FRANKENWEENIE Production Notes - Visual Hollywood

FRANKENWEENIE (2012)PRODUCTION NOTESchallenge, he resigned from the newspaper and began studying theater in his early twenties. Whenhe auditioned for the Actor's Studio, he was one of 2000 applicants. That year only Martin Landauand Steve McQueen were accepted.Gaining experience under the tutelage of some of the theater's greatest directors at the Actor'sStudio (Strasberg, Elia Kazan, Harold Clurman, Bobby Lewis and Curt Conway), Landau soonmoved into professional theater. He played Juvan in Franz Werfel's "Goat Song," a role originatedby Alfred Lunt, as well as other stage successes, including "Stalag 17," "First Love the Penguin"and Arthur Miller's "All My Sons." Having created the role with great success on Broadway, hearrived in Hollywood with the national company of Paddy Chayefsky's "Middle of the Night,"which starred Edward G. Robinson. Alfred Hitchcock's viewing of that play resulted in his castingthe young Landau opposite Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason in "North ByNorthwest."CHARLIE TAHAN (Victor) has been a fan of Tim Burton's work for as long as he can remember,so he was honored to be cast as the voice of Victor in Burton's "Frankenweenie."Tahan made his major feature film debut at age nine, sharing the screen with Will Smith in theWarner Bros. blockbuster "I Am Legend." Now 14 years old, Tahan has since gone on to work onnumerous projects, ranging from short films and independent features to major studio releases.Notable roles include that of an autistic child in the Lionsgate thriller "Burning Bright"; DianeLane's son in Warner Bros.' "Nights In Rodanthe"; and a co-starring turn alongside Natalie Portmanin the IFC drama "The Other Woman." Tahan's starring performance as Zac Efron's younger brotherin Universal's "Charlie St. Cloud" earned him strong reviews and a Saturn Award nomination.On the small screen, Tahan has had a recurring role on the NBC hit series "Law and Order: SVU"and guest- starring roles on the CBS drama "Blue Bloods" and the FOX sci-fi series "Fringe."When he is not busy filming, Tahan enjoys skateboarding, drawing, playing the guitar, andspending time with his brother, sister and friends. He has a dog named Sam, and he loves her asmuch as Victor loves Sparky.ATTICUS SHAFFER (Edgar "E" Gore) lives in California with his mother, Debbie, and father,Ron, as well as a small menagerie of pets (all rescues).Atticus currently plays the role of Brick on ABC's half-hour comedy, "The Middle." He began hisprofessional acting career in late 2006 with a guest-starring role in the comedy series "The Class."Other television appearances followed, including "Human Giant," "Days of Our Lives," "Out ofJimmy's Head," "Carpoolers," "My Name is Earl" and the Disney Channel's "Shake it Up."On film, Atticus is perhaps best known for the bus stop scene he shared with Will Smith in"Hancock." Other feature films include "The Unborn," "An American Carol," "Leaving Barstow"and "Opposite Day."Atticus has given a voice to numerous characters in the world of animation, both on film and TV.He appeared in "Year One" and "Subject: I Love You." On television, he is a regular voice on TheDisney Channel's animated series, "Fish Hooks" and previously voiced a recurring part on "ThePenguins of Madagascar" as well as a guest role on the animated series "Thundercats." Atticus isalso very talented with voice impersonations and has been incorporating that into some of his recentwork.© 2012 Walt Disney Pictures19