The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion Press Kit/The Curse of the Jade Scorpion Press Kit.iso/pc/Production Notes/ABOUT THE CAST.txt

Text File | 2001-06-25 | 12KB | 178 lines

ABOUT THE CAST

    DAN AYKROYD (Chris Magruder) was honored with an Academy AwardÆ
nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Boolie Werthan in the Best
Picture winner "Driving Miss Daisy."  He is well known to film audiences for his work in
more than 40 features, including Ivan Reitman's "Ghostbusters" and "Ghostbusters II,"
both of which he also co-wrote; "Trading Places," with Eddie Murphy; "Dragnet," which
he also co-wrote; "My Girl"; and "Chaplin."  This summer, he was seen in the
blockbuster "Pearl Harbor" and made a cameo appearance in Ivan Reitman's sci-fi
comedy "Evolution."
Aykroyd first came to fame as one of the original "Not Ready For Primetime
Players" on "Saturday Night Live."  While on the show, he created many of its most
popular and enduring characters, including the Coneheads patriarch, Beldar, and
Elwood Blues, who, together with John Belushi's Jake Blues, formed "The Blues
Brothers."
He and Belushi later brought "The Blues Brothers" to the big screen in the hit
film of the same name, co-written by Aykroyd.  His many other film credits include
"Twilight Zone: The Movie"; Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of
Doom"; "Spies Like Us," which he also co-wrote; "My Stepmother Is an Alien";
"Nothing But Trouble," which he also co-wrote; "Sneakers"; "Coneheads," which he
also co-wrote; "My Girl 2"; "Exit to Eden"; "Tommy Boy"; "Grosse Pointe Blank";
"Blues Brothers 2000," which he co-wrote and produced; the computer animated
comedy "Antz"; "Diamonds," with Kirk Douglas; "Stardom"; and "The House of Mirth."
His upcoming films include "The Devil and Daniel Webster," also starring
Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Alec Baldwin, who also directed the film;
and "Who Shot Victor Fox," with Kathy Bates and Rupert Everett.

    ELIZABETH BERKLEY (Jill) was most recently seen on the big screen in
Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday," starring Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid
and Jamie Foxx.  On television, she recently starred in the longform projects
"Becoming Dick," directed by Bob Saget, and "The Elevator."
    Berkley trained as a dancer and performed with the American Ballet Theatre
and the New York City Ballet before segueing to acting.  When she was still in her
teens, she landed a regular role on the popular Saturday morning series "Saved By
the Bell."
    She made her feature film debut starring in Paul Verhoeven's "Showgirls."  Her
subsequent film credits include "The First Wives Club," starring Goldie Hawn, Diane
Keaton and Bette Midler, "The Real Blonde," and "The Last Call."  She also had a
recurring role on ABC's acclaimed series "NYPD Blue," in addition to guest starring on
numerous other television series.

    HELEN HUNT (Betty Ann Fitzgerald) is one of today's most honored
actresses, as well as one of the busiest.  In 1998, she won an Academy AwardÆ, a
Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her work in Jim Brooks'
"As Good As It Gets," opposite Jack Nicholson.
Last year, Hunt starred in four high profile feature films, beginning with Robert
Altman's "Dr. T & the Women," opposite Richard Gere.  Following in quick succession,
she starred with Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment in "Pay It Forward," with Tom
Hanks in "Cast Away," and opposite Mel Gibson in "What Women Want," winning
Blockbuster Awards for the two latter films.  Hunt had previously won a Blockbuster
Award for her work in the mega-hit "Twister."
    Hunt is also well known to television audiences for her role as Jamie Buchman
on the long-running series "Mad About You."  Nominated for seven Emmy Awards for
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in as many seasons, she won the
award four consecutive times.  Her work on the show also earned her three Golden
Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and three American Comedy Awards.  In
addition, Hunt made her directorial debut on one of the series' final episodes.
    Hunt had earlier received widespread praise for her performance in the award-
winning independent feature "The Waterdance," in which she starred with Eric Stoltz
and Wesley Snipes.  Her additional film credits include "Kiss of Death," "Bob Roberts,"
"Mr. Saturday Night," "Next of Kin," "Miles From Home," "Project X," "Peggy Sue Got
Married" and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."
    Prior to "Mad About You," Hunt had regular roles on several series, including
the acclaimed "St. Elsewhere."  She has also starred in more than 15 telefilms,
including "In the Company of Darkness," "Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela
Smart Story," "Into the Badlands," "Bill: On His Own," "Choices of the Heart" and "The
Miracle of Kathy Miller," in which she played the title role.
    Hunt has also performed on the stage, making her Broadway debut in 1989 in
Thornton Wilder's "Our Town."  Her other stage work includes the role of Bianca in the
Shakespeare in the Park production of "The Taming of the Shrew," and she more
recently starred as Viola in "Twelfth Night," presented at Lincoln Center.

    BRIAN MARKINSON (Al) counts "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" as his third
outing with Woody Allen, following roles in "Small Time Crooks" and "Sweet and
Lowdown."  He has also worked repeatedly with director Mike Nichols in the films
"What Planet Are You From?," "Primary Colors" and "Wolf."  His additional film credits
include "City of Angels," "Volcano," "Up Close & Personal," "Apollo 13," "The Hard
Truth," "Mixed Nuts" and "The Doctor."
    On television, Markinson has appeared in numerous longform projects,
including "The Sports Pages," "Take Me Home: The John Denver Story," "Forgotten
Sins," "In the Blink of an Eye," "Fall Into Darkness," "White Mile," "Witness to the
Execution," "In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance," "Columbo: Butterfly in
Shades of Gray," "Sinatra" and "A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story."
    In addition, Markinson has had recurring roles on several series, including
"Dark Angel," "Party of Five," "NYPD Blue," "Millennium" and "Star Trek: Voyager."
His other television credits include guest roles on such series as "The X-Files," "Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Law & Order," "Murphy
Brown" and "China Beach."

    WALLACE SHAWN (George Bond), one of today's most recognizable
character actors, previously worked with Woody Allen in the films "Shadows and Fog,"
"Radio Days" and "Manhattan."  Film audiences also remember him for his roles in
Amy Heckerling's hit comedy "Clueless," and in Louis Malle's acclaimed "My Dinner
With Andre," which he also co-wrote.  Malle also directed Shawn in "Vanya on 42nd
Street," "Atlantic City" and "Crackers."
Shawn's work with other directors includes Sidney Lumet's "Critical Care," Alan
Rudolph's "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" and "The Moderns," Blake Edwards'
"Micki & Maude," Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride," Stephen Frears' "Prick Up Your
Ears," James Ivory's "The Bostonians" and Robert Altman's "Atlantic City."  His voice
has also been heard in the animated hits "Toy Story," "Toy Story 2" and "The Goofy
Movie."  Among his other film credits are "My Favorite Martian," "Scenes From the
Class Struggle in Beverly Hills" and "Hotel New Hampshire."
On television, Shawn recently starred in the Marilyn Monroe biopic "Blonde"
and the telefilm "Noah."  He was also a regular on the series "Clueless," reprising the
role of the teacher Mr. Hall, and had recurring roles on the shows "Murphy Brown,"
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "The Cosby Show" and "Taxi."
    In addition to his acting, Shawn is also a noted playwright.  His most celebrated
work, "The Designated Mourner," debuted at the National Theatre in London, starring
Mike Nichols and Miranda Richardson.  Shawn later adapted the play into a widely
praised feature film, again starring Nichols and Richardson, for director David Hare.
In 2000, the play "The Designated Mourner" made its American debut in an off-
Broadway run, starring Shawn, which received rave reviews.  He also wrote and
starred in the plays "Marie and Bruce," "Aunt Dan and Lemon" and "The Fever."

    DAVID OGDEN STIERS (Voltan) is a familiar face, as well as voice, to both
film and television audiences.  Woody Allen previously directed him in the films
"Everyone Says I Love You," "Mighty Aphrodite," "Another Woman" and "Shadows
and Fog.  He has also lent his distinctive voice to the animated hits "Beauty and the
Beast," "Pocahontas" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and he can be heard this
summer in "Atlantis: The Lost Empire."  He will next be seen with Jim Carrey in "The
Majestic," and includes among his other film credits "Jungle 2 Jungle," "Steal Big,
Steal Little," "Bad Company," "Doc Hollywood," "The Accidental Tourist," "The Man
With One Red Shoe," "Magic" and "Oh, God!."
    Stiers was honored with two Emmy Award nominations for his unforgettable
portrayal of Major Charles Emerson Winchester on the hit series "M*A*S*H."  He was
also Emmy-nominated for his work in the telefilm "The First Modern Olympics."  His
extensive television credits also include the longform projects "Justice League of
America," "The Last of His Tribe," "Wife, Mother, Murderer," "The Final Days," "Hoover
vs. The Kennedys," "Day One," "North & South" and "North & South II," "Mrs. Delafield
Wants to Marry," "Anatomy of an Illness," "The Innocents Abroad" and eight "Perry
Mason" telefilms.
    Starting out in the theatre, Stiers studied under John Houseman at the Julliard
School.  Upon graduating, he became a charter member of Houseman's acting
company, appearing in such plays as "The Beggar's Opera," "Measure For Measure"
and "The Lower Depths."  He made his Broadway debut in "Ulysses in Night Town,"
with Zero Mostel, and later created the role of Feldman the Magnificent in "The Magic
Show."  He has also starred in and directed regional productions of "Love Letters" and
"Autumn Canticle," and directed an award-winning production of "Scapino" at San
Diego's Old Globe Theatre.
    In addition to his acting, Stiers has conducted some 40 symphony orchestras
in cities across the country, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego,
Chicago and Honolulu.  He is also the principal guest conductor/associate conductor
of the Yaquina Orchestra and the Ernest Bloch Music Festival.

CHARLIZE THERON (Laura Kensington) has emerged as one of the film
industry's most sought-after leading ladies.  She previously worked with Woody Allen
as part of an all-star ensemble cast in "Celebrity."  More recently, she starred in the
romantic drama "Sweet November," opposite Keanu Reeves; the fable "The Legend of
Bagger Vance," with Matt Damon and Will Smith; the true-life drama "Men of Honor,"
with Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding, Jr.; and "The Yards," with Mark Wahlberg and
Joaquin Phoenix.  Theron also co-starred with Michael Caine and Tobey Maguire in
Lasse Hallstrˆm's acclaimed drama "The Cider House Rules," based on John Irving's
best-selling novel.  She next stars in Luis Mandoki's action thriller "24 Hours," with
Courtney Love.
    A native of South Africa, Theron began her career as a model, working
extensively in such fashion capitals as Milan and Paris before moving to the United
States.  In 1996, she made her feature film debut in the crime drama "2 Days in the
Valley," joining an ensemble cast that also included James Spader, Eric Stoltz and
Jeff Daniels.  Theron received critical raves for her standout performance as Helga,
Spader's murderously seductive partner.
    That same year, Tom Hanks cast her as Tina, Tom Everett Scott's hometown
girlfriend, in his directorial debut feature "That Thing You Do!."  Theron went on to star
in Jonathan Lynn's "Trial and Error," with Michael Richards and Jeff Daniels, and then
co-starred with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in the thriller "The Devil's Advocate."
Her other film credits include starring roles in the comedy "Wakin' Up in Reno,"
with Billy Bob Thornton and Patrick Swayze; the thriller "The Astronaut's Wife,"
opposite Johnny Depp; John Frankenheimer's action thriller "Reindeer Games," with
Ben Affleck; and the family film "Mighty Joe Young," with Bill Paxton.



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