Insights from the Cinematic World: Actors /Directors

John Cusack

John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films. Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois, to an Irish Catholic family. His father, Dick Cusack (1925–2003), was also an actor, as are his siblings Ann, Joan, Bill and Susie.

Read more

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron is involved in women’s rights organisations, and has marched in pro-choice rallies. Theron also is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. She appeared in a PETA ad for its anti-fur campaign.

Charlize Theron (born 7 August 1975) is a South African actress who later became an American citizen. She started her acting career in the United States and rose to fame in the late 1990s following roles in The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999). Theron won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003), becoming the first African to win an Academy Award in a major acting category.

Read more
In 2008, Denzel Washington visited Israel with a delegation of African American artists in honor of the Jewish state's 60th birthday. In 2011 he donated $2 million to Fordham for an endowed chair of the theatre department, as well as $250,000 for a theatre-specific scholarship to Fordham.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington was born in Mount Vernon, near New York City. His mother, Lennis “Lynne”, was a beauty parlor-owner and operator born in Georgia and partly raised in Harlem. His father, Reverend Denzel H. Washington, Sr., a native of Buckingham County, Virginia, served as an ordained Pentecostal minister

Read more
Kathryn Bigelow was married to fellow director James Cameron from 1989 to 1991. She and Cameron were both nominated for Best Director at the 2010 82nd Academy Awards, which Bigelow won.

Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Ann Bigelow (born November 27, 1951) is an American film director. With The Hurt Locker, Bigelow became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director, the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing, the BAFTA Award for Best Direction, and the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Director.

Read more
Wahlberg has played diverse characters for visionary filmmakers such as David O. Russell, Tim Burton and Paul Thomas Anderson. His breakout role in Boogie Nights established Wahlberg as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents.

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971) is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.

Read more

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler who is signed to the WWE, appearing on the Raw brand. He is often credited as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Read more
As well, as music videos, Tarsem has directed some high profile television commercials, including the Pepsi "We Will Rock You" campaign, featuring Britney Spears, Pink and Beyoncé Knowles.

Tarsem Singh

Tarsem Dhandwar Singh (born 26 May 1961), known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials. Tarsem is a Sikh-American and was born in Jalandhar, India. His father was an aircraft engineer. He attended the Bishop Cotton School, Simla, Hans Raj College, Delhi, and is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Read more

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television. Hugh Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters. He is known for his role as Wolverine in the X-Men series.

Read more
Gerard Butler was at one time the lead singer for a Scottish rock band named Speed, although music eventually became his second love after acting.

Gerard Butler

Gerard Butler was born in Paisley, Scotland, the youngest of three children of Margaret and Edward Butler, a bookmaker. Of Irish descent, he was brought up in a strict Roman Catholic family. Butler spent the first few years of his life in Montreal, Quebec, before the family returned to live in Scotland.Gerard Butler regularly attended Celtic Park as a supporter but has found that moving to Hollywood can be a problem when trying to keep up with the results.

Read more
Laurence Fishburne is a big fan of Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian lyricist and novelist

Laurence Fishburne

Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor of screen and stage, as well as a playwright, director, and producer. Laurence Fishburne is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy

Read more