The Cast

ERIC BANA (Huck Cheever) starred in Steven Spielberg’s controversial and critically acclaimed drama “Munich.” Bana earned widespread praise for his multi-layered portrayal of Avner, the Israeli agent chosen to lead an elite squad that has been ordered to track down and kill the men responsible for the terrorist attack that ended with the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics.

Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) rakes in a pot at the Bellagio in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Lucky You.” The film also stars Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall. Photo: Merie W. Wallace

A native of Australia, Bana was first introduced to American audiences when he played the title role of Mark “Chopper” Read in the feature film “Chopper.” On the heels of its success in Australia, the film had its American premiere at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and was then released in select U.S. cities. For his performance in “Chopper,” Bana won Best Actor Awards from the Australian Film Critics Circle and the Australian Film Institute.

In 2001, Bana co-starred with Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Tom Sizemore in Ridley Scott’s war drama “Black Hawk Down,” playing one of a group of U.S. soldiers on an ill-fated mission in Somalia.

Bana then starred as Bruce Banner, a geneticist whose experiments turn him into the title character in the feature “Hulk,” based on the popular Marvel Comics series. Directed by Ang Lee, the film also starred Jennifer Connelly, Josh Lucas and Nick Nolte. In 2004, Bana portrayed Hector in Wolfgang Petersen’s epic drama “Troy,” based on Homer’s The Iliad and also starring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom.

Bana next stars as King Henry VIII in the historical drama “The Other Boleyn Girl,” opposite Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, under the direction of Justin Chadwick. His upcoming films also include the Australian film “Romulus, My Father,” and the crime drama “Factor X,” with Terrence Howard.

DREW BARRYMORE (Billie Offer) has been a favorite of film audiences for more than two decades. Behind the camera, she is also enjoying success as a producer under her own Flower Films banner, most notably with the two hit “Charlie’s Angels” actioners. In addition to producing the films, Barrymore joined Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu to star in both “Charlie’s Angels” and “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” which, together, grossed more than half a billion dollars worldwide.

Drew Barrymore plays Billie Offer, a struggling singer looking for a new start in Las Vegas in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Lucky You.” The film also stars Eric Bana and Robert Duvall. Photo: Merie W. Wallace

She has also earned praise from both critics and audiences for her performances in a wide range of comedies, most recently including the romantic comedies “Music and Lyrics,” opposite Hugh Grant; “Fever Pitch,” in which she starred with Jimmy Fallon under the direction of the Farrelly brothers, and “50 First Dates,” opposite Adam Sandler.

In addition, Barrymore starred in the dark comedy “Duplex,” opposite Ben Stiller, for director Danny De Vito; George Clooney’s widely acclaimed biographical satire “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” with Sam Rockwell; Penny Marshall’s “Riding in Cars With Boys”; “Never Been Kissed,” which marked Barrymore’s producing debut; “Home Fries,” opposite Luke Wilson; and the smash hit comedy “The Wedding Singer,” opposite Adam Sandler.

Barrymore made her feature film debut at the age of five in the science fiction thriller “Altered States.” However, it was her scene-stealing performance as the precocious Gertie in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 blockbuster “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” that catapulted the young actress to stardom. She went on to star in the thriller “Firestarter” and the comedy “Irreconcilable Differences,” for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Barrymore’s other film credits include “Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye”; “Far From Home”; “Poison Ivy”; “Guncrazy,” for which she received another Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress; “Bad Girls”; Herbert Ross’ “Boys on the Side”; “Mad Love”; “Batman Forever”; Woody Allen’s “Everyone Says I Love You”; and Wes Craven’s horror hit “Scream,” which launched the successful franchise.

ROBERT DUVALL (L.C. Cheever) is one of the industry’s most esteemed and prolific actors, with a career spanning over 45 years and encompassing more than 125 film and television projects.

L.C. Cheever (Robert Duvall) and Doyle Brunson wish each other luck at the WSOP in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Lucky You.” The film also stars Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore. Photo: Merie W. Wallace

A six-time Academy Award nominee, Duvall earned his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Tom Hagen, the Corleone family consigliere in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather,” for which he also won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor. His next Oscar nomination came for his work in another Coppola film, the 1979 Vietnam War epic “Apocalypse Now,” in which Duvall uttered the infamous line, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” For that performance, Duvall also won Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards for Best Supporting Actor. He received his third Oscar nomination, his first for Best Actor, for his performance in the title role of “The Great Santini.”

In 1984, Duvall won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a down-and-out country singer in “Tender Mercies,” for which he also won a Golden Globe, as well as the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Awards. He received his fifth Oscar nomination for his performance in the title role of “The Apostle,” which Duvall also wrote and directed, as well as executive produced under the banner of his own production company, Butcher’s Run Films. Duvall’s performance in that film also brought him a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nomination, as well as several critics groups’ awards, including the Los Angeles Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics Awards for Best Actor. For “The Apostle,” he also won two Independent Spirit Awards for Best Actor and Best Director, and earned another Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay.

Duvall garnered his most recent Oscar nomination for his work in the 1998 courtroom drama “A Civil Action,” for which he also won a SAG Award and received another Golden Globe Award nomination. Duvall has also been recognized with an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his role in “Rambling Rose,” and a BAFTA Award nomination for his performance in “Network.” Additionally, he shared in a SAG Award nomination as part of the ensemble cast of Billy Bob Thornton’s “Sling Blade.”

Duvall has also been repeatedly honored for his work on the small screen. He earned an Emmy nomination and won a Golden Globe Award for his role in the 1989 miniseries “Lonesome Dove.” Three years later, he again gained an Emmy nomination and won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the title role of the telefilm “Stalin.” He received his third Emmy nomination as well as a SAG Award nomination for his chilling portrayal of Adolf Eichmann in the telefilm “The Man Who Captured Eichmann.” He most recently starred in the AMC’s top-rated miniseries “Broken Trail,” directed by Walter Hill, which Duvall also executive produced. Duvall garnered Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for “Broken Trail,” which also received two additional Golden Globe nominations, including one for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, two more SAG Award nominations, a Writers Guild of America Award nomination, and a Directors Guild of America Award.

Duvall made his feature film debut in the role of Boo Radley in the 1962 classic “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Among his other early film credits are “Bullitt,” with Steve McQueen; the John Wayne starrer “True Grit”; Robert Altman’s seminal comedy “M*A*S*H,” in which he originated the role of Major Frank Burns; and George Lucas’ directorial debut feature, “THX 1138.” Duvall’s long list of film credits also includes “The Godfather: Part II,” “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution,” “The Eagle Has Landed,” “True Confessions,” “Colors,” “Days of Thunder,” “Falling Down,” “Wrestling Ernest Hemingway,” “Something to Talk About,” “Phenomenon,” “Deep Impact,” “Gone in 60 Seconds,” “John Q,” “Gods and Generals,” “Open Range,” “Secondhand Lions,” “Kicking & Screaming” and “Thank You for Smoking.”

In addition, Duvall produced and starred in “A Family Thing,” and wrote, directed, produced and starred in “Assassination Tango.” Both films were produced by Butcher’s Run Films. He had previously directed the documentaries “We’re Not the Jet Set” and “Angelo My Love.”

Duvall also has several films in the offing, including the crime drama “We Own the Night,” with Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes.

DEBRA MESSING (Suzanne Offer) has been balancing a busy career in both feature films and television. She will next be seen in the independent feature “Purple Violets,” in which she stars with Edward Burns, who also wrote and directed the film. She also stars opposite Joe Mantegna in the USA Cable six-hour miniseries “Starter Wife,” which will air in May 2007.

Messing recently starred in the romantic comedy “The Wedding Date,” opposite Dermot Mulroney, and she also lent her voice to the hit animated film “Open Season.” Her previous film credits include the hit comedy “Along Came Polly,” with Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston; the Woody Allen comedies “Hollywood Ending” and “Celebrity”; the animated comedy feature “Garfield”; “The Mothman Prophecies,” opposite Richard Gere; the film version of “McHale’s Navy”; and Alfonso Arau’s romantic drama “A Walk in the Clouds,” in which she made her feature film debut playing Keanu Reeves’ character’s wife.

Messing is perhaps best known for her starring role on the award-winning comedy series “Will & Grace.” After eight successful seasons, the show completed its primetime run on NBC while it was still at the top of its game. For her portrayal of Grace Adler, Messing won an Emmy Award and earned four additional Emmy nominations, the most recent coming in 2006. In addition, she received six Golden Globe nominations, two American Comedy Award nominations, and two individual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations for her work on the series. Together with her “Will & Grace” castmates, Messing also won a SAG Award and garnered four more SAG Award nominations in the category of Outstanding Ensemble Performance. In 2005, Messing was honored with the Women in Film’s Lucy Award, named for Lucille Ball.

In 2000, Messing portrayed Mary Magdalene in the four-hour CBS miniseries “Jesus,” directed by Roger Young and also starring Gary Oldman, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Jeroen Krabbe and Jeremy Sisto. Prior to “Will & Grace,” Messing had starred in two very different series: the ABC drama “Prey,” and the FOX comedy series “Ned & Stacey,” in which she played the title role of Stacey, opposite Thomas Haden Church. She first caught the attention of television audiences in recurring roles on the groundbreaking police drama “NYPD Blue” and the top-rated comedy series “Seinfeld,” including the memorable “Yada Yada” episode.

A classically trained actress, Messing earned a Theatre Arts degree from Brandeis University, and an M.F.A. from NYU’s elite Graduate Acting Program before starting her professional career on the stage. Messing portrayed Harper Pitt in the pre-Broadway workshop of Tony Kushner’s award-winning play “Angels in America: Perestroika.” Her other theatre credits include the New York premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s “Four Dogs and a Bone,” at the Manhattan Theatre Club; and Paul Rudnick’s off-Broadway play “The Naked Truth.” Messing also co-starred with Maria Tucci in Donald Margulies’ two-woman show, “Collected Stories.”

HORATIO SANZ (Ready Eddie) joined the cast of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in 1998 and has since become one of the show’s most popular regulars. Over the years, Sanz has created such original characters as the stoner, Gobi, on the collegiate web cast “Jarrett’s Room”; Sully and Denise’s friend, Frankie; The “Wake Up Wakefield” faculty advisor, Mr. Banglian; community access host Vasquez Gomez Vasquez; and Jasper Hahn, the political cartoonist for “Weekend Update.” Sanz has also joined castmates Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan in singing the praises of the holiday season by performing “Christmas is Number One” throughout the year, regardless of the season. He has also delivered impressions of such notable figures as Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John and Gene Shalit, as well as two-thirds of the so-called “Axis of Evil,” Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il.

Sanz was recently seen in the comedy “School for Scoundrels,” directed by Todd Phillips. He had previously worked with Phillips in the hit comedy “Road Trip.” Sanz’s other film credits include “Rebound,” with Martin Lawrence; “Boat Trip,” with Cuba Gooding, Jr.; “The New Guy”; and “Tomcats.”

Raised in Chicago, Sanz started out as a writer and performer with Chicago’s famed Second City Comedy Troupe. He is also one of the founding members of The Upright Citizens Brigade.

CHARLES MARTIN SMITH (Roy Durucher) is a veteran actor with a long list of film and television credits. He first gained attention for his role in George Lucas’ seminal 1973 film “American Graffiti.” Smith later earned praise for his portrayal of Farley Mowat, the real-life researcher who braved Canada’s frozen tundra to study wolves, in Carroll Ballard’s “Never Cry Wolf.” His earlier film credits also include “The Buddy Holly Story,” Sam Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” John Carpenter’s “Starman” and Brian De Palma’s “The Untouchables.”

Smith has also been working behind the camera. He directed the family hit “Air Bud,” and more recently wrote and directed the indie film “The Snow Walker,” starring Barry Pepper and James Cromwell. He also directed and appeared in the films “Fifty/Fifty” and “Trick or Treat.” In addition, Smith executive produced and starred in “Dead Heat” and “Here’s to Life!” His film acting credits also include “Touching Wild Horses,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Perfect Alibi,” “The Final Cut” and “Speechless.”

On television, Smith has guest starred on numerous series going back more than 30 years. He has also been seen in such network and cable longform projects as “Still Small Voices,” “Kingdom Hospital,” “The Triangle,” “The Apartment Complex,” “P.T. Barnum,” “Dead Silence,” “Streets of Laredo” and “Roswell,” to name only a few.

He also directed multiple episodes of the Canadian series “Da Vinci’s City Hall,” “Da Vinci’s Inquest,” and “Intelligence,” as well as the telefilms “Icon” and “Mark Twain’s Roughing It.” His directing work also includes “Welcome to the Hellmouth,” the episode that launched the series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Additionally, he wrote and executive produced the 2004 telefilm “The Clinic.”

SAVERIO GUERRA (Lester) was a series regular on the CBS series “Becker,” starring Ted Danson. He also had recurring roles on the series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “EZ Streets,” and has guest starred on such television series as “Las Vegas,” “NYPD Blue” and “Monk.”

His feature film credits include Michael Bay’s “Bad Boys”; “Blue Streak,” starring Martin Lawrence and Luke Wilson; and Spike Lee’s true-life drama “Summer of Sam.”

JEAN SMART (Michelle Carson) earned her fourth Emmy nomination in 2006 for her portrayal of the troubled First Lady on FOX’s award-winning dramatic series hit “24,” starring Kiefer Sutherland. Smart is already a two-time Emmy Award winner, having garnered consecutive Emmy Awards, in 2000 and 2001, in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearances on “Frasier.” She was previously Emmy nominated for her guest role on the drama series “The District.”

In addition to winning her first Emmy Award in 2000, Smart was also honored that year for her work on the Broadway stage and on the big screen. She received a nomination for an Independent Spirit Award for her role in the feature film “Guinevere,” and also gained a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” opposite Nathan Lane.

Smart was most recently seen in the acclaimed independent films “Garden State,” written and directed by Zach Braff, and David O. Russell’s “I Heart Huckabees.” Her additional film credits include “Bringing Down the House,” with Steve Martin and Queen Latifah; “Sweet Home Alabama,” starring Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey; Jon Turteltaub’s “The Kid,” with Bruce Willis; “Snow Day,” opposite Chevy Chase; “The Odd Couple II”; “The Brady Bunch Movie”; “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey”; “Flashpoint”; and “Protocol.”

Smart first became known to television audiences with her starring role in the popular sitcom “Designing Women.” In addition, she has starred on a number of longform television projects, including “Audrey’s Rain,” “A Change of Heart,” “A Stranger in Town,” “Scarlett,” “The Yearling,” “The Yarn Princess” and “A Place at the Table.” Smart also earned praise for her portrayal of infamous serial killer Aileen Wournos in the CBS movie “Overkill.”

Smart earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at the University of Washington before beginning her career on the stage. After performing in regional theatres around the country, she moved to New York, where she made her Broadway debut in “Piaf.” She also appeared off-Broadway in “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove,” for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and later won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award. Smart’s theatre repertoire also includes the Los Angeles presentation of “Marvin’s Room,” the off-Broadway production of Nicky Silver’s “Fit to Be Tied,” “Laughing Wild,” and the San Francisco production of “It Had to Be You,” opposite her husband, Richard Gilliland.

Jennifer Harmon waits between takes during the shooting of her scene at Binion’s Casino in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Lucky You.” The film stars Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall. Photo: Merie W. Wallace