Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden took home an Oscar statuette for her portrayal of artist Lee Krasner in the biopic "Pollock" (2000), although by then the raven-haired actress - who often drew comparisons to screen goddess Ava Gardner - had already earned a solid reputation on Broadway. She began her career playing the gun-toting moll Verna Bernbaum in the Coen Brothers' ode to 1930s gangsters films, "Miller's Crossing" (1990) prior to earning Tony nominations for performances in stage productions that included Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" in 1993. Following her "Pollock" win, Harden became an in-demand central player in acclaimed dramas like "Space Cowboys" (2000), "Mystic River" (2003) and "Into the Wild" (2007), although such genre fare as the adaptation of the Stephen King novella "The Mist" (2007) also proved easily within the versatile actress' wheelhouse. Whether the script called for a devoted wife, glamorous movie star, or religious zealot, Harden's name was frequently at the top of casting agents' wish lists, maintaining her status as one of film's busiest supporting actresses, who was willing to venture into TV for the right role.