Ordinary Angels: Hilary Swank on the true story of a ‘snow baby’ and helpful stranger

Published

1 week ago

April 26, 2024

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Hilary Swank says playing roles based on real stories have made her a “better person”.

The 49-year-old has portrayed a real-life single mother, a lawyer and a high-school dropout – and won her first Academy Award in 2000 for Boys Don’t Cry, a story based on the life of Brandon Teena, a trans man who was murdered in 1993.

She tells Sky News: “Each character that I’ve ever played is in my heart, and I am so grateful for that because it just made me, I think, a better person and certainly helped me challenge myself as an artist”.

Swank says she never thought her acting choices would have such an impact on others and finds it “so beautiful to have those conversations” with people who relate to the roles she has played.

“[My filmography] touches not only different, genders, which is so unique, but different races and, and different classes of people and that is so beautiful because I then get to connect with people who have gone through something similar.

“Whether it’s people with addiction, people who are having a sexual identity crisis, people who are clear on their sexuality but had struggled in the past, people who were not seen in high school and dropped out because they didn’t matter and then that went on to graduating high school and college because they saw a movie that I was in”.

Her latest film, Ordinary Angels, is also non-fiction and she plays a woman who goes out of her way to help strangers at their time of need.

It’s based on the true story of a recently widowed father of two daughters, one of whom is in need of an organ transplant.

Losing her father

The story has a real connection with Swank, whose father was an organ transplant recipient before his death in 2021.

In 2014, the two-time Oscar winner took a three-year break from acting to be the sole caretaker of her father and says it allowed them to grow closer “deepening our relationship and savouring every moment we had together”.

She was offered the role in Ordinary Angels just months after his death in 2021.

“When people are losing their lives it’s hard and it’s a reminder of the lives that are lost in our own lives as we play them”.

Swank describes playing real people as “an honour,” explaining: “It allows us, as actors and storytellers, to break the blinders of how we walk in the world and see the world and it reminds us that people are going through things that we have no idea about. So, to be a little kinder walk, tread a little gentler, give people more grace.”

She adds: “Each character that I’ve ever played is in my heart, and I am so grateful for that because it just made me, I think, a better person. And, certainly helped me challenge me as an artist”.

The real ‘snow baby’

Ordinary Angels centres on a struggling hairdresser Sharon who finds a new sense of purpose after reading about a tragic story in a Kentucky newspaper.

Ed, played by Reacher’s Alan Ritchson, is a recently widowed father of two daughters – one of whom is waiting for an organ transplant.

The film is based on real events that occurred in Kentucky in the early 1990s that saw a local hairdresser step in and launch fundraisers to help the family with their medical debt and organise the child’s journey via private plane whenever a donated liver became available.

Locally named the “snow baby”, Michelle Schmitt and her father were helped by a stranger, Sharon Stevens and their community, to get from Louisville to Nebraska for an organ transplant during a historic snowstorm.

The tagline of Ordinary Angels is simple – “Find your purpose. Make a difference”.

Swank agrees and says it’s important to remember that we are not always aware of what others are going through.

“We have a choice in how we want to step into our lives every single day. That means helping others and helping ourselves to be a better person.”

Ordinary Angels is in UK cinemas now.

Entertainment

Bernard Hill: Lord Of The Rings and Titanic actor dies aged 79

Published

2 hours ago

May 5, 2024

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Bernard Hill: Lord Of The Rings and Titanic actor dies aged 79

Actor Bernard Hill, who played roles in Lord Of The Rings and Titanic, has died aged 79, his agent has confirmed.

Hill also featured as Yosser Hughes in the iconic drama series Boys In The Blackstuff.

He was given a number of awards for his role as King Theoden in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film Titanic.

The actor was born in Blackley, Manchester, in 1944 and graduated with a diploma in theatre in 1970.

He was married to fellow actor Marianna Hill, with whom he shared a son. His agent Lou Coulson said he died in the early hours of Sunday.

Hill will return to TV on Sunday night starring in the second series of Martin Freeman’s The Responder.

Fans have already started to pay tribute to him on social media.

Scottish musician Barbara Dickson wrote of their time working together: “It’s with great sadness that I note the death of Bernard Hill. We worked together in John Paul George Ringo and Bert, Willy Russell marvellous show 1974-1975.

“A really marvellous actor. It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x.”

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Entertainment

Madonna plays biggest-ever show to 1.6 million fans on Rio’s Copacabana beach

Published

3 hours ago

May 5, 2024

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Madonna plays biggest-ever show to 1.6 million fans on Rio's Copacabana beach

Madonna has played her biggest-ever gig to an estimated 1.6 million people on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.

It was the last show in her Celebration tour and she performed hits such Like A Prayer, Vogue, Hung Up, Into The Groove and Like A Virgin.

The Brazil city was buzzing ahead of Saturday’s free two-hour show, with hotels and Airbnb’s packed and about 170 extra flights expected into the city.

Helicopters and drones buzzed over the beach as the Queen of Pop took to the stage at 10:37pm, nearly 50 minutes late.

“Here we are in the most beautiful place in the world,” Madonna told the crowd as she pointed out Rio’s famous mountains and Christ the Redeemer statue.

The 65-year-old opened up with Nothing Really Matters from 1998’s Ray of Light album.

Eighteen speaker towers were dotted along the beach to ensure everyone could hear the US star’s vocals.

Brazilian musicians and people from local samba schools were involved in the show – with many fans dressing up in Madonna-themed outfits.

“Since Madonna arrived here, I’ve been coming every day with this outfit to welcome my idol, my diva, my pop queen,” said Rosemary de Oliveira Bohrer, 69, who wore a version of Madonna’s iconic gold cone bra.

Many fans had staked out a spot many hours – or even days – before the show, while others took in the spectacle from yachts or apartment balconies.

Madonna’s website said it was the biggest she had ever done – more than 10 times the 130,000 she played to in Paris in 1987.

However, Rio is used to huge shows – The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart have played to similar-size crowds there.

Thousands of police were on duty for Saturday’s show, which city authorities estimated drew a crowd of 1.6 million and would earn the local economy about 293 million reals (£46m).

For Madonna, it was the culmination of an 81-date retrospective tour that began in London in October and moved across Europe and North and South America.

The singer embarked upon the tour a few months after being admitted to intensive care with a serious bacterial inaction in June 2023.

Entertainment

Olly Alexander addresses ‘extreme’ remarks from fans on Israel’s Eurovision inclusion

Published

6 hours ago

May 5, 2024

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Olly Alexander addresses 'extreme' remarks from fans on Israel's Eurovision inclusion

The UK’s Eurovision Song Contest representative has addressed “extreme” remarks from fans over Israel’s inclusion in the competition.

Olly Alexander was selected as this year’s representative for the UK for the popular singing competition.

It’s set to take place in Malmo, Sweden, next week but tens of thousands are expected to protest Israel’s involvement and its ongoing war in Gaza.

Alexander, the Years & Years singer, has found himself facing criticism from some who called for him to withdraw amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Queers for Palestine circulated a letter, signed by thousands including actors Indya Moore, Brigette Lundy-Paine, and Maxine Peake calling for the It’s A Sin actor to pull out of the show.

In March, along with Irish hopeful Bambie Thug, Danish entrant Saba and other Eurovision artists, Alexander released a joint statement, backing “an immediate and lasting ceasefire” but refusing to boycott the event.

Now, speaking out in a new documentary which has followed the 33-year-old as he prepares for the show, he has described some of the comments he and other participants have faced as “very extreme”.

He said: “A lot of the contestants and myself have been having a lot of comments that are like ‘You are complicit in a genocide by taking part in Eurovision’ which is quite extreme. It’s very extreme.

“I understand where that sentiment is coming from but I think it’s not correct.

“It’s an incredibly complicated political situation, one that I’m not qualified to speak on.

“The backdrop to this is actual immense suffering. It’s a humanitarian crisis, a war.

“It just so happens there’s a song contest going on at the same time that I’m a part of.”

Speaking in the BBC’s documentary titled Olly Alexander’s Road To Eurovision ’24, he continued saying that people should boycott Eurovision if they didn’t feel comfortable watching and he respected their decision – but would be taking part himself.

He added: “My plan is to just focus on putting on a good performance in Malmo.

“My team, everyone’s worked so hard, and we’re in the final stretch now.”

Earlier in the week, Alexander broke down crying during an interview with The Times when discussing the pressure he had come under for participating in Eurovision.

He told the paper he knew a number of signatories of the petition against him, and none had reached out to him.

He said: “This is so much bigger than me and Eurovision, it really is. But, obviously, I wish there wasn’t a war or this insane humanitarian crisis.

“I wish for peace and I have found this experience, at times, extremely … I’ve just felt really sad and distressed.”

Speaking on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, deputy director general of the European Broadcasting Union who organises Eurovision, Jean Philip De Tender, defended Israel’s inclusion in the competition.

He said: “We do understand the concerns and deeply held views around the war in the Middle East.

“The song contest is a music event organised and co-produced by 37 public broadcasters, it’s not a competition between nations or governments.

“Our governing bodies reviewed the participation of Kan [Israel’s public broadcasting corporation] and found that they met all of the competing rules.”

Phillips pointed out incidences when Kan came under fire for their broadcasting.

This included, he said, when Kan published a video of children singing, in the public broadcaster’s own words, for the “annihilation of Gaza” and when one of their presenters was seen writing “I want to send the people of Gaza artillery shells”.

Mr De Tender said they had been in contact with Kan about the content they published and their editorial output, and had expressed concern on occasion.

He added that Eurovision had competition rules which they had to follow, and taking action beyond these rules to exclude Kan would have been a “political decision as such which we cannot take”.