- published: 15 Jul 2009
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Susanna Thompson (born January 27, 1958) is an American television and film actress. She is skilled in Aikido and stage combat. She is best known for her role as Karen Sammler on Once and Again.
Thompson received a Dramatic Award for her role as Luisa in A Shayna Maidel. She was also nominated for Best Actress by the San Diego Critics Circle for her role in Agnes of God. She may be best known for her television work, which includes playing Karen Sammler on Once and Again, Michelle Generoo in an episode of The X-Files and a recurring role as the Borg Queen in the Star Trek: Voyager two-part episodes "Dark Frontier" (1999) and "Unimatrix Zero" (2000). Thompson also portrayed Denise Hydecker on the 1998 made-for-TV movie The Lake with Yasmine Bleeth.
One of Thompson's most controversial television appearances was on an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine entitled "Rejoined". In the episode, she participated in one of US television's first same-sex kisses. The episode first aired on October 30, 1995.
Allison Miller (born September 2, 1985) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Michelle Benjamin on the NBC series Kings in 2009. In 2011, she co-starred as Skye Tate on the Fox series Terra Nova.
Miller was born in Rome, Italy. She grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, State College, Pennsylvania, and Tallahassee, Florida. She is the daughter of Margo and John Winn Miller. Her father John was the former publisher of The Olympian newspaper in Olympia, Washington. He retired in January 2009 to pursue other interests. Her parents have since left Washington and moved back to the eastern United States.
Miller graduated from Maclay School in Tallahassee. She attended the University of Florida in Gainesville for a few semesters before transferring to Rhodes College. She is a sister of Kappa Delta sorority and was featured in a story in Kappa Delta's newsletter The Angelos.
In 2006, Miller moved to Hollywood to pursue her career full-time. In addition to acting, she has training in voice, tap, and jazz, as well as in modern dance. She is a mezzo-soprano and plays the piano and the guitar. She is proficient in Spanish and French.
Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.
Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy (1986–94) and HBO's Western drama Deadwood (2004–06). McShane starred as King Silas Benjamin in NBC series Kings, Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda, and as Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
McShane was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, on 29 September 1942, the son of Irene (née Cowley) and Scottish footballer Harry McShane. He grew up in Urmston, Lancashire, and attended Stretford Grammar School.
In the United Kingdom, McShane's best known role may be that of antiques dealer Lovejoy in the BBC drama series of the same name. He also enjoyed fame in the United States as English cad Don Lockwood in the soap opera Dallas and as an English cockfighting aficionado in the mini-series Roots. Even before Lovejoy, McShane was a pin-up as a result of appearances in television series such as Wuthering Heights (1967, as Heathcliff), If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969 as Charlie), Jesus of Nazareth (1977, as Judas Iscariot), and Disraeli (1978) — as well as films like Sky West and Crooked (1965) and Battle of Britain (1969). In the United States, he is perhaps best known for the role of historical figure Al Swearengen in the HBO series Deadwood, for which he won the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama. He was also nominated for at the 2005 Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards.