Actors

Shelley Winters. With two Oscars and well over 100 films to her credit, Winters is a star in the classic Hollywood mode. But she is almost as well known for her off-screen adventures and irrepressible life style that made her a staple in the gossip columns.

Actor Michael Murphy. Murphy's first work was on television when he was still a high school English teacher. He debuted on the TV series "Combat," and later acted on "Ben Casey," "Dr. Kildaire" and "Bonanza." The director for the "Combat" series was Robert Altman, with whom Murphy has had a long association. He later acted in many films by Robert Altman, including "M*A*S*H," "Brewster McCloud," "McCabe and Mrs.

Actress Martha Plimpton. She appears in the new Ron Howard movie "Parenthood" as an independent, rebellious teenager. Although only 17, this is already Plimpton's 6th feature film. Her other film credits include "The Mosquito Coast," "The Goonies," "Another Woman," and "Running On Empty."

The Dutch stage and screen actor is often cast as a Russian character, including in the new movie Scandal. In the Netherlands, he often worked with director Paul Verhoeven. In the U.S., he's best known for his role as a womanizer in Crossing Delancey.

Wayans is the brother of actor and director Keenan Ivory Wayans, and has been pursuing a career in stand-up. He's been appearing in films recently like Beverly Hills Cop, though he's frustrated by the lack of complex and varied roles for black actors. Wayans' forthcoming movie is called Earth Girls are Easy.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone recently attended the Lincoln Center's celebration of Hollywood star Bette Davis, who is now 81. The gala included a series of film clips which, according to Stone, highlighted the power, confidence, and humanity of Davis's performances.

Hurt stars in the new film Scandal, about the Profumo sex scandal of the 1960s. He also portrayed Joseph Merrick in David Lynch's The Elephant Man. He joins Fresh Air to discuss how he fully inhabits his characters, and how his early life led him to acting.

Winfield won an Academy Award for his role in Sounders, and is a featured actor in the television show Wiseguy. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his career to date, and his involvement with black arts and civil rights movements.

Part 2 of the Fresh Air interview with Bob Balaban. He talks about the kinds of roles he played early in his career, and his show business lineage: his grandfather was a movie producer; his father helped operate a movie theater chain; and one of his uncles was president of Paramount.

Part one of the Fresh Air interview with Bob Balaban. He made his directorial debut with Parents, about a suburban family's dark secret. As an actor, he starred in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Absence of Malice.