Some Great Actors/Actresses

Vanessa Redgrave (born January 30, 1937) is an English actress, a member of the Redgrave acting dynasty. Her parents were Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Her sister, Lynn Redgrave, and brother, Corin Redgrave, are also well-known actors, as are her daughters, Natasha Richardson and Joely Richardson. She also has a son, Carlo Nero, a writer and film director.

She was born in London and entered the Central School of Speech and Drama in 1954. She first appeared in the West End, playing opposite her father, in 1958, and soon became famous for her film roles such as Isadora (1968). She won an Academy Award for her performance in Julia (1977).

Her political views have also caused controversy. In December, 2002, she paid £50,000 bail for Chechen Foreign Minister Akhmed Zakayev, who was accused of aiding terrorists in the Moscow Hostage Crisis of 2002.

She was married to the film director Tony Richardson (1928–1991) from 1962 until 1967.

Select filmography

• Camelot (1967)

• Isadora (1968)

• Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

• Mary Queen of Scots (1971)

• Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

• Mrs Dalloway (1997)

(http://encyclozine.com/Vanessa_Redgrave)

Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American film and stage actor who is perhaps most widely known for his role s the protagonist in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Broderick's first role was in Horton Foote's On Valentine's Day, playing opposite his father James Broderick. This was followed by a lead role in the off-Broadway production of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy; a good review by New York Times theater critic Mel Gussow brought him to the attention of Broadway.

He followed that with the role of Eugene Morris Jerome in two Neil Simon plays: Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues. In between those plays he starred in WarGames, the summer hit of 1983.

He returned to Broadway as a musical star in the 1990s, most notably in Mel Brooks' stage version of The Producers in 2001, and continues to make films.

He has won two Tony Awards, in 1983 for his role in the play Brighton Beach Memoirs, and in 1995 for his leading role in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!; he was also nominated for The Producers, with the award going to co-star Nathan Lane.

Selected filmography

• Max Dugan Returns (1983)

• WarGames (1983)

• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

• Project X (1987)

• Glory (1989) with Denzel Washington

• The Freshman (1990)

• The Lion King (1994)

• The Road to Wellville (1994)

• Godzilla (1998)

• The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)

• Inspector Gadget (1999)

• You Can Count on Me (2000)

• The Music Man (2003, TV)

• Good Boy! (2003) (voice)

• The Last Shot (2004)

(http://encyclozine.com/Matthew_Broderick)

Sir Alec Guinness (April 2, 1914 – August 5, 2000) was a British actor who became one of the most versatile and best loved performers of his generation.

Born in London, he first worked in advertising before making his debut at the Old Vic in 1936. He married the artist, playwright, and actress Merula Salaman in 1938, and they had a son, Matthew, in 1940.

Alec Guinness served in the Royal Navy throughout World War II, serving first as a seaman in 1941. In the following year he commanded a landing craft taking part in the invasion of Sicily and Elba. During the War he appeared in Terence Rattigan's West End Play.

He returned to the Old Vic in 1946. There he played 12 different characters in Kind Hearts and Coronets. Other films from this period included The Lavender Hill Mob, The Ladykillers, and The Man in the White Suit.

Guinness was also a talented dramatic and character actor. His film appearances ranged from Lawrence of Arabia to The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he won an Academy Award as best actor in 1957. He was nominated again in 1958 for his screenplay adapted from Joyce Cary's novel The Horse's Mouth. He also received an Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievements in 1980. His part as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars brought him worldwide recognition by a new generation (and lots of money), though he was never happy with being identified with the part.

From the 1970s, Guinness made regular television appearances, including the part of George Smiley in the serialisations of two novels by John le Carre: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People. One of his last appearances was in the acclaimed BBC drama Eskimo Day.

Sir Alec Guinness died on August 5, 2000, at Midhurst in West Sussex.

He was knighted in 1959. He has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Guinness wrote three volumes of bestselling autobiography.

Filmography, as actor, includes

• Mute Witness (1994)

• Kafka (1991)

• Little Dorrit (1988)

• A Passage to India (1984)

• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

• Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973)

• Cromwell (1970)

• Hotel Paradiso (1966)

• Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965)

• Doctor Zhivago (1965)

• The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

• Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

• Our Man in Havana (1959)

• The Bridge on the River Kwai(1957)

• The Ladykillers (1955)

• The Prisoner (1955)

• To Paris with Love (1955)

(http://encyclozine.com/Alec_Guinness)