Production Notes

THE MORTALS

Actor NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU [Horus] has created a strong foothold in Hollywood, and continues to rise, starring on a critically-acclaimed television series and a vast array of film projects.

Coster-Waldau will return for the sixth season of HBO’s epic, award-winning series “Game of Thrones,” starring as ‘Jamie Lannister.’ This critically-acclaimed series, created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss is based on the best-selling novels by George R. R. Martin, and won the Emmy^® Award for “Outstanding Drama Series” in 2015. 

Coster-Waldau completed production on Bold Films’ Shot Caller from writer/director Ric Roman Waugh. Coster-Waldau leads the drama about a newly released prison gangster who is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California. The film co-stars Benjamin Bratt, Lake Bell and Jon Bernthal.

Coster-Waldau recently starred in Academy Award^®-winning director Susanne Bier's Danish drama, A Second Chance, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and addresses the question of how far decent human beings are willing to go when tragedy blurs the line between just and unjust. He also starred in the indie drama A Thousand Times Good Night, starring opposite Juliette Binoche, playing the husband of a war photographer who struggles with the reality of his wife’s occupation. In Spring 2014, he starred opposite Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann in Twentieth Century Fox's The Other Woman, which opened #1. In 2013, Coster-Waldau starred in Guillermo Del Toro’s Mama, opposite Jessica Chastain. The film, from Universal Pictures, also opened #1 in its opening weekend.  That year, he also appeared opposite Tom Cruise in Universal’s Oblivion, from writer-director Joseph Kosinski.  

After leaving his handprint on the European Film and Television industry, Coster-Waldau quickly made his transition to American Cinema. In 2001, Nikolaj began his U.S. career with a starring role in Ridley Scott’s critically acclaimed and multi Academy Award^®-winning Black Hawk Down. Following, he landed a lead role in Michael Apted’s Enigma co-starring Kate Winslet, Dougray Scott and Saffron Burrows. 

Coster-Waldau’s charm and incredible range as an actor prompted many of his previous directors to cast him once again. Ridley Scott brought Nikolaj back for his 2005 epic film Kingdom of Heaven starring Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson and Eva Green. Additionally, Richard Loncraine, who first cast Nikolaj in his 2004 film Wimbledon alongside Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst, brought him back for Firewall, a suspense filled thriller starring Harrison Ford.

In 2008, Coster-Waldau made his series debut in the FOX drama, New Amsterdam, playing immortal detective ‘John Amsterdam’ and was singled out by many as one of the season’s breakout stars. He was then seen in FOX’s Virtuality, directed by Peter Berg and produced by Gail Berman & Lloyd Braun. 

In 2009, he co-starred opposite Ulrich Thomsen in Blekingegade, a high-profile Danish TV2 mini-series event, based on Denmark’s highest profile criminal gang, for TV2 and Zentropa Films.  The first of the five episodes gave TV2 its highest ratings for 2009.

Additional film credits include Headhunters, based on the novel by bestselling writer Jo Nesbo, Oscar^® winning writer Mateo Gil’s directorial debut, Blackthorn, opposite Sam Shepard, Stephen Rea and Eduardo Noriega, and leading roles in the films Night Watch, Vildsport (Wildshot), which he also co-wrote, Misery Harbours, Foreign Fields, 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman, Rembrandt and Manden Bag Dren.

A graduate of the prestigious National Theater School in Denmark, Coster-Waldau currently resides in Copenhagen.

BRENTON THWAITES [Bek] One of the film industry’s rising stars, Australian actor Brenton Thwaites is a talent to watch.  His versatility and charm is evident and his emergence has made him a go to talent for Hollywood leading man roles.

Most recently, Thwaites has begun production on the fifth installment of the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean franchise Dead Men Tell No Tales. Thwaites stars alongside Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in the film set for release for 2017. Additionally, Thwaites will soon begin promotion for the as the feature film Ride, opposite writer and director Helen Hunt. 

Thwaites has made a tremendous impact onscreen, releasing four major films last year.  He thrilled audiences portraying the lead role of Jonas in the critically acclaimed film, The Giver. Thwaites starred opposite Oscar^® winners Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep in the Phillip Noyce directed film adaptation of Lois Lowry’s classic novel.  He won high praise for starring roles in Julius Avery’s Son of a Gun, with Ewan McGregor and Alicia Vikander; for Mike Flanagan’s Oculus, which world-premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival; and for the aesthetically beautiful The Signal directed by the Will Eubanks. Moviegoers worldwide also got to see him as the charming Prince in the Disney telling of Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie as the title character, and Elle Fanning as the Princess. Robert Stromberg directed the film. 

A graduate of Queensland University of Technology, he began his acting career on the Australian television series SLiDE, and the popular Home and Away.  Thwaites breakthrough role came with the telefilm Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, for directors Mikael Salomon and Jake Newsome.

Thwaites divides his time between his homeland of Australia and Los Angeles.

A native of South Carolina, CHADWICK BOSEMAN [Thoth] graduated from Howard University and attended the British American Dramatic Academy at Oxford, after which he began his career as a playwright, director and actor. He wrote Deep Azure, which was nominated for a Jeff Award for Best New Play and is published in the Hip Hop Theater Anthology Say Word; Hieroglyphic Graffiti, which was produced at the National Black Theatre Festival and the Hip Hop Theatre Festival; and co-wrote Rhyme Deferred, which appears in the Hip Hop Theatre Anthology The Fire This Time.

Boseman’s theatre directing credits include: Dutchman, Wine in the Wilderness, Indian Summer, Spear in the Sun, Colored Museum, and Six Hits. For the screen he wrote, directed and executive produced the short film Blood Over a Broken Pawn. His theatre acting credits include Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Breathe, Learning Curve, Willie’s Cut and Shine, Rhyme Deferred, Bootleg Blues, Zooman and the Sign, and Urban Transitions, for which he won an AUDELECO Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Boseman made his feature film debut in Gary Fleders’ drama The Express, playing football great Floyd Little. His breakout performance came in 2013 when he received rave reviews for his portrayal of the legendary Jackie Robinson in Warner Bros’ 42. The film, which had the highest-grossing debut for a baseball movie in Hollywood history, tells the story of Robinson’s history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey, played by Harrison Ford. His other feature film credits include: the independent psychological post-war drama The Kill Hole and Summit Entertainment’s Draft Day opposite Kevin Costner.

Last fall, Boseman once again garnered critical praise for his portrayal of James Brown in Universal Pictures’ Get On Up. The biopic, directed by Tate Taylor (The Help), chronicles Brown’s rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history. The film also stars Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Dan Akroyd. Boseman received the 2014 CinemaCon Male Star of Tomorrow Award and was named one of the Top 10 Best Movie Performances of 2014 by Time Magazine for his portrayal of Brown. In December 2014 he will receive awarded a Virtuous Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Boseman and his writing partner Logan Coles, recently sold an untitled thriller pitch to Universal Pictures’. He is attached to star in the story described as being in the vein of The Fugitive. He was also recently announced to be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the African superhero “Black Panther.” He will make his debut as the character in Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, in theaters May 2016, before starring in his own solo film Marvel’s Black Panther, in February 2018.

He recently wrapped production on Entertainment One and Ink Factory’s revenge thriller Message from the King. Boseman stars as “Jacob King,” who arrives from South Africa in search of his younger sister with just a few hundred dollars and a plane ticket home in a week’s time. Twenty-four hours in, he learns she’s been killed and the film tells the story of what happens in the next six days.

Born and raised in France, ELODIE YUNG [Hathor] gets her exotic beauty by way of her French mother and Cambodian father. After first pursuing a law degree, she realized that she wanted to follow her lifelong passion of acting instead, enrolling in and graduating from the Acting International School in Paris.

She immediately booked work out of school, first as a recurring character in the serial drama La Vie Devant Nous and then in the very well regarded drama Fragile(s), which premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Those experiences led to what would be her breakout roles in France. First, she booked the role of ‘Laura Maurier’ in the French series Les Bleus, and then she booked the female lead in District 13 Ultimatum, the follow up to the hit Pierre Morel film and an international hit itself. It was in this film that she was able to also feature her extensive martial arts skills, something that had been a passion since she was a child.

It was those jobs that led to Elodie getting attention in the US, ultimately booking her The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in the role of ‘Miriam Wu’ for the David Fincher film. She followed that up by booking the lead role of ‘Jinx’ in GI Joe 2: Retaliation opposite Dwayne Johnson and directed by Jon Chu.

Elodie is currently in production on the second season of the Netflix series Daredevil, playing the ‘electrifying’ superhero Elektra Natchios. Daredevil, created by Drew Goddard, is an Emmy^® nominated Action/Crime Drama starring Rosario Dawson, Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll among others.

Elodie currently resides in Los Angeles.

With Mad Max: Fury Road as the first blockbuster feature film credit on the young COURTNEY EATON’s [Zaya] resume, the Australian born, 5’ 9” beauty is setting a fiery pace to become Hollywood’s next it girl. She co-starred alongside Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy and Nicholas Hoult as ‘Cheedo,’ one of the five wives in the film, whose escape from the chief warrior is what the premise is centered around. With a wide range of explosions and big time acting, Courtney Eaton holds her own in this film among the other actors. The film was released on May 15^th, of 2015 and had a worldwide gross totaling over $350 million. Since the film’s release, it has received critical acclaim and numerous nominations and recognition from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Boston Society of Film Critics, Critics’ Choice Awards, National Board of Review and a Golden Globe^® nomination for “Best Picture.”

A gifted actor with striking charm and humor, GERARD BUTLER [Set] has impressed audiences in roles that cover all ends of the spectrum.

Butler will next be seen starring as ‘Mike Banning’ in London Has Fallen, the sequel to 2013's hit Olympus Has Fallen, which is set to release on March 4, 2016 with Focus Features.

In 2017, Butler will star in Geostorm, directed by Dean Devlin and co-starring Ed Harris and Andy Garcia. He is currently filming The Headhunter’s Calling opposite Willem Dafoe.

Last year, Butler reprised his role voicing the character ‘Stoick’ in DreamWorks Animation’s Academy Award^® nominated film How to Train Your Dragon 2 which also starred Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson, and Kristen Wiig.

Butler and his manager Alan Siegel formed their production company G-BASE, which has produced six feature films in the last five years. Their debut project was the psychological thriller Law Abiding Citizen, starring Butler himself, which grossed over $100 million worldwide and became Overture Films' most lucrative opening to date. Butler's other $100 million plus films include The Bounty Hunter opposite Jennifer Aniston; Robert Luketic's The Ugly Truth, opposite Katherine Heigl; Nim's Island with Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin; P.S. I Love You opposite Hilary Swank; Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of The Opera opposite Emmy Rossum; and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life opposite Angelina Jolie.

Alongside Siegel, as well as Danielle Robinson, Butler produced The Septembers of Shiraz, which premiered at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival. The film was directed by The Sapphires' helmer Wayne Blair, and is based on the New York Times best seller by Dalia Sofer. Shiraz narrates the lives of a well-to-do Iranian family during and after the Iranian revolution that overthrew the Shah, and ushered in the Islamic republic.

Butler solidified himself as a leading man when he starred as the bold and heroic King Leonidas in Zack Snyder's blockbuster film 300. The film broke box office records in its opening weekend and went on to earn more than $450 million worldwide.

Butler has appeared in a wide variety of films spanning across all genres including: Playing for Keeps, Chasing Mavericks, Marc Forster's Machine Gun Preacher; Coriolanus; Gamer; Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla; Beowulf & Grendel; The Game of Their Lives, the independent feature Dear Frankie opposite Emily Mortimer; Timeline; Reign of Fire; and John Madden's award-winning drama Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown, starring Judi Dench. His early film work includes roles in Harrison's Flowers, One More Kiss, Fast Food, and the screen adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.

Butler was recently made a brand ambassador for Hugo Boss's Boss Bottled fragrance.

Born in Scotland, Butler made his stage debut at the age of twelve in the musical, Oliver, at Glasgow's famous Kings Theatre. As a young man, his dreams of acting were temporarily deterred and he went on to study law for seven years before returning to the stage in London. In 1996, he landed the lead role in the acclaimed stage production of Trainspotting. He later starred on the London Stage in such plays as Snatch and the Donmar Warehouse production of Tennessee Williams, Suddenly Last Summer opposite Rachel Weisz.

Butler is dedicated to charitable efforts around the world and recently completed a feeding trip in Liberia with Mary's Meals, an organization founded with the simple mission to serve one meal a day to a child in school. The program is currently operating in 16 countries, feeding over 800,000 children. Butler is also a board member of Artists for Peace and Justice. APJ was established in 2009 and is a fundraising mission founded by Paul Haggis that encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty and enfranchisement in communities around the world.

GEOFFREY RUSH [RA], an acclaimed actor who started his career in Australian theatre, has appeared in over 70 theatrical productions and more than 20 feature films.

The multiple award winning actor, Geoffrey Rush, was catapulted to fame with his starring role in director Scott Hicks' feature Shine, for which he won: an Academy Award^® for Best Actor, a Golden Globe^®, SAG, BAFTA, Film Critics’ Circle of Australia Award, Broadcast Film Critics, AFI and New York and Los Angeles Film Critics’ Awards.

In addition, Rush won an Emmy^®, a Golden Globe^® and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his captivating performance as the title character in HBO Films’ The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.

He also earned an Academy Award^® nomination for his performance in Philip Kaufman’s Quills, in addition to the Academy Award^® nomination and Golden Globe^® nomination for his role in Shakespeare in Love.

In 2010, Rush starred in and served as Executive Producer of The Weinstein Company’s The King’s Speech. He won the BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor and earned an Academy Award^® nomination, a Golden Globe^® nomination and a SAG nomination. The film won the Academy Award^® for Best Picture.

The following year, Rush received an AACTA nomination for Best Actor and FFCA Awards for his performance in the Eye of the Storm.

Rush’s upcoming films include the highly anticipated sixth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Olive Productions’ The Final Portrait.

He most recently starred in Australia’s Screen NSW’s The Daughter, which premiered to rave reviews at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival.

Other film credits include the 20^th Century Fox film, The Book Thief, Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Best Offer, Universal Pictures’ Minions, The Warrior’s Way, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Munich, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Candy, Intolerable Cruelty, Finding Nemo, Ned Kelly, Lantana, Frida, The Tailor of Panama, House on Haunted Hill, Mystery Men, Les Miserables, A Little Bit of Soul, Children of the Revolution, On Our Selection, Twelfth Night, Oscar and Lucinda, Starstruck, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The films grossed more than $2.7 billion worldwide.

Rush received a degree in English at the University of Queensland, then studied at the Jaques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement and Theater in Paris. Returning to Australia, he starred in the theatre production of King Lear. He also co-starred with Mel Gibson in Waiting for Godot.

In 2009, Rush won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his acclaimed performance as the ailing king in Ionesco's comedy Exit The King.

Rush recently returned to the stage in Shakespeare’s King Lear at the Sydney Theatre Company. His previous performances include, The Diary of a Madman at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne, and the The Importance of Being Earnest, all of which received rave reviews.

He was a principle member of Jim Sharman’s pioneering Lighthouse Ensemble in the early 1980s playing leading roles in many classics. His work on stage was honored with the Sydney Critics Circle Award for Most Outstanding Performance, the Variety Club Award for Best Actor and the 1990 Victorian Green Room Award for his performance in Neil Armfield’s The Diary of a Madman. He also received Best Actor nominations from the Sydney Critics’ Circle Awards for his starring roles in Gogol’s The Government Inspector, Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and Mamet’s Oleanna. In 1994 he received the prestigious Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award for his work in theatre.

In 2010 Rush founded the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts Awards for which he currently serves as President. In its fifth year, the awards are considered the Australian Oscars. The voting is decided by members of the Australian Academy, making them the highest achievements in Australian screen society.

In 2012 Rush was named Australian of The Year for his contribution to the arts, in addition to being part of the ‘big 4’ in Australia, the four living Oscar^® Winners. Rush is a nominee for the 30^th Annual Green Room Award.

Rush is an ambassador for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and UNICEF Australia, as well as patron of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

He lives in Melbourne with his wife, Jane, and their two children.
ALEX PROYAS [Director] is an Australian film director/writer/producer. Born in Egypt (of Greek-Egyptian ancestry). Migrated with parents to Australia at age three. Proyas grew up in the government housing tenements of inner-city Sydney. A passion for art and film from an early age, he was given his first Super-8 camera for his 10^th birthday.
During his graduate course at the Australian Film & TV School his short film, Groping, received international acclaim, including award for Most Outstanding Short Film at London International Film Festival, 1982.
His early career was highlighted by many multi-awarded music videos and ad campaigns.
He completed his first feature, Spirits, in 1989 which won numerous international awards, and a short he wrote and directed, Welcome to Crateland, screened in competition Cannes '94.
Also in 1994 he completed work on The Crow, starring Brandon Lee, released by Miramax. The film was a critical & commercial success.
In 1998 he completed work on his 3^rd feature film, Dark City, for New Line Cinema. Starring Rufus Sewell, Keifer Sutherland, Richard O’Brien, Jennifer Connelly, Ian Richardson and William Hurt. The film has earned it’s place as a long standing cult classic.
In 2002 he completed Garage Days starring Kick Gurry, Pia Miranda and Maya Stange for Fox Searchlight. Invited to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival January 2003.
2004 saw the completion of Proyas’ I, Robot starring Will Smith. I, Robot has been Proyas’ greatest international commercial success to date.
2008 he completed Knowing starring Nicolas Cage & Rose Byrne which became another great world-wide commercial success for Proyas.


BASIL IWANYK [Producer] is the founder and owner of Thunder Road Pictures. Iwanyk's latest films include the actioner John Wick starring Keanu Reeves and the fantasy adventure Seventh Son, which stars Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore. Iwanyk is currently in post-production on the tentpole film Gods of Egypt for Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company, directed by Alex Proyas and Sicario directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, and Josh Brolin. Also upcoming for Thunder Road is a feature version of the highly successful video game Splinter Cell starring Tom Hardy.

Thunder Roads films have collectively grossed $1.8 billion worldwide. His past films include the epic action adventure Clash of the Titans, the sequel, Wrath of the Titans, three installments of The Expendables, Brooklyn’s Finest, We Are Marshall and Firewall. Iwanyk most notably produced the critically acclaimed drama The Town, directed by Ben Affleck. Thunder Road also produced the television series The Messengers for CBS Studios airing on the CW network.

After graduating from Villanova University, Iwanyk began his film career as an agent trainee at United Talent Agency.  Joining Warner Bros. Pictures in 1995, Iwanyk was involved in the development and production of films such as Antoine Fuqua’s crime drama Training Day, starring Denzel Washington in an Oscar^®-winning performance; Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven; and Christopher Nolan’s thriller Insomnia. In 2004, Iwanyk founded Thunder Road Pictures.