Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist, who played the villain in “John Wick” and had a role in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” has died. The actor, 56, died in Stockholm on Tuesday.

His family said in a statement that lung cancer was the cause of death.

Nyqvist spent the first year of his life in an orphanage in Stockholm. He discovered his love for acting in his senior year of high school in 1977 in Omaha, Nebraska.

The actor returned to Sweden and enrolled in ballet school, but quit shortly after to pursue his passion in theater school. But his path to stardom wasn’t an easy one.

It wasn’t until the age of 39 that Nyqvist landed his breakthrough role in the Swedish film “Together,” in which he played an abusive alcoholic husband.

He was then cast in lead roles in both film and television. One of his most notable roles was of Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative reporter, in the Swedish adaptation of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”

He also appeared in the Hollywood films “John Wick” and “Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol.”

The actor worked on two films before his death, both of which were set in submarines: “Kursk,” an historical drama, and “Hunter Killer,” a thriller in which he starred alongside Gary Oldman and Gerard Butler.

Nyqvist detailed his life in an autobiography, in which he discusses his life in an orphanage, his adoption, his stint as a foreign exchange student in Nebraska and his search for his biological parents. Nyqvist eventually located and met with both of his parents.

His biological father, Marcello, worked as a pharmacist in Florence, Italy. His biological mother was Swedish, and he met with her for an hour in a Stockholm cafe.

In addition to acting, Nyqvist wrote several books, including “Just After Dreaming.” He is survived by his wife, Catharina, and his two children.

 

Actress Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Letty Ortiz in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, has threatened to leave the ninth installment of the film.

Rodriguez, who has played a role in the franchise since the first film, wrote on Instagram on Tuesday that she may not return to the film.

The actress posted the following to her account:

“F8 is out digitally today. I hope they decide to show some love to the women of the franchise on the next one. Or I just might have to say goodbye to a loved franchise. It’s been a good ride & I’m grateful for the opportunity the fans & studio have provided over the years… One Love.”

While the “Fast and Furious” franchise has seen top female stars, like Helen Mirren, Gal Gadot, Elsa Pataky and Charlize Theron, the films’ stories have focused mainly on the male characters.

“I’ve been making movies with Jordana, who plays the sister of Dom Toretto, for 16 years and I can count on one hand how many lines I’ve had with her. I think that’s pathetic and it’s lack of creativity,” Rodriguez told EW.

In August 2015, Rodriguez opened up to E!News about wanting to join the 8th installment of the franchise and her hopes for future installments.

“The grand majority of the time in films, we’re always fighting each other,” she said. I feel like it’s time to evolve girls. Let’s stop hitting each other and let’s stop fighting each other, and let’s start getting together and ganging up on people.”

She also said that the film’s plot has to be relevant.

“Whatever the storyline is, it needs to be relevant,” she said. “I think there’s only so many times that you can keep repeating history. What happened with “Fast 7,” I don’t want to say it’s a fluke, but people came out of the woodwork to show love for Paul, and that’s something you’re not going to have in the equation with the next one. Whatever it is that they cook up needs to touch the hearts and souls of people.”

There have rumors of a spinoff film starring Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson and Charlize Theron. But “Fast and Furious 9″ and “Fast and Furious 10″ are already confirmed to be in development.

Kim Kardashian West is in the spotlight again on Tuesday after pictures surfaced of the celebrity television star’s child, Saint West, seen in a front-facing car seat. The photo, uploaded to social media by Kardashian, received immediate backlash from fans who said Kardashian was endangering her child.

California law mandates that kids under 2 years old must be placed in a rear-facing car seat. Similar legislation is pending in NY.

The exception to the rule are children that are 40 inches tall or over 40 pounds. The exact measurements for Saint are not known. The picture may have not been taken in California, also negating the law.

One commenter wrote, “He is so cute let’s protect this handsome boy by making sure he is rear facing.” Fans of Kardashian quickly came to her defense, with many stating that moms were overreacting to the picture. Saint is 18 months old and it’s possible that he exceeds 40 pounds or 40 inches, according to some reports.

The mandate is new, which also means that Kardashian may not be aware of the law – or wasn’t before posting her son’s picture.

Kardashian is also in the news on Tuesday over rumors that she hired a surrogate mother to carry her third child with rapper Kanye West. The news, broke last week by E! News, states that Kim has hired a surrogate due to her issues with placenta accreta. The condition makes pregnancy potentially life-threatening for the reality star.

The star couple chose to go through an agency to hire a surrogate mother for their third child.

Hollywood Life broke the news yesterday that the couple is now expecting twins via their surrogate. The publication ran an exclusive on the news, which you can read on their site. Insiders reveal that the couple wanted to have twins and want to have a big family. Twins would make the couple father and mother to four children in total.

A pregnant Serena Williams is showing off her baby bump on the new cover of Vanity Fair. The tennis champion was photographed by none other than Annie Leibovitz, the photographer who shot Demi Moore’s pregnancy cover in 1991.

The first-time mom is gracing the cover in nude underwear, a body chain and little else.

Serena, now five months into her pregnancy, is not only becoming a mother for the first time, but also becoming a wife for the first time. The tennis star became engaged to her fiance Alexis Ohanian in December 2016 in Rome – where they first met.

“I knew it was coming. I was like, ‘Serena, you’re 35, you’re ready. This is what you want,’” Serena said in the Vanity Fair interview.

Serena has yet to reveal the sex of her baby, but she opened up about how unexpected her pregnancy was.

On the urging of a friend, she took a pregnancy test when she wasn’t feeling herself. She was so unconvinced that she was pregnant, she forgot to check the results.

“An hour and a half later, I went back to the bathroom and I totally forgot about it because it was impossible for me….So I went back to get dressed and I went back in the bathroom and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that test,’” Serena recalled.

After seeing the positive result, Serena said she “did a double take” and her “heart dropped.”

The tennis champion is still caught off-guard about her pregnancy even at five months.

“I don’t know what to do with a baby. I have nothing….I’ve done absolutely nothing for the baby room,” she told Vanity Fair.

Serena said that her pregnancy is “happening sooner than later, and it’s going by so fast.”

The famous athlete has said that she hopes to instill the same level of confidence her mother instilled in her as a child.

 

Despite hand held cards and purported teleprompters, sources say Steve Harvey is using no script as host of the latest “Celebrity Family Feud”. In a recent episode, Harvey’s family, including his mother-in-law began quarreling when he asked they’d trade in their man for.

 

Acting jealous and shocked, the comedian continued the show by playing to his guests’ feelings. The ABC show had previously avoided hurting people’s feelings, but insiders are suggesting that Steve Harvey acted so spontaneously he may not have realized what the reaction would be. Post-airing analysts Joe Warbler and Jen Hannigan suggested Harvey looked quite dazed in subsequent shots.

 

The next part of the show featured basketball stars Ralph Sampson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A stagehand reported the card Harvey was holding had merely a doodle.

 

Scriptwriters were unable to answer inquiries regarding the purported missing scripts to the show. One was overheard saying that the “host might not need one – he’s so much funnier without it.”

Image By Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Remy Ma ended Nicki Minaj’s winning streak on Sunday after taking home the BET Award for Best Female Hip Hop artist.

Minaj had won the award every year since 2010.

Ma, who was in prison until 2014, last won the award in 2005, three years before her prison sentence. Ma was imprisoned for shooting a former friend who accused her of theft.

The hip hop artist released her diss single Shether in March, which was praised by rap fans and critics. Minaj did not respond to the track.

“I wanna thank God first and foremost,” Ma said. “You can make mistakes and come back.”

Singer Beyonce took home five awards Sunday evening at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The most anticipated performances of the evening came from 90s R&B favorites Xscape and New Edition.

New Edition was given the lifetime achievement award and a tribute. The group’s three-part biopic was a major success for BET earlier in the year.

The tribute to the ’90s group included the child actors from the film Candy Girl, Bell Biv DeVoe and Ralph Tresvant. New Edition finished the tribute with the song “Can You Stand the Rain” and “Mr. Telephone.”

Xscape, the ’90s group that’s set to launch a reality TV series on Bravo, also hit the stage. The girl group sang its hits “Who Can I Run To?” and “Just Kickin’ It.”

Bruno Mars and Beyonce tied for video of the year. Mars also took home the award for Best Male R&B/Pop artist.

Kendrick Lamar performed with Future and won the award for Best Male Hip Hop artist. Chance the Rapper earned the Humanitarian Award, Best Collaboration and Best New Artist.

Michelle Obama praised Chance in a taped message. The artist raised $2 million for public schools in Chicago.

“Chance is showing our young people that they matter,” said Michelle Obama. “Because of you, countless young people will grow up believing in themselves.”

 

Skateboarder and television star Rob Dyrdek made a big announcement on Monday, sharing the news that his wife Bryiana is expecting their second child. The two made the announcement via social media, with several videos and images to mark the occasion.

Their son, Kodah Dash, born just nine months ago, was also involved in the big reveal.

Dyrdek announced “It’s a girl” on social media via a video shown, with him popping a balloon and pink confetti spewing out. The couple wrote, “We decided to wait and let it be a surprise and as you can tell by our reaction we were very surprised! We are blessed and thankful. We can’t wait to welcome our little princess into our family.”

Bryiana also took to social media with a picture of her son and husband all wearing white outfits to celebrate the occasion. She captioned the picture with “And then there were 4!”

The star couple married in September 2015. Bryiana, a model, is said to have revealed that she was pregnant months ago, asking her husband to an at-home dinner date. The two kept it simple, ordering Chinese food and talking for hours outside. Bryiana said she convinced her husband that this was just a normal date night, but then gave her husband a gift.

The model gave Rob a photo of his son with a shirt that said “big brother!” on it along with a balloon with the words “welcome baby.”

He didn’t notice either of the hints until she handed him a positive pregnancy test. Bryiana states that Rob has been “praying for a little girl.” The model continued on social media, saying, “And yesterday we learned that prayer has been answered!”

The news comes after a difficult month, when Christopher “Big Black” Boykin died. Boykin, the former bodyguard of Dyrdek and best friend, starred in “Rob & Big” alongside his friend. Boykin died in May from a heart attack.

 

For actress, singer, and model has been reported to say she is getting more publicity by remaining elusive than doing any work in the public spotlight. Sources in Hollywood claim her strategy is calculated. No spotlight has meant focusing on other things, Lohan has said, but remaining in her position of anonymity has boosted her morale.

Many blame various personal and legal problems for Lohan’s absence from the public eye. Some insiders have suggested for some time she may be staying low for a reason. She has been seen working with kids and at women’s shelters, doing good deeds.

However, rumors have surfaced she will appear in “Sick Note”, an upcoming UK series in which she’ll play her favorite role, the boss’ daughter.

“I’d also like to space movies. It’d be so cool to shoot aliens and stuff, or be the savior of a planet,” Lohan said to a friend under Oath of Embellishment.

At the inaugural guest show in Glastonbury Festival, Johnny Depp had a strange question for guests: “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?”

The question came as Depp introduced a screening of “The Libertine,” his 2004 film, on Thursday evening. The actor also made other inflammatory remarks about the president while speaking to the crowd.

“I think he needs help and there are a lot of wonderful dark, dark places he could go,” said Depp. “When was the last time an actor assassinated the president?”

The actor assured the crowd that he wasn’t “insinuating anything.”

“By the way, this is going to be in the press. It will be horrible. I like that you are all a part of it,” Depp continued.

He also reassured that he wasn’t referring to himself in his comments because he’s not really an actor.

“I lie for a living,” said Depp. “However, it has been a while and maybe it is time.”

A spokesman for the Secret Service told The Washington Post that they were “aware of the comment in question,” but could not discuss the “means or methods” of how they investigate.

Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s advisor, told the Post that “the joke was no laughing matter.” Conway said Depp is a “nut job” and that his comments were not a “slip of the tongue.”

Depp was at the Glastonbury Festival to introduce his film “The Libertine,” a film about the poet the second Earl of Rochester.

“Thank you so much for having me here. This is beautiful, chaotic, madness… I made the film because I wanted to try to bring to England a great poet that they missed. They missed him because he was written off as a jokester, a hoaxer. This guy is one of the deepest poets,” said Depp.

 

Star George Clooney is selling Casamigos, a tequila company he owns with partners Mike Meldman and Rande Gerber, in a deal that may be worth $1 billion.

Diageo, a spirits company based in Britain, has agreed to purchase the company for $700 million, “with the potential for another $300 million based on the tequila’s performance over 10 years,” CNBC reports.

The sale is expected to close this year.

“If you asked us four years ago if we had a billion dollar company, I don’t think we would have said yes,” Clooney said in an email to CNBC. “This reflects Diageo’s belief in our company and our believe in Diageo. But we’re not going anywhere. We’ll still be very much a part of Casamigos. Starting with a shot tonight. Maybe two.”

Casamigos began as a private label company for Clooney, Meldman and Gerber. Meldman is a real estate mogul who founded the Discovery Land Company, while Gerber is a veteran in the nightlife industry.

The three partners made Casamigo tequila available to the public in 2013. Three years later, the company was producing 120,000 cases. In 2017, Casamigos is on track to produce 170,000 cases.

Clooney and Gerber did not set out to make money with the launch of Casamigos. The long-time friends came up with the idea to make their own tequila while building their side-by-side vacation homes in Mexico.

“As you do when you’re in Mexico, you drink a lot of tequila,” said Gerber. “After a couple of months trying a lot of different tequilas, George turned to me and said, ‘Why don’t we just make our own? One that’s perfect for us to drink.’”

The duo brought Michael Meldman onto the project, and Casamigos was born.

The group found a distiller in Jalisco, Mexico, and explained what they wanted. After months of tastings and going back-and-forth with the distiller, they finally found the perfect tequila.

“George opened the sample, poured one for me, poured one for him, and we tasted it. We both looked at each other, had another taste of it, and we were like, ‘This is it. It’s perfect,’” said Gerber.