Rutina Wesley Movies
Unlike some actresses who must work their way up to lead billing, Rutina Wesley started out on top. A native of Las Vegas, Wesley graduated from the University of Evansville, and then landed a coveted spot in the acting program at Juilliard. From there, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) immediately discovered her and tapped her to star opposite Hollywood luminary Julianne Moore in The Vertical Hour on the Great White Way. Wesley kicked off her tenure in film with a lead portrayal of Raya, an ambitious inner-city teen who enters a step-dancing competition to try to raise money for her tuition in director Ian Iqbal Rashid's inspirational drama How She Move (2008), a smash critical and box office success, and one of the best-received films at Sundance 2007. The following year, Wesley signed on to play the aggressive, short-tempered bartender Tara Thornton on the Alan Ball-created HBO vampire drama series True Blood. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
True Blood chronicles the backwoods Louisiana town of Bon Temps...where vampires have emerged from the coffin, and no longer need humans for their fix. Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) works as a waitress at the rural bar Merlotte's. Though outwardly a typical young woman, she keeps a dangerous secret: she has the ability to hear the thoughts of others. Her situation is further complicated when the bar gets its first vampire patron -- 173-year old Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) -- and the two outsiders are immediately drawn to each other. Delivering the best of what audiences have come to expect from creator and executive producer Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under), True Blood is a dark and sexy tale that boldly delves into the heart -- and the neck -- of the Deep South.
- Starring:
- Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, (more)
An aspiring medical student whose drug-addicted sister has recently died and who may be forced to relocate from her posh private school to the crime-infested neighborhood in which she was raised enters a step-dancing competition in hope of securing the funds needed to continue her education. Unable to afford the tuition needed to fund her private-school education, ambitious teen Raya returns to her family home in the city and is reluctantly forced to reevaluate her future. Upon learning that the top prize for an upcoming step-dancing competition is 50,000 dollars, Raya uses her impressive moves to earn a coveted slot in her good friend Bishop's predominately male JSJ crew. Isolated from the local females due to jealousy and separated from her fellow dancers by gender, the ambitious dancer is subsequently kicked off the team for showing off during a preliminary competition. Now, if Raya has any hope of realizing her medical-school dreams, she will have to either earn back Bishop's trust or organize her own dance crew and start over from scratch. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rutina Wesley, Tracey 'Tre' Armstrong, (more)
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