Actors

Jane Lynch may be most well-known for her recent roles as Sue Sylvester on Glee and as Julia Child's sister in Julie & Julia, but she's a movie and TV veteran, with a long list of delicious character parts under the belt.

Canadian actor and comedian Mark McKinney joins Terry Gross to discuss his career, including Slings and Arrows, the critically acclaimed miniseries about a Shakespearean theater troupe. It's out now in a DVD box.

Actor Peter Fonda is probably best known for his role in the cult-classic road movie Easy Rider. His recent roles include one in the film 3:10 to Yuma, a 2007 remake of the 1957 Western of the same name, which was itself based on the 1953 Elmore Leonard short story. The movie also stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Fonda, the son of actor Henry Fonda, is also the author of the memoir Don't Tell Dad.

Shes up for an academy award for her portrayal of the mother of a drug addict who is also an addict herself in the film –Requiem for a Dream.— This is her 5th nomination and could be her second win. She won the Academy Award for the 1974 film –Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore.— Burstyns other films include –The Last Picture Show,— –The Exorcist,— and –Same Time, Next Year— (she starred in the Broadway version too and won a Tony).

Artie Lange's personal life -- namely, binge drinking and eating -- often provides fodder for his fellow cast members on the Howard Stern Show. The actor and comedian has appeared in such comedies as Old School and Elf. He stars in the new film Artie Lange's Beer League.

Actress S. Epatha Merkerson just won the triple crown of television honors: an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actor's Guild award. To many Law and Order viewers, Merkerson will always be Lt. Anita Van Buren.

The new comedy The Man stars actor and comic Eugene Levy. He's appeared in numerous movies, including memorable roles in Splash, Bringing Down the House, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and the American Pie movies.

Author and actor Martin Moran's new memoir is The Tricky Part: One Boy's Fall from Trespass into Grace. As a boy, he was sexually abused by a male counselor at a Catholic boys' camp. Nearly 30 years later, Moran went to see the man again at a convalescent home.

The multi-talented Mos Def plays a police officer in the new indie film The Woodsman, also starring Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, about a pedophile who moves into a suburban neighborhood. He also has a new rap album, The New Danger. Mos Def has appeared in the films Bamboozled, Monster's Ball, and Brown Sugar. He made his Broadway debut with the play Topdog/Underdog, and has also won an Obie Award. Mos Def will be in the upcoming films A Confederacy of Dunces and A Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy.

Dangerfield died Tuesday at the age of 82. He recently published a book about his life, Rodney Dangerfield: It's Not Easy Bein' Me. This interview was originally broadcast on July 6, 2004.

Victoria Price is the daughter of actor Vincent Price, who was best known as the "king of horror" for his performances in horror films. He starred in a number of Roger Corman's films including House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, Tales of Terror, The Raven, and The Masque of the Red Death. Victoria is the author of the book: Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography. (Rebroadcast from Oct. 28, 1999.)

Actress Cynthia Nixon is one of the stars of HBO's Sex and the City. She plays Miranda Hobbes, a corporate lawyer who is also a new mother in the current season of the show. Nixon recently starred in the Broadway production of the classic 1930 Clare Boothe Luce play, The Women. She also appeared at the age of 18 in the broadway plays Hurlyburly, and The Real Thing. She's a founding member of the Drama Dept., an Off-Broadway theater company. Her film roles inclue, Amadeus, Prince of the City, The Pelican Brief, and The Out-of-Towners.

The HBO hit series Sex and the City, begins a new season July 21. We'll hear from two people involved with the show: Actress Sarah Jessica Parker was just nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She's been acting for most of her life, including playing Annie on Broadway, the young bimbo in L.A. Story, and a fed-up fiancee in Honeymoon in Vegas. This is her fifth season starring in Sex and the City, as Carrie, a columnist who writes about the sexual mores of New Yorkers.

It's been twenty-five years since Sissy Spacek's memorable performance in the 1976 horror film Carrie, based on a Stephen King novel. Her new film is In The Bedroom, a family drama/tragedy. It won several awards in this year's Sundance festival. Spacek won an Oscar for her performance in Coal Miner's Daughter, and she's been nominated for Best Actress 5 times. She got her start in the film Badlands. She's had roles in numerous films and TV dramas, including Three Women, Raggedy Man, Night Mother, and The Straight Story.

Actress Angie Dickinson. She played an undercover cop in the TV series Police Woman from 1974-78. Her film roles include Dressed to Kill, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Pretty Maids all in a Row, and Ocean Eleven which she made in 1960 with the rat pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the film West Side Story, we speak with cast members. The film is a screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical about New York City gangs circa 1960. It won ten Oscars. First, George Chakiris, who played Bernardo in the movie. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the role. Chakiris was born in 1935 and made his acting debut at the age of 12. Hes been in many films, TV shows and plays. He got the West Side Story film role after playing the role of Biff in the London theater production of West Side Story.

Film critic John Powers reviews the new David Lynch film, Mulholland Drive.

Actress Edie Falco plays Carmella Soprano, wife of Tony Soprano on the HBO drama The Sopranos. She too has been nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding lead Actress in a Drama Series. The role turned her from a relative unknown to a TV star. She had roles on Law & Order and Homicide: Life on the Street. She starred in the independent films Judy Berlin, Trust and Laws of Gravity.