Why Jeanie Bloom From New Amsterdam Looks So Familiar
NBC has a wide range of procedurals in its portfolio, focusing on numerous professions ranging from cops to firefighters. One of the most tried and true genres in that regard is the medical drama, with "New Amsterdam" standing out as one of the network's most notable entries to the genre in recent years. The series has a stacked cast and regularly brings in a wide assortment of guest stars and recurring players, including the actress who portrays Jeanie Bloom, the mother of Janet Montgomery's Dr. Lauren Bloom.
There's a good chance that Jeanie looks familiar to fans of "New Amsterdam." If you feel like you've seen her before, that's because she's portrayed by actress Gina Gershon, a Hollywood performer with decades of experience under her belt and a robust IMDb page. On that note, it's worth diving in and taking a look at some of the film and television roles fans of "New Amsterdam" may have seen Gershon in over the years.
Gina Gershon had a fling with Tom Cruise in Cocktail
One of the earliest films that made Gina Gershon a recognizable name in Hollywood was her performance in the 1988 film, "Cocktail." In the film, she portrays a photographer named Coral who strikes up a sexual relationship with a cocky young bartender named Brian, portrayed by Tom Cruise. However, their relationship goes down in flames early in the movie, sparking a chain of events that eventually leads him to a romantic conquest with Elizabeth Shue's Jordan Mooney.
Despite all of the heat surrounding the film's star power, "Cocktail" ultimately did not fair well with critics when it was released, with a 7% on Rotten Tomatoes based on past reviews. In fact, it was so poorly reviewed that it was nominated for Golden Raspberry Award. Conversely, Tom Cruise's other major 1988 film was "Rain Man," making 1988 one of the few instances in which an actor has been in both a Razzie Worst Picture and an Oscar Best Picture film in the same year (via IMDb).
The actress was one of the showgirls in Showgirls
Paul Verhoeven is a director who has never shied away from controversy. With films like "RoboCop," "Total Recall," and "Starship Troopers" to his name, he has become well-known as one of Hollywood's most daring satirists.
One project that epitomizes this fact is his infamous 1995 film, "Showgirls," which stars Elizabeth Berkley as a young woman named Nomi who gets sucked into the world of exotic dancing. In "Showgirls," Gina Gershon portrays a famous exotic dancer named Crystal who takes Nomi under her wing. However, their friendship eventually leads to an intense rivalry, culminating in Nomi throwing Crystal down a flight of stairs and ending her career as a dancer.
Like "Cocktail," "Showgirls" was poorly received at the time of its release, retrospectively calculated to be a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In total, it earned 13 Golden Raspberry nominations — a record that has yet to be broken (Deseret News). That said, the film has been largely reevaluated by viewers in the modern era. In fact, many have finally come around to the satire that director Verhoeven was aiming for with the movie, largely thanks to a documentary called "You Don't Nomi" (via The Independent).
Gershon was the mother of Nic Cage's son in Face/Off
Nicolas Cage and John Travolta movies seldom get bigger, weirder, and more fun than John Woo's 1997 action thriller, "Face/Off." Cage and Travolta play a criminal and FBI agent, respectively, who swap identities in the film. Gershon's role in the movie is that of Sasha Hassler, the ex-girlfriend of Nicolas Cage's notorious terrorist, Caster Troy, and the mother of his secret son, Adam. Sasha is killed towards the climax of the film, leading John Travolta's Sean Archer to adopt Adam, following the death of his own son at the hands of Caster Troy.
Though she's not necessarily the female lead of "Face/Off," it's abundantly clear that Gina Gershon took her role seriously. In fact, the actress has openly stated that she cared immensely about Sasha's arc and even pushed to have a bald head in her final scene in the film. This was, according to Gershon, a way to honor the death of her character's brother earlier in the movie. Needless to say, director John Woo vetoed the concept from the final cut.
She was tormented by Matthew McConaughey in Killer Joe
William Friedkin redefined horror with his work on "The Exorcist," but one of his most horrifying films of all time is his 2011 thriller "Killer Joe." The film stars Matthew McConaughey as the titular hitman who agrees to kill the mother of a drug dealer named Chris (Emile Hirsch). In the movie, Gershon portrays Chris' stepmother who gets wrapped up in the plot, only for Joe to turn around and begin tormenting the family.
Gina Gershon appears to be an actress who is unafraid to take on difficult subject matter, because just like "Showgirls," "Killer Joe" received an NC-17 rating upon its release. This was for a number of reasons, including intense gore, abundant nudity, and intense sexual content. Specifically, the film has become infamous for one of its climactic scenes in which McConaughey's Joe forces Gershon's Sharla to simulate oral sex on a piece of fried chicken — a sequence that would become a central element of the film's marketing due to its shock value, evident in one of the movie's posters (via The Film Stage).
Gershon played Jughead's mom on Riverdale
When "Riverdale" premiered, the Season 1 story surrounding the mother of Jughead Jones was that she had left the titular town for a new life on Ohio. However, Season 3 fills in her backstory further by bringing Gina Gershon in to play the role of Gladys Jones and bringing about her (along with Jughead's sister, Jellybean, played by Trinity Likins) return to Riverdale. As Season 3 progresses, the show slowly peels back the layers to her character and reveals her to be a criminal and gang leader whose illicit activities bring her in direct conflict with Betty Cooper.
The casting of Gina Gershon in "Riverdale" follows the series' long tradition of hiring heartthrobs from a bygone era. Gershon rose to prominence in dramas of the 1980s and 1990s, which is very similar to how many of the other parents on "Riverdale" established themselves in Hollywood, such as Skeet Ulrich and Luke Perry. She has not returned to the series since her Season 3 arc, but knowing "Riverdale," it remains entirely possible that she could return.