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Peter Dinklage is an American actor. Since his breakout role in The Station Agent (2003), he has appeared in numerous films and theater plays. Since 2011, Dinklage has portrayed Tyrion Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011). For this role, he won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (four times) and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 2011.

Peter Hayden Dinklage was born in Morristown, New Jersey, to Diane (Hayden), an elementary school teacher, and John Carl Dinklage, an insurance salesman. He is of German, Irish, and English descent. In 1991, he received a degree in drama from Bennington College and began his career. His exquisite theater work, which brilliantly expresses the unique range of his acting qualities, includes remarkable performances full of profoundness, charisma, intelligence, sensation, and insights in such plays as "The Killing Act," "Imperfect Love," and Ivan Turgenev's "A Month in the Country," as well as the title roles in William Shakespeare's "Richard III" and in Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya."

Peter Dinklage received acclaim for his first film, Living in Oblivion (1995), in which he played an actor frustrated with the limited and caricatured roles offered to actors who have dwarfism. In 2003, he starred in The Station Agent (2003), written and directed by Tom McCarthy. The movie received critical praise as did Dinklage's work, including nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role at the Screen Actors Guild and Best Male Lead at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. One of his next roles was as Miles Finch, an acclaimed children's book author, in Elf (2003). Find Me Guilty (2006), the original English Death at a Funeral (2007), its American remake Death at a Funeral (2010), Penelope (2006), The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) are also included in his brilliant work concerning feature films.

Dinklage's fine work in television also includes such shows as Entourage (2004), Life as We Know It (2004), Threshold (2005), and Nip/Tuck (2003). In 2011, the primary role of Tyrion Lannister, a man of sharp wit and bright spirit, in Game of Thrones (2011) was incarnated with unique greatness in Dinklage's unparalleled performance. The series is an adaptation of author George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and Dinklage's work in it has received widespread praise, highlighted by his receiving of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards (2011), The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards (2015), The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards (2018), and The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards (2019), as well as of the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.

Dinklage has voiced, among other characters, Captain Gutt in Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and the Mighty Eagle in The Angry Birds Movie (2016), and starred in the comedy horror film Knights of Badassdom (2013) while his tour de force interpretations as a multifarious chameleon of substantial mastery and artistic generosity also include film and TV gems such as Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Three Christs (2017), and I Think We're Alone Now (2018).

Actor, producer, musician, and content creator Kira Kosarin is, as TeenVogue put it, "a real-life superhero." Kira is currently Executive Producing and starring in the new spin-off to her wildly popular 2013-2018 Nickelodeon show 'The Thundermans', after spearheading its reunion with the 2023 Paramount + film 'The Thundermans Return'. In August this year, Kira also premiered her role as Betsy Kelso on the hit Netflix series 'That '90s Show' to incredible excitement from audiences across the world.

When it comes to multi-camera comedy, Kira is in a league of her own, and with 40 million fans across social platforms avidly watching as she shares her experiences, educates, and entertains, she shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Linda Hunt is a veteran character actress who had only just begun acting in motion pictures when director Peter Weir required her peculiarities to animate one of cinema's most esoteric characters, Billy Kwan, the intellectual and virtuous Chinese-Australian dwarf and photographer, in the Australian romantic drama, The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). Hunt's work in the film earned an Oscar, among many critic awards, all for Best Supporting Actress.

Ward was born in Morristown, New Jersey but moved to a farm in North Carolina with his family at a young age. He grew up riding horses, playing basketball and acting. He attended Wake Forest University where he earned a BA in Business. After a few years as an investment banker in NC, Ward moved to NYC to pursue his acting career.

Danika Yarosh was born on October 1, 1998 in Morristown, New Jersey. An avid dancer, Danika quickly found her footing in the dance world, winning titles at many regional and national competitions. It was this high energy performance background that enabled her graceful transition to the Broadway stage where she played Karen Davidson in the Tony award winning hit Billy Elliot: The Musical. Since then, Danika has worked in various other mediums such as print, commercial, television, and film. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Edward Lachman was born on 31 March 1948 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Far from Heaven (2002), Carol (2015) and Ken Park (2002).

Joe Dante is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art. After a stint as a film reviewer, he began his filmmaking apprenticeship in 1974 as trailer editor for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. He made his directorial debut in 1976 with Hollywood Boulevard (1976) (co-directed with Allan Arkush), a thinly disguised spoof of New World exploitation pictures, shot in ten days for $60,000.

In 1977 Dante made his solo debut as a film director with Piranha (1978), which went on to become one of the company's biggest hits and was distributed throughout the rest of the world by United Artists. During his tenure at New World, Dante edited Ron Howard's directorial debut Grand Theft Auto (1977) and co-wrote the original story for Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979).

For Avco-Embassy Dante next directed the highly praised werewolf thriller The Howling (1981), followed by the It's a Good Life segment of the episodic Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983).

Having worked with Steven Spielberg on Twilight Zone, Dante was chosen to helm one of the first Amblin Productions for Warner Bros. Gremlins (1984) became a runaway hit and grossed more than $200 million worldwide.

Dante followed up with Explorers (1985) for Paramount, a sci-fi fantasy about three kids who build their own spaceship, and then Innerspace (1987) for Guber/Peters, Amblin and Warner Bros., an action comedy in which miniaturized test pilot Dennis Quaid is injected into the body of supermarket clerk Martin Short.

Tom Hanks starred in Dante's next film for Imagine/Universal, The 'Burbs (1989), which was followed by Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) for Warner Bros. in 1990. Matinee (1993) featuring John Goodman as a huckster showman premiering his new horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was a production of Dante and partner Michael Finnell's Renfield Productions for Universal in 1993.

Dreamworks/Universal's Small Soldiers was released in 1998, followed in 2003 by Warner Bros. Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) featuring one of Dante's favorite actors, Bugs Bunny.

Dante's Homecoming (2005), debuted in December 2005 to rave reviews from critics and audiences alike and was named to numerous "Top 10" critics lists. The Sitges and Brussels International Film Festivals both honored Homecoming with Special Jury Recognition Awards, and the New Yorker called it the best political film of 2005. More recent work includes The Screwfly Solution (2006), and Boo (2007). His new 3D thriller, The Hole (2009), for Bold Films recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it garnered the first-ever award for Best 3D Feature.

Dante also produces the critically-acclaimed webisode/mobile phone series, Trailers from Hell.

Along the way Dante contributed several comedy segments to the multi-part Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) spoof produced by John Landis, and directed various episodes of the tv series Amazing Stories (1985), The Twilight Zone (1985), Police Squad! (1982), Night Visions (2001) and Picture Windows (1994). He also directed the network pilots for The Osiris Chronicles (1998) and the NBC series Eerie, Indiana (1991), on which he was creative consultant throughout its run.

Dante received Cable Ace nominations for his direction of Showtime's Runaway Daughters (1994) and HBO's The Second Civil War (1997).

Kyle Newman is an award-wining filmmaker and New York Times Bestselling, Hugo Award-nominated author.

His directorial work encompasses multiple feature films including, Fanboys, the Star Wars-fueled comedy starring Kristen Bell and Seth Rogen, the action-comedy Barely Lethal starring Oscar Nominees Hailee Steinfeld and Samuel L. Jackson for A24 Films, and his most recent, 1UP, starring Ruby Rose for Lionsgate and Buzzfeed Studios set in the world of eSports.

He has directed the music industry's top artists including Taylor Swift ("Style", "Clean" and 1989 World Tour content featuring Selena Gomez, Haim and more), Lana Del Rey ("Summertime Sadness") and Cyn ("House with a View") guest starring Katy Perry with his video work garnering billions of views.

Newman produced the critically acclaimed documentary Raiders: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, about three teenagers who set out to recreate Steven Spielberg's classic Raiders of the Lost Ark shot-for-shot (distributed by Drafthouse Films/Neon) and executive produced the 2021 thriller Happily. He also crafted the story for the hit Netflix Original animated feature Gnome Alone for Shrek-producer John H. Williams.

He is a New York Times bestselling author known for his work on the Hugo Award and Locus Award-nominated Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana, a history of the world's greatest roleplaying game as well as Heroes' Feast: The Official Dungeons & Dragons Cookbook, which debuted on all major bestseller lists including The Wall Street Journal, USA Todayand Publisher's Weekly. He is at work on his soon to be announced third and fourth books for publisher Penguin Random House.

Newman, an honors graduate of NYU's Tisch School of Film/TV and the recipient of the esteemed 'Martin Scorsese Award for Excellence in Directing', has written and/or directed for clients including The Microsoft Corp., Interscope Records, Starz Entertainment, Wizards of the Coast (Hasbro), The Coca-Cola Company, Starwars,20th Century Fox, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed, Big Machine Records, Lionsgate, Endemol Shine, Millennium Films, Pacific Life Insurance, Lucasfilm, Ltd., Games For Windows, A24 Films, Awesomeness TV, Hooters of America, Titan Publishing, Unsub Records, The Saturday Group and Universal Republic Music.

A proud member of the Director's Guild of America, he resides in Los Angeles with his three sons James Knight, Leo Thames and Etienne Noel.

Fran Lebowitz was born on 27 October 1950 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Law & Order (1990) and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001).

Kristina Apgar was born on 10 June 1985 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008), Privileged (2008) and Detroit 1-8-7 (2010).

Akshay Oberoi was born on 1st January 1985 in Morristown, New Jersey, United States. He attended Newark Academy for middle school and high school and pursued a bachelor's degree in Theater Arts and Economics at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He also completed acting training in Stella Adler in New York City and then Playhouse West in Los Angeles, where he learned the Meisner technique. During his education, he studied acting under John Astin from The Addams Family. He also studied ballet, jazz and hip-hop dance at Broadway Dance Center. He moved to India and did plays at the famous Prithvi Theatre and received training from Kishore Namit Kapoor.

Oberoi started his career by working at the famed Prithvi Theatre in Juhu with Makrand Deshpande. Starting with backstage work, Makrand noted his passion and offered him a part in Miss Beautiful. Oberoi then made his film debut in Sooraj Barjatya's Isi Life Mein. On its release the film failed to work at the box office. However, Oberoi was lauded by the critics for his work in the film. Oberoi then moved to television work post the release of his first film. In 2012, he played the lead role in Bejoy Nambiar's MTV Rush. Nambiar, impressed with Oberoi's work on the show, offered him his second film, the Tamil remake of the suspense thriller Pizza. Pizza released on 18 July 2014, where Oberoi was once again praised by the critics but the film failed to click . Post this Oberoi starred in supporting parts in big budget films like Fitoor and Piku. Oberoi's next release was Laal Rang in 2016, a film co-staring Randeep Hooda, based on the blood mafia that is prevalent in the northern parts of India. Oberoi followed this up with the indie-noir film Gurgaon in 2017. On its release both the film and Oberoi received rave reviews. It also marks the first time Oberoi played an Antagonist. In the year following this, Oberoi starred in the adult comedy Kalakaandi, co-staring Saif Ali Khan. In 2019 he had three releases a comedy film Bombairiya, with Radhika Apte, an action thriller, Junglee, directed by Chuck Russell (the director of The Mask) and Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. Oberoi has also starred in various digital series. In 2019, he starred in the Netflix original, Selection Day. Other notable titles include, Its Not So Simple, The Test Case, Bar Code and Hum Tum and Them.

Akshay's father, Krishan Oberoi, is the brother of the actor Suresh Oberoi and thus Akshay is first cousin to Vivek Oberoi. On 24 March 2011, Oberoi married Jyothi Vynatheya, a strategy consultant with Dalberg Global Development Advisors. Akshay first met Jyothi at Newark Academy. Their son, Avyaan, was born in April 2017.

Kyle Catlett was born on 16 November 2002 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor, known for Poltergeist (2015), The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013) and The Pale of Settlement (2013).

Perennial film western heavy I. Stanford Jolley could be spotted anywhere and everywhere in dusty "B" fare from 1935 on. Often mustachioed, this freelancing, wideset-eyed, black-hatted villain, who showed up in Hollywood following vaudeville and Broadway experience, could be counted on to give the sagebrush hero a devil of a time before the film's end.

Born on October 24, 1900, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Morristown, Jolley was nicknamed "Ike" (short for his given name "Isaac") by his parents but "Stan" by his friends. Of French and English descent, his entertainment-minded father, Robert B. Jolley, at one time owned and operated a traveling circus and carnival before becoming a successful restaurateur and opening an electrical contracting service. Jolley worked at his father's electrical store following high school for a time but then drifted around for a few years while searching for a passionate direction in life.

Around the time he married Emily Hacker in 1921, he took an interest in performing and started in vaudeville for both the B.F. Keith and Marcus Loew circuits. He also performed on stage and in stock shows, which led to a role as a blind man on Broadway in "Humoresque" in 1926. His father's death interrupted his acting pursuits, and he returned home to New Jersey in 1929 in order to handle the family's business affairs when the Great Depression brought his father's company to virtual bankruptcy.

In 1935, Jolley took a chance and moved his family (which now included two children) out west in order to reignite his acting career. His raw, sunken-cheeked, cold-eyed features seemed ideal for westerns and he found initial work in the genre in extra parts, wherein he learned how to ride horses on the spot. Although one of his first bits was in the Bette Davis drama Front Page Woman (1935), it wasn't long before he was firmly entrenched in oaters, playing uncredited bits throughout the rest of the 1930s. Slowly but surely he transitioned to featured roles in the WWII era, playing a reliable adversary to such cowboy heroes as Ray Corrigan in Trail of the Silver Spurs (1941) and Boot Hill Bandits (1942); Tom Keene in Arizona Roundup (1942); George Houston in Border Roundup (1942) and Outlaws of Boulder Pass (1942); Robert Livingston in Death Rides the Plains (1943) and Wolves of the Range (1943); Russell Hayden in Frontier Law (1943); Buster Crabbe in the western serial Blazing Frontier (1943), The Kid Rides Again (1943), and Lightning Raiders (1945)_; Dave O'Brien in Return of the Rangers (1943) and Outlaw Roundup (1944); and Tex Ritter in Oklahoma Raiders (1944), Gangsters of the Frontier (1944), and The Whispering Skull (1944).

Jolley's array of gunslingers, henchmen, and outlaws continued into the postwar years, but he wasn't completely confined to westerns. He also made appearances in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) starring Errol Flynn and Bette Davis, The Ape (1940) with Boris Karloff (in which Jolley's little boy Stan Jolley appeared as an extra in a soda shop), Corregidor (1943) with Otto Kruger, the serial Batman (1943), Charlie Chan in the Chinese Cat (1944) with Sidney Toler, The Desert Hawk (1944) with Gilbert Roland, The Crimson Ghost (1946), the serials King of the Rocket Men (1949) and Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (1951), Joan of Arc (1948) with Ingrid Bergman, and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) with John Wayne.

Come the 1950s, however, Jolley was almost completely confined in films and on TV to the western genre. On the small screen he became a familiar nemesis to "The Lone Ranger" and also played guest villain to "Annie Oakley," "Hopalong Cassidy, "The Cisco Kid," "Kit Carson," "Cheyenne" and "Daniel Boone". Jolley's baritone voice was also used on radio for such shows as The Lux Radio Theatre. He continued to act past age 70, including in his last film, Night of the Lepus (1972), directed partly by his son Stan Jolley, who also became an Oscar-nominated art director.

The heavy-smoking character actor was diagnosed with emphysema in his final years and died of the respiratory illness on December 6, 1978, at the Motion Picture and TV Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.

Shawn Stevens (born April 5, 1958) is an American film, television and stage actor, singer and entrepreneur.

Life Overview Shawn Stevens was born Shawn Perry Stevens in Morristown, New Jersey April 5, 1958, the first child of Gary Kieth Stevens, a carpenter, pilot and construction contractor, and Gladys Edna (Chich) Smith, a homemaker. Stevens lived in Morristown, New Jersey until his family moved to Burbank, Ca. in 1969. Stevens is the oldest of 3 children. He has a sister Jodi Beth (Blatz. b/1961) and brother Gary Kieth Jr. (b/1963). Stevens was raised Church of Christ and converted to Mormonism at age 19. Stevens married Kaylene McLaws in 1984 and together they have 4 children, Tauren-Ashlee (Tucker b. 1985), Shawn Kory (b. 1989), Perry Christian (b. 1981) and Vince Kayson (b. 1993). Shawn has 1 grandson and is expecting a 2nd in the summer of 2014. Shawn is uncle to actor/musician Kelly Blatz (One Square Mile, Aaron Stone, April Showers, and Prom Night).

Jersey Boy Stevens' parents were very young and still in high school (Bernard's High, Bernardsville, New Jersey) when he was born and Shawn attended his parents' high school graduation. In his infancy Shawn spent a great deal of time with his maternal and paternal grandparents and extended family who all lived in the vicinity. From his paternal grandmother (Stevens' father's father passed away in 1961 when Shawn was 3 years old) and great-grandparents, Stevens developed a deep abiding faith in God. Stevens' great grandfather, Eddie Grindley, was a Church of Christ minister who founded several Christian summer camps (Camp Shiloh in Mendham, N.J and Camp Hunt near Hubbardsville, New York) primarily for inner-city youth from the boroughs of New York City. The singer/actor Pat Boone was a close family friend during these years. Through his maternal grandparents, who were Methodists, Stevens was schooled in music and the arts. Stevens' grandmother Alberta May (Trebilcock), or Nana, was a piano player while his grandfather Vince William Smith (a U.S. Navy Veteran of WW2) was a Wall Street banker, violinist and painter. Stevens' first exposure to live theater came when his Nana would take him to the nearby Papermill Playhouse in Milburn New Jersey to see children's plays and musicals, his favorite being The Frog Prince. Stevens also remembers seeing Raymond Burr in a live stage production and his first trip into New York City to see the world premiere of The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964 starring Debbie Reynolds who Shawn would later meet while in high school) at Radio City Music Hall with The Rockettes opening the show.

As a child, Stevens remembers his first performance opportunity came in kindergarten (at South Street Elementary in Morristown New Jersey) as a clown in a school variety show. Shawn noticed that the older boy who was playing the "strong man" had left his bar bells on the stage. Not wanting to see the show ruined by the prop being left on stage, Shawn rushed out to center stage and retrieved the fake weights with one hand. To his amazement the audience broke out in laughter and applause. Stevens bowed and 'a ham was born'. Shawn knew that this was what he wanted to do with his life. Stevens would follow up his New Jersey elementary school acting "career" with portrayals of The Mighty Oak in The Oak and the Reed and as a Dwarf in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Stevens also developed a love for singing and would enjoy singing holiday and patriotic songs when prompted by his teachers. Stevens remembers singing America the Beautiful in front of his 2nd grade class. When funding was cut for music instruction in school Shawn jumped in and prevailed on the teacher to let him take over. Shawn remembers teaching his classmates songs like Born Free and Edelweiss. Stevens would also conduct acapella hymn singing (Church of Christ does not have instrumental music) in his church congregation as early as 10 years of age.

The Wonder Full Years When Stevens was 10 his family moved to California so his father could pursue career opportunities. Stevens felt that this was fortuitous for his desire to have a performing career as well. (Shawn remembers his parting words to his friends when driving away from his home as "watch for me on TV!"). Within months of landing in Burbank, California (home of Walt Disney, Universal, Warner Bros. and NBC Studios) Shawn had hand written a letter to Walt Disney introducing himself, and with the help of a friend's father (who worked at Disney) delivered the letter to Mr. Disney's office. Although this didn't lead to a personal meeting with Mr. Disney, the letter was passed off to the head of the Disney children's casting office and a meeting was granted. He was told to get some more experience and to be in every local and school production possible and that the time would come. That's all Shawn needed to hear. That summer, Shawn's elementary school, Thomas Jefferson Elementary, was making a film as a summer activity of The Wizard of Oz. Shawn wanted to play his favorite character, The Cowardly Lion, and the audition criteria was whoever made the best costume got the part. Shawn and his mom set about dyeing pajamas, attaching fake nails to socks and fashioning yarn to make a wig and mane. Their efforts paid off and Shawn was in his glory that summer hamming it up in front of the 16 mm camera. Through another family friend that year Shawn heard about a local theater, The Glendale Centre Theatre, in neighboring Glendale, California that was casting a production of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Shawn auditioned and was cast as The Spirit of Christmas Past, a role generally played by an adult. This production played to a sold out house of 350+ patrons nightly for 6 weeks. Shawn had found a home! Stevens remained the resident young male actor at GCT through his adolescence and teens, oft times taking the bus to and from the theater, performing in every play possible including The Remarkable Mister Pennypacker, I Remember Mama, Up the Down Staircase, Turn 'Round West Wind and the annual A Christmas Carol, maturing into multiple roles (Shawn's wife and children would later appear in the production making it a family affair. Life would come full circle!) Stevens was simultaneously highly involved in his junior high school (John Muir Jr. High) and senior high school (Burbank Senior High, class of 1976) drama, choral music and, even, band departments (Shawn took up playing the bass drum) where he sang barbershop, men's, mixed, and madrigal music (Shawn was awarded Best Male Vocalist for 4 straight years), played in marching band, and played leads in such plays as Barefoot in the Park, Bad Seed, David and Lisa (directed by classmate Tim Burton) and, his personal favorite, portrayed Prof. Harold Hill in Meredith Wilson's The Music Man. Other high school musical highlights including Shawn receiving a vocal scholarship to Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts, where Shawn won the coveted opportunity to sing the school Alma Mater at commencement, and participation in the Southern California and All-State Honor Choirs, the latter directed by Roger Wagner (of the world famous Roger Wagner Choral). Not one to waste time during his summer breaks from high school, Shawn participated in the Teenage Drama Workshop at California State, Northridge where he would study musical theater. Another alum from this program, who would become a great friend, is the award winning actress Mare Winningham (Amber Waves, Hatfields and McCoys).

Adversity and Opportunity At age 13 Shawn had back to back removal of his tonsils and appendix and, when his mother offered him a treat for having endured going under the knife, asked if he could have voice lessons. He began taking voice lessons, with an emphasis on musical theater. (He would later study with Seth Riggs, Nolan Van Way and David Craig.) As a side note, Shawn had several illnesses during his teen years and was forced to miss school for extended periods of time. Although he did keep up with his schoolwork from home he also used this time to watch the many classic movies that used to play on television during the daytime and evenings. He would develop a deep respect and admiration for the great actors from the golden age of film and would put many of the great scenes and monologues to memory. Henry Fonda, Orson Welles and Jimmy Stewart were among his favorites and he was overjoyed at the prospects of meeting and perhaps working with them someday, which he was able to accomplish. He even met Debbie Reynolds by whom he had been mesmerized as a youth while watching her onscreen at the Radio City Music Hall in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Again, his young life had come full circle!

On The Road During his senior year of high school, Stevens auditioned for and was invited to join the singing group "The Young Americans' where he participated in their summer repertory group "Torchlite Musical Theater" in Petosky, Michigan. During his first summer away from home he played a variety of roles in the musicals George M., Oklahoma, GODSPEL, and The Music Man. Stevens was also invited to tour with the group in a 9 month, 165 city, 48 state tour which he says was one of the most grueling experiences of his life.

(Shawn's only post high school educational experience came in the form of a semester at Los Angeles Valley College where he participated in the musical Fiddler on the Roof in the role of Perchik.)

After landing back in L.A., Stevens auditioned for a role which was to change the course of his life. A family friend knew of a director who was looking for a young man to play the lead in a low-budget independent feature. The film was called "No Place to Ride" and was a thriller about 3 friends being terrorized by a crazed killer while dirt biking in the southeastern badlands of Utah. Shawn was offered the part and was off to Utah (Kanab) for 6 weeks. It was while in Utah that Stevens had the opportunity to witness Mormonism at work and where he developed the desire to investigate the LDS Church further when he returned to Los Angeles. This led to his becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) in 1977 at age 19. (About this time Shawn also signed with personal manager, Bonnie Larson (also LDS), who would groom Shawn and place him with noted theatrical agent Arnold Soloway at The Artist Group.) Shortly after becoming a Mormon and setting out on his new faith journey Shawn was offered the leading role of Jimmy in the LDS landmark musical "Saturday's Warrior", with which he toured the western United States for the next year.

Big Break Stevens' big break into television came in the summer of 1978 when he landed the leading role in the William Blinn (Brian's Song, Roots, 8 is Enough, Starsky and Hutch) penned and produced series "The Mackenzies of Paradise Cove" for ABC. The series was filmed entirely in Hawaii and co-starred Clu Gulager (The Virginian), Sean Marshall (Pete's Dragon) and Keith Coogan (Adventures in Babysitting). Although the series only lasted 1 season, it was enough to catapult Stevens into the spotlight. Shawn was quickly picked up by the teen magazines and in 1980, at the non-teen age of 20, was named the most popular "Teen Idol" by Laufer Publications (Tiger Beat, Teen Beat) due to the tremendous amount of fan mail he received at their offices. Shawn would continue to dominate the covers and pages of teen targeted publications through the mid 80's.

Career Stevens continued to work on television and in films (see filmography) continuously throughout the early and mid '80's. He appeared in a wide variety of genres and acting styles including soaps, sit-coms, afterschool specials, episodic, and mini-series' and would appear as himself on game shows, talk shows, and telethons. Shawn would eagerly use his "celebrity" status to participate in charitable causes such as being a national spokesman for the March of Dimes' Walk America and also serving as host for 4 years of the Miss Teen USA Pageant. One of Shawn's most rewarding experiences was when he was invited to be the guest of honor and perform at a fundraiser for the Morristown N.J. chapter of Birthright. He was surprised to have the date proclaimed "Shawn Stevens Day" in his hometown and to be given the Key to the City by the mayor. In addition to acting, Shawn was simultaneously pursuing a singing career. He was featured as a singer in numerous live events across the country and on television. It was while singing on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow (Shawn's character sang live 2 to 3 times a week) that Shawn caught the attention of iconic record producer Michael Lloyd (Shaun Cassidy, Debbie Boone, Leif Garrett, and The Osmonds) and was signed to a recording contract with Warner/Curb Records. Not one to rest on his laurels, Shawn always had the dream of giving back and starting a children's theater like the one that had inspired him as a child. In 1983 Shawn turned the dream into a reality when he founded The Children's Theater of Los Angeles with the assistance of Magic Castle founder Milt Larsen. Mr. Larsen also owned the historic Variety Arts Theater in downtown Los Angeles which became the home of the CTLA. The inaugural production of the CTLA was an original musical called I Will which followed a group of children into the Tudorian world of William Shakespeare. Although a critical success, the show lost money and the support of backers and Shawn was forced to reconsider his foray into the world of children's theater. The theater company closed after it's second production, Big Time.

Focus on Family In 1983 Shawn met the love of his life, Kaylene McLaws, (a fashion designer within the garment industry) at church and after a year's courtship they were married June 16, 1984. Together they have 4 children (Tauren-Ashlee b. 1985 (married Dylan Tucker 2012), Shawn Kory Albert b. 1989 (married Mallory Peterson 2011), Perry Christian Garack b. 1991, Vince Kayson Clark b. 1993) and have one grandchild, Shawn Jeremiah, and are expecting a second, Jack Dylan, in the summer of 2014. In 1987 Shawn participated in an LDS missionary film called "Our Heavenly Father's Plan" and, after searching his conscience, decided to voluntarily put his professional career on the shelf so as to allow the film to serve its purpose worldwide. Shawn also took this as an opportunity to pursue other interests and focus on his family and personal growth.

Second Act In 2012, after 25 years offstage, Shawn was given the opportunity to audition for the legendary 50's and 60's doo wop group The Diamonds (Li'l Darlin', The Stroll) and was invited to perform with them during a 4 month engagement headlining the world famous Palm Springs Follies. During this experience Shawn remembered how much he missed and loved performing and, with the love and support of his family, decided to set about returning to his passion. Shawn will be appearing in the T.C. Christensen penned and directed feature The Cokeville Miracle to be filmed the summer of 2014 and has several other projects in development including reality show concepts and theatrical productions.

Bonnie Lee Bakley was born on 7 June 1956 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress. She was married to Robert Blake, John Ray, Glynn H.Wolfe, E.Robert Telufson, William Webber, Joseph Brooksher, Demart C. Besly, Robert Moon, Paul Gawron and Evangelos Paulakis. She died on 4 May 2001 in Studio City, California, USA.

Derek Drymon was born on 19 November 1968 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. He is a writer, known for SpongeBob SquarePants (1999), Underwater (2020) and CatDog (1998). He is married to Nancy Drymon. They have two children.

Jill Abramovitz was born in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. Jill is an actor, known for Chicago Med (2015), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).

Daria Grinkova was born on 11 September 1992 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for Snowden on Ice (1997), Kristi Yamaguchi: Friends and Family (2006) and My Sergei (1998).

Jennifer Hazelip was born on January 2 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA.

She earned a BA in Theatre from Penn State University, and moved to NYC upon graduation to attend the William Esper Studio in Manhattan. After graduating from their two-year Meisner program, she moved to West Hollywood, CA where she worked in print modeling and commercials.

She has been married to actor Robert Forrest since May 3, 2003. They have 3 children. Together they own Impact Creative Arts Academy in Summerville, SC.

Jonathan Arthur was born on 1 July 1980 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. He is a producer and assistant director, known for Avatar (2009), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and The Fate of the Furious (2017).

Gwenn Mitchell was born on 6 July 1942 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for Shaft (1971), Chosen Survivors (1974) and Mission: Impossible (1966).

Kara Drew was born on 15 July 1975 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for WWE Smackdown! (1999), WWE Raw (1993) and ECW on Sci-Fi (2006).

Karin Justman was born on 13 March 1970 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for Ford v Ferrari (2019), Baby Driver (2017) and The Guardian (2006).

Jonathan Marc Sherman was born on 10 October 1968 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for tick, tick... BOOM! (2021), Merrily We Roll Along and American Playhouse (1980).

Mary Ford was born on 4 September 1893 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. She was married to John Ford and Robert C. Martin. She died on 29 July 1979 in Riverside, California, USA.