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The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Wednesday 15th June 2022

Nicolas Cage stars as... Nick Cage in the action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The fictionalised version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative and forced to live up to his own legend. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage.
Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Horgan, Lily Sheen, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio
Tom Gormican
Kristin Burr, Nicolas Cage
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
1 hour 40 minutes
22/04/2022
March 17 2024 16:42:59
242
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Nicolas Cage stars as... Nick Cage in the action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalised version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage.

From filmmakers Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a sincere, authentic, and hilarious love letter to Nicolas Cage - as you know and love him and as you've never seen him before.

It's the role he was born to play.

Lionsgate presents a Saturn Films / Burr! Productions production, a film by Tom Gormican, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Starring Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Lily Sheen, with Neil Patrick Harris and Tiffany Haddish. Directed by Tom Gormican. Written by Tom Gormican & Kevin Etten. Produced by Nicolas Cage, Mike Nilon, Kristin Burr, p.g.a., and Kevin Turen. Executive producers are Samson Mücke and Kevin Etten. Director of Photography is Nigel Bluck. Production Designer is Kevin Kavanaugh. Edited by Melissa Bretherton, ACE. Costume Designer is Paco Delgado. Music by Mark Isham. Music Supervisor is George Drakoulias. Casting by Mary Vernieu, CSA and Jessica Kelly, CSA.

The real Nicolas Cage is nothing less than a screen legend whose landmark pictures include The Rock, Face/Off, Con Air, Moonstruck, Honeymoon in Vegas, and an Academy Award®-winning turn in Leaving Las Vegas (Best Actor, 1995). Now, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent builds upon that renowned work while turning it upside-down and inside-out with an imagined "Nick Cage".

"Nicolas Cage is unbelievably talented and can do any genre," says director/co-writer Tom Gormican. "You've seen him in romantic comedies like Moonstruck. You've seen him in comedies like The Family Man. You've seen him in dramas. You've seen him in avant-garde films like Mandy and Wild at Heart. You've seen him in big tentpole franchises, action movies like Con Air and Face/Off and National Treasure. There are very few actors that can do every genre equally well, who can switch from comedy to drama - sometimes within the same project - and that's fascinating to me."

But why imagine an alternative existence for this Hollywood legend? "Nick has become something that transcends being an actor," says Gormican. "He's become a cultural figure. As culture gets stranger and stranger and fashion choices get more outlandish, you can trace like a direct line back to the patron saint of strangeness, Nicolas Cage. Just seeing his face makes people happy. That's really interesting and made me want to dig in further and find out who he actually is."

Gormican's intriguing and off-kilter ideas drew Cage in. "I call Tom 'The Mind,'" he says, "because the film really is his fantasy, culled from perceptions in the media and on the internet, as well as blips in my personal life that have gone public. It's mixed with knowledge of interviews I've done and things that have always interested me and drew me down this path. Essentially, the film is an imagination based on Tom's interpretation of what my life might be like."

The screenplay began as a "leap of faith," according to co-writer and executive producer Kevin Etten, as the project was written on spec, with their subject having no knowledge of the filmmakers' plans. "Nick didn't know us, and we didn't have a body of work he could check," he says.

Cage was initially reluctant to participate. "I had no interest in playing myself in a movie," he remembers. "But then I received a very nice letter from Tom, and I read his script. The first act really terrified me, and by the time I got to acts two and three, I thought, Tom is taking us on an adventure that is really quite exciting."

The letter, Etten recalls, "outlined in a thoughtful way why we wanted to do the project, which would be a true labour of love for us, because we loved Nick and wanted to celebrate him - and work with him."

"We wanted to make clear that we were in no way making fun of Nicolas Cage," adds Gormican. "The film would be an homage to his body of work, and that just as his work spanned so many genres, so would our film."

It was Gormican and Etten's passion for Cage's work, shared by millions around the globe, that inspired them to develop the idea. "There's so much goodwill out there for Nick, and people want him to succeed," Gormican points out. "We thought, what is he really like as a person?"

In the movie, "Nick Cage" is a fictionalised version of the star, imagined as a once-highly respected actor who has fallen on hard times and is craving a return to box-office glory and prestige. But his waning career is only one of his problems. The faux Cage's megalomania has poisoned his relationships with his ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and daughter Addy (Lily Sheen), though he can't see it.

The fictional Cage is feeling unfulfilled and rejected, but nothing could be further from the real Cage, not least because the actor recently received some of his best reviews (in a career of good reviews) for his performance in Pig. "This is Tom's invented version of Nick Cage - a neurotic, high-anxiety version of Nick Cage," he says. "This film is a real head trip for me."

In Gormican's screenplay, Nick becomes frustrated - and a little unhinged - when he loses out on a role that he was desperate to inhabit. Moreover, he's financially strapped. When his smarmy agent (Neil Patrick Harris) extends him a lifeline with an offer to attend a birthday party for a cool payday of one million dollars, Nick - despite his better instincts - reluctantly agrees, and hops on a plane to meet the birthday boy / Cage superfan, Javi, in picturesque Mallorca, Spain.

Again, the inspiration came from real life. "I had an actor friend who was going to do an appearance at someone's birthday party, and he was depressed about it, thinking it was the end of his career and the lowest thing he could possibly do," says Gormican. "And I thought it would be fun to put Nicolas Cage in that situation."

Upon arriving in Mallorca and being greeted personally by Javi, Nick is completely checked out until he discovers that he and his host have much in common and begin to bond. "They're both cinephiles, sharing a love of everything from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Paddington 2," says Cage. "Javi even has an elaborate wax statue of Nick, which blows Nick's mind."

Javi serves a kind of stand-in for the filmmakers' own diehard Cage obsessions. "Javi embodies all of our own fanboy love for Nick," says Etten.

As it turns out, the actor cast to portray Javi was himself a big Nicolas Cage fan. Etten recalls the moment when it all came together for Pedro Pascal, Gormican and himself. "Tom and I had lunch with Pedro, and what put him over the top for us was that he is not only a great actor, but a true admirer of Nick's work. That's baked into who Pedro is - a true movie fan and Nick fan. So, his casting worked on so many levels."

Pascal agrees. "Much of why I became an actor has to do with Nicolas Cage," he says. "What I loved about the script is that it's a story of friendship and adventure around an artist we've all grown to love over the years. Ultimately, what brings Nick and Javi together is their love of storytelling. It's the connecting fabric for them."

That's not all they have in common. The wealthy man is just as neurotic as his guest of honor-and they both find themselves looking for inspiration from the actor's famously bold, audacious characters. "I think Nick's screen persona is everything that Javi doesn't dare to be," says Pascal. "Javi is fearful of many things, so he lives his life vicariously through Nick's bold performances. Nick's visit inspires Javi to take risks in his own life."

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is an intriguing change of pace for Pascal, who has been so impressive in dramas and thrillers, most recently as the titular anti-hero in the blockbuster streaming series The Mandalorian. He seems almost destined to inhabit Javi. "Pedro has played, memorably, many action-driven characters, so meeting him and learning that he was a Nick Cage super-fan, and eager to talk about what Nick's work has meant to him, solidified for us the character of Javi," says Gormican. "Pedro was able to pull off this character in a way that straddled the line between being a fan and being dangerous and creepy - all these different personalities wrapped together," Gormican continues. "But at Javi's heart is fandom, so he's a kind of an audience proxy - and mine."

Adds Pascal, "Working on this film was an incredible experience and opportunity to show this other side of myself . in a way, it's a truer part of myself."

As neurotic as Javi is, he is already taking great risks: the character also turns out to be an international arms dealer and crime boss, a man that the CIA has been monitoring and trying to take out for years. As Nick gets close to Javi, the actor is made a key, if reluctant, player in a CIA operation orchestrated by agency operatives portrayed by Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz. To stay sane - and alive - Nick must inhabit some of his on-screen action-hero personas, especially when his wife Olivia and daughter Addy become enmeshed in the escalating weirdness, adventure, and danger. All of that threatens to upend the new friendship, among other dire consequences.

Etten says the duo of Haddish and Barinholtz is a "great combo who brought both laughs and gravitas to their roles."

"We needed those sequences to be fun to match the overall tone of the script," he notes. The roles are meant to be dramatic - credible CIA agents - in an absurd situation. With Haddish and Barinholtz's well-known comedy personas, they brought the characters to life. "Tiffany and Ike were more than up for it, and they created a really nice and easy dynamic."

Haddish says that at first, she couldn't believe that Cage would do the movie. "When I first read the script, I was like, 'Yo, Nicolas Cage is not doin' this movie,' and they're like, 'No, Nicolas Cage is doin' the movie.' I was like, 'For real, he gonna be in the movie?' I don't know him personally, so what do I know? They're like, 'No, he's doin' it.' I said, 'Well, if he's doin' it, I'm in it. Done and done.'"

And now that she does know Cage? "Nicolas Cage's character in this movie is what I think everyone thinks Nicolas Cage might be, but he's not that at all. When you put all his work together, watch everything, add in the little things in the tabloids and whatnot, it feels like this is who he would be, but that is not who he is. He really is deep, compassionate, kind - he's really funny. He has a lot of really cool jokes. He's a really good storyteller. And he's very, very dedicated - when he decides he's gonna do something, that's what he's gonna do."

One memorable moment sees Haddish's Vivian guiding, remotely, a beleaguered Nick, who's been told to infiltrate Javi's private chambers. The sequence highlights Haddish's improvisational skills, as well as her unflinching candor and disarming authenticity, all to serve the sequence's unbridled humor and suspense.

Olivia and Addy are central to Nick's development. But first, they become enmeshed in international hijinks, after Javi flies them to Mallorca to surprise Nick.

"Olivia and Addy are really meant to ground the Nick character," notes Gormican. "They help Nick understand that there are stakes beyond the fate of his film career. In creating the characters and then casting the roles, it was always about bringing heart to the story. Sharon Horgan's Olivia makes Nick feel more like a real human being, who would be married to this smart, thoughtful, and great mother, and play against Nick's whimsical career.

"The father-daughter relationship is the emotional crux of the story," Gormican continues. "Nick is disconnected from Addy, because he's been trying to shape her into a smaller version of himself. I think audiences can relate to that."

Etten calls the casting of Horgan, who starred in the acclaimed series Catastrophe, "a huge get. Tom and I loved Catastrophe and we were so impressed with how funny but steady she was. Such a force of energy! The fact that Nick's character is married to Sharon's Olivia just makes you love Nick that much more. You think, 'He was married to this woman who's the smartest, funniest, and most levelheaded person you've ever seen.'"

Horgan agrees. "Olivia gives the family some stability," she says. "It breaks Nick's heart that he and Addy are drifting apart, and Olivia wants them to reconnect. Eventually, Nick has a chance to do these completely selfless things for Addy, and you see how much he loves her."

"Addy is always honest with her dad," Lily Sheen elaborates. "It's touching to see her relationship with Nick go through this journey. At first, he's a lost cause to Addy, but later begins to prove himself, despite his shortcomings. Nick shows up at the perfect moment and saves the day - literally and in terms of their relationship."

Unsurprisingly, Cage and Horgan developed some parental-like feelings for the young newcomer. "Our love for Lily brought the three of us together," Horgan explains, "and we both felt protective toward her, because this was her first acting job."

Another member of Nick's inner circle is his agent, Richard, played by Neil Patrick Harris. "He's the perfect foil and yes man for Nick," says Gormican. "It's interesting: when you imagine Nicolas Cage's career, you think his agent must be along for the ride. I can imagine a typical conversation between them: 'Whatever you want to do, I'm in. That's gonna be fantastic,'" he says, with a laugh.

Again, the casting was right on target. "Neil Patrick Harris has a way of pulling off that kind of guy, who can flip on a dime and be funny, but also make us feel that he cares about the Nick character," Gormican points out.

In casting all the characters in Nick's personal and professional orbits, Gormican insisted that this be the actors' first motion picture with Cage, to create a freshness and a special kind of spark. "We didn't want to have actors who have been in a previous Nicolas Cage movie, because we were creating a version of Nick, and didn't want a previous association with the actual Nick, himself," he says.

Nick is haunted by a shadow: "Nicky," also played by Cage, is a young (think Wild at Heart-era Cage) figment of the actor's considerable imagination who bellows for a single-minded focus on movie stardom. "Nicky has this lanky long hair, and he's riding Nick about his career choices," says Cage. "For me, Nicky steals the show."

In fact, the opportunity to play Nicky was something of a convincer for Cage to join the project. "What really put the hook in me about this movie was the idea of playing Nicky, and the interplay between the two characters really excited me," says Cage. "Nicky will not rest until his alter ego tries to become a movie star again. It was like a trip down memory lane, rediscovering my energy from years ago."

For research, Cage even looked up some of his more unconventional press interviews. Much of Nicky's look was inspired by Cage's appearance during those interviews, as well as the wardrobe he donned during the promotion of Wild at Heart, including a black leather jacket, black jeans, and boots. Cage describes the character as "a younger version that I would like to kill. Nicky's energy is very different from Nick's or from Nicolas Cage's. Nicky is loud, bold, and unapologetic. He still believes in himself and has his entire world ahead of him. Nicky questions and pushes his older self, sometimes brutally."

The confrontations between Nick and Nicky, were, for Gormican, "the most interesting parts of the movie to capture. I think we found some magical moments during the filming."

"Nicky is probably the most important character, because he represents Nick grappling with the film's central theme and is core to our own identity - that in order to grow and move forward, we are always struggling with a version of ourselves, which we must eventually leave behind," Gormican continues. "In our film, it means that Nick, as a father, ex-husband, and actor, was wrapped up in this former version of himself - a big, youthful movie star, who's a little selfish and narcissistic. He's grappling with his identity in a way that feels fun and interesting. It also serves as a callback to the time he doubled himself in one of my favorite Nicolas Cage films, Adaptation."

To capture the two versions of the character interacting with one another, the filmmakers employed some visual effects wizardry, motion control work, and skilled doubles. "Nicolas loved acting opposite himself," says Gormican, with a smile. "There's no finer scene partner for Nicolas Cage than Nicolas Cage."

In summarising the dynamic, Cage offers, "I love Nicky and knew I could have a lot of fun with the character. His irreverence is likable, and he is genuinely concerned for Nick and trying to help him the only way Nicky knows how."

Cage and the filmmakers create yet another flavor of the actor, via another persona, "Sergio". As the Nick character, after rescuing Olivia and Addy, races to ensure their safety in a dangerous compound, Olivia, a makeup artist, uses her considerable skills to transform her ex into the head of an Italian crime family. The production's actual makeup designer and supervisor/prosthetics artist, Bill Corso, created the startling look.

Even if the moment is broad, Gormican says that "it's played real in terms of the prosthetics. Sergio is really kind of magnetic."

On another level, the creation of Sergio points to Gormican's goal of slowly transforming Cage into a movie character he might have once portrayed. "Our character, Nick, has to become one of the action heroes he played in the late-90s and early-2000s in order to complete the mission," the director says.

A key set is Javi's memorabilia room, which he devoted to his unbounded fandom for Nick. Having been enlisted by the CIA to spy on Javi, Nick has become suspicious of the man, so he's on high alert when Javi takes him to a secret room. which turns out to be a lavish shrine to Nicolas Cage, housing an endless array of props, costumes - and even some life-size recreations of the actor from his acclaimed action-thriller Face/Off.

"I loved building that set," adds production designer Kevin Kavanaugh. "I had a great time picking out different elements from Nick's films that would signify that film and his amazing career. We also recreated some props, including the burnt bunny from Con Air, the diapers from Raising Arizona, and the hand from Moonstruck."

Additional props in Javi's special room include screenplays (Lord of War, National Treasure, Leaving Las Vegas); slates (Valley Girl, Face/Off, Raising Arizona); and treasured props, like the golden guns from Face/Off, the lottery ticket from It Could Happen to You, and the torch from National Treasure. In another moment, Gormican recreates Leaving Las Vegas, the film that earned Cage his Academy Award®. In the movie, Cage's character is at his lowest point, drinking a beer in a swimming pool. "We built a pool and tank on stage, and I explained to Nick that he was to be at the bottom of the pool and have a beer," Gormican recounts. "When I explained the mechanics of the scene, Nick quickly interjected, 'Tom, Tom, Tom, I know. I've already done it.' It was where reality and Nicolas Cage's career collided, and we both just started laughing."

Nick Cage - Nicolas Cage is an actor, director, and producer whose remarkable versatility has led to great success across all genres for over four decades. Cage's recent work includes the hugely successful and critically acclaimed drama Pig; the award-winning, groundbreaking horror/thriller Mandy; and the mind-bending Color Out of Space; as well as the voice of Grug in animated comedy The Croods 2: A New Age. During his early career, Cage starred in a variety of classic films including Valley Girl (1983), Racing with the Moon (1984), Birdy (1984), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Raising Arizona (1987), Moonstruck (1987), Vampire's Kiss (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), and Red Rock West (1993).

Cage received an Academy Award®, a Golden Globe®, and a Screen Actors Guild Award® for his performance as a suicidal alcoholic in Leaving Las Vegas (1995) before coming to the attention of worldwide audiences with mainstream blockbusters such as The Rock (1996), Face/Off (1997), Con Air (1997), City of Angels (1998), National Treasure 1 and 2 (2004, 2007) and Lord of War (2005). He earned his second Academy Award® Best Actor nomination for his performance as Charlie and Donald Kaufman in Adaptation (2002). He also directed the film Sonny (2002), for which he was nominated for the Grand Special Prize at The Deauville Film Festival. Cage has also been prolific as a producer, with films such as Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and The Life of David Gale (2003).

More recently, Cage has appeared in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), Kick- Ass (2010), Drive Angry (2011), The Croods (2013), Joe (2013), Dying of the Light (2014), The Trust (2016), Dog Eat Dog (2016) and Mom & Dad (2017).

Javi Gutierrez - Pedro Pascal was in Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 1984, in which he starred in a key role alongside Gal Gadot and Kristen Wiig. The film, which was released on Christmas Day 2020 in theaters and on HBO Max, marks the second time he and Jenkins have worked together.

Pascal was seen playing the titular role in the first ever live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, as a mysterious lone gunfighter who exists in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic. Written and executive produced by Jon Favreau, the series launched on Disney's direct-to consumer streaming service, Disney+, on November 12th, 2019. Season 2 released in 2020. Pascal made his Broadway debut during the summer of 2019 in Sam Gold's production of King Lear, playing Edmund, alongside Glenda Jackson and Ruth Wilson. King Lear opened on April 4th and ran through June 9th.

Previously, Pascal was seen in Triple Frontier, an action-adventure story set on the border zone between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The film also stars Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund and Charlie Hunnam, and released globally on Netflix on March 13th 2019. In 2018, Pascal appeared in Barry Jenkins' critically-acclaimed If Beale Street Could Talk. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe® and won AFI's "Movie of the Year" award. Additionally, Pascal starred in Antoine Fuqua's (Training Day, The Equalizer) The Equalizer 2 opposite Denzel Washington, which was released by Sony on July 20th, 2018.

Pascal starred in the first, second, and third seasons of the critically-acclaimed, BAFTA and Golden Globe®-nominated Netflix original series Narcos, the true-life story of the growth and spread of cocaine drug cartels around the world. Pascal portrayed the role of DEA agent Javier Peña, who led the manhunt for Colombian drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar in seasons one and two - and for the Cali Cartel is season three.

In 2017, Pascal starred in FOX and Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle, alongside Taron Egerton, Channing Tatum, and Julianne Moore. The film grossed $411 million worldwide. In 2014, Pascal starred in HBO's critically-acclaimed series Game of Thrones where he played the fan favourite Oberyn Martell. Pedro has had recurring roles on USA's Graceland, ABC's Brothers & Sisters, CBS' The Good Wife, FX's Lights Out, CBS' The Mentalist, and ABC's Red Widow. Other television credits include Showtime's award-winning Nurse Jackie, the Law & Order trifecta, Body Of Proof, Without A Trace, NYPD Blue and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, among others.

Pascal's other film credits include: Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl's Prospect, Universal's The Adjustment Bureau, The Great Wall, Joe Saunders' Sweet Little Lies, and B. Hayward Randall's I Am That Girl. He also appeared in Julia Solomonoff's Sisters (Hermanas) and Freya Billington's Window Shopping. Pascal has originated roles in New York for The Manhattan Theater Club, Classic Stage Company, Playwrights Horizons, and Terrence McNally's Drama Desk Nominated play Some Men at Second Stage. He starred alongside Jennifer Ehle and Liev Schreiber in Shakespeare in the Park's production of Macbeth, as well as their production of Much Ado About Nothing with Lily Rabe. He won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and Garland for Orphans at The International City Theater. Pedro has also directed Florencia Lozano's Underneathmybed, David Anzuelo's Killing Play and Daniel Talbott's Yosemite at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in New York. Pedro is also a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company. He will also be appearing in The Last of Us, an upcoming HBO series with Bella Ramsey, and The Bubble, an upcoming Netflix Judd Apatow film.

Olivia - Co-founder of Merman, alongside Clelia Mountford, Sharon Horgan is a multi-BAFTA award-winning Irish actress, writer, producer, and director, best known for her multiple award-winning sitcom Catastrophe, which she co-wrote and starred in with Rob Delaney.

Sharon and Rob won the BAFTA TV Craft Award for Best Writing in a Comedy Series in 2016 and Sharon also gained three individual BAFTA nominations for her extraordinary performance in the show, alongside a Primetime Emmy Award Nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. The final season of Catastrophe aired in January 2019 (UK) and in spring 2019 (USA). Sharon's further recognition includes BAFTA TV Award for Best Short Form Programme (2018) for Morgana Robinson's Summer: Dreamland, Outstanding Achievement Award for her debut short film The Week Before Christmas. At the National Comedy Awards Sharon was awarded the Caroline Ahearne Outstanding Achievement Award, she has also received two BAFTA Award nominations and two British Comedy Awards for her iconic BBC show Pulling which she co-wrote and starred in.

For Merman, Sharon's most recent credit is for co-creating Shining Vale, an eight-part horror comedy series starring Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear, which premiered on Starz on March the 6th, 2022. Sharon's other credits for Merman include co-creating, executive producing and starring in the animated comedy Housebroken (Fox), which stars Lisa Kudrow and was co-created by Clea Duvall, Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan. Sharon also executive produced Frank of Ireland (Channel 4/Amazon), which was created by Brian and Domhnall Gleeson and Michael Moloney; co-writing and Executive Producing two series and the Christmas Special of Motherland (BBC) and script editing and executive producing the recent third series. Sharon was also an Executive Producer of two series of Frayed (Sky/ABC), created by and starring Sarah Kendall; There She Goes (BBC/Britbox) and This Way Up (Ch4/Hulu), which she also starred in alongside creator Aisling Bea. The series, which follows life's chaotic ups and downs of two sisters after one has a nervous breakdown, returned for a second season in 2021. On screen, Sharon has starred alongside Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and Kyle Chandler in the critical and commercial hit feature film Game Night. In 2020, she starred in Military Wives opposite Kristin Scott Thomas and the Irish comedy-drama film Dating Amber, for which she won an IFTA for Best Supporting Actress. The same year, Sharon directed an episode of Amazon's anthology Modern Love, titled Rallying to Keep the Game Alive and starring Tina Fey and John Slattery.

In 2021, Sharon starred opposite James McAvoy in the Stephen Daldry directed film Together for BBC Two and BBC Film. Later that year, Sharon took on the role of Miss Hedge in the feature film adaptation of the West End musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie. Sharon will next be seen in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent opposite Nicolas Cage, which is currently sitting on 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (current as of 4/1/22) and will be released on the 22nd of April 2022.

Up next for Sharon is her ten-part comedy thriller series Bad Sisters for Apple TV+. Sharon has co-created, written, executive produced and will star in the series, which follows a group of five sisters (the Garveys) after their parents' premature death, and the story that follows the promise they make to always protect each other.

Sharon is currently filming drama series, Best Interests, written by Jack Thorne. It is a story about a family driven to making choices no parent would ever want to make, as well as highlighting the troubled relationship the UK has with disability. The show will air next year on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, Sharon will star opposite Michael Sheen who will play her husband.

Sharon's further acting credits include Criminal UK (Netflix), Bob's Burgers (Fox), Bojack Horseman (Netflix), The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (IFC), Adventure Time (Cartoon Network), Psychobitches (Sky Arts), The Borrowers (BBC), Free Agents (C4), Dead Boss (BBC) and Bad Sugar (C4), as well as the films Run And Jump, Death of a Superhero, and Man Up. Sharon has also voiced Queen Dagmar in the Netflix series Disenchantment (2018-2022).

Martin - Ike Barinholtz has established himself as one of the more sought-after comedic writers and actors in the comedy world. Most recently, Barinholtz can be seen in season one of Apple TV+'s hit series The Afterparty alongside Tiffany Haddish and Sam Richardson. He is currently in production on Hulu's History of the World Part II which he wrote alongside Mel Brooks, Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, David Stassen and Kevin Salter.

Barinholtz can recently be heard as Wayne in the first two seasons of FOX's Bless The Harts and seen in Universal's The Hunt and Netflix's Moxie. Barinholtz made his directorial debut in The Oath, where he starred alongside Tiffany Haddish, in October 2018. Ike also starred in Universal's Blockers alongside John Cena and Leslie Mann in April 2018. Additionally, he wrapped the final season of Hulu's The Mindy Project in 2017, which he also served as a writer and producer on.

Barinholtz starred in Amazon's Late Night, Fox's Snatched alongside Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn starred opposite Seth Rogan in Universal's his comedies Neighbors 2, appeared in Warner Bro's Suicide Squad and starred alongside Amy Poehler and Tiny Fey in Unversal's Sisters. Additionally, he wrote the hit action-comedy Central Intelligence with his writing partner David Stassen.

Barinholtz's additional feature credits include Meet The Spartans, Disaster Movie and the indies Shrink, Lock and Roll Forever and Inventing Adam.

Gabriela - Alessandra Mastronardi debuted as an actress very young.

In 2006, I Cesaroni, one of the most famous Italian TV series in the last 15 years, gave her success and big popularity. In 2008, she was one of the main female characters of Romanzo Criminale directed by Stefano Sollima, a totally different role for her.

After many film and TV series in American co-productions, like Sotto il cielo di Roma (Under the Roman Sky) directed by Christian Duguay, with James Cromwell, 2011 was an important year that gave a twist to her career, starting with another big TV project, the English coproduction Titanic: Blood & Steel directed by the Irish director Ciaran Donnelly. The same year, Woody Allen chose her for his film To Rome with Love. This movie opened doors for Alessandra's international career.

In 2012, she was Juliet for the TV movie Romeo & Juliet directed by Enrico Oldoini, another English co-production.

The same year, the movie L'ultima Ruota del Carro (The Fifth Wheel) directed by Giovanni Veronesi, in which she starred with Elio Germano, opened the Rome Film Festival.

In 2014 she played the leading female role in the movie Life directed by Anton Corbijn, with Robert Pattinson and Dane Dehaan. The movie was presented at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival. In November 2014, she was back on the big screen with the comedy Ogni Maledetto Natale, directed by Giacomo Ciarrapico, Mattia Torre, and Luca Vendruscolo.

In 2017, she had a role in the movie Lost in Florence and she played a leading role in the second season of the award-winning Netflix series Master of None. The series has won three Emmy® Awards and a Golden Globe®, and she was nominated at the Critics Choice Awards as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

The same year, she was also in the second season of the Netflix series Medici and she starred in the Italian TV series L'allieva; the series went on for three seasons. In 2018, she started shooting the third season of Medici. In 2020, she played the world known star Carla Fracci in the biopic movie Carla directed by Emanuele Imbucci. She was also in the American movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent directed by Tom Gormican. In the last year (2021) she shot three Italian movies, coming out in 2022.

Carlos - Jacob Scipio recently wrapped shooting The Expendables 4 (he is the newest member of the team playing the grandson of Antonio Banderas) and is currently shooting Batgirl where he stars opposite Leslie Grace as the film's male lead.

In 2021, Amazon released Without Remorse in which Jacob co-stars opposite Michael B. Jordan. He can next be seen in the indie, Waldo, opposite Charlie Hunnam and Mel Gibson as well as the Netflix limited series, Pieces Of Her, opposite Toni Collette.

Jacob was last seen as the antagonist in Sony's Bad Boys For Life opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence which premiered in January 2020, grossing over $73 million during its opening weekend andover $400 million worldwide during its theatrical run. The new installment centers on the Miami PD and its elite AMMO team's attempt to take down Armando Armas (Scipio), a cold-blooded killer and the head of a drug cartel. The film is now available on demand.

Scipio can also be seen in The Outpost, a war drama based on a Jake Tapper novel, adapted by Academy Award® nominees Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (Best Original Screenplay, 2010 - The Fighter) and directed by Rod Lurie. The film also stars Caleb Landry Jones, Orlando Bloom, Scott Eastwood, and Taylor John Smith.

Addy Cage - A talented and dynamic actress, Lily Sheen is quickly establishing herself as one of the most promising artists of this emerging generation.

Lily will next be seen in the highly-anticipated Lionsgate feature The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent opposite Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, and Tiffany Haddish. The meta adventure-comedy stars Nicolas Cage as a fictionalised version of himself; he begrudgingly accepts a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a billionaire super fan. When things take a wild turn, Nick is forced to become a version of some of his most iconic and beloved characters in order to extricate his wife and daughter (Sheen) from the fan who is a notorious drug lord. The film debuted at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and will release theatrically on April 22, 2022.

Other credits include Underworld: Evolution, Click and Everybody's Fine. Off screen, Lily immerses herself in the arts with writing, reading and painting.

Born in the UK and raised both there and in Los Angeles, Lily currently resides in New York.

Richard Fink - As a distinguished and decorated performer, Neil Patrick Harris constantly defies the limits of the creative arts by using his chameleon-like approach to every role he undertakes.

Harris can recently be seen in the widely anticipated fourth installment of The Matrix 4 for Warner Bros., which was released December 22, 2021 in theaters and on HBO Max. The actor recently wrapped production on the Netflix comedy series Uncoupled, created by Darren Star and Jeffrey Richman. Harris, who also executive produces the series, stars as Michael, who thought his life was perfect until his husband blindsides him by walking out the door after 17 years. He can also recently be seen in Russell T Davies' limited series, It's A Sin for HBO Max and Britain's Channel 4.

This past Fall, Harris launched Wondercade, a free, weekly email newsletter that aims to inform and inspire readers with content across a host of lifestyle categories. Wondercade is inspired by Harris' interests and passions; each newsletter offers readers a mix of inspiration and information, from filling one's home with interesting art or making a delicious meal, to learning about once-in-a-lifetime experiences or discovering a new game.

Harris is a five-time Emmy® Award winner for his role as host of the 63rd, 65th, 66th and 67th Annual Tony Awards® and his guest-starring role on Glee. He also served as host and producer of the 61st and 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as the 67th Annual Tony Awards®. Additionally, Harris served as the host of the 87th Annual Academy Awards® in February 2015. Named one of the "2008 Entertainers of the Year" by Entertainment Weekly, Neil was included on Time Magazine's 2010 Time 100 List, an annual list of the world's leading thinkers, leaders, artists, and heroes.

The actor can be seen as Count Olaf in Netflix's series adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The third season recently premiered in January 2019. He also appeared as the host of NBC's competition series, Genius Junior. Previously, he starred as Barney Stinson in the hit CBS comedy series, How I Met Your Mother, a role which has garnered him multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations, as well as two People's Choice Awards and a Critics' Choice Award. Among Harris' additional television credits include Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, Stark Raving Mad, Joan of Arc, The Man in the Attic, Cold Sassy Tree, My Antonia, The Wedding Dress, The Christmas Blessing and Doogie Howser, M.D. Neil has also made notable guest appearances on such shows as American Horror Story, Glee, Sesame Street, Numb3rs, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Touched by an Angel, Ed, and Will & Grace, among many others. Under the direction of David Fincher, Harris starred in 20th Century Fox's Gone Girl. His other film credits include notable roles in Downsizing, A Million Ways to Die in the West, The Smurfs 1 & 2, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, Beastly, The Best and the Brightest, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Undercover Brother, The Next Best Thing, The Proposition, Starship Troopers and Clara's Heart.

A veteran of the theater, Harris originated the role of Hedwig, in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Tony, Drama League and Drama Desk Awards). His additional theatrical credits include Assassins (Studio 54), Proof (Walter Kerr Theater), Cabaret (Studio 54), Company (New York Philharmonic), All My Sons (Geffen Theater), The Paris Letter (Kirk Douglas Theater), Sweeney Todd (NY Phil, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra), Romeo and Juliet (Old Globe Theater), Rent (Los Angeles/2nd National Tour), and Luck, Pluck, Virtue (Atlantic Theater Co.) and tick, tick.BOOM! (Menier Chocolate Factory).

Utilising his theatrical expertise behind the curtain, Harris made his musical directorial debut with the Hollywood Bowl's staging of Jonathan Larson's Rent. His additional directing credits include Nothing to Hide (Pershing Square Signature Center & Geffen Theater), The Expert at the Card Table (Edinburgh Fringe Festival & Broad Stage Theater) and I Am Grock (El Portal Theater). Additionally, Harris recently produced In & Of Itself, an Off-Broadway magic show directed by Frank Oz at the Daryl Roth Theater in New York.

As a result of the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike, Neil starred as the title character in Joss Whedon's Emmy® Award-winning, web-based musical miniseries, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Harris was also one of the leading cast members of the all-star internet hit, Prop 8: The Musical. Most recently, he starred in and executive produced the comedic web series, Neil's Puppet Dreams. Harris lengthened his list of credits with his first literary project in 2014, titled Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography. He also recently added to his list of titles with the release of a New York Times Bestselling middle grade fiction series, The Magic Misfits. The second book of the series, The Magic Misfits: The Second Story, was released on September 25, 2018. The third book, The Magic Misfits: The Minor Third, was released on September 10, 2019, and the fourth book, The Magic Misfits: The Fourth Suit, was released on September 15, 2020.

The multi-talented Harris rounds out his accomplishments on stage and screen with an equal measure of success in the world of voice-overs. Among his numerous voiceover credits include Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Adventure Time, The Penguins of Madagascar, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Yes, Virginia, Robot Chicken and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Family Guy, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, Justice League: The New Frontier, Spider-Man, Capitol Critters, and Saints Row 4.

Vivian - Emmy® and GRAMMY® Award winner Tiffany Haddish has established herself as one of the most sought-after comedic actresses and performers worldwide. She can currently be seen in Apple TV's murder mystery series The Afterparty, opposite Dave Franco, Ben Schwartz and Ilana Glazer and recently wrapped production on both Disney's Haunted Mansion, and MGM's Landscape With Invisible Hand, an adaption of MT Anderson's futuristic sci-fi novel.

Other recent projects include starring opposite Oscar Isaac in the critically acclaimed Paul Schrader film The Card Counter, voicing Tuca in the animated series Adult Swim's Tuca & Bertie, hosting TBS' weekly talk show series Friday Night Vibes and Netflix's Bad Trip, starring alongside Eric Andre and Lil Rel Howery. Upcoming projects include On the Count of Three, alongside Jerrod Carmichael which releases May, Easter Sunday alongside Jo Koy, Down Undercover, opposite Chris Hemsworth, Netflix's Mystery Girl, Amblin's Homecoming Queen and The Untitled Flo Jo Biopic.

Haddish is perhaps best known for her breakout role in the smash comedy Girls Trip, where she starred as the scene-stealing "Dina" alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, and Regina Hall. Her other film and television work include Here Today, Like A Boss, The Kitchen, Between Two Ferns: The Movie, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie: Sponge on the Run, The Secret Life of Pets 2, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, The Angry Birds Movie 2, Night School, Nobody's Fool, The Oath, Kids Say the Darndest Things, Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker, The Last O.G., and The Carmichael Show. Haddish also served as host and executive producer of the Emmy®-nominated Netflix stand-up comedy series Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready. The series of half-hour comedy specials features her friends and long-time comedic collaborators ran for two seasons.

Her Emmy®-nominated and GRAMMY®-winning comedy special, Tiffany Haddish: Black Mitzvah, debuted on Netflix in December 2019. Haddish became the second black woman ever to win a GRAMMY® for Outstanding Comedy Album and the first since Whoopi Goldberg won in 1986. Her first stand-up special, Tiffany Haddish: She Ready! From the Hood to Hollywood was released on Showtime in August 2017. Just three months after the special's release, Haddish made history by becoming the first black female stand-up comedian to host Saturday Night Live, which earned her the 2018 Emmy® Award for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series." In June 2018, Haddish took the reins as the host of the MTV Movie and TV Awards, a role that earned her critical acclaim and significant ratings boost for MTV. Haddish's first book, a memoir called The Last Black Unicorn, was released in 2018. The book made the New York Times Best Sellers List, and the companion audiobook, narrated by Haddish, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY® Award for "Spoken Word Album." In 2021 Haddish signed a three book Children's Deal with Harper Collins including her debut picture book Layla, The Last Black Unicorn, available May 10, and collection of essays I Curse You with Joy, releasing November 29.

Haddish's journey and life experiences have inspired her comedy and sense of humor both on and off the stage. She has been very candid about her experiences growing up in foster care in South Central Los Angeles. Her excessive talking and imaginary friends prompted her flustered social worker to steer her into stand-up comedy. She enrolled in the Laugh Factory's Comedy Camp, a place for at-risk and underprivileged children to transform negative energy into something positive. The experience was just the beginning of her comedy career. Haddish recently founded The She Ready Foundation to help and support foster kids in need. In 2021 The She Ready Foundation launched an Internship Program with Ready To Succeed for foster youth in the SoCal area.

Lucas Gutierrez - A native of Seville (Spain) Paco León is versatile actor, director, producer, and screenwriter receives his training from the prestigious Centro Andaluz de Teatro in his hometown; he debuts as a dancer working for different companies appearing in stage productions such as Madre el drama padre under the direction of Sergi Balbel, Javier Dualte's ¿Estás ahí? and Jerome Savary's Lisístrata. After appearing in several TV shows of varying success, his big break comes with the critically acclaimed and very popular nationally televised comedy show Homozapping and the now iconic comic sitcom Aída which garnered a lot of international attention especially in Latin America, running on for many years. For his role in this series, he received a prestigious Ondas award, two Golden TP's, three Silver Fotograma awards and an award from the Television Academy of Spain. All top recognitions within the realm of television in Spain.

During this period, he also lends his voice to the lion of the Spanish version of all three parts of the international hit Madagascar and Valiant.

Around the same time, he goes back to his origins in theater, this time as the co-creator of a ver successful theater, circus and cabaret spectacle titled The Hole staged in Madrid, subsequently going on to show in Paris, Mexico City, Milan, and Buenos Aires.

On the silver screen he is known for roles in Spanish hit movies Dieta Mediterránea, La dama boba, Tres bodas de más, Embarazdos or Toc Toc where he co-stars with Rossy de Palma.

He debuts as a director and screenwriter with the critically acclaimed film Carmina or blow up, earning the best new director nomination at the prestigious Goya awards. He consolidates his directorial career with the sequel to his first film, Carmina y Amén and a Spanish remake of the racy Australian classic The Little Death, titled here Kiki, el amor se hace, garnering esteem from the critics and the public alike, as well as being nominated for several awards.

He is noted for his latest fiction work such as The Plague for the Spanish online platform giant Movistar+ and La Tribu by Fernando Colomo.

In 2018, he co-wrote, directed, and starred in the critical and audience success Arde Madrid (Madrid is burning) garnering wide praise and many national and international awards. In 2019 he stars in the second season of Manolo Caro's international success La casa de las flores produced for Netflix.

In the last two years Paco León premiered in the Spanish hit comedy Mamá o Papá, and a short named Vecinooo (Neeeighbour!) he shot during the confinement.

In 2021 he wrote and directed his fourth feature titled Rainbow which should premiere later this year. No doubt, the highlight of the first half of 2022 is the premiere of Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, León's Hollywood debut, co-starring along with the great Nicolas Cage, shot in 2020

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