THE BIGGER PICTURE with Timothy Spangler

VALENTE RODRIGUEZ, series regular on ABC's "George Lopez" and TV Land's "Happily Divorced," is our special guest this Sunday night! VALENTE was born in south Texas in 1964, the youngest of eight in a family of migrant farm workers. He put himself through college by doing children's theatre in south Texas. After graduating college in 1987, he went to Los Angeles to become an actor. His first acting job was in a feature film called "Salsa - The Motion Picture" in 1988. Since then, VALENTE has appeared in numerous film, TV and theatre productions. On the big screen, he was in "Blood In, Blood Out." "Mi Familia," "Rooster," "Erin Brokovitch," "Deep Blue Sea," "Volcano," "The Ugly Truth," "It's Complicated" and "McFarland, USA." On TV, he has appeared in "Golden Girls," "Mad About You," "X·Files" and "ER." He was a regular on the "George Lopez" show playing the part of Ernie, and a regular on "Happily Divorced" with Fran Drescher, playing the part of Cesar. VALENTE has performed on numerous stages in L.A. and throughout the United States. He is currently starring in the world premiere of "The Sweetheart Deal" which opens May 12 at The Los Angeles Theatre Center, presented by The Latino Theater Company in association with El Teatro Campesino. In the play, a woman finds her calling while volunteering for an underground political newspaper during the early years of the United Farm Workers movement. Hear our live interview with VALENTE RODRIGUEZ this Sunday evening!

TOM AMANDES, actor featured in "Parenthood," "Scandal" and "Arrow," is our special guest this Sunday night! A species native to Illinois, TOM came of age in Chicago acting ensembles at the Body Politic, Court and Victory Gardens Theaters. He's a graduate of the Goodman School of Drama, now the Theatre School at DePaul. TOM is known for his work on such series as "Everwood," "Parenthood" and "Scandal." Notable film work includes "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and "Saving Lincoln." His recent credits include roles on "The Magicians," "Arrow" and in the upcoming indy thriller, "Next Door." Currently, TOM stars in the world premiere of "Species Native to California," a deceptively gentle comedy about family, land, labor and loss playing at Atwater Village Theatre. In his free time TOM enjoys getting hands dirty with the Hollywood Orchard, a neighborhood non-profit that picks fruit, plants trees and shares its harvest with folks in need. Hear our live interview with TOM AMANDES this Sunday evening!

DARRELL LARSON, accomplished film and TV character actor, is our special guest this Sunday night! DARRELL is an actor, director, writer and teacher. His film credits include: "Mike's Murder," "Twice in a Lifetime," "Stepmom," "Frances" and "Rachel Getting Married." On TV, DARRELL has a long history of work dating back to 1970. Some highlights include "Law and Order." "Law and Order: SVU," "Heartbeat," "Gunsmoke," "Bonanza" and "LA Law." As a stage actor he may be best known for the role of Coyote in Murray Mednick’s "Coyote Cycle" at Padua Playwright’s Festival. Since returning to Los Angeles in 2013, he has appeared in "Paternus" at Rogue Machine, "The Hillary Game" for Padua Playwrights, "Shades of Disclosure" at the Skylight; "Liana & Ben" at Circle X; and "Crazy Underneath the Trees," a collaboration written and performed with Rob Sullivan. Hear our live interview with DARRELL LARSON this Sunday evening!

MARK L TAYLOR, star of ABC's "How To Get Away With Murder" and TNT's "Saving Grace," is our special guest this Sunday night! MARK, a native of Houston, Texas has spent over 42 years pounding the Hollywood pavement, acting on stage, appearing on the big and small screen, doing commercials, animation voice overs and directing. Television appearances span from "MASH" to a recurring role in "How To Get Away With Murder." Films include "High School Musical 2," "Arachnophobia" and "Innerspace." He has also directed the web series "Flip and Glib" and a Disney Channel movie, "Den Brother." MARK is currently starring in "The Furniture," a dark comedy about the ways we hurt the ones we love, at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks. Sex, lies and upholstery! Old rivalries come to the fore and secrets are revealed when three sisters gather to divvy up the family furniture. Hear our live interview with MARK L TAYLOR this Sunday evening!

ROSS PHILIPS, star of CW's "Hart of Dixie" and AMC's "Halt and Catch Fire," is our special guest this Sunday night! ROSS was born to two British parents in the small mountain town of Stowe, Vermont. He is a dual citizen and still has many family members in and around Bristol, England. After a break-through run in CW's "Hart of Dixie," most recently ROSS has been seen as Davey on FOX's "Making History" a James Bosworth on AMC's "Halt and Catch Fire." Antaeus Theatre Company inaugurates the newly completed Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, the company's new home in Glendale, with a production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee Williams, in which ROSS stars. Set in the 1950s, this explosive, rich and timeless portrait of a dysfunctional Southern family explores many taboos of mid-century America, including sexuality and greed. Cotton tycoon Big Daddy is dying of cancer. When family members gather at their patriarch's Mississippi Delta plantation to celebrate his 65th birthday, they hide the truth about his diagnosis from him and Big Mama in their scramble to secure their part of the estate. The ensuing stormy confrontations bring to light secrets, raw emotions and unexpected demons that threaten to rip the family apart forever. Hear our live interview with ROSS PHILIPS this Sunday evening!

JOSH HELMAN, actor featured in "X-Men: Apocalypse," "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and "Mad Max: Fury Road," is our special guest this Sunday night! Originally from Australia, JOSH has lived and worked in the United States since 2010. His film credits include "X-Men: Days of Future Past;" "X-Men: Apocalypse," "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Jack Reacher" and the classic Australian crime drama "Animal Kingdom. On the small screen, he has starred in "The Pacific" (HBO) and "Flesh and Bone" (Starz), as well as "Wayward Pines" (Fox). His debut feature as director, "Kate Can't Swim," recently won a special jury prize at its world premiere at this year's Slamdance Film Festival. Also an accomplished stage actor, JOSH is currently appearing in "Rules of Seconds," an edgy, intense and darkly comic new play by John Pollono, in a Latino Theater Company production, opening March 23 at The Los Angeles Theater Center. JOSH heads the cast of Pollono's highly dramatic and very funny play set in 1855 Boston, where the local citizenry mingle, love - and fight with regularity. Hear our live interview with JOSH HELMAN this Sunday evening!

JAMIE HARRIS, British actor most recently seen in TV hits such as "Turn: Washington's Spies" and "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," is our special guest this Sunday night! Born in London, England, JAMIE comes from one of Britain's most prolific artistic families. He is the youngest son of renowned actor Richard Harris. His brother Jared is also a successful actor, and other brother Damien is a top film director. He got his first film role opposite Daniel Day Lewis in "The Name of the Father," directed by Jim Sheridan. Since then he has performed in over forty movies and worked with many top directors including studio movies such as Terence Malick's "The New World" opposite Colin Farrell, Brad Silberling's "Lemony Snicket's: A Series of Unfortunate Events" with Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep, "Made" with Vince Vaughn, and Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige" opposite Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. Recent theatrical releases includes his star turn as Pop Eye in "The Green Hornet" directed by Michel Gondry with Cameran Diaz, Seth Rogen and Christophe Waltz, which was released nationwide by Sony/Columbia. He also played Patrick Lane in British film "Mr Nice," directed by Bernard Rose, with Rhys Ifans, Chloe Sevigny, and David Thewlis. He also played a lead as Roy in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" with James Franco and Freida Pinto, directed by Rupert Wyatt for Fox Studios. Other recent indie film work includes Terrence Mallick's "Knight Of The Cups" and "Two Jacks" with Sienna Miller, Danny Huston, Jack Huston and Jacqueline Bissett. In addition to his regular roles as Will Robeson in the AMC series "Turn," playing Terry in DirecTV series "The Kingdom" and No Eyed Gordon on "Marvel's Agents of the S.H.E.I.L.D.," JAMIE has appeared as a guest star or recurring in several top TV shows including "Castle," "CSI Miami," "NCIS LA," "Life," "CSI," "White Collar," "The Mentalist" and "American Horror Story." Also an accomplished stage actor, JAMIE is currently appearing in "Rules of Seconds," an edgy, intense and darkly comic new play by John Pollono, in a Latino Theater Company production, opening March 23 at The Los Angeles Theater Center. JAMIE heads the cast of Pollono's highly dramatic and very funny play set in 1855 Boston, where the local citizenry mingle, love - and fight with regularity. Hear our live interview with JAMIE HARRIS this Sunday evening!

AMY BRENNEMAN, Emmy-nominated actress from hit shows “Judging Amy” and “NYPD Blue,” is our special guest this Sunday night! AMY created, executive produced and starred in “Judging Amy” (3 Golden Globe nominations, 3 Emmy nominations, SAG nomination, People’s Choice nomination, Producer’s Guild nomination, two TV Guide awards). She first came to wide attention in the break-out hit “NYPD Blue” (SAG Award, 2 Emmy nominations). In addition to “Frasier” (Emmy award for writing), “Reign,” “No Tomorrow” and “Veep.” She played “Violet Turner” for six seasons in Shonda Rhimes’ “Private Practice” and currently stars in “The Leftovers” (Critic’s Choice nomination) created by Damon Lindelof. On the big screen, her memorable performances include “Heat,” “Friends and Neighbors,” “Casper,” “The Jane Austen Book Club,” “Daylight,” “Bye-Bye Love,” “The Face of Love” opposite Ed Harris and “Words and Pictures” with Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen. Also an accomplished stage actress, AMY is currently appearing in “Rules of Seconds,” an edgy, intense and darkly comic new play by John Pollono, in a Latino Theater Company production, opening March 23 at The Los Angeles Theater Center. AMY heads the cast of Pollono’s highly dramatic and very funny play set in 1855 Boston, where the local citizenry mingle, love — and fight with regularity. Hear our live interview with AMY BRENNEMAN this Sunday evening!

PETER HOOK, founding member of legendary bands Joy Division and New Order, is our special guest this Sunday night! PETER's first taste of critical and popular success with Joy Division left a lasting legacy with the classic song "Love Will Tear Us Apart," still vibrant and familiar after more than three and half decades. Following the tragic death of Joy Division's lead singer Ian Curtis on the eve of their first US Tour, PETER and the remaining members resurrected themselves into what would become one of the most influential bands of the eighties - New Order. New Order's distinctive sound - a fusion of post-punk and ground-breaking electronica - inspired and paved the way for the dance music revolution. Throughout their career, the band scaled the heights of success with huge hits including "Bizarre Love Triangle," "Perfect Kiss," "Regret" and "Blue Monday" - the biggest selling 12-inch single of all time. Yet despite their renown, the band was entrenched in a battle between the visionary and the volatile, and their relationships were often fraught with tensions. PETER's new book -"SUBSTANCE: Inside New Order" - is packed with outrageous anecdotes and is a no-holds barred, comprehensive history of New Order. PETER currently DJs internationally as well as touring both bands' music with his band Peter Hook & the Light. He also promotes The Hacienda and recent Hacienda Classical concerts all around the world. Hear our live interview with PETER HOOK this Sunday evening!

STEPHEN TYLER HOWELL, actor in the series "Gunslingers" for the American Heroes Channel, is our special guest this Sunday night! A Texas native from the Dallas area, STEPHEN moved to California after college to in 2011 to pursue an acting career. In addition to "Gunslingers," he has appeared in leading roles in a variety of TV programs on channels such as Discovery, The Science Channel, and ID. He is currently staying in a local production of "Disinherit the Wind," a play of ideas that asks us to view the wonders of science through a different lens. The play opens March 3 at The Complex on Hollywood's Theater Row. Hear our live interview with STEPHEN TYLER HOWELL this Sunday evening!

WOODROW CLARK, Nobel Peace Prize winning scientist, is our special guest this Sunday night! WOODY is an internationally recognized and respected expert, author, lecturer, public speaker and consultant on global and local solutions to climate change. His core advocacy is in the economics for smart green communities. During the 1990s, he was Manager of Strategic Planning for Technology Transfer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) with the University of California and the U.S. Department of Energy. While at LLNL, he served as one of the contributing scientists and experts for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He chaired the first Research Team for the UN FCCC. In 2004, WOODY founded Clark Strategic Partners (CSP), a global environmental and renewable energy consulting firm using his political-economic expertise to guide, advise and implement sustainable, smart green communities with academic, shopping, government and office buildings. WOODY has published eleven books and over 70 peer-reviewed articles, which reflect his concern for global sustainable communities. Hear our live interview with WOODROW CLARK this Sunday evening!

DEL WILBER, counter-terrorism expert, is our special guest this Sunday night! DEL has over 35 years as an Intelligence and Counterterrorism professional with the CIA, DoD, and in private industry. He has served as the Senior Counterterrorism Adviser to the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as three years in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. DEL served as a Counterterrorism Advisor and instructor to the security forces of the United Arab Emirates, and as a contract intelligence officer with the Department of Homeland Security on the southwest border, working closely with state and local law enforcement. His articles now appear regularly in Townhall.com and The Hill. He is a member of the Special Operations Education Fund (www.OPSECteam.org), appearing in the video 'The Truth About Benghazi'. DEL also appeared as a panel member for two seasons on NRA-TV's program "Defending Our America." Hear our live interview with DEL WILBER this Sunday evening!

ALEX LYRAS, star of Spike TV's series "Tut," is our special guest this Sunday night! ALEX has starred in two independent features: "Heterosexuals," a comedy concerning three couples in three disparate stages of love, starring Natasha Lyonne, Ashley Williams, Tovah Feldshuh, and Kevin Meaney; and "Mona," a modern day "Jules & Jim," starring Adrian Martinez and Neal Jones, which won Best Picture at the Malibu Film Festival. He was most recently seen as General Yuya in the TV mini-series "Tut." Other TV credits include "Captain Blackout" and "Californication." ALEX has written and performed three previous solo performances that have been produced in New York and Los Angeles. "Desperelics," his first, addressed the hyperventilation 20-somethings experience trying to find their place in a post-graduate world. "Unequalibrium" forced five unlikely characters together in a post 9/11 botched murder robbery. The play was selected for publication in "New Playwrights: Best Plays" and "Best Men's Monologues For the Twenty First Century." "The Common Air," linking 6 characters during an airport delay due to a possible security breach, was developed in Los Angeles, where it was nominated for numerous Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, LA Weekly Ovation awards, and ran off-Broadway. Most recently, he performed Mike Daisey's "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," also on both coasts. In his latest play, "Plasticity," a comatose man re-emerges into consciousness in a multilayered, multimedia theatrical event about the miraculous power of the brain to re-wire and heal itself. The world premiere of "Plasticity" opens January 28 for an eight-week run at the Hudson Guild Theatre. Hear our live interview with ALEX LYRAS this Sunday evening!

NORBERT WEISSER, featured actor in such hit films as “Schindler’s List,” “The Thing” and “Midnight Express,” is our special guest this Sunday night! Born and raised in Germany, NORBERT has acted in over a hundred movies and television shows including “Midnight Express,” “The Thing,” “Android,” “Three Amigos,” “Walker,” “Chaplin,” “Hocus Pocus,” “The Road to Wellville,” “Schindler’s List,” “Pollock,” “Around the Bend,” “Amelia Earhart,” “Riders of the Purple Sage,” “My Antonia,” “The Incident,” “From the Earth to the Moon,” “Alias,” “The Agency,” “NCIS,” “ER” and “Breaking Bad.” NORBERT is a founding member of the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, The ProVisional Theatre and the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival, and has appeared onstage throughout the United States including on Broadway where he played Rode opposite Ed Harris in Ronald Harwood’s “Taking Sides” at the Brooks Atkinson Theater. He is the recipient of multiple LA Weekly and Ovation Awards and several LA Drama Critics nominations for his work. This month, NORBERT will be performing the title role in Samuel Becket’s “Krapp’s Last Tape” at the Odyssey Theatre. Hear our live interview with NORBERT WEISSER this Sunday evening!

GREGORY ITZIN, Emmy Award-nominated star of Fox's hit show "24," is our special guest this Sunday night! As an actor, GREGORY has achieved accolades on the small and large screens, as well as on stage. Perhaps best known for his Emmy Award nominated role as President Logan on the hit television show "24," he has also been seen in "Mob City," "Covert Affairs," "Big Love," "The Mentalist." His film roles have included "Lincoln," "Ides of March," "The Change Up," "Law-Abiding Citizen," "Original Sin," "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas." On Broadway, GREGORY received Tony and Drama Desk nominations for his roles in "The Kentucky Cycle," and he also played the disgraced financier Ken Lay in "Enron - the Musical" on Broadway. This month, GREGORY will open in a new play here in Southern California, "The Found Dog Ribbon Dance," a romantic comedy about a woman trying to return a lost dog to its owner, put on by the Echo Theater Company at the Atwater Village Theatre. Hear our live interview with GREGORY ITZIN this Sunday evening!