Birthdays to share this week : 25th - 31st May.

Do you share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter/Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming week? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully formed Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with over the coming week. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Check out too the spotlight on this weeks Birthday Boy on 31st May, Clint Eastwood at the end of this feature.

Sunday 25th May

• Sir Ian McKellen - Born 1939, turns 75 - Actor
• Cillian Murphy - Born 1976, turns 38, Actor
• Mike Myers - Born 1963, turns 51 - Actor | Writer
• Frank Oz - Born 1944, turns 70 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter
• Jacki Weaver - Born 1947, turns 67 - Actress

Monday 26th May

• Helena Bonham Carter - Born 1966, turns 48 - Actress | Singer
• Pam Grier - Born 1949, turns 65 - Actress
• Lenny Kravitz - Born 1964, turns 50 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor

Tuesday 27th May

• Paul Bettany - Born 1971, turns 43 - Actor
• Sir Christopher Lee - Born 1922, turns 92 - Actor | Singer
• Joseph Fiennes - Born 1970, turns 44 - Actor
• Louis Gossett Jnr. - Born 1936, turns 78 - Actor | Producer
• Jamie Oliver - Born 1975, turns 39 - Chef | TV Personality | Producer

Wednesday 28th May

• Carey Mulligan - Born 1985, turns 29 - Actress
• Kylie Minogue - Born 1968, turns 46 - Singer | Songwriter | Actress | Producer
• Sondra Locke - Born 1944, turns 70 - Actress
• Irwin Winkler - Born 1931, turns 83 - Producer | Director

Thursday 29th May

• Annette Benning - Born 1958, turns 56 - Actress
• Rupert Everett - Born 1959, turns 55 - Actor | Producer
• Ted Levine - Born 1957, turns 57 - Actor
• Danny Elfman - Born 953, turns 61 - Songwriter | Composer | Actor

Friday 30th May

• Duncan Jones - Born 1971, turns 43 - Director | Writer
• Harry Enfield - Born 1961, turns 53 - Actor | Writer

Saturday 31st May

• Clint Eastwood - Born 1930, turns 84 - Director | Actor | Producer | Composer
• Colin Farrell - Born 1976, turns 38 - Actor
• Brooke Shields - Born 1965, turns 49 - Actress
• Tom Berenger - Born 1949, turns 65 - Actor | Producer
• Menahem Golan - Born 1929, turns 85 - Director | Producer | Actor | Writer

Clinton Eastwood Jnr. was born in San Francisco, and in the early 50's before his acting career took hold he was a lifeguard and swimming coach in the US Army. Subsequently, as we all know, he has gone on to become a movie legend both in front and behind the camera. He has always tried to maintain a private life away from the media, and in some ways this has been surprising given the eight children he has fathered to six different women over the years - two of whom only he has been married to. Aside form his Acting and Directing credits (of which there are many) he has always had staunch political views and has been an avid supporter (or not) of past Presidents and their running mates. For a period of two years he was the Mayor of Carmel from 1986 on, and his political activism has crossed over many administrations, many campaigns and many changes over the past five decades or so.

As an Actor he has been making films since the mid-50's - putting him now still very active at making films in his seventh decade and at age 84. Not only does he have 66 Acting credits to his name, but also 37 Directing credits, 40 Production credits and another 32 for the soundtrack and music composition. Truly accomplished, he has garnered a reputation as a fastidious film maker, organised and disciplined often bringing his movies in ahead of time and under budget.

His first film credit came in 1955 in 'Revenge of the Creature' with 'Tarantula' out that same year. It was however, his role as Rowdy Yates in TV's long running 'Rawhide' from 1959-1965 that bought Eastwood international fame and recognition. Wanting to break the mould of Rowdy Yates as the mid-60's approached he was signed up for the first of Sergio Leone's 'Dollars' trilogy in 1964 with 'For a Fistful of Dollars', followed by 'For a Few Dollars More' in 1965 and then 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly' in 1967, and it was these three Spaghetti Westerns that really put Eastwood under the international movie spotlight.

Following on from these, Eastwood carved out an acting career playing the anti-hero cowboy in such films as 'The Outlaw Josey Wales', 'High Plains Drifter', 'Paint Your Wagon' 'Pale Rider' 'Hang 'Em High' and 'Unforgiven'. There were also stints at the war action film with the likes of 'Kelly's Heroes', 'Where Eagles Dare' and 'Heartbreak Ridge', and of course those trademark Police action movies that will forever be etched in the psyche as Harry Callahan in five 'Dirty Harry' instalments - 'Dirty Harry', 'Magnum Force', The Enforcer', 'Sudden Impact', and 'The Dead Pool'. So too he has dabbled in comedy with 'Every Which Way But Loose' and it's follow up 'Any Which Way You Can' being very successful too. 

He has an equally diverse Directing career from his first outing behind the camera in 1971 in the cult thriller 'Play Misty for Me' to the likes of 'White Hunter, Black Heart' 'A Perfect World', 'Invictus', 'Mystic River', Gran Torino', 'J.Edgar' and the 'Flags of our Fathers' and 'Letters from Iwo Jima' coupling. His 'Jersey Boys' is due for release later in 2014, and he is currently filming 'American Sniper' due for release in 2015.

The recipient of 140 award wins and a further 92 nominations, Eastwood has won five Oscar's - Best Picture and Best Directing for 'Million Dollar Baby', Best Picture and Best Directing also for 'Unforgiven' and in 1995 the Academy bestowed upon him the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. He has also been nominated six other times by the Academy for either Acting, Directing, or Best Picture. He has five Golden Globes to his name - three for Best Director, and in 1988 the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and in 1971 The Henrietta Award, and nine other nominations for both Direction or Score. He has three BAFTA nominations too for Best Direction and Best Film.

Clint Eastwood - hugely successful, multi-talented, reliable, responsible, still relevant and the proud owner of two of Hollywoods greatest icon's - 'The Man With No Name' and 'Harry Callahan' - Clint Eastwood still has the pulling power to draw a crowd to the cinema, and attract the A-list talent with which to make his films. A long, varied and distinguished career still in the making - Happy Birthday Clint, from all at Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-