Did You Know: TV and Movie Trivia

I have been an avid collector of TV and movie trivia since I was a teenager when my love affair with all things entertainment industry related began.

The following are more tidbits from the big and small screen that I would like to share with you. I would also love to know if any of our readers knew about any of the items below:

TV TIDBITS

Actress Melissa Leo, who won an Oscar for her role in the box office film The Fighter, and has appeared in the films Olympus Has Fallen, Prisoners and Snowden, got her start in the daytime soap opera All My Children from 1984 to 1988 and was a series regular in the primetime major network series The Young Riders during its debut season back in 1989.

Actress Troian Bellisario, who has played Spencer Hastings on the long-running Freeform (nee ABC Family) series Pretty Little Liars, is not only the daughter of uber TV producer Donald P. Bellisario – the man behind such hit shows as NCIS, JAG, Quantum Leap and Magnum P.I. – but is also the step-sister of actor Sean Murray, who has played Special Agent Timothy McGee on NCIS since season 1 of the long-running CBS drama. Ironically (or not), they also played brother and sister on NCIS.

COMMERCIAL APPEAL

Actor Josh Lucas, who has appeared in box office films like American Psycho, A Beautiful Mind, Sweet Home Alabama, Hulk, Stealth, Poseidon and The Lincoln Lawyer – and has most recently appeared on the small screen in the TV series The Mysteries of Laura – can be heard in countless commercials for Home Depot.

Here is an example of just one of his voice over commercials:

MUSICAL CONNECTIONS

Singer-Songwriter Elle King, who had the hit single “Ex’s & Oh’s” is the daughter of actor-comedian Rob Schneider, one of the veterans of Saturday Night Live, and star of such raunchy comedy films as Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo and The Hot Chick.

Here is the video for “Ex’s & Oh’s”:

MOVIE TRIVIA

Did You Know…

that one of the first roles actress Michelle Williams (Jen on Dawson’s Creek and the box office films Brokeback Mountain, Shutter Island and Manchester by the Sea) had was as “Young Sil” the alien-human hybrid in the box office movie Species. She was the teen version of lead Natasha Henstridge.

that actor Kevin Durand (who has appeared on TV as Joshua in Dark Angel, Martin Keamy in Lost and Vasiliy Fet in The Strain and in the box office movies Walking Tall and I Am Number Four) – who stands at an imposing 6 feet, 6 inches tall – was a one-time ballet dancer, who actually performed as Injun Joe in the 2001 Broadway musical The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

NOTE: Keen-eyed viewers will notice that a young Jensen Ackles – of Supernatural fame – is standing next to Kevin, as they appeared in the second and final season of Dark Angel together.

that actress Michaela Conlin (who played Angela on Bones for all of its 12 seasons) appeared in the 2007 box office movie Enchanted, playing May – an employee at the clothing design store that was eventually run by Giselle (Amy Adams) at the end of the film.

that actresses Ellen Pompeo (Grey’s Anatomy), Emily Deschanel (Bones) and Karine Vanasse (Pan Am and Revenge) all share something in common: they had small roles in superhero movies:

• Ellen was Karen Page in the Ben Affleck 2003 film Daredevil
• Emily was a receptionist in the 2004 film Spider-Man 2, starring Tobey Maguire
• Karine was the French emergency nurse tending to a wounded Mystique in the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past

Ellen in Daredevil:

Emily in Spider-Man 2:

Karine in X-Men:

that actor Zachary Levi (from the fan favorite series Chuck) was supposed to play Fandral in the original 2011 movie Thor, but because Chuck received a last-minute reprieve from cancellation by NBC, actor Josh Dallas (Prince Charming from Once Upon a Time) landed the role. When it came time for Thor: The Dark World to be filmed, however, Josh was unable to participate because of his role in Once Upon a Time, and with Chuck having ended the year before, Zachary was able to take over the role that should have been his had scheduling permitted.

Here are links to the previous trivia articles:

April “Did You Know”

March “Did You Know”

Be on the look-out for more “Did You Know” articles in the near future.