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Bryony Hannah was born in 1984 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Jupiter Ascending (2015), The Last Duel (2021) and Call the Midwife (2012).

Patton Oswalt has been headlining at comedy clubs all over the United States since 1996, as well as appearing in his own standup specials on Comedy Central and HBO. He was chosen as Entertainment Weekly's "It" comedian in 2002. He is a regular on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993). His other television credits include appearances on Seinfeld (1989) and NewsRadio (1995).

As a writer, Oswalt spent two seasons on Mad TV (1995) and has also written for the MTV Music Video Awards. He is currently writing screenplays and has appeared in the feature films Starsky & Hutch (2004), Man on the Moon (1999) and Magnolia (1999).

Dustin Demri-Burns was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Slow Horses (2022), Am I Being Unreasonable? (2022) and Cardinal Burns (2012).

William Russ was born on 20 October 1950 in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Boy Meets World (1993), Wiseguy (1987) and Cruising (1980). He is married to Clare Wren. They have two children.

Classically-trained veteran actor David Calder was born on 1 August 1946 in Portsmouth, England. His impressive career in acting began as early as 1968 around the age of 22. Easily known to British audiences for his work in film and television, Calder perhaps is better known to American audiences with his appearances in high profile movies such as the James Bond spy-action film The World Is Not Enough (1999) as Sir Robert King, the on-screen father of French actress Sophie Marceau. He also appeared in Rob Cohen's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), the third installment to the Stephen Sommers-directed Mummy films starring Brendan Fraser. During the 2010s, Calder has appeared in further A-list films and television series, including the Ron Howard-directed car-racing film drama Rush (2013), starring Chris Hemsworth. His continued work in British television includes appearances on The Wrong Mans (2013) and Casualty (1986). Calder appeared in the 2016 miniseries The Moonstone (2016) and guest-starred in Emerald City (2016).

Jean Kasem was born on 21 May 1954 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. She is an actress, known for Ghostbusters (1984), Cheers (1982) and Good vs Evil (1999). She was previously married to Casey Kasem.

Wanda Sykes has been called one of the funniest stand-up comics by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly's 25 Funniest People in America. Her smart-witted stand-up has sent her career in many different areas.

She was previously seen in Comedy Central's Wanda Does It (2004), where she tried various non-showbiz jobs. Her first book, "Yeah I Said It," published by Simon and Schuster, hit bookstores in September 2004, which is a hilarious collection of essays touching on life, family, and current events.

In 2003, she was seen on Fox's Wanda at Large (2003), in which she wrote, produced, and starred. She also has a one-hour Comedy Central special called Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied (2003). In addition, she can be seen on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) or heard on Comedy Central's Crank Yankers (2002) as the voice of Gladys Murphy.

Wanda was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and raised in Maryland, the daughter of Marion Louise (Peoples), a banker, and Harry Ellsworth Sykes, a US Army colonel. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampton University. Her stand-up career began at a Coors Light Super talent Showcase in Washington, DC, where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience.

She spent 5 years as part of the HBO's critically acclaimed The Chris Rock Show (1997). As a performer and writer on the show, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and in 1999 won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special. In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for Outstanding Female Stand-Up Comic. She won a second Emmy in 2002 for her work on Inside the NFL (1977). In 2003, Wanda earned a Comedy Central Commie Award for Funniest TV Actress. Other writing credits include the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards (1999), The MTV Movie Awards, The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002), The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show (1997), and Wanda at Large (2003).

She also appeared in the feature films Pootie Tang (2001), Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Down to Earth (2001), and Monster-in-Law (2005).

Kirsty Dillon was born in 1976 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. She is an actress, known for Locke (2013), Midsomer Murders (1997), as well as her voice acting work on the adventure game Clock Tower 3 (2002).

Kirsty Dillon is a graduate of Goldsmiths, University of London. She has also collaborated with the White Ribbon and is an ambassador for the project.

She has worked in a wide range of production, ranging from stage and television to theatre and performance art. Amongst other things, Kirsty Dillon has collaborated with art-house director Peter Greenaway on the 'Spellbound' exhibition.

Melvin Gregg is an American actor and comedian known for his roles as DeMarcus Tillman in Netflix's mockumentary series American Vandal, Erick Scott in Steven Soderbergh's sports drama film High Flying Bird, Drew 'Manboy' Miller on FX's crime drama Snowfall, and Ben Chandler in the upcoming Hulu miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers.

The British character actor Michael Ripper was born in 1913 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. His father was a speech therapist and encouraged him to participate in diction and public speaking competitions. From this, the young Michael gained an interest in acting and got his first taste of the stage through his father's amateur dramatics company. At age 16, Ripper won a scholarship to drama school and began to appear in theater professionally. His stage career continued until 1952, when an operation for a thyroid condition left him unable to project his voice sufficiently for the stage, after which he concentrated on his film career. Ripper started his film career in numerous quota quickies, debuting in Twice Branded (1936). At one point in his early career, he also worked as an assistant director for a production company at Walton Studios. In the late 1940s, Ripper began a long association with Hammer Film Productions, which resulted in his face becoming well known not only in Britain, but also worldwide. During this 25-year association, which began with a role in There Is No Escape (1948) and ended with That's Your Funeral (1972), Ripper made a total of 35 appearances in Hammer films, playing an assortment of innkeepers, coachmen, gravediggers, poachers, and, occasionally, authority figures, usually with a comic twist. Although he made few films after his stint with Hammer, he continued his career with memorable television appearances, such as the chauffeur in Butterflies (1978) and Drones Porter in Jeeves and Wooster (1990), until his retirement in the early 1990s.

Bonerz was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Elfrieda (née Kern) and Christopher Bonerz. He grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended Marquette University High School. Here, performing with the Prep Players, he gained his first theatrical experience. At Marquette University, he participated in the Marquette University Players. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1960, he decided to seek a career in theater, starting in New York City in improve with a troupe called The Premise. After compulsory service as a draftee in the United States Army, he worked with an improve troupe in San Francisco known as The Committee, whose members included Rob Reiner, David Ogden Stiers, Howard Hesseman and Hamilton Camp.

George Costigan is an English actor. Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Costigan grew up in Salford, Lancashire. After attending St Augustine's C of E Primary School on Bolton Road in Pendlebury, he went to Wardley Grammar School on Mardale Avenue in Wardley near Swinton.

Costigan has been on television since 1978. He starred in the 1982 series of The Barchester Chronicles, an adaption of the novels by Anthony Trollope, in which he played the part of Tom Towers. In 1984 he appeared as Philip the Bastard in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of The Life and Death of King John (alongside Leonard Rossiter in the title role).

He rose to fame in 1986 as adulterous businessman Bob in the comedy film Rita, Sue and Bob Too. He has since starred or featured in many television productions, including The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (providing mellifluous Peter Lorre-type villainy) Kavanagh QC, Coogan's Run, Connie, A Touch of Frost, Inspector Morse, Murder Most Horrid, So Haunt Me, London's Burning, The Bill, Holby City, The Long Firm, Vera, Dalziel and Pascoe, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, The Beiderbecke Connection, New Tricks and Casualty. His film work includes Calendar Girls and Shirley Valentine.

His partner is the writer Julia North, with whom he wrote a 1990 episode of Birds of a Feather (1989). They have three sons - Niall (who is also an actor), and two others.

In the theatre, he created the role of Mickey Johnstone in Willy Russell's musical Blood Brothers, originally at the Liverpool Playhouse, and later at the Lyric Theatre, London. He later played the role of Estragon in Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot at the Manchester Library Theatre for three weeks from 16 February to 8 March 2008, and played Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman at York Theatre Royal in November 2008. In December 2009, it was announced that he is to join Emmerdale as a friend of Rodney Blackstock. He made his debut in the soap in March 2010 and his last appearance was shown on 23 July 2010. On 4/5 April 2010, he starred as Alan, the ex-husband of Christine, Inspector Frost's new love interest in A Touch of Frost. In 2014, he appeared in Happy Valley. He resumed the role, Nevison Gallagher, in the 2016 series. He also starred in the hit TV series Line of Duty as Patrick Fairbank.

He was one of those delightful, typically British actors with a penchant for playing eccentrics. Early in his career, Jeremy Brett once quaintly introduced Aubrey Morris to Noël Coward as "the finest small-part player in London". Born Aubrey Steinberg of Jewish-Ukrainian ancestry, he was one of several siblings with artistic inclinations (his brother Wolfe Morris was also a noted character player). Aubrey studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London on a scholarship and made his stage debut in 1944. During the 1950s, he acted regularly on the West End stage, at the Old Vic, and on Broadway.

In addition to making excellent use of his Shakespearean-trained voice, his diminutive stature and beaming, toothy countenance proved a significant asset to a remarkable versatility on screen. Morris was adept at conveying unctuousness, cunning, duplicity, civility, or obsession with equal ease and in a wide variety of roles and genres. His many memorable performances include: the Freud-fixated writer Mr. Mybug in Cold Comfort Farm (1968); the sleazy probation officer Mr. Deltoid in A Clockwork Orange (1971); a sinister gravedigger in The Wicker Man (1973); the oily manservant Grosvenor, asking Michael Palin for the use of the 'naughty books', in "The Curse of the Claw" episode of Ripping Yarns (1976); the jolly captain of the 'B-Ark' (filled with such folk as telephone sanitizers), spending years luxuriating in his bubble-bath in The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981); and last, but not least, the ancient thespian Chesterton, shuffling off this mortal coil while being read quotes from King Lear in HBO's Deadwood (2004).

Residing in the U.S. since the mid-1980s, Aubrey Morris continued to ply his trade right up until his death at the venerable age of 89.

John Madden was born on 8 April 1949 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) and Proof (2005).

Marc Wootton was born on 8 February 1975 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009), Arthur Christmas (2011) and La La Land (2010).

Ilene Woods was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the daughter of a backstage mom who was responsible for Ilene getting her show biz start on the stage at 2. At 14, she received an offer to top-line her own radio show once she became available at the end of that school year during a vacation in New York City. The Ilene Woods Show soon started its run on the Blue Network as a 3-nights-a-week, 15-minute musical series. She then did radio work in Chicago before moving to California, where she landed her first & only on-screen movie role (On Stage Everybody (1945)) as well as a stint on the Jack Carson-starring radio series Sealtest Village Store. Her songwriter-friends Mack David & Jerry Livingston asked her to record 2 of their newest songs, not telling her that they were for the upcoming Disney film Cinderella (1950). When Walt Disney heard her voice on the recordings, he chose her to voice that film's title role.

Alison Owen was born on 18 February 1961 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK. She is a producer and executive, known for Elizabeth (1998), Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and The Giver (2014). She was previously married to Keith Allen.

Stephen became an actor in 1984 after three years of training at Arts Educational Schools in London. He left college and immediately his film career began with his first film role as Moose in the cult film "My Beautiful Laundrette".

After a few years working in theater, commercials, and supporting roles on TV, he joined the cast of fledgling comedy "Birds of a Feather" as Dave, the lover of Sharon (Pauline Quirke).

One lazy, sunny afternoon in in the garden of actress, novelist, and fashion icon Sarah Stockbridge, Stephen met up with Peter Richardson, who asked him if he was available to do a day's work on "The Glam Metal Detectives" for the Comic Strip". One day became three months and he played literally hundreds of characters, and in 2012, he was asked back by Peter to be in the 30-year anniversary Comic Strip show "5 go to Rehab".

TV commercials introduced him to director Peter Chelsom, who cast him right away as Gordon in "Hear my Song" opposite Ned Beatty. Then there were a couple of years getting great roles on British TV in the likes of "The Hot Dog Wars", "Dangerfield", "Kavanagh QC", and "Our Friends in the North" opposite Malcolm McDowell and Daniel Craig.

His movie career was moving alongside this at quite a pace, with roles opposite Timothy Dalton in "The Beautician and the Beast", Robert Englund in "The Killer Tongue", and Richard Harris in "Savage Hearts".

In 1996, his agent set up a meeting on a small low-budget movie with an unknown director named Guy Ritchie; Guy offered him the role of Nick the Greek in his movie "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Three years later, the film was released and became the biggest British movie in the last 25 years and launched the careers of Vinnie Jones, Guy Ritchie, Jason Statham, and Mathew Vaughn.

"Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" led to Hollywood knocking on the door. Alan Parker had him do a small role in "Angela's Ashes", and Philip Kaufman asked him to play Bouchon in "Quills" alongside Kate Winslett, Michael Caine, Joaquin Phoenix and Geoffrey Rush. Richard Eyre called on him twice, for "Iris" opposite Judy Dench and in "Stage Beauty" with Claire Danes. This was followed by the role of Ted Ray in "The Greatest Game Ever Played", directed by Bill Paxton. Paxton had seen his work and, after speaking to his agent, called Stephen from his car phone (very Hollywood) and offered him the part. Stephen has had the pleasure of doing two films with the Wachowski Brothers and Jeff McTeague - "Speed Racer" and "Ninja Assassin".

Alongside a very successful movie career, he did several TV series for the USA, Canada, and the UK. In "Starhunter 2300", he played Rudolpho De Luna; he played the co-lead in the BBC series "Cavegirl". He played Banjo and Broadman in the adaptations of Terry Prachett's "Hogfather" and "The Colour of Magic" for Sky TV, plus the two 20th-anniversary episodes of "Casualty" and regular roles on "Kingdom" (with Stephen Fry) and "Lark Rise to Candleford".

2013 and 2014 saw Stephen on the West End stage in the musical "The Bodyguard" (based on the film with Whitney Huston and using her music) playing Tony Schibelli. It also saw the release of "It's a Lot", "The Smoke", "AB Negative" and "Fast and Furious 6".

Since then, he's done several films in different genres: horror - "The Rizen" 1&2, gangster - "The London Firm", "AB Negative" and "Welcome To Curiosity", and comedy - "Sanctuary" and "Fanged Up" (comedy/horror).His latest cinematic release is "Walk Like a Panther", a comedy about old wrestlers making a comeback.

Stephen is also an author and has written a book about the making of the British crime caper "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels".

He lives in LA with the most beautiful woman in the world, his wife Sarah. They have two small dogs, Fry and Ronnie. Both have passed now but are very much still in my heart.

Sunny, dynamic and beautiful slender blonde actress Jillian Kesner was born on August 9, 1949 in Portsmouth, Virginia and grew up primarily in Denver, Colorado. Her father was a Navy officer. Jillian received a B.A. in business from a Colorado university in 1967. In 1969 Kesner moved to Los Angeles, California and worked as a model prior to embarking on an acting career in both movies and television. Jillian made her impressive film debut as fiery juvenile delinquent Carrie in the fun drive-in exploitation romp "The Student Body." (She met her future husband and noted cinematographer Gary Graver while acting in this particular picture.) Other memorable movie roles include the sweetly kooky, yet intelligent Angel in the amusing "Starhops," tough, but sexy karate instructor Susanne Carter in the hugely enjoyable "Firecracker," feisty martial arts expert Cookie Winchell in the gloriously tasteless "Raw Force," and alluring vampiress Claudia in the lowbrow hoot "Beverly Hills Vamp." Kesner was a regular cast member of the short-lived sitcom "Co-ed Fever." Perhaps best known to the general public as Fonzie's girlfriend Lorraine on "Happy Days," Jillian made guest appearances on such TV shows as "S.W.A.T.," "The Blue Knight," "The Rockford Files," "Three's Company," "Mork & Mindy," and "T.J. Hooker." Outside of her acting credits, Jillian also handled production coordinator chores on a handful of low-budget straight-to-video movies that were directed by Graver. In addition, both Kesner and Graver tried to complete Orson Welles's unfinished film "The Other Side of the Wind." Following Graver's death in 2006, Jillian continued her efforts to preserve Welles's cinematic legacy. Jillian Kesner died at age 58 from a staph infection on December 5, 2007 in Irvine, California.

Bebe Buell is a former model and Playboy Playmate who dated several rock stars in the 1970s. She began modeling at the age of 17 and moved from her hometown of Portsmouth, Virginia, to New York City. Shortly after moving to New York, she met rock star Todd Rundgren. At the time she was living in a women's home run by nuns. Bebe and Todd began dating (she says she lost her virginity to him), moved in together, and ended up living together for six years. Although she and Todd were in a steady relationship, they both dated other people while they were living together. Her rock star lovers during the 1970s have included Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. When Bebe posed nude for Playboy in 1974 she was one of the first fashion models to become a Playboy Playmate, but her nude layout resulted in her being fired by the prestigious Ford modeling agency. She continued to model but became better known in the entertainment industry as a popular girlfriend of many rock stars. When Bebe's daughter Liv Tyler was born in 1977, Rundgren was named as the father. Todd and Bebe broke up around this time, and Bebe moved on to other rock stars such as Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys and Rod Stewart.

In 1978 Bebe began a passionate but volatile affair with Elvis Costello, who was married at the time. The relationship ended within a year when Elvis decided to go back to his wife. By the 1980s Bebe was living in Maine and attempted to become a rock star by fronting the bands The B-Sides and The Gargoyles. Although the bands released records, none were hits. When Liv was 11 she found out her father was really Steven Tyler, not Rundgren. Bebe has said in interviews that she didn't want to tell Liv who her real father was because of Tyler's severe drug addiction at the time, and she thought he would be an unsuitable father. Rundgren had known that he was not Liv's biological father but kept the secret in order to give Liv some semblance of a stable home life. When the truth came out, it put a strain on the relationship between Todd and Bebe. However, Liv and Steven were able to form a family bond and are reportedly very close. Liv also changed her last name from Rundgren to Tyler.

In the 1990s Bebe moved back to New York, became Liv's manager and helped launch her daughter's successful modeling and acting career. Although she is no longer Liv's manager, she still remains close to her. In 1992 Bebe married for the first time, to musician Coyote Shivers, a much younger man. However, the marriage ended in 1998, and their divorce became final in 1999. Bebe, who is now married to musician Jim Wallerstein, splits her time between her homes in New York and Portland, Maine. She performs occasionally in nightclubs as a solo act. Her autobiography, "Rebel Heart: An American Rock and Roll Journey", was published in 2001.

Michael Bolten was born on 27 July 1991 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. He is an actor and cinematographer, known for Flipped (2010), Miss Behave (2010) and Dark Light (2019).

Mark Kelly starred in the Duplass Brothers' film The Do-Deca-Pentathlon and will recur on the second season of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead in the role of Connor. He will also be seen in five upcoming independent feature films: Buster's Mal Heart (directed by Sarah Adina Smith and starring Rami Malek), Dismissed (directed by Benjamin Armann), The Night Stalker (directed by Megan Griffiths and starring Lou Diamond Phillips), The Last Heist (Directed by Mike Mendez and starring Henry Rollins), and Take Me (Directed and starring Pat Healy and Taylor Schilling, executive produced by the Duplass Brothers). He previously appeared on FOX's Touch opposite Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Stuart Masterson. Prior to that, he recurred on AMC's Mad Men as Dale. He has starred in the features Removal (Directed by Nick Simon and co-starring Billy Burke, Oz Perkins, and Emma Caufield), Answers To Nothing (Directed by Matthew Leutwyler and starring Julie Benz, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Barbara Hershey), and Columbus Day (Directed by Charles Burmeister and starring Val Kilmer).

Virginia born/Oregon raised Mark Kelly has enjoyed stage roles such as 'Han Solo' in Patrick T. Gorman's The Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes (world premiere), 'Lemuel Pitkin' in The Dismantling of Lemuel Pitkin (world premiere directed by Michael Uppendahl), 'Eddie' in Fool For Love, 'Ben Cook' in National Anthems (European premiere), 'Nice Guy Eddie' in Reservoir Dogs (World premiere), 'Jerry' in The Zoo Story, and 'Tom' in The Glass Menagerie. He has thrice appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing in 17 productions (five world and European premieres) and the HBO Aspen Comedy festival. Mark has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting from the University of Southern California. He is married to actress Breanna Pine (2010) and they have two children.

Charles Dickens' father was a clerk at the Naval Pay Office, and because of this the family had to move from place to place: Plymouth, London, Chatham. It was a large family and despite hard work, his father couldn't earn enough money. In 1823 he was arrested for debt and Charles had to start working in a factory, labeling bottles for six shillings a week. The economy eventually improved and Charles was able to go back to school. After leaving school, he started to work in a solicitor's office. He learned shorthand and started as a reporter working for the Morning Chronicle in courts of law and the House of Commons. In 1836 his first novel was published, "The Pickwick Papers". It was a success and was followed by more novels: "Oliver Twist" (1837), "Nicholas Nickleby" (1838-39) and "Barnaby Rudge" (1841). He traveled to America later that year and aroused the hostility of the American press by supporting the abolitionist (anti-slavery) movement. In 1858 he divorced his wife Catherine, who had borne him ten children. During the 1840s his social criticism became more radical and his comedy more savage: novels like "David Copperfield" (1849-50), "A Tale of Two Cities" (1959) and "Great Expectations" (1860-61) only increased his fame and respect. His last novel, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", was never completed and was later published posthumously.

Paul Andrew Williams was born in 1973 in Portsmouth, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for London to Brighton (2006), Unfinished Song (2012) and The Cottage (2008).

Tony Perez was born Jose Anthony Perez of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent. He grew up in San Diego, California as well as in Virginia, and on West 68 Street, Manhattan, New York City. Before being torn down, his neighborhood was immortalized in the movie West Side Story (1961). His father proudly served in the United States Navy during WWII. Perez paints and writes poetry, some of which has been published. He has been married to his wonderful wife, Marie Gagne since August 30, 1961. They have a daughter, Linda Marie Lawrence.