London Has Fallen

Aaron Eckhart was born on March 12, 1968 in Cupertino, California, USA as Aaron Edward Eckhart. He is an actor and producer, known for The Dark Knight (2008), Thank You for Smoking (2005) and The Core (2003).

Gerard James Butler was born in Paisley, Scotland, to Margaret and Edward Butler, a bookmaker. His family is of Irish origin. Gerard spent some of his very early childhood in Montreal, Quebec, but was mostly raised, along with his older brother and sister, in his hometown of Paisley. His parents divorced when he was a child, and he and his siblings were raised primarily by their mother, who later remarried. He had no contact with his father between the ages of two and 16 years old, after which time they became close. His father passed away when Gerard was in his early 20s. Butler went on to attend Glasgow University, where he studied to be a lawyer/solicitor. He was president of the school's law society thanks to his outgoing personality and great social skills. His acting career began when he was approached in a London coffee shop by actor Steven Berkoff, who later appeared alongside Butler in Attila (2001), who gave him a role in a stage production of "Coriolanus" (later, Butler played Tullus Aufidius in a big screen Coriolanus (2011). After that, Butler decided to give up law for acting. He was cast as Ewan McGregor's character "Renton" in the stage adaptation of Trainspotting. His film debut was as Billy Connolly's younger brother in Mrs Brown (1997). While filming the movie in Scotland, he was enjoying a picnic with his mother near the River Tay when they heard the shouts of a young boy, who had been swimming with a friend, who was in some trouble. Butler jumped in and saved the young boy from drowning. He received a Certificate of Bravery from the Royal Humane Society. He felt he only did what anyone in the situation would have done. His film career continued with small roles, first in the "James Bond" movie, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and then Russell Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, Butler was cast in two breakthrough roles, the first being "Attila the Hun" in the USA Network mini-series, Attila (2001). The film's producers wanted a known actor to play the part but kept coming back to Butler's screen tests and decided he was their man. He had to lose the thick Scottish accent, but managed well. Around the time "Attila" was being filmed, casting was in progress for Wes Craven's new take on the "Dracula" legacy. Also wanting a known name, Butler wasn't much of a consideration, but his unending tenacity drove him to hounding the producers. Eventually, he sent them a clip of his portrayal of "Attila". Evidently, they saw something because Dracula 2000 (2000) was cast in the form of Butler. Attila's producers, thinking that his big-screen role might help with their own film's ratings, finished shooting a little early so he could get to work on Dracula 2000 (2000). Following these two roles, Butler developed quite a fan base, and began appearing on websites and fancasts everywhere. Since then, he has appeared in Reign of Fire (2002) as "Creedy" and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) as "Terry Sheridan", alongside Angelina Jolie. The role that garnered him the most attention from both moviegoers and movie makers, alike, was that of "Andre Marek" in the big-screen adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel, Timeline (2003). Butler played an archaeologist who was sent back in time with a team of students to rescue a colleague. Last year, he appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera (2004), playing the title character in the successful adaptation of the stage musical. It was a role that brought him much international attention. Other projects include Dear Frankie (2004), The Game of Their Lives (2005) and Beowulf & Grendel (2005). In 2007, he starred as Spartan "King Leonidas" in the Warner Bros. production 300 (2006), based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, and Shattered (2007), co-starring Pierce Brosnan and Maria Bello, which aired on network TV under the title, "Shattered". He also starred in P.S. I Love You (2007), with Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank. In 2007, he appeared in Nim's Island (2008) and RocknRolla (2008), and completed the new Mark Neveldine / Brian Taylor film, Gamer (2009). His next films included The Ugly Truth (2009), co-starring Katherine Heigl, which began filming in April 2008, The Bounty Hunter (2010), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Chasing Mavericks (2012) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013). In recent years, he has appeared in films such as Gods of Egypt (2016), Geostorm (2017), Den of Thieves (2018), The Vanishing (2018) and Hunter Killer (2018). Butler is related to writer-director Mark Flood.

With an authoritative voice and calm demeanor, this ever popular American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Morgan was born on June 1, 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, to Mayme Edna (Revere), a teacher, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, a barber. The young Freeman attended Los Angeles City College before serving several years in the US Air Force as a mechanic between 1955 and 1959. His first dramatic arts exposure was on the stage including appearing in an all-African American production of the exuberant musical Hello, Dolly!. Throughout the 1970s, he continued his work on stage, winning Drama Desk and Clarence Derwent Awards and receiving a Tony Award nomination for his performance in The Mighty Gents in 1978. In 1980, he won two Obie Awards, for his portrayal of Shakespearean anti-hero Coriolanus at the New York Shakespeare Festival and for his work in Mother Courage and Her Children. Freeman won another Obie in 1984 for his performance as The Messenger in the acclaimed Brooklyn Academy of Music production of Lee Breuer's The Gospel at Colonus and, in 1985, won the Drama-Logue Award for the same role. In 1987, Freeman created the role of Hoke Coleburn in Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Driving Miss Daisy, which brought him his fourth Obie Award. In 1990, Freeman starred as Petruchio in the New York Shakespeare Festival's The Taming of the Shrew, opposite Tracey Ullman. Returning to the Broadway stage in 2008, Freeman starred with Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher in Clifford Odets' drama The Country Girl, directed by Mike Nichols. Freeman first appeared on TV screens as several characters including "Easy Reader", "Mel Mounds" and "Count Dracula" on the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) show The Electric Company (1971). He then moved into feature film with another children's adventure, Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! (1971). Next, there was a small role in the thriller Blade (1973); then he played Casca in Julius Caesar (1979) and the title role in Coriolanus (1979). Regular work was coming in for the talented Freeman and he appeared in the prison dramas Attica (1980) and Brubaker (1980), Eyewitness (1981), and portrayed the final 24 hours of slain Malcolm X in Death of a Prophet (1981). For most of the 1980s, Freeman continued to contribute decent enough performances in films that fluctuated in their quality. However, he really stood out, scoring an Oscar nomination as a merciless hoodlum in Street Smart (1987) and, then, he dazzled audiences and pulled a second Oscar nomination in the film version of Driving Miss Daisy (1989) opposite Jessica Tandy. The same year, Freeman teamed up with youthful Matthew Broderick and fiery Denzel Washington in the epic Civil War drama Glory (1989) about freed slaves being recruited to form the first all-African American fighting brigade. His star continued to rise, and the 1990s kicked off strongly with roles in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and The Power of One (1992). Freeman's next role was as gunman Ned Logan, wooed out of retirement by friend William Munny to avenge several prostitutes in the wild west town of Big Whiskey in Clint Eastwood's de-mythologized western Unforgiven (1992). The film was a sh and scored an acting Oscar for Gene Hackman, a directing Oscar for Eastwood, and the Oscar for best picture. In 1993, Freeman made his directorial debut on Bopha! (1993) and soon after formed his production company, Revelations Entertainment. More strong scripts came in, and Freeman was back behind bars depicting a knowledgeable inmate (and obtaining his third Oscar nomination), befriending falsely accused banker Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption (1994). He was then back out hunting a religious serial killer in Se7en (1995), starred alongside Keanu Reeves in Chain Reaction (1996), and was pursuing another serial murderer in Kiss the Girls (1997). Further praise followed for his role in the slave tale of Amistad (1997), he was a worried US President facing Armageddon from above in Deep Impact (1998), appeared in Neil LaBute's black comedy Nurse Betty (2000), and reprised his role as Alex Cross in Along Came a Spider (2001). Now highly popular, he was much in demand with cinema audiences, and he co-starred in the terrorist drama The Sum of All Fears (2002), was a military officer in the Stephen King-inspired Dreamcatcher (2003), gave divine guidance as God to Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty (2003), and played a minor role in the comedy The Big Bounce (2004). 2005 was a huge year for Freeman. First, he he teamed up with good friend Clint Eastwood to appear in the drama, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Freeman's on-screen performance is simply world-class as ex-prize fighter Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris, who works in a run-down boxing gym alongside grizzled trainer Frankie Dunn, as the two work together to hone the skills of never-say-die female boxer Hilary Swank. Freeman received his fourth Oscar nomination and, finally, impressed the Academy's judges enough to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. He also narrated Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (2005) and appeared in Batman Begins (2005) as Lucius Fox, a valuable ally of Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman for director Christopher Nolan. Freeman would reprise his role in the two sequels of the record-breaking, genre-redefining trilogy. Roles in tentpoles and indies followed; highlights include his role as a crime boss in Lucky Number Slevin (2006), a second go-round as God in Evan Almighty (2007) with Steve Carell taking over for Jim Carrey, and a supporting role in Ben Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone (2007). He co-starred with Jack Nicholson in the breakout hit The Bucket List (2007) in 2007, and followed that up with another box-office success, Wanted (2008), then segued into the second Batman film, The Dark Knight (2008). In 2009, he reunited with Eastwood to star in the director's true-life drama Invictus (2009), on which Freeman also served as an executive producer. For his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in the film, Freeman garnered Oscar, Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award nominations, and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor. Recently, Freeman appeared in RED (2010), a surprise box-office hit; he narrated the Conan the Barbarian (2011) remake, starred in Rob Reiner's The Magic of Belle Isle (2012); and capped the Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Freeman has several films upcoming, including the thriller Now You See Me (2013), under the direction of Louis Leterrier, and the science fiction actioner Oblivion (2013), in which he stars with Tom Cruise.

The youngest of three brothers, Waleed was born in Sacramento, California, but grew up in Kuwait from the age of 5 until 19. He made frequent visits to his mother's family in San Francisco during the summer holidays and he was very fortunate that during his upbringing his family traveled extensively within the Middle East, Europe and the United States. He moved to the US to attend The George Washington University where he received a degree in Philosophy and Theatre. Waleed performed at various theaters in the Washington DC area after college including, The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Washington Shakespeare Company, The Studio Theatre, The Source Theatre, and the Keegan Theatre Company. In December of 2001, while still living in the DC area, Waleed made a trip to New York to audition for the West Coast Premiere of Tony Kushner's new play, Homebody/Kabul. He booked his first audition in New York sending him out to Berkeley, California for a successful run of the show and the start of what soon proved to be a promising theatre career in New York. Waleed then moved to New York and in less than 6 months landed his first job there in the Broadway production of Sixteen Wounded, by Eliam Kraiem (with Judd Hirsch and Martha Plimpton). He followed this up with a role in the hit off-Broadway play, Guantanamo: Honor Bound To Defend Freedom, ranked as "one of the best ten plays of 2004" by the Wall Street Journal and Entertainment Weekly. In his upcoming theatre credits Waleed attained further recognition as he was awarded a Drama Desk Award along with the rest of the cast for "2006 Outstanding Ensemble Performance" for David Hare's play at the Public Theatre, Stuff Happens directed by Tony Award-Winner Daniel Sullivan. He received extensive critical praise for his performance in this landmark production. He followed that up performing opposite Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in the Public Theatre's production of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage adapted by Tony Kushner and directed by Tony Award-winner George C. Wolfe. Waleed's performances in supporting roles began to attract the attention of productions that were now looking at him for leading roles. He next starred in the US premiere production of David Greig's The American Pilot at the Manhattan Theatre Club, under the direction of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow. Shortly thereafter, Waleed found himself being whisked away to Tunisia to co-star in the Emmy-Award winning mini-series from HBO and the BBC, "House of Saddam" playing Saddam Hussein's best friend. The series received tremendous critical acclaim from around the globe, and Waleed's performance was hi-lighted in many international reviews. Having finished his work in Tunisia, Zuaiter headed the cast of Masked, an explosive play by Ilan Hatsor, starring as the eldest of three Palestinian brothers, set during the 1st Intifada and performed at the Daryl Roth 2 theater, Off-Broadway. On stage most recently Zuaiter enjoyed rave reviews for his heart-rending, and elegant portrayal of an Iraqi translator in the critically acclaimed, award-winning new play Betrayed, based upon (and scripted by) George Packer's widely lauded reporting of the Iraq war for The New Yorker. The play went on to receive a special one-night production at The Kennedy Center in the nation's capital, was filmed for PBS TV and was performed and taped at L.A. Theatreworks for national radio broadcast. All productions were directed by Naked Angels co-founding member and Artistic Director Pippin Parker. The Kennedy Center production received further attention because it was hosted by Refugees International as a special initiative for Iraqi refugees, and it was presented by Matt Dillon and Sarah Jessica Parker. Waleed takes special pride and has a deep affection for this milestone production in his career. The play prospered from a six-month run, Off-Broadway at the Culture Project. In the midst of the run of Betrayed, Zuaiter managed to finesse his performance schedule to allow him to work with the talented playwright Naomi Wallace in the Public Theatre Lab production of her three one-act plays Fever Chart, under the direction of Jo Bonney. His performance was hailed by the critics. Waleed's other notable credits from Film and TV are, most recently (2009), co-starring in the all-star cast of The Men Who Stare At Goats, performing along-side George Clooney and Ewan McGregor, and directed by Grant Heslov. The film also stars Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. Waleed attributes this to be "his break" into mainstream Hollywood films. He received notable mentions in select reviews that his performance and character depiction made a significant impact within the story. Waleed was featured in the DVD release of Tom McCarthy's The Visitor and was honored by McCarthy's commentary in the special features that he wanted to work with Waleed, a respected New York theatre actor. In a soon to be released film, Zuaiter makes an inspiring appearance as "the Lecturer" in the adaptation of Paulo Coelho's (The Alchemist) Veronika Decides To Die, directed by BAFTA Award-winner Emily Young. Zuaiter has guest starred on numerous TV shows, most recently in an episode of Lie To Me, and was directed by Spike Lee in a recurring role for an NBC pilot, M-O-N-Y. He is currently working on Sex And The City 2 in New York and Morocco (November, 2009). Zuaiter serves as Co-Executive Producer on the critically acclaimed annual New York Arab-American Comedy Festival (NYAACF) founded in 2003, which had its Los Angeles premiere in January of 2006. The NYAACF is the largest comedy festival in the US that brings together Arab-Americans to showcase a unique and edgy brand of humor. As Producer, Zuaiter has also optioned the screen rights for the PEN-Oakland Award-winner and celebrated novel, "On The Hills Of God," by Ibrahim Fawal. He owns options on other feature film properties that are in varying stages of development. Waleed is a graduate of The George Washington University, and the acclaimed Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory in Washington DC.

Mehdi Dehbi is an actor, known for A Most Wanted Man (2014), The Other Son (2012) and Messiah (2020).