Pat Carroll, Emmy winner and voice of Ursula, dies at 95 - ABC News

Pat Carroll, a comedic television mainstay for decades, Emmy-winner for “Caesar’s Hour” and the voice Ursula in “The Little Mermaid,” has died. She was 95.

Her daughter Kerry Karsian, a casting agent, said Carroll died at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on Saturday. Her other daughter Tara Karsian wrote on Instagram that they want everyone to “honor her by having a raucous laugh at absolutely anything today (and everyday forward) because besides her brilliant talent and love, she leaves my sister Kerry and I with the greatest gift of all, imbuing us with humor and the ability to laugh…even in the saddest of times.”

Carroll was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1927. Her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was 5 years old. Her first film role came in 1948 in “Hometown Girl” but she found her stride in television. She won an Emmy for her work on the sketch comedy series “Caesar’s Hour” in 1956, was a regular on “Make Room for Daddy” with Danny Thomas, a guest star on “The DuPont Show with June Allyson” and a variety show regular stopping by “The Danny Kaye Show,” “The Red Skelton Show” and “The Carol Burnett Show.”

She also played one of the wicked stepsisters in the 1965 television production of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” with Lesley Ann Warren.

She also played one of the wicked stepsisters in the 1965 television production of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” with Lesley Ann Warren. And she won a Grammy in 1980 for the recording of her one woman show “Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein.”

A new generation would come to know and love her voice thanks to Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” which came out in 1989. She was not the first choice of directors Ron Clements and John Musker or the musical team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who reportedly wanted Joan Collins or Bea Arthur to voice the sea witch. Elaine Stritch was even cast originally before Carroll got to audition. And her throaty rendition of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” would make her one of Disney’s most memorable villains.

Carroll would often say that Ursula was one of her favorite roles. She said she saw her as an “Ex-Shakespearean actress who now sold cars.”

“She’s a mean old thing! I think people are fascinated by mean characters,” Carroll said in an interview. “There’s a fatal kind of distraction about the horrible mean characters of the world because we don’t meet too many of them in real life. So when we have a chance, theatrically, to see one and this one, she’s a biggie, it’s kind of fascinating for us.”

She got the chance to reprise the role in several “Little Mermaid” sequels, spinoffs and even theme park rides.

Carroll was also the voice of Granny in the English-language dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro.”

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Nichelle Nichols, Uhura in ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 89 - Variety

Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed communications officer Uhura on the original “Star Trek” series, died Saturday night in Silver City, N.M. She was 89 years old.

Nichols’ death was confirmed by Gilbert Bell, her talent manager and business partner of 15 years.

Nichols shared one of the first interracial kisses in television history on “Star Trek.” That moment, with her co-star William Shatner, was a courageous move on the part of her, “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and NBC considering the climate at the time, but the episode “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which aired in 1968, was written to give all involved an out: Uhura and Captain Kirk did not choose to kiss but were instead made to do so involuntarily by aliens with the ability to control the movements of humans. Nevertheless, it was a landmark moment.

There had been a couple of interracial kisses on American television before. A year earlier on “Movin’ With Nancy,” Sammy Davis Jr. kissed Nancy Sinatra on the cheek in what appeared to be a spontaneous gesture but was in fact carefully planned. The Uhura-Kirk kiss was likely the first televised white/African American lip-to-lip kiss.

But Uhura, whose name comes from a Swahili word meaning “freedom,” was essential beyond the interracial kiss: A capable officer who could man other stations on the bridge when the need arose, she was one of the first African American women to be featured in a non-menial role on television.

Nichols played Lt. Uhura on the original series, voiced her on “Star Trek: The Animated Series” and played Uhura in the first six “Star Trek” films. Uhura was promoted to lieutenant commander in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and to full commander in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”

Nichols mulled leaving “Star Trek” after the first season to pursue a career on Broadway, but the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was a fan of the series and understood the importance of her character in opening doors for other African Americans on television, personally persuaded her to stay on the show, she told astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson in an interview for the Archive of American Television.

Whoopi Goldberg, who later played Guinan on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” has described Uhura as a role model, recalling that she was astounded and excited to see a black woman character on television who was not a maid.

Nichols and Shatner remembered the shooting of the famous kiss very differently. In “Star Trek Memories,” Shatner said NBC insisted that the actors’ lips never actually touch (though they appear to). But in Nichols’ 1994 autobiography “Beyond Uhura,” the actress insisted that the kiss was in fact real. Nervous about audience reaction, the network insisted that alternate takes be shot with and without a kiss, but Nichols and Shatner deliberately flubbed every one of the latter so NBC would be forced to air what appeared to be a kiss (whether their lips actually touched or not).

Both the “Star Trek” and “Movin’ With Nancy” moments drew some negative reactions, though Nichols recalled that the fan mail was overwhelmingly positive and supportive.

NASA later employed Nichols in an effort to encourage women and African Americans to become astronauts. NASA Astronaut Group 8, selected in 1978, included the first women and ethnic minorities to be recruited, including three who were Black. Dr. Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to fly aboard the Space Shuttle, cited “Star Trek” as an influence in her decision to join the space agency.

Nichols remained a supporter of the space program for decades.

In 1991, Nichols became the first African American woman to have her handprints immortalized at the TCL Chinese Theatre. The ceremony also included other members of the original “Star Trek” cast.

Born Grace Nichols in Robbins, Ill. on Dec. 28, 1932, Nichols began her show business career at age 16 singing with Duke Ellington in a ballet she created for one of his compositions. Later, she sang with his band.

She studied in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Her break came with an appearance in Oscar Brown’s high-profile but ill-fated 1961 musical “Kicks and Co.,” in which she played campus queen Hazel Sharpe, who’s tempted by the devil and Orgy Magazine to become “Orgy Maiden of the Month.” The play closed after its brief Chicago tryout, but Nichols attracted the attention of Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner, who booked her at his Chicago Playboy Club.

Nichols also appeared in the role of Carmen for a Chicago stock company production of “Carmen Jones” and performed in a New York production of “Porgy and Bess,” making her feature debut in an uncredited role as a dancer in an adaptation of that work in 1959. (Later she would display her singing talents on occasion on “Star Trek.”)

While working in Chicago, Nichols was twice nominated for that city’s theatrical Sarah Siddons Award for best actress. The first came for “Kicks and Co.,” while the second was for her performance in Jean Genet’s “The Blacks.”

She had small roles in the films “Made in Paris,” “Mr. Buddwing” and the Sandra Dee vehicle “Doctor, You’ve Got to Be Kidding!” before she was cast on “Star Trek.”

During the early ’60s, before “Star Trek,” Nichols had an affair with Gene Roddenberry that lasted several years, according to her autobiography. The affair ended when Roddenberry realized he was in love with Majel Hudec, whom he married. When Roddenberry’s health was failing decades later, Nichols co-wrote a song for him, entitled “Gene,” that she sang at his funeral.

In January 1967, Nichols was featured on the cover of Ebony magazine, which published two feature articles on her within five years.

In the early ’70s, the actress made a few guest appearances on TV and appeared in the 1974 Blaxploitation film “Truck Turner” starring Isaac Hayes. She appeared in a supporting role in a 1983 TV adaptation of “Antony and Cleopatra” that also featured her “Star Trek” co-star Walter Koenig. She starred with Maxwell Caulfield and Talia Balsam in the 1986 horror sci-fi feature “The Supernaturals.”

Later, Nichols began to do voice work, lending her talent to the animated series “Gargoyles” and “Spider-Man.” She also voiced herself on “Futurama.”

The actress played the mother of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s lead character in 2002’s “Snow Dogs” and Miss Mable in the 2005 Ice Cube comedy “Are We There Yet?”

In 2007, Nichols recurred on the second season of the NBC drama “Heroes” as Nana Dawson, matriarch of a New Orleans family devastated by Hurricane Katrina who cares for her orphaned grandchildren and great-nephew, Micah Sanders (series regular Noah Gray-Cabey). The following year she appeared in the films “Tru Loved” and “The Torturer.”

Nichols suffered a stroke in 2015 and was diagnosed with dementia in 2018, touching off a conservatorship dispute between her manager Bell and her son as well as a friend.

Nichols was married and divorced twice. She is survived by her son, Kyle Johnson.

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Pat Carroll, Emmy-Winning Actress and Voice of Ursula in ‘The Little Mermaid,’ Dies at 95 - Hollywood Reporter

Pat Carroll, the gregarious Emmy-winning comedienne who was a television mainstay for decades before segueing to a voiceover career that included portraying the villainous sea witch Ursula in The Little Mermaid, has died. She was 95.

Carroll died Saturday of pneumonia at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, her daughter Kerry Karsian told The Hollywood Reporter.

Carroll’s perky personality, screwball wit and impeccable timing made her a great second banana, and Red Buttons, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, Steve Allen and Charley Weaver were among those who called upon her to make their programs funnier. Her antics on Caesar’s Hour earned her an Emmy in 1957, and she was nominated for her work on the classic variety show the following year.

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In a 2013 interview with Kliph Nesteroff, Carroll compared Howard Morris, Carl Reiner and Sid Caesar on Caesar’s Hour to the Chicago Cubs’ legendary double-play combination of Tinkers to Evers to Chance.

“I learned so much about comedy from watching those three work together. It was unfailing,” Carroll said. “They worked together for so long that they had that innate sense of each other’s timing. It was impossible for them to fumble. We did two shows every Saturday night because one was for the West Coast and one was for the East Coast. If they totally abhorred a sketch they did, those three would sit in Sid’s dressing room with the writers and write a brand new sketch. Yes, amazing.”

For the next two decades, the bubbly blonde always seemed to pop up on TV.

Carroll played Bunny Halper, the high-spirited wife of nightclub owner Charley Halper (Sid Melton), on three seasons of The Danny Thomas Show in the early ‘60s; was Hope Stinson, who shared ownership of a newspaper with Ted Knight’s character, on the last season (1986-87) of Too Close for Comfort; and appeared opposite Suzanne Somers on the 1987-89 series She’s the Sheriff.

Carroll stood out as a cranky patient who shared a hospital room with Mary Richards (the latter was there to have her tonsils taken out) on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1971, and she portrayed Lily Feeney, the mother of Cindy Williams’ character, on a 1976 installment of Laverne & Shirley.

Her TV credits also included Cinderella, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, Love, American Style, My Three Sons, Police Woman, Busting Loose, The Love Boat, Trapper John, M.D., Evening Shade, Designing Women and ER.

Carroll also was a game show favorite. To Tell the Truth, The Match Game, I’ve Got a Secret, Password All-Stars, You Don’t Say and The $10,000 Pyramid — you name it, she played it.

And she played Doris Day’s matchmaking sister in With Six You Get Eggroll (1968).

Carroll’s throaty laugh and spirited intonations made her a natural for animation work.

She first slipped into the recording booth in 1966 for the animated series The Super 6. But it was during the ‘80s that her voiceover career skyrocketed; she could be heard on the cartoons Yogi’s Treasure Hunt, Galaxy High School, Foofur, Pound Puppies and Superman.

Undoubtedly, her most memorable character was Ursula for the 1989 Disney feature The Little Mermaid. It would prove to be one of her favorite roles. “It was a lifelong ambition of mine to do a Disney film,” she told author Allan Neuwirth in Makin‘ Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies. “So, I was theirs hook, line and sinker.”

Carroll’s enthusiasm made the octopus-like character uniquely her own and Ursula would become one of Disney’s most memorable villains. However, she landed the part only after an arduous search by the studio.

Little Mermaid producer and lyricist Howard Ashman was a big fan of TV’s Dynasty and envisioned Ursula as a Joan Collins-type. And who better to play her than Collins herself? Alas, her agent quickly nixed the idea.

Writer-directors Ron Clements and John Musker saw Ursula more like a bellowing aquatic version of Bea Arthur, but her agent took offense when the script likened the actress to a witch — and passed. Roseanne, Heart’s Nancy Wilson and Nancy Marchand of The Sopranos fame then reportedly read for the role, but none was quite right.

Charlotte Rae and Elaine Stritch auditioned, but Rae didn’t have the vocal range for Ursula’s signature tune, “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” and Stritch couldn’t deliver the song the way Ashman wanted.

Carroll, though, immediately understood Ashman’s approach. The key was a recording that he had made of him singing the song. Once Carroll heard and saw that, the rest was easy.

“He gave me that performance! Come on, I’m honest enough to say that,” she said in Makin‘ Toons. “I got the whole attitude from him … his shoulders would twitch in a certain way, and his eyes would go a certain way … I got more about that character from Howard singing that song than from anything else.”

Carroll won the part and went on to voice the character in several video games and a 1993 Little Mermaid CBS series. (She also provided the voice for Morgana in the 2000 direct-to-video release The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea.)

Patricia Ann Carroll was born on May 5, 1927, in Shreveport, Louisiana. When she was 5, she and her family moved to Los Angeles. At age 20, she served as a Civilian Actress Technician for the army, writing, producing and directing all-soldier productions. She graduated from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. in 1949.

Carroll’s first professional appearance had come in 1947 alongside Gloria Swanson in a regional stock production of A Goose for a Gander. This led to more stock company roles, and she also sharpened her comic chops by performing in nightclubs and resorts.

Carroll’s off-Broadway debut came in 1950 in Come What May. Shortly after, she began landing television work on Goodyear Television Playhouse, The Red Buttons Show and The Saturday Night Revue.

Carroll first starred on Broadway in 1955 in the musical revue Catch a Star! written by Danny and Neil Simon. The performance earned her a Tony nomination. Decades later, Carroll received rave reviews for her off-Broadway, one-woman show Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein: A One-Character Play.

In his 1979 review for The New York Times, Walter Kerr wrote: “Miss Carroll, working from a text prepared by Marty Martin, gives us the bizarre, close-cropped, richly robed woman who could be — and once was — mistaken for a bishop with a zest that is awesome … I don’t know precisely how Miss Carroll is able to do it, but she manages — without any effort at all — to make us share Gertrude Stein’s attitude toward herself.”

The actress received a Drama Desk Award for her portrayal of the author; she beat out fellow nominees Moore, Susan Sarandon, Phyllis Frelich and Blythe Danner for the honor.

Carroll was married to Lee Karsian from 1955 until their divorce in 1976, and they had three children: Tara, an actress; daughter Kerry, a casting director; and son Sean (he died on the same date as his mom 13 years ago).

Survivors also include a granddaughter, Evan.

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Ne-Yo's Wife Airs Out His Alleged Cheating Four Months After Renewing Their Vows - HipHopDX

Ne-Yo and his wife Crystal Smith renewed their wedding vows in April, but it appears their reconciliation was short-lived. On Saturday night (July 30), Smith shared an Instagram post alleging her famous husband is still cheating on her and now she’s finally ready to walk away from the relationship.

“8 years of lies and deception,” she began. “8 years of unknowingly sharing my life and husband with numerous of women who sell their bodies to him unprotected… every last one of them! To say I’m heartbroken and disgusted is an understatement. To ask me to stay and accept it is absolutely insane. The mentality of a narcissist.

“I will no longer lie to the public or pretend that this is something it isn’t. I choose me, I choose my happiness and health and my respect.”

 Ne-Yo and Smith exchanged vows in 2016 during an oceanside ceremony about an hour outside of Los Angeles. They had three children together — Roman Alexander-Raj, Shaffer Chimere Jr. and Isabella Rose — which she says is the only good thing to come out of their union.

“I gained 3 beautiful children out of this but nothing else but wasted years and heartache,” she continued in her post. “I ask that you all please stop sending me videos or information of him cheating because what he does is no longer my concern. I am not a victim.

“I’m choosing to stand tall with my head held high. If someone can’t love you the way you deserve then it’s up to you to love yourself. With no hate in my heart I wish him nothing but the best.”

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The couple hit a rough patch in February 2020 and announced they were divorcing in February 2020. The news came as a complete shock to Smith, but they wound up reconciling four months later. Speaking to the talk in June 2020, Ne-Yo revealed COVID-19 lockdowns with saving their marriage.

“The whole quarantine thing was kind of a blessing,” Ne-Yo said at the time. “Before the quarantine happened, we were definitely talking divorce, and the quarantine forced us to sit still, block out the noise from the world — you know the world can get very, very loud, and we tend to let the world’s opinion mean more in certain situations than it should.”

He added, “We’re actually stronger now than we were before. Now we feel like we can really talk to each other.”

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‘Full House’ star Jodie Sweetin marries Mescal Wasilewski in Malibu ceremony - Page Six

Jodie Sweetin now has an even “Fuller House.”

The actress, 40, married her longtime love, Mescal Wasilewski, in an intimate ceremony in Malibu, Calif., Saturday night.

She and the clinical social worker, who got engaged in January, said “I do” in front of friends and family, including Sweetin’s “Full House” co-stars John Stamos and Candace Cameron Bure.

“I know I have the right partner for the rest of whatever life brings me,” Sweetin told People after the nuptials.

“And I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Sweetin stunned in a Lili Bridals gown as she walked down the aisle with her father, Sam. Her two daughters – Zoie, 14, and Beatrix, 11, whom she shares with ex-husbands Cody Herpin and Morty Coyle, respectively – were also in attendance.

“I didn’t want it to be fussy,” Sweetin said of the backyard ceremony and reception, which was attended by just 50 people.

“The look is very organic and natural. It’s just about good food and good friends — and twinkle lights!”

The couple stared dating in 2017 after meeting through mutual friends.

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Guests enjoyed tacos and a guacamole bar for dinner, People reported, along with dessert bites from Big Sugar Bakeshop.

The newlyweds met through mutual friends, and began dating long distance in 2017.

She said Wasilewski was the best “teammate” she could ask for.

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“All the pieces just fell into place,” the “Full House” actress explained, after Wasilewski moved to Los Angeles from New York in 2020.

“Mescal makes me feel absolutely comfortable and secure to shine as bright as I need to. He steps up and shows up for my girls. And we harmonize so well. He’s really the best teammate I could ask for.”

The former child star, known for her portrayal of Stephanie Tanner in the hit 90s sitcom, has previously said “I do” three times. She was married to Shaun Holguin from 2002 to 2006, before marrying Herpin in 2007. 

The former child star was previously married three times.

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Sweetin then tied the knot with Coyle but split just four years later. The “Love Under the Rainbow” actress then became engaged to Justin Hodak in 2016, but the former couple never made it down the aisle.

As for Sweetin’s pal Bure, she’s been making her own headlines recently after JoJo Siwa called her out for being the “rudest” celebrity she’s ever met. The two have since had a conversation – but it sounds like the tension isn’t fully over just yet.

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JayDaYoungan's Grandfather Speaks Out On His Killing - HipHopDX

JayDaYoungan’s grandfather, L.C. Jefferson, has spoken out days after the rapper’s murder, offering new details into the shooting which claimed his life and wounded his father.

“There will be no stone left unturned until we find out who took him,” Jefferson told WDSU about the killing. “This is only what I hear. Someone came from behind the house with a ski mask on and gunned him down. In broad daylight, on a busy road. People have gotten so bold to where they think they can shoot someone down and not be caught.”

JayDaYoungan (real name Javorius Scott), was standing outside his home in the 600 block of Superior Avenue in Bogalusa, Louisiana on Wednesday (July 27) when someone approached him and opened fire. The 24-year-old rapper was transported to Our Lady of the Angels Hospital where he was pronounced dead. His father, Kenyatta Scott, was also shot during the incident and is expected to survive.

According to Bogalusa police, a few suspects have been named in relation to a series of shootings that took place on the same night as JayDaYoungan’s death and are believed to be connected, but no motive or suspect has been named in the rapper’s death.

JayDaYoungan Grandfather Speaks on his murder pic.twitter.com/xRoWpWgpJN

— No Jumper (@nojumper) July 29, 2022

Since Jay’s death, numerous friends, collaborators and family members have paid tribute to him. In an Instagram post, his girlfriend CaRena Vonchae said she was thankful her last words to him were “I love you.”

“Thank God my last words to you were I love you, I hope you know how much tho,” she wrote in a heartbreaking post. “Im so hurt bae, how could you leave me like that I would’ve never left you …. EVER , one thing we could do is make each other smile, such a kind hearted sweet soul… the thing I admired about you most is you forgave, always… and that’s all that really matters bby..”

His grandfather echoed her sentiments, focusing on his gift of music.

“I remember when he first started his music. I remember him sitting out here, two and three in the morning with his cousin. Writing music. It is sad that at his young age, just getting stuff right and he had to be taken away,” Jefferson said.

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After Will Smith's Apology, Chris Rock Responded Through His Stand-Up Act - CinemaBlend

This past week marked a major development in the aftermath of Will Smith’s Oscars incident. Several months after the star slapped Chris Rock on stage (and the internet exploded as a result), Smith broke his silence and apologized to the star for the polarizing moment. The King Richard star said that he’s here whenever Rock is “ready to talk.” It doesn’t look like the comedian has reached out to Smith just yet, though he did share a response of sorts through a recent stand-up act. 

Since the Academy Awards snafu, Chris Rock has pretty much been back on his grind and has performed at a number of venues over the past few months. He even did a massive show at MSG with Kevin Hart and Dave Chappelle last weekend. On Friday, Rock performed in Atlanta as part of his Chris Rock Ego Death World Tour (via CNN) only hours after Will Smith dropped his video. Though Rock didn’t address the apology directly, he did mention the I Am Legend star while discussing victims:

Everybody is trying to be a fucking victim. If everybody claims to be a victim, then nobody will hear the real victims. Even me getting smacked by Suge Smith … I went to work the next day, I got kids.

The Spiral star has played coy when it comes to discussing his true feelings about what went down at the Oscars. But Chris Rock has found off-handed ways to mention the slap during his comedy sets. For instance, a few months ago, Rock cracked a joke after Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage. Not only that, but Rock’s also made jokes about being punched in the face and, at this most recent show, he continued that streak: 

Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.

The Head of State alum was slapped by Will Smith while presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature during this year’s Oscars ceremony. During his set, the comic joked that he was looking forward to seeing Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, in a G.I. Jane sequel (referring to her shaved head). A displeased Smith took to the stage shortly after.

After the incident, Chris Rock declined to press charges. The following week, the Bad Boys for Life star issued an apology for what happened at the Oscars. He subsequently resigned from the Academy after slapping Rock, with the organization later expelling him for a decade as punishment.  In the aftermath, the A-lister has faced a few setbacks when it comes to a number of his upcoming projects. 

It would seem that Will Smith is going to continue to keep things low key for a little while. Meanwhile, Chris Rock is gaining social media followers and is engaged in a Hollywood romance with actress Lake Bell. It’s clear that Smith does indeed want to make amends with Rock, and even Jada Pinkett Smith has called for a reconciliation. But of course, they’ll just have to wait for the comedy to decide when he’s ready to open up.

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Watch Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn (a.k.a. Eddie) meet — and jam with! — Metallica - Yahoo Entertainment

Eddie Munson lived to shred another day — backstage at Lollapalooza, anyway.

At a crucial moment in the Stranger Things season 4 finale, Eddie busted out an epic rendition of Metallica's 1986 heavy-metal classic "Master of Puppets." And now Joseph Quinn, who plays sweet, doomed Eddie, has jammed with the masters of puppets themselves.

"Thank you so much for letting us use the track," a visibly thrilled Quinn told the quartet as they lounged backstage at the Chicago music festival.

Lead singer James Hetfield immediately shot back, "Thanks for doing it justice."

Joseph Quinn meets Metallica at a rehearsal for their headlining gig at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago

Netflix 'Stranger Things' star Joseph Quinn met Metallica at a rehearsal for their headlining gig at Lollapalooza.

Quinn, who told EW that he's been playing the guitar since childhood, explained why it was so significant for him to meet the metal gods who created his character's show-stopping moment.

"It's all I was listening to for two years," he said. "I feel very connected to you guys."

The feeling was mutual. Since the episode dropped on July 1, "Master of Puppets" has enjoyed new life (unlike Eddie — RIP!), landing on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and climbing into the top 40. And beyond that, Hetfield is a longtime Stranger Things aficionado.

"I'm a big fan of it, have been since season 1," he told Quinn. "My kids and I, it's been a bonding experience for us."

After their sit-down chat, the group then invited Quinn to the tuning room for a jam session.

"I'm a bit rusty, so I might need a lesson," he warned them before jumping in and playing shoulder to shoulder with Hetfield.

He clearly passed the test, leading drummer Lars Ulrich to joke, "I'd like to make an announcement that Metallica is now a five-piece."

After their session, the band surprised Quinn with a custom B.C. Rich guitar identical to the one he played in the show, and Quinn dropped to his knees in supplication as they handed it over.

When he started to strap it around his neck, the group offered to sign it, and he whipped it off and handed it over right away.

Joseph Quinn meets Metallica at a rehearsal for their headlining gig at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago

Netflix Joseph Quinn and Metallica hang out at a Lollapalooza rehearsal.

On Thursday, Metallica closed out their opening-night Lollapalooza set by projecting the now-famous Stranger Things scene of Eddie's last stand on the stage behind them while they tore through "Master of Puppets" to the delight of the crowd.

Stranger Things season 4 is streaming now on Netflix. Watch Quinn meet Metallica below.

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Full SummerSlam Preview – Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar and more: WWE Now, July 30, 2022 - WWE

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Will Smith Explains Response to Chris Rock Post-Oscars Slap, Offers Second Apology to Rock and His Family - Hollywood Reporter

Will Smith says “there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment” when explaining his decision to slap Chris Rock during the March 2022 Oscars ceremony.

In a new Instagram video, the King Richard star answers a series of questions about that night, offering up yet another apology to Rock while also discussing the impact it had on Rock’s family; whether he was responding to his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s eye roll when he took the stage; the effects his actions had on the night’s other nominees and winners; and more.

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“I was fogged out by that point,” Smith says, explaining why it took so long to offer Rock an apology. “It’s all fuzzy. I’ve reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk. And when he is, he will reach out.”

Smith goes on to address Rock directly, saying he’s “here whenever you’re ready to talk,” before offering up an apology to Rock’s mother and brother Tony Rock.

“That was one of the things about that moment I just didn’t realize,” Smith reflects. “I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment. So, I want to apologize to Chris’ mother. I want to apologize to Chris’ family — specifically, Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. You know, Tony rock was my man, and this is probably irreparable.”

Smith also answered a question about whether his reaction was in response to his wife’s eye roll following Rock’s joke about her baldness, which many noted may have been a sensitive topic due to her alopecia.

“I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences, from my history with Chris. Jada had nothing to do [with it],” Smith said, before acknowledging the “heat” his wife and kids have taken.

Toward the end of the video, Smith acknowledges how his actions impacted his fellow nominees.

“It really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment,” Smith says, addressing Questlove, who took the Oscars stage right after the incident to accept the award for best feature documentary for his project Summer of Soul. “Sorry isn’t really sufficient.”

He ends the video by taking on what he would say to people who looked up to him before the Oscars incident. Smith calls disappointing people “my central trauma” and notes that he hates “when I let people down.”

“So it hurts. It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me,” he says, adding that he’s “deeply remorseful” but trying to be so “without being ashamed” of himself. “I’m a human and I made a mistake, and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of shit.”

“I would say to those people: I know it was confusing. I know it was shocking. But I promise you, I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world,” Smith offers as his ending note. “And if you hang on, I promise we’ll be able to be friends again.”

This is the third apology in some form that Smith has offered up since the Oscars 2022 incident, in which the best actor winner took to the Dolby Theatre stage and slapped comedian Rock after he made an unscripted G.I. Jane joke about Pinkett Smith’s baldness while presenting the award for best documentary feature.

Smith gave a tear-filled statement the night of while accepting his best actor win for his role as Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard — though he did not mention Rock. He then released a statement to his social media specifically apologizing to Rock while also acknowledging how the joke prompted his behavior.

“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he wrote in the post. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

Since then, Smith announced he was resigning from the Academy and has been banned from appearing at Academy events for 10 years. He is still, however, eligible for future Oscar nominations and wins, and will retain the Oscar that he won during the 2022 ceremony.

Several of Smith’s upcoming projects are seemingly in limbo. Fast and Loose, which centers on a crime boss who loses his memory, had previously lost its director ahead of the Oscars incident, but according to sources, was quietly put on the back burner by Netflix. Sony’s Bad Boys 4, also in active development during the Oscars season, was also paused, a source told The Hollywood Reporter.

Smith is also slated to star in the Antoine Fuqua-directed action-thriller Emancipation. Based on a true story, the movie follows an enslaved man who escapes from a Louisiana plantation before heading North to join the Union Army. It’s in postproduction at Apple but currently does not have a release date despite previously being tentatively scheduled for later this year.

Sources at the time described Smith’s performance as another awards-worthy portrayal, but the Oscar incident was thought to have derailed those release plans, with it unclear whether Smith would be welcomed back. This past week, however, online reports suggested that Apple could indeed release the movie at some point in 2022.

Borys Kit contributed to this story.

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Will Smith Explains Response to Chris Rock Post-Oscars Slap, Offers Second Apology to Rock and His Family - Hollywood Reporter
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Amy Grant Hospitalized in Stable Condition After Bike Accident in Nashville - Yahoo Entertainment

Singer Amy Grant is recovering after she was hospitalized Wednesday following a bike accident in Nashville.

The "Baby Baby" singer, 61, was taken to Vanderbilt Hospital and treated for cuts and abrasions after she fell while cycling with a friend, a spokesperson for the star confirms to PEOPLE. She was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

Grant is in stable condition, and she stayed overnight at the hospital as a precaution, the spokesperson says. She will stay Thursday night as well for observation and treatment.

The incident comes two years after the star, who is married to singer Vince Gill, underwent open-heart surgery to correct a rare condition with which she was born, but only discovered at a check-up.

Amy Grant

Jason Davis/Getty Amy Grant

RELATED: Amy Grant Says She Feels 'Fantastic' 8 Months After Open-Heart Surgery to Correct Rare Condition

Grant was diagnosed wit PAPVR (partial anomalous pulmonary venous return), and confirmed she underwent successful surgery in June 2020.

"I think women tend to put their health on the back burner," the Christian pop singer told Good Morning America last year. "It's more like, 'Oh my children, my grandchildren, my work, my spouse.' All of those things and we need the gift of each other. So even if you go, 'Oh, I got nothing on the radar,' just get somebody else to check it out."

Earlier this month, Grant was tapped as one of five recipients of this year's Kennedy Center Honors. She'll be honored on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage in Washington, D.C., on December 4.

RELATED: U2, George Clooney, Gladys Knight, Amy Grant and Tania León to Receive Kennedy Center Honors

When the annual ceremony's 45th class of honorees was announced earlier this month, Grant spoke about the recognition in a statement.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine ever receiving this prestigious Kennedy Center Honors," said the musician. "Through the years, I've watched so many of my heroes serenaded by colleagues and fellow artists, always moved by the ability of music and film to bring us together and to see the best in each other."

Grant continued, "I cannot wait to celebrate with my fellow honorees, friends, and family. Thank you for widening the circle to include all of us."

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Amy Grant Hospitalized in Stable Condition After Bike Accident in Nashville - Yahoo Entertainment
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Ana de Armas Confronts the Dark Side of Celebrity as Marilyn Monroe in New Trailer for ‘Blonde’ - Hollywood Reporter

Ana de Armas offers up a taste of the darker side of Hollywood, its adoring and obsessive crowds and incessantly flashing photo bulbs as Marilyn Monroe in the second look at Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe pic Blonde.

Netflix released a second trailer for the upcoming NC-17 feature film, based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates on Thursday, giving viewers a closer look at how the Dominik-written and -directed film will explore the more unsavory parts of Monroe’s professional and private life.

“I’ve played Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe,” de Armas can be heard saying over the montage of footage of the woman born as Norma Jeane struggling with the effects of her public image. “I can’t face doing another scene with Marilyn Monroe.”

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As de Armas narrates, images of Monroe in her most popular projects are spliced between frenetic and overwhelming instances of a woman grappling with her fame. De Armas can be seen pushing through crowds of press and obsessive fans, screaming on set, crashing a car and being carried away down a hallway alongside smaller yet still significant moments of Jean’s professional façade cracking.

“Marilyn doesn’t exist,” de Armas continues on. “When I come out of my dressing room, I’m Norma Jeane. I’m still here when the camera is rolling. Marilyn Monroe only exists on the screen.”

The two-minute trailer — which pitches the main character as someone “watched by all” and “seen by none” — also features some of the film’s first major looks at Armas’ supporting cast, including Bobby Cannavale as “The Ex-Athlete” and Adrien Brody as “The Playwright.”

Blonde is a reimagining of the life of Marilyn Monroe that explores the split between the late Hollywood legend’s public and private lives. The film touches on everything from Norma Jeane’s childhood to her rise to stardom and her many romantic entanglements while blurring the line between fact and fiction.

The film also stars Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams, Lily Fisher, Toby Huss, David Warshofsky, Caspar Phillipson, Dan Butler, Sara Paxton and Rebecca Wisocky. Blonde is produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon and Scott Robertson, with Christina Oh as executive producer.

The film will release globally on Netflix on Sept. 28.

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Ana de Armas Confronts the Dark Side of Celebrity as Marilyn Monroe in New Trailer for ‘Blonde’ - Hollywood Reporter
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Toronto Film Festival Unveils Lineup Featuring New Works From Sam Mendes, Tyler Perry, Darren Aronofsky, Sarah Polley - Variety

New works by directors Sam Mendes, Sarah Polley, Tyler Perry, Darren Aronofsky and Reginald Hudlin will screen at the 2022 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, an annual celebration of cinema that serves as one of the unofficial kickoffs to the film awards season.

After two years spent hosting largely virtual or dramatically pared-down events as a concession to COVID, Toronto, or TIFF as it is known around the entertainment business, is looking to offer up a full-fledged, week-and-a-half-long spotlight of the best of moviemaking.

“We’re going to have the fan excitement, the big audiences, the big movies launching and the red carpets,” TIFF’s CEO Cameron Bailey told Variety. “If that sounds like a familiar Toronto Film Festival, that’s what we’re going to have this year.”

As Tinseltown decamps for Canada, it will once again be feted with glittering premieres, celebrity panels and packed auditoriums of crowds that studio executives say remain among the most enthusiastic and least jaded of any major festival. The boos, heckles and walkouts that occasionally mar a Cannes premiere just aren’t a thing at TIFF, where even the most lackluster movie is met with polite applause.

And that’s partly why the lineup for the festival’s gala and special presentations programs is — as it was before the pandemic scrambled everything — overflowing with splashy premieres. Mendes will be on hand with “Empire of Light,” a romance set in an English coastal cinema that stars Olivia Colman and Colin Firth. Polley will debut “Women Talking,” a searing look at a group of women in an isolated Mennonite religious colony in Bolivia grappling with a series of sexual assaults. Perry is presenting his coming-of-age period drama “A Jazzman’s Blues,” a deeply personal film that is said to mark a departure from the broader comedies and dramas that propelled him to the A-list. Aronofsky will look to cement “The Whale,” a drama about a 600-pound man trying to reconnect with his daughter, as an Oscar frontrunner following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival this month. And Hudlin is hitting Toronto with “Sidney,” a documentary about barrier-breaking actor Sidney Poitier that has been made with the participation of the screen legend’s family. To up the icon quota, it’s executive produced by Oprah Winfrey.

They join such previously announced world premieres as Gina Prince-Bythewood’s historical epic “The Woman King,” Rian Johnson’s star-studded whodunnit “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” and Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story. The festival will also screen two distinctive looks at the LGBTQ experience — “My Policeman,” a drama with Harry Styles as a closeted police officer in 1950s England, and “Bros,” a boisterous rom-com from Billy Eichner that is one of the first “meet cute” stories centered on gay men from a major studio. Both films were announced before TIFF released the bulk of its slate on Thursday.

Many of the movies tapped to screen at TIFF reflect the way that Hollywood’s efforts to become more inclusive are starting to re-shape the kinds of movies it produces. Bailey noted that movies like Lena Dunham’s medieval comedy “Catherine Called Birdy” or Lila Neugebauer’s “Causeway,” a drama about a solider suffering from a traumatic brain injury that stars Jennifer Lawrence, are projects told from a female perspective.

“The film world and the films that go to festivals have been profoundly affected by a kind of reckoning and awakening in terms of gender,” says Bailey. “We’re seeing many more films by women and more stories that either weren’t told when men dominated the film world or were placed in the background of men’s stories. When you put women in the writer’s chair or behind the camera as directors or as main characters, you get different kinds of stories and ones that resonate with audiences in different ways.”

The widening of Hollywood’s aperture doesn’t just involve telling more female-focused tales. There are a number of films at TIFF, such as “The Woman King,” the story of an all-female military regiment of African warriors, or Stephen Williams’ “Chevalier,” a drama about a Black violinist and composer in the court of France’s Louis XVI, that shine a light on parts of history that have been largely ignored by studios.

“We’ve got a number of terrific films from Black filmmakers about the Black experience,” says Bailey. “There’s a fascinating expansion of stories that are being told and a growing recognition that these audiences have long been here, craving stories like these ones.”

Other notable additions to the festival include the world premieres of Stephen Frears’ “The Lost King,” the story of an amateur historian’s search for King Richard III’s remains; Shekhar Kapur’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It?,” a cross-cultural rom-com that toggles between London and South Asia; and Catherine Hardwicke’s “Prisoner’s Daughter,” a drama about an ex-convict trying to forge a bond with his family after he is released from prison. There’s also such offbeat entries as Mark Mylod’s “The Menu,” a darkly comic horror film with Ralph Fiennes as a sinister celebrity chef, and Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” a deft mixture of class commentary and scatological humor that was the toast of Cannes.

TIFF has an enviable track record when it comes to spotlighting movies that go on to dominate awards season. Recent festivals, even those that have unfurled under the specter of COVID,  have included impactful premieres for such future Oscar winners as “The Power of the Dog,” “Belfast,” and “Nomadland” (2022’s best picture victor, “CODA,” was already streaming on Apple TV+ when TIFF rolled along). This year’s gathering will see the return of Peter Farrelly, whose most recent effort, “The Green Book,” nabbed an audience award when it screened at TIFF in 2018 before going on to be named best film at the Academy Awards. He’s back with “The Greatest Beer Run Ever,” a war drama with Zac Efron, Russell Crowe and Bill Murray. Will magic strike twice?

Other movies will arrive in Canada hoping to extend the momentum they’ve built up at earlier festivals. These include “Triangle of Sadness,” which won the Palme d’Or, as well as “Holy Spider,” the story of an Iranian serial killer that was another breakout from Cannes. Many filmmakers, such as Aronofsky and “The Son’s” Florian Zeller, will be nursing serious cases of jet lag as they shuttle from Venice, where their films are debuting, to TIFF, where their movies will also screen. And some films that will launch from the Lido, such as Alejandro J. Iñárritu’s “Bardo” and Luca Guadagnino’s “Bones and All,” are skipping TIFF, though Bailey was coy about whether or not they turned down invitations.

“I really don’t talk about movies that aren’t in the festival,” says Bailey. “I’ll just tell you that I’m incredibly excited by this lineup, and I think our audience will be too.”

The festival will take place from Sept. 8 to Sept. 18. TIFF will unveil its programming choices for its Midnight Madness, Discovery and other sections in the coming days. Festival organizers expect to host between 200 feature films and 40 short films across the various verticals.

Here’s the complete list of films announced Thursday:

GALA PRESENTATIONS 2022
*Previously announced
Alice, Darling
Mary Nighy | Canada, USA
World Premiere

Black Ice
Hubert Davis | Canada
World Premiere

The Greatest Beer Run Ever
Peter Farrelly | USA
World Premiere

Butcher’s Crossing
Gabe Polsky | USA
World Premiere

The Hummingbird
Francesca Archibugi | Italy, France
World Premiere

Hunt
Lee Jung-jae | South Korea
North American Premiere

A Jazzman’s Blues
Tyler Perry | USA
World Premiere

Kacchey Limbu
Shubham Yogi | India
World Premiere

Moving On
Paul Weitz | USA
World Premiere

Paris Memories
Alice Winocour | France
North American Premiere

Prisoner’s Daughter
Catherine Hardwicke | USA
World Premiere

Raymond & Ray
Rodrigo García | USA
World Premiere

Roost
Amy Redford | USA
World Premiere

Sidney
Reginald Hudlin | USA
World Premiere

The Son
Florian Zeller | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

Opening Night Film
*The Swimmers
Sally El Hosaini | United Kingdom
World Premiere

What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Shekhar Kapur | United Kingdom
World Premiere

*The Woman King
Gina Prince-Bythewood | USA
World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2022
*Previously announced
Allelujah
Sir Richard Eyre | United Kingdom
World Premiere

All Quiet on the Western Front
Edward Berger | Germany
World Premiere

The Banshees of Inisherin
Martin McDonagh | United Kingdom, Ireland, USA
North American Premiere

Blueback
Robert Connolly | Australia
World Premiere

The Blue Caftan
Maryam Touzani | Morocco, France, Belgium, Denmark
North American Premiere

Broker
Hirokazu Kore-eda | South Korea
Canadian Premiere

*Brother
Clement Virgo | Canada
World Premiere

*Bros
Nicholas Stoller | USA
World Premiere

*Catherine Called Birdy
Lena Dunham | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Causeway
Lila Neugebauer | USA
World Premiere

Chevalier
Stephen Williams | USA
World Premiere

Corsage
Marie Kreutzer | Austria, France, Germany
North American Premiere

Decision to Leave
Park Chan-wook | South Korea
North American Premiere

Devotion
JD Dillard | USA
World Premiere

Driving
Madeleine Christian Carion | France
International Premiere

El Suplente
Diego Lerman | Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Spain, France
World Premiere

Empire of Light
Sam Mendes | United Kingdom, USA
Canadian Premiere

The Eternal Daughter
Joanna Hogg | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

*The Fabelmans
Steven Spielberg | USA
World Premiere

*Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Rian Johnson | USA
World Premiere

Good Night Oppy
Ryan White | USA
International Premiere

The Good Nurse
Tobias Lindholm | USA
World Premiere

Holy Spider
Ali Abbasi | Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France
Canadian Premiere

Joyland
Saim Sadiq | Pakistan
North American Premiere

The King’s Horseman
Biyi Bandele | Nigeria
World Premiere

The Lost King
Stephen Frears | United Kingdom
World Premiere

A Man of Reason
Jung Woo-sung | South Korea
World Premiere

The Menu
Mark Mylod | USA
World Premiere

*On the Come Up
Sanaa Lathan | USA
World Premiere

One Fine Morning
Mia Hansen-Løve | France
Canadian Premiere

Other People’s Children
Rebecca Zlotowski | France
North American Premiere

Moonage Daydream
Brett Morgan | USA
North American Premiere

*My Policeman
Michael Grandage | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Nanny
Nikyatu Jusu | USA
International Premiere

No Bears
Jafar Panahi | Iran
North American Premiere

The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile
Kathlyn Horan | USA
International Premiere

Saint Omer
Alice Diop | France
North American Premiere

Sanctuary
Zachary Wigon | USA
World Premiere

Stories Not to Be Told
Cesc Gay | Spain
World Premiere

Triangle of Sadness
Ruben Östlund | Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Greece North American Premiere

Walk Up
Hong Sang-soo | South Korea
World Premiere

Wendell & Wild
Henry Selick | USA
World Premiere

Women Talking
Sarah Polley | USA
International Premiere

The Whale
Darren Aronofsky | USA
North American Premiere

The Wonder
Sebastián Lelio | United Kingdom, Ireland
Canadian Premiere

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Teen Mom: Andrew Glennon Speaks Out After Amber Portwood Loses Custody - E! NEWS

Andrew Glennon has shared his thoughts after a decision was made in his custody battle with Amber Portwood.

"We endured the nightmare," he exclusively told E! News. "Now we get to live the dream."

An Indiana judge awarded Andrew primary physical and sole legal custody of his and Amber's 4-year-old son James, per court documents obtained by The Sun. The judge also granted Andrew's request to relocate James to California. However, Andrew is ordered to "seek out and consider the mother's opinion before making any major decisions relating to the child's medical treatment, education and religion."

As for Amber, the Teen Mom star has been granted overnights with James that will be exercised every month, per the outlet. Her allotted time with the 4-year-old will alternate between the states of California and Indiana.

Following the judge's decision, Amber, who is also mom to 13-year-old Leah with ex Gary Shirley, shared in a statement that she has "worked so hard to better myself and improve my relationships with my children."

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Box Office: ‘DC League of Super-Pets’ to Overtake ‘Nope’ With $25 Million-Plus Debut - Variety

After a slower July at the movies, it’s “DC League of Super-Pets” to the rescue.

The Warner Bros. animated superhero comedy may not be closing out the month with a bang, but it will at least manage to lead domestic box office charts. Over the weekend, “DC League of Super-Pets” is aiming for $25 million to $30 million when it opens in 4,300 North American theaters, which should be enough to dethrone Jordan Peele’s “Nope” as the No. 1 movie in the country. Peele’s UFO thriller, which opened last weekend to $41 million, is expected to decline by roughly 60% with $15 to $16 million in its sophomore outing.

Movies aimed at family audiences have been a mixed bag at the pandemic-era box office, with Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” scoring a mighty $300 million domestically to date and Paramount’s “Paws of Fury” flailing with $14 million domestically. In terms of brand awareness, “DC League of Super-Pets” falls in between those films; it’s not a sequel to a mega-popular franchise like “Minions” but it’s based on DC lore so it’s not entirely new to audiences. The movie cost $90 million to produce, so it’ll need to resonate with young kids (and comic-book lovers) to become profitable.

Directed by Jared Stern, “DC League of Super-Pets” features the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and Kate McKinnon as the four-legged friends of Justice League members. The film has garnered positive reviews, with Variety’s Owen Gleiberman writing “The plot is…a plot. Busy and frantic and diagrammed. But there are just enough wild-card moments along the way, like those involving a baby-voiced kitten who coughs up hairball grenades.”

In far fewer theaters, Focus Features is rolling out “Vengeance,” a true-crime inspired black comedy from “The Office” alum B.J. Novak. Since the R-rated film is playing in fewer than 1,000 locations, it’s aiming for low single digits — around $2 million — in its box office debut.

Novak, who also wrote the screenplay, portrays a New York City-based journalist and podcaster who travels to Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was only casually dating. Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Issa Rae and Ashton Kutcher round out the cast.

Reviews for “Vengeance” have been mostly complimentary, with critics praising the fish-out-of-water humor. Gleiberman called the film a “terrific directorial debut,” adding “‘Vengeance’ is an irresistible original — a heady, jaunty, witty-as-they-come tall tale that’s just grounded enough in the real world to carry you along.”

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Box Office: ‘DC League of Super-Pets’ to Overtake ‘Nope’ With $25 Million-Plus Debut - Variety
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Sydney Sweeney on Fame, Hollywood Fakery and the Pressure of Paying the Bills - Hollywood Reporter

This summer, Sydney Sweeney experienced her first glimpse of millennial burnout. At 24, the actress is by definition a member of Gen Z, but this feels like a technicality given the amount of life experience she has. The panic attacks began in June, fast and furious events that convinced her brain she was probably dying. “I was losing my shit,” she says.

She went home to the Pacific Northwest for two weeks of family-mandated phone-free time, grounding herself in the region’s fresh air, “hiking and skiing and doing what I truly love.” The regimen worked in the immediate sense — though, she adds, “I still can’t get my mind to shut up, and I don’t sleep” — and helped her realize that her punishing schedule of back-to-back film and TV projects was working against her. It’s a hard lesson to accept, given the amount of pressure Sweeney feels to maximize this pivotal moment in her career — and the way the very same anxiety often will convince her that the momentum could stop at any time.

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Sydney Sweeney

We’re having breakfast in New York, three days after the Emmy nominations were announced; she scored nods for both Euphoria (supporting actress in a drama) and The White Lotus (supporting actress in a limited series). She has just flown down from Boston to New York, where she’s spending several months in production for Marvel’s Madame Web movie, with very little publicly known about her character. I’ve been asking her about her time in the New England city in hopes of gleaning something — anything — about the highly secretive Spider-Man offshoot.

“I’m a very open person,” she says. “I love to talk about everything,” noting the fact that it eats at her that she can’t open up about Madame Web. I eventually learn that she’s preparing for the role with fight training, movement training and something called Reformacore Pilates, and that she was drawn to the film because she “liked the personal struggles that the character goes through.” She spends a lot of time talking about the cross-country road trip she took — with her mother and her rescue dog, Tank — to get to Boston and how she much prefers that city’s slower pace to New York’s frenetic nature. Here on the rooftop of Sweeney’s favorite Manhattan hotel, though, we’re insulated from the chaos of midtown.

The venue is different than the places one would expect to find burgeoning A-listers — the Sunset Tower it is not — but she’s become friends with the staff and even good-natured ribbing from friends and family hasn’t persuaded her to decamp for fancier pastures. Her loyalty proves to be valuable currency when, later, endless boxes full of designer fashion for this shoot start arriving at the happily accommodating front desk at record pace.

Over the course of her short career, she’s had to learn how to make herself at home pretty much anywhere. White Lotus introduced a certain Eloise at the Plaza energy into her life: The HBO miniseries, a darkly satirical examination of white privilege at an upscale Hawaiian resort, was shot on location at the Four Seasons in Maui during the throes of the pandemic. The sequestration was a COVID-protocol necessity but lent itself greatly to the project, giving the cast — fellow Emmy nominees Connie Britton (who plays her mother), Murray Bartlett, Jake Lacy, Steve Zahn, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario and Natasha Rothwell — a chance to immediately bond via what Sweeney describes as an idyllic routine of celebrating each day’s wrap with a sunset swim. Britton mentions during a phone call that she and Sweeney actually met for the first time in the pool at the Four Seasons. “To be honest, the shoot was more fun for the cast than for me,” show creator Mike White says with a laugh when asked to corroborate the set environment. “I would look out from my balcony while working and see them having drinks. But it gave everyone a camaraderie and depth of relationship that, particularly with Connie and Sydney, we could exploit for the show.”

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Fendi top, Fred Leighton jewelry.

It also was Sweeney’s first time at an exclusive resort, giving her a front-row seat to a class divide that she’s still grappling with: balancing her lower-middle-class upbringing and the wealth-filled spaces she finds herself in now. For much of the shoot, she had the run of the place, getting to know the staff well enough to pop in to the kitchen and grab food from the refrigerator. “We were all friends, and [the resort] felt like a house that belonged to all of us,” she says. “Then toward the end, they opened up the resort to guests, and it became clear I did not belong [among the clientele]. I would go to breakfast in my sweatshirt and pajama shorts and get the most disgusting glares from the guests that I dared to show up like that.”

White describes the introduction of the real world into the cast and crew’s COVID bubble as “almost traumatic” but ultimately powerful in the way it served the narrative: “Suddenly we’re watching employees, our family, get bossed around — it added to the meta feeling of the show reflecting life.”

Euphoria, with its rampant drug use and unflinching sexual politics, sets fire to everything one thought a high school drama could or should be — it’s also HBO’s most-watched show after Game of Thrones. Sweeney was initially told that Euphoria‘s casting director didn’t think she was right for the role of Cassie — a sweet, popular girl whose insecurities and daddy issues drive her into the arms of boys at school — and that she shouldn’t bother coming in to audition. Her agent — she’s been with the same reps at Paradigm for her entire career— had other clients who’d gone in to read for the part and was willing to pass Sweeney the script. She eventually put herself on tape, reading with her mom, and sent it to the Euphoria team. They booked her directly. (“No hate to the casting director,” she adds. “I love her now.”)

Sweeney is frank about what she went through — and what she says she’s still going through — to make it in this business. “The rejection you get while you’re trying to learn to be yourself is insane,” she says. “It’s insane how adults look at you.” Even with two Emmy noms, she says her sense of being a Hollywood outsider remains. “I had no idea getting into this industry how many people have connections. I started from ground zero, and I know how fucking hard it is. Now I see how someone can just walk in a door, and I’m like, ‘I worked my fucking ass off for 10 years for this.’ ”

Sweeney spent her childhood in a small town near Spokane on the Washington-Idaho border, an experience she describes as simultaneously idyllic and wholesome, bordering on chaste. She was deeply committed to her education at a pastoral private school; she took multiple languages and was her high school valedictorian. Unlike the hedonistic characters on Euphoria, she never went to a party, opting to study and then be on call for the inevitable 3 a.m. phone call from friends requesting a ride home. Her parents were strict — she recalls having to sneak episodes of the Shailene Woodley-starring ABC Family sitcom The Secret Life of the American Teenager — but she never rebelled. To this day, her drink of choice is water, and over breakfast she tells me she’s never even tried coffee. “If I’m celebrating, or it’s a very rare occasion, I’ll have a Shirley Temple,” she says.

Money was limited at home — financial aid helped pay for private school and college — but never an urgent problem until the family moved to L.A. when Sweeney was 13 to facilitate her acting dreams. She can’t pinpoint where or when that itch started, describing it more as an emerging “idea in my head, a goal, of who I wanted to become.” Sweeney’s parents gave up their house and life in Spokane, but the extreme cost of L.A. living priced them out of the real estate market and into a motel: “We lived in one room. My mom and I shared a bed and my dad and little brother shared a couch.” Sweeney was relatively unaware of their financial hardships until her parents’ relationship started falling apart, a combination she says of losing their home and savings and the strain of the disapproval of their life moves by family and friends back in Washington. She kept auditioning throughout her teens, taking “really shitty projects” for little pay (sometimes $100 a day), hoping it would be enough to keep her parents’ faith and maybe even make the family whole again. “I thought that if I made enough money, I’d be able to buy my parents’ house back and that I’d be able to put my parents back together,” she says. “But when I turned 18, I only had $800 to my name. My parents weren’t back together and there was nothing I could do to help.”

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Styling by Molly Dickson Gucci look with hat, Fred Leighton jewelry, Christian Siriano skirt (hanging).

****

Sweeney says that Sharp Objects, Marti Noxon’s 2018 HBO miniseries based on the novel of the same name, was her first truly successful audition. She read with the director, the late Jean-Marc Vallée, and it felt “amazing.” She booked a role as Alice, a patient at a mental health facility whose death haunts star Amy Adams. It would be her first of several dramas on the premium cable network as well as the first of many jobs alongside established actresses, including Elisabeth Moss on The Handmaid’s Tale. Sweeney remembers Adams for her advice about balancing a successful acting career and her desire to have a family — in March, reports surfaced that Sweeney was engaged to restaurateur Jonathan Davino after she was photographed with an engagement ring; she declines to comment on her relationship status and doesn’t wear a ring to the interview. “I want to have a family, I’ve always wanted to be a young mom, and I’m worried about how this industry puts stigmas on young women who have children and looks at them in a different light,” she says. “I was worried that, if I don’t work, there is no money and no support for kids I would have.”

Adams assured her it could be done, but the insecurities over her financial health and the momentum of her career remain years later. There’s no longer a pressure to say yes to every offer, and she’s learned not only to negotiate her salary but to revel in the process of standing up for herself, yet she’s filling her schedule with as many movies and series as she can pack in. “If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have income to cover that,” she says. “I don’t have someone supporting me, I don’t have anyone I can turn to, to pay my bills or call for help.” Surely HBO paychecks afford a lifestyle immune from rising gas prices? “They don’t pay actors like they used to, and with streamers, you no longer get residuals,” Sweeney notes. “The established stars still get paid, but I have to give 5 percent to my lawyer, 10 percent to my agents, 3 percent or something like that to my business manager. I have to pay my publicist every month, and that’s more than my mortgage.” It’s not that she wants people to feel badly for her, but she is adamant that the luxuries of the job not gloss over the realities of the business. To stay relevant as a young actress, particularly one so deeply entrenched in and reliant on the internet generation, requires investment. There’s a lot of press to do, and the associated costs — styling, tailoring, hair and makeup, travel — aren’t always covered by a network. She says this is what motivated her pivot into brand deals, taking gigs as a Miu Miu ambassador and starring in an Armani beauty campaign: “If I just acted, I wouldn’t be able to afford my life in L.A. I take deals because I have to.”

After five years of constant work, she was able to buy a home in Los Angeles — something that’s still deeply out of reach for many of the city’s residents — and almost instantaneously the location leaked onto real estate blogs. She was scrolling through TikTok one day and discovered a trend in which college students (the house is near one of the city’s universities) drive past her front door and try to get a picture. Paparazzi have been camped out, ignoring personal pleas from her mother to pack up and leave. I mention the Kardashians, ensconced in their gated communities far outside the city, and she deadpans that she maxed out with this home purchase; there’s nothing left for a gate. “I couldn’t believe I was even able to buy a house,” she says. “I want to be able to stay there.”

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Fendi look with shoes, Fred Leighton jewelry, Piers Atkinson headpiece.

***

“The first time I saw her transform into this petulant child [on The White Lotus], I was shocked,” says Britton. “But she’s also so funny. We were exploring these vitriolic relationships while we had the time of our lives.” In the audition process, White was taken by Sweeney’s decision to play Olivia Mossbacher with an air of intimidation rather than the straightly funny approach other actresses took. “And then she’s obviously nothing like that as a person, so that all felt really exciting,” he says. “She’s very likable and charming, but then you put her in front of a camera and — I don’t want to sound like some Old Hollywood freak — but she has these powers. Certain actors have a certain kind of magic, and she is definitely one of them.”

Due to network scheduling, The Handmaid’s Tale made it to air before Sharp Objects, marking it as her onscreen introduction for many viewers. She played Eden, a teenaged handmaid assigned to an arranged marriage with Max Minghella’s Nick in the second season. It was a supporting but impactful role. It became the first time she was recognized in public with frequency, often by women who felt compelled to tell her they hate her character: “I think most people wanted Elisabeth’s [Moss] and Max’s characters to be together, and Eden disrupted that.”

Sweeney in The Handmaid’s Tale as Nick’s young wife, Eden, the role that first got her noticed in public, often by women who’d tell her how much they hated her character.

Handmaid’s Tale was nominated for 20 Emmys that year, with the entire cast in attendance. This year’s telecast, which NBC is set to air Sept. 12, Sweeney’s 25th birthday, will mark her return. Zendaya was the only Euphoria castmember to receive a nod, for the show’s first season, and Sweeney says her own nom came as a surprise: “Of course I was hoping for Euphoria because I’m so proud of my character and I put a lot into it, but I didn’t think I was going to get it because of the other actresses who gave such incredible performances this year.”

Francesca Orsi, head of drama and executive vp programming at HBO, calls the double nomination a thrilling moment for the network: “Sydney has an incredible ability to create unforgettable, breakout performances, and with Cassie and Olivia, she brought such versatility to her portrayal of these two very different young women.”

The show’s second season, for which she is nominated, focuses on the burgeoning addiction of Zendaya’s Rue while also pitting Maddie (Alexa Demie) against Cassie as Sweeney’s character self-destructs with her best friend’s ex-boyfriend (Jacob Elordi’s Nate). Sam Levinson, who has near total creative control over the show (he’s the creator, director and sole staff writer), called Sweeney during the hiatus between the first and second seasons. “He read me that first scene where Cassie and Nate go into the bathroom,” she says of the ill-fated couple’s first secret hookup. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God, Sam, you’re a madman.’ ” The plot twist paid off, spurring one of the constantly memed series’ most viral images (of Cassie hiding in the bathtub, face struck with fear) and laying the groundwork for her eventual snot-ridden breakdown monologue (“I have never, ever been happier!”) that felt like the star’s clear Emmy submission. “I feel really bad for Cassie; she’s losing herself so much,” Sweeney says of her character. “But I thrive doing that shit. People talk about how heavy this season is, but I love it.”

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Area headpiece.

There also have been reports about the way Levinson handles the making of the show: Guest stars like Minka Kelly have given interviews about initial drafts of scripts they felt were overly sexual, there were rumors of actress Barbie Ferreira feuding with the creator, and HBO was forced to issue a statement in response to concerns over long working hours, saying the set was in “full compliance with all safety guidelines and guild protocols.” Levinson declined to participate in this story, and Sweeney declines to discuss this element of the show in much detail, noting, “I fully trust in the filmmakers that I work with, and I’m always so excited for whatever Sam writes.” She adds that she forgets a lot of the minutiae of her shows and what it’s like behind the scenes: “It’s as if it’s someone else’s life.” This could be an evasion, but at the photo shoot a few hours after our breakfast, I see her lose herself so completely, I’m almost willing to buy it. When the cameras click on, Sweeney gets so laser focused, it’s almost like she’s dissociating. She tells me that, in photo shoots and on red carpets, she’ll even create a persona for herself, a way to calm her nerves and add a layer of armor between who she really is and who the job requires her to be. (The version you see in the cover photo is “Daphne.”)

“People forget that I’m playing a character, they think, ‘Oh, she gets naked onscreen, she’s a sex symbol,’ ” she says, referring to her many nude scenes in Euphoria. “And I can’t get past that. I have no problems with those scenes, and I won’t stop doing them, but I wish there was an easier way to have an open conversation about what we’re assuming about actors in the industry.”

Left: Sweeney (with Brittany O’Grady, right) in HBO’s The White Lotus. Right: The actress on the cable network’s Euphoria. She received Emmy nominations for both shows.

She’s trying to put a bit of that power back into her own hands with the launch of her production company, Fifty-Fifty Films. The first project on the slate is an adaptation of Jessica Goodman’s 2020 YA novel They Wish They Were Us; it’s set as a limited series at HBO Max under the new title The Player’s Table. It’s a murder mystery that takes place at an elite East Coast private school, and Goodman describes it as a story about a young woman (Sweeney) grappling with class dynamics and sexual politics and trying to find agency in her life. “When we met, it was immediately obvious to me that Sydney was very savvy, that she was very self-aware about the way she is viewed in the world and that she wanted to take charge of her own career,” says Goodman. “People underestimate young women in all industries, but especially in media and entertainment. She is such a force and really knows how to get things done in a way that might surprise people who only watch her on TV.”

As Sweeney starts to transition into the next phase of her career, she’s thinking a lot about her professional values. One of the most disconcerting things she’s noticed about the industry is the way it fails to facilitate loyalty — whether to yourself and your beliefs or to the people around you. “It’s built to try to make you backstab people,” she says. “It’s insane. My agent is my best teammate, and I’ll have her forever.” But, she adds, “I see how people are like, ‘We support each other’ — and I’m like, ‘No. You fucking don’t.’ ” I ask her whether she has people to commiserate with. No. Not the other girls from Euphoria? “We don’t really talk about that kind of stuff,” she says.

While fame has expanded her awareness of the way the world works, it’s having a chilling effect on her personal life. “I can feel my bubble of who I can talk to and share intimate things with and have relationships shrinking, shrinking, shrinking,” she says, explaining that she experiences it as a loss of control. “You’ll write about this and people won’t believe what I say. And that’s really, really hard.”

This story first appeared in the July 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Sydney Sweeney was photographed July 15 at 1896 Studios and Stages in Brooklyn. Area dress, headpiece and necklace, Giuseppe Zanotti boots.

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