Archives for May 2010

New York Actress Leo Reflects on her Career

May 30, 2010 by Gina W Leave a Comment

Gina Wilhelm Actress – New York Actress Leo Reflects on her Career

Melissa Leo grew up in New York’s East Village and went to theater school in London. After quitting college, she nannied, waitressed–and went to an audition between shifts.

The audition was for the movie “The Razor’s Edge” and was opposite Bill Murray.

At the audition, he gave her some advice: “‘You’re much too young for this part, but if you really want to do this, you should just do it.”

Leo said, “He seemed, in the moment, to be saying I had something…I felt he was giving me a gift. Whether he was or not, I have no idea. But I quit work that afternoon and said, ‘I will now only take work as an actor.'”

It paid off, eventually. She worked on TV for a while, starring on “Homicide: Life on the Streets” for a while.

Now she is about to star on the HBO series “Treme” as well as a remake of “Mildred Pierce” and will lead in “The Dry Land.”

She also starred in “Frozen River,” for which she received an Oscar nomination nearly 25 years after her fateful audition with Bill Murray.

Of her career, she says, “There was nothing that was going to deter me from it. Now I get this gratitude coming from very fine actors I know who cannot get hired. They thank me for staying in there and proving to them that if they just stick with it, that’s all it might take.”

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Joanna Garcia

May 29, 2010 by Gina W Leave a Comment

Gina Wilhelm Actress – Joanna Garcia

Joanna Garcia is engaged to New York Yankees’ outfielder Nick Swisher.

Swisher told “Sports Illustrated” in September 2009 said that the “Privileged” star was “his lady.” Swisher also called Garcia “amazing” on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”

In addition to starring as Megan Smith on “Privileged,” Garcia also starred as Cheyenne on “Reba.”

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Holly Robinson Peete

May 24, 2010 by Gina W Leave a Comment

Gina Wilhelm Actress – Holly Robinson Peete

The final round of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” aired tonight, deciding between actress Holly Robinson Peete and rocker Brett Michaels.

Robinson Peete, who starred on shows like “21 Jump Street” and “Love, Inc.,” was playing for a chance to win a prize for her charity of choice, HollyRod.

HollyRod is a charitable foundation set up by the actress and her husband, former NFL player Rodney Peete, to support families who have a loved one with a serious medical condition.

Both Robinson Peete and Michaels developed new flavors of Snapple tea and gave strong presentations. Robinson Peete’s flavor is CompassionBerry, while Micheals’ is Trop-a-Rocka.

However, in the face of a number of life-threatening medical conditions in recent weeks, Michaels was the heavy favorite to win the competition.

At the start of the final episode, Robinson Peete revealed that her 5-year-old son had told her “Mom, I love you, but I’m kinda pulling for Bret.”

I won’t reveal the winner here, but both Michaels’ and Robinson Peete’s tea flavors are available for purchase for a limited time.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Megan Fox Transformers 3

May 20, 2010 by Gina W Leave a Comment

Gina Wilhelm Actress – Megan Fox Transformers 3

On Wednesday, May 19th, Paramount Studios announced that actress Megan Fox would not be returning to reprise her role as Mikaela Banes in “Transformers 3.”

In the early part of the day, Paramount said the studio had declined to pick up Megan Fox’s contractual option for the third movie.

However, by the evening, Megan Fox’s representative reported that it was the actress herself who chose not to appear in the movie.

Last summer there was a heated exchange between Megan Fox and Michael Bay, the director of the previous “Transformers” movies.

Regardless of whose decision it was, when “Transformers 3” opens in summer 2011, star Shia LaBeouf will likely get a new female love interest.

Of interest is the report that Megan Fox auditioned for the role in the first place by washing Michael Bay’s ferrari while he filmed her. I wonder whose car she’ll wash next.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Many Meetings on Auditions

May 17, 2010 by Gina W Leave a Comment

Gina Wilhelm Actress – Audition Meetings

This afternoon I met with two friends to talk about auditions and how I can improve my results in them.

My first meeting was with Cyndi Thomsen, who directed me in “A Christmas Story” and was present at my Theatre Puget Sound general audition.

At our meeting, she suggested a variety of things, including meeting with a singing teacher who could find a song that suits me well and isn’t likely to be sung by every other actress coming into the room.

She suggested a number of classes, as well as taking something like Zumba or yoga to keep limber and active.

The most important thing she advised was to find monologues and songs that really show who the actor is.

As a director, she’s had people come in and obviously audition for a particular role. Those people don’t generally get the part. But those who connect to their monologue tend to get the callback and often the role.

She suggested asking onself, “What am I saying to the director?”

Afterwards, I met with Sam Longoria, writer, director, producer, editor, and actor. We wrote an audition monologue together. It’s hilarious, and I can guarantee no one else will perform it at my next audition.

Thank you so much to both Cyndi and Sam for your invaluable help!

Gina Wilhelm Actress