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Charlie Wilson’s War star Daniel Eric Gold has snagged a recurring role in Ugly Betty, reports EW.

The up-and-coming actor will play Matt, a friend Betty (America Ferrera) meets at YETI (Young Editors’ Training Initiative).

Betty and Matt have a future together, one that involves a big secret Matt has.

Looks like it’s the end of the storyline for Betty’s current love interest, Jesse (Val Emmich)!

Birthday girl Katie Holmes takes daughter Suri to visit a school on the Upper East Side in New York City on Thursday.

Suri wore her favorite Scallop Placket Coat from Best & Co. while carrying around a bag full of goodies from trendy Bouchon Bakery (Columbus Circle’s Time Warner Center).

Other pictures include Katie and Suri last night after Katie’s performance of All My Sons.

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, KATE NOELLE HOLMES!

Jeremy Piven had to withdraw from his hit Broadway play, Speed-the-Plow, because of extreme mercury toxicity (six times a healthy amount of mercury).

Dr. Carlon Colker, who has been treating the 43-year-old actor, tells ET, “Jeremy is disappointed that members of the production staff of Speed-the-Plow and other members of the entertainment community have not rallied behind him during this health crisis.”

“Jeremy is suffering from extreme mercury toxicity. A major symptom of mercury poisoning is extreme fatigue. In addition, Jeremy began experiencing neuro-muscular dysfunction late last week, which led to extreme difficulty in lifting his arms and legs. Then, this past Sunday, he began feeling dizzy.”

“Jeremy has been an avid sushi eater for many years, regularly eating sushi twice in one day. He has also taken certain Chinese herbs, and that, in combination with the frequent sushi consumption, could have led to these elevated mercury levels.”

Replacing Piven will be Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz (Dec. 23 to Jan. 11) and Emmy Award winner and Oscar nominee William H. Macy (Jan. 13 to Feb. 22).

Get well soon, Jeremy!!!

Brad Pitt turns 45 today and the LA Times just did a nice piece on him.

“I doubt time and gravity will be as kind as I was to myself,” Brad says with a smile. “It just made me think about the ticking clock. Am I in mid-life? Am I halfway there?. . . . Do I have 10 years, five years? And so what are those moments going to be that I do know I have, which is now?”

His latest movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, is out in theaters on Christmas Day. I saw a screening of it earlier this week and it is fantastic. It may be Golden Globe nominated for Best Drama but there are so many built-in hilarious moments as well. The entire cast does such a superb job — Brad, Cate Blanchett, Elle Fanning. JJ approved!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM BRADLEY PITT!

Cameron Diaz and model boyfriend Paul Sculfor share lots of laughs as they walk hand-in-hand through New York City’s West Village wearing matching styles of coats on Thursday.

The 36-year-old actress was in town for the Broadway premiere of Shrek: The Musical. If you haven’t already, get your tickets. Don’t let this show die like all the rest on Broadway!

USA Today said it best: “All these assets do not add up to a great musical: That, by definition, would require great music. But Shrek is pretty grand entertainment, and to these eyes, it looks like a big, fat hit.”

Natalie Portman shoots new scenes for her upcoming movie, 17 Photos of Isabel, aka Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, in downtown Manhattan on Thursday.

The 27-year-old actress plays the protagonist in the film and is filling in for Jennifer Lopez, who abruptly left the project. The movie, which is a Don Roos-directed adaptation of an Ayelet Waldman novel, is about a young woman who finds the key to recovering her marriage in her relationship with her precocious stepson.

Also pictured: Former Friends star Lisa Kudrow and costars Scott Cohen and Charlie Tahan (the boy).

* Scott Ruffalo’s death was not an accident.
* Kristen Bell’s little globes are still golden.
* Brad Pitt goes gray.
* Barack Obama defends his Rick Warren inauguration invitation.
* In NYC, the bagel is king.
* Hitler’s ghost is haunting Tom Cruise’s movie.
* Keri Russell commands LAX
* Ruining Kate Beckinsale’s Christmas surprise.
* Jessica Simpson’s got a dirty do.
* Kristen Bell is so complex.
* Harry Potter star Emma Watson is hoping to go to college in the United States next fall and study English literature. Watson, whose personal fortune is estimated at $20 million, tells USA Today: “The wealth side of it hasn’t really hit me yet because I have no need for money in my life.”
* Will Ferrell is updating his Broadway show, “You’re Welcome, America: A Final Night With George W. Bush,” adding a bit about Bush’s recent shoe-throwing incident.
* Akon is has pleaded guilty to harassment for tossing a fan off stage at an upstate New York concert last summer. The singer will serve no jail time as long he performs 65 hours of community service and pays a $250 fine.

Gwyneth Paltrow has taken to her GOOP newsletter to share her favorite holiday menus

She says, “The Christmas morning breakfast/brunch is easy to prepare and has great seasonal and holiday flavors. The Spiced Pumpkin & Walnut Bread has become one of my favorites, I could eat the whole loaf. Make it and serve it warm in the morning. The frittata is really wonderful and you can use any ingredients you like, just follow the basic technique. Here I use sweet potatoes, shallots and goat cheese, but feel free to dream up your own combo. The biscuits are a healthier version of the good ole’ southern version but are just as tasty. You can scramble an egg, add one of the homemade sausages, stick ‘em in the fresh warm biscuit and, to quote a line from the epic eighties film Sixteen Candles, “Wha-lah, breakfast is ready!”

Check out Gwyn’s fave recipes at GOOP.com.

How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris puts on his Santa Hat for the latest TV Guide cover. His costars/elves: Alyson Hannigan and Cobie Smulders.

TV Guide has kindly summed up the Best of 2008:

CHEERS TO:
– Simon Baker for The Mentalist. TV is now his medium
– True Blood for putting some bite back into HBO’s anemic line up
– Amy Ryan for showing her flair for both drama and comedy
– To the Presidential campaign for winning over the TV electorate
– Gossip Girl for dodging the sophomore slump. These fashionable kids are growing up

JEERS TO:
– Season 5 of Project Runway – dull-icious
– Heroes for flipping characters round from hero to villain and back again
– Grey’s Anatomy’s ghostly love story
– To E!s reality shows with Pamela Anderson, Denise Richards and Dina Lohan
– The Writers Strike – for screwing up the season