The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign. The annual formal ceremony and dinner at which the awards are presented is a major part of the film industry's awards season, which culminates each year with the Academy Awards.^[1]

The 1st Golden Globe Awards were held in January 1944 at the 20th Century Fox studios in Los Angeles. The 69th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 2011, were presented on January 15, 2012, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where they have been held annually since 1961.^[2]

History[link]

The first Golden Globe Awards were held in 1944, at the 20th Century Fox studios. Subsequent ceremonies would be held at various venues throughout the next decade, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

In 1950, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made the decision to establish a special honorary award to recognize outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Recognizing its subject as an international figure within the entertainment industry, the first award was presented to director and producer, Cecil B. DeMille. The official name of the award thus became the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

In 1963, the Miss Golden Globe concept was introduced. In its inaugural year, two Miss Golden Globes were named, one for film and one for television. The two Miss Golden Globes named that year were Eva Six (of the films Operation Bikini and Beach Party) and Donna Douglas (of television's The Beverly Hillbillies), respectively.

Revenues generated from the annual ceremony have enabled the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to donate millions of dollars to entertainment-related charities, as well as funding scholarships and other programs for future film and television professionals. The most prominent beneficiary being the Young Artist Awards, presented annually by the Young Artist Foundation, established in 1978 by long-standing Hollywood Foreign Press member, Maureen Dragone to recognize and award excellence of young Hollywood performers under the age of 18, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.^[3][4][5]

Ceremony[link]

The broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards, telecast to 167 countries worldwide, generally ranks as the third most-watched awards show each year, behind only the Oscars and the Grammy Awards. Until Ricky Gervais hosted the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards Ceremony in 2010, the award ceremony was one of two major Hollywood award ceremonies (the other being the Screen Actors Guild Awards) that did not have a regular host; every year a different presenter introduced the ceremony at the beginning of the broadcast. Gervais returned to host the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards in 2011, and the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in 2012.^[6] The 2012 Golden Globe Awards' theme song was written by YOSHIKI, a member of the popular rock group X Japan.

2008 disruption[link]

On January 7, 2008, it was announced that due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, the 65th Golden Globe Awards would not be telecast live. The ceremony was faced with a threat by striking writers to picket the event and by actors, threatening to boycott the ceremony, rather than cross picket lines. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association was forced to adopt another approach for the broadcast.

NBC originally had exclusive broadcast rights to the ceremonies, but on January 11, HFPA President Jorge Camara announced there would be no restrictions placed on media outlets covering the January 13 press conference, announcing the winners at 6:00pm PST.^[7] As a result, E!, CNN, the TV Guide Network and KNBC-TV, the network's Los Angeles owned-and-operated affiliate, aired the 31-minute event, emanating from the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel live, leaving NBC to fill the hour from 9:00–10:00pm ET with announcements, made after-the-fact by Access Hollywood hosts Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell.^[8] The remaining hours of programming, set aside for the ceremonies by the network, were filled with a special two-hour edition of Dateline, hosted by Matt Lauer, that included film clips, interviews with some of the nominees and commentary from comedienne Kathy Griffin and the panelists from Football Night in America.

Categories[link]

Motion picture awards[link]

• Best Motion Picture – Drama
• Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
• Best Director
• Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
• Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
• Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
• Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
• Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
• Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
• Best Screenplay
• Best Original Score
• Best Original Song
• Best Foreign Language Film
• Best Animated Feature Film (2006–present)
• Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement in Motion Pictures

Television awards[link]

Awarded since 1956:

• Best Drama Series
• Best Comedy Series
• Best Actor in a Television Drama Series
• Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series
• Best Actress in a Television Drama Series
• Best Actress in a Television Comedy Series
• Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
• Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
• Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
• Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
• Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television

Retired awards[link]

• Best Documentary Film • Last awarded in 1977 at the 34th Golden Globe Awards
• Best English-Language Foreign Film • Awarded from 1957 - 1973
• New Star of the Year – Actor • Last awarded in 1983 at the 40th Golden Globe Awards
• New Star of the Year – Actress • Last awarded in 1983 at the 40th Golden Globe Awards
• Henrietta Award (World Film Favorite – Female) • Awarded from 1950 to 1979^[9]
• Henrietta Award (World Film Favorite – Male) • Awarded from 1950 to 1979
• Best Film Promoting International Understanding (1945–63)^[10]

Superlatives[link]

In acting categories, Meryl Streep holds the record for the most competitive Golden Globe wins with eight. However, including honorary awards, such as the Henrietta Award – World Film Favorite Actor/Actress or Cecil B. DeMille Award – Barbra Streisand leads with 9 awards. Jack Nicholson, Angela Lansbury and Alan Alda have six awards each. Behind them are Rosalind Russell, Sophia Loren and Jessica Lange with five wins. Streep also holds the record for most nominations with twenty-seven (as of the 2012 nominations) and Jack Lemmon is second with twenty-two.

Only four people have won two acting awards in the same year:

• Sigourney Weaver (1989)
  • Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey
  • Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Working Girl
• Joan Plowright (1993)
  • Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Enchanted April
  • Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or TV Film, Stalin
• Helen Mirren (2007)
  • Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, The Queen
  • Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film, Elizabeth I
• Kate Winslet (2009)
  • Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, Revolutionary Road
  • Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, The Reader

Criticism[link]

1968-1974 NBC broadcast ban[link]

The HFPA has had a lucrative contract with NBC for decades,^[11] which began broadcasting the award ceremony locally in Los Angeles in 1958, then nationally in 1964. However, in 1968, the Federal Communications Commission claimed the show “misled the public as to how the winners were determined” (winners were determined by lobby; if winners did not attend the event then another name would be chosen) and admonished NBC for participating in the scandal. Subsequently, NBC refused to broadcast the ceremony from 1968 until after 1974.^[12][13]

Pia Zadora awarded 1981 "Newcomer-of-the-Year"[link]

In 1981, Pia Zadora won a Golden Globe in the category "Newcomer-of-the-Year" for her performance in Butterfly, over such competition as Elizabeth McGovern (Ragtime) and Kathleen Turner (Body Heat).^[14] Accusations were made that the Foreign Press Association members had been bought off.^[15] Zadora's husband, multimillionaire Meshulam Riklis, flew voting members to his casino, the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, which gave the appearance that they voted for Zadora to repay this. Riklis also invited voting members to his house for a lavish lunch and a showing of the film. He also spent a great deal on advertising.^[16] The film had not been released in the U.S. at the time of the awards,^[17] which should have made Zadora ineligible for an award associated with it.^[18] Furthermore, Zadora had made her film debut some 17 years earlier as a child performer in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

[edit] 2011 The Tourist Best Musical/Comedy nominations

The nominations for the 2011 Globes drew initial skepticism, as the Foreign Press Association nominated The Tourist in its Best Musical/Comedy category, despite the critical failures of the film. The skepticism turned to outrage when rumors surfaced that Sony, the distributor of The Tourist had bribed Globes voters with an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas, culminating in a concert by Cher.^[19]

See also[link]

• List of Golden Globe Awards ceremonies
• List of Golden Globe Award winning films
• List of Golden Globe Award winners
• Young Artist Award

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Golden Globes website
• Awards listing at the Internet Movie Database
• Complete Downloadable List of Golden Globe Nominees and Winners

v t e Cinema of the United States Films A–Z of films Films by year Film series Silent films Personnel Actors Animators Cinematographers Critics Directors Editors Producers Score composers Screenwriters Stunt performers Awards and events Academy Awards Directors Guild of America Award Writers Guild of America Award Golden Globes Screen Actors Guild Awards Festivals Theaters Cinema and Theatre Chains Movie theatres Industry by state Alaska Connecticut Florida Georgia Hawaii Louisiana Michigan North Carolina New Hampshire New Mexico Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Virginia Industry by city Atlanta Chicago Cleveland Hollywood Jacksonville Kansas City New York San Diego Miscellaneous Box office Hollywood Production companies AFI's 100 Years... National Film Registry

Globe Award is an international sustainability award which aims at encouraging and promoting the corporate and public sector, individual scientists as well as groups of innovator that have excelled in sustainable development in the world. Globe Award is a not-for-profit organisation with focuses on fostering sustainability in societies. Globe Award’s main goal boils down to inspire actors to take responsibility and act globally through awarding great cases within research, innovations, municipalities and companies.^[1]

The award is handed out in 4 categories: Sustainability Research, Sustainability Innovation, Sustainable City and Sustainability Reporting.^[2]

Globe Award values:[link]

1. Sustainable development

Driving sustainability by recognising and awarding sustainability champions from around the world is crucial. This is about understanding the consequences of nowadays’s activities and believing in global collaboration to reach solutions to safeguard humanity’s welfare today and in the future.

2. Impact

It is significant to create behavioural change through rewording unique solutions that can be implemented in order to make a change.

3. Transparency

The Globe Award jury groups run the selection process equally independently.

4. Innovation

Honouring tomorrow's leaders develops innovative solutions to the world’s sustainability challenges. Innovative business perspectives are considered as well as people, planet and profit.^[3]

The noted and internationally recognized 4 groups of jury consist of experts in sustainability from all over the world. They select one winner in each category independently and on objective grounds. There is the over-all jury chairman who along with the Globe Award secretariat, keeps that the process and selection of applications is obeyed.^[4] Globe Award is an initiative by Globe Forum.^[5]

History[link]

When started in 2007, Globe Award was a Swedish CSR Award. After two years of success in Sweden, Globe Forum decided to go further with Globe Award. Struggling in making a difference and increasing awareness towards sustainable development in all societies, it made sense in creating Globe Award a truly global prize focusing on sustainability, instead of CSR, starting from 2009. The award ceremony takes place annually in Stockholm. The initiative is supported by H.R.H. Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden. Despite the world-wide edition, there was a national edition in Poland. It took place in Gdansk in 2009. The Globe Award Polish Edition was handed out in two categories: Sustainability Innovation and Sustainable City.^[6]

Former winners[link]

2007^[7]

• Best CSR Research - Sustainability Research Group of the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden

• Best CSR Entrepreneur - Scandinavian Biogas, Sweden

• Best CSR Company - SKF, Sweden

2008^[8]

• Best CSR Research - Sustainable Investment Research Platform, SIRP, at Umeå School of Business, Sweden

• Best CSR Entrepreneur - Rehact AB, Sweden. An honorary diploma was given to Umbilical Design AB.

• Best Integration of CSR in Business Operations - Electrolux, Sweden

2009^[9]

• Sustainability Research - Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI),India

• Sustainability Innovation - Tesla Motors, USA

• Sustainable City - Cardiff, UK

• Sustainability Reporting - Novo Nordisk, Denmark

2010^[10]

• Sustainability Research - Antrix Corpoartion ISRO, India

• Sustainability Innovation - MAS Intimates, Sri Lanka

• Sustainable City - Curitiba, Brazil

• Sustainability Reporting - CLP, Hong Kong

Globe Award together with World Bank has been building an independent, global foundation which will be awarding annually outstanding sustainable cases in the world.

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Globe Forum - Companies and corporations with Sustainability reporting can be...". Mynewsdesk. http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/globe_forum/pressrelease/view/companies-and-corporations-with-sustainability-reporting-can-be-nominated-to-win-international-award-481114. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
• "Globe Forum - The World Bank in International Partnership to Create a New Global...". Mynewsdesk. http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/globe_forum/pressrelease/view/the-world-bank-in-international-partnership-to-create-a-new-global-award-for-sustainable-communities-400719. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 
• "Globe Award 2009". Globe Award. http://globeaward.org/assets/images/gallery/2009/thumbs/_DSC3369.jpg. Retrieved 2012-01-07. 

Peter Dinklage
Dinklage in 2012
Born	Peter Hayden Dinklage (1969-06-11) June 11, 1969 (age 43) Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Erica Schmidt (2005–present)

Peter Hayden Dinklage^[1] (born June 11, 1969) is an American film, television and theatre actor.

Since his breakout role in the 2003 film The Station Agent, he has acted in Elf, Underdog, Find Me Guilty, the 2007 film Death at a Funeral and its 2010 remake, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Since 2011 he has starred in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin's series of novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which earned him the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

Early life[link]

Dinklage was born in Morristown, New Jersey,^[2] the son of Diane, an elementary school music teacher, and John Carl Dinklage, a retired insurance salesman.^[3][4] Dinklage was born with achondroplasia.

He grew up in Mendham Township, New Jersey. Dinklage graduated from Delbarton School in Morristown in 1987, pursuing his future in acting, and graduated from Bennington College in 1991.^[5]

Career[link]

Dinklage made his feature debut in the 1995 cult art house film Living in Oblivion playing the role of a frustrated dwarf actor complaining about his clichéd part. Dinklage's breakout role was in the 2003 award-winning film The Station Agent, his first mainstream appearance.^[6] He received Independent Spirit and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Actor for his performance in that film. That same year, he appeared in the direct-to-DVD movie Tiptoes with Gary Oldman. As well as appearing in films, Dinklage has starred multiple times in off-Broadway productions.^[7]

In Elf, Dinklage played a pretentious children's author who beats up Will Ferrell's character after he is unintentionally insulted. In 2005, Dinklage starred in the short-lived CBS science fiction series Threshold and appeared in the Michael Showalter comedy The Baxter as a wedding planner. In 2006, Dinklage appeared in Sidney Lumet's courtroom drama Find Me Guilty, and in episodes of Nip/Tuck. He played himself in one episode of the HBO television series Entourage and was featured on NBC's 30 Rock.

Dinklage also had a role in the 2007 British Death at a Funeral. He plays the same role in the American remake of the film. That same year, he played the villainous Simon Bar Sinister in Underdog.

Dinklage was chosen by director Andrew Adamson for the role of Trumpkin in the 2008 film Prince Caspian^[8] although film critic Bill Gibron described his role as a "cutesy stereotype [Dinklage] has tried to avoid."^[9]

Dinklage starred in the horror comedy Knights of Badassdom,^[10] directed by Joe Lynch.^[11]

Dinklage plays Tyrion Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones, an adaptation of author George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. His performance has received widespread praise,^[12][13] highlighted by his receipt of the Emmy Award^[14] for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2011, as well as the 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. As a result, Dinklage was given top billing in season 2 of Game of Thrones.^[15]

Personal life[link]

Dinklage married Erica Schmidt, a theatre director, in 2005. In 2011, they had their first child, a daughter.^[16]

He is of German and Irish descent.^[17] For high school he attended Delbarton, a prestigious prep-school in Northern New Jersey. When asked about his height in a 2003 interview, he said: "When I was younger, definitely, I let it get to me. As an adolescent, I was bitter and angry and I definitely put up these walls. But the older you get, you realize you just have to have a sense of humor. You just know that it's not your problem. It's theirs."^[7]

Dinklage is a vegetarian and lives with his wife and daughter in upstate New York.^[18]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

• Interview with Peter Dinklage in Delbarton Today

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peter Dinklage

• Peter Dinklage at the Internet Movie Database
• Peter Dinklage at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Interview with Peter Dinklage about The Station Agent
• BBC Movies Interview about The Station Agent
• Peter Dinklage at Emmys.com
• Dan Kois (March 29, 2012). "Peter Dinklage Was Smart to Say No". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/magazine/peter-dinklage-was-smart-to-say-no.html. 

Jim Parsons
Parsons at Comic Con in 2009
Born	James Joseph Parsons (1973-03-24) March 24, 1973 (age 39) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Houston (BA) University of San Diego (MA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1994–present

James Joseph "Jim" Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American television and film actor. He is best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, with his performance often cited as a significant reason for the program's success.^[1][2][3] He has received several awards for his performance, including the Television Critics Association award for the highest individual achievements in comedy,^[4] the National Association of Broadcasters Television Chairman's Award for a significant breakthrough in a specific art discipline,^[5] two consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series^[6] and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy.

Early life[link]

Parsons was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the older of two children.^[7] After playing the role of the Kola-Kola bird in a school production of The Elephant's Child at age six, Parsons was determined to become an actor.^[7][8] The young Parsons was heavily influenced by sitcoms, particularly Three's Company, Family Ties, and The Cosby Show.^[9] He attended Klein Oak High School in Spring, Texas, a northern suburb of Houston. Parsons points to a role in Noises Off during his junior year as the first time "I fully connected with the role I was playing and started to truly understand what it meant to be honest on stage".^[7]

After graduating from high school, Parsons received an undergraduate degree from the University of Houston. He was prolific during this time, appearing in 17 plays in 3 years. He was a founding member of Infernal Bridegroom Productions, and regularly appeared at the Stages Repertory Theatre.^[10] Parsons enrolled in graduate school at the University of San Diego in 1999.^[10] He was one of seven students accepted into a special two-year course in classical theater, taught in partnership with the Old Globe Theater. Program director Rick Seer recalled having reservations about admitting Parsons, saying, "Jim is a very specific personality. He's thoroughly original, which is one reason he's been so successful. But we worried, ‘Does that adapt itself to classical theater, does that adapt itself to the kind of training that we're doing?' But we decided that he was so talented that we would give him a try and see how it worked out."^[11] Parsons enjoyed school, and told an interviewer that he would have pursued a doctorate in acting if possible: "school was so safe!...you frequently would surprise yourself by what you were capable of, and you were not surprised by some things."^[12] Parsons graduated in 2001^[11] and moved to New York.^[10]

Career[link]

In New York, Parsons worked in Off-Broadway productions and made several television appearances. In a much-discussed 2003 Quiznos commercial, Parsons played a man who had been raised by wolves and continued to nurse from his wolf "mother".^[10] He had a recurring role on the television show Judging Amy^[13] and appeared on the television series Ed.^[10] Parsons also had minor roles in several movies, including Garden State and School for Scoundrels.^[14]

Parsons has estimated that he auditioned for between 15 and 30 television pilots, but on many of the occasions when he was cast, the show failed to find a television network willing to purchase it.^[10] The exception came with The Big Bang Theory. After reading the pilot script, Parsons felt that the role of Sheldon Cooper would be a very good fit for him.^[7] Although he did not feel any sort of relationship with the character, he was enchanted by the dialogue structure, the way the writers "brilliantly use those words that most of us don't recognize to create that rhythm. And the rhythm got me. It was the chance to dance through that dialogue, and in a lot of ways still is."^[9]

In his audition, Parsons so impressed series creator Chuck Lorre that Lorre insisted on a second audition to see if Parsons could replicate the performance.^[10] Parsons was cast as Sheldon Cooper, a genius physicist with nonexistent social skills who interacts with his other nerdy friends and the attractive waitress who lives across the hall.^[10] The role requires Parsons to "rattle off line after line of tightly composed, rhythmic dialogue, and then do something with his face or body during the silence that follows."^[10] Parsons credits his University of San Diego training with giving him the tools to break down Sheldon's lines.^[7]

Television critic Andrew Dansby compares Parsons' physical comedy to that of Buster Keaton and other silent film stars. Lorre praises Parsons' instincts, saying that "You can't teach that."^[10] Lorre describes Parsons' "great sense of control over every part of his body, the way he walks, holds his hands, cocks his head, the facial tics" as "inspired".^[14] Reviewer Lewis Beale describes Parsons' performance as "so spot-on, it seems as if the character and the actor are the same person."^[9] Parsons admits that the work is "more effort than I ever thought a sitcom would take. And that's really the fun of it."^[9]

In August 2009, Parsons won the Television Critics Association award for individual achievement in comedy, beating Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, and Neil Patrick Harris.^[9][15] He was nominated for Emmy awards in 2009 and 2010, winning in 2010 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.^[16] In September 2010, Parsons and costars Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco signed new contracts, guaranteeing each of them $200,000 per episode for the fourth season of The Big Bang Theory, with substantial raises for each of the next three seasons. The three were also promised a percentage of the show's earnings.^[17] In January 2011, he won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy (the award was presented by co-star Cuoco).

In 2011, Parsons appeared with Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Steve Martin, and Rashida Jones in the comedy film The Big Year. It was released in October.^[18] That same year, he appeared as the human alter ego of Walter, the newest Muppet introduced in The Muppets.^[19]

On May 18 2012, Parsons began appearing on Broadway as Elwood P. Dowd in a revival of Harvey.^[20][21]

Personal life[link]

Parsons lives in Los Angeles.^[22] In an interview for a New York Times article in May 2012, he said he is gay, having been in a relationship for ten years.^[23][24]

Stage appearances[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)

• The Balcony
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1994) .... Rosencrantz
• La Ronde (1995)
• Endgame (1995) .... Clov (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Marat/Sade (1995) (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Guys and Dolls (1996) .... Rusty Charlie (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Eddie Goes to Poetry City (1996) .... Eddie (New York Theatre)
• Jack and the Future Is In Eggs (1996) .... Father Jack
• Othello (1996) (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Suicide in B-flat (1996) (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Woyzeck (1996) .... Doctor / Horse's Head (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• The Cherry Orchard (1997) .... Yasha, a young man servant (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Chili Queen (1997) .... Buddy (Stages Repertory Theatre, World Premiere)^[25]
• Camino Real (1997) .... Baron (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Last Rites (1997) .... Tiger Clean (Infernal Bridegroom Productions, World Premiere)^[25]
• Threepenny Opera (1998) .... MacHeath (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Below the Belt (1998) .... Dobbitt
• In the Jungle of the Cities (1998) .... J. Finnay (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Tamalalia 3: The Cocktail Party (1998) .... Psychotic psychiatrist (Infernal Bridegroom Productions, World Premiere)^[25]
• King Ubu is King (1998) .... Tom, Mister Nice Guy (Infernal Bridegroom Productions, World Premiere)^[25]
• The Pitchfork Disney (1998) .... Presley Stray (Stages Repertory Theatre)
• Marie and Bruce (1999) .... Herb / Fred / Waiter (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Tamalalia 4: The Camp-Out (1999) (Infernal Bridegroom Productions, World Premiere)^[25]
• Da (2001) (Old Globe Theatre)^[26]
• What Happened Was (2002) .... Jackie (The Paradise Theatre)
• The Castle (2002) .... Jeremiah (Manhattan Ensemble Theatre)^[27]
• Tartuffe (2002) .... Valère (La Jolla Playhouse)^[28]
• The Love for Three Oranges (Gozzi) (2004) .... Prince Tartaglia (La Jolla Playhouse)^[29]
• The Normal Heart (2011) .... Tommy Boatwright (John Golden Theatre)^[30]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Music videos[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Jim Parsons on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons

• Jim Parsons at the Internet Movie Database
• Jim Parsons at AllRovi
• CBS Biography
• Movieline interviews Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons On Learning Lines, Emmy Nods and Cast Ping Pong Deathmatches
• Fresh Air Interview: Jim Parsons On The Science Of Sheldon, 'Big Bang'

Richard Gere
Gere in Venice, 2007
Born	Richard Tiffany Gere (1949-08-31) August 31, 1949 (age 62) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1973–present
Notable work(s)	Pretty Woman, Dr. T & the Women, Chicago, Primal Fear, First Knight
Religion	Buddhist
Spouse	Cindy Crawford (1991–1995) Carey Lowell (2002–present)
Children	Son

Richard Tiffany Gere^[1] ( /ˈɡɪər/ GEER; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. He went on to star in several hit films including An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear, and Chicago, for which he won a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the Best Cast.

Early life[link]

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gere is a descendant of Mayflower Pilgrims Francis Eaton, John Billington, George Soule, Richard Warren, Degory Priest, William Brewster, and Francis Cooke.^[1] His paternal great-grandfather had changed the spelling of the surname from "Geer".^[1] Gere's mother, Doris Ann (née Tiffany, born 1924),^[1] was a homemaker, and his father, Homer George Gere (born 1922),^[1] was an insurance agent for the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and had originally intended to become a minister.^[2] Gere is their eldest son and second child.^[1] In 1967, he graduated from North Syracuse Central High School, where he excelled at gymnastics and music, playing the trumpet.^[2] He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship, majoring in philosophy, but did not graduate, leaving after two years.^[2][3]

Career[link]

Gere first worked professionally at the Provincetown Playhouse on Cape Cod in 1971 where he starred in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. His first major acting role was in the original London stage version of Grease in 1973.^[2] He began appearing in Hollywood films in the mid 1970s, co-starring in the thriller Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and playing the leading role in director Terrence Malick's well-reviewed 1978 film, Days of Heaven.^[2] In 1980, Gere appeared in the Broadway production of Bent. He became a major star that year with the film American Gigolo, followed by the romantic drama An Officer and a Gentleman, which grossed almost $130 million in 1982.^[4]

After 1982, Gere's career experienced several box office failures^[5][6] until it strengthened with the release of both Internal Affairs and Pretty Woman in 1990. Gere's status as a leading man solidified and he went on to star in several successful films throughout the 1990s, including Sommersby (1993), Primal Fear (1996), and Runaway Bride (1999) which reunited him with his Pretty Woman co-star Julia Roberts.^[5] Richard also took a leading role in the 1997 action movie The Jackal, playing Declan Mulqueen.

People magazine named Gere the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1999. In 2002, he appeared in three major releases: the horror thriller The Mothman Prophecies, the drama Unfaithful, and the Academy Award-winning film version of Chicago,^[2] for which he won a Golden Globe as "Best Actor – Comedy or Musical". Gere's 2004 ballroom dancing drama Shall We Dance? was also a solid performer that grossed $170 million worldwide^[7] though his next film, 2005's Bee Season, was a commercial failure.^[8]

Gere was Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals' "Man of the Year" for 2006. In 2007, he co-starred with Jesse Eisenberg and Terrence Howard in The Hunting Party, a comic thriller in which he played a journalist in Bosnia. The same year he also starred with Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Cate Blanchett in Todd Haynes' semi-biographical film about Bob Dylan, I'm Not There.

Gere co-starred with Diane Lane in the romantic drama Nights in Rodanthe, released in 2008. The film was widely panned by critics^[9] (even making #74 on The Times Worst Films of 2008 list),^[10] but grossed over $84 million worldwide.^[11]

In December 2010, Gere was honored for his lifetime achievement from the 34th Cairo International Film Festival.^[12]

In 2012, Gere was the 67th recipient of The George Eastman Award for distinguished contribution to the art of film for his distinguished acting career as well as his global humanitarian leadership.

Personal life and activism[link]

Gere presented with a Khata by the 14th Dalai Lama

Gere was married to supermodel Cindy Crawford from 1991 to 1995. In 2002, he married model and actress Carey Lowell. They have a son, Homer James Jigme Gere, who was born in 2000 and is named after Gere's father.^[2]

Gere was raised by Methodist parents;^[13] his interest in Buddhism began when in his twenties.^[14] Gere first studied Zen Buddhism^[14] under Kyozan Joshu Sasaki.^[14] After having studied Zen for five or six years,^[14] Gere traveled to Nepal in 1978 with the Brazilian painter, Sylvia Martins^[15] where he met many Tibetan monks and lamas.^[15] He then met the 14th Dalai Lama in India^[14] and became a practicing Buddhist of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism^[14] and an active supporter of the Dalai Lama.^[2] Gere visits Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, regularly.^[16]

Gere is also a persistent advocate for human rights in Tibet; he is a co-founder of the Tibet House, creator of The Gere Foundation, and he is Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet. Because he strongly supports the Tibetan Independence Movement, he is permanently banned from entering the People's Republic of China.^[17][18] Gere was banned as an Academy Award presenter in 1993 after he denounced the Chinese government in his capacity as presenter.^[19][20] In September 2007, Gere called for the boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to put pressure on China to make Tibet independent. He starred in Free Tibet-themed Lancia commercial featuring the Lancia Delta.^[21] On June 27, 2011 Richard Gere meditated in Borobudur temple.^[22]

Gere Visits USAID HIV / AIDS "Operation Lighthouse" Project In Mumbai, as part of USAID.

Richard Gere actively supports Survival International, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights and lands of tribal peoples throughout the world.^[15] He contributed some of his writing for the book, We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples, released in October 2009.^[23] Richard Gere discusses the persecution and loss of land of the Jummas, as an example of a tragic story that repeats itself in different continents of the world. He calls attention to the crime against their peaceful culture and how it reflects on our own relationship with nature and capacity to survive.^[24] The royalties from the sale of this book go to the indigenous rights organization, Survival International.