Julia Lowe Walker (Nyla)
Julia Walker has appeared on many Chicago stages, including Chicago Shakespeare Company, Bailiwick Theater, Commons Theatre, Chicago Actors Ensemble, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Chicago Dramatists’ Workshop, and Pegasus Players. Regionally, she’s worked at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, New Stage Theater in Jackson, MI, New American Theater in Rockford, Illinois, and First Stage in Milwaukee, WI.

She now makes her home in Los Angeles, with her husband Edmund and son Charlie. Favorite Son began filming shortly before her son’s first birthday and Julia was delighted by the opportunity to supplement her usual diet of Goodnight Moon, and Mother Goose with the words of William Carlos Williams and Paterson.

Jesse Pennington (Alexander Hamilton)
Jesse is perhaps the only actor ever to portray Alexander Hamilton in two separate mediums, in two entirely different manifestations, all within a single year. A month after wrapping Favorite Son, Jesse was rehearsing the role of Hamilton in the acclaimed playwright Richard Nelson’s The General from America for the Alley Theatre. That production, which also starred Colin Redgrave (as Benedict Arnold), had its New York premiere Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel and was cited by Time magazine as one of the best plays of the year.

Not surprisingly, just as the young Hamilton used to appear on the streets of Philadelphia as a member of General Washington’s company, the young Pennington can sometimes be found in the very same neighborhood - seeking fame and glory behind the true inheritors of the Spirit of ‘76, the Philadelphia 76ers.

From his headquarters in lower Manhattan, Jesse has gone to work at some of the country’s finest regional theaters, as well as Off Broadway and in film. Some of his credits include Franny’s Way (Playwrights Horizons, Geffen Playhouse- Robby Award for Best Actor in a Drama), The Winter’s Tale (Public Theater), A Place at the Table (MCC), Moving Picture (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and Goodnight Children Everywhere (American Conservatory Theater). He worked with James Coburn in Mr. Coburn’s last film, American Gun, and appeared in When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, which had its New York premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival.

Michael Emerson (voice of George Washington)
Michael Emerson made his New York stage debut in Moises Kaufman's Gross Indecency and has appeared on Broadway in The Iceman Cometh and Hedda Gabler. He has performed on many off-Broadway and regional stages in plays by Friel, LaGarce, Moliere and Shakespeare.

On television, he's played a number of damaged and dangerous characters on programs like The X-Files, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Without a Trace, and Skin. For his portrayal of William Hinks, the might-be serial killer, on ABC's The Practice, he received a 2001 Emmy Award.

Feature film credits include The Imposters, Playing by Heart, The Laramie Project, Straight Jacket, Saw, and The Legend of Zorro.

Peter Holland (Voice of Thomas Jefferson, Veteran Officer, Co-Producer, Music Editor)
Peter is a versatile performing actor, writer, director and producer who now makes his home with his wife, Christina, and their young son Ben Tally, just off the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. Recently, Peter and his wife have been working to establish their own professional theatre program to serve the adults and young people of their region.

Peter and Michael Bober, the filmmaker, met in 1990 while working on JJ Murphy’s independent feature, Horicon. Peter speaks about his involvement with Favorite Son:

The making of Favorite Son was full of overwhelming obstacles, wrong turns, passionate arguments, and outright tantrums over content. It was also full of good times, remarkable inspirations, and outstanding performances by the cast and crew. From the first days of shooting in September of 2000 when we were ejected by the police in Weehawken, NJ (we hadn’t paid off all of the city officials), to the many shooting days at the Falls of the Passaic in Paterson (how much waterfall footage could we possibly need?), to the countless excruciatingly tedious hours of post-production in the TMOC basement studio in Fair Lawn, NJ, ‘Favorite Son’ was a magnificent adventure and journey of discovery. Thank you, Michael. Let’s make another film.

Michael Bober (writer / producer / director)
Michael Bober wasn’t born yesterday. He can prove this with a print of Excavations in the Mimbres Valley, 1976. For the record, he thinks the world of Godard and Rossellini, and of The Sorrow and the Pity.

Michael's Watcher of the Winter Sun, about the ancient astronomy of the Native Americans of Baja California, won a CINE Golden Eagle in 1984. After years of co-producing and editing documentaries made for NASA by Graphic Films Corp., his early love of the American Revolution was rekindled while directing The Making of Mary Silliman’s War, which considered how historical information is used or ignored by dramatic films.

Michael believes one group of people historically go unmentioned as films are made: those who have fought for over 200 years to preserve the buildings, artifacts, and documents that allow the telling of history to continue.

Doron Schlair – Director of Photography/Cameraman
Doron lives in historic Radburn, New Jersey and is the father of three. He holds a BFA in film theory and criticism from the University of Minnesota and a MFA in cinematography from NYU's graduate film and television department
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As a student, Doron received a student academy award for the best student documentary, which he shot and co-directed.

Since graduating, Doron has been shooting in and around New York, as well as around the world. His work has ranged from shooting independently produced shorts and features to national commercials to his favorites - documentaries.

After 19 years of shooting, Doron's main drive and interest is to use the camera as a tool to inform and engage the audience while seeking to reflect the human condition.

Mike Johnson (Editor)
Mike Johnson is really more of a writer than a film editor, but due to Avid tutorials, the patient direction of Michael Bober, and a prolonged New Jersey hibernation, he managed to complete post-production with no lasting retinal damage. Johnson currenly assists with projects for A.T.M.G. Productions, writes stories and songs, and works at a senior day care center. He currently resides in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Jesse Feuerstein (Production Manager)
Jesse Feuerstein, the one-time phenom in the fast-paced world of production management, sadly burned out of the profession at the young age of 24. After waving goodbye to the movie star lifestyle, Jesse moved back to San Francisco and found himself working in a cubicle and daydreaming of what the seemingly bleak future held for this one-time prodigy. Finally, he realized that life was not for him. He is now engaged and attending law school in Buffalo, New York. He still hopes that his passion for production management is rekindled in the upcoming docu-drama: Favorite Son II, Aaron Burr's revenge....

Andy Wood (Assistant Director)
Andy is an avid fan of the historical and natural history documentary. After graduating from University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in film production and zoology, he has enjoyed professional work in media production, non-profit administration, and theater. He is currently employed by the Franklin Institute Science Museum as Director of Theaters, producing educational programs, live theater, planetarium shows, and science demonstrations. His hobbies include collecting NWOBHM albums and thinking about Brazil. He resides in Philadelphia.

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