Erik Jensen is an American film, television and theatre actor born and raised in northern Minnesota. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Carnegie Mellon University in 1992. He is also a playwright who co-wrote the play The Exonerated with Jessica Blank.
Erik Jensen has had many roles in TV series most notably in the role of legendary Thurman Munson of the New York Yankees in The Bronx Is Burning.
In addition to his work as a performer, Erik co-wrote the multi-award-winning, critically acclaimed play The Exonerated with his wife Jessica Blank. It ran Off-Broadway in New York City for nearly 2 years and starred Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Aidan Quinn, and Delroy Lindo. The play is based on interviews they conducted with more than 40 exonerated death row inmates. In Spring 2002, it was staged at The Actors' Gang Theater. It was nominated for five Ovation Awards and three NAACP Awards, winning the Ovation for "Best World Premiere Play". Bob Balaban's production of The Exonerated ran for more than 600 performances off-Broadway; toured nationally. It was made into a movie for Court TV starring Brian Dennehy, Danny Glover, Delroy Lindo, Aidan Quinn, and Susan Sarandon; and was produced internationally in Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Japan, Mexico, and Italy. The Exonerated won the 2003 Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Fringe First, and Herald Angel Awards. It has also received awards from Amnesty International, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Death Penalty Focus. The Exonerated has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese.
Ajay Kalahastri Naidu (born 12 February 1972) is an Indian-American actor.
Naidu was born in Evanston, Illinois. He attended Evanston Township High School. He trained with the American Repertory Theater's Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University.
His first professional acting job was the film Touch and Go(released in 1986) which he won from an open call. He starred in the TV-movie, Lady Blue (1985) as "Paquito". This was followed by an ABC Afterschool Special episode, "No Greater Gift" (1985), where he played "Nick Santana", a 12-year old boy with a terminal illness. He then appeared in the "MacGyver" TV series' first season episode, "To Be a Man" in 1986.
Other film credits when younger include Where the River Runs Black (1986) and Vice Versa (1988). Between 1988 and 1995 he worked extensively in classical theatre.
He returned to film acting in SubUrbia (1996), where he was praised for his role as the convenience store owner, "Nazeer Choudhury" and for which he was nominated for an independent spirit award for best supporting actor.
William Thomas Sadler (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor who works in film and television. His television and motion picture roles have included Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller in The Pacific, Luther Sloan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sheriff Jim Valenti in Roswell, convict Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption, and—perhaps most notably—the Grim Reaper in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, a role for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, and his role as the villainous Colonel Stuart alongside Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2.
Sadler was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Jane and William Sadler. From an early age, he took to performing in front of an audience. Armed with a variety of stringed instruments, Sadler found hometown success during his high school years at Orchard Park High School. He took on the persona as Banjo Bill Sadler, a banjo wielding singer who could crack jokes while playing. Both students and teachers enjoyed his performances immensely, which led Sadler to audition for the senior play under English teacher Dan Larkin's persuasion. He won the role, which brought about his personal discovery of wanting to become an actor. After graduating high school, he enrolled in SUNY Geneseo. Following that, he spent two years at Cornell University where he earned his Master's degree in Acting with a minor in Speech Communications. He is a certified speech teacher and particularly skilled at accents. When his studies were done, Sadler began his auditions.
Plot
This is a short horror film that will follow young Ester as she enters the murky waters of middle school. Grace, a perky cheerleader, tries to be nice to her, but Ester has a secret that makes it difficult for her to accept Grace's kindness. Eventually, they are thrown together and as they struggle to overcome the obstacles to their friendship, things really get messy. Some secrets are simply too dark to stay hidden.
I hear your voice every minute, every hour
And time and time again you say you must go on,
Walking up and down the stairs all afternoon
'Cause if you don't then you will die tomorrow
And I can't handle it any longer anymore
And if you don't stop, then I'm really gonna go crazy
Chorus
I can hear you talking in my head
You make decisions for me, but I won't
Aaahh
I see your face every minute, every hour
And time and time again you charm me with your lies
Your magic eyes are so beautiful and deep
'Cause when I look in them, they make me someone else
And I can't handle it any longer anymore
And if you don't stop, then I'm really gonna go crazy
Chorus
When you were too tired and gave up the fight
You lost your hold on me, I left you to yourself
Now I'll see things I really want to see
No one will tell me what to do anymore
And I can't handle it any longer anymore
And if you don't stop, then I'm really gonna go crazy
Chorus (2x)
instrumental
Cold stream of cold souls
once so warm and loved
forever gone those who meant much
for I am freezing and ice burns
seeking caresses elsewhere
for I am freezing deep
grief cuts deeper than deaths claw
a splash breaks the deafening silence
as they encounter the ground
from the widespread lake
lament echoes
tears reflect
join the sweet silence
drown to the beautiful
calm waters of my soul
embrace me till the pain fades
I long for you
As a flower for the morning dew
I long for you
As a hind longs for the running streams
Frown on me no more
And let me smile again
Before I go away
And cease to be
While I refused to speak
My agony was quickened
My heart burned within me
As the fever rose
My eyes are open
But I can not see
Standing here, violent storm
Please take my place, I'm leaving it behind
Yesterday, sudden goodbye
Take me back to another time
Standing straight, all is quiet
When will life start to fall apart?
Today won't go away
Pass me by, they all carry on
Standing still, constant stream
Turned up on the other side
Should I stay? Can't go back
sometimes a word emerges
out of the silent stream
that runs beneath opinion
illusion of the waking dream
we are not what we seem
something prevents me looking
it must be for the best
but still the half-heard whisper
reminds me that i've failed the test
to know your own unrest
i know a choice is coming
for peace or honesty
pour concrete on the footprints
from everything that you might be
It's still OK, but we're always searching for something more
They tell exactly how to apply beliefs in your mind
Obviously intending to be destructive
This is not OK, strapping ourselves in false hopes
Package rebellion sold to us in a market
They had super strength but now it's gone
Cutting out! Cut Cut! The stream!
No need to look around your world of greed