Alyson Hannigan (born Allison Lee Hannigan on March 24, 1974) is an American actress who plays Lily Aldrin in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. She is also known for her previous roles as Willow Rosenberg on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, flautist Michelle Flaherty in the American Pie film series and Julia Jones in Date Movie.

Biography

Early life

Hannigan was born in Washington, D.C. to Albert Hannigan, an Irish American truck driver, and Emilie Posner, a Jewish American real estate agent.[1] Her parents divorced a year after her birth and she was raised mostly by her mother in Atlanta. Although Hannigan had appeared in an industrial film for "Active Parenting" as a baby, as well as starred in a commercial for the "Duncan Hines cookie mix" in 1978, it wasn't until she moved to Los Angeles, California in 1985 that she formally began her acting career. Living with her mother and attending North Hollywood High School, she successfully auditioned for agents while visiting her father in Santa Barbara.

Career

Hannigan's first major film role was in My Stepmother Is an Alien, a science fiction comedy released in 1988; one of her co-stars in the film was actor Seth Green, who would later join her in the regular cast of Buffy as her on-screen boyfriend. Throughout most of the early 1990s, she appeared in commercials and supporting roles on television shows, including Picket Fences, Roseanne and Touched by an Angel.

In 1997, Hannigan was cast to play Willow Rosenberg, Buffy's best friend, on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show became a big success, and Hannigan gained recognition, subsequently appearing in several notable films aimed at teenage audiences, including American Pie, American Pie 2, Boys and Girls, and American Wedding. By the time Buffy had ended in 2003, Hannigan was earning a $250,000 salary for each episode. She also had a guest spot on the Buffy spin-off, Angel, portraying her role of Willow in a few episodes (including most notably "Orpheus", during Buffy's seventh season), but none after Buffy finished production.

In early 2004, Hannigan made her West End debut, starring in a stage adaptation of When Harry Met Sally... at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, opposite Luke Perry. In 2005, she returned to starring in a regular television series, appearing in the currently-running show, How I Met Your Mother, as Lily, and also playing a recurring guest role on Veronica Mars as Trina Echolls.

In February 2006, Date Movie, in which Hannigan stars as a character meant to be a parody on romantic comedy heroines, was released in theaters.

Hannigan recently presented a Grammy at the 2007 Grammy Awards.


Selected filmography

Year Title Role
1988 My Stepmother Is an Alien Jessie Mills
1997-2003 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Willow Rosenberg
1998 Dead Man on Campus Lucy
1999 American Pie Michelle Flaherty
2001 American Pie 2 Michelle Flaherty
2003 American Wedding Michelle Flaherty-Levinstein
2005 How I Met Your Mother (TV series) Lily Aldrin
2005 Veronica Mars (TV series) Trina Echolls
2006 Date Movie Julia Jones

Interviews


Alyson Hannigan

Birth name Allison Lee Hannigan
Born March 24, 1974 (age 33)
Flag of United States Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Spouse(s) Alexis Denisof
Notable roles Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
Michelle Flaherty in American Pie (1999)

Lily Aldrin in How I Met Your Mother (2005-present)


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Coach Nash (Gary Cole) is one of the most popular teachers at Tate High School. When he pays special attention to Amy (Nicholle = Tom), a fourteen year-old freshman, she is flattered - until he crosses the line by seducing her. Soon the rumor mill is in full swing and Amy is too ashamed to confide in anyone. The principal dismisses the suspicions because of the coach's importance to the football team. His behavior toward Amy becomes increasingly erratic and he even threatens suicide. Finally, Amy breaks down and confesses the truth to her mother (Mary Kay Place). Coach Nash pleads guilty and receives a jail sentence for his actions. But, Amy's parents feel the school system should be held responsible for failure to protect their daughter from this predator. With the help of an attorney who shares the same convictions, they are determined to set a precedent to protect other children in the future. Indecent Seduction is a captivating tale inspired by true events, featuring outstanding performances from Gary Cole, Mary Kay Place, Nicholle Tom, Mac Davis and Alyson Hannigan.




Reviewer:    David Litton (Wilmington, NC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)  
Band Camp Girl 1: "Where'd you put my clarinet?"

Band Camp Girl 2: "Oh, I think I shoved it in your box."

This and many other extreme phrases make "American Pie 2" the funniest and most successful sequel of the year. The entire cast from the first film has returned for another helping of pie that is a basic reheating of the first slice, but still retaining its savored laughs and gross-out humor. The film is laugh-out-loud funny, one of the few summer movies in which you get your money's worth.

The movie picks up a year after the first one left off, as our gang is preparing the celebrate their first summer in college. Their plans: to rent a summer house by a lake and have loads of fun until the summer is over. The plot isn't really structurally different from the first film, though the enemy in this case is divided amongst the five guys in the group.

Jim hasn't learned a thing since losing his virginity before graduating high school, and becomes frantic when he learns that Nadia is coming to pay him a "visit." Desperate for advice on his technique, he goes to "flute fetish" Michelle, who seems to want more than just to give him advice. Kevin has mixed feelings about his past relationship with Vicki, who shows up with sex educator Jessica. Oz and Heather's relationship has blossomed into full bloom, while Stifler is constantly looking for a good lay and arguing with Finch, who is continually obsessing about Stifler's mom.

And there you have it, the basic formula for some of the most hearty laughs of the year. Sure, it can be pretty crude at times, and most of the jokes and gags here mirror those of the first one in their positioning throughout the film. The "pale ale" is replaced with a shower of "champagne," while Jim is seen practicing on a pillow instead of an apple pie. The Internet broadcast is given a new treatment in a sequence involving walkie-talkies that transmit over CB frequencies... you just have to see the film to understand the laughs.

And even more than its predecessor, "American Pie 2" focuses more on sex than anything else, from things like phone sex and rubber toys to the male hormones and how far they'll go to see what they want to see. It's crude, but those of us who know what these characters are going through are able to laugh at their situations.

And underneath it all, the movie still retains some of the wholesome family values and lessons, even if its subject matter is in total contrast. Jim's dad returns to the movie in many places to offer his own personal history of sexual awakening and experimenting, while the cumbersome way in which each character comes to their realization at the film's end gives us a funny yet true lesson on morals and values.

The cast brings the same comical stamina to their roles as in the first film, especially Jason Biggs, who reprises the role of Jim as if he never left it to begin with. His ability to let himself go for the sake of tickling our fancy is a trait he should cherish always. Each cast member, especially those who fill the roles of the males, each embody a college stereotype that is easy to point out, while the females haven't lost their edge.

It won't win any Academy Awards, but "American Pie 2" is for this year what "Scary Movie" was to last year's crowds. It's side-splitting and outrageous, and knows just how to make us laugh in all the right ways. Laugh if you dare, for you may not be able to stop!









Still going strong!, August 12, 2006
Reviewer:    kevin "jay" (vero beach,FL) - See all my reviews
American Wedding is so far the funniest installment to the trilogy.This one finds Jim and Michelle getting married,opening with what I've found to be the naughtiest scene I've ever seen take place in a resturant.Stifler brings more laughs to the screen as Stifler,who thinks the first thing that comes to his mind when he thinks of weddings:Bachelor party!The biggest scene,basically,is the bechelor party scene,where a gay guy Jim and his pals met in a gay bar brings a couple of foreign strippers to Jim's house and they party for a while,until it's busted up by the early return of Jim and Michelle's parents.Laughs and gut-busting humor ensue as the pals get caught up in what might be the best film in the trilogy.