Dan Stevens (1982)
Dan Stevens is a popular English actor known for his roles in the TV series ‘Downton Abbey’ where he portrayed Matthew Crawley and the horror-thriller film ‘The Guest’, where he played the leading character, David. Stevens was born in Croydon, London, in the UK. While still at school, he developed an interest in drama after he auditioned for the titular role in the Shakespearean play ‘Macbeth’. Later, while studying at the Cambridge University, he was spotted by English director Peter Hall during the production of the same play. Besides acting, he has a keen interest in literature and serves as the editor-at-large for ‘The Junket,’ an online publication.
Rakul Preet Singh (1990-)
Rakul Preet Singh is an Indian film actress and model who has worked mainly in the Telugu film industry. Along with Telugu film industry, she has also appeared in a few Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi movies. When Rakul was in college she started her career as a model. In 2009, she made her debut in a Kannada film titled ‘Gilli.’ She is popular for her movies, ‘Venkatadri Express,’ ‘Loukyam,’ ‘Kick 2,’ and ‘Dhruva.’ In 2011, she took part in the ‘Femina Miss India’ pageant where she was placed fifth. She has also won ‘Miss India People’s Choice’ pageant title. In 2014, she made her debut in Bollywood with the movie ‘Yaariyan.’ Her performance was well-appreciated by the audience.
Charles Dance (1946-)
Charles Dance is a famous English actor, screenwriter and movie director, with a spectacular career of over 50 years. He has built a reputation for his portrayal of sinister villains or assertive bureaucrats. Blessed with matinee idol looks, he has portrayed interesting yet different characters including a patrician figure D. W. Griffith in ‘Good Morning, Babylon’, a ruthless lawyer Tulkinghorn in ‘Bleak House’ or a calculating and controlling lord of Casterly Rock in HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’. He gained notable success as a screenwriter and a director with ‘Ladies in Lavender’.
Daniel Pearl (1963-2002)
Daniel Pearl was an American journalist who was captured and beheaded by terrorists in Pakistan. Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Daniel was raised in Los Angeles, where his father worked as a professor of computer science and statistics at the ‘University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA). His mother was an Iraqi Jew. In 1990, he joined ‘The Wall Street Journal.’ He was made the Southeast Asia Bureau Chief of ‘The Wall Street Journal’ and thus moved to Mumbai. In January 2002, he was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan. The terrorists who kidnapped him released a video, stating their demands to the US government. When the demands were not met, Daniel was beheaded on February 1, 2002.
R. K. Narayan (1906-2001)
R. K. Narayan is considered as one of the leading figures of early Indian literature in English. He is the one who made India accessible to the people in foreign countries—he gave unfamiliar people a window to peep into Indian culture and sensibilities. His simple and modest writing style is often compared to that of the great American author William Faulkner. Narayan came from a humble south Indian background where he was consistently encouraged to involve himself in literature. Which is why, after finishing his graduation, he decided to stay at home and write. His work involves novels like: ‘The Guide’, ‘The Financial Man’, ‘Mr. Sampath’, ‘The Dark Room’, ‘The English Teacher’, ‘A Tiger for Malgudi’, etc.
Harold Pinter (1930-2008)
Harold Pinter was an English playwright, poet, screenwriter, director, actor who won the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature. As a child, he witnessed the bombing of London by Nazi forces during the Second World War. Later, he was evacuated to Cornwall and Reading, where he led a lonely life. These incidents left a lasting mark in his young mind. As a result, he developed an aversion to war from the very beginning and when he was called to join the National Service, he refused as a conscientious objector. Instead, he chose acting as a means of self-expression and very soon started writing dramas.
Sarah Carpenter (1996-)
Sarah Carpenter is an American actress and singer. Sarah began her musical journey at an adolescent age, in collaboration with her sister, the popular actress Sabrina Carpenter. She has acted with her sister on several episodes of the Disney show ‘Girl Meets World’. Sarah is a popular teen icon in her country. Famous as someone who loves to explore the world, Sarah has travelled to various countries around the world. She is known be vocal about the issues relating to women empowerment and is against racism. Sarah is an avid animal lover and has a dog named Godwin.
