SEAN PENN (Jimmy Markum) has become an American film icon during a career spanning just over two decades. He has three times been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor: in 1995 for Tim Robbins’ Dead Man Walking and in 1999 for Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown, performances which also earned him Golden Globe nominations, and most recently, in 2001 for his portrayal of the mentally challenged title character fighting for custody of his young daughter in Jessie Nelson’s I Am Sam. In addition, Penn received his first Golden Globe nomination in 1994 for his performance in Brian De Palma’s Carlito’s Way.

Penn made his feature film acting debut in 1981 in Harold Becker’s Taps. In 1982, he acted his way into pop-culture history starring as “Jeff Spicoli” in Amy Heckerling’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Penn went on to appear in numerous memorable roles in films such as John Schlesinger’s The Falcon and the Snowman, James Foley’s At Close Range, Dennis Hopper’s Colors, Brian De Palma’s Casualties of War, Phil Joanou’s State of Grace, David Fincher’s The Game, and Anthony Drazan’s adaptation of the stage play Hurlyburly, a role which won him the Best Actor award at the 1998 Venice Film Festival.

Penn expanded his role in the filmmaking process with the creation of his own production company, Clyde Is Hungry Films. Through this company, Penn has produced and appeared in Erin Dignam’s Loved, executive produced and starred in Nick Cassavetes’ She’s So Lovely, appeared in Oliver Stone’s U-Turn, and produced and directed the critically acclaimed drama, The Pledge, starring Jack Nicholson.

Penn’s feature film directorial debut came with 1991’s The Indian Runner, which he also wrote and produced. In 1995, he directed Anjelica Huston to Golden Globe and Screen Actor’s Guild Award nominations in The Crossing Guard, which Penn also wrote and produced. The film featured highly acclaimed performances by Jack Nicholson and David Morse, as well.

Most recently, Penn wrote and directed the United States’ contribution to the documentary film 11’09”01. This important film gathered 11 acclaimed directors from around the world to create short films in response to the horrific events of September 11, 2001.

Penn has appeared as a stage performer in theatrical performances including Alfred Hayes’ Girl on the Via Flaminia and Albert Innaurato’s Earthworms in Los Angeles. On Broadway, Penn performed in Kevin Heelan’s Heartland and John Byrne’s Slab Boys. He appeared in David Rabe’s Hurlyburly at the Westwood Playhouse and Goose and Tom Tom at Lincoln Center, both productions directed by the author. Most recently, Penn starred opposite Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson in The Late Henry Moss, written and directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Sam Shepard.

In 2002, Sean Penn was presented with the Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Penn will be seen later in the year in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s 21 Grams, opposite Benicio del Toro and Naomi Watts. Penn recently completed production starring in The Assassination of Richard Nixon for director Niels Mueller.
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TIM ROBBINS (Dave Boyle) has a long list of notable film credits as an actor, his career likewise highlighted by writing, producing and directorial accomplishments. Key acting roles occurred in films such as The Truth About Charlie, Human Nature, The Player, Bull Durham, Bob Roberts, Jacob’s Ladder, High Fidelity, The Hudsucker Proxy, Short Cuts, and the remarkable The Shawshank Redemption.

Robbins also appeared in the films Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Mission to Mars, Top Gun, Nothing to Lose, Arlington Road, Jungle Fever, Cadillac Man, The Sure Thing and Five Corners. He will soon be seen in Michael Winterbottom’s Code 46.

Robbins has won numerous awards for his acting including Best Actor Award at the Cannes International Film Festival and the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor for The Player. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor for Bob Roberts and by The Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor for The Shawshank Redemption.

As a director, Robbins has distinguished himself with Cradle Will Rock, which he also wrote and produced, winning the Best Film and Best Director at the Barcelona Film Festival and the National Board of Review Award for Special Achievement in Filmmaking. Dead Man Walking, which he also wrote and produced, won multiple awards including the Humanitas Award and four Awards at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Director. His first film, Bob Roberts, won the Bronze Award for Best Film at the Tokyo International Film Festival and Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor Award at the Boston Film Festival. In addition, Roberts served as executive producer for the films The Specter of Hope and The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera, a documentary about filmmaker Sam Fuller, which won the Cable ACE Award for Best Documentary.

Robbins also serves as Artistic Director for the Actor’s Gang, a group formed in 1982 that has over 75 productions and more than 100 awards to their credit. As a playwright he has written seven plays produced in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and at the Edinburgh Festival. He has recently directed Mephisto at the Actor’s Gang, and is currently directing a play he has written called Embedded, which will open in October at the Actor’s Gang Theater in Los Angeles.

Robbins lives in New York City, a proud father of 3 mischievous children.
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KEVIN BACON (Sean Devine) is one of the foremost actors of his generation, building an acclaimed body of work through richly detailed starring roles and powerful supporting characters. His recent films include starring roles in Paul Verhoeven’s science-fiction thriller Hollow Man, Trapped, My Dog Skip and Stir of Echoes, a psychological thriller directed by David Koepp.

In 1998 Bacon starred in Wild Things, a stylish thriller co-starring Matt Dillon and Neve Campbell, and Digging to China, Timothy Hutton’s directorial debut.

In 1997 Bacon starred with Jennifer Aniston in the romantic comedy Picture Perfect. He made his directorial debut in 1996 on the Showtime project Losing Chase, starring Kyra Sedgwick, Beau Bridges and Helen Mirren. Honored with three Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture Made for Television, the project also screened at the Sundance Film Festival. The same year Bacon reunited with his Diner director Barry Levinson for Sleepers, starring with Brad Pitt, Jason Patric and Robert De Niro.

Other film projects include Telling Lies in America, Ron Howard’s critically acclaimed Apollo 13, An Almost Holy Picture, Murder in the First and The River Wild, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Bacon has crafted countless other feature roles, such as the brilliant but self-destructive Fenwick in Barry Levinson’s Diner (which was executive produced by Mark Johnson), the dancing rebel in Footloose, an overly expectant father in She’s Having a Baby, a disarming psychotic killer in Criminal Law, a film student/director wooed by Hollywood in The Big Picture, a hapless handyman in Tremors and the voice of the title character in Steven Spielberg’s animated film, Balto, in addition to memorable roles in Oliver Stone’s JFK and Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men. Bacon made his film debut as Chip in National Lampoon’s Animal House.

With his older, musician brother Michael, Kevin is the other half of The Bacon Brothers, a successful band with a sound that Kevin describes as “Forosoco” (which is also the title of their first album) – Folk, Rock, Soul and Country. Already highly regarded and hugely successful on the national club circuit, they just released their third CD, “Can’t Complain.”
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LAURENCE FISHBURNE (Whitey Powers) recently starred as Morpheus in the provocative futuristic action thriller The Matrix Reloaded, the second chapter in the Wachowski Brothers’ acclaimed Matrix trilogy. Honored for his work on the stage and screen, Fishburne earned an Academy Award nomination for his searing portrayal of Ike Turner in the hit biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It. Fishburne recently made his directorial debut, as well as starring in and producing, Once in the Life, which he wrote based on the one-act play Riff Raff in which he starred, wrote and directed in 1994. The play’s initial run in Los Angeles was the first production produced under Fishburne’s own banner, L.O.A. Productions.

Fishburne, who began acting at the age of 10, was only 15 years old when he won the role of a young G.I. in Francis Coppola’s Vietnam War epic, Apocalypse Now. He went on to work with Coppola on Rumble Fish, Gardens of Stone and The Cotton Club.

Fishburne has collaborated twice with noted director John Singleton, on Boyz ‘N the Hood and Higher Learning, earning an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor for the former. His other credits include Othello, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Just Cause, Bad Company, Class Action, Deep Cover, Fled, Cadence, King of New York, Red Heat, Band of the Hand, Spike Lee’s School Daze, Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, Hoodlum, Event Horizon, The Matrix, as the voice for Thrax in Osmosis Jones, and most recently as the star of Biker Boyz.

On the small screen, Fishburne received nominations for the Emmy, Golden Globe and CableACE Awards and won an NAACP Image Award for his performance in the HBO movie The Tuskegee Airmen, the story of America’s first black combat pilots. He also won an Emmy Award for his role in the premiere episode of Robert De Niro’s series, Tribeca. In 1997 Fishburne received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-Series or Special for his starring role in the HBO drama Miss Evers’ Boys, which he also executive produced. Miss Evers’ Boys was awarded five Emmys, including the coveted President’s Award, which honors a program that illuminates a social or educational issue. Fishburne recently starred in and executive produced Always Outnumbered, directed by Michael Apted for HBO.

Fishburne’s other television credits include the critically acclaimed telefilms A Rumor of War, For Us the Living and Decoration Day.

In 1992 Fishburne received the Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Theatre World Award for his work in the Broadway production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running, in which he reprised the role of Sterling Johnson that he originated at the Yale Repertory Theatre. In 1999 Fishburne played the lead role of Henry II of France in The Lion in Winter, the story of the king’s struggle with his estranged wife, Eleanor of Acquitaine.

Fishburne will next be seen in the explosive conclusion to the Matrix film trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions, in November.
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One of film, theatre and television’s uniquely original talents, the versatile MARCIA GAY HARDEN (Celeste Boyle) won the Academy Award in 2001 for her stunning portrayal of Lee Krasner opposite Ed Harris in the feature film Pollock. In addition to the Oscar, Harden won the New York Film Critics Award for best supporting actress and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.

Following the intensely rewarding experience of filming Mystic River with Clint Eastwood and its all-star cast in Boston, Harden joined Revolution Studios’ Mona Lisa Smile, directed by Mike Newell. In the film, Harden plays a fellow teacher and friend to Julia Roberts’ character. The film also stars Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Harden is currently featured in Casa de Los Babys alongside Daryl Hannah, Lili Taylor, Mary Steenburgan, Rita Moreno and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Babys – the story of six American women who travel to Mexico to adopt babies – is written and directed by legendary filmmaker John Sayles and premiered at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. Most recently Harden wrapped production in Toronto on Welcome to Mooseport opposite Gene Hackman and Ray Romano. In the Donald Petrie-helmed comedy, Harden plays right-hand to Hackman’s former U.S. President.

The Coen brothers discovered Harden, giving her the female lead in their critically acclaimed feature Miller’s Crossing. She moved on to the leads in Late For Dinner and Used People. Other features include the Warner Bros. Pictures film Space Cowboys, also directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner; Meet Joe Black with Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins; Walt Disney’s Flubber with Robin Williams; the highly acclaimed independent feature Crush; the blockbuster comedy The First Wives’ Club; and The Spitfire Grill, for which she received the Spirit of Sundance Award for her richly layered work.

Television appearances include playing opposite Patrick Stewart in the Shakespearian Western King of Texas for TNT; the CBS drama series The Education of Max Bickford opposite Richard Dreyfuss; and the highly rated A&E original movie Small Vices opposite Joe Mantegna, as well as A&E’s Thin Air and the CBS movie of the week Guilty Hearts.

Harden was featured on Broadway in Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America, which earned her a Tony nomination, a Drama Desk Award and a Theater World Award. She also starred in David Rabe’s Those the River Keeps, and opposite her Pollock co-star Ed Harris in the world premiere of Sam Shepard’s Sympatico. Marcia most recently walked the boards as “Masha” in the New York Public Theatre’s production of The Seagull, directed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Natalie Portman.

The actress graduated from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Theater and went on to earn an MFA from the graduate theatre program at New York University.
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Few actresses today have made the impression on Hollywood that LAURA LINNEY (Annabeth Markum) has. Linney earned an Academy Award nomination as well as nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Independent Spirit Award for her starring role as Sammy Prescott in Kenneth Lonergan’s You Can Count On Me, opposite Matthew Broderick and Jon Tenney. She was also awarded Best Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics.

Linney’s film roles include starring opposite Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet in The Life of David Gale, The Laramie Project, The Mothman Prophecies with Richard Gere, opposite Gillian Anderson in The House of Mirth, in the critically acclaimed The Truman Show, opposite Clint Eastwood in Absolute Power, directed by Eastwood, and with Richard Gere in Paramount’s hit suspense thriller Primal Fear. Her motion picture debut was also her first starring film role, in Paramount’s jungle action picture, Congo.

Linney’s other screen credits include supporting roles in Lorenzo’s Oil, Dave, Searching for Bobby Fischer, and A Simple Twist of Fate. Linney’s work for television includes her Emmy Award-winning starring role in Showtime’s Wild Iris. She has also starred opposite Joanne Woodward in the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Blind Spot, and played a leading role in PBS’s award-winning miniseries Tales of the City, which she reprised in 1998 for Showtime’s More Tales of the City.

Linney, a graduate of the Julliard school and an accomplished theatre actress, was last seen starring on Broadway with Liam Neeson in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, for which she received a Tony nomination. Prior to that she was seen in Gerald Gutierrez’s Honour opposite Jane Alexander. She won a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in Sight Unseen. Her theatre credits also include roles in the Broadway presentations of Philip Barry’s Holiday opposite Tony Goldwyn, Six Degrees of Separation, The Seagull and Hedda Gabler, the latter earning her a 1994 Calloway Award.
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