TOM HANKS (Joe Fox) re-teams with Meg Ryan after their successful romantic comedy duet in Nora Ephron's "Sleepless in Seattle" and their "Joe vs. the Volcano."
Hanks is one of today's most admired and respected actors. He was the first actor in 50 years to be awarded back-to-back Academy Awards -- receiving the 1993 Oscar for his compelling performance as an AIDS-stricken lawyer in "Philadelphia" and the 1994 Oscar for the challenging title role in "Forrest Gump." Hanks has also been honored with Golden Globe Awards, the People's Choice Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Los Angeles and Chicago Film Critics' Awards, the National Association of Theater Owners Male Star of the Year Award and the Hollywood Women's Press Club Award, among others.
He most recently starred in the critically acclaimed box-office hit, Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan," in which he plays a WW II captain who is sent on a mission to rescue the only surviving brother in a family of four sons. Hanks also was lauded for his performance as astronaut Jim Lovell in Ron Howard's Oscar-nominated space-exploration epic, "Apollo 13."
In 1996, Hanks made his feature-film writing and directing debut with the critically praised comedy "That Thing You Do!," the story of the meteoric rise to fame of a 1964 rock band.
Hanks got his first big break in the comedy television series "Bosom Buddies" and went on to starring roles in the films "Bachelor Party" and Ron Howard's "Splash." His many other film credits include "Volunteers," "The Money Pit," "Nothing in Common," "A League of Their Own" and "Punchline." He earned his first Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award for his endearing performance as the little boy in a businessman's body in "Big," which also won him the Los Angeles Film Critics Best Actor Award. In 1993, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his work in "Sleepless in Seattle." Hanks also created the role of Cowboy Woody in the Disney animated classic "Toy Story."
Last year Hanks executive produced HBO's multi-Emmy-winning "From the Earth to the Moon," a 12-hour anthology exploring the Apollo space program. He directed the first episode and wrote and appears in the final episode.
Currently Hanks is completing production on "The Green Mile" for Castle Rock and Warner Bros., in which he stars as a prison guard who builds a unique relationship with an inmate who possesses a miraculous gift.
MEG RYAN (Kathleen Kelly), known for her versatility and natural charm, once again matches wits and romantic instincts with Tom Hanks, her co-star in Nora Ephron's "Sleepless in Seattle" and in "Joe Vs. The Volcano."
Ryan's diverse roles include her acclaimed performance as a woman soldier in Ed Zwick's Gulf War drama "Courage Under Fire" starring with Denzel Washington; the voice of the title character in the animated feature "Anastasia"; a woman seeking revenge on the boyfriend who jilted her in "Addicted To Love" with Matthew Broderick; an alcoholic mother in "When A Man Loves A woman" opposite Andy Garcia; the romantically confused Sally Albright in Rob Reiner's "When Harry Met Sally...,' written by Nora Ephron; and a brilliant colleague of Albert Einstein's in Fred Schepisi's "I.Q." She most recently starred in Brad Silberling's "City of Angels," starring with Nicolas Cage in the story of an angel who falls in love with a mortal woman.
Her other credits include Lawrence Kasdan's "French Kiss," "Flesh and Bone," "Innerspace," "D.O.A.," "The Presidio," "Prelude To A Kiss" and "Restoration." For her performance opposite Kiefer Sutherland in "Promised Land," Ryan earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
After studying journalism at NYU, Ryan made her motion picture debut as Candice Bergen's daughter in "Rich and Famous" and attracted the attention of moviegoers and critics in her 1986 performance as a fighter pilot's wife in "Top Gun."
She will next be seen starring in Anthony Drazan's "Hurlyburly," based on the David Rabe play and starring Sean Penn, Chazz Palminteri, Garry Shandling, Kevin Spacey, Anna Paquin and Robin Wright Penn.
PARKER POSEY (Patricia Eden), named "Queen of the Indies" by TIME Magazine, has appeared in more than 25 films in the last six years, including an acclaimed performance in the black comedy "The House of Yes," which won her a Special Jury Prize at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival; Richard Linklater's "SubUrbia" and "Dazed and Confused"; Christopher Guest's critically admired satire "Waiting For Guffman"; "The Daytrippers"; "Party Girl"; "Sleep With Me"; and three films for Hal Hartley: "Amateur," "Flirt" and "Henry Fool."
JEAN STAPLETON (Birdie) most recently starred in Nora Ephron's angelic comedy, "Michael." Best known for her long-running role as Edith Bunker on the acclaimed TV series "All in the Family," for which she won three Emmys and three Golden Globes, Stapleton divides her time among theater, television and film.
Her recent stage work includes Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker" and Chekov's "The Cherry Orchard" in San Francisco; the role of the stepmother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" at the New York City Opera; a production of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" in California; and "Night Seasons" at the Signature Theatre in New York. Earlier, Stapleton appeared on Broadway in "In the Summer House," "Damn Yankees," "Bells Are Ringing," "Rhinoceros," "Funny Girl" and "Arsenic and Old Lace." She also won an Obie Award for her work in two plays by Harold Pinter at New York's Classic Stage Company. She subsequently appeared in the film versions of "Damn Yankees" and "Bells Are Ringing."
Stapleton makes frequent appearances on television, and earned Emmy nominations for a guest role on "Grace Under Fire," for her portrayal of Eleanor Roosevelt in the telefilm "Eleanor: First Lady of the World" and for a critically acclaimed performance in Horton Foote's "Lily Dale" for Showtime. Other television appearances include "Caroline in the City," Murphy Brown" and "Everybody Loves Raymond."
STEVE ZAHN (George Pappas) made his screen debut in Ben Stiller's "Reality Bites" followed by performances in Tony Scott's "Crimson Tide," "Race the Sun" and Richard Linklater's "SubUrbia." Zahn previously worked with Tom Hanks in Hanks' directorial debut, "That Thing You Do!" where he portrayed Lenny, the lead guitarist of a 1964 rock band.
Zahn was most recently seen opposite George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez in "Out of Sight," based on the Elmore Leonard novel. He was also recently seen in the independent comedy "Safe Men" and in "The Object of My Affection" with Jennifer Anniston and Paul Rudd.
Zahn recently completed production on the independent feature "Hamlet," opposite Ethan Hawke and "Forces of Nature," opposite Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock.
DAVID CHAPPELLE (Kevin Scanlon) has, at the age of 25, compiled an impressive list of accomplishments. He's had memorable roles as the obnoxious comedian Reggie Warrington in the hit comedy "The Nutty Professor"; the ill-fated convict Pinball Parker in "Con Air"; and made his feature film debut in Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men In Tights." He most recently starred in comedy cult-film "Half Baked," which he also co-wrote.
Films on the horizon include the comedy "200 Cigarettes" and the recently completed "Pittsburgh" from the writer/director team of Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.
Chappelle is a regular on many late-night couches , including "Letterman," "Conan O'Brien" and "Politically Incorrect." Earlier this year, Chappelle also starred in his own HBO comedy special.
Next up for Chappelle is the film "King of the Park," the true tale of New York street comedian/legend Charlie Barnett, which he will also co-produce with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment.
GREG KINNEAR (Frank Navasky) received an Oscar nomination and critical acclaim for his performance in James Brooks' "As Good As It Gets," starring with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. Earlier, he co-starred in Sydney Pollack's remake of "Sabrina" opposite Harrison Ford, followed by roles in Garry Marshall's "Dear God" and in "A Smile Like Yours" opposite Lauren Holly.
Kinnear first gained prominence as the wry, wise-cracking host of E! Entertainment Television's Emmy Award-winning "Talk Soup," where he was the master of not one but all talk shows, providing commentary on clips from such programs as "Sally Jesse Raphael," "Jerry Springer" and "Montel," winning rave reviews and a large cult following. Kinnear went on to become host and executive producer of the late-night television show "Later...with Greg Kinnear" before embarking on a film career.
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