Birthday's to share this week : 20th - 26th August 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Elizabeth Debicki  does on 24th August - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 27, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented 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 in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 20th August

• Joan Allen - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actress 
• Amy Adams - Born 1974, turns 43 - Actress | Singer | Producer
• Sylvester McCoy - Born 1943, turns 74 - Actor 
• David O'Russell - Born 1958, turns 59 - Director | Producer | Writer
• David Walliams - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Andrew Garfield - Born 1983, turns 34 - Actor   

Monday 21st August

• Peter Weir - Born 1944, turns 73 - Director | Writer | Producer
• Kim Cattrall - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actress | Producer
• Carrie-Anne Moss - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actress 
• Hayden Panettiere - Born 1989, turns 28 - Actress | Singer  

Tuesday 22nd August

• Honor Blackman - Born 1925, turns 92 - Actress 
• Kristen Wiig - Born 1973, turns 44 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actor | Writer | Director | Producer
• Ty Burrell - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actor
• Richard Armitage - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actor
• Rodrigo Santoro - Born 1975, turns 42 - Actor | Producer  

Wednesday 23rd August

• Alexandre Desplat - Born 1961, turns 56 - Composer | Conductor | Songwriter
• Roger Avary - Born 1965, turns 52 - Writer | Producer | Director | Cinematographer
• Charley Boorman - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Scott Caan - Born 1976, turns 41 - Actor | Writer | Director | Producer  

Thursday 24th August

• Stephen Fry - Born 1957, turns 60 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Steve Guttenberg - Born 1958, turns 59 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Jared Harris - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actor 
• James D'Arcy - Born 1975, turns 42 - Actor 
• Rupert Grint - Born 1988, turns 29 - Actor | Producer 
• Elizabeth Debicki - Born 1990, turns 27 - Actress  

Friday 25th August

• Joanne Whalley - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actress
• Blake Lively - Born 1987, turns 30 - Actress | Producer
• Sean Connery - Born 1930, turns 87 - Actor | Producer 
• Tom Skerritt - Born 1933, turns 84 - Actor | Director
• John Badham - Born 1939, turns 78 - Director | Producer | Actor 
• Tim Burton - Born 1958, turns 59 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Tom Hollander - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Nikolaj Arcel - Born 1972, turns 45 - Writer | Director
• Joe Wright - Born 1972, turns 45 - Director | Producer
• Alexander Skarsgard - Born 1976, turns 41 - Actor | Producer   

Saturday 26th August

• Mike Colter - Born 1976, turns 41 - Actor 
• Chris Pine - Born 1980, turns 37 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Macaulay Culkin - Born 1980, turns 37 - Actor  
• Melissa McCarthy - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Director | Singer

Elizabeth Debicki was born in Paris, France to ballet dancer parents - her mother being Australian and her father Polish. When the young Elizabeth was five years of age the parents relocated to Melbourne, Australia. From an early age she became interested in ballet, and trained as a dancer until making the switch to theatre. She attended the independent co-ed boarding and day school - the Huntingtower School, located in the east Melbourne suburb of Mount Waverley. Upon graduating in 2007 she was the school's Dux (the highest-ranking student in academic or sporting achievement in each graduating year) and had gained perfect study scores in both Drama and English. In 2010 she gained a degree in drama from the University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts. During her time there she was awarded a bursary in 2009 for outstanding acting students in their second year of training.

In 2010 Debicki gained her stage acting debut in the Melbourne Theatre Company production of 'The Gift', and the following year she secured her feature film debut in the comedy film offering 'A Few Best Men' Directed by Stephan Elliott and starring Xavier Samuel, Rebel Wilson, Olivia Newton-John, and Steve Le Marquand. On the strength of this appearance Baz Luhrmann cast her in his 2013 retelling of 'The Great Gatsby' opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Steve Bisley, Jason Clarke, Vince Colosimo, Jack Thompson, Carey Mulligan and Isla Fisher. The film picked up 49 award wins including two Academy Awards, two BAFTA's, twelve AACTA's and 83 other nominations, and it made US$351M from its US$190M budget outlay. 

In mid-2013 Debicki starred in the Sydney Theatre Company's stage production of 'The Maids' opposite Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert - a role which gained her the Best Newcomer Award at the Sydney Theatre Awards. She also starred in the thirteen minute short film 'Godel Incomplete' Written and Directed by Martha Goddard about a time travel romance between one of the 20th Century's great minds, Kurt Godel, and a lonely particle physicist, Serita Cedric (Debicki) working as a research student at Switzerland's Large Hadron Collider. This then led to an appearance on a single episode of 'Rake' in season three opposite Richard Roxburgh. 

2015 saw Debicki score the role of Lady Macduff in Justin Kurzel's big screen adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' with Michael Fassbender in the title role and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth with Paddy Considine, Jack Reynor, David Thewlis and Sean Harris. That same year she was cast in the big screen adaptation of the classic mid-'60's action spy series 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' as Directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Hugh Grant, Jared Harris and Alicia Vikander. Debicki plays Victoria Vinciguerra one half of a wealthy Nazi sympathising criminal underworld couple. Rounding out that year, Debicki was cast as Dr. Caroline Mackenzie - the base camp physician in Balthasar Kormakur's biographical adventure film 'Everest' alongside an all star cast comprising Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington, Clive Standen, Robin Wright, Keira Knightley and Emily Watson. 

In 2016 Debicki took a break from big screen offerings to concentrate on small screen fare with her starring role in Australian television drama 'The Kettering Incident' filmed in Tasmania over eight episodes in the first series. A second series is currently in the early stages of development. Then there was the highly acclaimed British thriller 'The Night Manager' based on the 1993 book of the same name by John le Carre but updated to the present day. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Coleman and Tom Hollander the six episode mini-series in which Debicki plays girlfriend Jed Marshall to Hugh Laurie's Richard Roper and the love interest to Tom Hiddleston's Jonathan Pine (the Night Manager in question). The series picked up seventeen award wins including three Golden Globe wins, two Primetime Emmy wins and three BAFTA wins, and another 44 nominations. A follow-up second season is in development too it seems. Closing out 2016 Debicki also starred in London's National Theatre production at the Lyttelton Theatre of 'The Red Barn' with Mark Strong and Hope Davis. 

This year has so far seen two epic Sci-Fi outings - the first for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the second instalment of 'Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2' as Directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradely Cooper, Michael Rooker, Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. Debicki plays the golden High Priestess Ayesha and the leader of the genetically engineered Sovereign People. The film recovered US$862M from its US$200M production budget and generally positive Reviews. 'Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3' is in development. Just released is Luc Besson's space opera and epic effects laden Sci-Fi adventure film 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' in which Debicki lends her voice to the character of Emperor Haban Lima.

Next up for Debicki and to be released later this year is the Simon Baker Directed, Co-Written and starring 'Breath' based on the best selling award winning Tim Winton book set in the mid-'70's coastal Australia about two teenage boys who form an unlikely bond with an older adventurer who pushes them to take risks that leave a lasting impression on their lives. Richard Roxburgh also stars. Then due for release in 2018 are 'The Tale' also starring Laura Dern, Frances Conroy, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Ritter, John Heard and Common. Then there is the animated 'Peter Rabbit' based on the famed Beatrix Potter character with Debicki lending her voice talents together with Margot Robbie, Daisy Ridley, James Cordon (as Peter), with Rose Byrne and Domhnall Gleeson too. Following these is the Steve McQueen Directed 'Widows' based on the early '80's British television series with Michelle Rodriguez, Viola Davis, Jacki Weaver, Liam Neeson, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Lukas Haas and Daniel Kaluuya, and finally the space station Sci-Fi horror offering that will be the third instalment in the 'Cloverfield' franchise - 'God Particle' and starring Daniel Bruhl, Chris O'Dowd, John Ortiz, David Oyelowo, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Produced by J.J. Abrams. 'Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3' has also been recently announced in which Debicki is slated to reprise her role as Ayesha.

All up Debicki has eighteen Acting credits to her name, and has so far picked up two award wins - both AACTA Awards (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) for 'The Kettering Incident' and 'The Great Gatsby', plus four other nominations - three of which were for 'The Great Gatsby' and one for 'The Night Manager'. Debicki has been romantically linked with Australian Actor Alexander England.

Elizabeth Debicki - described in one publication as 'versatile, graceful, statuesque and swan-like' and she is certainly all of these things and more. Already on a upward trajectory that sees her going from strength to strength with every role both on the small screen and the silver screen, clearly in demand, comfortable across all genres it seems, and with your star shining brightly after just six short years in the business. We will watch your career with much interest as the roles unfold and the accolades undoubtedly will follow. Happy Birthday to you Elizabeth, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-