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Kerry Condon is an Irish television and film actress, best known for her role as Octavia of the Julii in the HBO/BBC series Rome, as Stacey Ehrmantraut in AMC's Better Call Saul, and as the voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y. in various films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She is also the youngest actress ever to play Ophelia in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet. She appeared in AMC's The Walking Dead in "30 Days Without an Accident".

In 2001, at the age of 19, Condon originated the role of Mairead in The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh which she performed at the Royal Shakespeare Company and in 2006 at the Lyceum Theatre in New York. For this production she recorded the song "The Patriot Game" with The Pogues. That same year, Condon played the role of Ophelia in Hamlet, making her the youngest actress to ever play that role for the RSC. In 2009, she appeared in another play by Martin McDonagh, The Cripple of Inishmaan, for which she won a Lucille Lortel award and a Drama Desk Award.

Condon's movie roles include Kate Kelly, Ned Kelly's outlaw sister, in 2003's Ned Kelly and an appearance in the 2003 Irish independent film Intermission with Cillian Murphy, Kelly Macdonald, and Colin Farrell. She was in the 2005 Jet Li action-thriller Unleashed. She then appeared as Masha, a Tolstoian, in The Last Station, a film about the last months of Tolstoy's life with Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer before playing jockey Rosie Shanahan in 2012's Luck. She voices the artificial intelligence F.R.I.D.A.Y., Tony Stark's replacement for J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Marvel Studios films Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.

In 2005 Condon co-starred as Octavia of the Julii, sister of the Roman Emperor Augustus, in the HBO/BBC series Rome. Condon appeared in the Season Four premiere of the post-apocalyptic zombie drama The Walking Dead playing the role of the character Clara, which aired 13 October 2013.

Nina Dobrev is a Bulgarian-born Canadian actress. Her best-known television roles are Mia Jones in Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001) and Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce on The Vampire Diaries (2009). Her film work includes The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Let's Be Cops (2014), The Final Girls (2015), xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), and Dog Days (2018).

From a very young age, she showed great enthusiasm and talent for the arts: dance, gymnastics, theater, music, visual arts, and acting. Modeling jobs led to commercials, which turned into film auditions; she booked roles in the feature films Fugitive Pieces (2007), Away from Her (2006), and the popular CTV television series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001), which led to The Vampire Diaries (2009), where she played the lead role for 6 seasons.

Nina loves to travel and has often visited Europe for pleasure, as well as to compete internationally, representing Canada in Aesthetic gymnastics. She enjoys playing volleyball and soccer, swimming, rock climbing, wakeboarding, snowboarding, and horseback riding.

Above all, acting is her passion, and she sees it as an adventure that has just begun; she believes that the journey and the characters we create along the way will help us understand ourselves.

Nicola Coughlan, is a celebrated Irish actress renowned for her captivating performances on both television and stage. She has swiftly risen to prominence through her diverse and impressive roles, showcasing her talent and versatility.

Nicola's journey into acting began at a young age, spurred by her deep passion for the craft. She pursued her studies at the Oxford School of Drama and Birmingham School of Acting, where she honed her skills and developed her unique style.

Her breakthrough came in 2018 when she starred as Clare Devlin in the critically acclaimed Channel 4 sitcom "Derry Girls." The show, set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, earned widespread praise for its humor and heart, with Nicola's portrayal of the earnest and lovable Clare winning the hearts of audiences and critics alike.

In 2020, Nicola's career reached new heights with her role as Penelope Featherington in the Netflix period drama "Bridgerton." The series, produced by Shondaland, became a global phenomenon, and Nicola's performance as the sharp-witted and secretive Penelope further cemented her status as a rising star in the entertainment industry.

Nicola Coughlan's dedication to her art and her ability to bring depth and authenticity to her characters continue to earn her acclaim and a growing fan base. With her impressive body of work and a promising career ahead, she remains a prominent figure in contemporary television and theatre.

Nicola Peltz is emerging as a force to be reckoned with, on both the big and small screen. Her most prominent roles include the series Bates Motel (2013), and the films The Last Airbender (2010) and Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014).

Nicola was born in Westchester County, New York, to Claudia (Heffner), who has worked as a model, and Nelson Peltz, a billionaire businessman whose assets include the Snapple brand of drinks. Nicola is of Ashkenazi Jewish (from her father) and Italian and German-British (from her mother) heritage. She made her stage debut in 2007, opposite Jeff Daniels and Alison Pill, in the Laurence Olivier Award-winning production of "Blackbird", at the Manhattan Theatre Club, directed by Joe Mantello. In 2012, she starred,alongside Melanie Lynskey and Campbell Scott, in Eye of the Hurricane (2012), a compelling family adventure about a small Everglades community struggling to put their lives back together in the wake of a devastating hurricane. In 2010, Peltz starred in M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender (2010), opposite Dev Patel and Jackson Rathbone. The film was written, directed and produced by Shyamalan and was based on the first season of Nickelodeon's animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005). Peltz made her feature film debut in 2006 in Deck the Halls (2006), with Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth.

In Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Peltz stars alongside Mark Wahlberg and Jack Reynor. She plays Tessa Yeager, the daughter of a mechanic (Wahlberg) who makes a major discovery that catches the attention of the Autobots, Decepticons, and the U.S. government. The film is the fourth in the blockbuster series of live-action films, and is scheduled for release by Paramount on June 27th.

Later in the summer, Peltz also starred in Kevin Asch's Affluenza (2014), which received a limited release in July. Also featuring Ben Rosenfield and Gregg Sulkin, the film is a coming-of-age story, inspired by "The Great Gatsby," and set among the upper-class in the Long Island suburb of Great Neck during the weeks leading up to the financial meltdown of 2008.

On the small screen, Peltz reprised her role as "Bradley Martin," a troubled high school student, in the second season of A&E's critically-acclaimed series, Bates Motel (2013). The series is a modern re-imagining and prequel to the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock cult classic, Psycho (1960), which focuses on the life of "Norman Bates" and his mother, "Norma Bates," portrayed by Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga.

J.K. Simmons is an American actor.

He was born Jonathan Kimble Simmons in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to Patricia (Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a music teacher. He attended the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; University of Montana, Missoula, MT (BA in Music).

He had originally planned to be a singer and studied at the University of Montana to become a composer.

He starred as Captain Hook and Mr. Darling opposite gymnastics champ Cathy Rigby in the Broadway and touring revivals of Peter Pan.

He played Benny South-street in the 1992 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls and can be heard on the cast recording.

He did a commercial voice-over work, including the voice of the yellow M&M in the candy's TV ads.

He appeared as police psychiatrist Emil Skoda on Law & Order (1990), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001).

As of 2011, has made five films with director Sam Raimi: For Love of the Game (1999); The Gift (2000); Spider-Man (2002); Spider-Man 2 (2004); and Spider-Man 3 (2007).

He won many awards from 2005 to 2007 in Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2014 won Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. 2015 won a Golden Globe for his Best Performance as an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, BAFTA Film Awards Best Supporting Actor, Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Male.

For Joely, the theatre must be in her genes. Born in Marylebone, London, England, she is the daughter of director Tony Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave, granddaughter of Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, niece of Lynn Redgrave, and sister of Natasha Richardson, all actors. Former husband Tim Bevan is a producer. However the genes were slow - as a child she saw her older sister Natasha interested in acting but she was imagining a career in tennis. Her father put his foot down, and tennis was out. British by birth, she considers herself a sort of honorary American, having attended boarding school at Thacher in Ojai, California. Beginning in the '80s film became her life, from small parts in Wetherby (1985) to BBC dramas such as Lady Chatterley (1993) to today's Disney studio going to the dogs in 101 Dalmatians (1996).

Joey Lauren Adams is an American actress and director. Adams appeared in several Kevin Smith View Askewniverse films, including Chasing Amy, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Adams was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas, the youngest of three children. Her father was a lumber yard owner. Adams grew up in the Overbrook neighborhood of North Little Rock and graduated from North Little Rock Northeast High School in 1986. She announced her intention to pursue acting after one year as an exchange student in Australia.

Laura-Leigh was born on 9 January 1991. She is an actress and assistant director, known for Under the Silver Lake (2018), Blue Bloods (2010) and We're the Millers (2013).

Kerris Lilla Dorsey (born January 9, 1998) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Paige Whedon in the television series Brothers & Sisters, Casey Beane, Billy Beane's (Brad Pitt) daughter, in the 2011 film Moneyball, and as Emily Cooper in the 2014 film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Dorsey plays Bridget Donovan, the daughter of the title character, in the television series Ray Donovan.

In Moneyball she performs a cover of Lenka's song "The Show", which is included on the soundtrack to the film.

In 2012, Dorsey guest starred on the Disney Channel series Shake it Up as Kat, a girl who elaborates a plan to get on Shake It Up Chicago by befriending Cece Jones. Kat pressures them to tell Gary to hire her as an intern on the show. Kat is successful in getting on the show but at the end of the episode, she moves to New York to join Shake It Up New York, although the email she had received was a fake email sent by CeCe in the episode "Copy Kat It Up!"

Dorsey has also appeared in the films Walk the Line and Just Like Heaven. She played a supporting role in the American Girl film McKenna Shoots For the Stars as McKenna Brooks's reading tutor, Josie.

Dorsey guest starred as Molly in one episode in Don't Trust the B- in Apartment 23, and had a small role in Sons of Anarchy as Ellie Winston. In 2012, she gained a supporting role as Sadie in the Disney Channel Original Movie Girl vs. Monster. Dorsey stars as Bridget Donovan on the Showtime crime drama series Ray Donovan.

The lovely Susannah York, a gamine, blue-eyed, cropped-blond British actress, displayed a certain crossover star quality when she dared upon the Hollywood scene in the early 1960s. A purposefully intriguing, enigmatic and noticeably uninhibited talent, she was born Susannah Yolande Fletcher on January 9, 1939 in Chelsea, London, but raised in a remote village in Scotland. Her parents divorced when she was around 6. Attending Marr College, she trained for acting at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, winning the Ronson Award for most promising student. She then performed classical repertory and pantomime in her early professional career.

Making an impression on television in 1959 opposite Sean Connery in a production of "The Crucible" as Abigail Williams to his John Proctor, the moon-faced beauty progressed immediately to ingénue film roles, making her debut as the daughter of Alec Guinness in the classic war drama Tunes of Glory (1960). She emerged quickly as a worthy co-star with the sensitively handled coming-of age drama Loss of Innocence (1961), the more complex psychodrama Freud (1962), as a patient to Montgomery Clift's famed psychoanalyst, and the bawdy and robust 18th century tale Tom Jones (1963), with Susannah portraying the brazenly seductive Sophie, one of many damsels lusting after the bed-hopping title rogue Albert Finney.

Susannah continued famously both here and in England in both contemporary and period drama opposite the likes of Warren Beatty, William Holden, Paul Scofield and Dirk Bogarde. Susannah was a new breed. Free-spirited and unreserved, she had no trouble at all courting controversy in some of the film roles she went on to play. She gained special notoriety as the child-like Alice in her stark, nude clinches with severe-looking executive Coral Browne in the lesbian drama The Killing of Sister George (1968). A few years later, she and Elizabeth Taylor traveled similar territory with X, Y & Zee (1972).

Award committees also began favoring her; she won the BAFTA film award as well as Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her delusional Jean Harlow-like dance marathon participant in the grueling Depression-era film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). Her crazy scene in the shower with Oscar-winner Gig Young was particularly gripping and just one of many highlights in the acclaimed film. She also copped a Cannes Film Festival award for her performance in Images (1972) playing another troubled character barely coping with reality. On television, she was Emmy-nominated for her beautifully nuanced Jane Eyre (1970) opposite George C. Scott's Rochester.

Susannah's film career started to lose ground into the 1970s as she continued her pursuit of challengingly offbeat roles as opposed to popular mainstream work. The film adaptations of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971) opposite Rod Steiger and Jean Genet's The Maids (1975) with Glenda Jackson were not well-received. Her performances in such films as Gold (1974), Conduct Unbecoming (1975) which starred another famous York (Michael York), That Lucky Touch (1975), Sky Riders (1976) and The Shout (1978) were overlooked, as were the films themselves. In the one highly popular movie series she appeared in, the box-office smashes Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980), she had literally nothing to do as Lara, the wife of Marlon Brando's Jor-El and birth mother of the superhero. While the actress continued to pour out a number of quality work assignments in films and television, she failed to recapture her earlier star glow.

Wisely, Susannah began extending her talents outside the realm of film acting. Marrying writer Michael Wells in 1960, she focused on her personal life, raising their two children for a time. The couple divorced in 1980. In the 1970s, she wrote the children's books "In Search of Unicorns" and "Lark's Castle". She also found time to direct on stage and wrote the screenplay to one of her film vehicles Falling in Love Again (1980). On stage Susannah performed in such one-woman shows as "Independent State", 'Picasso's Women", "The Human Voice" and "The Loves of Shakespeare's Women", while entertaining such wide and varied theatre challenges as "Peter Pan" (title role), "Hamlet" (as Gertrude), "Camino Real", "The Merry Wives of Windsor", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Private Lives", "Agnes of God" and the title role in "Amy's View".

At the age of 67, Susannah showed up once again on film with a delightful cameo role in The Gigolos (2006), and seemed ripe for a major comeback, perhaps in a similar vein to the legendary Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren. Sadly, it was not to be. Diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, the actress died on January 15, 2011, six days after her 72nd birthday. Her final films, Franklyn (2008) and The Calling (2009), proved that she still possessed the magnetism of her earlier years.

One of the great movie villains, Clarence Leroy Van Cleef, Jr. was born in Somerville, New Jersey, to Marion Lavinia (Van Fleet) and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Sr. His parents were of Dutch ancestry. Van Cleef started out as an accountant. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard minesweepers and sub chasers during World War II. After the war he worked as an office administrator, becoming involved in amateur theatrics in his spare time. An audition for a professional role led to a touring company job in "Mr. Roberts". His performance was seen by Stanley Kramer, who cast him as henchman Jack Colby in High Noon (1952), a role that brought him great recognition despite the fact that he had no dialogue. For the next decade, he played a string of memorably villainous characters, primarily in westerns but also in crime dramas such as The Big Combo (1955). His hawk nose and steely, slit eyes seemed destined to keep him always in the realm of heavies, but in the mid 1960s Sergio Leone cast him as the tough but decent Col. Mortimer opposite Clint Eastwood in For a Few Dollars More (1965). A new career as a western hero (or at least anti-hero) opened up, and Van Cleef became an international star, though in films of decreasing quality. In the 1980s, he moved easily into action and martial-arts movies and starred in The Master (1984), a TV series featuring almost non-stop martial arts action. He died of a heart attack in December 1989 and was buried at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills.

Born January 9th, 1988, American actress and model Caitlin McGee always had an interest for acting. But it was only in her later years that she started. Prior to pursuing her career in acting, Caitlin McGee attended College. She enrolled in two programs at Wagner College, which included Theater Performance and Speech. She completed all of the requirements and she graduated from the institution with her Bachelor's Degree. McGee is best known for her role as Sydney Strait. She has played many roles. She will also be appearing along side Topher Grace and Jimmy Tatro in the upcoming ABC comedy pilot, Home Economics.

Imelda Staunton is an English actress and singer from Archway, London. Her ancestry is primarily Irish. She has worked extensively in theater, and has won 4 Laurence Olivier Awards; 3 for leading roles and one for a supporting role. Her best known role in films has been the recurring villain Dolores Umbridge in the fantasy films "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2007) and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" (2010). Her character was depicted as an authoritarian bureaucrat from the Ministry of Magic who was appointed as the new professor of "Defence Against the Dark Arts". The character was driven by both her political agendas and her own prejudice. In television, Staunton's best-known role was portraying Queen Elizabeth II in the 5th season of the historical drama series "The Crown" (2016-). The season fictionalized the events of Elizabeth's reign from 1991 to 1997.

In 1956, Staunton was born in Archway, an area in the London Borough of Islington. Archway has had a large Irish community since the 1830s, when Irish workers from this area were employed in the construction of railways and roads. Staunton's parents were the laborer Joseph Staunton and his wife, the hairdresser and musician Bridie McNicholas. Both parents were first-generation immigrants from County Mayo, Ireland. Bridie played both the accordion and the fiddle in Irish show-bands.

Staunton received her secondary education at the La Sainte Union Catholic School, a girls' school operated by the Holy Union Sisters. She was trained in drama and elocution, and practiced her new skills by starring in school plays. Encouraged by one of her teachers, Staunton applied to several drama schools. In 1974, Staunton was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She was reportedly rejected by both the "Central School of Speech and Drama" and the "Guildhall School of Music and Drama", so her options were rather limited.

Staunton graduated from RADA in 1976. For the next 6 years, Staunton primarily acted in English repertory theater. She portrayed the French military leader Joan of Arc (c. 1412-1431) in a 1979 revival of the play "Saint Joan" (1923) by George Bernard Shaw. In 1982, she started acting for the Royal National Theatre in London. In her first year there, Staunton was nominated for both the "Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical" and the "Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play". Staunton lost the Best Actress Award to Julia McKenzie, and the Newcomer Award to Kenneth Branagh.

Staunton made her film debut in the historical drama "Comrades" (1986). The film dramatized the lives of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, a group of British labor activists who were convicted in 1834 under an obscure act and sentenced to penal transportation to Australia. The group members were pardoned in 1836 after mass protests in their favor, and they became heroes for the early union and workers' rights movements.

Among Staunton's most notable theatrical roles in the 1980s was portraying Dorothy Gale in a British version of the musical "The Wizard of Oz" (1987) by John Kane. It was a theatrical adaptation of the novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900) by L. Frank Baum. The theatrical production was by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Staunton was nominated for the 1988 "Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical" for this role, but lost to Patricia Routledge.

Staunton had a co-staring role in the comedy film "Peter's Friends" (1992), her first film role since 1986. In the film, Peter (played by Stephen Fry) is the new owner of his family's country house, and invites the former members of his student comedy troupe to a reunion there. Each of the members has had a dysfunctional life, but Peter eventually informs them that he has a worse fate than his friends. He reveals that he is HIV-positive, and that the real reasons for the reunion were the fears for his mortality. The film was nominated for the 1993 "Goya Award for Best European Film", but lost to "Three Colors: Blue".

Staunton portrayed the waiting gentlewoman Margaret in thee romantic comedy "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993), a film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. In the film, Margaret is mistaken for her charge, Hero (played by Kate Beckinsale). Staunton had her first notable animated roles in the fantasy film "The Snow Queen" (1995), an adaptation of the 1844 fairy tale Hans Christian Andersen. She portrayed both the sentient bird Ivy and Angorra, the self-centered daughter of the Robber King.

Staunton portrayed the witty servant Maria in the romantic comedy "Twelfth Night" (1996), an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play. Maria was one of several characters who humiliated the pompous steward Malvolio (played by Nigel Hawthorne), and orchestrated his downfall. Staunton had two new roles in the sequel animated film "The Snow Queen's Revenge" (1996). She voiced both the optimistic servant Elsbeth and the ambitious bounty hunter Rowena.

Staunton voiced the group cynic Bunty in the stop-motion animated comedy film "Chicken Run" (2000). It was the first feature-length film by the animation studio Aardman Animations, and grossed about 224.8 million dollars at the worldwide box office. The film broke a record as the highest-grossing stop-motion film in film history. It has retained this record into the 2020s. This was one of Staunton's most commercially successful films.

Staunton portrayed the malevolent wife Conchita Flynn in the comedy film "Rat" (2000), loosely based on the novella "The Metamorphosis" (1915) by Franz Kafka. In the film, a normal working-class man inexplicably shape-shifts into a rat. His family both turns against him, and tries to profit from his condition. Staunton portrayed the supporting character of police superintendent Janine in the romantic comedy film "Crush" (2001). In the film, middle-aged schoolmistress Kate Scales (played by Andie MacDowell) starts dating a man in his twenties, who was once her student. Janine and another of Kate's friends try to figure out whether the man genuinely loves Kate, or is simply manipulating her. When the man is killed in a traffic accident, the two friends try to help a pregnant Kate with some serious life decisions.

Staunton portrayed the main character Vera Drake in the period drama "Vera Drake" (2004). In the film, Vera is a middle-aged house cleaner who provides illegal abortions for young women during the early 1950s. She provides her services free of charge, and is unaware that her partner is getting payments for arranging meetings with Vera. When Vera is arrested following the near-death of one of her patients, people who previously depended on her kindness are left distraught. Staunton won the "BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role" for this role, and was nominated for the "Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama". The film was met with general critical praise, despite some criticism for its inaccurate portrayal of real-life abortion methods.

Staunton portrayed Ambassador Cochran in the thriller film "Shadow Man" (2006), one of the few genuine allies of the protagonist Jack Foster (played by Steven Seagal). In the film, Jack is a retired CIA agent. Following the disappearance and suspected death of his father-in-law, Jack is mistakenly thought to have the formula for a biological weapon which his father-in-law had stolen. Jack finds himself targeted by multiple intelligent agents and organizations, including several of his former friends and allies. The film was set entirely in Bucharest, Romania, though it was based on a script intended for a period film about post-World War II Japan.

Staunton next portrayed Dolores Umbridge in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2007). Staunton's performance was praised by critics, and she was nominated in the "British Actress in a Supporting Role" category at the London Film Critics Circle Awards. Dolores as a character has been praised as one of the better villains from the "Harry Potter" series, because her brand of "authoritarian evil" was reportedly more relatable than Lord Voldemort and his abstract plans. Staunton herself claimed that her performance as Dolores was inspired primarily by her views on the behavior of the controversial Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013, term 1979-1990).

Staunton portrayed motel owner Sonia Teichberg in the comedy-drama film "Taking Woodstock" (2009). In the film, the motel of the Teichberg family is about to be foreclosed by their bank, and their young son is desperate to raise enough money to save the family business. Following a series of the son's money-making schemes, he learns that Sonia had hid nearly 100,000 dollars in her closet and could single-handedly save the motel if she was willing to spend it. Motivating him to strike out on his own. The film was an adaptation of the memoir "Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life" (2007) by Elliot Tiber, one of the people involved in organizing the Woodstock music festival (1969).

Staunton portrayed the housekeeper Maud Hill in the supernatural drama "The Awakening". In the film, a skeptic writer investigates ghost sightings at a boarding school in Cumbria during the early 1920s. She realized belatedly that the boarding house's building used to be her family's residence during her childhood, that the ghost in question was her murdered half-brother, and that Maud used to be her father's mistress. Maud had invited her there in order to kill her and to turn her into the building's newest ghost. The film was praised by critics as an atmospheric, ghost story, though its resolution was thought to be predictable.

Staunton voiced Margaret Claus in the Christmas animated film "Arthur Christmas" (2011). In the film, a family has used the hereditary title of "Santa Claus" for many generations, and the current Santa (Malcolm) is the 20th one. When a child's present is accidentally lost, Malcolm is indifferent to the situation, and Steven (his cynical eldest son and business-manager) considers this to be an acceptable error. But his idealistic younger son Arthur sets out to personally deliver the present, using an outdated wooden sleigh that had been out of use for nearly a century. As the inexperienced gift-bringer tries to complete his mission, Malcolm tries to hide the situation from his wife Margaret while starting to realize that he was never suited for a leadership position. The film earned 147,4 million at the worldwide box office. It was nominated for an Annie Award for the Best Animated Feature.

Staunton voiced Queen Victoria in the animated swashbuckler film "The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!" (2012). In the film, the new queen regnant is in conflict with a group of unorthodox pirates, while trying to secure ownership of the last-living dodo bird. Assisting Victoria in her efforts is the young scientist Charles Darwin (voiced by David Tennant). The film earned about 123,1 million dollars at the worldwide box office. It was nominated for an "Academy Award for Best Animated Feature", but lost to the fantasy film "Brave".

Staunton portrayed the Welsh activist Hefina Headon (1930-2013) in the period film "Pride" (2014). The film dramatized the UK miners' strike (1984-1985) and the formation of the activist organization "Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners". The activists organized fund-raising efforts to help the impoverished miners and their families. Staunton was nominated for the "BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role" for this role, but lost to Patricia Arquette.

Staunton portrayed the protective pixie Knotgrass in the fantasy film "Maleficent" (2014). Her character was based on the fairy Flora from the animated film "Sleeping Beauty" (1959), but Knotgrass was intentionally depicted as an inept counterpart to the original character. Knotgrass is one of the legal guardians of the human girl Aurora (played by Elle Fanning), but turns out to be a neglectful parent figure. The film grossed over 758 million dollars at the worldwide box-office, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2014. It was also one of the highest-grossing film's in Staunton's career.

Staunton voiced Aunt Lucy in the comedy film "Paddington" (2014). Her character was portrayed as the aunt and surrogate mother of Paddington Bear. After being widowed in an earthquake, Lucy encourages Paddington to migrate to London, where her only human friend once lived. The film earned 282.8 million dollars at the worldwide box office, and was nominated for a "Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film".

Staunton portrayed the leading role of the aristocrat Sandra Abbott, Lady Abbott in the romantic comedy film "Finding Your Feet" (2017). In the film, Sandra finds out that her husband is cheating on her, and then decides to move in with her estranged, free-spirited older sister Bif (played by Celia Imrie). They bond for a while, just before Bif dies from lung cancer. When Sandra's husband tries to reconcile with her, Sandra is no longer interested in leading a conventional life by his side. The film won the won the "Audience Award for Best Film" at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Staunton portrayed the aristocrat Lady Maud Bagshaw in the historical drama "Downton Abbey" (2019). Her character was depicted as a lady-in-waiting to Mary of Teck, Queen consort of the United Kingdom (1867-1953, term 1910-1936). Maud was portrayed as an estranged cousin to Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham (played by Hugh Bonneville). Maud schemed to allow her property to be inherited by her own illegitimate daughter, rather than by her cousin and his heirs. The Crawley family starts scheming an advantageous marriage of their widowed son-in-law Tom Branson to Maud's heiress. The film was a continuation of the historical drama series "Downton Abbey" (2010-2015), which followed the lives of an aristocratic family of Yorkshire and their efforts to maintain or to increase their wealth. The film earned 194.7 million at the worldwide box office.

Staunton returned to the role of Lady Maud Bagshaw in the sequel film "Downton Abbey: A New Era" (2022). The film opens with Maud marrying her illegitimate daughter Lucy Smith to Tom Branson. The film subsequently deals with the last days in the life of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Maggie Smith), and with her son's increasing doubts about his own paternity. The film earned 92.3 million dollars at the worldwide box office. The film was nominated for the "Golden Rooster Award for Best Foreign Language Film" in China.

By 2022, Staunton was 66-years-old. She is no longer the up-and-coming stage star of the 1980s. She is considered a respected veteran of the theater and the film industry. She maintains a cult following among fans of fantasy films, animated films, and period films set primarily in the 19th century or the 20th century. She has had an ever-increasing number of well-received roles in films of these types, and she seems likely to continue her film career.

Joan Baez is the middle daughter of Albert Baez and Joan Baez Sr.. At age 10, her father took a job (and the family) to Baghdad, Iraq. A year later they moved to Palo Alto, CA, home of Stanford University. In 1956, she bought her first guitar and heard Martin Luther King, Jr.'s lecture on nonviolence; the following year, she heard Ira Sandperl, a Gandhian scholar, who also influenced her strongly. She graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1958, failed with a demo album, and move the next year to Massachusetts where her father had taken a teaching position at MIT. She performed at Club 47, a folk music club in Cambridge, and participated in the album "Folksingers 'Round Harvard Square". The same year, she met Odetta and Bob Gibson while she was performing at Chicago's "Gate of Horn". Bob invited her to perform July 11 at the Newport Folk Festival, which launched her fame as a folksinger. Her first album for Vanguard, "Joan Baez" (1960), was a huge success. The following year, she met Bob Dylan and released her second very successful album, followed the year later by many southern civil-rights performances and Grammy nominated "Joan Baez in Concert". She launched a tax revolt as part of her protest of the Vietnam war, protested Pete Seeger's exclusion by ABC-TV, and joined in the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley and the civil rights march in Selma AL. In 1967, she spent two brief periods in jail for anti-war protests. In 1969, she gave birth to Gabriel Harris while his father, David Harris, was serving 20 months of a three year sentence for draft resistance. In 1971, her songs were featured in the films Sacco & Vanzetti (1971) and Celebration at Big Sur (1971). A 1974 world tour included Japan, Australia, Israel, Lebanon, Tunisia and Argentina. The 1978 film Renaldo and Clara (1978) featured her performances in Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder tours. In 1980, Antioch University and Rutgers University awarded her the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for her music and her activism. Next year, PBS aired the documentary "There But For Fortune: Joan Baez in Latin America". The albums, causes and concerts continue, far too numerous to list here.

Bob Denver was attending college at Loyola-Marymount University, in Los Angeles, when he got into acting. At first, Denver wasn't sure he wanted to be an actor, but gradually gave in, deciding that's what he was going to do for a career. Before he became established, he worked as a mailman and teacher. He then got a screen test for the part of Maynard G. Krebs and to his surprise won the part. After four years on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959), Denver got his most famous part of Gilligan, in Gilligan's Island (1964). After Gilligan's three-year run ended he did a few other television shows (including the Gilligan wannabe Dusty's Trail (1973)) and Broadway plays. On September 2, 2005, he died of complications related to cancer treatment at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina. He had most recently lived in Princeton, West Virgina. He is survived by his wife Dreama Perry Denver, and four children.

New York City born David Johansen sang in Rock & Roll dance bands as a teenager, joining Charles Ludlum's Ridiculous Theater and starting the New York Dolls.

The highly influential Dolls made two iconic Rock & Roll records before disbanding in the mid seventies. At this time he created the David Johansen Group which recorded six highly acclaimed albums and toured hits such as "Funky but Chic" for the next ten years. Simultaneously he began performing Jump Blues, Calypso, and "Pre-Hayes code Rock & Roll" under the name Buster Poindexter The success of these shows led to Buster Poindexter's touring four swinging internationally acclaimed CD's.

During this time, in addition to his musical career, Johansen started appearing in various movies , including Let It Ride (1989) and Scrooged (1988), as well as making various television appearances, including a season on Saturday Night Live (1975).

Rona-Lee Shim'on (Ramat Gan, Israel, January 9, 1983), is an Israeli actress, known primarily for her leading role in Fauda. Her character in Fauda, Nurit, is the only woman in an elite unit formed almost exclusively by men. To perform that role she had to learn Krav maga. In 2020, she appeared in the cast of Messiah.

David Costabile was born on 9 January 1967 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Lincoln (2012), Billions (2016) and Breaking Bad (2008). He has been married to Eliza Baldi since 25 June 2012. They have two children.

Steve is an actor born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He attended the Vancouver Film School acting program, before moving to Toronto where he was cast in TV shows like Blue Mountain State (2010), Hemlock Grove (2013) and Haven (2010). He is known for his role as Nick Sorrentino in the TV series "Bitten" (2014).

Kai Bradbury was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is of mixed Japanese and Scottish descent. He grew up speaking Japanese with his mother and spent his 13 years of elementary and high school in a french immersion bilingual program. He discovered acting when he was 14 years old performing in improv shows and later over two dozen plays and musicals around Vancouver.

He has performed in the Vancouver and Edinburgh International Fringe Festivals and went on to graduate from Capilano University's Musical Theater Program in North Vancouver, BC where he trained in acting, singing and dancing.

Kai kicked off his career in Amazon's "The Man in the High Castle" and went on to play in the hit series "Supernatural," "Altered Carbon," "The Boys," "The Terror: Infamy" and Freeform's witch drama "Motherland: Fort Salem." He starred in The CW/CBC Gem action fantasy mini-series "Warigami" as 'Vincent Ohata.'

Kai plays 'Denny Cutler' in the popular romantic drama and Netflix Original series "Virgin River."

Jade Eshete was born on 9 January 1985 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Really Love (2020), Billions (2016) and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016).

Omari Latif Hardwick was born in Savannah, Georgia, to Joyce (Johnson) and Clifford Hardwick III, and grew up in Decatur, GA. His parents gave him a name to set a precedent, "Omari" meaning "most high," and "Latif" meaning "gentle." He shares, "I in no way believe that I am the highest or most high, but I feel like my name gives me something to strive for." Growing up, sports were Hardwick's world, but early on he knew he had a passion for the arts. By the age of fourteen, Hardwick was writing poetry on a regular basis, a passion he would carry with him into adulthood. In high school, he excelled at basketball, baseball, and football, and went on to play football at the University of Georgia. Although a star on the field, Hardwick never gave up his passion for acting, and minored in theatre in college. He shares, "I hugely attribute sports to my success in entertainment business. Being on the field taught me dedication and discipline - I already came from a strict household when I was growing up, sports just took that to another level. Whenever I approach a set, I always feel as though the cast, crew, director, are all part of a team. I have always married athletics and art, two huge parts of my life."

After graduation, Hardwick relocated to San Diego for a spot on the San Diego Chargers (NFL) however a knee injury cut his football career short. He decided to revisit his original passion for acting, and moved to New York to study his craft more extensively. In New York, Hardwick studied off Broadway until 2000, when he made the move to Los Angeles. As a struggling actor, he worked odd jobs to pay for acting classes, however the security gigs and substitute teaching at times were not enough to make ends meet, and at one point he lived out of his car. Hardwick shares, "what is so crazy, is that where I presently shoot my series 'Dark Blue,' is where I lived in my car when I first moved to Los Angeles. It is surreal at times."

Hardwick's first big break came in 2003, when he was cast in his first major role as a series regular in Spike Lee's Sucker Free City. Two years later, he landed the feature The Guardian and TNT's Saved - both of which he booked within a three-week span in 2005. He notes, "I felt like I had arrived when I went back to one of my odd jobs that had let me go several years prior, and I looked out over Sunset Boulevard right next to the Chateau Marmont, and saw myself plastered on a billboard overlooking the city. I had to break down a little at that point, it was a big moment for me." Throughout 2007 - 2009 Hardwick worked on various projects, including guest starring on several television series, and filming several movies including Summit Entertainment's Next Day Air and Touchstone Picture's Miracle at St. Anna. In 2008 he landed the role of "Ty Curtis" on the TNT series Dark Blue. Season 1 aired throughout 2009. His continued success came when he was cast as the lead of the Starz series Power. Omari's performance is critically lauded, and the show went on to produce multiple spinoffs for the network. Having reached a new level of stardom, Omari can most recently be seen in Boots Riley's critically acclaimed Sorry to Bother You, Nobody's Fool opposite Tiffany Haddish, Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead for Netflix, and opposite Toni Collette in Pieces of Her, also for Netflix. He'll next be seen in Netflix projects The Mothership, opposite Halle Berry, and The Mother, opposite Jennifer Lopez.

In addition to acting, Hardwick is a founding member of Plan B Inc. Theater Group, and a co-founder of Los Angeles Actor's Lounge. He has big plans for his production company, Bravelife, in 2010 as well, and plans on expanding the company. Hardwick also continues to work on his poetry, and has written over 4,000 poems.

Born in Dallas, Texas, K Callan's first professional job was at the Margo Jones Theatre. She first gained national attention as Peter Boyle's mousy wife in the legendary Joe (1970). Her career includes film, television and theater. Other memorable films include American Gigolo (1980) and A Touch of Class (1973). A regular guest star in countless television movies and series, her favorite television roles include the lesbian Veronica in the Emmy-winning "Cousin Liz" episode of All in the Family (1971), Superman's mom on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993) and the wife of an Alzheimer's patient on Nip/Tuck (2003).

Callan is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy and is a past Board Member of the Screen Actors Guild. In addition to her work as an actor, she has also authored a string of showbiz reference books: "How to Sell Yourself as an Actor", "The Script is Finished, Now What do I Do?", "Directing Your Directing Career", "The Los Angeles Agent Book" and "The New York Agent Book".

After a substantial career in the advertising industry, John Doman came to acting relatively late. In fact, he made his screen debut at the age of 46. When the acting bug eventually bit, it was upon his return from Vietnam in 1969, where he had served as a Second Lieutenant with the 3rd Marine Division. Watching Midnight Cowboy (1969) and The Graduate (1967) consecutively at a cinema in San Francisco, he became inspired by Dustin Hoffman's performances and determined to give acting a try. In an interview, he explained "It took me 20 years to actually get around to doing it". For those intervening decades, Doman worked in advertising, eventually moving up to the position of Executive Vice President, Head of Business Development at TBWA. His academic credentials include a Master of Business Administration degree in marketing from Pennsylvania State University.

Having read books and taking "some classes here and there", Doman landed a spot on a commercial for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1991.This led to further work on television, commencing the following year with a small role on the soap As the World Turns (1956). The brawny, deep-voiced actor (an ex-football player for the Penn Quakers) has since specialised in tough, no-nonsense authority figures, frequently in crime dramas. Doman has played no less than eleven distinct characters in the Law & Order (1990) franchise. His breakout role was as the uncompromising Maryland State Police Deputy Commissioner of Operations (eventually Superintendant) William Rawls in five seasons of HBO's The Wire (2002). Doman has also guest-starred as a Bajoran militia colonel in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) episode "Shakaar". He played the corrupt Pope Alexander VI (aka Rodrigo Borgia) in Borgia (2011), Bishop Charles Eddis in House of Cards (2013), morally ambiguous Senator Ross Garrison in the compelling CBS drama Person of Interest (2011), mob bosses Don Carmine Falcone and Patrick "Paddy" Doyle, respectively, in DC's Gotham (2014) and in Rizzoli & Isles (2010), Katee Sackhoff's overprotective Police Chief father in Longmire (2012) and the micro-managing American Ambassador to Germany, Richard Hanes, in Berlin Station (2016). More recently, he appeared as Boston District Attorney Guy Dan in the Kevin Bacon starrer City on a Hill (2019).

Doman has also lent his commanding presence to the stage, notably off-Broadway and in productions for the New York Shakespeare Festival.

Sope Dirisu was born on 9 January 1991 in Edgware, London, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Slow Horses (2022), His House (2020) and Gangs of London (2020).