Paul Thomas Anderson
Anderson was born in 1970. He was one of the first of the "video store" generation of film-makers. His father was the first man on his block to own a V.C.R., and from a very early age Anderson had an infinite number of titles available to him. While film-makers like Spielberg cut their teeth making 8 mm films, Anderson cut his teeth shooting films on video and editing them from V.C.R. to V.C.R. Part of Anderson's artistic D.N.A. comes from his father, who hosted a late night horror show in Cleveland. His father knew a number of oddball celebrities such as Robert Ridgely, an actor who often appeared in Mel Brooks' films and would later play "The Colonel" in Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997). Anderson was also very much shaped by growing up in "The Valley", specifically the suburban San Fernando Valley of greater Los Angeles. The Valley may have been immortalized in the 1980s for its mall-hopping "Valley Girls", but for Anderson it was a slightly seedy part of suburban America. You were close to Hollywood, yet you weren't there. Would-bes and burn-outs populated the area. Anderson's experiences growing up in "The Valley" have no doubt shaped his artistic self, especially since three of his four theatrical features are set in the Valley. Anderson got into film-making at a young age. His most significant amateur film was The Dirk Diggler Story (1988), a sort of mock-documentary a la This Is Spinal Tap (1984), about a once-great pornography star named Dirk Diggler. After enrolling in N.Y.U.'s film program for two days, Anderson got his tuition back and made his own short film, Cigarettes & Coffee (1993). He also worked as a production assistant on numerous commercials and music videos before he got the chance to make his first feature, something he liked to call Sydney, but would later become known to the public as Sydney (1996). The film was developed and financed through The Sundance Lab, not unlike Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992). Anderson cast three actors whom he would continue working with in the future: Altman veteran Philip Baker Hall, the husky and lovable John C. Reilly and, in a small part, Philip Seymour Hoffman, who so far has been featured in all four of Anderson's films. The film deals with a guardian angel type (played by Hall) who takes down-on-his-luck Reilly under his wing. The deliberately paced film featured a number of Anderson trademarks: wonderful use of source light, long takes and top-notch acting. Yet the film was reedited (and retitled) by Rysher Entertainment against Anderson's wishes. It was admired by critics, but didn't catch on at the box office. Still, it was enough for Anderson to eventually get his next movie financed. "Boogie Nights" was, in a sense, a remake of "The Dirk Diggler Story", but Anderson threw away the satirical approach and instead painted a broad canvas about a makeshift family of pornographers. The film was often joyous in its look at the 1970s and the days when pornography was still shot on film, still shown in theatres, and its actors could at least delude themselves into believing that they were movie stars. Yet "Boogie Nights" did not flinch at the dark side, showing a murder and suicide, literally in one (almost) uninterrupted shot, and also showing the lives of these people deteriorate, while also showing how their lives recovered. Anderson not only worked with Hall, Reilly and Hoffman again, he also worked with Julianne Moore, Melora Walters, William H. Macy and Luis Guzmán. Collectively, Anderson had something that was rare in U.S. cinema: a stock company of top-notch actors. Aside from the above mentioned, Anderson also drew terrific performances from Burt Reynolds and Mark Wahlberg, two actors whose careers were not exactly going full-blast at the time of "Boogie Nights", but who found themselves to be that much more employable afterwards. The success of "Boogie Nights" gave Anderson the chance to really go for broke in Magnolia (1999), a massive mosaic that could dwarf Altman's Nashville (1975) in its number of characters. Anderson was awarded a "Best Director" award at Cannes for Punch-Drunk Love (2002).
Paul Thomas Arnold
Paul Thomas Arnold is an American actor, and U.S. Army disabled veteran, who was born, Paul Thomas Arnold on October 2nd, 1954 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Paul's father was Murray Arnold of Russian descent and a child prodigy/pianist who worked with big bands of his era. Paul's mother, Mildred Arnold (Pritchard), was of Irish/Welsh descent and was a loving mother and a strong source of encouragement in Paul's acting & performing career. Both of Paul's parents were World War II war veterans who met one another while serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the South Pacific. Growing up in the entertainment industry, Paul discovered at an early age that he was born with the creative genes for performing. Paul began acting while in high school but loved playing sports choosing football over the theatre. Paul found his way back to acting and comedy in his early twenties, getting cast in black box theatre productions, Indie films, taking the mike at the Comedy Store in Hollywood, and performing stand-up and sketch comedy at Poppy's Star in Encino, California. From there, Paul launched into film, television, and stage. Paul's ability to play a wide range of characters makes him a sought-after character actor, who producers and directors love working with. Paul has worked in numerous feature films, including Captain Cook, Classroom 6, The Last Scout, The Phoenix Incident, The Class Analysis, Puppet Master X, and others, as well as television which included the episodic Rosewood and the hilarious episodic comedy, Eagleheart starring the fantastic, Chris Elliot. Paul is starring in recurring roles as Jeff in The Real Bros of Simi Valley (2018-2021), and as Junior on Brat TV (2018-2022). In addition to his film and television credits, Paul has starred in a large number of stage productions which include; Rumors, A Time To Kill, Dysfunctional Family Christmas, You Love That I'm Not Your Wife, The Fourth Wise man, See How They Run, and Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been? to name a few. Paul is a disabled veteran and served with the U.S. Army as a Combat Engineer. He earned his Master of Arts degree with honors and served with the Los Angeles Police department as a police officer.
Paul Thomas Hickey
Paul Thomas Hickey is an actor, known for Perfect Sense (2011), Shell (2012) and Wasted (2009).
Paul Thomas Hunt
Paul Thomas Hunt is known for Bosch & Rockit (2022).
Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson was born on April 9, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Watusi (1959), Jungle Jim (1955) and Untamed (1955). He died on May 9, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson is known for First Dates (2013).
Paul Thornley
Paul Thornley is known for Les Misérables (2012), Moxie (2021) and Grimsby (2016). He has been married to Chloe Howman since September 22, 2013. They have one child.
Paul Thureen
Paul Thureen is a writer and actor, known for Driveways (2019), Somebody Somewhere (2022) and High Maintenance (2016).
Paul Tibbitt
Paul Tibbitt was born on May 13, 1968 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for SpongeBob SquarePants (1999), The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004).
Paul Tierney
Paul Tierney is known for 30 Minutes or Less (2011), A Dog for Christmas (2015) and Holiday Miracle (2014).