Birthday's to share this week : 21st-27th August 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Kristen Wiig does on 22nd August - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 43, 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 21st August

• Peter Weir - Born 1944, turns 72 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Carrie-Anne Moss - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actress | Producer
• Kim Catrall - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actress | Producer
• Hayden Panettiere - Born 1989, turns 27 - Actress | Producer | Singer  

Monday 22nd August

• Kristen Wiig - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Valerie Harper - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actress
• Honor Blackman - Born 1925, turns 91 - Actress
• Ty Burrell - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor
• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Richard Armitage - Born 1971, turns 45 - Actor
• Rodrigo Santoro - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actor  

Tuesday 23rd August

• Alexandre Desplat - Born 1961, turns 55 - Composer | Conductor | Songwriter
• Roger Avery - Born 1965, turns 51 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Charley Boorman - Born 1966, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Scott Caan - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director  

Wednesday 24th August

• Rupert Grint - Born 1988, turns 28 - Actor
• James D'Arcy - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actor
• Steve Guttenberg - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Stephen Fry - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actor | Television Personality | Writer | Producer | Director
• Kevin Dunn - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor
• Anne Archer - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actress | Producer  

Thursday 25th August

• Blake Lively - Born 1987, turns 29 - Actress
• Alexander Skarsgard - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actor
• Tom Hollander - Born1967, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Tom Skerritt - Born 1933, turns 83 - Actor | Director
• Tim Burton - Born 1958, turns 58 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | Animator
• John Savage - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer
• John Badham - Born 1939, turns 77 - Director | Producer | Actor
• Sean Connery - Born 1930, turns 86 - Actor | Producer  

Friday 26th August

• Chris Pine - Born 1980, turns 36 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Macaulay Culkin - Born 1980, turns 36 - Actor
• Melissa McCarthy - Born 1970, turns 46 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer  

Saturday 27th August

• Tuesday Weld - Born 1943, turns 73 - Actress
• Peter Stormare - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Tom Ford - Born 1961, turns 55 - Director | Producer | Writer | Fashion Designer
• Dean Devlin - Born 1962, turns 54 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Aaron Paul - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actor | Producer 
• Ellar Coltrane - Born 1994, turns 22 - Actor 

Kristen Carroll Wiig was born in Canandaigua, New York to mother Laurie Johnston, an artist, and father Jon Wiig who managed a lakeside marina in Western New York. Her father is of Norwegian decent hence the surname which originates from a county in Western Norway. The family moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania when Kristen was three years old, attending Nitrauer Elementary School and then Mannheim Township Middle School. At age thirteen the family moved to Rochester, New York where she attended Allendale Columbia School before graduating from Brighton High School. Undecided about her career aspirations she attended a local community college participating in a three month long outdoor living programme. She went on to the University of Arizona from where she majored in Art. Needing to complete her course programme she took acting classes and was persuaded by her teacher to continue the craft, whereupon she moved to Los Angeles to begin eeking out an acting career. She was nineteen years of age.

Upon arrival in LA she found work performing with the 'Empty Stage Comedy Theatre' and 'The Groundlings' - an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school located on Melrose Avenue in LA, feeling that improv. was more suited to her talents than straight acting. In 2003 she appeared on the reality television hoax show - 'The Joe Schmo Show' which ran for three seasons with her appearance as 'The Quack Marriage Counsellor' Patricia 'Dr. Pat' Lane. She was encouraged to try for 'Saturday Night Live' and she gained her debut in November 2005 on Season 31, and became a full member of the cast from Season 32 in 2006 through until 2012. Along the way she picked up Primetime Emmy Award nominations for 'Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series' in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and in 2009 'Entertainment Weekly' voted her in their list of Top 25 Funniest Women in Hollywood.

Over the years Wiig has had numerous television series roles on single and multiple episodes. These have included 'The Drew Carey Show', '30 Rock', 'Flight of the Conchords', Bored to Death', 'The Cleveland Show', 'The Simpsons', 'Portlandia', 'Arrested Development', 'The Spoils of Babylon', 'The Spoils Before Dying' and made for TV movie 'A Deadly Adoption'. She was also the voice of Lola Bunny on the 'Looney Tunes Show' from 2011 until 2014.

Wiig got her big screen break in the 2006 Christmas film 'Unaccompanied Minors' for Director Paul Feig. 2007 brought 'Knocked Up' for Director Judd Apatow with Seth Rogen, and then 'Meet Bill' with Aaron Eckhart, 'The Brothers Solomon' with Will Arnett and Will Forte, and rounding out a year of comedy 'Walk Hard : The Dewey Cox Story' with John C. Reilly.

2008 saw more comedy fare with 'Semi-Pro', 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', 'Pretty Bird' and 'Ghost Town', and then in 2009 more of the same with 'Adventureland', 'Whip It' in Drew Barrymore's Directorial debut and 'Extract'. 2010 followed up with 'Date Night', 'MacGruber' before her first non-comedic offering 'All Good Things' with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst which made just US$645K back of its US$20M budget outlay. Sci-Fi comedy 'Paul' with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and then 'Bridesmaids' came next in 2011 which Wiig also wrote. That film became a critical and commercial success grossing US$289M off its US$33M budget with Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations forthcoming for Wiig in the Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay categories.

'Friends with Kids', 'Revenge for Jolly', 'Girl Most Likely', 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' for Director and Co-Star Ben Stiller and 'Anchor Man 2 : The Legend Continues' saw out 2013. 'Hateship, Loveship', 'The Skeleton Twins' and 'Welcome To Me' which Wiig also Co-Produced wrapped up 2014. A mixed bag of commercial success and failures here with 'Walter Mitty' bringing in US$203M and 'Anchor Man' US$174M compared to 'Friends with Kids' at US$12.2M, 'The Skeleton Twins' at US$5.7M, 'Welcome To Me' just US$625K and 'Hateship, Loveship' a very poor US$81K despite its strong cast including Nick Nolte, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Hailee Steinfeld.

The next year brought 'The Diary of a Teenage Girl', 'Nasty Baby', 'The Martian', 'Zoolander 2' for Director and Co-Star once again Ben Stiller, the all girl 'Ghostbusters' for Paul Feig again with Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Lesley Jones and still out on general release, and 'Sausage Party' just released bringing us up to date.




Next up and due later this year is 'Masterminds' with Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudekis and 'Ghostbusters' Co-Stars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Also due out this year is 'The Heyday of Insensitive Bastards' and 'Downsizing' with Matt Damon due in 2017. Wiig has lent her voice talents over the years to 'Ice Age : Dawn of the Dinosaurs', 'How to Train Your Dragon', 'Despicable Me', 'Despicable Me 2', 'Her', 'How to Train Your Dragon 2', 'Sausage Party' and is reprising her roles as Agent Lucy Wilde in 'Despicable Me 3' and Ruffnut Thorston in 'How to Train Your Dragon 3' due in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Also announced is 'Now That's What I Call' with Leonard Di Caprio and 'The Greatest Showman on Earth' with Hugh Jackman.

All up Wiig has 82 acting credits to her name, nine as Producer, three as a Writer, and, she can sing too. She has nine award wins and 59 other nominations including one Academy Award, one Golden Globe, one BAFTA and six Primetime Emmy nods. Wiig was married to Actor Hayes Hargrove from 2005 until 2009, and is currently dating Actor, Writer and Producer Avi Rothman. She is a vegetarian and is known for her love of chocolate.

Kristen Wiig - best known for her comedy track record, improv. skills and observational humour that puts her right up there as one of the best in the business; but, also carving out a reputation for more serious, dramatic and straight roles; has achieved much in ten years and is much in demand as a result; is keen to write her own material and to turn her hand at Directing; and is brutally honest with herself, about her fears and foibles and what she likes and what she doesn't. Keeping it real Kristen and keeping us well humoured and entertained as your star continues to rise - Happy Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 24th - 30th July 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Rose Byrne does on 24th July - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 37, 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 24th July

• Jennifer Lopez - Born 1969, turns 47 - Singer | Songwriter | Actress | Producer
• Rose Byrne - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actress
• Anna Paquin - Born 1982, turns 34 - Actress | Producer
• Lynda Carter - Born 1951, turns 65 - Actress | Singer
• Gus Van Sant - Born 1952, turns 64 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor
• Doug Liman - Born 1965, turns 51 - Director | Producer | Writer | Cinematographer  

Monday 25th July

• Matt LeBlanc - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• D.B.Woodside - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor  

Tuesday 26th July

• Kevin Spacey - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer
• Jeremy Piven - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer
• Jason Statham - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Producer
• Helen Mirren - Born 1945, turns 71 - Actress | Director
• Sandra Bullock - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Olivia Williams - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actress
• Kate Beckinsale - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actress  

Wednesday 27th July

• Julian McMahon - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor | Producer
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers - Born 1977, turns 39 - Actor | Producer  

Thursday 28th July

• Randall Wallace - Born 1949, turns 67 - Writer | Director | Producer  

Friday 29th July

• Stephen Dorff - Born 1973, turns 43 - Actor | Producer
• David Warner - Born 1941, turns 75 - Actor  

Saturday 30th July

• Peter Bogdanovich - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actor | Director | Producer | Writer
• Arnold Schwarzenegger - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actor | Producer
• Jean Reno - Born 1948, turns 68 - Actor
• Frank Stallone - Born 1950, turns 66 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Richard Linklater - Born 1960, turns 56 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Laurence Fishburn - Born 1961, turns 55 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Terry Crews - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor
• Simon Baker - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Christopher Nolan - Born 1970, turns 46 - Director | Producer | Writer | Cinematographer
• Lisa Kudrow - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Vivica A. Fox - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actress | Producer
•  Hilary Swank - Born 1974, turns 42 - Actress | Producer | Singer

Mary Rose Byrne was born in the Sydney suburb of Balmain, New South Wales, Australia to mother Jane - a primary school administrator and father Robin, a semi-retired market researcher and statistician. She is the youngest of four - with an older brother George (born in 1976), and two sisters, Alice (born in 1973) and Lucy (born in 1972). She attended Balmain Public School, and then Hunters Hill High School - a public co-educational secondary day school. From the age of eight she took a keen interest in acting and joined the Sydney based Australian Theatre for Young People (whose noted alumni include Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Rebel Wilson and Baz Luhrmann), and from there the University of Sydney. In 1999, she studied acting at the Atlantic Theatre Company in Manhattan founded in 1985 by David Mamet and William H. Macy.

Her first film role came at just thirteen years of age, cast in the Australian film 'Dallas Doll' with Sandra Bernhard and released in 1994. Over the next few years she appeared in single episodes of several Australian television drama series including 'Echo Point', 'Fallen Angels', 'Wildside', 'Big Sky' and 'Heartbreak High'. Her next big screen role came with Gregor Jordan's 'Two Hands' in 1999 with a young Heath Ledger and Bryan Brown and Susie Porter.

From here the new decade launched with the award winning comedy drama 'My Mother Frank' with Sam Neill, and 'The Goddess of 1967' which won Byrne a Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival for her role as BG - a blind girl on an outback Aussie road trip with a Japanese IT worker and occasional computer hacker. Next up was here role as Dorme - a handmaiden to senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) in 'Star Wars : Episode II - Attack of the Clones' in 2002. After this came 'City of Ghosts' with Matt Dillon who also wrote and Directed, 'I Capture the Castle' with Bill Nighy, 'The Night We Called it a Day' with Dennis Hopper, 'The Rage in Placid Lake' with Ben Lee, 'Take Away' with Vince Colosimo, and the Wolfgang Petersen Trojan War epic 'Troy' with Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom.

In 2006 Byrne was cast by Sofia Coppola in the historical drama 'Marie Antoinette' with Kirsten Dunst and then 'Sunshine' for Danny Boyle, and post apocalyptic zombie horror '28 Weeks Later' with Jeremy Renner, Idris Elba and Robert Carlyle. 'Just Buried' with Jay Baruchel, 'The Tender Hook' with Hugo Weaving', 'Knowing' with Nicolas Cage, and 'Adam' with Hugh Dancy saw out the decade. In the meantime there were further television series appearances on 'Murder Call', 'Casanova', and the full five seasons over 59 episodes on US legal thriller series 'Damages' with Glenn Close which ran from 2007 until 2012.

2010 saw 'Get Him to The Greek' with Russell Brand, followed by the James Wan supernatural horror 'Insidious', as Renai Lembert - a role she would reprise in 2013 in 'Insidious : Chapter 2'. The first film returned US$97M from its US$1.5M budget outlay, and the second US$162M from US$5M. Byrne did not return for the prequel released in 2015. Turning from horror to comedy , next up was Paul Feig's 'Bridesmaids' in 2011 with Kristen Wiig, Rebel Wilson, and Melissa McCarthy before her first outing as geneticist Moira MacTaggert in 'X-Men : First Class', and again in this years 'X-Men : Apocalypse'.

'The Place Beyond the Pines' with Ryan Gosling came next in 2012 and the British comedy 'I Give It a Year' with Rafe Spall, and then 'The Internship' with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. 2014 kicked off with 'Bad Neighbours' starring alongside Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, and her role as Kelly Radner she would reprise in 'Bad Neighbours 2 : Sorority Rising' earlier this year. Also that year was 'Adult Beginners', 'This Is Where I Leave You', the third cinematic offering of 'Annie' and documentary 'Unity' in which Byrne is one of one hundred Actors providing the narrative exploring humanity's transformation shown across five segments - 'Cosmic', 'Mind', 'Body, 'Heart' and 'Soul'.

'Spy' came next with Melissa McCarthy again, and then 'The Meddler' opposite Susan Sarandon earlier this year. Next up is the made for television movie 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' and 'Home Again' both in pre-production, and 'Larrikins' due in 2018 and currently filming, to which Byrne brings her voice talents together with this of Margot Robbie, Naomi Watts, Jacki Weaver, Hugh Jackman and Ben Mendelsohn in this Australian animated feature Co-Directed by Tim Minchin.

All up Byrne has 56 acting credits, and she has so far accumulated twelve award wins and another 24 nominations. She was the face of Max Factor from 2004 until 2009, became the face of Australia's Oroton in 2014, has made numerous 'Most Beautiful People' lists over the years, is a supporter of UNICEF Australia and is an ambassador of Sydney's NIDA Young Actors Studio. She was in a six year relationship with Brendan Cowell that ended in early 2010, and in 2012 she began dating Bobby Cannavale with whom she has a child Rocco Robin born in February this year.

Rose Byrne - highly valued, much in demand and widely sought after; able to turn it on for drama, comedy, horror, Sci-Fi, period piece and thrillers and definitely not one to be pigeon holed or type cast; regards Australia as her emotional home, New York her second home but also owns a place in London with her sister; and despite failing at an 1988 audition for 'Home and Away' has done pretty well for herself. Good on ya Rose, and Happy Birthday to you - from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-