Kate Winslet Wins Bafta Award

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Kate Winslet Wins Bafta Award


Kate Winslet's march to the Oscars continues. The 33-year-0ld actress won a Bafta award for best lead actress for her work in "The Reader."

She had also been nominated for a lead actress award for "Revolutionary Road."

This is the sixth award she has won for her performance in "The Reader."

Other winners at the Baftas included Penélope Cruz for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

"Slumdog Millionaire," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Heath Ledger, and "The Wrestler" also picked up Bafta awards.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Irish Actress Coming Up Roses....Or Triffids

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Irish Actress Coming Up Roses....Or Triffids

Jean Murray is a mere 23 years old, but has already been nominated for an Irish Film and Television Award (IFTA) for her debut film role.

The Trinity College Dublin graduate starred in "Dorothy," playing a girl with multiple personality order accused of trying to murder a baby.

Her performance was compared to Edward Norton's in "Primal Fear."

She'll next appear in the remake of "Day of the Triffids," a science fiction film about killer plants, with such stars as Dougray Scott and Jason Priestly.

Though Vanessa Redgrave is in the film, Murray was disappointed not to get to share any scenes with the veteran. She says she's looked up to Redgrave for a long time.

Regardless of the outcome of this week's IFTAs, it looks like Jean Murray has only good things ahead of her.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Teri Hatcher is a Triple Threat

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Teri Hatcher is a Triple Threat

When "Coraline" opens Friday, February 6, 2009, Teri Hatcher plays not one, not two, but three roles in the movie.

It's Hatcher's first animated film. She'd always wanted to do voice work in animation.

In the movie, Hatcher voices Coraline's mother, her fantasy "other" mother, and her "dangerous/monster mother."

The movie also features the voice of Dakota Fanning as Coraline.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

One Woman Show at University of St. Thomas, Minnesota

Gina Wilhelm Actress - One Woman Show at University of St. Thomas, Minnesota

Maya Lilly's show "Mixed: One Woman Show" will be playing at University of St. Thomas, Minnesota on Friday, February 6.

Lilly is a product of The Juilliard School. She is of German, Irish, Cuban, Pakistani, Syrian, Chinese, and Jamaican descent.

Her website describes her play as "the first truly multicultural portrayal of Americans."

Lilly was born and raised in New York before moving to Miami. She went to a number of performing arts schools before being accepted into Juilliard, one of a class of 20.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Regional Actress Gets National Exposure with Super Bowl Ad

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Regional Actress Gets National Exposure with Super Bowl Ad

Christina Wildes is a native of Mountain Top, PA, but this Sunday she was seen by the world.

She was in an amateur advertisement for Doritos--one of 2000 that was entered in a contest. The winner was seen during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast.

Originally only one ad was to be aired at the Super Bowl, but two were shown during the game. Three other finalists will also receive airtime, though not with the wide viewership that Wildes' ad had.

Wildes knew the shoot, which wasn't easy, could be a huge break for her. She's probably right.

Nielsen estimates 48 million people watched the broadcast--and the advertisement.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Carey Mulligan Makes it Big at Sundance

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Carey Mulligan Makes it Big at Sundance

Carey Mulligan is having a good year.

She just made her Broadway debut in "The Seagull" with Kristin Scott Thomas, and she was an audience and critic favorite at the Sundance Film Festival in "An Education."

"An Education" sparked a bidding war at the festival.

She also appeared in "The Greatest" this year with Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon, for which she had to learn a new accent.

Mulligan made her film debut in "Pride and Prejudice" with Keira Knightly at an open casting call.

All this is in spite of the fact that she's never had any formal training.

Instead, she gets her training working with some of the greats in the industry like Emma Thompson, Sarandon, Brosnan, and Sally Hawkins.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Actress has Unique Insight into "Molly Sweeney"

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Actress has Unique Insight into "Molly Sweeney"

Tasha O'Brien was born nearly completely blind. For nearly all of her life, there's been no hope of her eyesight being restored.

However, she recently found out that stem-cell research could give her some vision. Since then, she's been trying to decide if that's a course she wants to take.

It's the same decision her character wrestles with in the play "Molly Sweeney," by Brian Friel at People's Branch Theatre in Hillsboro, TN. The show opens this week.

Although she finds the piece "difficult to get through," O'Brien's similarities to her character have allowed her to get a real perspective.

Her casting wasn't a gimmick--she had worked with the theater's artistic director before. On the other hand, blind actresses are frequently cast in the role.

O'Brien feels her disability gives her an "emotional availability" that will serve her well in the role.

Gina Wilhelm Actress