gaelick » Alainn or Appalling

Álainn or Appallin’: Glenn Close

Gooner — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:00:59 +0000

Close was born in Connecticut in 1947 to parents who both hailed from prominent families. Glenn’s father was a personal physician to the Congo/Zaire President of the time. Close grew up on her grandfather’s estate in the country and credits her childhood for her ability to imagine becoming whomever she wants to be. However, when Glenn was just 7 years old her family became involved in a cult called the Moral Re-Armament, she says they dictated everything about how it’s members lived and she lived, with her family, in communal centers until she was 22 and escaped to college. There Close majored in theatre and her acting journey began.

Beginning in theatre in 1974 Close stared on Broadway, winning no less than three Tony Awards for parts in Sunset Boulevard, The Real Thing, and Death and the Maiden. She also won acclaim for her staring role in the 1982 off Broadway play The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs. 1982 also saw her take on Hollywood and Close never looked out of place among the Hollywood elite. Her early roles that stand out for most of us include Dangerous Liaisons and of course the original bunny boiler in Fatal Attraction. Not forgetting her amazing turn in Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story. With 5 Oscar and 9 Golden Globe nominations (winning 2 Globes) Close has cemented her place with the best actors of her time.

Many of you young wans will know her best from the TV. Not satisfied with conquering stage and cinema, Glenn has won two Emmys and a Golden Globe for her role as Patty Hewes in the hit TV series Damages.

Glenn is making headlines again on the big screen as she reenters the world of Albert Nobbs, a role she won an Obie for on stage in the 80′s. With a host of nominations already, her Oscar tipped performance as the brave Mr Nobbs has showed us just how good she is yet again. Variety calling it “a career crowning role” and Newsweek hailing it as a “jaw dropping performance”.

Set right here in Dublin the film follows Albert, a biological woman who works and lives as a man in the 19th century. All Albert wants is to have a small tabacco shop and live out his life in peace. Here’s a look at the trailer:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=66N5hjkq740

On the role she took 15 years to take to the big screen Glenn says

I always felt that if I could pull off Albert, there was nothing else I had to do because it brings into play everything I’ve learned as an actor — movement, costume, voice — just trying to create the inner life of someone who’s so silent… she’s an unfinished person.

Gender becomes almost irrelevant because it’s about human connection… The thing I’m most proud of in the movie is that you forget what you’re looking at.

So what do you think about the amazing Ms Close? Alainn or appalling?

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Alainn or Appalling: Lady Gaga

Gooner — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:00:56 +0000

We often talk about “our straight brothers and sisters” and how important it is to have “straight allies”, although bisexual, many people hold Lady Gaga up to be the perfect example of both. Born Stefani Germanotta in 1986, this New Yorker has become the icon of our time and is looked up to by countless teens and young adults. Gaga hit the ground running with her debut album in 2008, The Fame, which went to number one in no less than nine world wide record charts. She subsequently released an extended version, The Fame Monster, in 2009. Her two debut singles Just Dance and the massive Poker Face (about her bisexuality) cemented Gaga at the very top of the music industry and it seems she is happy to remain just there. Working tirelessly her live shows gain rave reviews all over the world.

Tour after tour and hit after hit this controversial artist, and she is an artist in every sense of the word, has grabbed the headlines for her wardrobe almost as much as her music. However, it is as an advocate for the LGBT community that she has won many hearts. Who could forget the tweet she received from the late Jamey Rodemeyer and her subsequent moving tribute?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUNfKyw-KHs

For me it is the sincerity with which she supports our community that I find most touching. It never seems staged or just done to be different, at last there is an icon that uses their position to talk about tolerance and love. You get the impression she had a hard time of it herself, being different from the norm, and that she really does want acceptance to be her message.

I am sure many people are put off by her eccentric dress sense, not least the infamous meat dress at the MTV awards or arriving at the Grammys in what can only be described as an egg pod. However, as we all know, you need to look beyond the surface whenever you weigh up a person and Gaga definitely fits into that category. She isn’t being different to grab the headlines, she is just being herself and to hell with you if you don’t get it, exactly what better role model can there be?

As LGBT’s we have to applaud her Born This Way single, the title track from her second studio album. It’s like a wonderful It Gets Better video and I defy anyone to dislike it. To think that millions of young people, gay, straight, trans and everything else, are listening to songs like this is heart warming. Imagine, someone singing about tolerance is cool these days, it’s about time.

Not to mention her drag persona, Jo Calderone, who she attended the American MTV music awards as earlier this year. Jo was never a joke but another attempt at pushing what is accepted. Annie Lennox having done something similar in 1984.

In an interview with MTV she was asked about how she got started, finding it initially difficult to get radio play Gaga says

The turning point for me was the gay community… I’ve got so many gay fans and they’re so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They’ll always stand by me and I’ll always stand by them. It’s not an easy thing to create a fanbase. … Being invited to play [the San Francisco Pride rally], that was a real turning point for me as an artist.

Wow, someone actually remembers that we gave them a shot before anyone else, perhaps some boy bands out there and a few other artists should take note. Not only that, but when attending the 2010 MTV awards Gaga was accompanied by four service members who, under DADT, were stopped from serving openly and proudly. Earlier this year I was in Rome when she attended Europride, she gave a 20 minute speech about human rights and equality, saying

Today and every day we fight for freedom. We fight for justice. We beckon for compassion, understanding and above all we want full equality now

She also did an acoustic version of Born This Way that was just amazing. My favourite quote, however, has to be

I am a child of diversity, I am one with my generation, I feel a moral obligation as a woman, or a man, to exercise my revolutionary potential and make the world a better place. And, on a gay scale of 1 to 10, I’m a Judy Garland f*cking 42.

So what do you think? Is Gaga just using the gay audience to sell records and be controversial or do you agree with me when I say that she is a very powerful voice for equality of all kinds all over the globe?

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Álainn or Appallin’: Archie Panjabi

HAL — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 06:00:04 +0000

If you have ever seen an episode of The Good Wife, there is very little that needs to be said to convince you that Álainn is indeed the response. For those of you undecided, check out the picture on the right. Sold!

The background goes like this: Archie (Archana) was born in London and spent some of her childhood in Mumbai (or Bombay for those of you living pre-1996), so she considers herself to be “Part Bombayite, part British”.

She started acting relatively late in life, at 23, when she was in an episode of the British comedy The Thin Blue Line. A year later, in 1996, she was in the breakout hit East is East, in which she played the daughter Meenah. From there Archie did the usual rounds of The Bill, Holby City and various crime shows. In 1996, she played Jess’s marriage-obsessed sister in Bend it Like Beckham and continued to ply her trade on UK telly over the next couple of years. She had parts in a number of films like The Constant Gardener, A Good Year and so on, but it wasn’t until 2007 that she finally got noticed. As Asra in A Mighty Heart, she starred along with Angelina Jolie, who became a good friend.

Since I was a baby my goal was to be on TV because film was just impossible – you never got any Asian women in Western cinema. I grew up wanting to be in Eastenders because film wasn’t even a dream.

Then in 2009, Archie got the role of Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife. Once she put on those boots and that leather jacket, she stole the heart and crept into the brain of everyone who watched the show. Kalinda is a mystery; we have no idea what her past involves and her moral code is dubiously well-intentioned. Archie plays her perfectly, which a devilish sexiness that disarms the viewer, a lonely heart under the flippant sarcasm.

Oh and she’s bisexual. Not just bi-when-we-need-ratings, but actually honest to goodness bisexual, having had sexual relations with both people of genders. Who knew that bisexuality could be portrayed as normal on the telly?

She has won two Emmys for her portrayal as Kalinda, and in one of the speeches thank Angelina, which made some people scratch their heads and go running to IMDB.

Most actresses with such a high-profile pal would be dropping the name constantly, but Archie is a woman who likes to keep her private life private. She’s been in an arranged marriage for 13 years and told the Mail:

There is a big misconception about arranged marriage. Yes, it can mean that you meet someone and then have to marry them, but this was my mother saying, “I’m going to introduce you to so-and-so and if you don’t like them, fair enough.” At the time it brought out my rebellious streak because I thought her taste in men was not going to be like mine. But at the end of the day, she knows me better than anybody. I did wonder, “Would an Indian man be fine about me doing this job?” – but Raj has always been very supportive.

At the moment Archie is concentrating on season three of The Good Wife, but you can see her as a good Muslim wife in the British comedy The Infidel about a London Muslim, played by Omid Djalili, who finds out that not only is he adopted but he’s Jewish to boot.

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Alainn or Appalling: Anna Silk

Gooner — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:32:19 +0000

From Cassidy Holland on Being Erica to Lost Girl’s Bo, Anna Silk has a lot for us queer girls to admire. Born in Canada in 1974 this beauty was raised by a mother with some resume, playwright, director, actor and producer Ilkay Silk introduced her daughter to the world of acting at a very young age. Starting off in commercials Anna has gone on to make her name both in Canada and in the US, living in Los Angeles since 2009.

I first became aware of Silk when watching addictive repeats of Being Erica, she was only in three episodes but they are the ones I remember most. Why? Well who wouldn’t? Silk’s character Cassidy made the lead character think once or twice about having a romantic relationship with her and no one watching could blame her. The arc was short lived on screen but we all remember it, mainly due to Anna’s amazing presence on screen.

Anna has been in several movies made for TV and has popped up in popular TV shows like The Ghost Whisperer however, it is as Bo on Showcase’s Lost Girl that Silk’s star is really shining. The second season has just begun and I can’t tell you how much I have been looking forward to it. I watched episode three last night and was stuck to it till I realised I really needed to blink. I turned to my housemate and heard myself say “I’m not really a boob woman, but for some reason….”

The show is a supernatural drama built around the Fae, people with mythical abilities that feed off human emotion. In Bo’s case she is a succubus and feeds of sexual energy, I know, genius eh! Bo has a best friend who has the funniest one liners of all time and is expertly played by Ksenia Solo. Of course things get complicated for our bisexual hero and she finds herself in the middle of a love triangle. Will she go for Dyson, the werewolf who doesn’t own a shirt? Or will she plumb for the sexy doctor, Lauren, played by the gorgeous Zoie Palmer? No prizes for guessing who I’m up for.

The show is massively popular, it’s debut in 2010 was the highest-rated Canadian scripted series premiere of all time on Showcase. Season one only had 13 episodes but season two is set to have 22, welcome news to those of us who can’t get enough of this supernatural world. Silk manages to keep her character at the centre of your attention, even though she is surrounded by such wonderful characters and plots. She also has real chemistry with both romantic leads, not an easy task. Her character is learning about this mythical world as we are and we are in her corner all the way thanks to Anna’s ability to make her so ‘normal’ and likable, in a totally unrealistic world.

So what do you think of this Canadian beauty, Alainn or Appalling?

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Álainn or Appallin’: Ellen Page

Gooner — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 06:00:54 +0000

Ellen Page is best known for her award winning roles in the critically acclaimed Juno and Inception. Born in Canada in 1987 (God that has aged me), Page has eased my fears that good acting would be taken over by the “bankable movie star”. She is not only talented but shows us that not all actors will choose the romcom route to easy fame, some really want to work on actual films – with plots!

Page’s career began at the meager age of 10, when she starred in the TV movie Pit Pony. This spun off into a TV series and Ellen caught the eye of TV execs, getting roles in numerous TV shows, including Trailer Park Boys. 2005 was the year that she hit the big time with a wonderful performance as Hayley in Hard Candy. The following year she stepped up to play Shadowcat in X-Men: The Last Stand (you remember her, the girl who could run through walls).

However, when you say the name Ellen Page one thing springs to mind right away – Juno. Page received nominations from both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards for Best Actress for the role. Unfortunately for Ellen she didn’t receive either gong, she did however win over a dozen awards including the Independent Spirit Award and several critics awards.

Ellen followed Juno with impressive performances in films like Smart People and Whip It however it was Inception that made the critics sit up again. Her performance as Ariadne (the architecture) showed her maturity as she acted as the link between the audience as the film. Her character didn’t really know what was going on either! Acting along side the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio must be intimidating but if it was, she certainly didn’t show it.

Currently Page is working on Freeheld, a dramatisation of a documentary of the same name. Ellen will play Stacie, the same sex life partner of New Jersey police officer Lt. Laurel Hester who, upon her deathbed, appealed for the extension of pension benefits to domestic partners. I don’t know about you but I will be buying shares in Kleenex before I go to see that one!

As my colleague CanuckJacq wrote recently, Ellen has been outed and this she has neither denied nor confirmed. If she is gay/bi it’s a shame she has been outed in this fashion, as far as I am concerned it is her business. However, I do hope that if she is queer, she will stand up and be counted, now her hand has been forced (so to speak). The more out LBGTs the better all around.

So what do you think of this talented young woman? Alainn or Appalling?

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Alainn or Appalling: Angie Harmon

Webmaster — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:09:47 +0000

Currently setting lesbian hearts a flutter and other reactions to various other body parts, Miss Harmon is Jane Rizzoli, a Boston cop in TNT’s Rizzoli and Isles. See HAL’s take on the preview. She has it bad for this TV show. Every Tuesday morning at our virtual water cooler she’s counting the minutes until she can get home to watch the two ladies in action. But this post is not about Rizzoli and Isles, it’s about Angie Harmon.

Sweet god above, when that woman swishes her jacket behind, cocks her hip to one side, showing her badge and just looks at the camera it’s like I have died and gone to heaven. Then she opens her mouth and it’s just gravelly and vibrates all the way down to one’e toes. Seriously, IMDB even lists it as a trademark!

* slaps self *

Okay, focus, webmaster. Ignoring the fact that she’s a Republican, hey we can’t all be perfect, Angie or Ang as I like to call her was born in Texas to parentals of Greek, Irish, Scottish and Cherokee ancetry. That explains those cheekbones She worked as a child model in the late 80s and continued with modelling after she left school. She has worked with some of the top names in the modelling industry for Calvin Klein, Armani and Donna Karen.

She was discovered by The Hoff. Seriously, imagine having to share that. So I suppose I should say thank you David. The Hoff was impressed and cast her in his TV show Baywatch Nights. From the lofty heights of that quality TV show, she moved onto Law and Order where she landed the role of Abbie Carmicheal, assistant DA. A few bit parts here and there after Law and Order
before she landed another detective role in Women’s Murder Club where she brandished gun and badge with such finesse. Whilst all this acting was going on, our Ang got married to a former professional football player Jason Sehorn. Lucky fecker! They have three daughters.

After the Women’s Murder Club wasn’t renewed, Ang moved onto another role not unsimilar to her last one as a tough cop, Jane Rizzoli opposite Sasha Alexander’s Maura Isles. I think everyone was surprised at how well it has faired. Of course this has nothing to do with the eye sex that goes on between the two ladies. Currently in Season 2 and airing on TNT check it out. Gaytest TV show since Xena

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Alainn or Appalling: Anna Paquin

Gooner — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 06:00:24 +0000

Anna Paquin rose to fame as a child actress in the acclaimed film The Piano for which she won the Academy Award for Actress in a Supporting Role. She didn’t slink into child actor oblivion however, and went on to star in films much as Almost Famous and the X-Men Series. Most recently she is known for her starring role in the amazing TV show True Blood.

So where did this talented lady start out from? Well, Anna was born in Canada but her family moved to New Zealand when she was just 4 years old. Anna was soon living on US soil however, after her parents divorce and she graduated high school in LA where she lived with her mother. Paquin studied for a year in Columbia University but decided to leave and follow her dream of becoming an actress. She has never looked back.

Upon filming the pilot to True Blood in 2007 Anna started to date her costar Stephen Moyer, the pair were married in August 2010. Anna has been vocal about her bisexuality since she came out in a public service announcement for the We Give a Damn campaign. She said of the experience

I’m not someone who endlessly talks about her personal life for no reason, but obviously, as someone who identifies as bisexual, those are issues I really care about — and frankly, I don’t see why everyone doesn’t care about them. So when I was asked to participate in that PSA, it was just an obvious, “Well, of course I will.”

Well said indeed Anna.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaeeKbZibOM

It’s great to see such a high profile actress talk about her bisexuality in such an open way. Paquin has recently spoken about her belief that bi people have to put up with a great amount of prejudice, and let’s face it, she’s not wrong.

The latest series of True Blood has just started in the US and it’s as weird and addictive as ever. Winner of the GLAAD award for Outstanding Drama Series the show is currently in it’s fourth season. Talk about well deserved, there are more queer people on the show than straight, Paquin ironically playing one of the few straights in there. She leads a wonderful cast of actors in a show that is as enthralling as it is bizarre. In fact, the group has recently been joined by the very Irish and very gay (oh we know she must be) Fiona Shaw. I won’t say who she plays in case you haven’t seen it yet but trust me, you’ll love her, and the rest of the newbies.

The shows characters are so well developed and played out that it’s a great testament to Paquin’s abilities as an actor that she can hold the lead of the show with such consummate ease. We see Sookie as extremely vulnerable but her strength is always there to see and Anna plays that with aplomb.

I have to use this as an opportunity to show you a clip, it is one of my favourite shows after all, and I am hopping up and down with excitement at it’s return. So if you’ll indulge me for a moment (any excuse to put in a scene with the wonderfully les-tastic, and none apologetic, Pam in it)…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gF9a13sH7s

So what do you think of this strong bi lady who happens to play the role with the best character name on TV, miss Sookie Stackhouse? Would you do anything for a chance at that neck? Or would you pass? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Alainn or Appalling: Beyonce

CherryBomb — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 06:24:07 +0000

Beyonce seems to be the woman who has it all. She’s talented, stunning, has a happy marriage, a stable career and just keeps on climbing the ladder of life. But she’s so much more than a ‘tick the boxes of life’ kind of woman. She’s a role model for so many. She’s passionate about her career and works her ass off, not taking any shortcuts or going about rising to the top in a sleazy quid-pro-quo way like so many may have. She dedicates herself to everything she does with a fire and a ‘no-stopping-me-now’ attitude, that just inspires one to go for what they want too.

She began her journey in music from the age of seven, and at the age of eight entered an all-girl entertainment group named Girl Tyme, which went on to debut at Star Search (the biggest talent show on national TV at that time) but lost the competition due to the song performed not being up to standard. Naturally, Beyonce was heartbroken, but regained confidence and kept on going.

The group were renamed Destiny’s Child in 1993 and, in 1995, Knowles’ father resigned from his job to manage the group, resulting in much hardship and struggle for the family to make ends meet. It would later prove to be worth it.

After the group had several hits and the lineup was finally the one we all knew as Destiny’s Child, trouble began again with two of the original members of the older group filing a lawsuit for breach of contract, and Knowles falling into a depression, which she never spoke of because the group had just won a Grammy and she feared nobody would take her seriously.

She made it past the depression and kept on going, in true Beyonce fashion, and they went on to release chart-topping hits such as Independent Woman Part I (featured on the Charlie’s Angels OST), Bootylicious and Survivor, to name but a few.

After Destiny’s Child went on a hiatus to let the members pursue solo careers, Beyonce went on to acting, releasing a debut solo album Dangerously In love (which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100), winning several awards at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards and went on her first solo concert tour in November of 2003.

Destiny’s Child regrouped in 2004 and went on to release their final album (November of that year) and complete their final tour in 2005.

Beyonce embarked again on her solo career but delayed the recording of her new album to appear in films Dreamgirls and The Pink Panther. Upon finishing the films, she co-wrote and co-produced nearly all of her songs on the album ‘B’Day’ and it was finished in just three short weeks. It was originally released in September 2006, then re-released in April 2007 and won the award Most Earthshattering Collaboration at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2008, she married long-time boyfriend Jay-Z (left) and released her third studio album I Am… Sasha Fierce in November of that year, which the widely-known and much loved hit Single Ladies came from. Upon the song’s release, it became a massive hit and the video achieved fame due to its amazing choreography, prompting parodies the world over and winning Video of the Year for the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

In December 2008, Knowles starred as Etta James in Cadillac Records and performed the iconic song At Last at the Lincoln Memorial festivities in honour of the inauguration of Barack Obama in January 2009.

Knowles received ten nominations at the 52nd Grammy Awards, and ultimately set the record for most Grammy awards won on a single night by a female artist when she won six awards from her ten nominations.

In January 2010 she revealed that she was planning to take a break from music for a while to

recharge my batteries.. I’d like to take about six months and not go into the studio. I need to just live life, to be inspired by things again.

She appeared on Lady Gaga’s track Telephone in February, and began work on her new album in November of 2010 entitled 4 and has released two tracks from it this year, but won’t release the album until June 28.

On top of her music career and acting, Beyonce has a clothing line with her mother called House of Dereon, which was released in 2005, and in May 2010 teamed up with clothing store C&A to release the clothing line labelled Dereon by Beyonce for C&A.

She also founded the Survivor Foundation with her family and ex-group member and longtime friend Kelly Rowland, set up to help provide transitional housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The woman is so much more than a role model. Despite the fact that she’s obviously a massive superstar and is possibly one of the most powerful people in the music industry, she is also a woman and knows her limits, yet keeps aiming to break them and rise to the top.

She’s pushed herself from the tender age of seven and kept on trucking, despite any setbacks, failures or defeats, and has managed to climb to the top, proving just how strong she truly was and is.

She provides women everywhere with a realistic role model; she’s got a healthy, beautiful body and celebrates her physique, she doesn’t rely on overt-to-the-point-of-skanky sexual prowess to get ahead, she pushes herself and reaps the benefits and is proud of who she is. She is a real woman. Not because of curves (don’t worry ladies, regardless of your size you are in fact a ‘real’ woman) or the fact that we know she has problems, like everyone else. She is a real woman because she doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer when it comes to something she wants and believes she can get to and believes she will work for.

She is a real woman because she admits to having an alter-ego that she’s displayed for her tours and stage performances, and ensures us all that this powerhouse of fierceness isn’t truly her all the time, it’s just another side amped up.

She is a real woman because she still tires and faces the fact that being on the go all the time does wear you out, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. She is tough, strong, unapologetic, intense and gives 100% to everything she does, and she does it all with a beautiful smile and a wonderful attitude. She’s accomplished so much in such a short space of time, but never brags or rests on her laurels. She takes it all in, then gets back up and keeps on going, in true Beyonce style.

Now tell me you can’t click the ‘Alainn’ button?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY

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Álainn or Appallin’: Mná na hÉireann in uniform

click here — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:00:08 +0000

We have heard your views on women in uniform – resoundingly in favour, quelle surprise!

Over the course of the past week, you may have noticed that welcoming, accompanying, protecting and escorting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Ireland were a bevy of female members of An Garda Síochana and the Defence Forces of Ireland (Army, Air Corps and Naval Corps).

Female members of the Air Corps formed part of the guard of honour at Queen Elizabeth’s arrival at Baldonnel airport. The motorcycle escort – of the Army’s Cavalry Corps – was led by a female officer (who, incidentally, spoke directly to Her Maj before the entourage set off from Baldonnel). And there were countless women among the thousands of members of An Garda Síochána on the streets of Dublin and Cork. (Personally, that provided compensation for any disruption caused by the road closures and what not.)

So, without further ado, let’s pay tribute…

View slideshow

Keep an eye out for them during President Barack Obama’s visit today. Nach bfhuil siad go hálainn?

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Alainn or Appalling: Santana Lopez

CherryBomb — Fri, 20 May 2011 07:00:14 +0000

For those of you who haven’t heard, Glee has a lesbian. And not just any lesbian, it’s our very own Queen Bitch Santana Lopez. Now, some of you might not have been following the episodes as religiously as myself, so you may have seen snippets here and there of hints that Santana likes the ladies, but now it’s official: Santana Lopez is in fact a super-hot, super-tough big L. And we LOVE it.

Santana originally started off as a simple, two-dimensional character, there to flank Quinn Fabray as her second-in-command. It was her job to supply bitchy looks and narrow-eyed hair flicks when annoyed. The character began to evolve into something more when she joined Glee Club and started to show us a different side. Not necessarily the soft(er), sweet(er) side we know of now, but skimming the edges of that just barely.

When the pregnancy angle was reaching its climax, because the true identity of the father was close to being revealed and the Glee club’s future was on shaky legs, it was revealed, in the briefest of moments, that Santana and Brittany were in fact more than just BFFs. The exact moment was in a 3-way phone conversation:

Mercedes: I thought you and Puck were dating?
Santana: Sex is NOT dating.
Brittany: Yeah if it was, Santana and I would be dating.

Cue many jaws hitting the floor across the world and both myself and my sister screeching at one another with ridiculous grins upon our OMG faces. Of course everyone thought this would be one of those little background jokes for Glee like Sue Sylvester’s Nazi-hunting parents or Ken Tanaka, but as the internet exploded with Santana and Britana fics, the story grew.

As you all probably know, Glee can be a tad mental with its character development, and so Santana was a bit hard to ‘get’ at time. She went from being a bitchy, attitude girl who had a no-strings-attached sexual relationship with Noah Puckerman (Puck), to having a sneaky carnal relationship with Brittany but still refusing to acknowledge any labels, while still remaining sexually active with the males (she bedded Finn in an attempt to be like Madonna), and finally stole Sam from Quinn by revealing Quinn’s secret relationship with Finn, only to realize she didn’t really want Sam at all.

The way the character of Santana goes seems to paint her as this awful, cruel bitch who just happens to be smoking hot. Yes, I’ve had times where I just couldn’t stand her absolute cruelty and how much she resembled thousands of other mean girls, but how great was she as that mean girl? Granted, I didn’t want to see her on screen for a while because of it, but that meant she was doing her job and doing it damn well. I was sick of the sight of her, because lets face it, a pretty face can’t really account for an ugly personality. That is, until it was revealed what her problem was.

Now, to provide this information in an easy-to-follow way let me bring you to the beginning of one of the episodes that rocked the ravenous fic-heads everywhere. Brittany and Santana. On a bed. In their cheerleading uniforms. All. Over. Each. Other. Brittany begins to talk about feelings, Santana doesn’t want to hear it. She says she’s only with Brit until Puck comes back, and so all of us at home have our hopes crushed. She appears only as a heartless, horny girl, using her best friend who clearly wants more. After Brit is slighted and hurt, she turns to Arty and begins a relationship with him, much to the chagrin of Santana (and lesbians everywhere). They remain BFFs and Santana convinces Brit it’s not cheating because they’re girls *totally obvious wink to the reader here*.

Long story short, when Brit refuses to continue to satisfy Santana carnally, because she wants to explore what this feeling is, they approach Ms Holiday (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) and perform the Stevie Nicks song Landslide together, revealing the sweet, soft and vulnerable Santana that’s been hiding in there all along. She cares deeply for Brittany, but still can’t admit to who she is in public. The moment my heart broke for her was in that same episode:

I wanted to thank you for performing that song with me in glee club. Because it’s made me do a lot of thinking. And what I realized is why I’m such a bitch all the time. I’m a bitch because I’m angry. I’m angry because I have all of these feelings, feelings for you, that I’m afraid of dealing with because I’m afraid of dealing with the consequences. And Brittany, I can’t go to an Indigo Girls concert. I just can’t.

She loves Brittany, but simply can’t out herself. She wants to be with her, but can’t face what might happen if she’s open about it.

Santana: I want to be with you, but I’m afraid of the talks and the looks. I mean, you know what happened to Kurt at this school.
Brit: But, honey, if anybody were to ever make fun of you, you would either kick their ass or slash them with your vicious, vicious words.
Santana: Yeah, I know, but I’m so afraid of what everyone will say behind my back. Still, I have to accept that I love you. I love *you*, and I don’t want to be with Sam, or Finn, or any of those other guys. I just want you. Please say you love me back. Please.

Is that not just achingly beautiful? All of her anger, all of her cutting, bitchy meanness and all of her cruelty stemmed from her confusion, and then her realisation of her love for her best friend.

Now, of course, you can’t just forgive everything because she had issues, but man was it an amazing way to totally redeem her character and do it so smoothly. Usually, characters and their new directions (heh) or total changes are done and just seem so daft and random. Santana’s journey was amazing. Although she began as this awful, mean person, when they brought her to this point it seemed to flow together perfectly.

Santana Lopez is cruel, sarcastic, and difficult. She is mean, calculating and sometimes heartless. But she is also caring, utterly defensive of her loved ones, tough and strong in so many different ways. She is just a teenage girl in a high school in Ohio where being different at all means being singled out and tormented, and she’s struggling to come to terms with who she is versus who she appears to be. Yes, she knows she’s a lesbian and she knows she’s in love with Brittany, but she’s still scared to let any of this be known to the rest of the world, for fear of being hurt emotionally or worse, bullied because of how she feels and how she is.

Santana Lopez is probably one of the best characters in Glee, and I’m not just saying that because of her orientation or the fact that she can look ridiculously good in just about anything. She has flair, she’s got some amazing one-liners, and she’s hard as nails while still being soft on the inside. And have you heard her sing? Try to tell me you can’t click the Alainn button there. Didn’t think so.

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Alainn or Appalling: Neve Campbell

Webmaster — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:00:03 +0000

She’s currently gracing our screens at the moment being chased yet again by Ghostface in Scream 4. I can understand his fascination for the lovely Miss Campbell, I mean those half closed eyes, the hair, the sighs. For those of you in the same age bracket as myself, Neve will always be best know for her role as whiny mac whine whine or as she was actually referrered as Julia Salinger in Party of Five. That tv show where ugly just did not exist. I was hooked on it for years, pretending to myself that I loved Matthew Fox, when in fact I loved Neve but as I was busy pannelling happily away in my closet, I never admitted it to myself.

Raised by her Dutch mum and scottish dad, Neve was born in Canada in 1973. She started work on stage before getting the part as Julia in Party of Five. From there she was cast as Sidney Prescott, the lead in the Scream, a movie which many has said redefined the slasher genre. She continued to stare in Party of Five up until 2001 when she left to concentrate on her movie career. We were very grateful espeically when she showed up in Wild Things. II was starting to realise the level of interest I had in tennis and check shirts was getting to an unhealthy level and then along comes Neve and THAT scene. Locking lips with Denise Richards.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSEuNZETj6c

* fans self *

If I wasn’t a lesbian prior to watching the movie, I was a 100% card carrying member afterwards. Neve, how I love thee, let me count the ways. In the same year as Wild Things, 1998, she was on People’s “50 Most Beautiful People” list. Two more Scream movies, a movie called Panic starring William Macy and Donnie Suterland, she lifted her nudity clause from her contract for the independent movie called When will I be loved.
” Some did you knows about the fair Neve from IMDB:

- Posed for a swimsuit photo believing it to be intended for a catalogue only to see it appear on a Toronto billboard.
- Was originally going to be a ballerina, but quit due to accumulating injuries (she had a bunion removed from her big toe and her joints were practically worn away), so she finally gave up dance. She still works out at the bar regularly and made the movie The Company (2003) because of her love for the art.
- Revealed that at aged 14 she suffered a “nervous breakdown” which resulted in complete hairloss, and that only intensive acupunture grew it back. [1999]

Quotes

(If she could change one feature about her, what would it be?): “I have the ugliest feet in the world. But even if I didn’t dance, they would still be ugly. My toes are too big!”

[on her favorite death scenes from the "Scream" series]: It’s really chilling that people think it’s fun that she’s dying [on Jada Pinkett Smith in "Scream 2"]. And just for gross fun, Tatum [Rose McGowan] in the garage [in the first "Scream"].

Here she is on Ellen talking about her ‘curves’! I know you’re all with me on the 100% Alainn

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okv5d1Yh3oo

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Álainn or Appallin’: Charlene McKenna

click here — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:42:16 +0000

Wouldya look at her there now. All Monaghany and lovely.

Yes, it’s Charlene McKenna, Irish actor of stage and screen. You may recognise her from such productions as Breakfast on Pluto, Pure Mule, Single Handed, Whistleblower and of course Raw. On stage, she has appeared in productions of Romeo and Juliet, A Slice of Saturday Night, The Little Shop of Horrors and Dancing at Lughnasa.

McKenna is currently starring in an Irish film, Jump!, based on a play of the same name by Lisa McGee.

She’s only wee, having been born in 1984, and hails from Glaslough. In 2009, she won the Best Actress IFTA for her role in Raw. In the same year she won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Mini-Series for her role in Whistleblower, a dramatisation of events relating to the butcher Michael Neary and horrific practices at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.

And speaking of Raw – McKenna and her fellow cast members from the show, made the following excellent video for BeLonG To in support of this year’s Stand Up! LGBT Awareness Week.

(Anyone else notice that Ms McKenna gets the longest bit of the video? And that Glaslough is near Castle Leslie? …Just sayin’.)

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The BeLonG To Stand Up! LGBT Awarness Week takes place from 4th to 15th April 2011. Visit BeLonG To for more details:
- website
- facebook (also)
- twitter
- youtube

Álainn or Appallin’: Amber Heard

Gooner — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:56:13 +0000

GLAAD’s 25th anniversary event was a wonderful occasion for many reasons, one of which was that American actress Amber Heard came out. This was a young up and coming actress stating her sexuality just as she was climbing the chain in Hollywood, it was a brave and inspirational move.

Heard is a Texan who left her Catholic High School in her junior year to pursue her dream of Hollywood and went on to work her way up from credits such as “Sales girls” in The O.C to co-starring in Johnny Depp’s next film The Rum Diary. It was through paying her dues in countless TV appearances and small films that Amber eventually made her big break in 2008, when she secured roles in Pineapple Express and Never Back Down. 2009 saw her appear in the role many will still associate her with, 406 in Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland. It was a small role but she was getting noticed and she hasn’t looked back. She played Piper in Drive Angry 3D and has a few movies in the works. She has also proved herself quite the lead when she took the title role in All The Boys Love Mandy Lane.

She has now worked with veteran actors such as Nicholas Cage, Charlize Theron and Johnny Deep as well as other up and coming names like Oscar nominees Jesse Eisenberg and James Franco. Amber is clearly not afraid to go out on a limb having already played a zombie as well as the Candy in Drop Dead Candy. She is also a name being thrown around when the new Supergirl movie is discussed. What can’t she do?

She drives a 1968 Ford Mustang and owns a .378 magnum, so this lady is not to be messed with. When questioned about the media attention since her coming out she said

It’s been frustrating as I don’t label myself one way or another — I have had successful relationships with men and now a woman. I love who I love, it’s the person that matters

So what do we think about the lovely Amber? Alainn or Appalling?

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Álainn or Appallin’: Calzona

Gooner — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:30:11 +0000

Over the last year or so I have blogged on a number of occasions about lesbian/bi visibility on TV. One of the couples flying the flag out there is on Grey’s Anatomy, Dr Callie Torres and Dr Arizona Robbins, better known as Calzona. Callie has been in the show since season 2 and is brilliantly portayed by Sara Ramírez. Callie married one of the shows main characters, George, but he had an affair and Callie moved on. She is one of the funniest regulars and has been brought more into a central role over the following seasons.

Callie became great friends with Dr Erika Hahn at the end of the fourth season and a wonderful chemistry turned into a romantic relationship. Erika realised she’s gay and Callie that she is bi. When Erika left I cried buckets but it wasn’t long before Callie had a new love in her life, namely the new Pediatric surgery attending, Dr Arizona Robbins. When Arizona first came into the show she was immediatly a great character. She was openly gay and unapologetic about it to boot. How did she introduce herself to the gorgeous Callie, well she kissed her in the ladies room of the local bar of course.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK2JR_lWyT0

What an introduction! You have to like Arizona even though at the start I really didn’t want to. She’s so perky it hurts. However, she does grow on you, at last a real lesbian on TV. One who, when she realised Callie had only been with one woman before, proclaimed she couldn’t go on a date with a newbie.

However, they of course did start a romance and they have had a fair few ups and downs. I won’t go into them here as they would be “spoilers” to those who are watching on Irish TV, but if you wish to read about the storyline just have a look at my blog here.

One of my favourite story lines was when Callie’s father came to Seattle to try to convince his daughter she was on the wrong path. Callie tells him “you can’t pray away the gay” but he isn’t convinced. Callie is very close to her father so you really feel for her. It is at this point Arizona steps up to the plate and has a chat with him. My mother is a massive Grey’s fan and when she saw this episode she called me in floods of tears. Here’s a taster of that episode.

It looks like Callie and Arizona are in it for the long haul and that can only be a good thing. they are both strong independent women who are capable and loving.

So what do you think of these ladies in love? Alainn or Appalling?

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Alainn or Appalling: Kylie Minogue

Gooner — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:29:37 +0000

They say good things come in small packages and if anyone embodies that philosophy it has to be Kylie. Born in Oz in 1968 Kylie was a child actor who came to worldwide fame in the soap Neighbours (every needs good ones) playing Charlene Robinson, a garage mechanic. It was from that platform Minogue went into her singing career releasing her first single The Loco-Motion in 1987. The success of this hit lead Kylie to sign a contract with Stock Aitken Waterman, perhaps one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time. They churned out hits such as I Should Be So Lucky and Especially For You, a duet with Neighbours co-star and Jungle survivor, Jason Donovan.

1992 saw Kylie leave Stock Aitken Waterman and forge herself into an independent artist. The 90′s saw Kyle release a host of hits, including Where The Wild Roses Grow with Nick Cave, from this she gained some much needed credibility and she has never looked back. The last decade has seen Kylie reach the very top of the pop world, selling out venues all over the globe as well as releasing pop classics such as I Can’t Get you Outta My Head and Spinning Around. All of these hits have lead to multiple awards and a legion of faithful fans. She even has her own bronze statue at Melbourne Docklands.

In 2005 Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer and became a beacon for many women as she delayed her Showgirl – The Greatest Hits Tour and fought the disease. The Australian Prime Minister even added his voice to the heightened media interest by stating his support for the performer. On the Ellen Degeneres Show Minogue explained how her cancer was initially misdiagnosed. French Cultural Minister Christine Albanel is quoted as saying

Doctors now even go as far as saying there is a ‘Kylie effect’ that encourages young women to have regular checks

Now there is something to be really proud of!

Kylie’s new album Aphrodite is accompanied by yet another tour that will have her fans screaming in the aisles. It comes to these shores in March and will be much anticipated by gay boys from Donegal to Cork. The album is available now.

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Alainn or Appalling: Jean Byrne

Bear — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 09:49:38 +0000

What’s going on with the weather? Snow, then some rain, then some snow, then frost, then rain, temperatures go down, then up, then down… Better turn on the telly to see what Met Eireann have to say about this climate conundrum! But wait, who is this style icon, this vision in leather/silver lame/strange furry ensemble?! It’s Jean Byrne, meteorologist and style icon!

A native of Tarbert, Co. Kerry, Jean was first employed as a Meteorological Officer, her interest in mathematics led her to study for her degree in Mathematical Sciences in Trinity College, Dublin, from which she graduated with honours. She went for further training at the aviation office in Shannon Airport , and then moved to the research division in Dublin. Academia’s loss (sorry, nerds!) became the nation’s gain in 1996, when she became a weather presenter on RTE, and our television sets were never quite the same (our radios stayed just about as they were).

The Jean Byrne Appreciation Society appeared about a year ago on Facebook, and as of date of writing has over 1000 fans.

What many deem her most famous ensemble (to date), premiered on Christmas Day 2009…

It was at that moment that cyberspace came into its own – this was the dress that launched a thousand threads, not least the Kent Brockman-inspired I for one welcome our new spaceweatherwoman overlord page on Facebook. She got us through one damn-cold winter, and no mistake.

Last week’s apparently see-through number brought Jean’s name back into the fashion headlines:

(I watched that forecast, yet didn’t hear a word. The screen behind could have said ‘Risk of Monsters / George Hook’ and I wouldn’t have noticed a thing)

I have to ask, it’s purely a formality, but it is a requirement here! What do you think of the fabulous Ms. Byrne?

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Alainn or Appalling: Natalie Portman

webmaster — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:05:23 +0000

Fair Natalie, you have come a long way since Leon. I always feel a bit old seeing child actresses grow up right before my eyes and then do a double take when
they are not 12 any more.

Judging by Miss Portman’s latest role in Black Swan, it’s a far cry from Luc Besson’s classic. However it is refreshing to see her not go down the route of other child stars. She seems to have a sensible head on her young shoulders.

Born in Jerusalem, Israel, as the only child of a doctor father and an artist mother. Did you know Portman is her stage name? Reportedly she first adopted it because of fears she would discredit her parents in case her performance in Leon was unsatisfactory. I didn’t and it will be a fact that will wow people at our next dinner party. Whether they want to know or not. Best save it for a discussion that actually involes Natalie otherwise you’re going to look a bit weird.

Natalie and her family lived in Jerusalem until she was 3 years old. Due to her father’s medical training and career advancements, the family then moved to Washington D.C. in 1984, and then on to Connecticut in 1988. They moved again to Long Island, New York in 1990. That’s where she lived until her acceptance to Harvard in 1999 which made her stay 4 years in Boston. She now lives in Soho, NYC.

She was discovered by an agent in a pizza parlor at the age of 11. She was pushed towards a career in modeling but decided that she would rather pursue a career in acting. She was featured in many live performances, but she made her powerful film debut in the movie Leon (1994) (aka “The Professional”). Following this role Natalie won roles in such films as Heat (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996), and Mars Attacks! (1996).

She was a picky young actress, turning down roles often. She’d never, she said, appear in a horror movie, or a “Jennifer Love Hewitt-type” film. Among movies she decided she wanted no part in Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm, Romeo and Juliet and The Horse Whisperer.

Then came Star Wars: Phantom Menace and Natalie became well know the world over as Queen Amidala. In fairnes she already had the stoic look down, I’m sure it didn’t take much to prepare for the role. From there she went onto to star with the always amazing Susan Saradon in Anywhere But Here. Reportedly Natalie had originally turned the part down, not wanting to play a nude scene. As Sarandon had co-star approval, she refused to continue without Natalie, so scenes were re-written. And Sarandon continued to laud Natalie after filming, saying “I felt at all times that I was working with an equal. She has a natural grace that doesn’t make her seem as if she’s of her generation”.

Next up was a teenage mom role in Where the Heart Is, but thankfully not the True-Life movie of the week type thing. This movie had Stockard “the goddess” Channing, Sally Field and lesbian fav Ashley Judd.

In 2000, she headed to college, Harvard to study psychology. Whilst studying, she did no more movies apart from the Star Wars movies which she was contracted to complete. In fairness, if you are going to do some movies to keep you ‘ticking over’ then Star Wars are the way to go

Finishing Harvard in 2003 with a degree in psychology, Portman jumped straight back into acting with roles in Cold Mountain and Garden State, starring opposite Zach Braff. For me, I can never see poor Zach in anything but blue scrubs. She received an Oscar nod for her role in Closer in 2004.

V for Vendetta opened in early 2006. Portman portrayed Evey Hammond, a young woman who is saved from the secret police by the main character, V. Portman worked with a voice coach for the role, learning to speak with an English accent, and she famously had her head shaved.

Bit parts in between V for Vendetta and Black Swan include Wong Kar-wai’s road movie My Blueberry Nights, The Other Boleyn Girl and the Wes Anderson short film Hotel Chevalier.

It must be infuriating for Natalie, who as an actress throws herself 100% into a role to have Black Swan constantly be mentioned for that one scene. The lesbian one. However she does acknowledge the scene was key.

“Everyone was so worried about who was going to want to see this movie,” she told the magazine. “I remember them being like, ‘How do you get guys to a ballet movie? How do you get girls to a thriller?’ And the answer is a lesbian scene. Everyone wants to see that.”

Other bits of trivia if she comes up at a table quiz near you, she’s been a vegetarian since she was 8. Something about her father doing surgery on a chicken. She can speak two languages, Hebrew and English (her native languages), fluently. One of her fav TV shows is Ellen

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Alainn or Appalling: Annette Bening

Gooner — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:29:59 +0000

Known for her roles in such American classics as as Bugsy and American Beauty, Annette Bening is an actress who gets better with age. She’s a powerhouse on screen and stage and even saved the worst film I have seen in years, The Kids Are All Right, from being a total waste of time.

Born in Kansas in 1956 Annette is the youngest of four children who grew up with conservative Republican parents. In 1965 her father took a job in San Diego where Annette took up acting, staring in her Junior High’s adaptation of The Sound of Music. I know, I wasn’t aware she could sing either! Bening went to college in San Francisco where she achieved a degree in theatre arts, she also joined the American Conservatory Theater.

From there she hopped off to New York, where she got work in an off-Broadway production of Coastal Disturbances for which she received a Tony nomination. Telly came a-calling, so she made a few made for TV movies before getting her big break to star along side Anjelica Huston and John Cusack, in Stephen Frears’s The Grifters in 1990. She followed her Tony Award nomination with an Oscar nomination for this role and Annette never looked back.

She is one of those actors whose name in the credits is enough to make you want to go see the movie. She has also gotten involved in other projects, such as hosting Saturday Night Live. Bening went away from her Republican roots to publicly support Barack Obama in 2008. She is married to legendary actor Warren Beatty with whom she has four children.

Her most recent role, that of Nic in The Kids Are All Right has been critically acclaimed and brought Bening back to her American Beauty days. I have to admit that she was fantastic in it but I hated the film with a passion I have not felt in years. I’m livid that anyone involved in such a project may win an Oscar, for which both Bening and Moore have been tipped.

So what do you think of this American beauty?

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Álainn or Appallin’: Heather Peace

Gooner — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:42:56 +0000

Lip Service season one may be at an end but before we try to move on I have to include the lovely Ms Heather Peace into our coveted Alainn or Appalling section. After all, if she wasn’t so damn sexy Cat’s dilemma wouldn’t have played out with any real conviction.

Born the same month as my lovely self, Heather Peace is both a musician and an actress. She began her career using both of these talents starring in musicals such as My Fair Lady before starting to show up on our TV screens with small roles in The Bill and Emmerdale. Heather then went on to get into the action with some meaty roles in shows like London’s Burning and Ultimate Force. Peace has not allowed herself be typecast however, and went on to play a single mother in The Chase.

Heather has not let all of this acting success hinder her music career and gigs around Pride events as well as sell out concerts in the UK. Something tells me her next tour will be larger than anything she has done before, after all, she did steel many a heart while she appeared as DS Sam Murray in BBC3′s Lip Service. In fact, putting all of her achievements together the people at the Independent have placed Heather at no 40 on their Pink List, which lists the “most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain today”. Impressive eh.

So what is it that made her appearance on Lip Service spark such a reaction? I wonder if the writers knew that so many people watching thought she was sexier than Frankie? Perhaps they wrote Sam as a character that was rock solid and dependable, the one your best friend would want you to choose, but assumed we would all find Frankie hotter. The fact there was such a split in opinion between the two characters added a great deal to the show but something tells me the show creators thought the whole audience would want Cat to choose Frankie. I could be wrong, but my guess is that Heather’s portrayal of Sam added a great deal to a story that could have been quiet dull and obvious. Or perhaps I am just trying to desperately convince myself they won’t write her out of it if we are lucky enough to be graced with a second season!

So what do you think of the sultry Ms Peace?

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Lip Service on Gaelick

BBC3 Lip Service Page

Alainn or Appalling: Laura Fraser

Gooner — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:59:43 +0000

Born only a month after my good self (that was a good year) Laura Fraser is a Scottish actress with some fancy credentials. Her resume includes such films as A Knights Tale, Vanilla Sky and the wonderful Nina’s Heavenly Delights. Not to mention her exploits on the small screen which include the title role in the BBC’s drama Florence Nightingale and their new lesbian drama Lip Service.

Laura got into acting at a young age. Her father is now a scriptwriter and when Fraser was in school he penned a play for her youth club, she played the lead of course! She went on to study at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, while there she got some small parts in movies and TV dramas. The academy were not happy with the amount of professional work Laura had so after one year she dropped out and, with the support of her family, she headed to the bright lights of London.

Laura is not just a pretty face however, and has used her high profile to endorse some meaningful campaigns, not least the Not Ever Campaign which fights against “the myth that women desire and incite sexual violence”.

Fraser’s refusal to be type cast is perhaps her most empowering characteristic. In an industry where an attractive and talented actress like Laura could easily fall into bit parts and rom coms she has chosen more juicy roles. From her part in the low budget Small Faces to blockbusters like A Knights Tale, she is constantly trying new things and exploring her talent.

The gorgeous Ms Fraser has played a lesbian character on more than one occasion. She was the sexy Lisa in Nina’s Heavenly Delights, partner of a female military police officer in The Investigator and you can now check her out on BBC3 in Lip Service. (If you missed the first episodes of the show you can watch them on BBC player here). Fraser plays Cat, whose ex is one of the other main characters in the show. Is she over her? Can she move on? We’ll have to wait and see.

On acting same-sex love scenes Laura simply says

I have no qualms about filming sex scenes with a woman. I’ve played a lesbian four or five times now. I must just be lucky I guess

So what do you think of the unstoppable Ms Fraser?

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