn’t until 1991 that DiCaprio made his film debut in Critters 3, a low-budget horror movie.While Critters 3 did little to help showcase DiCaprio’s acting abilities, it did help him develop his show-reel, and attract the attention of the people behind the hit sitcom ‘Growing Pains’, in which Leonardo was cast in the ‘Cousin Oliver’ role of a young homeless boy who moves in with the Seavers.While DiCaprio’s stint on Growing Pains was very short, as the sitcom was axed the year after he joined, it helped bring DiCaprio into the public’s attention, and after the show ended DiCaprio began auditioning for roles in which he would get the chance to prove his acting chops.Leonardo took up a diverse range of roles in the early 1990s, including a mentally challenged youth in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, a young gunslinger in The Quick and the Dead and a drug addict in one of his most challenging roles to date, Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries, a role which the late River Phoenix originally expressed interest in.While these diverse roles helped establish Leonardo’s reputation as an actor, it wasn’t until his role as Romeo in Baz Luhrmann’s Romei + Juliet that Leonardo became a household name, a true movie star. The following year DiCaprio starred in another movie about doomed lovers, Titanic, which went on to beat all box office records held before then, as, at the time, Titanic became the highest grossing movie of all time, and cemented DiCaprio’s reputation as a teen heart-throb.Following his work on Titanic, DiCaprio kept a low profile for a number of years, with roles in The Man in the Iron Mask and the low budget ‘The Beach’ being some of his few notable roles during this period. However, in 2002 he burst back into screens throughout the world with leading roles in Catch Me if You Can and Gangs of New York, his first of many collaborations with director Martin Scorsese.With a current salary of $20 million a movie, DiCaprio is now one of the biggest movie stars in the world. However, he has not limited his professional career to just acting in movies, as DiCaprio is a committed environmentalist, who is actively involved in many environmental causes, and his commitment to this issue led to his involvement in The 11th Hour, a documentary movie about the state of the natural environment.As someone who has gone from bit parts in television commercials to one of the most respected actors in the world, DiCaprio has had one of the most diverse careers in cinema. DiCaprio continues to defy conventions about the types of roles he will accept, and with his career now seeing him leading all star casts in action thrillers such as The Departed, Shutter Island and Christopher Nolan’s Inception, DiCaprio continues to wow audiences by refusing to conform to any cliché about actors. DiCaprio is not merely a former teen heart-throb turned leading man, he is one of the most respected, daring and challenging actors working today.