Advertise on podcast: Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine

Anthony Edwards is probably best known as Dr. Mark Greene on the series “ER.” Edwards has received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Edwards has won three Screen Actor's Guild Awards (Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in 1996 and Best Ensemble Cast in 1998 and 1999.) He won the Golden Globe Award in 1998. In the theater Edwards was seen on Broadway in Children of a Lesser God, Classic Stage Company’s Month in the Country, WPA Shem Bitterman’s Frozen, Williamstown Theater festival Harvey and Joyce Carol Oates’s Black. Edwards has starred in more than twenty features, including his memorable turn as "Goose" in the blockbuster feature Top Gun. Other feature film credits include; Consumed, Experimenter, Big Sur, Motherhood with Uma Thurman, Flipped directed by Rob Reiner, and Zodiac directed by David Fincher. Thunderbirds, Forgotten, Playing by Heart, The Client, Miracle Mile, Mr. North, Hawks, Pet Semetary II, Delta Heat, Landslide, The Sure Thing, Gotcha, Revenge of the Nerds, Heart Like a Wheel, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Edwards recently starred in both the Apple series “WeCrashed” and the Netflix mini-series “Inventing Anna”, created by Shonda Rhimes. Other television credits include ”Law and Order True Crimes: the Menendez Murders”, “Zero Hour”, “Girls”, “Blue Bloods”, “Billions”, “Northern Exposure” and “It Takes Two” as well as the telefilms “In Cold Blood”, “El Diablo”, “Hometown Boy Makes Good”, “Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story”, “High School USA” and “The Killing of Randy Webster”. Edwards made his feature directing debut with My Dead Boyfriend in 2016. He also directed several episodes of “ER”. Edwards was an Executive Producer of the HBO biopic “Temple Grandin”, which won multiple Emmys and Golden Globes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GABBY BEANS is a Tony Award nominated actress. Some of her recent TV credits include Apple's "Presumed Innocent", HBO’s “Succession,” CBS’ “Blue Bloods”, CBS’s “The Good Fight,” Netflix’s “House of Cards,” and Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.” Theater credits include Jonah at Roundabout Theater, The Skin of Our Teeth at Lincoln Center (Tony Award Nomination for Best Lead Actress), I’m Revolting at the Atlantic Theater Company, Anatomy of a Suicide at the Atlantic Theater Company, and Mary Seacole at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HANNAH CRUZ stars in The Connector at MCC. Other theater credits include Only Gold (Camille, MCC)., Suffs (Ruza, The Public). Tour: Hamilton (IRNE Best Actress, Eliza), Bullets over Broadway (Ellen). Regional: The Da Vinci Code (American Premiere, Ogunquit Playhouse, Sophie Neveu) and Young Frankenstein (OP, Inga). Insta @thisishannahcruz.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jelani Remy Broadway: Back To The Future, Ain’t Too Proud, The Lion King.  Other theater credits include: High School Musical, Smokey Joe’s Café, AppleBoys, Oscar Michaeux Suite, Love Around the Block, Cabaret, Mozart: Her Story. Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star and Chita Rivera Award recipient. BCEFA NextGen Advocate.  @itsjelaniremy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coral Peña stars as Aleida Rosales in the critically acclaimed AppleTV+ series "For all Mankind." Coral entered the show for the show’s sophomore season and each year the storyline for her character has gained more significance and Coral’s performance is receiving great praise. Coral starred in the play "Our Dear Dead Drug Lord" at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles and can be seen in the indie Thelma opposite Fred Hechinger which will be premiering at Sundance in 2024. She can also be seen in the indie Story Ave opposite Asante Blackk and Luis Guzmán which premiered out of SXSW and had its theatrical release late in 2022. Previously, she appeared alongside Meryl Streep, in Steven Spielberg's The Post and in the Amazon film Chemical Hearts, opposite Lili Reinhart and Austin Abrams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JOE MANTELLO (Director). Broadway directing credits include: Grey House, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Hillary and Clinton, Three Tall Women, The Boys in the Band, Blackbird, The Humans, Airline Highway, The Last Ship, Casa Valentina, I’ll Eat You Last, The Other Place, Other Desert Cities, Pal Joey, 9 to 5, Laugh Whore, November, The Ritz, Three Days of Rain, The Odd Couple, Glengarry Glen Ross, Wicked, Assassins (Tony Award), Take Me Out (Tony Award), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Love! Valour! Compassion!  Off-Broadway: Here We Are, Dogfight, The Pride, A Man of No Importance, The Vagina Monologues, bash, Corpus Christi.  As an actor he has appeared in American Horror Story: NYC (FX), Hollywood, The Watcher (Netflix), The Normal Heart (HBO, Emmy Nom.) and upcoming FEUD Season 2: Capote vs. The Swans (FX) Broadway: The Glass Menagerie, The Normal Heart (Tony nom.), Angels in America (Tony nom.)  Recipient of Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Clarence Derwent, Obie, Joe A. Callaway and SDCF “Mr. Abbott" awards. Member of the Theatre Hall of Fame. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sharon Brous is the founding and senior rabbi of IKAR, a trail-blazing Jewish community based in Los Angeles. A leading voice at the intersection of faith and justice in America, she has been named #1 Most Influential Rabbi in the U.S. by Newsweek/The Daily Beast. She blessed both President Obama and President Biden at their National Inaugural Prayer Services, and her TED Talk “Reclaiming Religion” has been viewed 1.5 million times. Brous’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. She lives with her husband, David Light, and their children in California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Barbara Barrie has had a distinguished career in film, television and theatre. On Broadway, she has appeared in Company (Tony Award nomination), The Selling of the President, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, California Suite, Torch Song Trilogy, and, most recently, in the Broadway transfer of Significant Other, for which she received the Actors' Equity Association Award for the Best Performance in a Supporting Role by a Veteran Actor. Her notable off-Broadway credits include I Remember Mama (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), The Vagina Monologues, Current Events, After-Play, The Crucible, The Beaux' Stratagem, Love Letters, Isn't It Romantic? and The Killdeer (Obie Award and Drama Desk Award). Her best known television series appearances include "Law & Order" (Emmy Award nomination), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (Emmy Award nomination), "Breaking Away" (Emmy Award nomination), "Suddenly Susan," "Enlightened," "Nurse Jackie," "Once and Again," "Barney Miller," "Thirtysomething" and "Family Ties." Her mini-series and television movie credits include "Scarlett," "Roots: The Next Generation," "A Chance of Snow," "My Left Breast," "The Odd Couple: Together Again," "Tell Me My Name," "To Race the Wind," "American Love Affair," and "Barefoot in the Park." Film credits include ""Somewhere Only We Know," One Potato, Two Potato" (Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival), "Breaking Away" (Academy Award nomination), "Judy Berlin" (Independent Spirit Award nomination), "Frame of Mind," "Second Best," "Hercules," "Private Benjamin," "The Bell Jar" and "Thirty Days." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zach Schonfeld is a freelance writer, journalist, and critic based in New York. He writes about culture for Pitchfork, Vulture, Spin Magazine, and many other publications. He was formerly a senior writer for Newsweek, where he was on staff for five years. His first book, Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth, was published in 2020 as part of the 33 1/3 series. How Coppola Became Cage is his second book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Schwab, is a screenwriter based in New York City. Since 2014, Mr. Schwab has been an adjunct professor of screen writing at the Graduate Film school at Columbia University. He has also taught at the French National Film School, La Femis, and also at Sundance Colabs. Mr. Schwab received his MFA in Film from the Columbia University School of the Art where his thesis script, MR. VERNER'S PYGMY, was purchased by Scott Rudin. Since then Mr. Schwab has written for, among others, Warner Brothers, Animal Logic, Hollywood Pictures, Propaganda, HD Net Films, and Paramount Pictures. Mr. Schwab was the 2014 Sundance/Sloan Commissioning Grantee for his script, FRANCIS TURNBULL – which was also selected for the 2013 Hampton Film Festival writer’s lab. FRANCIS TURNBULL is being produced by Oren Moverman (THE MESSENGER, LOVE AND MERCY, TIME OUT OF MIND) and Wren Arthur (PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION). Jennifer Fox (THE TALE, BEIRUT: THE LAST HOME MOVIE) will direct. Mr. Schwab recently completed KACZYNSKI, a TV pilot about the Unabomber for SightUnseen pictures. Oren Moveman will direct.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JULIE BENKO is an actor, singer, and writer based in New York City. She recently marched her band out on Broadway as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, joining the annals of theatrical lore for her sensational understudy-to-star trajectory in the show. Between her tenure as the standby, alternate, and full-time Fanny, she played the role over 180 times and received numerous accolades for her interpretation, including Theatre World’s Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theatre She was also called the 2022 “Breakout Star for Theater” in The New York Times, named among “10 Broadway Stars to Watch for 2023” by Variety, honored as one of “40 Under 40” for Crain’s New York Business, hailed by CBS Mornings as “Broadway’s breakout star,” and profiled in numerous national media outlets such as The New York Times and Time. This fall, she is originating her first role on Broadway, playing Ruth in the long-gestating Barry Manilow/Bruce Sussman musical Harmony. Her recent album Hand in Hand (Club44 Records), a duo effort with her pianist-composer spouse Jason Yeager, won the BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award for “Best Commercial Album” and received a MAC Award nomination for “Best Major Album.” Her debut jazz album is Introducing Julie Benko. She has played leading roles in many Off-Broadway and regional productions and enjoys a vibrant concert career, having headlined sold-out shows at Birdland, 54 Below, and many other venues around the country. She won first prize and the Johnny Mercer Award in the national American Traditions Vocal Competition and holds a BFA in Drama and an MFA in Acting (yes, both) from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. As a writer, Julie has worked across mediums. In 2020, she wrote, directed, and starred in her first short, The Newlywed’s Guide to Physical Intimacy,which has won praise in numerous international festivals. Her first full-length play, The District, was named a semifinalist at the 2022 Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Her new holiday EP, Christmas with You, is available from Club44 Records. JulieBenko.com. Instagram/TikTok @JujujulieBee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike's second feature film, PASSING THROUGH, which he wrote and directed premiered in Torino Italy, later screening in festivals in Europe and more recently, here in NY at Soho International Film Festival, where it picked up nominations for Best Film, Best Actor, and the Audience Award. Mike's feature film debut, SELL BY, which he also wrote and directed, premiered in Toronto in 2019 at Inside Out, then traveled the festival circuit garnering awards including best feature, best screenplay and best director. It was acquired by Netflix under the title ALMOST LOVE, and stars Kate Walsh, Scott Evans, Augustus Prew, Michelle Buteau, and Patricia Clarkson. Mike's first film, SHINER, a short starring Amy Ryan, premiered at Tribeca and launched his directing career. Mike most recently directed THE CHASE, a short film written by Nick Jandl. With Nick, Mike is executive producing and writing the series TODO POR AMOR with Stampede Entertainment and CBS Viacom. Mike became WGA when he was hired by Judd Apatow and Universal to pen the comedy, UNTITLED GAY MARRIAGE. Mike is a veteran actor, with years of experience in film and television, working with greats like Clint Eastwood (Jersey Boys), Karyn Kusama (The Invitation), Richard LaGravenese (You're Not You), Nancy Savoca (Union Square), & Martin Campbell (Green Lantern) to name a few. He was last seen on NBC's NEW AMSTERDAM and Showtime's CITY ON A HILL. Mike holds a BS in economics from Georgetown, and he trained as an actor at The Juilliard School. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices