Friday, August 25, 2006

Not In The News Friday (NITNF)



NITNF will usually be a bit of trivia that I found interesting and thought you would like. It may be IR-related and it might not -- but should always be fun...or at least fascinating.

This week we will look into the lives of the actors who play an interracial married couple on tv and in a movie: Gina Torres and Alan Tudyk, also known as Zoe and Wash from the short-lived series Firefly and the movie based on the series, Serenity.

First, Gina Torres...

Torres was born at Flower Fifth Avnue Hopital in Manhattan, NY, the youngest of three children in a Afro-Cuban-American family. Her family lived briefly in Washington Heights, but later moved to The Bronx. Her parents were both natives of Cuba and her father worked as a typesetter for "La Prensa" and "The Daily News". Gina began singing at an early age, immersed in the Latin culture of her parents and her neighborhood. She attended high school at the High School of Music and Art. She applied to and was accepted to several colleges, but could not afford to attend([1]).

Torres is a gifted mezzo soprano who began her performing career as a singer, attending New York City's High School of Music and Art. Torres also trained in opera and jazz, and she performed in a gospel choir.

Torres is best known for her roles in science-fiction and fantasy. She has appeared in many television series, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (as Nebula), Xena: Warrior Princess (as Cleopatra), the short-lived Cleopatra 2525, as well as Alias (as Anna Espinosa), Firefly (as series regular Zoë Washburne), Angel (as Jasmine), and The Shield. She portrayed Julia Milliken in several episodes of the third season of 24.

In 2001 she won the ALMA Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Syndicated Drama Series for her role in Cleopatra 2525. In 2004, she was nominated for the International Press Academy's Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Drama, for her role as Jasmine in Angel.

Her film appearances include The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

She reprised her Firefly role as Zoë in the film Serenity (2005).

Also in 2005, she voiced the character of Vixen in numerous episodes of the animated series Justice League Unlimited.

She met Laurence Fishburne while filming The Matrix Revolutions. Torres and Fishburne were engaged in February 2001 and married in September 2002 at The Cloisters museum in New York City.

Source: Wikipedia: Gina Torres


Next, Alan Tudyk:

Alan Tudyk grew up in Plano, Texas. After high school, Alan attended Lon Morris Junior College from 1990-1991, where he studied drama. While there, he was an active member of Delta Psi Omega. In 1991, he was awarded the Academic Excellence award for Drama, as well as Most Likely to Succeed and Sophomore Beaus. In 1993, he continued his studies at Juilliard until 1996, when he left before earning a degree.

Alan's most prized possession was a 1964 Mustang, which he named "Old Sock."

Threw a "We Don't Work for FOX Anymore" party for the cast and crew of the short lived TV series "Firefly" upon hearing of its being cancelled.

Portrayed the robot "Sonny" in the 2004 movie I, Robot.

Source: IMDB.com: Alan Tudyk

1 comment:

Rosemary said...

I loved their characters in the Serenity movie and the TV series, too. I thought they were a very strong role model for interracial marriages. She's really a great actress, and I'm surprised to find out she was trained as a singer. A very versitile lady, that's for sure. Thanks for the information.

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