Entertainment

Camilla Luddington may not be one of the original Grey’s Anatomy stars, but she’s a huge part of the series’ history.

The British actress, 38, joined the ABC medical drama back in season 9 as Jo Wilson. More than 200 episodes later, she is part of the cast celebrating the show’s milestone 400th episode — which also happens to be the season 18 finale — airing Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

As it turns out, things could have been very different for Luddington, who missed her audition in 2012 because she was at San Diego Comic-Con promoting her role as Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider video game franchise.

Luckily, it all worked out in the end.

“Ten years later, here I am,” she told Good Morning America on Thursday.

Luddington also spoke about how her character’s storyline of becoming a mom this season mirrored her own life, having welcomed her son, Lucas, in August 2020. She also shares 5-year-old daughter Hayden with husband Matthew Alan.

“They’re like, ‘OK, so you’re going to be really tired this season.’ And I’m like, ‘I got this,'” she said, laughing. “Like, her kid was teething, my kid was teething. This season was easy, the mom thing.”

Luddington said showrunner Krista Vernoff is “very open” to the actors pitching stories for their characters. The actress also revealed one storyline she’s keen to pitch herself: her vision for how Grey’s Anatomy should end.

“Can we be on a beach? I just feel like there have been so many huge disasters. Can we just all survive, like, with a cocktail?” she suggested. “That’s what I want. A cocktail on the beach. That’s what I’ll pitch next.”

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After 19 years in syndication, Ellen DeGeneres wrapped up her talk show for good on Thursday. Along with Jennifer Aniston, she was joined by two music superstars as her final guests: Pink and Billie Eilish.

Aniston was Ellen’s very first guest on her very first episode, so it was fitting that she appeared on this final show. After Aniston’s appearance came Billie, who first appeared on the show in 2018, when she was just 16. She told Ellen, “You started this show the year after I was born. This was in my house constantly. Every day. I would walk into the kitchen and my mom would be watching you.”

Ellen’s great friend Pink was the final guest and musical performer. In addition to singing “What About Us,” she also gifted Ellen with some things that will help her fill all the free time she’ll suddenly have on her hands: a homemade sourdough starter; knitting needles and yarn; and binoculars for bird-watching.

Pink, who first appeared on the show in 2003, told Ellen, “I wanted to be a singer because I wanted to grow up and change the world and make it a better place. You’ve done that in so many ways. Maybe I help people find their pain. You help people find their joy.”

Ellen concluded the show by saying, “Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. I feel the love and I send it back to you. Bye.”

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Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta has died at age 67, his publicist confirms to ABC News. 

No cause of death was given, though there are unconfirmed reports that he passed away in his sleep while shooting the movie Dangerous Waters in the Dominican Republic.

Liotta caught the attention of Hollywood in the 1986 film Something Wild, playing star Melanie Griffith‘s violent ex-con husband, a role for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe. He went on to appear as Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1989’s baseball-themed classic Field of Dreams, with Kevin Costner, in which he delivered the memorable, oft-quoted line, “Hey, rookie! You were good!”

But Liotta’s breakout role came in the 1990 Martin Scorsese classic Goodfellas, as part of an all-star cast that included Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Lorraine Bracco. Based in part on the life of former mobster turned government informant Henry Hill, which Liotta played, the film became a near-instant classic and launched Liotta to stardom.

Liotta most recently appeared in films including the Sopranos spinoff The Many Saints of Newark, Marriage Story and No Sudden Move. He also starred in TV shows including Shades of Blue opposite Jennifer Lopez, Amazon Prime’s Hanna and the Apple TV+ series Black Bird, alongside Taron Egerton.

In 2005, Liotta won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Charlie Metcalf in an episode of ER called “Time of Death.”

Liotta leaves behind a daughter, Karsen, and a fiancée, Jacy Nittolo.

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Kevin Spacey has been charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men in the United Kingdom, the U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service confirmed Thursday.

Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said in a statement, “The CPS has authorized criminal charges against Kevin Spacey, 62, for four counts of sexual assault against three men.”

“He has also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent,” the statement continued. “The charges follow a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation.”

The statement added, “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr. Spacey are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”

Since 2017, multiple men in both the U.S. and U.K. have come forward with sexual harassment or assault allegations against the former House of Cards actor. Spacey has maintained his innocence.

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Jimmy Kimmel addressed the Texas school shooting in an emotional monologue on his late night-show Wednesday.

Speaking to the camera without the studio audience present, Kimmel immediately choked up as he grieved for “the little boys and girls whose lives have been ended and whose families have been destroyed.”

“Our leaders on the right, the Americans in Congress and at Fox News and these other outlets warn us not to politicize this,” Kimmel said, adding, “they don’t want to speak about it, because they know what they’ve done. And they know what they haven’t done and they know that it’s indefensible. So they’d rather sweep this under the rug.”

Kimmel then pointed out most Americans – both Democrats and Republicans – support “common-sense gun laws” that keep guns “out of the hands of criminals and children.”

“This is not a time for moments of silence, this is a time to be loud and to stay loud and not stop until we fix this,” he said.

Jimmy choked up again as he stated there have been 27 school shootings so far this year – and it’s only May. “How does this make sense to anyone? These are our children!” Kimmel said.

“If you care about this – and we all do, doesn’t matter what party we vote for – we need to make sure that we do everything we can, that unless they do something drastic, let’s make sure that not one of these politicians ever holds office again,” he declared.

On Tuesday, 19 children and two adults were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas by an 18-year-old gunman, who also was killed.

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Bleecker Street on Wednesday dropped the trailer for its Regency-era rom-com, Mr. Malcolm’s List, starring The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Zawe Ashton and Gangs of London‘s Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù. Per Bleecker Street, the film follows Ashton’s Julia Thistlewaite, who gets jilted after failing to meet an item on Mr. Malcolm’s list of requirements for a bride. Feeling humiliated and determined to exact revenge, she convinces her friend Selina Dalton — portrayed by Freida Pinto — to play the role of his ideal match. Soon, Mr. Malcolm wonders whether he’s found the perfect woman…or the perfect hoax. Mr. Malcolm’s List is slated for a July 1st theatrical release…

A Speed Racer live-action series is in the works at Apple with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot set to executive produce, according to Variety. Speed Racer centers on the titular character’s adventures and his souped up car, the Mach 5. His team consists of his father and car builder Pops Racer, his little brother Spritle and his pet chimpanzee Chim-Chim and Speed’s girlfriend Trixie. Speed also frequently crosses paths with the mysterious Racer X, who is secretly Speed’s older brother Rex Racer. Speed Racer, which originated as a manga series created by Tatsuo Yoshida in the 1960s under the title Mach GoGoGo, was first adapted into an anime series that debuted in the United States in 1967. This would mark the second live-action version of the Japanese character, following the 2008 film starring Emile Hirsch in the title role…

Tuesday’s This Is Us series finale scores the highest rating of the season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show ended its six-season run with a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 and 6.4 million total viewers, according to Live + Same Nielsen data. It should be noted that last night’s runner-up CBS shook up its primetime last minute when the network decided to pull the season four finale of FBI from its schedule, following a shooting at a Texas elementary school that saw over a dozen children killed on Tuesday. The episode has been pulled due to the fact that the storyline concerned a school shooting…

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Wedding bells for Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez will come “sooner rather than later” — that is, if J-Lo has her way.

“Jennifer will tell you she’s not in a rush to get married, but her friends think otherwise,” a source tells Us Weekly. “The truth is that if Ben wanted to push this forward as early as this summer, she’d be totally down with that.”

The insider also says the 52-year-old actress/singer, “wants the formalities out of the way so they can start their journey as man and wife sooner rather than later,” and she intends to have a big wedding.

“She definitely wants a spectacular celebration at some point and money won’t be an object!” the source continues. “They’re both committed to making this work and taking all the steps necessary to respect each other’s boundaries and learn from their mistakes the last time around.”

Ben and Jennifer, aka “Bennifer,” rekindled their romance last summer after Jennifer broke up with Alex Rodriguez. They first met in 2002 on the set of their film Gigli. In June 2002, Lopez filed for divorce from then-husband Chris Judd after two years, and began publicly dating Affleck.

Affleck proposed the following November, but called things off in September of 2003, just days before they were supposed to tie the knot. By January 2004, they had officially split.

If the couple makes it to the altar, it’ll be the Jennifer’s fourth marriage, and Affleck’s second. Jennifer shares twins Max and Emme, 14, with her ex-husband Marc Anthony, while Affleck has three kids with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

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From the Upside Down to the Great White Way: Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo is making his return to Broadway this summer.

The 19-year-old actor will be playing the role of Jared Kleinman in the hit musical Dear Evan Hansen.

“Words could never express how truly honored I am to be a part of this company,” said Matarazzo in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. “This show has taught me so much about myself and to be able to participate in any capacity, let alone on Broadway, makes me want to melt. I am ecstatic to be back on stage and eternally grateful for the opportunity.”

Matarazzo made his Broadway debut in 2011 in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. In 2014, he played Gavroche in Les Miserables.

His limited run in Dear Evan Hansen will begin July 19. Meanwhile, season 4 of Stranger Things debuts on Netflix this Friday, May 27.
 

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Former reality star Josh Duggar has been sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison on child pornography charges, according to ABC-TV affiliate KHBS in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The 34-year-old former 19 Kids and Counting star was found guilty last year on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. Each charge carries a maximum 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines, but District Judge Timothy Brooks relied on just one of the charges – the more severe receipt of child pornography charge – in determining the sentence.

Duggar was accused of downloading child sexual abuse material, some of which depicted children younger than 12, and having it in his possession in May 2019, according to the indictment. He pleaded not guilty.

Duggar has been the focus of several controversies over the years, starting in 2006 when he was investigated for allegedly molesting five underage girls when he was a teenager. Since then, two of his sisters — Jill and Jessa — have come forward as two of his victims.

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Playing the King of Rock & Roll did a number on Austin Butler.

The Elvis actor, 30, told British GQ that he was hospitalized and bedridden for a week after completing the upcoming film back in March 2021.

“I woke up at 4 in the morning with excruciating pain, and I was rushed to the hospital,” Butler said. “My body just started shutting down the day I finished Elvis.”

According to GQ, Butler was diagnosed with a virus and was hospitalized for treatment of the virus, which simulates appendicitis.

The role meant a lot to Butler, who related to Elvis Presley‘s life story on a deep, emotional level. “I’ve never loved somebody I’ve never met more than Elvis,” he said. “His mother passed away when he was 23, and my mom passed away when I was 23. So when I learned that, it was one of those things where I got chills and I just thought, ‘OK, I can connect to that.’”

His portrayal has already been given the stamp of approval from Presley’s family. The singer’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, took to Instagram on May 6 to sing her praises. “I’ve seen Elvis the film, I watched the trailer over a dozen times,” she wrote alongside the movie’s trailer. “But the words I heard from my daughter on how much she loved the film and that Riley will love it too when she sees it brought tears.”

Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, has since seen the film. She gave her thoughts during a Variety Women in Motion panel at the Cannes Film Festival, calling the experience of watching it “very emotional.”

“I started crying five minutes in and didn’t stop,” Keough said. “I felt honored they worked so hard to really get his essence, to feel his essence. Austin captured that so beautifully.”

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