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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