People: Heart of hearts
Actors that I love deep deep down
List activity
275 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
27 people
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Steve Carell, one of America's most versatile comics, was born Steven John Carell on August 16, 1962, in Concord, Massachusetts. He is the son of Harriet Theresa (Koch), a psychiatric nurse, and Edwin A. Carell, an electrical engineer. His mother was of Polish descent and his father of Italian and German ancestry (Steve's grandfather had changed the surname from "Caroselli" to "Carell"). Steve was educated at The Fenn School, an all-boys private school in Concord, Massachusetts, then at Middlesex School in Concord. After graduating from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, he moved to Chicago where he taught an improvisational comedy class and performed with The Second City troupe, alongside Stephen Colbert.
Carell made his film debut as "Tesio" in Curly Sue (1991). In 1996, he became a cast member of The Dana Carvey Show (1996), and provided the voice for Gary, opposite Colbert in "The Ambiguously Gay Duo". This animated short series produced by Robert Smigel continued on Saturday Night Live (1975), but Carell has joked that he auditioned for SNL and lost the job to Will Ferrell. Carell made a number of guest appearances on such shows as Come to Papa (2004), Just Shoot Me! (1997), and Watching Ellie (2002), before landing a regular stint as a correspondent on The Daily Show (1996) from 1999 until 2005.
Carell played Evan Baxter opposite Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty (2003), and Uncle Arthur opposite Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell in Bewitched (2005). He broke out as a leading man after starring in the summer box-office hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), which he also co-wrote; the film was chosen as one of the Top Ten movies of 2006 by the American Film Institute. He next starred in the critically acclaimed Little Miss Sunshine (2006), an indie dark comedy which became a surprise hit and earned four Oscar nominations, and won two (Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin and Best Screenplay for Michael Arndt). In 2007, Carell reprised his role as Evan Baxter, filling Jim Carrey's leading-man shoes as a politician asked by God to build a giant ark in Evan Almighty (2007), the second installment of the "Almighty" franchise, co-starring Lauren Graham and Morgan Freeman. In 2008, he re-united with Jim Carrey in the highly successful animation hit Horton Hears a Who! (2008), then appeared as Agent Maxwell Smart in the popular comedy Get Smart (2008).
Throughout this time, Carell maintained a successful career in television, starring as Michael Scott in the American remake of the Britain's existential comedy, The Office (2005). He received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in Television Comedy for this leading role in 2006, and earned both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations each consecutive show until he departed in 2011.
In 2010, Carell announced he was leaving "The Office" to concentrate on his film career, and has made steady appearance in such films as Date Night (2010), Despicable Me (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011), and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012). Carell's most recent roles are the comedies Despicable Me 2 (2013), Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014), and the drama Foxcatcher (2014), and the more serious Beautiful Boy (2018) and Vice (2018).
Steve Carell has been enjoying a happy family life with his wife, actress Nancy Carell, whom he met when she was a student in an improv class he was teaching at The Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. The couple have two children, daughter Elizabeth (born in May 2001), and son John (born in June 2004). Steve Carell lives with his family in Los Angeles, California.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Known for his breakthrough starring role on Freaks and Geeks (1999), James Franco was born April 19, 1978 in Palo Alto, California, to Betsy Franco, a writer, artist, and actress, and Douglas Eugene "Doug" Franco, who ran a Silicon Valley business. His mother is Jewish and his father was of Portuguese and Swedish descent.
Growing up with his two younger brothers, Dave Franco, also an actor, and Tom Franco, James graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996 and went on to attend UCLA, majoring in English. To overcome his shyness, he got into acting while studying there, which, much to his parents' dismay, he left after only one year. After fifteen months of intensive study at Robert Carnegie's Playhouse West, James began actively pursuing his dream of finding work as an actor in Hollywood. In that short time, he landed himself a starring role on Freaks and Geeks (1999). The show, however, was not a hit to its viewers at the time, and was canceled after its first year. Now, it has become a cult-hit. Prior to joining Freaks and Geeks (1999), Franco starred in the TV miniseries To Serve and Protect (1999). After that, he had a starring role in Whatever It Takes (2000).
Although he'd been working steadily, it wasn't until the TNT made-for-television movie, James Dean (2001) that James rose to fan-magazine fame and got to show off his talent. Since then, he has been working non-stop. After losing the lead role to Tobey Maguire, James settled for the part of "Harry Osborne", Spider-Man's best friend in the summer 2002 major hit Spider-Man (2002). He returned to the Osborne role for the next two films in the trilogy.
Next was Deuces Wild (2002) and City by the Sea (2002), in which Robert De Niro personally had him cast, after viewing his performance in James Dean (2001). He was seen in David Gordon Green's Pineapple Express (2008) opposite Seth Rogen, in George C. Wolfe's Nights in Rodanthe (2008), starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane and in Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah (2007), starring Tommy Lee Jones. Also starring opposite Sean Penn in Gus Van Sant's Milk (2008) in which his performance earned him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor. Definitely growing out of his shyness, James Franco is turning into a legend of his own.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Christian Michael Leonard Slater was born on August 18, 1969 in New York City, to Michael Hawkins, a well-known soap actor, and Mary Jo Slater (née Lawton), a casting agent. Christian started in show business early, appearing on the soap opera The Edge of Night (1956) in 1976 at the age of 7. He went on to star in many Broadway shows in the early-1980s. He rose to fame in Hollywood after landing the role of Binx Davey in The Legend of Billie Jean (1985). He moved to Los Angeles in 1987 to pursue a further acting career after dropping out of high school. After having a starring role in the cult classic Heathers (1988), he became somewhat known as the Hollywood bad-boy, having many run-ins with the law. He is also well-known for having dated stars such as Winona Ryder, Christina Applegate, Samantha Mathis and was at one time engaged to actress/model Nina Huang. In 2000, he married Ryan Haddon, the daughter of 1970s model Dayle Haddon. The couple have two children, Jaden Christopher (b. 1999) and Eliana Sophia (b. 2001). As of early 2005, they separated and later divorced, but remain dedicated to bring up their children.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Lead and supporting actor of the American stage and films, with sandy colored hair, and pale complexion. He won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Deer Hunter (1978), and has been seen in mostly character roles, often portraying psychologically unstable individuals, though that generalization would not do justice to Walken's depth and breadth of performances.
Walken was born in Astoria, Queens, New York. His mother, Rosalie (Russell), was a Scottish emigrant, from Glasgow. His father, Paul Wälken, was a German emigrant, from Horst, who ran Walken's bakery. Christopher learned his stage craft, including dancing, at Hofstra University & ANTA, and picked up a Theatre World award for his performance in the revival of the Tennessee Williams play "The Rose Tattoo". Walken then first broke through into cinema in 1969 appearing in Me and My Brother (1968), before appearing alongside Sean Connery in the sleeper heist movie The Anderson Tapes (1971). His eclectic work really came to the attention of critics in 1977 with his intense portrayal of Diane Keaton suicidal younger brother in Annie Hall (1977), and then he scooped the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award in 1977 for his role as Nick in the electrifying The Deer Hunter (1978). Walken was lured back by The Deer Hunter (1978) director Michael Cimino for a role in the financially disastrous western Heaven's Gate (1980), before moving onto surprise audiences with his wonderful dance skills in Pennies from Heaven (1981), taking the lead as a school teacher with telepathic abilities in the Stephen King inspired The Dead Zone (1983) and then as billionaire industrialist Max Zorin trying to blow up Silicon Valley in the 007 adventure A View to a Kill (1985). Looking at many of Walken's other captivating screen roles, it is easy to see the diversity of his range and even his droll comedic talents with humorous appearances in Biloxi Blues (1988), Wayne's World 2 (1993), Joe Dirt (2001), Mousehunt (1997) and America's Sweethearts (2001). Most recently, he continued to surprise audiences again with his work as a heart broken and apologetic father to Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can (2002).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Bryan Lee Cranston was born on March 7, 1956 in Hollywood, California, to Audrey Peggy Sell, a radio actress, and Joe Cranston, an actor and former amateur boxer. His maternal grandparents were German, and his father was of Irish, German, and Austrian-Jewish ancestry. He was raised in the Canoga Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, and also stayed with his grandparents, living on their poultry farm in Yucaipa. Cranston's father walked out on the family when Cranston was eleven, and they did not see each other again until 11 years later, when Cranston and his brother decide to track down their father.
Cranston is known for his roles as Walter White on the AMC crime drama Breaking Bad (2008), Hal on the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle (2000), and Dr. Tim Whatley on five episodes of the NBC situation comedy Seinfeld (1989). For his role on "Breaking Bad", he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times (2008-2010, 2014), including three consecutive wins. After becoming one of the producers during the series' fourth and fifth seasons, he also won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series twice.
In June 2014, Cranston won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson in the play "All the Way" on Broadway. He reprised the role of Lyndon Johnson in the television adaptation All the Way (2016), which earned him widespread praise by critics. For the biographical drama Trumbo (2015), he earned widespread acclaim and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Cranston also appeared in several acclaimed films, such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Drive (2011), Argo (2012) and Godzilla (2014). In 2019, he starred with Kevin Hart in the box office hit The Upside (2017).- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Aaron Paul was born Aaron Paul Sturtevant in Emmett, Idaho, to Darla (Haynes) and Robert Sturtevant, a retired Baptist minister. While growing up, Paul took part in church programs, and performed in plays.
He attended Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho. It was there, in eighth grade, that Aaron decided he wanted to become an actor. He joined the theatre department and became obsessed with the idea of acting for a living. After finishing school, Aaron moved to Los Angeles.
During the late '90's, he worked as an usher at the Universal Studios Movie Theatre in Hollywood. His television debut was in an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), which was followed by an appearance in another Aaron Spelling series, Melrose Place (1992).
On the big screen, Aaron played the estranged son of Jeff Bridges in K-PAX (2001), and Tom Cruise's brother-in-law in Mission: Impossible III (2006).
After appearing in several roles on American television, his breakthrough role came as "Jesse Pinkman" in the AMC series Breaking Bad (2008). The character was only supposed to last for one season, but series creator Vince Gilligan changed his mind, due to Aaron's chemistry with Bryan Cranston. He has won three Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" for this role (2010, 2012 and 2014).- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
An actor, comedian and writer, Seth Rogen has come a long way from doing stand-up comedy as a teen.
Rogen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Sandy (Belogus), a social worker, and Mark Rogen, who worked for non-profits. His father is American-born and his mother is Canadian. He is of Russian Jewish descent. He attended Vancouver Talmud Torah Elementary School and Point Grey Secondary School (although he dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles) and was known for the stand-up comedy he performed at Camp Miriam, a Habonim Dror camp. At sixteen, Rogen placed second in the 1998 Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest.
Soon after that he landed his first role in Judd Apatow's short-lived but well regarded TV series Freaks and Geeks (1999), taking on the role of Ken Miller. Though the show only lasted one season, it was the launching pad for many careers, including Rogen, Apatow, James Franco, and Jason Segel. This early work sharpened Rogen's keen improvisational skills, which he's used on many projects since.
Following Freaks and Geeks (1999), he participated in a few unsuccessful television projects, and then joined the American television version of Da Ali G Show (2000) as a writer during its second and last season, along with his childhood friend and writing partner Evan Goldberg. The writing team received an Emmy nomination. As a huge fan of the first season, Rogen was thrilled to get the chance to work with Sacha Baron Cohen.
Continuing his work with Apatow, he joined the cast of Apatow's debut film The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and is credited as co-producer. After that he took the lead in Knocked Up (2007), Apatow's second movie and a huge success. He's since been a frequent collaborator with Apatow, in projects such as Superbad (2007), Pineapple Express (2008) and Funny People (2009). He co-wrote Superbad (2007), with Goldberg; the pair started the project when they were teens. They won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Writing in a Film in 2008. They later wrote Pineapple Express (2008) and The Green Hornet (2011), also starring Rogen.
A talented voice artist, Rogen is in the animated films Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Kung Fu Panda (2008), and Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), and has voiced characters for The Simpsons (1989) and American Dad! (2005).
Rogen was named the Canadian Comedy Person of the Year by the Canadian Comedy Awards in both 2008 and 2009.
Rogen lives in Los Angeles with Lauren Miller Rogen, whom he met in 2004. They became engaged in September 2010 and married in October 2011.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Widely considered as one of the greatest stage and screen actors of his generation both in his native Scotland and internationally, David Tennant was born David John McDonald in West Lothian, Scotland, to Essdale Helen (McLeod) and Sandy McDonald, who was a Presbyterian minister. He is of Scottish and Ulster-Scots descent. When he was about 3 or 4 years old, he decided to become an actor, inspired by his love of Doctor Who (1963).
He was brought up in Bathgate, West Lothian and Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland and was a huge fan of the band The Proclaimers. He attended Paisley Grammar school and while there he wrote about how he wanted to become a professional actor and play the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who (1963).
He made his first television appearance (which was also his first professional acting job) when he was 16, after his father sent some photos of him to a casting director at Scottish television. He also attended a youth theatre group at weekends run by the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now renamed the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). When he was 16 he auditioned for and won a place at the academy; the youngest student to ever do so, and started as a full time drama student when he was 17.
He worked regularly in theatre and TV after leaving drama school, and his first big break came in 1994 when he was cast in a lead role in the Scottish drama Takin' Over the Asylum (1994). He then moved to London where his career thrived. Among other significant factors of his prolific artistic course, he spent several years as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and became famous from his lead roles in TV dramas Blackpool (2004) and Casanova (2005).
In 2005, his childhood wish came true. David was cast to play the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who (2005) alongside Billie Piper, after Christopher Eccleston decided to leave. Playing the Doctor made him a household name and a sex symbol, being voted "Sexiest Man in the Universe" by readers of The Pink Paper and 16th Sexiest Man in the World by a Cosmopolitan survey. Since leaving the series in 2010 his career has continued to rise, with lead roles in films, TV series and theatre.- Actor
- Producer
- Visual Effects
Nathan Fillion was born on 27 March 1971 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is the son of Cookie (Early) and Bob Fillion, both retired English teachers, and has an older brother, Jeff. His father is of French-Canadian descent, and his mother is of English, German, Finnish, and Norwegian ancestry. In Canada, he attended Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Concordia University College of Alberta and University of Alberta. Before moving to New York City in 1994, he participated in improv theatre, including Theatresports with Rapid Fire Theatre and improvised soap opera Die-Nasty. He also appeared in a TV Movie Ordeal in the Arctic (1993) starring Richard Chamberlain and in Strange and Rich (1994).
Fillion's first regular role was on a daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968), as Joey Buchanan, for which role he was nominated in 1996 for a Daytime Emmy Award. He left the series after three years in 1997. During the late 1990's, he appeared in small roles in the films Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Blast from the Past (1999). Fillion also guest starred on Das Bootie (1997), Mama's Got a Brand New Bag (1998) and Starcrossed (1999). His biggest break by then happened in 1998, when he was cast as Johnny Donnelly on the 2nd season of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998) opposite Traylor Howard, Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo and Suzanne Cryer. He starred on the show for 60 episodes.
After "Two Guys" ended in 2001, Fillion gained critical acclaim and a large cult of fans when he starred as Captain Malcolm Reynolds on the Joss Whedon's Firefly (2002). Unfortunately the show was prematurely canceled in late 2002. He also guest starred on several episodes of two short lived TV shows, Pasadena (2001), as Rev. Glenn Collins and Miss Match (2003), as Adam Logan. In 2003, Whedon gave Fillion another chance to display his range when he cast Fillion as the twisted preacher Caleb, a villain, in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). Before and after "Firefly", Fillion appeared in many movies, Dracula 2000 (2000), Alligator Point (2003), Water's Edge (2003), If Dad Only Knew (2004) and Hollywood Division (2004).
Whedon vowed to resurrect "Firefly" in some way, and Fillion played Captain Reynolds again in the feature-film Serenity (2005). Fillion followed this film with more big screen leading roles, in the horror-comedy Slither (2006), in White Noise 2: The Light (2007), in the indie hit Waitress (2007) opposite Keri Russell and in Trucker (2008). He also continued to be a force in television, starring in the short-lived Fox-TV series Drive (2007) and appearing on a recurring role as Dr. Adam Mayfair on the 4th season of ABC's Desperate Housewives (2004), opposite Dana Delany. He also appeared on I Do (2006) and was a voice actor on many video games (e.g. Halo 3 (2007)).
In 2008, he took his first singing part (and cemented his cult appeal) as Captain Hammer in Whedon's musical Internet smash Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008), with Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Simon Helberg. In 2009, he was cast as the title character Richard Castle in ABC's hit television series, Castle (2009). The show has aired more than 160 episodes and Nathan Fillion has won four People's Choice Awards for Favorite Dramatic TV Actor, as of 2016. In 2018, Fillion took the starring role in The Rookie (2018) as John Nolan, a contractor who starts over as a rookie police officer in the LAPD after a life-altering event. Besides starring on "Castle", he has appeared in many movies, in Super (2010) as The Holy Avenger, in Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing (2012) as Dogberry, the incompetent chief of security, in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) as Hermes and in Thrilling Adventure Hour Live (2015).
His credits as a voice-actor are numerous: on Bright Lights, Dean City (2010) as Brown Widow, in Wonder Woman (2009) as Steve Trevor, in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011), Justice League: Doom (2012), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015) as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, in Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special (2012) as Green Lantern/Mr. Freeze, on American Dad! (2005), in Pixar's Monsters University (2013) as Johnny, in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) as Monstrous Inmate and on Gravity Falls (2012) as Preston Northwest. He also voices the lead, Shojun in the animated movie, Yamasong: March of the Hollows (2017). He has also continued voicing characters in video games, such as in Destiny (2014) and in Halo 5: Guardians (2015).
He has also guest starred on The Daly Superheroes (2012) as himself, on Community (2009) as Bob Waite, on The Comic Book Store Regeneration (2015) as himself, on Twins (2015) as Mountie McMinniman, on Con Man (2015) as Jack Moore and on Space (2015) as Wernher Von Braun. He also narrated the documentary, Highway of Tears (2015).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Pete Holmes was born on 30 March 1979 in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for CollegeHumor Originals (2006), Crashing (2017) and Don't Think Twice (2016). He has been married to Valerie Chaney since 2017.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
A comedian. Improvisation, sketch and stand-up are his forte.
Todd Joseph Miller was born in Denver, Colorado, to Leslie, a clinical psychologist, and Kent Miller, an attorney. He went to East High School, and college in Washington, D.C. There, he performed with the group receSs for 4 years, being the only person in his class out of 100 to audition and be accepted into the group. He remained the sole member of receSs until his junior year, when he was joined by Michael "Tuck The Ruckus" Tokaruk, an acclaimed comedian and equestrian, who taught T.J. how to ride a horse, a pastime he calls "droll." He met his future wife, Kate Gorney, when they performed in "A Chorus Line" in university production of the musical. She played The Ballerina (being an accomplished ballerina herself) and he played Richie, the African American character. He credits the casting to East High School, which was a primarily black and Latino high school, and also that no black people auditioned for the part.
During his time in the nation's capital, he studied classical acting at B.A.D.A in Oxford, England and circus arts at Frichess Theatre Urbain. He was outstanding in the field of stilt walking, but was never able to execute any trick, at all, on Trapeze. He is an accomplished clown and juggler, having mastered 5 ball juggling, over fifty 3-ball tricks, clubs, torches, knives, and his specialty (which garnered him a Magician Membership to The Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA) Cigar Boxes.
After graduating with honors (a bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration in persuasion theory and social influence) he moved to Chicago where he began performing with independent improvisation teams such as the group Chuckle Sandwich, the i.o. house team Bullet Lounge, The sketch group Heavy Weight (with Mark Raterman, Nick Vatterott & Brady Novak). He toured with Second City for almost 2 years (though he was never a company member of the MainStage), and during that time he missed over 15 flights to various cities the company toured to. During his time in Chicago, he performed standup every night for almost 4 years, never taking a night off even on holidays. He became a regular at Chicago's famed alternative room The Lincoln Lodge, and only performed at Chicago's Zanies Comedy Club 3 times in 4 years, apparently because they had an aversion to his absurdist style.
Miller's first appearance on television was on The Standard Deviants, a PBS show aimed at providing educational DVDs and programming for schools. He played a knight and a dinosaur detective.
Proficient in every medium of comedy (he considers even 'acting' simply another medium of comedy) he is also a voiceover artist, having worked for Old Style, Mucinex, Cars.com among other brands as well as in feature films & animated television shows.
In 2011 he produced a 42 track E.P. entitled "The Extended Play E.P." with Comedy Central Records, a folk/pop/hip hop concept album, which he describes as satirical; aimed at celebrities that cross over into other mediums they have no business being in simply because of their brand name (he also considers himself "a proponent of the semicolon, "it is underused and feared for no particular reason"). He then remixed this album with Illegal Art, a legitimate music label, enlisting the roster of artists on the label (including the godfather of sampling, "Steinski") the same year. According to him, this was to prove that the album, when given to actual musicians, became superior to the original, in addition to satirizing artists that remix one song and sell it to listeners multiple times.
He considers his greatest performance to be his portrayal of Ranger Jones, in Yogi Bear 3D, which filmed in New Zealand and wrapped shortly before his seizure that led to the discovery of an AVM (which he alleges confirmed rather than initiated his absurdist philosophy). He has stated multiple times that it was the pinnacle of his artistic career, and that "it's in some ways comforting to have reached the pinnacle of his career so early on" and that is has been all downhill since that point.
Aside from being a major proponent of Denver, his hometown, he has done extensive charity work and continues to visit East High School, where he did his first stand-up performance in drama class. He credits his teacher, Melody Duggan, for much of his success and thanked her specifically in his speech when he won a Critic's Choice Award for best supporting actor in a comedy series (For HBO's Silicon Valley).
He frequently cites his compulsive and almost pathologically driven work ethic as an altruistic effort to distract people from the tragedy that permeates everyday life, and believed that comedy would be more of a contribution than psychology, since instead of affecting only at most a few hundred people dramatically, he can affect millions of people in small increments.
He has publicly stated, "Comedians are the new philosophers" and believes that academic philosophers are no longer relevant. However, he is a student of philosophy and subscribes to the ethical philosophy of John Stuart Mill (Utilitarianism), which states that one should make the most amount happiness for the most amount of people, which he cites as one of the reasons he made the his decision to be a comedian. His stand-up (as of 2015) is aimed at "discussing Time and the release of the death anxiety." By the age of 33 he had read all of Nietzsche's works, and considers himself an Absurdist with philosophical roots in Nihilism.
He resides in Los Angeles, where he struggles to make meaning in an uncertain world.- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Thomas Steven Middleditch is a Canadian actor, comedian and screenwriter from Nelson, British Columbia. He is known for playing Richard Hendricks from Silicon Valley. He also acted in The Office, DC League of Super-Pets, Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie and Solar Opposites.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Kumail Nanjiani was born on 2 May 1978 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. He is an actor and writer, known for The Big Sick (2017), Life as We Know It (2010) and Stuber (2019). He has been married to Emily V. Gordon since 14 July 2007.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Robert Pickering Burnham is an American actor, director, writer and producer. He is known for writing and directing the middle school comedy film Eighth Grade. He also acted in Funny People, Rough Night, American Virgin, Hall Pass, The Big Sick and Promising Young Woman.- Writer
- Music Department
- Actor
By August of 1994, Craig Ferguson was established as one of Great Britain's leading comedians - he had just had huge success at the Edinburgh Festival. In January 1995 he moved to Los Angeles where he now works as an actor-writer-director-producer-creator.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Having grown up in Houston, and its northern suburb of Spring, he made his first stage appearance in a school play at the age of 6. Parsons then went on to study theater at the University of Houston. From there he won a place on a two-year Masters course in classical theater at the University of San Diego/The Old Globe Theater, graduating in 2001.
He moved to New York, working in Off-Broadway productions, appearing in TV commercials and in one episode of Ed (2000) before landing a recurring role in Judging Amy (1999) in 2004.
He was propelled to international fame and acclaim three years later when he starred as Sheldon in the award-winning sitcom, The Big Bang Theory (2007).- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Wil Wheaton was born Richard William Wheaton III on July 29, 1972 in Burbank, California. He first gained international attention by starring in the Rob Reiner comedy-drama film Stand by Me (1986). He then played Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) for three and one-quarter seasons. Wheaton left the Hollywood scene for 18 months to pursue personal video production. He did return to "Star Trek" every now and then for an occasional episode, however. He then returned to Los Angeles, California, attended acting school for five years and now works on many projects. He lives in Arcadia, California with his wife Anne and her two sons.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Kevin Patrick Smith was born in Red Bank but grew up in Highlands, New Jersey, the son of Grace (Schultz) and Donald E. Smith, a postal worker. He is very proud of his native state; this fact can be seen in all of his movies. Kevin is of mostly German, with some Irish and English, ancestry.
His first movie, Clerks (1994), was filmed in the convenience store in which Smith worked. He was only allowed to shoot at night after the store closed. This movie won the highest award at the Sundance film festival and was brought to theaters by Miramax. The movie went over so well that Smith was able to make another movie, Mallrats (1995). This movie, as Kevin has said, was meant to be a "smart Porkys". Although it didn't do well at all in the box office, it has done more than well on video store shelves and is usually the favorite among many Smith fans.
During filming for the movie, Smith met his new close friends and stars of his next movie, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, and his new girlfriend, Joey Lauren Adams. Smith has said that his relationship with Adams has been much of an inspiration for his next movie, Chasing Amy (1997), Smith's comedy drama which won two independent Spirit awards: Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Role (for Jason Lee). Around the time that Chasing Amy (1997) was wrapping, Smith broke up with Adams and, then when the Spirit awards were approaching, he met his soon-to-be wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith. After Chasing Amy (1997), Smith started on Dogma (1999), a controversial film about Christianity. Around this time, Smith's wife gave birth to their first baby girl, Harley Quinn Smith. Harley Quinn and Jennifer both have roles in Smith's next film,Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). In this road trip comedy, the cult heroes, Jay and Silent Bob, go on an adventure to stop the production of a movie being made about them, find true love, and save an orangutan.
In 2004, he wrote and directed Jersey Girl (2004), starring Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler. Although there were some disappointing reviews and the movie was a disappointment at the box office, Smith says it did alright going up against the "Bennifer Massacre" known as Gigli (2003).
In 2005, Smith wrote the screenplay for Clerks II (2006), which he planned to start shooting in January of 2005. But then he got a call from Susannah Grant, who wanted Smith to audition for her new film. Smith went into the audition and, five minutes after finishing, he got a call saying he got the part. Filming began in January 2005 so Smith had to delay the filming of Clerks II (2006). After Catch and Release (2006) finished filming, Smith shot "Clerks II" in September 2005. After cutting "Clerks II", they submitted it to the Cannes film festival. It got accepted and, at Cannes, it got an 8 minute standing ovation.
In 2006, Smith also got offered a part in the fourth "Die Hard" film, Live Free or Die Hard (2007). Smith got to film a scene with one of his idols, Bruce Willis, the scene was supposed to take one day of filming, it ended up taking a week. In 2007, Smith was also hired to direct the pilot for the show Reaper (2007), which garnered favorable reviews.
In 2007 and 2008, Smith wrote two scripts: a comedy, Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), and a horror film called Red State (2011). Harvey Weinstein green-lighted "Zack and Miri", based just off the title, although they passed on "Red State", Smith plans to get "Red State" independently funded. Smith filmed "Zack and Miri" with comedy starSeth Rogen. The film did not meet expectations at the box office but got good reviews. It is Smith's highest grossing movie, although he says he was crushed by the disappointing box office of the film.
Smith was offered the chance to direct a film which was written by Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen called Cop Out (2010). Smith accepted, it would be two firsts; the first feature Smith has directed but not written and the first feature of Smith's that Scott Mosier has not produced (Mosier is trying to find a film to direct). Smith hired Bruce Willis for the film.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Chris Hardwick was born on 23 November 1971 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Talking Dead (2011), @midnight (2013) and The Wall (2016). He has been married to Lydia Hearst since 20 August 2016. They have one child.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Zach Cregger was born on 1 March 1981 in Arlington, Virginia, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Barbarian (2022), The Whitest Kids U'Know (2007) and Wrecked (2016). He has been married to Sara Paxton since 27 October 2019.- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Trevor Moore was born on 4 April 1980 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Whitest Kids U'Know (2007), Just Roll with It (2019) and Walk the Prank (2016). He was married to Aimee Carlson. He died on 6 August 2021 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Darren Trumeter was born on 9 November 1979 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for The Civil War on Drugs (2011), The Whitest Kids U'Know (2007) and WKUK Try to Play a Role Playing Game - The Buckerson & Meyers Saga (2020). He has been married to Rachel Lee Pearl since 14 August 2010.- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Moshe Kasher was born on 6 July 1979 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Zoolander 2 (2016), Another Period (2013) and Betty (2020). He has been married to Natasha Leggero since 11 October 2015. They have one child.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
John Michael Green was born on August 24, 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a YouTube video-blogger, or "vlogger", with his brother, Hank Green. Their YouTube channel, Vlogbrothers, has over 2,500,000 subscribers as of May 2015. Perhaps more notably, John is also an author. His most recent book, released in January 2012, was adapted to film in The Fault in Our Stars (2014). John and his wife Sarah have two children together, a son named Henry, and a daughter named Alice. The family resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Alongside his brother, Hank Green, John started an annual YouTube conference called "Vidcon" in 2010. Starting at only 1,400 attendee's in 2013 there were over 12,000 in attendance of the weekend long conference which celebrates the online video viewers, creators, and industry representatives worldwide, drawing thousands of attendees.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Kate McCauley Hathaway, an actress, and Gerald T. Hathaway, a lawyer, both originally from Philadelphia. She is of mostly Irish descent, along with English, German, and French. Her first major role came in the short-lived television series Get Real (1999). She gained widespread recognition for her roles in The Princess Diaries (2001) and its 2004 sequel as a young girl who discovers she is a member of royalty, opposite Julie Andrews and Heather Matarazzo.
She also had a notable role in Nicholas Nickleby (2002) opposite Charlie Hunnam and Jamie Bell, and a starring role in Ella Enchanted (2004). A former top-ranking soprano in New York, Hathaway was reportedly a front-runner for the role of "Christine" in the 2004 The Phantom of the Opera (2004). However, due to scheduling conflicts with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), she couldn't take the role, which was later given to newcomer Emmy Rossum.
Hathaway soon started to move away from family-friendly films. Following The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), she appeared topless in the films Havoc (2005) opposite Josh Peck and Brokeback Mountain (2005) opposite Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Her desire to break out of her "Princess Diaries" image parallels that of her one-time co-star, Julie Andrews, who went topless in the film S.O.B. (1981) in order to break away from the image she created from her 1960s musicals. In interviews, Hathaway said that doing family-friendly films didn't mean she was similar to their characters or mean she objected to appearing nude in other films.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Jonah Hill was born and raised in Los Angeles, the son of Sharon Feldstein (née Chalkin), a fashion designer and costume stylist, and Richard Feldstein, a tour accountant for Guns N' Roses. He is the brother of music manager Jordan Feldstein and actress Beanie Feldstein. He graduated from Crossroads School in Santa Monica and went on to The New School in New York to study drama.
He began writing and performing in plays while at college in New York, and managed to get himself introduced to Dustin Hoffman, through whom he got an audition for his first film role in I Heart Huckabees (2004). A succession of increasingly high-profile film and TV parts followed until he eventually landed one of the starring roles in the teen hit, Superbad (2007). Continuing to write and act, more roles followed as well as popular appearances on US TV talk shows.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Shane Dawson is a young actor from California who started out making videos on YouTube for hobby and eventually became one of the biggest stars of the popular video website. His main videos, small sketches and parodies of popular songs, are seen by millions of people and the most recurrent characters of his works - Shane (himself), Aunt Hilda, S-Deezy, Shananay, Ned, Mom and Paris Hilton - have already become true icons of "fame" thanks to videos like "Fred is Dead!", "Twilight New Moon: Blood Hungry" or "Bad (Bro)mance!