The Invasion (2007)

NICOLE KIDMAN (Carol) is an internationally recognized actress who has been honored for her work in a wide range of films. In 2003, she won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award and the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear Award for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in Stephen Daldry’s “The Hours.”

Kidman had received her first Academy Award nomination in 2002 for her performance in Baz Luhrmann’s innovative musical “Moulin Rouge!,” for which she also won a London Film Critics Award. In addition, Kidman garnered dual Golden Globe nominations that year, winning the award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for “Moulin Rouge!” and earning a nomination for Best Actress in a Drama for her work in writer-director Alejandro Amenabar’s psychological thriller “The Others.”

Kidman has a number of films upcoming, including writer-director Noah Baumbach’s “Margot at the Wedding,” co-starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black, and “The Golden Compass,” writer-director Chris Weitz’s screen adaptation of the first volume in Philip Pullman’s popular fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, in which she stars with Daniel Craig. Both films are due out this fall. She is currently filming “Australia,” an epic love story set in Australia’s outback, which reunited with her “Moulin Rouge!” director Baz Luhrmann. Kidman stars opposite Hugh Jackman in the film, which is set for release in 2008.

Hailing from Australia, Kidman first came to the attention of American audiences in 1989 with her critically acclaimed performance in Phillip Noyce’s riveting psychological thriller “Dead Calm.” She won her first Golden Globe Award, as well as Critics’ Choice and London Film Critics Awards, for her wickedly funny portrayal of a woman obsessed with becoming a TV personality at any cost in Gus Van Sant’s “To Die For.” She has also been Golden Globe-nominated for her roles in Jonathan Glazer’s “Birth,” Anthony Minghella’s “Cold Mountain,” and Robert Benton’s “Billy Bathgate.”

She recently lent her voice to the Oscar-winning animated feature “Happy Feet.” Kidman’s additional film credits include Steven Shainberg’s “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus,” with Robert Downey Jr.; Sydney Pollack’s “The Interpreter,” with Sean Penn; Nora Ephron’s “Bewitched,” opposite Will Ferrell; Robert Benton’s “The Human Stain,” with Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris; Lars von Trier’s “Dogville,” with Paul Bettany and Lauren Bacall; Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut,” opposite Tom Cruise; Mimi Leder’s “The Peacemaker,” with George Clooney; Jane Campion’s “The Portrait of a Lady,” with John Malkovich; Joel Schumacher’s “Batman Forever,” with Val Kilmer and Jim Carrey; Harold Becker’s “Malice,” with Michael Keaton and Alec Baldwin; and Ron Howard’s “Far and Away.”

Additionally, she narrated the documentary “God Grew Tired of Us,” the winner of the 2006 Sundance Grand Jury Award and Audience Award, and the film biography of Simon Wiesenthal, “I Have Never Forgotten You.”

In January of 2006, Kidman was awarded Australia’s highest honor, the Companion in the Order of Australia. In addition, she was named Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM; has served as the UNICEF Ambassador for Australia; and, in 2003, became the first Chair of the Women’s Health Fund at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

DANIEL CRAIG (Ben) has been honored for his work in a number of dramatic film roles but has most recently become best known as the big screen’s latest James Bond. He first starred as the iconic Agent 007 in the 2006 blockbuster “Casino Royale,” the highest-grossing Bond film to date. Craig won an Evening Standard Film Award and an Empire Award and earned a BAFTA Award nomination for his performance in the film. He will reprise his role in the next installment of the James Bond franchise, to be directed by Marc Forster and set for release in 2008. His upcoming films also include Chris Weitz’s fantasy adventure “The Golden Compass,” in which he stars with Nicole Kidman; Edward Zwick’s World War II drama “Defiance”; and “Flashbacks of a Fool,” directed by Baillie Walsh, which Craig is also executive producing.

Earlier this year, Craig received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his portrayal of infamous murderer Perry Smith in Douglas McGrath’s 2006 Truman Capote biopic, “Infamous.” In 2005, he starred in Steven Spielberg’s controversial drama “Munich,” about the aftermath of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Also that year, Craig co-starred in John Maybury’s thriller “The Jacket,” with Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley; and the BBC television movie “Archangel,” based on Robert Harris’ bestseller.

Craig first gained international attention when he won an Edinburgh Film Festival Award for his work in the 1998 Francis Bacon biopic “Love Is the Devil,” directed by John Maybury. The following year, he earned his first British Independent Film Award nomination for his role in “The Trench.” In 2000, Craig won a British Independent Film Award for “Some Voices.” He has since garnered another British Independent Film Award nomination for his performance in 2004’s “Enduring Love,” for which he also won a London Critics Circle Award for Best British Actor.

Craig’s additional film credits include “Layer Cake”; “Sylvia,” opposite Gwyneth Paltrow; Roger Michell’s “The Mother”; Sam Mendes’ crime drama “Road to Perdition,” with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman; the ensemble comedy “Hotel Splendide”; “I Dreamed of Africa”; Shekhar Kapur’s “Elizabeth”; and the South African boxing drama “The Power of One,” in which he made his feature film debut. In addition, Craig won praise for his performance in the BBC miniseries “Our Friends in the North.”

Craig began acting on the stage when he joined the National Youth Theatre in London at the age of 17. He continued his training at the prestigious London Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1991. His later theatre credits include leading roles in “Hurlyburly” at the Old Vic, and “Angels in America” at the National Theatre. In 2002, he was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in “A Number,” in which he played three roles.

JEREMY NORTHAM (Tucker) is starring in the smash hit Showtime series “The Tudors,” earning praise from both critics and audiences for his portrayal of the king’s uncompromising confidant, Sir Thomas More. He will reprise his role when the series returns to the screen in 2008.

In 2002, Northam shared in both Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice Awards as a member of the ensemble cast of Robert Altman’s critically acclaimed film “Gosford Park.” He had earlier received multiple acting honors for his roles in three very different 1999 releases: David Mamet’s “The Winslow Boy”; Oliver Parker’s screen version of Oscar Wilde’s “An Ideal Husband”; and Mark Illsley’s “Happy, Texas.” He was named the British Actor of the Year by the London Film Critics for his work in all three films; won an Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor for “The Winslow Boy” and “An Ideal Husband”; and won the Best British Performance Award at the 1999 Edinburgh Film Festival for “The Winslow Boy.”

Northam’s other film credits include Michael Winterbottom’s “Tristan Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story”; “Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius”; Norman Jewison’s “The Statement,” with Michael Caine and Tilda Swinton; “The Singing Detective,” as part of an all-star ensemble cast; Neil LaBute’s “Possession,” with Gwyneth Paltrow; “Cypher”; Michael Apted’s “Enigma”; Merchant Ivory’s “The Golden Bowl”; “The Misadventures of Margaret”; Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad”; Guillermo del Toro’s “Mimic”; Douglas McGrath’s “Emma,” with Gwyneth Paltrow; Irwin Winkler’s “The Net”; and “Wuthering Heights.” On the small screen, he portrayed Dean Martin in the telefilm “Martin and Lewis,” opposite Sean Hayes.

An accomplished stage actor, Northam won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his portrayal of Edward Voysey in the Royal National Theatre’s 1990 revival of the play “The Voysey Inheritance.” He also garnered praise for his performance in the title role of “Hamlet” at the Olivier Theater. His stage work also includes “The School for Scandal” at the Royal National Theatre; “The Country Wife,” “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and “The Gift of the Gorgon” with the Royal Shakespeare Company; West End productions of “Three Sisters,” “The Way of the World” and “Certain Young Men”; and Harold Pinter’s “Old Times,” at the Donmar Warehouse.

JEFFREY WRIGHT (Dr. Galeano) won Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the acclaimed HBO miniseries “Angels in America,” directed by Mike Nichols. He had earlier won a Tony Award for his performance in the original Broadway stage version of “Angels in America: Perestroika.”

On the big screen, Wright most recently co-starred as a CIA operative in the latest installment of the James Bond franchise, “Casino Royale,” with Daniel Craig. Wright’s other recent film credits include M. Night Shyamalan’s “Lady in the Water,” Stephen Gaghan’s “Syriana,” Jim Jarmusch’s “Broken Flowers,” Jonathan Demme’s “The Manchurian Candidate” and Michael Mann’s “Ali.”

In addition, Wright starred in the Emmy-winning HBO mini-series “Lackawanna Blues.” He also won an American Film Institute Award for his portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the HBO movie “Boycott.”

Wright first caught the attention of film critics and audiences with his performance in the title role of Julian Schnabel’s “Basquiat,” the true story of the graffiti artist who became one of America’s most successful and influential painters of the 1980s. He followed with leading roles in Sidney Lumet’s “Critical Care,” Woody Allen’s “Celebrity,” Ang Lee’s “Ride with the Devil,” the contemporized screen version of “Hamlet” and the 2000 remake of “Shaft.”

Wright began his acting career on the New York stage, where he continues to make his mark. In 2002, he earned his second Tony Award nomination for his work in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Topdog/Underdog.” He often performs at the New York Shakespeare Festival, where he earned high praise for his portrayal of Marc Antony in the Shakespeare in the Park production of “Julius Caesar.” Additionally, Wright completed a successful run on Broadway in the award-winning celebration of African American rhythms and history “Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk.”

JACKSON BOND (Oliver) makes his feature film debut in "The Invasion." He recently starred in the ABC series "In Case of Emergency," with David Arquette and Kelly Hu. Bond's other credits include a guest starring role on "CSI: Miami" and the upcoming indie thriller, "Dead of Winter."

Hailing from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Bond began his entertainment career at the age of three, dancing at numerous state fairs and talent contests. He won national competitions with his tap, jazz, and hip-hop skills. Beyond his emerging acting career, Bond also enjoys playing hockey, rollerblading, and skateboarding. He is a proud member of the 2005 Minnesota All-Star Hockey Team.