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Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years) Guests On Harvey Brownstone Interviews

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Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with renowned actor, writer & producer, Dan Lauria.

Dan Lauria is a highly popular and beloved actor, writer and producer who became a household name for his portrayal of “Jack Arnold”, the stern, gruff but loving father of “Kevin”, played by Fred Savage, on the hit TV series “The Wonder Years”, for which he was nominated for an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a TV series. 

You also remember him as “Jack Sullivan”, Steve Byrne’s father in another great sitcom, “Sullivan & Son”. And of course, he played “Al Luongo”, manager of the San Diego Padres, in the best TV series ever made about major league baseball, “Pitch”. And he played “Leonard Fero” the angry head coach of the New England Knights basketball team, in yet another TV series about professional sports, “The Hoop Life”. 

But beyond those iconic roles, Dan Lauria has brought us countless memorable performances on the stage and screen. You’ve seen him in many great movies including “Without a Trace”, “9 ½ Weeks”, “Stakeout”, “Another Stakeout”, “Independence Day”, “Wide Awake”, “Total Stranger”, “The Signs of the Cross”, “Miranda’s Victim”, and most recently, he played Tipp O’Neill in “Reagan”. 

On television, in addition to the TV shows already mentioned, he’s appeared in dozens of classic series including “Hill Street Blues”, “L.A. Law”, “Cagney & Lacey”, “NYPD Blue”, “Touched by an Angel”, “ER”, “Law and Order”, “JAG”, “The Good Wife”, “Shameless”, “This is Us” and many more. 

Dan Lauria also starred in a number of terrific TV movies and miniseries including “At Mother’s Request”, “David”, “Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story”, “The Great Los Angeles Earthquake”, “Overexposed”, “Terror in the Family”, and “From the Earth to the Moon”, to name only a few. 

And on the stage, he’s appeared on Broadway in “Lombardi” and “A Christmas Story: The Musical”. And off-Broadway, he’s appeared in many shows including “Game Plan”, “Dinner with the Boys” and “Just Another Day”, ALL of which he also wrote. 

And if all of that weren’t enough, Dan Lauria has also written 3 children’s books in a series called “The Godfather Tales”. 

Harvey Brownstone is a retired judge of the Ontario Court of Justice and was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He is also the bestselling author of “Tug of War: A Judge’s Verdict on Separation, Custody Battles and the Bitter Realities of Family Court” and hosted “Family Matters with Justice Harvey Brownstone,” a television talk show on matters involving the family justice system.

​After a distinguished legal career, Harvey was appointed a judge at the age of 38 in 1995.  He has presided in family and criminal courts.   He has been a trailblazer in several ways.  He was the first openly gay judge in Canada.  He was the first sitting judge in the world to write a national best seller and to host a TV talk show.  

​Harvey has been a role model and icon in the LGBTQ community.  When same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2003, he was the only judge to make himself publicly available to officiate at weddings for lesbian and gay couples travelling to Toronto from all over the world to get married.  In 2007, he officiated at the wedding of Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, the American couple whose marriage triggered the 2013 United States Supreme Court decision overturning the definition of “spouse” in the federal Defense of Marriage Act.  

In February 2021, Harvey launched his online talk show “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” on his own YouTube channel. He saw this as an interesting hobby.   Within several months, the show attracted hundreds of thousands – and then eventually, millions – of viewers.  Because of the overwhelming success of the show, Harvey decided to retire from the judiciary on December 31, 2021 after having presided as a full-time judge for 26 1/2 years.  Free from the constraints imposed upon judges regarding the expression of opinions and the endorsement of private enterprise, Harvey now happily devotes his full-time attention to hosting “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” as a regular member of the public – albeit one with a rather illustrious and unique career history.  

Watch Dan Lauria on Harvey Brownstone Interviews on Youtube here: 

The official website for Harvey Brownstone Interviews may be found at https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com

Get “The Talk Show Blend” – Coffee For The Modern Day Trailblazer! By Harvey Brownstone from Breakfast At Dominique’s available at https://www.HollywoodBlends.com

For more information about Harvey Brownstone, here’s his Wikipedia page: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Brownstone

We Speak Actors

Robert Besta appears opposite Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx in new Netflix film ‘Back In Action’

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‘Back In Action’, dropping tomorrow on Netflix, is a fast-moving action comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx as a middle-aged couple with children who are pulled back into being spies after their secret identities are exposed. Among the star-studded cast (the film also features Glenn Close and Andrew Scott), German actor Robert Besta plays an Eastern European oligarch who possesses some highly sensitive data that the couple want to get their hands on…

Robert, who was born in Poland and grew up in Germany, is an actor and musician known for the films ‘Treasure’, starring Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry; ‘And Tomorrow the Entire World’, directed by Julia von Heinz; and ‘Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin’, directed by Todd Komarnicki. 

Robert is also renowned for playing villains in the German TV shows ‘Die Fallers’ and ‘Tatort’, and he brings this skill for evil to his new Netflix role.

“I was happy to slip into the role of the dodgy businessman!” he said. He added that the Hollywood stars in the film were remarkably relaxed:

“It was an incredible and wonderful experience to be in front of the camera in such a big production. Working with Cameron and Jamie was super-relaxed and enjoyable.”

“Both greeted me warmly before the shoot and I chatted to Cameron about everything, so we had already got to know each other beforehand and were able to ease into the scenes. In addition, Jamie always kept everyone in a good mood between the takes and entertained everyone with little jokes and dance interludes!”

Robert Besta at the Berlin premiere of ‘Back in Action’ Photo credit: Netflix, Sebastian Reuter

Robert speaks German, Polish, English and French and used all his languages in the film, with an Eastern European accent layered on top. Filming took place in London, UK and Atlanta, Georgia, and Robert did a lot of preparation for his role: “I prepared as I would for any other shoot: understanding the world in which the role is set, creating a role biography that I can connect with as much as possible, finding out what the goal of every scene is. It takes a lot of preparation to be able to let go of everything on set and be completely with your partner and in the moment.”

He said it was fascinating to see how everything in the film was planned down to the smallest detail, and yet the actors were still given the opportunity to improvise. He explained:

“For example, we invented a completely new scene on set with my film daughter, that wasn’t even in the script.”

“Seth, the director, instructed her to act out a scene with me: he called out lines, she acted them out and everyone was really enthusiastic about it.”

Robert’s acting career began in theatre – after studying at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin, he became a regular actor at the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe. He said: “I didn’t know Karlsruhe until then and had no intention of staying – well, I still live there. In fact, it’s the longest time I’ve ever been in one place in my life.” 

After appearing on the red carpet for the premiere of ‘Back In Action’, Robert’s year continues in a similarly high-octane vein, as he prepares to tour with his indie band MICOR as well as work on more exciting TV and film projects. 

‘Back In Action’ premieres on Netflix on Friday 17 January. 

Featured photo credit: Netflix/John Wilson

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