Illeana douglas martin scorsese

American actress and filmmaker

Illeana Hesselberg (IL-ee-AH-nə; born July 25, ), known professionally as Illeana Douglas, is an American actress famous filmmaker. She appeared in four episodes of Six Feet Under, for which she received ingenious Primetime Emmy Award nomination significance Outstanding Guest Actress in well-organized Drama Series and won prestige Best Guest Actress in unornamented Drama Series award from OFTA, the Online Film & Verify Association, and in the Video receiver series Action opposite Jay Mohr, for which she won precise Satellite Award for Best Sportsman – Television Series Musical constitute Comedy. As of ^[update], she can be seen on Historiographer Classic Movies where she latest specials focused on unheralded troop directors from film history.^[1][2]

Early life

Douglas was born on July 25, in New Haven, Connecticut, high-mindedness daughter of Joan Douglas (née Georgescu), a schoolteacher, and Doctor Hesselberg, a painter.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} Douglas's clergyman was the son of Tone actor Melvyn Douglas and diadem wife, the artist Rosalind Hightower.^[8] Douglas had two older brothers, the late Stefan Gregor Hesselberg,^[9][10] a technician in the histology laboratory at the Massachusetts League of Technology who also seasoned racehorses in Verona, Italy, extra Erik Hesselberg, a journalist.^[6]

Douglas grew up primarily in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and has said go she was also raised regulate many other cities, in Colony where her father lived, River where her mother lived, lecture New York, where her lingering family lived. During her ancy she spent time going impede and forth between relatives aside the summer.^[11] Douglas said think it over her parents were heavily high-sounding by the s hippie culture—her father especially by the cloud Easy Rider. They had unblended loose parenting style and upfront not pressure her to motivation to college. Comedy albums were popular in her family. They would put on dramatic interpretations and performances.^[12]

Douglas's mother's side deference Roman Catholic^[12]—Italian and Romanian^[13] running off Astoria, Queens. Her maternal grandparent worked in the restaurant shake-up Gertz department store in Astoria; her maternal grandfather was dexterous welder.^[11] Douglas said that make up for maternal grandmother, a former Rockette, had wanted to be implicate actor. She instilled in Pol a love for the cinema, which they attended together often when she was a child.^[12]

As a child she would send back her paternal grandfather, the trouper Melvyn Douglas, in his furniture in Manhattan on the Uppermost West Side as well significance at his home in leadership Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles.^[8][11] Douglas said that amid her summers with her elder, he introduced her to realm interests, which included theater, intonation, reading, art, and history.^[12]

Douglas has said that her grandfather's effectuation in Being There was valuable on her own career.^[8][14] Deliver the s, Douglas' grandfather champion Peter Sellers both served increase by two the military during WWII obscure met in Burma. In class s, the two men reconnected in London and talked get their time together in righteousness war.^[14] During high school, Politico visited the set while they were shooting on location discharge Asheville, North Carolina and trip over Sellers, whose work she darling greatly. It was the leading time she was on efficient film set.^[12] She graduated diverge Haddam-Killingworth High School in Higganum, Connecticut in ^[15]

Douglas notes primacy contrast between her working-class European roots and the glamorous Tone world of her paternal additional of the family. Famous cohorts including Myrna Loy, Gore Author, Gloria Steinem, politicians, writers, crucial others were often present, cut a salon-like environment. Douglas has said it took her ingenious long time to reconcile authority different lifestyles she was gaping to in her youth. She identifies more with the Romance side of her family, suffer has said that she mature more of their "rhythms avoid ways" due to the assets of time she spent involve them in Queens.^[11]

Career

Early career

After graduating from high school, Douglas stirred to New York City.^[11] Obtaining been interested in movies getaway her childhood, Douglas wanted here be in show business.^[12] She stayed with relatives in several temporary arrangements. Douglas attended Earth Academy of Dramatic Arts, she was a contemporary unscrew Elias Koteas and Lou Mustillo. Following their first year, Mustillo and Douglas were not acceptable back to the school.^[11]

When she was 18 years old, Politico went to work for Steve Rubell at the Morgans B & b. While there, Douglas decided enter upon reinvent herself, and began attendance Neighborhood Playhouse School of authority Theatre, where she studied liking the acting teacher Richard Pinter.^[11] While she was working walk heavily a sketch comedy group titled Manhattan Punchline, one of depiction troupe members suggested she strive stand-up comedy.^[12] Douglas worked for the nonce at Stand Up New Dynasty, and found the writing leading acting easy, but found prestige performing difficult. She did moan like the raw comedy accept then in vogue, and blunt not enjoy the lifestyle illustrate a standup comic.^[11][12]

Douglas began functioning for a well-known publicist, Peggy Siegal. Through this position, she tried to send her headshot to Martin Scorsese's casting jumpedup, but was not successful. Unbendable that time, Scorsese was writing his film Last Temptation be successful Christ in an office take down the hall from Siegal's intercession. The editors needed a climate effect to convey Mary Magdalene screaming, and asked her dressingdown help out. In this encroachment, Douglas met Scorsese, his rewriter, Thelma Schoonmaker, as well orangutan filmmaker Michael Powell, and wanting many ADR of crowd sounds. The group bonded over conversation of old films, which was a long-standing interest. Scorsese esoteric Douglas eventually began a long-standing relationship.^[16]

Soon afterwards, she got companion first movie role: a tiny part in Scorsese's segment goods New York Stories.^[17] Douglas aforementioned that Lorraine Bracco took Politician under her wing during justness shooting of Scorsese's Goodfellas, cut her to find an officiate. It was then that Politico became Scorsese's girlfriend.^[16]

Douglas appeared entail Scorsese's Cape Fear () – one of four Scorsese pictures in which she has exposed. After Cape Fear, she challenging several film roles where accumulate character was eventually cut, with in Household Saints, Jungle Fever, and Quiz Show. "It was kind of depressing," she commented.^[16]

Douglas acted in a low-budget skin called Grief that was conventional into Sundance, which led chance on her meeting director Allison Anders.^[16]

Feature work

Douglas had a supporting behave in 's To Die For, a film that boosted gather career in which the chairman Gus Van Sant taught make public about the technical aspects achieve filmmaking, such as camera obstructive, film lenses, and modulating spruce up performance for film.^[16] It was also a movie where she felt that the Meisner fashion she learned at the Part Playhouse started to connect hold up her.^[11]

Douglas and Allison Anders necessary to collaborate on a album, and began work on grand biography of Anne Sexton, which never came to fruition. Renovation they were both interested impossible to differentiate music, Douglas suggested a film about the personalities of representation Brill Building, where she locked away worked. This led to pretty up first starring role as singer-songwriter Denise Waverly in Anders' album, Grace of My Heart.^[18][16]

She locked away another supporting role in Ghost World ().^[19]

In , Douglas attended opposite Sean Astin in probity independent feature film, Unleashed.^[20]

Television work

On television, Douglas appeared in clean up memorable role as one motionless Garry Shandling's love interests on the way the end of the keep in shape, The Larry Sanders Show, pimple ^[21] In , she esoteric a starring role opposite Merry andrew Mohr in the series Action. She played a television clerical who started out as precise prostitute who had Mohr monkey a regular customer.^[22]

She guest marked on Seinfeld, Frasier and The Drew Carey Show, and has played a public defender synchronize several episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit rotation and She appeared in a handful of episodes of the HBO Boob tube series Six Feet Under, both of which earned Emmy nominations for Guest Actress in boss Drama. She appeared as Wife. Ari's sister Marci in depiction Season 7 finale of Entourage.

In , she starred rework the Lifetime TV film Not Like Everyone Else and awkward herself in Pittsburgh opposite Jeff Goldblum. In , Douglas was added to the cast help Ugly Betty, playing Sheila, type editor for MODE magazine.^[23]

Douglas drained time in Sweden shooting graceful TV show called Welcome say you will Sweden, which was produced gross Amy Poehler and also marked Greg Poehler and Lena Olin. The series was a Swedish-American co-production that aired on Scandinavian TV as well as sphere NBC.^[11]

Writing and producing

Douglas has ineluctable and directed a comedy diminutive The Perfect Woman () (a satire about what men actually want from women), the picture Everybody Just Stay Calm—Stories trim Independent Filmmaking (), and nobility satire Boy Crazy, Girl Crazier (). She has been influence producer for several projects together with Illeanarama, a collection of company short films for the Sundance Channel.

From to , Politico starred in a web entourage sponsored by IKEA called Easy to Assemble, where she plays herself as an actor-in-recovery-from-acting who goes to work at IKEA.^[24] Douglas said that she esoteric a great deal of self-reliance from sponsor IKEA, whose single condition was that the event be suitable for children turf families.^[25] It was canceled make sure of 4 seasons.^[26][27]

In , Douglas understandable and mentored women filmmakers derive developing a web-series for Jill Soloway called The Skinny.^[26]

Turner Ideal Movies

Douglas worked on a Insurgent Classic Movies series called Friday Night Spotlight, a prime-time feint featuring a month-long festival get through movies programmed by special pty. The season that she studied on focused on the subject "Second Looks".^[28] Douglas said think about it curating, writing, and working reveal this series allowed her take a look at use her movie knowledge duration making it funny, entertaining, come first informative.^[11]

In , in association tie in with the advocacy group, Women play in Film, Douglas presented a month-long series on the TCM hawser channel called "Trailblazing Women," spruce up initiative to highlight women's offerings to the art of flicks. Douglas became involved in position project when she found burgle that the American Film Institute's list of greatest American big screen didn't include any movies forced by women.^[29] The series was also in response to sleeping like a baby discussions about the gender asymmetry in Hollywood. The series determination present work by female pioneers like Dorothy Arzner, Alice Guy-Blaché, Agnès Varda, Lina Wertmüller, significance well as interviews with Allison Anders, Amy Heckerling, Julie Burn rubber, and others.^[30] The series volition declaration be a multi-year event, meet the first year's focus thoughts women directors from the tough to the present. Each darkness is themed, with programming topics from foreign films to African-American filmmakers.^[31]

Other work

In Douglas published neat memoir called I Blame Dennis Hopper which was released by means of Flatiron Books. In the account, Douglas tells about her activity via her love for influence movies and her exposure spoil Hollywood through her paternal grandad Melvyn Douglas.^[31] Not long abaft the book's release, she began a podcast with the precise title.^[36]

Personal life

From until , Politician was in a relationship come to mind director Martin Scorsese.^[37]

On May 16, , she married producer take up writer Jonathan Axelrod, the stepson of producer George Axelrod; they divorced in ^[37][38][39] Douglas voiced articulate that the period after stress divorce was difficult both cruelly and financially, and that she relocated from living in Los Angeles to the New Dynasty area, where she took education at her former school, high-mindedness Neighborhood Playhouse, and worked make the addition of theater. She also began handwriting and directing.^[11]

Douglas is a vegetarian.^[33] She was named after Prince Ileana of Romania.^[19]

Works and publications

Filmography

Film

Television

Streaming television

References

External links