BILLIONS

 

Season two of BILLIONS premieres Sunday, February 19 at 10 PM on SHOWTIME

 

Synopsis

Starring Oscar nominee and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Paul Giamatti and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis, season two picks up immediately after the explosive season one finale, which ended in a head-to-head confrontation between hard-charging U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Giamatti) and billionaire hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Lewis), giving no mercy in the scorched-earth battle to retain the power positions they’ve spent a lifetime building. With dueling investigations haunting Chuck and Bobby, both men are facing a full frontal assault that will force them to reconsider everything and everyone.

It's law versus money, with power, sex, and the soul of New York in the balance. Maggie Siff stars as Wendy Rhoades, Chuck's estranged wife, who has become a top performance coach in the hedge fund world. Malin Akerman plays Lara Axelrod, Axe's fiercely loyal and street-smart wife. Season two finds the characters vying for control in a changing world that presents an existential threat. For all of them, it's a choice between evolution and extinction. Toby Leonard Moore, David Costabile and Condola Rashad also star. Guest stars this season include Rob Morrow, Dan Soder, Kelly AuCoin, James Wolk, Christopher Denham, Mary Louise Parker, Danny Strong, Glenn Fleshler, Eric Bogosian and Asia Kate Dillon. BILLIONS is created, written and executive produced by showrunners Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The series is also created and executive produced by Andrew Ross Sorkin.

 

PAUL GIAMATTI

(Chuck Rhoades)

As one of the most versatile actors of his generation, Paul Giamatti’s body of work comes to life with a diverse roster of finely etched, award-winning and critically acclaimed performances across film and television.

Earlier this year, Giamatti debuted two films showcasing his ability to take on diverse roles and balance genres in his craft: the independent feature The Phenom, written and directed by Noah Buschel starred Giamatti as ‘Dr. Mobely’ opposite Ethan Hawke and Johnny Simmons, and the animated feature, Ratchet & Clank, based on the long-running PlayStation game of the same name, which had Giamatti lending his voice to ‘Chairmain Drek,’ the corrupt Blarg dictator who controlled the Blargian faction and Blarg Industries.

Giamatti was last seen in the highly-anticipated sci-fi thriller Morgan opposite Kate Mara and Toby Jones, with Luke Scott making his directorial debut. In 2015, Giamatti played the infamous ex-N.W.A. manager Jerry Heller in the Academy Award®-nominated biographical drama Straight Outta Compton, by award-winning director F. Gary Gray. Giamatti was also featured in Brad Peyton’s adventure drama, San Andreas, which portrays the aftermath of a terrible earthquake in California and the lengths a divorced couple are willing to go in order to rescue their daughter. Prior to this, he produced and starred in Phil Morrison’s comedy drama All Is Bright alongside Paul Rudd and lent his vocal talents to the English-language version of the Oscar®-nominated French animated feature, Ernest & Celestine. The same year, Giamatti starred in the feature-film adaptation of The Little Prince, opposite Paul Rudd, Rachel McAdams and Jeff Bridges.

On the small screen, Giamatti received a 2015 Emmy® nomination in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Juror #12 in Inside Amy Schumer. In 2014, he also received an Emmy® nomination for his guest-starring role as Harold Levinson, the eccentric American brother of Elizabeth McGovern’s character ‘Cora Crawley,’ on the highly acclaimed drama series Downtown Abbey.

In 2013 the actor starred in Steve McQueen’s Oscar Award®-winning 12 Years A Slave, considered “one of the most intense portraits of slavery ever committed to film”. The drama, which garnered critical acclaim for its esteemed cast and exceptional plot, was the first film directed and produced by a black filmmaker (Steve McQueen) and written by an African American writer (John Ridley) to win Best Motion Picture of the Year. Also in 2013, Giamatti was featured in John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks and Peter Landesman’s docudrama Parkland. In addition, he played Spider-Man’s formidable foe, ‘The Rhino,' in the blockbuster superhero franchise, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, directed by Marc Webb, and appeared on stage in Yale Rep's production of Hamlet where he starred in the title role.

Taking theatre to the big screen, Giamatti played the role of ‘Paul Gill’ in New Line’s adaptation of the Broadway stage musical Rock of Ages, directed by Adam Shankman. Released by Warner Bros., the film co-stars Tom Cruise, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand and Julianne Hough. He also starred in David Cronenberg’s drama Cosmopolis, alongside Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche.

In 2011 Giamatti captivated audiences in the critically praised Win Win, a film written and directed by Oscar®-nominee Thomas McCarthy. He was also seen in the Golden Globe® nominated drama The Ides Of March as ‘Tom Duffy.’ The film was directed by George Clooney and co-starred Ryan Gosling, George Clooney and Evan Rachel Wood.

For Curtis Hanson’s HBO movie Too Big to Fail, Giamatti played ‘Ben Bernanke’ opposite William Hurt and Billy Crudup. His performance earned him his third SAG® Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries as well as an Emmy® and a Golden Globe® nomination.

The actor’s performance in 2010’s Barney’s Version earned him his second Golden Globe® Award. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Mordechai Richler, the film was directed by Richard J. Lewis and co-starred a notable cast including Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike and Minnie Driver.

In 2008 Giamatti won Emmy®, SAG® and Golden Globe® awards for Best Actor in a Miniseries for his portrayal of the title character in HBO’s seven-part, Emmy® Award-winning miniseries John Adams. Directed by Emmy®-winning director Tom Hooper, Giamatti played President John Adams in a cast that also included award-winning actors Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, David Morse and Stephen Dillane. In 2006 his performance in Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man earned him his first SAG® Award and a Broadcast Film Critics’ Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as an Oscar® and Golden Globe® nomination in the same category.

Other film credits include the biographical drama The Last Station; the romantic thriller Duplicity opposite Julia Roberts and Clive Owen; the dramedy Cold Souls; the indie film Pretty Bird; Fred Claus opposite Vince Vaughn; The Nanny Diaries with Scarlett Johansson and Laura Linney; Shoot ‘Em Up opposite Clive Owen and Monica Bellucci; the animated film The Ant Bully; M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water; The Illusionist alongside Edward Norton and Jessica Biel; The Hawk Is Dying starring Michelle Williams; Robots featuring Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry and Mel Brooks; Alexander Payne’s Academy Award® winning dramedy Sideways which earned Giamatti Golden Globe® and SAG Award nominations;

American Splendor in which he received outstanding reviews and commendations for his performance; the thriller Confidence opposite Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz; Shawn Levy’s adventure comedy Big Fat Liar featuring Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes; the sci-fi favorite Planet of the Apes; the dramedy Duets starring Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow; the comedy Big Momma’s House; Tim Robbins’ drama Cradle will Rock; the crime comedy Safe Men; The Negotiator opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey; the five-time Oscar®-winner Saving Private Ryan, and Peter Weir’s The Truman Show featuring Jim Carrey.

Beyond his work in film, Giamatti is also an accomplished stage actor receiving a Drama Desk nomination for Best Supporting Actor as ‘Jimmy Tomorrow’ in Kevin Spacey’s Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh. Additional Broadway credits include The Three Sisters directed by Scott Elliot, Racing Demon directed by Richard Eyre, and Arcadia directed by Trevor Nunn. Off-Broadway, Giamatti was part of the ensemble cast of The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui alongside the acclaimed Al Pacino.

Giamatti currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

 

DAMIAN LEWIS

(Bobby “Axe” Axelrod)

 DAMIAN LEWIS was most recently seen in the John le Carre spy thriller, Our Kind of Traitor, directed by Susanna White and written by Hossein Amini. Lewis starred opposite Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard and Naomie Harris in the film, which was released by Roadside Attractions in the US on July 1, 2016.

Lewis will return to the West End in 2017 to star in Edward Albee’s The Goat, which will have a 12-week run from March 24 to June 24, 2017. In 2015, Lewis starred in the critically acclaimed West End revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo, directed by Daniel Evans. The play also starred John Goodman and Tom Sturridge.

 

In the spring of 2015, Lewis was seen in Wolf Hall, the critically acclaimed BBC Two/Masterpiece Theater six-part television miniseries adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker-Prize winning novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, directed by BAFTA-winning Peter Kosminsky. Lewis played Henry VIII opposite Mark Rylance. The miniseries aired on BBC Two in the U.K. from January 21, 2015 to February 25, 2015, and premiered on PBS’ “Masterpiece” in the U.S. on Sunday, April 5, 2015. Lewis received a 73rd Annual Golden Globe nomination on behalf of his performance, and the series itself was awarded with a 73rd Annual Golden Globe, as well as a 2016 Peabody Award.

 

Lewis’ additional film credits include The Silent Storm, which premiered at the 2014 BFI London Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Worldwide in the UK on May 20, 2016, as well as Queen of the Desert in which he stars alongside Nicole Kidman. The latter had its world premiere at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival, and was recently acquired by Atlas Distribution.

 

Lewis is perhaps most notably known as “Sergeant Nicholas Brody” in SHOWTIME’s hit series Homeland. The series won the 2012 and 2013 Golden Globe® Awards for ‘Best Television Series, Drama,’ as well as the 2012 Primetime Emmy® Award for ‘Outstanding Drama Series.’ Lewis’ performance also earned him a 2013 Golden Globe Award and a 2012 Primetime Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series,’ among other accolades. He also received a 2013 Emmy nomination for his performance in the series.

 

Other notable television credits for Lewis include his Golden Globe-nominated performance as World War II hero “Richard Winters” in the award-winning HBO miniseries Band Of Brothers, as well as the acclaimed British production of The Forsyte Saga, Series I and II in which he starred as “Soames Forsyte."

 

Lewis trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His extensive theatre performances include “Laertes” in Jonathan Kent’s Broadway production of Hamlet, opposite Ralph Fiennes; Five Gold Rings, opposite Helen McCrory; The Misanthrope, opposite Keira Knightley, and the National Theatre’s production of Ibsen’s Pillars Of The Community.

 

 

MAGGIE SIFF

(Wendy Rhoades)

 

Maggie Siff is well known to audiences for her role as “Tara Knowles” on the hit FX series Sons of Anarchy.  For her role, she received two Critics’ Choice Award nominations for “Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.”  She also starred in the first season of Mad Men playing Don Draper’s mistress, “Rachel Menken” for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for “Outstanding Cast in Television Series Drama.”  Her other television credits include: Nip/Tuck, Life On Mars, Grey’s Anatomy and Law & Order.

 

On the big screen, Siff recently starred in and executive produced the independent film A Woman, A Part which premiered in competition at this year’s Rotterdam Film Festival. 

She also starred in the independent film, The Sweet Life, opposite Chris Messina, which premiered at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival and Columbia Pictures’ The Fifth Wave opposite Chloe Grace Moretz.

 

In 2014, she appeared in Concussion, which premiered in competition at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals.  At Berlin, the film won a Teddy Award Jury Prize as an outstanding film about LGBT themes and its director Stacie Passon was nominated for Best First Feature by the Independent Spirit Awards.  She also starred in Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass opposite Edward Norton.  Her other film credits include Paul McGuigan’s Push opposite Djimon Hounsou and Judd Apatow’s Funny People opposite Adam Sandler.

 

Siff is an established theater actress and she mostly recently played the lead role of "Kate" in the Theater for a New Audience’s production of The Taming Of The Shrew.  Her other credits include the title role in The Escort at the Geffen Playhouse, and the lead in OR at New York's Women's Project.  She also starred in Ethan Hawke’s Lie Of The Mind opposite Alessandro Nivola and Josh Hamilton at the New Group.  Siff appeared in Richard Nelson's Frank's Home by Playwrights Horizons and Ruby Sunrise performed at the Public.  She received a Jefferson Award nomination for her performance in Dollhouse at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and has also worked frequently in Philadelphia, where she won the Barrymore Award for a production of Ghosts.

 

Originally from New York City, Siff graduated with an M.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School and a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College.

 

 

MALIN AKERMAN

(Lara Axelrod)

 

Named one of Variety's ‘10 Actors to Watch’ in 2007, Swedish-Canadian actress MALIN AKERMAN has since been tearing up Hollywood with her beauty and charisma, her sharp comedic timing and her touching dramatic performances. In 2012 she graced the big screen in Wanderlust, with Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, sang alongside Tom Cruise in the musical adaptation of the Broadway hit Rock Of Ages and starred in Sebastian Gutierrez’s nod to classic film noir Hotel Noir.

At the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, Akerman shared the big screen with Ryan Philippe and Taylor Kitsch in Steven Silver’s The Bang Bang Club. She was seen in theaters nationwide in the 2010 Sundance Audience Award winner Happythankyoumoreplease, opposite Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan and Josh Radnor. In 2009 Akerman was seen in the comedy Couples Retreat, opposite Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell, Jason Bateman and Jon Favreau; and co-starred in Zack Snyder’s blockbuster Watchmen, which opened at number one with more than $50 million in box office sales. She was in the 2008 romantic comedy 27 Dresses, directed by Anne Fletcher and a year later joined Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in Fletcher’s The Proposal. In 2007 she starred alongside Ben Stiller in The Heartbreak Kid, directed by the Farrelly brothers.

 

Akerman recently starred in the feature film The Final Girls, opposite Taissa Farmiga and Nina Dobrev, which made its world premiere at 2015’s SXSW Festival. Her critically acclaimed film, I’ll See You In My Dreams, opposite Blythe Danner, made its world debut at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was released in May 2015. Akerman also recently starred in the upcoming independent film The Ticket, opposite Dan Stevens and directed by Ido Fluk.

 

Akerman is also no stranger to the small screen. Her breakthrough came in 2005 on the HBO series The Comeback, with Lisa Kudrow. She had a memorable recurring role on the third season of Entourage, as well ABC’s hit comedy Suburgatory, was seen in a special episode of How I Met Your Mother and stars in the third season of Adult Swim’s Emmy® Award winning medical drama parody Children’s Hospital. From 2013-2014 she starred as the title character of ABC’s comedy Trophy Wife, opposite Bradley Whitford, Marcia Gay Harden and Michaela Watkins.

 

Akerman currently splits her time between New York and Los Angeles. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering for organizations such as the Environmental Media Association and Opportunity International.

TOBY LEONARD MOORE

(Bryan Connerty)

 

Toby Leonard Moore is an accomplished actor who's garnered attention across television, film and the stage.

 

He was most recently seen starring as “James Wesley” in Marvel’s Daredevil, which was released on Netflix in 2015. The previous year, he starred in Chad Stahelski and David Leitch’s John Wick opposite Keanu Reeves.

 

After completing his BA in Japanese Linguistics, he studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. After graduating with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art, he went on to work with Sydney Theatre Company, appearing in Luke Davies’ Stag, The Chaser’s Dead Caesar and Tommy Murphy’s Saturn’s Return. He also appeared in Neil Armfield’s production of Lope de Vega’s Peribáñez for Belvoir.

 

Moore’s international screen debut was as “Sergeant Stone” in HBO’s critically acclaimed and Emmy® Award winning miniseries The Pacific. His other film and television credits since then include White Collar, Blue Bloods, Underbelly, Dollhouse, NYC 22 and Banshee. He also appeared on stage in Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Suicide Incorporated.

 

Moore currently resides in New York City.

DAVID COSTABILE

(Mike ‘Wags’ Wagner)

 

COSTABILE’s work includes memorable parts in some of the most innovative shows in recent years. In the third and fourth seasons of Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad, he played Walt’s lab assistant “Gale Boetticher.” On Flight Of The Conchords, Costabile was “Doug,” Mel’s long-suffering husband and on Suits, he’s “Daniel Hardman,” the heavy who fought for control of a law firm. Costabile’s credits also include the final season of David Simon’s The Wire and Damages.

 

Costabile most recently co-starred in the event series Dig, as well as the series Low Winter Sun. He also guest starred on numerous series including The OfficeThe Blacklist and The Good Wife.

 

On film, Costabile memorably portrayed Republican abolitionist “James Ashley” for Steven Spielberg in Lincoln, written by Tony Kushner. His motion picture credits also include Michael Bay’s 13 Hours:  The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects; Runner Runner, directed by Brad Furman; and Solitary Man, directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, amongst others.

 

Prior to Lincoln, Costabile first collaborated with Tony Kushner on the Tony and Drama Desk award winning musical Caroline, Or Change. His Broadway credits also include the Tony Award-winning Titanic, as well as Translations and The Tempest. Off-Broadway, he has worked at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre in The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Henry V and Troilus And Cressida. Other Off-Broadway credits include The (Curious Case Of The) Watson Intelligence, at Playwrights Horizons; Mr. Marmalade, at the Roundabout Theatre Co.; Carnival and Can-Can, at the Encores! series at New York City Center; and The Winter’s Tale, at Classic Stage Company. The New Bozena, an original work Costabile co-created, played off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre before touring nationally.  

CONDOLA RASHAD

(Kate Sacker)

Condola Rashad recently completed production on Academy Award-nominee Milcho Manchevski’s independent film BIKINI, which she stars in as the title character. The film tells the story of a documentary filmmaker and his girlfriend, who take a charismatic but troubled woman (Rashad) into their home, turning their lives upside down. This past summer, Rashad was seen co-starring in Joshua Marston’s COMPLETE UNKNOWN opposite Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz. Earlier this year, Rashad appeared opposite George Clooney and Julia Roberts in MONEY MONSTER, directed by Jodie Foster. 

Rashad made a sensational debut off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club playing a young girl in a brothel in Lynn Nottage’s 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning play RUINED. She was nominated for Tony Awards for her roles in Lydia Diamond’s STICK FLY and the late Horton Foote’s THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, opposite Cicely Tyson. In 2013, Rashad played “Juliet” to critical acclaim on Broadway, opposite Orlando Bloom’s "Romeo." Rashad is preparing for her return to the Broadway stage next Spring in Lucas Hnath's new play A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2, which she will co-star in opposite Emmy-Award winner Laurie Metcalf, Academy-Award winner Chris Cooper and Tony-Award winner Jayne Houdyshell. Produced by Scott Rudin, A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 will open at the John Golden Theatre on April 27, 2017. 

In Television, Rashad had a recurring role on NBC’s SMASH and starred in the Lifetime remake of STEEL MAGNOLIAS, opposite Queen Latifah. Rashad’s film and TV credits include 30 BEATS, opposite Justin Kirk and Lee Pace, SEX AND THE CITY 2, LAW AND ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT, GEORGETOWN, and THE GOOD WIFE. 

A graduate of California Institute of the Arts, Rashad currently resides in New York

 

BRIAN KOPPELMAN and DAVID LEVIEN

(Creators/Executive Producers/Showrunners)

 

Brian Koppelman & David Levien are co-creators, executive producers and showrunners of Showtime's hit drama series Billions. Over the past two decades, the screenwriting/producing/directing team has created an influential and diverse body of work in both film and television. Some of their most noteworthy credits include Rounders, Ocean's Thirteen, Solitary Man, The Illusionist, Runaway Jury, Tilt, ESPN's 30 for 30 (This Is What They Want), I Smile Back, The Girlfriend Experience and Joe Berlinger's Tony Robbins documentary, I Am Not Your Guru.

 

Levien is also the author of six novels, including four in the celebrated Frank Behr series.

Koppelman is the host and creator of the hit Slate podcast The Moment with Brian Koppelman.

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To view the online version of the season 2 digital press kit click on this link:

http://sho-pr.com/epk/billions2/