(Photo: left) Atilla and his Huns make things very uncomfortable for museum security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller). Photo credit: Doane Gregory
BEN STILLER (Larry Daley) is an innovative actor, director, producer and writer who continues to imprint his unique comedic and dramatic perspective on film, television and stage.
He is currently in production on The Untitled Farrelly Brothers Comedy which re-teams Stiller with the writing-directing team of Peter and Bobby Farrelly. Loosely inspired by the 1972 classic hit, The Heartbreak Kid, the film tells the story of a man who hastily weds a woman who he thinks is perfect--until he falls in love with another woman during the honeymoon. Michelle Monaghan and Malin Ackerman will co-star with the Farrelly's Conundrum Entertainment producing for Dreamworks.
Additionally, Stiller will executive produce, direct, and guest star in a pilot for CBS which will star his wife Christine Taylor. The pilot, written by Ajay Sahgal, is about an actress married to Ben Stiller who contends with her family members and their involvement in her life. CBS Paramount Network Television will produce. Finally, Stiller has agreed to reprise his role in a second Madagascar film. He was most recently heard in the 2005 Dreamworks' animated film along with co-stars David Schwimmer, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith.
In the spring of 2005, Stiller completed a successful run Off-Broadway in Neil LeBute's play, "This Is How It Goes" at New York's Public Theatre. Directed by George C. Wolfe and co-starring Jeffrey Wright and Amanda Peet, the play explores an interracial romance involving two men and a woman in small-town America.
Stiller was last seen on the big screen in the blockbuster comedy sequel Meet the Fockers with Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand. Directed by Jay Roach, the film introduces Stiller's in-laws to his Parénts played by Hoffman and Streisand to hilarious results.
In 2004, Stiller starred in the hit comedies Dodgeball, Starsky & Hutch and Along Came Polly. Other films include the comedy Zoolander based on the story of 'Derek Zoolander,' the male model character Stiller co-created with Drake Sather for the VH-1 Fashion Awards. Stiller co-wrote, directed, starred and also produced the film through Red Hour Films with partner Stuart Cornfeld.
Prior to that, Stiller starred in Jay Roach's Meet The Parénts, which won a People's Choice Award and earned Stiller an American Comedy Award for Funniest Male Performance and an MTV Movie Award™ for Best Comedic Performance. Additionally, he was nominated for Best On-Screen Team with Robert DeNiro. Stiller also starred in Wes Anderson's eccentric comedy The Royal Tenenbaums
Having firmly established himself as a successful filmmaker, Stiller has an exclusive, three-year, first-look film and television production deal with Dreamworks, in which he will write, produce, and direct films under his own banner, Red Hour Films. Stiller made his feature-length motion picture directorial debut in 1994 with the critically acclaimed Reality Bites, in which he also co-starred with Winona Ryder, Janeane Garofalo and Ethan Hawke. He went on to direct Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick in The Cable Guy.
Stiller’s film credits as an actor also include Duplex, Keeping The Faith, Peter and Bobby Farrelly's smash hit There's Something About Mary, Permanent Midnight based on Jerry Stahl's controversial Hollywood memoir, Neil Lebute's Your Friends and Neighbors, Jake Kasdan's Zero Effect, David O. Russell’s Flirting With Disaster, Steven Spielberg's World War II epic Empire of the Sun, John Irvin's Next of Kin, David Anspaugh's Fresh Horses and John Erman's Stella.
Stiller made his professional acting debut on Broadway in 1985 starring opposite John Mahoney in John Guare's "The House of Blue Leaves." While appearing in the play, Stiller persuaded Mahoney and fellow cast members Swoosie Kurtz, Stockard Channing, and Julie Hagerty to appear in a short comedy film, his first true directorial effort, The Hustler of Money. A parody of Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money, the film eventually aired on "Saturday Night Live" where it was so well received, Stiller was subsequently hired as a featured player and apprentice writer for the NBC comedy series.
Following his stint at "Saturday Night Live," Stiller directed a comedy special for MTV called "Back to Brooklyn." Stiller followed that project by creating "The Ben Stiller Show," also for MTV, and later collaborated with Judd Apatow for a 13-episode run on FOX. A critical success, Stiller, along with the rest of the writing staff, was awarded an Emmy® for outstanding comedy writing. Stiller also co-edited the photo book, Looking at Los Angeles, a pictorial representation of Los Angeles from the last three-quarters of a century. The book was ranked among Amazon.com's "Best Books of 2005."
CARLA GUGINO (Rebecca) will next be seen starring opposite Danny DeVito and Kim Basinger in the crime drama Even Money and in the thriller Rise starring Lucy Liu, written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez. She recently wrapped a role in Scott Frank’s directorial debut, The Lookout, starring opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which will be released in 2007. Additionally, Gugino will have a six-episode arc on the upcoming season of HBO’s hit comedy “Entourage.” She most recently appeared in the Robert Rodriguez adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel series, Sin City, alongside Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke.
Gugino’s film credits include her role in all three installments of Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids series, opposite Antonio Banderas; The Singing Detective, opposite Robert Downey, Jr., Robin Wright Penn and Jeremy Northam; the Wayne Wang art house film The Center Of The World; and The One, opposite Jet Li and Delroy Lindo. She also starred in Sebastian Gutierrez’s Creature Feature Part 1: She Creature, opposite Rufus Sewell for Cinemax, as well as Frank Whaley’s film The Jimmy Club, opposite Whaley and Ethan Hawke.
Gugino has starred opposite Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage in Snake Eyes, directed by Brian DePalma. She served as a producer and starred in the independent film, Judas Kiss, opposite another Academy Award winner, Emma Thompson. She also starred in The War At Home with Martin Sheen, Kathy Bates and Emilio Estevez; Michael with John Travolta and William Hurt; Miami Rhapsody opposite Sarah Jessica Parker; This Boy’s Life with Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio; and Son In Law. Additionally she has appeared in the films Lovelife, HBO’s A Private Matter, Showtime’s The Motorcycle Gang and Troop Beverly Hills, her first feature film.
Gugino’s television credits include her critically acclaimed performances in the CBS series “Threshold” and as the title character in the series, "Karen Sisco," based on the character from the Elmore Leonard novel Out Of Sight. She also appeared opposite Michael J. Fox on “Spin City;” as a neurosurgeon on “Chicago Hope;” and in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie “A Season for Miracles,” starring opposite Kathy Baker, Laura Dern and Lynn Redgrave. She received rave reviews as an American girl who finds her way into aristocratic British society in the BBC/PBS mini-series “The Buccaneers.” Gugino made her Broadway debut in the summer of 2004 at the Roundabout Theater’s revival of Arthur Miller’s “After the Fall.” She received many accolades, including an Outer Critics’ Circle Award nomination and a Theater World award for Outstanding Broadway Debut.
DICK VAN DYKE (Cecil Fredricks), in 1955, hosted “The CBS Morning Show” in New York, with Walter Cronkite as news anchor and Barbara Walters as news copywriter. Concurrently, he was auditioning for Broadway shows and eventually landed a spot in a revue called “The Boys Against the Girls.” Director and choreographer Gower Champion caught the show and signed to Van Dyke to star with Chita Rivera in “Bye Bye Birdie” in which he introduced “Put on a Happy Face” in a 1960 Tony®-winning performance. “Bye Bye Birdie” was in its second season when Carl Reiner and Sheldon Leonard chose Van Dyke to star in a comedy series that became “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Premiering in 1961, it ran for five seasons and earned Van Dyke three Emmy Awards.
During hiatus periods, he starred in the film version of Bye Bye Birdie [1963], and the Disney classic Mary Poppins [1964]. Other features included Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN [1966], Divorce American Style [1967], Chitty Chitty Bang-Bang [1968], The Comic [1969], Some Kind of a Nut [1969], Cold Turkey [1971] and The Runner Stumbles [1978].
After a year in England filming the family classic Chitty Chitty Bang-Bang, the Van Dykes moved to their ranch in Carefree, Arizona where “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” was produced for three seasons. His next project was the dramatic television movie, “The Morning After,” adapted from the Jack Weiner novel about a talented and successful family man whose life is destroyed by his alcoholism. The theme broke new ground for television dramas and earned him an Emmy nomination.
Then it was back to song, dance and comedy in “Van Dyke and Company,” thirteen variety specials on NBC. After that Van Dyke returned to the theater for a revival of “The Music Man,” touring before taking it to Broadway. The following year he toured in “Damn Yankees.”
Dick won his fifth Emmy for the 1982 CBS Library Special “Wrong Way Kid.” Other TV movies include, “Drop-Out Father,” “Found Money,” The PBS Special “Breakfast with Les and Bess,” the mini series “Strong Medicine” and a Showtime production of “The Country Girl.”
His awards and honors include the Dance Legend of the Year Award from the Professional Dancers Society of America; the 1998 Disney Legend Award; a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Comedy Awards; and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1995 he was inducted into the Television Academy Walk of Fame.
Mark Sloane, the crime solving MD, was introduced in an episode of “Jake and the Fat Man” before becoming the central character in several TV movies and the series ”Diagnosis Murder,” which ran on CBS for eight seasons through the 1990s until 2001, followed by two Dr. Sloane movies in 2002.
In 2003, Van Dyke reunited with Mary Tyler Moore to play two lonely retirees in D.L. Coburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, “The Gin Game,” on PBS Hollywood Theater. The following year they were together again as Rob and Laura Petrie in “Dick Van Dyke Revisited.”
Threatening to retire for the last twenty years, Van Dyke returned to Broadway in January 2006 to sing and dance in four performances of “Chita Rivera: A Dancers Life,” receiving standing ovations after each number. His Hallmark movie, “Murder 101,” part of a franchise series, also aired in 2006.
Van Dyke serves as fund-raising chairman for the 100-year-old Midnight Mission in Los Angeles and was recently awarded the Golden Heart Award for his charitable service and giving.
The honorary Oscar® is the motion picture industry’s highest acknowledgement of film legends. It is given only occasionally, and the select recipients include such names as Charles Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Joan Crawford, Laurence Olivier and Deborah Kerr. In 1983, it was presented to MICKEY ROONEY (Gus).
Rooney was born Joe Yule, Jr., on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, son of well-known performers Joe Yule and Nell Carter. The consummate performer, he made his first stage appearance at the age of one when he crawled out on stage during his Parénts’ vaudeville act.
All of Rooney’s eighty-three years have been busy. At four, he made his motion picture debut, as a midget in Not To Be Trusted. A year later, he became Mickey “Himself” McGuire for seventy-eight short film comedies based on Fontaine Fox’s tough little cartoon character. He outgrew the role at twelve and went on the road taking the name of Mickey Rooney. In the 1930’s, he signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for whom he made the famous Andy Hardy series. Box office receipts for 1938-1940 made him the number one star in the world.
In 1939, he received a special Academy Award for the film Boy’s Town with Spencer Tracy and for his work in the Andy Hardy series. This was also the year he made his first major musical with Judy Garland, Babes in Arms, which earned him an Academy Award nomination as best actor. It was the first time a juvenile had competed with adult stars for the honor.
The next time he was so honored was in 1943 for his work in The Human Comedy. In 1944, he made National Velvet with Elizabeth Taylor, before joining the army for World War II. As a regular GI, during the war he entertained frontline troops with the “Jeep Shows,” which consisted of three men in a jeep who delivered much needed entertainment to the troops at the front. For his services in the war, he was awarded the Bronze Star with clusters.
After the war, Rooney set about rebuilding his career. He would make several classic films including Killer McCoy, The Fireball (Marilyn Monroe’s first film), Baby Face Nelson and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. His list of credits for the past eight decades is impressive, containing more than three hundred films, including The Black Stallion for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
With the advent of television, Rooney dove into and conquered the new medium. He appeared in many classic dramas, such as “The Comedian” with famed director John Frankenheimer, (for which he received an Emmy nomination) and the classic “Twilight Zone” episode “The Last Night of a Jockey.” In 1982, he portrayed Bill Sechter in the television film “Bill” and received an Emmy, The Golden Globe®, and the Peabody Award for his performance. He repeated the role two years later in “Bill On His Own.” He has starred in numerous television series including “Hey Mulligan;” “Mickey” for which he won the Golden Globe in 1964; “A Year At The Top” with Sammy Davis, Jr.; “One Of The Boys” with Nathan Land and Dana Carvey; and “The Adventures of the Black Stallion.”
In 1979, Rooney achieved a new triumph, which took him to the cover of “Life” magazine for his starring role in the theatrical production of “Sugar Babies,” which garnered him a Tony nomination. The show ran successfully on Broadway for three years and had a record-breaking eight-year run on the road. His stage success continued in 1989 when he and Donald O’Connor made a twenty-city tour in “Two For The Show,” which they co-wrote. In 1990, they enjoyed similar success, with a thirteen-city tour in Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys.”
He returned to Broadway in 1993 to appear with Larry Gatlin in “The Will Rogers Follies.” He successfully revived “Sugar Babies” in 1995 at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas with Juliette Prowse and appeared in Toronto at Royal Alexandra Theatre in “Crazy for You.” In 1997, he toured the United States and Canada as ‘The Wizard’ and ‘Professor Marvel’ in Madison Square Garden’s acclaimed production of “The Wizard of Oz.”
In 1998 Rooney and his wife Jan launched a successful tour of “The One Man One Wife Show” in Australia and New Zealand. The show has been a continued success delighting audiences throughout the United States and Europe. Rooney is also an accomplished musician and can play almost every instrument in an orchestra. As a member of ASCAP, he has composed numerous pop songs, a symphony and several film scores.
The recipient of three stars on The Hollywood Walk of Fame®, in April of 2004, Rooney was honored to received a Fourth Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame®. He proudly shares that star with his wife, Jan for their achievement in live entertainment. They remain deeply in love with one another. They currently reside in Ventura County, California. There they enjoy the pleasure and quiet of the country with the other loves of their lives, children, grandchildren and their two birds. They are both strong Animal Rights advocates.
BILL COBBS (Reginald) was born and raised in Cleveland where his mother was a cleaning lady and his father a construction worker. As an amateur actor in the city's Karamu House Theater, he starred in the HYPERLINK "http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001115/" Ossie Davis play "Purlie Victorious.”
Cobbs was an Air Force radar technician for eight years; he also worked in office products at IBM and sold cars in Cleveland. In 1970, at the age of 36, he left for New York to seek work as an actor. There he turned down a job in the NBC sales department in order to have time for auditions. He supported himself by driving a cab, repairing office equipment, selling toys, and performing odd jobs. His first professional acting role was in "Ride a Black Horse" at the Negro Ensemble Company. From there he appeared in small theater productions, street theater, regional theater and at the Eugene O'Neill Theater. His first television credit was in “Vegetable Soup” (1976), a New York public television educational series, and he made his feature film debut in 1974 in the thriller The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three.
Cobbs has gone on to appear in numerous film and television roles. His film credits include Decoration Day, The Hudsucker Proxy, Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead, New Jack City, That Thing You Do!, Ghosts of Mississippi, Carolina Skeletons and A Mighty Wind. He has been a series regular on “The Gregory Hines Show” and “I’ll Fly Away,” among others. He has also appeared on “The Drew Cary Show” and “Six Feet Under.” Earlier this year Cobbs co-starred in the feature film Retirement with Peter Boyle, Peter Falk and Rip Torn. In his free time Cobbs enjoys music, reading, playing his drums, and learning how to play golf.
ROBIN WILLIAMS (Teddy Roosevelt) is an Academy Award-winning actor and a multiple Grammy®-winning performer unparalleled in the scope of his imagination – and continues to add to his repertoire of indelible characters. Williams also stars this fall in Barry Levinson’s Man of the Year and plays the lead role opposite Toni Collette in Patrick Stettner’s The Night Listener based on the Armistead Maupin novel. He also re-teamed with director Barry Sonnenfeld in the comedy, R.V. and stars in August Rush with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Freddie Highmore.
In 1997, Williams received the Academy Award® and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting. The Academy previously nominated Williams for The Fisher King, Dead Poets Society and Good Morning Vietnam. Williams garnered a special honor from the National Board of Review for his performance opposite Robert DeNiro in Awakenings. In 2004, Williams received the prestigious Career Achievement Award from the Chicago International Film festival and, in 2005, the HFPA honored him with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.
Robin Williams first captured the attention of the world as Mork from Ork on the hit series “Mork & Mindy.” Born in Chicago and raised in Michigan and California, he trained at New York's Julliard School under John Houseman. Williams made his film debut as the title character in Robert Altman's Popeye. His early motion picture credits include Paul Mazursky's Moscow on the Hudson and The World According to Garp, George Roy Hill's adaptation of John Irving's acclaimed novel.
Williams' filmography includes a number of blockbusters. In 1991, Williams assumed the dual roles of Peter Pan/Peter Banning in Steven Spielberg's Hook. In 1993, he starred in Chris Columbus' Mrs. Doubtfire for Mike Nichols. Williams portrayed 'Armand Goldman' in The Birdcage, for which the cast won a SAG ensemble award. In 1996, both The Birdcage and Jumanji reached the $100 million mark in the USA in the same week. Next, he starred in Disney’s Flubber, and played a medical student who treats patients with humor in Patch Adams.
In a departure from the usual comedic and family fare he is best known for, Williams collaborated with two accomplished young directors on dramatic thrillers. For Christopher Nolan, he starred opposite Al Pacino as reclusive novelist ‘Walter Finch,’ the primary suspect in the murder of a teenaged girl in a small Alaskan town, in Insomnia. In Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo, Williams played a photo lab employee who becomes obsessed with a young suburban family.
Using only his voice, Williams created one of the most vivid characters in recent memory - the 'Blue Genie of the Lamp' in Aladdin. The performance redefined how animations were voiced. Audio versions of his one-man shows and the children's record "Pecos Bill," have won him five Grammy Awards. Most recently Williams lent his vocal talents to the blockbuster animated feature Robots.
Williams' stage credits include a landmark production of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" directed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Steve Martin and, most recently, a short run in San Francisco of "The Exonerated," which tells the true stories of six innocent survivors of death row.
Williams, who began his career as a stand-up comedian, is well known for monologues in which he makes free associative leaps punctuated by one liners about subjects as varied as politics, history, religion, ethnic strife and sex. Williams did just that when he toured in a critically acclaimed indefatigable one-man show that visited thirty-six cities. The final performance was filmed by HBO and broadcast live from New York on July 14, 2002.
Offstage, Williams takes great joy in supporting causes too numerous to identify -- covering the spectrum from health care and human rights, to education, environmental protection, and the arts. He toured the Middle East three times in as many years to help raise morale among the troops and is, perhaps, best known philanthropically for his affiliation with Comic Relief, which was founded in 1986 as a non-profit organization to help America's homeless.
JAKE CHERRY (Nick) made his feature film debut starring Jennifer Aniston and Frances McDormand in Friends With Money. He was a series regular on the Fox series “Head Cases” and a guest star on “Bones” and “Third Watch.” He also starred in the Lifetime telefilm “Miracle Run,” playing Mary-Louise Parker's autistic son.
Cherry got his acting start in commercials when he was just two years old, accompanying his older brother to auditions. He has since appeared in over 20 national commercials.
RICKY GERVAIS (Dr. McPhee) is best known for his role of co-creator (with Stephen Merchant) and star of the hit British television series “The Office.” Gervais started his career in television by writing and starring in a one-off called “Golden Years” about a businessman who is obsessed with becoming a David Bowie look-alike. He next appeared on “The 11 O'Clock Show'”- a topical comedy magazine series for which he adopted the persona of a half-knowledgeable bigot, an outrageous and refreshingly funny foil to the satirical Oxbridge pretensions of the show itself.
“Meet Ricky Gervais,” a chat show, came hot on the heels of his popularity in the “11 O'Clock Show.” When the show finished in October 2000, Gervais and Merchant had already been developing their ideas for an office-based mock documentary, and months if not years of work would come to fruition on 9 July 2001 when the BBC aired the first episode of “The Office.”
Twelve episodes and a two-part Christmas special later, “The Office” was consigned to broadcasting history. Showered with awards and critical acclaim the series' pivotal creation, the character of David Brent, became a household name and so did Ricky Gervais. Not only a mega-hit in England, “The Office” has gone on to become the most successful British comedy exports of all time.
Gervais recently completed production on season two of 'Extras.’ He appears in the starring role of this satirical television series that he created with Merchant, for the BBC and HBO.
KIM RAVER (Erica Daley) has starred on the Emmy Award Winning Fox drama, “24” for the past two seasons, as ‘Audrey Raines,’ an aide to the Secretary of Defense in Washington. This fall,
Raver can be seen starring in the new ABC prime time drama “The Nine,” which follows the lives of nine people after they experience a 52-hour hostage situation.
Raver recently wrapped a role in the indie feature Prisoner opposite Julian McMahon. She was also seen in the independent films Mind the Gap, directed by Eric Schaeffer, and Keep your Distance, directed by Stu Pollard. Raver also starred in the 2005 Lifetime movie “Haunting Sarah,” a supernatural thriller in which she portrays identical twins.
Raver endeared herself to critics and viewers during the five years she starred as paramedic ‘Kim Zambrano,’ on the NBC drama “Third Watch.” Raver’s other television credits include a lead role on NBC’s “Trinity”; guest starring roles in “The Practice,” “Spin City,” “Law & Order”; and a recurring role on “Central Park West.” She also appeared in the feature film City Hall with Al Pacino.
Born and raised in New York City, Raver had a regular role on the children’s television series “Sesame Street” from the ages of 6 to 9. After “Sesame Street” she joined off-Broadway’s first all-children’s theater. Raver’s big break came with her Broadway debut in the play “Holiday” in which she co-starred with Laura Linney and Tony Goldwyn. She also costarred with David Schwimmer and John Spencer in the Williamstown production of “The Glimmer Brothers,” written by Warren Leight.
PATRICK GALLAGHER (Attila The Hun) was most recently seen in Final Destination 3 and previously appeared in Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and in the Academy Award-winning indie hit Sideways.
Gallagher plays a principal role on the television series “Stargate Atlantis” and a recurring role on the BRAVO series “Godiva’s.” He is a series regular on “Da Vinci’s City Hall,” and played a recurring guest role on “Da Vinci’s Inquest.” Gallagher has played guest starring roles on the series “Battlestar Galactica,” “La Femme Nikita,” “Dark Angel,” “Taken,” “Kung Fu,” “F/X: The Series,” “Due South” and “Mysterious Ways.” His movie of the week credits include, “My Father’s Shadow,” “American Meltdown,” “Skid Road” and “Damaged Care.”
RAMI MALEK (Ahkmenrah) made his television debut after booking his very first audition, on “The Gilmore Girls,” and can currently be seen playing ‘Kenny’ on the FOX series “The War At Home.” He earlier played a recurring character in Steven Bochco’s acclaimed Iraq war series “Over There” and has made guest starring appearances on the series “FX” and “Medium.”
Malek decided to pursue acting professionally after being invited to join The O’Neil Playwrights conference in Connecticut, where he trained in theater and worked to refine his craft. There he performed in “The Bebop Heard in Okinawa” and “Fascination” before heading to England to study Shakespeare. With his acting roots firmly planted in theater, he returned to Los Angeles, where he was cast in a leading role for “Johnny Boy,” which was met with critical acclaim. He then briefly relocated to New York City to appear in “Shoes,” off-Broadway.
Egyptian actor Malek received his BFA at the University of Evansville and currently live in Los Angeles with his family.
MIZUO PECK (Sacajawea), a native New Yorker, still lives a block from where she grew up in Tribeca. Acting since age 11, Peck graduated from LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts where she focused on acting. With a B.F.A. degree in Theatre from the prestigious acting conservatory at SUNY Purchase, Peck has acted in theatre, commercials, television and film and has modeled for photographer Bruce Weber for the cover of L’uomo Vogue. She has also appeared in a Bruce Weber-directed music video for the Pet Shop Boys and appeared with Angelina Jolie in the Rolling Stones’ music video, “Anybody Seen My Baby?”
Peck’s television credits include “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “All My Children” and “Witchblade.” Her film credits include Husky, Don’t Cry and Scenes of the Crime, in which she acted alongside Jeff Bridges.
STEVE COOGAN (Octavius) is one of the icons of British comedy. He has created some of British television’s most loved comedy characters, including the inimitable Alan Partridge, for which he received several BAFTA Awards. A prolific writer and producer who has been called a “comic genius,” Coogan is becoming increasingly well known as a comic and dramatic actor. He will be seen this fall in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette and on BBC America’s “Saxondale,” a comedy about a former rock-show roadie who becomes an exterminator. His recent film credits also include the starring role in Michael Winterbottom’s acclaimed comedy Tristram Shandy: A Cock And Bull Story, as well as Don Roos’s Happy Endings, Around The World In 80 Days and Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes. He’ll next be seen in Hot Fuzz with Jim Broadbent, Nick Frost and Timothy Dalton.
Coogan began doing stand up and skits in his native Manchester after graduating from drama school. For years he was a regular voice on “Spitting Image,” a hugely popular puppet show that lampooned famous political and cultural figures. He soon moved on to creating his own characters,who immediately became a part of the British cultural landscape and inspired programs such as “The Office” and “Little Britain.” In 1992 he won the respected Perrier Award for his show “Steve Coogan In Character With John Thompson,” where he launched Paul Calf, a foul-mouthed, beer swilling Northerner who was soon joined by his sex-mad sister Pauline. But it was to be Alan Partridge, the nerdy radio DJ from Norfolk with a terrible taste in sweaters and an inflated ego who thrust Coogan into celebrity status.
Coogan created his first big screen vehicle with writing partner Harry Normal in 2001 with The Parole Officer, which received acclaim and went on to be the one of the top grossing British films of the year. He received rave reviews for his portrayal of Tony Wilson in Michael Winterbottom’s sleeper hit 24 Hour Party People, about the rise and fall of Factory Records. His production company, Baby Cow Productions, has continually come up with award-winning programs including Rob Brydon’s “Marion and Geoff” and “Human Remains.” The company’s animated series “I Am Not an Animal,” featuring Coogan in two roles, has been seen in the U.S. on the Sundance Channel.
ANNE MEARA (Debbie) is known as half of the comedy team, “Stiller & Meara,” who gained nationwide fame as a comedy team on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” They have performed together nationally in nightclubs and regional theatres and have made countless appearances on television. Meara also boasts an impressive solo career. Her feature film work includes Like Mike, The Search for One Eyed Jimmy, MIA, An Open Window, Judy Berlin, The Daytrippers, Southie and Get Well Soon with Courtney Cox.
On television, she appeared for several years as Peggy Moody on ABC’s “All My Children.” Other television appearances include the title role in the CBS series “Kate McShane” and recurring roles on “Rhoda,” “Archie Bunker’s Place,” “Alf,” “Sex in the City” and “King of Queens.” Guest appearances include “Murder She Wrote,” “Heat of the Night,” “Homicide,” ‘Ed,’ “Will And Grace” and “Law and Order: SVU,” among many others.
Meara has received five Emmy nominations for her television work including a 1997 nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a drama series for “Homicide.” She was co-writer (with Lila Garrett) and star of “The Other Woman,” a CBS Movie of the Week which won a Writer’s Guild Award. Anne’s script “After-Play” was produced by Manhattan Theatre Club and enjoyed a sold-out run. Anne received the Outer Critic’s Circle John Gassner Award for Playwriting for “After-Play”. Her last play, “Down the Garden Paths,” starred Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson, and was produced at The George Street Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre and Off-Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre.
NOTE: SOME CREDITS MAY NOT BE FINAL