Hayden Information; Projects; Shattered Glass

Cast Information

HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN (Stephen Glass) Hayden Christensen became an international film star when George Lucas cast him as Anakin Skywalker in the blockbuster epic "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones." But it was the role of a troubled teenager he portrayed in Irwin Winkler's drama "Life as a House" for which Christensen first received acclaim, including an award for Best Breakthrough Performance from the National Board of Review and nominations for the Screen Actors Guild award and the Golden Globe award. Christensen is currently on location in Sydney, shooting "Star Wars: Episode III," which will be released in the summer of 2005. Christensen broke into acting in an unusual way. His older sister, a Junior World Trampoline champion, had done a commercial endorsement for Pringles. As he recalls, "When she went to meet a talent agent, there was no one to baby-sit me so I went along for the ride." The agent offered to sign Hayden as well, and at 7 years old, he began acting. By the time he was 12, he had a continuing role in the first Canadian television soap opera, the daily "Family Passions." Christensen was a regular on the Fox Family Channel series Higher Ground, and was featured in Sofia Coppola's acclaimed debut film "The Virgin Suicides." His other film credits include Sarah Kernochan's "All I Wanna Do" and John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness." Other television credits include Purple Haze and Free Fall. Christensen was born in Vancouver, but his family later moved to the Toronto area, where he went to school and currently resides. PETER SARSGAARD (Chuck Lane) Best known for his role in "Boys Don't Cry" opposite Hilary Swank and Chloë Sevigny for director Kimberly Peirce, Peter Sarsgaard received critical acclaim for his portrayal of John Lotter, the tightly wound young man who first accepts Brandon Teena into his small-town circle, then begins to suspect her true identity concluding with troubling, violent results. He recently wrapped "Large's Ark" opposite writer/director Zach Braff and Natalie Portman, and Lodge Kerrigan's "In God's Hands," executive produced by Stephen Soderbergh. Sarsgaard co-starred opposite Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson in last summer's submarine thriller "K-19: The Widowmaker." In Castle Rock's "The Salton Sea," Sarsgaard starred opposite Val Kilmer in the twisted tale of a man (Kilmer) who goes undercover among a group of drug addicts to avenge his wife's death. Sarsgaard portrayed Kilmer's closest compatriot in the underground world of crystal meth. Other roles include the black comedy, "Unconditional Love" with Rupert Everett and Kathy Bates, "Empire" opposite John Leguizamo and Wayne Wang's controversial "Center of the World" opposite Molly Parker. On the small screen Sarsgaard starred in Showtime's acclaimed feature, Freak City, produced by Michael Stipe and Sandy Stern's Single Cell Pictures . Sarsgaard first gained notice as Leonardo de Caprio's rival and John Malkovich's son in "The Man in the Iron Mask." Other films include Larry Clark's "Another Day in Paradise" and Tim Robbins' "Dead Man Walking" with Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon. A member of Douglas Carter Beane's New York-based theater company, The Drama Department, Sarsgaard appeared in their off-Broadway production, KINGDOM OF EARTH, directed by John Cameron Mitchell. He attended the Actors' Studio Program at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, after which he was cast in Horton Foote's LAURA DENNIS at the Signature Theatre Company Off-Broadway. HANK AZARIA (Michael Kelly) Azaria 's upcoming projects include the feature films "Captured," in which he stars with Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller, and "Eulogy," starring with Winona Ryder and Debra Winger. He is starring in new fall series Huff, for Showtime. Azaria is currently starring in the David Mamet's SEXUALLY PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO with Matthew Perry and Minnie Driver at the Comedy Theatre in London.He starred in the Emmy-winning NBC miniseries Uprising which tells the story of Jewish resistance fights in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Azaria's film credits include "America's Sweethearts," in which he starred opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts and Billy Crystal. In 1999, Azaria starred in three films -- "Cradle Will Rock," Disney's "Mystery, Alaska," and Universal's "Mystery Men," based on the Dark Horse Comic series. Also in 1999, Azaria starred with Jack Lemmon in the acclaimed ABC telefilm Tuesdays with Morrie. This true story had been on the New York Times best-seller list for almost two years. Produced by Oprah Winfrey Presents, Azaria portrayed Mitch Albom, a journalist inspired by his ailing former teacher and mentor's lessons about life. His portrayal earned him an Emmy Award and a SAG Award nomination. Azaria was also seen as Professor Groteschele in CBS' live television broadcast of Fail-Safe. The Golden Globe-nominated and Emmy award-winning telefilm was based on the early 1960's novel of the same name. In 1998, Azaria starred in Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's "Godzilla" and "Homegrown," a black comedy about a trio of pot plantation workers. He also portrayed Gwyneth Paltrow's straight-laced fiancé in Fox's modern-day adaptation of " Great Expectations," and appeared in Woody Allen's "Celebrity." Azaria received critical acclaim and a Screen Actors Guild award nomination for his memorable turn as Agador Spartacus, the scene stealing Guatemalan houseboy, in Mike Nichols' smash hit "The Birdcage." His portrayal of television producer Al Freedman in Robert Redford's Academy-Award nominated "Quiz Show" also garnered him critical praise. His other feature credits include "Heat," "Grosse Point Blank," "Now and Then" and "Pretty Woman." He also lent his voice to Fox's animated feature "Anastasia," as Bartok the comical bat. He reprised the role in the video sequel "Bartok the Magnificent." Azaria provides the voices for several key characters on the animated hit comedy series The Simpsons. He has won two Emmy's for his work on the show. Azaria was also nominated for an Emmy and for his recurring role as Nat the dog walker on NBC's Mad About You. Azaria trained at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and played Hamlet in a production of ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD at Columbia University. He continued his theater studies at Tufts University, appearing in such plays as UNCLE VANYA, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, THE BALLAD OF THE SAD CAFÉ'and THE DUMB WAITER. After moving to Los Angeles, Azaria studied under the direction of Roy London. Experimenting in improv and sketch comedy, he became a favorite at the local comedy clubs and co-wrote AN EVENING ON THIN ICE, which was presented at Theatre- Theatre. Azaria also won a Dramalogue Award for his performance in CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION. CHLOË SEVIGNY (Caitlin Avey) After "Shattered Glass," Sevigny will next be seen in Lars von Trier's "Dogville," opposite Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Davies and Paul Bettany. The film world premiered at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival in the official competition this past spring, and Lions Gate will release the film later this year. The 2003 Cannes Film Festival also saw the world premiere of "The Brown Bunny," one of only three American films in the main competition. Directed by Vincent Gallo ("Buffalo 66"), the film stars Sevigny along with the director in a story of lost love. "Shattered Glass" will follow the September, 2003 release of "Party Monster," produced by Killer Films and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. Macaulay Culkin stars as famed Manhattan club kid Michael Alig, who was convicted of murdering his drug dealer by injecting him with Drano and tossing him in the East River. Seth Green, Natasha Lyonne, Dylan McDermott and Marilyn Manson also star. Making its premiere in competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival was the thriller "Demon Lover" directed by Olivier Assayas. The film, which also stars Connie Nielson and Charles Berling, is a thriller about high-tech international espionage and has French and English dialogue, for which Sevigny had to learn to speak French. Shot on location in Paris, Mexico and Japan, the film will be released in September 2003. Chloe recently completed filming "Three Needles" on South Africa's Wild Coast. Written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald ("The Hanging Garden"), the film is being produced by Bryan Hofbauer of Emotion Pictures in association with ThinkFilm. Chloe plays a nun in an African village that is overtaken by AIDS. Past projects for Sevigny include "Boys Don't Cry" for Fox Searchlight. For her role as Lana Tisdale, she received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors' Guild Award. She won an Independent Spirit Award, as well as honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Boston Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics. She also appeared in " A Map of the World" starring Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore, directed by Scott Elliot, "American Psycho," starring opposite Christian Bale and directed by Mary Harron, and "Julien: Donkey Boy," directed by Harmony Korine. Sevigny made her film debut in the highly acclaimed and controversial hit "Kids," directed by photographer Larry Clark, with a script by Harmony Korine. Her other film credits include Steve Buscemi's "Trees Lounge," Harmony Korine's "Gummo," for which Sevigny also was costume designer, and Whit Stillman's "The Last Days of Disco." MELANIE LYNSKEY (Amy Brand) Lynskey mesmerized audiences and critics alike with her winning portrayal of a sexually confused wayward teenager in Peter Jackson's controversial "Heavenly Creatures" opposite Kate Winslet. Lynskey was most recently seen in Steven Gaghan's dramatic thriller "Abandon" for Paramount, opposite Katie Holmes and Benjamin Bratt. She also starred in the hit comedy "Sweet Home Alabama" opposite Reese Witherspoon for Disney and director Andy Tennant. Lynskey portrayed 'Lurlynn Taylor,' Reese's best friend who stays behind in Alabama. In 2000, Lynskey received critical acclaim for her starring role in writer-director Gillian Ashurt's independent kiwi road movie "Snakeskin." She also starred in Fox's "Ever After" opposite Drew Barrymore (as Drew's stepsister) and Dougray Scott for director Andy Tennant. Lynskey has received two New Zealand Film and Television Awards for Best Actress for her performance in "Heavenly Creatures" and "Snakeskin." Her other feature credits include Disney's "Coyote Ugly" for producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Adam Rifkin's "Detroit Rock City," Jamie Babbit's "But I'm a Cheerleader," Michael Cocoyannis' "The Cherry Orchard," Mark Tapio Kines' "Foreign Correspondence" and Peter Jackson's "The Frighteners." On the small screen, Lynskey starred in Rose Red, the ABC mini-series written by Stephen King and directed by Craig Baxley. Melanie will star this fall in the CBS comedy 21/2 Men, opposite Charlie Sheen. STEVE ZAHN (Adam Penenberg) Zahn's standout performance in Miramax Films' "Happy, Texas" garnered him many accolades, including a Grand Jury Special Actor Award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, as well as an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor. At the same time he shot his role in "Shattered Glass," Zahn was also filming Revolution Films' comedy "Daddy Daycare," co-starring Eddie Murphy, which opened this summer. Zahn was seen in two major feature releases: John Dahl's thriller "Joy Ride," and Penny Marshall's "Riding in Cars with Boys," in which Zahn received stellar reviews for his heartbreaking turn as a drug addicted father. Zahn provided the voices of "Archie the Bear" in "Dr. Dolittle 2" and "Monty the Cat" in "Stuart Little" and the sequel, "Staurt Little 2." He was seen in the Miramax modern-day retelling of "Hamlet" opposite Ethan Hawke. Zahn received critical acclaim for his scene-stealing portrayal of Glen Michaels in "Out of Sight," helmed by Oscar winning director Stephen Soderbergh.His additional credits include "National Security," "Saving Silverman," "Safe Men," "You've Got Mail," "The Object of My Affection," and the feature adaptation of Eric Bogosian's play, "subUrbia," reprising the role he created in the off-broadway production. Zahn also starred in Tom Hanks' directorial debut, "That Thing You Do!" as Lenny, the lead guitarist for the Wonders, a struggling band whose rise to fame is chronicled after they release a Top-40 hit single. A native of Marshall, MN, Zahn was first introduced to improvisational theater in high school. After completing his freshman year at Gustavus-Adolphus College in Minnesota, he crashed the audition of a local production of "Biloxi Blues," winning the leading role in the play. Following his debut, he trained for two years at the prestigious American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., before moving to New York and being cast in Tommy Tune's National Tour of "Bye, Bye, Birdie." Following "Birdie," Zahn was cast opposite Ethan Hawke in "Sophistry" at the renowned Playwright's Horizon. There he caught the eye of director Ben Stiller, who cast him in what would be Zahn's feature film debut, "Reality Bites." Zahn is married to actress Robyn Peterman and resides on his farm in New Jersey. ROSARIO DAWSON (Andy Fox) With numerous films already to her credit, including the upcoming female leading roles opposite two of today's hottest film actors, Rosario Dawson is emerging as one of Hollywood's hottest leading ladies. Dawson will next be seen co-starring with The Rock, Sean William Scott and Christopher Walken in Universal's action/comedy "The Rundown." She plays a Brazilian rebel leader, leading the fight for her enslaved people in order to get the money and the basic living essentials that they deserve. "The Rundown" hits theatres September 26th, 2003. Dawson was last seen on the big screen starring in the critically acclaimed Spike Lee film "The 25th Hour," opposite Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper. She recently starred opposite Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Columbia pictures' "Men in Black 2" and in "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," a futuristic action/comedy starring opposite Eddie Murphy. She also starred in Lions Gate's "Chelsea Walls" for director Ethan Hawke, which was based on the play of the same name. Dawson's credits include "Sidewalks of New York," a romantic comedy written, directed by and starring Edward Burns as well as Heather Graham, Stanley Tucci and Brittany Murphy. She also appears in "The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest," written by Jon Favreau and directed by Mick Jackson. The film, starring Adam Garcia, centers around four misfit Silicone Valley inventors who design the computer of the future. Dawson plays Alissa, an art major and Adam Garcia's love interest. She appeared in Burns' film "Ash Wednesday," along with Burns and Elijah Wood. She can also be seen in the independent film "Love in the Time of Money," written and directed by theatre director Peter Mattei, which premiered to high acclaim at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. The dark comedy chronicles the lives of nine New Yorkers connected through searches for love and sex in the city. The film also stars Steve Buscemi, Carol Kane, Michael Imperioli and Adrian Grenier. Dawson recently produced a 15-minute short entitled "Bliss Virus," written and directed by Talia Lugacy. Additionally, Dawson hopes to produce Lugacy's first feature sometime in the near future. Dawson made her film debut in the highly acclaimed and controversial hit "Kids." Directed by photographer Larry Clark, with a script by Harmony Korine, "Kids" depicted 24 hours in the life of a group of New York skaters and the havoc that runs through it. The film features a group of kids actually pulled from the streets in New York, as opposed to professional actors. With a surprise midnight screening at Sundance and a spot in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, her film career was well underway. Dawson's other film credits include Spike Lee's "He Got Game" opposite Denzel Washington, "Light it Up" opposite Forrest Whitaker and Vanessa Williams, "Down to You" with Freddie Prinze Jr. and "Josie and the Pussycats" with and Rachel Leigh Cook and Tara Reid. Born and raised in New York, Dawson continues to make her home there. CAS ANVAR (Kambiz Foroohar) Cas Anvar - actor, director and producer - is a graduate of Montreal's prestigious National Theatre School of Canada. A versatile and exciting actor, he has performed in over 50 major roles for both film and television. Some of his most recent credits include the supporting role of Zak in the feature film "Seducing Maarya," Triny in the MOW Redeemer opposite Matthew Modine, as well as Youssef in "The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo," with Jack Palance and Oliver Reed. Anvar is in the upcoming CTV MOW, "Agent of Influence" opposite Christopher Plummer, and in theatres in the soon to be released feature film "Shattered Glass" playing the supporting role of Kambiz Foroohar alongside Hayden Christensen and Steve Zahn, directed by Billy Ray and produced by Cruise/Wagner. Cas Anvar has become a local celebrity in Montreal, Canada due to his presence in the community as Founder and Artistic Director of the acclaimed Shakespeare-in-the-Park theatre company, Repercussion Theatre. Founded in 1989, Repercussion Theatre is the only touring Shakespeare-the-Park troupe in the world. Anvar has played numerous leading roles in Shakespeare's most famous plays including MACBETH, Mercutio in ROMEO & JULIET, Prospero in THE TEMPEST and has brought his special brand of visually dynamic theatre to communities all across North America. He has also directed many of the Bard's works. Outside of his company he has appeared on stage in Rahul Varma's critically acclaimed COUNTER OFFENCE and in Joe Maalouf's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. Cas Anvar was awarded the Carla Napier Award for Achievement in the Montréal Theatre community as well as Alliance Quebec's Youth Achievement Award for accomplishments in the Arts. And was nominated for a JUTRA award for his performance in the film "Seducing Maarya."

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