Archive for the ‘Top 100 Actors’ tag
Australian Actress Toni Collette
London Academy of Media Film TV
EARLY LIFE
Toni Collette
Antonia Collette, commonly known as Toni, was born on the 1st of November, 1972. This unique looking actress with her wide smile and diverse acting abilities has gathered a huge following in Hollywood. She grew up in Glebe, Sydney, till she was six before she moved to what was then the start of a sprawling suburb of western Sydney, Blacktown. Her father, Bob Collette, was a truck driver and her mother, Judy, a customer-service representative. She grew up with two younger brothers, Ben and Christopher, and had a very tom-boyish upbringing, something that still seems to come through today. From an early age she had an ability to act. This was evidenced when, at the age of eleven, she convinced doctors to have her appendix taken out even though there was nothing wrong with it. She left Blacktown Girls High School when she was 16 and pursued acting at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts) where she only stayed for 18 months before stepping into films.
CAREER
Her first film was with Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins in Spotswood (1992), a role which earned her a nomination for best supporting actress award by the AFI (Australian Film Institute). It’s reported that Russell Crowe took her out, got her drunk, smoked pot, and even went so far as to hold her hair when she got sick from it all… and this all before she was 18 (the legal drinking age in Australia). 1994 saw the release of Muriel’s Wedding, which needed a performance by a very talented actress to show the terrible turmoil hidden behind the cheerful facade of Muriel. Toni Collette won the role and had to gain 40 pounds in seven weeks but her performance earned her an AFI for Best Actress and a Golden Globe nomination.
She did her first Broadway performance in the production of The Wild Party which earned her a Tony nomination but forced her to turn down a role in Bridget Jones’s Diary. However, this allowed her to be in M. Night Shymalan’s The Sixth Sense (1999) with Bruce Willis. A role that earned her an Academy Award nomination and brought her real international attention. One of her other big films is the record breaking indie, Little Miss Sunshine (2006). It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and was picked up for a then record breaking $10.5 million distribution right by Fox Searchlight Productions. The film went on to gross over $100 million world-wide, making it one of the most successful independent films of the mid-2000’s. She now stars in the Showtime comedy-drama The United States of Tara, which is in its third season and produced by Steven Spielberg and Oscar winning writer Diablo Cody. Next, she will be in the 2011 remake of Fright Night.
CHARITY
Toni Collette & The Finish
One of her dreams when growing up was to sing and have an album released which she achieved in 2006 with Toni Collette & The Finish’s album Beautiful Awkward Pictures. They then lent their musical talent to the Al Gore production Live Earth in Sydney in 2007 to combat climate issues. She involves herself in a lot of charity causes – everything from UNICEF to Doctors Without Borders and she is also a very active supporter of PETA and animal rights.
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
She married Dave Galafassi in January of 2011, and gave birth to daughter, Sage Florence, on the 9th January, 2008. She is expecting another child soon and announced her pregnancy on the 25th October, 2010. She is represented by Lindy King at London’s United Agency Pty Ltd and is managed by the Australian renowned business Shanahan Management Pty Ltd.
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English Actor Sir Michael Caine
London Academy of Media Film TV
WARTIME EDUCATION
On 14th March 1933 in Southwark, South East London, Maurice Joseph Micklewhite (now known as Sir Michael Caine) was born to a charlady and a fish market porter. Caine has a younger brother called Stanley, who was born in 1935. Caine was raised in Camberwell, South London, but during the Second World War, he was an evacuee, spending his time in North Runcton in Norfolk. He won a scholarship to Hackney Downs Grocers School in 1944 after passing his eleven plus exam and after spending a year there he moved to Wilson’s Grammar School in Camberwell. He left school at sixteen, having earned six School Certificates for various subjects.
ACTIVE SERVICE
After leaving school he got a job as a filing clerk and messenger for the film producer Jay Lewis and a film company in Victoria Street. In 1952, Caine was called up for his National Service and spent two years in the Royal Fusiliers of the British Army. In this time he served in Germany and also saw active service during the Korean War.
A CHANGE OF NAME
Caine decided to take on a screen name at the start of his acting career, originally choosing “Michael Scott”, but was promptly told that the name was already in use. While on the phone to his agent in a Leicester Square telephone box, he looked around for inspiration. He saw that The Caine Mutiny was playing at the Odeon Cinema, and the rest is history. He has joked that if he had looked the other way first, he would now be called “Michael 101 Dalmatians”.
THE BIG BREAK
After becoming assistant stage manager at the Carfax Theater, he took many walk-on roles followed by many small TV roles, but he first gained a name for himself for his role as Gonville Bromhead VC, the upper class British Army officer in the 1964 film Zulu. This film gave him notability for using his regional accent. In 1965, Caine played Harry Palmer in the Ipcress file, which became another of his most famous roles. In 1966, Caine made a break in the US after an invitation from Shirley MacLaine to play opposite her in the film Gambit.
SUCCESS THROUGH THE DECADES
The end of the 60’s saw Caine cement his name in the acting hall of fame even further by playing in the box office hits The Italian Job, with Noel Coward and Battle of Britain as part of an all star cast (both 1969). The 1970’s and 80’s brought even more success for Caine, with many starring roles, and Caine has mentioned one of his most memorable roles was in the 1992 film Muppet Christmas Carol, where he played Ebenezer Scrooge. In the mid-nineties he played in a couple of straight to video sequels to Harry Palmer, but he retained his cult status from his previous achievements. He returned to form with his Oscar winning performance in The Cider House Rules, and has appeared in many more hit films since.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE
In 1955, Caine was married to actress Patricia Haines and they had one daughter called Dominique together. Since 1973 he has been married to Shakira Baksh, who he saw appearing in a coffee advert. They have a daughter named Natasha Haleema.
Caine has had a hugely successful acting career, having been nominated for an Oscar six times, winning twice, and is alongside Jack Nicholson as being the only two actors to have been nominated for an Academy Award in every decade since the 1960’s. In the year 2000, he received a knighthood.
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