Kevin Spacey plays an emotionally damaged man struggling to find his place in the world in The Shipping News (opening Christmas day). In real life, the two-time Oscar winner faced a long struggle of his own to land the juicy part of Quoyle in Lasse Hallström's big-screen adaptation of the best-selling novel by E. Annie Proulx.
"I read it six years ago and immediately called my agent," he recalls to TV Guide Online. "I said, 'I've got to do this.' When he told me that John Travolta had already committed to the project, I hung up the phone and wept like a small child. But I didn't give up. I kept checking back a
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When Kristin Scott Thomas got a script in the mail from director Robert Altman (M*A*S*H, The Player), she agreed to do the role before even opening the envelope. Moments later, however, the Oscar-nominated star of The English Patient says she sighed with disappointment.
"I was thinking, 'Oh, why can't I be one of the scullery maids?'" admits the elegant British thesp — who instead plays a slain aristocrat's widow in Altman's 1930s whodunit, Gosford Park (opening Dec. 26). "I always get cast as this standoffish, distant rich person. Very glamorous, very aristocratic and the rest of it. I should take it w
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C'mon, folks. Cut John Slattery some slack. It's not his fault that his new Ed character, testy high school principal Dennis Martino, has stolen away teacher Carol Vessey from the romantic comedy's title sweetheart. He is simply an actor performing the material that he is given. Of course, he doesn't have to enjoy it quite so much.
"People always say, 'Oh, we saw you on Ed — you're kind of a [expletive],'" he tells TV Guide Online, clearly tickled. "But I'd much rather play an a--hole than somebody that you're worrying about whether or not [viewers] are going to like you. That's the kiss of death."
That being the case, Slattery must always love his work — trouble seems to follow wherever he gets hired. On the short-lived post-WWII drama Homefront, he played Al Kahn, a smooth-talking labor leader who knocked up the series
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Over the years, Oscar-winner Russell Crowe has earned himself a rep for being "difficult" on movie sets. Backstage whisperers complain that his mood du jour dictates whether a day of shooting will run smoothly — or hellishly.
Asked for the real scoop on the star's moody 'tude, Ron Howard — who directed Crowe in A Beautiful Mind (opening Dec. 21) — hedgingly offers: "I would say more tone than moodiness. It depended entirely on what scene we were doing. If there was a difficult scene..." Here, he pauses carefully, then adds: "There were very challenging moments for both [Crowe and co-star Jennifer Connelly
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Arguably Survivor: Africa's cleverest conniver, even Brandon Quinton couldn't outlast his touchy tribemates. "I love drama," he giggles. "Drama is our friend. People take this game show for more than it is. I went out there to have a good time at other people's expense — and that's what I did!" The 25-year-old gay bartender surely stirred up his share of chaos, intoxicating rivals with well-spun lies and always adding a splash of sass to keep us laughing all the while. Now, join TV Guide Online as we quiz Brandon for the truth about his tricks, homophobic compatriots and life as a newly-minted gay celeb.
TVGO: With all our faves voted off — Silas, Jessie and now you — is there any reason to watch Survivor anymore?
Brandon: Oh, bless your heart. You can tell your readers I was the most interesting
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Producers of NYPD Blue are hoping the third time's the charm when it comes to casting the show's new female detective. After two unsuccessful attempts at filling the role — first with newcomer Rosa Arredondo and next with Beverly Hills, 90210 grad Vanessa Marcil — they've now recruited big-screen siren Jacqueline Obradors to play Latina cop Rita Ortiz. The star of Six Days, Seven Nights and Tortilla Soup, who debuts in tonight's episode (at 9 ET on ABC), tells TV Guide Online that she's relieved to have made it this far.
"Let's put it this way, I didn't sleep a wink the night before my first day," she admits. "I had to get up at t
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Fans of The X-Files recall Laurie Holden from her stint as Mulder's two-faced U.N. informant, Marita Covarrubias. When last seen in season seven, the shady lady sent the Cigarette Smoking Man tumbling down a flight of stairs! Any chance she'll come back to stir up more chaos? "I don't think so," Holden says. "I think Marita's had her run. I feel like she had a graceful, great exit.
"I was part of the show for many years," she adds, "and I'm very grateful to [creator] Chris Carter for giving me that shot — because it opened up a lot of doors and opportunities." One such boon is the plum role of Jim Carrey
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Question: Could you please tell me and my lunch buddies who played the guy in the yellow raincoat on Laugh-In who rode a tricycle that usually tipped over? My friends say it was Arte Johnson. I say it was just about anyone, since you couldn't see their face. Am I wrong or was this one of the ensemble players? Please let me know soon; my trivia kingdom may be crumbling. — B.D. English, Freedom, Pa.
Televisionary: Your trivia kingdom stands strong, B.D. For the definitive answer on this I went straight to the source, former Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In executive producer George Schlatter, who said the wacky Johnson was but one of the people who donned the slicker for the oft-repeated tricycle pratfall. According to Schlatter, it was often Johnson, castmate Alan Sues or a variet
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Question: Who was the new lady lawyer character on The Guardian last night (the one with the dark hair who is his new boss)? She looked very familiar, but I could not remember what other shows or movies I saw her in recently. Thanks for your help. — Kenneth F.
Televisionary: Louisa "LuLu" Archer, the new boss lady overseeing attorney Nick Fallin (Simon Baker) at his Legal Aid gig on the hit CBS show, is played by Wendy Moniz. If she looks familiar, you most likely caught her during her gig on The Guiding Light or during the latter days of the recently retired CBS series Nash Bridges.
And before anyone else asks, the arch-rival trying to poach the top talent at Nick's law firm in that episode was played by James B. Sikking, whom you probably remember best from his turns as Lt. Howard Hunter on the classic Hill Street Blues and as Dr.
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What red-blooded American male would complain about being a teen lust object? Well, there's Ryan Phillippe, for one. A creature of contradiction, the pouty-lipped actor has always yearned to be taken seriously — while paying the bills with splashy, campy teen fare like Cruel Intentions and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Now, at the ripe old age of 27, he's edging toward making peace with the consequences of his career decisions.
"When I was 23 and 24, they wanted to associate me with these teen things, and I felt like, 'I can do more than that!'" says Phillippe. "It gets to be a little frustrating because throughout my career, I've [also] done independent films. What I end up having to do is make those decisions that prove [my abilities] to people. The movies I've done in the past three years are quite diff
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