Barton Fink

Highly talented, lightly built American actor who always looks unsettled and jumpy has become a favourite of cult/arthouse film aficionados with his compelling performances in a broad range of cinematic vehicles. Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian-American parents, Katherine (Incerella), a jazz singer, and Nicholas Turturro, a construction worker and carpenter, who was born in Giovinazzo. His brother, also named Nicholas Turturro, is an actor, and actress Aida Turturro is his cousin. Turturro has become a regular in the thought provoking films of Spike Lee and the off the wall comedies of Joel Coen & Ethan Coen. His wonderful performances include as the highly agitated "Pino" in Do the Right Thing (1989), as an intellectual playwright in Barton Fink (1991), a pedophile tenpin bowler in The Big Lebowski (1998), a confused boyfriend in Jungle Fever (1991) and as the voice of Harvey the dog in Summer of Sam (1999). Turturro has continued to appeal to audiences despite his unconventional looks and the often annoying onscreen mannerisms of his characters which he used to great effect in films such as his blue collar tale of warring brothers in the construction business, Mac (1992), as the irate, dumped game show contestant, Herbie Stempel, in Robert Redford's dynamic Quiz Show (1994). One of modern American cinema's gems of acting, Turturro remains in strong demand for his high calibre thespian talents.

John Stephen Goodman is a U.S. film, television, and stage actor. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Virginia Roos (Loosmore), a waitress and saleswoman, and Leslie Francis Goodman, a postal worker who died when John was a small child. He is of English, Welsh, and German ancestry. John is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne (1988), which ran until 1997, and for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe award in 1993. Goodman is also noted for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising Arizona (1987), as an escaped convict, in Barton Fink (1991), as a congenial murderer, in The Big Lebowski (1998), as a volatile bowler, and in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), as a cultured thief. Additionally, Goodman's voice work has appeared in numerous Disney films, including the voice for "Sulley" in Monsters, Inc. (2001). Having contributed to more than 50 films, Goodman has also won two American Comedy Awards and hosted Saturday Night Live (1975) fourteen times.

A veteran of stage, film and television with a variety of characters to his credit, Richard Portnow was named one of the "Actors We Love" by the actors' trade newspaper Back Stage West. "Portnow knows exactly how to hook an audience with every character." This Brooklyn native has worked steadily for 30 years and has built a solid list of credits, appearing in some of the most highly regarded and successful films and television shows of the past three decades. His entire family hails from Brooklyn. His folks, Al and Flo, are gone, but he has a brother (Jay), a sister (Gayle), two nephews (John and Sam) and three nieces (Samara, Ilana and Maia). He graduated with a BA degree as a speech and theater major from Brooklyn College. He did not shine while in college, and was discouraged from continuing as an actor with the critique that he was "hopeless and without any ability or talent" (he continues to wonder if the faculty was right). He has been a bartender, an antique dealer, a boxer, an international drug trafficker, a fifth-grade teacher in the NYC public school system, a competitive body builder, a truck driver, a bouncer, a bagel maker, a short-order cook, a marathon runner, a designer, a competitive gymnast, a background extra, a disco dancer at the famed "Arthur" discotheque, and a confused and aimless layabout. Richard is 6'0", weighs in at a trim 180 lb. and continues to box. He has excellent defensive skills and his ability to stop punches with his face has made him a local favorite. Portnow assayed the role of attorney Hal "Mel" Melvoin on the Emmy-winning HBO series The Sopranos (1999), the lawyer for Uncle Junior, whom he singlehandedly kept out of prison and managed to get placed under house arrest instead. His rates for defending Corrado Soprano (Uncle Juniors's full name) are astronomical, but as Uncle June has said, "Mel, you're worth every penny". He has held this role since the show's inception in 1999. Richard began his professional career at the famed Cafe La Mama in New York City, appearing in plays by Tom Eyen, Leonard Melfi, Jeff Weiss, Megan Terry, Tom O'Horgan and Lanford Wilson. He won "The Best Newcomer of the Year" award from Show Business Magazine as a result of his early work off-off-Broadway. He continued his stage career with starring roles on Broadway in "The House of Blue Leaves" and "A Month of Sundays". He was in the original cast of "Moonchildren" at the prestigious Royal Court Theatre in London. He has also worked extensively at some of the most highly regarded regional theaters in the country, including The Long Wharf Theater, The Berkshire Theatre Festival for the brilliant director Josephine Abady, The Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Lowell Regional Theater and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Neil Simon's "Oscar and Felix" at The Geffen Playhouse marked Richard's Los Angeles stage debut. His has also appeared in Woody Allen's "Writer's Block", which was directed by Allen at The Atlantic Theater Company in New York. Richard has been fortunate and privileged to work with some of the best directors in film today. Among those who have had a profound influence on him are Barry Levinson, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, David Fincher, Woody Allen, Sydney Pollack, James Foley, Jim Jarmusch, Heywood Gould, Cameron Crowe and Sidney Lumet. He has also appeared as a regular on the critically acclaimed series EZ Streets (1996) and on the police drama Ryan Caulfield: Year One (1999). He has had guest-starring appearances on ""Elementary" (2016), "The Good Wife"(2015), "Grimm"(2015), "Parks and Recreation" (2014), "Suits (2014), "Castle" (2014), "CSI New York" (2012), "Hawaii Five-0" (2012), "Nip/Tuck." (2009), "Cold Case" (2008), "Boston Legal" (2006), Seinfeld (1989), Mad About You (1992), Going to California (2001), Spin City (1996), NYPD Blue (1993), The Shield (2002), Dave's World (1993), Civil Wars (1991), Homefront (1991), Double Rush (1995), JAG (1995), Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993), The Nanny (1993), Middle Ages (1992), The Commish (1991) Wiseguy (1987) and Walker, Texas Ranger (1993). Richard has also starred in numerous movies of the week and mini series, most notably Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001), Double Bang (2001), Bella Mafia (1997), A Deadly Silence (1989), Original Sin (1997), Peter Gunn (1989) and Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995). Richard shares his home with an unpredictable Chow/Shiba Inu named "Sweetie" and a feisty English Cocker Spaniel named "Jackpot" Richard is an avid collector of Americana from the 1940s and 1950s, with special focus on the original oil paintings created for the "pulp magazine" covers of the 1930s and 1940s.

Steve Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Dorothy (Wilson), a restaurant hostess, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker. He is of Italian (father) and English, Dutch, and Irish (mother) descent. He became interested in acting during his last year of high school. After graduating, he moved to Manhattan to study acting with John Strasberg. He began writing and performing original theatre pieces with fellow actor/writer Mark Boone Junior. This led to his being cast in his first lead role in Parting Glances (1986). Since then, he has worked with many of the top filmmakers in Hollywood, including Quentin Tarantino, Jerry Bruckheimer, and The Coen Brothers. He is a highly respected actor.

Anthony Marcus Shalhoub was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His father, Joseph Shalhoub, who owned a grocery chain, emigrated from Lebanon to the United States as an orphan at age ten, later marrying Shalhoub's mother, Helen (Seroogy), who herself was born in Wisconsin, to Lebanese parents. When Tony was six, he was introduced to the theater, in a school production of "The King and I". He graduated from Green Bay East High, and then graduated with a Bachelor's degree in drama from the University of Southern Maine before progressing to the Yale School of Drama, which he left with a Master's degree in Fine Arts. After a time in the American Repertory Theatre, he moved to Broadway where he met his future wife, Brooke Adams, whom he married in 1992. She had an adopted daughter, Josie, who was three years old at the time that Tony and Brooke married. Tony adopted Brooke's own adopted child, Josie Lynn (born 1989) when she was eight. In 1994, the couple adopted another daughter, Sophie (born 1993). Tony's first audition after arriving in Los Angeles was for Italian cabdriver Antonio Scarpacci in the long-running sitcom Wings (1990), which also starred Tim Daly and Steven Weber. Tony next had roles in Men in Black (1997), Men in Black II (2002), Galaxy Quest (1999) and Thir13en Ghosts (2001). However, his biggest break came, playing the obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk in Monk (2002). The series made him a star and earned him four straight Emmy Award nominations between 2003 and 2006, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Tony won the award in 2003, 2005 and 2006, proving how popular he has become after the success of "Monk", which has been both brilliant and popular work during all its seasons.