Olivia Thirlby
| Olivia Thirlby | |
|---|---|
 Thirlby on the set of New York, I Love You, 2008 |
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| Born | October 6, 1986 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Olivia Thirlby (born October 6, 1986) is an American actress best known for her role as Leah, the best friend of Ellen Page's character in the 2007 film Juno.[1] In June 2008, Thirlby was described by Vanity Fair magazine as a member of "Hollywood's New Wave".[2]
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[edit] Personal life
Thirlby was born in New York City, to an advertising executive mother and a contractor father.[3][4] She was raised in Manhattan's East Village, attending school at Friends Seminary in the city's Gramercy neighborhood, where she graduated in a class of 57 students.[1] She also attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts in upstate New York. She took classes at the American Globe Theatre, and briefly at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where she completed a stage combat course with the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat (BASSC).[5]
Thirlby is a participant in iO Tillett Wright's Self-Evident Truths Project. In a new interview with Brooklyn Magazine (with photos shot by iO), Thirlby publicly came out as bisexual and stated why she decided to be a part of a civil rights photography project that focuses on people who are "anything but 100 percent straight."[6]
[edit] Film career
While still in high school, Thirlby was offered a role in The Secret. In 2006, she made her film debut in United 93 and her television debut in Kidnapped.
In 2007, she starred as Leah, the best friend of the title character, in the critically acclaimed Juno. Around this time, she and her Juno costar Ellen Page were slated to star as the respective title characters of Jack & Diane. The film is a tale of two young women who fall in love, the heat of the romance unlocking lycanthropy in Thirlby's character, Jack. Both dropped out of the film before production, and the cast was replaced numerous times over. As of 2010, Jack & Diane has entered production with an entirely new cast and no involvement from Thirlby or Page.
In the Sundance Audience Award-winning film The Wackness, a mid-1990s period piece, she plays Stephanie, a marijuana-smoking "popular girl" from New York City. Thirlby stars opposite Josh Peck, who plays a drug dealer. Ben Kingsley stars as her stepfather. The film was released in the U.S. on July 3, 2008.[1]
Thirlby was cast in the Judd Apatow-produced, David Gordon Green-directed stoner comedy, Pineapple Express, as Seth Rogen's character's girlfriend, but was replaced by actress Amber Heard after rehearsing for the film.[7] She will however reunite with Gordon Green on the animated TV pilot Good Vibes.[8]
She made her stage debut in Farragut North, a play by Beau Willimon at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City. The Off-Broadway production ran from October 22, 2008 – November 29, 2008 with official opening on November 12[9] and transferred to the Geffen Playhouse in June 2009.
Thirlby appears in the 2009 HBO series Bored To Death. She voices promotional video excerpts from the novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher which since October 2008 have regularly been posted to YouTube.[10]
Thirlby appeared in the 2011-released film Margaret. She is attached to star in Christmas In New York for Arlen Faber director John Hindman[11] as well as For Ellen for Bradley Rust Gray,[12] She starred also in The No Game, The Manners of Madness and Parts Per Billion.[13] Thirlby starred in the Russian science-fiction film The Darkest Hour, released in 2011, directed by Chris Gorak, and produced by Timur Bekmambetov.[14] Thirlby was also cast in the lead role of Max in the upcoming drama comedy The Other Side after Lindsay Lohan reportedly dropped the project.
Alongside Karl Urban in the title role, Thirlby has been cast as Judge Cassandra Anderson in the new film adaptation of Judge Dredd currently in production[15] and in The Movie being directed by Luke Eberl.
[edit] Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | United 93 | Nicole Carol Miller | |
| Unlocked | Abby | ||
| 2007 | Snow Angels | Lila Raybern | |
| Juno | Leah | ||
| Love Comes Lately | Sylvia | ||
| Si j'étais toi | Samantha Marris | AKA, The Secret | |
| 2008 | The Wackness | Stephanie | |
| Eve | Kate | Short film | |
| 2009 | New York, I Love You | Actress | Segment, "Brett Ratner" |
| The Answer Man | Anne | ||
| Uncertainty | Sophie | ||
| Breaking Upwards | Erika | ||
| What Goes Up | Tess Sullivan | ||
| Solitary Man | Maureen | uncredited | |
| 2010 | The No Game | Sara | |
| 2011 | No Strings Attached | Katie Kurtzman | |
| Margaret | Monica | ||
| The Darkest Hour | Natalie | ||
| 2012 | Being Flynn | Denise | |
| Dredd | Judge Anderson | In production | |
| The Other Side | TBA | ||
| The Movie | In production | ||
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | Good Vibes | Jeena | 12 Episodes |
| 2009 | Bored to Death | Suzanne | Episode: "Stockholm Syndrome" Episode: "The Alanon Case" Episode: "The Case of the Lonely White Dove" Episode: "The Case of the Stolen Sperm" |
| 2007 | Kidnapped | Aubrey Cain | Episode: "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" Episode: "Front Page" Episode: "Do Unto Others" |
| 2006 | Episode: "Special Delivery" Episode: "Sorry, Wrong Number" |
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[edit] References
- ^ a b c Louie, Rebecca (June 28, 2008). "Olivia Thirlby is smoking in 'The Wackness'". NY Daily News. Retrieved on June 29, 2008.
- ^ "Blake Lively, Jonas Brothers Among 'Hollywood's New Wave' in Vanity Fair". June 30, 2008. Fox News. Retrieved on June 30, 2008.
- ^ Johnson, G. Allen (August 19, 2010). "Olivia Thirlby keeps busy with multiple movies". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/16/NS0O11PAPG.DTL.
- ^ Olivia Thirlby: Life After 'Juno'
- ^ IMDb biography entry for Olivia Thirlby
- ^ [http://www.afterellen.com/people/olivia-thirlby-on-being-bisexual-and-participating-in-self-evident-truths
- ^ Yuan, Jada (June 22, 2008). "Olivia Thirlby Spurns Pot, Embraces the Munchies". New York Magazine. Retrieved on June 24, 2008
- ^ Fox draws up cast for 'Good Vibes'
- ^ Jones, Kenneth (September 5, 2008). "Blumberg, Whitlock, Thirlby Join Atlantic's Farragut North". Playbill. Retrieved on September 8, 2008.
- ^ A Story of a Teenager’s Suicide Quietly Becomes a Best Seller
- ^ Cinema Blend
- ^ Massena gets ready for its film close-up
- ^ It's 'The Darkest Hour' for Young Actress Olivia Thirlby
- ^ Olivia Thirlby Fights Off Aliens in The Darkest Hour
- ^ Lesnick, Silas (September 3, 2010). "Olivia Thirlby Cast in Judge Dredd". Superherohype. http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/106604-olivia-thirlby-cast-in-judge-dredd. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Olivia Thirlby |
- Olivia Thirlby at the Internet Movie Database
- Profile at Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces Of Independent Film 2006"
