People with the Best Names
This list is not a comment on the actors or even their abilities but simply on whether or not they have an awesome name.
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Incisive, gravelly-voiced screen tough guy Powers Boothe was born on June 1, 1948 in Snyder, Texas, a sharecropper's son. Used to hard physical work "chopping cotton" as a youngster, he went on to become the first member of his family to attend university. He then proceeded to study acting via a fellowship with Southern Methodist University and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. His performing career began in repertory with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
In 1974, Boothe arrived in New York after theatrical stints in Connecticut and Philadelphia. It took another five years before he made his breakthrough on Broadway as a swaggering Texas cowboy in James McLure's comedy play "Lone Star". His Emmy-winning performance as Reverend Jim Jones in the miniseries Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980) led to a permanent move to Los Angeles. Lucrative screen offers followed and Boothe became firmly established as a leading actor after being well cast as Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (1983), HBO's first drama series, set in 1930s Los Angeles.
Though his portfolio of characters would eventually comprise assorted sheriffs, military brass and FBI agents, Boothe appreciated the indisputable fact that bad guys were often the "last in people's minds" and playing them could be "more fun". Arguably, his most convincing (and oddly likeable) villain was snarling gunslinger Curly Bill Brocius, confronting the Earps in Tombstone (1993). He went on to tackle such complex characters as White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995), hawkish Vice President Noah Daniels on 24 (2001) and industrialist power broker Lamar Wyatt in Nashville (2012).
One of his best remembered roles remains that of Cy Tolliver, the (fictional) owner of the (historical) Bella Union saloon and brothel, chief nemesis of Al Swearingen on HBO's Deadwood (2004). Boothe particularly enjoyed his lengthy soliloquies which reminded him of his time on the Shakespearean stage. The tall Texan with the penetrating eyes was rather gleefully (and enjoyably) over-the-top fiendish as Senator Roark in the post film noir Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) and managed (at least near the end) to inject some humanity into the role of Gideon Malick, the sinister head of HYDRA, in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013).
As is so often the case with actors of the 'hard-boiled school', Boothe has often been described as the very antithesis of the characters he essayed on screen. Sin City director Robert Rodriguez fittingly eulogised him as "a towering Texas gentleman and world class artist". Powers Boothe died in his sleep, in Los Angeles, at age 68 on the morning of May 14, 2017 of a heart attack after battling pancreatic cancer for six months.The person on this list most likely to share his first name with a superhero.- Actor
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Born and raised in London, England, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje began his career as a model in Milan. He graduated with a masters degree in Law from London's prestigious Kings College, before moving to Los Angeles to make the transition to acting. Fluent in several languages, including English, Italian, Yoruba and Swahili, he is best known for his roles in the movies Congo (1995) and The Mummy Returns (2001), and the HBO series Oz (1997).I have no idea how to pronounce this dude's name and that right there is his appeal. His enemies would be far to distracted by the frankly unnecessary amount of vowels in this guy's name. Before they could attack, Mr. Akinnnnuoyeoeoe-Agbajebaje would have dispatched each with fatal accuracy.- Actor
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Dirk Benedict was born in Montana on March 1st, 1945. He was raised in the country, far away from anything connected with movies or acting. He gathered his first experiences in acting (on a dare) in a college production of "Showboat" where he got the main part. His father, a lawyer, died when Dirk was 18, which was hard for him to take. While working on Georgia, Georgia (1972) in Sweden, he made the first contact with a macrobiotic diet and changed his eating habits drastically. He was 26 at that time. A few years later, doctors found that he had cancer of the prostate. He refused to accept the usual treatment and moved away to a secluded cottage. Dirk managed to cure himself from cancer by following the rules of his macrobiotic diet. When he got his part as "Starbuck" in Battlestar Galactica (1978), the doctors stated that he was in good health. Dirk's main successes were "Battlestar Galactica" and The A-Team (1983) in which he played "Templeton - The Face - Peck". He was formerly married to actress Toni Hudson and has two sons (George and Roland).At first glance, "Dirk Benedict" might not seem that impressive. Yet "Dirk" is exactly the kind of brief, strong, four-letter name the heroes in old-timey adventure serials had. "Benedict," meanwhile, implies old world anglo refinement.- Music Artist
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Johnny Cash was born February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas, to Carrie Cash (Rivers) and Raymond Cash. He made his first single, "Hey Porter", for Sun Records in 1955. In 1958 he moved to Columbia Records. He had long periods of drug abuse during the 1960s, but later that decade he successfully fought his addiction with the help of singer June Carter Cash, whom he married in 1968. In 1971 he appeared in the western A Gunfight (1971) with 'Kirk Douglas (I)'. Cash made only a few films, but quite a few appearances on television, both in series and made-for-TV films, and was especially effective as a rural Southern sheriff in the 1930s determined to bring to justice a wealthy landowner who committed murder because he believed he was above the law in Murder in Coweta County (1983), a drama based on a true story. In 1975 Cash wrote his autobiography, "Man In Black", which is now out of print. In the late 1980s he moved from Columbia Records to Mercury, then in the next decade moved again to American Recordings. Amongst his biggest hit records were "I Walk the Line", "Ring of Fire" and "A Boy Named Sue". After several years of ill health, he died of complications from diabetes on 12 September 2003, only a few months after the death of his beloved wife.Similar to Lucy Lawless, Johnny Cash has an awesome last name. Imagine being called "MR. CASH" and all the instant respect that would gain you.- Actress
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Pei-Pei Cheng was born on 4 December 1946 in Shanghai, China. She is an actress and producer, known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Lilting (2014) and Mulan (2020). She was previously married to Wen-Tung Yuan.Cheng Pei-pei is exactly what she sounds like: An awesome Asian lady who could kick the crap out of you.- Actor
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Drago was well known for his villainous parts (leading or supporting), and his rugged yet scary looks and evil smile. He was born William Eugene Burrows in Hugoton, Kansas. He became interested in acting and took his mother's maiden name "Drago" as a stage name. At first he worked as a stuntman in Kansas, then attended the University of Kansas. After graduating he worked as a radio host before joining an acting crew that led him to New York. He began his acting career at the end of 1970s.
After appearing in multiple TV series as a guest actor, he appeared in such low-budget films as: Windwalker (1980), Vamp (1986), Hunter's Blood (1986), Freeway (1988), Dark Before Dawn (1988), Gwang tin lung fo wooi (1989), True Blood (1989), Martial Law II: Undercover (1991), Lady Dragon 2 (1993) and Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow (1993). He also appeared in Walker, Texas Ranger (1993). Other well-known appearances were in: Mad Dog Time (1996), Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004) and The Hills Have Eyes (2006) (the remake), as the leader of mutant nomads. He did an extensive work on TV, most notably on Charmed (1998). He also produced an instructional acting video with his wife, Silvana Gallardo.For years, I would intentionally mispronounce Billy Drago's name as "Billy Dragon." Of course, I did. You would too. I bet Billy does it as well.- Actor
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Tyson Fury was born on 12 August 1988 in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England, UK. He is an actor, known for WWE Smackdown! (1999), WWE Raw (1993) and Undisputed (2023). He has been married to Paris Fury since 21 November 2008. They have six children.Tyson Fury is a boxing champion. Which is appropriate as his name sounds like somebody Rocky would fight.- Dick Hammer was a Los Angeles County Fire Captain hired to portray the Captain of LA County Fire Station 51 during the first season of Emergency! (1972). He was a former Starting Guard for the University of Southern California (USC)'s 1953-43 basketball team and was a member of the US Olympic Volleyball team at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games.
Before taking and passing the firefighter's exam in 1959, he was employed as the Director of Recreation for his home town of Long Beach. Before and during his career as a firefighter, Hammer did film and commercial work , including over 100 commercials. He was personally invited to audition for Emergency! (1972) by the show's producer, Robert A. Cinader. However, the shooting schedule for the show interfered with his work as a firefighter, and he left the series during the first season after ten episodes.
Hammer died in Long Beach, California on October 20, 1999, aged 69, from lung cancer.DICK! HAMMER! Ohmygawd, there's actually a guy named DICK HAMMER! lolololol - He was born in Reykjavik, Iceland and moved to the United States at the age of 5. Gunnar lived in Maine till he was 11, his family then moving to Texas, where he went to high school before attending the University of Texas. At the university, he did some theater work and majored in English and mathematics before going on to graduate in English and Scandinavian Studies. Despite graduating in the aforementioned fields, his first job out of high school was as a computer operator.
In the summer of 1973, he heard that Tobe Hooper and others were in town to work on a movie and decided to try out for a part. After interviewing with Tobe Hooper and the writer of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Kim Henkel, he was cast in the role of the disturbed, mentally handicapped killer, Leatherface.
After Chainsaw, Hansen went on to work as a freelance writer for magazines for several years before going on to write books, one later being set in Iceland about purported serial killer, Henry Lee Lucas. He has gone on to write multiple screenplays - one co-written with his partner Gary Jones, director of Mosquito (1994)).
Gunnar also directed a documentary on Greenland and had a stint designing web pages for GTE.Well, "Gunnar" has the word "gun" in it, so that right there is reason enough to include Mr. Hansen. However, "Hansen" is a fairly manly last name. Put them together and its like poetry. - Actor
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The son of writer/producer/actor Dwight Hauser, who worked on (amongst many other projects) the classic "Whistler" radio series, and Geraldine Hauser (the daughter of author Tom Thieness), he raised a child as a single father, having arrived in Hollywood "with thirty dollars and a box of pampers" - and actually earned his career accomplishments with hard work and dedication. He is the father of actor Cole Hauser.
Wings Hauser married his young music and filmmaking partner, actress/filmmaker Cali Lili on June 12, 2012. Having often been compared to Richard Widmark for some of his "mean" roles, he has played a variety of equally remarkable roles in films and on TV. After a high-school career centered in sports (his name "Wings" is taken from the wing-back position he played in football), he chose to lean toward the arts - acting and music (including an album of his original music for RCA) - instead of pursuing professional sports. Having descended from an artistic and talented family, this choice was a heartfelt one.His first name is Wings! WINGS!- Director
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Director. Writer. Producer. Actor. Poet. He studied history, literature and theatre for some time, but didn't finish it and founded instead his own film production company in 1963. Later in his life, Herzog also staged several operas in Bayreuth, Germany, and at the Milan Scala in Italy. Herzog has won numerous national and international awards for his poetic feature and documentary films.The only person crazy enough to keep Klaus Kinski under control was Werner Herzog, who I am fairly certain is actually a Norse god.- Actor
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Kane Hodder was born on April 8, 1955 in Auburn, California. He is best known for his role as horror icon Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Jason Goes to Hell (1993), and Jason X (2001). He is also known for his role as the deformed serial killer Victor Crowley in Hatchet (2006), Hatchet II (2010), and Hatchet III (2013)."Kane" was the name of the Biblical first murderer while "Hodder" sounds a bit like "Holder." Therefore, Kane Hodder's name suggests he is holding your life in his hands because he can murder you without a moment's notice.- Actor
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Djimon Hounsou was born in Cotonou, Benin, in west Africa to Albertine and Pierre Hounsou, a cook. He moved to Lyon, France, when he was 13. Hounsou has graced the catwalks of Paris and London as a popular male model. He has since left his modeling career and has worked on Gladiator (2000) by Ridley Scott and Amistad (1997) by Steven Spielberg.Isn't Djimon a Digimon?- Music Artist
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Engelbert Humperdinck was born on 2 May 1936 in Madras, Madras Presidency, British India [now Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India]. He is a music artist and actor, known for Game Night (2018), You Were Never Really Here (2017) and Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996). He was previously married to Patricia Healey.This is straight-up some cartoon bullshit. There's no way anyone who speaks the English language ever put these two words together before this dude came along. Respect for being completely ridiculous, Engelbert.- Actor
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Michael Ironside has made a strong and indelible impression with his often incredibly intense and explosive portrayals of fearsome villains throughout the years. He was born as Frederick Reginald Ironside on February 12, 1950 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Ironside was a successful arm wrestler in his teenage years. His initial ambition was to be a writer. At age fifteen, Michael wrote a play called "The Shelter" that won first prize in a Canada-wide university contest; He used the prize money to mount a production of this play. Ironside attended the Ontario College of Art, took acting lessons from Janine Manatis, and studied for three years at the Canadian National Film Board. Ironside worked in construction as a roofer prior to embarking on an acting career.
Ironside first began acting in movies in the late 1970s. He received plenty of recognition with his frightening turn as deadly and powerful psychic Darryl Revok in David Cronenberg's Scanners (1981). He was likewise very chilling as vicious misogynistic psychopath Colt Hawker in the underrated Visiting Hours (1982). Other memorable film roles include weary Detective Roersch in the sadly forgotten thriller Cross Country (1983), the crazed Overdog in the immensely enjoyable Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), the hard-nosed Jester in the blockbuster smash Top Gun (1986), ramrod Major Paul Hackett in Extreme Prejudice (1987), loner Vietnam veteran "Ben" in Nowhere to Hide (1987), the ferocious Lem Johnson in Watchers (1988), and lethal immortal General Katana in Highlander II: The Quickening (1991).
Moreover, Ironside has appeared in two highly entertaining science fiction features for Paul Verhoeven: At his savage best as the evil Richter in Total Recall (1990) and typically excellent as the rugged Lieutenant Jean Rasczak in Starship Troopers (1997). Ironside showed a more tender and thoughtful side with his lovely and touching performance as a hardened convict who befriends a disabled man in the poignant indie drama gem Chaindance (1991); he also co-wrote the script and served as an executive producer for this beautiful sleeper. Michael was terrific as tough mercenary Ham Tyler on the epic miniseries V (1984), its follow up V: The Final Battle (1984), and subsequent short-lived spin-off series.
Ironside also had a recurring role on the television series SeaQuest 2032 (1993). Among the television series he has done guest spots on are The A-Team (1983), Hill Street Blues (1981), The New Mike Hammer (1984), The Hitchhiker (1983), Tales from the Crypt (1989), Superman: The Animated Series (1996), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), The Outer Limits (1995), ER (1994), Smallville (2001), ER (1994), Desperate Housewives (2004), Justice League (2001) and Masters of Horror (2005). More recently, Ironside garnered a slew of plaudits and a Gemini Award nomination for his outstanding portrayal of shrewd biker gang leader Bob Durelle in the acclaimed Canadian miniseries The Last Chapter II: The War Continues (2003).
In addition to his substantial film and television work, Ironside has also lent his distinctive deep voice to TV commercials and video games.Michael Ironside is famous for playing hardass tough guys. Of course he is. His last name is IRONSIDE.- Writer
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Alejandro Jodorowsky was born in Tocopilla, Chile on February 17, 1929. In 1939 he moved to Santiago where he attended university, was a circus clown and a puppeteer. In 1953 he went to Paris and studied mime with Marcel Marceau. He worked with Maurice Chevalier there and made a short film, La cravate (1957). He also befriended the surrealists Roland Topor and Fernando Arrabal, and in 1962 these three created the "Panic Movement" in homage to the mythical god Pan. As part of this group Jodorowsky wrote several books and theatrical pieces. In the later 1960s he directed avant-garde theater in Paris and Mexico City, created the comic strip "Fabulas Panicas", and made his first "real" film, the surrealist love story Fando and Lis (1968), based on a play by Arrabal. In 1971, El Topo (1970) was released and became a cult classic, as did The Holy Mountain (1973). In 1975 he returned to France to begin work on a film that was never made: a colossal adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune", which was to star Orson Welles, Salvador Dalí and others, was to be scored by Pink Floyd, and which brought together the visionary talents of H.R. Giger, Dan O'Bannon, and 'Jean "Moebius' Giraud' (Giger and O'Bannon later collaborated on Alien (1979).) The project's financiers backed out, and "Dune" was eventually filmed by David Lynch. Jodorowsky's next film was 1979's Tusk (1980), a story of a young girl's friendship with an elephant, which quickly faded into obscurity. In the early 1980s he began working with Moebius and other artists on various comic strips, graphic novels and cartoons, and wrote several more books. He returned to film with 1989's Santa Sangre (1989), which was critically acclaimed and widely distributed. In 1990 he directed Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole in the fantasy film The Rainbow Thief (1990). Throughout the 1990s he continued to produce cartoons with a variety of graphic artists and is reportedly to begin work on another film, the long-awaited "Sons Of El Topo", sometime in 2002 or 2003. Jodorowsky's wife Valerie and sons Brontis, Axel and Adan have all at times appeared in his films.Alejandro Jodorowsky's insane movies makes him seem like the kind of guy that could lead a doomsday cult and, frankly, his name matches up with that assumption.- Tor Johnson was a big man, with a big heart, who was born October 19, 1903, in Sweden.
Most of his adult life, he was a professional wrestler. Tor started appearing (uncredited, or in bit parts) in movies as early as 1934. He was in 31 movies, usually as "Weightlifter" or "Strongman."
Later, he got larger roles with character names. Tor was in the Bing Crosby - Bob Hope movie Road to Rio (1947) as Samson; and had a part in Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) as Abou Ben.
Contrary to how it was depicted in the semi-documentary "Ed Wood," that Ed approached Tor and asked him if he ever fancied the notion of becoming an actor (and starting his film career), Ed worked with Tor towards the end of his movie career. Ed Wood got Tor to portray Lobo in Bride of the Monster (1955). After appearing in 3 other movies, Ed Wood cast Tor in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957).
Then Ed had Tor reprise his role of Lobo for Night of the Ghouls (1959) -- in that movie, Paul Marco (Kelton the Cop) had a full load in the prop gun he fired at Tor where sparks hit Tor's arms, which by reflex hit Paul, knocking him unconscious in real life; Tor felt bad about that, but everybody knew it was just a case of the big guy not knowing his own strength.
A friend and cohort of Ed's (and also a writer, director and producer in his own right), was Anthony Cardoza. Ed lived in an apartment on Yucca Street (nicknamed "Yucca Flats"), and in 1961, Anthony cast Tor Johnson in a starring role in his low budget movie The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961). This movie was filmed silent, had dubbed-in sound effects, voiced-over narration, and killed off Tor's movie career once and for all (for which Tor was paid only $300). However, Tor had somewhat of a TV career in the 1960s, appearing on "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx, several appearances on "The Red Skelton Show," and even doing a number of TV commercials.
Costars spoke fondly of Tor, remembering, "Tor had such warmth! He was so cooperative-- just a lovely man. As you know, he was a former wrestler ... he would go and have drinks with his opponents after a wrestling match." And, he lived large. Friends spoke of his gracious wife Greta who made great Swedish dinners, along with desserts consisting of her homemade ice cream with strawberries, bananas, coconut and whipped cream.
Little wonder his son, Karl, grew up to be big and strong, and became a Lieutenant with the San Fernando Police Department. And, some friends would chuckle as they recalled that, as big as he was, Tor drove a midget foreign car which was "not much bigger than he was."
Tor Johnson died on May 12, 1971, in San Fernando, CA, due to a heart ailment; he was 67.No one can argue with a strong, solid last name like "Johnson." There's a reason men use it as another word for their penis. It implies strength and solidarity. But that first name , TOR, makes Tor Johnson sound like some kind of crazy, awesome Viking warrior. - Actor
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One of the finest screen/television character actors of his generation, playing against a spectrum of Hollywood's leading action heroes, Patrick Kilpatrick's entertainment career has spanned 200+ films and television shows as lead actor, producer, screenwriter, director, and global entertainment teacher - from 'Minority Report' with Tom Cruise to 'Dark Angel' with Jessica Alba, from the largest production in Public Broadcasting history to the Los Angeles Theater Center with John Goodman and Academy Award-winning British director Tony Richardson in Shakespeare's 'Anthony and Cleopatra'. He has appeared in over 75 hit TV shows such as '24', 'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman' and all 'CSI'.
His action film villain appearances embrace a multitude of genres and an international Who's Who of directors, writers, production talent and leading men and women of the last quarter century. The Replacement Killers (1998 - director Antoine Fuqua) against Yun-Fat Chow, Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Caan in Eraser (1996 - Chuck Russell), Last Man Standing (1996 - Walter Hill), opposite Bruce Willis, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995- Geoff Murphy), opposite Steven Segal, The Presidio (1988) - Peter Hyams), opposite Sean Connery and Mark Harmon, two award-winning and highly rated original cable westerns opposite Tom Selleck, Last Stand at Saber River (1997- Elmore Leonard) and Crossfire Trail (2001), one western opposite Sam Elliot and Kate Capshaw HBO's Premiere Films adaptation of Louis L'Amour's The Quick and the Dead (1987), and the ever-popular action mainstay Death Warrant (1990) opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme, as 'The Sandman'. He has even done battle with the largest mammal on earth in Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997).
In one 18-month period Kilpatrick did five major studio films, two independents and 27 television guest star spots on 18 different shows - among them 'Criminal Minds', James Woods 'Shark', 'BoomTown', and 'Cold Case'. A record that remains to this day of audition prowess.
His further and recent work includes the film Parasomnia from director Bill Malone ('Fear.com', 'House on Haunted Hill'), 'Nip/Tuck', 'Chuck', 'Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles', 'Burn Notice', all NCIS franchises and the film 'American Violence' with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World Stipe Miocic.
Graduating from the University of Richmond with a BA in English/History/Teaching he attended New York University's Professional Film and Television Graduate Program.
Professionally first as an advertising writer, journalist, creative director and on-air reporter for 11- time Emmy winning 'What's Happening America', Patrick worked for nearly every major magazine and ad agency in New York - TIME Inc., Playboy, Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated to Interview, Life Magazine, Cycling, Sailing, Popular Photography, Modern Bride, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times, Luxe Magazine, Quest '78, Popular Mechanics and Psychology Today, etc.
Interspersed he created full spectrum print and media productions for glamour fashion icons such as Givenchy and Maud Frizon while bodyguarding Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Procol Harem, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Rod Stewart, Steve Marriot and Humble Pie, Jeff Beck, etc. He served from '78 to '80 as a foreign correspondent in Columbia and Venezuela and was responsible for the creation of mass mailing packages for Publishers Clearinghouse in the states.
On sabbatical from TIME to write a novel he transitioned to play-writing. Kilpatrick directed/assistant directed off and on Broadway, the West End of London and was a founding member of Divine Theater in New York City. His play 'Zone of Bells/Room of See Saws', starring him and iconic acting teacher/Academy Award nominee Bill Hickey premiered at the 1984 East Village Arts Festival. His appearance in 'Linda Her and The Fairy Garden' at NYC's prestigious Second Stage catapulted him into mainstream TV and film beginning with Nicholas Roeg's masterpiece 'Insignificance', the global cult film 'Toxic Avenger', and the largest production in the history of PBS 'Roanoak'.
Since 1987 in between international film and television appearances he has been scriptwriter and producer consultant on a multitude of pictures.
Kilpatrick is president and CEO of Uncommon Dialogue Films, Inc. (UDF) (founded 2005) - a full-service script, casting, film and production company. His producing/fundraising/film financing and production background has taken him from Fiji to the London Stock Exchange for the presentation of investment film slates.
He has taught acting, auditioning, directing, producing and film distribution, Men in the Movies, Star Trek and Stage Combat at the University of Wisconsin (Whitewater) and Hampton Sydney College in Virginia and at the Texas Theater Center in Dallas/Fort Worth. Kilpatrick has prepared a full film school curriculum for the governments of Brazil and Nigeria while privately and group entertainment coaching in Los Angeles and via Skype/Zoom.
The Uncommon Dialogue Film Mentorship Program - under his directorship and chief instruction, utilizing his 'Deliver the Goods' Curriculum - has coached countless students from beginners to active professionals in all phases of entertainment warrior status while guiding each to agency representation and self-production.
He was invited by New York Film Academy Veterans Advancement Program to present a Master Class on Oct. 13, 2017.
He has in the past partnered with Los Angeles Film Academy for his charitable event The Hollywood Celebrity Sporting Clays Invitational which raises money for wounded warriors and City of Hope Hospital.
He is appearing in theaters, stores and Netflix in 'American Violence' and 'Assassin X', 'Cops and Robbers' with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quentin Rampage Jackson, 'Black Water' with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, 'Night Walk' filmed in Casablanca, Morocco, and Upcoming 'Catalyst', 'Nessie' and 'Dying for Living'.
Kilpatrick is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, winner of the People's Choice Award at the 2015 Action on Film Festival in Los Angeles (Best Picture 'Assassin X') and the recipient of the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award from his Alma Mater - The Gilbert School in Winsted, Connecticut. He was that school's graduate guest speaker in spring 2017.
His memoir of 30 years Dying For Living: Sins and Confession of a Hollywood Villain and Libertine Patriot Vol. 1 - Upbringing was published by Boulevard Books (NYC) on Oct.1, 2018 and was launched Oct. 3, 2018 at the National Press Club and Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Vol. 2 Dying for Living: Wasted Talent in the Valley of Debacle - Showbiz is due out in early 2023. He was on a book tour throughout America and his works are available in digital, hardcover, softcover and audio version on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, autographed copies via PatrickKilpatrick.com and at the numerous signings through the U.S. and particularly Los Angeles - updated listings on PatrickKilpatrick.com.
As a voiceover performer, he has appeared as the voice of Sailplane Grand Prix, the narrator of the Olympic IMAX movie, and as political VO for candidates Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) and Mayor of Miami/Governor candidate Florida's Phillip Levine (D).Patrick Kilpatrick's name seems to imply that he is always on the verge of suicide.- Actor
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Klaus Kinski was born as Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski in Zoppot, Free City of Danzig (now Sopot, Poland), to Susanne (Lutze), a nurse, and Bruno Nakszynski, a pharmacist. He grew up in Berlin, was drafted into the German army in 1944 and captured by British forces in Holland. After the war he began acting on the stage, quickly gaining a reputation for a ferocious talent and an equally ferocious temper. He started acting in films shortly afterward, showing an utter disregard for the quality of the productions he appeared in and churning out so many that a complete filmography is almost impossible to assemble.
However, he did turn out memorable work for director Werner Herzog, a similarly driven and obsessive character. Herzog and Kinski pushed each other to extremes over a 15-year working relationship, which finally ended after filming Cobra Verde (1987), a production plagued by volcanic clashes between the star and director, involving--among other things--violent physical altercations and mutual death threats. He subsequently directed and starred in the notorious Paganini (1989), his only film as director and which was marked by (again) clashes between Kinski and his producers, who accused him of turning their movie into a pornographic film and sued him in court. His autobiography, "All I Need is Love", a vicious attack on the film industry, was withdrawn for legal reasons and subsequently re-released as "Kinski Uncut" in the US & UK, "Ich brauche Liebe" in Germany, and in various other languages.Klaus Kinski's name was designed to be yelled at the top of your lungs. Try it. Try screaming "KINSKI!!!!!" By all accounts, he was completely insane in real life, giving you good reason to be afraid of him.- Dieter Laser is a German actor. He is known to English-speaking audiences for his roles: Mantrid in Lexx, Prof. Otto Blaettchen in The Ogre and Dr. Joseph Heiter in The Human Centipede (First Sequence), for which he won Best Actor at the Austin Fantastic Fest. In 1975, he was awarded the German Film Award in Gold in the category of Best Actor for his title role in John Glueckstadt.
He was born in Kiel. On a cold winter afternoon at the age of sixteen, Dieter Laser went to the stage door of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg at that time the most famous theatre in Germany and he asked the doorman how to become an actor. There was an extra missing for the Christmas fairy tale afternoon-performance for children and 30 minutes later he stood on stage among a bunch of "sailors". That was the beginning of his career as an extra. - He had grown up in a fundamentalist Christian sect where the Theatre was regarded as devil's work. As a brainwashed believer he had to hazard the consequences. Therefore he made a deal with the devil: 'I will become an actor and I'll pay later on - in hell!' - Watching as an extra the famous actors "The Gods" by doing their marvelous work during rehearsals and performances became his "drama school". Gradually he got a word to speak in a play - then two words - even a sentence - a tiny part - another little part - and one day he suddenly got a contract and overnight his dream had come true: he now was a real actor with whom the "Gods" shook hands. - After 14 passionate years on stage and as a co-founder and member of the board of the meanwhile most famous German theatre, the Schaubuehne in Berlin, he decided to become a freelancer and got his first work for the cinema: the title role in John Glueckstadt. For this performance he won the German Film Award in Gold. Since then, and besides countless guest appearances on the most important stages of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxemburg, with parts like Don Juan, Valmont, Peer Gynt, Macbeth, Captain Ahab etc. Dieter Laser played in about 65 films, at times co-starring with "Gods" like Burt Lancaster, Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Glenn Close, John Malkovich etc..Dieter is a pretty awesome name by itself but that last name, man. If Dieter Laser was a doctor, he would be DOCTOR LASER. Considering the roles he's played, he's already half-way to a supervillain already. - Actress
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New Zealand icon Lucy Lawless is most known for her role as "Xena the Warrior Princess." Lucy is married to producer Rob Tapert (Robert Gerard Tapert) and resides in New Zealand. They have two sons, Julius Robert Bay Tapert and Judah Miro Tapert, who were both born in New Zealand. Lucy also has a daughter, Daisy Lawless, from her first marriage to Garth Lawless.
Lucy was born Lucille Frances Ryan in Mount Albert, Auckland, to Julie, a teacher, and Frank Ryan, a banker and the city's mayor. She was awarded an Order of Merit in the New Zealand Queen's Birthday Honor List in June 2004. Lucy, whose role as Xena in "Xena: Warrior Princess" made her a cult television star, has been involved with the Starship Foundation and has held a role on its board of trustees. She was awarded the Order of Merit for services to entertainment and the community.
In 1995, Lucy landed the role of "Xena: Warrior Princess" in the show, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995), in a three-story arc, that led to her own spin-off show, Xena: Warrior Princess (1995), for six seasons.
Whilst she has been primarily known for her role on "Xena: Warrior Princess," Lucy has also appeared in the classic TV series, Battlestar Galactica (2004), in the semi-regular role of "D'anna Biers," among her other many and varied roles, including the hit Adam Sandler movie, Bedtime Stories (2008). Lucy was also in several made-for-TV movies including: Locusts (2005) and Vampire Bats (2005). She also lent her voice to the straight-to-video movies: Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (2008). During 2011, Lucy appeared in the "No Ordinary Family" as the mysterious "Mrs. X" and also appeared in the prequel to Spartacus (2010), Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011) and "Spartacus Vengeance" as "Lucretia."
She portrayed "Caroline Platt" in Jane Campion's Top of the Lake (2013), a BBC Mini-Series in New Zealand, with Holly Hunter and Elisabeth Moss, the recurring character of "Diane Lewis" on NBC's Parks and Recreation (2009), and "Velma Kelly" in the Auckland Theatre Company's adaptation of "Chicago: The Musical," the latter from November 1-24, 2013.
As of 2019 she can be seen starring as Alexa Crowe in the light, colorful, Auckland-set mystery, "My Life is Murder."Imagine being a student in high school and having the phrase "MISS LAWLESS, REPORT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE" come over the intercom. Clearly, someone with the last name of LAWLESS gets into exciting and dangerous situations all the time.- Writer
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Dick Maas was born on 15 April 1951 in Heemstede, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He is a writer and producer, known for Prey (2016), Saint (2010) and Amsterdamned (1988). He is married to Esmé Lammers.I hear, in the mountains of Scandinavia, they celebrate a holiday that is like our Christmas but something other than gifts is exchanged around the tree. This tradition is called DICKMAAS.- Costas Mandylor was born on 3 September 1965 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is an actor, known for Saw V (2008), Saw VI (2009) and Saw IV (2007). He has been married to Victoria Ramos since 10 October 2013. He was previously married to Talisa Soto.The word "man" is already in his name so Costas Mandylor is already manlier then you or I. The first name of "Costas" sounds a bit like "Cost us," as in "That mistake cost us our lives because Costas Mandylor is going to murder all of us."
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Blue-eyed and well-built Italian actor in international cinema, Franco Nero, was a painting photographer when he was discovered as an actor by director John Huston. He has since appeared in more than 200 movies around the world, working with Europe's top directors, such as Luis Buñuel, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Claude Chabrol, Sergey Bondarchuk, Michael Cacoyannis, Elio Petri, Marco Bellocchio, Enzo G. Castellari, among many others.
Nero was born in Parma (Northern Italy), in the family of a strict police sergeant. His inclination for acting had already become obvious in his teenage years, when he began organizing and participating in student plays. After a short stint at a leading theater school, he moved to Rome, where he joined a small group of friends for the purpose of making documentaries. Still unsure of his ultimate vocation, he worked various jobs on the crew. He studied economics and trade in Milan University, and appeared in popular Italian photo-novels. This gave him a chance to gain a little role in Carlo Lizzani's La Celestina P... R... (1965).
A year later, the handsome face of Nero was noticed by Huston, who chose him for the role of "Abel" in The Bible in the Beginning... (1966) (aka La Bibbia). But success came after he got the role of the lonely gunfighter, dragging a coffin, in one of the best spaghetti-westerns; Sergio Corbucci's Django (1966). Nero then filmed a few other westerns of that style as Ferdinando Baldi's Texas, Adios (1966) and Lucio Fulci's Massacre Time (1966).
In 1967, Joshua Logan cast him in the film version of the musical Camelot (1967) (Warner Bros.), opposite Vanessa Redgrave, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe award. During filming of Camelot, he met actress Vanessa Redgrave, who become his long-time partner (they married decades later). He played with Catherine Deneuve in Luis Buñuel's Tristana (1970) and was directed by Sergey Bondarchuk in the war drama The Battle of Neretva (1969). Later, director Bondarchuk cast Nero for the role of famous American reporter "John Reed" in two-part "Krasnye kolokola II" (1982). In the late 60s and during the 70s, Nero played many different roles, but most of them connected with political and criminal genre, which criticized the Italian justice system.
In the early 80s, Nero was chosen for the role of the white ninja, "Cole", in Enter the Ninja (1981) and in 1990 as terrorist "Gen. Esperanza", opposite Bruce Willis, in Renny Harlin's Die Hard 2 (1990). He has also payed the roles of leading national heroes, such as "Garibaldi" (Italy), "Arpad" (Hungary), and "Banovic Strahinja" (Yugoslavia). In the USA, he has been in successful mini-series, such as "The Pirate" (Warner Bros), "The Last Days of Pompeii" (CBS), "Young Catherine" (TNT), "Bella Mafia" (CBS), "The Painted Lady", "Saint Augustine", and movies such as "The Legend of Valentino", "21 Hours to Munich", "Force 10 from Navarone", "Enter the Ninja", "The Versace Murder", and Letters to Juliet (2010).
He worked with the top European directors from Carlo Lizzani, Damiano Damiani, Luigi Zampa, Luis Buñuel, Elio Petri, Michael Cacoyannis, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Claude Chabrol, 'Vatroslav Mimica', Marco Bellocchio, etc. At the beginning of the 80s, he also began producing, writing and directing. Between films, he participates in various theatrical events.
Apart from his cinematographic work, Nero also works for charitable organizations. Over the last 45 years, he has been a benefactor of the Don Bosco orphanage in Tivoli. He has received many awards and, in 1992 for his artistic merits, a knighthood of the Italian Republic was bestowed on him by the President of Italy. In 2011, he was honored by Brunel University of London with the honorary degree of doctor of Letters honoris causa and, in Toronto, with a star on the Walk of Fame.Nero was a crazy Roman emperor who reportedly played the fiddle while his city burnt to the ground. Perhaps not the most mentally stable actions but admittedly pretty awesome. Franco, as a first name, invokes bold adventures and excitement. Therefore, Franco Nero was destined to be awesome.- Actor
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Wolfgang Puck was born on 8 July 1949 in St. Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria. He is an actor and writer, known for Showgirls (1995), The Weather Man (2005) and Tales from the Crypt (1989). He has been married to Gelila Assefa since 7 July 2007. They have two children. He was previously married to Barbara Lazaroff and Marie France Trouillot.The name like "Wolfgang" brings to mind a pack of hungry, powerful, vicious animals. "Puck" is a mischevious and powerful fairy in British legend. Thus, Wolfgang Puck is a immortal, magical being with a gang of wolves inside of his head.- Actor
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Dack (given name Norman) and identical twin brother, Dirk Rambo (Orman), were born in sunny California in 1941. Dack's noticeable difference was a mole on his left cheek. Both happened upon an acting career, at age 21, after being discovered by Loretta Young for her TV show, while sitting in a church pew. The sons of Lester and Beatrice Rambo, the brothers also had another brother and sister, Bill and Beverly. Dack's early training began as a student of Vincent Chase and Lee Strasberg, and both boys found employment, following the one-season stint on Loretta's TV show, in 1963. While Dirk found success on episodic-TV (The Virginian (1962), Dragnet 1967 (1967)), Dack went on to a couple of other TV series, including Never Too Young (1965) and The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967). Dirk was tragically killed in 1967, after being struck by a drunken driver. A stunned Dack ventured on, however, and eventually found a secure place for his dark good looks in 70s and 80s glossy drama and secondary action. He played many a calculating lover in both daytime (All My Children (1970), Another World (1964)) and prime-time (Dallas (1978)) soaps, while showing off his athletic skills in such outdoor adventure series as Sword of Justice (1978). Later in his career, he worked up a few action leads in low-budget filming. In 1991, while appearing on Another World (1964), Dack discovered he had contracted AIDS and made a courageous decision to retire in order to focus on awareness of this deadly disease. He was extremely candid as to his bisexuality and advocating safe sex and helping to establish an international data bank for AIDS research. He died of complications in 1994 at age 52.First off, RAMBO is one of the baddest fictional characters ever, an unstoppable killing machine of a man. Dack, meanwhile, is an utterly unique name. Thus, Dack Rambo was, paradoxically, both an awesome, established fictional character and also something never heard of before.- Actor
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Born in 1914, raised in Norfolk, Nebraska, Thurl Ravenscroft served as a navigator in the US Army Air Transport Command in World War II before settling in Hollywood. An accomplished singer, he performed with The Sportsmen Quartet, The Mellowmen Quartet, The Johnny Mann Singers, The Norman Luboff Choir, and many major stars, including Jim Nabors and Elvis Presley. He was best known, however, for his mellifluous voice-overs, and he voiced Tony the Tiger in countless advertisements for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes in both English and Spanish. In 1996 he and his wife June retired to southern California, although he still did occasional work as Tony. He died in 2005 of prostate cancer.Thurl Ravenscroft is the person on this list most likely to be a superhero civilian identity. "By day, he is THURL RAVENSCROFT, millionaire industrialist. By night, he is THE RAVEN, defender of the city" or something like that.- Rex Reason was born in Germany, while his family was in Europe on a business trip. Although he grew up in Los Angeles, his acting aspirations were nil; his mother, however, hoped that both Rex and his lookalike brother Rhodes Reason would get into the acting profession. He played the lead in "Seventh Heaven" at Glendale's Hoover High School, then enlisted in the army at 17. After his discharge, he enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse and then became involved in little theater. Reason was top-billed in his very first movie, Storm Over Tibet (1952), then played smaller parts in pictures at Columbia and MGM. A contract player at Universal-International, he allowed the studio to bill him as "Bart Roberts" in two features before he balked and insisted on going back to his own name. When his TV series The Roaring 20's (1960) wrapped up, Reason--who once told an interviewer, "If I couldn't act, I wouldn't know what to do with my life"--turned his back on Hollywood. In recent years he has begun appearing at autograph shows.Rex Reason has never lost a debate because his last name is "Reason," as in abiding pure logic, and his first name is "Rex," as in a giant dinosaur that eats people.
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Strikingly featured and muscular American actor Ving Rhames was born Irving Rameses Rhames in Harlem, New York, to Reather, a homemaker, and Ernest Rhames, an auto mechanic. A good student, Ving entered the New York High School of Performing Arts, where he discovered his love of acting. He studied at the Juilliard School of Drama, and began his career in New York theater and in Shakespeare in the Park productions. He first appeared on Broadway in the play "The Winter Boys", in 1984. Also that year, he appeared in front of the cameras for the first time in the TV movie Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985), and was then quickly cast in minor roles in several popular TV shows, including Miami Vice (1984), Tour of Duty (1987) and Crime Story (1986). Ving continued his rise to fame through his work in soap operas.
His big break came in 1994 when Quentin Tarantino cast him as the merciless drug dealer Marsellus Wallace in the mega hit Pulp Fiction (1994). Not long after, director Brian De Palma cast Rhames alongside Tom Cruise as the ace computer hacker Luther Stickell in Mission: Impossible (1996). With solid performances in both these highly popular productions, his face was now well known to moviegoers and the work offers began rolling in more frequently. His next career highlight was playing the lead role in the HBO production of Don King: Only in America (1997). Rhames' performance as the world's most infamous boxing promoter was nothing short of brilliant, and at the 1998 Golden Globe Awards he picked up the award for Best Actor in a Miniseries. However, in an incredible display of compassion, he handed over the award to fellow nominee Jack Lemmon, as he felt Lemmon was a more deserving winner. Rhames then made an attention-grabbing performance in Bringing Out the Dead (1999), reprised his role as Luther Stickell in Mission: Impossible II (2000), contributed his deep bass voice for the character of Cobra Bubbles in Lilo & Stitch (2002), and played a burly cop fighting cannibal zombie hordes in Dawn of the Dead (2004). A keen fitness and weightlifting enthusiast, Rhames is also well known for his strong spiritual beliefs and benevolent attitude towards other people.
In a remarkable turn of events whilst filming The Saint of Fort Washington (1993) in New York, he was introduced to a homeless man who turned out to be his long-lost older brother, Junior, who had lost contact with the family after serving in Vietnam. The thrilled Rhames immediately assisted his disheveled brother in getting proper food and clothing and moved him into his own apartment.Ving sounds like Bing which sounds like Bling, which is something cool dudes carry around their necks. Rhames almost sounds like Ring which rhymes with Ving and we all know rhyming things are awesome.- Actor
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Sam Rockwell was born on November 5, 1968, in San Mateo, California, the only child of two actors, Pete Rockwell and Penny Hess. The family moved to New York when he was two years old, living first in the Bronx and later in Manhattan. When Sam was five years old, his parents separated, at which point he and his father moved to San Francisco, where he subsequently grew up, while summers and other times were spent with his mother in New York.
He made his acting debut when he was ten years old, alongside his mother, and later attended J Eugene McAteer High School in a program called SOTA. While still in high school, he got his first big break when he appeared in the independent film Clownhouse (1989). The plot revolved around three escaped mental patients who dressed up as clowns and terrorized three brothers home alone--Sam played the eldest of the brothers. His next big break was supposed to have come when he was slated to star in a short-lived NBC TV-series called Dream Street (1989), but he was soon fired.
After graduating from high school, Sam returned to New York for good and for two years he had private training at the William Esper Acting Studio. During this period he appeared in a variety of roles, such as the ABC Afterschool Specials (1972): Over the Limit (1990) (TV) and HBO's Lifestories: Families in Crisis (1992): Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story (Season 1 Episode 7: 15 March 1993); the head thug in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990); and a guest-star turn in an Emmy Award-winning episode of Law & Order (1990), while working a string of regular day jobs and performing in plays.
In 1994, a Miller Ice beer commercial finally enabled him to quit his other jobs to concentrate on his acting career, which culminated in him having five movies out by 1996: Basquiat (1996); The Search for One-eye Jimmy (1994); Glory Daze (1995); Mercy (1995); and Box of Moonlight (1996). It was the latter film that would prove to be his real break-out in the industry. In Tom DiCillo's film, he found himself playing an eccentric named the Kid, a man-child living in a half-built mobile home in the middle of nowhere with a penchant for dressing like Davy Crockett, who manages to bring some much-needed chaos into the life of an electrical engineer played by John Turturro. The movie was not a box-office success, but it managed to generate a great deal of critical acclaim for itself and Sam.
In 1997, he found himself the star of another critically lauded film, Lawn Dogs (1997). Once again, he portrayed a societal outcast as Trent, a working-class man living in a trailer, earning a living mowing lawns inside a wealthy, gated Kentucky community. Trent soon finds himself befriended by 10-year-old Devon (Mischa Barton), and the movie deals with the difficulties in their friendship and the outside world. He also gave strong performances in the quirky independent comedy Safe Men (1998), in which he plays one half of a pretty awful singing duo (the other half being played by Steve Zahn) that gets mistaken for two safecrackers by Jewish gangsters; and the offbeat hitman trainee in Jerry and Tom (1998) against Joe Mantegna.
After a few smaller appearances in films such as Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998) and the modern version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), in which he played Francis Flute, he had larger roles in two of the bigger hit movies to emerge: The Green Mile (1999) and Galaxy Quest (1999), wowing audiences and critics alike with his chameleon-like performances as a crazed killer in the former and a goofy actor in the latter.
More recently, he appeared in another string of mainstream films, most notably as Eric Knox in Charlie's Angels (2000) and as Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), while continuing to perform in smaller independent movies. After more than ten years in the business, Sam has earned his success. In 2018, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as a troubled police deputy in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).Sam rocks and he rocks WELL.- Actor
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Deep Roy was born on 26 January 1949 in Nairobi, Kenya. He is an actor and producer, known for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The NeverEnding Story (1984).Somebody named "Deep" must be very knowledgeable about the world around him. You'd ask this guy's friends about him and he'd say, "Whoa man, that's DEEP!" That his last name is Roy, usually a first name, seems to suggest that "Deep" isn't actually his real name but a title he earned after impressing a council of monks and geniuses. "We bestow upon you the title of DEEP! From henceforth, you are DEEP ROY!"- Actor
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With an almost unpronounceable surname and a thick Austrian accent, who would have ever believed that a brash, quick talking bodybuilder from a small European village would become one of Hollywood's biggest stars, marry into the prestigious Kennedy family, amass a fortune via shrewd investments and one day be the Governor of California!?
The amazing story of megastar Arnold Schwarzenegger is a true "rags to riches" tale of a penniless immigrant making it in the land of opportunity, the United States of America. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born July 30, 1947, in the town of Thal, Styria, Austria, to Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born Jadrny) and Gustav Schwarzenegger, the local police chief. From a young age, he took a keen interest in physical fitness and bodybuilding, going on to compete in several minor contests in Europe. However, it was when he emigrated to the United States in 1968 at the tender age of 21 that his star began to rise.
Up until the early 1970s, bodybuilding had been viewed as a rather oddball sport, or even a mis-understood "freak show" by the general public, however two entrepreneurial Canadian brothers Ben Weider and Joe Weider set about broadening the appeal of "pumping iron" and getting the sport respect, and what better poster boy could they have to lead the charge, then the incredible "Austrian Oak", Arnold Schwarzenegger. Over roughly the next decade, beginning in 1970, Schwarzenegger dominated the sport of competitive bodybuilding winning five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles and, with it, he made himself a major sports icon, he generated a new international audience for bodybuilding, gym memberships worldwide swelled by the tens of thousands and the Weider sports business empire flourished beyond belief and reached out to all corners of the globe. However, Schwarzenegger's horizons were bigger than just the landscape of bodybuilding and he debuted on screen as "Arnold Strong" in the low budget Hercules in New York (1970), then director Bob Rafelson cast Arnold in Stay Hungry (1976) alongside Jeff Bridges and Sally Field, for which Arnold won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture". The mesmerizing Pumping Iron (1977) covering the 1975 Mr Olympia contest in South Africa has since gone on to become one of the key sports documentaries of the 20th century, plus Arnold landed other acting roles in the comedy The Villain (1979) opposite Kirk Douglas, and he portrayed Mickey Hargitay in the well- received TV movie The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980).
What Arnold really needed was a super hero / warrior style role in a lavish production that utilized his chiseled physique, and gave him room to show off his growing acting talents and quirky humor. Conan the Barbarian (1982) was just that role. Inspired by the Robert E. Howard short stories of the "Hyborean Age" and directed by gung ho director John Milius, and with a largely unknown cast, save Max von Sydow and James Earl Jones, "Conan" was a smash hit worldwide and an inferior, although still enjoyable sequel titled Conan the Destroyer (1984) quickly followed. If "Conan" was the kick start to Arnold's movie career, then his next role was to put the pedal to the floor and accelerate his star status into overdrive. Director James Cameron had until that time only previously directed one earlier feature film titled Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), which stank of rotten fish from start to finish. However, Cameron had penned a fast paced, science fiction themed film script that called for an actor to play an unstoppable, ruthless predator - The Terminator (1984). Made on a relatively modest budget, the high voltage action / science fiction thriller The Terminator (1984) was incredibly successful worldwide, and began one of the most profitable film franchises in history. The dead pan phrase "I'll be back" quickly became part of popular culture across the globe. Schwarzenegger was in vogue with action movie fans, and the next few years were to see Arnold reap box office gold in roles portraying tough, no-nonsense individuals who used their fists, guns and witty one-liners to get the job done. The testosterone laden Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), Predator (1987), The Running Man (1987) and Red Heat (1988) were all box office hits and Arnold could seemingly could no wrong when it came to picking winning scripts. The tongue-in-cheek comedy Twins (1988) with co-star Danny DeVito was a smash and won Arnold new fans who saw a more comedic side to the muscle- bound actor once described by Australian author / TV host Clive James as "a condom stuffed with walnuts". The spectacular Total Recall (1990) and "feel good" Kindergarten Cop (1990) were both solid box office performers for Arnold, plus he was about to return to familiar territory with director James Cameron in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). The second time around for the futuristic robot, the production budget had grown from the initial film's $6.5 million to an alleged $100 million for the sequel, and it clearly showed as the stunning sequel bristled with amazing special effects, bone-crunching chases & stunt sequences, plus state of the art computer-generated imagery. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) was arguably the zenith of Arnold's film career to date and he was voted "International Star of the Decade" by the National Association of Theatre Owners.
Remarkably, his next film Last Action Hero (1993) brought Arnold back to Earth with a hard thud as the self-satirizing, but confusing plot line of a young boy entering into a mythical Hollywood action film confused movie fans even more and they stayed away in droves making the film an initial financial disaster. Arnold turned back to good friend, director James Cameron and the chemistry was definitely still there as the "James Bond" style spy thriller True Lies (1994) co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Arnold was the surprise hit of 1994! Following the broad audience appeal of True Lies (1994), Schwarzenegger decided to lean towards more family-themed entertainment with Junior (1994) and Jingle All the Way (1996), but he still found time to satisfy his hard-core fan base with Eraser (1996), as the chilling "Mr. Freeze" in Batman & Robin (1997) and battling dark forces in the supernatural action of End of Days (1999). The science fiction / conspiracy tale The 6th Day (2000) played to only mediocre fan interest, and Collateral Damage (2002) had its theatrical release held over for nearly a year after the tragic events of Sept 11th 2001, but it still only received a lukewarm reception.
It was time again to resurrect Arnold's most successful franchise and, in 2003, Schwarzenegger pulled on the biker leathers for the third time for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Unfortunately, directorial duties passed from James Cameron to Jonathan Mostow and the deletion of the character of "Sarah Connor" aka Linda Hamilton and a change in the actor playing "John Connor" - Nick Stahl took over from Edward Furlong - making the third entry in the "Terminator" series the weakest to date.
Schwarzenegger married TV journalist Maria Shriver in April, 1986 and the couple have four children.
In October of 2003 Schwarzenegger, running as a Republican, was elected Governor of California in a special recall election of then governor Gray Davis. The "Governator," as Schwarzenegger came to be called, held the office until 2011. Upon leaving the Governor's mansion it was revealed that he had fathered a child with the family's live-in maid and Shriver filed for divorce.
Schwarzenegger contributed cameo roles to The Rundown (2003), Around the World in 80 Days (2004) and The Kid & I (2005). Recently, he starred in The Expendables 2 (2012), The Last Stand (2013), Escape Plan (2013), The Expendables 3 (2014), and Terminator Genisys (2015).Naturally.- Warhawk Tanzania was born in 1943. He is an actor, known for Devil's Express (1976) and Force Four (1975).HOLY CRAP, YOU GUYS. Are we sure Warhawk Tanzania isn't a Conan the Barbarian supporting character who somehow escaped into reality?
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Rip Torn was born Elmore Rual Torn Jr. on February 6, 1931 in Temple, Texas, the son of Thelma Mary (Spacek) and Elmore Rudolph Torn, who was an agriculturalist and economist, credited with popularizing the custom of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. "Rip" is a family name, taken by generations of Torn men and bestowed on Elmore by his father, who was also called "Rip." He was of German, Austrian, Bohemian, and Moravian descent. His mother was an elder sister of actress Sissy Spacek's father, Edwin Spacek.
Torn attended Texas A&M and the University of Texas, where he joined Sigma Chi Fraternity. He majored in animal husbandry. Extremely naïve when he was young, Torn hitchhiked to Hollywood with the idea of becoming a movie star; he wanted to make enough money in order to buy a ranch. Success did not come overnight, as he had hoped, and Torn had to work many odd jobs while occasionally being cast in television roles. He made his feature film debut in Elia Kazan's Baby Doll (1956) in a small part.
Serious about learning his craft, he moved to New York City where he studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Torn also studied dance with Martha Graham. His serious acting career began on the small screen, where he made a name for himself in the Golden Age of Television; between 1957 and 1960, he appeared regularly on such prestigious live shows as Omnibus (1952) and Playhouse 90 (1956).
Torn made his Broadway debut in Kazan's staging of Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" on March 10, 1959, in support of Paul Newman, Sidney Blackmer and Geraldine Page, who would become his second wife. The play was a hit, closing on January 30, 1960 after 375 performances. He won a 1960 Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Theater World award for his role as "Tom, Jr.", a role he recreated in the 1962 film. (Torn also starred as "Boss Finley" in a later television adaptation of the play).
Torn earned a reputation as an actor's actor on stage, both Broadway and off-Broadway, as well as on screen. He continued to work in the New York theater despite his demanding TV and movie schedule as both an actor and director. He won two Obie awards for his work off-Broadway, for Distinguished Performance in Norman Mailer's "The Deer Park" (for the 1966-67 season), and for Distinguished Direction for "The Beard" (1967-68). He had his own stage company, and directed his daughter Angelica Page (by Geraldine Page) in John Paul Alexander's "Strangers in the Land of Canaan" at the Actors Studio. Torn made his feature film directorial debut with The Telephone (1988).
He was constantly in demand as a character actor, in supporting, second lead and occasional lead roles. Arguably his best performance on film came in Payday (1973), and he was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for Cross Creek (1983). Most of Torn's roles were in drama, though he was adept at comedy. His role in Albert Brooks' comedy Defending Your Life (1991) led to his being cast in The Larry Sanders Show (1992), on which he played talk show producer "Artie." Torn won six consecutive Emmy nominations for the role, winning once for Best Supporting Actor in a comedy series in 1996.
Torn was married to actress Ann Wedgeworth from 1956-61, whom he divorced to marry Geraldine Page. They remained married until her death in 1987. He was married to Amy Wright until his death. Torn helped his first cousin, Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek, to make her way as an actress, seeing to it that she was accepted by the Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and then the Lee Strasberg Institute.
Rip Torn died in on July 9, 2019 in Lakeville, Connecticut, aged 88.Rip and Torn are the two words used to describe what a pack of lions do to a defenseless zebra.- Actor
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One of the great movie villains, Clarence Leroy Van Cleef, Jr. was born in Somerville, New Jersey, to Marion Lavinia (Van Fleet) and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Sr. His parents were of Dutch ancestry. Van Cleef started out as an accountant. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard minesweepers and sub chasers during World War II. After the war he worked as an office administrator, becoming involved in amateur theatrics in his spare time. An audition for a professional role led to a touring company job in "Mr. Roberts". His performance was seen by Stanley Kramer, who cast him as henchman Jack Colby in High Noon (1952), a role that brought him great recognition despite the fact that he had no dialogue. For the next decade, he played a string of memorably villainous characters, primarily in westerns but also in crime dramas such as The Big Combo (1955). His hawk nose and steely, slit eyes seemed destined to keep him always in the realm of heavies, but in the mid 1960s Sergio Leone cast him as the tough but decent Col. Mortimer opposite Clint Eastwood in For a Few Dollars More (1965). A new career as a western hero (or at least anti-hero) opened up, and Van Cleef became an international star, though in films of decreasing quality. In the 1980s, he moved easily into action and martial-arts movies and starred in The Master (1984), a TV series featuring almost non-stop martial arts action. He died of a heart attack in December 1989 and was buried at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills.Lee is a perfectly strong, awesome name. Van adds a layer of European refinement. While Cleef sounds like "Cleave," as in "cleaving your head from your still moving body."- Actor
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Mario Van Peebles is a highly regarded director, actor, producer and writer. His directorial skills can be seen in the retelling of the epic mini-series "Roots" starring Forest Whitaker and Matthew Goode. Van Peebles has directed award-winning shows such as the recent hit "Empire" and "The Last Ship," as well as "Sons of Anarchy," "Lost," "Damages," and "Boss." As an actor Van Peebles has credits are as equally impressive.
An independent filmmaker to his core, Van Pebbles grew up watching Melvin Van Peebles, his maverick filmmaker father. A true master craftsman in his own right, Van Peebles is defined as a director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer; known for funding his own work.
His many talents can be seen in films like his directorial breakout hit "New Jack City," "Posse" and "Panther;" plus Michael Mann's Oscar® nominated "Ali," in which he received critical acclaim for his role as real life minister and human rights activist Malcom X; the multi-award-winning "Cotton Club" written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Clint Eastwood's "Heartbreak Ridge;" and several projects with Ava DuVernay.
Throughout his career, Van Peebles has brought challenging, compelling material to the screen, including his hip hop coming-of-age film "We the Party," for which he wrote, directed and produced; his documentary short "Bring You're a Game;" and, of course, "Baadasssss!" This was Van Peebles' odyssey about the making of his father's groundbreaking film "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" and was one of Ebert and Roeper's ten best movies of the year for 2004.
As a director, Van Pebbles has affected unusually strong performances from his fellow actors. They often remark that he creates a collaborative climate where they feel free to do their best work. He believes his background as an actor helps him approach the actor's character development process internally. Conversely, he believes being a director has made him a more trusting, nuanced actor. Being able to do both is like creative crop rotation for Van Peebles. Not many directors get the privilege of being directed by other strong filmmakers. Acting for others is still "super exciting" to him.
In 1994, Hofstra University awarded Van Peebles an honorary doctorate of humane letters. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Columbia University, Van Peebles spent two years working at New York's Department of Environmental Protection before moving to Hollywood to try his hand at acting writing and directing.
In addition to directing and acting in features, Van Peebles is passionate about supporting education and eco-consciousness through media. With his reality show, Mario's Green House, he teamed up with his five children and his father to chronicle the Van Peebles family's often-humorous attempts to raise their eco-consciousness as they try to go green in Hollywood. Green "We never got to the full green, more like Olive green," jokes Van Peebles.Mario is a classic Italian name which brings to mind a guy crushing giant turtles with the sheer force of his body. "Van Peebles," admittedly, is not awesome. The ironic contrast between the two names is actually what makes Mario Van Peebles sound so awesome.- Director
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Gore Verbinski, one of American cinema's most inventive directors who was a punk-rock guitarist as a teenager and had to sell his guitar to buy his first camera, is now the director of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) which made the industry record for highest opening weekend of all time ($135,600,000) and grossed over $1 billion dollars worldwide.
He was born Gregor Verbinski on March 16, 1964 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Laurette Ann (McGovern) and Victor Vincent Verbinski, a nuclear physicist who worked at the Oak Ridge Lab. His paternal grandparents were Polish. In 1967, the family moved to California, and young Gregor grew up near San Diego. His biggest influences as a kid were Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis and Black Sabbath's Master of Reality. He started his professional career as a guitarist for punk-rock bands, such as The Daredevils and The Little Kings, and also made his first films together with friends. After having developed a passion for filmmaking, he sold his guitar to buy a Super-8mm camera. Then Verbinski attended the prestigious UCLA Film School, from which he graduated in 1987 with his BFA in Film. His first professional directing jobs were music videos for alternative bands, such as L7, Bad Religion, and Monster Magnet. Then he moved to advertising and directed commercials for Nike, Canon, Skittles, United airlines and Coca-Cola. In 1993 he created the renowned Budweiser advertising campaign featuring croaking frogs, for which he was awarded the advertising Silver Lion at Cannes and also received four Clio Awards.
Verbinski made his feature directorial debut with Mousehunt (1997), a remarkably visual cartoonish family comedy. His next effort, The Mexican (2001), came to a modest result. However, Verbinski bounced back with a hit thriller The Ring (2002), grossing over $230 million dollars worldwide. His biggest directorial success came with the Disney theme park ride based Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), with a brilliant acting ensemble, grossing over $650 million dollars, and bringing five Oscar nominations and many other awards and nominations. Disney ordered two more films which Verbinski shot one after another on location in the Caribbean islands, for which he had to endure both tetanus and typhoid immunization shots. After having survived several hurricanes, dealing with sick and injured actors, and troubleshooting after numerous technical difficulties of the epic-scale project, Verbinski delivered. He employed the same stellar cast in the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and the third installment of the 'Pirates' franchise Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).
Gore Verbinski does not like publicity. He has been enjoying a happy family life with his wife and his two sons. He resides with his family in Los Angeles, California.First name: GORE, as in the spilled entrails of your fallen enemies. Last name: VERBINSKI as in a Bond villain or a crazy serial killer.- Actor
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Jimmy Wang Yu was born on 28 March 1943 in Shanghai, China. He was an actor and producer, known for Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976), Dragon (2011) and Soul (2013). He was married to Jeanette Lin Tsui. He died on 5 April 2022 in Taipei, Taiwan.Yu Wang is the rare person whose name can double as an insult.- Actor
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Don "The Dragon" Wilson is considered the greatest kick-boxing champion in the sport's history. A native of South Florida, Wilson began fighting in the late 1970s. In a career which spanned 4 decades, he won 11 world kick-boxing championships, among them the WKA, STAR, WKC, PKO Lightheavyweight World Championships, WKA, STAR, ISKA World Cruiserweight Titles, and the WKA and STAR Super-Lightheavyweight World Championships. He posted a record of 72-5-2 with 47 wins by knockout. Wilson defeated such world champions as Dennis Alexio, Oaktree Edwards, and Dick Kimber. He retired from the sport in 1990, but launched a comeback on May 14, 1999. Since his return he has knocked-out Dick Kimber and defeated Dewey Cooper.Come on guys, the dude's middle name is "THE DRAGON."- Actor
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A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, actor Finn Wolfhard stars as Mike Wheeler in the critically acclaimed Netflix Original Series Stranger Things (2016). The hit series has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series; two MTV Movie & TV Awards for Show of the Year; an AFI award for TV Program of the Year; and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama Television Series. To date, the world-famous series has received 30 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama Series.
His first role was in the 2013 independent film Aftermath. After appearing in more independent films such as The Resurrection, Wolfhard moved into roles on television shows The 100 (2014) and Supernatural.
In September 2017, Wolfhard moved to the silver screen, playing the lead role of Ritchie Tozier in the film adaptation of the Stephen King acclaimed novel It (2017). Fans of the novel will remember Wolfhard's role as Trashmouth, part of the Losers Club. The film premiered to critical acclaim, breaking opening weekend box office records in its debut and going on to become the highest grossing horror movie ever. Wolfhard, along with his cast, received the Best On-Screen Team award for "IT" at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards. Wolfhard also starred in Dog Days (2018) alongside Vanessa Hudgens and Nina Dobrev. He can also be heard in the Netflix animated series "Carmen Sandiego," which released its second season in October 2019. Wolfhard reprises his role of Richie Tozier in New Line's blockbuster sequel It Chapter Two (2019).
In May 2019, Wolfhard became the new face of Yves Saint Laurent's Fall/Winter 2019 Campaign. Wolfhard starred as Miles in Amblin's haunted house horror film The Turning (2020) opposite Mackenzie Davis and Brooklynn Prince. Wolfhard will star alongside Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon and McKenna Grace in Sony Pictures' highly anticipated Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), a new chapter in the "Ghostbusters" universe, from director Jason Reitman. Wolfhard stars alongside Oscar winning actress Julianne Moore in the comedy-drama feature When You Finish Saving the World (2022), written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg and produced by Emma Stone. The mother-son story is inspired by Eisenberg's upcoming Audible Original of the same name, which is debuting in 2020. Wolfhard is also set to star as a lead voice over in the upcoming animated series, "NEW-GEN," based on the comic series distributed by Marvel and created by Chris Matonti, J.D. Matonti, and Julia Coppola.
He co-starred in Warner Bros & Amazon Studios' "The Goldfinch," an adaptation of Donna Tartt's Pulitzer Prize winning & New York Times best-selling novel. Wolfhard played the role of Young Boris alongside an all-star cast including Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson and Jeffrey Wright. Lastly, he voiced the character Pugsley Addams in MGM's The Addams Family (2019) animated film. He can also be heard in Netflix's animated series "Carmen Sandiego," which released its second season in October 2019.
In addition to acting, Wolfhard has a passion for music and formed a garage-rock band called Calpurnia. Calpurnia recorded their debut EP which was released in June 2018. The band's first single "City Boy" debuted at No. 23 on Billboard's Alternative Digital Song Chart and hit No. 1 on Spotify's Global Viral 50 playlist. During the bands three-year run, Calpurnia toured across North America and Europe.
In the Fall of 2019, Wolfhard and drummer Malcolm Craig formed The Aubreys. In March 2020, The Aubreys released their first official EP entitled "Soda & Pie." Wolfhard also used his growing platform to host an event and raise funds for Sweet Relief, an organization that helps musicians in need.Just imagine "Die Hard" but, instead of terrorists, John McClane had to fight werewolves. Or maybe you don't need to imagine that, because this is Finn Wolfhard's life.- Actor
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Blonde, athletic and muscular actor, Frank Zagarino was born in Los Angeles on December 19, 1959 and grew up in Miami where he attended Miami Dade College; Zagarino starred as hero and villain in many low-cost action and science fiction films; appeared in movies such as Project Shadowchaser (1992) and its three sequels, and Operation Delta Force (1997). Zagarino continued to work until 2014; the actor was married to the actress Elizabeth Giordano with whom he had two children; he is owns a film and movie equipment rental company in New York; in his spare time he practices surf and gym."Frank" is like John, Joe, George, or Rex: A classic name for a strong, rugged action hero. Zagarino throws you for a curveball because its sounds foreign, unique, and dangerous.- Actor
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Robert Z'Dar was born Robert James Zdarsky on June 3, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois. He caught the acting bug while attending Proviso West High School in Hillside. He received a BFA from Arizona State University. Prior to acting Z'Dar was a singer/keyboardist/guitar player for the Chicago-based rock band Nova Express, which performed as an opening act for such groups as Jefferson Airplane, The Who, and The Electric Prunes. Other early jobs included a jingle writer for the Leo Burnett and J. Walter Thompson ad agencies, a Chicago police officer, and even a brief stint as a Chippendales dancer.
Big, brawny and imposing, with an enormous face, gigantic jaw, and a massive, muscular physique, the hulking 6'2" Z'Dar projected a strong, aggressive, and intimidating screen presence that was ideally suited for the steady succession of mean, nasty, and extremely scary larger-than-life villains he often portrayed throughout a career that spanned over three decades. Z'Dar acted in his film debut in the mid-1980's. He achieved his greatest and most enduring cult movie fame as the vengeful, relentless, and seemingly indestructible undead New York City police officer Matt Cordell in the immensely entertaining "Maniac Cop" pictures. Among Z'Dar's other memorable roles were a prison guard in the enjoyably sleazy "Hellhole," a crazed prostitute-murdering serial killer in "The Night Stalker" (this part directly led to Z'Dar being cast as Matt Cordell), a vicious criminal who savagely beats up Sylvestor Stallone in "Tango and Cash," the Angel of Death in "Soultaker," a smooth drug dealer in the delightfully outrageous "The Divine Enforcer," and Linnea Quigley's abusive husband in "The Rockville Slayer."
A popular frequent guest at horror film conventions, Z'Dar also produced several movies and continued to act with pleasing regularity in a slew of features up until his death from cardiac arrest at age 64 on March 30, 2015.Robert is a perfectly fine, strong first name. The last name of Z'Dar, however, adds a layer of mystery to the man. How z'dare you cross Z'Dar!- Sound Department
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Kelly Zombor was born on 24 April 1966 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He is a director and writer, known for Godzilla (2014), The Predator (2018) and Trapped (2002).I have no idea who Kelly Zombor is but I'm fairly certain this person must control an army of undead warriors.