T.J. Miller -- perhaps best known to movie fans as Hud from Cloverfield -- just wants to make sure you give his new film Yogi Bear a fair shake before you judge it. Then again, Miller, who in 2008 was named one of the 12 rising stars in comedy by Entertainment Weekly, has a bit at stake for this film considering that he theoretically could have been eaten by a real bear during his audition.
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Of all the conversations encircling The Social Network on its way to awards-season glory, few have had the surprising resonance accompanying Armie Hammer's performance at Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss -- identical twins who go to war against their Harvard peer Mark Zuckerberg for the rights to Facebook. A marvel of both technical acting and digital wizardry, Hammer's dual performance is all the more revelatory for the relatively unheralded 24-year-old actor who pulled it off. And to think we indirectly owe it all to Home Alone.
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The first time you probably saw 14-year-old actor Jimmy Bennett was when he was jumping out of a plummeting car in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek as "Young James T. Kirk." The funny thing about Bennett though is that he's been an active member of Hollywood since his sixth birthday, appearing opposite such heavy hitters as Harrison Ford, Steve Carell, Bruce Willis, Ryan Reynolds and Eddie Murphy. How did you spend your childhood?
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When it rains, it pours for some young actors. Take Jessica Chastain or Gemma Arterton, who've spoken here recently about the flukes of scheduling that have made 2010 the busiest years of their lives. Or take Andrea Riseborough, the 29-year-old British actress who brought not one, not two, but three prestige films to this year's Toronto Film Festival -- including this week's Made in Dagenham and breakthrough-level work opposite Sam Riley in Brighton Rock.
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It might seem a bit early to turn the spotlight on 23-year-old Miles Teller given that his feature-film debut, as a tortured teenager in John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole, won't hit screens until December. The Pennsylvania native and recent L.A. transplant doesn't even have a Wikipedia page yet, for goodness sake! But that'll change as audiences watch him holding his own against Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart in Mitchell's emotionally intense domestic drama, based on David Lindsay-Abaire's Tony-winning play of the same name.
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Just as the film whose title bears her character's name is something of a mixed bag, you could view its closing credit "Introducing Jessica Chastain as Jolene" a number of different ways. It could be a thinly veiled announcement that a star is born, which would be a little misleading considering the raves Chastain's earned since at least 2006, when she shared the stage with Al Pacino in Salome. It could signal her introduction to the screen, though the actress has been doing TV since landing a holding deal with John Wells right out of Juilliard in 2004. And even if we take it all very literally as a big-screen bow, Chastain has since put eight movies between her and Jolene -- including Terrence Malick's new one -- and it's virtually coincidence that this came first.
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When speaking to Whitney Able, it's hard to tell what she found more frightening: The alien life forms in her new film Monsters or the real-life dangers of shooting in the drug war ravaged mountains of Mexico -- a location so dangerous that bodyguards were assigned by the government of Mexico, free of charge. Also adding to the complexity of this particular production, there was no script to speak of -- just a general outline. So if or when first-time leading lady Able looks a little stressed on-screen, that may not be 100 percent acting.
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Zack Pearlman wants you to see Jackass 3D. Now, keep in mind, Zack Pearlman isn't in Jackass 3D -- though, considering that the movie he is actually in, The Virginity Hit, admittedly underperformed at the box office (while sharing much of the current hit's DIY aesthetic), we might as well discuss the current number-one film in the country. Oh, and masturbation -- the completely natural human act that led Pearlman to a chance encounter with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
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Édgar Ramírez isn't exactly what you'd call a stranger to American audiences, having delivered supporting performances in Stateside releases from Domino (2005) to The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). But no one has seen the 33-year-old Venezuelan native in a part quite as significant as the title role in Carlos, Olivier Assayas's sprawling, acclaimed biopic about notorious terrorist Carlos the Jackal. "Role of a lifetime" might be an understatement.
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In one giant, risky leap, Sarah Butler has pretty much traversed the spectrum of breakthroughs in her brief acting career to date, moving from playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast performances at Disneyland to the lead in the unrated remake of the infamous 1978 rape-revenge thriller I Spit on Your Grave.
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The last two years have been quite busy for Ben Schwartz. The UCB comedian moved out to Los Angeles and almost immediately found himself writing jokes for the Oscars (he co-wrote the recession-themed musical number for Hugh Jackman when he hosted in 2009), co-starring alongside Michael C. Hall, Sarah Silverman and Rainn Wilson in the upcoming Peepworld, and being cast on shows like Parks and Recreation and Undercovers. Not bad for a guy who used to fax jokes to Saturday Night Live and David Letterman.
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As gold-digging courtesan Charmaine in the new Woody Allen film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Lucy Punch spends most of her screen time acting alongside one Anthony Hopkins -- not too bad for a breakout role. The British actress first gained national exposure here on the CBS series The Class, but left the show before it's eventual cancellation to pursue other projects. It was a risky but, as it turns out, wise move. I spoke to Punch about her role in Stranger, her... interesting wardrobe for both this film and Dinner for Schmucks, learned about her dead-on Midwestern accent the hard way and realized that watching CSI: Miami is certainly not on her list of leisure activities.
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Look out: Here comes another Skarsgård. The fourth in the venerable Swedish acting clan to get into full-time acting after father Stellan and brothers Alexander and Gustaf (younger brother Valter may be right behind him), Bill Skarsgård arrived last week with his leading-man debut Behind Blue Skies, a '70s-era coming-of-age tale about a Swedish teenager whose escape to a resort job yields first love, new responsibilities and -- wait for it -- his involvement in the biggest drug scandal in the nation's history. Not a bad breakthrough for a kid who just few years ago used to think he'd wind up as a doctor. Movieline caught up with Skarsgård the day after the TIFF premiere of director Hannes Holm's drama.
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As gay teen Marshall on United States of Tara, Keir Gilchrist often seems to be too preternaturally sensitive for the real world, and his lead role in the Toronto-premiering It's Kind of a Funny Story (adapted from the Ned Vizzini novel by indie directors Ryan Boden and Anna Fleck) takes that personality type to its logical conclusion: His character, Craig, checks himself into a mental hospital after life seems like too much to bear. Gilchrist talked to Movieline about booking the role, improvising with costar Zach Galifianakis, and why he's not a big fan of preparation.
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People often like to compare Odette Yustman to Megan Fox, and on the one hand, you can see their point. Both actresses are knockout brunettes, and when Yustman plays the former high school mean girl tormenting the nerdy Kristen Bell in You Again, it's almost as though she's doing a less supernatural take on Fox's haughty Jennifer Body's performance. The key difference is that Yustman has a more expansive range and a more extroverted nature, especially in person, when she practically leaps from her seat while answering questions. The super-sweet 25-year-old told Movieline how good it is to be bad, what's behind the world domination of her You Again costar Betty White, and what auteur she plans to stalk.
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