Issue Date: May 10, 2009
Kenneth Branagh is back onscreen this weekend, starring in PBS' series "Wallander" as the title character, a Swedish detective who solves some grisly murders. "'Wallander' has a muddled personal life," Branagh, 48, tells us. "But he's a fine intuitive detective because of his sensitivity and empathy toward the pain of others. If only he could translate that ability to himself. He's an extreme version of the way we all can be, if we're not careful." More "Wallander" episodes are planned for this summer, then he'll direct the Marvel Comics version of "Thor." That film will come out in 2011, but there's no cast yet, Branagh says.
Go to top
I got hooked on "Lost" when I bought the first season on DVD. The only thing I don't like about the show is how many great characters -- and actors -- have disappeared.
Esther Myers, Embarrass, Minn.
And Harold Perrineau was one. But now we can see him on ABC's "The Unusuals," so all is not "Lost." Perrineau's penchant for character roles has worked to his advantage. "I'm a collaborative sort of guy," he tells us. Being a supporting player, "you don't always get the heavy burden of carrying the whole show -- you get to work with people and share the 'burden' for making something really great." Perrineau, 45, a former classical violinist, also is working on a solo album, mixing R&B, reggae and blues.
Go to top
Will actors Sam Elliot, Tom Selleck or Bruce Boxleitner, who have played memorable cowboys, star in a new TV western? No one makes them anymore.
Roy McCallen, Aurora, Colo.
Gary Edgerton, author of a new history of American TV, says westerns are on the wane because we're "less enamored with a sense of manifest destiny and nation-building than 50 years ago." Creators of new TV westerns need to freshen up the formula, Edgerton says. As for the actors you mention, none of them has a western in the works.
Go to top
Is the actress who plays Lt. Maria LaGuerta on Showtime's "Dexter" the same one who was Tootie in "The Facts of Life?"
Nancy Nutile, Perkinsville, Vt.
No, but "Dexter"'s Lauren Velez says she gets that a lot. Velez, 44, returns to work on the serial-killer drama this month. She has been guest-starring on ABC's Ugly Betty and working on "La Lupe," a movie about the exiled Cuban singer in which she'll star. "I needed a complete shift because it really does take its toll on you after a while," Velez says of working on "Dexter." So, what's in store for LaGuerta? We'll learn more about her: "And it's still too early, but I have a funny feeling someone's going to get sliced and diced."
Go to top
When House, the character, plays the piano on the Fox medical drama of the same name, it looks as if actor Hugh Laurie is actually playing. Is he a real pianist?
Dolores Ruhlin, Flagler Beach, Fla.
Yes. He plays the guitar, too.
Go to top
Kathie Lee Gifford is the queen of TMI (too much information). And if you're a regular viewer of Today's fourth hour, you already may know she has "a memory like an elephant." That, she says, is how she could write her new book full of stories from her own life, "Just When I Thought I'd Dropped My Last Egg: Life and Other Calamities." "It's funny and timely for people at a different stage in their life, people trying to find meaning with whatever infirmities they have," says Gifford, 55, who is the mother of teens Cody, 19, and Cassidy, 15. "I have no agenda but to give people a giggle and make them appreciate each breath they take."
Go to top
Pop star Rick Springfield has a new CD of lullabies out, but they're not just for babies. "They're relaxing for anyone," he says of the songs he wrote long ago for his two sons, now in their 20s. Springfield, 59, thought recording the lullabies would rekindle nostalgic memories. His age hasn't stopped him from keeping up a musician's life. "Everyone keeps pushing the envelope further," he tells us. He also has managed a 25-year marriage. "She's still my best friend," he says of wife Barbara. "We've worked at it."
Go to top
BIRTHDAYS
May 10: Kenan Thompson, 31; Bono, 49
May 11: Frances Fisher, 57
May 12: Emilio Estevez, 47
May 13: Stevie Wonder, 59
May 14: Cate Blanchett, 40; George Lucas, 65
May 15: Jamie-Lynn Sigler, 28; David Krumholtz, 31; Emmitt Smith, 40
May 16: Tori Spelling, 36; David Boreanaz, 40; Pierce Brosnan, 56
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Bart Mills, Jon Tollestrup, Brian Truitt
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
|
