Unscripted
Encyclopedia
Unscripted is an American
comedy-drama
series that aired on HBO in early 2005. Its title referred to the fact that the series was largely improvised by its performers. The series was executive produced by Steven Soderbergh
, George Clooney
, and Grant Heslov
.
s, who are all in the same acting class in Los Angeles, California
, as they make the rounds from auditions to rejection, to personal struggle and to satisfaction. The three main characters all appear as themselves as the show blends fact with fiction as a movie/show within a show. It features many cameo appearances from many stars playing themselves either in projects they're involved in, or involved in a social function such as Brad Pitt
, Angelina Jolie
, Noah Wyle
, Hank Azaria
, Richard Kind
, Meryl Streep
, Uma Thurman
, Jon Lovitz
, Shia LaBeouf
, Keanu Reeves
, Sam Rockwell
, Danny Comden
, director Doug Liman
and producer Akiva Goldsman
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
series that aired on HBO in early 2005. Its title referred to the fact that the series was largely improvised by its performers. The series was executive produced by Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
, George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
, and Grant Heslov
Grant Heslov
Grant Heslov is an American actor, film producer, screenwriter and director.-Early life:Heslov was born in Los Angeles, into a Jewish family and was raised in the Palos Verdes area of Los Angeles. He attended Palos Verdes High School, the University of Southern California along with friend Tate...
.
Synopsis
It follows the misadventures of three struggling actorActor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s, who are all in the same acting class in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, as they make the rounds from auditions to rejection, to personal struggle and to satisfaction. The three main characters all appear as themselves as the show blends fact with fiction as a movie/show within a show. It features many cameo appearances from many stars playing themselves either in projects they're involved in, or involved in a social function such as Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
, Noah Wyle
Noah Wyle
Noah Strausser Speer Wyle is an American film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. John Truman Carter III in the Medical drama ER. He has also played Steve Jobs in the 1999 docudrama Pirates of Silicon Valley and Flynn Carsen in The Librarian franchise...
, Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
, Richard Kind
Richard Kind
Richard John Kind is an American actor known for his roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Spin City .- Early life :...
, Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
, Jon Lovitz
Jon Lovitz
Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
, Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
, Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
, Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell is an American actor known for his leading roles in Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke and Moon, as well as for his supporting roles in The Green Mile, Iron Man 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Frost/Nixon, Galaxy Quest, Matchstick Men, The Assassination of...
, Danny Comden
Danny Comden
Danny Hill Comden is an American actor, director, film producer and writer. He is best known for playing Stevie Hanson in the ABC sitcom I'm with Her, Blake in Urban Legend and Roger Nicholl in Pretty Persuasion. He wrote and directed Sol Goode, in which he also starred...
, director Doug Liman
Doug Liman
Douglas Eric "Doug" Liman is an American film director and producer best known for Swingers , The Bourne Identity , Mr. & Mrs. Smith , Jumper , and Fair Game .-Early life:...
and producer Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman from Walker Valley, New York is an American screenwriter and film producer. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture....
.
Main characters
- Bryan GreenbergBryan GreenbergBryan E. Greenberg is an American actor and musician, known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series How to Make It in America as well as a recurring role as Jake Jagielski in the The WB TV series One Tree Hill and as Nick Garrett on the short-lived ABC drama October Road...
- A young twentysomething actor bouncing from audition to audition. A generally good man brought down by the frustrations of trying to make it which include backstabbing, shady network contracts and being virtually unnoticed on the small screen, if he even makes the final cut. - Krista AllenKrista AllenKrista Allen is an American actress. She is best known for her work in the television series Days of Our Lives, Baywatch Hawaii, and What About Brian; and in the Hollywood films Liar Liar, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Anger Management, and The Final Destination...
- A single mother and actress more well known for her looks than her talent, trying to establish herself as a serious performer. Often typecast in print ads or commercials as the "sexy girl", she is rarely taken seriously, and when opportunities arise, she gets passed over in favor of someone else who has a bigger name. - Jennifer HallJennifer HallJennifer Hall is an American actress. She is most known for portraying herself on HBO reality show Unscripted and Missy on the NBC comedy series Up All Night...
- A nice girl deemed not attractive enough by agents by her looks, currently taking low level jobs on major filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
productions. Naively finds herself in the Hollywood machine in trying to land roles, by knowing who's who in the industry. - Goddard Fulton (Frank LangellaFrank Langella-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
) - The protagonists' stern but fatherly acting teacherTeacherA teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, a refined man whose professionalism and guidance remain in the classroom but virtually disappear when outside. Despite keeping a distance from his students outside of teaching, the sage Fulton helps them in whatever way he can when in the classroom.
Other characters
- Nick - Bryan's roommate who is often stealing his auditions and scheming ways to achieve success. He winds up starring in a genital herpes commercial as well as auditioning for a porno, all against his own knowledge. Played by Nick Paonessa.
- Dragon - Another of Bryan's friends in the acting class who winds up dating Jennifer. Played by Erik WeinerErik WeinerErik Weiner is an American actor, comedian, and writer best known for co-creating the play The Bomb-itty of Errors and his role as Agent Sebso on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.-Biography:...
. - Pam - An actress in the class who hooks up with Nick. Played by Pamela AdlonPamela AdlonPamela Fionna Adlon is a Jewish-American actress, voice actress, and producer. She is sometimes credited as Pamela Segall, Pamela S. Adlon and Pamela Segall Adlon...
. - Diane - An actress in the class who has a romantic history with Goddard. Played by Diane BakerDiane BakerDiane Carol Baker is an American actress who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959.-Early life:...
.