Samantha Mathis Biography
The pert, attractive, young Mathis is a third-generation performer (granddaughter of Austrian actress Gusti Huber, daughter of actress Bibi Besch). The New York and L.A.-raised teen got her first role–as an Amish girl–in the short-lived TV series “Aaron’s Way” (NBC, 1988). She continued to work in TV sporadically, her contributions consisting of the crime series “Knightwatch” (ABC, 1988-89) and supporting roles in the TV-movies “American Nuclear” (as James Farentino’s daughter, CBS, 1989), “Cold Sassy Tree” (TNT, 1989), and three 1990 movies, “Extreme Close-Up” (NBC), “82 Hours ‘Til Dawn” (CBS) and “To My Daughter” (NBC).
But the big screen was Mathis’ goal, and in 1989 she made her film debut in the low-budget thriller “Forbidden Sun”. The following year, she garnered positive notices for her portrayal of an angst-ridden teen poet in “Pump Up the Volume” (1990), co-starring Christian Slater. Coasting on good notices, she won the part of the awkward teenage daughter of Julie Kavner in Nora Ephron’s “This is My Life” (1992). After contributing a voice-over in the animated “FernGully: The Last Rainforest” (1992), Mathis graduated to adult roles (though in a juvenile film) as the love interest of John Leguizamo in the film version of the hit video game “Super Mario Bros.” (1993). A small role in the thriller “The Music of Chance” (1993) followed, but Mathis finally starred–with the ill-fated River Phoenix–in the drama about aspiring country and western singers, “The Thing Called Love” (1993). That last was important in Mathis’ life: she began dating Phoenix and was with him the night he died, and female co-star Sandra Bullock became her best friend.
The parts came fast and furious by the mid-1990s: she was cute, spoiled, adult Amy in “Little Women” (1994) and had three good roles in 1995: a waitress-turned-nanny in the romantic British comedy “Jack & Sarah” (released in the US in 1996), portraying a youthful version of Lois Smith’s Sophia in Jocelyn Moorhouse’s “How to Make an American Quilt”, and Chief Executive Michael Douglas’ assistant in “The American President”. She was reunited with former co-star (and former boyfriend) Christian Slater for John Woo’s action thriller “Broken Arrow” (1996), as a park ranger trying to rein in psycho John Travolta.
- Born:
on 05/12/1970 in New York, New York - Job Titles:
Actor
Significant Others
- Companion: Christian Slater. dated c. 1990
- Companion: River Phoenix. began dating while co-starring in “The Thing Called Love”; together until his death on October 31, 1993
Milestones
- 1973 Parents divorced
- 1977 Moved to L.A. with her mother at age six
- 1988 TV-series debut, “Aaron’s Way”
- 1989 Feature acting debut, “Forbidden Sun”
- 1989 TV-movie debut, “Cold Sassy Tree”
- 1992 Lent her voice to the animated film, “FernGully: The Last Rainforest”
- 1993 First film in a lead role, “The Thing Called Love”
- 1999 Co-starred in the short-lived Fox drama “Harsh Realm”
- 1999 Made L.A. area stage debut opposite Linda Lavin in “Collected Stories”; production filmed and telecast over PBS in 2002
- 2000 Acted in “Attraction”; screened at Toronto Film Festival
- 2000 Had featured role in “American Psycho”
- 2001 Had regular role in the NBC drama series “First Years”
- 2001 Portrayed Gwenhwyfer (Guenevere) in the feminist retelling of the Arthurian legend “The Mists of Avalon” (TNT)
- 2004 Cast as the wife of Thomas Jane in “The Punisher”
Maggie Gyllenhaal Biography
A versitile and intriguing actress, whose penetrating acting and off-kilter beauty were initially relegated to supporting roles, Maggie Gyllenhaal broke out to the forefront with the edgy S&M themed drama “Secretary.” Despite this being her first starring role, she did not spend much time in the trenches, having a relatively painless decade paying dues before getting her first major role at the age of 24.
Having grown up in a family of entertainment professionals, it is no surprise Gyllenhaal decided to pursue a career in acting. Her mother is successful screenwriter Naomi Foner (Oscar nominated for her 1988 screenplay for “Running on Empty,” starring River Phoenix) and her father is accomplished film and television director Stephen Gyllenhaal (nominated for an Emmy for 1990 telepic “A Killing in a Small Town” and directed feature “Losing Isaiah” in 1995). Adding a healthy dose of sibling rivalry to go along with these parental expectations, her brother is successful actor Jake Gyllenhaal (”Moonlight Mile” 2002).
Gyllenhaal was born in New York City but grew up in Los Angeles where she and her brother attended the prestigious Harvard-Wakeland prep school, known as a “who’s who among who’s whose kids” in the Hollywood circle. Here Gyllenhaal was an excellent student and active in the drama program. At the age of 15, Gyllenhaal had her feature debut in the nostalgic drama “Waterland” (1992), directed by her father and starring Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke. She next had another small role in “A Dangerous Woman” (1993), also directed by her father. In 1995, Gyllenhaal moved to New York to attend Columbia University. While she was busy studying Eastern religion and literature in school, she also found the time to further her professional acting career. She appeared in two more television movies directed by her father as well as the feature “Homegrown” (1998), also written and directed by her father.
After graduating from Columbia in 1999, Gyllenhaal certainly had ample exposure to the film and television world. However, in order to really break into the business, Gyllenhaal would need a stand-out role to get her in the running for the high-profile parts. That break came in the form of her role as Raven, a Satanic make-up artist in the eccentric John Waters film “Cecil B. Demented.” (2000). This gave Gyllenhaal enough recognition that she landed a string of supporting roles the following year. She played her brother’s sister in the far-out sci-fi movie “Donnie Darko” (2001), appeared in “Riding in Cars with Boys” (2001) and was featured in the teen romance “40 Days and 40 Nights.”
Not the kind of actress meant to lay wait in obscurity for very long, Gyllenhaal had a breakout performance with “Secretary” in 2002. Playing a timid young woman recovering from a mental breakdown who engages in a S&M relationship with her boss, Gyllenhaal brought the depth and delicacy called for in the role. The movie won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance and was promptly picked up for theatrical distribution. Gyllenhaal’s indie actress, star-on-the-rise status was solidified with awards nominations–including a Golden Globe– and her next projects, Charlie Kaufman’s mind-bending film-about-writing-a-film “Adaptation” (2002) and the John Sayles directed “Casa de Los Babys” (2003). She also joined fellow up-and-comers Julia Stiles and Kirsten Dunst as students of a liberal-minded instructor (Julia Roberts) at 1950s Wellesley College, nearly stealing the entertaining but routine movie as Giselle Levy, the wised-up class rebel who sleeps around and almost loses her bearings. Quickly gaining a reputation as a cerebral actress, often compared to the likes of Cate Blanchett, Emily Watson or a young Diane Keaton, Maggie Gyllenhaal has stepped out from the shadow of her parents and her brother and to shine alone in the spotlight.
The actress continued to deliver a string of unflinching, unselfconscious performances, including Sidney Lumet’s harrowing HBO telepic “Strip Search” (2004), in which two parallel plotline exploring post-9/11 issues of civil liberties and personal freedoms. Gyllenhaal played an American woman detained in China on suspicion of terrorisim, forced to defend her own rights to an interrogator (Ken Leung) in a sweltering basement prison, stripped bare both physically and emotionally. After compellingly playing a hustling con artist in the otherwise middling crime drama “Criminal” (2004), Gyllenhaal turned in one her most winning performances to date in director Don Roos’ seriocomic “Happy Endings” (2005). As the morally ambiguous singer Jude, who seduces a closeted gay youth (Jason Ritter) then turns her sights on his lonely, wealthy father (Tom Arnold) Gyllenhaal dazzled with her subtle, shifting behaviors, creating a compelling, fully realized character than was neither fully good or fully bad.
- Born:
on 11/16/1977 in New York City, New York - Job Titles:
Actor, Writer, Bussed tables in an upscale Massachusetts restaurant
Family
- Brother: Jake Gyllenhaal. born in 1980
- Father: Stephen Gyllenhaal.
- Mother: Naomi Foner.
Significant Others
- Companion: Peter Sarsgaard. reportedly engaged as of December 2002
- Companion: . Dating un-named person “in the entertainment industry” as of August 2002
- Companion: . Had live-in boyfriend during college who was a painter; no longer together
Education
- Columbia University, New York, NY, literature and eastern religion, B.A.
- Havard-Westlake School, Los Angeles, CA
Milestones
- 1978 Moved with family to Los Angeles
- 1990 Attended presigious Los Angeles prep school Harvard-Westlake along with younger brother Jake; involved in theater in school and staged performances for friends and family
- 1992 Had feature acting debut in “Waterland”
- 1995 Moved to New York to attend NYU
- 2000 Had supporting role in “Cecil B. DeMented”
- 2001 Had small role in Drew Barrymore film “Riding in Cars with Boys”
- 2001 Played the sister of her real-life brother in “Donnie Darko”
- 2002 Appeared in Spike Jones directed “Adaptation,” written by Charlie Kaufman
- 2002 Breakout role starring as a mentally fragile woman who embarks on an S&M relationship with her boss in the Sundance hit “Secretary”; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical
- 2002 Had supporting role in “40 Days and 40 Nights” starring Josh Hartnet and Shannyn Sossamon
- 2003 Co-Starred with Julia Roberts in “Mona Lisa Smile”
- 2004 Starred as an American student in China, in HBO’s “Strip Search,” a provocative drama about civil liberties in the post-9/11
- 2004 Starred opposite John C. Reilly and Diego Luna in “Criminal” an English-language version of the Argentine hit “Nine Queens”
- 2005 Co-starred in “Happy Endings,” a comedic drama about the ups and downs of relationships; earned an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best Supporting Female
- 2006 Played an ex-con in the indie drama, “Sherrybaby”
- Acted in a series of low-budget films and tv movies
- Will play the wive of a Port Authority officer rescued from the World Trade Center in Oliver Stone’s upcoming 9/11 movie (lensed 2005)
Casey Affleck Welcomes a Second Child
Casey Affleck and wife Summer Phoenix welcomed a second child, a son, the actor’s rep says.
No other details have been announced.
Affleck, 32, and Phoenix, 30, who were married in June 2006, also have 3-year-old son Indiana August.
Affleck stars in Gone, Baby, Gone, directed by brother Ben Affleck. Phoenix is the younger sister of actors Joaquin and the late River Phoenix.
Casey Affleck, Summer Phoenix Wed
Actor Casey Affleck and his girlfriend of six years, Summer Phoenix, got married over the weekend, Friends has learned.
Affleck, 30, is the younger brother of Ben Affleck; Phoenix, 28, is the younger sister of actors Joaquin and the late River Phoenix.
The couple first met through Joaquin Phoenix, Affleck’s good friend since they costarred in 1995’s To Die For. They became engaged in New York City over the 2003 Christmas holidays. Their son, Indiana August, was born May 31, 2004, in Amsterdam.
Affleck and Phoenix are both passionate about politics, animal rights and veganism. “He is a bleeding heart,” Phoenix told Boston magazine of her then-fiancé. “He is the most generous guy I have ever met.”
Affleck is currently filming the movie Gone, Baby, Gone, brother Ben’s directorial debut. He also starred with Ben’s best friend, Matt Damon, in the Ocean’s 11 movies and Gus Van Sandt’s 2002 drama, Gerry.
Phoenix has appeared on ER and in the HBO docudrama The Laramie Project, as well as in such films as 1998’s The Faculty and SLC Punk!