‘SHARK SWARM’ CAST BIOS JOHN SCHNEIDER (Daniel Wilder) – An actor whose career has run the gamut from film, TV, music and Broadway, John Schneider can currently be seen in a recurring role on the hit FX drama “Nip/Tuck,” and is also currently starring on Broadway as slick criminal lawyer Billy Flynn in “Chicago,” a role his “Dukes of Hazzard” costar Tom Wopat previously performed. Inspired by an early love of movies, such as film classics James Cagney’s “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” Schneider began acting at the age of eight, performing in theater in his native Mount Kisco, New York, where he was born in 1960. The young thesp continued stage acting in Atlanta, after a move with his mother in 1974. Four years later, after learning about a casting search 24-to-30-year-olds from the South for “Dukes,” the 18-year-old John auditioned the part of Bo Duke, lying about his age and background and bringing a six-pack of beer – and landing the part. The popular series ran for seven seasons on CBS from 1979 to 1985. Schneider continued making countless appearances in TV and film throughout the 80s and 90s, including a 1986 remake of John Ford’s western classic, “Stagecoach,” this time starring Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Schneider as the coach driver originally portrayed by Andy Devine. He had the recurring role of Daniel Simon on CBS’s “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” as well as appearances on “Diagnosis Murder,” “Veronica’s Closet” and others – plus the first appearance, in 1995, of the devil on “Touched By An Angel,” a performance which convinced the network to pick up the fledgling series. John became familiar to a whole new generation of fans playing Clark Kent’s father, Jonathan, on “Smallville,” on the WB television network for five seasons, from 2001 to 2006. Schneider has continued stage acting throughout his career, most notably 487 performances in 1990-91 on Broadway in Grand Hotel with Cyd Charisse. Other shows have included Will Rogers Follies, Oklahoma and Brigadoon . From 1981 to 1987, he also recorded and released 11 country music albums, one of which, “A Memory Like You,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Music Album Chart – plus four No. 1 singles. In 1983, he helped co-found the Children’s Miracle Network, a charity which helps support medical care for young children throughout the U.S. and Canada. To date, the Network has raised over $3 billion, with Schneider continuing to participate in the organization’s annual telethons, raising millions. Recently, Schneider directed, produced and edited “Collier & Co.,” a feature about an ex-race car driver’s desire to hold his family together, all the while keeping his toe in the water of the (more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘SHARK SWARM’ – Cast Bios – Page 2 race car world. Last summer, he appeared alongside Amanda Bynes in “Sydney White,” and recently completed filming of the dramatic-comedy “Beautiful Loser,” and is set to star in “H2OExtreme” and Terminal Trap.” Schneider lives in Los Angeles with his wife of 13 years, Elly, and their three children. # # # DARYL HANNAH (Brooke) - Daryl Hannah’s career has spanned more than 20 years. She has appeared in over 40 feature films including Ridley Scott’s cult classic “Blade Runner” starring Harrison Ford, “Splash” co-starring Tom Hanks and John Candy, “Roxanne” with Steve Martin, “Steel Magnolias” with Julia Roberts and Sally Field, “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” with Mickey Rourke, “Grumpy Old Men” and “Grumpier Old Men” with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” and “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” with Uma Thurman. She has set a pattern of working with some of the most talented and accomplished directors of our time. Hannah has worked with Woody Allen, Neil Jordan, Fred Schepisi, Oliver Stone, Robert Altman, John Sayles and Quentin Tarantino to name a few. Hannah has become a strong supporter of independent cinema, both acting in and producing many films. She played a sad comic stripper in the fully improvised “Dancing at the Blue Iguana,” a hermaphrodite angel in “Northfolk,” and a women struggling with adoption in John Sayles’ “Casa de los Babies.” She reunited with John Sayles a year later for his political satire “Silver City,” co-starring Richard Dreyfuss and Chris Cooper. In 2001, Hannah made her stage debut in George Axelrods’ Seven Year Itch directed by Michael Radford at the Queens Theatre in London’s famed West End. Hannah wrote, directed and produced a 12-minute short, entitled “The Last Supper,” which received the Berlin International Film Festival’s Jury Award for Best Short. Hannah also directed, produced and shot the documentary “Strip Notes,” which aired on HBO. Recently, Hannah has completed work on the films “Dark Honeymoon,” with Eric Roebrts and Tia Cararre; “The Poet,” with Roy Scheider and Colm Feore; and the comedies “Ole” and “Keeping up With the Steins.” Though normally press shy, Hannah has become an outspoken advocate for Bio-Fuels and environmentally sustainable lifestyles. Her home has been off the grid for many years and she has been driving only clean-burning fuel vehicles. Her environmentally friendly choices have been featured nationally on shows from “The Tonight Show” to “CNN Headline News” and in print publications such as Architectural Digest and Vanity Fair . (more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘SHARK SWARM’ – Cast Bios – Page 3 Hannah serves as a board member for the EMA (Environmental Media Association), ASEC (Action Sports Environmental Coalition), ECO America and has been honored with numerous Environmental and Humanitarian Awards. Hannah recently launched her sustainable living blog – www.dhlovelife.com . # # # ARMAND ASSANTE (Hamilton Lux) – Actor/Writer/Director Armand Assante was most recently seen in Ridley Scott’s smash hit “American Gangster,” opposite Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, and recently completed filming opposite Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia in the thriller “La Linea,” as well as filming on “Lost,” a psychological thriller set in Spain. In June 2006, he starred in the black comedy “California Dreaming,” based on an incident during the Bosnian Conflict, which won awards at major film festivals in Cannes, The Brussels, Ibiza, Rabat and Toronto. A truly international actor, Assante has filmed and received awards in several countries. A native of New York City who presently resides Orange County, NY, Assante is the son of an Italian American artist and an Irish American musician/poet. Born on Manhattan’s upper west side, he is still close to his family in Naples and Rome. The consummate actor, with an obsession for rhythm and music since boyhood, emerged as a professional drummer and singer in his teens and considers himself a journeyman who has spent his life on the road. Every object or piece of art in his home has been collected from native indigenous peoples from literally all over the planet. Assante’s outdoor passion has seen him raise horses, champion bloodline German Shepherds, Bulls and trees, and his 225 acre ranch has been photographed and documented internationally. At 17, Assante entered the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he won the Jehlinger Award for Best Actor in 1969, making his professional theatre debut that same year in Why I Went Crazy . He spent ten years in the theater before his film debut in 1977, remaining a devoted student of Mira Rostova in New York for more than 20 years. All told, Assante has played almost every regional theater on the East Coast, as well as several stings on Broadway. In 1997, Assante received the Emmy Award for his portrayal of notorious crime boss John Gotti in HBO’s “Gotti,” a role which also earned him Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations. In of September of 1997, the country of Greece honored Assante honored at the Acropolis for his starring role of Odysseus in the Hallmark Entertainment/NBC miniseries, “The Odyssey,” which earned him a 1998 Golden Globe nomination. In addition, Assante tries to do at least one project for children every two years, and has received an Annie Award nomination for his voice work in the animated film, “The Road to El Dorado.” Assante has earned consistent international recognition for work in many diverse feature films (more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘SHARK SWARM’ – Cast Bios – Page 3 including Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster,” Arne Glimcher’s “The Mambo Kings,” Danny DeVito’s “Hoffa” and Ridley Scott’s epic “1492, Conquest of Paradise.” He received a Golden Globe nomination for his work in Sidney Lumet’s “Q & A,” and won a Special Jury Prize at the USA Film Festival for the title role in 1986’s “Belizaire, The Cajun.” Additional feature film credits include “Paradise Alley,” “Little Darlings,” “Private Benjamin,” “The Jury,” “Unfaithfully Yours,” “The Penitent,” “Fatal Instinct,” “Trial By Jury” and “Judge Dredd,” in additional to several independent films. On television, Assante was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for “Jack The Ripper,” and has starrred in such notable telefilms as “Kidnapped,” “Blind Justice,” “Fever,” “Napoleon and Josephine: Hands Of A Stranger,” “Evergreen,” “Why Me?” and “Rage of Angels.” When not working, Assante is a landmine removal activist, and an active member of the Landmine Survivors Network, which specializes in the immediate rehabilitation and medical assistance for landmine victims globally. On a recent trip to Croatia, Assante contributed personally and raised financing for Doking Engineering, a firm specializing in the removal and detonation of landmines. His contribution created international assistance that addressed the landmine sweep in Croatia dramatically. Anya, Assante’s oldest daughter, is a graduate of the University of Michigan and a marketing associate for Louis Vuitton, and has just debuted in her first film.