Sandra Oh

Sandra Oh is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated Canadian actress. She is known to American audiences for her role as Dr. Cristina Yang in the ABC series Grey's Anatomy and her roles in the feature films, Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways. In 2005, Oh made People magazine's list of the 50 Most Beautiful People. Oh has also won the Screen Actors Guild's award and Genie Award twice each.



Quick Fact
Birthday : July 20, 1971
Sign : Gemini
Birthplace : Nepean, Ontario, Canada
Height : 5' 6" (1.68 m)
Nickname :



Early life
Oh was born in Nepean, Ontario to middle-class Korean immigrant parents Joon-Soo (John) and Young-Nam, who had come to Canada in the late 1960s. Her father is businessman and her mother a biochemist. Oh grew up living on Camwood Crescent in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean, Ontario, where she began dancing and acting at an early age. For example, at the age of 10, she played "The Wizard of Woe" in a class play, "The Canada Goose".

Later, at Sir Robert Borden High School, she founded the Environmental club (BASE - Borden Active Students for the Environment), leading a campaign against the use of styrofoam cups. While at Sir Robert Borden High School she was Student Council President. While in high school, she played the flute and continued both her ballet training and acting studies; however, she knew that she "was not good enough to be a professional dancer" and eventually solely focussed on acting. This interest led her to take drama classes, act in school plays, and join the drama club where she took part in the Canadian Improv Games and Skit Row High, a comedy group. Against her parents' advice, she rejected a four-year journalism scholarship to Carleton University to study drama at the National Theatre School in Montreal, paying her own way. She told her parents that she would try acting for a few years, and if that failed, return to school.

Soon after graduating theatre school, she starred in a London, Ontario stage production of David Mamet's Oleanna. Around the same time, she won roles in biographical TV films of two significant female Chinese-Canadians: as Vancouver author Evelyn Lau in The Diary of Evelyn Lau (Oh won the role over more than 1,000 others who auditioned); and as Adrienne Clarkson in a CBC bio-pic of Clarkson's life.



Career
Oh became even more widely known in Canada for her lead performance in the Canadian film Double Happiness, for which she won the Genie Award for Best Actress. Her other Canadian films include Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity and Last Night, for which she again won a Best Actress Genie. Oh also won FIPA d'Or Best Actress at Cannes Film Festival for her role in The Diary of Evelyn Lau.

Oh is most familiar to American audiences from her roles in the popular films Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways. She considers Sideways to be one of the two best movies she has made, along with Evelyn Lau. In the less well-known Dancing at the Blue Iguana, she played a poetry-writing stripper and performed several dance routines. On American television, she is renowned for her current role in the hit ABC medical series Grey's Anatomy, for which she has won both a 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series and a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. In July 2006, she received her second Emmy nomination for her work on the series.

Oh received critical acclaim for her six seasons as Rita Wu on the HBO series Arli$$. She received an NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Cable Ace award for Best Actress in a Comedy for her work on Arli$$. In theatre, Oh has also starred in the world premieres of Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters at the La Jolla Playhouse and Diana Son's Stop Kiss at Joseph Papp's Public Theatre in New York City. She made several guest appearances on the series Popular (1999) playing a humanities teacher. She has also guest starred in the television series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Judging Amy, American Dragon: Jake Long, Six Feet Under, and Odd Job Jack.

In 2006, she costarred in the film The Night Listener as "Anna," alongside Robin Williams and Toni Collette. Although Oh remains active in feature films, the critically acclaimed Grey's Anatomy remains her primary current occupation.



Personal life
Oh and American filmmaker Alexander Payne (who made Sideways, which starred Oh) were in a relationship for five years, including two years of marriage; they married on January 1, 2003. Payne and Oh separated in early 2005 and divorced in late 2006. Oh is currently dating musician Andrew Featherston.

Oh's brother, Ray, is completing a Ph.D. in medical genetics at the University of Toronto. Her sister Grace is a crown attorney and mother of two children in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Source : Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

T.R. Knight

Theodore Raymond “T.R.” Knight is an American actor. Knight's most high-profile role to date is his current role as Dr. George O'Malley on ABC's top-rated drama Grey's Anatomy.



Quick Fact
Birthday : March 26, 1973 (34)
Sign : Aries
Birthplace : Minneapolis, Minnesota
Height : 5' 8" (1.73 m)
Nickname : Teddy



Early life
Knight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he became involved with the Guthrie Theater at the age of five. After finishing high school, Knight enrolled at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota for a brief period of time. He dropped out and soon landed leading roles at the Guthrie Theater.



Career
Knight moved to New York City and has appeared on Broadway; his most notable role was playing opposite Patti LuPone in the 2001 revival of Noises Off. Knight's most recent stage appearance was in the 2004 drama, Boy. He also gained notice performing in 2003 as Damis in Tartuffe and received a Drama Desk Award nomination in 2003 for his role in the off-Broadway production of Scattergood.

On television, Knight was a regular cast member of the short-lived Nathan Lane series, Charlie Lawrence, with Laurie Metcalf. In 2005, he was cast as the sweet, bumbling intern George O'Malley on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.



Personal life
Rumors over Knight's sexuality gained momentum when news reports surfaced in October 2006 that Grey's Anatomy co-stars Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington were involved in an argument where Washington used an anti-gay slur directed at an unnamed co-star. Washington later apologized, stating "I sincerely regret my actions and the unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set".

Knight, who is gay, did not disclose his sexuality to the public until October 19, 2006 - after the Washington/Dempsey scuffle - when he released a statement through People magazine stating, in part, “I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there. While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me.”

The controversy over the verbal exchange gained additional momentum on January 15, 2007 immediately following the Golden Globe Awards. When asked by E! Online reporter Ted Casablanca about the incident, Washington said, "I never called T.R. a faggot. It never happened."

In response, Grey's Anatomy co-star Katherine Heigl said when referring to the incident, "I'm not okay with it. I'm going to be really honest right now, he [Isaiah Washington] needs to just not speak in public. Period."

Knight appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 17, 2007 and stated that Washington in fact had referred to him as a faggot on the Grey's Anatomy set on October 9, 2006.

In June 2007, Knight's role was secured for an additional season of Grey's Anatomy.

Source : Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor who first became prominent in Hollywood during the late 1980s. He is also known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd (Dr. McDreamy) on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. During the 2000s, he also appeared in several film roles, including The Emperor's Club and Freedom Writers.



Quick Fact
Birthday : January 13, 1966 (41)
Sign : Capricorn
Birthplace : Lewiston, Maine
Height : 5' 10½" (1.79 m)
Nickname : Dr. McDreamy



Early life
Dempsey, an christian Irish American, was born in Lewiston, Maine and grew up in Turner, Maine, the youngest of three children born to Amanda and William Dempsey. Dempsey attended St. Dominic Regional High School for his senior year, where his mother worked as a secretary, but dropped out before he graduated. He was an adept juggler, tying for second in a national juggling competition.

Patrick also spent some of his school years in the Town of Buckfield, Maine, where he attended Buckfield High School in the MSAD #39 (Maine School Administrative District) for his freshmen through junior years. His mother was secretary to the high school principal there and still resides in the area.



Early career
Dempsey was discovered by an agent and invited to audition for a role in the stage production of Torch Song Trilogy. His audition was successful, and he spent the following four months touring with the company in San Francisco. Patrick also appeared in an MTV called Overnight Success by Teri DeSario, where he dances and juggles.He followed this with another tour, Brighton Beach Memoirs, in the lead role, which was directed by Gene Saks. Dempsey has also made notable appearances in the stage productions of On Golden Pond, with the Maine Acting Company, and The Subject was Roses, which showed at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.

Dempsey's first major feature film role was at age 21 in the teen comedy Can't Buy Me Love in 1987 with actress Amanda Peterson. In 1989, he had the lead role in the film Loverboy with actress Kirstie Alley and Happy Together with actress Helen Slater. Although the teen comedy and romance roles led to Dempsey being somewhat typecast for a time, he was able to avoid playing the same character as his career progressed.



1990s & early 2000s
Dempsey made a number of featured appearances in television in the 1990s; he was cast several times in pilots that were not picked up for a full season, including lead roles in the TV versions of the films The Player and About A Boy. His first major television role was a recurring role as Will's closeted sportscaster boyfriend on Will & Grace. He went on to play the role of Aaron Brooks, Sela Ward's psychologically unbalanced brother, on Once & Again. Dempsey received an Emmy nomination in 2001 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Aaron. In 2004, he co-starred in the highly acclaimed HBO production, Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston.

Dempsey had a high-profile role as one of the suitors for Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama. He also had a role as Detective Kincaid on Scream 3. Dempsey's most recent roles include the 2007 Disney film Enchanted, and the Paramount Pictures film Freedom Writers where he reunites with his Iron Jawed Angels co-star Hilary Swank. He also voiced the character Kenai in Brother Bear 2.



Grey's Anatomy
Dempsey has received significant public attention for his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd in the drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to landing the role of Derek Shepherd, Dempsey auditioned for the role of Dr. Robert Chase on another medical show, House. Initially a midseason replacement, the show was very well received and has become a highly rated program. Media attention has been focused on Dempsey's character Derek, often referred to as "McDreamy", and the character's romance with intern Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo).

The intense media attention has included coverage of some backstage friction. News reports surfaced in October 2006 that Dempsey was involved in an argument with co-star Isaiah Washington that appears to have become a physical altercation. News reports have also stated that this argument may have been initiated over Washington referring to T.R. Knight as a "faggot."

Dempsey was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama at the 2007 Golden Globes for the role. In 2006 Dempsey signed a contract with ABC raising his salary to $200,000 per episode.


[Photo source : People.com]

Personal life
Dempsey has been married twice. From 1987 to 1994, he was married to Rocky Parker. When the couple married, much was made in the media of the age difference between the two (and its parallels to Dempsey's film Loverboy); at the time, Dempsey was 21 years old, while Parker was 48. Because of the age difference in his first marriage, his stepson Corey Parker was actually one year his senior. The two remain friends.

Dempsey remarried on July 31, 1999; his second wife is noted make-up artist and founder of Delux Beauty, Jillian Fink Dempsey. The couple has three children: a daughter named Talula Fyfe, born in January 2002, and twin boys Darby Galen and Sullivan Patrick, born on February 1, 2007.

Dempsey enjoys racecar driving in his spare time. On June 27, 2004, he participated in race #2 of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, driving a Panoz GTS race car. In 2007 he will race in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Patrick is an avid racing enthusiast and has participated in the Panoz Series and the Pro Miata series. Dempsey has recently joined other celebrities in their quest to conquer the Baja 1000. He has raced Baja in 2005 and 2006, and plans to race again in 2007. He is currently the co-owner of Indycar Series team Vision Racing.

On May 1, 2007, it was announced that Dempsey would drive the pace car for the 2007 Indianapolis 500.

Source : Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ellen Pompeo

Ellen Pompeo is a Screen Actors Guild award winning American actress, best known for playing the title role of Meredith Grey on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.



Quick Facts (Source : ELLENPOMPEO.NET)

Birthday: November 10, 1969 (38)
Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Everett, Massachusetts, USA
Height: 5' 7" (1m70)
Nickname: The Pencil



Early life
Pompeo was born in Everett, Massachusetts, then lived on New York City's Upper West Side. Her grandfather was born in Gesualdo, a village in Province of Avellino, Italy. Her mother died when she was four years old. In 1996, she was bartending at the SoHo Bar & Grill when an agent approached her about appearing in commercials. She subsequently appeared in commercials for Citibank and L'Oreal. Minor roles on shows like Strangers with Candy and a handful of films followed.



Career
Determined to succeed in acting, Pompeo moved to Los Angeles in 2001. A turning point came when she was selected by director Brad Silberling in 2002 for a role in his film Moonlight Mile. She also appeared in the film Daredevil playing Matt Murdock's (Ben Affleck) secretary Karen Page, but most of her scenes were deleted from the theatrical version of the film. She portrayed Jim Carrey's ex-girlfriend, Naomi, in the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but all her scenes were cut from the final film; They can be viewed on the collector's edition DVD of the film. In 2003 and 2002, Pompeo starred in Old School as Nicole and Catch Me If You Can as Marci. Her guest roles include two episodes of Law & Order and an episode of Friends.

Pompeo landed her first major role in the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy, as the title character, Meredith Grey, a surgical intern at a prestigious hospital. The show became the highest-rated show on network TV in its third season. In 2007, Pompeo was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series. That year, she also signed a new contract for Grey's Anatomy that increased her salary to nearly $200,000 per episode.



Personal life
She is currently engaged to music producer Christopher Ivery; They reside in Los Angeles. They met in 2003 when mutual friends introduced them at a Whole Foods Market, but only began dating six months later. They later discovered that they grew up in Boston ten miles from each other.

Source : Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

About Desperate Housewives

Yet another favourite. Everyone has a little dirty laundry...





The following article is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Basic Settings
The show takes place on the fictional street of Wisteria Lane in the American suburban town of Fairview, located in the fictional Eagle State. It follows the lives of four women, seen through the eyes of their dead neighbor - as they work through domestic struggles while several mysteries unfold in the background.

It stars Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Nicollette Sheridan, and Eva Longoria. Since the pilot episode, Brenda Strong has narrated the show in all episodes except for "My Husband, the Pig".

Origins
Cherry initially had pitched the series to HBO, CBS, NBC, Fox, Showtime, and Lifetime. ABC was the only network to accept Cherry's offer, although they initially weren't satisfied with the name, suggesting titles like Wisteria Lane and The Secret Lives of Housewives instead.

Before Touchstone offered Desperate Housewives to ABC, in the original pilot, Mary Alice Young was played by Sheryl Lee; John (the gardener for Carlos and Gabrielle Solis) by Kyle Searles; and Rex Van De Kamp by Michael Reilly Burke. Lee was replaced by Brenda Strong; both had played regular roles as dead people before, Strong on Everwood and Lee on Twin Peaks. Strong also guest starred in two Twin Peaks episodes during their second season. Also, in the original pilot, when the camera is pulling away from the housewives after they found the note, there is a ghost of Mary Alice standing on her lawn looking at them.

Opening credits
The show's opening credits contain references to famous pieces of art, which portray domesticity through the ages. The first image shown references Adam and Eve and a painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder A snake passes an apple to Eve before another larger apple falls on Adam with the words 'Desperate Housewives' written on it. Then the tomb paintings of Queen Nefertari in Egypt who was the Great Royal Wife of Ramesses the Great, an animation of Queen Neferatari is seen standing within her tomb surrounded (possibly) by the other wifes of the Pharaoh.The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck painted in 1434 is seen and shows Giovanni Arnolfini eating a banana and throwing the skin on the floor, then his pregnant wife sweeps it into the corner of the room. The painting American Gothic by Grant Wood from 1930 shows the farmer smiling when he is touched on the chin by a pin up, before his now grumpy daughter appears on a tin of canned sardines. The can of sardines appears on a kitchen work surfance when the 1940s poster Am I Proud! is shown, it depicts a woman holding cans and jars including Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup can. The soup can then falls into the hand of a man in the artwork by Robert Dale, the two comic book like characters in Couple Arguing and Romantic Couple. The woman in this animation, has a tear run down her eye, before punching her husband in the face giving him a black eye. Then as that folds away, the tree from the first piece of artwork of Adam and Eve appears with a snake wrapped around a branch, before the four main characters Bree, Lynette, Susan and Gabriel appear under the tree, and they each catch an apple falling from the tree.

The show's theme is composed by Danny Elfman.

Plot
Season 1 (2004-2005)

Season one began airing on October 3, 2004 and featured a total of 23 episodes . The show opens with the mysterious suicide of housewife Mary Alice Young on a beautiful day in the suburbs, on a street called Wisteria Lane. Mary Alice, who narrates the show from the afterlife, had four friends: Bree Van De Kamp, the seemingly-perfect mother (of two teenagers) struggling to save her marriage; Lynette Scavo, the mother of four whose husband is always away on business; Susan Mayer, the divorced mother in search of love, who finds love in the form of her new neighbour Mike Delfino, who has a secret of his own; and Gabrielle Solis, the materialistic ex-runway model who cheats on her husband. While trying to be good wives and mothers, the four friends also try to find out why their friend committed suicide. The discovery of a blackmail note among Mary Alice's belongings, a therapy session tape in which she admits her real name was Angela, and her widowed husband's strange behaviour really make them wonder about the mystery surrounding their deceased friend.

Season 2 (2005-2006)
Season two began airing September 25, 2005 and featured a total of 23 episodes (including a two-hour season finale) and two clip shows. After discovering Mary Alice's dark secret, the housewives continue to move on with their lives. Bree, whose husband just died, is not coping well with being a widow, and is unknowingly dating the man who poisoned her husband to be with her. Susan, still searching for love after breaking up with Mike, ends up in bed with her ex-husband who is now dating the neighborhood hussy, Edie Britt. Lynette goes back to her career in advertising, as her husband Tom becomes a stay-at-home dad. And now-pregnant Gabrielle decides to be faithful to her husband Carlos who is now in jail; just as she starts accepting her upcoming motherhood, she suffers a miscarriage. While managing their busy lives, the women cannot help noticing something suspicious about the new neighbours: Betty (played by Alfre Woodard) and Matthew Applewhite, who moved in in the middle of the night, and are keeping a prisoner in their basement.

Season 3 (2006-2007)
Season three began airing September 24, 2006 and featured a total of 23 episodes and one clip show. It has been six months since Orson Hodge ran Mike over with his car. Bree, who has finally put Rex's death behind her, marries Orson. At their engagement party, a mysterious woman accused him of killing his wife, and as the season progresses, his horrific past is revealed. Lynette, meanwhile, has to adjust to having another child around the house when Tom's ex is killed and they have to take her daughter in. The Scavos also leave their careers to open a pizzeria. Gabrielle divorces Carlos after finding out he cheated on her with their former maid and surrogate mother and finally finds a new love in politician Victor Lang. Edie sees her chance when Mike is shown to suffer from amnesia, and Susan moves onto handsome Englishman Ian Hainsworth. Finally, Edie's son Travers McLain pays a visit, as well as her nephew Austin, who starts a relationship with both Julie and Danielle.

For more info on the show, click here.

About CSI : Crime Scene Investigation

Another great tv show. Not really keen on the spin-offs tho.





The following article is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (commonly referred to as CSI or CSI: Las Vegas) is a popular, Emmy Award-winning CBS television series that trails the investigations of a team of Las Vegas forensic scientists as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths and crimes committed. The show has spawned two spinoffs, each enjoying their own success. The first spin-off, which debuted in September 2002, is set in Miami (CSI: Miami) and the show's second is set in New York City (CSI: NY) debuted in May 2004. CSI is produced in partnership with the Canadian media company Alliance Atlantis. On May 16, 2007, CBS renewed the show for an eighth season.

Premise
The show follows the cases of the Crime Scene Investigation division of the Las Vegas Police Department, usually referred to by officers as the "Las Vegas Crime Lab". Anthony E. Zuiker chose to set the series in Las Vegas because—as mentioned in the pilot episode—that city's crime lab is the second most active in the United States, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation lab in Quantico, Virginia.[1] The division solves crimes almost entirely through the means of forensics evidence, which may or may not come to the conclusion of a murder or accidental death. Keeping in theme with the setting, investigations often lead to taboo subjects, such as sexual deviations. The bizarre conclusions of these cases often force one to question morals and beliefs and possibly human nature in general.

Style
Stylistically, the show has drawn favorable comparisons to Quincy and The X-Files. The show's gadgets and occasional usage of yet-to-be-invented technology have moved the show nominally into the genre of science fiction and garnered it a 2004 Saturn Award nomination for best network television series.

The series is known for its unusual camera angles, percussive editing techniques, hi-tech gadgets, detailed technical discussion, and graphic portrayal of bullet trajectories, blood spray patterns, organ damage, methods of evidence recovery (e.g. fingerprints from the inside of latex gloves), and crime reconstructions. This technique of shooting extreme close-ups, normally with explanatory commentary from one of the characters is referred to in the media as the "CSI shot". Many episodes feature lengthy scenes in which experiments, tests, or other technical work is portrayed in detail, usually with no sound except accompanying music — a technique reminiscent of Mission: Impossible. Often the lighting, composition, and mise-en-scene elements are heavily influenced by avant-garde film.

Although violence plays an important role in the series, in terms of the investigators' actual conduct, the series is actually less violent than its immediate spin-off, CSI: Miami in that the Las Vegas investigators rarely use deadly force. In fact, at least one member of the crime lab has expressed distaste for carrying a firearm (Gil Grissom), and at least two others are hinted at as having barely passable firearms expertise (Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes).

Although most episodes cover the solving of two (usually unrelated) cases, a few episodes focus on a single case. In general, the crime is solved, but in some cases, they fail (which makes the story more realistic).

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About Heroes

This is another one of my current favourite.



The following article is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Heroes is an American science fiction drama television series, created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September 25, 2006. The show tells the story of several people who "thought they were like everyone else... until they woke with incredible abilities" such as telepathy, time travel and flight. These people soon realize they have a role in preventing a catastrophe and saving mankind. The series follows the writing style of American comics with short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. Even with small story arcs that move the story forward, Kring said "we have talked about where the show goes up to five seasons".

When the series premiered in the United States, it was the night's most-watched program among adults aged 18-49, attracting 14.3 million viewers overall and receiving the highest rating for any NBC drama premiere in five years. On October 6, 2006, NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly announced Heroes had been picked up for a full season, and on January 17, 2007, Reilly announced Heroes had been picked up for a second season. The second season of Heroes will consist of 24 episodes, and the first season of new spinoff Heroes: Origins will include 6 episodes.

The show features an ensemble cast of twelve main characters. Although NBC's cast page lists only ten characters, Leonard Roberts (D.L. Hawkins), who first appeared in the series' fifth episode, was an additional member of the original full-time cast. Later Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet) was upgraded from a recurring role to become the twelfth full-time cast member as of "Fallout".

For more info on this show, click here.