Instead of a gangster or a rage-driven character, Robert De Niro plays a recently widowed father in his latest movie Everybody’s Fine, due to open on December 4th. His training for this latest role? He’s a father to five cute kids of his own. But, before he was an actor, director, producer, and father, he was just a kid from Manhattan.

Robert De Niro grew up in Manhattan, where he joined a Little Italy street gang (which may be his draw for his usual stereotypical roles). His on-stage debut in his school’s production of The Wizard of Oz at age 10 gave him the desire to pursue an acting career so, by age 16, he quit high school and pursued acting.

He first attended Little Red School House, but then transferred to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art in New York. He then attended the Stella Adler Conservatory and the Lee Strasberg’s Actor’s Studio. At first he focused on off-Broadway productions, and his first official film project in The Wedding Party was not released until 1969. Because of the delayed release of Wedding Party, his on-screen debut came in the French film Three Rooms in Manhattan (as an extra) and a main role in Greetings state-side.

Sources mark Robert’s role in Banging the Drum Slowly as his attention-gaining film, but it was his role in The Godfather, Part II that really thrust his career into the spotlight. Films such as Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, and Meet the Parents have made him an acting icon, but successful projects A Bronx Tale and The Good Shepherd prove that his directing ability deserves some credit, too. The studio is rumored to be working on a sequel to Meet the Fockers called Little Fockers, which would be great practice for his future role as a grandfather!

[photo: Petr Novák, Wikipedia]

His gangster days may or may not be over… but what role would you like to see Robert De Niro portray next?

Alternative rock star Marilyn Manson isn’t rocking anything except the swine flu these days. Although the possibility still remains that this report may be a ploy for attention, like his extreme style choices and shocking persona, he reports on his Facebook page that it has been confirmed by a “real doctor.” Let’s hope his recovery is as successful as his career!

Marilyn Manson was born in Canton, Ohio with the moniker Brian Hugh Warner before taking on the persona of the rock star he’s known as today. He attended Heritage Christian School, Cardinal Gibbons High School in Florida, and Broward Community College. While earning a degree in journalism, he wrote music articles for lifestyle magazine 25^th Parallel to gain experience.

He soon formed the band Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids (soon shortened to Marilyn Manson), along with two other small band projects along the way. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails noticed the band and produced Marilyn Manson’s first album, titled Portrait of an American Family on Nothing Records label. The band gathered a cult-like following and continues to have success today.

Music isn’t Marilyn Manson’s only talent. He made his big screen debut in Lost Highway, and continues to enjoy small acting parts and cameos in movies such as Jawbreaker. He also prides himself as an artist, with his first show, The Golden Age of Grotesque, at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Centre.

Now at age 40, this shock rocker continues to enjoy the music scene, is currently working on adding director to his resume with project Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll, and focuses on shaking his case of the swine flu.

Do you let your cute kids listen to this shock rocker? Or is he banned for his extreme lifestyle?

Jude Law’s fourth child is due in a month’s time, and baby’s mommy Samantha Burke — who he is no longer dating — is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her bundle of joy. Luckily, Jude is more known for his ability to act, and less for his personal infidelity.

Jude Law was born in Lewisham, South London. He attended school at John Ball Primary School in Blackheath and Kidbrooke School in Kidbrooke. Jude spent his high school years at Alleyn’s School in Dulwich. By age 15, he was on stage acting with the National Youth Music Theatre, earning him several awards for his performances.

Jude soon found his way to Broadway, where he earned a Tony Award nomination and the Theatre World Award. Jude also dabbled in television with a movie, series, and soap opera roles, until his break-through role on the big screen in the movie Wilde. Movies such as Gattaca, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Road to Perdition secured his place in Hollywood among the stars.

Acting, directing, and producing have kept Jude’s resume filled with projects, both stateside and abroad, and he’s even found time to be the face of Dior. Now with fatherhood just around the corner once again, let’s hope that he makes time for his most important role as Daddy.

Do Jude Law’s indiscretions affect your view of him as an actor?

Director/actor Kevin Smith must know which buttons to push to stay in the limelight. The posters for Kevin’s latest project to hit video stores, Zack and Miri, may have been deemed inappropriate by the MPAA, but there’s something about his crude humor I am not afraid to admit I like.

On August 2, 1970, Kevin Patrick Smith was born in Red Bank, New Jersey and raised there. After attending The New School for Social Research in New York and the Vancouver Film School, majoring in film, he dropped out halfway through in order to take part of his tuition reimbursement to finance his first film. He then made his directing and acting debut in the movie Clerks in 1994, inspiring a sort of cult following with subsequent movies such as Chasing Amy (1997) and, my personal favorite, Jersey Girl (2004). He now enjoys parenthood raising his daughter Harley Quinn with wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, enjoying his time in the limelight with the occasional controversy over his edgy movies.

[Photo: Kevin Smith at the premiere of Superbad, held at the Mann Chinese Theater, Hollywood, California]

Dropping out of school may have worked for Kevin Smith, but is it luck or talent? What do you think?