Spouse Miranda Manasiadis(August 2008 – present) (1 child)
QUOTES:
[on how he ranks in musical skills in Flight of the Conchords (2007)] Bret’s a little better than me and I’m a little worse than Bret.
What do I think of L.A.? It’s boring, with some amazing nuggets. Like there are some parts of it that are great, but by and large I think it’s quite boring.
Well, I grew up in the ’80s, which was a really massive time for sci-fi.
In real life I’m very low-key. A wallflower. One of the reasons I went into comedy and acting was that I was sick of being shy.
Born January 10, 1989 · New York City, New York, USA
QUOTES:
I was like little-miss wannabe punk-rocker; I would go home and secretly listen to Pink, and dance around, like, ‘Ugh, she understands me so well!’
I was traumatized by the cartoon version of ‘The Hobbit.’ It’s not supposed to be scary, I don’t think, but literally I think that’s the most scared I’ve ever been.
I get a little nauseous and disoriented watching 3D, but as a kid I loved it and I was really into it, so if a movie can be in 3D, then why not?
You grow up loving movies, and your first instinct is you want to be an actor, because those are the people you see in the movies. But when you actually become an actor, you’re like, ‘Oh, wait, this is actually only a small portion of the storytelling. If I want to really tell a story, I’d want to be a director.’
Spouse Steve Howey(February 7, 2009 – January 29, 2021) (divorced, 3 children)
QUOTES:
You know, I never really paid attention to sports, which, coming from the mecca of football in Texas, is kind of odd. I played sports, but I was nerdy. Having a single mother, the pressure was on me to get good grades and a scholarship and go to college.
When I was in my early 20s, I looked towards exterior things to make me feel sexy – guys, clothes, shoes, etc. Now it’s all about how I feel internally.
Right when I finish a workout, I feel pretty sexy. Even though I’m sweaty and I don’t smell like a rose, I feel strong. It does a lot for me mentally and physically.
I know it sounds weird, but my definition of ‘sexy’ has changed as I’ve gotten older. And being smart and informed makes me feel sexier than any outfit.
My role is “Katara” in The Last Airbender (2010), I’m a water bender from the southern water tribe, and my character is really strong but also loving.
I have six brothers and one sister. I grew up playing ice hockey, a total tomboy, and that’s what I thought I was going to do – be an ice-hockey player.
When I was 12, I got a manager, but my mom was against it. It took a lot of convincing. But when I got a job at Manhattan Theatre Club, I think she saw how passionate I was about it and that I worked really hard – and now she’s super supportive.
You see people, you judge. It’s just the human thing to do – good or bad, it’s a fact. Like when you get a coffee at Starbucks and the person is rude to you. My mom always says, ‘Yeah, but you don’t know what kind of day they’re having.’ You don’t know the back-story, and that’s why it’s so fun to be an actor and to get into the back-story.
I did Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001) for four years. It was my constant; no matter what movie I would go on hiatus or whatever I would do elsewhere, every year I would always go back to “Degrassi”, to my family, and they really sort of taught me all the groundwork and got me started. Before that I was really green, I didn’t know what I was doing, so it kind of helped ease my path into the whole industry.
[on working on The Vampire Diaries (2009)] There were daily challenges, there were yearly challenges, there were character challenges. The whole show was challenging in different ways throughout the six years. The multiple characters, the hours, creating characters, deaths. I was constantly crying, it felt like. But for that reason it kept me occupied, I was never bored, it never felt stale. I always came to work excited, and looking forward to the next thing I got to do. It was almost like actor boot camp, or a college experience. I started college in real life, but I never finished. I went to high school in real life, and then went to “Degrassi” high school, and then four years as Elena–12 years is a long time to go to school. I need to graduate! I’m ready now. I’m ready to go into the real world. I’ve literally grown up on this show. I was a baby when I started, and now I’m a woman. I feel like I’ve learned so much and have grown so much because of every single person, and every single character, and person I’ve worked with. They made me who I am, and I’m excited to apply that to the next chapter.
People aren’t defined by their relationships. The whole point is being true to yourself and not losing yourself in relationships, whether romances or friendships.
It’s so reductive to women when we’re making great strides for diversity in the arts, but questions like that [regarding weight] just pull us backwards.
Every time I’m asked about my body in an interview it makes me deeply uncomfortable and so sad I’m not just allowed to just talk about the job I do that I so love.
I’m not a body-positivity activist, I’m an actor. I would lose or gain weight if an important role requirement. My body is the tool I use to tell stories, not what I define myself by.
You know, it is hard ’cause I think women with my body type, women with perfect breasts-we do not see ourselves onscreen enough. I am very proud as a member of the perfect-breasts community. I hope you enjoy seeing them.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA—OCT. 20, 2022—Actor Kerry Condon stars in the film “Banshees of Inisherin.” She plays a woman looking to leave behind her small Irish community, and the brother she lives with, for work and life in the city. Photograph taken on Oct. 20, 2022 in Los Angeles. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Born January 9, 1983 · Tipperary, Ireland
QUOTES:
I’m not interested in the mad race. I just like working with good people.
Everyone at home thought I was nuts when I said I wanted to be an actress, and I’m sure they were just trying to protect me from disappointment.
I am an animal rights campaigner myself, and I donate money and time to those charities, but I think sometimes the problem with animal rights campaigners, including myself, is that we don’t think about people’s feelings, too.
I know it’s superficial, and you can’t measure art, which is supposed to be up to the individual, but I’ve watched the Oscars since I was a baby with my mother.
Born January 9, 1955 · Grosse Pointe, Michigan, USA Birth name Jonathan Kimble Simmons
Spouse Michelle Schumacher (1996 – present) (2 children)
QUOTES:
[on his career] If I had any other talent or salable commodity I probably would have gone into it. I mean, aside from the modelling, yeah.
I never listened to the Grateful Dead as a teen; the only exposure I got was what came through the walls when my sister was listening to them.
I’m not a fan of any genre but am a fan of movies that are intelligent and/or funny. That goes across all genres: a horror movie, a zombie movie, alien invaders, chick flick, or raunchy comedy. If it’s well done, I’m a fan. I like to act. Every other aspect of show business I find uninteresting.
The best compliment I ever got from the public or producers or directors is that I just totally blend in and become the character and they don’t notice me and that the play happens or the movie happens or the television show happens.
Festival Reviews 