He helped garner an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best debut performance for actress Darling Narita as the lead in his 1995 indie police drama "Bang" and gave a boost to the then-fledgling acting career of future "Charlie's Angels" star Lucy Liu by casting her in a supporting role in the same film.
He also spotted Mischa Barton, now a star of the hit TV series "The OC," and cast her, at age 13, as a juvenile bank robber in his 1997 action-thriller "Pups," starring Burt Reynolds.
Now, London-born writer-director Ash (he dropped his last name professionally) believes he has found another rising star in his latest indie endeavor, "This Girl's Life." The R-rated film is about a young woman who becomes the family breadwinner for her Parkinson's-afflicted father, played by James Woods, by starring on a webcam porn site 24 hours a day.
Her name is Juliette Marquis, who, Ash noted, will be seen this fall gracing billboards and the pages of magazines as the new face of Bebe, the nationwide apparel chain.
