3. Leonardo DiCaprio
• What was his big break?
– He first starred in TV adverts in the 1980’s before getting his break on television when he was in the short-lived TV series, remake of the 1980’s
the film Parenthood. However his big screen break was in the 1991 sci-fi thriller movie Critters 3.
• What films has he starred in?
– In total Dicaprio has starred in 31 films and has had had small roles in 6 TV shows. Some of his most well known films are; The Revenant,
Shutter Island, Inception, Django Unchained, Romeo and Juliet and The Wolf of Wall Street. Out of his 31 films 9 of those are thriller movies.
• Are they a type cast?
– I’m not sure he is what you would consider a type cast- although his work in Inception(the highest grossing thriller film of all time)
and Shutter Island make him seem more attractive to the audience of thriller films.
• Has he won any awards?
– Dicaprio has had 169 award nominations, he was the runner up for 4 of those and he has won 51- including 3 Golden Globe Awards, 4 MTV
Movie Awards and an Oscar(Academy Award) . He has also won a Scream Award- which are held annually to recognize films in the thriller,
horror, science fiction and fantasy genre’s.
• Has he been involved in any scandals?
– In 2005- he was injured when model Aretha Wilson hit him over the head with a broken bottle at a Hollywood party. She was sentence to 2 years
in prison. His love life has also been widely covered in the media but I don’t think that it has been too scandalous
• How does the public perceive him?
– He is widely respected by the public for being an amazing actor, but also for his large amount of charity work. He is an environmental activist
and has been since 1998 when he established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (a non-profit organisation devoted to promoting
environmental). He is one of the leading actors when it comes to environmental activism- he has sat on the board for WWF, Global Green USA,
International Fund for Animal Welfare and Natural Resources Defense Council.
• Do you think he is talented?
– I think DiCaprio is extremely talented, he as the ability to play a variety of different roles seamlessly- like he is actually the character. From
Romeo (from Romeo and Juliet) to Dom Cobb (in Inception). I think this would be a good quality to have as he would have to play 2 different
sides of the role; the submissive side that you see when he is being held hostage and the more dominant side in the build up to it.
4. Winona Ryder
• What was her big break?
– Her film debut was the 1986 film Lucas, but she won widespread recognition for her role as Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice. She is
probably most well known for her role in Edward Scissorhands alongside Johnny Depp.
• What films has she starred in?
– She has starred in a total of 56 films and has made 11 TV show appearances. This includes, Beetlejuice, Black Swan, Edward
Sissorhands, The Age of Innocence, Dracula and Girl, Interrupted. As well as having a lead role in the 2016 science-fiction thriller
TV series, Stranger Things. Out of her 56 films, 10 of those have been thriller movies.
• Are they type cast?
– I think as a younger girl she was definitely a thriller type cast- she had dark hair and dark eyes, this is perfect for her to be cast as a
role as a ‘emo’ or ‘goth’ teenager, similar to her role in Beetlejuice. I think that this being her first major role in a movie, it has
followed her throughout her acting career in the type of film she is cast in.
• Has she won any awards?
– She has been nominated for 44 awards and has one 17 of those. She has also been nominated twice for an Oscar but has been
unsuccessful in winning one.
• Has she been involved in any scandals?
– She was arrested in 2001 for shoplifting and during the trail she was accused of using drugs including oxycodone and diazepam.
She was sentenced to 3 years probation, 480 hours of community service, $3,700 in fines and she had to attend psychological and
drug counseling. Although a few years later she blamed the fact she was clinically depressed at the time for her actions.
– On the other side she was largely involved in the search for Polly Klaas, a little girl who went missing in the town she was brought
up in. She offered a $200,000 reward for the girl to return home safely, unfortunately this was not the case. A year later she starred
as Jo in the film adaptation of Little Women. She dedicated her performance to Polly as it was on of her favourite books.
• How does the public perceive her?
– The public will probably know her best as the hopelessly romantic teen that she plays in Tim Burton’s ‘Edward Sissorhands’ or as
the desperate mother looking for her lost daughter in ‘Stranger Things’. Although many people will remember her for her arrest but I
don’t think they really judge her as she served her time the way any normal people would.
• Do you think she is talented?
– To play her role in Stranger Things, I think she must be talented. She, like Dicaprio, is able to play a variety of different roles and I
think that should be admired.
5. Jennifer Lawrence
• What was her big break?
– She made her film debut in the 2008 drama film, Garden Party. But her breakthrough role was in 2010, where she starred in the
small scale drama film, Winters Bone. She rose to fame after starring as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games series.
• What films has she starred in?
– She has starred in 22 films, and has had 8 different TV show appearances. This includes, the Hunger Games series, Joy, the X-
Men Reboot series and passenger. 9 of her film roles were ones in thriller movies
• Are they type cast?
– She is known for playing strong female lead characters, like Katniss, so I think she will be perfect for this role. Also she is younger
than the other actors cast, so she would fit the stereotypical ‘mistress’ as many people cast as roles similar to this one are of a
similar age.
• Has she won any awards?
– She has been nominated for 162 and she has won 111 of these awards which include one Oscar (or Academy Award), three Golden
Globes, a BAFTA and four MTV Movie Awards.
• Has she been involved in any scandals?
– She was involved in a public relationship with X-Men co-star Nicholas Hoult from 2010 to 2014. As well as that same year being one
of the victims of the iCloud leaks of celebrity photos, during this nude pictures of her were leaked online. However she took it in her
stride and she called the leak a ‘sex crime’ and a ‘sexual violation’
• How does the public perceive her?
– She is described as ‘down-to-earth, self-deprecating [and] unaffected’. She has also been referred to as ‘America’s Sweetheart’ by
the media.
– Most of the actors who work with her love her; Donald Sutherland compared her to Laurence Olivier and considers her an ‘exquisite
and brilliant actor’ David O’Russell praised her ‘effortless’ acting that makes her ‘performance look easy’
• Do you think she is talented?
– She has had amazing reviews from people she has worked with- as well as this she continuously gets main role after main role
meaning she must be really amazing at what she does. As well as this she says she has the ability to separate her emotions and
the characters emotions. This a quality only really talented actors have.
7. Christian Bale
• What was his big break?
– He was 14 when he starred in Steven Speilberg’s Empire of the Sun in 1987. He has however starred in both blockbuster films and
smaller projects from independent producers and art houses.
• What films has he starred in?
– He has starred in 45 different films including American Hustle, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Exdous:
Gods and Kings and Terminator Salvation. 11 of these were thriller films.
• Are they type cast?
– Being that only 11 of his films were thriller, I don’t think he is a ‘type cast’ but thanks to his roles in Batman, and Terminator Salvation
he has probably developed the things needed for a film like ours.
• Has he won any awards?
– He has been nominated for 80 awards and has won 64 of these. This includes an Oscar, a Golden Globe, an Empire Award and an
MTV Movie Award.
• Has he been involved in any scandals?
– He has been married to Sandra Blazic since 2000 and they have 2 children together.
– In 2008 he was arrested in connection with allegation of assault on his mother and sister at The Dorchester hotel in central London.
However after being detained for 4 hours he was acquitted due to the of lack of evidence.
• How does the public perceive him?
– He has been described in the media as on the most versatile and talented actors of his generation. The media also considers him
as a ‘sex symbol’, although this isn’t an image that he doesn’t like.
• Do you think he is talented?
– He like many of the other actors I have looked at is able to play his roles in a variety of different ways, he isn’t a one dimensional
actor, also he has had a lot of experience playing a variety of different roles.
8. Kate Beckinsale
• What was their big break?
– Although starring in various parts before hand, her big break was when she starred in Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ But her
earlier roles include a 30-minute Channel 4 short film ‘Rachel’s Dream’ alongside Christopher Eccleston and in 1991 she had a small role as
a young woman who was having a forbidden affair with a Nazi officer in One Against the Wind.
• What films have they starred in?
– She has starred in 36 films including the underworld series, Van Helsing, Pearl Harbor and Total Recall. Out of these 36 films, 15 of these
were thriller or horror films.
• Are they type cast?
– She has starred in quite a few thriller movies, so she either has the eye for them, or she really enjoys starring in them which will make her fit
easer in them.
• Have they won any awards?
– She has been nominated for 29 awards, and won 8. These include: 3 MTV Movie Award nominations, 2 People’s Choice Award
nominations, and one Scream Award win for her role in Underworld: Evolution.
• Have they been involved in any scandals?
– She has only had 2 public relationships- one with Michael Sheen, whom she dated from 1995-2003 and they have one daughter born in
1999 as well as this she dated, and married, Len Wiseman whom she met on the Underworld film, they married in 2004 but filed for divorce
in 2016.
– As well as this, there was some problems with the Daily Mail where she sent a formal complaint about photos that were taken of her and her
daughter- however these were ignore. The Daily Mail did apologies for the reports that she spent time in a clinic after her and Michael
Sheen split.
• How to the public perceive them?
– Due to her lack of public scandals and being in the media, most people don’t really have an opinion on Kate Beckinsale other than the fact
she is regarded as one of the best looking women in the film industry
• Do you think they are talented?
– She has starred in various different roles, and continues to get cast in hollywood, so obviously she is doing something right.
9. Keira Knightly
• What was their big break?
– Although she starred in a few things prior, like Stars Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace,, her big break was in 2001 when she starred in
the psychological horror film, The Hole.
• What films have they starred in?
– She has been in 55 films, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Atonement, Anna Karina, Never Let Me Go and Bend It Like Beckham,
however only 7 of those were thriller appearances. As well as this she has also had 11 TV appearances.
• Are they type cast?
– I wouldn’t say she is a ‘type cast’ having little experience in thriller films and how she is most known for staring in period drama’s. But I do think
this would help in this role, as she would have to be very emotional. Again, she is much younger than the other actors which is similar to many
stereotypical mistress roles in films.
• Have they won any awards?
– She has been nominated for 88 awards, with 27 wins including, 2 Oscars, 3 UK Empire Awards, 2 US People’s Choice Awards and 2 Hollywood
Film Awards.
• Have they been involved in any scandals?
– She has received a lot of media attention, in 2007, FMH claimed that she was ‘the worlds sexiest women’ as well as this in 200 she was named
among the most influential people in British Culture. She is a known feminist and is very passionate about the case.
– She has had a few cases where she has pressed charges against men who stalk her/ harass her constantly once in 2010 and then again in
2016.
– She has had a few public relationships, she dated Jamie Dornan from 2003 to 2005 and her Pride and Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend from
2005-2010. But subsequently she met and married James Righton from the band Klaxons in 2014.
• How to the public perceive them?
– She is admired for the amount of charity wok she does; mainly to do with feminism, but also to do with domestic abuse and poverty. Many
people also consider her a national treasure.
• Do you think they are talented?
– I think she is talented, as she similarly to the other actors she, has the ability to play a range of characters but making them seem unique in their
own right. However I might be slightly biased considering she is the lead in my favourite film (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
Pearl)
