Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank

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Biography

Hilary Swank (born 30.7.1974) Hilary Swank is an Oscar-winning American actress. She has won Academy Awards for her roles in Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby.

Childhood: Hilary Swank was born to Stephen and Judy Swank in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Swank family came from modest beginnings and started out in a trailer park in Bellingham, Washington.

At the age of nine, Hilary Swank became involved in school drama productions, and starred in The Jungle Book as well as becoming involved in the Bellingham Theatre Guild. Whilst attending Sehome High School, Swank developed her sporting talent and competed in the Junior Olympics and the Washington State Games in swimming and gymnastics.

When Hilary Swank was 13 years old, her parents divorced. Her mother moved with her to Los Angeles, to pursue Hilary's desire to enter the world of acting. Once there, Hilary enrolled in South Pasadena High School, and began acting professionally. With the money that she earned acting in TV shows such as Growing Pains, she helped her mother to pay the rent.

Acting Career: In 1994, Hilary Swank was cast in the final film in the Karate Kid series, entitled The Next Karate Kid. In 1997, she was then cast as Carly Reynolds, a single mother, in Beverley Hills 90210. Initially, she was expecting to be in the series for two years but her character was written out of the show after just 16 episodes.

Luckily for Swank, being dropped from the series enabled her to audition for the film Boys Don't Cry. She landed the role of Brandon Teena and in preparation for the role, Swank had to reduce her body fat percentage to just seven per cent. She starred in the film alongside Chloë Sevigny and earned herself both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actress.

Hilary Swank's award-winning success continued when she starred in Million Dollar Baby, directed by Clint Eastwood and again winning a Golden Globe and Academy Award. In preparation for this role, Swank had to learn to box, and gained almost 20 pounds in muscle. This award success put Swank in the same realm as Sally Field, Vivien Leigh. Helen Hayes and Luise Rainer - the only actresses to have been nominated twice for an Academy Award and to have won both times.

In 2007, Hilary Swank appeared in the film Freedom Writers, a drama based on the true story of a teacher who had inspired a Californian high school class. Later that year, she also starred in The Reaping. Swank convinced the film's producers to move the film shoot from New England to Louisiana but the filming was interrupted when Hurricane Katrina struck the area. 2007 also saw the release of P.S. I Love You, in which Swank appeared alongside Gerard Butler.

Hilary Swank also starred in The Black Dahlia, alongside Scarlett Johansson.

Swank became the 2325th celebrity to be presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal Life: Hilary Swank married Chad Lowe, an actor, in September 1997. The pair had met whilst filming Quiet Days In Hollywood. Famously, Hilary forgot to thank her husband in her first Oscar acceptance speech, so in her second, ensured that he was the first person to get a mention. However, the pair separated at the start of 2006 and divorced in May of that year.

In December 2006, it was announced that Hilary Swank was dating her own agent, John Campisi.



Biography by Contactmusic.com

Logan Lucky Review

Excellent

Good news: Steven Soderbergh's well-publicised retirement from directing only lasted about four years. He's back with this lively, relentlessly enjoyable caper that feels like a mash-up between his Ocean's Eleven and Magic Mike movies. Using America's economic situation as a launching point (without any political message), he spins a loose-limbed adventure with a gang of endearingly scruffy characters. If this is your cup of tea, it's a proper guilty pleasure.

In West Virginia, the Logan family has had a string of very bad luck, leaving Jimmy (Channing Tatum) with a dodgy knee and his younger brother Clyde (Adam Driver) with a missing arm. Their sister Mellie (Riley Keough) has so far escaped injury, so Jimmy hatches a plan to change their fortunes by robbing the Charlotte Nascar race course, which he knows inside and out because he's just been sacked from his job there. They need the help of explosives expert Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), who's in jail. So in addition to an elaborate heist, they must also plan a prison break. They also bring in Joe's nerdy gamer brothers (Jack Quaid and Brian Gleeson).

Frankly, all of these people are such misfits that no one would ever suspect them of being capable of carrying out such a complicated plan. And that's the point: it's easy to underestimate people who seem uneducated. This gives the cast plenty to play with. Tatum and particularly Driver are terrific at the centre, with their hang-dog expressions and understated skill sets. Keough gets to play the one person in the story with brains, and has a great time rampaging through each scene. But the movie is stolen by Craig, who goes wildly against type as the hilariously nutty Joe. In one classic scene, he barely contains his exasperation while explaining how to make a bomb out of gummy bears.

Continue reading: Logan Lucky Review

Logan Lucky Trailer


Jimmy and Clyde Logan are two down-and-out brothers from West Virginia. Jimmy has been fired from his job on a construction site for reasons relating to insurance and Clyde's job as a one-armed bartender hasn't worked out too well either. To get themselves out of the financial mess that they're in (and, indeed, that their family have been in for almost 100 years), Jimmy suggests robbing $14 million from the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina during the hugely anticipated Coca-Cola 600 race over Memorial Day weekend. He has discovered how the money is being moved to a bank vault, but they need to spring the vault-blowing expert Joe Bang from prison in order to execute the heist. With the help of their sister Mellie and their new pals the Redneck Robbers, they plot the perfect robbery - but all is naturally not going to go as swimmingly as they could have hoped.

Continue: Logan Lucky Trailer

The Homesman Review


Very Good

Strong characters and a vivid sense of life in frontier America give this film a kick of authentic energy that makes it a gripping journey. While it may be a little too serious for its own good, the movie is strikingly shot and played to bring out the gritty tenacity of people who dare to live in such a foreboding place. And a couple of shocking twists in the tale keep us on our toes.

In the Nebraska Territory in 1853, life was so difficult that three women (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto and Sonja Richter) in a small community are driven mad by the isolation, desperation and harsh weather. Their husbands are too busy surviving to do anything about it, so the local pastor (John Lithgow) arranges for the strong-willed spinster farmer Mary Bee (Hilary Swank) to escort them back east to civilisation. She needs a "homesman" to help make the arduous five-week journey, so she drafts in drunken scoundrel George (Tommy Lee Jones). During their long trek across the plains, they have a series of potentially life-threatening encounters with the likes of well-armed Native Americans, an interfering opportunist (Tim Blake Nelson) and a cruelly dismissive hotel owner (James Spader).

The characters are strikingly feisty, starting with Swank's fiercely no-nonsense, self-sufficient Mary Bee, who one local observes is as good as any man around. She's also rather annoyingly holier-than-thou, which explains why she's has so much trouble finding a husband to help her. And these three women really push her to the breaking point: Gummer's Bella is consumed by grief, Otto's Theoline moans day and night, and Richter's Gro is a delusional menace. So it's a good thing that Jones provides some comic relief as the rapscallion George, a snarky realist who's the only likeable person on-screen.He also emerges along the way as the true protagonist of the tale.

Continue reading: The Homesman Review

You're Not You Trailer


When Kate (Hillary Swank), a concert pianist, is diagnosed with ALS (also known as Motor Neurone Disease or Lou Gehrig’s Disease), she realsised that not only does she have to give up on her career, but only a short time left to live. As she will steadily lose the ability to walk and care for herself, she is entrusted to the care of Bec (Emmy Rossum), a reckless college student. The two steadily begin to develop a strong bond, as Kate is able to see Bec’s true appreciation for every part of life, and feels a little more alive because of it.

Continue: You're Not You Trailer

A Closer Look At Tommy Lee Jones' 'The Homesman' [Trailer]


Tommy Lee Jones Hilary Swank

The new film by Tommy Lee Jones The Homesman is gearing up for its release in cinemas in the coming months, and we’ve gotten hold of a poster, a trailer and shots from the film’s set.

The Homesman poster
Poster for The Homesman, out on October 17th in the UK

The Homesman is a period western set in the mid-19th century based on a 1988 novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout, and stars Hilary Swank, Hailee Steinfeld, William Fichtner and Meryl Streep.

Continue reading: A Closer Look At Tommy Lee Jones' 'The Homesman' [Trailer]

The Homesman Trailer


George Briggs is a claim jumper who has only ever known a dishonest life. When he finds himself in serious trouble (sat astride an impatient horse with his hands bound behind his back and a noose around his neck tied to a branch), he starts to think this could finally be the end for him. That is until he is found by a lone woman with a wagon named Mary Bee Cuddy who agrees to free him from his plight in exchange for a favour. Living alone, she is struggling to carry out an important personal mission; she wants to take three insane women from Nebraska to Iowa now that their husbands can now longer cope with them. Thus, she asks Briggs to help her on the dangerous five week journey and, despite his serious reservations, he agrees to act as her aide and protector against the brutalities they may face along the way.

Continue: The Homesman Trailer

The Top 10 Movies Directed By Clint Eastwood


Clint Eastwood Million Dollar Baby Mystic River Meryl Streep Morgan Freeman Hilary Swank Tim Robbins Kevin Bacon Gene Hackman

Having first installed himself within American culture with his recurring role as Rowdy Yates in the cowboy seriesRawhide, San Francisco native Clint Eastwood would become renowned across the world for his roles in a succession of violent and iconic Westerns. The ‘Man With No Name’ character, first seen in the hallowed ‘Spaghetti Western’ trilogy, saw Eastwood become internationally known as a steely actor who went down a storm with domestic and global audiences. 

Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood on the set of 'Changeling'

More: Eastwood Made Jersey Boys Actors Sing Live On Set

Continue reading: The Top 10 Movies Directed By Clint Eastwood

'The Homesman': Cannes 2014 Reviews Are Mostly Positive


Tommy Lee Jones Hilary Swank Meryl Streep Hailee Steinfeld William Fichtner

‘The Homesman’ is the latest film to face the critics at Cannes 2014, which has thrown out some modern classics (like ‘Mr Turner) and some true stinkers (like ‘Grace of Monaco).

The Homesman

Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank, Hailee Steinfeld, William Fichtner and Meryl Streep and helmed by Lee Jones in his fourth directorial effort, ‘The Homesman’ hasn’t reached one end of the critical spectrum or another, pleasing most critics but failing to excite others. This reaction has accumulated a fairly healthy 67% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Continue reading: 'The Homesman': Cannes 2014 Reviews Are Mostly Positive

Mariska Hargitay and Hillary Swank - Mariska Hargitay Honored On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame - Hollywood, California, United States - Friday 8th November 2013

Mariska Hargitay and Hillary Swank
Peter Hermann, Leron Gubler, Hillary Swank, Mariska Hargitay and Tom Labonge

Video - Leonardo DiCaprio And Martin Scorsese Were Some Of Armani's Star Arrivals At Its One Night Only Event - Part 2


'The Great Gatsby' Leonardo Dicaprio was snapped arriving at the Armani One Night Only fashion show event held at the SuperPier in New York. He was joined by 'Goodfellas' director Martin Scorsese and 'Beautiful Creatures' actor Jeremy Irons with his wife Sinead Cusack.

Continue: Video - Leonardo DiCaprio And Martin Scorsese Were Some Of Armani's Star Arrivals At Its One Night Only Event - Part 2

Hilary Swank - The Art of Bulgari: La Dolce Vita & Beyond, 1950-1990 - Arrivals - San Francisco, CA - Wednesday 18th September 2013

Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank Has Her Purse Stolen In Paris Suburb


Hilary Swank Emmy Rossum

Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank was caught up in a violent robbery when her purse was stolen from her whilst she was in a taxi in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis yesterday (Jan 18) morning.

According to a police source, the actress was sat in the back seat of her taxi that was stuck in gridlock traffic when thieves jumped the taxi whilst it remained stationary in the northern part of the city. Three thieves smashed the back window of the taxi and snatched Swank's designer purse from her hands before making off with the loot. The suburb of Saint-Denis is notorious for it's frequent traffic jams and over the years this type of'smash and grab' robberies has become increasingly common.

Swank became a household name after her double Oscar success in 1999, for Boys Don't Cry, and again in 2004 for Million Dollar Baby. Since her Oscar success she has also stared in such hits as PS, I Love You and the Amelia Earhart biopic, Amelia, and is currently working on the upcoming drama You're Not You, which centres on a terminally ill woman (Swank) and her young caregiver (Emmy Rossum).

Continue reading: Hilary Swank Has Her Purse Stolen In Paris Suburb

Hilary Swank

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Hilary Swank

Date of birth

30th July, 1974

Occupation

Actor

Sex

Female

Height

1.68




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Hilary Swank Movies

Logan Lucky Movie Review

Logan Lucky Movie Review

Good news: Steven Soderbergh's well-publicised retirement from directing only lasted about four years. He's back...

Logan Lucky Trailer

Logan Lucky Trailer

Jimmy and Clyde Logan are two down-and-out brothers from West Virginia. Jimmy has been fired...

Spark Trailer

Spark Trailer

Spark is a teenage monkey living in an underground bunker on the virtually destroyed planet...

The Homesman Movie Review

The Homesman Movie Review

Strong characters and a vivid sense of life in frontier America give this film a...

You're Not You Trailer

You're Not You Trailer

When Kate (Hillary Swank), a concert pianist, is diagnosed with ALS (also known as Motor...

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The Homesman Trailer

The Homesman Trailer

George Briggs is a claim jumper who has only ever known a dishonest life. When...

New Year's Eve Movie Review

New Year's Eve Movie Review

The team that made the thin-but-enjoyable Valentine's Day in 2010 reunites for another massively overextended...

New Year's Eve Trailer

New Year's Eve Trailer

On New Year's Eve, there is no better place to be than New York. All...

The Resident Trailer

The Resident Trailer

When Dr. Juliet Devereau finds a superb apartment she can't believe how lucky she's been....

Amelia Trailer

Amelia Trailer

Watch the trailer for Amelia Amelia Earhart was a true hero to many men and...

P.S. I Love You Trailer Trailer

P.S. I Love You Trailer Trailer

P.S. I love you Trailer Childhood sweethearts Holly and Gerry could finish each other’s sentences....

The Reaping Movie Review

The Reaping Movie Review

Trouble sleeping? Try The Reaping. As Stephen Hopkins' sinfully boring devil dance continues creeping, at...

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