CHRIS EVANS (Casey) has emerged in recent years as one of the busiest young actors in Hollywood. In addition to “TMNT,” he has three films upcoming in 2007, beginning with the sci-fi thriller “Sunshine,” for director Danny Boyle, followed by “The Nanny Diaries,” opposite Scarlett Johansson. This summer, he stars in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” in which he reprises the role of Johnny Storm, a.k.a. The Human Torch.
Raised in Massachusetts, Evans began acting in regional theatre before moving to New York, where he studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute. He made a few guest appearances on television series before landing his first feature film starring role in the comedy spoof “Not Another Teen Movie.” His next film was the crime comedy “The Perfect Score,” in which he starred with Scarlett Johansson and Erika Christensen. Switching gears, he starred with Kim Basinger, William H. Macy and Jessica Biel in the thriller “Cellular,” playing a young man who is drawn into a kidnapping plot.
In 2005, Evans starred in four feature films, including the summer action hit “Fantastic Four,” in which he joined Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis and Ioan Gruffudd as a group of astronauts who gain individual super powers after they are exposed to cosmic radiation. Also that year, Evans starred in the independent features “The Orphan King,” opposite Alexis Bledel; “Fierce People,” with Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland; and, most recently, the romantic drama “London,” opposite Jessica Biel.
SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR provides the voice for April O’Neil in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and The Weinstein Company’s “TMNT,” distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures TMNT ™, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ®, Donatello ™, Leonardo ™, Michelangelo ™, Raphael ™, Shredder ™, Splinter ™, April O'Neil ™ and related characters, logos, names and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of, and copyrighted by, Mirage Studios, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved.
SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR (April O’Neil) is an award-winning actress who is well known to both film and television audiences. She stars in four upcoming independent features to be released in 2007, including the romantic comedy/drama “The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing,” opposite Alec Baldwin; “The Air I Breathe,” with Forest Whitaker, Kevin Bacon, Andy Garcia, Emile Hirsch and Brendan Fraser; “Addicted,” in which she plays a woman whose life is thrown into chaos after a freak car accident; and “Southland Tales,” an ensemble piece set in Los Angeles of the not-too-distant future as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Gellar stars opposite The Rock and Seann William Scott in the film, which premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
Her previous film credits include “The Grudge” and its recent sequel “The Grudge 2”; “Scooby-Doo” and its sequel “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed”; “Harvard Man”; “Cruel Intentions”; “Scream 2”; and “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” She most recently lent her voice to the animated feature “Happily N’Ever After.”
Gellar is perhaps best known for her role on the long-running series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” in which she starred as the title character. During the show’s seven-season run, she earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Earlier in her career, Gellar won an Emmy Award and earned another Emmy nomination for her work on the popular ABC daytime drama “All My Children.”
Apart from her acting work, Gellar is involved in a wide range of charitable organizations, including Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Project Angel Food and the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation.
MAKO (Splinter) had a successful career that spanned five decades and encompassed more than 50 features and more than 100 television appearances. In 1967, he was honored with Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his major feature film debut performance in Robert Wise’s “The Sand Pebbles.” His subsequent film credits included “The Hawaiians,” “Conan the Barbarian,” “Tucker: The Man and His Dream,” “Pacific Heights,” “Rising Sun,” “Seven Years in Tibet,” “Pearl Harbor” and, most recently, “Memoirs of a Geisha,” to name only a portion.
On television, he was seen in guest roles on series dating back to the mid-1960s, and more recently including “The West Wing,” “Monk,” “Charmed” and “7th Heaven.” His television credits also included such telefilms as “When Hell Was in Session,” Columbo: Murder Under Glass,” “Farewell to Manzanar” and “If Tomorrow Comes.”
Mako also worked on the stage, most notably in the Broadway musical “Pacific Overtures,” for which he received a Tony Award nomination in 1976. He was also the first artistic director of the nation’s premier Asian American theatre organization, East West Players, based in Los Angeles, and was later named Artistic Director Emeritus of the company.
KEVIN SMITH (Diner Cook) has seen it all—from the surprise critical and commercial success he received for his debut film “Clerks,” to the disappointing critical and commercial drubbing he took on his second outing, “Mallrats.” He caught a break on his third film, the critically hailed “Chasing Amy,” managed not to get killed by religious zealots over his fourth film, the comedic meditation “Dogma,” and made a very profitable ninety-five minute in-joke with “Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back.” The joke, however, was on him once “Jersey Girl” hit screens. Mercifully, there was the made-classy-with-Roman-Numerals “Clerks II” to the rescue, the film that offered a second visit with both the characters (Dante and Randal) and the accolades (an eight-minute standing ovation in Cannes and the Audience Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival) that launched his career.
Along the way, Smith has also found time to make himself a nuisance by smearing his name all over John Pierson’s indie-film bible, Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes. He’s published the screenplays to six of his films, written comic books featuring not only his own characters (the multiple-printed Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob), but also legendary mainstays of the superhero world (the award-winning Daredevil and Spider-Man and the Black Cat at Marvel Comics, and the award-winning Green Arrow at DC Comics), and written a monthly column for UK based Arena Magazine – the lion’s share of which were reprinted in the best-selling book Silent Bob Speaks. With his View Askew partner, Scott Mosier, he’s also executive-produced four low-budget, first-film efforts (including Bryan Johnson’s “Vulgar”), one large-budget, multiple Academy Award winner (“Good Will Hunting”), and a pair of Sundance-selected documentaries (“Reel Paradise” and “Small Town Gay Bar”).
Besides “Mallrats” and “Jersey Girl,” however, Smith has survived other humbling “creative” experiences that he’s inexplicably failed to suppress—including his animated series version of “Clerks,” which was unceremoniously aired only twice.
Smith was one of the first filmmakers to venture into cyberspace, establishing the insanely popular View Askewniverse website (www.viewaskew.com) in the mid-nineties, which in turn spawned a bevy of other Smith-centric sites, including his online diary entitled “My Boring-Ass Life,” found at www.silentbobspeaks.com. And if the film thing doesn’t pan out, there’s always retail: Smith owns two comic book stores, both named Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash (one in Red Bank, New Jersey and the other in Westwood, Los Angeles).
As for the hood ornaments he’s collected, there’s plenty of tin to go around: the Filmmaker’s Trophy at Sundance for “Clerks,” the Prix de la Jeunesse and the International Critic’s Week Award at the Cannes Film Festival, also for “Clerks,” the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for “Chasing Amy,” and a Humanitas Award for “Good Will Hunting.”
Smith also received the Defender of Democracy Award from Norman Lear’s People for the American Way for his production of “Dogma.” For his writing in the comics field, Smith has received a Harvey Award, a Wizard Fan Award, and an Eagle Award; in addition, Green Arrow: Quiver was named as one of 2003’s Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Service. In the fall of 2002, the town of Paulsboro, New Jersey named a street after him: Kevin Smith Way. In 2004, the Video Software Dealers Association gave Smith the DVD Visionary Award, and, in 2005, he collected the Independent Spirit Award from Britain’s Empire Magazine. Most recently, in April of 2006, he was given UCLA’s Jack Benny Award for Comedy, joining a prestigious list of previous honorees that includes Johnny Carson, John Belushi, David Letterman, John Cleese, and Adam Sandler.
Smith most recently starred in the romantic comedy/drama “Catch and Release,” with Jennifer Garner.
At the end of the day, the two titles Smith touts most proudly are “husband” and “father.” He married wife Jennifer in April 1999 and celebrated the birth of their daughter, Harley Quinn, in June of that same year (you do the math).
PATRICK STEWART provides the voice for Winters in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and The Weinstein Company’s “TMNT,” distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Photo by Peter Winterstellar
PATRICK STEWART (Winters) is an internationally respected actor, known for successfully bridging the gap between the worlds of classical theatre and contemporary film and television. Stewart most recently starred in “X-Men: The Last Stand,” the third installment of the blockbuster “X-Men” films, in which he reprised the role of Professor Charles Xavier.
He also starred in four installments of another successful movie franchise, the “Star Trek” features, bringing the character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard to the big screen in “Star Trek: Generations,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “Star Trek: Insurrection” and “Star Trek: Nemesis.” For his portrayal of Captain Picard on the television show “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Stewart received a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 1995. In addition to starring on the series for seven seasons, Stewart also directed several episodes.
Stewart earned another SAG Award nomination for his performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in TNT’s 1999 presentation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” which he also executive produced. The television adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” continued Stewart’s cherished association with the Dickens classic. In 1991, he introduced his widely acclaimed solo presentation of “A Christmas Carol,” in which he plays all of the story’s more than 40 characters. Opening the show on Broadway, he went on to win a Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance. When Stewart took the play to London in 1993, he garnered an Olivier Award for Best Solo Performance and another Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor. He has since performed “A Christmas Carol” for rapt theatre audiences throughout the United States and England.
Bringing another literary classic to television, Stewart starred as Captain Ahab in the USA Network’s 1998 presentation of “Moby Dick,” earning Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. He more recently received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in Showtime’s remake of “A Lion in Winter.” Additionally, Stewart gained an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Made for Television Movie for his work as an executive producer on that project.
Stewart most recently starred in the Granada television series “Eleventh Hour.” His long list of television credits also includes such longform projects as “King of Texas,” “Animal Farm,” “The Canterville Ghost,” “In Search of Dr. Seuss,” “The Devil’s Disciple,” “Smiley’s People,” “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” “I, Claudius,” “North and South” and “The Gathering Storm.”
His additional film credits include “Excalibur,” “Dune,” “Lifeforce,” “Lady Jane,” “L.A. Story,” “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” “Gunmen,” “Jeffrey,” “Conspiracy Theory,” “Masterminds,” “Dad Savage” and “Safe House.” He has also lent his distinctive voice to such animated features as “Prince of Egypt,” “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius,” “Chicken Little” and “Bambi II,” among others.
One of the most distinguished theatre actors of our time, Stewart has continued to return to the stage throughout his career. His extensive theatre repertoire encompasses numerous plays on Broadway and in London’s West End, as well as the stages of major cities in the U.S. and his native England. He also has a longstanding relationship with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which spans more than forty years and includes dozens of productions, both classical and contemporary.
On the 2001 New Year’s Honours list, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II conferred on Stewart the order of the Officer of the British Empire (O.B.E.).
ZIYI ZHANG (Karai) made her English-language film debut in Rob Marshall’s award-winning drama “Memoirs of a Geisha.” For her role, Zhang received Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Actress. She is currently filming “Horsemen,” a psychological thriller, in which she stars with Dennis Quaid.
Zhang was previously recognized for her role in Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning action drama “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” winning an Independent Spirit Award and a Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as gaining a BAFTA Award nomination in the same category. She received another BAFTA Award nomination for her work in Zhang Yimou’s “House of Flying Daggers,” for which she also won the Huabiao Film Award, one of China’s premiere film accolades.
Zhang also starred in Wong Kar-Wai’s acclaimed film “2046,” for which she was named Best Actress by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society and won a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress. She most recently starred in Feng Xiaogang’s “The Banquet,” for which she was nominated for Best Actress at the 2007 Asian Film Festival.
Zhang’s other film credits include the Cannes Film Festival selection “Princess Raccoon,” for director Seijun Suzuki; Yong Hou’s “Jasmine Flower,” for which Zhang received a Golden Rooster for Best Actress; Lou Ye’s “Purple Butterfly,” which was a Palme d’Or selection at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival; and Zhang Yimou’s martial arts actioner “Hero,” which earned Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film.
Zhang attended China’s most prestigious drama school, the Central Drama College in Beijing. She made her film debut in Zhang Yimou’s award-winning film “The Road Home,” which later screened at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
In May of 2006, Zhang became the youngest person to serve on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival.
LAURENCE FISHBURNE (Narrator) has been honored for his work on both the stage and screen. In 1994, he earned an Academy Award nomination for his searing portrayal of Ike Turner in the hit biopic “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” He more recently shared in two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast: one in 2004 for his role in Clint Eastwood’s “Mystic River,” and another this year as a member of the ensemble cast of the acclaimed historical feature “Bobby.”
Fishburne, who began acting at the age of 10, was only 15 years old when he won a starring role in Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War epic “Apocalypse Now.” He went on to work with Coppola on “Rumble Fish,” “Gardens of Stone” and “The Cotton Club.” In addition, Fishburne has collaborated twice with noted director John Singleton, on “Boyz ‘N the Hood” and “Higher Learning,” earning an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor for the latter. He also starred as the enigmatic Morpheus in the three installments of the groundbreaking “Matrix” franchise: “The Matrix,” “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions.”
In 2000, Fishburne made his feature film directorial debut “Once in the Life,” which he also starred in, produced and wrote, based on his own one-act play “Riff Raff.” Fishburne more recently starred in and produced the inspiring drama “Akeelah and the Bee.” His other film credits include “Mission: Impossible III,” “Assault on Precinct 13,” “Hoodlum,” “Event Horizon,” “Othello,” “Just Cause,” “Bad Company,” “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” “Deep Cover,” “Class Action,” “King of New York,” “Red Heat,” Spike Lee’s “School Daze” and Steven Spielberg’s “The Color Purple.”
On the small screen, Fishburne starred in and executive produced the acclaimed telefilm “Miss Evers’ Boys,” for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Made for Television Movie and earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor. He had previously garnered Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations and won an NAACP Image Award for his performance in the HBO movie “The Tuskegee Airmen.” He also won an Emmy Award for his role in the premiere episode of Robert De Niro’s series “Tribeca.” His television work also includes the HBO movie “Always Outnumbered,” and the telefilms “A Rumor of War,” “For Us the Living” and “Decoration Day.”
In 1992, Fishburne won a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Theatre World Award for his work in the Broadway production of August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running,” in which he reprised the role of Sterling Johnson, which he originated at the Yale Repertory Theatre. In 1999, he returned to the Broadway stage to star opposite Stockard Channing in “The Lion in Winter.”
MITCHELL WHITFIELD (Donatello) counts “TMNT” as his first animated feature film, although he has appeared on stage, screen and television. Starting his career on the New York stage, Whitfield starred in productions of Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Biloxi Blues,” before making his major motion picture debut in “Reversal of Fortune.” His subsequent credits include “Dogfight,” “My Cousin Vinny,” “Sergeant Bilko,” “I Love You, Don’t Touch Me!,” “Best Men” and “Lost & Found.”
On television, Whitfield is perhaps best known for his recurring role as Barry the orthodontist on “Friends,” opposite Jennifer Aniston. His other credits include starring roles on the series “Minor Adjustments” and “Head Over Heels,” as well as guest starring roles on such shows as “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Whitfield has also been a top voice-over artist in recent years, and has been heard in commercials for Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Comcast, American Express, Burger King and Blockbuster Video, to name only a few. He can also be heard weekly as one of the stars of the hit ABC cartoon series “W.I.T.C.H.”
JAMES ARNOLD TAYLOR (Leonardo) has enjoyed success as a voice-over actor in every facet of the industry, from animated films to television cartoons, and from commercials to video games. On television, he can currently be heard as the voice of the title character on the CW cartoon series “Johnny Test,” as well as the voices of Wooldoor Sockbat on Comedy Central’s “Drawn Together,” Axel on Toon Disney’s “A.T.O.M.: Alpha Teens on Machines,” and Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Cartoon Network’s “Star Wars: Clone Wars.” He considers his greatest honor to be taking over the voice of Fred Flintstone in recent cartoons and commercials.
Taylor’s direct-to-video projects include “The Animatrix” and “Atlantis: Milo’s Return.” He has also lent his voice to more than 50 recent video game titles, including “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance,” the “Syphon Filter” series, and the “Final Fantasy X” series, as well as the games for such blockbuster films as “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “X-Men,” “Spider-Man,” “Shrek” and “The Lord of the Rings.”
In addition to creating original voices, Taylor is often called upon to re-create actors’ voices when taking over a role for video games, direct-to-video project or commercial. He also keeps busy from his home studio with regular promo work for Fox, Spike, G4, and Game Show Network, among others.
MIKEY KELLEY (Michelangelo) is a veteran voice-over actor who has lent his talent to a wide range of film and television animated projects, including “Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase,” “Rugrats: All Grown Up,” “Ben 10,” “Loonatics Unleashed,” “Rocket Power” and “The Land Before Time,” among others. Kelley has also been featured in a variety of video games, including “Tony Hawk’s Underground,” “Full Spectrum Warrior,” “Metal Gear Solid,” and the upcoming “Spider-Man 3.”
A native of Quincy, Massachusetts, Kelley is a graduate of Boston’s Emerson College. Shortly after relocating to Los Angeles, he landed his first major animation role when he was cast as the lead in “Invasion America” for The WB Network. The show became the first dramatic animated series to air in primetime on network television.
NOLAN NORTH (Raphael / Nightwatcher) is perhaps best known for his long-running role as Dr. Chris Ramsey on the daytime drama “Port Charles.” He has more recently appeared in guest roles on such series as “Ugly Betty,” “Big Love,” “NCIS,” “JAG” and “Six Feet Under.” In addition, his voice has been heard in the animated feature “The Wild,” the videos “Ultimate Avengers” and “Ultimate Avengers II,” and on episodes of the cartoon series “Ben 10” and “The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.” He will also voice the character of Cyclops in the new animated series “Wolverine and the X-Men.”
North has also done voice-over work for numerous video games, including “Lost Planet: Extreme Condition,” “Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express,” “Titan Quest,” “Cars,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow,” “Final Fantasy XII,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth,” “24: The Game,” “50 Cent: Bulletproof,” “Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard” and “Evil Dead: Regeneration,” among many others.
