CO-STARS CORNER: ACTORS
Mary Stuart Masterson with co-stars Lea Thompson and Eric
Stoltz, "Some Kind Of Wonderful," 1987.
CO-STAR OF "SAVING PRIVATE RYAN" CO-STARRED IN "THE
FLORENTINE"
Tom Sizemore, left, and Tom Hanks prepare to land at Omaha
Beach in "Saving Private Ryan"
Tom Sizemore, who plays the reliable Sergeant Horvath in Steven
Spielberg's unforgettable SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, was interviewed in the
June issue of USA TODAY covering the premiere of the film. In the
interview, Mr. Sizemore was asked about other film projects on which
he had worked, and he spoke at length about working on the Mary
Stuart Masterson independent film "The Florentine." Tom Sizemore told
USA TODAY that he enjoyed working on "The Florentine," and hopes to
work on other such projects in the future. Sizemore, an actor growing
in stature in his profession, has also been seen in THE RELIC,
STRANGE DAYS, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, and FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER. One
of his first breaks was on the acclaimed television drama CHINA
BEACH, portraying a Military Policeman in love with Dana Delany's
Vietnam War nurse, Lieutenant Colleen McMurphy. In 1994, Sizemore
played a man named Masterson--Bat Masterson--in the Kevin Costner
western, WYATT EARP.
JEREMY DAVIES: ANOTHER LINK BETWEEN "SAVING PRIVATE RYAN"
AND "THE FLORENTINE"
Jeremy Davies, playing Corporal Upham, consoles a
frightened French girl in "Saving Private Ryan"
Yet another link between Mary Stuart Masterson's movie, THE
FLORENTINE, and the most prominent film of 1998, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN,
is Jeremy Davies. Davies, who acted in the film "The Locusts" with
Steven Spielberg's wife, Kate Capshaw, was remembered by Spielberg
for his work, and chosen as the best actor to portray the clerk
typist and interpreter who gets "volunteered," by a U.S. Army Ranger
Captain, played by Tom Hanks, to go behind enemy lines. Davies was
praised for his work as the newcomer to World War II combat who has
to overcome his fear while under enemy fire.
SEAN PENN: A HOLLYWOOD RUGGED INDIVIDUAL
CO-STARRING FILM: "AT CLOSE RANGE," 1986
Sean Penn in a publicity portrait, 1999.
Sean Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson's co-star in the 1986 film AT
CLOSE RANGE, is a rugged individual in a profession not known to
breed them. He freely speaks his mind, as he did when he was
interviewed last year by Charlie Rose on Public Television. Penn
spoke openly about his own life, including his mistakes, and when
asked about the state of the nation's affairs Penn replied flatly:
"If the average man really knew what was going on, he might just join
a militia." Sean's father, Leo Penn, a director, was a victim of the
Hollywood blacklisting in the 1950s.
Mr. Penn rebounded from a stormy marriage with Madonna to find
true happiness with actress ROBIN WRIGHT, who played the life-long
girl friend to Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump. Between his break-up with
Madonna, and his marriage to Ms. Wright, Penn entertained Hollywood
friends at the trailer he lived in during those days, treating the
likes of JACK NICHOLSON to barbeque and brews. His brother, CHRIS
PENN, was also a frequent guest at Sean's temporary digs.
Among my favorite movies is Sean Penn's RACING WITH THE MOON, a
1984 romance based in 1944 Northern California. ELIZABETH MCGOVERN
played his love interest, and NICHOLAS CAGE was his luckless best
friend. The Penn and Cage characters were waiting for their call-up
to the Marines in WWII. He recently starred in the World War II drama
THE THIN RED LINE.
MICHAEL MADSEN: ONE TOUGH HOMBRE
CO-STARRING FILM: "THE FLORENTINE," 1999
Michael Madsen, the brother of actress Virginia Madsen, is
well-known for both his starring and supporting roles as a tough,
silent hero, or menacing villain. A good friend of actor Tom
Sizemore, they have acted together in Mary Stuart Masterson's "The
Florentine," and Kevin Costner's "Wyatt Earp." "The Florentine" is
the first picture in which Michael and his sister, Virginia, have
been able to act together. They portray a brother and sister in the
film. If "The Florentine" is any indication, there is a "gang" of
performers in which MSM is a member. The members of this group of
acting friends, and frequent co-stars, would include Michael and
Virginia Madsen, Tom Sizemore, Sean and Chris Penn, and Mary Stuart
Masterson. In addition, Michael has starred in "Species" and its
sequel, "Species II," "Mulholland Falls," and the critically praised
"Donnie Brasco."
VISIT
ENCHANTTRA'S
MICHAEL MADSEN SITE
BRIAN BENBEN: HBO'S "DREAM ON" STAR NOW A TEXAS RANCHER
CO-STARRING FILM: "The Radioland Murders"--1994
Mary Stuart Masterson and Brian Benben in "The Radioland
Murders."
Brian Benben co-starred with Mary Stuart Masterson in the wacky
"The Radioland Murders" in 1994. Directed by George Lucas, of "Star
Wars" fame, Benben portrayed Ms. Masterson's ex-husband. Both
characters were writers for a 1939 radio station in Chicago, and got
tangled in a series of murders that take place at the station. Born
in Winchester, Virginia, at the edge of the Shenandoah Valley,
Benben's family moved to New York's Hudson Valley, where he was
raised. Benben started acting in local and regional theaters after
starring in some plays at the Ulster County Community College. He got
his first big break in 1980, landing a role in the NBC series "The
Gangster Chronicles." After doing some more series and TV movies,
Benben went on to his Cable Ace Award-winning HBO series "Dream On."
He has also starred in movies like "I Come in Peace," and "Clean and
Sober." Brian Benben is now married to Mary Stuart Masterson's "Bad
Girls" co-star Madeline Stowe. Ms. Stowe fell in love with the area
around Brackettville, Texas where "Bad Girls" was shot, so when she
and Brian married, they purchased a cattle ranch in the area and are
presently residing there.
VISIT
THE BRIAN BENBEN PAGE ON THE "DREAM ON" CAST PAGE
JON FAVREAU: HE WEARS CHARACTERS LIKE CLOTHES
CO-STARRING FILM: "DOGTOWN"--1999
Jon Favreau (left) with Sean Astin in "Rudy"--1993
Anyone who saw Jon Favreau in "Dogtown" playing the former high
school basketball star, Ezra, the boyfriend of Mary Stuart
Masterson's Dorothy, would never believe that he was "D-Bob," the
tutor and best friend of Sean Astin's "Rudy." This ability to portray
radically different characters and make them believable is Jon
Favreau's great strength as an actor. Where Ezra was aggressive,
violent, and anti-social, D-Bob was shy with girls while being like a
big brother to Rudy. You probably don't think of Jon Favreau as the
medical officer in "Deep Impact," while also playing a football
player in "The Replacements," but that is because Favreau is like a
chameleon when he acts. You notice and remember the character, but
don't necessarily associate the character with the actor. Jon Favreau
also had a part in HBO's "The Sopranos," but Tony's boys already got
rid of his character. Jon was born in Queens, New York, and for those
who remember Kevin Dillon's last speech in "Heaven Help Us," attended
Queens College before starting out in stand-up comedy at the Improv
in Chicago. Those MSM fans who loved "Dogtown" will now know just who
that big guy with Mary Stuart was.
MARK RUFFALO: MAKING HIS MARK AT LAST
CO-STARRING FILM: "ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS"
(LIFETIME TELEVISION: 12/8/1997)
Mark Ruffalo (left) with Rory Culkin in "You Can Count On
Me" (2000)
Mark Ruffalo nearly quit acting when his best friend committed
suicide shortly after Ruffalo turned 24 years old. He telephoned his
father back in his hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin and asked his
father to find a job for him. The acting jobs were only bit parts and
he was struggling to make a living. The death of his best friend only
worsened Mark's feelings of defeat. It was Mark's mother who
persuaded him to stick it out just a little longer, and finally he
got a break landing one of the primary roles in the UPN television
network's "The Beat." Shortly after finishing the first season of
that series, Ruffalo got tapped for the main role in "You Can Count
On Me," a movie released in November 2000. The movie has gotten high
praise from most critics, with its story about a woman's (Laura
Linney) brother who returns from a long absence to the home in which
their parents raised them until they died. The sister seems to be in
complete control of her life as a working wife and mother, while the
brother is dysfunctional and recently released from jail. Of course
MSM fans will remember Mark as the security guard for Limber's
Department Store in Manhattan, the target for Mary Stuart Masterson's
pickpocket, Trish, and her little niece, Patsy, in Lifetime's "On the
Second Day of Christmas." That role preceded Mark landing the role in
"The Beat," so I like to think that it was really that MSM
movie-for-cable television for Christmas 1997 that helped give Mark
Ruffalo his big break.
Eric Stoltz, second from left, with cast members of
"Memphis Belle": 1990
To Mary Stuart Masterson fans, Eric Stoltz is best remembered as
Keith in "Some Kind of Wonderful." Eric Stoltz is actually part of
the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" alumni of young actors who first
debuted in that 1983 movie. Stoltz was one of surfer dude Spicoli's
buddies. Others who first appeared in "Fast Times" include Nicholas
Cage, Sean Penn, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, and Jennifer Jason
Leigh. Eric Stoltz has appeared in a wide range of comedies, dramas,
and even an action movie or two. Typically, Eric Stoltz is a player
in an ensemble movie. Among these are "Memphis Belle," "Two Days in
the Valley," "Pulp Fiction," and "Singles." One of this writer's
personal favorites in Eric's ensemble films is the independent film
"Kicking and Screaming," in which he plays the bartender and
professional college student, Chet, who dispenses wisdom to a group
of post-graduate slackers still sharing the same rented house in
their college's town long after graduating, wondering what to do with
their lives. To learn more about this co-star in MSM's "Some Kind of
Wonderful," visit The Ultimate Eric Stoltz Web Site.
ULTIMATE
STOLTZ
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