Sara Bareilles and Justin Timberlake attend the 2008 ASCAP Pop Awards in Hollywood. (photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage.com)

Taking Her Own Advice

Many actors fight to separate their personal and professional lives, but for 'Sopranos' star Lorraine Bracco, the themes were just too similar. Suffering depression while playing a therapist on the show, she says, casts her role in a new light: "I feel like Tony Soprano and Dr. Melfi did a huge amount of good," she says. "I think it was a fair insight into what therapy was about. And in that, I think it was very helpful to people." Off-screen, Bracco approached her own struggle with the kind of ferocity Tony reserved for his rivals: "I attacked this problem like you would if you had cancer. I said, how do I help myself here? Talk therapy, sign me up. Medication, fine, sign me up. I read books. I realized it was a life-and-death threatening thing and I decided I was not going to let go of my life." (photo: Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic.com)

[Projo.com]

Whiz Kids

Just like any first-year teacher working in a public school, Jim True-Frost — who played Roland Pryzbylewski on 'The Wire' — met some inspiring kids during the show's fourth season: "Only the four leads [child actors] had acting experience. But there were lots of other kids with supporting parts. I was very impressed with their professionalism ... They were no different from the other more experienced actors; but sometimes having that many actors on the set all at the same time was a little hectic." But lately, "hectic" seems to have become the norm for the actor, who's managed to pack a six-month window with performances in Julius Caesar, a film called 'Diminished Capacity' with Alan Alda and Matthew Broderick and a four-month run of 'August: Osage County' on Broadway. (photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage.com)

[Harvard Crimson]

George Clooney and Renée Zellweger attend the 'Leatherheads' film premiere in London. (photo: Jon Furniss/WireImage.com)

Crowded House?

Melissa George adopted an American accent to play Laura on 'In Treatment,' and now she's talking like a regular pundit. The Aussie actress became an American citizen this year in order to vote in the presidential election and isn't shy about laying her cards on the table. But if she gets her way, it'll be a full White House. "If Hillary runs it, you get Bill Clinton too, which is the best president we've ever had," she told the NY Observer at a recent event. "Then if Obama becomes vice president, he can get the experience through Hillary, and in eight years time, he can become president. That's the way it should be." (photo: Duffy-Marie Arnoult/WireImage.com)

[NY Observer]

A Little Off the Top

In 1960s America, most parents would have given an arm and a leg to shear off their kids' hippy hair, but they at least would have stopped at the scalp. In 2008 Liverpool? Not so much. An "unknown offender" lashed out at Beatles drummer Ringo Starr — or rather, a bush carved in his likeness — by hacking off the topiary musician's head. Police are reviewing closed-circuit TV footage in hopes of nabbing the culprit, who may have been spurred by dismissive comments Starr made about his hometown. Meanwhile, Starr's non-hedge-clipper-wielding fans can catch him in May on HBO's 'Ringo Starr: Off the Record.' (photo: David Munn/WireImage.com)

[Liverpool Daily Post]

Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis at the Point Foundation Honors the Arts event in New York City. (photo: George Napolitano/FilmMagic.com)

Leading Man

It's not like Richard Jenkins wasn't getting work. The pater familias of 'Six Feet Under' has appeared in more than 70 films during his career. But early on, Hollywood agents told him to think "hit men" when considering his "type." It was fellow thespian Tom McCarthy who finally decided Jenkins (at age 60) had what it takes to carry a film, and wrote the lead role in his new feature 'The Visitor' specifically for him.

Jenkins, who was doubtful — but ultimately pleased — that McCarthy could get the film made with his name above the title said: "I understood the responsibility. But I also was really excited to do it. I think I got nervous after the first couple of days. Then you realize, first of all, [McCarthy] wrote it for me. And if I can't make it work and he wrote it for me, then I'm really screwed." (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com)

[Los Angeles Times]

Keeping it Real

All the judgment and scorn on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' has made Larry David an icon, but for the show's producer, Gavin Polone, it's all been training for his next gig. Alongside actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Brian McKnight, the former agent will round out the expert panel for 'Secret Talents of the Stars.' Expected to play the bad cop at the judges' table, Polone should have plenty to say about the reality-grade stars who take the stage to show off their non-career-related talents. (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com)

[Variety]

Danny Wood, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg ('Band of Brothers') and Jonathan Knight of New Kids on The Block visit NBC's 'Today' at Rockefeller Center in New York City. (photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.com)

Fairytale Ending?

Sarah Jessica Parker may have more in common with Carrie Bradshaw than she's let on. Talking to Meredith Viera on the 'Today' show to promote her new film 'Smart People' recently (co-starring Dennis Quaid), Parker admitted she's glad she kissed some frogs before finding happiness with Matthew Broderick. "Yeah, I probably made some wrong choices, but I'm really kind of glad that I have because you make better choices afterward," Parker said. "You want to have made some wrong choices. You don't want to get it right so early in life, because it's all in front of you, I think...It adds more value to that prince. It can't always be summer. You've got to earn it." (photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

[MSNBC.com]

Graphic Content

Who says a gangsta can't be the good guy? Method Man may not have won any Good Samaritan awards as Cheese on 'The Wire,' but in his latest project, he's got "hero" written all over him. When his graphic novel hits stores in July under the easy-to-remember title 'Method Man,' the rapper's alter ego, Mosley Paine, will save a fictitious city from a sewer-dwelling sea monster. Meth is collaborating with David Atchison and artist Sanford Greene on the book — and hopefully won't catch a bullet at the end of this one. (photo: Hal Horowitz/WireImage.com)

[Pop Watch]

Kristin Davis arrives at the "c Murakami" Exhibition Opening at The Brooklyn Museum in New York. (photo: George Napolitano/FilmMagic.com)

Art Imitates Life

On 'The Wire,' Tom McCarthy (as journalist Scott Templeton) injected his reporting with a serious dose of fiction. But in the actor-writer-director's new film 'The Visitor,' McCarthy shed his Jayson Blair image and rolled up his sleeves to do some serious research to inform his fictional narrative. The filmmaker's sophomore effort (McCarthy wrote and directed the indie favorite 'The Station Agent') explores the world of Arab immigrants living in New York City, in particular the detainment of undocumented citizens, and McCarthy paid numerous visits to detainment facilities while writing his screenplay.

Discussing the clinical atmosphere of the facility depicted in his film, McCarthy notes: "It's a warehouse for human beings, a place to put people that we're not sure how to deal with yet...That's probably the one question I was interested in raising with this film... This isn't a movie about immigration by any means. But it does say, in dealing with certain people in this way, 'Is this the best we can do? Is this the best we have to offer?' 'Do we even know about this?' is the starting point." 'The Visitor' opens in theaters tomorrow. (photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com)

[Pegasus News]

Multiple 'Sex' Partners

As theater owners across the country consider the rewards of swapping popcorn and soda for cosmos and sushi, 'Sex and the City' alum Mario Cantone also can't wait for the film's May release. "I think it's going to be fantastic. I mean, it was a blast to make. I did my ten days on it. It's gonna be fun and the girls were fantastic. I have some scenes with Willie [Garson], and some with Kim [Cattrall] and with Kristin, of course. I've got some fun stuff to do. I'm psyched, I really am." (photo: Joe Kohen/WireImage.com)

[AfterElton.com]