THE BEST OF ENEMIES (2019) Director & Cast
Robin Bissell, Taraji P. Henson, Sam Rockwell, Anne Heche, Wes Bentley
ROBIN BISSELL (Director/Writer/Producer), TARAJI P. HENSON (Ann Atwater), SAM ROCKWELL (C.P. Ellis), WES BENTLEY (Floyd Kelly), and ANNE HECHE (Mary Ellis)
VIEW ALL 'THE BEST OF ENEMIES' PAGES
(Video Reviews, Cast, Crew, Production Notes, Photos, Articles, & More)
ROBIN BISSELL (Director/Writer/Producer) makes his debut as a screenwriter and feature film director after more than 20 years as a film producer.
Bissell was based at Universal Pictures for 12 years as producer for writer-director Gary Ross. The filmmakers' collaboration began before they settled in at the studio, with the Oscar-nominated 1998 film Pleasantville, starring Tobey Maguire, Joan Allen and William H. Macy, and continued after they left with the release of Lionsgate's The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence in 2012.
Bissell executive produced the 2003 Depression-era drama Seabiscuit for Ross, alongside Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. With a cast including Maguire, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks and Jeff Bridges, the film received seven Oscar nominations, including "Best Picture." Bissell also rearranged and performed Seabiscuit's end title song, "If I Had a Million Dollars." He spent two years executive producing the 2008 animated comedy The Tale of Despereaux (written by Ross), with an all-star voice cast including Macy, Emma Watson, Sigourney Weaver, Dustin Hoffman, Stanley Tucci and Matthew Broderick.
Bissell began production on The Hunger Games alongside producers Nina Jacobsen and Jon Kilik in 2011. The 2012 action-adventure blockbuster starred Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Wes Bentley, Banks and Liam Hemsworth.
Bissell's film career began when Ross hired him as his assistant during pre-production for Pleasantville in 1996. Ross promoted him to associate producer during post. Bissell also wrote and performed two of the film's background songs and met his wife Krista on the Pleasantville set.
Bissell came to Los Angeles in 1991 to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter and toured and recorded with his band for four years. He began singing at an early age and started writing songs while studying at the University of Maryland. He also spent a summer semester at Oxford University, studying English and theater. Raised near Philadelphia, he attended Germantown Academy, and was a member and president of The Belfry Club, the oldest high school dramatic society in the U.S. Bradley Cooper is also an alum of The Belfry Club at G.A.
*****
TARAJI P. HENSON (Ann Atwater), an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actor, writer and producer, quickly rose to fame after her breakout performance in the critically acclaimed Hustle & Flow. Nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast," the film also brought Henson BET's "Best Actress" award.
Henson currently stars as Cookie Lyon in Fox Television's hit musical drama "Empire," which has brought her three Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe Award, a Critic's Choice Award and three BET Awards. Prior to "Empire," Henson had recurring roles on "Person of Interest," "Boston Legal" and "The Division."
In 2017, Henson portrayed NASA mathematician Katherine G. Johnson in the Academy Award-nominated film Hidden Figures. Henson and her fellow actors received the Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."
Henson's credits also include: Tyler Perry's Acrimony and The Family That Preys; Proud Mary; Think Like A Man and Think Like A Man Too with Kevin Hart; Talk To Me, opposite Don Cheadle; Smokin' Aces, with Ben Affleck and Alicia Keys; Hurricane Season, opposite Forest Whitaker; No Good Deed, opposite Idris Elba, which opened #1 at the box office; Larry Crowne, with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts; Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story, for which Henson earned an Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie;" and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, with Brad Pitt, which brought her an Academy Award nomination for "Best Supporting Actress."
Henson lends her voice alongside Sarah Silverman, John C. Reilly and Gal Gadot in Disney's Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck It Ralph 2, and stars in Paramount's 2019 comedy What Men Want from director Adam Shankman.
In October 2016, Henson released her New York Times bestselling novel Around the Way Girl, a memoir about her family and friends, her determination to make it to Hollywood and the importance of living your own truth. In Around the Way Girl, she reminisces on the world-class theater arts education she received at Howard University, and how she chipped away at Hollywood's resistance to giving women, especially women of color, rich and significant roles. With her iconic humor and honesty, Henson shares the struggles and disappointments of an actor's journey and shows audiences that she is ever authentic.
Henson recently launched the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in honor of her late father. The organization will provide scholarships to African-American students majoring in mental health, offer mental health services to youth in urban schools, and work to lower the recidivism rates of African-American men and women.
A Washington, D.C. native, Henson currently resides in Chicago.
*****
SAM ROCKWELL (C.P. Ellis), an Academy Award winner, has established himself as one of the most versatile actors of his generation with an array of emotionally searing and complex roles defining his body of work.
Rockwell won the Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics Choice and Independent Spirit Award for "Best Supporting Actor" for his performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, opposite Frances McDormand. He was also additionally nominated for, or won, more than 37 critics groups awards globally for his brilliant portrayal of Officer Jason Dixon, a bad cop who stumbles towards redemption as he tries to help Mildred (McDormand) avenge her daughter's tragic murder.
Rockwell can currently be seen in director Adam McKay's political drama Vice, opposite Christian Bale and Amy Adams. Rockwell portrays George W. Bush, with Bale and Adams in the roles of Dick and Lynne Cheney. Next year, he can be heard in the animated The One and Only Ivan, opposite Angelina Jolie and Bryan Cranston.
Rockwell also stars in FX's "Fosse/Verdon" limited series opposite Michelle Williams with LinManuel Miranda producing. The eight-part series is based on the lives of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon and their romantic and creative partnership. Nicole Fosse, daughter of Fosse and Verdon, serves as coexecutive producer. The show is set to launch in 2019.
Rockwell is known for his standout leading performances in an array of noteworthy films, including George Clooney's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which brought him the Silver Bear Award for "Best Actor" at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival; Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men; and Seven Psychopaths, opposite Woody Harrelson, Colin Farrell and Christopher Walken, which earned him a 2013 Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for "Best Supporting Male." This was followed by a 2014 Critics' Choice nomination for "Best Actor in a Comedy" for his heartfelt performance in Nat Faxon and Jim Rash's coming of age comedy The Way, Way Back.
Rockwell has also appeared in critically acclaimed films including Ron Howard's Academy Award-nominated Frost/Nixon, opposite Frank Langella and Michael Sheen; Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, alongside Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck; as well as Frank Darabont's Academy Award-nominated drama The Green Mile, opposite Tom Hanks. Recent credits include Susanna White's 19th century period drama Woman Walks Ahead, opposite Jessica Chastain; Gil Kenan's remake of the 1982 horror classic Poltergeist, opposite Rosemarie DeWitt; Paco Cabezas's Mr. Right, opposite Anna Kendrick; Jared Hess's Don Verdean, opposite Will Forte and Danny McBride; Joe Swanberg's Digging for Fire, alongside Jake Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt; and Lynn Shelton's Laggies, opposite Keira Knightley. He has additionally appeared in several groundbreaking studio pictures including Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2; the high-octane film adaption of the original 1970s television series Charlie's Angels; and Steve Barron's blockbuster Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Other notable film credits include Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens, alongside Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig; Tony Goldwyn's Conviction, opposite Hillary Swank; Kirk Jones's Everybody's Fine, alongside Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore and Kate Beckinsale; Hoyt Yeatman's animated film GForce, alongside Bill Nighy, Will Arnett and Zach Galifianakis; Garth Jennings's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; the Russo Brothers' caper comedy Welcome to Collinwood, alongside William H. Macy; Duncan Jones's Moon; David Mamet's Heist, alongside Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito; Dean Parisot's Galaxy Quest, alongside Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman; Michael Hoffman's A Midsummer Night's Dream, alongside Kevin Kline and Michelle Pfeiffer; Woody Allen's Celebrity; Saul Rubinek's Jerry and Tom, opposite Joe Mantegna; John Duigan's Lawn Dogs, opposite Mischa Barton; and his feature film debut in Victor Salva's slasher Clownhouse.
Not only is Rockwell a star on screen, he has owned the stage in a number of theatrical productions, including his most recent Broadway performances in the 2014 revival of Sam Shepherd's Fool for Love, alongside Nina Arianda. Additional stage credits include Martin McDonagh's critically acclaimed Broadway production of A Behanding in Spokane, opposite Christopher Walken; the world premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman; and the off-Broadway production of Mike Leigh's fiercely comic Goose-Pimples. His love for theater began at the Williamstown Theatre Festival where he performed in productions including A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by David Cromer; The Dumb Waiter, directed by Joe Mantello, and the revival of Lanford Wilson's long-running off-Broadway hit Hot L Baltimore.
*****
WES BENTLEY (Floyd Kelly) first gained recognition in the Oscar-winning 1999 film American Beauty. His portrayal of 'Ricky Fritts,' the soulful, artistic next-door neighbor to Jane Burnham (Thora Birch), brought Bentley the National Board of Review's award for "Breakthrough Performance" and nominations for awards including the BAFTA for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role." The American Beauty cast shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture."
More recently, Bentley joined the cast of Paramount's 2018 blockbuster Mission Impossible: Fallout. He also currently portrays 'Jamie Dutton' in the Taylor Sheridan-written and directed series "Yellowstone," a Western drama for the Paramount Network. A huge commercial success, "Yellowstone" is shooting its second season.
In 2016, Bentley was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award "Best Actor in a Movie Made for Television or Limited Series" for his work in "American Horror Story: Hotel." Bentley starred in two seasons of the FX drama series.
While working on "American Horror Story," Bentley also starred in Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups, opposite Christian Bale and Natalie Portman, as well as We Are Your Friends for Working Title with Zac Efron. In 2014, he was seen in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar; Welcome to Me, opposite Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell; and Unconscious with Kate Bosworth. Unconscious premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Other memorable roles include game-maker 'Seneca Crane' in The Hunger Games in 2012 and photographer 'Thomas' in Lovelace in 2013. His film credits also include Ghost Rider in 2007 and The Four Feathers in 2002.
Born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Bentley participated in drama club and cultivated a specific interest in improvisational comedy while attending Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, Arkansas. While at Sylvan Hills, he founded an improv troupe with his brother Patrick Bentley and friends Damien Bunting and Josh Cowdery. At his mother's urging, he attended the Juilliard School in New York after graduation, but only for a short time. Soon afterwards, he made his screen debut in Jonathan Demme's Beloved in 1998.
In 2010, Bentley made his professional stage debut with Nina Arianda in David Ives's award-winning play Venus in Fur. Bentley makes his home in Los Angeles with his two children and wife Jacqui Swedberg.
*****
ANNE HECHE (Mary Ellis), an Emmy and Tony Award-nominated actress, producer and director, portrayed 'Patricia Campbell,' Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, on NBC's recent dramatic series "The Brave." Previously for NBC, Heche co-created and executive produced the comedy series "Bad Judge," which starred Kate Walsh. Heche also wrote for the show.
Heche's television work also includes starring roles in "Aftermath," "Dig," "Save Me," "Hung" and "Men in Trees." Her performance in the TV movie "Gracie's Choice" brought her an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie" in 2004. She made her primetime television debut in an episode of "Murphy Brown."
On film, Heche was recently seen in My Friend Dahmer, and The Last Word, opposite Amanda Seyfried and Shirley MacLaine. In 2016, she starred in Catfight, opposite Sandra Oh and Alicia Silverstone, and Opening Night, opposite Topher Grace, Taye Diggs and Rob Riggle. She starred in the Lionsgate film Wild Card, opposite Jason Statham, in 2015.
Heche's other feature credits include Rampart, Cedar Rapids, The Other Guys, John Q, Psycho, Return to Paradise, Six Days Seven Nights, Wag the Dog, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Volcano and Donnie Brasco.
Heche received a Tony Award nomination for "Best Performance by a Leading Actress" for her portrayal of 'Lily/Mildred' opposite Alec Baldwin in the 2004 Broadway revival of the Ben Hecht-Charles MacCarthy comedy, Twentieth Century.
