"And one day, not long from now, my looks will go. They will discover I can't act, and I will become some sad middle-aged woman who looks a bit like someone who was famous for a while."
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Bilbo and Company are forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the Lonely Mountain from falling into the hands of a rising darkness.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
...Katniss Everdeen is in District 13 after she shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta and a nation moved by her courage.
The Imitation Game During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
The defiant leader Moses rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses, setting 600,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues
X-Men: Days of Future Past
The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
The Avengers
Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Autobots must escape sight from a bounty hunter who takes control of the human serendipity: Unexpectedly, Optimus Prime and his remaining gang turn to a mechanic and his daughter for help.
Guardians of the Galaxy
A group of intergalactic criminals are forced to work together to stop a fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with another super soldier, the black widow, to battle a new threat from old history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
When New York is put under siege by Oscorp, it is up to Spider-Man to save the city he swore to protect as well as his loved ones.
American Sniper
Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home to his wife and kids after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.
Interstellar
A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in an attempt to ensure humanity's survival.
Titanic
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat, expecting to be married to a rich claimant by her mother, falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Gravity
A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after a catastrophe destroys their shuttle and leaves them adrift in orbit.
Iron Man 3
When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
The Dark Knight Rises
When Bane, a former member of the League of Shadows, plans to continue the work of Ra's al Ghul, the Dark Knight is forced to return after an eight year absence to stop him.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and it is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Ten years after a pandemic disease, apes who have survived it are drawn into battle with a group of human survivors
Thor: The Dark World
When Thor's love interest gets cursed with a powerful object, Thor must protect it before an army and its ruthless leader try to get their hands on it to take over the remains of Earth.
Hugh Michael Jackman born 12 October 1968 is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre and television.
Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as superhero, period, and romance characters. He is best known for his long running role as Wolverine in the X Men film series, as well as for his leads in Kate & Leopold, Van Helsing, The Prestige, Australia, Real Steel, Les Misérables, and Prisoners. His work in Les Misérables earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in 2013. He is also a singer dancer and actor in stage musicals, and won a Tony Award for his role in The Boy from Oz.
A four time host of the Tony Awards winning an Emmy Award for one of these appearances, Jackman also hosted the 81st Academy Awards on 22 February 2009.Jackman was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the son of Grace McNeil née Greenwood and Christopher John Jackman, a Cambridge trained accountant. His parents were English and had come to Australia in 1967 as part of the "Ten Pound Poms immigration. One of his paternal great grandfathers was Greek. His parents were devout Christians, having been converted by Evangelist Billy Graham after their marriage. Jackman has four older siblings, and was the second of his parents' children to be born in Australia. He also has a younger half-sister, from his mother's remarriage. His parents divorced when he was eight, and Jackman remained in Australia with his father and Jackman's two brothers, while his mother moved back to England with Jackman's two sisters. As a child, Jackman liked the outdoors, spending a lot of time at the beach and on camping trips and vacations all over Australia. He wanted to see the world: "I used to spend nights looking at atlases. I decided I wanted to be a chef on a plane. Because I'd been on a plane and there was food on board, I presumed there was a chef. I thought that would be an ideal job.
Jackman went to primary school at Pymble Public School and later attended the all boys Knox Grammar School on Sydney's Upper North Shore, where he starred in its production of My Fair Lady in 1985, and became the captain class president of the school in 1986. Following graduation, he spent a gap year working at Uppingham School in England. On his return he studied at the University of Technology Sydney graduating in 1991 with a BA in Communications. In his final year of university he took a drama course to make up additional credits. The class did Václav Havel's The Memorandum with Jackman as the lead. He later commented In that week I felt more at home with those people than I did in the entire three years.
After obtaining his BA, Jackman completed the one-year course "The Journey" at the Actors' Centre in Sydney. About studying acting full time, he stated, "It wasn't until I was 22 that I ever thought about my hobby being something I could make a living out of. As a boy, I'd always had an interest in theatre. But the idea at my school was that drama and music were to round out the man. It wasn't what one did for a living. I got over that. I found the courage to stand up and say, 'I want to do it'. After completing "The Journey", he was offered a role on the popular soap opera Neighbours but turned it down to attend the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts of Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, from which he graduated in 1994.
Jackman has said he "always loved acting but when I started at drama school I was like the dunce of the class. It just wasn't coming right to me. Everyone was cooler, everyone seemed more likely to succeed, everyone seemed more natural at it and in retrospect I think that is good. I think it is good to come from behind as an actor. I think it is good to go into an audition thinking 'Man I've got to be at my best to get this gig.
On the night of his final Academy graduation performance Jackman received a phone call offering him a role on Correlli: "I was technically unemployed for thirteen seconds." Correlli, devised by Australian actress Denise Roberts, was a 10 part drama series on ABC, Jackman's first major professional job, and where he met his future wife Deborra Lee Furness Meeting my wife was the greatest thing to come out of it. The show lasted only one season.
After Correlli Jackman went on the stage in Melbourne. In 1996, Jackman played Gaston in the local Walt Disney production of Beauty and the Beast, and Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard. During his stage musical career in Melbourne, he starred in the 1998 Midsumma festival cabaret production Summa Cabaret. He also hosted Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight and Sydney's Carols in the Domain.
Jackman's early film work includes Erskineville Kings and Paperback Hero 1999 and his television work includes Law of the Land, Halifax f.p. Blue Heelers and Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River.
Jackman became known outside Australia in 1998, when he played the leading role of Curly in the Royal National Theatre's acclaimed stage production of Oklahoma in London's West End. The performance earned him an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Jackman said "I totally felt like it can't get any better than this. On some level that production will be one of the highlights of my career. He also starred in the 1999 film version of the same stage musical, which has been screened in many countries.
X MenIn 1999, Jackman was cast as Wolverine in Bryan Singer's X Men 2000 replacing Dougray Scott. His co stars included Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, and Ian McKellen. According to a CBS interview in November 2006, Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness told him not to take the role, a comment she later told him she was glad he ignored.
Wolverine was tough for Jackman to portray because he had few lines, but a lot of emotion to convey in them. To prepare, he watched Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry movies and Mel Gibson in Road Warrior. Here were guys who had relatively little dialogue, like Wolverine had, but you knew and felt everything. I'm not normally one to copy, but I wanted to see how these guys achieved it. Jackman was adamant about doing his own stunts for the movie. We worked a lot on the movement style of Wolverine, and I studied some martial arts. I watched a lot of Mike Tyson fights, especially his early fights. There's something about his style, the animal rage, that seemed right for Wolverine. I kept saying to the writers, 'Don't give me long, choreographed fights for the sake of it. Don't make the fights pretty.
Jackman also had to get used to wearing Wolverine's claws. Every day in my living room, I'd just walk around with those claws, to get used to them. I've got scars on one leg, punctures straight through the cheek, on my forehead. I'm a bit clumsy. I'm lucky I didn't tell them that when I auditioned.
Jackman, at 6 feet 2.5 inches 1.89 m stands a foot taller than Wolverine, who is said in the original comic book to be 5 feet 3 inches 1.60 m. Hence, the filmmakers were frequently forced to shoot Jackman at unusual angles or only from the waist up to make him appear shorter than he actually is, and his co-stars wore platform soles. Jackman was also required to add a great deal of muscle for the role, and in preparing for the fourth film in the series, he bench pressed over 300 pounds.
Jackman reprised his role in 2003's X2 X Men United, 2006's X Men The Last Stand, and the 2009 prequel X-Men Origins Wolverine, although Troye Sivan played the younger version of James Howlett. He also cameoed as Wolverine in 2011's X Men First Class. He returned for the role of Wolverine again in 2013's The Wolverine, a stand-alone sequel taking place after the events of X Men The Last Stand, and reprised the character in the 2014 sequel X Men Days of Future Past.
Jackman starred as Leopold in the 2001 romantic comedy film Kate & Leopold, a role for which he received a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination. Jackman plays a Victorian English duke who accidentally time-travels to 21st-century Manhattan, where he meets Kate Meg Ryan a cynical advertising executive. In 2001, Jackman also starred in the action/drama Swordfish with John Travolta and Halle Berry. This was the second time Jackman worked with Berry, and the two have worked together thrice more in the X Men movies.
He hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 2001.
In 2002 Jackman sang the role of Billy Bigelow in the musical Carousel in a special concert performance at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's.
In 2004, Jackman won the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for his 2003 2004 Broadway portrayal of Australian songwriter and performer Peter Allen in the hit musical The Boy from Oz, which he also performed in Australia in 2006. In addition, Jackman hosted the Tony Awards in 2003, 2004, and 2005, garnering positive reviews. His hosting of the 2004 Tony Awards earned him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performer in a Variety, Musical or Comedy program.
Jackman co-starred with Daniel Craig on Broadway at the Schoenfeld Theatre in a limited engagement of the play A Steady Rain, which ran from 10 September 2009 to 6 December 2009.
He returned to Broadway in a new show, Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre, which began performances on 25 October 2011 and concluded on 1 January 2012.
After 2003's X2 X Men United, Jackman played the title role of monster killer Gabriel Van Helsing in the 2004 film Van Helsing. Jackman and the film were noted in Bruce A. McClelland's book Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead.
Jackman was one of the choices to play James Bond in 2006's Casino Royale, but eventually lost out to Daniel Craig. Jackman starred in the 2006 film The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan and co starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson. As Robert Angier, Jackman portrayed a magician who built up a rivalry with contemporary Alfred Borden in attempt to one up each other in the art of deception. Jackman stated that his main reason for doing The Prestige was to work with musician David Bowie, who played scientist Nikola Tesla.Jackman portrayed three different characters in Darren Aronofsky's science fiction film The Fountain Tommy Creo, a neuroscientist, who is torn between his wife, Izzi Rachel Weisz who is dying of a brain tumor, and his work at trying to cure her; Captain Tomas Creo, a Spanish conquistador in 1532 Seville and a future astronaut, Tom, travelling to a golden nebula in an eco spacecraft seeking to be reunited with Izzi. Jackman said The Fountain was his most difficult film thus far due to the physical and emotional demands of the part.
Jackman also starred in Woody Allen's 2006 film Scoop opposite Scarlett Johansson. That year he also reprised the role of Wolverine in x Men The Last Stand. He rounded out 2006 with two animated films Happy Feet, directed by George Miller, in which he voiced the part of Memphis, an emperor penguin; and Flushed Away, where Jackman supplied the voice of a rat named Roddy who ends up being flushed down a family's toilet into the London sewer system. Flushed Away co-starred Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen Jackman's fourth time working with him.
In 2007, Jackman produced and guest-starred in the television musical-dramedy series Viva Laughlin, which was cancelled by CBS after two episodes. Jackman's 2008 movies included Deception which he starred in and produced Uncle Jonny, and Australia.
In 2008, director Baz Luhrmann cast Jackman to replace Russell Crowe as the male lead in his much publicized epic film, Australia, which co starred Nicole Kidman. The movie was released in late November 2008 in Australia and the U.S.
Jackman played a tough, independent cattle drover, who reluctantly helps an English noblewoman in her quest to save both her philandering husband's Australian cattle station and the mixed race Aboriginal child she finds there.
Of the movie, Jackman said, "This is pretty much one of those roles that had me pinching myself all the way through the shoot. I got to shoot a big-budget, shamelessly old-fashioned romantic epic set against one of the most turbulent times in my native country's history, while, at the same time, celebrating that country's natural beauty, its people, its cultures. I'll die a happy man knowing I've got this film on my CV.
2009 presentJackman has reprised his role as the Wolverine in X Men spin off films. Jackman starred in X Men Origins: Wolverine which opened in 2009. Jackman starred again as Wolverine in 2013 in The Wolverine. Jackman made a cameo appearance as Wolverine in X Men First Class in 2012.
Jackman had a one man show at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco from 3 15 May 2011. The production was a mixture of his favourite Broadway and Hollywood musical numbers, backed by a 17 piece orchestra, from shows including Oklahoma and The Boy from Oz. The show had a run-time of approximately 100 minutes, and also included slide shows of Jackman's youth, family, and work, as well as some one-on-one interaction with the audience. Jackman was backed by fellow musical theatre veterans Merle Dandridge and Angel Reda.
In a November 2012 release Jackman voiced the role of E.Aster Bunnymund the Easter Bunny in the animated film Rise of the Guardians.
Jackman starred as Jean Valjean in the film Les Misérables, an adaptation of the musical. The film opened on 25 December 2012. For the role he lost 15 pounds and later had to regain 30 pounds to mirror his character's newfound success. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in January 2013 for this performance.
Jackman appeared alongside Kate Winslet in Movie 43, an ensemble comedy, in January 2013.
Jackman along with actress Kristen Wiig was featured on "You've Got The Look", a song by comedy hip hop group The Lonely Island on their third album, The Wack Album, released in June 2013.
Director Lee Daniels has confirmed Jackman has joined the cast of his upcoming film Selma, a film about Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon Baines Johnson and the civil rights marches. Shooting of the movie has suffered repeated delays.
Jackman will feature in the film The Greatest Showman on Earth. The part of Jenny Lind is being scripted for Anne Hathaway. Jackman and Hathaway teamed together for the Oscars ceremony in 2009, and played opposite each other in Les Misérables.
Jackman will play the villain Blackbeard in Joe Wright's 2015 film, Pan which will revolve around the back-stories of J.M. Barrie's characters Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Pan will center on how Pan and the man who becomes Captain Hook start out as friends with Hook working as a member of the crew on Blackbeard's pirate ship.
Jackman is set to return to Broadway in the new play, The River, which is scheduled to run at the Circle in the Square Theatre from October 2014 to January 2015.
In 2005, Jackman joined with longtime assistant John Palermo to form a production company, Seed Productions, whose first project was Viva Laughlin in 2007. Jackman's wife Deborra Lee Furness is also involved in the company, and Palermo had three rings made with a "unity" inscription for himself, Furness, and Jackman. Jackman said I'm very lucky in the partners I work with in my life, Deb and John Palermo. It really works. We all have different strengths. I love it. It's very exciting.
The Fox-based Seed label has grown in size to include execs Amanda Schweitzer, Kathryn Tamblyn, Allan Mandelbaum and Joe Marino, with Alana Free operating the Sydney-based production office whose goal is to mount modest budget films to harness local talent in Jackman's home country.As a philanthropist, Jackman is a longtime proponent of microcredit the extension of very small loans to prospective entrepreneurs in impoverished countries. He is a vocal supporter of Muhammad Yunus, microcredit pioneer and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Jackman is a global advisor of the Global Poverty Project, for which he narrated a documentary and he and the project's founder Hugh Evans visited the UN for the cause in 2009. Jackman hosted a preview of the Global Poverty Project Presentation in New York together with Donna Karan, Lisa Fox and his wife Deborra Lee. He is also a World Vision ambassador and participated in the climate week NYC ceremony on 21 September 2009.
Jackman supports The Art of Elysium and the MPTV Fund Foundation and he and his wife Deborra Lee Furness are patrons of the Bone Marrow Institute in Australia. Jackman also narrated the 2008 documentary about global warming, The Burning Season.
Jackman also uses his Twitter account for charity. On 14 April 2009, Jackman posted on his Twitter page that he would donate $100,000 to one individual's favourite non-profit organisation. On 21 April 2009 he revealed his decision to donate $50,000 to Charity Water and $50,000 to Operation of Hope.
Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig made a unique place for themselves in the history of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising 8 December 2009, when it was announced that they had raised $1,549,953 in the 21st annual Gypsy of the Year competition, from six weeks of curtain appeals at their hit Broadway drama, A Steady Rain. Jackman continued his support of Broadway Cares in 2011, raising nearly $1 million during his run of Hugh Jackman back on Broadway Jackman has shown keen interest in sports. In high school he played rugby union and cricket, took part in high jumping and was on the swimming team. He enjoys basketball and kayaking. He has expressed an interest in football, committing his support to Norwich City FC. In the United States, Jackman supports the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, attending a game at PPL Park in June 2010. On 22 June 2011, Jackman again attended a home Union match against Sporting KC, sitting in front of the Sons of Ben supporters section, nicknamed The River End.
Jackman is a longtime fan and supporter of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, a National Rugby League NRL club based in Sydney's north. He sang the Australian national anthem at the 1999 NRL Grand Final.
Jackman also guest starred on 19 September 2011 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, assisting Zack Ryder in a win over WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler. Jackman helped "Long Island Iced Z" get the 3 count in a nontitle match by punching the champion in the jaw whilst the referee was not looking.
Jackman plays the piano does yoga and has been a member of the School of Practical Philosophy since 1992.
Jackman has been an avid practitioner of Transcendental Meditation since the age of twenty. Nothing has ever opened my eyes like Transcendental Meditation has. It makes me calm and happy, and, well, it gives me some peace and quiet in what's a pretty chaotic life!". He now helps the David Lynch Foundation to "bring meditation to everyone from PTSD sufferers to inner city kids.
Jackman married Deborra Lee Furness on 11 April 1996 at St. John's in Toorak, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. They met on the set of Australian TV show Correlli. Jackman personally designed an engagement ring for Furness, and their wedding rings bore the Sanskrit inscription "Om paramar mainamar", translated as "we dedicate our union to a greater source". Furness had two miscarriages following which she and Jackman adopted two children, Oscar Maximillian and Ava Eliot.
In November 2013, Jackman announced he had basal cell carcinoma removed from his nose. He had a second carcinoma removed from his nose in May 2014, telling Associated Press that he expects to have future recurrences. This resulted in Jackman attending the various worldwide premieres of X Men Days of Future Past with a bandage on his nose, and urging his followers on photo-sharing platform Instagram to "wear sunscreen.
Vin Diesel born July 18 1967 is an American actor and filmmaker. He first became known for appearing in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan 1998. He is best known for his portrayals of Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick trilogy 2001–2013 and Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious film series 2001–present two franchises in which he also acted as producer.
Diesel starred in xXx 2002 and Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty 2006. His voice acting work includes The Iron Giant 1999 the video game spin-offs of The Chronicles of Riddick franchise, and Guardians of the Galaxy 2014. As a filmmaker, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the drama film Strays. He is the founder of the production companies One Race Films, Racetrack Records, and Tigon Studios.Diesel was born Mark Sinclair or Mark Sinclair Vincent in New York City along with his twin brother Paul. His mother, Delora Sherleen Sinclair Vincent, is an astrologer. Diesel has stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity His mother's background includes English, German, and Scottish. He has never met his biological father, and has stated that all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures. Diesel has self-identified as "definitely a person of colour and has stated that his parents' relationship would have been illegal in some parts of the United States due to anti-miscegenation laws. He was raised by his Caucasian mother and African-American stepfather, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager.
Diesel made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother, and some friends had broken into the Theater for the New City's space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who offered them roles in the upcoming show instead of calling the police.
Diesel remained involved with the theater throughout adolescence, going on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his creative writing studies led him to begin screenwriting. He has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor as a result of early difficulties finding roles due to his mixed heritage. He changed his name to Vin Diesel while working as a bouncer at the New York nightclub Tunnel, because one's real name is not usually given out in that business. The name Vin is simply a shortened version of "Vincent". He received the nicknme Diesel" from his friends, who said he ran off diesel fuel, referring to his non-stop energy.1990s
Diesel's first film role was a brief uncredited appearance in Awakenings 1990. He then wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short film Multi-Facial 1994 a short semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling actor stuck in the audition process. The film was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. He made his first feature-length film, Strays 1997 an urban drama in which he played a gang leader whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed, and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series. He was cast in Steven Spielberg's 1998 Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan on the poignancy of his performance in Multi-Facial. In 1999, he earned critical acclaim for his voice work as the title character in the animation film The Iron Giant.Diesel had a major role in the business drama Boiler Room 2000 and then got his breakthrough role as the anti-hero Riddick in the science-fiction film Pitch Black 2000. Diesel attained action hero stardom with two box office hits: the street racing action film The Fast and the Furious 2001 and the action thriller xXx 2002. In 2004, Diesel reprised his role as Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick which was a box office failure considering the large budget. He also voiced the character in spin-off video games. In 2005, he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier, which became a box office success.
In 2006, he chose a dramatic role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. Although he received critical acclaim for his performance, the film did poorly at the box office. Later that year, Diesel made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and the Furious. He was originally offered the lead in 2 Fast 2 Furious, but turned it down. He was also offered the chance to reprise his role from xXx in xXx: State of the Union, but turned it down as well.
In 2007, Diesel was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled back and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008, he starred in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D.. Diesel returned to the The Fast and the Furious series, alongside all the actors from the original film, in Fast & Furious, which was released in April 2009.
Diesel reprised his role as Dominic Toretto in the fifth and sixth films of the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast Five 2011 and Fast & Furious 6 2013. He reprised his role as Riddick in the third film of the Riddick series simply titled Riddick 2013. In August 2013, Diesel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[18] He voiced Groot in the 2014 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy, and is set to star in the 2015 film Furious 7. Diesel is also scheduled to star in The Last Witch Hunter as well as an updated version of Kojak. In addition, Diesel is stated to return to the starring role in a third xXx movie.Diesel is noted for his recognizably deep voice; he has said that his voice broke at around age 15, giving him a mature sounding voice on the telephone. He has a twin brother, Paul, a younger brother, Tim, and a sister, Samantha. Around 2001, he dated his Fast and the Furious co-star, Michelle Rodriguez.Diesel and his girlfriend, Mexican model Paloma Jimenez, have two children: daughter Hania Riley born 2008, and son Vincent born 2010. Speaking to An tEolas, an Irish newspaper, Diesel stated he has been seen as a hard man, but is in touch with his soft side as a father. He claims to prefer dating in Europe, where he is less likely to be recognized and where celebrities are not romantically linked to each other. He prefers to maintain his privacy regarding his personal life, stating that "I'm not gonna put it out there on a magazine cover like some other actors" and that "I come from the Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino code of silence.Diesel has expressed his love for the Dominican Republic, and how he relates to its multicultural facets. He is acquainted with its former president, Leonel Fernández, and appeared in one of Fernández's earlier campaign ads. Los Bandoleros, a short film directed by Diesel, was filmed in the Dominican Republic.
Diesel has played Dungeons & Dragons for over 20 years and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. In the 30th anniversary issue of Dragon magazine, it was revealed that Diesel had a fake tattoo of his character's name, Melkor, on his stomach while filming xXx.
Willard Carroll Will Smith Jr. born September 25, 1968 is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film, and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood. Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards.
In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years 1990–96 on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office, and 11 consecutive films gross over $150 million internationally and the only one to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at the number one spot in the domestic box office tally.
Will Smith is ranked as the most bankable star worldwide by Forbes despite the box-office and critical disappointment of his 2013 film, After Earth co-starring his son Jaden Smith. As of 2014, 17 of the 21 films in which he has had leading roles have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million each, five taking in over $500 million each in global box office receipts. More so, as of 2014, his films have grossed $6.6 billion in global box office.Smith was born in West Philadelphia, to refrigeration engineer Willard Carroll Smith, Sr. and Philadelphia school board administrator Caroline Bright. He grew up in West Philadelphia's Wynnefield neighborhood and was raised Baptist. He has three siblings, sister Pamela, who is four years older, and twins Harry and Ellen, who are three years younger. Smith attended Our Lady of Lourdes, a private Catholic elementary school in Philadelphia. His parents separated when he was 13 but did not actually divorce until around 2000.[13]
Smith attended Overbrook High School. Though widely reported, it is untrue that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT he never applied to the school although he was admitted to a "pre-engineering program" there. According to Smith My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college.Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer as well as Ready Rock C Clarence Holmes as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime". They gained critical acclaim and won the first Grammy awarded in the Rap category 1988.
Smith spent money freely around 1988 and 1989 and underpaid his income taxes.The Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income. Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990, when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him.
The show was successful and began his acting career. Smith set for himself the goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world," studying box office successes' common characteristics.
Feature films
Smith's first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation 1993 and the action film Bad Boys 1995 in which he starred opposite of Martin Lawrence.
In 1996, Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. The film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest grossing film in history at the time and establishing Smith as a prime box office draw. He later struck gold again in the summer of 1997 alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the summer hit Men in Black playing Agent J. In 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State.
He turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West 1999. Despite the disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision, asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith himself would have achieved although in interviews subsequent to the release of Wild Wild West he stated that he "made a mistake on Wild Wild West. That could have been better.In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending three premieres in a 24-hour time span.
He has planned to star in a feature film remake of the television series It Takes a Thief.
On December 10, 2007, Smith was honored at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Smith left an imprint of his hands and feet outside the world renowned theater in front of many fans. Later that month, Smith starred in the film I Am Legend, released December 14, 2007. Despite marginally positive reviews its opening was the largest ever for a film released in the United States during December. Smith himself has said that he considers the film to be "aggressively unique. A reviewer said that the film's commercial success "cemented standing as the number one box office draw in Hollywood. On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Smith has been selected as one of America’s top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.
Smith was reported in 2008 to be developing a film entitled The Last Pharaoh, in which he will star as Taharqa.
Men in Black III opened on May 25, 2012 with Smith again reprising his role as Agent J. This was his first major starring role in four years.
On August 19, 2011, it was announced that Smith had returned to the studio with producer La Mar Edwards to work on his fifth studio album. Edwards has worked with artists such as T.I., Chris Brown, and Game. Smith's most recent studio album, Lost and Found, was released in 2005.
Smith and his son Jaden played father and son in two productions: the 2006 biographical drama The Pursuit of Happyness, and the science fiction film After Earth, which was released on May 31, 2013.
Smith will star opposite Margot Robbie, in the upcoming romance comedy-drama Focus, as Nicky Spurgeon, a veteran con artist who takes a young, attractive woman under his wing, but things get complicated when they become romantically involved. Focus will be released on February 27, 2015.
Smith was set to star in the sci-fi thriller Brilliance, an adaptation of Marcus Sakey's novel of the same name scripted by Jurassic Park writer David Koepp. But the actor left the project.
According to Variety, Smith is set to star in a football drama based on the GQ article "Game Brain" by Jeanne Marie Laskas. Smith would play Dr. Bennett Omalu of the Brain Injury Research Institute, a forensic neuropathologist who became the first person to discover Chronic traumatic encephalopathy CTE in a football player's brain. CTE is a degenerative disease caused by severe trauma to the head that can be discovered only after death. Smith's involvement is mostly due to his last-minute exit from the sci-fi thriller-drama Brilliance. Concussion will be directed by Peter Landesman and will be filmed in Pittsburgh, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It will receive $14.4 million in film tax credits from Pennsylvania. Principal photography started on October 27. Actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw will play his wife. Omalu will serve as a consultant.Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. They had one son, Willard Carroll "Trey" Smith III on November 11, 1992 and divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father's music video for the 1998 single "Just the Two of Us.
Smith married actress Jada Koren Pinkett in 1997. Together they have two children: Jaden Christopher Syre Smith born 1998 his co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness, and Willow Camille Reign Smith born 2000 who appeared as his daughter in I Am Legend. Smith and his brother Harry own Treyball Development Inc. a Beverly Hills-based company named after Trey. Smith and his family reside in Los Angeles, California.
Smith was consistently listed in Fortune Magazine's "Richest 40" list of the forty wealthiest Americans under the age of 40. He donated $4,600 to the 2008 presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama. On December 11, 2009, Smith and his wife hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway to celebrate Obama's winning of the prize.
Religious beliefs
Smith was raised in a Baptist household and went to a Catholic school, but he no longer identifies himself as religious. Though he is not a Scientologist and has denied rumors claiming him as a member of the Church of Scientology he has spoken favorably about it, saying "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious.
Smith gave $1.3 million to charities in 2007, of which $450,000 went to two Christian ministries, and $122,500 went to three Scientology organizations; the remaining beneficiaries included "a Los Angeles mosque, other Christian-based schools and churches, and the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Center in Israel. Smith and his wife have also founded a private elementary school in Calabasas, California, the New Village Leadership Academy. Federal tax filing showed that Will Smith donated $1.2 million to the school in 2010.
Political views
As of 2012, Smith supports legalizing same-sex marriage.
Keira Christina Knightley k r na tli born 26 March 1985 is an English actress and singer. She began acting as a child on television and made her film debut in 1995. She had a supporting role as Sabé in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 1999 and her first significant role came in The Hole 2001. She gained widespread recognition in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham and achieved international fame in 2003 after appearing as Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series 2003–present.
Since the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Knightley has become known for starring in period drama films such as Pride & Prejudice 2005 Atonement 2007 Silk 2007 The Duchess 2008 A Dangerous Method 2011 and Anna Karenina 2012. Knightley has also appeared in a variety of genres of Hollywood films, including the romantic comedy Love Actually 2003 the historical action King Arthur 2004 the psychological thriller The Jacket 2005 biographical action Domino 2005 the historical drama The Edge of Love 2008 the film noir London Boulevard 2010 the dystopian science fiction Never Let Me Go 2010 the romantic drama Last Night 2010 and the dark comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World 2012.
Knightley earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. Two years later she was nominated again for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Wright's Atonement. In its 2008 list, Forbes identified Knightley as the second highest-paid actress in Hollywood, with reported earnings of US$32 million in 2007, making her the only non-American on the list of highest-paid actresses that year.
In 2014, Knightley appeared in four films, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Begin Again, Laggies and The Imitation Game. Knightley has received rave reviews and praise for her work as Joan Clarke in The Imitation Game, and has been nominated for multiple awards, including; Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Ensemble Cast as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture and a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress and Best Ensemble Cast. She was also nominated for Best Song at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for "Lost Stars" from Begin Again.
In October 2015, Knightley will make her Broadway debut in the title role of Thérèse Raquin.Knightley was born in Teddington, London, England, the daughter of Sharman Macdonald, an actress turned playwright, and Will Knightley, an actor. Her Scottish-born mother is of Scots and Welsh descent, and her father is of English ancestry. She has an older brother,
Knightley lived in Richmond, attending Stanley Junior School, Teddington School and Esher College. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of six but, as she was successful in school, she was permitted to acquire a talent agent and pursue an acting career. She requested an agent at the age of three. Knightley has noted that she was "single-minded about acting" during her childhood. She performed in a number of local amateur productions, which included After Juliet written by her mother, and United States written by her drama teacher, Ian McShane.She focused on art, history, and English literature while at Esher, but left after a year to focus on her acting.
1993–2002: Career beginnings
After getting an agent at 6, Knightley worked mostly on commercials and small TV roles. Her first role was "Little Girl" in Royal Celebration, a 1993 TV film. A year later, she had a small role in the film A Village Affair. She later starred in 1995's Innocent Lies and 1998's Coming Home. She was a princess in the 1996 film The Treasure Seekers. Later in 1999, she appeared as Rose in Oliver Twist.
Knightley appeared in several television films in the mid- to late 1990s—as well as ITV1's The Bill before being cast as Sabé, Padmé Amidala's decoy, in the 1999 science fiction blockbuster Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Sabé's dialogue was dubbed over with Natalie Portman's voice. This was to hide the fact that the handmaiden Padmé played by Portman was actually disclosed as the real Queen Amidala at the end of the film. Knightley was cast in the role because of her close resemblance to Portman; even the two actresses' mothers had difficulty telling their daughters apart when the girls were in full makeup. In 2000 Knightley appeared in the video to Five's song Don't Wanna Let You Go.
Knightley's first starring role was in 2001, when she played the daughter of Robin Hood in the made-for-television Walt Disney Productions feature Princess of Thieves. She trained for several weeks in archery, fencing and horse riding. During this time, Knightley also appeared in The Hole, a thriller that received a directto-video release in the United States. Its director Nick Hamm described her as "a young version of Julie Christie.
She appeared in the miniseries adaptation of Doctor Zhivago as Lara alongside Scottish actor Hans Matheson in the title role, which first aired in 2002 to good reviews and high ratings. In the same year, she also was in the film Pure, in which she portrays a pregnant teenager who is a heroin addict and had a child taken by social services. Knightley's breakthrough role was in the football-themed film Bend It Like Beckham, which was a success in its August 2002 UK release, grossing US$18 million, and in its March 2003 U.S. release, grossing US$32 million.
2003–07: The Pirate Trilogy, Breakthrough and acclaim
After Bend It Like Beckham's UK release raised her profile, Knightley was cast in the big-budget action film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, along with Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, it opened in July 2003 to positive reviews and high box office grosses becoming one of the biggest hits of summer 2003 and cementing Knightley as the new "It" girl.
Knightley had a role in the British romantic comedy Love Actually, which opened in November 2003, which co-starred her childhood idol Emma Thompson. Her next film, King Arthur, opened in July 2004 to negative reviews in preparation for the role she took boxing, fighting, archery and horseriding lessons for four days a week for three months.
In the same month, Knightley was voted by readers of Hello! magazine as the film industry's most promising teen star. Additionally, TIME magazine noted in a 2004 feature that Knightley seemed dedicated to developing herself as a serious actress rather than a film star.
She appeared in three films in 2005, the first of which was The Jacket, alongside Adrien Brody. She next appeared in Tony Scott's Domino, an action film based on the life of bounty hunter Domino Harvey. The film has been Knightley's greatest critical flop to date. Knightley's critics often suggested she was nothing more than a pretty face, which led her to comment to Elle magazine, "I always feel like I’m the one with everything to prove.Pride & Prejudice was released in 2005. Knightley had loved the book since she was seven, and with her first cheque for acting she bought a doll's house of the hero's mansion. She said of her character, "The beauty of Elizabeth is that every woman who ever reads the book seems to recognise herself with all her faults and imperfections. If you give an actress who is even remotely good the chance to play a fantastic character like that, they are going to revel in it. Variety wrote about her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet: "Looking every bit a star, Knightley, who's shown more spirit than acting smarts so far in her career, really steps up to the plate here, holding her own against the more classically trained Matthew Macfadyen, as well as vets like Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Penelope Wilton and Judi Dench with a luminous strength that recalls a young Audrey Hepburn. More than the older Jennifer Ehle in the TV series, she catches Elizabeth's essential skittishness and youthful braggadocio, making her final conversion all the more moving. The film grossed more than US$100 million worldwide,and Knightley earned a Golden Globe nomination and an Oscar nomination the Oscar ultimately went to Reese Witherspoon. The Academy Award nomination made her the third-youngest performer ever nominated. BAFTA's decision not to nominate her drew criticism from Pride & Prejudice producer Tim Bevan.
In 2006, Knightley was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her biggest financial hit thus far, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, was released in July 2006.
Knightley starred in three major films in 2007: Silk, an adaptation of the novel by Alessandro Baricco, Atonement, a feature film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel of the same name co-starring James McAvoy, Vanessa Redgrave and Brenda Blethyn and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which was released in May 2007. For her performance in Atonement, Knightley was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Dramatic Actress category for the role, as well as a BAFTA Award. Critic Richard Roeper was puzzled by both Knightley's and McAvoy's Academy Award snubs, stating I thought McAvoy and Knightley were superb.
In 2008, Knightley appeared alongside Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys in John Maybury's The Edge of Love, a fictional wartime drama about Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, his wife Caitlin Macnamara, childhood friend Vera Williams, and her romance and marriage with a British soldier. Penned by Knightley's mother, Sharman Macdonald, the playwright initially crafted the screenplay with Knightley as Macnamara in her mind. Once her daughter agreed to portray Williams, Macdonald enlarged the character, making her a singer.
Knightley, who watched Marlene Dietrich films for preparation, was expecting to mime to her prerecorded voice, but was told by Maybury to sing live in front of the crew while shooting. "I was shaking like a leaf," Knightley later commented, "I thought my knees were going to buckle. In the first couple of songs, I sounded like a pubescent boy, it was so embarrassing. While the actress received positive reviews for her role the film became a moderate critical and commercial arthouse success.She then filmed Saul Dibb's The Duchess 2008, based on the best-selling biography Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman in which she played 18th-century English aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire opposite Ralph Fiennes. Well received by critics Knightley garnered largely positive reviews by critics, with The Epoch Times writing "Knightley's performance gains new depth she not only perfectly portrays a witty and feminine Georgiana early in the film, but also a caring mother, and an abandoned woman later on. The following year, she was nominated for a BIFA Award for Best Actress for her performance.
In December 2009, Knightley made her West End debut in Martin Crimp's version of Molière's comedy The Misanthrope, at the Comedy Theatre in London alongside Damian Lewis, Tara FitzGerald and Dominic Rowan. Reviews for her portrayal of Jennifer in the play were generally positive. The Daily Telegraph described her performance as revealing "both power and poignancy" and The Independent called her performance "not only strikingly convincing but, at times, rather thrilling in its satiric aplomb. The Guardian, however, noted that due to the nature of the role "one could say that she is not unduly stretched. In recognition of her theatre debut, Knightley was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in the play. Knightley also received an Evening Standard Award nomination for the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress.
In 2010, Knightley appeared in Massy Tadjedin's romantic drama Last Night, in which she co-starred with Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington and Guillaume Canet. The same year, Knightley completed work on an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's dystopian novel Never Let Me Go with Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan. Filming took place in Norfolk and Clevedon in Somerset Also in 2010, she starred in London Boulevard with Colin Farrell, written by William Monahan.
2011–present: Cronenberg, New beginning, Broadway announcement
Knightley's only film of 2011 was David Cronenberg's historical drama A Dangerous Method, co-starring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Vincent Cassel. Based on writer Christopher Hampton's 2002 stage play The Talking Cure and set on the eve of World War I, the film depicts the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein. Spielrein, the troubled but beautiful young psychoanalyst who comes between Jung and Freud, is played by Knightley. The costume film premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival to a positive reception, while Knightley earned generally favourable reviews by critics, Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com noting her "the real star of this film.
In 2012, she appeared with Steve Carell in the dramedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. During the same year, she reunited with director Joe Wright for the production of Anna Karenina, in which she starred as the title character. Knightley garnered positive reviews for her performance, prompting early Oscar buzz.
In May 2012, Knightley was cast to replace Scarlett Johansson in director John Carney's Begin Again, after Johansson withdrew due to personal reasons. The film was released in 2013.
Knightley's first film of 2014 premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, prior to its US general-release opening on 24 October. Titled Laggies, the film also stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell, and is directed by Lynn Shelton. Shortly afterward, the London, UK, premiere of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, in which Knightley plays Cathy Muller alongside Chris Pine, was held at the end of January.Also in 2014, she starred opposite Mark Ruffalo in Begin Again, and although she plays a singer-songwriter, she revealed in July that music doesn't "sink in" for her, and she is more interested in books and drama. Knightley also referred to the end of a chapter of her career, which the Guardian described as "mired in neurotic roles. She then appeared again with her Atonement co-star Benedict Cumberbatch in the 2014 historical drama film The Imitation Game. She played Joan Clarke, opposite Cumberbatch's Alan Turing.
Knightley is slated to appear in a film adaptation of the novel, The Emperor's Children, with Rachel McAdams, Emma Thompson and Richard Gere. The dark comedy was written by Noah Baumbach and will be directed by Scott Cooper. Knightley's broadway debut was announced in October 2014, stating that she will appear as the title character in a new adaptation of Thérèse Raquin by Helen Edmundson—the show's official debut after the previews is scheduled for 29 October 2015.
Knightley has been described by press reports as "famously open with media although Knightley herself has stated "I don't talk about my private life. Knightley has appeared many times in FHMs 100 Sexiest Women in the World list. Ranked No. 79 in 2004 she climbed to No. 18 in 2005, and was named "the sexiest woman in the world in 2006 In 2007, she was 12th, 10th in 2008 and came in 36th in 2009. The US edition ranked her No. 54 in 2004, No. 11 in 2005, and No. 5 in 2006. In May 2006, she was No. 9 on Maxim's 2006 Hot 100. Knightley appeared nude, along with Scarlett Johansson, on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine's March 2006 "Hollywood issue.
Knightley was the celebrity face for the luxury goods brand Asprey, Shiatzy Chen as well as Lux haircare products in Japanese television commercials. In April 2006, she was confirmed as the new celebrity face of Chanel's perfume Coco Mademoiselle, though the first photo from the campaign was not released until May 2007.
A 41-year-old man was charged with harassment in February 2010 after trying to contact the actress on several occasions outside the Comedy Theatre in London, where she appeared in the play The Misanthrope. The subsequent trial folded after the actress was unavailable to testify in court.
Knightley received media attention for her perspectives on feminism, voiced in an interview for Harper's Bazaar UK published in the February 2014 edition. Knightley explained that female artists face greater hurdles in the film industry compared to their male counterparts, and also revealed that she was perplexed by the use of "feminist" in a derogatory sense:
I think it's great that the discussions are finally being allowed to be had as opposed to anybody mentioning feminism and everybody going, 'Oh, fucking shut up.' Somehow, it became a dirty word. I thought it was really weird for a long time, and I think it's great that we're coming out of that.
In the September 2014 issue of Interview, Knightley posed topless, on the condition that she not be photoshopped, to draw attention to how "women's bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame.
Personal life
Knightley was in a relationship with actor Del Synnott from 2001 to 2003. The couple met during the filming of Princess of Thieves. Knightley was also in a relationship with actor Jamie Dornan from 2003 to 2005. She dated her Pride & Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend from 2005 until December 2010. She subsequently began dating musician James Righton, of Klaxons, in late February 2011. Knightley and Righton married on 4 May 2013 in Mazan, Vaucluse, Southern France. The couple live in Islington. On 12 December, 2014 Keira confirmed through a spokesperson that she was pregnant with her first child.
Knightley has denied rumours she is anorexic, although her family has a history of anorexia. Knightley sued the Daily Mail after they claimed she lied about having anorexia. The article said that a teenage girl died from anorexia, indicating that Knightley's physical appearance may have influenced her in some way—she was awarded a settlement. In July 2006, Knightley said she has become a workaholic suggesting that she would take a one-year break from acting to travel and focus on her personal life.
Speaking to the press in July 2014, Knightley explained that she felt like she had reached the end of the first stage of her career, and the 2014 film Begin Again was like it's beginning again." Knightley also acknowledged the criticism she previously faced about merely being lucky in her career Its really annoying, let's face it. 'Fuck off, you little shit.' I do totally get it.
Charity work
Knightley is the face of an Amnesty International campaign to support human rights, marking the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2004, she travelled to Ethiopia alongside Richard Curtis, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Julian Metcalfe on behalf of the Comic Relief charity. She posed for photos for WaterAid in 2005 and also for the American Library Association's "Read" campaign a promotional poster of Pride & Prejudice. The dress she wore to the 2006 Academy Awards was donated to the charity Oxfam, where it raised £4,300.
In April 2009, Knightley appeared in a video to raise awareness of domestic abuse entitled Cut shot for Women's Aid. The video created controversy, with some sources calling it too graphic, while other groups support the video for showing a realistic depiction of domestic violence.
In November 2010, Knightley became patron ofhe SMA Trust, a British charity that funds medical research into the disease spinal muscular atrophy.
For International Women's Day 2014, Knightley was one of the artist signatories of Amnesty International's letter to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, in which the organisation campaigned for women's rights in Afghanistan.
Sandra Annette Bullock blk born July 26, 1964 is an American actress and film producer. She is one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses and is the recipient of one Academy Award from two nominations, and one Golden Globe Award from five nominations.
Bullock made her acting debut with a minor role in the 1987 thriller Hangmen. Her breakthrough role was in the 1994 action film Speed, after which she starred in several successful films including While You Were Sleeping 1995 A Time to Kill 1996 and Hope Floats 1998. Bullock achieved further success in the 2000s and 2010s with starring roles in Miss Congeniality 2000 Two Weeks Notice 2002, Crash 2004, The Proposal 2009, and The Heat 2013. She was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side 2009. Bullock's greatest commercial success is the science fiction film Gravity 2013
In addition to acting, Bullock is the founder of the production company Fortis Films. She was married to Jesse G. James from 2005 to 2010.Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Her father, John W. Bullock born 1925, was a United States Army employee and part-time voice coach; her mother, Helga Mathilde Meyer 1942–2000, was an opera singer and voice teacher. Bullock's father was from Birmingham, Alabama, and had English, Irish, German, and French ancestry, while Bullock's mother was German. Bullock's maternal grandfather was a rocket scientist from Nuremberg, Germany. Bullock's father, who was in charge of the Army's Military Postal Service in Europe, was stationed in Nuremberg when he met his wife. They married in Germany and moved to Arlington, where John worked with the Army Materiel Command, before becoming a contractor for The Pentagon. She has a younger sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, who was formerly the vice-president of Bullock's production company Fortis Films.
Bullock was raised in Nuremberg, Germany for twelve years and grew up speaking German. She attended the humanistic Waldorf School. As a child, Bullock frequently accompanied her mother on European opera tours. Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child, taking small parts in her mother's opera productions. She sang in the opera's children's choir at the Staatstheater Nürnberg. The scar above her left eye was caused when she fell into a creek as a child. Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was a cheerleader and performed in high school theater productions. After graduating in 1982, she attended East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, where she received a degree in drama in 1986. While at ECU, she performed in multiple theater productions, including "Peter Pan" and "Three Sisters. She then moved to Manhattan and supported herself as a bartender, cocktail waitress, and coat checker while auditioning for roles.
Untilthe age of eighteen, Bullock held American/German dual citizenship. In 2009, she reapplied for German citizenship.While in New York, Bullock took acting classes with Sanford Meisner. She appeared in several student films, and later landed a role in an Off-Broadway play No Time Flat. Director Alan J. Levi was impressed by Bullock's performance and offered her a part in the TV movie Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman 1989. This led to her being cast in a series of small roles in several independent films as well as in the lead role of the short-lived NBC television version of the film Working Girl 1990. She went on to appear in several films, such as Love Potion No. 9 1992, The Thing Called Love 1993 and Fire on the Amazon 1993.
A prominent supporting role in the science-fiction/action film Demolition Man 1993 was followed by her breakthrough performance in Speed the following year. Speed was a huge hit that took in $350 million at the box office worldwide, making it her second most successful picture to date.
A string of successes during the mid-1990s included While You Were Sleeping 1995, for which she received her first Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, The Net 1995 and A Time to Kill 1996. Bullock received $11 million for Speed 2: Cruise Control 1997, which she agreed to star in for financial backing for her own project, Hope Floats 1998, and has revealed she regrets making the sequel.
She was selected as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1996 and 1999, and was also ranked #58 in Empire magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list.In 2000, Bullock starred in Miss Congeniality, a financial success that took in $212 million at the box office worldwide, and received another Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. She was presented with the 2002 Raúl Juliá Award for Excellence for her efforts, as the executive producer of the sitcom George Lopez, in helping expand career openings for Hispanic talent in the media and entertainment industry. She also made several appearances on the show as Accident Amy, an accident-prone employee at the factory Lopez's character manages. The same year, she starred opposite Hugh Grant in Two Weeks Notice 2002.
In 2004, Bullock had a supporting role in the film Crash, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. She received positive reviews for her performance, with some critics suggesting that it was the best performance of her career. She later received a $17.5-million-salary for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous 2005. The same year, she was a co-recipient of the Women in Film Crystal Award.
Although Bullock was reunited with her Speed co-star Keanu Reeves in the romantic drama The Lake House, their film characters are separated throughout the film, so Bullock and Reeves were only on set together for two weeks during filming. The same year, Bullock appeared in Infamous, playing author Harper Lee. Bullock also starred in Premonition with Julian McMahon, which was released in March 2007. In 2008, Bullock was announced as "the face" of prestigious cosmetic brand Artistry.The year 2009 proved to be especially good for Bullock, giving the actress two record highs in her career, as earlier in the year she released The Proposal, with co-star Ryan Reynolds, a huge hit that took in $317 million at the box office worldwide, making it her third most successful picture to date. She received her third Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress role for Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.In November 2009, Bullock starred in The Blind Side, which opened at #2 behind New Moon with $34.2 million, making it her second highest opening weekend ever. The Blind Side is unique in that it had a 17.6% increase at the box office its second weekend, and it took the top spot of the box office in its third weekend. The film cost $29 million to make according to the Box Office Mojo. It grossed over $309 million, making it her domestic highest grossing film, her fourth highest grossing film worldwide, and the first one in history to pass the $200 million mark with only one top-billed female star.
Bullock had initially turned down the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy three times due to a discomfort with portraying a devout Christian. She was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role and Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress. The Blind Side also received an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination.
Winning the Oscar also gave Bullock another unique distinction—since she won two "Razzies" the day before, for her performance in All About Steve 2009, she is the only performer ever to have been named both Best" and "Worst" for the same year.
In 2011, Bullock starred in the drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close alongside Tom Hanks, a film adaptation based on the novel of the same name. Despite mixed reviews, the film was nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination. Bullock was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by Georgia Film Critics Association and Best Actress Drama by Teen Choice Awards.She starred in the 2013 comedy film The Heat, alongside Melissa McCarthy. It received positive reviews from critics,and took in $230 million at the box office worldwide. Bullock also starred in the science fiction film Gravity opposite George Clooney. The premiere was in August, at the 70th Venice Film Festival, and the film was released on October 4, 2013 to coincide with the beginning of World Space Week. The film was originally scheduled to be released on November 21, 2012, before being re-scheduled for a 2013 release in order to complete extensive post-production effects work. Gravity received universal acclaim among critics and a standing ovation in Venice. The movie was called "marvelous, the most realistic and the most beautifully choreographed movie ever set in space. Bullock's performance was praised with some critics saying that Gravity is the best work of her career, and many calling her out as a major frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Variety wrote that "Bullock inhabits the role with grave dignity and hints at Stone's past scars with sensitivity and tact, and she holds the screen effortlessly once Gravity becomes a veritable one-woman show the actress remains fully present emotionally, projecting a very appealing combo of vulnerability, intelligence and determination that not only wins us over immediately, but sustains attention all the way through the cathartic closing reels. As of February 25, 2014, Gravity, took in $715 million at the box office worldwide, making it Bullock's most successful picture to date. For her role as Dr. Ryan Stone, Bullock was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role and Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress. By August 2014, Bullock was the highest earning actress in the movie businessBy 2009, Bullock's films had grossed over $3.1 billion worldwide. According to The Numbers, her total domestic gross stands at $1.7 billion, placing her among the Top 100 Stars at the Box Office.
Since her debut as an actress, Bullock has been dubbed in the media as "America’s sweetheart," due to her nature which has been described as "friendly and direct and so unpretentious.
On March 24, 2005, Bullock received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.
Whereas critics praised her screen persona, some have been less receptive towards her films. At the 2009 release of The Proposal, Mark Kermode said she has made only three "good" films in her career—Speed, While You Were Sleeping, and Crash, and added that "she's funny, she's gorgeous, it's impossible not to love her and yet she makes rotten film after rotten film after rotten film. As of December 2009, Bullock has appeared on three Entertainment Weekly covers.
She was selected by People magazine as its "Woman of the Year" for 2010 and ranked #12 on People?'?s Most Beautiful 2011 list. In 2010, Time magazine included Bullock in its annual TIME 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World.
In 2013, The Hollywood Reporter named Bullock among the most powerful women in entertainment. Bullock joined Hollywood legends at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard by attaching her hand and footprints in cement in the forecourt of the theater in September 2013. In November 2013 it was announced that Bullock won Entertainment Weekly's "Entertainer of the Year," mostly due to the success of her roles in The Heat and Gravity, which Entertainment Weekly believed would earn her an Oscar nomination. Bullock shares the Entertainment Weekly "Entertainer of the Year" title with other distinguished people in the industry such as the 'masterminds' behind the television show Breaking Bad, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Lawrence, "Grumpy Cat," among several others.
In 2014, Bullock ranked No. 2 on Forbes?'?s most powerful actresses and was honored with the Decade of Hotness Award by Spike Guys' Choice Awards.
Business ventures
Bullock runs her own production company, Fortis Films. Bullock was an executive producer of the George Lopez sitcom, which garnered a lucrative syndication deal that banked her some $10 million co-produced with Robert Borden Bullock tried to produce a film based on F.X. Toole's short story Million-Dollar Baby but could not interest the studios in a female boxing drama. The story was eventually adapted and directed by Clint Eastwood as the Oscar-winning film, Million Dollar Baby 2004. Fortis Films also produced All About Steve which was released in September 2009. Her father, John Bullock, is the company's CEO and her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, is the former president.
In November 2006 Bullock founded an Austin, Texas restaurant, Bess Bistro, located on West 6th Street. She later opened another business, Walton's Fancy and Staple, across the street in a building she extensively renovated. Walton's is a bakery, upscale restaurant and floral shop that also offers services including event planning.
Bullock was once engaged to actor Tate Donovan, whom she met while filming Love Potion No. 9; their relationship lasted three years. She previously dated football player Troy Aikman, and actors Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Gosling.
Bullock married motorcycle builder and Monster Garage host Jesse James on July 16, 2005. They first met when Bullock arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present. In November 2009, Bullock and James entered into a custody battle with James' second ex-wife, former pornographic actress Janine Lindemulder, with whom James had a child. Bullock and James subsequently won full legal custody of James' five-year-old daughter.
In March 2010, a scandal arose when several women claimed to have had affairs with James during his marriage to Bullock. Bullock cancelled European promotional appearances for The Blind Side citing "unforeseen personal reasons. On March 18, 2010, James responded to the rumors of infidelity by issuing a public apology to Bullock. He stated, The vast majority of the allegations reported are untrue and unfounded" and "Beyond that, I will not dignify these private matters with any further public comment. James declared that "There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me", and asked that his wife and children one day "find it in their hearts to forgive me" for their current "pain and embarrassment James' publicist subsequently announced on March 30, 2010, that James had checked into a rehab facility to deal with personal issues" and "save his marriage to Bullock. However on April 28, 2010, it was reported that Bullock had filed for divorce on April 23 in Austin. Their divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010, with "conflict of personalities" cited as the reasonBullock announced on April 28, 2010, that she had proceeded with plans to adopt a son born in January 2010 in New Orleans. Bullock and James had begun an initial adoption process four months earlier. Bullock's son began living with them in January 2010, but they chose to keep the news private until after the Oscars in March 2010. However, given the couple's separation and then divorce, Bullock continued the adoption of her son Louis Bardo Bullock, as a single parent.On December 20, 2000, Bullock, another passenger, and the two crew survived the crash of a chartered business jet during an attempted night landing at Jackson Hole Airport. The pilots were unable to activate the runway lights due to having out-of-date approach plates, but continued the landing. The aircraft landed in the airport's graded safety area between the runway and parallel taxiway and hit a snowbank. The accident caused a separation of the nose cone and landing gear, partial separation of the right wing, and a bend in the left wing.
On April 18, 2008, while Bullock was in Massachusetts shooting the film The Proposal, she and her husband were in an SUV that was hit head-on driver's side offset at moderate speed by a drunken driver. Vehicle damage was not major and there were no injuries
In October 2004, Bullock won a multimillion-dollar judgment against Benny Daneshjou, the builder of her Lake Austin, Texas home; the jury ruled the house was uninhabitable. It has since been torn down and
On April 22, 2007, Marcia Diana Valentine was found lying outside James and Bullock's Southern California home in Orange County. When James confronted the woman, she ran to her car, got behind the wheel, and tried to run over James. The woman is said to be an obsessed fan of Sandra Bullock. The woman was charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and stalking. Bullock obtained a restraining order to bar Valentine from contacting or coming near her home, family or work for three years. Valentine pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and stalking. Valentine was subsequently convicted of stalking and was sentenced to three years of probation
Bullock was also stalked by Thomas James Weldon, commencing in 2002, across several states. In 2003, Bullock obtained a restraining order against Weldon, which was renewed again in 2006. After the renewed restraining order expired, and Weldon was released from a mental institution, he again traveled across several states to find Bullock, and she then obtained another restraining order.
Bullock has been a public supporter of the American Red Cross, having donated $1 million to the organization at least four times. Her first public donation of that amount was to the Red Cross's Liberty Disaster Relief Fund. Three years later, she sent money in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis. In 2010, she donated $1 million to relief efforts in Haiti following the Haiti earthquake, and again donated the same amount following the 2011 Japan Earthquake.
Along with other stars, Bullock did a public service announcement urging people to sign a petition for clean-up efforts of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bullock backs the Texas non-profit organization The Kindred Life Foundation, Inc. In late 2008, she joined other top celebrities in supporting the work of CEO and Founder Amos Ramirez. She shared this at a gala that raised money for the organization, "Amos has led many efforts across our nation that have helped families that are in need. Our country needs more organizations that are committed to the service that Kindred Life is."
In 012, Bullock was inducted into the Warren Easton Hall of Fame for her donations to charities and in 2013 was honored with the Favorite Humanitarian Award at the 2013 People's Choice Awards for her contributions to New Orleans Warren Easton Charter High School, which was severely damaged after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.