I recently had the immense pleasure of speaking with one of my all time favorite actors, Titus Welliver, about his prolific and impressive television work. But as accomplished as his TV resume is, the actor has just as distinguished of a film and stage career. Welliver first gained attention in the groundbreaking off-Broadway play “Riff Raff,” which was written, directed and co-starred actor Laurence Fishburne. He would eventually reprise the critically acclaimed role that he originated on stage as the sympathetic drug addict and part-time thief Billy “The Torch’ Murphy in the film adaptation of the play entitled Once in the Life, which also starred Fishburne and marked his feature film directorial debut. In fact, while the actor and I were chatting about the making of Once in the Life and his work in "Riff Raff," which also happens to be my all time favorite stage play, the actor happened to mention that he and Fishburne are discussing doing a revival of the show. “I have to say Laurence and I have been sort of toying with the idea of doing the play again even though it's been about twelve years since we made the film,” Welliver admitted.

While the actor is probably best known for his extensive television work that includes playing Silas Adams on HBO’s Western-based series Deadwood, the pivotal role of Kyle Hollis on the brilliant but short-lived NBC series Life, season three villain Jimmy O’Phelan on FX’s motorcycle gang series Sons of Anarchy, a recurring role on the current Fox series Touch with Kiefer Sutherland, and of course, as the Man in Black (A.K.A. the Smoke Monster) on ABC’s cultural phenomenon Lost. But he’s also appeared in many popular feature films including The Doors, Mobsters, Twisted, Assault on Precinct 13, and most recently Man on a Ledge, which opened on January 27^th and is in theaters now. But his most famous film roles have come from his collaborations with fellow actor and now critically acclaimed writer/director Ben Affleck. Welliver first appeared in Affleck’s Boston-based directorial debut Gone Baby Gone as Lionel McCready, and also appeared as FBI agent Dino Ciampa in The Town (also set in the Boston area) opposite Jon Hamm (TV’s Mad Men). Now, Welliver will achieve the hat trick by also appearing in Affleck’s upcoming third directorial effort Argo, which will be the first of his films, as a director, not set in Massachusetts.

In addition to his successful stage and film work, actor Titus Welliver has appeared on some of the most iconic and beloved television series of the last decade and a half. While he was a regular on HBO’s acclaimed series Deadwood, Welliver has been mostly featured as a guest star on such popular and critically acclaimed shows as NYPD Blue, Prison Break, Supernatural, Life, The Closer, Suits, The Good Wife, and Sons of Anarchy, where he played the season-three villain Jimmy O’Phelan. But the actor is definitely best known by television audiences for his role as the Man in Black (A.K.A. – the Smoke Monster) on ABC’s mysterious island-set series Lost.

Welliver’s television domination will continue this week with the conclusion of his three-episode arc on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which culminates with Wednesday night’s episode entitled Willows in the Wind. The actor will reprise his role on the long-running CBS series as Mark Gabriel, the CEO of a Blackwater type company. In fact, Wednesday January 25^th marks a big night for the accomplished actor because in addition to his episode of CSI airing, it is also the premiere of Fox’s new series Touch, which stars Kiefer Sutherland and features Welliver in a pivotal recurring role. The actor will also be appearing on an arc of NBC’s Grimm, as well FX’s upcoming series Powers, which is based on writer Brian Michael Bendis’ extremely popular comic book series of the same name.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Titus Welliver, who has truly been one of my favorite actors for a very long time. While we had a chance to discuss his latest film Man on a Ledge, and his role in Ben Affleck’s next directorial effort Argo, that portion of our conversation will run later in the week so that I can tell you now about what the actor had to say regarding all of his upcoming television projects. Welliver spoke candidly with me about working on multiple television shows, if he would like to return to being a series regular, his role on CSI, why Kiefer Sutherland’s performance on Touch will surprise you, which comic book character he will be portraying on Powers, his character on Grimm’s dark history, why he thinks the well reviewed series Life was short-lived, and what one fan of Lost said to him about his legendary role on the now-classic show.

It's no longer even a point of debate that we're in the midst of a television renaissance, with cable TV providing fertile ground for a veritable jungle of challenging, high quality serialized stories that are allowed to go well beyond the limits of traditional televised content.  A host of shows currently on the air transcend the medium, and among those shows is FX's Sons of Anarchy.  When it debuted in 2008, the Kurt Sutter-created series immediately won acolytes with it stylish direction and captivating story, which cleverly took the most basic ingredients of Hamlet and dropped them into the brutal, complicated world of a California biker gang.  Currently in its fourth season, with FX having ordered a fifth, Sons of Anarchy will now provide the first ever interactive iPad shopping app, syncing up with episodes as fans watch, allowing them to peruse unique merchandise that ties directly into the show's action.

It’s my birthday; I’m sitting in the bedroom I grew up in at my parent’s house in Massachusetts … and I’m waiting for Ron Perlman to call me. Does life get any better than this?

Last week while I was home visiting my family, I had the pleasure of spending the evening of my 36^th birthday speaking with one of my all-time favorite actors. I first became aware of Ron Perlman’s immense talent as a performer from his work on the popular ‘80s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, but it’s his impressive and vast resume of film accomplishments that has made me a fan. I loved his unique portrayal of characters in movies like The City of Lost Children, Alien Resurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis, but it is his collaborations with lifelong friend Guillermo del Toro (Cronos, Blade II, Hellboy, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army) that I think marks some of his finest work.

But recently it seems like Perlman’s career could not be hotter. For the past three seasons he’s starred as Clay Morrow on FX’s hit motorcycle gang series Sons of Anarchy, which just began airing its forth season. He is also currently getting rave reviews for his role as a crime boss in director Nicholas Winding Refn’s critically acclaimed movie Drive, starring Ryan Gosling. Not to mention that he was seen this past summer playing the father of Conan the Barbarian in Lionsgate’s big screen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s beloved character. Now the actor once again plays a crime boss in the new film Bunraku, which opens in theaters on September 30^th.

There have been a lot of rumors lately about The Expendables 2, a sequel to Sylvester Stallone’s 2010 testosterone-filled, action-packed extravaganza. Some of them have turned out to be true, and others have been false. The original film earned over $250 million worldwide at the box office and featured a long list of ‘80s and ‘90s action stars including Stallone, Jason Statham (The Transporter), Jet Li (Romeo Must Die), Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Bruce Willis (Die Hard), and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator 2: Judgment Day).

While Stallone co-wrote and directed the first film, it has been previously announced that Simon West (Con-Air) would be taking over directing duties from “Rambo” and David Agosto and Ken Kaufman would be crafting the script. Part of the fun of the first film was seeing all of these unique action stars on the big screen at the same time, and there have been many rumors about which actors “Rocky” might ask to join him for the next installment. The impressive list of hopefuls include Jean Claude Van Damme (Timecop), Chuck Norris (The Delta Force), Scott Adkins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Hulk Hogan (No Holds Barred), Steven Segal (Out For Justice), Tom Arnold (True Lies), Mr. T (Rocky III), Carl Weathers (Predator), Vin Diesel (xXx), Dwayne Johnson (Fast Five), Charlie Sheen (Wall Street), Christopher Lambert (Highlander), John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), Nicolas Cage (The Rock), and Christian Slater (True Romance).

While it was recently announced that Willis and Schwarzenegger would be reprising their roles (in a larger capacity), and that Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van Damme, and Scott Adkins had been confirmed to join the cast, one actor who will not be appearing in the upcoming sequel is Tom Arnold. Last week another news site reported that the comedian/actor might be appearing in The Expendables 2, but last night I had a chance to catch up with the actor at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood and he denied the report. I had the pleasure of speaking with Tom Arnold on the red carpet at a release party for X-Men: First Class, which is available on Blu-ray and DVD today. I asked the actor point blank if he will be appearing in The Expendables 2 and here is what he had to say about the script for the film, the rumor, and how it all got started.

Premiering on FX September 6th is the forth season of the network's hit motorcycle-gang series Sons of Anarchy. Season 3, which is currently available on DVD and Blu-ray, saw the boys from SAMCRO slapped with a 14 month jail sentence that will just be ending as the new season begins, while Jax (Charlie Hunnam) and his buddies will find out that a lot has changed in their home town of Charming since they went away over a year ago.

Sons of Anarchy stars an exceptional cast of actors that includes Charlie Hunnam (Children of Men), Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Katey Sagal (Lost), Mark Boone Jr. (Batman Begins), Dayton Callie (Deadwood), Kim Coates (Resident Evil: Afterlife), Tommy Flanagan (Smokin' Aces), Ryan Hurst (Remember the Titans), Johnny Lewis (Alien vs. Predator: Requiem), William Lucking (The Limey), Theo Rossi (Cloverfield), and Maggie Siff (Mad Men).

IAR's managing editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to attend the Boot Rally Motorcycle Drive, a 65 mile motorcycle ride through the streets of Los Angeles benefiting active military members and veterans returning home, that several members of the cast of Sons of Anarchy participated in. While there, he had an opportunity to speak with SOA stars Katey Sagal (Gemma Teller Marrow), Kim Coates (Alex "Tig" Trager), Theo Rossi (Juan-Carlos "Juice" Ortiz), and Tommy Flanagan (Filip "Chibs" Telford) about the show, their characters, and what fans can expect from the upcoming new season.

From here, with days until Comic-Con International begins in sunny San Diego, it can be difficult to visual the close of the Con in a week.  Like children greedily eying and inventorying their carefully-wrapped Christmas presents, right now, the attention of genre fans the world over is resolutely fixed on all the hype-facilitating goodness to be unveiled regarding all our favorite comic books, film franchises, and video games.  Wednesday through Saturday nights will be a massive, orgiastic tearing into geeky presents, and by Sunday, Con attendees will be spent and disillusioned, lying sweaty in piles of decimated wrapping paper.  After days of frenzied activity, the biggest event in nerd culture wraps up Sunday on a more low-key note, but there are still plenty worthwhile panels and events for your perusal.  For your convenience, IAR humbly presents our selected roundup of panels closing out Comic-Con.

Netflix's streaming Watch Instantly service is fast becoming America's favorite way to watch movies.  The library of available titles is so vast and mutable that you, the avid instant watcher, could no doubt use a guide as you navigate the streaming frontier.  Luckily for you, I'll be here every Tuesday to update you on the latest titles available for instant-watching, as well as bringing attention some gems out there in the instantly watchable wilds.

Ron Perlman maybe one of the very best actors working today. Screw that, he IS one of the best actors working today.

All you need to do is look at his early career to get an idea how talented this man is. Even in a melodramatic television show like “Beauty and the Beast”, both he and Linda Hamilton made it better than a romantic drama about a dude that looks like a cat and his love for a woman ought to be.Yet he was terrific back in the day, and he just gets better and better.