Who Played This Role? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stephen Boyd

"Ben-Hur", starring the great Charlton Heston (1923-2008), is set in Roman times, during that nation's occupation of Israel. The story revolves around the life of wealthy Jewish man Judah Ben-Hur, his fall into slavery at the hands of his one time friend Messala (a Roman soldier), and his triumphant return. It culminates in a magnificent chariot race and a breath-taking duel between the two.

Stephen Boyd (1931-1977) plays Messala, a cheat to the end, who falls during the race and is trampled under the wheels of the chariots and the hooves of the horses. The film won a staggering eleven Academy Awards, none of which went to either Stephen Boyd, or the beautiful horses used in that mighty chariot race. Interestingly, Boyd was originally offered the role of Mark Anthony in the 1963 film "Cleopatra", but withdrew from the show to star in another lesser-known film of the time.
Boyd was born in Ireland, and appeared in sixty films during his career, before dying of a heart attack during a round of golf. "Ben Hur" was his most well known film, but he was noted for his sterling performances in all the roles he undertook. These include "The Man Who Never Was" in 1956, in which he plays a spy. Another of his films is the 1966 "Fantastic Voyage" in which he plays one of the men in a submarine which was miniaturised in order to go inside the body of an unconscious and very important scientist holding valuable information.

Answer: Cary Grant

The role played by Cary Grant (1904-1986) in this extremely amusing film is that of an absent-minded paleontologist trying to assemble the bones of a large dinosaur. To add to his woes, one of the bones is missing, he is engaged to be married to a humourless fiancee, and he is also hoping for a million dollar donation to his museum from a wealthy benefactor. Along comes Susan Vance, who is played by Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003). She is a scatterbrained girl he meets on a golf course. Sent a leopard by her brother, as a gift for their aunt, she attempts to enlist David's help in looking after it. Along the way, she has him embroiled in a number of hilarious episodes involving the leopard, her dog runs off with the missing bone, Baby also disappears, and another (untamed) leopard escapes from the zoo. You can imagine the results I'm sure. It's a very funny movie and well worth watching more than seventy years after its release.

English born Cary Grant became one of the top leading men in Hollywood during his long career of seventy-four films. His roles almost invariably included the rather suave, beautifully accented hero who manages, in one way or the other, to land himself in a pickle, while ending up with the leading lady along the way. Nominated twice for an Oscar, he never won either, but was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1970 for his long years of service to the film industry. One of his many well known films includes "North by Northwest" (1959) in which he plays a man mistaken for a spy, subsequently being pursued all over the country by enemy agents. Then of course we have the beautifully told romance "An Affair to Remember" in 1957, in which he plays one of a pair of temporarily star-crossed lovers separated by a cruel twist of fate. Married five times, Cary Grant retired from acting at the age of sixty-two, in order to spend time with his only child and to look after his various business interests.

Answer: Greg Kinnear

The plot of this excellent film surrounds Melvin, a novelist who suffers from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, who is struggling to keep his world exactly as he needs it to be. Unfortunately he is forced, by a series of incidents, to take care of a small dog belonging to his gay neighbour, who is played beautifully by Greg Kinnear. At the same time, he is more than obsessed with the waitress Carol (played by Helen Hunt) who serves him his daily meal at his preferred restaurant. She goes missing for several days so, unable to eat comfortably without her presence, he sets out to find out why. The film evolves from this into a touching love story, and a true friendship developing between the three unlikely characters. It's a lovely movie, and won both Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt an Oscar, and Greg Kinnear an Oscar Nomination for their respective roles.

Greg Kinnear, born in 1963, grows from strength to strength in the various film roles he undertakes. His likeable charm, and good looks, have seen him play characters from that of the unlucky-in-love hero to a gay artist. Two of his other well known movies includes the 1995 romantic comedy "Sabrina", in which he plays a womanising playboy who comes good in the end; and the excellent 1998 film, "You've Got Mail" in which he plays a rather weak but lovable character who falls out of love with Meg Ryan and into love with someone else. Greg, who has a degree in journalism, married British model Helen Labdon in 1999. Together they have three lovely daughters.

Answer: Frank Sinatra

This film tells the interweaving stories of civilians and defence personnel living at Pearl Harbour before, during, and after the attack by the Japanese on 7 December, 1941. Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) plays a private who dies as a result of the barbaric treatment he receives at the hands of the sergeant in charge at the army stockade, played beautifully and horribly by Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012). Maggio has been sent there for six months punishment for being drunk and disorderly and deserting his post on guard duty one evening. Maggio's pivotal role in the movie is that of close friend to the film's hero, Robert Prewitt, played by Montgomery Clift (1920-1966). This allows the audience to be a party to much of Prewitt's motivation for his actions during the film, as the events surrounding the two characters lead to the climax. The film won eight Academy Awards, including one to Frank Sinatra as Best Supporting Actor.

Actor and singer Frank Sinatra first rose to fame in the big band era of music in the late 1930s. Not only did his vocal career continue to develop from that time, but he also branched out into movie roles from the mid 1940s onward. Though that career saw a brief lull for a time in the early 1950s, it was relaunched with a bang in 1953 with his Academy Award winning performance in the movie "From Here to Eternity" in the same year. Following another lull in popularity twenty years later, Sinatra retired from all performances in 1971, but was once again coaxed to reappear on stage two years later. Although he only made three more movies from that time, his singing career reached epic proportions, and he became more popular than ever. Following a heart attack in 1997 however, and beginning to display early signs of that dreadful illness, dementia, he made no further public appearances. He died a year later, with his fourth wife, Barbara, by his side.

Answer: Ben Stiller

Also starring Robert de Niro, this very funny movie tells the story of the hapless hero (Stiller) trying his hardest to impress his future father-in-law, played by de Niro. A retired CIA officer, de Niro in his role as Jack Byrnes, is extremely right wing, and highly suspicious of Greg's intentions towards his daughter and of the fact that Greg is a male nurse. As a result, the harder Greg tries to impress his future in-laws, the more everything goes wrong. The two men acting together portray their respective roles to perfection.

Born in 1965, comedic actor Ben Stiller is the son of veteran actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, both of whom have had a lifetime playing comic roles as well. Laughter, it seems, runs through the close-knit family's veins. By 2012, Ben Stiller, with fifty movie roles to his credit, had also branched out into writing and directing as well. Another popular acting role he took on is that of the love-sick swain in the 1988 comedy "There's Something About Mary". The zipper scene in that particular movie must have made every male viewer wince in horror, and Stiller played it to perfection. You'll be pleased to know, however, that he does get the girl in the end. Ben Stiller married actress and comedienne (of course) Christine Taylor in 2000. They have produced two children. It will be interesting to see how their lives turn out and if they will follow their talented family into the field of comedy as well.

Answer: Robert Montgomery

This is such a funny movie. A recently divorced couple, played by Montgomery, and the brilliant actress Norma Shearer (1902-1983) playing his ex-wife, accidentally end up honeymooning in the same hotel, with new spouses in tow. They discover each other's presence, and also discover that the flames of their mutual passion still burn as brightly as ever. Quite forgetting the reason they divorced in the first place, they run off together to a beautiful new relationship - at first. Then all it all falls apart. The resulting physical arguments between the two are truly funny, and they seem set to break up again, until their new spouses, who have tracked them down, turn up.

Robert Montgomery (1904-1981) was the father of the beautiful actress, Elizabeth Montgomery (1933-1995). The resemblance between the two is uncanny. Elizabeth played the witch Samantha Stephens in the long-running and popular television series "Bewitched" (1964-72). Robert starred in more than sixty movies during his career, as well as also branching out into directing. Born the son of wealthy parents, the family's wealth disappeared when his father committed suicide by jumping off a New York bridge. Montgomery, in an attempt to help out the family, decided to try his hand at acting and writing to stretch the family income. His confidence, good looks and charm soon led to success, and, usually favouring light comedic roles, he became the leading man of leading actressess such as Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo and Myrna Loy. Along the way, he was twice President of the Screen Actors Guild as well, and rose to the rank of lieutenant commander in the navy during World War II. Another fascinating side to the actor's character was that, given an office in the White House in the year 1954, he acted as a consultant and coach for President Eisenhower, teaching the President on how to best present himself during television appearances. How amazing is that?

Answer: Carrie Fisher

"When Harry Met Sally" tells the story of the lead characters, Harry and Sally (played by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan respectively) and how they keep meeting each other over a period of twelve years, before they finally decide they like one another, and become good friends. Their relationship seems set to remain on that level, until the night Sally phones Harry in tears after learning that her ex-boyfriend had married. That's when the rot sets in - initially. Carrie Fisher plays the role of Marie, who is Sally's best friend, whom Sally tries to set up with Harry, but who ends up marrying Harry's best friend Jess instead.

Carrie Fisher, born in 1956, is the daughter of the big time Hollywood actress Debbie Reynolds and the once enormously popular singer, Eddie Fisher (1928-2010). Not only is she an accomplished film actress, she is also a screenwriter, novelist and stage actress as well. Although she never reached the height of fame she was noted for in her role in the early "Star Wars" trilogy of films, she is still an actress of note. The 1990 film "Postcards from the Edge" based on her novel of the same name, tells of her years long struggle with drug addiction. Carrie, who was in a year long relationship and marriage with singer Paul Simon, was once briefly engaged to actor Dan Aykroyd along the way. She finally settled down with casting agent Bryan Lourd and produced a daughter in 1992 - before he left the small family to be with his gay lover. Then she took up with a lobbyist for the Republican Party. He overdosed in her home on sleeping tablets. Carrie, who also suffers from a bi-polar disorder, insists that his ghost haunted her mansion for some time after that. Oh dear, this sounds like the makings of another novel from this extremely colourful and complex woman.

Answer: John Cleese

Even thinking about this movie makes me laugh. It's the story of a heist gone wrong, and a double-cross and counter double-cross, between a group of thieves. Thrown into the mix is John Cleese's Archie Leach, the solicitor defending one of the criminals involved, and with whom the girl criminal, Wanda (played by Jamie Lee Curtis,) accidentally falls in love while she's trying to con him into revealing details about the case. Kevin Kline, who plays the less than intellectual weapons expert, Otto, is absolutely hilarious as well, and won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role. If nothing else, then the scenes watching the bumbling Ken (played by Michael Palin) trying to bump off the pet dogs of the elderly eye-witness in order to give her a heart attack are an absolute must see. They are incredibly funny.

John Cleese, born 1939, is an extremely talented British actor, comedian writer and director. His father, who changed the name as soon as he could, was born with the surname of Cheese. With a name like that in his ancestry, the very talented John Cleese simply had to have a long career making people laugh heartily, and this he has achieved remarkably successfully. As a young man, he initially taught when first graduating from school with top honours, and then went on to study law at Cambridge. It was there he branched into acting when he joined that university's theatrical club. This brilliant man is a quiz on his own, but perhaps more than anything else he will always be associated with the hilarious televison series "Fawlty Towers" (1975-79) in which he plays the bumbling, incredibly funny co-owner of a seaside holiday hotel in Torquay, England. He co-wrote this show with his then wife Connie Booth, who played the maid Polly in the show. Among the other fascinating facts associated with this fine actor and writer, Cleese has been married four times, has a lemur for a pet, has turned down the offer of a British life peerage, and, of all things, has volunteered to become a speech writer for President Barack Obama.

Answer: Gwyneth Paltrow

This beautiful film is based on the novel "Emma" by the great British novelist, Jane Austen (1775-1817). It tells the story of a spoiled but sweet-natured heiress who, though she declares she herself will never marry, fancies herself as quite the expert in attempting to set up suitable matches for various other people. Of course it all goes wrong. Thrown into the mix in this exquisitely presented 19th century period film is Emma's eventual love interest, George Knightley (played by Jeremy Northam), a somewhat older man who has known her all her life and who loves her in spite of her many faults.

Gwyneth Paltrow, who was born in 1972, is an American actress and singer, but she played the role of the beautiful English rose to perfection. After attending a private girl's school in New York in her younger years, she commenced studies in anthropology at the University of California. She dropped out early, however, to become an actress - a remarkably far-sighted decision given her sterling career. Her mother is the actress Blythe Danner and, with a father who was the noted director and producer Bruce Paltrow (1943-2002), acting was bound to be in Gwyneth's blood. She began her career in this field in 1990. The 1996 "Emma" was her first starring role, and she has become known since then for her fine performances in films such as the 1998 "Sliding Doors" in which she plays a girl living in two different realities, and the 2001 comedy "Shallow Hal" in which she plays a grossly overweight girl who is the object of desire of Hal, played by Jack Black. Gywneth married English rock star Chris Martin in 2003. They have two children, named Apple and Moses.

Answer: Hayley Mills

Separated not long after their birth, twins Susan and Sharon were split up, with one each going to their now divorced parents. Growing up without realising the other existed, the girls meet at summer camp. They take a temporary but very real dislike to one another. This brings about a series of pranks which lands them in hot water. Only then do they realise they're related, and twins at that. Together they conspire to swap places and bring about the re-union of their parents. The lead role in this excellent Disney film was played to perfection by the beautiful and talented child actress Hayley Mills. Hayley is the daughter of the immensely talented British actor, Sir John Mills (1908-2005).

Hayley was born in 1946 to the great British actor, Sir John Mills, and his wife, the actress and dramatist, Mary Hayley Bell. As a child actress, Hayley rose to soaring heights of popularity with starring films roles in movies that included the 1960 "Pollyanna" (based on the 1913 novel by Eleanor Porter), and the first production of "The Parent Trap" in 1961. She played in an impressive array of these early films, but, on hitting her late teens, her career seemed to take a nose dive. Though she has continued acting in various film roles since then, she has never reached the same heights of fame as she did in her earlier roles. It seems a shame really. She showed such promise in those early films. Who knows, perhaps part of the reason for her lack of continued success may be her choice of personal relationship partners. Her only marriage, which lasted six years, was to a film director thirty-three years her senior. This produced one son. Her next relationship to British actor Leigh Lawson produced another child. That lasted nine years. By 2012 she was living with Indian-American actor Firdous Bamji, who is twenty years her junior. Let's hope that Pollyanna has found true happiness at last.