Movies

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The Must List 2006: Movies

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MICHAEL PEÑA
Must Man on the Verge

AGE 30
WHY HIM After a small role in the Oscar winner Crash, he steps up to costar as real-life police officer William Jimeno, who was trapped in the rubble of the Twin Towers alongside fellow first responder John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage), in Oliver Stone's World Trade Center.
STONE COLD-CALLED ''I guess Oliver Stone had seen Crash and wanted to meet me. My manager said, 'Oliver Stone just called.' I wanted to say, 'If this is a joke, I'm going to punch you in the face,''' recalls Peña. ''I didn't say that, but I was thinking that.''
THAT'LL BE EXTRA FOR THE PARTS Peña has developed a unique way to connect with his fans: ''I'm a character actor, so [people] look at me and go, 'Do I know you from somewhere?' A couple of times, I was like, 'Have you ever been to the Pep Boys on La Cienega?'''
NEXT After World Trade Center (Aug. 9), Peña will star in Antoine Fuqua's Shooter with Mark Wahlberg (summer 2007).

JENNIFER HUDSON
Must Dreamgirl

AGE 24
WHY HER So what if she got voted off American Idol's third season prematurely? A born belter with Whitney-esque power-ballad chops, the Chicago native beat out more than 700 competitors (including season 3 Idol winner Fantasia Barrino) for the role of divalicious Effie in the big-screen adaptation of the 1981 musical Dreamgirls, opposite Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé Knowles.
BEST DIVA-ROLE PERK ''I got paid to be trouble.''
SURREAL SINGING GIG Six months on a Disney cruise ship as a Hercules muse.
DON'T CALL US... Hudson, on her failed audition for the role of Joanne in the movie version of Rent: ''They put me right out the room. It just wasn't for me.''
RED-CARPET REGIMEN ''I'm working out trying to get all fit [for the premiere] so they'll go, 'That ain't Effie. Who is that?'''
NEXT Dreamgirls opens Dec. 22; Hudson's also working on a debut album with plenty of ''old-school R&B, my preferred style.''

AMY SEDARIS
Must 'Stranger' Among Us

AGE 45
WHY HER The Raleigh, N.C.-bred funny gal has been cracking us up since 1999, when she first wiggled into her fat suit as Jerri Blank, the ex-con junkie whore-turned-high school freshman in Comedy Central's hilarious cult series Strangers With Candy. Now Sedaris brings Jerri's nicotine-stained overbite to the big screen with this month's Strangers prequel, featuring cameos from Sarah Jessica Parker and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
VERY SPECIAL INSPIRATION Like the series, Strangers the movie is a warped take on earnest after-school specials: Released from prison, 47-year-old Jerri hopes to earn her comatose daddy's love by winning the Flatpoint High School science fair. Sedaris, who co-wrote the movie with costars/co-creators Stephen Colbert and director Paul Dinello, also pays homage to 1982's classic just-say-no flick Desperate Lives, in which Helen Hunt takes a flying PCP leap out of a window. ''Jerri smokes a little pot and the next thing you know, she's hallucinating and is like, 'Flesh for sale!''' says Sedaris.
HALF BAKED Sedaris runs a homemade cupcake-and-cheese-ball business out of her kitchen in New York City. ''Today I made $20,'' she says. ''But I always have a job!''
''THE TALENT FAMILY'' When Amy and her brother, best-selling author David Sedaris, were putting on plays together in the '90s, they bestowed this title upon themselves as a joke. Still...there's something to it. ''Coming from a large family, you're competing for attention, so all of us were always entertaining each other,'' says Amy, the fourth of six kids. ''I've always liked to pretend and dress up — my first wig was in third grade. I'm doing the exact same thing that I was doing when I was 3.''
NEXT Strangers hits theaters June 28. In October, Sedaris will release I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, a book of ''jackpot recipes'' and tips for entertaining. She's also wrapped small roles in several indies, including Jeff Garlin's I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With. ''Those are the best parts: Pop in, get a laugh, and you're out!''