The Rose Byrne/Diane Kruger Connection

Australian actress Rose Byrne is my star of the month for August. Last month it was German actress Diane Kruger. There are a few similarities between the two women that I found to be interesting. For starters, both are gorgeous. Stunningly beautiful. They both have birthdays in July. They are close in age.  Diane is three years older than Rose. Both are about the same height. Rose is 5'6 and 1/4"and Diane is 5'7". And while Rose's career started off about 8 years earlier than Diane, they both seemed to hit stardom around the same time in the year of 2004. Diane is currently filming the movie Farewell, My Queen playing Marie Antoinette. Rose played the character Duchess de Polignac in the 2006 film Marie Antoinette.


And in 2004, the two actresses shared the screen in two films. First in the epic film Troy which had Diane playing Helen of Troy. While Rose played slave girl Briseis. Diane had the more famous role and definitely looked the part, but Rose had the meatier role as the girl who tames Brad Pitt's Achilles heart.


The two would pair up again later on in the year for the mystery thriller Wicker Park which gave Rose the lead role of Alex, an actress who calls herself Lisa, much to the bewilderment of Josh Hartnett's Matthew, who recently had the love of his life named Lisa (Diane Kruger) walk out of his life. Wicker Park is a very underrated film that many people may not know about and features an amazing performance by Rose. I'm talking Oscar worthy here people.


So this post is just something I thought would be cool to write. Showing the similarities between Diane and Rose. Just something to pass along to all my friends and followers. Me, personally I love doing posts like these.

Happy Birthday Diane Kruger and Happy 200th post for me! A Double Celebration!

The timing couldn't have been better as my star of the month, Diane Kruger celebrates her birthday today and I hit my 200th post on here. Wow! I couldn't have planned it any better. Here are some pics of the lovely Ms. Kruger in honor of her birthday. One of the best exports Germany ever had. And in case there are the few people in the world who don't know who Diane, she is best known as playing Helen in Troy and co-starring with Nicolas Cage in the National Treasure films. Plus she was in Quentin Tarantino's last film, Inglorious Bastereds.

I actually love this pic the most because Diane is looking so serene,  a little sad but still nice...

That's right boys..snap away

Don't hate me because I'm so beautiful

Oh my god...my hair is such a mess..what shall I do with it?

Whoa...where did that wind come from?

So beautiful!

Diane with her serious look on...

What a gorgeous black and white pic..

That's it everybody...I would like to say thanks to Monty for such a wonderful birthday tribute and to

Irene...girl give me a call..so we can do lunch or something.

Diane Kruger joins the fun in the two NATIONAL TREASURE films...

Star of the month Diane Kruger teamed up for the enjoyable popcorn National Treasure films as historian Abigail Chase who helps Benjamin Gates (played by Nicolas Cage) recover important historical documents. The first film had them looking for the Declaration of Independence while dealing with the terrific Sean Bean as a rival. Jon Voight is on hand as Gates's father. It's a fun and leave your brain at the door kind of film. Diane was pretty good as Abigail Chase too. I mean she's no Lara Croft but she handles her action scenes ok.
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National Treasure 2 goes for broke with the fair sequel which isn't quite as good as the original. In this  one, the gang is on the hunt for John Wilkes Booth's diary containing information about the assasination of Abraham Lincoln. This time Helen Mirren joins the fun as Gates's mom. Ed Harris is not as good as the villain as was Sean Bean was in the original. But the sequel is still entertaining.
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Some facts about star of the month DIANE KRUGER

Diane Kruger was born Diane Heidkrüger in Algermissen, near Hildesheim, Germany on July 15th, 1976. Yes her birthday is this month, so expect a little celebration here on Hero Worship. It's the least I can do for Diane. She studied ballet with the Royal Ballet in London before an injury ended her career. She returned to Germany and became a top fashion model. She later pursued acting and relocated to Paris at the suggestion of filmmaker Luc Beeson (The Professional, The Fifth Element).

She has a younger brother, Stefan.



Trained at the Cours Florent and won the Classe Libre award for best actor in her year.

 People magazine included Diane in its annual "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" issue in 2004.


She married French actor Guillaume Canet (The Beach (2000/I)) in 2001. Divorced in 2006.

Learned Latin in school for eight years.

German citizen.She is fluent in English, French and German.

Attended a Catholic school in a small German town.

Her biggest hit film is 2004's Troy, which earned nearly half a billion dollars worldwide. She played the central role of Helen.

Diane as Helen of Troy

Other notable films include the two National Treasure films with Nicolas Cage; Wicker Park; and Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. Her most recent film is 2011's Unknown with Liam Neeson.



 Lived three weeks in a mental hospital to shoot Frankie (2005). She is the only actress in that film, all patients are real.


 She always dubs herself in three languages

 First German to become host (maitresse de cérèmonie) at the Cannes Film Festival (2007).


Longtime companion is Joshua Jackson.

STAR OF THE MONTH: DIANE KRUGER

I just recently watched the new film Unknown with Liam Neeson. His co-stars included January Jones and Diane Kruger. Diane has been a favorite of mine ever since I first saw her as Helen in 2004's Troy. She will be the star of month for July and I will post facts, pics, and reviews of her. And it works out perfectly because the German born star has a birthday this month as well. And one of my friends hails from Germany and we have been discussing Diane quite a bit. Well me more than her, but still. So if you're a fan of Ms. Kruger please do stop by Hero Worship to join in on the festivities.

UKNOWN is Liam Neeson's solid companion piece to TAKEN...

Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn't recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired and on the run. Talk about an identity crisis. He soons find help in the form of a spunky cab driver/hostess named Gina (Diane Kruger). Soon the two are running all over Berlin trying to solve the mystery of Martin's life and at the same time, avoid being killed. Unknown plays like a seasoned Bourne movie about a man who can't remember certain things about his life but becomes more and more resilent as the movie goes along. And it plays also like a nice companion piece to Liam's own action flick, Taken. Because once he is pushed too far, he finally begins to fight back. I liked this movie and it was nice having it take place in Berlin. A nice change of pace from America. The cast is terrific. Liam shines once again in a very demanding role that has him play confused, loving, smart and then finally bad ass. January Jones is ok, but she is absent quite a bit as the movie centers on Liam and Gina. Oh by the way I think I'm in love with Diane Kruger. She is awesome as Gina with her lilting German accent being perfect and her character as the type of woman that you just can't walk away from. Unknown is a solid thriller.
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