Trivia: With his rugged good looks and icon status, Clint Eastwood was long one of the few actors whose name on a movie marquee could guarantee a hit. Less well-known for a long time (at least until he won the Academy Award as Best Director for Unforgiven), was the fact that Eastwood was also a producer/director, with an enviable record of successes. Born May 31, 1930, in San Francisco, Eastwood worked as a logger and gas-station attendant, among other things, before coming to Hollywood in the mid-'50s. After his arrival, he played small roles in several Universal features (he's the pilot of the plane that napalms the giant spider at the end of Tarantula [1955]) before achieving some limited star status on the television series Rawhide. Thanks to the success of three Italian-made Sergio Leone Westerns -- A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) -- Eastwood soon exchanged this limited status for bona fide international stardom.Upon his return to the U.S., Eastwood set up his own production company, Malpaso, which had a hit right out of the box with the revenge Western Hang 'Em High (1968). He expanded his relatively limited acting range in a succession of roles -- most notably with the hit Dirty Harry (1971) -- during the late '60s and early '70s, and directed several of his most popular movies, including 1971's Play Misty for Me (a forerunner to Fatal Attraction), High Plains Drifter (1973, which took as its inspiration the tragic NYC murder of Kitty Genovese), and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976). Though Eastwood became known for his violent roles, the gentler side of his persona came through in pictures such as Bronco Billy (1980), a romantic comedy that he directed and starred in. As a filmmaker, Eastwood learned his lessons from the best of his previous directors, Don Siegel and Sergio Leone, who knew just when to add some stylistic or visual flourish to an otherwise straightforward scene, and also understood the effect of small nuances on the big screen. Their approaches perfectly suited Eastwood's restrained acting style, and he integrated them into his filmmaking technique with startling results, culminating in 1993 with his Best Director Oscar for Unforgiven (1992). Also in 1993, Eastwood had another hit on his hands with In the Line of Fire. In 1995, he scored yet again with his film adaptation of the best-selling novel The Bridges of Madison County, in which he starred opposite Meryl Streep; in addition to serving as one of the film's stars, he also acted as its director and producer.Aside from producing the critical and financial misstep The Stars Fell on Henrietta in 1995, Eastwood has proven to be largely successful in his subsequent efforts. In 1997, he produced and directed the film adaptation of John Berendt's tale of Southern murder and mayhem, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and he followed that as the director, producer, and star of the same year's Absolute Power, 1999's True Crime, and 2000's Space Cowboys. With Eastwood's next movie, Blood Work (2002), many fans pondered whether the longtime actor/director still had what it took to craft a compelling film. Though some saw the mystery thriller as a fair notch in Eastwood's belt, many complained that the film was simply too routine, and the elegiac movie quickly faded at the box office. If any had voiced doubt as to Eastwood's abilities as a filmmaker in the wake of Blood Work, they were in for quite a surprise when his adaptation of the popular novel Mystic River hit screens in late 2003. Featuring a stellar cast that included Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon, Mystic River was a film that many critics and audiences cited as one of the director's finest. A downbeat meditation on violence and the nature of revenge, the film benefited not only from Eastwood's assured eye as a director, but also from a screenplay (by Brian Helgeland) that remained fairly faithful to Dennis Lehane's novel and from severely affecting performances by its three stars -- two of whom (Penn and Robbins) took home Oscars for their efforts. With Eastwood's reputation as a quality director now cemented well in place thanks to Mystic River's success, his remarkable ability to craft a compelling film was nearly beginning to eclipse his legendary status as an actor in the eyes of many. Indeed, few modern directors could exercise the efficiency and restraint that have highlighted Eastwood's career behind the camera, as so beautifully demonstrated in his 2004 follow-up, Million Dollar Baby. It would have been easy to layer the affecting tale of a young female boxer's rise from obscurity with the kind of pseudo-sentimental slop that seems to define such underdog-themed films, but it was precisely his refusal to do so that ultimately found the film taking home four of the six Oscars for which it was nominated at the 77th Annual Academy Awards -- including Best Director and Best Picture. Eastwood subsequently helmed two interrelated 2006 features that told the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima from different angles. The English-language Flags of Our Fathers relayed the incident from the American end, while the Japanese-language Letters from Iwo Jima conveyed the event from a Japanese angle. Both films opened to strong reviews and were lauded with numerous critics and industry awards, with Letters capturing the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language film before being nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. Nowhere near slowing down, Eastwood would direct and star in the critically acclaimed Gran Torino, as well as helming critical favorites like Invictus, the Changeling, Hereafter, and J. Edgar, racking up numerous awards and nominations. In 2014, he helmed the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Jersey Boys, to mixed reviews, and the biographical adaptation American Sniper.A prolific jazz pianist who occasionally shows up to play piano at his Carmel, CA restaurant, The Hog's Breath Inn, Eastwood has also contributed songs and scores to several of his films, including The Bridges of Madison County and Mystic River. Many saw his critically championed 1988 film Bird, starring Forest Whitaker (on the life of Charlie "Bird" Parker), as the direct product of this interest. Eastwood also served as the mayor of Carmel, CA, from 1986 until 1988.

Trivia: A professional actress since the age of 16, when she moved to Los Angeles from Bellingham, WA, Hilary Swank first appeared onscreen in 1992's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Two years later, she earned a rudimentary degree of fame when she was picked to star in The Next Karate Kid, but this recognition proved fleeting. Swank subsequently appeared in a number of minor films and did a year-long stint on Beverly Hills 90210. In 1999, however, she won both acclaim and recognition for her lead role in Kimberly Peirce's independent drama Boys Don't Cry. Based on the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a woman whose decision to lead her life as a man met with dire consequences, Boys Don't Cry was one of the year's most lauded films, with particular praise going to Swank for her stunning performance. She went on to win a number of honors for her work in the film, including Golden Globe and Academy Awards for Best Actress, at the mere age of 25.Predictably, Swank's workload increased significantly after her Oscar win in 2001, and the actress found herself starring in several lesser known but nonetheless challenging roles, including Sam Raimi's psychological thriller The Gift, as well as The Affair of the Necklace with future Oscar winner Adrien Brody. She also accepted a meaty supporting role as an eager-to-please rookie detective alongside Hollywood veteran Al Pacino in 2002's Insomnia. However, Swank did take a break from brooding period pieces and serious explorations of sexuality for one unapologetic big-budget summer blockbuster -- Jon Amiel's The Core (2003), in which she co-starred as one of several individuals chosen to journey to the Earth's core in hopes of jump-starting the collapsing electromagnetic forces.Though she may have cut loose in a few post-Oscar popcorn munchers in a bid to blow off some steam onscreen, Swank had already gained a reputation as a serious-minded actress whose quickly evolving onscreen talent pointed to many great things to come in the future. Meanwhile, Swank and then-husband Chad Lowe (brother of Rob Lowe) mounted Accomplice Films, a Big Apple-based production house, in early 2004. Swank inaugurated this triumph with an executive producer credit on the quirky, little-seen auto-accident drama 11:14. Swank took the lead in the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated 2004 HBO women's suffrage drama Iron Jawed Angels, which also featured Anjelica Huston and Frances O'Connor. Soon after, Swank starred as a South African-born attorney in Tom Hooper's political drama Red Dust. If audiences awaiting another knockout performance from Swank failed to catch her winning turns in Iron Jawed Angels and Red Dust, there was virtually no escaping her unforgettable evocation of a determined female pugilist in director Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby (2004). As Robert De Niro did for another boxing picture over 20 years prior, the already tough-as-nails Swank physically transformed herself to an astonishing degree for the role, immersing herself in a holistic diet of egg-white shakes, fish, vegetables, and protein bars, and testing the barriers of endurance with 4 1/2-hour-a-day, six-day-per-week workouts. This harsh regimen enabled her to pack on 19 pounds of muscle. The gamble paid off onscreen as well. Swank's remarkable vitality and sincerity buoyed the film, which took home the Best Picture prize at the 77th Annual Academy Awards and netted Swank the highly coveted Best Actress award at the same ceremony -- a win that helped to bring Eastwood's critically lauded film a total of four well-deserved Oscars. Doubtless encouraged by the success of Baby, Warner Bros. extended a one-year production deal to Accomplice Films in March 2005 -- an offer that Swank and Lowe immediately embraced, even as they filed for divorce in early 2006.Meanwhile, if Swank stayed offscreen in 2005, she quietly geared up for a full slate of roles. The first in production was a Warners horror picture called The Reaping, produced by Joel Silver and Bob Zemeckis' Dark Castle Entertainment and directed by Stephen Hopkins. The film starred Swank as a professional defrauder of religious miracles overwhelmed by her inability to account for the Biblically overtoned horrors that plague a small town. In fall 2006, Swank co-headlined Brian De Palma's noir flop The Black Dahlia with Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, and Aaron Eckhart -- an adaptation of James Ellroy's novel based on the infamous, still-unsolved L.A. murder case of the title.More successfully, Swank also began a two-picture collaboration with director Richard LaGravenese (Living Out Loud, A Decade Under the Influence). The first, Freedom Writers, was adapted from Erin Gruwell's memoir. Essentially a reworking of Stand and Deliver and Dangerous Minds, the picture dramatized Gruwell's (Swank) successful attempts to turn "at risk" children around in the classroom. Swank's second LaGravenese effort, P.S., I Love You, was an adaptation of Cecelia Ahern's novel about a widow who is launched on a series of jaw-dropping adventures by some letters bequeathed to her by her dead husband.Swank took on the role of the legendary aviator Amelia Earhart in 2009's biopic Amelia, and in 2010 starred in the courtroom drama Conviction, for which Swank portrays the fiercely devoted Betty Ann Waters, a woman willing to go to extreme lengths to free her brother from an unjust prison sentence. She appeared in the ensemble romcom New Year's Eve in 2011 before taking a short break from acting. Swank returned in 2014 with You're Not You, which she also produced.

Trivia: Morgan Freeman has enjoyed an impressive and varied career on stage, television, and screen. It is a career that began in the mid-'60s, when Freeman appeared in an off-Broadway production of The Niggerlovers and with Pearl Bailey in an all-African-American Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968. He went on to have a successful career both on and off-Broadway, showcasing his talents in everything from musicals to contemporary drama to Shakespeare. Before studying acting, the Memphis-born Freeman attended Los Angeles Community College and served a five-year stint with the Air Force from 1955 to 1959. After getting his start on the stage, he worked in television, playing Easy Reader on the PBS children's educational series The Electric Company from 1971 through 1976. During that period, Freeman also made his movie debut in the lighthearted children's movie Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow? (1971). Save for his work on the PBS show, Freeman's television and feature film appearances through the '70s were sporadic, but in 1980, he earned critical acclaim for his work in the prison drama Brubaker. He gained additional recognition for his work on the small screen with a regular role on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives from 1982 to 1984. Following Brubaker, Freeman's subsequent '80s film work was generally undistinguished until he played the dangerously emotional pimp in Street Smart (1987) and earned his first Oscar nomination. With the success of Street Smart, Freeman's film career duly took off and he appeared in a string of excellent films that began with the powerful Clean and Sober (1988) and continued with Driving Miss Daisy (1989), in which Freeman reprised his Obie-winning role of a dignified, patient Southern chauffeur and earned his second Oscar nomination for his efforts. In 1989, he also played a tough and cynical gravedigger who joins a newly formed regiment of black Union soldiers helmed by Matthew Broderick in Glory. The acclaim he won for that role was replicated with his portrayal of a high school principal in that same year's Lean on Me.Freeman constitutes one of the few African-American actors to play roles not specifically written for African-Americans, as evidenced by his work in such films as Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), in which he played Robin's sidekick, and Clint Eastwood's revisionist Western Unforgiven (1992). In 1993, Freeman demonstrated his skills on the other side of the camera, making his directorial debut with Bopha!, the story of a South African cop alienated from his son by apartheid. The following year, the actor received a third Oscar nomination as an aged lifer in the prison drama The Shawshank Redemption. He went on to do steady work throughout the rest of the decade, turning in memorable performances in films like Seven (1995), in which he played a world-weary detective; Amistad (1997), which featured him as a former slave; Kiss the Girls (1997), a thriller in which he played a police detective; and Deep Impact, a 1998 blockbuster that cast Freeman as the President of the United States. Following an appearance opposite Renee Zellweger in director Neil LaBute's Nurse Betty, Freeman would return to the role of detective Alex Cross in the Kiss the Girls sequel Along Came a Spider (2001). Freeman continued to keep a high profile moving into the new millennium with roles in such thrillers as The Sum of All Fears (2002) and Stephen King's Dreamcatcher, and the popular actor would average at least two films per year through 2004. 2003's Jim Carrey vehicle Bruce Almighty cast Freeman as God (a tall role indeed, and one he inherited from both George Burns and Gene Hackman). The story finds the Supreme Being appearing on Earth and giving Carrey temporary control over the universe - to outrageous comic effect. By the time Freeman appeared opposite Hilary Swank and Clint Eastwood in Eastwood's acclaimed 2004 boxing drama Million Dollar Baby, his reputation as one of Hollywood's hardest-working, most-respected actors was cemented in place. When Freeman took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar at the 77th Annual Academy Awards for his performance as the former boxer turned trainer who convinces his old friend to take a scrappy female fighter (Hilary Swank) under his wing, the award was considered overdue given Freeman's impressive body of work.The Oscar reception lifted Freeman to further heights. In summer 2005, Freeman was involved in three of the biggest blockbusters of the year, including War of the Worlds, Batman Begins and March of the Penguins. He joined the cast of the first picture as the foreboding narrator who tells of the destruction wrought by aliens upon the Earth. The Batman Begins role represented the first in a renewed franchise (the second being 2008's The Dark Knight), with the actor playing Lucius Fox, a technology expert who equips Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) with his vast assemblage of gadgetry. Freeman also provided narration for the most unpredictable smash of the year, the nature documentary March of the Penguins.That fall, Miramax's drama An Unfinished Life cast Freeman in a difficult role as Mitch, a bear attack victim reduced to near-paraplegia, living on a derelict western ranch. The picture was shelved for two years; it arrived in cinemas practically stillborn, and many critics turned their noses up at it. After a brutal turn as a sociopathic mob boss in Paul McGuigan's Lucky Number Slevin (2006), Freeman reprised his turn as God in the 2007 Bruce Almighty sequel Evan Almighty; the high-budgeted picture flopped, but Freeman emerged unscathed. Versatile as ever, he then opted for a much different genre and tone with a key role in the same year's detective thriller Gone, Baby, Gone. As written and directed by Ben Affleck (and adapted from the novel by Dennis Lehane) the film wove the tale of two detectives searching for a missing four-year-old in Boston's underbelly. He returned to the Batman franchise in The Dark Knight, a film that broke box-office records, in 2008, and he would stick with the franchise for its final installment, The Dark Knight Rises, in 2012. Freeman would remain a top tier actor in years to come, appearing in such films as Red, Invictus (which saw him playing Nelson Mandela), Conan the Barbarian, and The Magic of Belle Isle.

Trivia: A native of Canada who began taking acting lessons at the age of 12, Baruchel was first introduced to television audiences through his numerous appearances on the popular small-fry chiller series Are You Afraid of the Dark? Baruchel would next receive his first taste of sitcom life with a leading role on the short-lived sitcom My Hometown (1996). Though he equates his subsequent stint as host of Canadian television's Popular Mechanics for Kids with his mother showing a date his naked baby pictures, the exposure it gave Baruchel got him stateside attention and he soon made his feature debut, as an obsessive Led Zeppelin fan, in director Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. Relocating to Los Angeles from his hometown of Montréal, Québec for the filming of the cult favorite Undeclared proved an exciting experience. After appearing alongside an impressive cast of young actors in director Roger Avery's The Rules of Attraction (2002), Baruchel made his directorial debut (in addition to producing, editing, writing, and photographing) with the romantic horror-action film Edgar and Jane (2002). Baruchel would continue to find success with comedies, like Knocked Up, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, and She's Out of My League.

Trivia: Was inspired to pursue an acting career when, as a youngster, he saw Denzel Washington in A Soldier's Story; 22 years later, he got to meet Washington. Appeared in the plays A Taste of Honey, Frankenstein and A Midsummer's Night Dream while at the University of South Carolina. Played boxer Big Willie Little in 2004's Million Dollar Baby.

Trivia: A Big Easy-born actor who honed his skills at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts before completing his education at Juilliard, Anthony Mackie portrayed ill-fated rapper Tupac Shakur in a stage production of Up Against the Wind before taunting Detroit-based rapper Eminem as a member of the rival rhyming crew in the box-office hit 8 Mile. Subsequently appearing onscreen alongside some of the biggest names in the business, Mackie took the lead as a sperm-donating former biotech executive opposite Ellen Barkin and Ossie Davis in Spike Lee's She Hate Me, and proved that he could even hold his own against such screen legends as Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman with a substantial role in the boxing drama Million Dollar Baby. While it may be on the silver screen that Mackie has courted the majority of fame, the ascending star also appeared on the Broadway stage in high-profile productions of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Drowning Crow.Few actors could dream of a career that advanced as quickly as Mackie's did, and the same year he played leading man in She Hate Me, the then-twenty-five-year-old would earn an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his memorable portrayal of a homeless shelter employee struggling with his cultural and sexual identity in Brother to Brother. Just when it seemed as if Mackie's rigorous work schedule couldn't get any more demanding, the actor would appear in no less than six movies in 2006 including the racially charged kidnapping drama Freedomland, the underground street-ball drama Crossover, and opposite Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox in the fact-based football film We Are Marshall.Firmly established, he played a supporting role in the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker in 2008, and reprised his role of Tupac Shakur in the Notorious B.I.G. biopic, Notorious (2009). Mackie played a former Black Panther in Night Catches Us (2010) and played a supporting role in The Adjustment Bureau (2011). In 2012, he played the historical figure William H. Johnson, Abraham Lincoln's valet, in the fictionalized (obviously) historical action film, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Mackie joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2014, playing Sam Wilson/Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and reprised the role in later MCU movies.

Trivia: While some may not recognize Margo Martindale's name, many recognize her face. An actress onscreen from the early '90s, Martindale's list of memorable roles is long, and the character actress found a strong niche playing mothers (Million Dollar Baby) grandmothers (Hannah Montana: The Movie), and generally maternal figures (Practical Magic). Martindale even parodied her own typecasting, playing the mother of the title character in the biopic spoof Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Martindale would continue to act at a furious pace for years to come, appearing in movies like Secretariat, and on shows like Justified and A Gifted Man.

Trivia: A native of Portville, NY, actress Riki Lindhome attended Syracuse University and moved into professional assignments following graduation, initially with a spate of television roles (usually single or multi-episode guest turns) on series including Gilmore Girls and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Following a small supporting role as Hilary Swank's sister in Clint Eastwood's 2004 Best Picture sleeper Million Dollar Baby (Eastwood and Lindhome reteamed four years later for the period drama Changeling), the up-and-coming actress moved more squarely into teen-oriented work; assignments included the Dane Cook/Kate Hudson romantic comedy My Best Friend's Girl (2008) and the Wes Craven/Sean S. Cunningham slasher remake Last House on the Left (2009).

Trivia: Hispanic-American character player Benito Martinez evinced laudable diversity, both in his choice of acting mediums and in his choice of genres. A New Mexico native, Martinez moved to Southern California as a youth and enrolled in the famous Hollywood High's Performing Arts Magnet, then opted to pursue theatrical work in lieu of film and moved to England after graduation. In that locale, Martinez studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and received classical training, professionally exercised in such venues as Joseph Papp's Public Theater, the World Shakespeare Theater Festival, and the Arizona Theater Company.Martinez returned to America and commenced film work in the early 2000s, with guest-starring roles on series programs including American Family, Monk, Numb3rs, and NYPD Blue. He developed his most enduring reputation, however, with an ongoing, multiseason portrayal of the scheming and manipulative Councilman Aceveda on FX network's smash cop drama The Shield. The actor remained with the program from the beginning of its run (ca. 2002) through its final season (2008-2009). His résumé also includes supporting roles in such feature outings as the slasher opus Saw (2004) and the inspirational sports drama Million Dollar Baby (2004).

Trivia: Adept at essaying a broad array of roles, Michael Peña launched his career with guest appearances on such series as NYPD Blue, Homicide: Life on the Street, and ER, as well as longer stints on Felicity and The Shield. Though his big-screen work officially stretches back several years prior to Million Dollar Baby (2004), that Clint Eastwood-directed Best Picture winner represented Peña's first major Hollywood credit. His involvement only amounted to a small part, but he re-teamed with Baby scripter Paul Haggis for higher (supporting) billing in the latter's Crash (2005) -- also a Best Picture Winner, and this one a searing, acerbic indictment of inner-city racism. Peña scored one of his first leads under the aegis of director Oliver Stone, co-starring opposite Nicolas Cage in the taut, suspenseful thriller World Trade Center (2006) -- a docudrama about the two New York City Port Authority rescue workers trapped beneath the rubble of the fifth building when the towers fell. Peña followed it up with a turn as a genial, resourceful FBI agent who assists a government-conned scapegoat (Mark Wahlberg) in Antoine Fuqua's conspiracy thriller Shooter (2007), and essayed a key supporting role in director Robert Redford's ensemble drama Lions for Lambs, opposite Redford, Meryl Streep, and Tom Cruise. As the years followed, Peña would find continued success in comedy endeavours like Observe and Report, 30 Minutes or Less, and Tower Heist, as well as on the TV series Eastbown & Down.

Trivia: Irish actor Brian O'Byrne divided his time more or less equally between theater and film. On stage, O'Byrne tackled lead and supporting roles in such on and off-Broadway productions as Frozen (2004, as a serial killer -- a performance that netted him a Tony), Doubt (2005), and Shining City (2006). Cinematically, he more or less adhered to supporting roles, in such outings as Bandits (2001), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Bug (2006), and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007). In the years to come, O'Byrne would also find success on the small screen, starring in series like FlashForward, Prime Suspect, and the acclaimed mini-series Mildred Pierce.