Career[link]

Dante is also a musician and singer/songwriter. He has recorded with Adam Sandler and Buck Simmonds. He is a member of the music group Rad Omen; along with Dirt Nasty, DJ Troublemaker, Steven Laing, and Benji Madden.

He is a graduate of Hofstra University, where he played lacrosse.

Works [link]

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Category:1968 births Category:Actors from Connecticut Category:American film actors Category:Living people Category:People from West Hartford, Connecticut

Early life[link]

Swardson attended St. Paul Central High and started acting and performing improv comedy at the age of 16. A mischievous student who struggled with alcohol and drugs, Swardson was expelled from school on four occasions for pulling fire alarms in order to go outside and smoke cigarettes, fighting, posting a lewd sign in class, and for smoking marijuana; he was enrolled in a rehab program while still in school.

After graduating in 1996, Swardson decided to pursue stand-up comedy rather than attend college. Although Swardson was a fan of sketch comedy, he saw stand-up comedy as a stepping-stone to a career in film, more so than he would working within a comedy troupe.

Career[link]

After garnering some attention within comedy circles, Swardson was selected to perform stand-up at the US Comedy Arts Festival at just 20 years of age. The festival, which up to 2007 was held in Aspen, Colorado, was a yearly festival attended by entertainment insiders and was a place for comics and comedic actors to get exposure to the industry. It was once the largest comedy convention of its kind in the US and became the launch pad for many comedians and comedy writers. After Swardson's first performance at the festival comedian Tony Camin, acting as the night's MC, was quoted as saying: "There's a deal waiting to happen. I can see the TV show now: 'An Aspen Kid With Altitude.'"

Swardson eventually left the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area for New York City where he would appear in such venues as the Luna Lounge, then on to Los Angeles where he headlined at many nightclubs. In addition to his stand-up, Swardson began to get work in commercials and in small roles in both TV in film, such an appearance in an episode of the Al Franken sitcom ''LateLine'' in 1999, and playing the role of a crazed David Bowie fan in the 2000 film ''Almost Famous''.

In 2001 Swardson's stand-up act was featured in a half-hour ''Comedy Central Presents'' special. He appeared on the show a second time in 2006 — a performance that was featured on the DVD compilation ''The Best of Comedy Central Presents: Uncensored II'' released in 2008.

In 2003 Swardson co-wrote the screenplay for ''Malibu's Most Wanted'' along with the film's star Jamie Kennedy and Adam Small. That same year he took on the role of Terry Bernadino on the Comedy Central series ''Reno 911!''. A recurring character throughout the series' run from 2003 to 2009 — in addition to appearing in the film ''Reno 911!: Miami'' — Swardson played the role of a flamboyant gigolo who was often seen wearing roller skates. 2003 also marked the beginning of a longtime working relationship and friendship with Adam Sandler. After having seen Swardson's Comedy Central special, Sandler contacted Swardson to ask if he'd be interested in collaborating; Swardson's first project with Sandler was co-writing the screenplay for ''Grandma's Boy'' — Swardson also co-produced and had an acting role in the film which was released in 2006.

In 2004 Swardson wrote, produced and starred in a TV show pilot for Comedy Central called ''Gay Robot'', which was based on a comedy bit by the same name that appeared on Adam Sandler's fifth album, ''Shh...Don't Tell''; Comedy Central, however, decided to pass on the TV project. Swardson then had intentions on making it an animated show, but the show never came to fruition. A copy of the live-action pilot was however made available on MySpace in January of 2007. Swardson also resurrected the Gay Robot character on his Comedy Central Series ''Nick Swardson's Pretend Time''.

Swardson's sketch comedy show ''Nick Swardson's Pretend Time'', premiered on Comedy Central on October 12, 2010 and ran for two seasons. The show was produced in conjunction with Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions. On February 6, 2012 Swardson announced via his Facebook page that there would not be a third season; in his post Swardson stated that "the ratings were solid but it was too expensive for the network and tough creatively," and added that he was "developing a new show where I play a ninja."

In 2011 Swardson starred in, co-wrote and co-produced the film ''Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star'', also produced by Happy Madison Productions. That same year he starred alongside Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride and Aziz Ansari in the film ''30 Minutes or Less''.

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Writing[link]

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Category:1976 births Category:Actors from Minnesota Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Minneapolis, Minnesota

Early life[link]

Career[link]

Ifans appeared in many Welsh-language television programmes before embarking on his film career, as well as performing at the Royal National Theatre, London and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.

He was briefly lead vocalist of the rock band Super Furry Animals before they released any records.

After his role as Jeremy Lewis in the Swansea-based movie ''Twin Town'' (1997), he gained international exposure in his role as the slovenly roommate Spike in the British film ''Notting Hill'' (1999). According to the DVD's commentary, Ifans did not wash or brush his teeth, in preparation for the role. He played Adrian, the pompous eldest brother in ''Little Nicky'' (2000).

His film roles include: ''Eyeball Paul'' in ''Kevin and Perry Go Large'' (2000), Nigel in ''The Replacements'' (2000), Iki in ''The 51st State'' (2001), William Dobbin in ''Vanity Fair'' (2004), and Vladis Grutas in ''Hannibal Rising'' (2007). He played Jed Parry in the film version of Ian McEwan's ''Enduring Love'' and the lead role in ''Danny Deckchair'' (2003) as Danny Morgan.

In 2002 he gained some controversy in the British media for his alleged support of Welsh nationalist group Meibion Glyndŵr, a militant group who support violence against English home owners in the Welsh heartlands. This was mainly because of some comments he made in an interview conducted by Mariella Frostrup for ''The Observer'' newspaper. In 2005, Ifans won a BAFTA for his portrayal of comedian Peter Cook in the TV film ''Not Only But Always''. Later that year he made a guest appearance for the rock band Oasis in the video for their single "The Importance of Being Idle" for which he accepted their award for ''Video Of the Year'' at the 2005/2006 NME Awards. He has also made appearances in the music videos for "God! Show Me Magic", and "Hometown unicorn" by the Super Furry Animals, "Mulder & Scully" by Catatonia, and "Mama Told Me Not To Come" by Tom Jones and the Stereophonics.

In December 2006, he returned to the London stage in Michael Grandage's production ''Don Juan In Soho'' at the Donmar Warehouse (run ended 10 February 2007). He had appeared previously at the Donmar in 2003's ''Accidental Death Of An Anarchist''. Earlier stage work includes ''Hamlet'' at Theatre Clwyd, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the Regent's Park Theatre and ''Under Milk Wood'' and ''Volpone'' at the Royal National Theatre.

On 16 July 2007, he received an Honorary Fellowship from Bangor University in north Wales, for services to the film industry.

Since 2007 Ifans has sung with Welsh psychedelic rock band The Peth (Peth is Welsh for `Thing'), featuring Super Furry Animals' Dafydd Ieuan, which played a number of concert dates in South Wales and in London in the autumn of 2008. The band played its first date outside London or Wales on 28 September 2008 at the Southampton Soul Cellar.

Ifans revealed on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'', on 27 March 2009, that he is appearing in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1''. He played Xenophillius Lovegood, editor of the wizarding magazine the Quibbler and father of the eccentric Luna Lovegood. In that same interview, he also stated that he would be playing the title role in ''Mr. Nice'', based on the life of Howard Marks who was released from prison for helping illiterate criminals to read and write, so they could get an education behind bars. He played a villain in ''Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'', which also starred Emma Thompson and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

On 11 October 2010, the Associated Press confirmed that Ifans would portray the villain in the next ''Spider-Man'' movie, with the villain being revealed as The Lizard a few days later.

Personal life[link]

During 2011 Comic Con, Ifans was arrested for misdemeanour battery by San Diego police after allegedley pushing a guard prior to speaking on a guest panel. In August 2011, the local District Attorney's office announced that Ifans would not be charged due to lack of evidence.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:People from Haverfordwest Category:People associated with Bangor University Category:People from Ruthin Category:Super Furry Animals members Category:Welsh actors Category:Welsh film actors Category:Welsh-speaking people Category:Welsh stage actors Category:Welsh television actors Category:Welsh voice actors