Celebrities by the Los Angeles Times in 2011
Actress
In “Hugo,” Martin Scorsese’s 3-D fable about a boy who lives inside the clocks at a 1930s Paris train station, Ben Kingsley plays real-life cinema pioneer Georges Melies, a magician turned filmmaker. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Charlize Theron sought out director Jason Reitman to gain her challenging role in “Young Adult,” a black comedy written by Reitman’s “Juno” collaborator Diablo Cody.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)Until two years ago, Guy Ritchie was known only to a select cinema buff crowd for his stylish, low-budget British gangster movies. He burst into the mainstream by directing Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in the 2009 megahit “Sherlock Holmes.” Now he’s back, directing the sequel “A Game of Shadows.” (Ricardo DeAratanha /Los Angeles Times)
Quick, funny and offbeat, Judy Greer is a natural for the supporting roles she’s played in romantic comedies. But the actress gets a chance to show her depth opposite George Clooney in Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants.” (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Kirsten Dunst took home the lead actress prize when Lars von Trier’s apocalyptic meditation on depression, “Melancholia,” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Mary J. Blige’s new album “My Life II ... The Journey Continues (Act 1),” a sequel to 1994’s “My Life,” the classic that catapulted her to R&B stardom. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Felicity Jones stars in “Like Crazy,” a modest relationship drama from director Drake Doremus that has garnered awards for the film and its star. (Carolyn Cole /Los Angeles Times)
Cast members of the hit comedy “Bridesmaids,” from left, Maya Rudolph,
Illeana Douglas, known for her roles in Allison Anders’ “Grace of My Heart” and Martin Scorsese’s “Cape Fear,” stars in “Easy to Assemble,” a Web series for IKEA, the Swedish furniture retailer. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
“My Week With Marilyn” star Michelle Williams prepared by immersing herself in all things Marilyn Monroe. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Leonardo DiCaprio investigated the FBI director for ‘J. Edgar’ and found him fascinating and frustrating (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
Martin Scorsese, the director behind “Raging Bull” and “The Departed,” changes gears with the child-friendly 3-D film “Hugo.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
In “Descendants,” her first feature film, Shailene Woodley of TV’s “The Secret Life of an American Teenager” wows critics and her director. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
British actor Henry Cavill first takes on Theseus in “Immortals” -- and next Superman in “Man of Steel.” (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“The Help’s” Octavia Spencer has gone from relative anonymity to life-changing “overdrive” after the movie’s blockbuster success. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The Canadian rapper-singer Drake has taken a decidedly low-key approach to rolling out his new disc, “Take Care.” (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Veteran actress Viola Davis worked to give her role in “The Help” dignity. (Genaro Molina /Los Angeles Times)
Leonardo DiCaprio, center, and Armie Hammer with Clint Eastwood, right. Eastwood directs DiCaprio and Hammer in the new film “J. Edgar.” (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
An Oscar nominee for “Little Miss Sunshine,” Abigail Breslin is a teen with father issues in “Janie Jones.” (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Viewers are seeing a different side of Colin Hanks on Showtime’s “Dexter.” (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Grown-up love and fatherhood informed Cameron Crowe’s new film “We Bought a Zoo.” (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times))
Which star should Ryan Gosling promote more for a lead actor Oscar -- a campaign manager in “The Ides of March” or a stunt/getaway driver in “Drive”? (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Patton Oswalt meets an acting challenge head-on in Jason Reitman’s “Young Adult.” (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
Actor-singer-songwriter
Anton Yelshin, photographed in New York, stars in the movie “Like Crazy” with Felicity Jones. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Rock band Janes Addiction poses in advance of its new album, “The Great Escape Artist,” at the Shangri-La hotel in Santa Monica. Lead singer
Comedic actor
Director
Elizabeth Olsen stars in “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” directed by Sean Durkin. It is a cult-themed drama. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Singer-activist
Mary Elizabeth Winstead at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. She stars in the movie “The Thing,” which will open Oct. 14. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Singer-songwriter
Joseph Gordon-Levitt deals with chemotherapy and a deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend in “50/50.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Former Disney teen star
Felicia Day created and acts in “The Guild” and a new Web series, “Dragon Age: Redemption.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Thomas Jane returns for the third season of the HBO dramedy “Hung.” He stars as Ray Drecker, a struggling high school teacher and coach who deals with Detroit’s crumbling economy by branching out into prostitution. (Anne Cusack/ Los Angeles Times)
Kelly Macdonald plays the Irish immigrant-turned-grande-dame Margaret Schroeder in HBO’s
Actor
Emmy nominees, from left, Walton Goggins (“Justified”), Johnny Galecki (
Actress
Animator, writer and director
Legendary singer
As co-producer of her new CW series,
Actress Bailee Madison at her Los Angeles area home, (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Drake Doremus in
Country singer
Actress Emma Stone is in three movies this summer, including
Actor
In “The Help,”
Jim Sturgess at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Sturgess, the versatile star of the romance
Octavia Spencer plays Minny Jackson, a sharp-tongued maid with an abusive husband, in “The Help.” (Robert Gauthier /Los Angeles Times)
Jessica Chastain, seen opposite
Andy Serkis, the motion-capture actor who starred as Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and King Kong in
“Mad Men” finally gave
Actor, screenwriter, producer and director
“I couldn’t rhyme. I wasn’t a rapper. So I made this movie,” director
Former “Friends” star
Chris Evans, star of “Captain America: The First Avenger,” had his doubts about playing the iconic superhero. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Rachel Zoe is a stylist, reality TV star, designer and mom. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Mary McDonnell’s
Sam Trammell is ready for family changes with his “True Blood” character and in real life. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Actress
Actress Elisabeth Moss, who plays Peggy Olson on “Mad Men,” sees her character’s generation on the way up on the AMC series set in the ‘60s. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
In “Green Lantern,” Ryan Reynolds stars as Hal Jordan, a cocky test pilot who is pulled into a cosmic struggle between good and evil when he is selected as the first human to serve in the Green Lantern Corps. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Singer and actor
After roles in “Tron: Legacy” and “Midnight in Paris,” Michael Sheen stars in “Beautiful Boy” as the father of a college student who died committing a bloody campus shooting. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Amy Poehler produces and stars in “Parks and Recreation.” She also has two young children with her husband, Will Arnett. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Actor
On the Showtime series “Shameless,” William H. Macy is Frank, the drunken and largely shiftless papa to a clutch of kids who survive largely by their own wits. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
“Desperate Housewives” actress
Mireille Enos stars in AMC’s new series, “The Killing,” and had a featured role on “Big Love.” She also received a Tony nod for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth stars in the new film “Thor,” which borrows from ancient Norse myth and from the pages of Marvel Comic. (Anne Cusack /Los Angeles Times)
Director and Academy Award-winning actress
Actor
Actress
Actor
Actor
Nia Vardalos worked on her latest project, “Larry Crowne,” with Tom Hanks. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Actress
Author Christina Haag stands for a portrait in Santa Monica, Calif. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Vanessa Hudgens poses for a portrait at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Vanessa Hudgens is in two new movies this month: a modern retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” called “Beatly,” and “Sucker Punch,” in which she has her most racy role. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Rainn Wilson in the Tula Tea Room at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, Calif. He stars in the movie “Super.” (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Actress Saoirse Ronan is photographed at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. She appears in the movie
Debut film director Max Winkler, son of
Merritt Wever is a young star on the show “Nurse Jackie.” (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Meital Dohan, a successful, award-winning actress in Israel, is forging her way into American film, theater and even music. She had a starring role in “Monogamy,” a noted film that will be making its
Actress-singer Connie Stevens, who at age 70 directed her first film, is photographed in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Actor
Australian actress Mia Wasikowska stars as the title character in the latest cinematic retelling of Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre.” (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Alex Ebert sings and plays guitar, keyboards, clarinet, violin, drums and kazoo on his solo album. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Susanne Bier, director of
Oscar winner
Actress Hayden Panattiere is photographed on the
Portrait of Anthony Mackie at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Sergio Mendes is photographed in his Woodland Hills home. He has released more than 35 albums and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
Tom Selleck says he was drawn to the ensemble nature of his CBS series “Blue Bloods.” (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Actress Gillian Anderson stars in the upcoming PBS series, “Any Human Heart”. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Actor Colin Firth plays King George VI in “The King’s Speech.” (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Actor Channing Tatum stars in “The Eagle,” a swords-and-togas adventure film. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Actor Geoffrey Rush is part of the ensemble cast of “The King’s Speech.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Actress
Christopher Nolan directed and wrote the screenplay for “Inception,” a sci-fi thriller about dream invasion. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Actress Annette Bening stars in “The Kids Are All Right.” (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Ashton Kutcher stars in the new romantic comedy “No Strings Attached.” (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges stars in the new Coen brothers film, “True Grit.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Ricky Gervais has a new HBO special and will host the Golden Globes on Jan. 16. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Amy Adams costars in “The Fighter” as the brassy girlfriend of a struggling boxer played by Mark Wahlberg. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Actor, writer and director Ben Affleck stars in “The Company Men.” He also co-wrote, directed and stars in 2010’s “The Town.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Actor Garrett Hedlund has come a long way since growing up on a ranch in Minnesota. He appears in the 2010 movies “Tron: Legacy” and “Country Strong.” (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Michelle Williams stars in the new movie “Blue Valentine,” about the highs and lows of a young couple’s marriage. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Ryan Gosling, seen here at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, costars with Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine.” (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Matt LeBlanc, best known for his role as Joey on “Friends,” is playing an arrogant actor named Matt LeBlanc in the new Showtime comedy “Episodes.” (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Jim Sturgess stars in the new movie “The Way Back.”
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Celebrities by the Times in 2011
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Celebrities by the Times in 2009 (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)