The Color of Money

Background:

Academy Award- and Tony-nominated actress known for portraying spirited, strong-willed women in her films Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio had built reputation on the stage thanks to her performances in such productions as “Oh Brother” (1981), “Amadeus” (1982), “The Human Comedy” and “Henry V” (both 1984) before gaining acclaim as the smart Carmen on Martin Scorsese's “The Color of Money” (1986). Costarring opposite such heavyweights as Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, she was able to hold her own and picked up her Oscar nomination. The role also brought her a Golden Globe nomination. She continued to deliver a fine turn as Ed Harris' estranged wife in James Cameron's “The Abyss” (1989), from which she nabbed a Best Actress Saturn nomination, and took home a Saturn nomination for Best Supporting Actress in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991), opposite Kevin Costner. Often taking break from acting since her marriage, Mastrantonio made outstanding return to the cinematic industry with roles in John Sayles' “Limbo” (1999, earned a Las Vegas Film Critics Society nomination) and “The Perfect Storm” (2000) and in Broadway with the revival of “Man of La Mancha” (2002), for which she netted her Tony nomination. On television, Mastrantonio won a Gracie Allen Award after starring in the biopic “The Brooke Ellison Story” (2004) and had a recurring role on the hit series “Without a Trace” (2005-2006).

Mastrantonio, who was listed as one of 12 “Promising New Actors of 1986” in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 38, is the wife of movie director Pat O'Connor, whom she met on the set of 1989's “The January Man.” Married in 1990, the pair have two sons, Jack and Declan.

Italian-American

Childhood and Family:

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was born on November 17, 1958, in Lombard, Illinois, to Italian immigrants. Her father, Frank A Mastrantonio, operated bronze foundry. Her mother, Mary D Mastrantonio, died in 1991 after a long battle with rheumatoid arthritis. Raised in Oak Park, Illinois, Mary attended Oak Park River Forest High School and was trained for a career as an opera singer. She studied voice at the University of Illinois from 1976 to 1978.

In 1990, Mary married Ireland-born director Pat O'Connor, who directed her in the 1989 “The January Man.” Their first child, son Jack O'Connor was born in 1992. Their second son, Declan O'Connor, was born in 1997. The family now reside in London, England.

Man of La Mancha

Career:

Originally trained as an opera singer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio sang country and western music at Opryland theme park in Nashville, Tennessee during summer breaks in college. She dropped out of school and got work in local stage productions in Chicago before heading to New York in 1980. Before long, she was chosen to understudy the role of Maria in a 1981 Broadway revival of “West Side Story.” It was her costarring role in the short-lived Broadway musical “Oh Brother” (1981), however, that earned the thespian rave reviews from critics.

Mastrantonio next understudied the role of Constanze Mozart in “Amadeus” (1982), acted in the workshop version of the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine show “Sunday in the Park With George” (1983) and broke into the cinematic industry with a supporting role in the Brian De Palma crime/drama “Scarface” (1983), opposite Al Pacino, Steven Bauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. She portrayed Al Pacino's sexy sister, Gina Montana. Previously, the curly-haired actress landed a small role in Martin Scorsese's “The King of Comedy” (1982) but her part ended in the cutting room floor.

Mastrantonio resumed her stage career by costarring in the American opera “The Human Comedy” and acted alongside Kevin Kline in Shakespeare's “Henry V” (both 1984) before making her TV miniseries debut in the biographical “Mussolini: The Untold Story” (NBC, 1985), in which she was cast as Edda Mussolini, opposite George C. Scott as Benito Mussolini. A year later, the brown-eyed performer was launched to prominence thanks to her role as Tom Cruise's spunky girlfriend, Carmen, in “The Color of Money,” a sport-themed movie directed by Scorsese. Delivering a fine performance, Mastrantonio was nominated for an Oscar for Oscar Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She also received a Golden Globe nomination for the same category.

The following year saw Mastrantonio star along side Tom Hulce in the Wayne Wang comedy “Slam Dance,” where she portrayed the three-dimensional role of a wife with a unfaithful husband, and appear with Mandy Patinkin in the Off-Broadway musical “The Knife.” She further showcased her versatility by playing the daughter of the mayor of NYC in “The January Man” (1989), a comedy which reunited her with Kevin Kline. Although the movie was unsuccessful, she did find a true love and married the film's director Pat O'Connor a year later.

Still in 1989, Mastrantonio gave one of her best acting by playing the alienated wife of Ed Harris in the underwater epic “The Abyss,” helmed by James Cameron. She netted a 1991 Saturn nomination for Best Actress for her work. On the stage, the impressively beautiful actress gained positive reviews for her tasty portrayal of Viola in the star-studded New York Shakespeare Festival production of “Twelfth Night” in Central Park.

Settling in London after her marriage, Mastrantonio reunited with her husband for the British period drama “Fools of Fortune” (1990), where she was cast as a young Englishwoman named Marianne, opposite Iain Glen as Willie Quinton, and played Yelena in the BBC adaptation of Anton Chekhov's “Uncle Vanya” (1991). She returned to American productions in the drama “Class Action” (1991), opposite Gene Hackman, and the Kevin Costner vehicle “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991), playing Maid Marian. The latter role brought Mastrantonio a Saturn nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a MTV Movie nomination for Best Female Performance.

Mastrantonio costarred with Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson in the drama “White Sands” (1992) and re-teamed with Kelvin Kline for the Alan J. Pakula-directed thriller “Consenting Adults” (also 1992). After the productions, however, she departed the scene for a few years to concentrate on her family. In 1995, she reappeared in the fantasy “Three Wishes,” along side Patrick Swayze, and the tender drama “Two Bits,” where she was cast as the daughter of Al Pacino. The roles, unfortunately, failed to showcase her extraordinary. Also in that same year, Mastrantonio made a brief return to the New York stage in the Lincoln Center production “Northeast Local,” opposite Anthony LaPaglia, and had a voice role in an episode of the TV series “Frasier.”

Following another hiatus, Mastrantonio made an auspicious comeback to the big screen with her starring role as Donna De Angelo in the John Sayles drama “Limbo” (1999). Playing a singer who falls for a fisherman, she was nominated for a 2000 Sierra Award for Best Actress at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society. Mastrantonio followed that up with a starring role as the wife of Colin Firth in the biopic “My Life So Far” (also 1999) and closed out the decade with another important in the HBO drama “Witness Protection,” opposite Tom Sizemore.

Entering the new millennium, Mastrantonio took on the supporting role of Linda Greenlaw, the only female fishing boat captain, in the blockbuster movie “The Perfect Storm” (2000), based on the Sebastian Junger successful nonfiction book of the same name. Among her costars in the adventure were George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane and William Fichtner. She joined Matthew Rhys for the British thriller “Tabloid” in the next year and again disappeared from the screen. During the hiatus, she was spotted on the stage playing Aldonza/Dulcinea opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell in the Broadway revival of “Man of La Mancha” (2002). She received a Tony nomination for Best Actress (Musical) for her work in the play.

In 2004, Mastrantonio took part in the short film “Standing Room Only” and starred as Jean Ellison in the made-for-TV film “The Brooke Ellison Story,” directed by Christopher Reeve. The latter performance won the actress a Gracie Allen for Outstanding Female Lead in a Drama Special. She went on to take the recurring role of Anne Cassidy on the fourth season of the long-running TV drama “Without a Trace” (2005-2006). More recently, she portrayed Gayle Russell on the made-for-TV film “The Russell Girl” (2008), opposite Jennifer Ehle, Paul Wesley and Tim DeKay.

Awards:

• Gracie Allen: Outstanding Female Lead in a Drama Special, “The Brooke Ellison Story,” 2005