Entertainment Magazine

THE PACIFIER

MOVIE PRODUCTION NOTES

Diesel as Daddy: How Vin Diesel Tackled the Role of a Father Figure to Five Kids on the Set

VIN DIESEL (Shane Wolfe) has become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars and recently starred in “The Chronicles of Riddick,” which he also produced, reprising the role he created in the science fiction hit “Pitch Black.” Following up THE PACIFIER, Vin will star in “Find Me Guilty” for famed director Sidney Lumet. The film is a true story, a courtroom drama about a mob family on trial and one brave member who defended himself for three years in court and got off. Diesel is virtually transformed in this film playing a 47-year-old Italian mobster, Jackie DiNorscio, and his intense dramatic flare will become apparent to critics and fans alike.

Diesel also starred in the action hit “The Fast and the Furious,” directed by Rob Cohen, for which Diesel was honored with 2002 MTV Movie Award nominations both as Best Male Performance and Best On-Screen Team. He then teamed up again with Rob Cohen in his starring role as Xander Cage in last summer’s hit “XXX.”

Most recently, Diesel was seen starring as an undercover DEA agent in “A Man Apart,” directed by F. Gary Gray. Diesel’s other motion picture credits include his standout performance in “Boiler Room,” the voice of the title character in the animated feature “The Iron Giant,” which won an Annie Award for Best Animated Feature, and the role of Private Carpazo in “Saving Private Ryan,” opposite Tom Hanks, for which Diesel was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the film’s ensemble cast.

In the early 1990’s Diesel wrote, produced, directed and starred in his first film, a short, “Multi-facial,” which was screened at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. He then wrote his first full-length feature, “Strays,” in which he also was the star, director and producer.

This raw urban drama was selected to be in competition at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. Raised in Greenwich Village, Diesel gave his first stage performance at the age of seven at Theatre for the New City and continued to work in theatre throughout his childhood. After high school, he enrolled at Hunter College, where he majored in English with a concentration on creative writing. It was soon after that he began writing screenplays.

LAUREN GRAHAM (Principal Claire Fletcher) has been nominated for a Golden Globe ®Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series and two Screen Actors Guild nominations for Female Actor in a Drama Series for her sarcastic, yet sensitive, portrayal of Lorelai Gilmore in the WB’s critical-acclaimed series “Gilmore Girls.”

The role also earned Graham a Best Actress nod from Viewers for Quality Television, as well as an award as Best Actress in a Drama from the Family Friendly Forum. She recently starred opposite Billy Bob Thornton in the critically acclaimed “Bad Santa,” which co-starred Bernie Mac and John Ritter and was directed by Terry Zwigoff.

This past summer, Graham appeared on stage at The Williamstown Theatre Festival starring in the comedy “Once in a Lifetime.” Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, Graham quickly landed a recurring role as Richard’s (Malcolm Gets) relentlessly sunny girlfriend, Shelly, in the first season of “Caroline in the City.” Recurring roles followed as Graham played an efficiency expert hoping to downsize the staff of “NewsRadio,” and a Los Angeles studio executive who pursued Benjamin Bratt when his marriage was on the rocks on “Law & Order.”

In addition, Graham guest-starred on “Seinfeld” and “3rd Rock from the Sun.” She was a regular on the comedy series “Conrad Bloom” and “Townies” and then starred as a high school administrator dealing with her disruptive niece on “M.Y.O.B.” prior to landing the role of Lorelai on “Gilmore Girls.”

Showing her versatility in both comedic and dramatic roles, Graham appeared on the big screen opposite Keanu Reeves in the Warner Bros. feature film “Sweet November.” She starred in the independent film “Dill Scallion” on VH-1, which was a mockumentary on the world of country music in which Graham had very big hair. Graham’s first feature film was the thriller “Nightwatch,” starring Patricia Arquette and Ewan McGregor.

She also played Renee Zellweger’s best friend and confidante in the Meryl Streep drama “One True Thing.” Next, Graham will appear in “Mogul” with Jeff Bridges. Growing up an avid equestrian in Northern Virginia, she attended Barnard College in New York, where she majored in English. She then earned an M.F.A. in acting from Southern Methodist University. Graham currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

FAITH FORD (Julie Plummer) earned five Emmy nominations and two consecutive Golden Globe ® Award nominations for her ten-year portrayal of reporter ‘Corky Sherwood’ on the CBS series “Murphy Brown.” Ford currently stars opposite Kelly Ripa in ABC’s “Hope & Faith.” Her other recent credits include the ABC Family Channel television feature “Moms on Strike,” starring opposite Tim Matheson, Florence Henderson and Spencer Breslin.

Ford also starred for two seasons as Shelly Kilmartin, a probation officer who is the object of Norm Macdonald’s affection on the ABC series, “Norm.” Between “Murphy Brown” and “Norm,” Ford headlined her own series, “Maggie Winters,” for CBS. In addition to her acting career, Ford made her writing debut this spring with an exciting new cookbook, Cooking With Faith.

This multi-generational Southern cookbook draws on Ford’s childhood in Louisiana where she learned how to cook down-home food at the knees of her grandmother and mother. Ford was raised in the quiet community of Pineville, Louisiana. In high school, she acted in school plays, and in her senior year, she was a finalist in Teen Magazine’s annual model search. Faith moved to New York City when she was 17 where she worked in commercials, took acting classes, and did some modeling. At 18, Ford landed a role on the soap “Another World.”

After a year on the show, she decided to move to Los Angeles to further pursue her career as an actress. Relocating to Los Angeles in 1985 and continuing her acting studies, she began acquiring prime time television credits.

She was a regular on the series “Popcorn Kid” and a recurring character on “thirtysomething” before meeting “Murphy Brown” executive producer Diane English. Faith also starred in Rob Reiner’s feature “North,” NBC’s sci-fi action thriller “Night Visitors,” and Lifetime Television’s “Her Desperate Choice.”

Academy Award ®nominee CAROL KANE (Helga) recently appeared in Disney’s “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” and the independent film “Cosmopolitan.” She received an Oscar ®nomination for her role in director Joan Micklin Silver’s 1975 film, “Hester Street.”

Her numerous film credits include “Carnal Knowledge,” “The Last Detail,” “Annie Hall,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “The World’s Greatest Lover,” “When a Stranger Calls,” “The Princess Bride,” “Scrooged,” “The Lemon Sisters,” “The Pallbearer,” “Office Killer,” “Tree’s Lounge,” “Addams Family Values” and “My First Mister.” For television, Kane won two Emmy ®Awards for her role on the now-classic series “Taxi” and received a third Emmy ®nomination for her appearance on “Chicago Hope.”

Her many other television credits include “Pearl,” “Seinfeld,” “Brooklyn Bridge,” “Beggars & Choosers,” “Noah’s Ark” and “Audrey’s Rain.” A well-respected stage actor, Kane is currently on tour with the Tony Award-nominated “Wicked.” Kane last starred on Broadway in Larry Gelbart’s comedy “Sly Fox” opposite Richard Kind. Additional theatre credits include “Control Freaks,” “Signature,” “The Lucky Spot” and “Family Week,” by Beth Henley; Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” “Macbeth,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; John Cassavete’s “A Woman of Mystery”; Terrence McNally’s “Frankie & Johnny,” “The Exonerated” (2004 production) and “Don’t Make Me Laugh” with Gene Wilder. Most recently, Kane was honored to be the contributing director for Geraldine Hughes’one-woman show “Belfast Blues.”

BRAD GARRETT (Vice Principal Murney) plays Ray Romano’s big brother Robert on the hit CBS series “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which has earned him three Emmy ® nominations and two Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Garrett, raised in Woodland Hills, California, was born on April 14, 1960.

After high school graduation, Garrett began performing his standup act at various Los Angeles comedy clubs, getting his start at the Ice House in Pasadena and The Improv in Hollywood. His first appearance at age 23 on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” made him one of the youngest comedians ever to perform on the program.

From this appearance, Garrett’s stand-up career took off, garnering him headlining gigs at national venues as well as opening spots for legends, including Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Julio Iglesias, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr. In 1989, The Las Vegas Review Journal named Garrett the “Best Comedian” working on the Strip. At this point, Garrett made his foray into the world of television.

Garrett’s television guest roles range from stints on “Roseanne” and “Mad About You,” to his trademark role of the obsessive mechanic on “Seinfeld” (you may remember him stealing Jerry’s Saab in order to teach him a lesson about poor auto maintenance). Garrett’s voice-over work includes giving life to Fatso, the ghost in the 1995 mega-hit feature “Casper,” and can be heard playing the part of Dim, the rhinoceros beetle, in the Disney/Pixar feature, “A Bug’s Life.” He also worked on Disney/Pixar’s latest blockbuster, “Finding Nemo.”

He has since been seen in HBO’s “Don King: Only in America”; “George B,” with David Morse, which was a finalist at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival; “Suicide Kings,” with Christopher Walken; Showtime’s “Clubland,” with Alan Alda; and director Woody Allen’s “Sweet & Lowdown,” with Sean Penn and Uma Thurman. Garrett has also guest hosted “The Late Show” for a sidelined David Letterman.

In 2002, Garrett played Jackie Gleason in the critically acclaimed CBS film, “Gleason,” for which he earned an Emmy ®Award nomination and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Movie or Miniseries. He’ll next be seen on the big screen in “The Moguls” with Jeff Bridges.

BRITTANY SNOW (Zoe Plummer), one of the brightest and most engaging acting talents to emerge in recent years, is currently gracing television screens every week in the hit NBC series “American Dreams.” Snow plays Meg Pryor, a teen in the 1960’s struggling to find balance between her family’s strict upbringing and her own desires as a young woman.

A native of Tampa, Florida, Brittany began her acting career appearing in and lending her voice to numerous national commercials. She also starred in theater performances, including the national tour of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Snow made the transition to television when she landed a starring role on the long-running daytime drama “Guiding Light.” She played troubled teen Susan, Harley’s long-lost daughter. Brittany would commute on the weekends from Florida to New York City where the show was taped. Additional television credits include “Safe Harbor,” “Sea Quest DSV” and the pilot “Murphy’s Dozen.”

Fifteen-year-old newcomer MAX THIERIOT (Seth Plummer) most recently starred in the action comedy “Catch That Kid” for Twentieth Century Fox. He lives in Northern California with his family. THE PACIFIER is Max’s second feature film.

MORGAN YORK (Lulu Plummer) most recently appeared in the hit comedy “Cheaper by the Dozen,” which won the Young Artist Award for Best Ensemble. Last season, Morgan guest starred on television’s “Life with Bonnie” and appeared on “The Practice.” She began acting at the age of eight months when she starred in the first-ever national television commercial for ThermoScan ear thermometers.

Morgan lived for several years in New York City where she attended the City and Country School of Greenwich Village and the Joffrey School of Ballet. She made a number of appearances on “Sesame Street,” over two seasons. She also appeared in the short film “The Vest,” winner of the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the Florida Film Festival.

NEXT: THE FILMMAKERS