TV

WWE superstar Becky Lynch is blowing up outside the ring -- even scoring a role on "Billions" ... and tells TMZ Sports she's getting help in Hollywood from some wrestling pals who have been in her shoes!

Lynch's popularity has exploded over the years -- in fact, she's gotten so big, "Billions" creator Brian Koppelman rocked a Lynch t-shirt during a huge media event in 2019.

At the time, Koppelman said he was such a fan, he offered her a standing role on the show if she was interested.

In fact, Lynch says she's always been interested in an acting career -- she earned a degree in theater back in Ireland -- and believes WWE is the PERFECT launching pad!

Guess what?! She was right ... and when she followed up, he kept his word!

"You never know if people are gonna come through with these things, but he did and they did. I'm on the season premiere," Lynch tells TMZ Sports.

"When you're in WWE, everything is one take. You're live in front of the entire world and you don't really have the time to mess up and if you do mess up, you have to make the best of it."

"It's like this crazy amazing improv where you're also kinda the director, producer, actor, writer of your own character. So, I think it really just sets you up with a skill set that's unprecedented in any other field."

She's not wrong ... wrestlers like The Rock, John Cena, Dave Bautista and others have credited WWE with helping them blow up on the big screen and Lynch says they've gone out of their way to help her make the jump too!

"[The Rock has] actually he's been very helpful in guiding me," Lynch says.

"He's just being very giving and I think they all are because they've all been there and they're all ready to look after the next generation."

"Cena's also been so great to me and so generous with his time and his advice, checks up on me on what I'm doing now. I think everybody wants to see the next generation move to where they've been, ya know?!"

Lynch says she's got some huge projects in the pipeline -- some super-secret stuff -- but don't worry about her bolting from WWE any time soon.

Joe Pantoliano is in a Connecticut hospital after he was struck by a car while out for a walk ... TMZ has learned.

Joe's wife, Nancy, tells TMZ ... the 'Sopranos' star was walking with family Friday in their neighborhood when a Porsche skidded across the road and hit him. She says the Porsche had been t-boned by another car.

Nancy says Joe was sent flying a couple feet backward into an old wooden fence. He suffered a gash on his head, plus injuries to his left leg and a shoulder.

EMTs quickly arrived and rushed Joe to a hospital where he's being treated and waiting on the results of a CT scan.

The good news ... Joe's wife thinks he's going to pull through. We're also told both drivers in the crash stayed at the scene, and police are investigating.

Joe posted a video of a rainbow in his neighborhood Friday, and family members say that was shot shortly before his walk.

Again, sounds like Joe got super lucky ... so the rainbow is pretty appropriate.

Joe played Ralph Cifaretto on 'Sopranos' from 2001 to '04. He also played Captain Howard in the 'Bad Boys' flicks ... and costarred in huge movies like "The Matrix," "Memento," and "Risky Business."

More importantly, he's just a really good guy. Here's to a speedy recovery.

Sam Lloyd -- best known for playing kooky lawyer Ted Buckland on "Scrubs" -- has died.

Lloyd was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in January 2019 -- just weeks after he and his wife, Vanessa, welcomed their first child, Weston. After a year and a few months, he succumbed to the disease.

"Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence paid tribute to the actor Friday, saying ... "Thinking a lot about Sam Lloyd today. (Ted). Truly such a kind, sweet guy. He will be missed by so many."

Along with playing Ted, Lloyd was known for his roles on "Desperate Housewives," "Happy Together," "Shameless," "The West Wing" and "Modern Family." He also had guest spots on "Spin City" and "Seinfeld," and notable credits in films like "Galaxy Quest" and "Flubber."

Sam reprised his Ted character on another Lawrence show, "Cougar Town," as well.

And, get this ... the quartet he belonged to -- The Blanks, which was featured on "Scrubs" -- gained popularity from the show and toured after it ended.

The actor was also working on his own musical for over a decade before his brain tumor diagnosis -- called "With Pam & Gil."

Lloyd was 56.

The 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' cast needs a fresh box of tissues ... because things got super emotional while paying their respects to the late James Avery, who played Uncle Phil.

The teary-eyed tribute was part of the finale to Will Smith's new Snapchat show, "Will From Home" ... and you can see how much James meant to the 'Fresh Prince' cast.

Uncle Phil's greatest moments roll on the screen while Will and some of the show's favorite cast members -- Alfonso Ribeiro, Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Daphne Maxwell Reid and DJ Jazzy Jeff -- watch and tear up.

Ya gotta see the video ... it's a very powerful and moving tribute, full of some of Phil's most inspiring quotes.

TMZ broke the story ... James died on New Year's Eve in 2013 from complications following open-heart surgery.

As you know ... Will's Snapchat show is the first time the cast is reuniting on-screen since May 1996, when the incredibly popular sitcom ended its 6-season run.

Lots have changed since then, but one thing remains constant -- the cast's love for Uncle Phil.

Janet Jackson got mistaken on "Jeopardy!" for another singer you'd never expect her to be confused with -- Ariana Grande ... but we think this is really a famous ponytail mix-up.

Here's what happened -- contestant Alwin Hui chose the $800 clue from the Billboard Music Awards category, and it was ... "As the recipient of the 2018 Icon Award, she took 'Control' and took to the stage in her first live TV performance in nearly a decade."

The answer was followed by a clip of Janet performing "Nasty" at the awards show, so ... pretty simple, right?

Not for Hui, who buzzed in first and guessed, "Who is Ariana Grande?"

Alex Trebek gave him a quick "no" before returning champ Sarah came correct, but naturally, people only care about Hui's gaffe ... and have been roasting him online.

To be fair, Jackson was rocking a hairstyle and getup similar to what Grande's known for ... but the Icon Award doesn't go to artists in their 20s, and Ariana hasn't had a chance to take a decade off from TV performances. Plus, the song clue was a dead giveaway.

Just not for poor Alwin.

It could have been worse, though -- he could have said Babe Ruth broke baseball's color barrier.

Daniella Baltodano was only 5 years old when she was slung into the limelight after landing the role of the strong and silent middle sibling Celia Solis on the final 5 seasons of the dramatic suburban television series "Desperate Housewives."

Danielle Baltodano was cast alongside her on-screen big sister Juanita Solis played by Madison De La Garza (who's Demi Lovato's real sister), her good looking father Carlos Solis, played by Ricardo Chavira ... and of course her hot housewife mother Gabrielle Solis, played by the eye-popping Eva Longoria.

Baltodano later appeared on one episode of "Shameless" in 2014.

'American Horror Story' star Leslie Grossman's husband is pulling the plug on their marriage ... TMZ has learned.

The actress' longtime hubby, Jon Bronson, filed his divorce petition Tuesday in L.A. County Superior. Jon says they have one minor child ... their 13-year-old daughter, Goldie.

No word yet on what he's looking for as far as child custody, spousal support or divvying up of assets.

Leslie has more than 60 acting credits to her name and has starred in lots of network television shows -- like "Popular," "What I Like About You" and more. Leslie's probably got even more dough rolling in these days too -- she's already been on three cycles of 'AHS' and appears to be set for lots more with season 10 right around the corner.

She's returned to play lots of characters thus far, like Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt, Margaret Booth and Meadow Wilton. She's also had roles on "Shrill" and "The Good Place."

Jon and Leslie first got hitched in 2000.

Newport Beach boy, David Denman, has a laundry list of impressive television credits. But, on the top of that list (preferably written on Dunder Mifflin paper stock) is his role as the warehouse worker and Pam Beesly's ex-fiance, Roy Anderson, in the first few seasons of the US version of the hilarious TV series, "The Office."

David Denman worked alongside some epic actors including John Krasinski as the sharp-witted salesman, Jim Halpert, Jenna Fischer as the sexy receptionist and artist, Pam Beesly ... and of course, Steve Carell as the bumbling boss, Michael Scott.

More recently, Denman can be spotted in the 2019 movie, "Brightburn," and the scary TV show, "Outcast."

The alleged drive-by shooter of "Duck Dynasty" star Willie Robertson's estate has been ordered to stay away from Willie's son and daughter-in-law for a LONG TIME.

Daniel Dean King -- who cops claim admitted to going on a vodka-fueled shooting rampage -- has been ordered to stay at least 1,000 feet away from Willie's son, John Luke Robertson, daughter-in-law, Mary Kate Robertson, and infant grandkid.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, the order of protection is valid until April 27, 2022. He's also prohibited from possessing a firearm and ordered to surrender all of his firearms to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office.

As we reported ... Willie was out at a store when King pulled up in a white Ford F-250 truck and sprayed Willie's West Monroe, Louisiana estate with 8 to 10 bullets. At least one of the bullets went through the bedroom window of a home where John Luke lives.

It should be noted, within Willie's estate are numerous houses where several of his family members are staying during the coronavirus, meaning, just one protective order will theoretically keep the rest of the family safe from the alleged shooter.

As we previously told you ... cops say a juvenile witness in the truck told cops King did, in fact, put the gun out the window and fire multiple rounds from the moving vehicle ... this according to the police affidavit.

Sofia Vergara's got a fun game for folks to play at home during quarantine -- it's a bit of a thirst trap, but with a bootyful twist: whose behind is whose?

The Colombian actress posted a lovely photo this weekend showing herself and her niece, Claudia, rocking two-piece thong bikinis and looking over a balcony at what appears to be Sofia's home. You can't see either of their faces -- but that wasn't the point of Sofia's post.

Sofia wrote of the aunt-niece duo in Spanish, "Modelo viejo del 72 y modelo nuevo del 92 😂😂😂😂 #alwaystwinning @cdvergara ❤️❤️❤️🌝🌝🌝." That translates to "old model from '72 and new model from '92."

BTW, she also posted a photo of Claudia from the front, bending over to make a burger, with uncle Joe Manganiello beside her working on his own grub. She's a lookalike from the side as well, but(t) as far as that first photo goes, it's actually SUPER hard to tell for sure who's who, no?

Anyway, just for funsies ... here's another look at the same pic in black and white -- only now it's coming from Claudia, who also seems to be in on the same guess-who game.

She writes, "Same same, but different ... cual es cual? 😂" Which is which, indeed. We could play this all day!!!

Demi Lovato opened up in a big way with her former castmates from the Disney show, "Sonny With a Chance" ... describing how a fellow castmate was her inspiration for going to rehab and how her eating disorder made it impossibly cold on the set.

Demi was part of a virtual chat between cast members of 'Sonny' and the spinoff, "So Random!," including Tiffany Thornton, Allisyn Ashley Arm, Sterling Knight, Dough Brochu, Matthew Scott Montgomery, Shayne Topp, Audrey Whitby and Damien Haas.

She reminisced about how Tiffany gave her the strength to enter rehab for the first time, saying, "When I went away to treatment for the first time, you were my biggest inspiration coming out of it because you dealt with all of those pressures of being a woman on TV."

Demi went on to say ... "I looked at that as, 'I wish I had that so bad.' Yes, I probably was happier in my head with whatever I looked like at the time. But, I'm so much happier now with the mentality that you have. I look back now and I'm like, man, it's a shame that we wasted any energy on what we wore on set."

She went on to talk about how she was miserable on the set, in part because she was sleep-deprived and overworked.

And then, she talked priorities... "I'm realizing that as I've gotten older because when I was young, when you start off in the industry as a 7-year-old, 8-year-old, you kind of value your self-worth with your success," she explained. "I have moments all the time where I'm like, Do I want to continue this? Or do I want to pull a Tiffany and move to Texas, have a family and have a farm."

And, there's this ... Demi fessed up as to why her dressing room was a sweltering 98 degrees ... "I had an eating disorder and I was underweight and freezing!"

And, while 'Sonny' is near and dear to Lovato's heart, it's not something that she would want to revisit.

George Gray, the longtime announcer for "The Price Is Right" is in the hospital after suffering not one, not 2 but 3 massive heart attacks ... TMZ has learned.

We're told George woke up Monday morning at 7 AM with chest pains. At first, he thought it was indigestion, but his condition quickly deteriorated and his wife called 911 and he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance.

We're told he suffered the first massive heart attack in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Doctors took George into surgery, where they put a stent in one of his arteries, but it failed. Doctors then put a second stent in, and it also failed.

George suffered a second major heart attack while taking a walk in the hospital. Doctors then took him back into surgery where they were going to place a third stent in his artery, but while he was on the operating table he suffered a third, massive heart attack.

Surgeons then performed a quadruple bypass. He was taken back to ICU where he was listed in critical condition.

Things are looking up. George's rep tells TMZ he's currently in stable condition and is talking.

As for what George is saying ... it's a cautionary tale. The 53-year-old says he's in the best shape of his life, and his cholesterol is super low. George says it's all genetic.

"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" was no place for gay people ... so says one of the stars.

Francois Clemmons, who played Officer Clemmons from 1968 - 1995, says in his new memoir, Fred Rogers got wind of the fact Clemmons was gay, pulled him aside and said, "Franc, you have talents and gifts that set you apart and above the crowd. Someone has informed us that you were seen at the local gay bar downtown. Now, I want you to know, Franc, that if you're gay, it doesn't matter to me at all."

And, then the other shoe dropped ... "Whatever you say and do is fine with me, but if you're going to be on the show as an important member of the 'Neighborhood,' you can't be out as gay."

Clemmons told People Rogers told him secrecy was the only way ... "You must do this Francois ... because it threatens my dream," adding, "I was destroyed. The man who was killing me had also saved me. He was my executioner and deliverer. But, at the same time, I knew that he would know how to comfort me."

According to Clemmons, whose memoir is titled, "Officer Clemmons," Rogers also told him the audience didn't care who he was sleeping with ... "especially if it's a man."

And, there's more ... according to Clemmons, Rogers urged him to marry a woman, and he obliged. Clemmons married La-Tanya Mae Sheridan. They divorced in 1974 and later Clemmons came out.