Book Club: The Next Chapter

Diane Hall Keaton (born Diane Hall; January 5, 1946) is an American actress. Known for her idiosyncratic personality and fashion style, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and the AFI Life Achievement Award. She began her career on stage appearing in the original 1968 Broadway production of the musical Hair. The next year, she received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination for her performance in Woody Allen's comic play Play it Again, Sam. She then made her screen debut in a small role in Lovers and Other Strangers (1970). She rose to prominence with her first major film role as Kay Adams-Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972), a role she reprised in its sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990). The films that most shaped her career were those with director and co-star Woody Allen, beginning with the film adaptation of Play It Again, Sam (1972). Her next two films with Allen, Sleeper (1973) and Love and Death (1975), established her as a comic actor. Her fourth, the romantic comedy Annie Hall (1977), won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. To avoid being typecast as her Annie Hall persona, she appeared in several dramatic films, starring in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and Allen's Interiors (1978), and received three more Academy Award nominations for playing feminist activist Louise Bryant in Reds (1981), a woman with leukemia in Marvin's Room (1996), and a dramatist in Something's Gotta Give (2003). Her other popular films include Manhattan (1979), Baby Boom (1987), Father of the Bride (1991), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Father of the Bride Part II (1995), The First Wives Club (1996), The Family Stone (2005), Morning Glory (2010), Finding Dory (2016) and Book Club (2018).

Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. She is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Golden Lion Honorary Award, the Honorary Palme d'Or, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Born to socialite Frances Ford Seymour and actor Henry Fonda, Fonda made her acting debut with the 1960 Broadway play There Was a Little Girl, for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, and made her screen debut later the same year with the romantic comedy Tall Story. She rose to prominence during the 1960s with the comedies Period of Adjustment (1962), Sunday in New York (1963), Cat Ballou (1965), Barefoot in the Park (1967), and Barbarella (1968). Her first husband was Barbarella director Roger Vadim. A seven-time Academy Award nominee, she received her first nomination for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress twice in the 1970s, for Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978). Her other nominations were for Julia (1977), The China Syndrome (1979), On Golden Pond (1981), and The Morning After (1986). Consecutive hits Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), California Suite (1978), The Electric Horseman (1979), and 9 to 5 (1980) sustained Fonda's box-office drawing power, and she won a Primetime Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film The Dollmaker (1984). In 1982, she released her first exercise video, Jane Fonda's Workout, which became the highest-selling VHS of the 20th century. It would be the first of 22 such videos over the next 13 years, which would collectively sell over 17 million copies. Divorced from her second husband Tom Hayden, she married billionaire media mogul Ted Turner in 1991 and retired from acting, following a row of commercially unsuccessful films concluded by Stanley & Iris (1990). Fonda divorced Turner in 2001 and returned to the screen with the hit Monster-in-Law (2005). Although Georgia Rule (2007) was her only other movie during the 2000s, in the early 2010s she fully re-launched her career. Subsequent films have included The Butler (2013), This Is Where I Leave You (2014), Youth (2015), Our Souls at Night (2017), and Book Club (2018). In 2009, she returned to Broadway after a 49-year absence from the stage, in the play 33 Variations which earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, while her major recurring role in the HBO drama series The Newsroom (2012–14) earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also released another five exercise videos between 2009 and 2012. Fonda currently stars as Grace Hanson in the Netflix comedy series Grace and Frankie, which debuted in 2015 and has earned her nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress and former fashion model. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown (1988–1998, 2018-2019). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmidt on the ABC drama Boston Legal (2005–2008). In films, Bergen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Starting Over (1979), and for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Gandhi (1982). Bergen began her career as a fashion model and appeared on the cover of Vogue before she made her screen debut in the film The Group (1966). She starred in The Sand Pebbles (1966), Soldier Blue (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), and The Wind and the Lion (1975). She made her Broadway debut in the 1984 play Hurlyburly and starred in the revivals of The Best Man (2012) and Love Letters (2014). From 2002 to 2004, she appeared in three episodes of the HBO series Sex and the City. Her other film roles include Miss Congeniality (2000), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), The Women (2008), Bride Wars (2009), Book Club (2018) and Let Them All Talk (2020).

Mary Nell Steenburgen (born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in the Western comedy film Goin' South (1978). Steenburgen went on to earn critical acclaim for her role in Time After Time (1979) and Jonathan Demme's comedy-drama film Melvin and Howard (1980), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Andy García (born Andrés Arturo García Menéndez, April 12, 1956) is a Cuban-American actor. He's best known for his roles as Vincent Mancini in The Godfather III, George Stone in The Untouchables, Dr. Ramirez in Stand and Deliver, Raymond Avila in Internal Affairs, Michael Green in When a Man Loves a Woman, Frank Conner in Desperate Measures, Terry Benedict in the Ocean's Trilogy, Andre Allen on HBO's Ballers, Captain Norris in Passengers (2016), President Andrew Palma in Geostorm, Mitchel in Book Club 1 & 2, Ricardo Montalban in My Dinner with Hervé, Father Patrick in Words on Bathroom Walls, Billy Herrera in remake of Father of the Brida (2022), and Marsh in Expend4bles. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) alongside Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro. He continued to act in films such as Stand and Deliver (1988), and Internal Affairs (1990). He then costarred in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III (1990) as Vincent Mancini, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 2000, he produced and acted in the HBO television film, For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000), where he received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award nominations. In 2005, he won a Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album for producing Cuban musician Cachao's record Ahora sí.

Donald Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer, director, singer, and songwriter. He's best known for his role as Det. James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice, winning a Golden Globe for his work in the role. In 1984, after more then a decade of acting on television, Johnson landed a starring role as undercover police detective Sonny Crockett in the Michael Mann/Universal Television cop series, Miami Vice (1984-1990). Miami Vice made him "a major international star." According to Rolling Stone, "No one had more swagger in the Reagan era than Don Johnson." His work on Miami Vice earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama, in 1986, and he was nominated for the same award in 1987. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1985. Between seasons on Miami Vice, he gained further renown through TV miniseries such as the 1985 remake of The Long, Hot Summer. In 1996, he had a supporting role in Tin Cup, along with Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, and Cheech Marin. Johnson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996. He later starred in the 1996–2001 CBS-TV police drama Nash Bridges with Cheech Marin, Jeff Perry, Jaime P. Gomez, Kelly Hu, Wendy Moniz, Annette O'Toole, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as his daughter Cassidy, and James Gammon as his father Nick. In October 2010, he began appearing on the HBO series Eastbound & Down, playing Kenny Powers' long-lost father, going by the alias "Eduardo Sanchez." He also reprised his role as Sonny Crockett for a Nike commercial with LeBron James in which the NBA player contemplates acting and appears alongside Johnson on Miami Vice. He had a supporting role in the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained, playing a southern plantation owner named Spencer "Big Daddy" Bennett. In 2014, Johnson starred as the character "Jim Bob" opposite Sam Shepard and Michael C. Hall in Jim Mickle's critically acclaimed crime film, Cold in July. In 2014, he had a supporting role in the film The Other Woman as Cameron Diaz's character's father. In 2015, Johnson began starring in the ABC prime time soap opera Blood & Oil. In 2018, he starred as the character of Arthur, the love interest of Vivian, played by Jane Fonda in Bill Holderman's romantic-comedy Book Club. In 2019, Johnson played the role of Richard Drysdale in Rian Johnson's murder-mystery Knives Out; and starred as Police Chief Judd Crawford in the HBO series Watchmen. In 2021, he co-starred on Kenan, until its cancellation in May 2022. He also appeared in a Nash Bridges television film, with co-star Cheech Marin, on the USA Network in 2021.

Craig Theodore Nelson (born April 4, 1944) is an American actor. He is probably best known for his Emmy-winning role as Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach. He also starred in The Incredibles in 2004 as Mr. Incredible, and reprised the role in 2018 for Incredibles 2. Description above from the Wikipedia article Craig T. Nelson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Giancarlo Giannini (born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and dubber. Giannini was born La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. He studied at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica in Rome, and made his film debut in a small part in Fango sulla metropoli in 1965. He appeared in supporting roles in Anzio and The Secret of Santa Vittoria, and starred in the original version of Swept Away. In 1971, he appeared in E le stelle stanno a guardare, a television adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel, The Stars Look Down. In 1976, he starred in Seven Beauties, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, which is unusual in that his performance was given entirely in Italian. He dubbed Jack Nicholson's voice in the Italian release of both The Shining and Batman; he is the official Italian dubber of Al Pacino. His fluency in English has brought him a number of featured roles in Hollywood productions, most notably as Inspector Pazzi in Hannibal. He has also appeared in A Walk in the Clouds and Man on Fire. Giannini's best-known starring roles have been in films directed by Lina Wertmuller. In addition to Swept Away and Seven Beauties, he also appeared in The Seduction of Mimi, Love and Anarchy, A Night Full of Rain, and Francesca e Nunziata. He played the role of the protective father, Alberto Aragón, in A Walk in the Clouds in 1995. He played the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV in the 2000 Dune miniseries. In 2002, he starred in the horror film Darkness. Perhaps his best-known recent role is as French agent René Mathis in the 21st and 22nd James Bond films, Casino Royale and the sequel, Quantum of Solace. Giannini has a son, Adriano Giannini, who is also an actor and dubber. Description above from the Wikipedia article Giancarlo Giannini, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Hugh Anthony Quarshie (born 22 December 1954) is a Ghanaian-born British actor of stage, television, and film. Some of his best-known roles include his appearances in the films Highlander (1986) and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), and his long-running role as Ric Griffin in the BBC medical drama Holby City (2001–present).

Vincenzo Ricotta is a British stage and film actor professionally known as Vincent Riotta.

Francesco Serpico is a young actor born in Naples. After graduating from high school and at the same time as his university career he began to devote himself to acting. In fact, Francesco began to get passionate about cinema and theater early, attending the laboratory of Experimental Theater held by the actor and theater director Vincenzo Maria Saggese, in addition to the acting school "De Poche". In 2012 he took part in the opening show of the "Festival of Philosophy in Magna Grecia". In 2018 he was chosen by Saverio Costanzo for the coveted HBO series of great international success based on the novels of Elena Ferrante "My brilliant friend", in which he made his debut for the small screen successfully playing the role of Nino Sarratore.

Grace Truly is an actor & filmmaker, who grew up surrounded by film as her father is the cinematographer Andrew Dunn, BSC. Grace graduated from Central Saint Martins (UAL) in July 2021, with first-class honors, studying BA "Performance: Design & Practice". Her solo film A Delirious Eye (2020) has been very successful on the festival circuit, having won many awards for Grace's work both in front & behind the camera. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Grace Dunn