Jill Bellows is a famous American actor, producer, screenwriter, director. Bellows became famous for his role in the movie "Shawshank Redemption." For his role in the television series "Ellie McBeal", the actor was awarded the Actors Guild Award in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
The early years and early careers
Jill was born on June 28, 1967 in the city of Vancouver in Canada.
About childhood and parents, the biography of Jill Bellows is silent. It is only known that an acting career attracted a guy from childhood. In Canada, while still a teenager, he began his acting career. His first film was "The First Season."
The guy went to America to study acting. In Los Angeles, Bellows studied at the American Academy of Drama. After graduating from it, the actor went to New York.
Here he played in theatrical productions of Beirut and The True West.
In 1991, the actor made his television debut in one of the episodes of the series Law and Order. Then in 1992, followed by a small role in the comedy show "Blind Flight", and in 1994 - in the series "Love and the 45th caliber."
The film "Shawshank Redemption"
The picture "Escape from the Shawshank" is the first major work in the filmography of Bellows. He was invited to this film by chance. Initially, the role was to be performed by actor Brad Pitt. At the last minute, Pitt refused to participate in the filming, and the producers of the film remembered Jill, whom they had seen in the series before.
The film was directed by Frank Darabont, and he wrote the script based on the novel by Stephen King.
The main roles in the film were played by: Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, Tim Robbins, Bob Ganton, William Sadler. This picture of Darabonte is constantly on the lists of the best films of all time. She is in first place in the list of the best pictures according to IMDB and KinoPoisk. The tape was shot in Ohio at Mansfield Prison.
"Shawshank Redemption" brought Bellows popularity and many new job offers in the cinema.
The painting was nominated for an Oscar in seven categories, for a Golden Globe in two categories, for a Saturn Award and a Grammy. In addition, the film is the owner of many Japanese film awards, as well as all sorts of literary awards for the script.
Comedy series "Ellie McBeal"
To star in the television series "Ellie McBeal" Jill Bellows began in 1997. The show was broadcast until 2000, having withstood 5 seasons and 112 issues by this time. The series tells the life story of a young girl who has become a lawyer. Her role in the show was performed by actress Calista Flockhart.
Jill Bellows in "Ellie McBeal" got the role of Billy. Ellie and Billy were friends in childhood and were even in love with each other. Many years have passed since then. They did not see each other for a long time. Fate brings them together again - they work in the same company. Billy is married now, and Ellie does not know how to behave with her old friend now.
Other roles in the series were played by Greg Germann, Peter McNicol, Jane Krakowski, Lisa Nicole Carson, Courtney Thorne-Smith.
The television show was nominated for an Emmy in 1999.
Other films and series
How long has Jill Bellows been in the movie? Films and series with him regularly go on television for the past 28 years. The actor can be seen in such TV shows as Practice from 1997 to 2004, Agency from 2001 to 2003, Smallville Secrets from 2001 to 2011, Twilight Zone from 2002 to 2003, Karen Sisko from 2003 to 2004, “Thinking like a criminal”, “Cleaner” and others. Among the actor’s last roles is the FBI Agent Hosts in the television series 11.22.63.
An actor often gets supporting roles in films. In several films, Bellows appears before us as an FBI agent or police officer. A striking example of this is the film "The Unthinkable" directed by Gregor Jordan, which was released in 2010. The psychological thriller picture is about FBI agents trying to stave off a terrorist attack. Jill Belows in this film played the role of special agent James Vincent. In addition to him, the film was played by Michael Sheen, Martin Donovan, Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss.
The film "House at the end of the street" directed by Mark Tonderai was released in 2012. In it, Jill got the role of police officer Bill Weaver. The picture tells about a divorced woman with a child who recently moved to a new home. It turns out that a bloody murder happened in a neighboring house many years ago. A witness to this tragedy, a guy named Ryan, makes friends with a woman. In addition to Jill, Jennifer Lawrence, Max Tiriot and Elizabeth Shue also played in the film. The film in the thriller genre, horror paid off at the box office and was warmly received by the public.
Directing and producing
The directorial debut of Jill Bellows happened in 2013. His film "Three Days in Havana" co-production of Canada and Cuba did not receive significant success at the box office. The script for this picture, Bellows wrote with the actor and producer Tony Pantedzhisom.
As a screenwriter, Jill Bellows has already worked before in the series "Patriot".
The career of Bellows-producer is more successful than Bellows-director and screenwriter. Jill has already produced six projects. Among them, Kill-Kill Fast-Fast in 2008, Temple Grandin in 2010 and Born in the Wind in 2005.
