12 STRONG (2018) Cast & Crew
CHRIS HEMSWORTH (Captain Mitch Nelson) has become one of the most popular and sought-after actors in Hollywood.
CAST AND CREW
NICOLAI FUGLSIG (Director) is an award-winning film director and photojournalist who made his feature film directorial debut on "12 Strong."
Born in Elsinore, Denmark, Fuglsig graduated from the Danish School of Journalism and went on to become a staff photographer for the national newspaper Politiken in Copenhagen. Soon after, Fuglsig took on a project to photograph a previously untold nuclear disaster in the Russian village of Muslumovo. The book created from the stunning images he captured brought him a 1999 ICP Infinity Award in New York, a World Press Photo First Prize, and the Kodak prize for Best Photographer Under 30.
From there, Fuglsig took his first step towards being a film director when he was on assignment as a photojournalist during the War in Kosovo. After purchasing a video camera at the airport, he shot and edited the footage from his experience into a powerful 15-minute documentary titled "Return of the Exiled," which aired on Danish National Television and screened in cinemas. A much-coveted invitation to make a short film for Levi's soon followed, with Fuglsig traveling to Haiti to shoot "Possessed Jeans," a viral video based on authentic Voodoo practices.
Fuglsig has since won over 170 awards for his commercial directorial work, including four Emmy nominations, taking home the award in 2013 for a Canon commercial, and several Clios. He has also been honored by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials, winning the DGA Award in 2007 for multiple spots, including for JC Penney, Guinness and Motorola, and again in 2014 for ads for FEMA and Guinness. His myriad commercial credits also include award-winning spots for such notable companies as Nike, Mercedes, Sony, Coca-Cola, Lexus, and Barclays.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH (Captain Mitch Nelson) has become one of the most popular and sought-after actors in Hollywood.
In 2012, he starred as Thor in the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time, Marvel's "The Avengers." In 2015, Hemsworth starred in the second installment of the global juggernaut "The Avengers" franchise, "The Avengers: Age of Ultron." He can next be seen in "Avengers: Infinity War," in theatres May 2018 and is currently filming the fourth film of the franchise.
He had earlier been introduced as the hammer-wielding super hero in the 2011 hit "Thor," directed by Kenneth Branagh. Hemsworth reprised the title role, starring in "Thor: The Dark World" in 2013 and in the third installment, "Thor: Ragnarok," released in 2017.
In 2012, he starred in the action adventure "Snow White and the Huntsman," which opened at #1 at the box office. In 2016, Hemsworth starred in the title role of the prequel, "The Huntsman: Winter's War."
Born and raised in Australia, where he started his acting career, Hemsworth made his U.S. feature film debut in J.J. Abrams' blockbuster "Star Trek," playing the pivotal role of George Kirk. His additional film credits include Paul Feig's comedy "Ghostbusters," alongside Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones; the comedy "Vacation," with Ed Helms, Christina Applegate and Leslie Mann; and Ron Howard's "In the Heart Of The Sea." He had previously collaborated with Howard on the true-life drama "Rush," portraying famed Formula One driver James Hunt.
It was recently announced that he will star in the thriller "Bad Times at the El Royale," with Jeff Bridges.
Among his favorite charities, Hemsworth supports the Australian Childhood Foundation.
MICHAEL SHANNON (Hal Spencer), an Oscar, Golden Globe and Tony-nominated actor, continues to make his mark in entertainment, working with some of the industry's most respected talent and treading the boards in notable theaters around the world. He is currently receiving widespread acclaim for his performance as the villainous Richard Strickland in Guillermo del Torro's "The Shape of Water." For the stage, Shannon most recently directed the play "Traitor" for A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago. Opening this month, the production will run through February 25th.
A two-time Oscar nominee, Shannon received his most recent nod, for Best Supporting Actor, for his role in Tom Ford's 2016 drama "Nocturnal Animals." In addition, he was honored by numerous critic groups with award nominations in the same category from the London Critics Circle, National Society of Film Critics, Toronto Film Critics Association, San Francisco Film Critics Circle, San Diego Film Critics Society, Broadcast Film Critics Association, and Boston Society of Film Critics, among others. In addition, Shannon received the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Body of Work for his roles in "Nocturnal Animals," as well as "Elvis & Nixon" and the Jeff Nichols-directed films "Loving" and "Midnight Special."
In 2016, Shannon starred on Broadway in "Long Day's Journey Into Night," produced by the Roundabout Theater Company and directed by Jonathan Kent. For his performance in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's landmark 1956 drama, Shannon earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play and won a Drama Desk Award in the same category.
In 2015, Shannon starred opposite Andrew Garfield in Ramin Bahrani's "99 Homes," for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice, Gotham Award and Film Independent Spirit Award, and was named Best Supporting Actor by a number of film critics organizations, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. He earlier garnered critical acclaim and received his first Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in "Revolutionary Road," directed by Sam Mendes. His many film honors also include an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor for his starring role in Nichols' "Take Shelter." He has collaborated with Nichols on all of the director's films to date, also including "Mud" and "Shotgun Stories."
His most recent film work includes Sam Henrikson's "Pottersville"; Werner Herzog's thriller "Salt and Fire," which screened at a number of international film festivals; Bart Freundlich's "Wolves," which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival; and "Frank & Lola," which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Upcoming, he stars in the dramas "The Current War," which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival; "State Like Sleep"; and "What They Had," serving as an executive producer on the last.
With more 50 feature film roles to his credit, Shannon has also been seen in such titles as "The Night Before," "Man of Steel," "The Iceman," "Premium Rush," "The Runaways," "13," "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done," "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," "Lucky You," "World Trade Center," "Bug," "8 Mile," "Vanilla Sky," "Cecil B. DeMented," and the Jerry Bruckheimer's productions "Bad Boys II," "Kangaroo Jack" and "Pearl Harbor."
On television, Shannon starred in Martin Scorsese's HBO series "Boardwalk Empire," for which he shared in two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Drama Series Ensemble. He stars in the upcoming true-life miniseries "Waco," set to debut later this month, and in the HBO movie remake "Farenheit 451," to air in Spring 2018.
An accomplished and award-winning stage actor, Shannon maintains a strong connection to the theater. In 2012, he made his Broadway debut in "Grace," earning a nomination for a Distinguished Performance Drama League Award. In 2010, he took the lead in Craig Wright's critically acclaimed off-Broadway play "Mistakes Were Made," for which Shannon garnered numerous accolades, including nominations for a Lortel Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Award and a Drama League Award. His additional theater credits include productions of "Pilgrim's Progress," "Uncle Vanya," "Our Town," "Lady," "The Metal Children," "The Little Flower of East Orange," "The Pillowman," "Bug," "Man from Nebraska," "Mr. Kolpert," "Killer Joe," "The Idiot," "The Killer" and "Woyzeck."
Shannon grew up in Lexington, Kentucky and began his professional stage career in Chicago, Illinois.
MICHAEL PENA (Sam Diller) has distinguished himself in Hollywood as an actor with a wide range of performances and has worked with an impressive roster of award-winning directors.
He has just been set to star with Diego Luna on the fourth season of the acclaimed Netflix series "Narcos," to air in 2018.
Pena earlier gained recognition for his performance in Paul Haggis' provocative Oscar-winning film "Crash," alongside Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon and Terrence Howard. He garnered multiple Best Ensemble nominations for his performance as Daniel the locksmith, sharing in the awards from the Screen Actors Guild and the Broadcast Film Critics Association for the cast's performance.
In 2013, he was seen in David O. Russell's Oscar-nominated film "American Hustle," for which he again won Best Ensemble Awards from the Screen Actors Guild and the Broadcast Film Critics. In 2015, Pena was seen in two films that crossed the $500 million mark: Peyton Reed's action adventure "Ant-Man," starring opposite Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas; and Ridley Scott's acclaimed drama "The Martian," opposite Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain. "The Martian" premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and went on to win a Golden Globe, was named a Top Film by the National Board of Review, and was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award.
In 2014, Pena starred in the title role of Diego Luna's "Cesar Chavez," portraying the civil rights leader and labor organizer. He was also seen in David Ayer's hit war movie "Fury," with Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf. In 2012, he was seen in the critically acclaimed "End of Watch," which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was later recognized by the National Board of Review as one of the Top 10 Independent Films of the Year. For his performance as Officer Zavala, Pena was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Pena more recently starred in "Collateral Beauty," with Will Smith, Edward Norton and Kate Winslet; "War on Everyone," opposite Alexander Skarsgard, which premiered at the 2016 Berlin Film Festival; and "CHIPS," partnered with Dax Shepherd. In addition, Pena lent his voice to the animated features "The LEGO NINJAGO Movie" and "My Little Pony: The Movie."
His upcoming films include the sci fi action adventure film "Ant Man and the Wasp," which reunites him with Paul Rudd and director Peyton Reed; the fantasy adventure "A Wrinkle in Time," with Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine; and the thriller "Extinction," with Lizzy Caplan.
Pena's long and diverse list of film credits also includes "Gangster Squad," with Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling; Brett Ratner's "Tower Heist"; "Everything Must Go," with Will Ferrell; Werner Herzog's "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done," with Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe and Chloe Sevigny; "Observe and Report," with Seth Rogen; "The Lucky Ones," with Rachel McAdams and Tim Robbins; Robert Redford's "Lions for Lambs," with Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep; Antoine Fuqua's "Shooter," starring Mark Wahlberg; Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Babel"; Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," opposite Nicolas Cage; and Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning "Million Dollar Baby," to name only a few.
On television, Pena recently starred on the series "Gracepoint" and appeared on the second season of HBO's "Eastbound and Down." He earlier starred in the HBO film "Walkout," based on the true story of a young Mexican-American high school teacher who helped stage a massive student walkout in the mid-1960s. Pena received an Imagen Award for Best Actor for his performance. He also appeared on the fourth season of the F/X drama "The Shield," opposite Glenn Close and Anthony Anderson. His other television credits include Steven Spielberg's NBC series "Semper Fi."
Raised in Chicago, Pena began acting when he beat out hundreds of others in an open call for a role in Peter Bogdanovich's "To Sir, With Love 2," starring Sidney Poitier.
TREVANTE RHODES (Ben Milo) recently starred as Black, the adult version of Chiron, in Barry Jenkins' Oscar-winning Best Picture "Moonlight," the coming-of-age story of an African American man struggling to navigate the drug-riddled streets of Miami while grappling with his own sexuality. Rhodes won rave reviews and received a number of honors, including sharing the Independent Spirit Awards' Robert Altman Award with fellow cast members, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble, as well as several critics awards wins and nominations from around the country.
Up next, Rhodes will star in the action adventure "The Predator," directed by Shane Black, and set for release this August. He is currently filming Netflix's dramatic thriller "Bird Box," opposite Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich and Sarah Paulson.
Rhodes first gained attention for his role in the Tyler Perry series "If Loving You Is Wrong" for the OWN Network. His four-episode arc on the series quickly turned into a 16-episode recurring role as audiences fell in love with his character Ramsey, the sweet-natured, handsome, boy next door. His other acting credits include HBO's "Westworld," Terrence Malick's "Song to Song," Netflix's "Burning Sands," and "Gang Related" on FOX.
Born in Louisiana and raised in Texas, Rhodes was a competitive sprinter at the University of Texas - Austin, where he was spotted by a casting director and invited to audition for his first film, ultimately sparking his passion for acting.
