EDIE FALCO (Jackie Peyton)

EDIE FALCO(Jackie Peyton)

EDIE FALCO, recently won the Emmy® for “Best Actress in a Comedy” thus making her the only actress to have won an Emmy® in both the comedy and drama categories. Other credits include winner in AFI’s Top Ten TV Programs of 2009, as well as a 2009 Golden Globe® and SAG nominee. She became the only actress to ever receive the Emmy® Award for ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Dramatic Series,’ the Golden Globe® Award for ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Television Series,’ and the SAG Award for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama,’ all in the same year for her performance as ‘Carmela Soprano’ in the groundbreaking series The Sopranos’ debut season. She has subsequently been nominated for each award for every eligible television season, winning two additional Emmy® Awards, another Golden Globe® Award and SAG Award, as well as the American Film Institute’s Award for ‘Female Television Actor of the Year.’

When she received the Television Critics Association Award (TCA) for ‘Individual Achievement in Drama,’ it was the first time in the history of the TCA that this Award was presented to a woman. She is also known to television audiences for her recurring roles in the dramatic series Oz and the acclaimed NBC series Law & Order and Homicide. Falco made her Broadway debut in the Tony® Award-winning play Sideman, which she originated in its off-Broadway production. For her performance, she received a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk Award nomination for ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play.’ She went on to make her London stage debut in the West End premiere of Sideman, and thereafter opened the London production of the highly successful play The Vagina Monologues. When Falco starred opposite Stanley Tucci in the lauded revival of Frankie And Johnny In The Claire De Lune, the play broke four house box-office records at Broadway’s Belasco Theatre, making it the most successful play on Broadway all season. More recently she appeared off-Broadway in the highly-acclaimed “This Wide Night.

For the feature film Cost Of Living, Falco received the American Film Institute’s ‘Best Actress’ Award. Her performance in the film Laws Of Gravity earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for ‘Best Female Lead Actor.’ Her other film credits include A Price Above Rubies, Copland, Trouble Corner, Private Parts, Hurricane, Layin’ Low, Breathing Room, The Funeral, The Addiction, Bullets Over Broadway, Trust, The Unbelievable Truth, Random Hearts and the title character in the award-winning film Judy Berlin. For her performance in John Sayles’ Sunshine State, Falco received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Online Award for ‘Best Supporting Actress.’ She also starred in the feature films The Quiet, The Great New Wonderful and Freedomland.

MERRITT WEVER(Zoey Barkow)

MERRITT WEVER graduated from LaGuardiaHigh School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts.

Wever has appeared in such feature films as Righteous Kill, Into The Wild, Michael Clayton, Neal Cassady, Twelve & Holding, A Hole In One, Season Of Youth, Bringing Rain, Signs, Series 7: The Contenders, The Adventures Of Sebastian Cole, Arresting Gena, Tough (‘Best Actor’ award, First Run Film Festival), Greenberg and The Missing Person.

She can currently be seen in Tiny Furniture.
Her television credits include Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, Conviction, ¼ Life, NCIS, The Wire, BlueRiver and Something The Lord Made.
Her theater appearances include Sam & Lucy, Bad Girls, Smashing, Cave Dweller, Roulette, Cape Cod Souvenirs, To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday, Running On Earth, Here We Are,Children Of The Flames and Female of the Species.

Eve Best

Eve Best is an award winning classically trained British actress.

She has twice been nominated for a Tony Award: in 2008 for her portrayal of “Ruth,” in The Homecoming, directed by Daniel Sullivan, and in 2007 for the role of “Josie,” in Moon for the Misbegotten (in which she starred opposite Kevin Spacey). In addition to the Tony nomination for Moon for the Misbegotten, she won both the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Actress.

After reading English at Oxford, Best trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She made her professional London stage debut starring opposite Jude Law in Tis Pity She’s a Whore, and won both the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer and the London Critics Circle Award for Most Promising Newcomer 1999. In 2003, she won the London Critics Circle award for Best Actress in Mourning Becomes Electra, and in 2005 she won both the Olivier Award for Best Actress and the London Critics Circle Award for Hedda Gabler .

Her additional theater credits include Three Sisters, The Coast of Utopia, The Heiress, andThe Cherry Orchard (all for the Royal National Theatre) As You Like It (Shakespeare Company) The Misanthrope (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Macbeth (Shakespeares Globe).

Her American television debut was “Dr. O’Hara” in SHOWTIME’s critically acclaimed and Emmy®® nominated series, “Nurse Jackie.”

She starred as the title role in "Dolley Madison" for PBS in addition to such British television credits as “The Shadow Line,” “Prime Suspect VII,” “Lie With Me,” "Other Peoples Children" and “Shackleton".

Her feature film debut was in the Academy® Award nominated “The King’s Speech,” directed by Tom Hooper, starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, in which she plays “Wallis Simpson,” opposite Guy Pearce.

Best is a director of Shakespeare Link - a company that works with Shakespeare's plays as a source of education and empowerment around the world. She has led Shakespeare workshops in London, Northern Ireland, Wales and New York. In 2009 she travelled to Africa to create a cross cultural production of Romeo & Juliet as part of the AIDS relief program in Mozambique.

Last summer she curated and directed "the Shakespeare Sessions" - a collection of informal Shakespeare and music events set in a secret venue in SoHo New York.

PETER FACINELLI (Dr. "Coop" Cooper)

PETER FACINELLI was recently seen starring as Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the altruistic patriarch of the Cullen clan, in the blockbuster feature filmsTwilight,The Twilight Saga: New Moon,andThe Twilight Saga: Eclipsefor Summit Entertainment. The Twilight film franchise is based on Stephenie Meyer's #1 New York Times bestselling literary series. All three films shattered multiple box office records.Facinelli recently began production on the final installments of the franchise, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2.

In 2010, Facinelli started a production company, Facinelli Films. Facinelli Films is currently in post-production on its first feature, Loosies. Facinelli wrote and will star in the fast-paced dramatic comedy about a successful pickpocket in the New York City subways.Additionally, Facinelli Films is in pre-production on the film, Paz also starring Facinelli. The film follows the inspirational true story of champion boxer, Vinny Pazienza, who, after a paralyzing accident, defied all odds and not only walked again but was able to get back into the ring to continue his boxing career. Facinelli has also written and will produce and star in El Chico Blanco, which is slated to shoot next year.The film follows the story of Ben Harper, a white kid growing up in a Hispanic community who rises against racial tension and a stint in prison to lead the most powerful and feared gang in the city.

Facinelli's career boasts over thirty feature films in which he has starred alongside award winning actors such as Matthew Broderick in the dramedy, Finding Amanda, which premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. His portrayal in The Big Kahuna had Facinelli co-starring alongside Kevin Spacey and Danny Devito which earned him rave reviews. Other feature film credits includePenny Marshall's Riding in Cars with Boys opposite Drew Barrymore, The Scorpion King opposite Dwayne Johnson, a starring role in Walter Hills' sci-fi thriller Supernova with James Spader and Angela Bassett, Tempted, opposite Burt Reynolds and Saffron Burroughs, Dancer,Texas Pop. 81 with Breckin Meyer, Foxfire opposite Angelina Jolie, and the cult classic Can't Hardly Wait opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Facinelli also has an impressive television resume including a recurring role on the 2007 season of “Damages.” Additional television credits include a recurring role on the award winning series “Six Feet Under,” for which Facinelli shared the cast's 2005 nomination for the SAG Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama; as well as the starring role in McG's sexy one-hour drama “Fastlane.”

Facinelli was born and raised in New York, and attended NYU's TischSchool of the Arts.

DOMINIC FUMUSA Kevin Peyton

DOMINIC FUMUSA recently starred in Sarah Ruhl's critically-acclaimed Passion Playin New York. Other recent stage work includes Stephen Belber’s hit play Fault Lines, directed by David Schwimmer at the CherryLaneTheater. In New York and in London, Fumusaoriginated the role of ‘Toddy Koovitz’ in Richard Greenberg’s Tony®Award-winning Take Me Out, directed by Joe Mantello. In New York, London and Los Angeles, he created the character of ‘Vince’ (a role that was specifically written for him) in Stephen Belber’s Tape. He also starred in the New York premiere of Melissa James Gibson's Obie Award-winning [sic] at SoHo Repertory. Fumusa made his Broadway debut opposite Marisa Tomei and Quentin Tarantino in Wait Until Dark. Other Broadway credits include A Flea In Her Ear at the Roundabout Theater Company. In addition, he portrayed Mitch Albom in a six-month, twelve-city national tour of Tuesdays With Morrie,opposite Harold Gould. Regional credits include plays at the Guthrie, Huntington, KennedyCenter, Actors Theater of Louisville, Williamstown, NY Stage & Film, The Stratford Festival of Canada and Chicago Shakespeare.

Fumusa’s television credits include Sex And The City, The Sopranos, SHOWTIME’s Brotherhood,Kings, NYPD Blue, Hack, Numb3rs, Threshold, Bones and numerous appearances on Law & Orderand CSI.

His feature film work includes the upcoming independent comedy Not for Nothing and the recently released filmsStaten Island (opposite Ethan Hawke) andHelena From The Wedding. Other features includeManagement (with Jennifer Aniston), This Is A Story About Ted And Alice (opposite Melissa Leo, 2008 Cannes),Dealbreaker (directed and written by Gwyneth Paltrow), Grilled (opposite Burt Reynolds), The Guru and Chloe’s Prayer.

Paul Schulze (Eddie Walzer)

Paul Schulze is a true New Yorker, he was raised on the East Side and attended S.U.N.Y. Purchase in WestchesterCounty where he was exposed to theater. Not long after graduating he landed his first feature film role in the critically acclaimed, independent film “Laws of Gravity,” which co-starred fellow S.U.N.Y. Purchase alum Edie Falco. Schulze went on to star in numerous films and television series, most notably in “The Sopranos” where he played Father Phil Intintola, a priest with an arguably inappropriate fondness for Carmela Soprano (played by Falco). He also appeared for three seasons in the hugely successful series “24” as CTU director Ryan Chappelle before his character’s unexpected and controversial demise.

Schulze’s other film credits include Panic Room, where he played the rookie cop opposite Jodie Foster in one of the film’s most memorable and intense scenes, and Rambo, the latest installment in the franchise, where he played missionary Michael Burnett who continually butts heads with Stallone’s character.

Landing on Showtime’s smash hit “Nurse Jackie” has been a dream come true, reuniting Schulze with Falco. Most recently, Schulze turned in an emotional performance on the crime-drama Law & Order: SVU, playing Patrick Holbart, a father who has unknowingly sold his children into a human trafficking ring. He will next appear in the midseason USA series Fairly Legal.

Schulze splits his time between New York and Los Angeles where he is helping to raise his beautiful five-year-old daughter Lena.

BIO REVISED NOVEMBER 2011

ANNA DEAVERE SMITH has performed in film and television as well as on stage. She is probably most recognizable in popular culture as “Nancy McNally,” the National Security Advisor on NBC’s hit, The West Wing.

Smith has been featured in several films including The American President, The Human Stain, Dave and Rent. She was a regular on the CBS series Presidio Med. She recently starred in the independent film Rachel Getting Married, starring Anne Hathaway.

Smith also has an active career in the theater. She has been said to have created a new form of theater, which combines journalism, dramatic writing and keen acting skills. She creates one person shows, based on interviews, in which she portrays several characters – as many as 46 in one show. Smith performed Twilight: Los Angelesaround the U.S. and on Broadway. It received two Tony® nominations, an Obie, a Drama Desk Award, a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics and numerous other honors. President and Mrs. Clinton and Vice President Al Gore attended her Washington, D.C. performance. She produced, wrote and performed the movie version of Twilight: Los Angeles for PBS.

Another one of her plays, Fires In The Mirror, examined a race riot that occurred in CrownHeights, Brooklyn (1991) when age-old racial tensions between Black and Jewish neighbors exploded. It received an Obie Award, numerous other awards and wasa runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. She performed the play around the U.S., in London and Australia. The film version of Fires In The Mirror was also broadcast on PBS.

Her newest play, Let Me Down Easy, will be touring in the spring of 2011. The tour will begin in Washington and will visit several other cities. The play ran with several extensions at theSecond Stage Theatre in New York. The subject is the resilience and vulnerability of the human body. This play was inspired by work she did at the Yale School of Medicine, where she was a Visiting Professor.

Smith has received many awards for her work in the theater, among them the prestigious McArthur Prize. She has also received many honorary degrees including those from Juilliard, Smith, Wesleyan and Northwestern. She is a professor at New YorkUniversity.

STEPHEN WALLEM(Thor)

STEPHEN WALLEM was born and raised in Rockford , Illinois , and worked as a stage actor and After Dark Award-winning cabaret singer in Chicago before moving to New York to make his television debut on NURSE JACKIE. National tours include Forever Plaid, Into The Woods and Scrooge with Richard Chamberlain. He accrued nearly 2,500 performances as both ‘Jinx’ and ‘Sparky’ in various companies of Forever Plaid, including Chicago, Las Vegas , Denver and the first national tour.

Wallem portrayed ‘Judas’/‘Padre’ in the Court Theatre’s acclaimed production of Man Of La Mancha (After Dark Award for ‘Outstanding Performance,’ Joseph Jefferson Award for ‘Best Ensemble’) and reprised his performance at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. For the Ravinia Festival, he appeared with Tony® winners Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Michael Cerveris and George Hearn in A Little Night Music, Passion, Sunday In The Park With George and Doll with David Hyde Pierce (all directed by Lonny Price). In New York, Wallem originated the role of ‘Arvid’ in the Broadway workshop of Kristina, written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA.He also performed his cabarets Off the Wallem and Schwartz and All at Don't Tell Mama along with guest appearances in the Sondheim Unpluggedseries at the Laurie Beechman Theater.

Stephen is also a playwright, composer, and director. Along with longtime collaborator Danny Musha, he is the author of Something on My Mind, produced by Ben Vereen for Good Vibes and the musical FrozenRiver, which work-shopped at Lamb's Theater in Manhattan. He co-directed Is There Life After High School? at ChicagoAcademy for the Arts, and wrote and directed Crisis at Broadway High starring Sharif Atkins of "ER". Wallem and Musha's ballad "Another New Place" was recorded by cabaret duo Beckie Menzie and Tom Michael for their latest CD, Better Two-gether.

ARJUN GUPTA (Sam)

ARJUN GUPTA will soon be seen starring in the independent feature Love, Lies and Seeta, a romantic comedy with an Indian flavor that tells the story of three guys that fall for one girl. He made his feature film debut in Motherhood, opposite Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver. Set in Manhattan, a mother prepares for her daughter’s birthday party and has no idea of the challenges she’s about to face in order to pull off the event. Gupta portrays ‘Nikesh,’ a New York City bike messenger, who inadvertently develops an interesting relationship with the struggling mother.
Over the summer, Gupta traveled to Uganda to work with In Movement, a program that implements arts education to disadvantaged youth. He developed a workshop that incorporated dance, music, and acting training for the children. While there, Gupta also collaborated with Breakdance Project Uganda to teach beat boxing to underprivileged children.
Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, Gupta currently resides in New York. He is a graduate of NYU, TischSchool of the Arts.