The Celebrity Face

Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and two-time Screen Actors Guild award-nominated Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in The Notebook, Half Nelson, and Lars and the Real Girl.

Early life

Ryan Gosling was born in London, Ontario, and raised in the small city of Cornwall, the son of Donna, a secretary, and Thomas Gosling, a paper mill worker. His parents, who were Mormons, divorced when he was young. He had difficulty in school and often engaged in fights with fellow students. On an appearance on the late night Canadian talk show Open Mike with Mike Bullard, Gosling told of how he was bullied in elementary school (he attended East Front Public School in Cornwall). His mother withdrew him from school and taught him at home from the age of ten. While Gosling’s mother was Mormon, he was not raised in a strictly devout household and never really identified with Mormonism. After returning to the public system he went to Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School. The family then relocated to Burlington, Ontario, where Ryan attended Lester B. Pearson High School (Burlington). Gosling dropped out at age seventeen.

When Gosling first came to live in Los Angeles in 1997, he was given a place to stay at the West Hollywood apartment of Director Ron Oliver (Goosebumps & Breaker High).

Career

Gosling has had no formal training as an actor. His first acting experience was in the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club, for which he auditioned on a whim at the age of thirteen. As a result, he appeared in the show alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake in the show’s sixth and seventh seasons. Later he appeared in other television series including Young Hercules, and Ron Oliver’s Goosebumps and Breaker High. His fame spread to the United States after he starred in the 2001 controversial drama The Believer, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. This success led to future films including Remember the Titans, The Slaughter Rule, and Murder by Numbers. Because of his turn as the romantic lead in the 2004 film The Notebook, Gosling was named one of People magazine’s Fifty Hottest Bachelors and the Show West Male Star of Tomorrow.

In preparation for his role as Dan Dunne, a drug-addicted, junior high school history teacher in the 2006 film Half Nelson, Gosling moved to Brooklyn, shadowed a middle school teacher, and studied the Civil Rights Movement (a subject with which his character is fascinated). In March 2007, Gosling won the Best Actor category at the Spirit Awards (formerly known as the Independent Spirit Awards) for his role in the movie. For the same role he was nominated for an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Broadcast Film Critics Association award as best actor. He also became the first Mickey Mouse Club member to be nominated for an Oscar.

Recently Gosling has starred in the film Fracture alongside Anthony Hopkins. He was to begin filming for The Lovely Bones in October 2007, but has since been replaced by Mark Wahlberg. It was subsequently reported that director Peter Jackson fired him because he was "too demanding" A few days later, however, Gosling denied these claims, explaining that his young age was behind the decision to replace him in the film. He said, "The age of the character versus my real age was always a concern of mine. Peter and I tried to make it work and ultimately it just didn’t. I think the film is much better off with Mark Wahlberg in that role. Peter Jackson is an incredible filmmaker and I’m here to tell you that he has things up his sleeve that are going to blow people’s minds. I’m going to be the first person in line to buy tickets." In 2007, Gosling was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Gosling made a surprise cameo appearance onstage at the Sacred Fools Theatre in Hollywood in the serialized play "Darque Magick" from writer/director Jenelle Riley. For months, the lead character in "Darque Magick" had been making references to his obsession with Gosling, finally culminating in the actor appearing in a videotaped plea for the character to return his dog.

On December 13, 2007, Gosling was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Lars and the Real Girl. A week later, he was subsequently nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. He had also received a Broadcast Film Critics Association nomination and won a Satellite Award for this performance as well. In February 2008, he was presented with the inaugural Independent Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. In her introduction, presenter Jenelle Riley called him "the most consistent and compelling actor working today."

On January 12th, 2008, it was announced on NME.COM that Courtney Love made an official announcement saying Ryan Gosling would portray her former husband, Kurt Cobain, in his upcoming bio film. In January 2008 it was announced that Gosling would be appearing in a reboot of the Jack Ryan franchise, By Any Means Necessary

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Personal life

Gosling divides his time between Toronto and Los Angeles, California. Gosling also has several homemade tattoos. He has a dog named "George" whom he rescued from a kennel in Los Angeles. He is a partner in Beverly Hills restaurant, "Tagine", which specializes in Moroccan cuisine.

He was in a relationship with his The Notebook co-star, fellow Canadian Rachel McAdams, but Gosling announced their breakup in the November 2007 issue of GQ. He calls Rachel one of the "greatest loves of his life." The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes had previously said that he was surprised to see the two together, as they argued a lot on the set of The Notebook.

Gosling notes Gary Oldman as his all-time favorite actor.

Filmography

Ryan Gosling Interview

LOS ANGELES, April 5 — When the actor Ryan Gosling was about 8, he says, he came home from school beaten and bloody. It was not the first time that had happened, and his mother ordered him back to school to bloody his tormentors.

So he did. Mr. Gosling, 23, recalled the incident: "I walked into school. Everything got really quiet. I found one of the kids in front of a urinal. I smacked his face into the tile, and he bled. The other kid was at his desk. I picked up a math textbook and made his nose bleed."

Then he went home and told his mother what he had done. "I was crying," he said. "I didn’t want to do it. I don’t like violence. And she was so sad." He took a breath."I never went back to that school again."

That little boy grew up to be the sensitive young actor who has grabbed Hollywood’s attention with performances in projects like "The Believer" (2001), an award-winning film in which he played the leading role, that of a Jew who becomes a charismatic neo-Nazi leader.

Now Mr. Gosling is starring in "The United States of Leland" as Leland Fitzgerald, an emotionally detached young man who has inexplicably murdered a mentally disturbed adolescent. At the centerpiece of a talented cast including Don Cheadle, Kevin Spacey and Lena Olin, Mr. Gosling manages to hold the viewer’s attention with a kind of innocent intensity and a youthful pathos.

They are not qualities that he lacks in real life. Mr. Gosling is tall and handsome, though not conventionally so, with a slim, angular face and a slight frame slipped inside a pin-striped blazer. He has blond hair, a fuzzlike beard and faded blue eyes.

In a movie industry constantly on the prowl for young leading men, he looks very much like one possible answer to Hollywood’s continual casting quandaries. Mr. Gosling has a principal role in the forthcoming period romantic drama "The Notebook," as a young man obsessed by love. And at the annual ShoWest convention in March, he was named the Male Star of Tomorrow by movie exhibitors, a sign that theater owners think that his is a face that can sell tickets.

Nick Cassavetes, director of "The Notebook," said he had no doubt that Mr. Gosling would become a major actor, and a major star. "He doesn’t make a move that he doesn’t feel," Mr. Cassavetes said in a phone interview. "I just think: he’s 23, he might as well be 63 years old. He’s like one of those freaks, he kind of gets it. He’s honest, that’s really what you want out of an actor."

Not that Mr. Gosling quite knows where he wants to be in the Hollywood pantheon. Even the ShoWest recognition threw him a little. "I was confused as to why I was there," he said, noting that mainstream theater owners did not show either "The Believer" or another cutting-edge film, "The Slaughter Rule" (2002), a football movie about male bonding. "I kind of felt it was an opportunity to say I appreciate their acknowledgment of those choices," he said.

But acting was not a likely career path. Mr. Gosling was born in London, Ontario, and reared in a small paper mill town called Cornwall, where he knew he did not fit in. "I was very lost when I was young," he says, allowing himself a quick swig of a Heineken. "I was finding my way."

His parents divorced, and Mr. Gosling had continual trouble in school. "I didn’t play sports," he said. "I couldn’t read or write. I was a brat, always in trouble." He was frequently beaten up. The school put him in a special education class, where he studied with mentally handicapped children. "My teachers thought I was stupid," he said. "So did I."

After the fight that led to his leaving school, Mr. Gosling’s mother quit work to school him at home, helping him learn to read and write. She found creative ways to have him express his knowledge. "I gained self-confidence," he said. "In that time I felt, like, not so worthless."

But when he headed to high school, he felt again out of place, and dropped out. Fed up at 17, he got in his car and drove to Los Angeles — "somewhere where there might be a place for me," as he put it.

Though Mr. Gosling had no formal acting training, a Canadian agent took him on, and he won a brief role in a New Zealand television series (quickly canceled), then landed a spot as an extra in the Denzel Washington film "Remember the Titans," as a member of the football team.

But his first real acting job came in 2001 with "The Believer," an astonishing debut in which he played Danny Balint, a charismatic skinhead leader who happened to be Jewish. The movie, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, was so discomfiting to distributors (it is based on a true story) that despite the critical acclaim, the film barely made it into theaters.

But it was the role that convinced Mr. Gosling that acting could somehow provide an outlet for his own roiling emotions. "After I did `The Believer,’ things changed for me," he said. "I felt I had a place I could put the things I had inside of me into." It convinced him that movies could be "something you could care about, be passionate about," he said.

He continued: "I was moved by it. It was like truth — it wasn’t entertainment. I connected with how much Danny felt. His feelings consumed him. That’s a theme in all my characters. They feel too much. They become fanatical. Leland feels so much that he can’t feel at all."

Those characters seem connected, however unconsciously, to the lonely boy Ryan Gosling once was. Even his description of his roles sounds as if he might easily be describing himself. "I felt like Danny was not meant for this world," he observed. "Leland is definitely too sensitive for this life. If you’re small and weak and sensitive, there’s not much of a place for you here."

Mr. Gosling went on to talk about the Hollywood machine, how it makes him wary. He spoke about how his emotions sometimes betray him, and how movies can lie. "I don’t feel people are portrayed accurately on film," he said. "People are more complicated. Life is more complicated. I’ve never seen any love like movie love."

A couple of weeks ago, Ms. Gosling’s mother called him from Canada. "She said, `I have visions of you, and you’re trying to stay afloat in this capitalist ocean,’ " Mr. Gosling said. "She’s afraid I’m being packaged." He paused. "My mother was always a very wise woman."

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Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish film and television actor. He is known for playing morally ambiguous characters with great charisma and in his early career, for his androgynous appearance. His looks and distinct style allow him to also work as a model, most notably for Club Monaco, Versace, and Hugo Boss.

Early life

Meyers was born Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keeffe in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Geraldine Meyers and John O’Keeffe, who was a musician. His stage name is derived from his mother’s maiden name, Meyers.

Rhys Meyers was born with a serious heart problem and was baptized shortly after his birth, as it was feared he would not survive long enough for a traditional baptism ceremony. He spent the first few months of his life in the hospital. Meyers still lives in County Cork, Ireland where his family moved when he was a few months old. He has three younger brothers named Jamie, Alan and Paul.

When Rhys Meyers was three years old, his parents separated. His mother raised Jonathan and his brother Alan, while his other two brothers went to live at their grandmother’s house with their father. They had spoken every day for several years.

Career

Rhys Meyers was expelled from the North Monastery Secondary School at age 16, and spent much of his time hanging out in pool halls namely the Victoria Sporting Club on Patricks Quay and the Coliseum Leisure Centre on McCurtain Street. Casting agents looking for Irish boys to appear in War of the Buttons spotted Rhys Meyers at a Cork pool hall, the Victoria Sporting Club, and invited him to audition. Although he was passed over for War of the Buttons, the casting agents encouraged him to pursue a career in acting. His first film role came soon afterward, in A Man of No Importance (1994). In 1996 he appeared in Michael Collins, as Collins’ assassin.

Rhys Meyers has starred in television series including Gormenghast (2000) and in the CBS 4-hour mini-series Elvis (2005) as Elvis Presley alongside Rose McGowan as Ann-Margret. The latter earned him an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe win. He is currently starring in the Showtime series The Tudors (2007) as young King Henry VIII. He was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama in 2007 for the role.

His film roles range from a David Bowie-inspired glam rock star in Velvet Goldmine (1998) to a dedicated girls’ football coach in Bend It Like Beckham (2002). He appeared in Vanity Fair (2004) alongside Reese Witherspoon. In 2005, Rhys Meyers starred in Woody Allen’s film Match Point, for which he received a Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2006, he appeared in Mission: Impossible III. Other projects include August Rush (2007) and "The Children of Huang Shi" (2007). He is rumored to be appearing in Danny Glover’s Haitian epic Toussaint (2008). He is also signed on to star as Lee Falk’s comic strip hero Mandrake the Magician in an upcoming movie directed by Chuck Russell, but is confirmed to star in Shelter along with Julianne Moore for an expected 2009 release.

Rhys Meyers also has experience as a singer. He did much of his own singing in the role of rock star Brian Slade in Velvet Goldmine, although some of these songs were replaced on the CD release of the soundtrack with alternate tracks by better-known vocalists. Rhys Meyers also sings briefly in the TV miniseries version of The Magnificent Ambersons. His singing voice is also featured in his film August Rush and on the film’s soundtrack on songs "Break," "Moondance," "This Time" and "Something Inside."

Rhys Meyers was chosen as the face for the Versace men’s collection of Autumn/Winter 2006 and Spring 2007, and he has also been the face of the Hugo Boss men’s fragrance range since 2005. He is signed to Independent Models in London.

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Personal life

Rhys Meyers has been romantically linked to several actresses in the past, including his Velvet Goldmine co-star Toni Collette. The pair were together for a year following the completion of the film and the actress has confessed to having suffered panic attacks for eight months following their breakup. Other short relationships include Rachael Leigh Cook (rumoured), Asia Argento (during the filming of B. Monkey), Irish model Glenda Gilson (rumoured), and Estella Warren (rumoured). He and co-star Scarlett Johansson both denied persistent rumors of romantic involvement while working on Match Point. His engagement to Dublin socialite/model Cha Cha Seigne, whom he considers his first true love, ended in separation in 2002. He has also been linked to English socialite Lady Victoria Hervey in the past and dated fashion model Lisa Butcher on and off for a year, beginning in the summer of 2002, where they met in France at a party held for the film The Importance of Being Earnest.

In 2004, Rhys Meyers met Reena Hammer, London-based student and heiress to mother Ruby Hammer’s cosmetics line (Ruby & Millie) and father George Hammer, owner of Urban Retreat Spa at Harrods. The relationship has been on and off through the years with frequent rumors of engagements. Ms. Hammer is often by his side for premieres, events, and at the November 2007 funeral of Jonathan’s mother. They attended the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala, in New York on Monday, May 5, 2008 and were most recently seen together on June 12, 2008 attending the Monte Carlo Television Festival.

In May 2005, Rhys Meyers checked into rehab facility Promises in California seeking treatment for alcohol abuse. On 24 April 2007, the Associated Press reported that Rhys Meyers returned to treatment. The actor’s representative Meredith O’Sullivan confirmed the news to People magazine citing his need to take a break from his busy schedule in order to maintain sobriety. On Sunday 18 November 2007 Rhys Meyers was arrested in Dublin Airport and charged with being drunk and in breach of the peace. He was later released on bail to appear at the Dublin District Court on 5 December 2007. He was in Dublin to promote his new movie August Rush on the Irish television programme Tubridy Tonight. The charges were later dropped.

On November 20, 2007, the actor’s mother, Geraldine Meyers-O’Keeffe, died after being admitted to the Mercy Hospital in Cork. She was 50 years old.

He owns houses and apartments in Nichols Canyon, Dublin, London and Morocco, splitting his time between Los Angeles and London when not working.

Filmography

Reign Man

Years removed from his pretty-boy days, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is ready to assume the throne.
By Justin Monroe

Contrary to what Medieval Times employees might tell you (before the jousting, and after the appetizers), kings aren’t born, they’re made—and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is no stranger to the coronation, having already been anointed twice. As the King of (Stolen) Rock ’n’ Roll in 2005’s TV movie Elvis and as England’s Henry VIII on Showtime’s hit The Tudors, Meyers learned that rulers grow into power, expectations, and even their own skin. In fact, the 30-year-old Ireland native has done all three since splashing off in the 1996 biopic Michael Collins.
Labeled “pretty” as a youth, Meyers spent his teens and much of his twenties portraying weak, physically androgynous, and sexually ambiguous characters that ranged from bisexual rocker to tortured male rape victim to Alexander the Great’s bitchy lover. In 2004, Meyers began bulking up to nab more commanding roles. After stepping into Elvis’s blue suede shoes—and winning a 2006 Golden Globe for it—he lived out your fantasies by catching Scarlett (Johansson) fever in Woody Allen’s Match Point. Then this past January, he manned up his damn self by going into rehab for alcoholism…and then doing it again in April. (Um, isn’t that called being Irish? We kid, we kid. Cheers!) Clear-headed, Meyers is now preparing for the November premieres of The Tudors’ second season and the romantic drama August Rush. Complex got down with the king to talk about sobriety, the difference between celebrity and real royalty, and keeping it in your pants…at least on-set.

Complex: August Rush isn’t the first film you’ve sung in. What do you think when you hear yourself sing?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: Oh, it’s dreadful. We don’t even have to continue with the question. I’m absolutely horrified and stunned that I could shame myself so much. I don’t like listening to myself speak.

C: Really?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: At this point in my career I don’t mind watching myself on camera; I’ve come to terms with my flaws. When I first started watching myself on camera I wasn’t happy, and yes, I’m still not happy, but it’s not with how I am physically but more with performance things. But I still don’t like listening to my own voice—it’s never quite convincing.

C: How did having an absent musician father inform your August Rush role—a musician separated from his son at infancy?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: I’m sure, in retrospect, it had some effect
because my father wasn’t there, but I don’t think I searched into that to play the character.

C: Did the parallels make it an emotionally taxing role?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: Oh, no, no. It was emotionally taxing because films are.

C: The Tudors got an Emmy nomination for outstanding casting, but none of the cast was recognized. Do you wish you could have the nominations committee beheaded?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: You’ve got to be realistic about awards because if you think you’re so deserving of them, then you’re probably not. Maybe it wasn’t my turn. I haven’t done enough yet; James Gandolfini, Kiefer Sutherland, Denis Leary, and James Spader, these are guys who have put in big time.

C: Is it true Snoop Dogg is a fan of The Tudors?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: I was told that. I’m a fan of his, so that’s really cool. I can just imagine Snoop being into this because it’s about the rise to power, about being a king. Paying the cost to be the boss.

C: [Laughs.] Sharp reference. Do you feel a kinship with Henry VIII?
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: Well, we don’t really have much in common. That’s one of the hardest parts of playing Henry VIII. Being born into royalty, you have an energy. You didn’t have to achieve power, it was given by birth. That’s something extraordinary. Unless you know what that’s like, you don’t know what that’s like. Everything that I’ve earned in my life I’ve had to earn because I wasn’t born a king. So to get into the mentality that every good thing that happens to you, every bit of wealth, every palace, every horse that you own, every woman you bed, you deserve, just by your birth, that’s quite an extraordinary thing.

read full interview with
Jonathan Rhys Meyers at Complex

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Alison Elizabeth "Ali" Larter (born February 28, 1976) is a Saturn Awards-nominated American actress and former fashion model best known for her screen roles aimed at teenage audiences. Larter is currently starring on the hit television series Heroes. She has also had roles in successful Hollywood films including, Varsity Blues (1999), House on Haunted Hill (1999), Final Destination (2000), Legally Blonde (2001), and most recently Resident Evil: Extinction (2007).

Career

In November 1996, Larter portrayed the hoax model Allegra Coleman in Esquire magazine. The article published in the magazine told of the fictional model’s relationship with David Schwimmer, how Quentin Tarantino broke up with Mira Sorvino to date her, and Woody Allen’s overhaul of a film to have her star. Even after the hoax had been revealed, its effects lingered, and various talent agencies sought to represent the non-existent Coleman.

Larter landed her first professional roles in 1997, in which she appeared for one episode in the Brooke Shields’ television series, Suddenly Susan, and the short lived television series Chicago Sons. The roles were followed by a number of other appearances on Dawson’s Creek with James Van Der Beek, Chicago Hope and Just Shoot Me!

In 1999, Larter began her film career with an appearance in Varsity Blues which re-united her with Dawson’s Creek star Van Der Beek, and close friend Amy Smart. Varsity Blues drew a domestic box office gross of $53 million, making Larter’s first film a commercial success. Larters’ most infamous scene was one with her wearing nothing but whip cream (aka whip cream bikini) in attempts to seduce Van Der Beek’s character. Afterwards, Larter appeared in teen comedies, Giving It Up and Drive Me Crazy. That year as well, Larter starred in the horror remake House on Haunted Hill. Made for around $20 million, the movie was panned by the critics but grossed $15 million on its opening weekend and went on to earn over $40 million.

In 2000, Larter starred in the teenage audience aimed horror film Final Destination as the "final girl" Clear Rivers. The following year in 2001, she appeared in the comedy Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon, western American Outlaws with Colin Farrell and the Kevin Smith film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. That year as well, Larter performed in the stage play The Vagina Monologues in New York City. The next year in 2002, Larter was ranked #40 in Stuff magazine’s "102 Sexiest Women in the World". In 2003, Larter reprised her role as Clear Rivers in the sequel to Final Destination, Final Destination 2. In 2005, Larter appeared in the independent film Confess and the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love alongside Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher.

2006 saw Larter in the biographical film Crazy based on guitarist Hank Garland. As of September 2006, Larter has been portraying Niki Sanders on the NBC Emmy Award-nominated science fiction drama television series Heroes, created by Tim Kring. The show includes an ensemble cast including Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia, Leonard Roberts, Masi Oka and Greg Grunberg. Larter’s character Niki Sanders, who is a wife and mother, is a former internet stripper from Las Vegas who exhibits superhuman strength and an alternate personality who goes by the name of Jessica. After completing half its first season, Heroes had already collected an assortment of honors and accolades, and Larter had been nominated for "Best Supporting Actress" for the 33rd Saturn Awards.

In 2007, Larter starred in the Bollywood Marigold as the title character alongside Salman Khan, which was released in August. She also joined the cast of the popular film franchise Resident Evil: Extinction portraying the character Claire Redfield in the horror film with Milla Jovovich. Her role sent her to Mexicali, Mexico for filming from May to late July in which she also dyed her hair a light red for the film. Larter explains on her character Claire, "She became the leader of this convoy. She’s incredibly strong, patient. I think she serves a role for everyone within this convoy, let it be a mother to someone, a buddy, a best friend." Larter also attended the 2007 Comic Con International, her second appearance at the event, to promote the film, which was released in theaters on September 21, 2007. This year as well, she will appear in the comedy Homo Erectus. Larter was also featured as #6 in Maxim’s Hot 100 for 2007.

In an interview for Resident Evil: Extinction, Larter had expressed interest in producing films in the future, saying, "I definitely have many ideas and different avenues that I want to take as my career goes on."

Larter has been revealed to be part of the cast of When Angels Fall, a film where 7 demons, each representing one of the deadly sins, are unleashed upon the world and enact their biblical vengeance for being banished to a prison-like dimension, it has been revealed that she will play Lustacia, the queen of lust and seduction.

In March 2008, it was announced that Larter would star opposite Beyonce Knowles and Idris Elba in the Screen Gems-produced film Obsessed, about an office worker (Elba) whose marriage to Knowles’ character is threatened by the aggressive interests of a co-worker, to be portrayed by Larter. Shooting is expected to begin Summer 2008.

Personal life

Ali Larter was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the daughter of Margaret, a homemaker, and Danforth Larter, a trucking executive. She attended Carusi Middle School and Cherry Hill High School West. She began modeling with Ford Models at the age of fourteen and traveled the world. At seventeen, Larter settled temporarily in Japan. A year later, in 1995, she accompanied her boyfriend in his move to Los Angeles, California. Soon after, she began taking acting classes, at a friend’s suggestion.

Larter is best friends with actress Amy Smart with whom she co-starred in Varsity Blues and Erick Alegria a Former Sam’s Kid. The two had previously been roommates before pursuing acting careers. Larter has also lived in Miami and then New York City after the spring of 2002. In January 2007, she moved to Los Angeles to take on the commitment of working on Heroes.

Larter is currently engaged to her longtime boyfriend, actor Hayes MacArthur.

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Ali Larter talks Heroes season 2

We’ll have to wait until September to find out what happens next on Heroes but the cast has been back at work throughout the summer for our entertainment. Many of them came to NBC’s annual summer press party to tease the upcoming episodes. Ali Larter looked more glamorous than any human being should with short shorts revealing most of her bronzed legs. Luckily you don’t have to be distracted by that while you read this interview.

CraveOnline: Where are you at in the season? How many have you read?

Ali Larter: We are shooting the third right now and they’re amazing. They’re introducing new characters. The writers on our show are so creative and they just are unleashed I feel like in the writer’s room, so it’s great.

CraveOnline: How are things between Nikki and D.L. now?

Ali Larter: They are interesting. They’re interesting. You’re going to find a lot out this year about their past and what happened.

CraveOnline: Will the Nikki/Jessica dynamic continue at all?

Ali Larter: They’re coming into one character. It’s only Nikki and I think the writers are so smart on this show that they really looked at what worked and what didn’t. To be able to focus on the one character is I think going to be the best move.

CraveOnline: How is the work different this year, only playing one character?

Ali Larter: I really am enjoying it. We went down a lot of different roads last year and it was really creative for me that I got to do those scenes where I was in jail and some of the stuff with my son. Playing Jessica, some of the stunt stuff, I feel like I actually jumped through genres at times within the season last year. So I think it was really fun. I think we took risks and chances. I think some worked. I think some didn’t. I think this year, the writers are going to look at all that and focus it. I think it’ll be great.

CraveOnline: How difficult was that to shift in mid scene?

Ali Larter: That was one of the fun challenges that I was talking about being scared of. It could have looked like a soap opera. Not that soap operas are bad but in my work, I try to go for a little bit more realism. So it was challenging but it was such a great year all around, honestly, I feel like most of the cast must be saying that. We were all pushed different ways creatively. The response that we had in the States and around the world is just incredible.

CraveOnline: What do you want to see happen for Nikki?

Ali Larter: You know what? What I love about the show is when they let the characters breathe. I love the action packed side of it but I like the dialogue. I’m an actor so I love the dialogue. I love just moments that you can have between actors so I just hope that there’s always room for that within all the

CraveOnline: Have they told you where the character will go?

Ali Larter: Yes. I’ve heard a little bit La Femme Nikita.

CraveOnline: Are you happy about that?

Ali Larter: Absolutely. I’m happy about most things they give me on the show. What’s different about television for me because it’s my first show, I’m used to a film where you have a beginning, middle and an end, and with this, once they get to know you, they kind of find your strengths, the things that maybe you’re not so great at and focus on it. So I’m excited to see where they’re going but I’m not past script three.

CraveOnline: What was your reaction to the final episode when Hiro went back in time?

Ali Larter: It was shocking an amazing but if we can do that stuff and push the envelope of what you can see right now on television, how great. Let’s keep doing it. I hope that the show keeps taking risks, risks that don’t always work but that’s going to be something fresh.

CraveOnline: What do you think worked and didn’t work last year?

Ali Larter: I don’t look at it as much in the realm of the show as I look at things that challenged me and that I feel like I was able to do to the best of my ability.

CraveOnline: Are more you confident playing the character now after a successful first year?

Ali Larter: Absolutely not. I think the day that happens, I’ll hand in my card. A part of for me, is not being sure and always trying to figure it out. That’s what I hope I always feel for a lifetime in this industry.

CraveOnline: Is this the role you’re the most proud of so far?

Ali Larter: I guess you could say that. They gave me some cool stuff to do and I didn’t work for a couple years and I really had some life experience and I’m a woman now, so I think that there’s more complicated things that I’ve been through in my life and I’m able to put that into my work. I think things just get more interesting as you get older.

CraveOnline: Do you do any training because of the show or for the show?

Ali Larter: I think we’re going to be getting into a little of that. I haven’t yet. That’s the hard thing about television too, you don’t have enough leeway. They don’t really have things locked until days before sometimes. On film you really have the chance to learn a different language if you need to or you have that couple months to really get in shape.

CraveOnline: How do you do it without a trainer?

Ali Larter: You go for it. Absolutely. I will jam it into three days if I have to, absolutely because coming from the film world, there’s a certain expectation I have of myself.

CraveOnline: What is different about being back this year?

Ali Larter: I just think everything’s on a grander scale. I think that’s most of all, we made it, we got it. Now let’s just try to hold onto the integrity of what made it so special.

CraveOnline: What seems grander? Tim said the budget isn’t bigger.

Ali Larter: Well, there are different actors coming on so they’re introducing different storylines. For me, it just feels that way. Everything feels just a little bit bigger.

CraveOnline: Does Nikki still have Jessica’s strength?

Ali Larter: That is something that is definitely being explored second season.

CraveOnline: What have you done over the summer?

Ali Larter: Well, we only had about four weeks off and I spent that time with my nephews outside of Indianapolis. That was amazing to see how fast the kids grow. I got a chance to go to Hawaii which was amazing and now we’re back at work. So it goes like this, bop, bop, bop.

CraveOnline: You didn’t want to do a movie? Just rest?

Ali Larter: You know what? We didn’t have enough time off to really get anything going. With films, you need really about two to three months and even if you’re doing small parts, they still want to hold you for a certain amount of time and it just didn’t work out this year with the show, but small, small price to pay.

CraveOnline: How do you keep your fantastic movie star body?

Ali Larter: Aw, please. You’re just being sweet. I’m at the gym. Nothing comes for free.

CraveOnline: You took a few years off before Heroes. Are you different now because of that?

Ali Larter: Absolutely. I feel really lucky that I did take a couple years to live in New York and just step away from the business to define myself without the pressures of this industry. It worked out for me. I’m so lucky in getting Heroes. I wasn’t sure I was going to get anything again so it was a time in my life that was filled with a lot of not insecurity and not indecision but instability maybe you could say within my career.

CraveOnline: Does Hollywood see you differently now that you’re back and in Heroes?

Ali Larter: I don’t know. You’d have to tell me that. I don’t know.

CraveOnline: Where are you going on the Heroes world tour?

Ali Larter: Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.

CraveOnline: Have you been there before?

Ali Larter: Yes, yes, yes, and I lived in Tokyo just before I turned 18 and it was amazing, so it will be very interesting to go back.

CraveOnline: Do you speak the language?

Ali Larter: Conichiwa, arigato. That’s about it.

CraveOnline: You can learn from Masi.

Ali Larter: Yes, I’m so excited to go with him. Masi, Sendhil, Greg and Tim.

CraveOnline: What does your family think of the show and the character?

Ali Larter: They love the show, they love my character. My sister calls it straight to me. She wants to see certain things but for her, I’ve been in the business for a while so she’s just excited that I’m happy. original

Filmography

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Ashlee Nicole Wentz (born Ashley Nicole Simpson on October 3, 1984), who is professionally known as Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, is an American pop rock singer-songwriter, and occasional actress. Simpson-Wentz, who is the younger sister of pop singer Jessica Simpson, rose to prominence in mid-2004 through the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the accompanying reality series The Ashlee Simpson Show. Simpson-Wentz received widespread criticism when she used a pre-recorded vocal track on Saturday Night Live in October 2004. Following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson-Wentz released a second number-one album, I Am Me, in October 2005. Her third album, Bittersweet World, was released in April 2008

Early life

Simpson-Wentz was born in Waco, Texas, and raised in Richardson, Texas. She is the daughter of Joe Truett Simpson (a former Baptist youth minister who is now her manager) and Tina Ann Drew.

Ashlee attended Prairie Creek Elementary. An accomplished dancer, Simpson began studying classical ballet at the age of three, and was admitted to the School of American Ballet in New York City at the age of eleven. Around that time, she suffered from an eating disorder; the condition lasted about six months, and she dropped to about 31 kg (70 pounds) at 159 cm (5 ft 2 in), but her parents then stepped in and got her to eat more. After her sister Jessica Simpson landed a record deal, the Simpson family decided to move to Los Angeles, California, where Ashlee began appearing in television commercials.

Career

When Jessica became a star after releasing her first album, Ashlee became one of her backup dancers. Later, Ashlee began appearing in films and television series, including an episode of the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle in 2001, a minor role in the 2002 film The Hot Chick and a recurring role, 39 episodes from 2002-2004, on the family drama series 7th Heaven.

In the summer of 2003, Ashlee recorded a song titled "Just Let Me Cry" for the soundtrack of the film Freaky Friday. Eventually, Simpson signed a record deal with Geffen Records.

Simpson-Wentz’s first album, Autobiography, debuted at number one in the U.S. in July 2004 with first week sales numbering around 398,000 copies. The album was certified triple platinum in September 2004. Simpson co-wrote all of the album’s tracks and described it as "very true to my emotions" in one interview, but critical reviews were mixed. Rolling Stone magazine’s Peter Relic characterised Autobiography as a "mundane melange of Avril-ish brat pop and Sheryl Crow cod rock". E! Online wrote "Even if it doesn’t wow you, Autobiography may surprise you." The single that preceded the album, "Pieces of Me," was one of the biggest hits of the summer in the U.S. and sold well elsewhere. However, the follow-up singles "Shadow" and "La La" were less successful.

Simpson-Wentz occasionally appeared on Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, a reality show about the married life of Jessica and her then-husband Nick Lachey. To accompany the beginning of her own music career, she got her own MTV reality show entitled The Ashlee Simpson Show, which aired in a subsequent time slot to Newlyweds. It ran in the U.S. for eight weekly episodes over the summer of 2004, and a second season of ten episodes aired from January to March 2005. The show dealt with the process of writing, recording, and performing Simpson-Wentz’s music as well as aspects of her personal life.

When appearing for live performances, Simpson-Wentz performs live with a backing band. During the period from 2004 to 2006, the band consisted of Ray Brady (guitar), Braxton Olita (guitar), Joey Kaimana (bass guitar—from 2004 to 2005 Zach Kennedy filled this role), Chris Megert (keyboards and vocals—from late 2004 to 2005 Lucy Walsh filled this role), and Chris Fox (drums).

In addition to her own first album, Simpson-Wentz sang "Christmas Past, Present, and Future" on the 2004 holiday album Radio Disney Jingle Jams and a duet of the Christmas song "Little Drummer Boy" with her sister Jessica for the album Rejoyce, which they had sung together during the ABC variety hour special Nick & Jessica’s Family Christmas.

At the Teen Choice Awards on August 8, 2004, Simpson-Wentz received the "Song of the Summer" Teen Choice Award for "Pieces of Me," as well as the "Fresh Face" award. In addition, she also won a Billboard Award for New Female Artist of the Year in December, and in the same month she was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s Breakout Stars of 2004. Simpson-Wentz also co-hosted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve along with Regis Philbin (in Dick Clark’s absence) at the end of the year, hosting the West Coast portion of the show and performing three songs.

The Saturday Night Live incident
Simpson-Wentz crying due to vocal difficulties after a rehearsal for her controversial Saturday Night Live appearance in 2004.

Simpson-Wentz appeared as a musical guest on Episode 568 of Saturday Night Live (October 23–24, 2004), and as is customary for the show’s format, she was scheduled to perform two songs. Her first song, "Pieces of Me", was performed without problems. However, when she began her second song, "Autobiography", the vocals for the song "Pieces of Me" were heard again—before she had raised the microphone to her mouth. Simpson-Wentz began to dance and then left the stage, while the band (not a recording) continued playing. During the closing of the show Simpson-Wentz appeared with the guest host Jude Law, and said "I’m so sorry. My band started playing the wrong song, and I didn’t know what to do, so I thought I’d do a hoe down."

On October 25, Simpson-Wentz called in to the music video show Total Request Live and explained that due to complications arising from "severe" acid reflux (which had previously been seen in The Ashlee Simpson Show) she had completely lost her voice and her doctor had advised her not to sing. She said that because of the acid reflux, her father wanted her to use a vocal guide track for the performance. She said of the incident, "I made a complete fool of myself." According to Simpson-Wentz, the drummer hit the wrong button, which caused the wrong track to be played. During the October 25 Radio Music Awards broadcast, Simpson-Wentz pretended, as a joke, to make the same mistake as she did in the SNL incident, but then began to perform "Autobiography" without using a pre-recorded vocal track as she had done during the prior SNL performance. On October 31, the CBS news program 60 Minutes aired footage from Simpson-Wentz’s rehearsals before the SNL performance in which Simpson-Wentz is shown to be disturbed by voice trouble.

Jeanette Walls compared the impact of the SNL incident to the 1990 Milli Vanilli incident in which their guide track skipped during a live MTV performance, revealing that they were lip-synching.

The New York Times said the much-viewed clip of Simpson-Wentz’s SNL appearance "may just be this year’s best music video," but dismissed its significance: "one of 2004’s most popular new stars had been exposed as … As what, exactly?"

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Film, second album, and theater (2005–2006)

Simpson-Wentz had a supporting role as an aspiring actress named Clea in Undiscovered (originally titled Wannabe), an independent film that was released in theaters in August 2005. Simpson filmed her scenes in late 2004. While Simpson’s performance was met with acceptable reviews, the film itself was trashed by critics and placed outside of the top ten in its opening weekend, earning just $676,048. Her performance in the film earned her a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

Simpson-Wentz’s second album, I Am Me, was released in the U.S. on October 18, 2005. Simpson said that she had wanted to incorporate the feel of music from the 1980s on the album, and that unlike her debut it would focus less on relationships and more on herself. I Am Me debuted at number one with roughly 220,000 copies sold, but sales quickly deteriorated; by April 2006, it had sold a little less than 900,000 copies. Its first single, "Boyfriend", became a top twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and performed similarly elsewhere. The second single, "L.O.V.E.", reached the U.S. top twenty-five, its success aided by a remix by R&B/hip-hop producer Missy Elliott and MTV’s heavy rotation of the single’s music video (it has been her most successful video to date on Total Request Live).

Simpson began a concert tour in late September in Portland, Oregon and appeared on the October 8, 2005 episode of SNL to promote the album. The first of Simpson’s two performances on the show was of the ballad "Catch Me When I Fall", which was written about her previous SNL experience, and she thanked the crowd after her second performance. In mid-December, Simpson collapsed after performing in Japan, possibly due to exhaustion. She was briefly hospitalized, and consequently cancelled an appearance at the Radio Music Awards.

Simpson and her sister Jessica were scheduled to appear in Rolling Stone magazine in a shoot shot by photographer David LaChapelle in 2005. Upon hearing the concept, both sisters were said to be uncomfortable with LaChapelle’s raunchy ideas and cancelled, outraging the photographer. He ranted to the press in early 2006, calling them "everything that’s wrong with music." Furthering his statement, LaChapelle said he was just trying to "make the Simpsons look cool. I realize now that is an impossible task." LaChapelle planned to have the sisters "down and dirty" and appearing with snakes.

Simpson appeared on the December 2005/January 2006 cover of Teen People with her sister Jessica, and could also be seen on the December 2005 issue of Blender, Cosmopolitan magazine’s January 2006 edition, the March 2006 issues of Seventeen and ELLE, the April 2006 issue of JANE, the June/July 2006 issue of Teen People (in which she was named one of its "25 hottest stars under twenty-five"), the July 2006 issue of Marie Claire and the September 2006 issue of CosmoGirl.

Simpson won a Kelly Slater/MTV celebrity surfing invitational competition, which also featured celebrities such as Meagan Good, Jack Osbourne (her main competitor during the competition), Ashley Parker Angel and Tony Hawk, as part of an MTV-sponsored ‘Spring Break’ Special in March 2006. On April 12, 2006 she hosted and performed at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards, where she won "Best Female Artist" and "Best Pop Video" (for "Boyfriend"). A new single, "Invisible", was released in mid-2006 and reached the top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Initially it was said that the song would appear on a re-released version of I Am Me, but this never occurred. Simpson began a summer tour on June 5, 2006 with Ashley Parker Angel as an opening act; initially The Veronicas also opened but quit the tour after the first few shows due to a problem with one of their singers’ vocal cords.

Simpson said that after this tour, which ended in late July, she would be going on vacation, that she would take her time making her third album, and that she would look at movie scripts and continue her acting career.

Simpson played the role of Roxie Hart in the London stage production of Chicago to rave reviews, from September 25 to October 28, 2006. One reviewer called Simpson’s performance in the show "dazzling and near flawless".

Image and personal life

When Simpson first broke onto the music scene in 2004, she was set apart from her sister’s already established image by a different musical style, different fashion choices, and a more assertive personality. Simpson’s songs have been characterized by rock elements absent from her sister’s music, and, particularly during the time of her initial stardom, Simpson would often wear outfits highlighting a more rock or punk-influenced sense of style. Her fingernails and toenails have often been painted black. Over time, Simpson has moved toward more typically feminine styles. In March 2008, she said that "I like to get dressed up now, and that’s something I’ve never been into before" and "I like to be feminine and sexy." According to Simpson, in her sense of style she tends to "mix and match".

Previously blonde like Jessica, she dyed her hair dark during the recording of the MTV reality show after she finished filming for the 7th Heaven television series. In November 2004, she debuted a shorter haircut with the same dark color. Following the end of her Autobiography tour, in early May 2005 she moved back to a blonde color; she remained blonde until January 2008, when she appeared with a red hair color.

She has seven tattoos: a star on one wrist, two cherries on her ankle, the word "love" on her other wrist, the number "3" added to one wrist in 2007, and a large peony flower on one wrist in early March 2008.

Simpson and her sister were tied for third on oft-quoted celebrity-fashion critic Mr. Blackwell’s list of the worst-dressed celebrities of 2004. Blackwell quipped that "from gaudy to grim to downright frenetic these two prove that bad taste is positively genetic."

Simpson’s relationship with actor Josh Henderson lasted for nearly two years and was shown ending in the first episode of The Ashlee Simpson Show. Soon after, she began dating fellow musician Ryan Cabrera. That relationship was also featured on the show, and Simpson appeared as Cabrera’s love interest in the music video for his song "On the Way Down". The two were reported to have split in August 2004 due to their hectic schedules, but they resumed their relationship for a while afterward, before ending it again in early 2005. Simpson said afterward that they were still friends, although rumors suggested that Simpson did not like the fact that Ryan had moved on to Lisa Origliasso of The Veronicas.

At the beginning of her music career, Simpson said that she would not discuss her sex life, in contrast with her sister, who had openly stated her intention to practice sexual abstinence until marriage. "I decided that I didn’t want to talk about that because it’s super personal," Simpson said of the situation.

In 2005, rumors began circulating that Simpson had stolen Wilmer Valderrama from Lindsay Lohan. Simpson’s single "Boyfriend" was reported to be about the situation, but she said that the song "is about every girl out there sometimes thinks you stole her boyfriend. It’s just making fun of that." Valderrama subsequently said on Howard Stern’s radio program that he had sex with Simpson, but claimed the incident was unrelated to his break-up with Lohan. Later that year, rumours arose that Simpson was secretly dating another Joe Simpson-managed actor, Viva La Bam’s Chris Raab. In February 2006, she told Seventeen magazine that she was dating bandmate Braxton Olita and went on a 10-day vacation with him to Hawaii.

In November 2005, eTalk Daily broadcast a video of a late-night visit made by Simpson to a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant in Toronto, Canada. Simpson appeared to be intoxicated in the video, and was shown arguing with an employee, as well as rejecting a customer’s attempt to get an autograph from her because he wouldn’t kiss her feet. According to Simpson in a 2006 ELLE interview, she was "a little tipsy", and the customer had first called her "gross" before he had realized who she was, at which point he asked her for an autograph. She said that she told herself to "grow up" after the incident.

In February 2006, Simpson was honored by MTV’s Total Request Live (TRL), as the "Bounce-Back" artist. The award was given to her for being able to recover from the negative moments of her career and release another #1 platinum album.

Simpson reportedly had a nose job in April 2006. When asked about it in an interview in May, Simpson neither confirmed nor denied it. In the May 2007 issue of Harper’s Bazaar, she said that she was not insecure about her appearance and had not been beforehand. She said that plastic surgery was a "personal choice" that one should only decide to do for oneself and not for others. Joe Simpson said of the surgery in a September 2007 interview that "there was a real problem with her breathing and that was cured". In March 2008, she said that "as long as people have two eyes" they could determine whether she had a nose job.

In the June 2007 edition of Cosmopolitan, Simpson said that she hasn’t lip synched since her Saturday Night Live incident, that she has "a little crush on Christian Slater", feels sexiest in bed, and that you can and can’t have a good relationship without amazing sex.

Simpson was ranked as one of the "Hottest Women in Pop/R&B" by Blender magazine in January 2007. She was later voted as number 16 in Maxim’s 2007 Hot 100 list.

In June 2006, it was reported that Simpson seriously considered but later turned down a $4 million offer to pose nude for Playboy.

In early September 2006, Us Weekly reported that Simpson and Braxton Olita had split up. Simpson’s rep said that the couple "broke up about a week ago. They have decided to take a break."

Filmography

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Zhang Ziyi (born February 9, 1979, in Beijing) is a Golden Rooster, Hong Kong Film Award winning and three-time BAFTA nominated Chinese film actress, with a string of Chinese and international hits to her name. She has worked with renowned directors such as Zhang Yimou, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Chen Kaige, Seijun Suzuki and Rob Marshall.

Early life

Born in Beijing, China, Zhang joined the Beijing Dance Academy at the age of 11. When Zhang’s parents suggested she go to the dance academy, she was skeptical. While at the boarding school, she noticed how catty the other girls were while competing for status amongst the teachers. Zhang disliked the attitude so much, that on one occasion, she ran away from the school.

Zhang entered China’s prestigious Central Academy of Drama (regarded as the top acting college in China) at the age of 15.

Career

At the age of 19, Zhang was offered her first role in Yimou’s The Road Home, which won the Silver Bear award in the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. Zhang further rose to fame due to her role as the headstrong Jen (Chinese version: Xia Long) in the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which she won the Independent Spirit’s Best Supporting Actress Award and the Toronto Film Critics’ Best Supporting Actress Award.

Zhang’s first appearance in an American movie was in Rush Hour 2, but because she didn’t speak English at the time, Jackie Chan had to translate everything the director said to her. In the movie, her character’s name, "Hu Li," is translated from Mandarin Chinese to "Fox".

Zhang then appeared in Hero, with her early mentor Yimou, which was a huge success in the English-speaking world and an Oscar and a Golden Globe contender. Her next film was the avant-garde drama Purple Butterfly by Lou Ye, which competed at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Zhang went back to the martial arts genre with House of Flying Daggers (called "Attack from Ten Sides" in Chinese), which earned her a Best Actress nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

In 2046, directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring many of the best-known Chinese actors and actresses, Zhang was the female lead and won the Hong Kong Film Critics’ Best Actress Award and the Hong Kong Film Academy’s Best Actress Award.

Showing her whimsical musical tap-dancing side, Zhang starred in Princess Raccoon, directed by Japanese legend Seijun Suzuki, who was honored at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2005, Zhang landed the lead role of Sayuri in the film adaptation of the international bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha. For the film, she reunited with her 2046 co-star Gong Li and with her Crouching Tiger co-star Michelle Yeoh. For the role, Zhang received a 2006 Golden Globe Award nomination, a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and a BAFTA nomination.

Zhang has also been known to sing, and was featured on the House of Flying Daggers soundtrack with her own musical rendition of the ancient Chinese poem, Jia Rén Qu (The Beauty Song). The song was also featured in two scenes in the film.

On June 27, 2005, it was announced that Zhang had accepted an invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), placing her among the ranks of those able to vote on the Academy Awards.

In May 2006, Zhang became the youngest member to sit on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival.

In the fall of 2006, Zhang played Empress Wan in The Banquet (Yè Yàn), a film set in the Tang Dynasty.

Zhang provided the voice of Karai in the TMNT movie that was released on March 23, 2007. She later starred in The Horsemen (2008) with Dennis Quaid and in Mei Lanfang (2008).

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Ambassadorship

Zhang is the face of Maybelline, Garnier and Shangri-la Hotel and Resort Group. She is also a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics and a spokesperson for "Care for Children," a foster-home program in China.

Personal life

Soon after Zhang’s debut in Zhang Yimou’s The Road Home, rumors arose regarding a possible affair between the actress and the older director. Zhang Yimou was previously involved in an extramarital affair with actress Gong Li, whom he similarly debuted and with whom Zhang Ziyi was quickly compared. However, a relationship between the two remains unconfirmed.

Hong Kong and Taiwanese media have often pushed at ties between Zhang and co-star Jackie Chan. This was fuelled in part by photos that emerged of the pair during celebrations of Chan’s birthday on the set of Rush Hour 2.

Zhang for a while was publicly linked with Fok Kai-shan, grandson of Hong Kong business tycoon Henry Fok.

Although Zhang does not like to talk in public about her private life, in 2006, she stated in an interview that she had found love - but did not offer a name. When quizzed by Phoenix TV in early 2007 if she was happy, she stated in the interview: “Yes, very much so … I’m doing the things I enjoy.” In January 2007, Zhang was spotted holding hands and kissing her new partner at a New York basketball game. The man was identified as 41-year-old, Israeli multi-millionaire and venture capitalist, Vivi Nevo. The two were again seen together at an Oscar party in Los Angeles. Nevo, who has previously been tied to model Kate Moss, is a major shareholder in Time Warner and an early backer of The Weinstein Company with whom Zhang is purported to have a multi-film deal.

She stated in an early interview that if she had not become an actress, she would have liked to have been a kindergarten teacher, as she “…loves children!”

Filmography

Ziyi: “Eminem Was My English Teacher”

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA star ZIYI ZHANG’s method of learning English nearly landed her in trouble, as she picked up the language by listening to and repeating obscene EMINEM lyrics.

The Chinese screen beauty studied music and commercials to learn words and phrases, but she admits she wasn’t initially aware of how offensive her Eminem-style English was.

She explains, "It was television commercials and Eminem.

"I loved to watch the commercials because they pronounce their words so clearly.

"I don’t always know what (Eminem) is talking about, so I write down the lyrics and repeat them.

"Later, I understood how rude they were."

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Gerard James Butler (born November 13, 1969) is a Scottish actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of King Leonidas in 300, The Phantom in the 2004 film version of The Phantom of the Opera, and Gerry Kennedy in P.S. I Love You.

Early life

Butler was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Margaret and Edward Butler. His great-grandparents were from Italy. Butler was raised in a Catholic working-class family. For the first two years of his life, he lived in Montreal, Quebec. When his parents divorced, his mother took him and his siblings, Lynn and Brian, back to Scotland, to her hometown of Paisley. He had no further contact with his father until he was sixteen years old. Butler’s father died of cancer when Gerard was 22.

Career

Butler graduated from Glasgow University Law School before embarking on his early career in stage plays. His first roles were in Coriolanus and in the stage version of Trainspotting. Butler landed his first film role as Archie Brown in 1997’s Mrs. Brown alongside Judi Dench and Billy Connolly. That same year, he appeared in a minor role in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. He followed this with several appearances in various independent films and several television series in the UK, including a role in the series Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married and the films The Cherry Orchard, One More Kiss, and Harrison’s Flowers.

In 1999, he began filming his first lead role as Attila the Hun in the American TV miniseries Attila. During filming of Attila, the production actually stopped in order for him to film his second lead role as Dracula in Wes Craven’s Dracula 2000. Both films were released in 2000. In this early part of his career his most notable work was in The Jury, a critically acclaimed UK TV miniseries. In Timeline which was released in 2003, Butler once again starred alongside Billy Connolly. Based on the Michael Crichton book of the same name, Butler played archaeologist Andre Marek. Also in 2003, he starred as Terry Sheridan opposite Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. The following year he was cast in the title role of Joel Schumacher’s film rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, co-starring Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, and Ciaran Hinds. Prior to filming The Phantom of the Opera, Butler had completed the independent film Dear Frankie, which co-starred Emily Mortimer.

In 2005, he starred in The Game of Their Lives, a film based on a true story of the 1950 U.S. soccer team who beat England 1 - 0 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The same year he was cast in as Beowulf in the Sturla Gunnarsson film production of Beowulf & Grendel. Filmed entirely in Iceland, Beowulf & Grendel was widely released in Canada to moderate success. During filming, Butler also participated in and co-produced the documentary Wrath of Gods. Directed by Jon Gustafsson, the film documents the dramatic circumstances the cast and crew faced while making the film Beowulf & Grendel. Later this same year Butler began production of 300, in which he starred as King Leonidas of Sparta. The film, directed by Zack Snyder and co-starring Lena Headey, was released in March 2007. The film was an adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name based on events surrounding the Battle of Thermopylae in Greece circa 480 BC. 300 was released in the US on March 9, 2007. It currently holds the record for the highest opening weekend box office gross in the month of March at over $72 million during that first weekend. As of May 2007, 300 had a box office gross of $438 million after nine weeks. Butler received various awards for this role including "Action Star of the Year" at the Taurus World Stunt Awards and "Biggest Ass Kicker" at the 2007 Spike TV Guys’ Choice Awards.

In 2006, Butler completed filming Butterfly on a Wheel (renamed Shattered in the U.S.) and began work on PS, I Love You with Hilary Swank, based on Cecilia Ahern’s novel and released in December 2007. On July 7, 2007 Butler appeared at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London. In November 2007, an Entertainment Weekly readers’ poll named Gerard as #5 Ultimate Male Hottie of All Time. Later in November, Entertainment Weekly named Gerard as one of the Top 25 Entertainers of 2007.

Nim’s Island, which also stars Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin, opened in cinemas on April 4, 2008. Butler was cast in the role of Nim’s father, Jack, and as Nim’s imaginary hero, Alex Rover. The dual role allowed Gerard to use his natural Scottish burr when playing Alex, while he adopted an American accent as Jack

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Future roles

In 2005, Butler announced that he would play Robert Burns in the film Burns. Several tentative production dates have been set for the film, but they have been postponed due to scheduling and financing conflicts. Butler was also slated to play the role of Laurent in the new film adaptation of Emile Zola’s novel Thérèse Raquin, but he is no longer attached to the project due to a scheduling conflict with his upcoming role in the film Game.

In 2006, Butler announced that he was in negotiations for the role of Ivan Issacs in the upcoming film Priest, based on the graphic novel.

* The Untouchables: Capone Rising, the prequel to the film The Untouchables, was due to begin filming in October 2007 with Brian De Palma directing. Butler is cast as Jimmy Malone.

* GAME, a futuristic thriller, co-produced by Paramount and Relativity Media, began filming in November 2007 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Butler has been cast as Kable, the No. 1-ranked warrior in the highest-rated game, which is called "Slayers".

* RocknRolla, a gangster film directed by Guy Ritchie. Butler is cast as One-Two, a street-smart gangster involved in a lucrative real-estate scheme.

* Variety has reported that Butler has signed on to star opposite Katherine Heigl in the battle of the sexes comedy The Ugly Truth for Lakeshore Entertainment. Shooting is scheduled to begin in April, 2008.

* Butler has confirmed rumours that he will be starring in an extra feature on the DVD for Zach Snyder’s adaptation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen, "Tales of the Black Freighter".

* Butler will star in the first project of his Evil Twins production company, Law Abiding Citizen, slated for a 2009 release. The film begins shooting August 18 in Detroit, Michigan.

Filmography

Butler and Campbell a couple?

He thrust spears at Persian soldiers. She pitched a cell phone at her maid.

Gerard Butler, who plays Spartan King Leonidas in the blockbuster 300, has conquered the heart of supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Sources claim the Scottish-born actor and the 36-year-old English-born model have been spending a lot of time together in New York City, where Campbell recently completed five days of community service as punishment for throwing a cell phone at a former employee.

After finishing her sweeping and mopping duties inside a Department of Sanitation garage, Campbell jetted off to Miami to enjoy some of the tennis action at the Sony Ericsson Open.

But since returning to New York, she has been spotted out and about with Butler several times - even though the couple has managed to avoid being photographed together.

"She came out of the hotel first and got into a waiting SUV," an eyewitness told canada.com. "Then a few minutes later, Gerard came out and got into the vehicle. And when they arrived back, they got out of either side of the vehicle and went into the hotel separately."

Butler, whose films include Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Phantom of the Opera, spent several years as a child living in Montreal. He returned to the city to make 300 and recently completed Butterfly on a Wheel, which was partially filmed in Vancouver.

Campbell has dated famous men like Robert DeNiro and Flavio Briatore and was briefly engaged to U2 bassist Adam Clayton

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