CAST BIOS IAN SOMERHALDER (Marco Polo)
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CAST BIOS IAN SOMERHALDER (Marco Polo) – Displaying astonishing versatility with a wide range of projects, Ian Somerhalder has made his mark on Hollywood in a short period of time. Portraying Boone in J.J. Abrams’ phenomenal Emmy Award® winning series “Lost” in its debut season earned him a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. The series also won the Emmy Award® for Best Drama Series and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and People's Choice Award. In the area of feature films, Somerhalder starred in the summer 2006 release “Pulse.” Based on the Japanese horror movie “Kairo,” the film co-starred Kristin Bell and Christina Milian and was directed by Jim Sonzero. Somerhalder recently wrapped production on director-writer Aaron Wiederspahn's offbeat drama “Sensation of Sight” opposite David Strathairn and Jane Adams. Somerhalder's other film credits include starring in Roger Avary's “The Rules of Attraction” opposite James Van Der Beek, Kate Bosworth, Kip Pardue and Jessica Biel; Irwin Winkler's “Life as a House” opposite Hayden Christensen, Kevin Kline and Kristen Scott Thomas; Martin Guigui's “Changing Hearts” opposite Lauren Holly and Faye Dunaway and Tony Giglio’s “In Enemy Hands” opposite William H. Macy, Jeremy Sisto, and Scott Caan. Additional television credits for Somerhalder include the leading roles in the series “Young Americans” and the television movie “Anatomy of a Hate Crime,” as well as guest-star roles on “CSI,” “CSI: Miami,” “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Smallville.” On stage, Somerhalder starred Off Broadway in Trip Cullman's ensemble, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, an "unauthorized parody" that follows the travails of iconic comic strip character Charlie Brown and his “Peanuts” cohorts as adults. # # # BRIAN DENNEHY (Kublai Khan) – With more than 150 acting credits in film and television, millions throughout the world have seen Brian Dennehy’s work. However, some of his greatest acclaim has come from his work as a stage actor. His portrayal of Willy Loman in the 50th anniversary Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman earned him a Tony Award®. Performing the Loman role in a London West End production of the play earned Dennehy an Olivier Award for Best Actor. When the (more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘Marco Polo’ – Cast Bios – Page 2 project was adapted for cable television, his performance earned him both a Screen Actors Guild Award® and a Golden Globe Award®. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award®. He also received a Tony Award® for his work as the patriarch in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Dennehy has starred in numerous television movies and miniseries. He received additional Emmy® nominations for his work in “Our Fathers,” co-starring Ted Danson and Christopher Plummer, “The Burden of Proof,” co-starring Hector Elizando and Mel Harris, “A Killing in a Small Town,” co-starring Barbara Hershey, “Murder in the Heartland,” co-starring Tim Roth and Randy Quaid, and for his chilling portrayal of serial killer John Wayne Gacy in “To Catch A Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Story.” In the feature film arena, Dennehy has co-starred in such hits as “Semi-Tough,” “10,” “Rambo: First Blood,” “Gorky Park,” “Never Cry Wolf,” “Twice In A Lifetime,” “Cocoon,” “Silverado,” “F/X,” “Legal Eagles,” “Best Seller,” “Presumed Innocent,” “Tommy Boy” and “Baz Luhrman’s Romeo+Juliet.” He also starred in Peter Greenaway’s The Belly of an Architect, for which he received the Chicago Film Festival Award® as Best Actor. He also co-starred in the hit comedy “Tommy Boy.” Recent film credits for Dennehy include “Assault on Precinct 13” and “Tenth & Wolf.” Dennehy’s portrayal of detective Jack Reed in a series of five television movies also marked his move behind the camera. For the first one, “Jack Reed: Badge of Honor,” he acted and served as co-executive producer. The project’s director was Kevin Connor, his “Marco Polo” director. For the next four television movies, “Jack Reed: A Search For Justice,” “Jack Reed: One of our Own,” “Jack Reed: A Killer Among Us” and “Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance” he did quad-duty as actor, co-executive producer, director and co-writer. He also did an actor/director/executive producer/writer stint for another television movie, “Shadow of A Doubt.” # # # BD WONG (Pedro) – A San Francisco native, BD Wong is the only actor ever to have received all five major New York theater awards for a single role. For his performance in M. Butterfly, his Broadway debut, he received the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Theater World Award, the Clarence Derwent Award and the Tony Award®. Wong came to the attention of television viewers with his role of the resilient prison priest Father Ray on the acclaimed prison drama, “Oz.” Since 2001, he has been starring as Dr. George Heung on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” His other television credits include “All-American Girl” and the telefilm “And the Band Played On,” as well as guest-starring roles on “Welcome to New York,” “Chicago Hope,” “The X- Files,” “Bless This House” and “Shannon’s Deal.” (more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘Marco Polo’ – Cast Bios – Page 3 Wong has also appeared in more than twenty feature films, including Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park,” “The Freshman” opposite Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, “Father of the Bride” (1 & 2), “Seven Years in Tibet,” “Executive Decision,” “The Salton Sea” starring Val Kilmer and Vincent D’Onofrio and “Stay” starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. Wong can also be heard as the voice of Shang in the Disney animated films “Mulan” and “Mulan II.” Wong’s New York theater credits also include The Tempest, A Language of Their Own, As Thousands Cheer and playing Linus in the recent Broadway revival of the musical You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. For his work in the Roundabout Theatre’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures, Wong received a Drama League nomination for distinguished performance. Wong published his first book, Following Foo: the Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man (Harper Entertainment), which chronicles his son Jackson’s struggle for life after he was born 11 weeks premature. DESIREE SIAHAAN (Temulun & Kensai) – Well known throughout Asia for her work as a television actress, model and host, Desiree Siahaan stepped into the limelight at age 17 when she won first runner-up in the New Paper “New Face Contest” in her native Singapore. This led to her appearing in a number of advertising and public service campaigns in Singapore, as well other countries throughout the Pacific Rim, including Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Segueing from modeling and commercial assignments to acting roles, Siahaan began appearing in such Singapore produced programs as the Channel 5 sitcom, “Making Love,” the television movie “Blue Print,” the award-winning “Ceceliation,” and “Troubled In Law.” She also guest starred in such local productions as the sitcom “Living With Lydia,” “Training Day” and “Chase” and appeared in Arts Central’s production of “Stage to Screen Series -Travelling Light.” Recently Siahaan was seen on the series “Heartlanders,” alongside regulars Aaron Aziz and Vincent Ng. She also hosted the reality series, “Villa Wellness.” Television audiences throughout Asia know Siahaan through her starring role in MTV Asia’s first dramatic action series, “Rogue.” In addition to her acting roles and advertising campaigns, Siahaan continues to be known as a “cover girl” for monthly magazines. She appeared on the front of the premier issue of Maxim’s Singapore edition, as well as such publications as Her World, Seventeen and New Man, among many others. # # # -- HALLMARK CHANNEL -- .