Aidan Quinn was born in the U.S. of Irish parents in 1959. He spent much of his childhood in Ireland in Birr Co. Offaly. Among his earlier work of note is the television film “An Early Frost” one of the first films to tackle the subject of AIDs. Aidan Quinn has made many films in Ireland including “Michael Collins”, “Desperately Seeking Susan” and “This Is My Father”.
TCM overview:
An actor known for the depth and intensity of his performances, Aidan Quinn eschewed the typical leading man roles in favor of complex characters in projects he found artistically appealing, rather than commercially attractive. After honing his craft in the theaters of Chicago, Quinn auditioned for and won his first feature film role – the lead in the romantic melodrama “Reckless” (1984). Even as he continued to perform on stage, he added to his screen credits with a charming turn in the quirky romantic comedy “Desperately Seeking Susan” (1985) and a daring portrayal of an AIDS victim in the made-for-TV drama “An Early Frost” (NBC, 1985). Quinn was endearing as a Baltimore family patriarch in “Avalon” (1990) and played put-upon brothers in films such as “Benny & Joon” (1993) and “Legends of the Fall” (1994). He was affecting as a doomed Irish farmer in love with an underage girl in “This is my Father” (1998), and as a troubled priest on the short-lived series “The Book of Daniel” (NBC, 2005-06). Never content to be confined to a single genre or character type, Quinn moved with ease from low-key family fare like the coming-of-age drama “Flipped” (2010) to the adrenaline-fueled action of “Unknown” (2011), continuing a career that highlighted diversity over publicity.
Born on March 8, 1959 in Chicago, IL to parents Teresa and Michael, Quinn’s family vacillated between the city of Rockford – where his father was a professor of English literature at the community college – and his parents’ home country of Ireland for the majority of his childhood. After graduating from high school, splitting his attendance between schools in the States and in Belfast, Ireland, he returned to Chicago at the age of 19 and began earning a living as a roofer in the construction business, while also taking acting classes at the Piven Theatre Workshop. Almost immediately, Quinn found himself bit by the acting bug and began auditioning with local theater companies. He made his professional stage debut in a Chicago production of “The Man in 605,” later appearing off-Broadway in Sam Shepard’s “Fool for Love” in 1983. Quinn launched his film career when he won the lead role of young rebel Johnny Rourke in James Foley’s “Reckless” (1984), co-starring Daryl Hannah as the privileged girl irresistibly drawn to him. The following year he returned to the stage in another Shepard production, “A Lie of the Mind,” before reappearing on the silver screen in that quintessential slice of mid-1980s pop culture “Desperately Seeking Susan” (1985). Co-starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna – the latter in her screen debut – the quirky fairy tale of mistaken identity did big box-office business, propelling Quinn into the upper echelon of young acting talent at the time.
At the height of the AIDS epidemic, Quinn took a risk when he accepted the role of Michael Pierson, a closeted gay man diagnosed with HIV in his first made-for-television movie, “An Early Frost” (NBC, 1985), opposite Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara as his devastated parents. Although the network lost substantial revenue due to several advertisers pulling commercial spots, the controversial film was a ratings winner and Quinn garnered an Emmy nomination for his performance. He made a short, impressive contribution alongside Robert De Niro in “The Mission” (1986) prior to starring in the “Great Performances” production of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” (PBS, 1987). Next, Quinn explored his villainous side in John Badham’s buddy-cop comedy “Stakeout” (1987) before taking to the stage as Stanley Kowalski the following year in the Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” He essayed the title role in “Crusoe” (1989), a poorly-received revisionist adaptation of the oft-filmed 1719 Daniel Dafoe novel. Quinn went on to play the illicit lover of conscripted concubine Natasha Richardson in the problematic adaptation of Margret Atwood’s futuristic novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” (1990) and played a character based on Barry Levinson’s father in the director’s third film set in his hometown of Baltimore, MD, “Avalon” (1990).
Quinn played an idealistic missionary in the jungles of the Amazon in the well-intentioned, but ultimately disappointing drama, “At Play in the Fields of the Lord” (1991), followed by a turn as a member of a traveling Irish theater troupe courting Robin Wright in “The Playboys” (1992). He then carried the burden of an undeniably thankless role opposite the eccentric performances of Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson in the romantic comedy “Benny & Joon” (1993). Busier than ever, Quinn starred opposite Madeline Stowe in the romantic thriller “Blink” (1994), followed by a small cameo as the captain of a doomed Arctic vessel in the messy Francis Ford Coppola-produced adaptation of “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” (1994). He closed out the year in the unenviable position of being overshadowed by the preternaturally handsome Brad Pitt in the historical melodrama, “Legends of the Fall” (1994). Later, he appeared as Richmond in Al Pacino’s ingenious documentary exploration of Shakespeare, “Looking for Richard” (1996), and proved convincing as Harry Boland, co-strategist and romantic rival of “Michael Collins” (1996), Neil Jordan’s epic take on the Irish freedom fighter.
Director Christian Duguay gave Quinn the opportunity to play the unconventional dual roles of Carlos “The Jackal” Sanchez, as well as a naval officer who bears an uncanny resemblance to the international terrorist in the gripping thriller, “The Assignment” (1997). On television that same year, he portrayed Henry Morton Stanley in the historical docudrama “Forbidden Territory: Stanley’s Search for Livingston” (ABC, 1997). Quinn returned to his beloved Ireland for “This is My Father” (1998), a family affair written and directed by his brother Paul and shot by cinematographer brother Declan. Appearing in flashbacks, he deftly played the shy son of poor farmers whose romance with a spirited underage girl was doomed to end in tragedy. As the decade drew to a close, Quinn picked up supporting roles as the love interest of a modern day witch in the whimsical romance “Practical Magic” (1998), and as the concerned husband of nightmare-plagued Annette Bening in the thriller “In Dreams” (1999). He lent his services to efforts like the Pierce Brosnan family drama “Evelyn” (2002) and appeared in the critically drubbed “Stolen Summer” (2002), the first movie produced by the filmmaking reality show, “Project Greenlight” (HBO, 2001-03/Bravo, 2004-05). Quinn was, however, in much better company as part of the esteemed ensemble cast of the award-winning, two-part miniseries “Empire Falls” (HBO, 2005), starring Ed Harris and Paul Newman.
Aidan Quinn
Quinn gave episodic television a shot when he led the cast of “The Book of Daniel” (NBC, 2005-06) as Daniel Webster, a priest who regularly converses with the literal embodiment of Christ, even as he battles his own personal demons. Touted as “edgy” and “challenging” by the network and at the same time maligned by certain church groups, the drama was pulled after just a few episodes. He returned to TV in the role of crusading attorney Julianna Margulies’ husband in yet another short-lived show, the crime drama “Canterbury’s Law” (Fox, 2007-08). Quinn went on to play a dogmatic cosmology professor in the fact-based tragedy “Dark Matter” (2008), the story of a frustrated Chinese foreign exchange student driven to violence after being the victim of perceived academic politics. He played President Grant in “Jonah Hex” (2010), a flawed adaptation of the comic book Western, as well as a loving dad in the Rob Reiner-directed family drama “Flipped” (2010). In the action-thriller “Unknown” (2011), Quinn played a conspirator impersonating a recent accident victim and possible amnesiac portrayed by Liam Neeson. Back on the small screen, Quinn had guest appearances on “White Collar” (USA Network, 2009- ) and “Weeds” (Showtime, 2005-2012), before landing a regular series role as the lieutenant of a rude, crude and occasionally reckless homicide detective (Maria Bello) on the well-received but ultimately short-lived “Prime Suspect” (NBC, 2011-12), a U.S. remake of the popular British series starring Helen Mirren. The following year, he returned with another regular series role, this time playing a New York City police captain genuinely fond of former Scotland Yard consultant Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and his partner, Dr. Joan Watson (Lucy Liu), on the critically acclaimed series “Elementary” (CBS, 2012- ). The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.
Interesting interview with Barry Egan in “Independent.ie” here.
Aidan Gillen is quietly building up a very impressive resume of roles on film, television and stage. On TV he has created such memorable characters as ‘Stuart Alan Jones’ in “Queer As Folk” in 1999, as ‘Tommy Carcetti’ in “The Wire”, ‘John Boy’ in”Love/Hate” and as ‘Petyr Baelish in “Game of Thrones”. He was born in Dublin in 1968. Among his films are “The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne” in 1987 with Maggie Smith, “The Courier” with Gabriel Byrne, “Shadow Dancer” and “Dark Knight Rises”.
TCM overview:
A human chameleon with a deft touch at playing charismatic heels, Aidan Gillen became an intrinsic player to some of the most groundbreaking television shows of the 1990s and 2000s, including such prestige fare as the U.K.’s “Queer as Folk” (Channel 4, 1999-2000) and HBO’s “The Wire” (2002-08) and “Game of Thrones” (2011- ). In the early 1990s, the Irish-born Gillen established a footprint in the U.K. theater scene and a run of well-regarded independent films like “Circle of Friends” (1995), “Some Mother’s Son” (1996), “Mojo” (1997) and “Buddy Boy” (1999). In 1999, he landed one of the leads on the daring British series “Queer as Folk,” one of the first humanizing looks at gay culture in television history. In 2003, Gillen’s Broadway debut in Harold Pinter’s “The Caretaker” earned him a Tony nomination, setting him up for a memorable splash on U.S. television as Mayor Tommy Carcetti on HBO’s magnum opus urban drama “The Wire.” Gillen carved a niche playing textured, scene-stealing villains in projects such as “Lorna Doone” (BBC, 2000), “The Final Curtain” (2002), “Shanghai Knights” (2003), “Blackout” (2008), “Freefall” (BBC, 2009) and “Blitz” (2011), capped deftly by his return home to play a mob boss in the Irish drama “Love/Hate” (RTE, 2010-11) and the Machiavellian counselor Littlefinger on “Game of Thrones.” Boasting a CV “teeming with reptiles, chancers and scumbags,” as the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper summarized, Gillen continues to build an élan as one of Ireland’s best thespian imports.
Gillen was born as Aidan Murphy on April 24, 1968, in Dublin, Ireland, the youngest of six children of a nurse and an architect. He grew up in artistic ranks, with his sister Fionnuala becoming an actress and his brother John Paul a television writer and playwright. Aidan came of age fascinated by film, the home video revolution affording him a chance to devour movie classics. He began acting at age 13, studying the craft at the Dublin Youth Theatre. At age 15, he started dating a neighborhood girl, Olivia O’Flanagan, and it would become a long-term relationship. He took a featured role in the DYT’s production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” when he was 16 and secured his Equity card the next year, picking up some minor film roles, most notably the Irish-shot feature “The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne,” which starred Bob Hoskins and Maggie Smith. Upon graduating from St. Vincent’s C.B.S. secondary school in Glasnevin, he was already working regularly in the theater. He adopted his mother’s maiden name, Gillen, as his stage name when he discovered there was another actor already working as Aidan Murphy.
At age 19, Aidan moved to London, U.K., where he soon found himself working in top-tier productions on the West End, such as revivals of dramas by playwright Billy Roche, “A Handful of Stars” and “Belfry” – both shot for broadcast on the BBC – Mamet’s “The Water Engine,” the groundbreaking AIDS-coping drama “Marvin’s Room” and a revival of the Irish classic “Playboy of the Western World.” Gillen won his first major screen role in the 1993 BBC telefilm “Safe,” playing a young grifter amid a stark cross-section of homeless people. He garnered a broader international audience as the love interest of one of the two Dublin University co-eds (one of them played by Minnie Driver in her breakthrough role) central to the critically adored indie “Circle of Friends” (1995). Gillen continued to play countrymen the next year in “Some Mother’s Son,” which saw him as an imprisoned IRA member who puts his mother (Helen Mirren) in the thick of an awful moral dilemma when he undertakes a hunger strike to secure political prisoner status. In 1997, he reprised a previous stage credit in the film adaptation of Jez Butterworth’s “Mojo,” a tale of the London gang culture’s interspliced relationship with the early days of rock-n-roll, with Gillen playing the manic, murderous son of a club-owner.
He again excelled at creepy in the Mark Hanlon-helmed indie thriller “Buddy Boy,” rendering a man largely sequestered from the world to take care of his aging mother but developing an unhealthy fascination with a comely neighbor. In 1999, Gillen landed a television series, Channel 4’s “Queer as Folk,” Russell T. Davies’ trailblazing, unflinching look at the gay subculture of Manchester’s Canal Street district. With charismatic abandon, Gillen donned the character of Stuart Alan Jones, an unabashedly out, devil-may-care, randy PR executive. The show drew both condemnation from conservative cloisters and critical praise, much of it directed at Gillen. Channel 4 brought the series back for a two-episode sequel in 2000. The role scored him a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. In 2001, Gillen married O’Flanagan. His demand rising, Gillen took another TV gig, starring as an amateur sleuth helping to track a serial killer in the miniseries “Dice” (CBC, 2001). Hoping to avoid being pigeonholed by TV stardom, he returned to one-off projects. He continue to hone his heel bona fides with variously menacing performances, playing the scheming villain of the BBC’s high-profile retelling of the Scottish period adventure “Lorna Doone” (2000); a corrupt cop in the King Lear contemporary version of “My Kingdom;” and an unscrupulous, deranged game show host in a vicious feud with rival Peter O’Toole in “The Final Curtain” (2002).
In 2003, he took it to Hollywood, tapped to play the smarmy cad in the de rigueur Jackie Chan/Owen Wilson action comedy “Shanghai Knights.” That year, he returned to the stage in high style, starring alongside Patrick Stewart and Kyle MacLachlan in a Broadway revival of Harold Pinter’s “The Caretaker.” He played Mick, a slick, borderline violent Londoner whose big-hearted brother (MacLachlan) helps out a homeless man (Stewart), which soon turns out to be a more menacing prospect than expected. Though the production opened to mixed notices, The New York Times, like many others, singled out Gillen’s intense performance, calling it a “smashing Broadway debut.” The performance drew him a Tony Award nomination, as well as the attention of producers of the HBO drama “The Wire.” The intricate, exhaustively textured series of stories about weary cops and the drug trade denizens on the decaying streets of Baltimore, MD, was moving into its third season, heralded nearly universally as the new bar for narrative fiction in the U.S., and producer David Simon planned to expand the storyline beyond the street and into big-city politics. Gillen joined the cast in 2004 as the centerpiece of that arc, Tommy Carcetti, outwardly no-nonsense and liberal, but privately a manipulative city councilman, given to pulling strings in his oversight of the city’s public safety functions.
Gillen continued with the show through 2008, seeing Carcetti make an unlikely ascent to mayor and eventually governor. With the show’s importation to Ireland television, Gillen took the Best Actor laurel from the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) in 2009. He revisited Mamet’s works in 2007, starring in revivals of “American Buffalo” in Dublin and “Glengarry Glen Ross” in London. He donned the heavy again in multivariate sequence of films: an unbalanced doctor in the indie thriller “Blackout;” a gleefully avaricious investment banker in BBC’s telefilm of the credit meltdown, “Freefall” (2009); a standard con in another attempt to make pro wrestler Jon Cena an action star, “12 Rounds” (2009); and a self-styled rock star serial killer in the Jason Statham cop procedural “Blitz” (2011). Relocating with Olivia and their two children to Kerry, Ireland, in 2009, Gillen took the lead in the homegrown ensemble crime drama “Love/Hate,” scoring the role of John Boy, an organized crime boss whose cool steadily unravels along with his criminal empire. In 2011, the show swept the IFTA awards, with Gillen again taking the Best Actor award. He kept his hand in more sympathetic roles on the ITV procedural “Identity” (2010), playing a hotshot identity crimes detective living a double life; in the sweet low-budget Brit comedy “Treacle Jr.” (2010); and the Irish-set horror flick “Wake Wood” (2011).
In an internationally star-making role, Gillen would stride the rapier edge between heel and hero as the morally ambiguous Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish, high-class pimp and counselor to the king on the ambitious HBO series “Game of Thrones.” Premiering in 2011, the epic fantasy adventure, based on George R.R. Martin’s series of novels under the rubric A Song of Ice and Fire, followed a vast cross-section of a fictional island confederation of fiefdoms thrown into political intrigue and eventually war over control of their unifying throne, pitting the draconian southern aristocrats, the Lannisters, against the brothers of the fallen king, the Baratheons, the Iron Islands-dwelling Greyjoys, and the honorable, largely sympathetic northern house, The Starks, led by Ned Stark (Sean Bean) and his strong-willed wife Catelyn (Michelle Fairley). Baelish’s seemingly pragmatic parlays between Baratheons, Lanisters and Starks made him an enigma in the first season, clouded by his revealed previous suitorship of Catelyn Stark, then clarified by his ultimate betrayal of Ned with the smirk-delivered line, “I did warn you not to trust me.” “Thrones” debuted to rave reviews, developing tsunami of pop cultural buzz and seeing ratings climbing throughout the season to reach an impressive-for-cable three million-plus viewers on initial airing and an average of nine million per episode with rebroadcasts. The show earned 13 Emmy nominations in 2011 and made Gillen and his many fellow cast members much-in-demand for interviews in fanatical sci-fi/fantasy circles.
By Matthew Grimm
The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.
Interview with Aidan Gillen on “Game of Thrones” for “Rolling Stone” magazine can be obtained online here.
Christopher WalkenOriginal Cinema Belgian Poster – Movie Film Posters
Christopher Walken. TCM Overview
TCM Overview:
Christopher Walken has to be included in the Top Ten Favourite Actors of any self respecting movie buff. He continues to surprise with his quirky characters in both mainstream films and independent movies. A native New Yorker he has most recently been on Broaday in Martin McDonagh’s new play “A Beheading in Spokane”. Walken won an Oscar for “The Deer Hunter” and also shone in Michael Cimino’s flop epic “Heaven’s Gate”. This movie is in definite need of reappraisal.
Born on March 31, 1943 the same night as the Broadway debut of “Oklahoma!” â¿¿ and raised in Astoria, Queens, NY, Walken was raised by his father, Paul, a baker who emigrated from Germany, and his mother, Rosalie, also a baker who emigrated from Scotland. Since his mother was enamored by show business, Walken and his two brothers, Glenn and Kenneth, were pushed into dance, modeling and acting at a very young age. After beginning his career at the age of three as a catalog model, he was used as an extra whenever the likes of Jerry Lewis, Steve Allen or Jackie Gleason need children in the background for their comedy skits. Later, he was enrolled at the Professional Childrenâ¿¿s School, where he continued training as an actor and dancer while he occasionally replaced brother Glenn as Mike Bauer on the daytime soap opera, “The Guiding Light” (CBS, 1952-2009) between 1954-56. While in his mid-teens, Walken made his Broadway debut in Archibald MacLeish Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “J.B.” (1959), a contemporary take on the Book of Job set in a modern circus.
Walken finished his studies at the Professional Childrenâ¿¿s School in 1961, during which time he spent a summer working as a lion tamer for the Tarryl Jacobs Circus, where he entered the cage of an old, toothless lion with a whip and demanded “Up, Sheba, up!” By the middle of the decade, Walken performed in several musicals, including as a member of the chorus in “Baker Street” (1965). While few chorus players managed to segue into dramatic roles, Walken was an exception when he landed the role of King Philips in the historical drama, “The Lion in Winter” (1966) â¿¿ a role from which he was almost fired for being too nervous to perform, but ultimately earned him a Clarence Derwent Award. Later that same year, he tackled his first Shakespearean role in “Measure for Measure” for the New York Shakespeare Festival. He soon made his feature debut with a bit part in the innovative pseudo-documentary, “Me and My Brother” (1968). After winning a Drama Desk Award for his performance in “Lemon Sky” (1970), Walken had a more significant onscreen part as a young electronics expert opposite Sean Connery in the Sidney Lumet-helmed crime thriller, “The Anderson Tapes” (1971).
The following year, Walken had his first lead role in “The Happiness Cage” (1972), a mad scientist thriller in which he played an obnoxious young man who is used in an experiment that involves removing pain through a brain operation. Returning to the New York Shakespeare Festival, he tackled the lead role in “Macbeth” (1974) while starring the following year in stagings of “Kid Champion” (1975) and “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1975). Walken made his first memorable impression upon the movie-going public with his portrayal of Diane Keatonâ¿¿s comically suicidal brother in “Annie Hall” (1977). That same year, he danced for the first time onscreen in “Roseland” (1977), director James Ivoryâ¿¿s urban drama centered around the famed New York City ballroom. Perhaps because of his demented portrayal in “Annie Hall,” Walken was cast as a young man ravaged by his experiences in the Vietnam War in “The Deer Hunter” (1978). Co-starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep, and directed by Michael Cimino, “The Deer Hunter” featured four friends who go off to war expecting adventure, but instead experience hell after being captured by the Vietcong and forced to play Russian roulette. Walkenâ¿¿s brilliant portrayal of a disintegrated man who becomes obsessed with the suicidal game earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Following his Oscar win, he reunited with Cimino to play a gunslinger in the disastrous “Heaven’s Gate” (1980). Though the epic Western was a financial wreck and marked the end of the auteur era in Hollywood, Walken himself emerged unscathed. On the small screen, he offered a memorable turn as a Method actor in “Who Am I This Time?” (PBS, 1981), directed by Jonathan Demme, while on the silver screen he paid tribute to his theatrical background as the oily villain who performs a sinuous dance number in the underrated Steve Martin musical comedy, “Pennies From Heaven” (1981). After a leading role opposite Tom Berenger in “The Dogs of War” (1981), Walken was perfectly cast as a man cursed with the ability to see the future in “The Dead Zone” (1983), based on the Stephen King novel. Also that year, he co-starred in “Brainstorm” (1983), the last film made by famed actress Natalie Wood, who drowned off the coast of Catalina Island while filming the sci-fi thriller in 1981. In fact, Walken was a guest on the yacht of Wood and her husband, Robert Wagner, when the actress fell overboard while allegedly trying to secure a dinghy that was keeping her awake. The filmâ¿¿s release was delayed two years while producers figured out a way to film a climatic scene. Meanwhile, Walken remained mum for almost two decades about the incident until finally giving his take in a 1997 interview with Playboy. His account matched the official police report of the events.
Back on the stage, Walken performed in an off-Broadway production of David Rabeâ¿¿s “Hurlyburly” (1984-85), directed by Mike Nichols. He left the production to play the campy villain Max Zorin, a microchip industrialist looking to destroy Silicon Valley with a man-made earthquake in “A View to a Kill” (1985), widely considered to be the worst James Bond movie of all time. The following year, he was Stanley Kowalski in a Williamstown Theatre Festival production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1986), playing the role to comic effect to avoid comparisons to Marlon Brandoâ¿¿s Oscar-nominated performance in the 1951 film version. After a chilly turn as an abusive father in “At Close Range” (1986), Walken was the hard-driving drill sergeant nemesis of a wisecracking new recruit (Matthew Broderick) in the film adaptation of Neil Simonâ¿¿s play, “Biloxi Blues” (1988). Returning to Shakespeare, he essayed the titular Roman general in “Coriolanus” (1988) for the New York Shakespeare Festival. After playing real-life author Whitley Streiber who claimed visitation by aliens in “Communion” (1989), Walken began a long-running collaboration with director Abel Ferrara, playing the first of several crime lords in “The King of New York” (1990).
Making a rare appearance on television, Walken played a widower and father of two living on a turn-of-the-century Midwestern farm who places an advertisement for a new wife and mother to his children, which is answered by a single New England schoolteacher (Glenn Close), in “Sarah, Plain and Tall” (CBS, 1991). In “Batman Returns” (1992), he played powerful and corrupt businessman Max Shreck, who joins forces with the grotesque Penguin (Danny De Vito) to take on Gotham Cityâ¿¿s Caped Crusader (Michael Keaton). Returning to familiar territory, Walken played a gangland boss hunting down two unconventional lovers (Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette) who have made off with a briefcase full of cocaine. Though his role was small, Walkenâ¿¿s performance was memorable, particularly in a long scene opposite Dennis Hopper, where his character learns the origins of a Sicilianâ¿¿s dark hair and olive skin. The scene between the two heavyweights became an all-time classic. Following a return to television as the formerly widowed farmer in the second installment, “Skylark” (CBS, 1993), Walken had a small, but pivotal role in Quentin Tarantinoâ¿¿s “Pulp Fiction” (1994). He played a Vietnam veteran who explains the strange journey of a family heirloom to a young boy who later grows up to be a boxer (Bruce Willis) who earns the wrath of a local gangster (Ving Rhames) for botching a fixed fight.
Walken returned to the stage as both the playwright and star of his off-Broadway one-man show, “Him” (1995), a satirical look at the afterlife of Elvis Presley. He followed up by portraying the Man with the Plan in the mediocre Tarantino rip-off, “Things to Do in Denver When Youâ¿¿re Dead” (1995) and the archangel Gabriel, who leads a rebel army against God, in “The Prophecy” (1995). Joining forces once again with director Abel Ferrera again, he starred in “The Funeral” (1996), a Depression-era crime thriller about two mobster brothers (Walken and Chris Penn) who stop at nothing to avenge the murder of their brother (Vincent Gallo). By the mid-1990s, Walken was seemingly in every film that needed a dark, calculating bad guy. After playing an enforce for an Irish mobster (David Patrick Kelly) in “Last Man Standing” (1996), he was the creepy right-hand man of a millionaire (Jack Thompson) who refuses to pay the ransom for his spoiled daughter (Alicia Silverstone) in “Excess Baggage” (1997). Following a wildly over-the-top cameo as a determined exterminator in “Mouse Hunt” (1997), he reprised the vengeful archangel Gabriel for “The Prophecy II” (1998) while essaying an effete early 20th century drama critic in John Turturro’s valentine to his wife and the theater, “Illuminata” (1998).
By the end of the 1990s, Walken was well-established as a go-to supporting and leading actor whose off-beat, deadpan delivery was invaluable in both dramatic and comedic roles. Often cited as being one of the most popular actors to play villains, he was also one of the most widely impersonated performers, with many actors â¿¿ Kevin Spacey, Johnny Depp, Jay Mohr â¿¿ giving spot-on interpretations of the Walken persona. Meanwhile, he gave voice to the brutal insect Cutter in the CGI-animated “Antz” (1998) and for a third time played the turn-of-the-century widower in “Sarah: Plain and Tall: Winter’s End” (CBS, 1999). Taking campy villains to a new level, Walken played the vicious Headless Horseman in Tim Burton’s uneven “Sleepy Hollow” (1999), which he followed by playing a retro dad living in a bomb shelter in the Brendan Fraser comedy “Blast From the Past” (1999). After a four-year absence, Walken returned to his stage roots to star opposite Blair Brown in a musical adaptation of James Joyce’s short story “The Dead” (1999), before returning to the big screen for “The Opportunists” (2000), in which he was a reformed safecracker who returns to a life of crime in order to support his daughter (Vera Farmiga).
Though known for playing downright evil villains, Walken was also viciously funny, which led to producer Lorne Michaels inviting him to host “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 1975- ) on numerous occasions. Always a welcomed guest â¿¿ Michaels gave the actor an open invitation to host whenever the urge surfaced â¿¿ Walken was the focus of many funny skits, including playing a suave womanizer in the recurrent sketch “The Continental” and spoofing “View to a Kill” villain Max Zorin in a segment called “Lease with an Option to Kill.” But none were so revered and remembered than when he played fictional record producer Bruce Dickinson in “More Cowbell.” A spoof of VH1â¿¿s “Behind the Music” series, “More Cowbell” focused on a mock recording of the Blue Oyster Cult song “(Donâ¿¿t Fear) the Reaper,” which featured Will Ferrell playing fictional cowbell player, Gene Frenkle. As the band stops a few times in the middle of the song, Walken emerges from the recording booth to urge Gene to play “a little more cowbell,” much to the dismay of the other band members. After a speech from Frenkle lamenting his lack of enthusiasm, Walken declares, “Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription…is more cowbell!” The skit quickly became a phenomenon, with the phrase “More cowbell” becoming a cultural catchphrase.
Continuing an ever-busy schedule â¿¿ the actor reportedly only turned down roles if he was booked solid â¿¿ Walken played a cop named McDuff in “Scotland, PA” (2001), an off-kilter retelling of “Macbeth” set in a 1970s fast food joint. Also that year, he was part of David Spade’s white trash ensemble in “Joe Dirt” (2001), took a supporting role in the lackluster Julia Roberts comedy “America’s Sweethearts” (2001), portrayed mesmerist Count Cagliostro in “The Affair of the Necklace” (2001) and displayed his far-out, but graceful dance moves in the multi-award winning music video for Fatboy Slimâ¿¿s “Weapon of Choice” (2001). But just when it seemed that he had given up serious acting to specialize in self-parody, Walken turned in a moving and poignant performance in director Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can” (2002), playing the father of teen con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio), the youngest man ever to make the FBI’s Most Wanted list. His performance as a once-prosperous businessman whose life was torn asunder by an IRS investigation proved to be a revelation, reminding audiences of his ability to convey the genuine pathos behind emotionally tortured men. Walken subsequently received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the film.
Walken followed his critical triumph with comedic turns as a Mafioso in the less-than-stellar comedy “Kangaroo Jack” (2003) and a kooky, but out-of-place police detective in the dismal flop “Gigli” (2003) opposite Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. The actor did, however, still have his share of scene-stealing roles ahead of him, delivering another offbeat performance as a villain with a penchant for speech-making in “The Rundown” (2003) opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Seann William Scott. Further strategic guest roles followed in films of varying genres and qualities; some successful â¿¿ like his turn as Denzel Washington’s sympathetic friend in the revenge thriller “Man on Fire” (2004) â¿¿ and others not, like his performance as the bizarre J-Man in the horribly unfunny Ben Stiller-Jack Black comedy “Envy” (2004). Walken next played the formidable Mike Wellington, the mayor of Stepford, whose secret, singular vision surrounding spouse-subservient women of “The Stepford Wives” (2004) proves too seductive for most of the community’s men to resist. He was better utilized in the Owen Wilson-Vince Vaughn comedy “Wedding Crashers” (2005), playing the powerful politico father of leading lady Rachel McAdams. Refreshingly, Walken was allowed to play that role straight, without overdoing the quirks that had previously defined him.
Christopher Walken
Walken next appeared in director Tony Scott’s hyperkinetic pseudo-biopic “Domino” (2005), playing a reality television producer who becomes embroiled in the life of model-turned-bounty hunter Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley). He then co-starred in the Adam Sandler comedy vehicle “Click” (2006), playing a strange Bed, Bath and Beyond clerk who gives an overworked architect (Sandler) a remote control that can rewind, fast-forward or pause his life. Walken co-starred in “Man of the Year” (2006), playing the ailing talent manager of a popular talk show host (Robin Williams) whose surprise run for the presidency shocks the nation when he actually wins. After “Man of the Year” took a drubbing at the box office, Walken had moved on to his next feature, “Hairspray” (2007), an adaptation of the 2003 musical which was itself adapted from John Watersâ¿¿ 1988 film. Walken played Wilbur Turnblad, the easygoing father of an optimistic, but overweight teenager (Nikki Blonsky) who loves to dance despite the disapproval of her large, reclusive and rather androgynous mother, Edna (John Travolta). In the comedy “Balls of Fury” (2007), he was the criminal host of an annual ping-pong tournament where the losers are executed. Showing no signs of slowing down, the hard-working actor next filmed “Citizen Brando” (2009), a half documentary, half fictional take on a young manâ¿¿s fascination with Marlon Brandon and the American Dream. In “Kill the Irishman” (2011), “Stand Up Guys (2012) and “Seven Psychopaths” (2012), Walken played close to type in a variety of criminal roles. This was followed by the classical music drama “A Late Quartet” (2012) and a cameo in Clint Eastwood’s “Jersey Boys” (2014), an adaptation of the stage hit based on the life and career of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. In December 2014, Walken appeared on live television, playing Captain Hook in “Peter Pan Live!” (NBC 2014), a live adaptation of the popular children’s classic.
The above TCM Overview can also be accessed online here.
A recent interview with Christopher Walken in “The Guardian” can be accessed online here.
Harrison FordHarrison Ford Harrison FordHarrison Ford
Harrison Ford has starred in two of the greatest film series of all time. He is Han Solo in the “Star Wars” and of course Indiana Jones in the quartet directed by Spielberg. Ford has made many other fine films including “Witness”, “Presumed Innocent” and “Working Girl”. Now in his late sixties, he is still hanging in there as a leading man and is rumoured to be preparing for his fifth outing as Indiana Jones.
” ‘I want to be recognised for the job I do’ he said once,’which is acting. I get paid money for that, not for being a movie star. The business of being a star and promoting yourself as a fascinating personality is something I’m inadequate to do. I don’t consider myself unique. I just work in the movie business’. The statement shows a realism entirely in keeping with his screen image, which is that of a nice guy – good looks, good manners without the aura of such predecessors as Gabel and Cooper” – David Shipman on “The Great Movie Stars – The Independent Years”. (1991).
TCM Overview:
Once deemed the highest-grossing actor of all time, Harrison Ford almost languished in thankless walk-on roles when he began his career in the early 1960s. Instead of accepting any role that came along, Ford was picky about his choices right from the start, despite a severe lack of Hollywood clout. While he made ends meet as a carpenter, Ford patiently pursued his career – even turning down several roles over the objections of his manager. But his persistence paid off with a memorable supporting role in “American Graffiti” (1973), George Lucas’ 1960s coming-of-age tale. His struggle continued throughout the mid-1970s until Lucas reluctantly cast him as the cocky space pirate Han Solo in “Star Wars” (1977). From that moment on, Ford struggled no more, taking on some of the biggest movies of the 1980s, including genre classics “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) and “Blade Runner” (1982), as well as the finely crafted “Witness” (1985). By the time he starred in the heart-pounding thriller “The Fugitive” (1993), Ford was widely recognized as being one of the biggest stars in the world and the sole throwback to Golden Age swashbucklers like Clark Gable and Errol Flynn. Despite a few duds like “The Devil’s Own” (1997), “Hollywood Homicide” (2003) and “Firewall” (2006) on his résumé, Ford continued to remain a top box office draw while remaining relevant with a new generation of fans.
Born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, IL, Ford grew up the son of an advertising executive and homemaker in nearby Park Ridge. He was a quiet, isolated child, picked on by classmates who liked to routinely push him down a steep embankment at school. After surviving Main East High School, where he was president of the Social Science Club and a sportscaster for WMTH, Ford studied philosophy and English at Ripon College in Wisconsin. While looking to boost his sagging grade point average, Ford stumbled upon a drama class, but was surprised to learn that he was required to perform in a play. He went on to appear in several productions, including “The Skin of Our Teeth” and “The Fantasticks.” Unable to maintain passable grades, however, Ford flunked out of Ripon with only a month left to graduate. But he finally had his sights set on the path to becoming an actor. He did local summer stock, performing in productions of “Night of the Iguana” and “Damn Yankees,” then moved to the West Coast in the early-1960s, where he took part in his last play, “John Brown’s Body,” at the Laguna Playhouse.
In 1965, Ford took his first stab at a film career after signing a seven-year contract with Columbia Pictures for $150 per week – a considerably small sum even for the times. He made his feature debut as a hotel bellboy paging James Coburn in “Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round” (1966). But after an executive saw his performance, Ford was told to give up the business. Instead, he moved over to Universal Studios where he earned $250 per week and began guest starring in episodic television while still making the occasional feature appearance in films like the Civil War drama “Journey to Shiloh” (1968). At the time, however, Ford was married to his first wife, Mary, while adjusting to being a father for the first time. Because of a litany of mediocre films and his new responsibilities, Ford left acting to become a carpenter. He first learned the craft out of necessity when trying to fix up a rundown house he bought in the Hollywood Hills, reading several books while getting hold of some tools. Later, a friend recommended Ford’s services to recording engineer, Sergio Mendes, who wanted a $100,000 recording studio in his home. Satisfied with the work, Mendes recommended Ford to several friends.
It was through his carpentry work that Ford was able to resuscitate his acting career, even though he never gave up that ambition. In fact, the stability of his carpentry work allowed Ford to be selective in choosing roles rather than taking anything that came his way. In 1970, he signed with respected manger of up-and-coming actors, Patricia McQueeney, who was forced to contend with Ford’s ever-increasing pickiness. He had already begun to develop a reputation for being surly and grumpy, mainly because he went to auditions and acted as if he did not want to be there. He did, however, receive several offers – some well-paying – but he usually turned them down, much to McQueeney’s dismay. But Ford’s determination not to carve a career out of mediocre roles paid off when he was cast by George Lucas in “American Graffiti” (1973), a seminal coming-of-age film set during the last summer night of 1962, when a group of teens face difficult decisions about the directions of their lives. Ford played an older street racer donned in a white cowboy hat (his suggestion) who manages to lure the girlfriend (Cindy Williams) of a college-bound teen (Ron Howard) struggling with his feelings about leaving home.
With the success of his first major film, both critically and financially, Ford found his career had finally taken a turn for the better. After Francis Ford Coppola, who had produced “American Graffiti,” cast him for a small role in the paranoid thriller, “The Conversation” (1974), Ford made a brief return to television movies, playing an Ohio frontiersman in “James A. Michener’s ‘Dynasty'” (NBC, 1976). But it was his next project that catapulted the still-struggling actor into an international superstar. By the time Ford was cast as Han Solo in “Star Wars,” director George Lucas had auditioned just about every young actor available for the three lead roles. Originally, Lucas was uninterested in Ford playing Han Solo, as he did not want to recycle actors from his previous films; instead asking him to read lines with actors during the audition process – which included helping Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher land their roles. Eventually, Ford won Lucas over with his cheeky read, earning himself the role. But then there was the shoot, the stories of which became Hollywood legend. From Ford’s perspective, Lucas was distant with his actors, barely talking to them except to give terse direction like “faster” or “more intense,” while the dialogue was painful to say out loud. Though at the time everyone working on the film thought it was doomed to fail, “Star Wars” became an instant cultural phenomenon, with Ford’s turn as the irascible smuggler who gets embroiled in an intergalactic struggle being one of the film’s many indelible elements.
Thanks to the international sensation “Star Wars” became during the summer of 1977, Ford had finally reached stardom after a decade and a half of labor. But it would take several more films before he could open a film on his name alone. Meanwhile, he starred in “Force 10 from Navarone” (1978), the unheralded sequel to the blockbuster hit, “The Guns of Navarone” (1961). After a one-scene role as a colonel (whom he named Col. Lucas in honor of his director-friend) who helps brief Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) in “Apocalypse Now” (1979), Ford starred as an American bomber pilot who has an affair with a married British nurse (Lesley-Anne Down) during World War II in “Hanover Street” (1979), perhaps his most forgettable film as a leading actor. After a brief appearance in “More American Graffiti” (1979) and a starring role in the comedy-Western “The Frisco Kid” (1979), Ford returned to play Han Solo in “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), widely considered to be the best of the original trilogy. Though the focus was primarily on Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) becoming a Jedi knight, Han Solo struggles with Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) to escape from the Empire, which hunts them down to the ethereal Cloud City where Solo is tracked and captured by the bounty hunter Boba Fett.
During the production, Ford was dissatisfied with Han telling Leia he “loved her, too” before he was put into carbonite hibernation, feeling that the response was out of character. Director Irvin Kershner agreed and allowed Ford to improvise a take, in which he responded to Leia’s “I love you” with “I know.” Though initially infuriated with the change, Lucas used the take in the finished product, allowing for one of the series’ few truly emotionally connective moments – and one of Ford’s first invaluable off-the-cuff contributions to his projects which would resound with viewers. Unlike the first “Star Wars,” the sequel was expected to dominate the box office, which it did to the tune of over $200 million. Meanwhile, Ford was firmly in command of his international stardom, though it came as part of an ensemble cast, along with Hamill and Fisher. But that problem was alleviated with his next film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” one of the most successful and beloved films of all time; as well as a nod and wink to 1930s action serials beloved by producer Lucas and director Steven Spielberg as young boys. Ford played Indiana Jones, a hard-scrabble, but all-too-human archeologist who hunts for the fabled Arc of the Covenant with the help of his old flame, Marion (Karen Allen), and old friend, Sallah (John Rhys Davies). Once again, Ford was not the first pick to play Indiana Jones. Lucas wanted Tom Selleck, but could not get the television star because of his contractual agreement with “Magnum P.I.” (CBS, 1980-88). Eventually, Lucas caved, despite not wanting to have a Martin Scorsese/Robert De Niro-type relationship with Ford. But Lucas knew he was the right actor for the role.
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” was a grueling shoot – Ford suffered a torn knee ligament when an airplane wheel ran over him during the famous airstrip fistfight. But instead of submitting himself to local doctors, Ford wrapped his knee in ice and soldiered on. Meanwhile, Ford and everyone else on the crew got sick from the local Tunisian cuisine. Though ravaged with dysentery, Ford continued shooting, which actually served to the film’s advantage. In an elaborate fight scene in an outdoor market, Ford was scheduled to battle a swordsman, but was unable to continue. So instead, he suggested to director Spielberg that he simply draw his gun and shoot him. Another of Ford’s brilliant ideas, the scene was kept and turned into one of the most memorable (and hilarious) onscreen moments in the film. Upon its release, “Raiders” was an enormous financial and critical success, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year, while it earned eight Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture. Single-handedly bringing back fedora hat sales for men, Ford was propelled to superstar status and had easily created his most indelible character since Han Solo.
For his next film, “Blade Runner,” Ford starred in what became one of the most popular and revered science fiction films ever made. It was also one of the worst production experiences of his career. Ford played Rick Deckard, a down-and-out ex-detective brought out of retirement to hunt down and kill a group of human androids – or replicants – who have escaped a mining company and taken refuge in the dystopian world of Los Angeles, circa 2019. As he discovers disturbing secrets about Tyrell Corporation, the company that manufactures the replicants, Deckard finds himself falling in love with an android, Rachael (Sean Young), but is unaware of her true nature. Behind the scenes, director Ridley Scott caused considerable friction from day one, upsetting the production design crew with demands of drastically changing established sets, thanks to his commercial background. Ford and Scott were at odds the entire shoot, especially concerning the film’s ending, which contained a happily-ever-after shot of Deckard and Rachael driving off into the sunset and a studio-mandated voiceover that was apparently phoned-in by the actor. The film was a flop after its initial release, but would eventually become a smashing success on video and DVD. Ford and Scott reconciled their creative differences in later years.
For the third and last time, Ford played Han Solo, this time in “Return of the Jedi” (1983). However, before there was a script, it remained unclear whether or not he would return to the role. Unlike his fellow co-stars, Ford was not signed to participate in more than two films. So when time came for a third installment, he suggested to Lucas and new director Richard Marquand that Solo die in order to heighten tension with the remaining characters. But Lucas vehemently refused and eventually Ford signed on. It was clear from the outset, however, that Ford was uninterested in playing the character again, as evidenced by his hammy overacting. In another sequel, Ford revived his favorite character for “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984), a much darker and more violent adventure that brought Jones, an annoying gold-digger (Kate Capshaw) and a cloying kid (Ke Huy Quan) to the jungles of India on a quest to rescue a magic stone from an evil cult. Though successful at the box office, “Temple of Doom” nonetheless stirred controversy for the repulsive images of tribal witch doctors ripping still-beating hearts from human sacrificial lambs – the film, itself, helping to create the PG-13 rating.
In perhaps his most critically lauded performance, Ford starred in Peter Weir’s excellent romantic thriller, “Witness” (1985), playing John Book, a rough-and-tumble police detective who protects an Amish boy (Lukas Haas) and his widowed mother (Kelly McGillis) after the boy witnesses a murder. But the tables are turned when Book learns that the murder was part of a larger conspiracy that involve several high-ranking members of the department, forcing him to flee to Amish country where he assimilates himself into their culture, while at the same time, falling in love with the boy’s mother. Widely considered to be one of the most well-made films of the decade, “Witness” allowed Ford to demonstrate his exceptional acting chops to a skeptical populace that once thought him to be a mere action star. Ford rightly earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He reunited with Weir for his next film, “The Mosquito Coast” (1986), playing an inventor who moves his family to Central America to escape civilization, only to turn into an egomaniacal tyrant. Ford once again displayed considerable depth playing the obsessive husband and father, though no Academy Award nominations were forthcoming for his second outing with Weir.
Taking a rare turn to romantic comedy territory, Ford starred as a New York financial executive who is taken in by a secretary (Melanie Griffith) posing as her boss (Sigourney Weaver) in “Working Girl” (1988). After a turn as an American doctor in Paris dealing with the kidnapping of his wife (Betty Buckley) in Roman Polanski’s “Frantic” (1988), Ford once again revived Indiana Jones for “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), a competent, though somewhat underwhelming addition to the series. This time, Ford starred alongside Sean Connery, who played his combative archeologist father, Dr. Henry Jones. Both father and son go off on an adventure to find the famed Holy Grail – the supposed challis used by Christ at the Last Supper – before the Nazis can get their hands on it. Though still not as revered as the first film, “The Last Crusade” nonetheless helped wash out the bad taste left behind by “The Temple of Doom.” Ford rang in the 1990s with another compelling performance, playing a prosecutor accused of murdering a beautiful colleague (Greta Scacchi) with whom he was having an affair in “Presumed Innocent” (1990).
By the time Ford had made “Presumed Innocent,” he was widely considered to be one of the most bankable stars working in Hollywood. Even box office duds like Michael Mann’s “Regarding Henry” (1991) failed to put a chink in his armor. In 1992, he took on the role of CIA agent Jack Ryan in “Patriot Games” (1992), a tense action thriller that depicted Ryan trying to protect his family from an IRA fringe group after saving English royals from assassination. Ford followed with “The Fugitive” (1993), arguably one of the most intense and finely-crafted action films of all time. In the film, he played Dr. Richard Kimble, a vascular surgeon wrongly accused of murdering his wife (Sela Ward) after a society dinner. Though his wife was killed by an unknown one-armed man (Andreas Katsulas), all the evidence points to Kimble, who is arrested, tried and convicted of first degree murder, to be punished by lethal injection. But Kimble manages to escape after fellow inmates overturn the bus en route to prison, triggering a manhunt lead by a relentless U.S. marshal (Tommy Lee Jones). “The Fugitive” was yet another huge success for Ford, who only confirmed his status as the biggest box office draw of his generation.
While “The Fugitive” represented a high water mark for his career, by no means did Ford put his career on autopilot. He next starred in the third adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series, “Clear and Present Danger” (1994), once again delivering a dependable performance in this entertaining thriller that saw Ryan journey to Columbia to rescue a captured paramilitary force from a drug cartel with the aid of a renegade intelligence operative (Willem Dafoe). In what many considered to be a pointless exercise, Ford starred in a remake of Billy Wilder’s “Sabrina” (1995), playing the successful heir to a family fortune who tries to woo the daughter (Julia Ormond) of the chauffeur to spurn his brother (Greg Kinnear), only to find himself failing in love for real. After “Sabrina,” Ford retreated into a series of mediocre films that occasionally did well at the box office, but nonetheless gave fans and critics alike the impression his prowess had begun to diminish. In his next film, “The Devil’s Own” (1997), Ford starred as a New York City police officer who takes in an Irish émigré (Brad Pitt) possessing a dark past and bloody-minded purpose in America. Behind the scenes, Ford and Pitt were dissatisfied with the script, which led to constant rewrites, resulting in a muddled story that never reached fruition onscreen.
For his next project, Ford took heroism to new, absurd heights by playing the President of the United States as a bad-ass who fights a group of Kazakhstan terrorists after they take over his plane in Wolfgang Petersen’s ridiculous action thriller, “Air Force Once” (1997). Despite the $172 million take at the box office, there was no escaping the over-the-top action, silly one-liners and completely implausible stunts, including one with Ford hanging on to the plane’s open bay door only by his fingertips at 30,000 feet. Moving on, Ford returned to romantic comedy territory with “Six Days, Seven Nights” (1998), playing a brash airplane pilot who flies a New York business woman (Anne Heche) to Tahiti, only to crash on a deserted island where the combative couple fights to survive and ultimately falls in love. In a rare turn as the antihero, Ford starred in “Random Hearts” (1999), playing an obsessive Internal Affairs detective whose wife dies in an airline crash, but learns that she was having an affair with the husband of a prominent Congresswoman (Kristin Scott Thomas). Despite a pedigreed cast – which also included Charles S. Dutton – and with Sydney Pollack directing, “Random Hearts” fell flat with audiences and critics.
Once content with playing the action hero, Ford occasionally made the switch to villain, as he did in “What Lies Beneath” (2000), a haunting thriller from director Roger Zemeckis, in which Ford played a successful genetic scientist struggling to repair his marriage to wife (Michelle Pfeiffer), who starts seeing images of a mysterious wraith-like girl. In another adventurous turn, Ford played a Russian submarine captain who prevents World War III in “K-19: The Widowmaker” (2002), a box office dud that displayed Ford’s woeful attempt at a Russian accent. After he made forgettable turns in the disastrous buddy comedy “Hollywood Homicide” (2003) and the techno-thriller “Firewall” (2006), Ford revived Indiana Jones after years of speculation and secretive script meetings for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008). Set in the 1950s, Jones goes on a quest to find the lost city of Atlantis, aided by a rebellious young man (Shia LaBoeuf), and – back by popular demand – his “Raiders of the Lost Ark” flame (Karen Allen). While certainly a box office hit, the highly-anticipated movie managed to disappoint some fans and even elicited ridicule following a sequence where Jones survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a 1950s-era refrigerator; a scene that coined the phrase “nuke the fridge,” which alluded to a film reaching unparalleled heights of absurdity.
Following the financial success of “Crystal Skull,” Ford slipped into relative obscurity with his next film, “Crossing Over” (2009), a politically themed drama in which he played an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Los Angeles battling the growing problem of illegal immigration. Despite the film’s timely subject matter, “Crossing Over” barely made a blip at the box office. He went on to co-star in the romantic comedy “Morning Glory” (2010), in which he played a serious news journalist who is brought onto a failing morning show by a plucky TV producer (Rachel McAdams) in an effort to save the program, only to run afoul with his new co-host (Diane Keaton). Following the critical and box office disappointment of the underwhelming medical drama “Extraordinary Measures” (2010), also starring Brendan Fraser, Ford played the iron-fisted head of an Old West town that is suddenly beset by an alien attack in the hybrid “Cowboys & Aliens” (2011), co-starring Daniel Craig. It was during the filming of the latter movie that Ford made an honest woman of Calista Flockhart, whom he married in New Mexico on June 15, 2010, near where “Cowboys” was being made. Following a relatively quiet 2012, Ford thrilled fanboys everywhere when it was rumored he would reprise Han Solo for the seventh installment of the “Star Wars” saga, which was put into production after George Lucas sold his empire to Walt Disney Studios. With J.J. Abrams set to direct “Episode VII,” Ford was unofficially confirmed by Lucas to be returning to his most famous roles, joining Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher in their rumored reprisals of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia respectively.
Meanwhile, Ford played Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey in “42” (2013), Brian Helgeland’s baseball biopic about Jackie Robinson (Chadwick A. Boseman) becoming the first African-American to play Major League baseball and signed on to join the cast of the comedy sequel “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” (2013). Also in during the year, he appeared with Gary Oldman in the little-seen thriller “Paranoia” and returned to the sci-fi genre with a key role in the military-themed epic “Ender’s Game,” based on the popular Orson Scott Card novel. Continuing to make longtime fans freak out, Ford also filmed his part in “The Expendables 3,” placing him in the company of almost every major action-movie star of the preceding three decades.
The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.
Dermot Mulroney was a riot in the film “About Schmidt” with Jack Nicholson from which this autograph picture was taken . In his previous roles he seemed no more than a handsome utilty actor. In “About Schmidt” he played the part of Randell Hertzel a pony-tailed, walrus mustached water-bed salesman forever optimistic of reaching his monthly sales target. It will be interesting to see how Mulroney does in his new role of Jim Rockford (the role James Garner created) in the remake of the old television series “The Rockford Files”
Aidan Turner is one of our new generation of Irish actors. He first came to national prominance as Rory in the RTE series of “The Clinic”. He then went on to be among the leading actors in the British television series “Being Human” and “Desperate Romantics”. He recently made the television film “Hattie” about the Carry On comedienne Hattie Jacques and has been announced as the lead in the remake of the classic TV series “Poldark”.
Lisa Richard’s Agency page:
Aiden Turner is this year’s recipient of Best Male Newcomer at the Jameson Empire Awards.
He has been cast as Captain Poldark in the upcoming BBC adaptation of Winston Graham’s Poldark which is currently filming.
Aidan most recently appeared as Kili in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey directed by Peter Jackson with Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen which has had huge success internationally. And later in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug He recently finished filming the finale The Hobbit: There and Back Again.
He appeared in the leading role of Mitchell in the hit series Being Humanon BBC3 (repeated on BBC1) in 2008 and went on to appear in the leading role of Rosetti in the new mini-series Desperate Romantics which was shown on BBC2 in the same year. He went on to appear in Season Two of Being Human on BBC3 (2009) and Season Three in 2010 which was nominated for a BAFTA for a second season running, and which won an RTS and Writers Guild Award in 2009. He also appeared in the role of John Schofield in Hattie a TV movie for BBC4 which received huge critical acclaim and record ratings for that channel. He appeared as Luke Garroway in the feature film The Mortal Instruments: City of Bonesdirected by Harald Zwart.
Aidan appeared on RTE 1 as the new series regular Ruairi in Season 6 ofThe Clinic for Parallel Films/RTE and returned as this character later in 2009 for Season 7.
He appeared in the leading role of Kevin in the independant feature filmPorcelain directed by Gavin Cleland for Bedoli Films. Aidan appeared in the leading role of Mal in Alarm an independent feature film written and directed by Gerard Stembridge for Venus Films.
Aidan graduated from the Gaiety School of Acting Diploma course (2004) and since then has appeared as Corp. Stoddard in the Abbey Theatre’s production of The Plough and the Stars in the Barbican Theatre, London, in the Dublin Fringe Festival show Suddenly Last Summer at the Focus Theatre, as Ardan in Vincent Woods’ new play A Cry from Heavendirected by Olivier Py at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin,as Hercules in The Performance Corporation’s new play Yokohama Delegation directed by Jo Mangan for Kilkenny Arts Ferstival, as Demetrius in Titus Andronicus at the Project directed by Selina Cartmell, as Pan in Storytellers production of The Crock of Gold at the Olympia Theatre and on tour. Aidan appeared in Drive-by directed by Jo Mangan for the Cork Mid-Summer Festival, the Dublin Fringe Festival 2006 and the Cantebury Arts Festival 2007 and inLa Marea directed by Mariano Pennsotti for Bedrock Theatre Co/DTF 2007 and Cyrano, directed by Vernonica Coburn for Barabbas…the Company, at the Project Arts Centre, Dublin. He appeared as Paris in Romeo and Juliet directed by Jason Byrne at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.
Born and raised in the small Irish suburb of Clondalkin, curly-headed Aidan Turner is best known for portraying tortured vampire Mitchell on the smash BBC series “Being Human.” After graduating from the Gaiety School of Acting in 2004–fellow alumni include American starlet Olivia Wilde–Turner performed in many plays throughout England and Ireland, including Tennessee Williams’ one-act drama “Suddenly, Last Summer” and Shakespeare’s tragedy “Titus Andronicus.” He appeared on television for the first time in “In Cold Blood,” a 2007 episode of Showtime’s historical drama series “The Tudors,” starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Henry Cavill. After popping up in a few short films and the panned paranoia thriller “Alarm,” he portrayed receptionist and DJ Ruairà McGowan in the hit medical drama “The Clinic,” a character that lasted two seasons.
The year 2009 saw Turner appear in nearly every living room in Britain with his roles as Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the 19th century drama series “Desperate Romantics” and Mitchell in “Being Human.” A mixture of witty humor and supernatural horror centering around a trio of spooky roommates–a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost–“Being Human” gained a massive audience upon its BBC America debut and inspired an American version of the show in 2011. .
He is one of Ireland’s most eminent actors whose work has grown in stature over the years. Gabriel Byrne first came to national attention with his role of Pat Barry in “The Riordan’s” in the late seventies. His character was given his own series “Bracken” (which ultimately became “Glenroe”). His first major film was the British political thriller “Defence of the Realm” and he currently has a highly critically regarded U.S. television series “In Treatment”. He has at least two movie classics to his credit – “Miller’s Crossing” and “The Usual Suspects” with Benicio Del Toro.
Both a strong leading presence and compelling character performer, actor Gabriel Byrne emerged from his native Ireland to become one of the more sought-after talents in the United States. Though he had been acting for over a decade across the Atlantic, Byrne did not begin making a name for himself in America until his dark, brooding performance as an Irish mobster in the Coen Brothers’ deft “Miller’s Crossing” (1990). But it was his turn as a former corrupt cop drawn into a heist-gone-bad in “The Usual Suspects” (1995) that propelled Byrne to stardom. Ever since, he fluctuated with ease between romantic dramas, crime thrillers and period pieces in a fine display of diversity that translated well behind the camera as a writer and producer. Though he managed to get entangled in several flops – namely “Stigmata” (1999) and the miserable “End of Days” (1999) – Byrne managed to transcend setbacks with a varied slate of interesting projects, including “In Treatment” (HBO, 2007- ), an experimental drama that allowed Byrne to display his considerable acting chops to a sophisticated audience.
Born on May 12, 1950 in Dublin, Ireland, Byrne was the oldest of six children raised by a Guinness factory worker father and nurse mother. When he was 12 years old, a Catholic priest came to his school to show students what life was like saving souls in the South Pacific. From that moment, Byrne was interested in becoming a member of the clergy, and eventually went to seminary in Birmingham. But Byrne failed to fit in – perhaps being more interested in football and smoking cigarettes, while constantly late for prayers, had something to do with why he was finally asked to leave. Byrne returned home to Dublin and landed a scholarship to University College, where he studied languages and archeology. After graduating, he toiled in a series of odd jobs, namely installing glass eyes in teddy bears at a toy factory, working as a plumber, and teaching English. He made his first foray into acting in 1974 with the Dublin Shakespeare Society, then joined the Focus Theatre, an experimental repertory company run by director Jim Sheridan. In 1978, Byrne began acting full-time at the Abbey Theatre, where he stayed for two years. Finally, Byrne had found his footing.
Thanks to his stage work, Byrne started to land minor parts in small films, making his debut in “On a Paving Stone Mounted” (1978), which he followed with “The Outsider” (1979), a film that led to starring roles in the Irish soap opera “The Riordens” and its spin-off “Bracken.” Byrne’s first significant film role was as King Arthur’s father in John Boorman’s “Excalibur” (1981), a role made more difficult by the oppressive iron armor costumes. He played an obnoxious Israeli attorney in Costa-Gavras’ disappointing “Hannah K” (1983), then a German soldier in Michael Mann’s dreadful war drama “The Keep” (1983). Bryne proved himself a capable lead in the taut political thriller “Defense of the Realm” (1985), playing a newspaper reporter investigating the crash of a nuclear bomber in the English countryside. But Hollywood remained unimpressed, which, on a whole, considered Byrne a supporting player. He turned to American television in a pair of miniseries, playing the title role of “Christopher Columbus” (CBS, 1985), then the father of fascism’s son in “Mussolini: The Untold Story” (NBC, 1985). Back on the big screen, he co-starred in a few unremarkable features, including “Lionheart” (1987) and “Hello, Again” (1987), before returning to England to take the lead in “Diamond Skulls” (1989).
In the 1990s, Bryne finally began to catch the attention of American audiences, starting with “Miller’s Crossing” (1990), a revisionist take on the gangster film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. As the brooding Tom Reagan, the right hand of an Irish mobster (Albert Finney) neck deep in a citywide gang war with his Italian rival (Jon Polito), Byrne’s Reagan exuded a cool confidence, despite routine ass-kickings and a falling out with his boss over the same woman (Marcia Gay Harden). Byrne next essayed the cartoonist who creates the “Cool World” (1992) of Ralph Bakshi’s mix of live action and animation, later remembering the experience as “like being sedated for three months.” In “Point of No Return” (1993), he played a secret agent who oversees the training of a hit woman (Bridget Fonda). Later that year, he romanced two women – one dark and disturbed (Debra Winger); the other lonely and insecure (Barbara Hershey) – in “A Dangerous Woman” (1993), a rather conventional, but violent psycho-drama from director Stephen Gyllenhaal.
A prominent force in Ireland’s film industry, Byrne reportedly passed up an opportunity to play the villain in “Lethal Weapon III” to star as an alcoholic single father in Jim Sheridan’s charming fable, “Into the West” (1993). Back in Hollywood, Byrne vied with Steve Martin for the love and custody of a little girl in “A Simple Twist of Fate” (1994) and played an obsessive U.S. Attorney in “Trial by Jury” (1994), though he probably turned more heads as the German philosophy professor who sweeps Jo (Winona Ryder) off her feet in “Little Women” (1994). He attained perhaps his highest screen profile since “Miller’s Crossing,” starring as a former corrupt cop-turned-expert thief in “The Usual Suspects” (1995), Bryan Singer’s excellent neo-noir thriller about a gang of thieves recruited by a mysterious underworld figure to stop a massive drug deal, only to learn there is a bigger score to be had. He next teamed with Matt Dillon and Anne Parillaud for “Frankie Starlight” (1995), a gentle and poignant period romance that saw Byrne fall in love with a French woman (Anne Parillaud) after he helps her enter post-World War II Ireland.
In 1996, the increasingly busy Byrne co-starred with Johnny Depp in Jim Jarmusch’s revisionist Western “Dead Man;” headlined the Irish love story “This Is the Sea” (1997); and finally co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred in the charming teen romance “Last of the High Kings” (released on video in the United States as “Summer Fling” in 1998). “Last of the High Kings” was merely the first screenplay to come from Byrne, who earlier proved himself as a prose writer with Pictures in My Head. In fact, Byrne sought through his production deal with Phoenix Pictures to showcase himself as a writer-director. Finding time in his acting schedule was difficult, however, as a couple of directing projects fell through. His continued admiration for European filmmaking led him to star in Wim Wenders’ “The End of Violence” (1997), Bille August’s “Smilla’s Sense of Snow” (1997) and “Polish Wedding” (1998). Meanwhile, he displayed a taste for horsemanship and swordplay as the noble D’Artagnan in John Malkovich’s star-studded, but ultimately disappointing historical adventure “The Man in the Iron Mask” (1998).
Gabriel Byrne
With his place in Hollywood firmly established, Byrne was free to choose his projects, even if it happened to be a small role in the paranoia-inspiring thriller “Enemy of the State” (1998). Perhaps in a nod to his former days as a priest-in-training, he played Father Andrew Kiernan in “Stigmata” (1999), then flipped to the other side to play Satan in “End of Days” (1999), both of which were released in the midst of the millennial apocalyptic craze. But whether he was playing a man of God or the human incarnate of evil, Byrne proved that his presence onscreen could enliven even the most insipid fare. After two decades removed from the stage, Byrne had a starring role in the Broadway revival of “A Moon for the Misbegotten” (2000), Eugene O’Neill’s transcendent drama of guilt and forgiveness. His harrowing performance as the guilt-wracked James Tyrone received overwhelming praise by critics and theatergoers alike. Byrne’s handling of the cumbersome, but heart-wrenching monologue – particularly where James confesses his sins to human angel Josie (Cherry Jones) – proved compelling, while his shift from emotional detachment to extreme candidness displayed unusually moving grace.
In another attempt to keep his acting career fresh, Byrne took on network television with a starring role in the short-lived sitcom “Madigan Men” (ABC, 2000-01), playing a recently divorced man who routinely receives romantic advice from his teenaged son Luke (John Hensley) and widowed father Seamus (Roy Dotrice). He maintained numerous producing projects on his slate, including “Mad About Mambo” (2000), a Belfast-set coming-of-age tale produced by his own Plurabelle Films. Meanwhile, Byrne continued to be in-demand as a character actor, happily toiling away with parts in such mainstream films as “Ghost Ship” (2002), a supernatural thriller in which he played a salvage ship captain whose crew encounters a mysterious ocean liner lost at sea. In the flashback sequences of “Spider” (2002), he played the father of a psychologically damaged man (Ralph Finnes) recently released from a mental institution, who may or may not be truthful about his childhood trauma. After a short role in “Shade” (2004), a little-seen indie about poker hustlers, Byrne appeared in the adaptation of Thackerey’s “Vanity Fair” (2004), playing the seductively titled and privileged Marques of Steyne, who offers Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) all she wants – but at a price.
His next film, the remake of John Carpenter’s 1976 thriller, “Assault On Precinct 13” (2005), provided Byrne with what Roger Ebert characterized as “one of his thankless roles in which he is hard, taciturn, and one-dimensional enough to qualify for Flatland.” In “Jindabyne” (2006), Byrne was a gas station clerk in Australia who goes off on a fishing trip with his pals and discovers the naked body of a young Aboriginal woman killed by a racist old man (Chris Haywood). But instead of calling the police, the men decide to go on with their fishing trip, which causes all hell to break loose when they go home to their wives (which include Laura Linney). Back on television, Byrne starred in one of the more talked about cable shows, “In Treatment” (HBO, 2007- ), playing a seemingly successful psychotherapist and family man whose life starts falling apart because of his intimate involvement with his patients. Each 30-minute episode put on display a full therapy session, which aired five days a week and showcased a regular set of patients (Blair Underwood, Mia Wasikowska and Embeth Davidtz). But critics and audiences were split over being either fascinated or bored with witnessing an entire therapy session, causing some to question the durability of the show. Regardless, there was no conflict over Byrne’s performance. In 2008, he earned an Emmy nod for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, but lost out to Bryan Cryanston for his work on “Breaking Bad” (AMC, 2008- ). He then received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama, which he promptly won. The following year, he faced off against Cranston again for an Emmy Award in the lead actor category, thanks to Byrne’s remarkable performance on the second season of “In Treatment.”
The above TCM Overview can also be accessed online here.
