Miranda Otto
Otto at InStyle Women Of Style Awards: Red Carpet 2012
Born	(1967-12-16) 16 December 1967 (age 44) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Peter O'Brien (m. 2003–present)

Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. The daughter of actors Lindsay and Barry Otto and the sister of actress Gracie Otto, she began acting at age eighteen, and has performed in a variety of independent and major studio films.

Her first major film appearance was in the 1986 film Emma's War, in which she played a teenager who moves to Australia's bush country during World War II. After a decade of critically acclaimed roles in Australian films, she gained Hollywood's attention after appearing in supporting roles in The Thin Red Line (1998) and What Lies Beneath (2000). Her breakthrough role came in 2002, when she portrayed Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. More recent work includes a starring role in the 2008 now-cancelled American television series Cashmere Mafia, and Australian films such as In Her Skin and Blessed (2009).

Early life[link]

Otto was born in Brisbane to stage and film actor Barry Otto and former actress Lindsay Otto (who retired from acting upon Miranda Otto's birth). Gracie Otto, Miranda's half-sister, is also an actress.^[1] Otto was raised in Newcastle and Brisbane, and briefly resided in Hong Kong following her parents' separation in 1973.^[2] She spent weekends and holidays with her father in Sydney and developed an interest in acting through him.^[3]

In her childhood, Otto and her friends wrote scripts and designed costumes and flyers in their spare time.^[4] She appeared in several plays at the Nimrod Theatre, which attracted the attention of casting director Faith Martin. Subsequently, Otto received a role in the 1986 World War II drama Emma's War.^[3] As a teenager, Otto excelled in academics and in ballet, which she considered as a career option.^[5] However, she had to abandon this goal due to moderate scoliosis.^[2] Otto graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney in 1990.^[6] Prior to graduation, she appeared in minor film roles including Initiation (1987) and The 13th Floor (1988).^[7]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Otto's first post-graduation film role in 1991, as Nell Tiscowitz in The Girl Who Came Late, was her breakthrough role, which brought her to the attention of the Australian film industry and the general public. In the film, directed by Kathy Mueller, she starred as a young woman who could communicate with horses. Her appearance garnered Otto her first Australian Film Institute nomination for "Best Actress" the following year.^[8]

Otto's next role was in the film The Last Days of Chez Nous, which portrayed the complex relationships between the members of an Australian family. The film earned Otto her second Australian Film Institute nomination, this time for "Best Supporting Actress".^[8] In 1993, Otto co-starred with Noah Taylor in the sexually provocative comedy film The Nostradamus Kid, which was based on the memories of author Bob Ellis during the 1960s. Otto was drawn to the film because she was "fascinated by the period and the people who came out of it."^[9] A small role in the independent film Sex Is a Four Letter Word followed in 1995.^[7]

In 1995, Otto began to doubt her career choice as she failed to get the parts for which she auditioned.^[6] She fled to her home in Newcastle for almost a year, during which she painted her mother's house.^[6] In 1996, director Shirley Barrett cast Otto as a shy waitress in the film Love Serenade. She played Dimity Hurley, a lonely young woman, who competes with her older sister Vicki-Ann for the attention of a famous DJ from Brisbane. The film was met with positive reviews and Otto's performance was praised: Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews felt that Otto's performance was "the most interesting and funniest" of the film.^[10]

Otto's first starring roles were in the 1997 films The Well and Doing Time for Patsy Cline. When Otto received the film script for The Well, she refused to read it, fearing that she would not get the part. Otto believed that she could not convincingly play the role of Katherine, who is supposed to be eighteen, as she was thirty years old at the time.^[6] The film, directed by Samantha Lang, starred Otto as a teenager involved in a claustrophobic relationship with a lonely older woman. The Well received mixed reviews; critic Paul Fisher wrote that Otto's performance was not "convincing" as she was "playing another repetitious character about whom little is revealed", while Louise Keller stated that Otto had delivered "her best screen performance yet."^[11] Otto earned her third Australian Film Institute nomination for the film.^[8] Later that year, she co-starred with Richard Roxburgh in the drama Doing Time for Patsy Cline. The low-budget Australian film required Otto to perform country music standards and also received mixed reviews from film critics.^[12]

Soon after the release of The Well and Doing Time for Patsy Cline, magazines and other media outlets were eager to profile the actress. In 1997, Otto began dating her Doing Time for Patsy Cline co-star Richard Roxburgh. Her involvement with Roxburgh made her a regular subject of Australian tabloid magazines and media at the time, a role to which she was unaccustomed.^[13]

Otto's next project was the romantic comedy Dead Letter Office (1998). The film was Otto's first with her father, Barry, who makes a brief appearance. In the Winter Dark, directed by James Bogle, followed later that year. Otto played Ronnie, a pregnant woman recently abandoned by her boyfriend. The film was a critical success in Australia, and Otto was nominated for her fourth Australian Film Institute Award.^[8] A small role in the big-budget World War II film The Thin Red Line, starring George Clooney and Sean Penn, led to further film roles outside of Australia,^[8] such as in Italy, where she co-starred as Ruth in the low-budget Italian film La volpe a tre zampe ("The Three-legged Fox"), produced in 2001 and broadcasted for the first time on Italian television in March 2009.

Hollywood[link]

Otto's first Hollywood role was opposite Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer in the suspense thriller What Lies Beneath in 2000. She played Mary Feur, a mysterious next-door neighbor. The film was met with mixed reviews, but was an international success, grossing US$291 million.^[14] In 2001, Otto was cast as a naturalist in the comedy Human Nature. Writer Charlie Kaufman, impressed by her audition two years earlier for his film Being John Malkovich, arranged for Otto to audition and meet with the film's director Michel Gondry.^[15] Human Nature was both a commercial and critical disappointment.^[16] Critic Jeffrey M. Anderson criticized Otto's French accent and wrote that she "doesn't seem to mesh with what's going on around her".^[17] That same year, she also appeared in the BBC adaptation of Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now, as a strong-willed American Southerner determined to manipulate Cillian Murphy into marrying her.

In 1999, Otto was cast as Éowyn, a shieldmaiden of Rohan, in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Director Peter Jackson cast her immediately after viewing the audition video she had filmed in Australia.^[18] For the role, Otto spent six weeks learning stunt choreography and horseback riding.^[19] Otto's character was introduced in the trilogy's second film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in 2002 and appeared in the third film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the following year. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was a critical and financial success, and the third film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2004.^[20] Otto's performance earned her an Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films nomination for Best Supporting Actress.^[21]

Otto's next project was the Australian television miniseries Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story (2004). The film is a drama that portrays the story of Lindy Chamberlain, who was convicted (in 1982) of killing her baby daughter, Azaria, in one of Australia's most publicized murder trials. Otto was cast as Chamberlain after her husband, Peter O'Brien, had been cast as prosecutor Ian Barker. She was drawn to the role because it provided her with the "prospect of exploring an unconventional character."^[22] At the 2005 Logie Awards, Otto won "Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series" for her role.^[21]

Director Steven Spielberg, impressed by Otto's performance in The Lord of the Rings, called her to ask if she would play opposite Tom Cruise in the big-budget science fiction film War of the Worlds (2005). Otto, pregnant at the time, believed she would have to turn down the role, but the script was reworked to accommodate her.^[1] After the birth of her daughter in 2005, Otto took a rest from films to concentrate on motherhood and theatre roles in Australia.^[1]

In 2007, Otto starred as Cricket Stewart, the wife of a successful director, in the television miniseries The Starter Wife.^[23] That same year, she was cast in the American television series Cashmere Mafia. In the series she plays Juliet Draper, a successful female executive who must rely on her friends to juggle the demands of a career and family in New York City.^[24] Otto chose to star in the series because "American television at the moment is so interesting and, particularly, the characters for women are so fantastic" and she "liked the idea of having a character over a long period of time and developing it."^[25] The series was cancelled in May 2008.^[26]

Theatre[link]

Otto made her theatrical debut in the 1986 production of The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant for the Sydney Theatre Company.^[27] Three more theatrical productions for the Sydney Theatre Company followed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 2002, she returned to the stage playing Nora Helmer in A Doll's House opposite her future husband Peter O'Brien. Otto's performance earned her a 2003 Helpmann Award nomination and the MO Award for "Best Female Actor in a Play".^[28]

Her next theatre role was in the psychological thriller Boy Gets Girl (2005), in which she played Theresa, a journalist for a New York magazine. Otto committed to the project days before she found out she was pregnant. Robyn Nevin, the director, rescheduled the production from December 2004 to September 2005 so Otto could appear in it.^[1] In 2005, Nevin began pre-production on a play that she commissioned especially for Otto.^[1]

Personal life[link]

On 1 January 2003, she married actor Peter O'Brien, after the two had met while performing in A Doll's House.^[29] Otto and O'Brien have one child, a daughter Darcey, who was born on 1 April 2005. The pregnancy almost forced her to turn down her role in War of the Worlds. Since the birth of her daughter, Otto has limited her work so she can spend time with her family at their home in Australia.^[2]

In a 2004 interview, Otto stated that she hopes she will never be as famous as fellow Australian actress Nicole Kidman because she's "not sure [she] could ever deal with that."^[30]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Miranda Otto

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Miranda Otto

• Miranda Otto at the Internet Movie Database

Karl Urban
Urban at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010.
Born	Karl-Heinz Urban (1972-06-07) 7 June 1972 (age 40) Wellington, New Zealand
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1990–present

Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June,^[1][2] 1972) is a New Zealand actor.

He is known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the 2009 film Star Trek and Caesar on Xena: Warrior Princess. He played Vaako in The Chronicles of Riddick, the Russian assassin Kirill in The Bourne Supremacy, and Ghost in Pathfinder and won acclaim for his performances in New Zealand films The Price of Milk and Out of the Blue.

Early life[link]

Urban was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His father, a German immigrant, owned a leather goods store, and his mother once worked for Film Facilities in Wellington, through which the young Urban was exposed to classic New Zealand cinema and developed an interest in the film industry.^[3] Urban attended St Mark's Church School, where he showed an early love for public performance. His first acting role came at age eight, when he had a single line in one episode of the New Zealand television series 'Pioneer Woman'. Though continuing to take part in school stage productions, he did not act professionally again until after high school.

He attended Wellington College from 1986–1990, then Victoria University of Wellington in the Bachelor of Arts programme for one year, but left to pursue his acting career. Over the next few years, he landed several theatre roles in the Wellington area, and eventually he moved to Auckland, where he was offered many guest roles in local shows (one of which was playing a heroin addict in the police drama Shark in the Park). The role which launched him to local fame was that of gay paramedic Jamie Forrest in the hit New Zealand TV series Shortland Street. He appeared on the show for the 1993–1994 season.

Urban then moved to Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia in 1995, returning to New Zealand the following year.^[4]

Career[link]

New Zealand roles[link]

As well as appearing in films and television shows, Urban had various roles in theatre productions and TV advertisements. In February/March 1998, he was in a play called The Herbal Bed at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland. In August 1998, he played Mark Antony in Auckland Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The following year he starred in the Auckland Theatre Company's production of the New Zealand classic Foreskin's Lament.

Urban was seen on the internationally syndicated American TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and on its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess, in which he played the recurring roles of both Cupid and Julius Caesar from 1996 to 2001. Both shows were filmed in New Zealand. In 2001 he appeared in the offbeat rural romance The Price of Milk, for which he received his first nomination at the New Zealand Qantas Film and Television Awards. Urban later won acclaim for his portrayal of policeman Nick Harvey in Out of the Blue, a dramatisation of New Zealand's Aramoana massacre, for which he won the Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2008.

International roles[link]

Urban's first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship. Since then, he has worked on many high-profile movies, including the second and third installments of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Two Towers and The Return of the King), The Bourne Supremacy, The Chronicles of Riddick and Star Trek.

The Hollywood Reporter speculated that Urban was one of several actors being considered for the part of British secret service agent 007 in Casino Royale, directed by fellow New Zealander Martin Campbell.^[5] The role eventually went to Daniel Craig.

Urban at the premiere of Peter Jackson's King Kong in Wellington, New Zealand

Urban played John "Reaper" Grimm in Universal Pictures' Doom (based on the classic first-person shooter video game Doom), which was released on 21 October 2005. In 2007 he starred in the Viking adventure Pathfinder. A longtime fan of Westerns,^[6] Urban appeared as Woodrow Call in Comanche Moon, the CBS miniseries prequel to Lonesome Dove, in January 2008.

In 2009, he played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, a role famously originated by DeForest Kelley, in the eleventh Star Trek film.^{[7][8][9][10]} A fan of the Star Trek franchise since childhood, Urban actively pursued a role in the film.^[11] His performance was widely embraced by the Star Trek fan community for its faithfulness to the spirit of Kelley's McCoy.^[12]

In 2009, Urban appeared as himself in the documentary film Reclaiming the Blade, discussing his sword-wielding experience in films such as The Lord of the Rings.^[13]

Urban next appeared as CIA agent William Cooper in RED, adapted from the DC Comics graphic novel of the same name and co-starring Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren.^[14] He portrayed Black Hat, a villainous priest-turned-vampire, in the film adaption of the Korean manhwa Priest, released in 3-D in 2011.^[15]

In July 2010, Urban was cast as law-enforcing comic book hero Judge Dredd for the upcoming film entitled Dredd. In an interview with Shave Magazine, Urban described it as a "high-octane, action-fueled film... about the day in the life of Dredd." The film is directed by Pete Travis, with a script by Alex Garland.^[16]

Urban is currently filming the ensemble thriller Loft, a remake of the Belgian film of the same name. Filmed in New Orleans and Belgium, it is helmed by the director of the 2008 original, Erik Van Looy.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Urban married Natalie Wihongi (who was his makeup artist on The Privateers)^[18] in September 2004. Together they have two sons: Hunter, born November 2000, and Indiana ('Indy'), born January 2005^[19] and named for the eponymous hero of the Indiana Jones franchise,^[20] which Urban has cited as among his favorite films.^[21] They live in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Herne Bay.^{[citation needed]}

Urban serves as a celebrity ambassador for KidsCan, a charity which currently supports over 16,000 disadvantaged children all over New Zealand by providing them with essentials such as food, coats and shoes.^[22]

He is an avid fan of rugby union; in particular, the New Zealand All Blacks national team.^[23]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Karl Urban

• Karl Urban at the Internet Movie Database
• Karl Urban at AllRovi
• Karl Urban at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Karl Urban Interview at www.sci-fi-online.com

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2009)

Barry Otto
Born	1941 (age 70–71) Brisbane, Queensland
Occupation	Actor

Barry Otto (born 1941) is an Australian actor with a long list of memorable roles on stage and in film. Otto received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in Strictly Ballroom as well as being nominated for Bliss, Cosi and The More Things Change.... He is the father of actresses Gracie Otto and Miranda Otto.

Otto is also a keen amateur artist, often painting members of his family, and has twice entered the Archibald Prize.^[1]

Filmography[link]

• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) as Echidna (voice)
• South Solitary (2010)
• Newcastle (2008)
• Australia (2008)
• $9.99 (2008) as Albert (voice)
• Love's Brother (2004)
• The Visitor (2002)
• I Love Rachel (1997)
• Mr. Nice Guy (1997 film) as Baggio
• Oscar and Lucinda (1997)
• Cosi (1996)
• Exile (1994)
• Strictly Ballroom (1992)
• The Punisher (1989) (As Shake)
• The More Things Change... (1986)
• Bliss (1985)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Barry Otto at the Internet Movie Database

This article about an Australian actor or actress is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010)

Otto Peter (born 1931) is a Swiss classical baritone. He studied with the composer Paul Hindemith, the Swiss violinist of Czech origin Petr Rybář, and singers Margherita Perras and Heinz Rehfuss. He became famous as an interpreter of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and performed frequently with the Zürich Bach Choir (Zürcher Bach Chor).^[1] He was particularly active in Prague during the 1960s and 1970s where he worked frequently with the Prague Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and Ars Rediviva.^[2] With the PSO he made recordings of the Johannes Passion and the St Matthew Passion under conductor Jindřich Rohan. He also recorded several Bach cantatas with Ars Rediviva under the baton of Milan Munclinger.

Recordings[link]

• Heinrich Schütz: Saint Luke Passion, SWV 480 – Otto Peter (Baritone), Günther Ess (Tenor), Helen Ess (Soprano), Georg Jelden (Tenor), Hans Georg Fehr (Bass); Singkreis der Engadiner Kantorei Zürich Hannes Reimann (Conductor). Label: Cantate 57622

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Croucher, Trevor, Early music discography: from plainsong to the sons of Bach, Volume 1, Oryx Press, 1981. ISBN 0-85365-613-4, ISBN 978-0-85365-613-5
• Schweizerische Musikzeitung: Revue musicale suisse, Volume 109, Gesellschaft Schweizerische Musikzeitung, 1969, p. 48
• (Czech) Československý hudební slovník osob a institucí, II. Praha: State Music Publishing. 1965. 

• (Czech) Kozák, Jan (1964). Českoslovenští hudební umělci a komorní soubory. Praha: State Music Publishing. pp. 427, 454, 479. 

External links[link]

• František Sláma Archive
• Ars Rediviva Discography
• In rehearsal with Otto Peter (J.S.Bach, Amore traditore, Aria Chi in amore ha nemica la sorte) and František Sláma on Otto Peter. Dedicated to the memory of the Swiss singer and composer
• Milan Munclinger 1923-1986: Documents
• (Czech) Czech Radio: Otto Peter's recordings

This article about a Swiss opera singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Paul Mac
Background information
Birth name	Paul Francis McDermott
Origin	Sydney, Australia
Genres	Electro-pop, Electronica
Occupations	Musician
Years active	1996–present

Paul Mac (born Paul Francis McDermott)^[1] is a musician, producer and music remixer from Sydney, Australia. He was classically trained at Sydney's Conservatorium of Music. Paul Mac formed the bands Smash Mac Mac, Itch-e And Scratch-e, BooBoo, Mace, & Nutcase (a successor to Itch-e And Scratch-e, made up of the same 3 band members), The Lab, and The Dissociatives, as well as releasing two records under his own name. He has also played with Severed Heads and Silverchair.

Mac has produced remixes for Silverchair, Powderfinger, The Mark of Cain, Grinspoon, The Cruel Sea, INXS and Placebo. He has also done soundtrack work for Baz Luhrmann and on the films Head On and Sample People. He also worked as musical director on the Australian TV show Good News Week and has composed music for several programmes for the ABC including The Ferals, Big Square Eye, The Reading, Writing Roadshow, The Afternoon Show, EC Plays Lift Off and TVTV.

Mac is not to be confused with Paul McDermott, an Australian comedian and host of Good News Week—although Mac co-wrote and produced the single "Shut Up/Kiss Me" for the other McDermott and Fiona Horne. He is also not to be confused with the UK techno DJ and producer Paul Mac (alias of Paul Souter).

Mac was part of Silverchair's touring band and helped record piano parts for their last album, Young Modern.

Solo discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 3000 Feet High (album, Eleven/EMI, 6 August 2001) - "Above The Clouds", "Just The Thing", "See You Much Later", "The Sound Of Breaking Up", "Gonna Miss You", "Heatseeking Pleasure Machine", "Set You Free", "Stay", "Post Jesus", "Everywhere I Go", "Rave Goodbye", "Disconnected" ... AUS#29
• 3000 Feet High double pack - bonus CD track "Mac's Megalong Mix"*Panic Room (17 October 2005) - "Panic Room", "It's Not Me, It's You, "Sunshine Eyes (Album Version)", "Love Declaration", "Never Been Before", "Heaven Where You Find It", "As Long As I Am", "All We Really Want", "Slow Down Time", "The Beginning Of The End Of Time" ... AUS#39
• Panic Room - double pack - bonus remixes CD (Renovations Disc) (17 October 2005)

Singles[link]

• "Heatseeking Pleasure Machine" feat. Tex Perkins (single release, 26 February 2001)
• "Just The Thing" feat. Peta Morris (single release, 4 June 2001) AUS#17
• "The Sound Of Breaking Up" feat. Peta Morris (single release, 29 October 2001) AUS#25
• "Gonna Miss You" feat. Abby Dobson (single, 18 March 2002)
• "Stay" feat. Jacqui Hunt (single, 5 August 2002)
• "Sunshine Eyes" (single, 25 September 2005) AUS#27
• "It's Not Me, It's You" feat. Ngaiire (Airplay Promo Only - B-side on "Love Declaration"))
• "Love Declaration" feat. Aaradhna (Aaradhna went on to appear on the Savage track "They Don't Know") (single release, 2006) AUS#31
• "The Only One" feat. Bertie Blackman (radio promo single, February 2008)

Apple Influence[link]

The album Panic Room is a feature of the iTunes Music Store Essentials with many singles featuring as a part of the AppleCare Technical Support music on hold.

References[link]

1. ^ ""Sunshine Eyes" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/worksearch.axd?q=Sunshine%20Eyes. Retrieved 5 May 2010. 

External links[link]

• Paul Mac home page