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Look Back
2026
Popular, outgoing Fujino is celebrated by her classmates for her funny comics in the class newspaper. One day, her teacher asks her to share the space with Kyomoto, a truant recluse whose beautiful artwork sparks a competitive fervor in Fujino. What starts as jealousy transforms when Fujino realizes their shared passion for drawing.
Look Back
2024
Popular, outgoing Fujino is celebrated by her classmates for her funny comics in the class newspaper. One day, her teacher asks her to share the space with Kyomoto, a truant recluse whose beautiful artwork sparks a competitive fervor in Fujino. What starts as jealousy transforms when Fujino realizes their shared passion for drawing.
Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger
2026
Experience the meteoric rise of Oasis through rare footage and untold stories as the band reunites for Oasis Live '25, chronicling their journey from Manchester streets to global rock stardom.
John Osborne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre. In a productive life of more than 40 years, Osborne explored many themes and genres, writing for stage, film and TV. His personal life was extravagant and iconoclastic. He was notorious for the ornate violence of his language, not only on behalf of the political causes he supported but also against his own family, including his wives and children. Osborne was one of the first writers to address Britain's purpose in the post-imperial age. He was the first to question the point of the monarchy on a prominent public stage. During his peak (1956–1966), he helped make contempt an acceptable and now even cliched onstage emotion, argued for the cleansing wisdom of bad behaviour and bad taste, and combined unsparing truthfulness with devastating wit. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Osborne, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Sasha Clements
Born as Sasha Nicole Clements, she is an actress, known for Majority Rules! (2009), From Straight A's to XXX (2017) and Degrassi: Don't Look Back (2015). She has been married to Corbin Bleu since July 23, 2016.
Mike Rowe
Michael Gregory Rowe (born March 18, 1962) is an American television host and narrator. He is known for his work on the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs and the series Somebody's Gotta Do It originally developed for CNN. He hosted a series produced for Facebook called Returning the Favor in which he found people doing good deeds and did something for them in return. He also hosts a podcast titled The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe. Rowe has narrated programs on the Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, and National Geographic Channel such as Deadliest Catch, How the Universe Works, and Shark Week. He has also appeared in commercials for firms such as the Ford Motor Company. In June 2020, Discovery Channel announced Dirty Jobs: Rowe'd Trip, a four-episode miniseries, to be aired in mid-July 2020, billed as "part reunion, part road-trip, part look-back-special".
Michael Sheen
Cast · Known for The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Alice in Wonderland, Kingdom of Heaven
Michael Christopher Sheen (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s and made notable stage appearances in Romeo and Juliet (1992), Don't Fool With Love (1993), Peer Gynt (1994), The Seagull (1995), The Homecoming (1997), and Henry V (1997). His performances in Amadeus at the Old Vic and Look Back in Anger at the National Theatre were nominated for Olivier Awards in 1998 and 1999, respectively. In 2003, he was nominated for a third Olivier Award for his performance in Caligula at the Donmar Warehouse. He has become better known as a screen actor since the 2000s through his roles in various biographical films. He has starred in a trilogy of films as British politician Tony Blair: the television film The Deal (2003), followed by The Queen (2006) and The Special Relationship (2010). For the role, he was nominated for both a BAFTA Award and an Emmy. He was also nominated for a BAFTA as the troubled comic actor Kenneth Williams in BBC Four's 2006 Fantabulosa!, and was nominated for a fourth Olivier Award in 2006 for portraying the broadcaster David Frost in Frost/Nixon. He starred as the controversial football manager Brian Clough in The Damned United (2009). In 2009, he appeared in two fantasy films, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and The Twilight Saga: New Moon. He also appeared in the science-fiction film Tron: Legacy (2010), and Midnight in Paris (2011). He directed and starred in National Theatre Wales's The Passion (2011). He also played a lead role in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 in 2012. In 2013, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in Showtime's television drama Masters of Sex (2013–2016). He played an incarcerated serial killer surgeon in Fox's 2019 drama, Prodigal Son, an angel in the 2019 BBC/Amazon Studios miniseries Good Omens, and appeared as Chris Tarrant in Quiz in 2020. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marie-Claude Pietragalla
Marie-Claude Georgette Yvonne Pietragalla (born 2 February 1963 in Paris) is a French dancer and choreographer. Pietragalla was born in Paris to a Coriscan father and mother from Bordeaux. At 16, she joined the Ballet de l'Opera National de Paris and was named étoile on 22 December 1990 after the performance of Don Quixote in which she played the role of Kitri. In 1998, she was appointed to the leadership of the National Ballet of Marseille, where she remained five years. After a conflict, the dancers of the company obtained her resignation. She danced at the Opéra Bastille with Patrick Dupond the "Swan Lake" (1992) and "Les Variations d'Ulysse" (1995) under the direction of Jean-Claude Gallotta. In 1998 she received the Prix Benois de la Danse. In 2000 she appeared in a one-woman show "Don't look back", a solo performance created for her by Carolyn Carlson. In October that year she introduced the ballet Sakountala that evokes the internal struggle of the sculptor Camille Claudel with her own demons. In 2002 she choreographed the show "Enzo", a duo created for the show at the Olympia of Christophe (Victoire de la Musique 2002). In 2003 she choreographed the show "Metamorphoses" for the dance school of Marseille. The same year she also choreographed "Ni Dieu ni maître", a show about anarchist poet and singer-songwriter Léo Ferré, which was presented first at the Théatre Toursky in Marseille, then at the Olympia in Paris. The show was about music and songs by Léo Ferré (and Elizabeth Cooper). She signed a new version of "Don Quixote" (Minkus-Cooper). Since 2004 she has run her own company, the Pietragalla Company. In 2006 she presented a show called "Conditions humaines". In 2007 she began her second year of residency at the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and under the direction of Pierre Cardin created the dance-drama "Sade ou le théâtre des fous". Presented first at the castle of Lacoste in July 2007, this ballet was also given in February 2008 at the Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris. In March 2009 she presented the show "Marco Polo" at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. She is married to the dancer Julien Derouault. In 2011 she reappeared alone on the stage of the Palace with his new creation, "The temptation of Eve", which was originally scheduled to run from 25 January-12 February 2011 but was extended until 12 March, after which she went on a tour in France and Switzerland. She is currently a judge on Danse avec les Stars, the French version of Dancing with the Stars. Source: Article "Marie-Claude Pietragalla" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Jessie Ward
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jessie Ward (born in Manasquan, New Jersey), sometimes credited as Jessica Ward, is an American actress who is featured on the MyNetwork TV telenovelas: Desire and Wicked Wicked Games. She has also recently completed filming the female lead role of Marilyn Culver in Rest Stop: Don't Look Back, which is a sequel to Rest Stop from 2006, to be released in October 2008, and will be filming a new movie called Godspeed, as Rebecca, which will begin shooting in July in Alaska, to be released in 2009. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jessie Ward (actress), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Diana Hyland
Diana Hyland, a striking, knowing beauty with a confident air about her, was born Diane Gentner on January 25, 1936, in Ohio and appeared on stage in summer stock as a teen before graduating from Cleveland Heights High School. Moving to New York in 1955 to test her acting mettle, the slim-faced, honey-blonde actress began to find TV roles almost immediately (one of her first being a "Robert Montgomery Presents" episode) in between supplementing her income as a switchboard operator. Initially billed Diane Gentner, she changed it to Diana Hyland (taking her mother's maiden name). Following a tour of the play "Look Back in Anger," she broke through quite impressively on the Broadway boards as the neurotic ingénue in the acclaimed 1959 Tennessee Williams production of "Sweet Bird of Youth" starring Paul Newman and Geraldine Page. Her role of Heavenly Finley could have made her a film star had she been allowed to take it the big screen, but Shirley Knight was given that honor. In the early 60s, Diana focused on the small screen with strong, emotional roles on such soaps as "Young Dr. Malone" (1958) and "Peyton Place" (1964) (in a particularly showy role as a minister's alcoholic wife). She also scored well in a series of guest parts, notably "The Twilight Zone," "The Fugitive," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and "Alcoa Presents," the last for which she received an Emmy nomination. She was a particularly sought-after presence on medical shows as well, spicing up such popular tearjerkers as "Ben Casey," "Dr. Kildare," "The Doctors and the Nurses," "Medical Center" and "Marcus Welby, M.D.". Strangely, Diana made noticeably few films during her career, her best showcase being that of the unconventional minister's wife opposite Don Murray's Rev. Norman Vincent Peale in One Man's Way (1964). In addition to a small, downbeat supporting turn in The Chase (1966) starring Marlon Brando, Robert Redford and, Jane Fonda, she also co-starred with Fess Parker in the routine western yarn Smoky (1966). Remaining focused on TV, Diana continued to brightened up the TV medium into the 1970s with an emphasis on crime ("Kojak, "Harry O", "Cannon," "Mannix," etc.). IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]
Kiyotaka Oshiyama
Director · Known for Look Back
Kiyotaka Oshiyama (押山 清高; born January 3, 1982) is a Japanese animator, director, illustrator and, since 2017, president of his animation studio Studio Durian. He is known for directing Flip Flappers (2016) and Look Back (2024).
Mark Burton
Writer · Known for Madagascar, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom
Mark Burton (born 23 September 1960) is a British television writer, screenwriter, television producer, film producer, and film director. After turning up at BBC Radio's Light Entertainment Department, Burton teamed up with John O'Farrell, and the two were commissioned for Week Ending by Harry Thompson (who later named his two pet rats Burton and O'Farrell). The pair won the BBCLight Entertainment Contract Award and went on to write or contribute to a number of radio series, including Little Blighty on the Down, McKay the New, and with Pete Sinclair, the multi-award-winning A Look Back at the Nineties and Look Back at the Future, in which Burton also performed. Burton also created the BBC Radio 4 panel game We've Been Here Before, presented by Clive Anderson. Burton and O’Farrell were commissioned for Spitting Image in 1988, and the following year they became two of the lead writers on the show. They also wrote for Clive Anderson Talks Back, Nick Hancock on Room 101, Murder Most Horrid, and co-wrote some of the Heads to Heads for Alas Smith and Jones. In 1993, they left Spitting Image and became the first writers credited for the scripted parts of Have I Got News For You? Also for Hat Trick Productions, they wrote a BBC1 sitcom The Peter Principle starring Jim Broadbent (known as The Boss in the US). The pair are credited for 'additional dialogue' for the Aardman film Chicken Run, but after a decade of collaboration, Burton and O'Farrell began to work on separate projects. Although he continued to do some TV comedy scriptwriting (with credits for 2DTV, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and Mike Bassett: Manager), Burton began to focus on screenwriting, most notably with DreamWorks Animation Madagascar. Other major screenplay credits include Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (which won an Oscar in 2006 for Best Animated Feature Film), Gnomeo and Juliet, and Aliens in the Attic. He adapted the novel of his former writing partner for the ITV film 'May Contain Nuts' and also wrote and produced the BBC short film One of Those Days. He also wrote and made his directorial debut with Richard Starzak with Shaun the Sheep Movie, which got nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. He would later return to write its sequel, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon with Jon Brown, based on a story by Starzak. Burton is a musician and songwriter, having composed the music for the comedy rock musical The Next Big Thing, which he wrote and produced with Pete Sinclair. He also shares the credit for the original music in 'One of Those Days' and has written songs and parodies for a number of radio shows. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mark Burton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Rich Little
Born in Canada, Rich Little got his start just like almost every other comic of his time - night clubs. he was a very popular comic in these clubs, but if there was one thing Rich was best known for, it was impersonations. He studied the voices of many stars his whole life, stars like James Stewart, Johnny Carson, Don Rickles, Dean Martin, Truman Capote and George Burns. In the late 1960s, Rich was dubbed "the best impressionist in the world." During the 1970s, however, a rivalry began between him and fellow impressionist Frank Gorshin, who is five years older. Ultimately, Rich overpowered Gorshin and remained the best impressionist in the world. In 1973 Rich became more associated with Dean Martin and made countless appearances on the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts," honoring most of the people he impersonated. Besides impressions, Rich also had a successful career as a narrator in many stories, made many appearances in TV series, and hosted many TV shows. He also made his first movie, as Otterlake in The Other Side of the Wind (1972) in 1972. His acting career wasn't as successful as his impressions, but he did have a great talent. After the 1980s, Rich calmed down and moved away from the limelight. In 1998, Rich took a look back at his most remembered moments of his career: his appearances on the "Dean Martin Roasts," in an infomercial to promote the Roast videos. Rich says he will ALWAYS remember those moments.
Felicia Pride
Executive Producer · Known for A Different World
Felicia Pride is a writer, producer, director, and founder whose nearly twenty-five-year career in media and entertainment has been devoted to telling resonant stories of the often overlooked, building creative worlds, and finding meaningful ways to connect those stories with audiences. She is currently the Creator, Showrunner, and Executive Producer of the highly anticipated A Different World sequel, premiering on Netflix in September. Her television work also includes Bel-Air, Grey’s Anatomy, and Queen Sugar. Across her career, Felicia has developed a body of work that centers rich, nuanced characters and expands the kinds of stories, and people, we get to see on screen. In film, Felicia wrote and executive produced Really Love, which became a Top Ten Movie on Netflix and has features in development at Universal, Sony, and AGC Studios. As a director, Felicia gravitates toward intimate, emotionally honest storytelling. Her directorial debut, tender, is an award-winning short film that aired on STARZ. She followed it with Look Back at It, a short that won the Audience Award at the BlackStar Film Festival and was nominated for a Humanitas Prize. Felicia is also the founder of HONEY CHILE, an independent media and production company created to illuminate the lives, power, and influence of Black women 40+. Through original film, television, audio, editorial, book projects, and experiences, HONEY CHILE has built an ecosystem of stories and community around an audience that has been both culturally influential and historically underserved.
Dolores Gray
Dolores Gray (June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American stage and film actress. During her successful music career, she sang Marilyn Monroe's part on the Decca records soundtrack album of There's No Business Like Show Business (1954). Born as Dolores Stein to Barbara Gray and Henry Stein in Chicago, Dolores Gray was briefly signed with MGM, appearing in Kismet (1955) and It's Always Fair Weather(1955). Among her many stage roles, she appeared in Two on the Aisle (1951), Carnival In Flanders (1953); Destry Rides Again (1959); Sherry! (1967); and 42nd Street (1986). She also performed the lead role in Annie Get Your Gun in London (1947). Gray earned the Tony Award for her role in Carnival in Flanders even though this Broadway musical, with a script by Preston Sturges, ran for only six performances. She therefore holds a record that is unlikely to be broken: briefest run in a performance which still earned a Tony. She was best-known for her theatre roles. She recalled once "What a gift that would be to have more of a permanent record. A stage performance is just that, then it's lost. When I see movies on TV, I think, 'How great to have that.' But why look back? The decisions I made, I made. I can't change that." On September 24, 1966, Dolores Gray married Andrew J. Crevolin, a California businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner who won the 1954 Kentucky Derby. Despite erroneous reports in the media that they divorced, they remained married until his passing in 1992. Description above from the Wikipedia article Dolores Gray, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Van Williams
You could shoehorn actor Van Williams right in there between the other tall, dark and drop-jaw gorgeous heartthrobs Tom Tryon and John Gavin of the late 1950s/early 1960s who conveyed a similar bland, heroic image. All three were too often given colorless heroes to play on film and/or TV -- roles that played off their charm but seldom tested their talent. Born on February 27, 1934 as Van Zandt Jarvis Williams, he was the son of a cattle rancher. He majored in animal husbandry and business at Texas Christian University but moved to Hawaii which changed the course of his life. While operating a salvage company and a skin-diving school during the mid-1950s, he was approached by Elizabeth Taylor and husband/producer Mike Todd, who were filming there. Encouraged by Todd to try his luck, Van arrived in Hollywood with no experience. Todd perished in a plane crash before he was able to help Van, but the young hopeful ventured on anyway, taking some acting/voice lessons, and was almost immediately cast in dramatic TV roles. Warner Brothers had a keen eye for this type of photogenic hunk and smartly signed Van. Fitting in perfectly, he was soon showing just how irresistible he was as a clean-cut private eye on the series "Bourbon Street Beat (1959)". Although the show lasted only one season, Warners carried his Kenny Madison character into the more popular adventure drama Surfside 6 (1960) opposite fellow pin-up / blond beefcake bookend Troy Donahue. Series-wise, Van tried comedy next opposite "Walter Brennan in The Tycoon (1964)". After his contract expired at Warners, 20th Century-Fox handed him his most vividly recalled role, that of the emerald-suited superhero "The Green Hornet (1966)" with the late Bruce Lee as his partner Kato. The show, inspired by the huge cult hit "Batman (1966)" enjoyed a fast start but, like its predecessor, met an equally untimely finish. Never a strong draw in films, Van revealed quite a bit of himself (literally) in his debut in "Tall Story (1960)" coming out of a shower. He was handed a typically staid second lead in "The Caretakers (1963)". Continuing well into the 1970s to guest sporadically on the TV scene in classics like "The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)", "Love, American Style (1969)", "Mission: Impossible (1966)", "The Big Valley (1965)", "Nanny and the Professor (1970)", "Barnaby Jones (1973)", and "The Rockford Files (1974)". Another starring series attempt with "Westwind (1975)" failed to make the grade and he soon let his career go. Van went on quite successfully in business with telecommunications, real estate and law enforcement supplies among his ventures. With his glossy, pretty-boy years far behind him, he has not felt the need to look back except for an occasional autograph convention. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]
Tammy Trull
Born to a Venezuelan mother and a Cuban father, Tammy Trull is a versatile and passionate actor who learned English watching Rua Sésamo (1969) with her mother. After graduating with a degree in acting from Rutgers University, she moved to New York City where she was soon cast in All Night Bodega (2002). Her work on this film garnered her the award for Best Actor at the Brooklyn International Film Festival and for Best New Performance at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in 2003. She performed the lead role of Lia in the Lia Project with Fablevision. She has also done video game work for G-Kings where she performed several roles. She has an extensive career in commercials. She has been in dozens of commercials in her career. Her theater work includes the title role in The Katherine Calamity; she has also starred in Friend of the Deceased; The Edinburgh Fringe Festival's performance of The King Stag; Rutgers' Theater Company productions of The Raft of the Medusa, Only Children, Catholic School Girls, The Good Doctor, Crime and Punishment, Our Country. She has also appeared in the London Academy of Theater performances of Look Back in Anger, The Playboy of the Western World, and Richard III. A native of New Jersey, Tammy has resided in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons. In her spare time, she enjoys doing yoga and spending time with her family.
Peter Christian
Peter Christian was born on the 14th of August 1947 in Dingle, Liverpool and is best known for his roles on UK Television in 'Emmerdale Farm' (1972), 'Scully' (1984), 'Give Us a Break' (1984), 'Truckers' (1987) and 'Heartbeat' (1992). In 1983 he appeared in the original Liverpool Playhouse production of Willy Russell's 'Blood Brothers' as Sammy, one of the older Johnston brothers. Christian's acting career started when his cousin asked for some help with an amateur dramatics production being staged by the Liverpool-based David Lewis Theatre Group. Although he was there to help construct the sets and paint the scenery, Christian soon got landed with a part and acting immediately caught his imagination and he began to appear regularly in amateur plays round the area. Eventually this enthusiasm led to his first professional part. "I played a gentleman walking across the quayside with a bag. This lad comes up to me and asks to carry my bag. My first professional line, and the only one in that play was 'Go away boy'. That was it," says Christian. "I also had to wear this huge hat. I remember thinking if only my mates from the docks could see me now." After that his acting career blossomed and soon he was appearing in well known theatre productions such as 'Look Back in Anger' and 'Blood Brothers'. However he is best known for 'Brookside' (1982-83) in which he first appeared in the Channel 4 soap as Frank Blackburne, an associate of Gavin Taylor played by Danny Webb, and then more famously as Frank Rogers from 1987 until the character was killed off in 1993. In this role Peter, as the resident lorry driver of Brookside Close became one of the most famous truckers in Britain.
Oliver Masucci
Cast · Known for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Oliver Masucci (born December 6, 1968) is a German actor. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Adolf Hitler in the satirical film Look Who's Back (2015) and as Ulrich Nielsen in the Netflix series Dark (2017–2020). Other more recent film roles include Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022), Day Shift (2022) and The Palace (2023). Masucci's performance as Rainer Werner Fassbinder in Enfant Terrible (2020) earned him the 2021 German Film Award (Lola) for Best Leading Actor. He also starred as Dr. Josef Bartok in the 2021 film adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s Schachnovelle, Chess Story, a performance that earned him the Bavarian Film Award for Best Actor.
Gudrun Ritter
Gudrun Ritter was born on November 16, 1936 in Marienberg, Germany. She is an actress, known for Hanna (2011), Forbidden Love (1990) and Look Who's Back (2015).
The Tom and Jerry Show
2014
The iconic cat and mouse rivals are back in a fresh take on the classic series. Preserving the look, characters and sensibility of the original, this series shines a brightly colored, high-definition lens on the madcap slapstick and never-ending battle that has made Tom and Jerry two of the most beloved characters of all time.
Riza Aziz
Producer · Known for The Wolf of Wall Street
Riza Aziz brings a background in banking and financial advisory services to the entertainment industry as Chairman and CEO of Red Granite Pictures. With a B.S. in Government and Economics and a master's degree in Politics from the London School of Economics, Aziz took on the world of investment banking before venturing off as a mergers and acquisitions advisor for a global clientele. He then turned a talented eye toward the film industry and has been thriving since. Aziz caught the attention of Hollywood when he was named in Variety's "Top Ten Producers to Watch" list in 2011. Aziz has since become the driving force behind the production of films such as Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-nominated The Wolf of Wall Street, Jennifer Westfeldt's Friends With Kids, Scott Cooper's Out of the Furnace and Alexandre Aja's Horns. Most recently, Red Granite Pictures produced Bobby and Peter Farrelly's Dumb and Dumber To; released on November 14, 2014. It opened number one at the box office. Currently, Paramount Pictures and Aziz's production company Red Granite Pictures in association with Gary Sanchez Productions are working on the Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg comedy Daddy's Home. Red Granite Pictures will co-produce and co-finance the film, which Paramount Pictures will distribute worldwide. Aziz's development slate includes The Brigands of Rattleborge and The General. The Brigands of Rattleborge, the blacklist's number 1 script of 2006, is a western revenge story and The General is a gritty look at the story of George Washington. - IMDb Mini Biography
Mantan Moreland
Born just after the turn of the century in Louisiana, Mantan began running away from home at age 12 to join circuses and medicine shows, only to be brought back time and again. During these times he sharpened his comic skills and developed routines and acts that eventually became popular on the vaudeville stage, or what was then called the "chitlin' circuit." A solo performer by nature, he often teamed up with other famous comics (such as Ben Carter) to keep working, and became a deft performer of "indefinite talk" routines, where two quicksilver comics continually topped each other in mid-sentence, as if reading each other's mind (i.e., "Say, did you see...?" "Saw him just yesterday...didn't look so good"). Mantan's focus gradually shifted his trade toward film, where he initially appeared in servile bits (shoeshine men, porters, waiters). However, his talent for making people laugh couldn't be overlooked and he soon earned featured status in Harlem-styled western parodies and grade "A" comedy films playing the superstitious, ever-terrified manservant running from any kind of impending doom. Moreland's peak in movies came with his recurring role as Birmingham, the skittish chauffeur, in the "Charlie Chan" series, where he was forever forewarning his boss to stay away from an obviously dangerous case or situation. Though haunted mansions were an ideal place for setting off his stereotyped character, Mantan would be haunted in a different way by this Hollywood success in years to follow. By the 1950s, racial attitudes began to change and, with the rise of the civil rights movement, what was once considered hilarious was now interpreted as demeaning and offensive to both blacks and whites. Mantan and others, such as Stepin Fetchit, were ostracized and ridiculed by Hollywood for their past negative portrayals. It took decades for audiences to forgive and newer generations to forget the Depression-era comedy of Mantan Moreland in order for the actor to come back. In the late 1960s he managed a modest resurgence on TV and in commercials and occasional films, allowing him to work again with such comic heavyweights as Bill Cosby, Godfrey Cambridge and director Carl Reiner. It was all too brief, however, for Mantan, long suffering from ill health, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1973, just as he was settling in to his renewed popularity. Today, audiences tend to be kinder and more understanding of Moreland, remembering him as a highly talented comic who, in the only way he knew, broke major barriers and opened the doors for others black actors to follow.
Brian Soutner
I have a confession to make. I have always wanted to be a Power Ranger. Ever since I was a little kid, that was the goal. The stick in my backyard was the power sword used to take down Lord Zedd. I was a power ranger fanatic, and I collected every piece of memorabilia I could find. As soon as I learned they weren't real, I figured I should become the next best thing: an actor. Growing up in a huge sports family in Hershey, PA, saying I wanted to be an actor was a bit of a shock. My Dad analyzes risk for a living, so me being an actor is proof that God has a sense of humor. Nevertheless, I have a wonderful support system that I couldn't be more grateful for. I started acting accidentally. By the time I was 12, my dad had an idea that I wanted to start acting. He saw that local auditions for Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers were misprinted onto the Sports page of the newspaper. I auditioned, got the part, and the rest is history. This is what sparked my passion for storytelling. Telling someone else's story made me feel more comfortable to start telling my own. Growing up, I didn't have queer role models to look up to, which is why I felt drawn to living someone else's life for a few hours. It was my escape from my own reality, but little did I know, it helped so many people confront theirs. I am a recent graduate of Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, PA, where I received my BFA in Acting. Mainstage credits include 42nd Street, Much Ado About Nothing, Pippin, and the Grand Opening Gala for the New Pittsburgh Playhouse, featuring Tony Yazbeck, Rob Ashford, and Shirley Jones. I also performed in numerous student films, straight plays, and play festivals. In between school years, I did various summer stock theatre contracts, most notably performing in Mamma Mia! At the Fulton Theatre. I took my collegiate experience as an opportunity to fully hone my craft and best prepare myself for the career I am meant to have. After graduating in 2020... Well, we all know how that went. I took a step back to continue learning, taking classes with Matthew Corozine Studio and Mike Ruckles Voice Studio. I shot my first feature film this Summer that is set to release in 2022. Now, I am fresh to New York City ready to hit the ground running with new packaging fit for the big screen.