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Entertainment
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Published: October 23, 2002 "THE
PRACTICE" STAR LISA GAY HAMILTON
Set in Paris, The Truth About Charlie is an exhilarating combination of romance and suspense, igniting sparks of all kinds in Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme's fresh take on the 1963 Stanley Donen film Charade. Demme painstakingly retained the core of the original film while altering virtually every other element of it. Lisa Gay Hamilton plays Lola Jansco who is part of a trio pursuing Charlie's widow Reggie (Thandie Newton), who they hope can answer their questions about a missing bundle of money. The Truth About Charlie glittering international cast includes Newton (Mission Impossible 2, Beloved), Mark Wahlberg (Planet Of The Apes, Three Kings), Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption), Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs, The Fast and the Furious), Joong-Hoon Park (Nowhere to Hide, Two Cops, Say Yes) and Christine Boisson (Antonioni's Identification of a Woman). Hamilton talks about how her role in this Demme film came about, "This is actually my third project with Jonathan. He is the executive producer of a documentary we're producing about the late veteran actress, Beah Richards. I think every once in a while you get lucky in life with someone who comes with great wealth, and I don't mean money. I mean great wealth of love for humanity and for the craft. I think Jonathan gets very excited and very high off of individuals who are just as excited about life, and just as excited about the work. My first project with him was Beloved. I will always be so grateful for that experience, and will forever be proud of that project, and stand by it firmly. "In this instance, it's a wonderful departure. Jonathan called me and asked me if I would come to Paris with him. What I loved most was his pitch about Lola. For me, just in terms of where I have been in my career, his pitch was, 'We've never seen you play this kind of character before.' It does give me the opportunity to show all sorts of colors in terms of the innards of this character. Whether she be humorous, very shy, or sexy and sensual. Jonathan has given me that opportunity. "Specifically as an African-American actress, to be able to portray those characters who are full of integrity. I thin, if anything, he has encouraged me to just push it a little further, you know, to go farther. I think this part will open up who I am as an actor to the public in general. They will not just see me as I am on a television series as a lawyer, or as a slave in every film that I have done. It's wonderful to have this opportunity to really, really play and Jonathan continues to push that." Hamilton has been a series regular on the Emmy Award-winning David E. Kelley drama, The Practice for the past five seasons. Additionally, Hamilton has had film roles in Clint Eastwood's True Crime, Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, the independents Palookaville and Drunks, the Jonathan Demme film Beloved, Showtime's A House Divided opposite Sam Waterson, and as Ophelia in director Campbell Scott's independent film version of Hamlet. Hamilton has had additional television roles on Law & Order and Homicide: Life on the Street. A graduate of the Julliard School's drama division, Hamilton's extensive theatre credits include Measure for Measure at the New York Shakespeare Theatre Festival opposite Kevin Kline and Andre Braugher. She also starred in the original Broadway company of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. Hamilton earned the Ovation nomination for best actress for her work in Athol Fugard's play, Valley Song, playing Veronica, at the Mark Taper Theatre in Los Angeles. For that performance she also earned an Obie Award, the Clarence Derwent Award and a Drama Desk nomination. |
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Lisa
Gay Hamilton joins an all-star cast in the Universal Pictures' film The
Truth About Charlie, directed by Jonathan Demme and scheduled for release
October 25th.
