Aziz Ansari

Aziz Ansari (born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and comedian. He stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. Ansari also created and starred in the critically acclaimed, MTV sketch show Human Giant. In December 2009, it was announced that Ansari and Jason Woliner will collaborate in developing three films with Judd Apatow and Universal Pictures. Ansari will appear in the films, and Woliner will direct the projects.

Early life

Ansari was born in Columbia, South Carolina to Tamil Muslim parents who emigrated from Tamil Nadu, India. His father is a doctor. Ansari grew up in Bennettsville, South Carolina and attended Marlboro Academy (in Bennettsville). He subsequently attended the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics in Hartsville, SC and New York University. He attended the renowned NYU Stern School of Business and graduated in 2004.
Career

Stand-up comedy
Ansari began his career performing stand-up comedy in New York while attending New York University. He performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre frequently. In 2005, Rolling Stone included him in their annual "Hot List" as their choice for the "Hot Standup", and he won the Jury Award for "Best Standup" at HBO's 2006 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. He tours colleges and music festivals occasionally, and has also toured with the Comedians of Comedy and the Flight of the Conchords. Ansari headlined his own comedy tour, the Glow in the Dark Tour, in the fall of 2008 and early 2009.
In July 2009, near the end of the Glow In The Dark tour, Ansari filmed a DVD/CD special for Comedy Central. The set, titled Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, aired January 17, 2010, with a CD/LP/DVD release on January 19. This new set included many new topics some of which were: Cold Stone, Gay Rights, Facebook and Kanye West.
Human Giant

Human Giant's Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, Jason Woliner & Paul Scheer in May 2007
Around the summer of 2005, Ansari began collaborating with fellow comedians Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer (both of the famed improv troupe Respecto Montalban), as well as director Jason Woliner to make short films. The first series created by the group was Shutterbugs, which followed Huebel and Ansari as cutthroat child talent agents. This was followed up by the Illusionators, which starred Ansari and Scheer as Criss Angel-style goth magicians. In mid-2006, MTV greenlit a sketch series from the group which debuted April 5, 2007. The critically acclaimed show completed two seasons. The group was offered a third season, but they were unable to accept due to other commitments.
Parks and Recreation
In June 2008, Ansari was announced as the first cast hire for NBC's new comedy from producers of The Office. The show, Parks and Recreation, debuted in April 2009 with Ansari portraying Tom Haverford, who hails from Bennettsville, South Carolina. Ansari has received notable praise from critics, including Yahoo! TV which placed him in the number one spot of their list of "TV MVPs: The Most Valuable Performers of the Fall Season."
Other notable television work
In addition to his work on Parks and Recreation, Ansari appeared on the HBO series Flight of the Conchords as a xenophobic fruit vendor. He also had a recurring role in season eight of the ABC sitcom Scrubs as Ed Dhandapani, a new intern to the hospital. Ansari's character was fired by the hospital and written off the show to allow him to film Parks and Recreation. Aziz was recently chosen to host the MTV Movie Awards on June 6th 2010.
Apatow-Universal development deal
In the summer of 2009, Ansari appeared in the Judd Apatow film Funny People with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen as an energetic stand-up comedian named Raaaaaaaandy. Apatow liked Ansari's character and commissioned him and Human Giant collaborator Jason Woliner to create online shorts centered around Raaaaaaaandy to promote the film. These shorts proved successful and the Raaaaaaaandy character became the subject of one of the film ideas Ansari and Woliner are currently developing for Apatow Productions. Two other ideas in development are "Let's Do This", a road movie about two motivational speakers, and an untitled film about two disgraced astronauts who must return to space to clear their names.
Personal life

Ansari's comedy style has tended toward discussing aspects of his personal life. “I like talking about things that are going on in my life, because that’s always going to be different and original,” he says. “No one else is gonna be talking about my personal experiences."
Recently he has been working on a mixtape for his "Raaaaaaaandy" character with Dave Sitek from TV On The Radio. No release date has been set. A website has been created to promote the mixtape scence.
Ansari's parents are Tamil Muslims from India, while Ansari himself identifies as an atheist.
Filmography

Films
Year Title Role Other Notes
2006 School for Scoundrels Classmate
2008 The Rocker Aziz
2009 Funny People Randy Springs
Observe and Report Saddamn
I Love You, Man Eugene
2010 Get Him to the Greek Aaron's Co-worker
Television
Television
Year Title Role Other Notes
2007 Flight of the Conchords Sinjay Episode "Drive By"
Human Giant Cast Member Writer, Co-Creator (2007–2008)
2008 Worst Week Morgue Employee
2009 Reno 911! Insurance Representative (3 episodes)
Scrubs Ed Dhandapani (4 episodes)
Parks and Recreation Tom Haverford Regular cast member
2010 Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening Stand-up (in January)
MTV Movie Awards Host
Discography

Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening
Raaaaaaaandy Mixtape (with Dave Sitek)
Source:wikipedia
Sponsor:Click2.info

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is a professional American race car driver who drives the #88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet Impala SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series for Hendrick Motorsports, and drives in the Nationwide Series part-time for the #88 car for his own team, JR Motorsports. He is the son of NASCAR racing driver Dale Earnhardt, Sr., and the grandson of both the late NASCAR driver Ralph Earnhardt and Robert Gee, the well known stock car fabricator. Earnhardt Jr. is also the half-brother of former driver Kerry Earnhardt, the uncle of driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, and the stepson of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team co-owner Teresa Earnhardt.

Career

Early life and career
Born in North Carolina and raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Son of Brenda Lorraine (née Gee) and Dale Earnhardt. His maternal grandfather, Robert Gee, Sr., was a NASCAR car builder.He began his racing career at the late age of 17, competing in the Street Stock division at Concord (N.C.) Motorsport Park. His first race car was a 1979 Monte Carlo that he co-owned with his older half-brother, Kerry Earnhardt. Within two seasons, the young Earnhardt, Jr. had honed his driving abilities to the point of joining the Late Model Stock Car division. There he developed an in-depth knowledge of chassis setup and car preparation, while racing against his older brother Kerry and sister Kelley Earnhardt Elledge.
Dale Jr. ran nine Busch Series races between 1996 and 1997 for Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ed Whitaker, respectively, before driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the Busch Series full time in 1998, in which he started the season in an amazing blowover after contact with Dick Trickle and Buckshot Jones at Daytona. Earnhardt, Jr. won consecutive NASCAR Busch Series Championships in 1998 and 1999 barely edging Matt Kenseth. In 1998 he made his first start in the Winston Cup, at the exhibition race held in Motegi, Japan. Also in 1999 he drove in 5 Winston Cup races in the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc., then in 2000 he went full time in the Winston Cup series.




2000


Earnhardt, Jr. racing the at the 2000 Coca-Cola 600.
Earnhardt, Jr. competed for the Raybestos NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award in 2000. His primary competitor for the award was Matt Kenseth. Kenseth outran Junior in the season-opening Daytona 500. Earnhardt, Jr. scored wins at the Texas Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway. He also became the first rookie to win the All-Star exhibition race. Kenseth ultimately scored a 42-point victory in the rookie race.
Dale Jr. did have a part in recreating one Winston Cup milestone in 2000 when he competed with his father and half-brother Kerry in the Pepsi 400 at Michigan International Speedway. That occasion was only the second time that a father had raced against two sons. Lee, Richard and Maurice Petty had previously accomplished the feat.
Dale Jr. also wrote a non-fiction book based on his rookie season titled DRIVER #8.
Dale Jr also attended college and earned a 2 year automotive degree in Mooresville, North Carolina



2001
In 2001, Earnhardt, Jr. came into the season hoping to avoid a sophomore slump, but the year proved to be one of the most tumultuous and memorable seasons the young driver would experience.
The major event of the season occurred in the final corner of the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. As Earnhardt, Jr. finished second, to his teammate Michael Waltrip, his father had crashed in turn four. Dale Earnhardt Sr. did not survive the wreck. He was pronounced dead at 5:16 p.m. that Sunday. Junior raced at Rockingham the following weekend, but finished in 43rd-place after a wreck that looked eerily similar to his father's wreck just one week earlier. Earnhardt, Jr. rebounded and scored victories at Dover and Talladega, as well as an emotional win in the return to Daytona in the Pepsi 400, finishing eighth in points for the year.
The Talladega victory earned Junior a Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus. This season of emotion produced nine top-fives and 15 top-10 finishes, as well as two Bud Poles.




2002-2003


Dale Jr. at the Pepsi 400 in 2002.
In 2002, Junior had a roller-coaster season. He struggled after enduring a concussion at Fontana in April — an injury he did not admit to until mid-September. In the three races following Fontana, Earnhardt, Jr. finished no better than 30th. Still, Junior rallied to score two more wins at Talladega, a pair of Bud Pole Awards and an 11th-place finish in the standings.
2003 saw Earnhardt, Jr. become a true title contender. He scored a record-breaking 4th consecutive win at Talladega, but people were beginning to say that Earnhardt, Jr. could only win on the restrictor plate tracks, as his last win on a non-plate track had come at Dover in 2001. He put that talk to rest as he scored a victory at Phoenix in October, recording a career best 3rd place effort in the standings. He would also take home the NMPA Most Popular Driver award for the first time in his career.




2004-2006



                                                                                                  Jr. in the pits at the spring 2006 Bristol race.

In 2004, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the Daytona 500, six years to the day after his father won his only title in the "Great American Race (and 3 years after his father was killed in the 2001 race)." On July 18, during an off-weekend from NASCAR, Dale Jr. crashed a Chevrolet Corvette C5-R during a practice for the American Le Mans Series Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway. The car slid off course and hit a concrete barrier during warm-up the day of the race, rupturing a fuel line and causing the car to burst into flames with Earnhardt, Jr. still inside. He suffered second and third degree burns on his neck, chin, and legs partially due to not wearing a protective balaclava with his helmet. The burns prevented him from finishing two races where he was replaced by Martin Truex Jr. and his DEI teammate John Andretti in the middle of the races. In the fall, Junior became the first driver to sweep a weekend at Bristol by winning both the Busch race and Cup race in the same weekend.
He was able to qualify for the NASCAR ten-race playoff, and had his fifth NEXTEL Cup win of the season (a career high) at Talladega. However, he was penalized 25 points for use of an obscenity during the television broadcast, in violation of a NASCAR rule prohibiting participants from using obscene language. That incident, combined with two consecutive DNF's in the playoffs, eventually dropped him out of the running, and he finished fifth in the 2004 NEXTEL Cup chase despite a career-high 6 wins at Daytona, Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol, Talladega and Phoenix. He also picked up his 2nd consecutive Most Popular Driver Award.
At the close of the 2004 season it was revealed that Tony Eury, Sr. would be promoted to the team manager position for the DEI corporation, while Tony Eury, Jr. became the crew chief for the DEI #15 driven by Michael Waltrip for the 2005 season. Peter Rondeau, a Chance 2 employee who also helped Earnhardt, Jr. win the Busch Series race at Bristol in August, became the crew chief for Earnhardt, Jr. in 2005. Rondeau served as Earnhardt's crew chief until the Coca Cola 600 weekend when he was replaced with DEI chief engineer Steve Hmiel, who helped Jr. score his lone win of 2005 at Chicagoland in July. Earnhardt, Jr. was eliminated from any possible competition for the NEXTEL Cup championship after suffering an engine failure at the California Speedway. Earnhardt, Jr. was reunited with cousin Tony Eury, Jr. after the fall Richmond weekend, and results improved immediately. For the 3rd straight year, Earnhardt, Jr. took home the NMPA




Most Popular Driver Award.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. merchandise hauler.
Meanwhile, Earnhardt's proficiency as a car owner continued. His race team outside of DEI, JR Motorsports, in 2005 fielded a car in the USAR Hooters ProCup Series, winning once and qualifying for the Four Champions playoff. Mark McFarland moved to the Busch Series in 2006, driving the #88 JR Motorsports US Navy Chevrolet, with Richard Childress Racing providing assistance; however, he was fired before the fall Michigan race, the Carfax 250. He was replaced by Robby Gordon and Martin Truex, Jr. for the rest of the year. Long-time short track racer Shane Huffman drove Earnhardt's USAR Hooters ProCup car in 2006.
In 2006, during the spring weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, Junior and other DEI drivers drove with special black paint schemes on their cars, reminiscent of his late father's famous #3 paint scheme. On Father's Day 2006, Dale Jr. drove a vintage Budweiser car at Michigan International Speedway to honor both his grandfather (Ralph Earnhardt) and father, who at one point in both their careers used the number 8 car. After rain caused the race to be ended early, Dale Jr. finished 3rd with Kasey Kahne winning the race. After 17 races in the 2006 season, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. sat 3rd in the championship standings with one win, coming at Richmond in May 2006.
During the race at New Hampshire, Junior experienced the second engine failure of his 2006 season, ultimately leading to a 43rd place finish. Following New Hampshire was the race at Pocono, where Junior was running in the middle of the pack when he crashed in turn 2. These two events catapulted him to 11th in the points standing, out of the Chase for the Cup. At Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Junior and his crew made a critical decision to stay out on the final pit stop to get a much needed top-ten finish to move him up to tenth in the points.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made the 2006 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup after finishing 17th in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 9, 2006. His points position going into the Chase was 6th. Earnhardt, Jr. finished the season 5th in the point standings, 147 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.



2007


                                                        Earnhardt, Jr. turning into the garage at Texas Motor Speedway in 2007

 Jr.'s #8 Sharpie Busch car at the Sharpie display at the 2007 Ford Championship Weekend at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Earnhardt, Jr. began the 2007 NEXTEL Cup season by finishing 32nd at the Daytona 500. His first top ten came at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 500 when he finished 7th. His first Top 5 came at Martinsville Speedway in the Goody's Cool Orange 500. He led 136 laps and finished 5th. Jr. collected his third top 10 of the season and his 8th at Talladega Superspeedway with his 7th place performance in the 2007 Aaron's 499. On May 14 Earnhardt, Jr. was docked 100 driver championship points, car owner Teresa Earnhardt was docked 100 owner points, and his crew chief Tony Eury Jr. was fined $100,000 and suspended for 6 races due to the use of illegal mounting brackets used to attach the wing to his car. During the April race at Texas Motor Speedway he drove the last 10 laps in the #5 car of Kyle Busch owned by Rick Hendrick. Although it was gracious of Earnhardt to do so, the circumstances of the situation (Busch stormed out of the car past his crew, believing his car to be damaged beyond repair), and that both Busch's and Earnhardt's contracts expiring at the end of the season, the experience was life changing.
On May 27, 2007, Dale Jr. rode a camouflage #8 car in the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day to raise money for the families of military troops. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Ward Burton, Denny Hamlin, Casey Mears, Shane Huffman and Jon Wood also changed their paint schemes for the occasion. Earnhardt, Jr. finished eighth, after leading with seven laps to go, but Casey Mears finished with the win.
On August 5, 2007, Dale Jr. earned his first pole position in a race since 2002 at Pocono Raceway. Although Kurt Busch won the race, Earnhardt had a dramatic comeback to finish second after spinning out and experiencing shock troubles. Earnhardt led for eight laps before Busch took over. On August 12 at Watkins Glen International, Dale Jr. was making the push into the Top 12 of the Nextel Cup standings from his #13 position. After being at the #2 position during the race, Jr. had engine problems on lap 64 and had to end his race day. After the Glen, Junior tried furiously to reach the 12th spot in standings. However, a resurgence by Kurt Busch and a blown engine during the final race at Richmond ended his Chase hopes.That was Dale's last chance to participate for the Championship at Dale Earnhardt Inc.(DEI). After the 2007 season, Earnhardt Jr. won the NMPA Chex Most Popular Driver award for the 5th consecutive time.
[edit]Move to Hendrick Motorsports
After much speculation, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. announced on May 10, 2007, that he would leave Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his father, to drive for another team in 2008. Earnhardt expressed that his decision was based entirely on his desires to achieve his career goal of a Sprint Cup Championship, and his apparent belief that he would not be able to attain that objective while driving for DEI. He said that unless he could gain majority ownership, and therefore control, of DEI, that he was not confident in the organization’s ability to field the elite level equipment that would yield the elusive title.


Dale Earnhardt Jr. (left) standing between two different paint schemes for the #88 Chevy. He stands with Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard, and Rick Hendrick, in Dallas where the announcement was made on September 19, 2007.
On June 13, 2007, he announced at a press conference that he had signed a five-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports, replacing Kyle Busch. He has joined Hendrick which at the time consisted of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears (Mears would be replaced in 2009 by Mark Martin).
On July 13, 2007, it was announced that his long-time primary sponsor Budweiser would not be with Earnhardt Jr. when he made the move to Hendrick. Other contractual agreements in place at Hendrick Motorsports are said to have prevented a relationship with Bud.
On August 15, 2007 it was announced that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would not be taking his familiar #8 with him to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. His late grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, used that number and Earnhardt Jr. picked it when he entered the Cup Series in 1999. Earnhardt's father also used #8 early in his career. Earnhardt Jr. blamed his stepmother for not allowing the #8 to move with him to Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt Jr. said negotiations broke down when Teresa Earnhardt asked for part of the licensing revenue, along with wanting the number back after he retired. (The #8 team, after a successful season in 2008 with co-drivers Mark Martin and Aric Almirola, would end up being shut down in 2009 after DEI's merger with Ganassi Racing.)
Earnhardt Jr. moved to the #88 car with Tony Eury, Jr. coming to Hendrick to remain as his crew chief. On September 19, the official announcement was made that Earnhardt Jr. would be driving the #88 Mountain Dew AMP/National Guard Chevy for the 2008 season.
The #88, according to NASCAR archives, was driven by Ralph Earnhardt, his paternal grandfather, in 1957. His maternal grandfather, Robert Gee, was one of the first employees of All Star Racing, initially a Late Model Sportsman (now Nationwide Series) team with Gee as Hendrick's partner, which is now Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick said about Earnhardt and his uncles, "I can look at Robert Gee Jr., or Jimmy Gee, or Dale Jr., and all I see is Robert Gee. They're the spitting image of him. I go back and look and pictures from when we did things together, and I have to say, I owe Robert a lot."
Starting in the 2008 season, Hendrick Motorsports merged its Nationwide Series team to Dale's JR Motorsports, with the cars coming from Dale's shop, which employs his mother and uncles.


2008


                                                                                                                            Earnhardt at Daytona

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. addresses the media at Hendrick Motorsports headquarters on January 23, 2008.
Earnhardt started the season by winning the 2008 Budweiser Shootout, a non-points paying exhibition. It was his first race for Hendrick. He led for a total of 47 of 70 laps, a Budweiser Shootout record. He followed that up five days later with a win in the Gatorade Duel. This was his third career win in the duels, however he was unable to follow it up with victory in the Daytona 500, finishing 9th. Ryan Newman was the winner of the event.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 50 points because his rear spoiler didn't meet the specified height in the Nationwide Series. His crew chief Chad Walter was fined $35,000, suspended for 6 races and was placed on probation until December 31, 2008. Team owner Rick Hendrick was also docked 50 owner points along with Jr.
Dale Jr. started 15th for the Auto Club 500 because qualifying was rained out and the lineup was determined by owner points from last season. However on lap 21, teammate Casey Mears went up into the wall due to water on the track. When he came back down the track he took out Jr. When the cameras caught up with Earnhardt in the garage, he was irritated about the fact that they were even out on the track in those conditions. It had been raining all weekend and water was "weeping" out of the cracks on the track causing slick spots in the corners. The race was later rain delayed until Monday and Earnhardt finished the race 40th.
A string of four top-5 and top-10 finishes over the following weeks improved his position in the points standings from 23rd to fourth.
Despite winning the pole for the Samsung 500 at Texas, Junior finished the race a lap down in 12th position.
Earnhardt Jr. made his 300th career Sprint Cup start at the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Despite running a strong race (including leading 12 times), his involvement in a late-race collision left him with a 10th place finish in the race.
A string of three top-5 finishes in the next four races continued Earnhardt Jr.'s consistency, and maintained his 3rd place position in the points standings.
At Michigan, Dale Jr. broke his 76-race winless streak, managing to stretch his fuel mileage enough to allow him to win under a caution on the last lap of a green-white-checkered (overtime) finish.
Dale Jr couldn't find much success after the Michigan win. He then went back to Talladega Superspeedway for the AMP Energy 500 where he was en route to a possible win before being caught up in "The Big One" late in the race. He headed to Martinsville Speedway where he finished second to teammate Jimmie Johnson.
He ended the season in the garage area at Homestead Miami Speedway in The Ford 400 after losing his brakes with just a few laps to go in the race. Earnhardt Jr in 2008 won his 6th consecutive Nascar most popular driver award after he set a Nascar record for merchandise sales.




2009
In the season-opening Daytona 500, Earnhardt, Jr. began well, even leading for a lap. However multiple mishaps including a missed pit stop and a 1-lap penalty for pitting outside of his pit box sent him far into the back of the running order. Earnhardt, Jr. was then directly involved in a controversial crash on lap 124, when, while fighting to return to the lead lap, he came in contact with Brian Vickers, causing a ten car pileup which included Denny Hamlin, Scott Speed, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Robby Gordon, Jamie McMurray, and Carl Edwards. Both Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers later criticized Earnhardt, Jr, who denied purposely clipping Vickers. Earnhardt in turn criticized Vickers for blocking him on the inside. When the race concluded early due to the rain, Earnhardt, Jr. ended with a 27th place finish. After a blown engine at California and falling to 35th in the owners points, he finished 10th at Las Vegas and reached 29th place in points. Earnhardt Jr. finished 8th at Martinsville. Unfortunately, Earnhardt Jr. had a string of poor finishes including 20th at Texas, and 31st at Phoenix after being spun out by Casey Mears. Earnhardt Jr. gained confidence in his team after he finished second at Talladega. However, two weeks later at Richmond, Earnhardt Jr. finished 27th. He was again spun out late in the race at Darlington and ended the race in 27th place. He then finished 10th in the All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Dale's poor performance continued as he finished in 40th place in the Coca-Cola 600, also at Lowe's.
On Thursday, May 28, 2009, Tony Eury Jr. was let go as crew chief of the #88 team. Lance McGrew was named interim crew chief, and was scheduled to take over starting with the June 7, 2009 Pocono Race with team manager Brian Whitesell calling the shots at Dover the previous week. McGrew was scheduled to work with Brad Keselowski at Dover, but after a failed qualifying attempt by Keselowski, was able to take on his duties for the #88 team a week early. Earnhardt, Jr. managed to finish 12th at Dover for the Autism Speaks 400 with his new crew chief after contending for the lead. At Pocono Raceway, however, he again ended with a 27th-place finish. Since the change in Crew Chiefs, Earnhardt, Jr. has been consistently better, finishing fifteenth at Chicagoland Speedway; during that time he had one DNF at Daytona International Speedway where he was taken out of the race early in a large pileup.
At the Carfax 400 at Michigan, Earnhardt, Jr. charged to the front near the end of the race and managed to finish third; he also earned his second top five finish this season in the same race. One week later at Bristol Earnhardt, Jr. finished 9th in the Sharpie 500. Recently, Earnhardt Jr. has run in the top 10 almost every week but overall, either due to mistakes by the pit crew or being wrecked on the racetrack, his finishes have not been very good and have not fairly reflected his performance. His bad luck continued at Auto Club Speedway, when he was involved in a multi-car incident. After a 39th qualifying run at Lowe's Motor Speedway, he said "I'm about to the end of my rope"and he had finally had it with the disappointments and the bad luck that he had all season long. At the fall Talladega race, Earnhardt, Jr. had a solid run, including leading several laps, before finishing in 11th place. Lance McGrew had the "interim" taken off of his title, and he will continue working with the #88 team through 2010. He ended 2009 winless and fewer top 5's and top 10's and finished a career low 25th in the standings.



2010
On Saturday, February 6, 2010, Earnhardt, Jr. qualified second overall for the 52nd 2010 Daytona 500 after losing the pole position to teammate Mark Martin. He started 1st in the Gatorade Duel #2 on Thursday, February 11, 2010. He finished 11th in the 2010 Budweiser Shootout after struggling with an ill-handling car for most of the race.
On February 13, 2010 while running in the front of the pack at the Daytona Nationwide Series race, Earnhardt, Jr. was caught up in a multi-car wreck, causing his car to flip upside down on the backstretch. He walked away from the wreck uninjured. His driver Danica Patrick was caught up in another wreck before Earnhardt flipped. With 2 laps to go in the Daytona 500 the following day, Earnhardt, Jr. was able to go from 10th to 2nd in 1 lap but could not pass winner Jamie McMurray, and finished in second place. He was unable to follow up on this strong performance the following week in California when a broken axle left him with a 32nd-place finish, 12 laps down. The next weekend in Las Vegas he qualified 4th for the Shelby American, however after falling a lap down late in the race he could only settle for a 16th place finish. Following another poor finish at Atlanta settling for a 15th place finish. The next weekend at Bristol Dale Jr. started 18th. He slowly made his way up the pace to 5th. Then a speeding penalty on pit road sent him to the tail end of the longest line. He charged his way up the pack to settle for a 7th place finish. He later qualified 8th at Martinsville after qualifying was rained out. After facing some handling problems, he ended up with a 15th place finish. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. qualified 5th for the Subway Fresh Fit 600. Early in the race, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had a splitter brace issue, that sent him to mid-pack. He later finished 12th. After qualifying 9th in the Samsung Mobile 500, Dale Jr. had a strong car for most of the race, and led 46 laps. However, the 88 slipped back from 3rd to finish 8th on the last restart, after facing a handling issue, and later moved up to 7th in the Sprint Cup points standings. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was determined to get a good finish at Talladega, and started 7th due to severe weather. Dale Jr. made his presence known by running up front in the early stages of the race, even leading 8 laps. Due to multiple green/white/checker attempts, Dale Jr. slipped back on the final restart and finished 13th. Following this, Earnhardt, Jr. qualified 25th for the Heath Calhoun 400 at Richmond. During the race, Earnhardt, Jr. cut a tire after contact with Paul Menard and Bobby Labonte. Earnhardt never recovered and finished 32nd three laps down, and fell to 13th in the Sprint Cup standings. Dale Jr. didn't have high hopes at Darlington the next week, stating that it would one day cause him to quit racing in NASCAR. Dale Jr. qualified 19th, and although running as high as 5th, Earnhardt, Jr. faced an ill-handling condition, causing him to finish 18th, but move back up into the top 12 in points. On Friday 3-5-10, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the pole for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motorspeedway and now holds the record for fastest recorded qualifying time of 28.76 in a Car of Tomorrow at 192.8 mph (310.2 kph). On Sunday, 3-7-10, he ended up with a 15th place finish after tire issues and other mishaps.



Races Won

Sprint Cup (18 wins)
2008
Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway - June 15, 2008
2006
Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway - May 6, 2006
2005
USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway - July 10, 2005
2004
Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway - February 15, 2004
Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway - March 14, 2004
Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway - May 15, 2004
Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway - August 28, 2004
EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway - October 3, 2004
Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway - November 7, 2004
2003
Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway - April 6, 2003
Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Havoline at Phoenix International Raceway - November 2, 2003
2002
Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway - April 21, 2002
EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway - October 6, 2002
2001
Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway - July 7, 2001
MBNA Cal Ripken, Jr. 400 at Dover International Speedway - September 23, 2001
EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway - October 21, 2001
2000
DirecTV 500 at Texas Motor Speedway - April 2, 2000
Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway - May 6, 2000
The Winston charlote motor speedway May 20, 2000



Nationwide Series (22 wins)
2006
Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway - June 30, 2006
Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway - August 19, 2006
2004
Hershey's Kisses 300 at Daytona International Speedway - February 14, 2004
Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway - August 27, 2004
2003
Koolerz 300 at Daytona International Speedway - February 15, 2003
Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway - April 5, 2003
Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway - July 3, 2003
2002
EAS / GNC Live Well 300 at Daytona International Speedway - February 16, 2002
Funai 250 at Richmond International Raceway - September 6, 2002
1999
MBNA Platinum 200 at Dover International Speedway - June 5, 1999
Textilease / Medique 300 Presented by Advance Auto Parts at South Boston Speedway - June 12, 1999
Lysol 200 at Watkins Glen International - June 27, 1999
Carquest Auto Parts 250 at Gateway International Raceway - July 31, 1999
NAPA 200 at Michigan International Speedway - August 21, 1999
Autolite Platinum 250 at Richmond International Raceway - September 10, 1999
1998
Coca Cola 300 at Texas Motor Speedway - April 4, 1998
MBNA Platinum 200 at Dover International Speedway - May 30, 1998
DieHard 250 at Milwaukee Mile - July 5, 1998
Kenwood Home & Car Audio 300 at California Speedway - July 19, 1998
Kroger 200 Presented by the Fifth Third Bank at Indianapolis Raceway Park - July 31, 1998
Autolite Platinum 250 at Richmond International Raceway - September 11, 1998
Carquest Auto Parts 250 at Gateway International Raceway - October 17, 1998



Season statistics

Year Starts Wins Top Fives Top Tens Poles Earnings ($) Rank Team
1999 5 0 0 1 0 162,095 48th Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2000 34 2 3 5 2 2,583,475 16th Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2001 36 3 9 15 2 5,384,630 8th Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2002 36 2 11 16 2 4,570,980 11th Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2003 36 2 13 21 0 4,923,500 3rd Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2004 36 6 16 21 0 7,201,380 5th Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2005 36 1 7 13 0 5,761,830 19th Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2006 36 1 10 17 0 5,466,100 5th Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2007 36 0 7 12 1 5,221,970 16th Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2008 36 1 10 16 1 4,611,290 12th Hendrick Motorsports
2009 36 0 2 5 0 4,097,190 25th Hendrick Motorsports
2010 11 0 1 3 1 1,950,080 12th Hendrick Motorsports
Career 367 18 89 143 9 51,646,810 --



Business interests

Earnhardt, Jr. owns Hammerhead Entertainment, a media production company that created and produces the TV show Back In the Day, which airs on SPEED. Hammerhead also produces "Shifting Gears", a new show on ESPN2. He is partners with a group of investors who are building Alabama Motorsports Park, A Dale Earnhardt Jr Speedway. The track is located near Mobile, Alabama and will feature stock car racing, KART racing and a road course. This will join with his partial ownership of Paducah International Raceway. Earnhardt has also opened a bar named Whisky River in downtown Charlotte, NC in April 2008.Earnhardt also has a candy bar out with Palmer called Big Mo', available in peanut butter or caramel flavors. Recently Earnhardt made his own recruiting division for the Navy named the Dale Jr. Division in honor of his Nationwide Series sponsor.


Media appearances

                                                                                                                     A Dale Earnhardt Jr. autograph

Earnhardt has made numerous appearances in television, radio, commercials, movies, and music videos.


Television
Dale Jr. hosted Back In The Day a show that took a step back in time to races in the 60's and 70's with trivia and information. The show debuted on the Speed Channel on February 6, 2007. He has also appeared in an episode of the TV show Yes, Dear. He has also been on one episode of Cribs.
[edit]Radio
He hosts a show on XM Satellite Radio's XM Sports Nation called Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s Unrestricted.
[edit]Advertisements
Earnhardt, Jr. has also appeared in advertisements for Adidas, Budweiser, KFC, SONY, NAPA, Domino's Pizza, Gillette, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Drakkar Noir Cologne, Time Warner's Road Runner High Speed Online, Wrangler Jeans, Chevrolet, Army National Guard, Polaris Industries ATVs, Tylenol Rapid Release Gels, Champion Spark Plugs, US Navy, Go Daddy, Quaker State, Carchex[20] , AMP Energy Drink, Hellmans Mayonnaise, and Nationwide Insurance.



Movies
He appeared in the 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. In the movie, he walked up in a crowd and asked Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) for his autograph, but told him "don't tell any of the other drivers." He also appears in a deleted scene where he calls Ricky a "dirty liar" and asks him for money he owed him. The #8 car also appeared in Herbie: Fully Loaded in the final race where Herbie overtook him.
[edit]Voice work
His voice is featured in the video game Scarface: The World is Yours.
Dale Jr. voiced himself in Disney/Pixar's movie Cars as a #8 car named "Junior" with the DEI logo on the hood. The Budweiser logos were censored from the #8 to prevent alcoholic advertising to gain a "G" (General) rating.
His voice was used for the character Chase Davis in an episode of the Disney Channel's Handy Manny. Chase helps Manny compete in the Wood Valley 500 auto race.



Music video appearances
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made appearances in several music videos, including:
"Show Me What You Got" with Jay-Z along with Danica Patrick.
Matthew Good Band's video for Anti-Pop, as he is friends with band frontman, Matthew Good.
Sheryl Crow's "Steve McQueen" music video
Trace Adkins video entitled "Rough and Ready"
Three Doors Down's "The Road I'm On" along with Tony Stewart.
O.A.R.'s "Right on Time"
Nickelback's "Rockstar" along with other celebrities.
"Warrior" by Kid Rock


Other
Dale Jr. appeared on the cover of EA Sports' NASCAR Thunder 2003. Dale Jr. is helping design Alabama Motorsports Park with his brother Kerry Earnhardt, and sister Kelley Earnhardt Elledge. He also won the Chex Most Popular Driver Award for the seventh straight year in 2009. He also appeared in the EA Sports video game, NASCAR Rumble in the #8 Dale Earnhardt Inc./Dale Jr. Chevrolet as a guest driver, while his father of course, appeared in his #3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet as a full-time driver. Dale Jr. was featured in the video Playboy: Celebrity Photographers (2003) where he photographed The Dahm Triplets.
Source:wikipedia

Adrien Brody

Adrien Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and subsequent acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002). He is notable as the youngest actor to ever win the best actor in a leading role and is the only one under 30 years old to receive an Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also the only American actor ever to win a César Award.

Early life

Brody was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York, the son of Sylvia Plachy, a photojournalist, and Elliot Brody, a retired history professor and painter. Brody's father is of Polish-Jewish descent, and Brody's mother was born in Budapest, Hungary to a Catholic father and Jewish mother.As a child, Brody performed magic shows at children's birthday parties as "The Amazing Adrien". Brody attended New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (famous as the inspiration for television's Fame). His parents enrolled him in acting classes to distance him from the dangerous kids with whom he associated. He attended summer camp at Long Lake Camp for the Arts in the Adirondacks in upstate New York.
In 1992, Brody was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident in which he flew over a car and crashed head-first into a crosswalk. He spent months recuperating. He has broken his nose three times doing stunts. His nose was broken once again during the filming of Summer of Sam.



Career

Taking acting classes as a youth, by age thirteen, he had done an off-Broadway play and a PBS-TV-movie. Brody hovered on the brink of stardom, receiving an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his role in the 1998 film Restaurant and later praise for his roles in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line. He received widespread recognition when he was cast as the lead in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002). To prepare for the role, Brody withdrew for months, gave up his apartment and his car, learned how to play Chopin on the piano, and lost 29 lbs (13 kg). The role won him an Academy Award for Best Actor, making him, at 29, the youngest actor ever to win the award, and to date the only winner under the age of 30. He also won a César Award for his performance, becoming the only American actor to win one. Throughout his career, Brody has been compared to Al Pacino for his unique looks and method acting.[citation needed] He is also widely known for giving presenter Halle Berry a back-breaking kiss before accepting his Best Actor Oscar, and as the spokesman for fashion brand Ermenegildo Zegna.
Brody appeared on Saturday Night Live on May 10, 2003, his first TV work, but he was banned from the show after giving an improvised introduction while wearing faux dreadlocks for Jamaican reggae musical guest Sean Paul (the show's producer, Lorne Michaels, is notorious for hating unscripted performances). However, the unscripted intro remains in reruns of the episode. Other TV appearances include NBC's The Today Show and on MTV's Punk'd after being tricked by Ashton Kutcher.
After The Pianist Brody appeared in four very different movies. He played Noah Percy, a mentally disabled young man, in the movie The Village, by M. Night Shyamalan, shell-shocked war veteran Jack Starks in The Jacket, writer Jack Driscoll in the 2005 King Kong remake, and father-to-be Peter Whitman in The Darjeeling Limited by Wes Anderson. King Kong was a box office success; it grossed $550 million worldwide and is Brody's most successful movie to date in monetary terms. He also played a detective in Hollywoodland. He has also appeared in Diet Coke commercials and Tori Amos' music video for "A Sorta Fairytale".
On January 5, 2006, Brody confirmed speculation that he indeed was interested and very willing to play the role of The Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight. However, Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. eventually decided to cast Heath Ledger as The Joker. He was also in talks with Paramount to play Spock in J. J. Abrams Star Trek XI, but it ultimately went to Zachary Quinto. Brody starred as a con man named "Bloom" in Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom, released in May 2009. Also in 2009, Brody starred in Splice, a science fiction film directed by Vincenzo Natali. He will also play the lead role of Royce in Predators (a sequel to the original Predator) which will be directed by Nimrod Antal and produced by Robert Rodriguez.



Personal life

In May 2009, Adrien Brody and Elsa Pataky ended their two-year relationship.


Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1988 Home at Last Billy
1989 New York Stories Mel
1991 The Boy Who Cried Bitch Eddie
1993 King of the Hill Lester Silverstone
1994 Angels in the Outfield Danny Hemmerling
Jailbreakers Skinny
1996 Nothing to Lose Ray Diglovanni aka Ten Benny
Solo Dr. Bill Stewart, Solo's Designer
Bullet Ruby
1997 The Last Time I Committed Suicide Ben
Six Ways to Sunday Arnie Finklestein
1998 The Thin Red Line Cpl. Fife His character doesn't speak throughout the movie, despite being onscreen for over 15 minutes.
The Undertaker's Wedding Mario Bellini
Restaurant Chris Calloway Nominated - Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male
1999 Oxygen Harry
Liberty Heights Van Kurtzman
Summer of Sam Richie Tringale
2000 Bread and Roses Sam Shapiro
Harrison's Flowers Kyle Morris
2001 The Affair of the Necklace Count Nicolas De La Motte
Love the Hard Way Jack Grace VFAA Award for Best Actor
2002 Dummy Steven
The Pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman Academy Award for Best Actor
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
César Award for Best Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated - European Film Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Polish Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
2003 The Singing Detective First Hood
2004 The Village Noah Percy
2005 The Jacket Jack Starks
King Kong Jack Driscoll
2006 Hollywoodland Louis Simo
2007 The Tehuacan Project Narrator
Manolete Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez "Manolete"
The Darjeeling Limited Peter Whitman
2008 The Brothers Bloom Bloom
Cadillac Records Leonard Chess Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast
2010 Splice Clive
Giallo Inspector Enzo Lavia
Fantastic Mr. Fox Rickity voice
2010 High School Psycho Ed post-production
The Experiment Travis post-production
Predators Royce post-production
Source:wikipedia

Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe, (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor, best known for playing Harry Potter in the feature film series based on the popular book series. Radcliffe has also made appearances in stage productions and a number of TV shows and films, including the ITV film My Boy Jack and the stage show Equus, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.

Early life

Daniel Radcliffe was born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Hammersmith, West London, England, the only child of Alan George Radcliffe, a literary agent, and Marcia Jeannine Gresham (née Marcia Gresham Jacobson), a casting agent who was involved in several films for the BBC, including The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and, most recently, Walk Away And I Stumble. Radcliffe's mother is Jewish and a native of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (her family's surname was Anglicised from "Gershon"); his father is Protestant and originally from Northern Ireland.

Radcliffe first expressed a desire to act at the age of five.In December 1999, he made his acting debut in the BBC's televised two-part adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield, portraying the title character as a young boy.

[edit]Education

Radcliffe was educated at two independent schools in London: at Sussex House School in Cadogan Square in Chelsea, and at the City of London School in the financial district of London known as the City of London.

Career

Radcliffe was asked to audition for the role of Harry Potter in 2000 by producer David Heyman, while in attendance at a London production of Stones in His Pockets.In August of that year, after several auditions, he was selected to play the role in the big-budget adaptation of the award-winning book series by J.K. Rowling. Rowling herself also approved of this selection: "Having seen Dan Radcliffe's screen test I don't think Chris Columbus could have found a better Harry".Radcliffe made his film debut in 2001 with a supporting role alongside Pierce Brosnan in The Tailor of Panama, and the first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released later that year.

Radcliffe in July 2009

Radcliffe has also starred in the five subsequent Harry Potter film adaptations: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). He has signed on[18] for the seventh, and eighth films; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I and II, expected in 2010 and 2011. Radcliffe is 'very happy' that the decision has been made to split the last film into two parts, as he doesn't believe that anything should be cut out of the climactic book.The films continue to produce high box office results worldwide.

In 2002, Radcliffe appeared as a guest in the West End production The Play What I Wrote directed by Kenneth Branagh (who appeared with Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as Professor Lockhart). In 2006, he began to make the transition from child to adult actor, appearing in the television series Extras as a parody of himself, as well as filming the independent Australian drama December Boys. The film, which was filmed in six weeks  was released in North America by Warner Bros. on 14 September 2007. Radcliffe worked with a language coach for six months to perfect an Australian accent.He took the role because he wanted to appear in a film in which he played a supporting role rather than the central character. Next, Radcliffe opened on 27 February 2007 in a revival of Peter Shaffer's play Equus as Alan Strang, a stable boy who has an obsession with horses. The role generated significant pre-opening media interest and advance sales topped £2 million, as Radcliffe appeared nude in one scene in the play. Radcliffe's performance received positive reviews, as critics were impressed by the nuance and depth of his against-type role. Radcliffe's last performance in Equus took place on 9 June 2007. The production then transferred to Broadway in New York City opening on 25 September 2008, where Radcliffe reprised the role of Alan Strang along with Richard Griffiths, who was also in the Equus production in London and played Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter series. Prior to the play's opening he stated that he was nervous about repeating the role on Broadway because he considered American audiences more discerning than those in London. During the summer of 2007, he filmed the ITV drama My Boy Jack, based upon the true story of Rudyard Kipling's son's death in battle during the First World War, which aired in the UK on Remembrance Day 2007 and premiered in the United States on 20 April 2008. In the film, Radcliffe played Jack Kipling, a World War I-era soldier and the son of author Rudyard Kipling. About the role, he stated:

For many people my age, the First World War is just a topic in a history book. But I've always been fascinated by the subject and think it's as relevant today as it ever was.

At the age of sixteen, Radcliffe became the youngest non-royal ever to have an individual portrait in Britain's National Portrait Gallery. On 13 April 2006, his portrait, drawn by Stuart Pearson Wright, was unveiled as part of a new exhibition opening at London's Royal National Theatre, then moved to the National Portrait Gallery where it resides. Radcliffe was fourteen at the time of the portrait's creation.

On 9 July 2007, Radcliffe and fellow Harry Potter cast members Rupert Grint and Emma Watson left imprints of their hands, feet,and wands in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

It was announced in the New York Times on 28 December 2007 that Radcliffe will portray deceased photojournalist Dan Eldon in an upcoming biopic entitled Journey or The Journey is the Destination.Eldon's mother, Kathy, personally chose Radcliffe over other actors such as Heath Ledger, Ryan Phillippe and Joaquin Phoenix, noting Radcliffe's "puckishness, sense of humour and energy" as similar to her son's.

Personal life

Radcliffe at the 2008 BAFTA Awards

Radcliffe previously attended the independent Sussex House School, an all-boys school, and for his AS levels the independent City of London School. He achieved A grades in the three AS-levels he sat in 2006, but then decided to take a break from education.

Radcliffe has stated that he is an atheist,as well as that he is "very proud of being Jewish."He is a fan of punk rock music and admires a diverse lineup of bands, from Sex Pistols and The Libertines to Arctic Monkeys and more recently Hard-Fi, Jack Peñate and Kate Nash. His favourite band is The Hold Steady. In November 2007, Radcliffe published several poems under the pen name Jacob Gershon. In a 2009 issue of Attitude, Radcliffe announced his support for the Liberal Democrats.

Radcliffe appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List in 2006, which estimated his personal fortune to be GB£14 million, making him one of the richest young people in the United Kingdom. He made another appearance on the British young people's rich list in 2007, which placed him as the thirty-third richest young person in Britain with an estimated wealth of £17 million. He is reported to have earned approximately £250,000 for the first Potter film, around £5.6 million for the fourth film, and more than £8 million for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Despite his wealth, Radcliffe has said he does not have expensive tastes. Radcliffe has said that his main expense is books, as he "read[s] a lot".

Radcliffe has been a supporter of various charities, including Demelza House Children's Hospice in Sittingbourne, Kent, to which he has requested fans make donations in lieu of birthday presents. In February 2005, Radcliffe put a "Hogwarts Crew" T-shirt which he autographed up for auction to help raise money for the Tsunami victims in 2005. His T-shirt was part of the Tsunami Clothes Auction which raised money for the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Organization. He wore the t-shirt during the making of the film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. These T-shirts were only issued to members of the cast and crew. His shirt raised £520 or $811.80.

Although heterosexual, Radcliffe also positions himself as a gay rights activist by speaking out against homophobia and has recently filmed a public service announcement for The Trevor Project promoting awareness around gay teen suicide prevention. He also contributes financially to the work done by The Trevor Project to this end.

He has become a keen follower of cricket and attended the first England v India test match on his 18th birthday. He queued up for the autographs of Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and English opening batsman Andrew Strauss at the end of the final day's play. Regarding this, he stated:

I was telling people in a recent interview that I had a dream that Andrew Strauss was chasing me with a cricket bat. It was during the West Indies series when Andrew wasn’t doing too well and an Australian who was listening in piped up and said, "I wouldn’t worry about Strauss, if he had a swing at you at the moment he’d probably miss".

Radcliffe has stated that he suffers from a mild form of the neurological disorder dyspraxia.

Stage and screen credits

Films

Year Film Role Notes

2001 The Tailor of Panama Mark Pendel Supporting role

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Harry Potter U.S. title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

December Boys Maps A 17 year-old orphan

2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter

2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I Release Date USA and UK 19 November 2010

2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II Filming

The Journey is the Destination Dan Eldon (Teenager) Currently Filming by parts

Television

1999: David Copperfield as young David Copperfield

2005: Foley and McColl: This Way Up as Traffic Warden/Himself

2006: Extras as Boy Scout/Himself

2007: My Boy Jack as Jack Kipling

2010: The Simpsons as Edmund, in a Treehouse of Horror segment

Stage

2002: The Play What I Wrote as Guest (West End theatre, Wyndham Theatre)

2007: Equus as Alan Strang (West End theatre, Gielgud Theatre)

2008: Equus as Alan Strang (Broadway theatre, Broadhurst Theatre)

2010: How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Broadway theatre)

Awards

Nominations

2010

Best Male Performance (MTV Movie Awards)

Global Superstar (MTV Movie Awards)

2009

Outstanding Actor in a Play (Drama Desk Awards)

Distinguished Performance Award (Drama League Awards)

2008

Best Kiss (with Katie Leung; MTV Movie Awards)

Best Performance by a Young Actor (Saturn Awards)

Best Actor (Empire Award)

2006

Best Young Actor (Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards)

Actor of the Year (AOL Moviefone Moviegoer Awards)

Best Performance by a Young Actor (Saturn Awards)

Best Hero (MTV Movie Awards)

Best On-Screen Team (with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint; MTV Movie Awards)

2005

Best Performance by a Young Actor (Saturn Awards)

Best Young Actor (Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards)

2003

Best Performance by a Young Actor (Saturn Awards)

Best Acting Ensemble (Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards)

Most Unforgettable Scene (for the scene "Harry battles the Basilisk" in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; American Moviegoer Awards)

2001

Best Performance by a Young Actor (Saturn Awards)

Best Young Performer (Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards)

Breakthrough Male Performance (MTV Movie Awards)

Best Newcomer (Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards)

Best Debut (with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint; Sony Ericsson Empire Awards)

Outstanding Actor (American Moviegoer Awards)

Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actor (Young Artist Awards)

Best Ensemble in a Feature Film (with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint; Young Artist Awards)

Wins

2009

Favorite Leading Actor in a Broadway Play (Broadway.com Audience Award)

Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Broadway.com Audience Award)

2008

Dewynters London Newcomer of the Year (Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Awards, UK)

2007

Best Male Performance (National Movie Awards, UK)

2006

Best Actor (Cine Awards, Belgium)

Best Male Film Star (Gold): Otto Awards, 2006

Best Actor/Movie (SyFy Portal's SyFy Genre Awards)

2005

Best Young Actor (SyFy Portal's SyFy Genre Awards)

2004

Top 10 Child Stars (RTL Television, Germany)

Best Breakthrough Male Actor (Star Channel Star Awards, Japan)

Best Junior Achiever (for viewers' favorite under-16 guest on the show Relly Awards)

Young Talent of the Year (ITV Celebrity Awards)

Best Movie Actor (K-Zone Kids Awards, Philippines)

Best Film Star/Actor (Dutch Kids Choice Awards)

2003

Best Young Actor (SyFy Portal's SyFy Genre Awards)

Best Actor (Roadshow Cinema Grand Prix Awards, Japan)

2002

Person of the Year (Time For Kids)

Targa d'Oro ("Gold Plate", David di Donatello Awards)

Outstanding New Talent (Sir James Carreras Award for the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards)

2001

Male Youth Discovery of the Year (Hollywood Women's Press Club)

(source:wikipedia)

Leona Lewis

Leona Louise Lewis, (born 3 April 1985) is a British pop and R&B singer–songwriter. Lewis rose to fame in 2006 as the winner of the third series of the British television series The X Factor.
Lewis has become a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee. She was proclaimed 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine in 2008. Lewis has released two albums to date, Spirit and Echo, in 2007 and 2009 respectively. Spirit became the fastest-selling debut album and the biggest seller of 2007 in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, and made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the Billboard 200 with a debut album. It has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide.
Lewis's debut single "A Moment Like This" became the fastest selling UK single after being downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release. Her second single, "Bleeding Love", reached number one positions in over thirty singles charts around the world. In November 2008 she set a record in the UK for the fastest selling download-only release with her cover version of the Snow Patrol song "Run" which sold 69,244 copies in two days. In November 2009, the first set of dates for her 2010 debut world tour were announced.


Early life

Lewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis of Afro-Guyanese descent and Maria Lewis of Welsh descent. Her parents enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and from there she attended the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School, where she learned to play instruments such as the guitar and piano, and began to write her own songs in the hope of becoming a singer-songwriter,writing her first full-length song at the age of 12. She initially trained in opera, but went on to singing jazz and blues, eventually leading to popular music, citing Minnie Riperton, Eva Cassidy and Stevie Wonder as her main influences. After leaving the BRIT School at 17,she took a number of jobs to fund studio time, recording a demo album called Twilight. The album, comprised almost exclusively of her own compositions, was recorded under Spiral Music, a production company based in Fulham. "I tried to secure a record deal by doing things my own way. I worked very hard but I never managed to land a contract", said Lewis. Other demos were recorded under licence from UEG Entertainment, later included on an album called Best Kept Secret. However, none of Lewis's demos were released and she considered taking a hiatus from her music career to attend university until her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor which subsequently severed her connections with UEG.




Music career

2006: The X Factor
The X Factor (UK series 3)


Lewis at the London premiere for Flushed Away, November 2006.
Lewis auditioned for the third series of The X Factor in 2006, singing "Over the Rainbow". She was mentored by Simon Cowell and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract.
Her debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", was released on CD on 20 December 2006, and was available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It broke a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times in thirty minutes. On 24 December, "A Moment Like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold 571,253 copies, outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined.The single became the most downloaded song in 2006; it stayed at number one for four weeks and stayed at the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for six weeks.



2007–2009: Spirit and international breakthrough
Spirit (Leona Lewis album)
Wikinews has related news: British pop star Leona Lewis breaks US Billboard records
In February 2007, Lewis signed a £5 million ($9.7 million) five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, and showcased for several American music executives. A press release was sent out revealing that Cowell and Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, entitled Spirit.Lewis recorded tracks for the album in London, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta, where she worked with several songwriters and record producers including Dallas Austin, Walter Afanasieff, Salaam Remi, Steve Mac, Stargateand Ne-Yo. It was released in November 2007 and entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and the United Kingdom's fourth fastest selling album of all time. It was released in several other nations in January 2008, and went to number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland.Two further tracks were recorded in 2008 for the US release of the album: "Forgive Me", produced by Akon, and "Misses Glass", produced by Madd Scientist. It was released in the United States in April 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at number one, making Lewis the first British artist to reach number one with a debut album. A special edition of Spirit was re-released in November 2008 in Europe, including the songs "Forgive Me", "Misses Glass" and a cover of the Snow Patrol song "Run". The album again went to number one in the UK Albums Chart. To date the album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide and has a 9× platinum certification in the UK.
Lewis's second single, "Bleeding Love", produced by Ryan Tedder and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released in October 2007 in the UK, where it sold 218,805 copies in its first week, giving it the biggest first-week sales of 2007 to date. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, where it stayed for seven weeks, and in the Irish Singles Chart it remained at number one for eight weeks. It reached number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States. "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year in December 2007. In February 2008, "Bleeding Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85 and then went on to peak at number one for four non-consecutive weeks. The song became the first track by a UK female to reach number one since Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1987. Lewis's third single, a double A-side featuring "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand", was released in the United Kingdom in March 2008, in aid of Sport Relief, and she visited South Africa for the charity. The single reached a peak of number two in the UK singles chart selling over 40,000 copies in its first week of physical release. "Better in Time" was released as Lewis's second single in the US, where it peaked at number 11 in the Billboard Hot 100. "Forgive Me" was released as Lewis's fifth single in November 2008; it reached number five in the UK. "Run" was released as a download-only single in the UK, reaching number one, and becoming the UK's fastest-selling download-only single with 69,244 copies sold in two days. Lewis's last single from Spirit, "I Will Be", was released in January 2009, only in North America; it peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In August 2008, she performed "Whole Lotta Love" with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. In September 2008, she joined several female singers to perform a single for the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. The single, titled "Just Stand Up!", was performed live during the one-hour telethon that aired on all major US television networks. Lewis received three nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards in December 2008. "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Spirit was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. She was nominated for four BRIT Awards, in the categories British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Album for Spirit, and British Single for "Bleeding Love", but despite being the favourite to win the most awards, she received none. She won two awards at the 2008 MOBO Awards: Best Album for Spirit and Best Video for "Bleeding Love". In December 2008 Lewis was named 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine.





2009–present: Echo and world tour
Echo (Leona Lewis album) and The Labyrinth (tour)

Leona Lewis performing in 2009.
Lewis's second album, Echo, was given a worldwide release in November 2009. Production took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake,[52] Max Martin, Arnthor Birgisson, Kevin Rudolf, and John Shanks.It was recorded in Los Angeles and took nine months to produce. Lewis described the album as "more guitar-driven" compared to Spirit.One of the albums's songs, "My Hands", appears as the theme song to Final Fantasy XIII's North American and European release. Lewis performed her first full UK show at the Hackney Empire in London on 2 November 2009, performing songs from Spirit and Echo. Echo reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and the top ten of Austria, Ireland and Switzerland.
Despite previous attempts from Lewis's lawyers to ban the release of Best Kept Secret by UEG Music, claiming that the singer had not given her consent, the album was released in January 2009 when the label insisted it owned the rights to the music and Lewis would receive a 50% share of the album's profits. However, a television advert for the album was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, who said in a statement: "We considered that the claim 'Leona Lewis's new album' misleadingly implied it was the singer's latest recording rather than a new CD of tracks recorded some years ago." The album was released to iTunes in standard and deluxe editions, and two EPs, "Private Party" and "Dip Down"/"Joy", were released in September 2009.
The first single released from Echo was "Happy", which was written by Lewis, Tedder and Evan Bogart and produced by Tedder  The single was released on 15 September 2009, peaking at number two in the UK, and reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Switzerland.Lewis also recorded the theme song for the 2009 science fiction film Avatar, directed by James Cameron. The song, "I See You (Theme from Avatar)", was written by James Horner and Simon Franglen. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards. In January 2010, Lewis provided vocals on a cover of "Everybody Hurts", released to help raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The second single from Echo, "I Got You", was released in February 2010. In April 2010, she featured on a duet with Italian singer Biagio Antonacci, called "Inaspettata (Unexpected)", from his album Inaspettata.
Lewis plans to start her first world tour, titled The Labyrinth supporting Spirit and Echo in May 2010, which is reported to be lasting 14 months. It is said that Lewis has hired choreographer Travis Payne for the tour, which is reported to have a Labyrinth theme. Her label have apparently said that money is no object. Lewis will tour North America from July to August 2010 supporting Christina Aguilera on her Bionic Tour. In an interview named "Under the skin of Leona Lewis" with 4music, Lewis stated that she will be working on her third album after the tour.
Other activities

In October 2008, The Times reported that Lewis had turned down a $1 million deal with Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale. Lewis commented in the press that she turned down the deal on the grounds that Harrods is the only UK department store which continues to stock clothing made from animal fur. She told The Big Issue, "I got a lot of flak for that. There were people who said I should have done it and given the money to charity, but that would have been such a contradiction." She announced in October 2008 that she was in the "bargaining period" of launching her own ethical line of accessories through Topshop,] and that she is in the late stages of releasing her own perfume for Europe.
Lewis signed a book deal in January 2009 to release an illustrated autobiography in October 2009. The book, entitled Dreams, contains mostly pictures taken by photographer Dean Freeman.
In 2010 she joined Cotton's Fabric of Our Lives campaign, recording a song and appearing in a television advert.




Personal life

Lewis lives in Hackney with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa, an electrician, whom she has known since she was approximately ten years old. She has a tattoo of Hebrew letters on her left wrist, symbolising her relationship with Al-Chamaa. A vegetarian since she was 12, Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008, and again in 2009 with actor Scott Maslen. She also was named PETA's Person Of The Year for 2008. Lewis is a supporter of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
Wikinews has related news:
Leona Lewis assaulted at book signing in London, England
Man charged with assaulting British singer Leona Lewis
At a book signing for Dreams on 14 October 2009 at the Piccadilly branch of Waterstone's book store in central London, Lewis received a punch to the head from Peter Kowalczyk, a 29-year-old man from south London. Eyewitnesses say Lewis ran out with her hand covering her face, whilst security wrestled the attacker, who was reportedly laughing, to the floor. The police were called immediately to the scene and Kowalczyk was arrested. Lewis suffered bruising and was taken to a private doctor as a precaution. She cancelled a scheduled appearance on the BBC's The One Show and a two-day promotional trip to Germany. She later released a statement, saying "Thank you so much for your support, it is truly overwhelming. Yesterday was a horrible shock and left me extremely hurt and upset. I'm very sorry to those I wasn't able to meet at the signing. Thank you again for all of the lovely messages. Love you all."Kowalczyk was subsequently sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He was charged with common assault, for which he was due to appear before City of Westminster magistrates on 26 October 2009. The case was adjourned as Kowalczyk was "not fit to attend court". It was reported that he had a history of mental health problems and may have attacked Lewis due to jealousy, as he had attempted to enter The X Factor but was rejected by producers.[96] On 14 December 2009, Kowalczyk admitted common assault and was ordered to remain in hospital for an indeterminate period.
Discography

Leona Lewis discography
Studio albums
Spirit (2007)
Echo (2009)
Tours

2010: The Labyrinth
Source:wikipedia