Nicholas Hoult
Hoult in 2010
Born	Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (1989-12-07) 7 December 1989 (age 22) Wokingham, England, UK
Occupation	Actor, Model
Years active	1996–present

Nicholas Caradoc Hoult^[1] (born 7 December 1989)^[2][3][4] is an English actor, best known for playing Marcus Brewer in the 2002 film About a Boy, Tony Stonem in the E4, BAFTA-winning television series Skins, and Hank Mccoy/Beast in the X-Men prequel, X-Men: First Class.

Early life[link]

Hoult was born in Wokingham, Berkshire, the third of four children of Glenis (née Brown), a piano teacher, and Roger Hoult, a pilot for British Airways.^[1][5][6] His siblings are Clarista, James and Rosie, and his great aunt was actress Dame Anna Neagle.^[6]

Career[link]

Hoult was first spotted at the age of three, sitting in the audience with his mother at a play. The director noticed and suggested that he should try out for one.^[7] He attended Ranelagh School, made his professional debut in the 1996 film Intimate Relations (at the age of 7), and worked mainly in television, until the success of About a Boy, in which he plays Marcus.

While at sixth form, he gained a lead role as Tony Stonem in the first two series of E4 drama Skins. Hoult was nominated for a Walkers Home Grown Talent Award ^[8] and won the Monte Carlo TV Festival Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series ^[9] for the role.

For his ongoing charity work with Christian Aid, Hoult was entered into the 'National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children' Hall of Fame in 2007.^[10]

In 2009, Hoult, at the age of 19, appeared in the Tom Ford movie A Single Man, alongside Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.

Hoult replaces Jon Kortajarena as the face of Tom Ford eyewear for the spring 2010 collection.^[11]

In 2010, Hoult was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star award, the only award to be voted by the British public.^[12]

He has appeared in the video to The Midnight Beast song Lez Be Friends.^[13] He also voices 'Elliot' in the video game, Fable III.^[14]

On 8 July 2010, it became public that he had been cast in the role of Beast in the X-Men spin-off, X-Men: First Class, directed by Matthew Vaughn.^[15] MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of the 'Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011'.^[16]

In February 2011, at the age of 21, Hoult was offered the lead role in Jack the Giant Killer.^[17] He filmed the project later that year, and also began work on the teen film Warm Bodies, with Teresa Palmer. Both films are scheduled for a summer 2013 release.

It is rumored that Hoult will be returning as Tony Stonem for the last series of Skins, scheduled to air in 2013.^[18]

Personal life[link]

Hoult has been dating American actress Jennifer Lawrence since 2011.^[19][20][21]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nicholas Hoult

• Nicholas Hoult at the Internet Movie Database
• About a Boy interview with Hoult

This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (March 2012)

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Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro in September 2011.
Born	Guillermo del Toro (1964-10-09) October 9, 1964 (age 47) Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Residence	Agoura Hills, California, United States
Nationality	Mexican
Occupation	Director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1984–present
Spouse	Lorenza Newton (?-present)

Guillermo del Toro (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡiˈʎermo ðel ˈtoɾo]; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones. His films draw heavily on sources as diverse as weird fiction, fantasy and war.

Early life[link]

Del Toro was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He was raised in a strict Catholic household.^[1] Del Toro studied at the Centro de Investigación y Estudios Cinematográficos, in Guadalajara.^[2] He first got involved in filmmaking when he was about eight years old and studied special effects and make-up with SFX artist Dick Smith.^[3] Del Toro participated in the cult series La Hora Marcada with other renowned Mexican filmmakers such as Emmanuel Lubezki and Alfonso Cuarón.

He spent ten years as a special effects make-up designer and formed his own company, Necropia. He also co-founded the Guadalajara International Film Festival. Later on in his directing career, he formed his own production company, the Tequila Gang.

In 1998, at the age of 34, Guillermo was given a $30 million budget from Miramax studios to shoot his second film, Mimic. During this time, his father, automotive entrepreneur Federico del Toro, was kidnapped in Guadalajara, Mexico. Although Federico was eventually released safely, there was intense economic pressure from his captors, to the point that del Toro's family had to pay twice the amount originally asked. The event prompted Del Toro, his parents and his siblings to move abroad. In an interview with Time magazine, he said this about the kidnapping of his father: "Every day, every week, something happens that reminds me that I am in involuntary exile [from my country]."^[4][5]

Career[link]

Guillermo del Toro has directed a wide variety of films, from action hero comic book adaptations (Blade II, Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army) to historical fantasy and horror films, two of which are set in Spain in the context of the Spanish Civil War under the authoritarian rule of Francisco Franco. These two films, El Espinazo Del Diablo (The Devil's Backbone) and El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth), are among his most critically acclaimed works. They share similar settings, protagonists (young children), and themes (including the relationship between fantasy/horror and the struggle to live under authoritarian or dictatorial rule) with the 1973 Spanish film The Spirit of the Beehive, widely considered to be the finest Spanish film of the 1970s.^[6]

Del Toro views the horror genre as inherently political, explaining, "Much like fairy tales, there are two facets of horror. One is pro-institution, which is the most reprehensible type of fairy tale: Don't wander into the woods, and always obey your parents. The other type of fairy tale is completely anarchic and antiestablishment."^[5]

He is close friends with two other prominent and critically praised Mexican filmmakers, Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu.^[7] The three often influence each other's directorial decisions, and have been interviewed together by Charlie Rose. Cuarón was one of the producers of Pan's Labyrinth. After Blade II, Del Toro turned down many directing jobs for other films to do some of his other projects, he turned down directing jobs for Blade: Trinity and Resident Evil: Apocalypse to write/direct Hellboy. He also turned down The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to do Pan's Labyrinth, for which he also received a Nebula Award for Best Script. He also turned down Resident Evil: Extinction, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Halo to do Hellboy II: The Golden Army. ^[8]

Del Toro has also contributed to the web series Trailers From Hell.^[9]

On December 9, 2010, Guillermo del Toro launched Mirada with partners Guillermo Navarro (his long-time cinematographer), director Mathew Cullen and Executive Producer Javier Jimenez. Mirada was formed in Los Angeles, CA to be a collaborative space where they and other filmmakers can work with Mirada’s artists to create and produce projects that span digital production and content for film, television, advertising, interactive and other media. Mirada launched as a sister company to production company Motion Theory.^[10]

Future projects[link]

In April 2008, Del Toro was hired to direct the live action film adaptation of The Hobbit. On May 30, 2010, Del Toro stepped down from the project due to an extended delay brought on by MGM's financial troubles. Although he removed himself from directing the film, he continued co-writing the screenplays.^[11]

Del Toro is scheduled to direct four films for Universal; Frankenstein; a remake of Slaughterhouse-Five; and Drood, an adaptation of a Dan Simmons novel published in February 2009.^[12] Drood was expected to be his first project after the two films set in Middle-earth. These projects would have filled up his schedule until 2017.^[13] Part of the Universal deal entails continuing research and development for the creatures in At the Mountains of Madness.^[14] In June 2009, Del Toro said he would only direct Frankenstein .^[15] Del Toro is also in the early stages of development of Saturn and the End of Days.^[16]

Del Toro said his Frankenstein would be a faithful "Miltonian tragedy", citing Frank Darabont's "near perfect" script, which evolved into Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein.^[17] Del Toro said of his vision, "What I’m trying to do is take the myth and do something with it, but combining elements of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein without making it just a classical myth of the monster. The best moments in my mind of Frankenstein, of the novel, are yet to be filmed [...] The only guy that has ever nailed for me the emptiness, not the tragic, not the Miltonian dimension of the monster, but the emptiness is Christopher Lee in the Hammer films, where he really looks like something obscenely alive. Boris Karloff has the tragedy element nailed down but there are so many versions, including that great screenplay by Frank Darabont that was ultimately not really filmed."^[18] He has also cited Bernie Wrightson's illustrations as inspiration, and said the film will not focus on the monster's creation, but be an adventure film featuring the character.^[19] Del Toro said he would like Wrightson to design his version of the creature. The film will also focus on the religious aspects of Shelley's tale.^[20] Del Toro has stated that production on Frankenstein most likely will not begin for at least four years.^[21] Despite this, he has already cast frequent collaborator Doug Jones in the role of Frankenstein's monster. In an interview with Sci Fi Wire, Jones stated that he learned of the news the same day as everybody else; that "Guillermo did say to the press that he’s already cast me as his monster, but we’ve yet to talk about it. But in his mind, if that’s what he’s decided, then it's done ... It would be a dream come true."^[22] The film will be a period piece.^[23]

He has also expressed interest in video games after the Hobbit project, and hopes to be able to create a "Citizen Kane of games."^[24] In an MTV News interview in late July 2010, he further clarified that his video game ambitions were a reality, stating that: "One of the things we're announcing in the next few weeks is a big deal with a big company. We're going to do games that are going to be technically and narratively very interesting. It's not a development deal. We're going to do it. We're doing them. And we're going to announce it soon enough."^[25]

As of September 11, 2009 it has been made known that Guillermo del Toro has signed on with The Walt Disney Company to create a new label known as Disney Double Dare You. This new label will seek to create family friendly, all-ages animated projects that still manage to thrill and frighten.^[26] But as of 2012 it is not known if he's still involved with Disney as he currently moved on to DreamWorks Animation since 2010.

In June 2010 news came that Del Toro would be writing and producing a brand new take on the story of Van Helsing. There is no word yet on if he will direct or not.^[27]

At Comic Con 2010, del Toro made the surprise announcement that he will co-write, produce, and likely direct a 3D remake of The Haunted Mansion for Disney. Del Toro says the film will stray away from the comedic nature of the 2003 film and will revolve around the Hatbox Ghost from the ride.^[28]

On 28 July 2010 it was announced that he would direct At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft for Universal Pictures, with James Cameron as producer. The movie was originally set up as a project at DreamWorks in 2004.^[29] Just a month earlier, del Toro said that the Lovecraft adaptation probably wouldn't happen at all; "It doesn't look like I can do it. It's very difficult for the studios to take the step of doing a period-set, R-rated, tentpole movie with a tough ending and no love story. Lovecraft has a readership as big as any best-seller, but it's tough to quantify because his works are in the public domain." Not long after, he was approached by Cameron who asked him if he still wanted to do the movie. When del Toro confirmed he did, Cameron said “Let’s do it.” Both of them put forward the idea for Universal, which then greenlighted it.^[30] Earlier the same year, del Toro also asked S. T. Joshi if he wanted to be a consultant if and when the movie got into motion.^[31] It was rumored that del Toro was approached to direct the new Godzilla movie produced by Legendary Pictures, which he later denied.

Mountains of Madness did not receive the greenlight by Universal Studios, so del Toro's next directorial effort will be the giant monster film Pacific Rim, based on a screenplay by Travis Beacham, which was mistakenly rumored to be the basis for Legendary Pictures' Godzilla reboot, which del Toro was rumored to have been was approached to direct but later denied. Del Toro described the monsters in the film to be "Huge". The film involves giant monsters traveling through a vortex in the pacific rim where they attack major cities and humans must battle them by using mecha suits called Jaegers. He comments,"This is my most un-modest film, this has everything. The scale is enormous and I'm just a big kid having fun."^[32]

Guillermo del Toro has also acquired the rights to produce the movie adaption of David Moody's novel "Hater"

On 18th August 2011 it was announced del Toro is going to be developing a new film version of Beauty and the Beast, with Emma Watson in mind to star. Crazy, Stupid, Love producer Denise Di Novi confirmed the filmmaker’s involvement, and said that she would be co-producing the movie with him.^[33]

On June 2, 2009 Del Toro released his debut novel, The Strain, which he co-authored with Chuck Hogan. It is the first part of a vampire trilogy. The second part, The Fall, was released on Sept. 21, 2010, co-authored by Chuck Hogan as well. October of 2011 the last novel of the trilogy was released, Night Eternal with a possible future series release or movie for the trilogy.

At the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, Del Toro announced that he is working on his first video game titled Insane, which is planned for release in 2013.

Del Toro also wants to direct a segment for an upcoming Heavy Metal 3.