Frequent Collaborators of Oliver Stone

Charlie Sheen was born Carlos Irwin Estévez on September 3, 1965, in New York City. His father, actor Martin Sheen (born Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez), was at the time just breaking into the business, with performances on Broadway. His mother, Janet Sheen (née Templeton), was a former New York art student who had met Charlie's father right after he had moved to Manhattan. Martin and Janet had three other children, Emilio Estevez, Renée Estevez, and Ramon Estevez, all of whom became actors. His father is of half Spanish and half Irish descent, and his mother, whose family is from Kentucky, has English and Scottish ancestry.

At a young age, Charlie took an interest in his father's acting career. When he was nine, he was given a small part in his dad's movie The Execution of Private Slovik (1974). In 1977, he was in the Philippines where his dad suffered a near-fatal heart attack on the set of Apocalypse Now (1979).

While at Santa Monica High School, Charlie had two major interests: acting and baseball. Along with his friends, which included Rob Lowe and Sean Penn, he produced and starred in several amateur Super-8 films. On the Vikings baseball team, he was a star shortstop and pitcher. His lifetime record as a pitcher was 40-15. His interest and skill in baseball would later influence some of his movie roles. Unfortunately, his success on the baseball field did not translate to success in the classroom, as he struggled to keep his grades up. Just a few weeks before his scheduled graduation date, Charlie was expelled due to poor attendance and bad grades.

After high school, Charlie aggressively pursued many acting roles. His first major role was as a high school student in the teen war film Red Dawn (1984). He followed this up with relatively small roles in TV movies and low-profile releases. His big break came in 1986 when he starred in Oliver Stone's Oscar winning epic Platoon (1986). He drew rave reviews for his portrayal of a young soldier who is caught in the center of a moral crisis in Vietnam.

The success of Platoon (1986) prompted Oliver Stone to cast Charlie in his next movie Wall Street (1987) alongside his father and veteran actor Martin Sheen. The movie with its "Greed is Good" theme became an instant hit with viewers.

Shortly after, Stone approached Charlie about the starring role in his next movie, Born on the Fourth of July (1989). When Tom Cruise eventually got the part, Sheen ended up hearing the news from his brother Emilio Estevez and not even getting as much as a call from Stone. This led to a fallout, and the two have not worked together since.

The fallout with Stone, however, did nothing to hurt Charlie's career in the late 1980s and early '90s, as he continued to establish himself as one of the top box office draws with a string of hits that included Young Guns (1988), Major League (1989), and Hot Shots! (1991). However, as the mid-'90s neared, his good fortune both personally and professionally, soon came to an end.

Around this time, Charlie, who had already been to drug rehab, was beginning to develop a reputation as a hard-partying, womanizer. In 1995, the same year he was briefly married to model Donna Peele, he was called to testify at the trial of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. At the trial, while under oath he admitted to spending nearly $50,000 on 27 of Fleiss' $2,500-a-night prostitutes.

His downward spiral continued the following year when his ex-girlfriend Brittany Ashland filed charges claiming that he physically abused her. He was later charged with misdemeanor battery to which he pleaded no contest and was given a year's suspended sentence, two years' probation and a $2,800 fine. He finally hit rock bottom in May 1998 when he was hospitalized in Thousand Oaks, California, following a near-fatal drug overdose. Later that month, he was ordered back to the drug rehab center, which he had previously left after one day.

During this stretch, Charlie's film career began to suffer as well. He starred in a series of box office flops that included The Arrival (1996) and Shadow Conspiracy (1997). However as the 1990s came to end, so did Charlie's string of bad luck.

In 2000, Charlie, now clean and sober, was chosen to replace Michael J. Fox on the ABC hit sitcom Spin City (1996). Though his stint lasted only two seasons, Charlie's performance caught the eye of CBS executives who in 2003 were looking for an established star to help carry their Monday night lineup of sitcoms that included Everybody Loves Raymond (1996). The sitcom Two and a Half Men (2003) starred Charlie as a swinging, irresponsible womanizer whose life changes when his nephew suddenly appears on his doorstep. The show became a huge hit, breathing much needed life into Charlie's fading career.

Charlie's personal life also appeared to be improving. In 2002, he married actress Denise Richards, whom he first met while shooting the movie Good Advice (2001). In March 2004, they had a daughter, Sam, and it was announced shortly after that Denise was pregnant with the couple's second child. By all reports, the couple seemed to be very happy together. However, like all of Charlie's previous relationships, the stability did not last long. In March of 2005, Denise, who was six-months pregnant, filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. She gave birth to a second daughter, Lola, in June of that same year. Their divorce became final in late 2006.

John C. McGinley's path to stardom is a story that reads like a classic Hollywood script. While an understudy in New York in the Circle-In-The-Square production of John Patrick Shanley's "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea," he was spotted by director Oliver Stone and soon after was cast in "Platoon," the first of a long list of collaborations between Stone and McGinley which includes "Wall Street," "Talk Radio," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Nixon" and "Any Given Sunday."

He stars as the title character in IFC's scripted comedy-horror series, "Stan Against Evil," on which he also serves as a producer. John C. stars as disgruntled former police sheriff 'Stanley Miller,' a sour, aging bulldog who has recently lost his position as head honcho due to an angry outburst at his wife's funeral. When the new sheriff opens his eyes to the plague of angry demons haunting their small New Hampshire town, 'Stan' begrudgingly joins an alliance with her to fight them off.

John C.'s deep commitment to independent films has driven him to star in and complete production on three upcoming motion pictures in 2016 alone! James Gunn's "The Belko Experiment," Paul Shoulberg's "The Good Catholic" and Richard Dresser's "Rounding Third."

He is an audience favorite for his hilarious portrayal of 'Dr. Perry Cox' in the Emmy-nominated medical comedy series, "Scrubs," which ended its successful nine season run in 2010. He starred for two seasons in TBS's workplace comedy series "Ground Floor," which reunited him with creator Bill Lawrence ("Scrubs"). John C. played 'Mr. Mansfield,' the critical boss to hot-shot young banker 'Brody' (Skylar Austin). He also made a memorable arc on season 6 of USA Networks' hit drama series "Burn Notice."

John C.'s impressive career in film spans a diverse range of characters in over seventy films to date, including such features as the recent "Get A Job," "Alex Cross," "Wild Hogs," "Identity," "The Animal," "The Rock," "Nothing to Lose," "Set It Off," "Seven," "Office Space," "Mother," "Wagons East," "Surviving the Game," "On Deadly Ground," "Point Break," "Highlander II," "A Midnight Clear" and "Fat Man and Little Boy." He also previously starred opposite Ice Cube in Sony/Revolution Studios' feature, "Are We Done Yet?," the sequel to the hit comedy "Are We There Yet?" He recently received critical acclaim for his role as Brooklyn Dodgers' radio broadcaster 'Red Barber' in Warner Bros.' "42," the life story of Jackie Robinson and his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

As a testament to his passion for the independent film community, John C. has appeared in director Eriq La Salle's "Crazy As Hell" and director Scott Silver's "Johns." He also worked on "Truth or Consequences, N.M.," Kiefer Sutherland's feature directorial debut and on "Colin Fitz," a film John C. co-produced which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. He starred in director D.B. Sweeney's independent feature, "Two Tickets to Paradise," which received raves on the festival circuit. For his performance in the later film, John C. was awarded Method Fest's Festival Director's Award, which is awarded for special recognition/excellence in film.

John C. is a partner at McGinley Entertainment Inc., an independent film production company with several projects currently in development. John C. first worked both sides of the camera, serving double duty as actor and producer for the romantic comedy "Watch It!" (with Peter Gallagher and Lili Taylor).

He received stunning reviews for his starring role in Dean Koontz's gripping and highly rated suspense drama, "Intensity," a four-hour original film for FOX-TV. He executive-produced and starred opposite John Cusack in HBO Pictures' western, "The Jack Bull," directed by John Badham; and he appeared in HBO NYC's "The Pentagon Wars."

In addition to film and television, John C.'s background is heavily rooted in theater. He received stellar reviews for his starring performance as 'Dave Moss' in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Glengarry Glen Ross." According to Newsday, "John C. McGinley is especially dazzling as the hothead who plans the office crime." The play also starred Al Pacino and Bobby Cannavale and ran through January 20, 2013.

He was previously featured on Broadway in "Requiem for a Heavyweight" and off-Broadway in "The Ballad of Soapy Smith" and the original cast production of Eric Bogosian's "Talk Radio," both at the renowned Joseph Papp Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival. He often cites Papp as the most instrumental force behind his career.

In May 2005, John C. was invited and honored to deliver the keynote address at the commencement ceremony for the University of California San Francisco's (UCSF) School of Medicine, one of the top medical schools in the nation.

As the father of Max, his eighteen-year-old son with Down syndrome, John C. is committed to building awareness and acceptance of people with Down syndrome. He serves as an Ambassador for Special Olympics and is a board member of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. John C. is also one of the original creators, in conjunction with Special Olympics, of the groundbreaking "Spread the Word to End the Word" national campaign to eradicate the "R" word (retard). He has blogged repeatedly on the Huffington Post, advocating acceptance and awareness of people with special needs as well as the importance of eliminating the "R" word.

He can be seen in high profile commercial campaigns for Speed Stick (as Coach Speedman), Halls Cough Drops (as Tough Love/menthol-lyptus and Soft Love/honey-lemon) and Carhartt (as the voice of founder Hamilton Carhartt).

John C. resides in Los Angeles and enjoys stand-up paddle surfing, weight lifting and golf. He married Nichole Kessler on April 7, 2007 at the couple's home in Malibu and they now have two young daughters Billie Grace and Kate Aleena, in addition to big brother Max.

Tommy Lee Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, the son of Lucille Marie (Scott), a police officer and beauty shop owner, and Clyde C. Jones, who worked on oil fields. Tommy himself worked in underwater construction and on an oil rig. He attended St. Mark's School of Texas, a prestigious prep school for boys in Dallas, on a scholarship, and went to Harvard on another scholarship. He roomed with future Vice President Al Gore and played offensive guard in the famous 29-29 Harvard-Yale football game of '68 known as "The Tie." He received a B.A. in English literature and graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1969.

Following college, he moved to New York and began his theatrical career on Broadway in "A Patriot for Me" (1969). In 1970, he made his film debut in Love Story (1970). While living in New York, he continued to appear in various plays, both on- and off-Broadway: "Fortune and Men's Eyes" (1969); "Four on a Garden" (1971); "Blue Boys" (1972); "Ulysses in Nighttown" (1974). During this time, he also appeared on a daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968) as Dr. Mark Toland from 1971-75. He moved with wife Kate Lardner, granddaughter of short-story writer/columnist Ring Lardner, and her two children from a previous marriage, to Los Angeles.

There he began to get some roles on television: Charlie's Angels (1976) (pilot episode); Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976); and The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977). While working on the movie Back Roads (1981), he met and fell in love with Kimberlea Cloughley, whom he later married. More roles in television--both on network and cable--stage and film garnered him a reputation as a strong, explosive, thoughtful actor who could handle supporting as well as leading roles. He made his directorial debut in The Good Old Boys (1995) on TNT. In addition to directing and starring in the film, he co-wrote the teleplay (with J.T. Allen). The film, based on Elmer Kelton's novel, is set in west Texas where Jones has strong family ties. Consequently, this story of a cowboy facing the end of an era has special meaning for him.

James Howard Woods was born on April 18, 1947 in Vernal, Utah, the son of Martha A. (Smith) and Gail Peyton Woods, a U.S. Army intelligence officer who died during Woods' childhood. James is of Irish, English, and German descent. He grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island, with his mother and stepfather Thomas E. Dixon. He graduated from Pilgrim High School in 1965, near the top of his class. James earned a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; dropping out during his senior year in 1969, he then headed off to New York with his fraternity brother Martin Donovan to pursue aspirations to appear on the stage. After appearing in a handful of New York City theater productions, Woods scored his first film role in All the Way Home (1971) and followed that up with meager supporting roles in The Way We Were (1973) and The Choirboys (1977).

However, it was Woods' cold-blooded performance as the cop killer in The Onion Field (1979), based on a Joseph Wambaugh novel, that seized the attention of movie-goers to his on-screen power. Woods quickly followed up with another role in another Joseph Wambaugh film adaptation, The Black Marble (1980), as a sleazy and unstable cable-T.V.-station owner in David Cronenberg's mind-bending and prophetic Videodrome (1983), as gangster Max Bercovicz in Sergio Leones mammoth epic Once Upon a Time in America (1984), and scored a best actor Academy Award nomination as abrasive journalist Richard Boyle in Oliver Stone's gritty and unsettling Salvador (1986).

There seemed to be no stopping the rise of this star as he continued to amaze movie-goers with his remarkable versatility and his ability to create such intense, memorable characters. The decade of the 1990s started off strongly with high praise for his role as Roy Cohn in the television production of Citizen Cohn (1992). Woods was equally impressive as sneaky hustler Lester Diamond who cons Sharon Stone in Casino (1995), made a tremendous H.R. Haldeman in Nixon (1995), portrayed serial killer Carl Panzram in Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995), and then as accused civil rights assassin Byron De La Beckwith in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996).

Not to be typecast solely as hostile hoodlums, Woods has further expanded his range to encompass providing voice-overs for animated productions including Hercules (1997), Hooves of Fire (1999), and Stuart Little 2 (2002). Woods also appeared in the critically praised The Virgin Suicides (1999), in the coming-of-age movie Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), as a corrupt medico in Any Given Sunday (1999), and in the comedy-horror spoof Scary Movie 2 (2001). A remarkable performer with an incredibly diverse range of acting talent, Woods remains one of Hollywood's outstanding leading men.

A legendary actor with 50 celebrated years of film, television and producing experience, Michael Douglas is known for his era-defining roles and enduring cultural impact.

In addition to his career accomplishments, Douglas has remained a steadfast public servant, activist and philanthropist dedicated to peace and human welfare, democracy, gun control advocacy, support of the arts and support of nuclear disarmament. In 1998, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Douglas as a Messenger of Peace for his commitment on disarmament issues, including nuclear non-proliferation and halting the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

Since his earliest acting work on Hail, Hero! (1969) and The Streets of San Francisco (1972) Douglas has played some of the most memorable and enigmatic American anti-heroes of the last half century. He is most known for his iconic screen roles, like his Academy Award-winning turn as Gordon Gekko Wall Street (1987) as well as the critically and commercially acclaimed films Fatal Attraction (1987), The American President (1995), Basic Instinct (1992), Traffic (2000) and Romancing the Stone (1984). He is also a prolific producer with credits on politically relevant and socially influential motion pictures like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), The China Syndrome (1979), Traffic (2000) the television series: The Kominsky Method (2018) and an upcoming limited series where Douglas portrays Benjamin Franklin (2024) during his nine years in France lobbying for French aid for the American Revolution.

With a passion for complex protagonists and darkly humorous undercurrents, Douglas has received numerous accolades for his work, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, AFI Life Achievement Award, two French César Awards for Career Achievement and, most recently, the Palme d'or d'honneur for lifetime achievement at the 76th Annual Festival de Cannes as well as the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema at the Goa Film Festival in India.

Michael Douglas was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to actors Diana Douglas (Diana Love Dill) and Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch). His paternal grandparents were Belarusian Jewish immigrants, while his mother was born in Bermuda, the daughter of a local Attorney General, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Melville Dill; Diana's family had long been established in both Bermuda and the United States. Douglas's parents divorced when he was six, and he went to live with his mother and her new husband. Only seeing Kirk on holidays, Michael attended Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he was about a year younger than all of his classmates.

Douglas attended the elite preparatory Choate School and spent his summers with his father on movie sets. Although accepted at Yale, Douglas attended the University of California, Santa Barbara. Deciding he wanted to be an actor in his teenage years, Michael often asked his father about getting a "foot in the door" Kirk was strongly opposed to Michael pursuing an acting career, saying that it was an industry with many downs and few ups, and that he wanted all four of his sons to stay out of it. Michael, however, was persistent, and made his film debut in his father's film Cast a Giant Shadow (1966).

After receiving his B.A. degree in 1968, Douglas moved to New York City to continue his dramatic training, studying at the American Place Theatre with Wynn Handman, and at the Neighborhood Playhouse, where he appeared in workshop productions of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author (1976) and Thornton Wilder's Happy Journey (1963). A few months after he arrived in New York, Douglas got his first big break, when he was cast in the pivotal role of the free-spirited scientist who compromises his liberal views to accept a lucrative job with a high-tech chemical corporation in the CBS Playhouse production of Ellen M. Violett's drama, The Experiment, which was televised nationwide on February 25, 1969.

Douglas' convincing portrayal won him the leading role in the adaptation of John Weston's controversial novel, Hail, Hero! (1969), which was the initial project of CBS's newly organized theatrical film production company, Cinema Center Films. Douglas starred as a well-meaning, almost saintly young pacifist determined not only to justify his beliefs to his conservative parents but also to test them under fire in the jungles of Indochina. His second feature, Adam at Six A.M. (1970) concerned a young man's search for his roots. Douglas next appeared in the film version of Ron Cowen's play Summertree (1971), produced by 'Kirk Douglas'' Bryna Company, and then Napoleon and Samantha (1972), a sentimental children's melodrama from the Walt Disney studio.

In between film assignments, he worked in summer stock and off-Broadway productions, among them "City Scenes," Frank Gagliano's surrealistic vignettes of contemporary life in New York, John Patrick Shanley's short-lived romance "Love is a Time of Day" and George Tabori's "Pinkville," in which he played a young innocent brutalized by his military training. He also appeared in the made-for-television thriller, "When Michael Calls," broadcast by ABC-TV on February 5, 1972 and in episodes of the popular series "Medical Center" and "The F.B.I."

Impressed by Douglas' performance in a segment of The F.B.I. (1965), producer 'Quinn Martin' signed the actor for the part of Karl Malden's sidekick in the police series "The Streets of San Francisco", which premiered in September 1972 and became one of ABC's highest-rated prime-time programs in the mid-1970s. Douglas earned three successive Emmy Award nominations for his performance and he directed two episodes of the series.

During the annual breaks in the shooting schedule for The Streets of San Francisco (1972), Douglas devoted most of his time to his film production company, Big Stick Productions, Ltd., which produced several short subjects in the early 1970s. Long interested in producing a film version of Ken Kesey's grimly humorous novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Douglas purchased the movie rights from his father and began looking for financial backing. After a number of major motion picture studios turned him down, Douglas formed a partnership with Saul Zaentz, a record industry executive, and the two set about recruiting the cast and crew. Douglas still had a year to go on his contract for "The Streets of San Francisco," but the producers agreed to write his character out of the story so that he could concentrate on filming "Cuckoo's Nest."

A critical and commercial success, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress, and went on to gross more than $180 million at the box office. Douglas suddenly found himself in demand as an independent producer. One of the many scripts submitted to him for consideration was Mike Gray's chilling account of the attempted cover-up of an accident at a nuclear power plant. Attracted by the combination of social relevance and suspense, Douglas immediately bought the property. Deemed not commercial by most investors, Douglas teamed up with Jane Fonda and her own motion picture production company, IPC Films.

A Michael Douglas-IPC Films co-production, The China Syndrome (1979) starred Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, and Michael Douglas and received Academy Award nominations for Lemmon and Fonda, as well as for Best Screenplay. The National Board of Review named the film one of the best films of the year.

Despite his success as a producer, Douglas resumed his acting career in the late 1970s, starring in Michael Crichton's medical thriller Coma (1978) with Genevieve Bujold, Claudia Weill's feminist comedy It's My Turn (1980) starring Jill Clayburgh, and Peter Hyams' gripping tale of modern-day vigilante justice, "The Star Chamber" (1983). Douglas also starred in Running (1979), as a compulsive quitter who sacrifices everything to take one last shot at the Olympics, and as Zach the dictatorial director/choreographer in Richard Attenborough's screen version of the Broadway's longest running musical A Chorus Line (1985).

Douglas' career as an actor/producer came together again in 1984 with the release of the tongue-in-cheek romantic fantasy "Romancing the Stone." Douglas had begun developing the project several years earlier, and with Kathleen Turner as Joan Wilder, the dowdy writer of gothic romances, Danny DeVito as the feisty comic foil Ralphie and Douglas as Jack Colton, the reluctant soldier of fortune. "Romancing the Stone" was a resounding hit and grossed more than $100 million at the box office. Douglas was named Producer of the Year in 1984 by the National Association of Theater Owners. Douglas, Turner and DeVito teamed up in 1985 for the successful sequel The Jewel of the Nile (1985).

It took Douglas nearly two years to convince Columbia Pictures executives to approve the production of Starman (1984), an unlikely tale of romance between an extraterrestrial, played by Jeff Bridges, and a young widow, played by Karen Allen. Starman (1984) was the sleeper hit of the 1984 Christmas season and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for Jeff Bridges. In 1986 Douglas created a television series based on the film for ABC which starred Robert Hays.

After a lengthy break from acting, Douglas returned to the screen in 1987 appearing in two of the year's biggest hits. He starred opposite Glenn Close in the phenomenally successful psychological thriller, "Fatal Attraction," which was followed by his performance as ruthless corporate raider Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987), earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Douglas next starred in Ridley Scott's thriller Black Rain (1989) and then teamed up again with Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito in the black comedy The War of the Roses (1989).

In 1988, Douglas formed Stonebridge Entertainment, Inc., which produced Flatliners (1990), directed by Joel Schumacher and starred Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon and William Baldwin and Radio Flyer (1992) starring Lorraine Bracco and directed by Richard Donner. Douglas followed with David Seltzer's adaptation of Susan Isaacs' best-selling novel, "Shining Through," opposite Melanie Griffith. In 1992 he starred with Sharon Stone in the erotic thriller from Paul Verhoeven Basic Instinct (1992), one of the year's top grossing films.

Douglas gave one of his most powerful performances opposite Robert Duvall in Joel Schumacher's controversial drama Falling Down (1993). That year he also produced the hit comedy "Made in America" starring Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Danson and Will Smith. In 1994-95 he starred with Demi Moore in Barry Levinson's "Disclosure," based on the best seller by Michael Crichton. In 1995, Douglas portrayed the title role in Rob Reiner's romantic comedy The American President (1995) opposite Annette Bening, and in 1997, starred in The Game (1997) directed by David Fincher and co-starring Sean Penn.

Douglas formed Douglas/Reuther Productions with partner Steven Reuther in May 1994. The company, under the banner of Constellation Films, produced The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), starring Douglas and Val Kilmer, and John Grisham's The Rainmaker (1997), based on John Grisham's best selling novel, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon,Claire Danes, Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, Mickey Rourke, Mary Kay Place, Virginia Madsen, Andrew Shue, Teresa Wright, Johnny Whitworth and Randy Travis.

Michael Douglas and Steve Reuther also produced John Woo's action thriller Face/Off (1997) starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, which proved to be one of '97's major hits.

In 1998, Michael Douglas starred with Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen in the mystery thriller A Perfect Murder (1998), and formed a new production company, Furthur Films. 2000 was a milestone year for Douglas. "Wonder Boys" opened in February 2000 to much critical acclaim. Directed by Curtis Hanson and co-starring Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey Jr. and Katie Holmes, Douglas starred in the film as troubled college professor Grady Tripp. Michael was nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Film Award for his performance.

"Traffic" was released by USA Films on December 22, 2000 in New York and Los Angeles and went nationwide in January 2001. Douglas played the role of Robert Wakefield, a newly appointed drug czar confronted by the drug war both at home and abroad. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and co-starring Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, Amy Irving, Dennis Quaid and Catherine Zeta-Jones, "Traffic" was named Best Picture by New York Film Critics, won Best Ensemble Cast at the SAG Awards, won four Academy Awards (Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Benicio del Toro) and has been recognized on more than 175 top ten lists.

In 2001, Douglas produced and played a small role in USA Films' outrageous comedy "One Night at McCool's" starring Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon, John Goodman and Paul Reiser and directed by Harald Zwart. "McCool's" was the first film by Douglas' company Furthur Films. Also in 2001, Douglas starred in "Don't Say A Word" for 20th Century Fox. The psychological thriller, directed by Gary Fleder, also starred Sean Bean, Famke Janseen and Brittany Murphy.

In 2002, Douglas appeared in a guest role on the hit NBC comedy "Will & Grace," and received an Emmy Nomination for his performance.

Douglas starred in two films in 2003. MGM/BVI released the family drama "It Runs in the Family," which Douglas produced and starred with his father Kirk Douglas, his mother Diana Douglas his son Cameron Douglas, Rory Culkin and Bernadette Peters. He also starred in the Warner Bros. comedy "The-In Laws," with Albert Brooks, Candice Bergen and Ryan Reynolds.

In 2004, Douglas, along with his father Kirk, filmed the intimate HBO documentary "A Father, A Son... Once Upon a Time in Hollywood". Directed by award-winning filmmaker Lee Grant, the documentary examines the professional and personal lives of both men, and the impacts they each made on the motion picture industry.

In 2005, Douglas produced and starred in "The Sentinel", which was released by 20th Century Fox in April 2006. Based on the Gerald Petievich novel and directed by Clark Johnson, "The Sentinel" is a political thriller set in the intriguing world of the Secret Service. Douglas stars with Keifer Sutherland, Eva Longoria and Kim Bassinger. Douglas then filmed "You, Me & Dupree," starring with Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon. The comedy, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, was released by Universal Pictures during the summer of 2006. In 2007 Douglas made "King of California," co-starring Evan Rachel Wood and is written and directed by Michael Cahill, and produced by Alexander Payne and Michael London.

Michael had two films released in early 2009, "Beyond A Reasonable Doubt" directed by Peter Hyams and "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner and directed by Mark Waters. He followed with the drama "Solitary Man" directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, co-starring Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Mary Louise-Parker, and Jenna Fischer, produced by Paul Schiff and Steven Soderbergh. In 2010, Douglas reprised his Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," earning a Golden Globe for his performance. Again directed by Oliver Stone, he co-starred with Shia Labeouf, Cary Mulligan, Josh Brolin, Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon.

In 2011, Douglas had a cameo role in Steven Soderbergh's action thriller "Haywire."

"Behind the Candelabra," based on the life of '70's/80's musical icon Liberace and his partner Scott Thorson, directed by Steven Soderbergh and costarring Matt Damon, premiered on HBO in May 2013. Douglas won an Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award for Best Actor in a television movie or mini series for his performance as the famed entertainer. He followed with the buddy comedy "Last Vegas," directed by John Turtletaub co-starring Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline and the romantic comedy "And So It Goes," co-starring Diane Keaton directed by Rob Reiner.

Douglas recently starred in and produced the thriller "Beyond The Reach," directed by Jean-Baptiste Leonetti and costarring Jeremy Irvine. He and portrayed Dr. Hank Pym in Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) opposite Paul Rudd. The franchise was his first venture into the realm of comic book action adventure.

In 2017, he starred in the spy thriller "Unlocked" starring with Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, John Malkovich and directed by Michael Apted.

In 1998 Douglas was made a United Nations Messenger of Peace by Kofi Annan. His main concentrations are nuclear non-proliferation and the control of small arms. He is on the Board of Ploughshares Foundation and The Nuclear Threat Initiative.

Michael Douglas was recipient of the 2009 AFI Lifetime Achievement as well as the Producers Guild Award that year. In Spring '10 he received the New York Film Society's Charlie Chaplin Award.

Douglas has hosted 11 years of "Michael Douglas and Friends" Celebrity Golf Event which has raised over $6 million for the Motion Picture and Television Fund. Douglas is very passionate about the organization, and each year he asks his fellow actors and to come out and show that "we are an industry that takes care of own".

Douglas is married to Catherine Zeta-Jones. The couple has one son, Dylan, and one daughter, Carys. Douglas also has one son, Cameron, from a previous marriage.

Having made over one hundred fifty films in his legendary career, Willem Dafoe is internationally respected for bringing versatility, boldness, and dare to some of the most iconic films of our time. His artistic curiosity in exploring the human condition leads him to projects all over the world, large and small, Hollywood films as well as independent cinema. In 1979, he was given a role in Michael's Cimino's Heaven's Gate, from which he was fired. Since then, he has collaborated with directors who represent a virtual encyclopedia of modern cinema: Kathryn Bigelow, Kenneth Branagh, Scott Cooper, Anton Corbijn, Saverio Costanzo, David Cronenberg, Abel Ferrara, Mary Harron, Werner Herzog, Walter Hill, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Hayao Miyazaki, Phillip Noyce, Sam Raimi, Dee Rees, Robert Rodriguez, Julian Schnabel, Paul Schrader, Martin Scorsese, Zack Snyder, Guillermo del Toro, Lars von Trier, James Wan, Wim Wenders, Yorgos Lanthimos, Zhang Yimou, and many more. Dafoe has been recognized with four Academy Award nominations: Best Leading Actor for his role as Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate (also a Golden Globe nomination), as well as Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Oliver Stone's Platoon, E. Elias Merhige's Shadow Of The Vampire (for which he also received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations), and Sean Baker's The Florida Project (also Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations). He has also been awarded by the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review, as well as twice by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Dafoe is also the recipient of two Independent Spirit Awards, the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup and a Berlinale Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement. He recently was awarded the Iris Award for Best Actor from Greece's Hellenic Film Academy for his role in Vasilis Katsoupis' Inside. He and his wife, director Giada Colagrande, have worked on four films together: Padre, A Woman, Before It Had a Name and the documentary, Bob Wilson's Life And Death Of Marina Abramovic. His natural adventurousness is evident in roles as diverse as Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse; Marcus, the elite assassin who is mentor to Keanu Reeves in the neo-noir John Wick; in his voice work as Gil the Moorish Idol in Pixar's Finding Nemo; as the notorious filmmaker in Abel Ferrara's Pasolini; as Paul Smecker, the obsessed FBI agent in the cult classic The Boondock Saints; as real life hero Leonhard Seppala, who led the 1925 Alaskan dog sled diphtheria serum run in Togo; and the notorious duality of Norman Osborn / Green Goblin, a role he reprised in Jon Watts' record-breaking Spider-Man: No Way Home. That adventurous spirit continues with Isaiah Saxon's A24 fantasy epic The Legend of Ochi; The Phoenician Scheme, his sixth collaboration with Wes Anderson; Nadia Latif's The Man in My Basement; Miguel Angel Jimenéz's The Birthday Party; and Patricia Arquette's Gonzo Girl. He recently wrapped lensing Kent Jones' Late Fame with Killer Films and will next film Jennifer Peedom's Tenzing. Most recently, he was seen in Robert Eggers' Nosferatu, marking his third collaboration with the director; Jason Reitman's Saturday Night; and Tim Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Most recently, Dafoe was named the Artistic Director of the theatre department for the Venice Biennale's 2025 and 2026 seasons. Dafoe was one of the original members of The Wooster Group, the New York based experimental theatre collective. He created and performed in all of the group's work from 1977 thru 2005, both in the U.S. and internationally. Since then, he has collaborated with Richard Foreman on Idiot Savant at NYC's Public Theatre, with Robert Wilson on two international productions: The Life & Death of Marina Abramovic and The Old Woman (opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov); Marina Abramovic's opera 7 Deaths of Maria Callas; and with Romeo Castellucci, on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Minister's Black Veil.

Frank Whaley is a critically acclaimed actor/writer/director. He is best known for the films Pulp Fiction (1994) and Swimming with Sharks (1994), and has worked with Oliver Stone multiple times. His feature directorial debut, Joe the King (1999), earned him the Waldo Salt Screenwriting prize at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. He was born in Syracuse, New York, and resides in New York City. He is also an accomplished stage actor, working frequently with the New Group theater. Frank is married to the writer Heather Whaley. They have two children.

Anthony Hopkins was born on December 31, 1937, in Margam, Wales, to Muriel Anne (Yeats) and Richard Arthur Hopkins, a baker. His parents were both of half Welsh and half English descent. Influenced by Richard Burton, he decided to study at College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1957. In 1965, he moved to London and joined the National Theatre, invited by Laurence Olivier, who could see the talent in Hopkins. In 1967, he made his first film for television, A Flea in Her Ear (1967).

From this moment on, he enjoyed a successful career in cinema and television. In 1968, he worked on The Lion in Winter (1968) with Timothy Dalton. Many successes came later, and Hopkins' remarkable acting style reached the four corners of the world. In 1977, he appeared in two major films: A Bridge Too Far (1977) with James Caan, Gene Hackman, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Elliott Gould and Laurence Olivier, and Maximilian Schell. In 1980, he worked on The Elephant Man (1980). Two good television literature adaptations followed: Othello (1981) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982). In 1987 he was awarded with the Commander of the order of the British Empire. This year was also important in his cinematic life, with 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), acclaimed by specialists. In 1993, he was knighted.

In the 1990s, Hopkins acted in movies like Desperate Hours (1990) and Howards End (1992), The Remains of the Day (1993) (nominee for the Oscar), Legends of the Fall (1994), Nixon (1995) (nominee for the Oscar), Surviving Picasso (1996), Amistad (1997) (nominee for the Oscar), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Meet Joe Black (1998) and Instinct (1999). His most remarkable film, however, was The Silence of the Lambs (1991), for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor. He also got a B.A.F.T.A. for this role.

Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola in Long Beach, California, the son of comparative literature professor August Coppola (whose brother is director Francis Ford Coppola) and dancer/choreographer Joy Vogelsang. He is of Italian (father) and Polish and German (mother) descent. Cage changed his name early in his career to make his own reputation, succeeding brilliantly with a host of classic, quirky roles by the late 1980s.

Initially studying theatre at Beverly Hills High School (though he dropped out at seventeen), he secured a bit part in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) - most of which was cut, dashing his hopes and leading to a job selling popcorn at the Fairfax Theater, thinking that would be the only route to a movie career, but a job reading lines with actors auditioning for uncle Francis's Rumble Fish (1983) landed him a role in that film, followed by the romantic lead in Valley Girl (1983), which was released first and truly launched his career.

His one-time passion for method acting reached a personal limit when he smashed a street-vendor's remote-control car to achieve the sense of rage needed for his gangster character in The Cotton Club (1984).

In his early 20s, he dated Jenny Wright for two years and later linked to Uma Thurman. After a relationship of several years with Christina Fulton, a model, they split amicably and share custody of a son, Weston Cage (b. 1990). He also has a son with his ex-wife, Alice Kim Cage.

Bruce McGill grew up in San Antonio, Texas. His mother, Adriel Rose (Jacobs) is an artist, and his father, Woodrow Wilson McGill, is a real estate and insurance agent. He graduated from Douglas MacArthur High School San Antonio, where he acted in the department of theatre, and from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in drama. His love for acting stems back to elementary school. He is related to former Texas State Senator A.R. Schwartz. McGill has starred in many films. His role as "D-Day" in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), taken out of desperation as a young unemployed actor, ended up being his most well known. His long acting career also includes films, Wildcats, The Last Boy Scout, My Cousin Vinny, Cliffhanger, Timecop, The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Sum of All Fears, along with many others. McGill starred in many television roles, including portraying the Boston Police Homicide Detective Vince Korsak on the TNT television crime drama, Rizzoli & Isles. The character of Korsak is the mentor and friend of Detective Jane Rizzoli, portrayed by Angie Harmon. Director Michael Mann,considers McGill a favorite, having worked with him on The Insider, Ali and Collateral. He has also appeared in four HBO TV films, CIA Director George Tenet in Oliver Stone's film W and, also, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. McGill has been married to his wife Gloria since 1994.

Saul Rubinek was born in a refugee camp in Germany, where his father ran a Yiddish Repertory Theatre company. Saul started his professional career as a child actor in theater and radio in Canada. By the time he was 20, he was a member of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival company in Stratford, Ontario and, later, was a co-founder, actor and director of Theatre Le Hibou, Theatre Passe-Muraille and Toronto Free Theatre. He got his early training in film and television as an actor for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Saul started working in the United States as an actor at the Public Theater in New York. Rubinek's work on U.S. and Canadian television, film and theater spans four decades. In 1997, Rubinek directed his first feature for Lionsgate, based on the play he previously directed, Jerry and Tom (1998). He also was producer on the film in partnership with his wife, Elinor Reid. The film was an official entry in competition at Sundance in 1998. He also directed the features _Club Land (2001) (TV)_ and _Bleacher Bums (2001) (TV)_ for Showtime/Paramount. Rubinek directed, and his wife and partner Elinor Reid produced the award-winning indie film Cruel But Necessary (2005). Penguin Books published (1987) Rubinek's non-fiction book, "So Many Miracles", an account of his parents' survival growing up in Poland during World War II. He wrote and produced an award-winning documentary (1988) of the same title, So Many Miracles (1987), for CBC and PBS which chronicles his parents' reunion with the people who saved their lives during the Holocaust. The DVD of the documentary is available from The National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University. Rubinek wrote the play "Terrible Advice", which was produced in 2011 in London by The Chocolate Factory, starring Scott Bakula, Andy Nyman, Caroline Quentin, Sharon Horgan, and directed by Frank Oz.

Tom Sizemore rose in prominence throughout the 1990s, establishing himself as a memorable tough-guy actor, sought by the most respected directors in the business.

Thomas Edward Sizemore, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Judith (Schannault), an ombudsman staff member, and Thomas Edward Sizemore, Sr., a lawyer and professor. Sizemore grew up idolizing the tough-guy characters of the movies he watched. After attending Wayne State University, he got his master's degree in theatre from Temple University in 1986.

Like many, he moved to New York City and struggled, waiting tables and performing in plays. His first break came when Oliver Stone cast him in a bit part in Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Bigger roles soon followed throughout the early 1990s, such as Guilty by Suspicion (1991), True Romance (1993), and Striking Distance (1993). 1994 proved to be an even bigger year for Sizemore, as he won the role of "Bat Masterson" in Kevin Costner's star-studded biopic Wyatt Earp (1994), as well as one of his first truly memorable roles as "Detective Jack Scagnetti" in Oliver Stone's controversial Natural Born Killers (1994). In 1995 he appeared in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Strange Days (1995), as well as the acclaimed crime epic Heat (1995), directed by Michael Mann. Sizemore's first big leading role is in The Relic (1997), the big-budget effects thriller directed by Peter Hyams.

According to a 2001 interview in The Calgary Sun, Sizemore entered a drug rehabilitation program in 1998 after his mother and his friend Robert De Niro appeared on his door-step during the filming of Witness to the Mob (1998). Telling him they were there to drive him to jail or to rehabilitation, Sizemore chose the latter. After completing rehabilitation, he counseled adolescents involved in substance abuse.

Offered roles in W.W.II films directed by both Terrence Malick and Steven Spielberg, Sizemore chose the role of "Sergeant Horvath" in Saving Private Ryan (1998). The role and film received wide acclaim and introduced Sizemore's talents to a much broader audience in a more human and well-rounded role than he had previously been given. Sizemore also credits this shoot and Steven Spielberg for helping him with his recovery from addiction, with Steven Spielberg threatening to re-shoot the entire film if Sizemore failed a drug test even once.

After a flamboyant and uncredited mobster role in Enemy of the State (1998), Sizemore then portrayed a psychotic paramedic in Bringing Out the Dead (1999) directed by Martin Scorsese. Seemingly taking it easy, he then turned in fine but stereotypical performances in Play It to the Bone (1999), Red Planet (2000), and Pearl Harbor (2001). Sizemore then received another leading role in the high-profile military drama Black Hawk Down (2001) directed by yet another legendary director, Ridley Scott.

Specializing in the sort of ultimate tough-guy/manly man roles that hearken back to a different era in film, Sizemore continued to be a favorite of Hollywood's greatest directors. Never afraid to speak his mind about anyone and anything, his sense of blunt honesty and lack of pretension was refreshing. A commanding voice and presence on film, Sizemore looked to continue as one of Hollywood's greatest actors, until his untimely death from a brain aneurysm on March 3, 2023.

Val Kilmer was born in Los Angeles, California, to Gladys Swanette (Ekstadt) and Eugene Dorris Kilmer, who was a real estate developer and aerospace equipment distributor. His mother, born in Indiana, was from a Swedish family, and his father was from Texas. Val studied at Hollywood's Professional's School and, in his teens, entered Juilliard's drama program. His professional acting career began on stage, and he still participates in theater; he played Hamlet at the 1988 Colorado Shakespeare Festival. His film debut was in the 1984 spoof Top Secret! (1984), wherein he starred as blond rock idol Nick Rivers. He was in a number of films throughout the 1980s, including the 1986 smash Top Gun (1986). Despite his obvious talent and range, it wasn't until his astonishingly believable performance as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991) that the world sat up and took notice. Kilmer again put his good baritone to use in the movie, performing all of the concert pieces. Since then, he has played two more American legends, Elvis Presley in True Romance (1993) and Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993). In July 1994, it was announced that Kilmer would be taking over the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne from Michael Keaton.

Rugged features and a natural charm have worked for Josh Brolin, the son of actor James Brolin. He has played roles as a policeman, a hunter, and the President of the United States.

Brolin was born February 12, 1968 in Santa Monica, California, to Jane Cameron (Agee), a Texas-born wildlife activist, and James Brolin. Josh was not interested at first in the lifestyle of the entertainment business, in light of his parents' divorce, and both of them being actors. However, during junior year in high school, he took an acting class to see what it was like. He played Stanley in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and became hooked. His first major screen role was as the older brother in the film The Goonies (1985), based on a story by Steven Spielberg. He then immediately moved on to work on television, taking roles on such series as Pilot (1987) and The Young Riders (1989). "Private Eye" was a chance for Brolin to play a detective. "The Young Riders" was set just before the Civil War, and was co-directed by Brolin's father, James Brolin.

After The Young Riders (1989), Brolin moved back to the big screen, with mediocre success. He played a supporting role in The Road Killers (1994), but the film was not a success. He followed up with the crime film Gang in Blue (1996), the romantic film Bed of Roses (1996), the thriller film Nightwatch (1997), and appeared with his father in My Brother's War (1997). However, nothing truly stuck out, especially not the box office flop The Mod Squad (1999). The 2000s initially brought no significant change in Brolin's career. He appeared in the independent film Slow Burn (2000), the sci-if thriller Hollow Man (2000) and starred on the television series Mister Sterling (2003). In 2004, he married actress Diane Lane but later divorced in 2013.

It was not until 2007 that Brolin received much acclaim for his films. He took a supporting role in the Quentin Tarantino-written Grindhouse (2007) which was a two-part film accounting two horror stories. He also played two policemen that year: corrupt officer Nick Trupo in the crime epic American Gangster (2007), and an honest police chief in the emotional drama In the Valley of Elah (2007) which starred Tommy Lee Jones and was directed by Paul Haggis. However, it was his involvement in No Country for Old Men (2007) that truly pushed him into the limelight. The film, directed by the Coen brothers, was about a man (Brolin) who finds a satchel containing two million dollars in cash. He is pursued by an unstoppable assassin (Javier Bardem, who won an Oscar for his work) and his friend, a local sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones). The film won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Brolin found high-profile work the next year, being cast as Supervisor Dan White in the film Milk (2008). His performance as the weak and bitter politician earned him an Oscar nomination, and Brolin received more praise for his fascinating portrayal of George W. Bush in the Oliver Stone film W. (2008). Despite the mediocre success of W. (2008), he was recognized as the best part of the film, and Milk (2008) was another triumph, critically and commercially.

Brolin then acted in the smaller comedy Women in Trouble (2009) before landing a number of large roles in 2010. The first of these was the film based on the comic book figure Jonah Hex (2010). The film was a box office flop and critically panned, but Brolin also forged a second collaboration with legendary director Oliver Stone for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010). Brolin played a large role alongside such young stars as Carey Mulligan and Shia LaBeouf, and older thespians such as Michael Douglas, Eli Wallach, and Frank Langella. Brolin's character was Bretton James, a top banker in the film, and also the film's chief antagonist. Brolin also appeared in Woody Allen's London-based film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) and a second collaboration with the Coen Brothers, which was a remake of True Grit (1969).

Despite his earlier mediocre success and fame, Brolin has maintained a choosiness in his films and, recently, these choices have paid off profoundly. Hopefully, he continues this streak of good fortune that his talents have finally given him.

Dale Dye was born Oct. 8, 1944, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He graduated as a cadet officer from Missouri Military Academy, but there was no money for college, so he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1964. He served in Vietnam in 1965 and 1967 through 1970, surviving 31 major combat operations. He emerged from Southeast Asia with numerous decorations, including a Bronze Star for valor and three Purple Heart medals for wounds suffered in combat. He spent 13 years as an enlisted Marine, rising to the rank of master sergeant. He was chosen to attend officer candidate school and was appointed a warrant officer in 1976. He later converted his commission and was a captain when he was sent to Beirut with the multinational peacekeeping force in 1982-83. He served in a variety of assignments around the world and along the way managed to graduate with a BA degree in English from the University of Maryland. Dye worked for a year at Soldier of Fortune magazine after his retirement in 1984. He spent time in Central America, reporting and training troops in guerrilla warfare techniques in both El Salvador and Nicaragua before leaving the magazine in 1985 and heading for Hollywood. He is the founder and principal of Warriors, Inc., which provides technical advisory services to the entertainment industry worldwide. Services included performer training, research, planning, staging and on-set advisory for directors and other key production personnel.

Born in Chicago, Oscar nominee and Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Tom Berenger was born Thomas Michael Moore and raised in a working class Roman Catholic family of Irish descent. His father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Tom attended the University of Missouri to study journalism. There, he first auditioned for a role in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" at the college theater on a whim and a bet with a roommate; he won the role of "Nick", the second male lead.

After several stints in regional theater, Berenger attended Herbert Berghof's Studio School for Acting in New York City. There, he pursued a professional acting. He selected "Berenger" as his professional name, after a school friend, as there was already a "Tom Moore" in Actors' Equity. His film debut was in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), followed by roles in such films as The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Platoon (1986), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Shoot to Kill (1988), Betrayed (1988), Last Rites (1988), Major League (1989), Shattered (1991), Gettysburg (1993), The Substitute (1996), Sniper (1993), Rough Riders (1997), Inception (2010), Hatfields & McCoys (2012), among many others.

Actor Wayne Knight achieved television immortality assaying the role of the frenetic mailman, "Newman", nemesis of the eponymous lead character in the classic TV series Seinfeld (1989). He also appeared in Jurassic Park (1993) as "Dennis Nedry" and in one of the most notorious scenes in American cinema as one of the detectives interrogating Sharon Stone during her leg crossing in Basic Instinct (1992).

Wayne Eliot Knight was born to Grace (Monti) and William Edward Knight. He is of Italian and English descent. Knight was raised and lived in Cartersville, Georgia, until attending the University of Georgia in 1972. Despite being an honor student, Knight left school to join the Barter Theatre company in Abingdon, Virginia, before graduating. (He finally secured a BFA degree in 2008.) Following an internship of two years, Wayne was hired for the professional company and earned his Equity card. Now a professional actor, Knight moved back to New York, where he made his Broadway debut, at the age of 23, in the long-running comedy "Gemini" in 1979. Through the years, he has established himself as a leading character actor in television as a regular or recurring character in seven series, in film (ranging from Dirty Dancing (1987) to JFK (1991)), on the stage, and as a voice artist in animation.

In TV Land's original sitcom The Exes (2011), Knight plays homebody "Haskell Lutz", who lives in an apartment with "Phil" (Donald Faison) and "Stuart" (David Alan Basche), right across the hall from his divorce attorney, "Holly" (Kristen Johnston).

An Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominee for his memorable work in comedy, Kevin Dillon continues to break genre barriers with his latest star turns in action films.

Dillon next plays Warner Brothers' studio president Jack Warner in Sean McNamara's film Reagan (played by Dennis Quaid). He recently starred opposite John Travolta and Sharlto Copley in the film Mob Land, directed by Nicholas Maggio and starred in back to back action films: A Day To Die, directed by Wes Miller and Wire Room, directed by Matt Eskandari both opposite Bruce Willis.

He starred opposite Mel Gibson in the film Hot Seat, directed by James Cullen Bressack, and Dillon also worked with Gibson in the film On The Line, directed by Romuald Boulanger.

Born in Mamaroneck, New York, Dillon is known for his roles in many unforgettable films, most notably Oliver Stone's Platoon and The Doors, the World War II film A Midnight Clear, No Escape and the cult classic The Blob. He was nominated for a Young Artist Award for his poignant performance opposite Glenn Close, James Woods and Mary Stuart Masterson in Immediate Family. Dillon starred opposite Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss in Wolfgang Petersen's Poseidon for Warner Brothers and opposite Lisa Kudrow, Don Cheadle and Emma Roberts in the DreamWorks comedy Hotel for Dogs, directed by Thor Freudenthal. Dillon was also one of the stars in the hit comedy Buddy Games, starring opposite Josh Duhamel, Dax Shepard and Olivia Munn, directed by Duhamel, as well as in the sequel Buddy Games: Spring Awakening. His first major role was Rooney, the bully, in the film Heaven Help Us, directed by Michael Dinner.

On television, Dillon's hilarious yet heartfelt portrayal of the beloved Johnny Drama in HBO's hit series Entourage garnered him multiple nominations for three Emmys, a Golden Globe and three SAG Awards. Additionally, he had recurring roles in the critically acclaimed series NYPD Blue, 24 and in the hit series Blue Bloods.

Dillon reprised his iconic role as Johnny Drama in the Warner Brothers feature film Entourage, directed by Doug Ellin, and most recently starred in Ellin's latest television project Ramble On, opposite Kevin Connolly and Charlie Sheen. In addition, along with Connolly and Ellin, Dillon hosts the hit Victory The Podcast.

Multiple Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner Martin Sheen is one of America's most celebrated, colorful, and accomplished actors. Moving flawlessly between artistic mediums, Sheen's acting range is striking.

Sheen was born Ramón Antonio Gerard Estevez in Dayton, Ohio, to Mary-Ann (Phelan), an Irish immigrant (from Borrisokane, County Tipperary), and Francisco Estevez, a Spanish-born factory worker and machinery inspector (from Parderrubias, Galicia). On the big screen, Sheen has appeared in more than 65 feature films including a star turn as Army Captain Benjamin L. Willard in Francis Ford Coppola's landmark film Apocalypse Now (1979), which brought Sheen worldwide recognition. The film also starred Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall. Other notable credits include Wall Street (1987) (with son Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas), Academy Award-winning film Gandhi (1982) (with Sir Ben Kingsley), Catch Me If You Can (2002) (with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks), The American President (1995) (with Michael Douglas and Annette Bening) and a Golden Globe nominated breakthrough performance as Timmy Cleary in The Subject Was Roses (1968), a role he originated on Broadway and for which he received a Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actor.

In 2006, the actor played ill-fated cop Oliver Queenan in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film The Departed (2006) opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin.

The same year, Sheen joined another all-star ensemble cast for the highly acclaimed feature Bobby (2006), written and directed by his son, Emilio Estevez. Bobby was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a SAG Award; and starred Anthony Hopkins, Harry Belafonte, Laurence Fishburne, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Elijah Wood, Demi Moore and Heather Graham.

For television audiences, Sheen is best recognized for his six-time Emmy nominated performance as President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing (1999). Sheen won six of his eight Golden Globe nominations as well as an ALMA Award; and two individual SAG Awards; for the White House series. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor TV Series Drama in 2001.

Of his ten Primetime Emmy nominations, Sheen won for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series on the long-running sitcom Murphy Brown (1988) (starring Candice Bergen) in 1994. In addition, he has garnered a Daytime Emmy Award for directing and another for performance.

In 2006, Sheen was again nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series; this time for the CBS hit comedy Two and a Half Men (2003), starring his son Charlie Sheen.

In addition to series television, Sheen has appeared in several important made-for-television movies and mini-series including playing President John F. Kennedy in the television mini-series Kennedy (1983) for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.

As an actor Tony Plana has performed in more than 70 feature films. Recent films include Pain & Gain with Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg directed by Michael Bay, Roman J. Israel, Esquire starring Denzel Washington directed by Dan Gilroy, and the soon to be released, Bombshell, directed by Jay Roach starring Charlize Theron, John Lithgow, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie and Wasp Network, directed by Olivier Assayas with Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez.

His latest television projects include principal roles in Academy Award winner Paolo Sorrentino's The Young Pope with Jude Law and Diane Keaton for HBO, Jugar Con Fuego for Telemundo and the recently released Mayans MC on the FX Channel. Current recurring roles include the comedies One Day at a Time with Rita Moreno and Super Store with America Ferrera, as well as the dramas, The Affair with Anna Paquin. Start Up with Martin Freeman and Ron Perlman, The Punisher with Jon Bernthal, Madam Secretary, Lethal Weapon, Colony, Alpha House, Elementary, The Fosters, and The Blacklist.

Tony Plana also starred as Ignacio Suarez, the widowed father to America Ferrera's Ugly Betty, in ABC's landmark, groundbreaking hit series for which he received the 2006 Golden Satellite Award from the International Press Academy, an Imagen Award, and an Alma Award. Ugly Betty received the highest ratings and the most critical acclaim of any Latino-based show in the history of television, most notably 11 Emmy nominations and a Golden Glove Award for best comedy.

Previously, he also starred in Showtime's original series, Resurrection Boulevard, and was nominated for two Alma Awards for best actor. Resurrection Boulevard was the first series to be produced, written, directed and starring Latinos and awarded an Alma Award for the best television series of 2002.

Other feature film credits include JFK, Nixon, Salvador, An Officer and a Gentleman, Lone Star, Three Amigos, Born in East L.A., El Norte, 187, Primal Fear, Romero, One Good Cop, Havana, The Rookie, Silver Strand and Picking Up the Pieces with Woody Allen. He has also appeared in the action thriller Half Past Dead with Steven Segal; The Lost City, with Andy Garcia, Bill Murray, and Dustin Hoffman; and Disney's highly acclaimed GOAL, The Dream Begins.

He has produced and directed two feature film comedies, A Million to Juan with Paul Rodriguez and The Princess and the Barrio Boy, the first Latino family film to be produced by Showtime, starring academy award nominee Edward James Olmos and Maria Conchita Alonso. The film received two 2001 Alma Award nominations for Best Made for Television Movie and Best Ensemble Acting and won the 2001 Imagen Award for Best Made for Television Movie. Plana's television episodic debut was 2001's Resurrection Blvd.'s Saliendo, which garnered critical acclaim, receiving a GLAAD Award for best dramatic episode of the year and a SHINE Award nomination for sensitive portrayal of sexuality. He has directed several episodes of Nickelodeon's hit series, The Brothers Garcia, receiving a Humanitas Award nomination and winning the Imagen Award for its third season finale, Don't Judge a Book by its Cover. He also directed the season finale of Greetings from Tucson for the Warner Brothers Network and the Halloween episode of Desperate Housewives in its final season on ABC.

Plana was the Co-founder and served as Producing Artistic Director of the East LA Classic Theatre (ECT), a group comprised of multicultural, classically trained theatre professionals, for over 20 years. The EastLA Classic Theatre was dedicated to serving economically challenged communities through educational outreach programs for primary and secondary schools. As ECT's Producing Artistic Director, Plana defined its mission as 'educational' with a priority on creating access to classic dramatic literature for young minority audiences, emphasizing interpretations filtered through a multicultural, non-traditional perspective and presented with a contemporary, populist aesthetic. His provocative adaptations of classic Shakespearean plays were specifically conceived for students with little or no theatre going experience. He produced, directed and adapted these plays set against curriculum relevant historical backgrounds that served as catalysts for the investigation of personal and interpersonal psychology, race and cultural relations, socio-political issues and world history. Such as A zoot suit styled, musical Romeo & Juliet, was set during World War II with 1940's swing music and dance, featuring an East L.A. Latina Juliet and a West L.A. Anglo sailor Romeo struggling to define their love and identities in a wartime city sharply divided by racism, xenophobia, and economics and a Mariachi Musical production of Much Ado About Nothing set in early California.

Plana has continued to challenge the boundaries of teaching and learning language through an innovative approach called Language in Play (LIP). Working directly with language arts teachers, LIP utilizes the performing arts to impact literacy skills in academically at risk and bi-lingual students. Evolved collaboratively with educators over the last fifteen years, ECT's unique process of 'personalizing' language, through student play writing and play acting based on autobiographical experience, has proven more effective in achieving academic advancement and personal growth than established, traditional methods. It has consistently improved students' reading, writing and speaking skills resulting in higher attendance and lower drop-out rates, increased class participation and homework completion, as well as achieved better test scores, strengthened self-confidence and provided an engaging and meaningful school experience.

In 2005 he was honored as Educator of the Year by Loyola Marymount University's Department of Education. In 2008 he was awarded Loyola High School's Cahalan Award as a distinguished alumnus and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Imagen Foundation. In 2009 the HOLA organization honored him with the Raul Julia HOLA Founders Award for excellence. In 2010, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa selected him as worthy of one of the highest honors bestowed by the City of Los Angeles, The Dream of Los Angeles Award for his contributions to the media arts and education. He is the proud recipient of the 2013 ALMA Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council of La Raza, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers' Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016, and the 2018 Nosotros Lifetime Impact Golden Eagle Award. He is currently an affiliate faculty member of the Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University School of Education.

Mark Moses was born in New York City, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His parents Philip and Patricia met in the West Village, his father worked in sales on Madison Avenue and his mother was an interior decorator. After playing football and basketball in high school and a few years at Ithaca College, Mark stumbled into acting, eventually graduating from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Grad Program. He immediately found success on stage and was on Broadway with Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon in "Slab Boys."

He continued to work in New York and in regional theaters until he met Oliver Stone who cast him in the academy award winning film Platoon (1986) where he played Lt. Wolfe. That sent Mark west to Hollywood where he worked in film, television, and theater.

Mark is most recognized for his work in television. He played Duck Philips in Mad Men (2007), Paul Young in Desperate Housewives (2004), Dennis Boyd in Homeland (2011), President Jeff Michener in The Last Ship (2014), Jason Wolfe in Berlin Station (2016), Col. Alden Cox in Manhattan (2014), Undersheriff Jerry London in Fox television's Deputy (2020), Mr. Robot (2015), Key and Peele (2012), Man Seeking Woman (2015), and many others.

His films include Platoon (1986), Cesar Chavez (2014), Mapplethorpe (2018), Fear, Inc. (2016), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), Swing Vote (2008), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), Big Momma's House 2 (2006), After the Sunset (2004), Deep Impact (1998), Gettysburg (1993), Rough Riders (1997), The Doors (1991), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), and Bombshell (2019).

He has won three SAG/AFTRA awards. He supports numerous charities, is married to playwright and actress Annie LaRussa, and has two boys, Walker and Zane.

Sean Stone was born on 29 December 1984 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and director, known for JFK (1991), The Doors (1991) and Savages (2012).

Bob Gunton is an American actor, primarily known for portraying strict and authoritarian characters in popular films. His better known roles include Chief George Earle in Demolition Man (1993), Prison Warden Samuel Norton in The Shawshank Redemption (1994), medical school dean Dr. Walcott in Patch Adams (1998), and politician Cyrus Vance in Argo (2012).

Gunton was born to labor union executive Robert Patrick Gunton Sr. and his wife Rose Marie Banovetz in Santa Monica, California where he was the oldest of five siblings. He was raised in California and attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. His college years were spent in the Paulist Seminary St Peter's College, in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of California, Irvine.

He was drafted into the United States Army in 1969 and served until 1971. He was a radio telephone operator (RTO) with the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division and was assigned to the Fire Support Base Ripcord during the Vietnam War. When the base was evacuated during a siege by North Vietnamese Army (NVA), Gunton manage to retrieve important radios that were in danger of falling in enemy hands. He was awarded with a Bronze Star commendation for his deed.

Gunton was primarily known for theatrical roles in the late 1970s and 1980s. He played Raoul in the Broadway musical "King of Hearts" (1978). For this role he was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. The award was instead won by rival actor Ken Jennings.

From 1979 to 1983, Gunton played the role of President of Argentina Juan Domingo Perón in "Evita". He won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

In 1980, Gunton acted in the play How I Got That Story. He won both the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Performer and the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actor. He was also nominated Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play.

In 1985, Gunton played the King in the musical "Big River". The musical was an adaptation of the novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884) by Mark Twain. For this role Gunton was again nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.

From 1987 to 1990, Gunton played protagonist Sweeney Todd in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. While critically acclaimed for this role, Gunton won none of these awards.

In the 1990s, Gunton started focusing more on film roles. More often playing antagonists than heroes or supporting characters,. In 2007, Gunton joined the main cast of the popular action drama television series 24 (2001), playing politician Ethan Kanin. He played the role until the end of the series in 2010. In 2015, Gunton joined the main cast of the superhero series Daredevil (2015). He played the super-villain Leland Owlsley (codenamed "the Owl in the comics).

By 2024 Gunton was 78-years-old. He has never retired, and continues to appear regularly in film and television.

Laurie Metcalf was born June 16, 1955 in Carbondale, Illinois, the oldest of three children of Libby (Mars), a librarian, and James Metcalf, a budget director. She was raised in Edwardsville, Illinois. Laurie attended Illinois State University, where she obtained her bachelor of arts in theater in 1977. In her class were the immeasurable talents of John Malkovich, Glenne Headly, and Joan Allen. Laurie began acting at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Her acting career in film and television began with a minor and uncredited role in Robert Altman's A Wedding (1978). In 1988, Laurie found her most memorable and successful role to date, Jacqueline "Jackie" Harris in the television series Roseanne (1988). For her performance in the series, she was nominated for two Golden Globes and won three Primetime Emmy awards.

Incisive, gravelly-voiced screen tough guy Powers Boothe was born on June 1, 1948 in Snyder, Texas, a sharecropper's son. Used to hard physical work "chopping cotton" as a youngster, he went on to become the first member of his family to attend university. He then proceeded to study acting via a fellowship with Southern Methodist University and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. His performing career began in repertory with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

In 1974, Boothe arrived in New York after theatrical stints in Connecticut and Philadelphia. It took another five years before he made his breakthrough on Broadway as a swaggering Texas cowboy in James McLure's comedy play "Lone Star". His Emmy-winning performance as Reverend Jim Jones in the miniseries Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980) led to a permanent move to Los Angeles. Lucrative screen offers followed and Boothe became firmly established as a leading actor after being well cast as Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983), HBO's first drama series, set in 1930s Los Angeles.

Though his portfolio of characters would eventually comprise assorted sheriffs, military brass and FBI agents, Boothe appreciated the indisputable fact that bad guys were often the "last in people's minds" and playing them could be "more fun". Arguably, his most convincing (and oddly likeable) villain was snarling gunslinger Curly Bill Brocius, confronting the Earps in Tombstone (1993). He went on to tackle such complex characters as White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995), hawkish Vice President Noah Daniels on 24 (2001) and industrialist power broker Lamar Wyatt in Nashville (2012).

One of his best remembered roles remains that of Cy Tolliver, the (fictional) owner of the (historical) Bella Union saloon and brothel, chief nemesis of Al Swearingen on HBO's Deadwood (2004). Boothe particularly enjoyed his lengthy soliloquies which reminded him of his time on the Shakespearean stage. The tall Texan with the penetrating eyes was rather gleefully (and enjoyably) over-the-top fiendish as Senator Roark in the post film noir Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) and managed (at least near the end) to inject some humanity into the role of Gideon Malick, the sinister head of HYDRA, in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013).

As is so often the case with actors of the 'hard-boiled school', Boothe has often been described as the very antithesis of the characters he essayed on screen. Sin City director Robert Rodriguez fittingly eulogised him as "a towering Texas gentleman and world class artist". Powers Boothe died in his sleep, in Los Angeles, at age 68 on the morning of May 14, 2017 of a heart attack after battling pancreatic cancer for six months.