Hostages Cast Biographies

11 December 2013

Cast Biographies

TONI COLLETTE (Ellen Sanders)

Emmy® and Golden Globe award winner Toni Collette starred in the television series United States of Tara, for which she earned an Emmy® Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, as well as two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. She made an indelible impression with her portrayal as the hopeless and desperate Muriel Heslop in the feature film Muriel’s Wedding, and earned an Academy Award® nomination for her performance in M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological drama The Sixth Sense.

Most recently, Collette can be seen in the feature films The Way, Way Back, opposite her Little Miss Sunshine co-star Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney; Hitchcock, opposite Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren; and Mental, with Anthony LaPaglia and Liev Schreiber. Next up for Collette is the film Enough Said, also starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini and Catherine Keener, which hits theaters September 2013, and the upcoming feature A Long Way Down.

Collette’s other feature film credits include Jesus Henry Christ, Fright Night, Towelhead, Evening, the Australian children’s film Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger, independent films Foster and The Black Balloon, and the Australian animated film Mary and Max, to which she lent her voice. Some of Collette’s other projects include Little Miss Sunshine, The Night Listener, Australian film Like Minds, The Dead Girl, In Her Shoes, Japanese Story, Connie and Carla, The Last Shot, Changing Lanes, About a Boy, The Hours, the 2000 remake of Shaft, Velvet Goldmine, Emma and independent films Dirty Deeds and The Boys. Additional film credits include Dinner with Friends, The Magic Pudding, Hotel Splendide, The James Gang, Clockwatchers, The Pallbearer, Lilian’s Story, Spotswood and Cosi.

In 2000, Collette starred on Broadway in the revival of The Wild Party, with Mandy Patinkin and Eartha Kitt. Born and raised in Australia, Collette was a student at Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).

Collette lives in Australia.

DYLAN McDERMOTT (Duncan Carlisle)

Golden Globe Award winner and Emmy® nominee Dylan McDermott has proven his talent in film, television and theater. Recently, McDermott starred in the award-winning television thriller American Horror Story. Additional television credits include starring roles in the series Dark Blue, The Grid and The Practice – the latter of which earned him a Golden Globe Award (and two nominations) and an Emmy® nomination. 

On the big screen, McDermott was recently seen in the feature film Olympus Has Fallen, alongside Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and will next be seen in the forthcoming features Mercy and Autómata. McDermott’s other film credits include The Campaign, In the Line of Fire, Wonderland, Home for the Holidays, Steel Magnolias, Miracle on 34th Street [1994] and Hamburger Hill.

In the theater, McDermott starred in Nicky Silver’s Three Changes at Playwrights Horizons in New York. Additionally, he starred in Eve Ensler’s The Treatment, for which he was nominated for a Drama League Award. He was also seen in Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues and Golden Boy, directed by Joanne Woodward at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

TATE DONOVAN (Brian Sanders)

Tate Donovan recently starred in the Academy Award®–winning film Argo. He also starred on television in Deception, as well as four seasons of the award-winning series Damages with Glenn Close. Additional television credits include a starring role on The O.C. and guest-starring roles on The Guardian, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Friends and Ally McBeal, among others.

Behind the camera, Donovan has directed episodes of Medium, Deception, Damages, Glee, Gossip Girl, Weeds, Nip/Tuck and The O.C.

In addition to Argo, Donovan’s recent feature film credits include the Academy Award®–nominated film Good Night, and Good Luck and The Pacifier. He also appeared in Swordfish, Murder at 1600, The Only Thrill, Ethan Frome, Love Potion No. 9, Equinox, Inside Monkey Zetterland – for which Donovan earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination – Memphis Belle, Dead Bang, Clean and Sober and SpaceCamp. He also voiced the title character of the animated feature Hercules.

In 2011, Donovan starred on Broadway in the world premiere of Good People, opposite Frances McDormand. He earned a Backstage West Garland Award for his performance in the west coast debut of Rabbit Hole at the Geffen Theatre. Donovan’s earlier repertoire includes the Broadway plays Amy’s View, with Dame Judi Dench, and Picnic, with Ashley Judd, as well as the off-Broadway show Lobby Hero. He also appeared in a number of productions at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, including Once in a Lifetime, Under the Blue Sky and The Glass Menagerie.

Donovan was born and raised in New Jersey.

RHYS COIRO (Kramer Daly)

Rhys Coiro is well known to television audiences for his long-running portrayal of director Billy Walsh in the hit series Entourage. Additional roles include Dr. Zeke Barnes on A Gifted Man and Sean Hillinger on 24. In recent years, Coiro has guest starred in Person of Interest, Dexter, Law and Order: SVU, Longmire, Burn Notice, Hawaii Five-O and Paloma.

Coiro’s feature film credits include 2011’s Straw Dogs, A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, Snow & Ashes and Life Happens. He is attached to star in several other films, most recently completing production on One Square Mile. Coiro made his acting debut on Broadway in Lincoln Center’s Dinner at Eight and recently appeared on stage in the comedy Boys’ Life at Second Stage.

Born in Washington, D.C., Coiro grew up in New York and New Jersey. He graduated with a bachelor of fine arts from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. Currently, he resides in Los Angeles with his wife, director Kat Coiro, and their three children.

 

SANDRINE HOLT (Sandrine Gonzales)

Sandrine Holt recently starred in the Emmy®-winning series House of Cards, with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, where she plays Gillian Cole, the passionate leader of a grass roots organization. She also starred in the Canadian action series Once a Thief, and has had recurring roles on 24, The L Word and Las Vegas. Additional series Holt guest starred in include The Mentalist, Bored to Death and ER.

Holt began her career starring in the feature film Black Robe, for which she earned a Prix Genie Award nomination. This led to Kevin Costner casting her as the female lead of Rapa Nui, which he produced. Holt also co-starred in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, with Mila Jovovich; the French film Chinese Puzzle, with Audrey Tatou; and with Kate Beckinsale in Underworld: Awakening.

Born in England and raised in Canada, Holt is the daughter of a French mother and a Chinese father. She currently lives in Los Angeles.

BILLY BROWN (Archer Petit)

Billy Brown currently appears on the hit drama series Sons of Anarchy as August Marks and recently had a recurring role on The Following, opposite Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy. Additional television credits include recurring and guest star roles in Dexter, Lights Out, Californication, Law & Order: SVU, Southland, Criminal Minds, NCIS, CSI: NY and Cold Case.

Brown’s feature film credits include Star Trek, Cloverfield, Race to Witch Mountain, Lakeview Terrace and several others. He is also the exclusive voice of commercials for the United States Marine Corps.

Brown, who was named one of 2011’s “Faces to Watch” by the Los Angeles Times, resides in Los Angeles.

 

QUINN SHEPHARD (Morgan Sanders)

Quinn Shephard’s feature film credits include Unaccompanied Minors, Harrison’s Flowers, From Other Worlds and Assassination of a High School President. Her television credits include a guest-starring appearance on Law & Order: SVU and a recurring role on Made in Jersey.

On stage, Shephard has played the roles of Abigail Williams in The Crucible and Laura Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie. She is a writer and filmmaker whose work has been featured in the Garden State Film Festival, and she just completed writing her first feature-length screenplay, Blame.

Shephard was born and raised in the New York area.

 

MATEUS WARD (Jake Sanders)

Mateus Ward won the 2012 Young Artist Award for his guest performance in the Golden Globe–nominated series Weeds. Additional guest star roles include the series Parenthood, Lab Rats and NCIS, Criminal Minds and Sports Show with Norm Macdonald, the latter for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award and won the 2012 OMNI Youth Music and Actor Award for Outstanding Actor. He also recently appeared as a schizophrenic teen in the independent feature film Lonely Boy.

Born in Burbank, California, Ward was raised on the island of Maui. In 2009, his family returned to Los Angeles, where Ward pursued acting in film, television and commercials.

Ward currently resides in Los Angeles.

JAMES NAUGHTON (President Paul Kincaid)

James Naughton has won critical acclaim in TV, film and theatre. He is currently filming the forthcoming feature Turks and Caicos, written and directed by David Hare and featuring a terrific ensemble cast. Past feature credits include The Devil Wears Prada, The First Wives Club, Factory Girl, The Glass Menagerie (with Joanne Woodward), The Good Mother, The Paper Chase and Cat’s Eye. His television credits include featured and recurring roles in Planet of the Apes, Who’s The Boss?, Brooklyn Bridge, Making the Grade, Ally McBeal, The Cosby Mysteries, Damages and, most recently, Gossip Girl.

Naughton, however, is best known for his work on the stage. He is the winner of two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical in 1997 and 1990, for his portrayal of media-savvy lawyer Billy Flynn in the Broadway hit Chicago, and for his role as a film noir–era detective in City of Angels, which also earned him a Drama Desk Award. He also won the 1999 MAC Award for Best Male Vocalist for his one-man concert show, Street of Dreams, and recorded a CD, It’s About Time.

A graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, Naughton made his Broadway debut in Long Day’s Journey into Night, with Robert Ryan and Geraldine Fitzgerald, garnering recognition with Theatre World, New York Drama Critics and Vernon Rice Awards. His other Broadway credits include Democracy, Whose Life Is It Anyway? and I Love My Wife. In addition to acting, Naughton directed the Broadway production of The Price, which was nominated for a Tony Award, and Our Town, starring Paul Newman, which he also filmed for cable. Naughton has directed extensively in the Berkshires and in Westport, Connecticut, and has appeared off-Broadway and in regional theaters for decades. Naughton currently resides in Connecticut.