After putting in his time in a series of studio comedies early this decade like Road Trip and 40 Days, 40 Nights, Paulo Costanzo found his indie groove, lending his wry presence to the Douglas Coupland-scripted Everything's Gone Green and the horror film Splinter. Now, as Evan Lawson on the USA series Royal Pains, he's got an out-of-the-box cable hit to his name. Movieline talked to the 30-year-old actor about improvisation, Josie and the Pussycats, and that whole "de-Jewing" kerfuffle.
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In an age where well-known actors aspire to become viral video stars, 18-year-old Bo Burnham is attempting the opposite. Already well-known to a certain age group for the witty songs he posts to Youtube ("My Whole Family..." and "High School Party" are two of his biggest hits), he's been taken under the wing of Judd Apatow, who's shepherding a Burnham-written rebuttal to High School Musical. That association has landed him a cameo in Apatow's upcoming Funny People (where he harangues Jason Schwartzman in the film's sitcom spoof Yo Teach!), an accomplishment which might seem more impressive if Burnham hadn't already put out an EP and headlined his own Comedy Central special. We talked to the young multihyphenate about how it all came together.
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Though he's enjoyed success as an independent film actor and even toplined a television series, Jeremy Renner's commanding performance in Kathryn Bigelow's upcoming thriller The Hurt Locker is poised to catapult him to a whole new level of recognition. As Staff Sergeant William James, Renner takes an already tense onscreen profession -- defusing bombs as part of the U.S. Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) -- and invests it with layers of riveting unpredictability. He talked candidly to Movieline about the explosive role and the perils of making an independent action film with no money.
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Though he's only 19 and just starred in his first movie, Alden Ehrenreich has already received the imprimatur of two cinematic titans: Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg. The latter rang Ehrenreich years ago after seeing him perform in a bat mitzvah video, and his guidance led Ehrenreich to pursue acting as a career. Then, after a couple of guest television guest spots and a stint at NYU's theater school, Coppola plucked him out of academia to star opposite Vincent Gallo in his new film, Tetro. We talked to the young actor about his quick rise, his cinematic mentors, and his take on Gallo's notorious sperm salesmanship.
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From the very first minute of True Blood's second season (beginning June 14 on HBO), Rutina Wesley's Tara steps to the fore as this year's pivotal character. Sure, Sookie (Anna Paquin) may have all the vampire-lovin' fun, but it's Tara who falls under the spell of the mysterious Mary Ann (Michelle Forbes) while at the same time dealing with a close-to-home murder and a hunky new love interest (Mehcad Brooks). We spoke with Wesley about the job that made her cry, what she's learned from Anna Paquin, and how Tara's about to become a changed woman.
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Since co-creating the sketch comedy group The Lonely Island with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone hasn't strayed far from his collaborators. The three were hired together by Saturday Night Live four years ago, and writers Taccone and Schaffer crafted many of the digital shorts that made Samberg a star. Taccone himself acted in the group's feature film effort, Hot Rod, and his profile was raised further when he co-starred with Samberg in the trio's "Jizz in My Pants" (the first video off The Lonely Island's debut album, Incredibad), but as Chaka in the Will Ferrell comedy Land of the Lost, he's finally striking out on his own.
We spoke to Taccone about his primitive Lost character, his facility for made-up languages, and the audition that almost landed him a spot in SNL's cast.
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Ever seen a striking new actor and wondered, "Who's that?" Now you'll know before you even have to ask. Welcome to The Verge, Movieline's weekly interview with up-and-comers on the verge of a serious career boost.
Is Shoshana Bush the next Anna Faris? The Wayans family sure hopes so -- after launching Faris to stardom with their Scary Movie series, the clan has plucked Bush to topline their newest spoof, Dance Flick (opening this Friday). I asked the California native to weigh in on her role, her debt to Faris, and the constantly growing Wayans family tree.
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Ever seen a striking new actor and wondered, "Who's that?" Now you'll know before you even have to ask. Welcome to The Verge, Movieline's weekly interview with up-and-comers on the verge of a serious career boost.
As Liam on the rebooted 90210, 26-year-old Matt Lanter gives the series the bad boy it's long needed (and fulfills the franchise quota of late-twenties actors playing high schoolers -- bonus!). Tapping into that dark side isn't foreign to Lanter; he first gained notice when his football star assaulted Hayden Panettiere on Heroes, and he voices the ultimate fallen hero, Anakin Skywalker, on the Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars. "A lot of times, the stereotypical asshole jock looks like me," the self-effacing actor explained to Movieline as we grilled him on his dark roles (though we couldn't resist asking about his very first credit: Bravo's 2004 male model contest Manhunt).
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Ever seen a striking new actor and wondered, "Who's that?" Now you'll know before you even have to ask. Welcome to The Verge, Movieline's weekly interview with up-and-comers on the verge of a serious career boost.
In the new Star Trek reboot, Chris Pine's James T. Kirk struggles to live up to the legacy his father has set at Starfleet -- and so, too, does the prologue involving that dead dad establish the whiz-bang tone the whole movie must follow. Australian actor Chris Hemsworth plays the elder Kirk, and as he tells Movieline, he understands the long shadow that family can cast. But what happens when he's competing with one of his brothers for a role in the newest Hollywood blockbuster?
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Ever seen a striking new actor and wondered, "Who's that?" Now you'll know before you even have to ask. Welcome to The Verge, Movieline's weekly interview with up-and-comers on the verge of a serious career boost.
As Hugh Jackman's love interest Kayla Silver Fox in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Lynn Collins is the lone ingenue amidst a cast of veterans (well, and will.i.am), but the Texas native has been building up memorable parts long before her big blockbuster moment. In the last few years, Collins earned major plaudits as Portia in the Al Pacino-toplined The Merchant of Venice, and she lit up the first season of Alan Ball's True Blood before her character was cruelly snuffed out. Collins spoke to Movieline and gave us the dish on her Wolverine co-stars, her thoughts on the film's internet leak, and the one show that she geeks out for even more than Ball's vampire drama.
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Ever seen a striking new actor and wondered, "Who's that?" Now you'll know before you even have to ask. Welcome to The Verge, Movieline's weekly interview with up-and-comers on the verge of a serious career boost.
As the deeply disinterested intern April in the Amy Poehler sitcom Parks and Recreation, Aubrey Plaza may be the lone newcomer in a cast of comedic heavy-hitters, but she's got a slate of upcoming projects that's guaranteed to up her profile. In addition to her scene-stealing Parks role, Plaza nabbed the part of Seth Rogen's love interest in Judd Apatow's summer dramedy Funny People, and her presence in Edgar Wright's rising-star-filled Scott Pilgrim vs. the World anoints her as one to watch. Plaza spoke to us about the unconventional way she won two of her biggest roles, and gave us the skinny on one increasingly skinny costar.
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Ever watched a film and wondered, "Who's that?" Now you'll know before you even have to ask. Welcome to The Verge, Movieline's weekly interview with up-and-coming actors on the verge of a serious career boost.
You may not know Paul Rust by his face, but he's definitely got some notable aliases. You've heard, perhaps, of Quentin Tarantino's upcoming World War II film Inglourious Basterds? He's one of 'em. Maybe you've seen the trailer for the Hayden Panettiere high school comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper? Yup: he's the "I." Paul Rust's profile may still be percolating, but at least he's two for two with title roles.
We spoke to the 27-year-old actor about his unlikely trajectory from Los Angeles sketch comic to leading man--and the unlikely weapons training he received to play one of Tarantino's avenging Jews.
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