Sphere - About The Cast

Sphere: About The Cast

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DUSTIN HOFFMAN (Dr. Norman Goodman), a two-time Oscar winner and six-time nominee, is distinguished as one of the cinema's most acclaimed leading actors. Born in Los Angeles, he attended Santa Monica City College and later studied at the Pasadena Playhouse before moving to New York to study with Lee Strasberg.

Hoffman's first stage role was in the Sarah Lawrence College production of Gertrude Stein's "Yes If For a Very Young Man." He made his Broadway debut with a walk-on part in "A Cook for Mr. General" in 1961.

Hoffman joined the Theatre Company of Boston for one season, then returned to New York to work as an assistant director on Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge." He continued appearing on stage in such productions as "Harry, Noon and Night," "The Journey of the Fifth Horse," for which he won an Obie Award as Best Actor, and the farce "Eh?," directed by Alan Arkin, for which he won the Theatre World and Drama Desk Awards.

His performance in "Eh?" brought him to the attention of director Mike Nichols, who cast Hoffman in the title role in "The Graduate." His portrayal of young Benjamin Braddock brought him his first Academy Award nomination.

Hoffman returned to Broadway to star in "Jimmy Shine" by Murray Schisgal; he then co-starred with Jon Voight in John Schlesinger's Academy Award-winning "Midnight Cowboy." This brought Hoffman his second Oscar nomination. Subsequent films include "John and Mary," "Little Big Man," "Who is Harry Kellerman?," "Straw Dogs," "Alfredo, Alfredo," "Papillon" and "Lenny," which earned the actor his third Oscar nomination.

Hoffman's film achievements continued with "All the President's Men," "Marathon Man," "Straight Time," "Agatha" and "Ishtar." He won his first Oscar as Best Actor for Robert Benton's "Kramer Vs. Kramer" with Meryl Streep, and received his fifth Oscar nomination for Sydney Pollack's comedy, "Tootsie." In 1988 "Rain Man," directed by Barry Levinson, brought Hoffman his second Academy Award, for his portrayal of an autistic savant.

Hoffman made his own directorial debut on Broadway in 1974 with Murray Schisgal's "All Over Town." He returned to the Broadway stage as Willy Loman in the 1984 revival of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," for which he earned the Drama Desk Award for Best Actor. Filmed as a special presentation for television, "Death of a Salesman" also brought Hoffman an Emmy Award.

In 1989 Hoffman enjoyed a long run on the London stage as Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice" and later reprised the role on Broadway, for which he received a Tony nomination. In 1990 he was seen in "Dick Tracy," which was followed shortly by "Billy Bathgate," the film version of E.L. Doctorow's best-selling novel, and "Hook," directed by Steven Spielberg. He then filmed "Hero," which was directed by Stephen Frears, Wolfgang Petersen's "Outbreak," the film version of David Mamet's play "American Buffalo" and Barry Levinson's "Sleepers."

Hoffman was most recently seen starring opposite John Travolta in the Costa-Gavras film "Mad City," and currently stars with Robert De Niro in Barry Levinson's critically acclaimed film of the David Mamet screenplay "Wag the Dog," for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor, Musical or Comedy.

SHARON STONE (Beth Halperin) has become one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading ladies since her starring role in "Basic Instinct," the top-grossing film of 1992.

Stone received an Academy Award nomination and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her role in Martin Scorsese's "Casino," in which she starred opposite Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Previously, Stone starred in and served as co-producer on "The Quick and the Dead" opposite Gene Hackman, directed by Sam Raimi. She also co-starred with Sylvester Stallone in the blockbuster action thriller "The Specialist."

Stone's other film credits include "Intersection" with Richard Gere, directed by Mark Rydell; and the psychosexual thriller, "Sliver," directed by Phillip Noyce and co-starring William Baldwin and Tom Berenger. Last year, Stone earned critical praise for her portrayal of a woman on death row in Bruce Beresford's "Last Dance." Just previous to beginning work on "Sphere," Stone starred in and co-executive produced Peter Chelsom's "The Mighty."

Born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, Stone is the second of four children. After winning several local beauty pageants and a writing scholarship to Edinboro College, Stone began a modeling career with the Ford Agency in New York, which led to prestigious assignments throughout the world. Long before she became a commercial model, she demonstrated a driving interest in acting, which she pursued throughout her schooling, studying privately with drama teacher Roy London.

Before her success in "Basic Instinct," Stone drew attention as the secret agent masquerading as Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife in "Total Recall." Her first film appearance was as the blond beauty glimpsed by Woody Allen on a passing train in the actor/filmmaker's "Stardust Memories." Stone's first major film role was in "Irreconcilable Differences," playing the conniving actress-girlfriend of Ryan O'Neal.

Stone has just completed production on "Gloria" a remake of the John Cassavetes film, directed by Sidney Lumet, in which she plays the title role.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON (Harry Adams) is currently starring in Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown" opposite Pam Grier, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. Jackson starred last year in "187," directed by Kevin Reynolds. He won critical acclaim, an NAACP Image Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance in 1996's feature-film adaptation of John Grisham's bestseller "A Time to Kill." Later that year, he starred in the thriller "The Long Kiss Goodnight" opposite Geena Davis for director Renny Harlin.

Jackson made an indelible mark on American cinema with his portrayal of Jules, the philosophizing hit man in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." He received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations as Best Supporting Actor for his performance, and a Best Supporting Actor win from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, in addition to virtually unanimous critical acclaim.

Jackson most recently starred in the critically acclaimed "Eve's Bayou," which he also produced. He is currently completing production on the taut drama "The Negotiator," in which he stars opposite Kevin Spacey.

Jackson preceded his work in "Pulp Fiction" with a performance in the inner-city drama "Fresh." He starred opposite Bruce Willis in "Die Hard With a Vengeance," which was the number-one grossing movie internationally in 1995. His other recent credits include "The Great White Hype," "Kiss of Death" and "Amos and Andrew."

Jackson made movie history with his portrayal of a crack addict in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever," when he was awarded the first and only Best Supporting Performance Award ever given by the judges at the Cannes Film Festival. He also won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for that performance.

For television, Jackson starred in John Frankenheimer's Emmy Award-winning "Against the Wall," an original movie for HBO. His performance earned him a Cable ACE nomination as Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries, as well as a Golden Globe nomination.

Jackson's career, which includes film, television and stage work, began upon his graduation from Morehouse College in Atlanta with a degree in dramatic arts. He went on to perform in numerous stage plays, including "Home," "A Soldier's Play," "Sally/ Prince" and "The District Line," and originated roles in two of August Wilson's plays at Yale Repertory Theatre: Boy Willie in "The Piano Lesson" and Wolf in "Two Trains Running." In another Wilson play, "Fences," he portrayed Lyons at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. For the New York Shakespeare Festival, Jackson appeared in "Mother Courage and Her Children," "Spell #7" and "The Mighty Gents." His other stage credits include "Ohio Tip-Off" and "Native Speech" at the Baltimore Center Stage, and, more recently, "Distant Fires" at The Coast Playhouse in Los Angeles.

While still a student at Morehouse, Jackson made his film debut in "Together for Days." His numerous film credits include "Ragtime," "Sea of Love," "Coming to America," "Ray," "Do The Right Thing," "School Daze," "Mo' Better Blues," "GoodFellas," "Strictly Business," "White Sands," "Patriot Games," "Jumpin' at the Boneyard," "Fathers and Sons," "Juice," "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1," "True Romance," "The New Age" and "Jurassic Park."

Before joining the "Sphere" company, Jackson completed a starring role in the international co-production of "The Red Violin," directed by Francois Girard.

PETER COYOTE (Barnes) has made his mark performing for some of the world's most distinguished filmmakers. Coyote began acting in the early 1980s in such films as Lee Grant's "Tell Me A Riddle" and Walter Hill's "Southern Comfort" before making an indelible impression with his performance as Keys, the sympathetic scientist in Steven Spielberg's now-classic "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial."

Since then, he has created a series of strong characterizations in a wide range of feature films, among them "Endangered Species," "Cross Creek," "Timerider," "Heart-breakers," "Stranger's Kiss," "Jagged Edge," "The Legend of Billie Jean," "Outrageous Fortune," "Unforgettable" and "Moonlight and Valentino."

A favorite actor for a host of noted international directors, Coyote has starred in Diane Kurys' "A Man in Love"; prize-winning Brazilian director Walter Salles, Jr.'s "Exposure"; Spanish master Pedro Almodovar's "Kika" and Roman Polanski's controversial "Bitter Moon."

Coyote has also starred in a number of exceptional television movies and miniseries, among them "A Seduction in Travis County," "Road to Avonlea," "In the Child's Best Interest," "The People Vs. Jean Harris," "Echoes in the Darkness" and "Buffalo Girls."

On stage, Coyote has performed in Paul Sills' "Story Theatre" at San Francisco's illustrious Magic Theater; in Martin Epstein's "Charles the Irrelevant" (which was written for him); in "Autobiography of a Pearl Diver"; and in the world premiere of Sam Sheperd's "True West."

Prior to taking a 12-year hiatus to "do the Sixties," Coyote had been an actor, writer and director at the San Francisco Mime Troupe, where one of his plays, "Olive Pits," won the troupe a coveted Obie award from New York's Village Voice newspaper in 1967. Coyote has written a memoir of his experiences in the Sixties entitled Sleeping Where I Fall due out in April on Counter Point Press. One chapter of his book won the 1993-94 Pushcart Prize for excellence. He is currently preparing to direct an original screenplay, "Crimes of Opportunity," for filming this year.

LIEV SCHREIBER (Ted Fielding) has built a reputation as an acclaimed young actor with a solid list of motion picture and theatrical credits.

Schreiber recently returned from Poland and Hungary where he completed a starring role opposite Robin Williams in the drama "Jakob the Liar." On stage, he is currently starring opposite Angela Bassett and Alec Baldwin in the Public Theatre production of "Macbeth," directed by George Wolfe.

Schreiber recently starred in the box office success "Scream 2," directed by Wes Craven, and had a co-starring role in Dean Koontz's "Phantoms." He also has upcoming roles in "Twilight," directed by Robert Benton and the independent film "Blouseman," directed by Tony Goldwyn.

Schreiber has appeared in some of the most critically acclaimed independent productions of recent years. These have included Daisy von Scherler Mayer's "Party Girl," Hal Salwen's "Denise Calls Up," Nicole Holofcener's "Walking and Talking" and Greg Mottola's "The Daytrippers," for which Schreiber received rave reviews. His credits in more mainstream films have included Nora Ephron's "Mixed Nuts," Antonia Bird's "Mad Love" and Ron Howard's "Ransom."

A 1992 graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Schreiber spent a year abroad studying with the faculty from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. His stage credits include Harold Pinter's "Moonlight" with Blythe Danner and Jason Robards (directed by Karel Reisz), JoAnne Akalaitis' production of "In the Summer House" at New York's Lincoln Center, the New York Shakespeare Festival production of "The Tempest" (directed by George C. Wolfe), "All For One," "Goodnight Desdemona," "Good Morning Juliet," "Escape From Happiness," "The Real Thing," and at the Yale Repertory Theatre, "Underground," "The Size of the World" and "Ivanov," directed by the Moscow Art Theatre's Oleg Yefriemov.

On television, Schreiber has appeared in the miniseries "Buffalo Girls," the NBC pilot "People V." and the telefilms "Janek: A Silent Betrayal" and "The Sunshine Boys."

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