Trivia: Hailing from South West London, dashing and luscious-lipped young actor Tom Hardy started off his career in war dramas alongside other hunky newcomers. He began his studies at the prestigious Drama Centre, but left early for a part in the award-winning HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. He made his feature film debut in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, with Josh Hartnett. He then appeared with Paul Bettany in The Reckoning, a British film based on the novel Morality Play. In 2002, he remained in the U.K. for the independent film Dot the I, sharing the bill with the handsome Gael García Bernal. He then traveled to North Africa for Simon: An English Legionnarie, a story of the French Foreign Legion. In the same year, he gained some heavy international exposure as Shinzon, a clone of Captain Picard in Star Trek: Nemesis. He returned to England for the 2003 thriller LD 50. He was in the 2004 crime film Layer Cake, but scored prime roles in a number of 2005 films including Minotaur and Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen. Sofia Coppola cast him in Marie Antoinette in 2006, and two years later he had a crucial role in the international hit Bronson. He scored his biggest American hit to that point in 2010 when he was part of the crew in Christopher Nolan's Inception. He played one of two battling brothers in 2011's Warrior, and had a major part in the Oscar nominated remake of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy. He enjoyed is highest profile role to date playing the bad guy Bane in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises in the summer of 2012. Hardy had a monster 2015, taking over the title role in the hugely successful Mad Max: Fury Road and scoring his first Oscar nomination for his turn in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's The Revenant.

Trivia: Swedish actress Noomi Rapace was born into a show business family, with a mother involved in acting and a father who worked as a flamenco singer. By the age of seven, Rapace was making minor appearances in movies and TV shows in her adoptive home of Iceland, where she moved at age five with her mother and stepfather. At 15, the burgeoning performer returned to Sweden and enrolled in Stockholm Theatre School, and just a few years later, she was scoring paid roles on camera. She would spend the '90s and 2000s earning numerous accolades both on-stage and in film in Europe, though she would become an international sensation when she was cast as iconic character Lisbeth Salander in the big-screen adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the first in a popular series of Swedish books. The film transcended borders and became a hit in the U.S., as well, and she would reprise the role for two sequels. By 2011, Rapace was taking her talent directly to English-speaking audiences, appearing in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes 2, and following that up the next year as the lead in Ridley Scott's Alien prequel Prometheus.

Trivia: Acting alongside his father, he makes his debut on stage as an 8-year-old. He takes acting classes at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. At 15, he makes his first appearance on the big screen in the film Daens, once again alongside his father. He gains fame for his role in the 2011 film, Bullhead. In order to prepare for his role as a livestock farmer, he had to gain about 65 pounds of muscle. In 2012, he is chosen by Jacques Audiard for a principal role in Rust and Bone (De rouille et d'os), in which he shares the screen with Marion Cotillard. In 2013, he becomes the first Belgian actor to take home the César Award for Most Promising Actor of the Year.

Trivia: Born and raised in New Jersey, press-shy James Gandolfini forged a film career as a prolific character actor before finally emerging as a bona fide star in the critically-lauded HBO series The Sopranos. After earning his college degree in 1983, Gandolfini headed to New York to study at the Actors Studio. Supporting himself for almost ten years as a bartender and nightclub manager, Gandolfini's major break came in 1992 with a role in a Broadway version of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange, and his film debut in Sidney Lumet's A Stranger Among Us. Following small parts in several 1993 films, including the Quentin Tarantino-scripted True Romance, Gandolfini played more substantial roles as one of the heavies in Terminal Velocity (1994), Geena Davis' neighborhood boyfriend in Angie (1994), one of the submarine crew in Crimson Tide (1995), and a stuntman-turned-Mob enforcer in Get Shorty (1995). Equally gifted at playing characters on either side of the law, Gandolfini appeared as the violent neighbor who assaults Robin Wright Penn in She's So Lovely (1997) and a cop in Lumet's legal drama Night Falls on Manhattan (1997).Gandolfini played supporting roles in several more films, including Fallen (1998) and A Civil Action (1998), before he was cast as the head of a dysfunctional Mafia family in The Sopranos. Anchored by Gandolfini's superbly-nuanced performance as Prozac-popping, mother-bedeviled capo Tony Soprano, The Sopranos was hailed as a TV masterpiece for its alternately funny, surreal and deadly-serious look at New Jersey Mob life. Though he was passed over for the Emmy, Gandolfini won the SAG and Golden Globe Awards for Lead Actor in a TV drama for The Sopranos' 1999 season. During the series break, Gandolfini appeared as a slimy pornographer in 8MM (1999).Gandolfini finally added the Emmy to his trophies in 2000 for the second season of The Sopranos. Despite the inevitable criticism about the series' sophomore slump, there was no question as to Gandolfini's continuing excellence as the New Jersey Mob paterfamilias. Gandolfini followed his Emmy triumph with a supporting role as a gay hit man in The Mexican (2001), easily stealing the film from co-stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. Even as he was earning The Mexican's few good notices in theaters, Gandolfini was garnering still more plaudits for The Sopranos' controversial third season, as Tony's increasingly delinquent son elicited anguished soul-searching from Tony about his legacy. Though his third Emmy nomination spoke to his formidable TV presence as Tony, Gandolfini also further burnished his movie credits with a small part in Joel Coen and Ethan Coen's Cannes Film Festival award winner The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), and a major starring role as a corrupt Army colonel who goes head-to-head with Robert Redford's incarcerated general in The Last Castle (2001). Gandolfini continued to impress on The Sopranos for the show's run, which finally ended in 2007. He would also find success on screen, appearing in a wide and impressive variety of roles in films like All the King's Men, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Violet & Daisy. Tragically, Gandolfini died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2013 at the age of 51.

Trivia: Father is the founder of the William Esper Studio, a well-respected acting studio dedicated to Meisner-based actor training. Used to fence while in high school, but claims he was really bad at it. Played guitar in the band The Red + The Black. Studied writing and philosophy at Oberlin College for a year, but struggled so much that they suggested he take a year off. Received his Equity card when he did a play at Trinity Repertory Company called Henry Flamethrowa. Made his Broadway debut in the 2008 revival of A Man for All Seasons. Won the Clarence Derwent Award, which honors promising performers on the New York theater scene, in 2008 for his role in A.R. Gurney's Crazy Mary. Sang the song "Boxcar" by the band Jawbreaker for his American Idiot audition.

Trivia: Trained as a competitive tennis player for 13 years. Starred in a U.S. tour of a one-man show titled Defending the Caveman following his university graduation. Studied at the ImprovOlympic and acted in stage productions in Chicago for six years. Performed the roles of Jim Taylor in Lombardi and Amos Hart in Chicago on Broadway. Nominated for the 2012 Outer Circle Critics Award for Featured Actor for his role as Duke Mahoney in George Gershwin's Nice Work If You Can Get It on Broadway opposite Matthew Broderick. Provided the voice of the GEICO camel for TV advertisements. Founder of a band called Sully and the Benevolent Folk.

Trivia: A tough and slightly surly character actor most at home in ethnically oriented Hollywood roles, John Ortiz often found himself cast as nefarious hoods and toughs. Ortiz landed one of his earliest assignments with a 1992 guest appearance on Law & Order, then branched out into A-list supporting roles in such features as Carlito's Way (1993), Ransom (1996), Piñero (2001), and Miami Vice (2006). Ortiz essayed two extremely different cinematic assignments in 2007: a part in the Ridley Scott-directed period crime drama American Gangster and one in the sci-fi-horror opus Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

Trivia: Was inspired to attend Holy Cross by her father, who passed away during her senior year in high school. Planned to become a doctor before turning to acting. Made her Broadway debut in Candida in 1993. Has made guest appearances on four different Law & Order series.

Trivia: Studied under acclaimed acting instructor Maggie Flanigan at the William Esper Studio in New York. Worked at a bagel shop and as a hair stylist before breaking into television and theatre. Received critical acclaim in 2011 for her stage work in The Motherf*cker With the Hat, including a Tony Award nomination and an Outer Critics Circle Award win for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. Became a cast regular on the Netflix original series Orange is The New Black in 2016 after having a reccurring role which began in 2013.

Trivia: Worked as a landscaper after college in order to save money to move to New York City and pursue his acting career. In 2007, played the role of Phelim O'Shaughnessy in the Broadway production of Mark Twain's Is He Dead? Played Hamlet in the Gallery Players' production of Hamlet in 2010. In 2012, performed in the Bridge Project's worldwide tour of Richard III starring Kevin Spacey. Has narrated several audiobooks, including the Beyonders series written by Brandon Mull.