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Mary-Louise Parker Biography

Posted by Vogt
at May 9, 2008

Mary-Louise Parker Biography.jpg

A versatile and pretty theater veteran with a distinctive voice and delicate features, Mary-Louise Parker was a well-traveled “army brat” who began her stage career in New York City during the mid-1980s. She earned a 1990 Tony nomination for her performance as a young bride who accidentally swaps souls with an old man in Craig Lucas’ “Prelude to a Kiss” and later picked up an OBIE for her riveting portrayal of a victim of child abuse in Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “How I Learned to Drive” (1997). In between, she essayed roles as diverse as a woman driven to madness by the birth of a deformed child in “Babylon Gardens” (1991), a schemingly ambitious actress in the black comedy “Four Dogs and a Bone” (1993) and the vocally-challenged saloon singer Cherie in a 1996 revival of “Bus Stop”, opposite Billy Crudup. In 1998, Parker won critical kudos as a Cockney dominatrix who overhears a dying man’s confession and attempts to save his victims by traveling back in time in Alan Ayckbourn’s razor-sharp comedy “Communicating Doors”. The actress’ next stage appearance saw her offer an acclaimed turn (which netted her a Tony Award) as a mathematician coping with the legacy of her father in the Pulitzer-winning “Proof.”

Parker made her film debut as an abused girlfriend in “Signs of Life” (1989) and was the best friend of a gay man dealing with the AIDS crisis in “Longtime Companion” (1989), scripted by Lucas and directed by Norman Rene. She had a nice turn as a lonely secretary infatuated with her employer (Kevin Kline) in Lawrence Kasdan’s “Grand Canyon”, but it was her breakthrough part as an abused wife empowered by her friendship with a female cafe owner (Mary Stuart Masterson) in the sleeper “Fried Green Tomatoes” (both 1991) that really opened eyes to her facility for complex characterizations.

Parker continued to build her resume with starring roles in the coming-of-age flick “Naked in New York,” (1994) and opposite Matt Dillon in the gritty romantic comedy “Mr. Wonderful” (1993). After portraying the struggling mother of the adolescent title character in the thriller “The Client” and appearing as John Cusack’s girlfriend in Woody Allen’s popular comedy “Bullets Over Broadway” (1994), Parker was a series of sad and delightful revelations in “Boys on the Side” (1995). Her emotionally compelling turn as a young woman with AIDS recalled her work in “Fried Green Tomatoes” and was easily the best thing about the movie which also starred Whoopi Goldberg and Drew Barrymore.

Reuniting with Norman Rene and Craig Lucas, Parker had a showy supporting part as Scott Glenn’s paraplegic, deaf mute wife in their dark comedy “Reckless” (1995). She next appeared as Nicole Kidman’s compatriot in Jane Campion’s film version of the Henry James novel “The Portrait of a Lady” (1996). After Parker’s awkward but attractive secretary romanced Don Johnson in Roland Jaffe’s comic thriller “Goodbye Lover” (1998), she registered as the wonderfully high strung cake maker with no sense of taste in the 1999 Canadian-made “The Five Senses.”

Besides an early stint on the ABC soap “Ryan’s Hope”, Parker had appeared in only one TV-movie, the WWII drama “Too Young the Hero” (CBS, 1988), prior to her 1994 portrayal of a sullen, chain-smoking, AIDS-stricken mother who after a year’s absence returns to legally reclaim her daughter from the pediatrics nurse-turned-foster parent played by Sissy Spacek in “A Place for Annie” (ABC). Since then, she has turned up frequently on the small screen, beginning with a deft performance as singer Phyllis McGuire in the HBO biopic “Sugartime” (1995). She has seduction on her mind in TNT’s “Legalese” (1998), but her very direct legal assistant developed emotionally as the relationship with a young lawyer in the firm became more than just sex. In top form as a flaky, tragic divorcee in the stylish, yet quirky “Anne Tyler’s ‘Saint Maybe’” (CBS, 1998), she landed in another top-notch TV movie, “The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn” (CBS, 1999), portraying a compassionate psychiatrist whose association with the charming, innocent Sidney Poitier makes her re-evaluate her own priorities. The following year she was an unhappy young woman who finds renewed purpose after falling in love with Peter Gallagher in the “Hallmark Hall of Fame” production “Cupid & Cate” (CBS, 2000).

Also in 2000, Parker began acting in the award-winning play “Proof” starring as Catherine, the enigmatic troubled young woman embroiled in a mathematical mystery. Her performance garnered her a Tony Award for Best Actress in 2001 and in 2002, the role was handed down to Anne Heche. Meanwhile, Parker stayed busy working in television where her role on “The West Wing” as Amy Gardner has been applauded by critics and earned the actress an Emmy nomination in 2002. Also in 2002, Parker filmed the “Red Dragon” with Anthony Hopkins and Ed Norton, the prequel to “Silence of the Lambs” (1991) and “Pipe Dream,” a straight-to-video romantic comedy about a hapless plumber who poses as a director in order to meet women. Then in 2003, she joined the A-list ensemble cast of HBO’s acclaimed TV adaptation of the Tony award-winning “Angels In America,” for which she earned an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie and a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.

Parker next starred in the Lifetime movie, “Miracle Run” (2004), a true story about a mother who struggles to raise two autistic sons. After starring in the Showtime drama, “The Best Thief in the World” (2004), she returned to features with a supporting role in “Saved!” (2004), a timid black comedy set at a fictional Christian high school where a young girl (Jena Malone), seeking acceptance into a popular clique, goes on a mission to save her boyfriend (Chad Faust) who thinks he might be gay. Meanwhile, Parker landed the lead role on “Weeds” (Showtime, 2005- ), a stoner comedy about a widowed suburban mom who maintains her lifestyle after her husband’s sudden death by flooding her idyllic community with high-grade pot. Parker won a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy.

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Helen Hunt Biography

Posted by Vogt
at May 9, 2008

Helen Hunt.jpg

A pretty, effervescent blonde player, Helen Hunt is the daughter of acting coach and director Gordon Hunt. Born in Culver City, CA, she moved with her family to NYC for six years where she was exposed to theater. When her family returned to L.A., Hunt had decided she wanted to be an actress. Her first job was in the TV-movie “Pioneer Woman” (ABC, 1973), as the daughter of Joanna Pettet. Hunt landed her first spot as a series regular playing the daughter of a policewoman (Jessica Walter) on “Amy Prentiss” (NBC, 1974-75). She continued playing daughters (”Swiss Family Robinson”, ABC 1975-76; “It Takes Two” ABC, 1982-83) or girls-next-door (”The Fitzpatricks”, CBS 1977-78) in series TV, guest appearances (”Family”) and TV-movies (”Angel Dusted”, NBC 1981). Her lead performance in the CBS TV-movie “Quarterback Princess” (1983) earned her praise. One of Hunt’s first adult roles was as the girlfriend of Dr. Jack Morrison (David Morse) on the acclaimed NBC drama series “St. Elsewhere”. She played the title role in “Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Smart Story” (1991) about a school teacher arrested along with her 16-year-old lover for the murder of her husband. Hunt received some of her best notices to date (as well as several awards including two Emmys) as Jamie Buchman in the weekly comedy series “Mad About You” (NBC, 1992-99), co-starring with Paul Reiser as a couple facing the ups and downs of marriage.

On stage, Hunt appeared off-Broadway with Mary Stuart Masterson in “Been Taken” (1985) and co-starred opposite first Eric Stoltz and later Jason Gedrick on Broadway as Emily Webb in a revival of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” (1989). She has appeared in Los Angeles-area productions of “Vital Signs”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Value of Names”.

On the big screen, Hunt made her debut in “Rollercoaster” (1977), played Sarah Jessica Parker’s goofy friend in “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1985) and Kathleen Turner’s teenaged daughter in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986). She brought spunk to her role as an animal trainer in “Project X” (1987), was wasted as Patrick Swayze’s wife in “Next of Kin” (1989) and delivered a delicately nuanced, richly observed portrayal of a married editor of a writer crippled in a climbing accident who becomes romantically involved with him in Neil Jimenez’s “The Waterdance” (1992). In 1992, her “Quarterback Princess” co-star Tim Robbins directed her in a cameo in his political satire “Bob Roberts” and she won praise as a smart-mouthed young agent of Buddy Young Jr (Billy Crystal) in “Mr. Saturday Night” (1992). After a turn as David Caruso’s wife in Barbet Schroeder’s “Kiss of Death” (1995), Hunt had her biggest screen hit with Jan De Bont’s “Twister” (1996). Hunt looked great in a tank top but also brought a strong presence and believable intelligence to her role as a scientist tracking tornadoes with her estranged husband (Bill Paxton). She earned glowing reviews and netted a Best Actress Oscar for her turn as a single mother and waitress who becomes involved with Jack Nicholson’s curmudgeon in “As Good As It Gets” (1997). On the strength of this performance, Hunt was cast as the leading lady in a slew of movies in 2000, playing opposite Kevin Spacey, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson and Tom Hanks. In 2001, she starred opposited Woody Allen in “Curse of the Jade Scorpion,” and in 2002 was busy developing several projects under her Hunt/Tavel Productions company, these with Hunt in a leading, rather than romantic supporting role.

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