<<

CAST BIOGRAPHIES Season 2

RICKY WHITTLE (SHADOW MOON)

Ricky Whittle was born in , near Manchester in the north of England. Growing up, Whittle excelled in various sports representing his country at youth level in football, rugby, American football and athletics. After being scouted by both Arsenal and Celtic Football Clubs, injuries forced him to pursue a law degree at Southampton University. It was here he began modeling, becoming the face of a Reebok campaign in 2000. Whittle left university to pursue an acting career and soon joined several action-packed seasons as bad boy Ryan Naysmith in ’s “Dream Team.” Following that, Whittle quickly joined the U.K.’s hugely popular long-running drama, “,” in which he played rookie cop Calvin Valentine to acclaim across 400+ episodes.

In 2010, Whittle made the decision to relocate to and, within months of settling in, booked the role of Captain George East in the romantic-comedy feature Austenland for Sony Pictures, which was produced by Twilight creator Stephanie Meyer. Additionally, he was soon cast in a major recurring role in VH1’s popular series, “Single Ladies.” Another major recurring role followed on The CW’s popular post-apocalyptic sci-fi series “The 100.” Whittle’s character, Lincoln, immediately became a fan-favorite character, so he was upped to a series regular. Simultaneously, Whittle also had a recurring arc as Daniel Zamora in ABC’s “Mistresses.”

In 2016, after a vigorous casting process, Whittle won the coveted role of Shadow Moon in ’s “.” In 2017, Whittle was seen opposite in the feature film Nappily Ever After, which is based on the novel of the same name by Trisha R. Thomas.

IAN MCSHANE (MR. WEDNESDAY)

Just before graduating from the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Ian McShane caught his first break in 1962 when he landed the lead role in The Wild and the Willing. Other earlier breakout roles include the role of Anthony in the 1973 cult classic The Last of Sheila, Wolfe Lissner in Villain and Charlie Cartwright in If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.

McShane gained critical acclaim on the small screen as the fierce yet charismatic Al Swearengen in HBO’s hit crime series “Deadwood,” for which he won a Golden Globe® Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama Series in 2005. His compelling and gritty portrayal also earned him nominations for an Emmy® Award that same year and a SAG Award in 2006. In 2010, McShane then went on to garner another Golden Globe® nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries for his portrayal of the scheming Waleran Bigod in Starz’s Emmy®-nominated “The Pillars of the Earth.”

Since then, McShane has been seen starring opposite Johnny Depp as the pirate Blackbeard in Disney’s worldwide blockbuster hit Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. In 2015, he also appeared as the cold-blooded billionaire Andrew Finney opposite in Season 3 of the Showtime series “.” McShane has had other notable roles on popular television series, including FX’s “American Horror Story” and HBO’s highly regarded and award-winning “Game of Thrones.” HBO announced a “Deadwood” movie in 2018, which McShane shot in the fall that same year. McShane reprises his role as club owner and ex-assassin Winston in the upcoming : Chapter 3. He can also be seen in projects such as The Hollow Point, Jawbone and Pottersville.

McShane is also an accomplished, award-winning stage actor, who made his West End debut in 1967 co- starring with Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen in “The Promise.” Other notable stage performances include his portrayal of Daryl Van Horne in “The Witches of Eastwick” and, most significantly”, his role in the world premiere of Larry Atlas' “Yield of the Long Bond,” for which he received the 1984 Drama Critics Circle Award.

With a decorated career spanning more than five decades, McShane’s other noteworthy roles on the big screen have included Joe Strombel in ’s Scoop; King Brahmwell in Bryan Singer’s modern- day fairy tale Jack the Giant Slayer; and priest/prophet/warrior Amphiaraus, opposite Dwayne Johnson, in MGM's Hercules for director Brett Ratner. Notable roles on the small screen have included Sir Eric Russell in the landmark, blockbuster miniseries “Roots” and Ken Harrison in “Whose Life is it Anyway?” He also starred as the lovable rogue antiques dealer in the acclaimed series “Lovejoy,” which he produced (and several episodes of which he directed) for the BBC and A&E. The show, which first aired in 1986, was brought back by popular demand, successfully airing in both the U.S. and the U.K. from 1991 to 1994.

McShane also made his mark in film and television as a voiceover artist. He has lent his voice as the narrator of Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and as the characters of Captain Hook in Shrek the Third, Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda and Ragnar Sturlusson in The Golden Compass.

EMILY BROWNING (LAURA MOON)

In a short time, Australian actress has established herself as one of the industry’s most versatile and exciting young talents, balancing studio films with artful independent fare.

Browning first received international recognition when she was cast as Violet Baudelaire in the 2004 film adaptation of the popular children’s book series, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. She received a 2005 Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Young Actress from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, as well as a 2005 Best Actress Award by the Australian Film Institute, for her performance.

In 2011, Browning starred in ’s art-house film Sleeping Beauty, which had its world premiere at the . While the film received mixed reactions from critics and journalists for pushing the envelope, Browning received critical praise for her demanding performance. She was honored with the Breakthrough Performer Award at the 2011 Hamptons International Film Festival and received a Best Actress in a Leading Role nomination by the Film Critics Circle of Australia, as well as the Australian Film Critics Association.

In 2014, Browning starred and sang in the musical feature film God Help the Girl, written and directed by Stuart Murdoch of the music group . The film follows Eve (Browning), who escapes from a psychiatric hospital and makes her way to Glasgow, hoping to become a musician. God Help the Girl premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2014 , where it won the Special Jury Prize. That next month, the film served as the opening night film of the Generation section at the 64th International Film Festival.

Browning most recently appeared opposite in the criminal biopic Legend, which was written and directed by Brian Helgeland. Legend depicts the rise and fall of real-life twin brothers, Reggie and Ronnie Kray, who dominated organized crime in London during the 1960s before their 1969 convictions for murder. Hardy portrays both Kray brothers, and Browning plays Frances Shea, a woman who tragically falls for Reggie Kray and marries him. In October 2015, Universal Studios released the film in the U.S. after its premiere at the International Film Festival.

Browning recently completed production on Eddie O’Keefe’s directorial debut, Shangri-La Suite. The film, which was also written by O’Keefe and Chris Hutton, follows two young lovers (played by Browning and Luke Grimes) who break out of a mental hospital in 1974 and set out on a road trip to Los Angeles to fulfill the boy’s lifelong dream of killing his idol, .

Browning’s debut acting role was in the 1998 Hallmark Channel movie The Echo of Thunder. Additional roles in her home country of Australia soon followed, including recurring roles in the television series “,” “Something in the Air” and “High Flyers.” Other film credits include Ghost Ship, Ned Kelly, The Uninvited, Stranded, Sucker Punch, Magic Magic, The Host, Summer in February, Plush and Pompeii.

Browning currently resides in Los Angeles.

PABLO SCHREIBER (MAD SWEENEY)

Pablo Schreiber was nominated for an Emmy® award for his performance as the sadistic corrections officer George “Pornstache” Mendez in the Netflix hit series “.” He was most recently seen on the big screen in Christian Gudegast’s Den of Thieves, opposite Gerard Butler; ’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi for Paramount; and the Thumper from director Jordan Ross.

Schreiber’s recent television credits include the Starz hit series “American Gods”; the HBO comedy series “The Brink,” opposite Jack Black and Tim Robbins; and an acclaimed season-long arc on “Law & Order: SVU,” on which he played a sociopathic killer who kidnaps and torments ’s character, . Schreiber’s other film credits include ’s Happythankyoumoreplease (which won the Audience Award at Sundance), Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona, ’s The Lords of Dogtown, Michael Cuesta’s Tell Tale, George C. Wolf’s Nights in Rodanthe, Jonathan Demme’s The Manchurian Candidate, Daryl Wein’s Breaking Upwards, Claudia Myers’ Fort Bliss, and Stephen Frears’ Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight.

Past television credits include HBO’s critically acclaimed “,” Showtime’s “Weeds,” FX’s “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” and “Lights Out,” CBS’ “A Gifted Man” and “,” ABC’s “Dirt,” NBC’s “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” and John Grisham’s telefilm A Painted House.

Schreiber was nominated for a Tony® award for his Broadway debut in the revival of Clifford Odets’ classic Awake and Sing! directed by Bartlett Sher. Schreiber has performed in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway plays, including “Desire Under the Elms,” directed by ; Rajiv Joseph’s “Gruesome Playground Injuries”; Neil LaBute’s “Reasons to Be Pretty,” for which Schreiber won the ; “Dying City”; “Mr. Marmalade”; “Sin (A Cardinal Deposed)”; “Manuscript”; “Julius Caesar” at the New York Shakespeare Festival; and “Blood Orange”, Schreiber’s professional debut.

He will next be seen in two films for Universal: Skyscraper, opposite Dwayne Johnson, and Damien Chazelle’s First Man, in which he plays astronaut Jim Lovell, opposite Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy.

CRISPIN GLOVER (MR. WORLD)

Crispin Hellion Glover is a multifaceted American artist. He is primarily known as a film actor, but he is also a publisher, filmmaker and author. His career has been marked by some portrayals of wonderfully eccentric people, such as George McFly in Back to the Future and Willard Stiles in Willard. In the late 1980s, Glover started his own publishing company, Volcanic Eruptions, which turned into a production company in the 1990s for his film works.

Born in , Glover moved to Los Angeles at the age of three and a half. As a child, he attended the Mirman School for the academically gifted. His father, Bruce Glover, is an actor best remembered for playing both the offbeat Spectre assassin Mr. Wint in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever and Duffy, one of Jack Nicholson's assistants, in Chinatown. Crispin Glover's first professional acting appearance was in 1978 in “The Sound of Music” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. He played Friedrich Von Trapp to Florence Henderson’s Maria. He also appeared in some commercials and several sitcoms as a teenager. His first film role was in My Tutor (1983). He had a small role in Racing With the Moon (1984) opposite Sean Penn. Later that year, he appeared in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter and Teachers. He also played the title role in an AFI film, The Orkly Kid (1985), in which he portrayed a young man whose obsession with Olivia Newton-John raises the ire of his small-town neighbors. His breakout performance came in Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future (1985), an international box office smash. Glover next starred in River’s Edge. From that point, Glover pursued a defiantly individualistic path. His characters were notable for their peculiar personality traits and unconventional thought processes. He played Andy Warhol in Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991) and continued to play exceedingly eccentric types, such as the title characters in Bartleby (2001) and Willard (2003). He played the Thin Man in the Charlie's Angels and The Knave of Hearts Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010), and he will be seen in the upcoming films We Have Always Lived in the Castle, By the Rivers of Babylon, Smiley Face Killers and The Con Is On (The Brits Are Coming). Glover has been touring since 2005 with his two feature films What Is it? and its sequel It Is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE. Each won awards at the Ann Arbor Film Festival and the Sitges International Film Festival. He is using an unusual self-distribution model for his films, which includes performing live shows titled “Crispin Hellion Glover’s Big Slide Show Parts 1 & 2” These shows are each a one-hour dramatic narration of eight different profusely illustrated books. The images from these books are projected behind him.

He is editing his next feature film, currently untitled, which features himself and his father acting together for the first time.

ORLANDO JONES (MR. NANCY)

In an unconventional career spanning 30 years, is best known for his indelible performances on screen and stage. Dubbed the King of Fandom by MTV, he has also established himself as an influential force within the fandom universe.

Jones has always had a penchant for idiosyncratic projects. His recent work includes starring opposite as the anti-apartheid revolutionary Oliver Tambo in “Madiba”; being tapped by the Duplass Brothers for their dark comedy “Room 104” on HBO; helping Syfy celebrate its 25th anniversary by legally marrying fans at the San Diego Comic Con (yes, Jones is ordained); partnering with Roberto Orci to launch Ubisoft’s ’s Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within the Cartel franchise with a short film for Amazon and Twitch; filming a sold-out Comedy Central special in South Africa; and hosting and producing content for the digital broadcast of the ®.

Jones has joined with Open Nest to advise progressive brands on the building of authentic, meaningful relationships with fans. This, coupled with his academic work in the burgeoning science of fan engagement, allows him to help realign brand focus to where it was always meant to be: on the fans.

YETIDE BADAKI (BILQUIS)

Yetide Badaki is a Nigerian-born American actress, whose credits include “Aquarius,” “Masters of Sex,” “NCIS,” “Criminal Minds,” a recurring arc on “Sequestered” and, most recently, “This Is Us.” Upcoming feature-length films include The Long Shadow and The Buried Girl. Badaki is also the award-winning narrator of the sci-fi/fantasy novel Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. She holds an M.F.A. in theater from Illinois State University.

BRUCE LANGLEY (TECHNICAL BOY)

Bruce Langley is a young actor with an extensive background in physical, naturalistic and improvised performance. He graduated in 2014 with a master’s degree in physical actor training and performance from the University of Kent.

Langley’s recent theater credits include playing Chase in Faith Drama’s production of “The Den” and Charlie in The Brockley Jack’s “Rock Paper Scissors.” “American Gods” is his first television role.

MOUSA KRAISH (THE JINN)

Mousa Kraish is a Palestinian-American actor from Brooklyn, New York. Kraish trained at the conservatory program at the Atlantic Theater Company, as well as at The Barrow Group and 's Shakespeare Lab.

In his career, he has had the good fortune to work with a number of great directors, including Steven Spielberg (Munich), Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson's War), Justin Lin (Finishing the Game and Fast & Furious) and Greg Mottola, for whom Kraish appeared in the Judd Apatow–produced runaway summer hit Superbad. He played the cook Habib on the AMC series “Feed the Beast,” opposite David Schwimmer and Jim Sturgess. Other television appearances include “Transparent,” “Designated Survivor,” “Madam Secretary,” “Homeland,” “Chuck,” “Covert Affairs,” “Blue Bloods,” “Parenthood,” “Arrested Development,” and “Men of a Certain Age.” His film credits include The Day the Earth Stood Still and You Don't Mess With the Zohan, as well as the independent features King of California, Super Zeroes, Overnight, and Echo Park. Kraish has also written and directed several short films and plays, and his portrait photography has been exhibited in Los Angeles.

OMID ABTAHI (SALIM)

Omid Abtahi was a series regular on the A&E series "Damien" and "Those Who Kill.” Other memorable television roles include recurring ones on AMC’s "” and Showtime’s “Homeland." On the feature side, some of his more recent notable work includes starring roles in Argo and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2.

Prior to his television and film career, Abtahi performed on stage in many theatrical productions, including “Fraulein Else” at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre; “Adoration of the Old Woman” at the Sundance Theatre Lab; and “Your Everyday Romantic Comedy” at the Kennedy Center.

DEMORE BARNES (MR. IBIS)

Demore Barnes recently starred in the supporting role of Wayne Martin in the highly anticipated “Waco” for Paramount TV, opposite Taylor Kitsch, and . He recurs as attorney Marshall Matthews in NBC’s “Chicago Med” franchise. He appears as Henry Hewitt/Dr. Henry Hewitt on “The Flash” for The CW, and he was a semiregular on “12 Monkeys” for Syfy. Additionally, he recurred on “Hemlock Grove” for Netflix and had major arcs on NBC’s “Hannibal,” The CW’s “Supernatural” and USA’s “Covert Affairs.” Barnes is perhaps best known for playing Hector Williams on CBS’ hit series, “The Unit” for executive producers and Shawn Ryan. He currently resides in Toronto.

PETER STORMARE (CZERNOBOG)

Swedish-born actor/director Peter Stormare is best known for his breakout roles in Fargo and . Stormare has worked in over 150 films — most recently in John Wick: Chapter 2 with as well as the upcoming Dimension Films release Clown — along with 22 Jump Street and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. He made his television debut starring on the first season of the hit Fox TV drama series “” and has also had memorable guest appearances on “Entourage,” “Weeds,” “Hawaii Five-0” and “CSI.” Additional TV and film credits include Armageddon, 8MM, The Brothers Grimm, Minority Report, Constantine, Bad Boys II, Lockout, Inseparable, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Premonition, “Arrow,” “Manhattan,” “Graceland” and “The Blacklist.”

CLORIS LEACHMAN (ZORYA VECHERNYAYA)

An eight-time Primetime Emmy® Award–winner, ’s career spans films and television dramas and comedies from the Golden Age to the hottest primetime hits today. She continues to work nonstop, recently appearing in The Comedian with Robert DeNiro for director Taylor Hackford, So B. It for Stephen Gyllenhaal, and I Can Only Imagine with Dennis Quaid. She is currently reprising her role as Gran in the sequel to DreamWorks’ animated film The Croods with Nicholas Cage and Emma Stone. She was the oldest competitor on the ABC hit series “Dancing With the Stars.” Additional TV and film credits include “Lassie,” “The Twilight Zone,” “The Show,” “Phyllis,” “The Facts of Life,” “,” “Raising Hope,” “The Eleventh,” , , , History of the World: Part I, The Muppet Movie and Spanglish.

KAHYUN KIM (NEW MEDIA)

Kahyun Kim moved to the from South Korea and was immediately accepted into the prestigious Juilliard Drama. She graduated in 2012 with her B.F.A. in theater.

Kim promptly started making her mark in the entertainment industry with recurring roles in “The Mysteries of Laura” (NBC) and “Austin & Ally” (Disney). She has since worked on multiple projects in both TV and film for the better part of the past five years.

Recent projects include a guest-starring role on the hit Showtime series “Shameless,” as well as a recurring role in “Cassandra French’s Finishing School” for DirecTV. She also has a great supporting lead role in the Disney reboot of Freaky Friday.

Kim currently lives in Los Angeles.

DEVERY JACOBS (SAM BLACK CROW)

Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs is a film and television actress and filmmaker. She was born and raised in Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory, which has shaped her passion for indigenous rights activism and interest in politically charged roles in film.

Her debut leading role as Aila in the award-winning feature film Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013), resulted in Jacobs being nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role at the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards. She also won Best Performance in a Canadian Film at the 2016 Whistler Film Festival and Best Actress at the 2017 American Indian Film Fest for her work in the feature film The Sun at Midnight (2016). She has completed production on her third leading role in the feature film The Road Behind (2018).

Jacobs was named as a one of Canada's Rising Breakout Stars by and was honored by Telefilm Canada at the 2017 Birks Diamond Tribute, celebrating women in film. She is also the leading character of Sam Duchene in Season Three of the hit series “Cardinal,” and she was selected as one of the participants of the prestigious Actors Conservatory offered by the Canadian Film Centre. Jacobs was also selected by the Toronto International Film Festival as one of 2018’s TIFF Rising Stars.

Furthermore, Jacobs has recently explored the other side of the camera. Her directorial debut was with the short film Stolen (2016). The film discusses the national issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada and won Best Aboriginal Film at the 2017 Yorkton Film Festival. Jacobs was also awarded the BravoFACT grant for her short film Rae (2017), which garnered Best Youth Work prize at ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.

SAKINA JAFFREY (MAMA-JI) Sakina Jaffrey currently stars on the NBC series “Timeless" as Agent Denise Christopher. Jaffrey memorably starred as White House Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez in the Netflix Original series “House of Cards,” directed and produced by David Fincher. She also currently recurs on USA’s Golden Globe®–winning "Mr. Robot” as Antara Nayar, as well as on Hulu’s “” as Mindy Lahiri’s mother, Sonu.

In film, Jaffrey can be seen in ’s film, (New and Selected), opposite and . Audiences may remember Jaffrey as Nilma, Kate Hudson’s bat-wielding neighbor, in Garry Marshall’s Raising Helen. Among her dozens of films, she has had the privilege of working with Jonathan Demme, James Ivory, Sidney Lumet and Frank Oz.

A native New Yorker, Jaffrey danced as a child with the Joffrey Ballet at City Center and made her acting debut at 17 in Wallace Shawn’s “Marie and Bruce” at the Public Theater. She went on to play lead roles in “Romeo and Juliet” at Williamstown Theatre Festival and “Alice In Wonderland” at the Kennedy Center. She has continued to work in New York theater, appearing last year in the ground-breaking off- Broadway hit “Small Mouth Sounds,” written by Bess Wohl and directed by Rachel Chavkin. Jaffrey graduated with high honors from Vassar College with a degree in Chinese language and literature. She is the daughter of internationally renowned cookbook author/actress and the late Bollywood and British film star .

DEAN WINTERS (MR. TOWN)

Dean Winters is best known for his role as Ryan O’Reily on HBO’s award-winning series “Oz.” Winters recently reprised his recurring role on Season 2 of “Divorce” with Sarah Jessica Parker, in addition to recurring as ’s “Beeper King” boyfriend on the Emmy®- and Golden Globe®–winning comedy “.” His noteworthy comedic performance was included in ’s “Must List” as well as Variety’s short list of Emmy®-worthy guest performances. Winters was a series regular on FX’s critically acclaimed “Rescue Me,” in which he played Denis Leary’s cop brother. He has appeared in some of the most highly acclaimed television shows, including “,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “CSI: Miami” and “NYPD Blue.” He was also seen on “Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “Life on Mars,” “Brooklyn Nine Nine” and “Battle Creek.” His feature credits include P.S. I Love You with , Winter of Frozen Dreams opposite Thora Birch, as well as co-starring alongside Keanu Reeves in John Wick. Upcoming, Winters will be seen in the Netflix film Graduate with David Spade, as well as the independent film After Everything (orginally Shotgun) with Sasha Lane and Marisa Tomei.