Happy Feet

Elijah Wood (Actor) .. Mumble

Born: January 28, 1981 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Best Known For: The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Early-life: Elijah Jordan Wood was born on January 28, 1981, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has an older brother and a younger sister. Showbusiness runs in his family - his uncle is a professional musician. Elijah began performing at an early age, prompting his mother to take him to Los Angeles for the Annual International Modelling and Talent Association convention. He landed his first acting job soon afterwards. His family then sold its deli business in order to relocate with him to Hollywood.

Career: Wood's first film was Back to the Future Part II in 1989, and he quickly gained larger roles in the likes of Avalon, Forever Young, The Adventures of Huck Finn and The Good Son. North was a huge flop in 1994, and Flipper didn't fare much better, but 1997's The Ice Storm enabled him to prove he could make the transition from child roles to more mature projects. Deep Impact and The Faculty followed, but it was The Lord of the Rings trilogy that turned him into a global superstar. Since then he's appeared in such acclaimed productions as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Everything Is Illuminated and Sin City. He appeared in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as Frodo Baggins in 2012. From 2011 to 2014, he starred in FX TV comedy Wilfred.

Quote: "I think being different, being against the grain of society, is the greatest thing in the world."

Trivia: He has voiced characters in a number of video games, including Spyro the Dragon.

Robin Williams (Actor) .. Ramon/Lovelace

Born: July 21, 1952 in Chicago

Best Known For: Being one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Early-life: Robin McLaurin Williams was born in Chicago on July 21, 1951, but raised in Detroit. His father was a Ford Motor Company executive and his mother a model. The family was comfortably off. After graduating from high school he studied political science at Claremont Men's College, but quit to tackle drama at the renowned Juilliard School in New York, where he became friends with Christopher Reeve. He earned extra money performing mime.

Career: Williams started out as a stand-up comedian, making his TV debut in 1977 on The Richard Pryor Show. His big break came playing the alien Mork in Happy Days, and its hugely successful spin-off Mork and Mindy. Movie success was difficult to come by, despite starring roles in Popeye and The World According to Garp. His first box-office hit was 1987's Good Morning Vietnam. Success in Dead Poets Society, The Fisher King, Awakenings and Mrs Doubtfire followed. He was also the voice of the genie in Disney's popular animated film Aladdin. He went on to win an Academy Award for Good Will Hunting in 1997. He followed that up with critically acclaimed fare such as Insomnia and One Hour Photo, and a one-man Broadway show. His other film credits include the Night at the Museum franchise. He returned to TV in 2013 in the sitcom The Crazy Ones. After a long battle with depression, he took his own life on August 11, 2014, at the age of 63.

Quote: "You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."

Trivia: To go with his Academy Award, he won two Emmys, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammys.

Nicole Kidman (Actor) .. Norma Jean

Born: June 20, 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii

Best Known For: A string of Hollywood movies.

Early-life: Nicole Mary Kidman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 20, 1967, but spent three years in Washington DC before her parents moved to their native Sydney, Australia. Her father was a biochemist and clinical psychologist, her mother a nursing instructor. Her younger sister, Antonia, is a TV presenter in Australia. Nicole took ballet lessons, but eventually turned to acting, and received a letter of praise and encouragement from Jane Campion, who saw her in a play and later directed her in The Portrait of a Lady in 1996.

Career: At 16, Kidman made her TV and film debuts in Young Talent Time and BMX Bandits respectively. Roles in Bush Christmas and A Country Practice followed. In 1989, Dead Calm and miniseries Bangkok Hilton brought her international acclaim, and launched her career in America. Future husband Tom Cruise cast her in Days of Thunder, while To Die For proved she was more than just a pretty face. Since then, she's appeared in a number of Hollywood movies, including Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge!, The Others and The Hours (for which she won an Oscar). More recent films include Rabbit Hole, The Paperboy, The Railway Man, Grace of Monaco, Before I Go to Sleep and Paddington.

Quote: "I believe that as much as you take, you have to give back. It's important not to focus on yourself too much."

Trivia: In 1994, Kidman was appointed a goodwill ambassador for Unicef.

Hugh Jackman (Actor) .. Memphis

Born: October 12, 1968 in Sydney, Australia

Best Known For: Being Wolverine in X-Men.

Early-life: Hugh Michael Jackman was born on October 12, 1968, in Sydney, Australia. He's the youngest of five children. His parents are English. They split up when Hugh was eight. His mother returned to England, leaving him and his siblings to be raised by their father in Australia. He has a younger half-sister from his mother's remarriage. After leaving school, he gained a degree in communications from the University of Technology in Sydney. He used an inheritance from his grandmother to pay for further studies at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Career: Jackman's first TV appearance was in Australian show Law of the Land. He then appeared in several more series before making his movie debut in 1999's Paperback Hero. He took over the role of Wolverine in 2000's X-Men after Dougray Scott dropped out, and has been a star ever since. He's played the character several more times since, but admits he will soon be too old for the role. Other movies include Van Helsing, Swordfish, The Prestige, The Fountain and Australia. Jackman has also maintained a musical theatre career, gaining acclaim for his roles in Oklahoma at London's National Theatre and on Broadway in The Boy from Oz. More recently he's appeared in sci-fi movie Real Steel, the Oscar-winning Les Miserables and drama Prisoners.

Quote: "I've always felt that if you back down from a fear, the ghost of that fear never goes away. It diminishes people. So I've always said 'yes' to the thing I'm most scared about."

Trivia: He hosted the 81st Academy Awards in 2009.

Brittany Murphy (Actor) .. Gloria

Born: November 10, 1977 in Atlanta

Best Known For: Clueless.

Early-life: Born Brittany Anne Bertolotti in Atlanta on November 10, 1977 to Sharon and Angelo. Her parents divorced when she was two and she was raised by her mother in New Jersey. From the age of four, she had singing, dancing and acting lessons. Her family moved to Los Angeles in 1991 so that Brittany could pursue a career in acting. At 13, Brittany had a role in short-lived American sitcom Drexell's Class.

Career: Murphy went on to guest star in a number of TV shows, including Blossom, seaQuest 2032, Frasier, Boys Meets World and Nash Bridges. Her big break came when she was cast in teen comedy Clueless (1995). Roles followed in Freeway (1996), Girl, Interrupted (1999) and Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999). She voiced the character Luanne in animated sitcom King of the Hill from 1997 to 2009. In the 2000s, she starred in Don't Say a Word (2001), 8 Mile (2002), Sin City (2005) and Happy Feet (2006). Murphy's career was cut short prematurely on December 20, 2009 when she died at the age of 32.

Quote: "I don't think Hollywood per se is supposed to be taken seriously, otherwise, dear Lord, that would be frightening."

Trivia: In 2010, Murphy's mother established a charitable foundation in her daughter's name.

Hugo Weaving (Actor) .. Noah the Elder

Born: April 04, 1960 in Ibadan, Nigeria

Best Known For: Playing Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy

Early-life: Hugo Wallace Weaving was born on April 4, 1960, in Nigeria, to his English parents Wallace, a seismologist, and Anne, a teacher. He has an elder brother, Simon, and a younger sister, Anna. His niece, Samara Weaving, appears in Aussie soap Home and Away. The Weaving family left Nigeria when he was still a baby and, due to his dad's job, moved between the UK and South Africa before eventually settling in Australia in the late 1970s. He attended grammar school in Sydney, and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in 1981.

Career: Weaving's first major roles came in TV series Bodyline and The Dirtwater Dynasty. He also starred opposite Nicole Kidman and Denholm Elliott in 1989's mini-drama The Bangkok Hilton. More film parts followed, but the actor's big break came in 1994 with Australian movie Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Five years later he was cast as the cunning Agent Smith in The Matrix. Two sequels followed, as did another three-part epic, The Lord of the Rings, in which Weaving appeared as Elvish elder, Lord Elrond (he reprised the role in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies). Weaving's other films include V for Vendetta, Oranges and Sunshine, and Captain America.

Quote: "I'm 'of the world'. There was a time when I thought, 'Oh, I must go back to England. I feel English.' Then I went and the longer I was away, the more Australian I felt. Now, I've come back here and I don't feel entirely Australian."

Trivia: In 2004, Weaver became an ambassador for Australian animal rights organisation Voiceless.

Carlos Alazraqui (Actor) .. Nestor

Lombardo Boyar (Actor) .. Raul

George Miller (Director)

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Today on Sky Cinema Animation (500)

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