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Luis Tosar was born on 13 October 1971 in Lugo, Galicia, Spain. He is an actor and producer, known for Cell 211 (2009), Sleep Tight (2011) and Take My Eyes (2003). He has been married to María Luisa Mayol since 10 August 2015. They have two children.EUROPE .....................SPAIN- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Ricardo Darín was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 16, 1957. He works since he was a little boy, and has obtained with the years a remarkable evolution from soap opera gallant and tv comedies to an excellent leading figure of the most importants Argentinian movies. At the age of 10 he made his debut in a play along with his parents, actor Ricardo Darín Sr., and actess Renée Roxana. He acted for several years in TV series (such as Alta Comedia and Estación Retiro), where he reached popularity as a young leading actor in different soap operas, specially in Alberto Migre's productions. In the 90s, he achieved a great success in the TV comedy "Mi Cuñado" (1993), in which he co-starred with Luis Brandoni. He never left theater and continued acting in plays like "Sugar", "Extraña Pareja", "Taxi", "Algo en Común" and "Art". At that time, he directed plays and movies like "He nacido en la ribera", "La Rabona" y "Los Exitos del Amor". The first time the critic emphasized his performance was in the movie "Perdido por Perdido" (1993), Alberto Lecchi's debut as a film director. Then, he played in "El Faro" (1998), "El Mismo Amor La Misma Lluvia" (1999), and "Nueve Reinas" (2000), brilliantly portraying Marcos. Once again, he colaborated with director Eduardo Mignona when he portrayed Domingo Santaló in "La Fuga" (2001). In 2001 he played Rafael Belvedere in "El Hijo de la Novia" (nominated in the foreign language category at the 2002 Oscars), crowning his career. Currently (2005), he is on tour with the play "Art" all over the world.
He lives with his wife, Florencia Bas, and his children, Ricardo Jr. and Clara.EUROPE .....................SPAIN- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Javier Bardem belongs to a family of actors that have been working on films since the early days of Spanish cinema.
He was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, to actress Pilar Bardem (María del Pilar Bardem Muñoz) and businessman José Carlos Encinas Doussinague. His maternal grandparents were actors Rafael Bardem and Matilde Muñoz Sampedro, and his uncle is screenwriter Juan Antonio Bardem. He got his start in the family business, at age six, when he appeared in his first feature, "El picaro" (1974) (A.K.A. The Scoundrel). During his teenage years, he acted in several TV series, played rugby for the Spanish National Team, and toured the country with an independent theatrical group. Javier's early film role as a sexy stud in the black comedy, Jamón, Jamón (1992) (aka Ham Ham) propelled him to instant popularity and threatened to typecast him as nothing more than a brawny sex symbol. Determined to avert a beefcake image, he refused similar subsequent roles and has gone on to win acclaim for his ability to appear almost unrecognizable from film to film. With over 25 movies and numerous awards under his belt, it is Javier's stirring, passionate performance as the persecuted Cuban writer, Reynaldo Arenas, in Before Night Falls (2000) that will long be remembered as his breakthrough role. He received five Best Actor awards and a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal.EUROPE .....................SPAIN- Actor
- Director
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Personal life
Mario Casas, has 4 siblings. Born in La Coruña, although very young, at just 4 years old, he left with his family to Barcelona. Later, at the age of 18, he emigrated to the Spanish capital in an adventure in which he took his whole family with him.
His parents were very young when they had him; his mother, Heidi, was only 17 and his father, Ramon, 19. Only a year and a half later they had their sister, so they were very young and had two children. For Mario, his father is his "reference", while his mother, like his brothers, are his "confidants".
His mother has been raising her children, while his father is a cabinetmaker, but has also done construction and renovation work. Because of this work, his father had no problems moving to another city, so they decided to accompany Mario when he left for Madrid and settled with him in the city.
Mario has four other brothers and sisters, forming what he defines as "a Sicilian family", a family with many children established around a "matriarch". Mario, is the oldest of them all. He is followed by his sister Sheila, and two other brothers, named Christian and Oscar. Finally, the youngest member of the family, Daniel, who was born in 2014, and whom he considers almost as his "nephew" because of the enormous age difference.
He gets along well with all of them, although especially with his sister Sheila, as they have grown up together. Mario, a loyal tattoo lover, has one dedicated to each of his parents and siblings, with the initials of each one.
He remembers his childhood as "wonderful", although he had a bit of a hard time because he was given "a lot of cane" for being short, even the girls. He developed very late, until he was 15 years old, he continued to have the body of a child. Even so, he has always been a flirt, and had his first "girlfriend" at the age of 4.
As a child he liked everything: singing, dancing, ping-pong, football.... He says he liked to try everything, although he admits that he got tired fast. His professional career began as an "advertisement child", as he was involved in advertising as a child. He advertised Cola Cao, Telepizza, Scalextric... He eventually decided to become an actor after he had enrolled the Cristina Rota School of Dramatic Arts
He also keeps "lifelong" friends from school. They are the ones he made when he arrived in Barcelona and have always been with him. In his words, true friends who you can count on the fingers of one hand.
Over the years he dated a few fellow actresses he starred with in movies such as María Valverde and Berta Vázques. Since 2018, he is in a relationship with famous Spanish actress Blanca Suarez he played with in movies/tv shows such as: Carne de Neon (2010), El Barco (2011-2013), Mi Gran Noche (2015), and El Bar (2017).EUROPE .....................SPAIN- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Mads Mikkelsen's great successes parallel those achieved by the Danish film industry since the mid-1990s. He was born in Østerbro, Copenhagen, to Bente Christiansen, a nurse, and Henning Mikkelsen, a banker.
Starting out as a low-life pusher/junkie in the 1996 success Pusher (1996), he slowly grew to become one of Denmark's biggest movie actors. The success in his home country includes Flickering Lights (2000), En kort en lang (2001) and the Emmy-winning police series Unit One (2000).
His success has taken him abroad where he has played alongside Gérard Depardieu in I Am Dina (2002) as well as in the Spanish comedy Torremolinos 73 (2003) and the American blockbuster King Arthur (2004).
He played the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the critically acclaimed NBC series Hannibal (2013), from 2013 to 2015, with great success.EUROPE .....................DENMARK- Actor
- Producer
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Ulrich Thomsen graduated from The Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theaters in Copenhagen, i.e. Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater. His debut on film was in Ole Bornedal's Nightwatch (1994). Since then a number of roles in, among others, Thomas Vinterberg's The Biggest Heroes (1996), Susanne Bier's Credo (1997) and Anders Thomas Jensen's Flickering Lights (2000). However, the major breakthrough came in the film The Celebration (1998) by Thomas Vinterberg, playing the part as Christian, the son. This performance made him well known outside Denmark, earning him a bad guy role in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999) and a part in the English film Killing Me Softly (2002).EUROPE .....................DENMARK- Actor
- Producer
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Born in Odense, Denmark, Roland Møller debuted on screen in 2010 in Lindholm & Noer's prison drama R as "the Mason", a brutal inmate, high in the pecking order. In 2011 Roland was nominated Best Supporting Actor for the film at The Danish Critics Association Awards, Bodil.
Two years later, Roland was nominated for a Bodil in the same category for his role as the sailor "Jan Sørensen" in Tobias Lindholm's drama "A Hijacking." Jan Sørensen is a ship's engineer taken hostage by pirates of the Somali shore holding on to his wits as days passes by.
In 2013, "Northwest" by Michael Noer was released. Roland's character Bjørn is a local gang member, who welcomes the new kid in town into his world of drugs and prostitution. Roland won a Bodil for this performance.
In 2014 Roland got the leading role in Martin Zandvlient's WWII film "Land of Mine." Roland plays the Danish sergeant Carl Leopold Rasmussen in charge of a group of young German prisoners of war who are forced to clear landmines on the West Coast of Denmark just after the war has ended. For this we won in the category Best Actor at Tokyo International Film Festival and at the Bodil Awards. "Land of Mine" was furthermore nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards 2017.
Earlier this year David Leitch's "Atomic Blonde" premiered starring Roland opposite John Goodman and Charlize Theron. For more to come Roland is starring in Jaume Collette Serra's "The Commuter", playing alongside Liam Neeson, in Michael Noer's "Papillon", that premiered on Toronto International Film Festival, opposite Chaelie Hunnam and Rami Malek and in "A Bluebird in my heart" by Jérémie Guez.
Besides acting, Roland is a co-host on two radio programs on the Danish radio channel Radio 24/7, "Politiradio", and "Nattevagten."
Leaving an old life in the criminal underworld, Roland is today deeply involved in his community, helping to steer at risk youth away from a life in crime and figure as a mentor to boys who are at risk of becoming involved in crime.EUROPE .....................DENMARK- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Actor, producer, writer, and director Til Schweiger is Germany's best-known actor and also the country's most successful director. With more than 51 Million admissions no other German filmmaker drew more people to cinemas. He runs his own production company Barefoot Films based in Berlin, Germany.
Til Schweiger (born December 19, 1963) was raised along with his two brothers in his hometown Giessen. In his early years, Schweiger began studying German and Medicine. He decided to drop out of university to pursue his career as an actor and went to drama school from 1986-1989. After graduation, he played at several theaters as a stage actor to gain more experience.
In 1991, Schweiger landed his first lead role in Manta, Manta (1991) following his big breakthrough role on Maybe... Maybe Not (1994) with the support of Germany's renowned film producer and mentor Bernd Eichinger. In 1996, Til Schweiger founded his first film production company Mr. Brown Entertainment together with business partner and film producer Tom Zickler. Schweiger debuted as producer with Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997) winning several Festival Awards. The road movie remains a cult favorite with audiences worldwide. Within the same year, Schweiger was the first foreign actor to win the "Polish Oscar" at the International Warsaw Film festival for his performance in in Bandyta (1997). He has since built up acting credits in dozens of German movies including Der Eisbär (1998), where Schweiger made his debut as director.
Judas Kiss (1998) was Schweiger's first role in an international film. He then appeared in several internationally acclaimed movies including SLC Punk! (1998), The Replacement Killers (1998), Driven (2001), Intimate Affairs (2001), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003), King Arthur (2004), New Year's Eve (2011), and many more.
To this day, Schweiger has delivered a series of German-language hits and won numerous Awards as actor/writer/director/producer: Barefoot (2005) grossed about $7,7 million with 1,5 million admissions, Rabbit Without Ears (2007) was up to 2014 Schweiger's most successful film and earned some $74 million locally, followed by the sequel Rabbit Without Ears 2 (2009). In 2011, Schweiger wrote, produced and directed Kokowääh (2011), which grossed $43 million, starring alongside his youngest daughter Emma. A sequel hit theaters in 2013.
As an actor, he received widespread critical acclaim and further recognition for his portrayal as the legendary Hugo Stieglitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009).
In December 2014, Til Schweiger released the family-friendly dramedy Head Full of Honey (2014) , which he co-wrote, directed, produced and starred in. It is his most successful film to date breaking the 6, 3 million admissions barrier of his 2007 hit Rabbit Without Ears (2007).
Schweiger, who started his career in German TV, plays the lead role on hit local crimes series Tatort (1970)(Hamburg) (Scene of the Crime). His debut generated the best ratings for the long-running procedural in 20 years.EUROPE .....................GERMANY- Actor
- Producer
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Daniel Brühl was born in Barcelona, Spain. His father was German TV director Hanno Brühl (1937-2010), who was born in São Paulo, Brazil. His Spanish mother was a teacher. He also has a brother and a sister, Oliver and Miriam. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Cologne, Germany, where he grew up and attended the Dreikönigsgymnasium. Brought up in a fully multilingual home, he speaks fluent German, English, Portuguese, Spanish, French and Catalan.EUROPE .....................GERMANY- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
August Diehl was born on 4 January 1976 in Berlin, Germany. He is an actor and writer, known for Inglourious Basterds (2009), A Hidden Life (2019) and The King's Man (2021). He has been married to Julia Malik since 1999. They have two children.EUROPE .....................GERMANY- Actor
- Soundtrack
Volker Bruch was born on 9 March 1980 in Munich, Germany. He is an actor, known for The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), The Reader (2008) and Babylon Berlin (2017).EUROPE .....................GERMANY- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Christoph Waltz is an Austrian-German actor. He is known for his work with American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, receiving acclaim for portraying SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds (2009) and bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained (2012). For each performance, he won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Additionally, he received the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of Landa.
Christoph Waltz was born in Vienna, Austria, into a theatrical family, his mother Elisabeth Urbancic, an Austrian-born costume designer, and Johannes Waltz, a German-born stage builder. He has three siblings. His maternal grandmother was Viennese Burgtheater actress Maria Mayen, and his step-grandfather was fellow Burgtheater actor Emmerich Reimers. His maternal grandfather, Rudolf von Urban, was a psychologist and psychiatrist who wrote the 1949 book "Sex Perfection and Marital Happiness".
Waltz attended the Theresianium and Billrothstrasse in Vienna. Upon graduation, he attended the Max-Reinhardt-Seminar before going to New York to the Lee Strasberg Institute. While in New York, Christoph met his first wife, and moved back to Vienna, then to London.
During the 80s, Christoph worked primarily in theatre, commuting from his home in London to Germany. Slowly Waltz began to work in TV, taking one-off roles in series, and TV movies. Film roles soon followed. Attempts to break into English-speaking film and TV were, however, unsuccessful. Waltz has expressed his gratitude to have been able to make a living and support his family through acting. For thirty years he worked steadily, tirelessly, in this manner.
It was not until he met Quentin Tarantino that his career in Hollywood took off. The role of Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds (2009) catapulted Waltz from a lifetime working in German TV/film to the new life of an international superstar and Academy Award-winning actor. He won 27 awards for his performance as Hans Landa, including the Cannes prix d'interpretation Masculin for 2009, the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, the BAFTA Best Supporting Actor award, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (which he won again for 2012's Django Unchained (2012)).
He also has portrayed computer genius Qohen Leth in the film The Zero Theorem (2013), American plagiarist Walter Keane in the biographical film _Big Eyes (2014), and 007's nemesis and head of SPECTRE Ernst Stavro Blofeld in _Spectre (2015)_. In Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, Waltz portrayed SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa, aka "The Jew Hunter". Clever, courteous, and multilingual - but also self-serving, cunning, implacable, and murderous. Waltz played gangster Benjamin Chudnofsky in The Green Hornet (2011). That same year, he starred in Water for Elephants (2011), Roman Polanski's Carnage (2011), and a remake of The Three Musketeers (2011). He played German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012), a role Tarantino wrote specifically for Waltz.
Waltz resides in Berlin and Los Angeles. His wife is costume builder Judith Holste.EUROPE .....................AUSTRIA- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Matthias Schoenaerts was born on December 8, 1977 in Antwerp, Belgium. His mother, Dominique Wiche, was a costume designer, translator, and French teacher, and his father was actor Julien Schoenaerts. He made his film debut at the age of 13 alongside his father in the Belgian film Daens (1992), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Schoenaerts enrolled in film school but was expelled for poor attendance in his second year. By age 21, he was enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Antwerp and was acting professionally in small roles on Belgian television and in Belgian film. By the time he graduated in 2003, Schoenaerts was already named one of "Europe's Shooting Stars" by the influential marketing organization, European Film Promotion.
In 2002, he starred in Dorothée Van Den Berghe's directorial debut Meisje (2002), which was also his first feature film since Daens. With his role in Tom Barman's Any Way the Wind Blows (2003), he proved he was Flanders' young actor to watch.
In 2004, Schoenaerts produced and starred in the short film A Message from Outer Space (2004). He also appeared in Ellektra (2004) alongside his father.
In 2006, he had a small role as a member of the Dutch Resistance in Paul Verhoeven's Black Book (2006), and landed his first starring role in the Belgian film Dennis van Rita (2006), playing Dennis, a mentally-challenged man learning to adjust to life after a prison sentence for a rape he may not have committed.
Though Schoenaerts garnered critical praise for his role in "Love Belongs to Everyone", the film that would make him a star in his homeland came in 2008, in Erik Van Looy's Loft (2008), Schoenaerts played Filip, one of a group of married friends who share the rent on a downtown loft as a place to meet their respective mistresses. The dramatic thriller was a smash hit, becoming the top-grossing Flemish film of all time. In the same year, he also starred in the horror film Linkeroever (2008).
In 2009, he worked once again with director Dorothée Van Den Berghe, playing the hippie Raven in My Queen Karo (2009). In 2010, he played the lead role in Alex Stockman's techno-thriller Pulsar (2010).
In 2011, Schoenaerts starred in Michaël R. Roskam's Bullhead (2011), playing Jacky Vanmarsenille, a cattle farmer who becomes entangled with the underworld of bovine hormones and steroids. Impressed by the script, Schoenaerts committed to star in the film in 2005, and over the five years that it took first-time director Roskam to secure financing, the actor transformed his naturally thin body into that of a steroid-abusing brute. His powerful performance in the tragic role won awards at numerous film festivals and propelled "Bullhead" to an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012.
In 2012, Schoenaerts got the lead role opposite Marion Cotillard in Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone (2012); in the film he played Ali, an ex-boxer who falls in love with Cotillard's character. Like Audiard's previous films, "Rust and Bone" received a breathless reception at the Cannes Film Festival with a 10-minute standing ovation at the end of its screening and was a critical and box office hit in France. Schoenaerts' performance in the film earned him a César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2013.
Schoenaerts also starred in the Belgian short film Death of a Shadow (2012), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2013 and won the European Film Award for Best European Short.
In 2013, he starred in Blood Ties (2013) after being recommended for the film by his co-star in "Rust and Bone", Marion Cotillard. Following his breakthrough in "Rust and Bone", Matthias started a career in Hollywood and landed roles in American and British productions like Saul Dibb's Suite Française (2014), Alan Rickman's A Little Chaos (2014), Michaël R. Roskam's The Drop (2014), and Thomas Vinterberg's Far from the Madding Crowd (2015).
In 2015, Schoenaerts returned to French cinema in Alice Winocour's Disorder (2015), in which he plays an ex-soldier with PTSD. He also played one of the leads of Luca Guadagnino's A Bigger Splash (2015), opposite Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes, and played the art-dealer Hans Axgil in Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl (2015).
He will reteam with Michaël R. Roskam in Racer and the Jailbird (2017) and also with Thomas Vinterberg in The Command (2018), in which Schoenaerts will play the captain of a Russian submarine.EUROPE .....................BELGIUM- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård was born in Stockholm, Sweden and is the eldest son of famed actor Stellan Skarsgård. Among his siblings are actors Gustaf Skarsgård, Bill Skarsgård, and Valter Skarsgård. For most of his formative years, his father was an acclaimed actor in Europe but had not yet achieved the international fame that came after his star turn in Breaking the Waves (1996). Young Alexander was raised under modest circumstances in a working-class Swedish neighborhood as his parents wanted their children to have as normal an upbringing as possible. He began his acting career at the age of eight and continued working in films and on Swedish television until he turned sixteen and decided acting was not the career for him. Life under a microscope lost its charm and perhaps due to the influence of My Skarsgård, his physician mother, he stopped working as an actor, to continue his education.
Instead of continuing college, at the age of nineteen, he entered compulsory military service (military conscription). He used the time to contemplate his future. He studied at the Leeds Metropolitan University then moved to New York where he enrolled at Marymount Manhattan College to study theatre. After six months in New York, a romantic entanglement lured him back to Sweden but the relationship was short-lived. Despite having a broken heart, Alexander decided to stay in Sweden and, with a bit of life experience under his belt, began his acting career again. He appeared in a number of Swedish productions and became a star in his native country but was interested in broadening his horizons and working outside of Sweden. A visit to Los Angeles landed him both an agent and a part in the Ben Stiller movie, Zoolander (2001). After that Alexander returned to Sweden where he continued honing his acting in film and theatrical productions including "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Bloody Wedding". He also co-wrote and co-directed an award-winning short, Att döda ett barn (2003), (To Kill a Child), which was shown at both the Tribeca and Cannes Film Festivals.
His first big break was with the miniseries Generation Kill (2008). Alexander spent seven months broiling in the desert of Namibia but it was well worth it. His portrayal of Marine Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert astonished critics and audiences, alike. Thanks to the writer's strike, after completing Generation Kill (2008), he was cast in the role of "Eric Northman", a 1,000-year-old Viking vampire on the hit series, True Blood (2008). The series was created by Alan Ball, the man behind Six Feet Under (2001). True Blood (2008) was adapted from the "Sookie Stackhouse' novels by Charlaine Harris' and rode to success on quality scripts, great acting and the public's obsession with the vampire genre. In addition to True Blood (2008), which begins its third season in 2010, Alexander has a number of film projects in the works including the remake of Straw Dogs (2011), Melancholia (2011), written and directed by Lars von Trier, action Sci-Fi film, Battleship (2012), and The East (2013), directed by Zal Batmanglij.EUROPE .....................SWEDEN- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Mikael was born in Jakobsberg, Stockholm, Sweden on September 25th 1963. His interest in acting started at an early age when working as an extra in Ingmar Bergman's staging of William Shakespeare's "King Lear."
In the 1990s, Mikael starred in the immensely popular Swedish TV series, "Rederiet" ("The Shipping Company.") which led to other roles in various TV productions. But it wasn't until 1997 when Persbrandt starred as the tough detective, Gunvald Larsson, he got his major break-through. "Beck" was not only a major hit in Sweden but in Germany as well - and (as of 2022) consists of 46 theatrical and television movies based on the characters created by authors Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöo.
In 2005, Mikael received the highly coveted Ingmar Bergman award from the Guldbagge Awards and in 2006 he earned nominations for Best Actor from both the Bodil (Denmark) and Guldbagge Awards for his performance in Simon Staho's "Bang Bang Orangutang." He also starred in Staho's "Day and Night," which won the Chicago International Film Festival's Silver Hugo Award for Best Ensemble Acting. Further he starred in IFC Films' "Everlasting Moments," for which he earned the 2009 Guldbagge Award for Best Actor. Mikael's other work includes leading roles in the Swedish films "The Hypnotist", "Hamilton - In the Interest of the Nation" , "Någon annanstans i Sverige" (for which he received a 2011 Guldbagge nomination), "Stockholm East," and "Day and Night. He earned another Guldbagge Award in 2014 for Best Actor in Kjell-Åke Andersson's "Nobody Owns Me".
Mikael Persbrandt became internationally known for his leading role in the Academy Award winning foreign feature, "In A Better World," directed by Susanne Bier. His performance earned him a 2011 European Film Award nomination for Best Actor. Some of his other international work includes the final installment of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, the drama "Someone You Love," which took home the Audience Award for Best International Film at the Los Angeles Film Festival and the critically acclaimed feature "The Salvation," Some of his more recent roles involves the Netflix success "Sex Education" and "The Kingdom Exodus" directed by Lars von Trier, for which he has received the 2023 Robert Award nomination for Best leading male actor in a TV series.
Mikael also has an extended theatre background with Swedish productions such as "Three Sisters" and "Death of a Salesman" at the Plaza Theatre, "Mr. Puntila and His Man Matti," "The Good Person of Szechwan" and "Long Day's Journey Into Night" at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. Among his other appearances at the Royal Dramatic Theatre mention can be made of "Maria Stuart" (directed by Ingmar Bergman,) "Don Juan," "The Wild Duck," "Miss Julie" and recently "The Sea Gull." In 2012 Mikael became the owner of the private theatre Maximteatern in Stockholm where he also has participated in several successful plays such as August Strindberg's "The Dance of Death", Shakespeare's "MacBeth" and the latest critically acclaimed play "Så enkel är kärleken" by Lars Norén in 2022.EUROPE .....................SWEDEN- Born Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist in Stockholm, Sweden, it wasn't until he was over a year old when he was finally adopted from the orphanage he had been given to. His father was a lawyer and his mother a writer. It wasn't until he had his first child that he decided to seek out his biological parents. After a long journey, he met his biological mother who is Swedish and is now close to his biological father who is Italian and a pharmacist.
Acting wasn't always originally on the agenda for Nyqvist. A career in hockey was desired until an injury lead to an early retirement. At the age of 17, Nyqvist went to Omaha, Nebraska in America as an exchange student for a year. This is where his passion for acting first sparked. He took his first acting classes and played in addition to other roles, a part in a school version of the drama Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.
However, upon returning to Sweden he got accepted into Ballet school but after one year gave it up insisting he was too "stiff" and twirls and twists were not for him. An ex-girlfriend suggested to try theatre instead and at 19 years old, he was accepted into the Swedish Academic School of Drama in Malmö. He then went onto work mainly in theatre but also had several parts in film productions.
He became well known for his role as police officer Banck in the first series of Beck (1997) films made in 1997. His big breakthrough in European cinema came three years later, as he starred as Rolf, an alcoholic and abusive husband, in a film by Lukas Moodysson called Together (2000). This role landed him his first Guldbagge nomination (Best Supporting Actor) and won him the Best Actor award at the Gijón International Film Festival.
The accolades, awards and nominations flowed on from there. In 2002, Nyqvist played the leading man in the Swedish romantic comedy-drama, Grabben i graven bredvid (2002) directed by Kjell Sundvall and based on the novel of the same name written by Katarina Mazetti. He won a Best Actor Guldbagge award for his performance. The following year, Nyqvist starred as the leading role in As It Is in Heaven (2004) which was Academy Award nominated for Best Foreign Film and his performance as an internationally renowned, struggling conductor earned Nyqvist his second nomination for a Best Actor Guldbagge award. In 2006, he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Guldbagge award for his role in the film Mother of Mine (2005).
Over the next few years he went on to star in several other films and plays as part of the Royal Dramatic Theatre. A notable role that Nyqvist portrayed was that of Swedish ambassador Harald Edelstam in the film The Black Pimpernel (2007). Edelstam was a hero that saved several lives from execution in Chile during and after the military coupe in September 1973.
In 2008, it was announced that Nyqvist was chosen to star as Mikael Blomkvist of the literary phenomenon, the Millennium Trilogy written by Stieg Larsson. It was long speculated by Scandinavian tabloids that fellow Swedish actor, Mikael Persbrandt could be chosen for the role of Blomkvist until Niels Arden Oplev claimed that 'he would not have been right for the role.' Oplev needed 'a humanist with his heart in the right place, a Swedish teddy bear whom women would feel safe in his arms...a man who respects women, regardless of what type they are.' Nyqvist's capabilities as an actor and his public persona scored him the role.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) and its sequels, The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009) were released in 2009 throughout Europe and in the following year, throughout the rest of the world. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has garnered international critical acclaim. Oplev, Noomi Rapace (who starred as Lisbeth Salander, female protagonist of the trilogy) and Nyqvist all gained international recognition. Nyqvist said that his role as Blomkvist 'put me on the map internationally.' As a result he starred in two major Hollywood action movies as the leading villain: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) as Hendricks, and John Wick (2014) as Tarasov. He made other movies in English, and continued to work in Swedish language projects.
He appeared in two films based on novels by well-known Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell, Kennedy's Brain (2010) and The Man from Beijing (2011). There was speculation and talk from Mankell that Nyqvist would be his first choice to play Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was assassinated in 1986, but that project never materialized. Instead, one of his final appearances was as a man who was the diametric opposite of Palme: he played Hendrik Verwoed, the architect of apartheid in South Africa, in Madiba (2017).
Michael Nyqvist was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he passed away of the disease in Stockholm in June 2017, aged 56.
He was married to set designer, Catharina Ehrnrooth and had two children Ellen (born in 1991) and Arthur (born in 1996).EUROPE .....................SWEDEN - Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Stellan Skarsgård was born in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden, to Gudrun (Larsson) and Jan Skarsgård. He became a star in his teens through the title role in the TV-series Bombi Bitt och jag (1968). Between the years 1972-88 he was employed at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, where he participated in "Vita rum" (1988), August Strindberg's "Ett drömspel" (1986) and "Mäster Olof" (1988). Simultaneously Skarsgård did outstanding film roles, notably in The Simple-Minded Murderer (1982) by Hans Alfredson and with Fred Ward in Noon Wine (1985). The fantastic performance gave him both a well-earned Guldbagge and Silver Berlin Bear. He portrayed the Skagen-painter Sören Kröyer in Hip hip hurra! (1987) and the Swedish ambassador Raoul Wallenberg in God afton, herr Wallenberg (1990), both directed by Kjell Grede. Codename Coq Rouge (1989) and The Democratic Terrorist (1992) he played Jan Guillou's Swedish superagent Carl Hamilton. He also had the leading part in the Oscar nominated The Ox (1991) directed by the world-famous cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Skarsgård did his first (but small) role in an big American film with The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). The role of Captain Tupolev in The Hunt for Red October (1990) was at supposed to be biggest part in a Hollywood-film, but unfortunately it was cut down. His breakthrough instead came with Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) opposite newcomer Emily Watson. After that Skarsgård got several supporting roles in American films, such as in My Son the Fanatic (1997), Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting (1997) and Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997).EUROPE .....................SWEDEN- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Dolph Lundgren was born as Hans Lundgren in Stockholm, Sweden, to Sigrid Birgitta (Tjerneld), a language teacher, and Karl Johan Hugo Lundgren, an engineer and economist for the Swedish government. He lived in Stockholm until the age of 13, when he moved in with his grandparents in Nyland, Ångermanland, Sweden. Despite an early interest in music and the fine arts, Dolph decided to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue an Engineering degree. After having completed his military service, he enrolled at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
It was in the military when Dolph first came in contact with the martial arts. Five years later, he had become a world-class competitor in Japanese Karate and was deeply involved with a discipline that was to become an important part of his life. After graduating High School, Dolph spent considerable time studying in the United States and abroad on various academic scholarships. He attended Washington State University and Clemson University in South Carolina. In 1982, he received a scholarship to complete his Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Sydney, Australia. In 1983, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, one of the world's top engineering schools.
However, that same year, he decided to move to New York City and take up acting. He changed his forename to Dolph. He started studying drama at the Warren Robertson Theatre Workshop in Manhattan, not knowing how quickly his life was about to change. His film debut came in A View to a Kill (1985). However, it was his performance in Rocky IV (1985) later that year that definitely got him noticed. After a 9-month audition process among 5,000 hopefuls, he was cast opposite writer-director Sylvester Stallone, as his Russian opponent, "Ivan Drago". Following the success of Rocky IV (1985), Lundgren moved to Los Angeles and has since starred in more than 30 feature films.
Lundgren portrayed the classic action-heroic lead in such films as Gary Goddard's Masters of the Universe (1987), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) co-starring Brandon Lee and Blackjack (1998), by Hong-Kong action legend, John Woo. Lundgren has also continued to turning in memorable performances as the main adversary to other action-stars, most notably in Universal Soldier (1992) opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme, directed by Roland Emmerich, as well as Robert Longo's Johnny Mnemonic (1995) opposite Keanu Reeves. In February 2004, Lundgren directed his first feature film, the thriller The Defender (2004), in which he also starred. In 2005, he directed and starred in yet another feature, The Russian Specialist (2005) (a.k.a "The Russian Specialist").
In January 2006, he finished principal photography of The Final Inquiry (2006), a joint Italian/American/Spanish co-production, directed by Giulio Base, appearing opposite, among others, Daniele Liotti, Max von Sydow and F. Murray Abraham. In 2006, Lundgren starred in Diamond Dogs (2007), a Chinese/American co-production filmed on location in Mongolia. In 2007, he directed a modern day western shot in Texas, Missionary Man (2007). In 2009, he completed two new directorial efforts, the action-packed Command Performance (2009), which showcases Lundgren's longtime musical talents as a drummer; and the neo-noir thriller Icarus (2010). Lundgren also reunited with co-stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Sylvester Stallone for Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) and the highly anticipated action blockbuster, The Expendables (2010).
Lundgren managed to not let his Hollywood career stand in the way of his athletic background. He has been awarded his Third Degree Black Belt by the World Karate Organization in Tokyo. His accomplishments include being the Captain of the Swedish National Karate Team, as well as a Champion of the Swedish, European and Australian Heavyweight Division titles. Lundgren still regularly performs Karate exhibitions at international tournaments worldwide. In addition, he was selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee to serve as Team Leader of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Pentathlon Team during the Atlanta Games. He is actively involved in promoting the image of this sport. His production company, Thor Pictures, is developing several projects in which he will produce, star and/or direct. He is also a founding member of "Group of Eight", a New York theater group started in 1994.
Lundgren has reportedly been working on a fitness book and sports wear line for men, the creation and launch of a new eponymous brand, a licensing, media and publishing program, and the development of future entertainment and media projects. Lundgren was married to Anette Qviberg-Lundgren, an interior decorator and fashion designer, until their divorce in 2011. They had two daughters together.EUROPE .....................SWEDEN- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Alicia Vikander is a Swedish actress, dancer and producer. She was born and raised in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden, to Maria Fahl, an actress of stage and screen, and Svante Vikander, a psychiatrist. Through her mother, she is one quarter Finnish, and had a maternal great aunt who moved from Finland to Sweden to escape World War 2. Alicia began acting as a child in minor stage productions at The Göteborg Opera, and trained as a ballet dancer at the Royal Swedish Ballet School in Stockholm, and the School of American Ballet in New York. She began her professional acting career by appearing in Swedish short films and television series, and first gained recognition in Northern Europe for her role as Josefin Björn-Tegebrandt in the TV drama Second Avenue (2007). Vikander made her feature film debut in Pure (2009), for which she won the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress. She attracted widespread recognition in 2012 for portraying Princess Ekaterina "Kitty" Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya in Joe Wright's film adaptation of Anna Karenina (2012), and Queen Caroline Mathilde in the acclaimed Danish film A Royal Affair (2012), receiving a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination for her breakthrough. She went on to star in the 2013 Swedish drama film Hotel (2013)and appeared in the Julian Assange biopic The Fifth Estate (2013) that same year. In 2014 and 2015, Vikander achieved global recognition and acclaim for her roles as activist Vera Brittain in Testament of Youth (2014), an AI in Ex Machina (2014), for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress, and painter Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl (2015), for which she received the Academy Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.EUROPE .....................SWEDEN- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Son of horse breeders, the young man spent his childhood in the countryside near Paris. In his youth, Guillaume wanted to be a horse-rider, and briefly followed a professional career in the sport. A bad fall broke his dreams, but is at the origin of his acting career, and success. After briefly studying acting, he started his career. Eclectic and moving, Canet is also a successful director, he has directed movies like Tell No One (2006) and Little White Lies (2010)
In 2015, after 20 years of career, he received his first important nod as an actor for playing a serial killer in Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart (2014). He was nominated to Cesar Awards but eventually lost to Pierre Niney. Before that, he received a nod as Breakout Actor in 1998.EUROPE .....................FRANCE- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Blue-eyed Vincent Cassel was born in Paris to a leading actor father, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and a journalist mother, Sabine Litique. Often labeled as a tough guy because of his roles, eclectic choices and talent have made of him a star of European cinema. First in La haine (1995), the young actor, actually coming from upper classes, succeeded to express the despair of a social class living in the suburbs of towns. This veracity in his play comes from the fact that he was in fact since years in connection with many hip-hop artists from the rising generation, (his own brother was leader of a legendary french rap group). Then the success of The Crimson Rivers (2000), where he plays a young French cop alongside Jean Reno, made of him "the man to count on." He never hid his taste for rap music, break dance, Capoeira, Brasil and his endless energy, but Vincent is also a family man, married to Monica Bellucci, his Italian co-star from The Apartment (1996) (aka The Apartment); and recently a father.EUROPE .....................FRANCE- Actor
- Soundtrack
François Cluzet was born on 21 September 1955 in Paris, France. He is an actor, known for The Intouchables (2011), Tell No One (2006) and French Kiss (1995). He has been married to Narjiss Slaoui-Falcoz since 2011. He was previously married to Chantal Perrin.EUROPE .....................FRANCE- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Daniel Auteuil was born on 24 January 1950 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He is an actor and director, known for Caché (2005), Jean de Florette (1986) and The Well-Digger's Daughter (2011). He has been married to Aude Ambroggi since 22 July 2006. They have one child. He was previously married to Emmanuelle Béart and Anne Jousset.EUROPE .....................FRANCE- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Mathieu Amalric was born on 25 October 1965 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He is an actor and director, known for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and Munich (2005).EUROPE .....................FRANCE- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Aamir Khan was born on March 14, 1965 in Mumbai. He is one of the most successful Indian Bollywood actors who is also known as "Mr. Perfectionist of Bollywood". With his recent successes in both the Indian and Chinese film markets, he has shouldered his way into becoming one of the world's biggest superstars. Undergoing rapid transformations in his body structure to better embody the variegated characters in his energetic films, Aamir has garnered praise from all parts of the globe. His most visible transformations can be seen in such movies as Lagaan (2001), Fanaa (2006), Taare Zameen Par (2007), Ghajini (2008), 3 idiots (2009), Talaash (2012), Dhoom 3 (2013), PK (2014), Dangal (2016) and Secret Superstar (2017). His recent successes with movies like Dangal, PK , Talaash and TV serial Satyamev Jayate have attracted attention from more serious moviegoing crowds. However, he is perhaps better known for his fabulous comedic roles, as exemplified by his iconic performances in cult comedies such as Andaz Apna Apna, Passion, and Dil Chahta Hai, to name a few. Aamir is also no slouch at TV commercial work.
2001's Lagaan released in China nationwide, beginning what would be a series of Aamir Khan films that would firmly plant Indian filmmaking into the minds of Chinese audiences. 3 Idiots became a cult hit in China farther along in the 2000's, followed by Like Stars on Earth and Ghajini, both of which went on to gain huge followings. Aamir Khan's streak of Chinese box office hits continued into and throughout the 2010's with the rapid-fire release of Dhoom 3 (2013), PK (2014), Dangal (2016) and Secret Superstar (2017).
Aamir was first introduced as a child artist in the 1970's hit Procession of Memories (1973) - he was the youngest child in the trio.
His performance in Earth (1998) as the Ice-Candy man has received rave reviews from Indian and international critics. Using classic "method acting" and an adopted technique inspired by his seniors Sanjeev Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand and Shammi Kapoor, Aamir acts in all genres of Indian films - comedy, action, drama and romance. He is regarded as a complete Indian actor of the post 1990 generation of actors for his diverse choice of roles and films. In 2007 he turned director with the film Like Stars on Earth (2007), which not only brought him immense critical acclaim but was also a huge box office success. Many of his films are considered as cult classics like Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001), Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Rang De Basanti (2006), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992) and Andaz Apna Apna (1994). He divorced his first wife Reena Dutta on December 09, 2001 and married Kiran Rao in December 28, 2005 and divorced her on July 03, 2021.
In 2008 his first all out commercial action film Ghajini (2008) went on to become the highest grossing film of its time in Indian Cinema and 4th highest inflation adjusted, grossing a total of Rs.226 on the worldwide box office and the first film to cross 100 crores on the domestic Indian box office, making a total of Rs.115 crores. This record didn't last long, though, since his next release 3 Idiots (2009) went on to shatter not only the highest grosser record but many more. It not only made the highest opening first day, first weekend and first week records but subsequently continued to shatter many records on the following weekends and weeks, making many circuits on the way. It made a total of Rs.202 crores domestically and Rs.400 crores on the worldwide box office, becoming the highest overseas grosser to date, a staggering feat given that no other film had even come close to making Rs.100 crores on the domestic box office until then, except for his own Ghajini (2008) the previous year.
Aamir is said to be the actor who first started the trend of actors working in one film at a time, when the others worked in four or five at the same time. He is also known to shun popular film trade magazine awards like Filmfare, Star Screen, etc. as he doesn't have trust in their credibility and transparency. Recently he was awarded the third highest civilian honor Padama Bhushan by the government of India.
Aamir's expansive range of characterizations remains unparalleled amongst his contemporaries. Because of this diversity and his formidable ability to portray different characters believably on screen, he is today regarded not only as one of the biggest stars in Bollywood but also as one of the finest actors in all of Indian Cinema.ASIA .......................... INDIA
PK & 3 Idiots- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, British India (present-day Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India) to legendary poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan & Teji Bachchan. He also has a brother named Ajitabh. He completed his education from Uttar Pradesh and moved to Bombay to find work as a film star, in vain though, as film-makers preferred someone with a fairer skin, and he was not quite fair enough. But they did use one of his other assets, his deep baritone voice, which was used for narration and background commentary. He was successful in being cast in Saat Hindustani. He got his break in Bollywood after a letter of introduction from the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, as he was a friend of her son, Rajiv Gandhi. This is how Bachchan made an entry in Bollywood, starting with Zanjeer, co-starred with his future wife Jaya Bhaduri, and since then there has been no looking back.
He married Jaya Bhaduri, an accomplished actress in her own right, and they had two children, Shweta and Abhishek. Shweta is married, lives a non-filmy life and has two children.
Being friends with Rajiv Gandhi, got him to decide to run for seat in the Indian National Congress (political party) from his home town but had to leave mid-term because of controversies, particularly after Rajiv and he were implicated in the now infamous "Bofors" case along with the U. K. based Hinduja Brothers.
After a four year break, he was back in the unsuccessful Mrityudaata (1997), a comeback which the actor wanted to forget. Critics written him off but his career was saved with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998). But four flops in 1999 and incurring debt of over 90 crore rupees of his sinking company ABCL saw him at an all-time low. To make matters worse, after the defeat of the Congress party, Bachchan lost considerable political support, the opposition made him a target, and his credit rating deteriorated to such an extent that a leading nationalized bank, Canara Bank, sued him for outstanding loans. He did bounce back, presenting the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire called Kaun Banega Crorepati? (2000). After a series of hits with Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) and Baghban (2003) and Khakee (2004), Bachchan is showing no signs of slowing down and proving the critics wrong once again.
Amitabh and Jaya were interested in getting their son Abhishek married to Karisma Kapoor, the daughter of Babita and Randhir Kapoor, they went through a formal engagement, but later broke it off.
The former Miss World and Bollywood actress, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek, were formally engaged on Sunday January 14, 2007, at the Bachchan residence in Juhu, Bombay, with the marriage taking place at the Bachchan residence on April 20, 2007.
On November 16, 2011, he became a Dada (paternal grandfather) when Aishwarya gave birth to a daughter in a Mumbai Hospital. He is already a Nana (maternal grandfather) to Navya and Agastye - Shweta's children.
He continues to be one of the busiest actors and singers in Bollywood as well as on TV, as can be seen from the commercials that he appears on, especially on Sahara One. Looks like there are no limits for this super-star and once the "Angry Young Man" of Bollywood.ASIA ..........................INDIA
Black- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Nawazuddin Siddiqui (born 1974) is an Indian film actor who has appeared in some of Bollywood's major films including, Black Friday (2004), New York (2009), Peepli Live (2010), Kahani (2012), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2 (2012).
Early life and education
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is from Budhana a small town of Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh, where his father is a farmer. [2][3][4] Siddiqui grew up amongst nine siblings, seven brothers and two sisters. [5][2]
After graduating in science from a local college, he worked as a chemist in a petrochemical company for a short while. But boredom set in soon, and he moved to Delhi, here in the next one and a half year period, he started watching plays, while working a watchman at an office. He got associated with Sakshi Theatre Group and worked with actors like Manoj Bajpai and Saurabh Shukla.
Eventually he graduated from the The National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi in 1996.Now he is a well known actor. Career
After graduating from NSD, he moved to Mumbai. Nawazuddin made his Bollywood debut in 1999, with a small role in Sarfarosh starring Aamir Khan. After moving to Mumbai he tried to get work in television, but did not achieve much success. After his debut, he appeared in short roles, where he remained unnoticed, despite his strong performances. He did a short film, The Bypass in 2003, where he appeared with actor, Irrfan Khan. Between 2002 and 2005, he was out of work, and lived in an apartment where he shared with four others, and struggled through his acting carrier by conducting occasional acting workshops. His appearance in Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday (2007) paved way for other powerful roles. His first lead role in a feature film was in Prashant Bhargava's PATANG, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, for which Nawazuddin's performance was praised by the world renowned film critic Roger Ebert (awarding the film 4 stars), a role which 'transformed his acting styles'. In 2009, he appeared in a cameo role in hit song "emotional attyachar" in a movie Dev D, in his moniker as Rangila along with his duo Rasila (known together as Patna ke Presley). However it was his role of a journalist in Aamir Khan Productions's Peepli Live (2010). That movie first got him a recognition as an actor. This was followed by a role as police informer Gopi in biopic, Paan Singh Tomar, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, also in the same year.
He, however became a household name post Kahaani (2012), where he played the archetypal short tempered cop Khan. Gangs of Wasseypur followed which furthered his fame. He played his first lead role as Sonu Duggal in Ashim Ahluwalia's Miss Lovely that premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, a role Nawazuddin describes as his "most real performance so far." Nawazuddin also played a lead role in his following films, Gangs of Wasseypur - Part II and Aatma. He appeared in Aamir Khan's 2012 release, Talash. Gangs of Wasseypur has been touted as a career defining film for Nawazuddin, where he played the role of Faizal Khan, a second son of Sardar Khan, played by Manoj Bajpai. His gaudy style of dress, magnificent accent and out-of-the-way mannerism in Gangs of Wasseypur left an impression on Bollywood critics. His film PATANG, initially released in the U.S. and Canada, garnered much attention for Nawazuddin with rave reviews from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Roger Ebert.
Siddiqui is best known for his roles in The Lunchbox (2013), which premiered as part of the International Critics' Week at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and won him multiple awards, Manto (2018), for which his groundbreaking performance won him Best Actor at the 2018 Asian Pacific Screen Awards[8] and Raman Raghav 2.0 for which he won the Fancine Malaga Award in Spain[9] and in Asia Pacific Screen Awards[10] both in the category of Best Actor. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the only Actor in the world having 8 films officially selected and screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.[11] Inspite of being very busy with film shoots, Siddiqui continues to take time out to do farming in his native place in Uttar Pradesh (North India).[12] He is an active motivational speaker, drawing on his struggles and experiences to inspire. He stars in two Emmy nominated series, Sacred Games (2019), a two-season Netflix original series for which he was conferred with the GQ - Men of the Year Award 2018 for the second time[13] and United Kingdom's McMafia directed by James Watkins. Recently Nawazuddin Siddiqui was awarded with the highest honorary, The Lesley Ho Asian Film Talent Award at the prestigious Singapore International Film Festival[14] for his globally appreciated series Sacred Games duology.ASIA ..........................INDIA
Gangs of Wasseypur
Dabba
Raees
Bajrangi Bhaijaan- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan, in Jaipur, Rajasthan (NW India) January 7, 1967 to a Pashto-speaking Muslim family. Khan's mother, Begum Khan, was from the Tonk Hakim family and his father, Jagirdar Khan, from the Khajuriya village near the Tonk district, ran a tire business.
The Khan family name comes from Turkish and Mongol languages and mean "king" or great leader. Descendants of Genghis Khan (13th century) in central Asia adopted Islam and became the Moghuls, who conquered India for several centuries until British rule.
Irfan was a skilled cricket player. In his early 20's he was selected for the CK Nayudu Tournament (a stepping stone to First Class cricket). He did not turn up for the tournament owing to lack of funds and as a result he focused on acting.
In 1984 he earned a scholarship to the National School of Acting in New Delhi.
He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor for his contribution to the field of arts.
His portrayal of Paan Singh Tomar in the acclaimed biographical sports drama Paan Singh Tomar (2011) won him the National Film Award for Best Actor and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. His performance in the BAFTA Award nominated romance The Lunchbox (2013) earned him universal acclaim by the critics and audiences.
Globally, Khan was in The Warrior (2001), The Namesake (2006), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), New York, I Love You (2009), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Life of Pi (2012), Jurassic World (2015) and Inferno (2016). As of 2017, his films have grossed $3.643 billion at the worldwide box office. In 2018, Khan was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor.
Khan got married to his wife Sutapa Sikdar, in 1995. She is a Hindu of the Brahmin caste. She is a movie producer, dialogue writer and screenwriter. Among her famous movies are Khamoshi: The Musical (Dialogue Writer, 1996), Supari (Dialogue Writer, 2003), Kahaani (Dialogue Writer, 2003), Madaari (Producer, 2016), Qarib Qarib Singlle (Producer, 2017)
They have two kids: Ayaan Khan, Babil Khan
Unlike most Indian film stars, Irrfan has been outspoken on religion. On Arnab Goswami's talk show, he took on Muslim fundamentalists, including India's Grand Imam. Irrfan Khan argued against "transactional religious interaction" and for "personal religious discovery"..."to discover yourself, to find God". Though he admits he is "not an authority" on the Koran and Islamic Holy scriptures he has bravely stood by his comments despite heavy criticism and even threats of violence. He's aware of the dangers that his frank comments pose to him and his family. His wife commented, "We are very proud of him."ASIA ..........................INDIA- Raj Kumar is also known as Rajkummar Rao. He was born in Gurgaon. He finished his schooling in Gurgaon and graduated in Arts from Delhi University. He was simultaneously doing theatre with Kshitij Repertory and SRC in Delhi. He is an Acting graduate from Pune's Film and Television Institute of India. Raj Kumar's debut film was Dibakar Banerjee's Love Sex aur Dhokha in 2010.ASIA ..........................INDIA
- Producer
- Actor
- Music Department
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan was born on December 27, 1965, in Mumbai to legendary screenwriter Salim Khan, who penned many super-hits in the yesteryear's like Sholay (1975), Deewaar (1975), and Don (1978). Khan started his acting career by doing a supporting role in the movie Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988). The following year he had the leading role in the box office romantic hit Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). From there he became a heartthrob of Indian cinema.
Following with other box office hits he showed his terrific performance in Saajan (1991), Andaz Apna Apna (1994), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Khamoshi the Musical (1996), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). His transformations can be sensitive, vulnerable, funny, aggressive and charming as his role demands.
In 1998, he was arrested by the local police from the shooting location of the film Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999), for killing protected wild animals and spent about a week behind the bars. The actor is facing trial in three cases of killing blackbucks and Chinkaras and another of illegal possession of arms. In September 2002, Khan had hit the headlines after he crashed his Land Cruiser near the American Express bakery in Bandra, killing one man and injuring others.
Being known for those roguish behaviors, he tried to balance his troubled life with his career. He gave his emotionally charged performance as playing an obsessed lover in In Your Name (2003) that translated into good reviews and a good run at the box office. He not only managed to revive his career but also to restore the confidence of his producers and distributors alike.
His work was noticed internationally in the moviePhir Milenge (2004) where he played the role of an AIDS patient. It was well appreciated by the World Health Organization (WHO) for presenting the problems of AIDS patients in today's world.
In 2007, he launched Being Human - Salman Khan Foundation. This charitable organization aids the underprivileged in areas such as education and health care.
More recently, he starred in the multiple record-breaking box office super-hits Dabangg (2010), Ready (2011) and Bodyguard (2011).ASIA ..........................INDIA- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Rajiv Hari "Akshay Kumar" Om Bhatia was born on September 09, 1967, in Amritsar, Punjab to Aruna Bhatia and Hari Om Bhatia. He is an Indian actor, film producer, former model, and television personality. He went to Bangkok to learn how to use a sword and also worked as a waiter in a restaurant. He studied martial arts in Hong Kong. It was a student who suggested that he should try modeling. Because of his success as model, he was offered films. Along with his good looks and excellent martial art skills, he was always the first choice to do adventurous movies. He does his own stunts in his films. His breakthrough performance was in Saugandh (1991). He was well known for his Khiladi series, an Indian version of James Bond, such as Mr. Bond (1992), Khiladi (1992), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi (1997) and Khiladi 420 (2000). He dated strings of his co-stars including Raveena Tandon, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Pooja Batra and Rekha. His recent critically acclaimed performances include Airlift (2016), Baby (2015) and Rustom (2016). He is married to former actress and now author Twinkle Khanna with whom he has two children.ASIA ..........................INDIA- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Vishal Veeru "Ajay" Devgn was born on April 02, 1969, in New Delhi, Delhi to action director Veeru Devgan and his wife Veena Devgan. He is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in the Bollywood industry and is one of the highest-paid celebrities in India. Devgn started his film career with Phool Aur Kaante (1991). He is known for films like All The Best: Fun Begins (2009), Hindustan Ki Kasam (1999), Ishq (1997), The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), Singham (2011), Total Dhamaal (2019) etc. He is married to actress Kajol with whom he has two children (i.e son Yug and daughter Nysa). He is also the founder and owner of the production banner Ajay Devgn Ffilms.ASIA ..........................INDIA- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Known for his trademark gelled spiked up crew cut with sunglasses, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) is an Indian Bollywood movie star, movie producer, magazine model, showman, public speaker, author, philanthropist and television host/personality working predominantly in Hindi cinema.
Khan began his on-camera acting debut in 1987 at the age of 21 by guest starring in various Indian serial drama soap opera TV shows as well as appearing in numerous television commercials and brand advertisements for products. He studied theatre arts and drama during his second year of college after participating in numerous school plays. He landed a few acting gigs in Delhi, before acting on Indian TV and became popular. Khan came down to Mumbai to shoot a TV series with self doubt and under confidence. So he came for a year to give it a shot. He began auditioning for starring roles in Hindi movies in 1990 after the death of his mother (his father died a decade earlier in 1980). Khan's parents died early, which made him heartbroken in Delhi. Khan decided to pursue a full-time acting career and relocating to Mumbai to start afresh, hoping to enjoy acting and overcome the dejecting death of his parents, as there was nothing for him to go back to. He began auditioning for starring roles in Hindi movies in 1990 after the death of his mother (his father died a decade earlier in 1980).
After recuperating from a career-ending sports injury, he landed his breakout breakthrough feature film starring role in the Silver screen in June 1992, and rose to prominence in the mid-to-late 1990s. Khan shot to stardom in his first feature film "Deewana" (1992) which won him the first of 13 Filmfare awards -- the Bollywood equivalent of an Oscar. He continued starring in blockbuster movies throughout the 2000s with a mixed bag of career fluctuations, establishing himself as a very bankable, versatile movie star in the early-to-mid 2010s. Following a 4-year sabbatical hiatus in the wake of the corona-virus pandemic, Khan made a resurgence comeback in 2023, and continues to act and star in A-Lister blockbuster movies.
Referred to in the media as the "Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in over 100 films, and earned numerous accolades, including 14 Filmfare Awards.
He has been awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India, as well as the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Legion of Honour by the Government of France. Khan has a significant following in Asia and the Indian diaspora worldwide. In terms of audience size and income, several media outlets have described him as one of the most successful film stars in the world. Many of his films depict and portray Indian national identity, Indian patriotism, and connections with diaspora communities, or gender, racial, social and religious differences and grievances.
Shah Rukh Khan has been TAG Heuer's brand ambassador in India since September 2003 & is close friends with Amir. He is Bollywood's most bankable movie stars with brand endorsements & resides in the affluent suburbs of Bandra, Mumbai, India with his wife and children.ASIA .......................... INDIA
Chak De! India
Fan- Actor
- Music Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Son of Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh; nephew of actors Randhir Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor. Grandnephew of actors Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendal, Shammi Kapoor, Geeta Bali; cousin of actresses Kareena Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor.
Belongs to the fourth generation of highly prestigious and considered to be the first family of Bollywood (Hindi film industry): Kapoor Family.
He and his Saawariya (2007) co-star Sonam Kapoor assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali on highly acclaimed movie Black (2005).ASIA .......................... INDIA
Barfi- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Samuel Henry John Worthington was born August 2, 1976 in Surrey, England. His parents, Jeanne (Martyn) and Ronald Worthington, a power plant employee, moved the family to Australia when he was six months old, and raised him and his sister Lucinda in Warnbro, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia.
Worthington graduated from NIDA (Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art) in 1998 at the age of 22. He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of "Arthur Wellesley" in his first professional role in the Belvoir Street Theatre production "Judas Kiss" (directed by Neil Armfield). He then went on to work in Australian television on such shows as Water Rats (1996) and "Backburner" and then on the American TV show JAG (1995)'s 100th episode (Boomerang: Part 1).
Worthington made his film debut in the highly acclaimed Australian movie Bootmen (2000), a film about a troop of "tap dogs". Minor roles proceeded in Hart's War (2002) and A Matter of Life (2001) before he was cast in another hailed Australian drama, Dirty Deeds (2002), co-starring Toni Collette and John Goodman.
The following year, he starred in yet another Aussie film, opposite David Wenham in Gettin' Square (2003). The director of the film, Jonathan Teplitzky, originally tested actors who were up to 8 years older than the then-27-year-old Worthington. Teplitzky wasn't sure Sam "could convincingly play a tough guy and also have elements of the leading man about him", but in the end Teplitzky decided he was "fantastic", and had "David playing the older, slightly more streetwise accomplice" proclaiming "it worked".
But it wasn't until 2004 that Sam got his big break. He was offered the starring role in Cate Shortland's acclaimed Australian drama Somersault (2004), opposite Abbie Cornish. The film made a clean sweep of the Australian Film Institute awards in 2004, winning in 13 film categories - the first time this has ever occurred in the award's history. Worthington also won the AFI award for Best Male Actor.
Worthington's career took off internationally when he was cast as Jake Sully in James Cameron's Avatar (2009) and as Marcus Wright, a cyborg who assists the humans despite their suspicions of him in Terminator Salvation (2009). Worthington soon became a household name, and starring in high profile films Clash of the Titans (2010), The Debt (2010), Texas Killing Fields (2011), Man on a Ledge (2012), and Wrath of the Titans (2012). Worthington also provided the voice for the Call of Duty: Black Ops video games.
In 2010, Worthington started a production company, Full Clip Productions, with two of his close friends John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz. The company teamed with Radical studios to print two graphic novels Damaged and Patriots.................................. AUSTRALIA- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Joel Edgerton was born on June 23, 1974 in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia, to Marianne (van Dort) and Michael Edgerton, who is a solicitor and property developer. His brother is filmmaker Nash Edgerton. His mother is a Dutch immigrant. Joel went to Hills Grammar School in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, and after leaving, he attended Nepean Drama School in 1994. Joel has done many projects on stage and off, but most people will recognize him from his work on the Australian television series The Secret Life of Us (2001), in which he played William McGill. This gave him his first big break through in the television industry. For this role, he was nominated in 2001 for an AFI Award. As well as "The Secret Life of Us", he has also appeared in other television projects such as The Three Stooges (2000), Dossa and Joe (2002), Secret Men's Business (1999), Never Tell Me Never (1998) and Saturn's Return (2001). Joel has done a lot of work on the theatrical stage having played King Henry in "Henry V", Prince Hal in "Henry III", and others including "Road", "Third World Blues" and "Dead White Males". As well as acting, he has also starred, co-written and produced the short movie Bloodlock (1998).
His first international break came from when he played Uncle Owen Lars in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002). Since then, he has also starred in Ned Kelly (2003), King Arthur (2004), Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Kinky Boots (2005).................................. AUSTRALIA- Actor
- Stunts
- Producer
Donnie Yen was born in Guangzhou, China. His mother, Bow-sim Mark, was a kung fu master and his father, Kylster Yen, a newspaper editor and amateur musician. When Donnie was just two years old, the family moved to Hong Kong and then, when he was 11, to Boston, Massachusetts.
There, Master Bow-sim Mark became a pioneer for Chinese martial arts in America, and it was only natural that her only son was trained from early childhood in the same skills. At the same time, Donnie was influenced by his parents' love of music and reached a high level of proficiency as a pianist. All these interests would have a manifest influence on Yen's later life.
In his teens, Donnie defined his own persona by rebelling against his parents edicts. Beyond the limitations of his mother's school, Yen began training in various different fighting arts, including Japanese karate, Korean taekwondo and western boxing. Donnie also took up hip-hop and break-dancing. At the same time, he began spending his nights in Boston's notorious Combat Zone. Given that he was by now a serious practitioner of modern Wu Shu, his parents decided to send him to Beijing to train at the Chinese capital's famed Wu Shu academy.
It was when Yen returned to Hong Kong en route back to Boston that he met the famed martial arts movie director Yuen Woo-ping.
Donnie exploded onto the Hong Kong movie scene when he was cast in the lead role of director Yuen Woo-ping's 'Drunken Tai Chi'. His debut film immediately established him as a viable leading man, and Yen has remained a major figure in Chinese action cinema to this day.
Yen skills as a street dancer were to the fore in his second starring role, 'Mismatched Couples', in which he showed off his breakdance moves, as well as his general athleticism. This slapstick romantic comedy was produced by Hong Kong's prestigious Cinema City studio.
Donnie was subsequently signed by the newly formed D&B Films, and cast in the hit cop actioner 'Tiger Cage'. In this movie, and his follow-up features for the company ('In the Line of Duty 4', 'Tiger Cage 2'), Yen showed off his own unique form of contemporary screen combat, a form that included elements of rapid fire kicking, Western boxing and grappling moves.
Having established a worldwide fan base, Yen moved on to star in a string of independent Asian action features before director Tsui Hark tapped him to co-star in 'Once Upon A Time In China 2'. The film's two action highlights saw Donnie's character duel the legendary martial arts master Wong Fei-hung, played by his old friend Jet Li. The film brought Yen his first real attention as a thespian and he was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category at that year's Hong Kong Film Awards.
Tsui Hark went on to produce a remake of King Hu's classic 'New Dragon Inn', which provided another showcase role for Donnie as the film's apparently invincible villain.
Donnie was reunited with director Yuen Woo-ping for 'Iron Monkey', a film which brought Yen's acting and action skills both into focus. In 'Iron Monkey', Yen played the father of Wong Fei-hung, and its success prefigured that which he would later enjoy as another pugilistic patriarch in 'Ip Man'. Donnie collaborated with Yuen on the action for the film, designing a new on-screen interpretation of Wong Fei-hung's classic 'Shadowless Kick'.
'Iron Monkey' was all the more remarkable in that, years after its Asian release, it was acquired by the American studio Miramax, re-cut, re-scored and given a wide release in US theatres. After premieres in New York and Los Angeles, the film enjoyed great acclaim from the American critics, and won a prize at that year's Taurus Awards, an event held to celebrate action in cinema.
After working on a number of independent features, Yen went on to enjoy huge success on the small screen when he accepted a lucrative offer from Hong Kong's ATV to film a series based on the Bruce Lee classic 'Fist of Fury'. The show was the top-rated action drama show around the region, and was subsequently re-edited for international distribution on video.
Donnie went on to make his directorial debut with 'Legend of the Wolf', a stylish period actioner that even attracted the attention of legendary American film-maker Francis Coppola. The film, about an amnesiac warrior returning to his home village, has become a bona fide cult classic.
As director, Donnie followed 'Legend of the Wolf' with a very different venture, 'Ballistic Kiss', an urban thriller about a conflicted assassin. The film played at the prestigious Udine Festival in Italy, and took home awards at several other events, including the Japanese Yubari International Action Film Festival.
Donnie's body of work had by then attracted the attention of Hollywood, and Yen was approached to choreograph the action for the mainstream franchise films 'Highlander: Endgame' and 'Blade 2'. After a period where he was based in Los Angeles, Donnie returned East by way of the West when Jackie Chan requested that Yen play his nemesis in the hit 'Shanghai Knights', a shoot that took the star from Prague to London.
Yen returned to China to co-star in director Zhang Yimou's epic wu xia master work 'Hero'. Yen's duel with Jet Li brought his skills to the emerging Mainland Chinese theatrical audience, and paved the way for Donnie to become the country's biggest action star. The film received a wide US theatrical release from Miramax, and remains one of the most successful foreign language titles ever distributed in the America market.
Donnie returned to Hong Kong to choreograph the smash hit fantasy-horror-comedy 'The Twins Effect', and went on to enjoy his most productive partnership with a director. Beginning with the cop actioner 'SPL', Donnie teamed with helmer Wilson Yip for a series of very different films that Yen would star in and action choreograph and Yip would direct. Star and director subsequently teamed to create the comic book inspired fantasy actioner 'Dragon Tiger Gate' and the gritty police thriller 'Flashpoint', in which Donnie created what fans feel is the definitive on-screen MMA action scene. Yen was to return to this hard-hitting, urban action style for the later 'Special ID'.
Donnie now found himself in demand as a leading man in a series of prestigious period actioners produced for the Chinese market. 'Seven Swords' premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and proved a hit with worldwide audiences. The film was released in North America by The Weinstein Company's Dragon Dynasty label, and remains its biggest hit.
Yen also attracted rave reviews when he played an honorable general in 'An Empress and her Warriors' and an offbeat ghost-buster in Gordon Chan's 'Painted Skin'.
Yen took his career to a new level when he accepted producer Raymond Wong's suggestion that he play Bruce Lee's teacher, 'Ip Man', in an eponymous film relating the life of the great master. The film was a huge success in Hong Kong and China, and 'Ip Man' went on to find favor with audiences worldwide. Donnie also received a Best Actor nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
'Ip Man' confirmed Donnie's position as China's greatest action hero, and he was immediately signed to lead a strong ensemble cast for Teddy Chen's 'Bodyguards and Assassins', produced by Peter Chan. Besides his on-screen performance, Donnie was also called on to choreograph the dynamic duel between himself and MMA champion Cung Le. The movie went on to sweep the board at the Hong Kong Film Awards winning Best Film, among many other prizes. Yen himself was nominated for Best Actor at the Chinese Hundred Flower awards.
Yen followed this with 'Ip Man 2', a rare example of a sequel that proved a match for its predecessor. The film followed Ip's life journey to Hong Kong, where he faces both rival kung fu masters, led by the film's choreographer, Sammo Hung, and a brutal foreign boxer, portrayed by the late Darren Shahlavi. 'Ip Man 2' was the biggest local hit of the year in China, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release in the US.
The film's success led to Donnie being cast as a number of legendary Chinese heroes: He played General Qin-long in Daniel Lee's '14 Blades', Guan Yu in 'The Lost Bladesman' and reprised Bruce Lee's Chen Zhen role in Andrew Lau's 'Legend of the Fist'. Yen also used the lighter side of his screen persona to good effect in two installments of the hit Hong Kong comedy movie series 'Alls Well Ends Well'.
Yen was cast opposite Tang Wei and Takeshi Kaneshiro in director Peter Chan's 'Wu Xia' (aka 'Dragon'), a dark, elegant period martial arts murder mystery. The film premiered to great acclaim at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, and subsequently received a North American theatrical release from The Weinstein Company.
Donnie Yen played 'The Monkey King' in a hit reimagining of the Chinese classic. Donnie starred opposite screen legend Chow Yun-fat in the film, which smashed box office records in Mainland China.
Showing his versatility, Yen went on to play a kung fu master facing challenges in the modern era in director Teddy Chen's 'Kung Fu Jungle'. The movie, which premiered at the London Film Festival, paid tribute to the great history of Hong Kong martial arts cinema.
During the shooting of his ambitious, time travel themed action fantasy 'Iceman 3D', Yen was approached to revitalize the greatest brand in the history of Chinese martial arts cinema. 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny' was shot primarily on location in New Zealand, with Yen in the lead role. The world class creative team gathered by producer Harvey Weinstein included legendary kung fu film director Yuen Woo-ping, acclaimed directors Peter Berg and Morten Tyldum (as producers), 'X-Men' series DP Tom Sigel as well as the Oscar-winning production, costume and FX designers from the 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Hobbit' film series.
The film debuted in most international territories as a Netflix Original movie, making it the most widely seen wu xia of all time. 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Sword of Destiny' also played at selected Imax theatres in North America, and enjoyed a wide theatrical release in China, where it was screened in its 3D version.
Yen reteamed with his former mentor Yuen Woo-ping for the hugely popular 'Ip Man 3'. The film, with Wilson Ip as director and Yuen as choreographer, pitted the title character against legendary boxing champion Mike Tyson. The film out-performed all the previous movies featuring the character of Ip Man, smashing box office records throughout Asia. Following a high profile Los Angeles premiere, 'Ip Man 3' enjoyed a Los Angeles premiere and a US theatrical release, earning rave reviews in the mainstream American media.
Having conquered every territory beneath the Asian skies, Donnie accepted an invitation to join the cast of an entry in the world's biggest film franchise. In 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story', Yen plays one of the Rebel warriors responsible for the theft of the Death Star plans, the adventure that, within the 'Star Wars' universe, leads to the events of the very first film in the series. The film was shot primarily at the famed Elstree Studios in England.
Donnie had a role opposite Vin Diesel and his fellow Asian action star, Tony Jaa, in xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), which filmed in Toronto, Canada.
Now firmly established as a leading player across the globe, Donnie Yen continues to present a unique blend of Eastern experience and Western innovation, of musical grace with martial impact, from Hong Kong to a galaxy far, far away....
Donnie is one of the leading martial arts choreographers in the world of action cinema. His skills behind the camera began developing from his early days in the industry, and he was very much involved with the action choreography of his films for D&B Films. He received his first full action directing credit on the Michelle Yeoh, kung fu drama 'Wing Chun', in which he also starred.
Yen further developed his style of choreography in the high pressure world of Hong Kong television, where he created the action for his hit series 'Kung Fu Master' and 'Fist of Fury', and as a low-budget film-maker, when he directed, starred in and choreographed the movies 'Legend of the Wolf' and 'Ballistic Kiss'.
It was after Yen had helmed his first two Chinese features that Hollywood made its first serious bid for his services. He was signed to co-star in and action direct 'Highlander: Endgame', the latest in a series of fantasy actioners. The film, which starred Adrian Paul and Christopher Lambert, was produced by the US studio Dimension, and enjoyed a successful worldwide theatrical release.
Having relocated to Los Angeles, Yen paid his dues by directing action scenes for the Dimension action thriller 'Stormbreaker' and providing the fight sequences for the German TV series 'The Puma'.
Donnie agreed to both action direct and cameo in the major New Line action franchise entry 'Blade 2', starring Wesley Snipes. The film, directed by Guillermo del Toro, was a huge hit, earning almost twice the box office of the original 'Blade'.
Returning to Hong Kong, Yen found he now had a major contribution to make behind the camera, co-directing the SFX action adventure 'The Twins Effect'. The film, which starred two of China's top pop idols, told the tale of young vampire hunters with well-honed martial arts skills. A huge hit for Emperor, the film earned Yen his first Best Action Director prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
'The Twins Effect' saw Donnie start to introduce elements of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) in his film fight scenes. He took the on-screen depiction of the style to new heights with the film 'SPL', released in the US as 'Kill Zone'. Yen's final reel duel with Sammo Hung is now regarded as a classic of the genre. The film won Donnie his second Best Action Choreography prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
He took his on-screen depiction of MMA to new heights in 'Flashpoint', which featured an even longer and more intense final showdown, this time between Yen and 'Matrix Reloaded' actor Collin Chou. The film won Donnie his third Best Action Choreography prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards, as well as a prize for Best Action in a Foreign Language Film at the Taurus Awards.
Yen explored different styles of screen combat when he choreographed the stunning kung fu fights for the period actioners 'Legend of the Fist' and 'The Lost Bladesman', the fantasy combat for 'The Monkey King' and the time travel adventure 'Iceman Cometh 3D'.
Many fans feel that Yen delivered his best choreographic work to date in Peter Chan's masterful 'Wu Xia', released in the US as 'Dragon'. The film saw Donnie bring his own unique flair to classical Shaw Bros style kung fu action.
Donnie brought traditional Chinese martial arts into the modern era with 'Kung Fu Jungle', for which his work won yet another Best Choreography prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Away from the cameras, Yen entered into the most rewarding partnership of his life when he married former beauty queen, Cissy Wang. The couple now has two children, a girl and boy, Jasmine and James.ASIA ..........................CHINA
(8.10) - Yip Man (2008) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(7.90) - Ying xiong (2002)
(7.50) - Yip Man 2 (2010)
(7.49) - Siu nin Wong Fei Hung ji: Tit Ma Lau (1993)
(7.39) - Wong Fei Hung II - Nam yi dong ji keung (1992)
(7.17) - Sun lung moon hak chan (1992)
(7.09) - Saat po long (2005)
(6.99) - Wu xia (2011)
(6.98) - Wing Chun (1994)
(6.80) - Dou fo sin (2007)- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Jet Li born Li Lian Jie in Beijing, China. He started training at the Beijing wushu academy (wushu is China's national sport, largely a performance version of various martial art styles) at age eight. He won five gold medals in the Chinese championships, his first when he was only 11. In his teens, he was already a national coach, and before he was 20 he had starred in his first movie: The Shaolin Temple (1982), which started the 1980s Kung-Fu boom in mainland China. He relocated to Hong Kong, where he was the biggest star of the early 1990s Kung-Fu boom. His first directorial effort was Born to Defense (1988).ASIA ..........................CHINA
(7.90) - Ying xiong (2002)
(7.61) - Rise to Honor (2003) (VG)
(7.60) - Huo Yuan Jia (2006)
(7.50) - Jing wu ying xiong (1994)
(7.50) - The Expendables 2 (2012)
(7.39) - Wong Fei Hung II - Nam yi dong ji keung (1992)
(7.30) - Wong Fei Hung (1991)
(7.26) - Haiyang tiantang (2010)
(7.09) - Shao Lin Si (1982)
(7.09) - Xiao ao jiang hu zhi: Dong Fang Bu Bai (1992)
(7.09) - Fong Sai Yuk (1993)
(7.09) - Tai ji: Zhang San Feng (1993)
(7.00) - Danny the Dog (2005)
+ many more ...- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Takeshi Kitano originally studied to become an engineer, but was thrown out of school for rebellious behavior. He learned comedy, singing and dancing from famed comedian Senzaburô Fukami. Working as a lift boy on a nightclub with such features as comic sketches and striptease dancing, Kitano saw his chance when a comedian suddenly fell ill, and he went on stage in the man's place. With a friend he formed the comic duo "The Two Beat" (his artist's name, "Beat Takeshi", comes from this period), which became very popular on Japanese television.
Kitano soon embarked on an acting career, and when the director of Violent Cop (1989) (aka "Violent Cop") fell ill, he took over that function as well. Immediately after that film was finished he set out to make a second gangster movie, Boiling Point (1990). Just after finishing Getting Any? (1994), Kitano was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that almost killed him. It changed his way of life, and he became an active painter. This change can be seen in his later films, which are characterized by his giving more importance to the aesthetics of the film, such as in Fireworks (1997) and Kikujiro (1999).ASIA ..........................JAPAN
1. Kikujiro
2. Akiresu to kame
3. Hana-bi
__________________________
(7.80) - Hana-bi (1997)
(7.80) - Kikujirô no natsu (1999)
(7.80) - Batoru rowaiaru (2000)
(7.60) - Zatôichi (2003)
(7.52) - "Musashi" (2003)
(7.50) - Sonatine (1993)
(7.40) - Akiresu to kame (2008)
(7.20) - Brother (2000/I)
(7.14) - Kyôso tanjô (1993)
(7.11) - Chi to hone (2004)- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Hiroyuki Sanada was born on October 12, 1960 in Tokyo. He made his film debut when he was 5 in Rokyoku komori-uta (1965) (Shin'ichi Chiba played the lead role.) His father died when he was 11. He joined Japan Action Club, organized & run by Sonny Chiba, when he was 12. He 1st became famous as an action star for his role in Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (1978) but is now known as one of the most talented actors in Japan. From 1999-2000, he played the fool in an English-language production of "King Lear" w/ members of the Royal Shakespeare Co as the 1st Japanese actor to act w/ the RSC. He received an honorary MBE (Member of the British Empire) for this work. He & Satomi Tezuka split after 7 years in 1997.ASIA ..........................JAPAN
(8.65) - "Lost: LA X (#6.1)" (2010)
(8.09) - Tasogare Seibei (2002)
(7.70) - The Last Samurai (2003)
(7.30) - Ringu (1998)
(7.30) - Sunshine (2007)
(7.27) - Long zhi ren zhe (1982)
(7.05) - Chokugeki! Jigoku-ken (1974)
(7.04) - Sanada Yukimura no bouryaku (1979)
(7.03) - Hatsukoi (2000)- Actor
- Director
- Executive
Shidô Nakamura was born on 14 September 1972 in Tokyo, Japan. He is an actor and director, known for Fearless (2006), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) and Red Cliff (2008). He has been married to Saori Adachi since 1 February 2015. He was previously married to Yûko Takeuchi.ASIA ..........................JAPAN
FEARLESS
(8.00) - Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
(7.79) - Ima, ai ni yukimasu (2004)
(7.60) - Huo Yuan Jia (2006)
(7.50) - Chi bi xia: Jue zhan tian xia (2009)
(7.40) - Chi bi (2008)
(7.40) - Desu nôto: The last name (2006)
(7.11) - Arashi no yoru ni (2005)
(7.10) - Pingu-Pongu (2002)
(7.08) - Iden & Tity (2003)
(7.02) - Ashura no gotoku (2003)
(6.95) - Beck (2010)- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Ken Watanabe was born on October 21, 1959 in Uonuma, Japan. Both of his parents were teachers: his mother taught general education and his dad taught calligraphy. He became interested in acting at the age of 24, when a director of England's National Theater Company, where he was studying, told him that acting was his special gift. In 1978, he moved to Tokyo to pursue acting. He drew the attention of the critics when Yukio Ninagawa, a famous Japanese director, chose him for the lead role in one of his plays, even though Ken was still an acting student. He made his first TV appearance in 1982. His big career breakthrough came when he was chosen to play the lead in the Japanese national TV drama series called "Dokugan ryu Masamune". He played a samurai leader hero, making him a household name in Japan. In 1989, he collapsed while filming a movie in Canada due to leukemia. He made a miraculous comeback & co-starred with Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai (2003), which pushed him to the center stage of Hollywood.
Ken has a daughter, model, actress, & singer Anne Watanabe, & a son. He's an avid fan of Hanshin Tigers (Japanese professional baseball team) & Kobe Steel rugby team. He loves noodles.ASIA ..........................JAPAN- Actor
- Soundtrack
Hwang Jung-Min is one of the highest-grossing movie stars in South Korea, starring in many iconic box office hits such as ODE TO MY FATHER (2014), VETERAN (2015), THE WAILING (2016) to name a few, and is the third actor in Korea to become a member of the "100 million Viewer Club" in Korea, along with Song Kang-ho from PARASITE.
Hwang started his career in musical theatre, making his acting debut in LINE 1 in 1995. In 2001, Hwang landed his first acting role in a feature film after successfully auditioning for the role of Kang-su in WAIKIKI BROTHERS.
Since that time Hwang has frequently displayed his level of depth as an actor by performing in a wide range of roles: a scene-stealing mob boss in NEW WORLD, where his performance was singled out by The New York Times, an ordinary hardworking man in ODE TO MY FATHER ( the second highest-grossing film in Korean cinema history), and an unforgettable performance as a shaman in THE WAILING, a globally acclaimed horror film.
ASIA ..........................KOREA- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Lee Byung-hun was born in 1970 in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in a wealthy family, thanks to his father, who was a successful businessman. He never dreamed of pursuing acting until a friend of his mother's suggested it. He auditioned for the KBS television network in 1991 and was accepted. His first project was a short lived TV series called "Asphalt My Hometown". Lee became popular, especially with the female crowd, in his next KBS project, "Tomorrow Love", in 1992. Though he continued to do TV series' throughout the 90s, he also tried his luck in feature films. Many of his earlier films were flops, until 2000, when he appeared in "J.S.A. Joint Security Area". The film became his first major blockbuster. Unfortunately, Lee's father passed away that same year. Over the years, Lee's popularity continued to grow, with successful TV series', like "Beautiful Days" and "All In", and features, such as "A Bittersweet Life" and "The Good, The Bad, The Weird". Lee was becoming an international celebrity. His success continued rising with the highly anticipated TV show "Iris" and his other feature films "I Saw the Devil" and "Masquerade". Having solidified his position as one of Asia's biggest stars, he is the only actor to sell out the Tokyo Dome with 45,000 screaming fans. In 2012, he was one of the first two Korean actors ever to be honored with a hand and foot print ceremony at The TLC Chinese Theater.
Lee's first foray into Hollywood films came in 2009 with a starring role in "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra." Following the global success of that film, he signed on for "G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation," which was released in March 2013. His first period piece feature, "Masquerade" was released in late 2012, and was met with stellar reviews from both audiences and critics, and became the highest grossing period piece in Korean history. He next starred in "Red 2" opposite Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Anthony Hopkins. The film premiered in Korea on July 18, 2013. Korea became the second highest grossing market for the film behind the US. In 2015, Lee has two Korean films, "Insiders" and "Memories of the Sword", along with Hollywood blockbuster Terminator Genisys (2015), where he plays a T-1000 robot. Lee has since filmed an independent US film, "Misconduct", opposite legendary actors Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino, which is due for a 2016 release.
ASIA ..........................KOREA
(7.80) - Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA (2000) !!
(7.80) - Dalkomhan insaeng (2005) !!!!
(7.80) - Akmareul boatda (2010)
(7.40) - Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom (2008)
(7.18) - Beonjijeompeureul hada (2001)
(7.17) - Jungdok (2002) !!!!
(7.16) - Nae maeumui punggeum (1999)
(7.10) - Saam gaang yi (2004)
(7.07) - Geuhae yeoreum (2006)
(6.95) - "All In" (2003)
For Dalkomhan insaeng (2005) & Jungdok (2002)- Choi Min-shik first made a name for himself in theater before breaking into the film world with a role in Park Chong-won's acclaimed film 'Our Twisted Hero' (1992). In the mid-nineties he continued to act in theater productions as well as in several TV dramas, including Moon Over Seoul with Han Seok-gyu. 1997 marked his return to motion pictures, with a role as a tough-talking police investigator in Song Neung-han's No. 3 (1997). His biggest role came in 1999, when he was cast in Korea's most successful film ever, Shiri (1999). His portrayal of a North Korean agent garnered him much praise and a Best Actor Award from the 1999 domestic Grand Bell Awards.
After starring in a theater production of Hamlet in spring of 1999, Choi took on the role of a husband who discovers his wife's infidelity in Happy End (1999), and in early 2001 starred as a third-rate gangster opposite Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung in the acclaimed Failan (2001). In 2003 he starred in the now classic Oldboy (2003).
ASIA ..........................KOREA
(8.40) - Oldeuboi (2003) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(8.10) - Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo (2004) !!
(7.80) - Akmareul boatda (2010)
(7.79) - Failan (2001) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(7.70) - Chinjeolhan geumjassi (2005)
(7.39) - Jumeogi unda (2005)
(7.38) - Bumchoiwaui junjaeng (2012)
(7.20) - Chihwaseon (2002)
(7.19) - Ggotpineun bomi omyeon (2004)
(7.10) - Choyonghan kajok (1998)
For Oldeuboi (2003) & Failan (2001) - Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School. Later, he joined Kee Kuk-seo's influential theater company with its emphasis on instinctive acting and improvisation, which proved to be Song's training ground. Although regularly approached to act in films, he always turned down the opportunity until taking a role as an extra in Hong Sang-soo's The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well (1996). In the following year, after portraying one of the homeless in Jang Sun-woo's docu-drama Bad Movie (1997), he gained cult notoriety for his scene-stealing performance in Neung-han Song No. 3 (1997) as a gangster training a group of young recruits, winning his first Best Actor award.
Since that time he was cast in several supporting roles before his high-profile role as Han Suk-kyu's secret-agent partner in Kang Je-kyu's blockbuster thriller Shiri (1999). In early 2000, Song became a star with his first leading role in the box office smash The Foul King (2000), for which he reputedly did most of his own stunts. But it was with his award-winning role as a North Korean sergeant in Joint Security Area (2000) that Song has come to the forefront as one of Korea's leading actors. Song also starred in Park Chan-wook's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), which centers around a father's pursuit of his daughter's kidnappers.
In 2002 Song starred in another major production by Myung Film titled YMCA Yagudan (2002), about Korea's first baseball team, which formed in the early 20th century. He came to international attention with the film The Host (2006), which reunited him with director Bong Joon Ho. With Snowpiercer (2013), his third collaboration with Bong, he made his debut in an English-language film with international theatrical distribution.
In 2008 he starred in Kim Jee-woon's film The Good the Bad the Weird (2008), where he played Tae-goo, the motorcycle-riding, walther-wielding counterpart to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"'s Tuco.
In 2015, Song Kang-ho works on 'The Throne', a period drama of palace intrigues par excellence and whose film is nominated that year for best non-English-language film and costumes at Satellite awards. Already in 2016 he makes his fourth collaboration with Korean director Kim Jee-woon and is none other than the critically acclaimed film "The Empire of Shadows." A period drama with a background of espionage intrigue with a very good technical bill.
ASIA ..........................KOREA
(8.10) - Salinui chueok (2003)
(7.80) - Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA (2000)
(7.80) - Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
(7.70) - Chinjeolhan geumjassi (2005)
(7.40) - Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom (2008)
(7.39) - Milyang (2007)
(7.19) - Ui-hyeong-je (2010)
(7.18) - Uahan segye (2007)
(7.10) - Choyonghan kajok (1998)
(7.10) - Gwoemul (2006)
(7.10) - Bakjwi (2009) - Jeon Do-yeon spent five years starring in television dramas before achieving instant star status with her film debut opposite Han Seok-gyu in The Contact. She has since gone on to take a wide variety of roles, from her performance as a schoolgirl in Harmonium in My Memory to that of a wife having an adulterous affair in Happy End. Her popularity has steadily increased, as audiences fall for her warm and direct personality. In late 1999 she received a Best Actress award from the domestic Chungryong Awards ceremony for her role in Harmonium in My Memory.
After starring as the tough-talking "Sunglasses" in Ryu Seung-wan's No Blood No Tears, Jeon spent time acting in a TV drama titled "Shoot for the Stars." She also found box-office success in E J-yong's Untold Scandal, based on the famous French novel Dangerous Liaisons. Her next project sees her taking dual roles in a time-bending melodrama set on Jeju Island called My Mother, Mermaid (working title).ASIA ..........................KOREA - Yu-mi Jung is a South Korean actress. She is best known for Silenced (2011), and Train to Busan (2016).
Jung was born on January 18, 1983 in South Korea. Her filmography also includes the films Family Ties (2006), Chaw (2009), My Dear Desperado (2010), Oki's Movie (2010), and Our Sunhi (2013).
For her role in Family Ties she won the Best Supporting Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.
ASIA ..........................KOREA - Doona Bae was born in Seoul, South Korea. Her mother, Hwa-Young Kim, is a stage actress. Bae started out as a model. She soon moved to T.V. and movies, and it proved the right move. Her first movie was The Ring Virus (1999). Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) (aka "Barking Dogs Never Bite") and Take Care of My Cat (2001) (A.K.A. "Take Care of My Cat") not only made Doona a household name in Korea but also won her critical acclaim as a serious young actress. Doona Bae is now busy making movies and T.V. shows.
ASIA ..........................KOREA
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Gwoemul (2006)
Dohee-ya (2014) - Sol Kyung-gu was born on 1 May 1968 in South Korea. He is an actor, known for Memoir of a Murderer (2017), Oasis (2002) and Peppermint Candy (1999). He has been married to Song Yun-ah since 2009. They have one child.
ASIA ..........................KOREA - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Cho Jae-hyun was born on 30 June 1965 in Seoul, Korea. He is an actor and director, known for Jeong Do-jeon (2014), Punch (2014) and Bad Guy (2001).
ASIA ..........................KOREA
Nabbeun namja (2001)- Actress
- Script and Continuity Department
Shim Eun-kyung was born on 31 May 1994 in Gangneung, Korea. She is an actress, known for Miss Granny (2014), Sunny (2011) and The Journalist (2019).
ASIA ..........................KOREA
Sseo-ni (2011)
Busanhaeng (2016)- Artyom Bystrov was born on 19 March 1985 in Gorky, Gorky Oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia]. He is an actor, known for The Fool (2014), T-34 (2018) and Planeta.ASIA ..........................Russia
- Nadezhda Markina was born on 29 January 1959 in Dmitrievka, Nikiforovskiy rayon, Tambovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Elena (2011), Sophia (2016) and Vstretimsya vchera (2024).ASIA ..........................Russia
- Actor
- Soundtrack
His career Vladimir Vdovichencov began starring in two films that became cult in Russia. This is the "Boomer" (2003) by Petr Buslov and the TV series "Brigada" (2002). Participation in these projects have brought great popularity among the audience. At the moment, Vladimir appeared in more than forty films. One of the latest was "Leviathan"(2014) by Andrey Zvyagintzev. "Leviathan" won the Golden Globe and was also nominated for an Oscar. Vladimir plays in Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. One of his roles - Dr. Astroff in Chekhov's play "Uncle Vanya".ASIA ..........................Russia- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Aleksey Aleksandrovich Chadov was born on September 2, 1981, in Solntsevo, Moscow region, RSFSR, USSR, now a suburb of Moscow, Russia. He is the younger brother of actor Andrey Chadov. His father, Aleksandr Chadov, died in 1986, and both brothers were raised by their single mother. Their mother, Galina Petrovna Chadova, was an engineer turned accountant and teacher. She raised both brothers as best friends. The Chadov brothers look similar, but they are not twins, with sixteen months between them. They are good friends and are diligent colleagues in their respectful careers. They would often go together on casting calls, providing broader opportunities for directors.
Aleksey and his brother began acting at school, then continued as amateur actors at the municipal theater-studio in Peredelkino. His first acting teacher was Aleksey Kozhikhin. In 1992, at the age of 12, Aleksey was awarded for his stage performance and was sent to the Mediterranean resort of Antalia. During his school years he played a wide variety of characters in classical and contemporary plays. After graduating from school, he entered the Shchepkin Theatrical School in Moscow. There he studied acting in the class of Vladimir Seleznyov, and graduated as an actor in 2003. While a student, he made his film debut in a leading role in War (2002) ("War") by director Aleksey Balabanov. In 2002, Chadov received the Best Actor Award at the Montreal Film Festival.
Chadov is a Russian Orthodox Christian. He currently resides in Moscow, Russia.ASIA ..........................Russia- After graduating from high school, she joined the faculty of Russian philology Pskov Pedagogical Institute, in 2006 she graduated from Russian Academy of Theatre Arts. Since 2003 she has appeared in more than 30 films and since 2007 she has been one of the leading actresses at the State Theater of Nations.
He cooperates with the theater "School of Modern Play" and the theater on Malaya Bronnaya theater company Evgeniy Mironov.
The actress became well known after playing supporting roles in In the Fog (2012) directed by Sergey Loznitsa and The Edge (2010) directed by Aleksey Uchitel. Lead roles in the drama film Nevesta (2006), the comedy Santa Lyuchiya (2012), and the war Battle for Sevastopol (2015) brought her popularity among Russian audiences.ASIA ..........................Russia - Actor
- Director
- Writer
"There are those who miss being in-depth with the world," explains Nikolaj Lie Kaas in an interview with Politiken on April 29th, 2001, "but for me superficiality means a lot - that's where I get my drive." This is an interesting comment from an actor, whose acting always strikes a deeply personal cord. While other actors strive to close in on life, Kaas - who experienced tragic loss at an early age - seems eager to escape the eye of the storm. It is a disturbing quality that etches his characters in the audience's mind.
Kaas graduated from the National Theater School in Denmark in 1998. He first appeared on screen in Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's film The Boys from St. Petri (1991) (The Boys from Sct. Petri) in 1991 as Otto, the rebel son of a traitor. The development of the character illustrates the growth of moral resistance into full-fledged violent revolt. This somber and masterfully-acted part earned Kaas two Danish film prizes, a Robert and a Bodil.
Today Kaas imbues his adult characters with the unsentimental innocence and vulnerability of a child and audiences respond intuitively. Jeppe in Lars von Trier's The Idiots (1998) takes on true love, only to lose it. The actor received another Bodil for this portrayal. Kaas makes a narrow escape from type-casting by adding original qualities to the individual characters. He has also done self-parody as a happy-go-easy cook, working for a mafia-like boss in the midst of a murderous streak in In China They Eat Dogs (1999) (In China They Eat Dogs) and as a helpless man in the throes of love in Flickering Lights (2000) (Blinking Lights).
After imbuing smaller parts with larger-than-life performances, Kaas landed another main part in Et rigtigt menneske (2001) as Ahmed, the aborted son (!) of a working couple. His would-be little sister is the emotionally neglected Lisa. When she dies, Ahmed comes to life and tries to become a real human being. Kaas delivers another masterful performance in this movie, inspired by the tragic tale of Casper Hauser.EUROPE .....................DENMARK- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Pilou Asbæk graduated from The Danish National School of Performing Arts in 2008. In the same year, he played the leading role in Niels Arden Oplev's drama Worlds Apart. In 2010 he had his breakthrough as the inmate Rune in Lindholm & Noer's prison drama R for which he won the prize for Best actor at The Danish Critic Association Award, Bodil, and at the Danish Film Academy Awards, Robert. Furthermore, he was pointed as Shooting Star at the Berlinale in 2011 for this performance; an honor that is given to ten European Actors. Also, for three years he starred in the BAFTA winning and critically acclaimed television series Borgen as Kasper Juul; spin doctor for the Danish Prime Minister. The following years Pilou played the leading role in Tobias Lindholm's A Hijacking and A War. A War was nominated in the category Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards 2015. In 2014, Pilou shot Luc-Besson's LUCY starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman, and this year he played Pontius Pilate in Timur Bekmambetov's BEN-HUR. In 2017 he again played opposite Scarlett Johansson in Rupert Sander's Ghost in the Shell as Batou. Pilou has starred as Euron Greyjoy in the 6th and 7th seasons of HBO's acclaimed series Game of Thrones.EUROPE .....................DENMARK- Actor
- Producer
- Art Department
Andy Lau Tak-wah, (born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter, presenter, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time. In the 1990s, Lau was branded by the media as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop. Lau was entered into the Guinness World Records for the "Most Awards Won by a Cantopop Male Artist". By April 2000, he had already won a total unprecedented 292 awards. In 2005, Lau was awarded "No.1 Box office Actor 1985-2005" of Hong Kong, yielding a total box office of HKD 1,733,275,816 for shooting 108 films in the past 20 years. In 2007, Lau was also awarded the "Nielsen Box Office Star of Asia" by the Nielsen Company.ASIA ..........................CHINA- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Chow Yun Fat is a charismatic, athletically built and energetic Asian-born film star who first came to the attention of western audiences via his roles in the high-octane/blazing guns action films of maverick HK director John Woo.
Chow was born in 1955 on the quiet island of Lamma, part of the then-British colony of Hong Kong, near its famous Victoria Harbour. His mother was a vegetable farmer and cleaning lady, and his father worked on a Shell Oil Company tanker. Chow's family moved to urban Hong Kong in 1965 and in early 1973, Chow attended a casting call for TVB, a division of Shaw Bros. productions. With his good looks and easy-going style, Chow was originally a heartthrob actor in non-demanding TV and film roles. However, his popularity increased with his appearance as white-suited gangster Hui Man-Keung in the highly popular drama TV series Shanghai Beach (1980).
In 1985, Chow started receiving acclaim for his work and scored the Golden Horse (Best Actor) Award in Taiwan and another Best Actor Award from the Asian Pacific Film Festival for his performance in Hong Kong 1941 (1984). With these accolades, Chow came to the attention of Woo, who cast Chow in the fast-paced gangster film A Better Tomorrow (1986) (aka "A Better Tomorrow"). The rest, as they say, is history. The film was an enormous commercial success, and Chow's influence on young Asian males was not dissimilar to the adulation given to previous Asian film sensations such as Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. Nearly every young guy in Hong Kong ran out and bought himself a "Mark Coat," as they became known--a long, heavy woolen coat worn by Chow in the movie (although it is is actually very unsuited to Hong Kong's hot and humid climate).
Further hard-edged roles in more John Woo crime films escalated Chow's popularity even higher, and fans all over the world flocked to see A Better Tomorrow II (1987) (aka "A Better Tomorrow 2"), The Killer (1989) (aka "The Killer"), and Hard Boiled (1992) (aka "Hard Boiled"). With the phenomenal global interest in the HK action genre, Chow was enticed to the United States and appeared in The Replacement Killers (1998) with Mira Sorvino, The Corruptor (1999) with Mark Wahlberg, and, for a change of pace, in the often-filmed romantic tale of Anna and the King (1999).
Chow then returned to the Asian cinema circuit and starred in the critically lauded kung fu epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) (aka "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). His wide appeal can be seen in his "boy next door" type of personality and his ability to play such a broad spectrum of roles from a comedic buffoon to a lovestruck Romeo to a trigger-happy professional killer. A highly entertaining and gifted actor with dynamic on-screen presence, Chow continues to remain in strong demand in many film markets.ASIA ..........................CHINA- Thomas Kretschmann was born in East Germany. Before becoming an actor, he was a swimmer. He has acted in several popular American movies, such as Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), The Pianist (2002), U-571 (2000), In Enemy Hands (2004), etc. He has three children, Nicolas, Stella and Sascha with his ex-girlfriend Lena.EUROPE ....................East Germany
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Úrsula Corberó Delgado (born 11 August 1989) is a Spanish actress, best known for her roles as Ruth in the Antena 3 series Physics or Chemistry (2008), Margarita de Austria en Isabel (2011), Esther Salinas in the series La embajada and Tokyo in the television series Money Heist (2017).
Corberó debuted as Maria in television series Mirall trencat (2002) in 2002. She appeared as Sara in Ventdelplà (2005) in 2005-06, and in series Countdown (2007) in 2007. In 2008, she portrayed Manuela Portillo in series The Boarding School (2007) and began working on the Antena 3 television series Physics or Chemistry (2008). Her character, Ruth Gomez, suffered from bulimia. The series attracted a lot of controversy but Corberó has been critically acclaimed for her outstanding performance.
Úrsula Corberó appeared in several movies such as horror film XP3D, comedy Quien mató a Bambi? and Perdiendo el norte alongside the actors Blanca Suárez and Yon González. Cómo sobrevivir a una despedida (2015) is her first main role in a movie and confirmed she's one of the best comical actresses of Spain.
In 2017 she starred in the heist TV series Money Heist (2017). The series first aired in Spain, and was later made available internationally through Netflix. The actress received a nomination for Best Actress in a TV Series at the Premios Feroz.
Later this year, she was given her first main dramatic role in cinema by Julio Medem. The Tree of Blood (2018) is a thriller and Corberó is Rebecca, a mysterious woman who, along with her husband, discover secrets from her family. The actress was also directed by Isabel Coixet for the movie Proyecto tiempo (2017): La Llave. The film debuted at the San Sebastian Film Festival.EUROPE .....................SPAIN- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Álvaro Morte was born on 23 February 1975 in Algeciras, Cádiz, Spain. He is an actor and producer, known for Money Heist (2017), Mirage (2018) and The Wheel of Time (2021).EUROPE .....................SPAIN- Actor
- Soundtrack
Rodrigo de la Serna (born April 18, 1976) is an Argentine actor.
In 2004, he won the Silver Condor for best actor and the Independent Spirit Award for "Best Debut Performance" for the film The Motorcycle Diaries, for which he earned a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award and another nomination for the Golden Globe Award. He played the role of Alberto Granado, the travelling companion of Che Guevara during their 8-month long journey through South America.
He has acted in several television series in Argentina such as Okupas, Sol Negro, and Hermanos y Detectives.
De La Serna worked in the production of the movie San Martín: El Cruce de los Andes, that premiered in 2010. He is the main actor of the film, playing José de San Martín.EUROPE .....................SPAIN- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Moritz Bleibtreu is a German actor born on August 13, 1971 in Munich growing up in Hamburg. He first appears in children's television series Neues aus Uhlenbusch (1977) at the age of six. His breakthrough was the role called "Abdul" in the movie Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997). He also became internationally known for his work on Run Lola Run (1998), The Experiment (2001) and World War Z (2013). In Germany, He is well known for the classic stoner-movie called Lammbock (2001) in which he plays the leading role. He speaks fluent German, English, French and Italian and is the son of Austrian actors Hans Brenner and Monica Bleibtreu.EUROPE .....................GERMANY