Paul Newman, 100 years of the most intense blue gaze in cinema

 

Paul Newman.© BETTMANN/CORBIS

Paul Newman, 100 years of the most intense blue gaze in cinema

The actor, born in Ohio on January 26, 1925, is an inseparable and indisputable part of the history of the United States in the 20th century

GREGORIO BELINCHÓN

Madrid - JAN 27, 2025 - 13:49 COT

On January 26, 1925, the small street of Renrock Road in Cleveland Heights, in the suburbs of Cleveland (Ohio), woke up snowy and icy enough for the Newman couple, Art and Theresa, to decide that their second child, Paul Leonard, should be born at home: 2025 marks the centenary of Newman’s birth, an actor who was possibly not the best among his peers, but arguably the most handsome and the one who best connected with his era and his generation, the owner of the most intense blue eyes in Hollywood. He was tenacious, intelligent, a charmer and an icon of the 20th century. He triumphed in the cinema and in motor racing, the passion that truly filled his life. And, incidentally, he drank countless liters of beer throughout his life: that’s why, for years, he wore a chain around his neck with a bottle opener. His genes and constant exercise allowed his prodigious physique to not be affected by his alcoholism.

Jeremy Irons / ‘I love villains, I identify with them’

The British actor Jeremy Irons.GIANFRANCO TRIPODO

Jeremy Irons: ‘I love villains, I identify with them’

‘Brideshead Revisited,’ ‘The Mission,’ ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’… these are just some of the titles in film and television that forged the career of this great British actor. Irons originally intended to be a musician, but his physique, voice and acting skills led him down the path of cinema. EL PAÍS spoke with him in Seville

BORJA BAS

Seville - JAN 18, 2025 - 23:45 COT

He shows up alone, without a manager, and refuses to go through makeup and hairdressing. We don’t even talk about styling. It’s impossible to separate Jeremy Irons, 76, from the image he has carefully cultivated: that of a gentleman who has fled the countryside. He wears a scarf around his neck, a docker cap, jeans, cowboy boots and a worn, woolen vest.

Adrien Brody: ‘In the face of rising antisemitism, we have to find again a way to learn from our past’

Adrien Brody in Madrid on January 17.DANIEL GONZÁLEZ (EFE)

Adrien Brody: ‘In the face of rising antisemitism, we have to find again a way to learn from our past’ 

The actor is the favorite to win an Oscar for his role in ‘The Brutalist,’ where he plays László Tóth, an architect who survives the Nazi extermination and rebuilds his life in the United States

GREGORIO BELINCHÓN

Madrid - JAN 21, 2025 - 13:34 COT

Adrien Brody, 51, finds acting painful. But he likes it. Entering a Madrid hotel room with a reserved demeanor, he clutches his coat tightly around his shirt. His expression only softens when discussing legendary basketball coach Pat Riley, the architect of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Showtime era, whom he portrayed in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

Demi Moore with her Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy, on January 5 at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California.RICH POLK (GETTY IMAGES)

The 2025 Golden Globes: A golden night for ‘Emilia Pérez,’ ‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Shogun’

Jacques Audiard’s narco-musical won four awards. ‘Hacks’ and ‘Baby Reindeer’ were also big winners of a glamorous night that kicked off the awards season

MARÍA PORCEL

Beverly Hills - JAN 06, 2025 - 04:25 COT

Under the hot California sun and with heavy police protection, the 82nd Annual Golden Globes award ceremony was held on the evening of January 5. The Beverly Hilton hotel rolled out its red carpet for the more than 1,300 guests at the dinner event and party where the first major awards of the season are given out each year. But this time, unlike other years, the award winners were less obvious, especially those in film categories, which gave added excitement to the gala. The prizes were widely distributed between series and films: four went to Emilia Pérez, including the best comedy or musical category, and three to The Brutalist,including for best drama. As for series, Shogun won four, Hacks won two and Baby Reindeer won another two, repeating the Emmy scheme.

 

Claire van Kampen, theatre director and composer, dies aged 71

Wife of actor Mark Rylance worked in various roles at Shakespeare’s Globe and had been diagnosed with cancer

Nadeem Badshah
Saturday 18 January 2025

The director and composer Claire van Kampen, the wife of the actor Mark Rylance, has died at the age of 71 after being diagnosed with cancer.

 

Guy Pearce

The Q&A

Guy Pearce: ‘My ex-wife was the greatest love of my life, but I’ve moved on now’

The actor on his fear of confrontation, his love of mixed martial arts, and what is getting in the way of his sex 

Rosanna Greenstreet

Sat 18 Jan 2025 09.30 GMT

Born in Cambridgeshire, Guy Pearce, 57, grew up in Australia and was in Neighbours. He starred in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994, and in LA Confidential in 1997. He won an Emmy for the 2011 TV adaptation of Mildred Pierce. His other films include Memento, The Hurt Locker, The King’s Speech, Iron Man 3, The Convert and The Brutalist, which won three Golden Globes and is in UK cinemas from 24 January. He lives in the Netherlands with actor Carice van Houten and their son.

Denzel Washington at the premiere of 'Gladiator II' in Los Angeles on November 18, 2024.AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN (FILMMAGIC)

DENZEL WASHINGTON

Denzel Washington, the actor who never watches his own films and shuns fame

With a potential 10th Oscar nomination for ‘Gladiator II’ on the horizon, the 70-year-old actor is preparing for a new challenge: his Broadway performance in ‘Othello,’ which opens in February

ANDREA JIMÉNEZ

Madrid - JAN 10, 2025 - 23:3

“I think I’m a good guy. I always try to do the right thing.” That’s how Denzel Washingtondefines himself. The actor, born in Mount Vernon, New York, recently celebrated his 70th birthday. With more than five decades of experience, he stands as one of the finest actors of his generation. As the decade shifts, Washington is embracing new challenges, aiming to further extend his legacy not only in cinema but also on Broadway, where he is set to premiere his fifth play.

 

Joel Kinnaman on Playing a “Broken Down” Character on ‘In Treatment’

Joel Kinnaman reveals that the part was pitched to him as Aduba's "boy toy" and what appealed to him about the role and working with Aduba.

By Chris McKittrick / Actors On Acting / November 10, 2021

“I liked playing a guy who’s a little broken down and not necessarily an alpha male…. Being an actor and not being entirely successful is a tough thing to deal with.” – Joel Kinnaman on His ‘In Treatment’ Character

 

Daniel Craig in 'Queer.'

Daniel Craig: “I wouldn’t have been able to star in ‘Queer’ during the years I was playing James Bond”

The English actor is nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as a heroin-addicted writer in Luca Guadagnino’s new film and is tipped to work again with the Italian director

RAFA DE MIGUEL

London - DEC 27, 2024 - 09:17 COT

Daniel Craig, 56, has never shied away from exploring the raw passion of the characters he portrays. In Love is the Devil (1998), he played a petty thief who becomes the lover of painter Francis Bacon. On stage at the National Theatre, he embodied the young Republican and Mormon lawyer Joe Pitt in Tony Kushner’s legendary Angels in America, capturing the character’s repression and fervent passion in his exchanges with Jewish civil servant Louis Ironson, as the play delved into the fears and desires of the gay community during the AIDS crisis.

Operation save celebrities: The inner workings of the therapists who help stars to lead a ‘normal’ lifeGETTY IMAGES / PEPA ORTIZ (COLLAGE)

Operation Save the Celebrities: The inner workings of the therapists who help stars lead a ‘normal’ life 

The tragic death of Liam Payne, who had previously sought help to cope with life in the spotlight, brings new life to the debate over whether early, unbridled fame is compatible with emotional stability

MIQUEL ECHARRI

Barcelona - OCT 26, 2024 - 23:05 COT

It’s undeniably rough to have sipped from the cup of fame at an early age, only to wind up excluded from the A-list. The process of restoring a celebrity’s damaged psyche can be traumatic, its outcome uncertain.

Joaquin Phoenix at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles in October 2024.TAYLOR HILL (FILMMAGIC/GETTY)

From a cult to Hollywood royalty: Joaquin Phoenix, the star who has overcome it all

One of the most brilliant and unconventional actors of his generation turns 50 at an interesting juncture in his career. Although his last two major projects have flopped, he has a knack for coming back when least expected

EVA GÜIMIL

OCT 28, 2024 - 09:32 COT

Joaquin Phoenix’s life has always been unconventional. Born in Puerto Rico, the 50-year-old actor was raised by parents, Arlyn and John Lee Bottom, who shared a strong countercultural spirit. The couple met while hitchhiking, married soon after, and, disillusioned with American politics, left California to explore South America. There, they raised their five children — River, Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer — leading an itinerant lifestyle with little concern for material possessions. Their quest for purpose led them to join The Children of God, a religious group in which they spent years preaching while living in extreme poverty. They eventually broke ties with the group after receiving a letter from its leader, David Berg, urging members to engage in sexual relations with as many people as possible to recruit followers.

 

Gary Oldman

Review

Bram Stoker’s Dracula review – Gary Oldman is Pierrot from hell in blood-red 90s take

This article is more than 2 years old

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 all-star retelling features an outstanding performance from Oldman as the tormented count

Peter Bradshaw
Wednesday 5 October 2024

Francis Ford Coppola’s vampire tale is now revived in cinemas for its 30th anniversary, with Gary Oldman the fierce and anguished count who hundreds of years ago renounced God and embraced an eternity of parasitic horror in his rage at the unjust death of his countess (played by Winona Ryder). Dressed like the Pierrot from hell in his vast Transylvanian castle, Dracula then buys property in Victorian London, and appears there in the style of a sinister young dandy, on the scent of a woman who looks exactly like his late wife: the winsome Mina (Ryder again), fiancee to the equally demure young lawyer who journeyed to Romania to draw up Dracula’s contracts: Jonathan, played by Keanu Reeves.

 

Dsniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis ends retirement from acting after seven years

Three-time Oscar winner to star in his son Ronan’s directorial debut, Anemone, which he also co-wrote

Sian Cain

Wednesday 2 October 2024

Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis is ending his retirement from acting to star in his son’s directorial debut.

The 67-year-old British actor quit acting after starring in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 film Phantom Thread, and has largely stayed out of public life since.

But he is now set to star in a film titled Anemone, directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis, US independent production company Focus Features confirmed on Tuesday.

The film will feature actors including Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley and Safia Oakley-Green, and is currently shooting in Manchester.

Father and son wrote the screenplay, which “explores the intricate relationships between fathers, sons and brothers, and the dynamics of familial bonds”, Focus Features said.

Daniel Day-Lewis made his screen debut as a teenager in Sunday Bloody Sunday before moving on to a number of memorable period drama roles, including as Hawkeye in The Last Of The Mohicans.

He is known for his dedication to method acting, and has won three best actor Oscars, for playing disabled Irish writer Christy Brown in My Left Foot, oil man Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood and Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.

Day-Lewis was made a knight bachelor of the British empire by the Duke of Cambridge in 2014.

In June 2017 it was announced he was retiring from acting, months before Phantom Thread was released.

“Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor,” the statement, issued by his representative, read.

“He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.”

He had previously taken extended breaks from the industry, including a stint working as an apprentice shoemaker in Florence in the 1990s.

“My life as it is away from the movie set is a life where I follow my curiosity just as avidly as when I am working,” he told the Observer in 2008. “It is with a very positive sense that I keep away from the work for a while. It has always seemed natural to me that that, in turn, should help me in the work that I do.”

In January, Day-Lewis presented US film-maker Martin Scorsese with an award for his western epic Killers of the Flower Moon.

The actor, who starred in Scorsese’s Gangs Of New York and The Age Of Innocence, said working with the director was “one of the greatest joys and unexpected privileges of my life”.

THE GUARDIAN