Sunday, September 16, 2007

Production notes for Run Fat Boy Run




Thandie Newton
Libby

BAFTA Award-winning Thandie Newton is not only one of the world's great beauties, but an actress of uncommon talent and range.

Newton was recently seen in Gabriele Muccino's critically acclaimed box office hit ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, opposite Will Smith as Smith's estranged wife and in Brian Robbins' comedy ‘Norbit’ opposite Eddie Murphy.

Newton was praised for her work in the Academy Award-winning Best Picture of 2006: ‘Crash’, the story of a multiracial group of characters whose lives interconnect following a car accident in Los Angeles. For her performance Thandie received BAFTA (Supporting Actress) and SAG (Best Ensemble) Awards.

Born in London to a Zimbabwean mother and an English father, Thandie was raised in London and Zambia until she was three years old. Due to political unrest in Zambia, her family then relocated to England permanently.

At age 16, while studying modern dance at London’s Arts Educational School, she won the lead role opposite Nicole Kidman in John Duigan's critically acclaimed 1990 coming-of-age film, ‘Flirting’, playing a Ugandan girl isolated in an Australian Ladies Academy who begins a romance with a teenage boy from a neighbouring boarding school. After completing the film, Thandie returned to England to continue her education, earning a B.A. (Hons) in anthropology at Cambridge University, while also acting in feature films for some of Hollywood's most acclaimed directors - including Neil Jordan's ‘Interview with a Vampire’ and James Ivory's ‘Jefferson in Paris.’ Newton also appeared as a troubled singer opposite Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth in Vondie Curtis-Hall's comedy-drama, ‘Gridlock’d’ and won critics' praise as the exiled wife of an African leader in Bernardo Bertolucci's ‘Besieged.’

Other credits include Jonathan Demme's contemporary romantic thriller ‘The Truth about Charlie’, inspired by Stanley Donen's 1963 film ‘Charade’ and the John Woo-helmed action film ‘Mission Impossible 2.’

Thandie received rave reviews for her astonishingly original and bold performance as the title character in Jonathan Demme's 1998 adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel, ‘Beloved,’ co-starring Oprah Winfrey.

On television, Newton made recurring guest appearances as Kem, a Congolese Aid Worker on NBC's hit drama ‘ER’, opposite Noah Wyle. It marked Thandie's American television debut.

Thandie Newton resides in England with her husband, writer/director Ol Parker, and two children.

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