Drew Barrymore wants to learn poker from pros

Drew Barrymore wantsto learn poker from pros
LAS VEGAS -- Now that Drew Barrymore doesn't have to stay in character, the actress says she's ready to learn poker from the pros.
Barrymore, who stars in "Lucky You," a movie set at the 2003 World Series of Poker, said she missed out on lessons given to other actors by pros such as Doyle Brunson because she plays a lounge singer who doesn't know much about gambling.
"Now that I don't have to stay true to the movie for my character, I'm planning to pick up as many tips as I can from the experts so I can go home and kick my friends' butts," the 31-year-old actress said.
Barrymore appeared at the actual World Series at the Rio hotel-casino to promote her new film, also starring Eric Bana and Robert Duvall.
"Lucky You" is set for release Sept. 8. Poker pro Jennifer Harman plays a role, while a handful of other pros such as Sam Farha and Chris Ferguson make cameo appearances.
Barrymore said she holds regular $20 or $100 buy-in home games with friends and members of her boyfriend Fabrizio Moretti's band, The Strokes.
'Harry Potter' actorgets role in 'Equus'
LONDON -- Daniel Radcliffe will strip off his Harry Potter eyeglasses and robes for his London stage debut next year.
The 17-year-old actor, who plays the bespectacled schoolboy wizard in the Hollywood adaptations of J.K. Rowling's novels, will star as a troubled stableboy in Peter Shaffer's "Equus."
The play delves into the psyche of a boy named Alan Strang who blinds six horses with a metal spike. The production is scheduled to open next March in the West End theater district, said spokesman Peter Thompson.
"It is an extraordinary play, and he's very much looking forward to the role," Radcliffe's spokeswoman, Vanessa Davies, said Friday. "He is maturing as an actor and beginning to take on new and challenging roles."
In one scene the actor playing Strang is required to simulate sexual ecstasy while riding a horse naked. But Davies said nudity was not the focus of the play.
Radcliffe is now filming "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth installment in Harry's adventures, and recently finished shooting "December Boys," the story of four orphans who compete for adoption.
Today's birthdays
Actor Dick Wilson ("Mr. Whipple") is 90. Blues musician Buddy Guy is 70. Movie director Peter Bogdanovich is 67. Singer Paul Anka is 65. Jazz musician David Sanborn is 61. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is 59. Actress Delta Burke is 50. Singer-songwriter Kate Bush is 48. Country singer Neal McCoy is 48. Director Richard Linklater is 46. Actor Laurence Fishburne is 45. Actress Lisa Kudrow is 43. Actress Vivica A. Fox is 42. Actress Hilary Swank is 32.