Trivia: With the handsome looks and winning sarcasm that befit a late-night television talk show host, it is no surprise that Greg Kinnear first shot to stardom as the host of the E! channel's Talk Soup. More surprising, and thus more impressive, has been Kinnear's success in making the leap from television to the big screen. With only his fourth major celluloid outing, As Good As It Gets, Kinnear scored his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, effectively establishing himself as someone whose scope included screens small and large.Born June 17, 1963, in Logansport, IN, as the youngest of three sons, Kinnear led a peripatetic childhood. His father was a Foreign Services diplomat for the State Department, and his family accompanied him to places as far-flung as Beirut and Athens. While a student in Athens, Kinnear first ventured into the role of talk show host with his radio show School Daze With Greg Kinnear. Returning to the States for a college education, Kinnear attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he graduated in 1985, with a degree in broadcast journalism. From Arizona, he headed out to Los Angeles, where he landed his first job as a marketing assistant with Empire Entertainment. It was there that Kinnear got his first taste of show business, creating promotional campaigns for such films as Space Sluts in the Slammer. Following this stint, Kinnear found a job with the Movietime cable channel. Using an audition tape from a failed attempt at an MTV VJ position, Kinnear became a host and on-location reporter for the channel. All went swimmingly until he was fired, when Movietime became the E! Entertainment Network, and Kinnear soon found himself taking bit parts on such television shows as L.A. Law and Life Goes On.His luck began to change, however, when he became the creator, co-executive producer, and host of Best of the Worst, which aired from 1990 to 1991. In a more ironic and satisfying twist of fate, Kinnear was then hired back by E! to host Talk Soup, the network's new talk show. The show proved to be hugely popular, and Kinnear acted as its host and eventual executive producer until 1994, when he left the show for the NBC late-night talk show Later With Greg Kinnear. It was also in 1994 that he had his first big-screen role, as -- wait for it -- a talk show host in the Damon Wayans comedy Blankman. In 1995, he snared the part that was to give him more prominence among film audiences -- that of the irresponsible David Larrabee in Sydney Pollack's remake of Billy Wilder's 1954 classic romance Sabrina. The film was less than a success, but it did nothing to prevent Kinnear from getting the lead role in the 1996 comedy Dear God. That film, too, had a somewhat unfortunate fate, but Kinnear (now resigned from Later) more than rebounded with his next effort, James L. Brooks' As Good As It Gets (1997). The film was an unqualified hit, netting seven Oscar nominations and winning two, a Best Actor for Jack Nicholson and a Best Actress for Helen Hunt. Kinnear himself had the honor of both a Best Supporting Actor nomination and a Golden Globe nomination. Kinnear's next film, the romantic comedy A Smile Like Yours, had him starring opposite Lauren Holly as one-half of a couple trying to have a baby. The film met with lukewarm reviews and fairly anemic box-office results, but Kinnear's subsequent film, 1998's You've Got Mail, struck gold. He played Meg Ryan's significant other, a newspaper columnist wholly unlike what was to be his next character, that of Captain Amazing in the 1999 summer action film Mystery Men. With a stellar cast, including Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Janeane Garofalo, Lena Olin, and Tom Waits, Kinnear was indeed in good company, further proof of how far he had come in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, both Mystery Men and the subsequent Garry Shandling comedy What Planet Are You From (in which Kinnear amusingly portrayed Shandling's sleazy co-worker) fared poorly with both critics and audiences, and by the time he landed the role of a much-desired soap-opera star in Nurse Betty, it seemed that his star may have faded a bit. His role as a smug, one-dimensional college professor in the 2000 comedy Loser seemed near the bottom of the barrel for the formerly Oscar-nominated actor. Despite the fact that none of these failures were necessarily the fault of everyone's favorite smirky former talk-show host, his choice of projects left many wondering what had become of Kinnear. Of course, where there's darkness there will always be room for hope, and thankfully for Kinnear, the choices he was making began to pay off.In 2000, Kinnear essayed the role of a missing woman's grieving fiancé in the dark Sam Raimi thriller The Gift; the film seemed to mark the beginning of a comeback. His next role as the catalyst for an investigative report into the nature of male behavioral patterns in Someone Like You (2001) proved a step in the right direction, and following supporting performances in Dinner With Friends (2001) and We Were Soldiers (2002), Kinnear's comeback had been primed. Cast as ill-fated television star Bob Crane in Paul Schrader's disturbing 2002 biopic Auto Focus, Kinnear's spot-on performance was so eerie that it made the film almost discomforting to watch. The spotlight was somewhat stolen however, by co-star Willem Dafoe's indescribably creepy turn as the man generally believed to have caused Crane's untimely death. The following year Kinnear lightened the mood considerably when he was cast (literally) alongside Matt Damon as one-half of a pair of conjoined twins in the Farrelly Brothers' comedy Stuck on You. Intent on following his dreams of becoming an actor, Kinnear's character drags his reluctant brother to Hollywood to hilarious results.Kinnear's next role would come as the grieving father of a dead son who goes to desperate lengths to recapture his former happiness in the horror flavored Godsend (2004).A fun turn as a salesman who becomes involved with in hitman in the Golden Globe-nominated crime comedy The Matador went largely unseen despite generally favorable critical response, and after lending his voice to the animated Robots and berating little-league players in The Bad News Bears, Kinnear later join an impressive ensemble cast to investigate America's love affair with burgers and fries in director Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation. Later that same year, Kinnear would take family dysfunction to a whole new level as a motivational speaker attempting to get his daughter to a beauty pageant in Little Miss Sunshine, with a role as NFL coach Dick Vermeil following shortly thereafter in the inspirational sports drama Invincible. Kinnear would spend the following years maintaining his status as a bankable actor, appearing in films like Baby Mama, Green Zone, I Don't Know How She Does It, and the mini series The Kennedys.

Trivia: One of the most compelling actors of her generation, Toni Collette has enjoyed a career that can only be described as unpredictable. Moon-faced, cat-eyed, and possessing a presence that conveys both dignity and eccentricity, Collette had her breakthrough in P.J. Hogan's hit 1994 comedy Muriel's Wedding. As the film's title character, an overweight, ABBA-loving woman who is obsessed with getting married, the Australian actor earned both critical raves and audience recognition across the globe. She also earned plenty of opportunities to be typecast into similar roles -- particularly as she had gained over 18 kilos to play the part of Muriel -- but managed to skillfully avoid this by appearing in a variety of films that had nothing to do with ABBA, matrimony, or weight issues.Born in Sydney, Australia, on November 1, 1972, Collette became interested in acting as a child. She made her stage debut at the age of 14 in a school production of Godspell, and went on to attend the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Quitting the prestigious school after less than two years in order to work with a talented stage director, she appeared in a number of plays and in 1991 made her screen debut in Spotswood, acting in the company of Anthony Hopkins and a then unheard-of Russell Crowe.Three years later, Collette had her big break with Muriel's Wedding, a sleeper hit in both Australia and the U.S. Following the hoopla surrounding the film's success, the actor appeared in a number of small films, including the 1996 comedy Cosi and Clockwatchers (1997), a poignant office comedy that featured Collette, Lisa Kudrow, Parker Posey, and Alanna Ubach as dissatisfied temps.Recognized by keen-eyed observers as Gwyneth Paltrow's shy friend Harriet in Douglas McGrath's 1996 adaptation of Emma, and as the Angie Bowie-esque wife of a glam rocker in Todd Haynes' much maligned Velvet Goldmined (1998), Collette found her biggest audience to date -- as well as some of her biggest raves -- in M. Night Shalyaman's The Sixth Sense (1999). Cast as the mother of a young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who sees dead people, Collette earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance. Unfortunately, she followed the film with Shaft (2000), more or less wasting her talents in the role of a woman who the titular private dick has to save from the bad guys. Collette's talents were put to greater use in the made-for-TV movie Dinner With Friends (2001), which cast her as a woman who breaks up with her husband (Greg Kinnear) after 12 years of marriage. The movie, which also starred Andie MacDowell and Dennis Quaid, won warm reviews, particularly for the strong ensemble work of its four principle actors. Collette's subsequent workload reflected her growing popularity; in addition to Stephen Daldry's The Hours (2001), which she starred in alongside a cast that included Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Ed Harris, she also appeared opposite Hugh Grant in the 2002 adaptation of author Nick Hornby's About a Boy. Collette continued to take on small-scale projects like the Hollywood satire The Last Shot. She co-starred with Nia Vardelos in Connie & Carla, a film that came nowhere close to equaling the sleeper success of Vardelos' My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but did showcase Collette's fine singing voice. The next year Collette gave a strong performance opposite Cameron Diaz in the underappreciated In Her Shoes. 2006 found her stretching both her comedic and dramatic muscles by co-starring in the psychological thriller The Night Listener as well as the sleeper hit independent comedy Little Miss Sunshine opposite Steve Carell and Greg Kinnear.The actress would go on to contiunue her reputation, consistently appearing in critically acclaimed films like The Night Listener, Jesus Henry Christ, The Black Balloon, and Towelhead, in addition to finding a suitable outlet for her talents on the small screen, playing a mother with multiple personalities in the Diablo Cody penned HBO series United States of Tara.

Trivia: Possessing a sort of surreal, outlandish, and childish comic persona that is only enhanced by his deceptively straight-laced appearance, comic performer Steve Carell first gained a faithful following thanks to an enduring run as a correspondent on the popular Comedy Central news satire series The Daily Show. Though Carell had been performing on the small screen in such shows as The Dana Carvey Show and Over the Top since the early '90s, it was his grating but hilariously obnoxious reports on The Daily Show that truly made him a talent to watch.A native of Concord, MA, and an alumni of Chicago's famed Second City comedy troupe, Carell gained early experience with stints at the Windy City's Goodman and Wisdom Bridge Theaters. Following his feature debut in the 1991 comedy Curly Sue, Carell made a name for himself in television as a writer/performer on The Dana Carvey Show. In the years that followed, he would frequently alternate between film and television, and he continued to do so after joining the cast of The Daily Show in 1999. Sharp-eared television viewers would recognize Carell as the voice of crime-fighter Gary (a role that he played opposite Daily Show co-star Stephen Colbert) on Saturday Night Live's popular TV Funhouse segment "The Ambiguously Gay Duo." Following roles in such little-seen features as Tomorrow Night and Suits, Carell would return to the small screen for a key supporting role in ex-Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus' short-lived sitcom Watching Ellie.In 2003, Carell nearly stole the show from comic megastar Jim Carrey with his role as an obnoxious television newscaster in the heavenly comedy Bruce Almighty, before once again stepping into a faux television studio to portray cerebrally challenged weather forecaster Brick Tamland in the 2004 Will Ferrell vehicle Anchorman. Carell then stepped out of the newsroom and into cubicle-land for the lead in NBC's American remake of the popular British sitcom The Office, for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005. Carell also made a brief but indelible cameo opposite Anchorman co-star Ferrell in the big-screen adaptation of Bewitched.Carell's Anchorman colleagues also aided him in realizing his breakout role, later that same summer: the hapless innocent title character of The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Written by Carell and co-scripted and directed by Anchorman producer Judd Apatow, the raunchy-yet-sweet comedy had an inauspicious August release, yet its bawdy, adult-oriented laughs resonated with much of the same audience that made The Wedding Crashers an R-rated success story just a few weeks prior. Like Ferrell before him, Carell suddenly found himself in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose from a number of high-priced, high-profile comedic starring roles, among them the Bruce Almighty sequel Evan Almighty, as well as Get Smart, Horton Hears a Who!, and Dinner For Schmucks. Carrel would continue to pepper his resume with low-key roles as well, however, appearing in dramedies like Dan in Real Life and Crazy, Stupid, Love.He continued to work steadily in smaller films like The Way Way Back and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, as well as sequels like Despicable Me 2 and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. In 2014 Carell picked up the first Oscar nomination of his career for playing against type as the billionaire John DuPont in Bennett Miller's true-crime psychological drama Foxcatcher.

Trivia: Paul Dano first caught major attention in 2006, when he played the grumpy, nihilistic teenager Dwayne in the sleeper hit Little Miss Sunshine. Dano had actually been paying his dues in the industry for five years when the indie comedy put him on the map, first starring in the tense 2001 drama L.I.E. at the age of 17, when he performed under the name Paul Franklin Dano. Even before that, young Dano appeared in several Broadway productions including A Christmas Carol and Ragtime. He went on to appear in the crime thriller Taking Lives as well as the critically acclaimed The Ballad of Jack & Rose. Then, in 2006, Dano took the infamous role in Little Miss Sunshine of a surly teenage brother who's taken a vow of silence. He immediately followed it with the subversive Fast Food Nation before signing on to re-team with his Ballad of Jack & Rose co-star Daniel Day-Lewis in the Paul Thomas Anderson historical drama There Will Be Blood. Dano also lent his voice to the big-screen computer-animated adaptation of the classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are, voicing the main character of Alexander. He continued to jungle indie fare like Gigantic, Meek's Cutoff, and Being Flynn with supporting turns in more high-profile projects including Knight and Day as well as Cowboys & Indians.

Trivia: The younger sister of child thespian Spencer Breslin (Disney's the Kid, The Santa Clause 2, The Shaggy Dog), the dynamic young actress Abigail Breslin was born in Manhattan in 1996 and began shooting television commercials at the age of three. In 2001, Tamil-American director and Spielberg protégé M. Night Shyamalan discovered then five-year-old Breslin and brought about her movie debut by casting her in his sci-fi thriller Signs -- the tale of a farmer and pastor (Mel Gibson) who discovers a giant crop circle on his property as an early indicator of an extraterrestrial invasion. Breslin plays Bo Hess, Gibson's asthma-ridden, paranoiac daughter who is racked by the delusion that she must never drink water, for every glass in the house is now contaminated. The terror evident in this characterization was not unique. From an early age, the pint-sized Breslin became notorious for her preternatural ability to pour an extraordinary amount of emotional intensity into each role, which led to several challenging parts that Breslin pulled off with ease. The first of these turns, 2004's sadly overlooked Keane, is a harrowing drama about a drug- and alcohol-riddled schizophrenic named William Keane (Damian Lewis), obsessed with attempting to find his young daughter, who may never have even existed. Amy Ryan and Breslin play, respectively, Lynn Bedik and Kira Bedik, a mother and daughter who wander into William's life and concurrently raise, within him, a towering fear of himself and the capacity for emotional connection. The New York Post's V.A. Musetto called Breslin "a revelation."After light-hearted turns in Garry Marshall's terribly received Raising Helen (which marked the first onscreen pairing of Breslin and her older brother) and David S. Cass' little-seen domestic comedy Family Plan (2005), Breslin signed on as the central character in Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton's Little Miss Sunshine. This road comedy -- about a severely dysfunctional family that bands together and treks off to the titular children's beauty pageant in which young Olive (Breslin) is participating -- unexpectedly dazzled viewers with its acerbic wit, flashes of wild humor, exemplary characterizations, and touching insights into familial relationships, when it premiered in summer 2006. In fact, it became, hands down, one of the most significant sleeper hits of that year. Thanks in no small part to her mature evocation of sweet-natured, pure-hearted Olive (who elevates the film to new levels not only by strengthening family ties, but by performing an outrageous final dance number in the beauty pageant), Breslin became one of the youngest individuals in Hollywood history to receive a Best Supporting Actress nod when the Oscar nominations rolled around in January 2007 -- younger, by seven months, than Tatum O'Neal, during her Oscar win in early 1974. Meanwhile, Breslin signed on for several additional roles alongside her studies. These included Zoe, the niece of Catherine Zeta-Jones's character in Scott Hicks' romantic comedy No Reservations (a remake of the German film Mostly Martha); a sick child befriended by a lonely, itinerant young man (Drew Fuller) in Michael O. Sajbel's The Ultimate Gift; and the confused, inquisitive 11-year-old daughter of a political consultant (Ryan Reynolds) in Adam Brooks' romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe (2008). That same year she had the lead role in the family adventure film Nim's Island, and the title part in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. The next year she would appear in the comedy Zombieland. In 2011 she provided one of the voices for the Oscar winning animated film Rango, and was one of many in the ensemble cast of New Year's Eve as the independent-minded daughter of Sarah Jessica Parker.

Trivia: As a multi-talented film and stage performer with an intense comic flair, the diminutive and stocky Jewish-American character actor Alan Arkin built a career for himself out of playing slightly gruff and opinionated yet endearing eccentrics. Though not commonly recognized as such, Arkin's ability extends not only beyond the range of the comedic but far beyond the scope of acting. In addition to his before-the-camera work, Arkin is an accomplished theatrical and cinematic director, an author, and a gifted vocalist.Born March 26, 1934, to immigrant parents of Russian and German Hebrew descent, Arkin came of age in New York City, then attended Los Angeles City College in the early '50s and launched his entertainment career as a key member of the folk band the Tarriers, alongside Erik Darling, Carl Carlton, and Bob Carey. Unfortunately, the Tarriers never managed to find a musical foothold amid the 1960s folk boom -- which, despite the success of a European tour in 1957, encouraged Arkin to leave the group and carve out a niche for himself in another arena.Arkin instead turned to stage comedy and joined Chicago's Second City troupe, then in its infancy. (It officially began in 1959.) From there, Arkin transitioned to Broadway roles, and won a Tony and critical raves for his debut, in Carl Reiner's autobiographical seriocomedy Enter Laughing (1963). He followed it up with the lead in Murray Schisgal's surrealistic character comedy Luv, and made his onscreen debut alongside friend and fellow actor Reiner, for Norman Jewison's frenetic social satire The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! The picture not only scored with the public and press (and received a Best Picture nod) but netted Arkin a nomination for Best Actor. He lost to Paul Scofield, for the latter's role as Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons.Arkin evinced pronounced versatility by cutting dramatically against type for his next performance: that of Harry Roat, a psychopath who systematically psychologically tortures Audrey Hepburn, in Terence Young's Wait Until Dark (1967). A return to comedy with 1968's Inspector Clouseau (with Arkin in the Peter Sellers role) proved disastrous. Fortunately, Arkin took this as a cue, and shifted direction once again the following year, with his aforementioned portrayal of Singer in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter -- a gentle and beautiful adaptation of Carson McCullers' wonderful novel. For the effort, Arkin received a much-deserved sophomore Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, but lost to Charly's Cliff Robertson. The '70s brought mixed prospects for Arkin. He debuted as a film director in 1971, with a screen adaptation of Jules Feiffer's jet-black comedy Little Murders -- a theatrical work that Arkin had previously directed, to rave reviews, off-Broadway. A foray into the subject of American apathy in the face of random violence as it escalated during the late '60s and early '70s, the film tells the story of a sociopathically aggressive woman (Marcia Rodd) who wheedles an apathetic photographer-cum-avant-garde filmmaker (Elliott Gould) into marriage. The film divided journalists sharply. Despite initial reservations and objections, the film aged well with time, and has received renewed critical attention in recent years.Arkin's choice of projects over the remainder of the decade varied dramatically in quality -- from the dregs of Gene Saks' Neil Simon cinematization Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) and the tasteless police comedy Freebie and the Bean (1974) to the finely wrought, overlooked comedy-mystery The Seven-Percent Solution (1976) and Arthur Hiller's sensational farce The In-Laws (1979). Alongside his film work during the '70s, Arkin authored two best-sellers: the children's book Tony's Hard Work Day (1972) and an exploration of yoga, Half Way Through the Door: An Actor's Journey Towards the Self (1975). In the late '70s, Arkin made a rare television appearance, delighting younger viewers with a wild and gothic starring role on an episode of Jim Henson's Muppet Show.If the 1970s struck Arkin fans as something of a mixed bag, the actor's career choices suffered during the '80s, perhaps because of the paucity of solid comedic roles available in Hollywood during that decade. A brief list of Arkin's film credits during that period render it surprising that he could even sustain his own career throughout such poor choices: Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (1981), Improper Channels (1981), Full Moon High (1982), Bad Medicine (1985), Big Trouble (1985), and Escape from Sobibor (1987). Arkin did make two wonderful contributions to overlooked '80s comedies, however: 1980's Simon and 1985's Joshua Then and Now. In the first picture, directed by fellow Tarrier vocalist (and former Woody Allen co-scenarist) Marshall Brickman, Arkin plays Simon Mendelssohn, a college professor who falls prey to a nutty government think tank run by Max Wright and Austin Pendleton. Although the film remained an obscurity, Joshua delivers some of Arkin's most impressive onscreen work to date, and doubtless enabled him to pull from his own Jewish heritage in developing the character.The public's decision to snub these two pictures may have foreshadowed Arkin's work in the '90s, when he appeared in several fine, but equally overlooked, efforts. These included: Havana (1990), The Rocketeer (1991), Indian Summer (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), the aforementioned Mother Night (1996), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), and Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). He delivered a searing performance as the "loser" salesman who robs his company of much-sought-after leads, in James Foley's David Mamet cinematization Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and offered the only memorable contribution to Andrew Davis' fable Steal Big, Steal Little (1995), as "an opportunist who weighs in with the underdogs and learns the true meaning of decency and friendship...[striking] the perfect blend of cynicism, sincerity, and simpatico." Arkin maintained a comparatively lower profile during the early years of the millennium, aside from outstanding contributions to the otherwise dull farce America's Sweethearts (2001), the gripping telemovie The Pentagon Papers (2003), and the historical biopic And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003). In early 2007, Arkin received his first Academy Award nod in 38 years: a Best Actor nomination that he subsequently won for his hilarious turn in the road comedy Little Miss Sunshine. In that movie, Arkin played the grandfather of an über-dysfunctional family, who is ejected from a nursing home for his freewheeling lifestyle. The character's passions include porn and heroin -- elements that, as used by the film's directors, enable Arkin to provide much of the film's fresh and inspired humor. The part earned him rave reviews, and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.He appeared in the dog film Marley & Me in 2008, and that same year reteamed with Steve Carell for the big-screen version of Get Smart. He was the executive producer and co-star of the shaggy-dog crime tale Thin Ice in 2010, and the next year he had a brief cameo as a studio tour guide in The Muppets, and appeared in The Change-Up. He had a major part in Ben Affleck's Argo, a thriller about agents attempting to save American hostages held by Iranians by pretending to be making a Hollywood blockbuster. His portrayal of a showbiz producer who helps pull of the scheme, Arkin captured another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.Alan Arkin has married and divorced three times, to Jeremy Yaffe, to Barbara Dana, and to Suzanne Arkin. In addition to the legacy engendered by his own career resumé, Arkin has fathered something of an acting dynasty; his three sons, Adam, Matthew, and Tony, are all gifted and accomplished actors, with Adam Arkin (Northern Exposure, Chicago Hope) maintaining a somewhat higher profile than his brothers.

Trivia: A familiar face to a nation of television viewers thanks to his role as the more-than-slightly demented father on the popular FOX sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, longtime stage and screen actor Bryan Cranston has had a rich and varied career, lending his talents to everything from anime voice work (Armitage III and Macross Plus) to daytime television (as an original cast member of Loving). His commanding but off-kilter presence and quirky charm have easily provided Cranston with the necessary range to essay such diverse roles, and the longtime actor can always be counted on to inject a healthy dose of personality into his performances, no matter how large or small the role may be. Though the San Fernando Valley native made his television debut as a commercial actor at the age of eight, it wasn't until college that Cranston truly realized his calling as an actor. Following college graduation, Cranston's passion eventually drew him to Daytona Beach, FL, where the burgeoning actor appeared in such community-theater productions as Barefoot in the Park and Death of a Salesman. In 1982, he joined the cast of the then-new soap opera Loving, and though he would only remain with the daytime drama for a short time, appearances in Airwolf and Hill Street Blues, among various other series, found the actor maintaining a notable presence on television. Following a series of supporting feature performances, Cranston moved back to the small screen with a regular role in the 1988 sitcom Raising Miranda. In the years that followed, he would frequently shift between film (Clean Slate) and television (The Louie Show) while supplementing his income with voice-over work for such popular anime series as Armitage III. Supporting performances in such high-profile features as That Thing You Do! and Saving Private Ryan helped to increase the busy actor's recognition factor, and in 1999, Cranston wrote, produced, directed, and starred in his first feature film, a low-key drama entitled Last Chance. Though the film failed to gain much attention, Cranston was soon receiving numerous positive notices for his Emmy-nominated role as the hapless father in the breakout television hit Malcolm in the Middle. His performance alternately eccentric and endearing, Cranston injected the role with the perfect balance of fatherly weirdness and down-to-earth charm, and the series embarked on a healthy run. In the years that followed, Cranston became an increasingly familiar face to television and film viewers, and in addition to offering vocal work for the short-lived animated television series Clerks, he would contribute to such family-friendly fare as 'Twas the Night and The Santa Claus Brothers. After taking the lead in the 2003 made-for-television feature Thanksgiving Family Reunion, Cranston could be spotted opposite screen legend Kirk Douglas in the 2004 drama The Illusion. He appeared in the 2006 miniseries Fallen, and had a bit part in the Oscar nominated Little Miss Sunshine.However, in 2008 his career entered a whole new phase when he began work on the AMC series Breaking Bad, playing a chemistry teacher who becomes a meth dealer. His work on the critically lauded program would earn him four Emmys for Best Actor in a Drama Series (plus another two as a producer on the series). It also made him an in-demand character actor for movies and he worked steadily appearing in projects as radically different as Drive, Larry Crowne, Red Tails, John Carter, and Rock of Ages among many others.In 2014, Cranston made his Broadway debut in the play All The Way, playing President Lyndon Baines Johnson. The role earned him a Tony Award, and he committed to reprising the role for a TV movie. The following year, he played blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in the film Trumbo (2015), nabbing Cranston his first Academy Award nomination.

Trivia: A successful character actress most adept at playing matronly types, Beth Grant took her onscreen bow in the late '80s and began tackling innumerable roles in Hollywood features, usually bit parts as housewives, female doctors, or down-home small-town women. Grant received her first feature assignment as a harried mother at a farmhouse in Barry Levinson's Rain Man (1988). She subsequently divided her time between film and television roles, guest-acting on dozens of series and occasionally taking on more extensive small-screen roles, such as on Coach and Jericho. Grant's many big-screen credits include the films Don't Tell Her It's Me (1990), Speed (1994), Donnie Darko (2001), and Little Miss Sunshine (2006). She was particularly memorable in the latter, as one of the snotty and obnoxious pageant judges. Darko represented Grant's first experience working with helmer Richard Kelly; she re-teamed with Kelly for his follow-up, the dystopian black comedy Southland Tales (2005).

Trivia: With a quiet exterior and a unique array of facial expressions that hint at something hilarious simmering beneath the surface, actress/comedian Mary Lynn Rajskub, born June 22nd, 1971, has come a long way since joining the cast of Mr. Show back in 1995. Born in Detroit, Michigan on June 22nd, 1971, Rajskub's entry into the comedy scene wasn't entirely intentional, the former performance artist decided to try her hand at humor when a non-comedic performance at the San Francisco Art Institute elicited unexpected laughs from the audience. Subsequently realizing the absurdity inherent in overly serious performance art, Rajskub soon adjusted her act to become a parody of performance art. The unique take on live comedy quickly caught on with audiences, and shortly thereafter, Rajskub was approached by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross and asked to join the cast of their upcoming HBO stream-of-consciousness comedy series Mr. Show. A somewhat bitter falling out with series co-creator Cross found Rajskub departing from the series after a year to take a job at Seattle's Best Coffee, but her career as a caffeine dealer would quickly come to an end when Garry Shandling caught wind of her act. Subsequently cast as the enthusiastic but somewhat awkward talent booker on The Larry Sanders Show, Rajskub also began to branch out into feature territory with supporting roles in such films as Bury Me in Kern County and the mockumentary The Thin Pink Line (both 1998). Blink-and-you'll-miss-her roles in such high-profile releases as Man on the Moon and Road Trip were quick to follow, with a small but memorable turn as a bubble-wrapped cult member in Dude, Where's My Car? preceding yet another fleeting appearance in the "Fiction" segment of director Todd Solondz's Storytelling. By this point, Rajskub had expanded her presence on television with a recurring role in Veronica's Closet, and after appearing with Girls Guitar Club bandmate Karen Kilgariff in the independent drama The Anniversary Party, she made a move back to the small screen with the ill-fated sketch comedy series The Downer Channel. If that series didn't last long, Rajskub didn't need to worry since appearances in such features as Punch-Drunk Love, Sweet Home Alabama, and Legally Blonde 2 found her slowly drifting toward more substantial roles on the silver screen. After becoming a frequent player in the 2003-2004 season of the wildly popular television series 24, Rajskub took an ominous turn with her role as Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme in the 2004 made-for-television remake Helter Skelter.In 2006 she took on supporting roles in the Academy Award winning comedy drama Little Miss Sunshine, and director Christine Jeffs slice-of-life comedy drama Sunshine Cleaning. The continued to deliver solid supporting performances in 2008's Julie & Julia, and 2011's Safety Not Guaranteed.

Trivia: From the early '90s onward, African-American actress Paula Newsome built a fairly substantial career for herself via many small supporting roles in films and television series. She debuted on the big screen in 1992, as Ellen in Barnet Kellman's Dolly Parton comedy Straight Talk, then spent years making single-episode appearances in such programs as ER, Ally McBeal, and Law & Order, as well as multiple-episode runs on Chicago Hope, NYPD Blue, and The Lyon's Den. Newsome's career escalated most dramatically, however, between 2006 and 2007, with her contributions to the comedy Little Miss Sunshine (2006), the Adam Sandler drama Reign Over Me, the drama Things We Lost in the Fire, and the ABC detective series Women's Murder Club (as Claire Washburn, a member of an all-female team of investigators).

Trivia: Began acting in plays as a child and did theatre at university. Visited New York City while at university to interview for jobs on Wall Street, but also used the time to go on auditions. Attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Often portrays some type of authority figure. Was cast as a cop in Lethal Weapon 2, a commanding officer in Starship Troopers, and a state trooper in Little Miss Sunshine, amongst others. Has created several videos parodying his cop persona, including a fictional show called Cop Talk and one that pokes fun at his character in the series Breaking Bad.

Trivia: HBO enthusiasts will invariably remember character actor Wallace Langham for his winning multi-season portrayal of Phil, the conceited head writer of Larry Sanders' late-night talk show, on the Garry Shandling-headlined sitcom The Larry Sanders Show. Langham (who first received billing in projects as Wally Ward) grew up in Los Angeles; his parents divorced at an early age and his mother, Sunni, designed costumes for the musical variety series Donny and Marie. Langham was, by all accounts, drawn magnetically to showbusiness; he enrolled in acting classes, signed with an agent, and landed a string of television commercials beginning at age 16 (in 1981). After high school, Langham enrolled briefly in Cal State Northridge, but dropped out after snagging a bit part in John Hughes' teenage sci-fi comedy Weird Science (1985). Scattered appearances on such series as Murder, She Wrote and Star Trek: Voyager followed -- as well as the recurring role of Josh, smart-alecky assistant to lingerie proprietor Veronica on the Kirstie Alley sitcom Veronica's Closet. It was the Shandling turn, however, that put Langham on top of his game. He made occasional feature appearances in such pictures as the Nora Ephron comedy-fantasy Michael (1996) opposite John Travolta, the Eddie Murphy vehicle Daddy Day Care (2003), the ensemble comedy drama Little Miss Sunshine (2006), the award-winning The Social Network and 2012's Ruby Sparks but -- outside of Larry Sanders -- he is probably best known for his fine work on the series drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. On that program, Langham sustained a multi-season portrayal as lab technician David Hodges.

Trivia: First TV role was a guest role on the Law & Order. Made his big screen debut in the 1999 comedy Wirey Spindell. In 2002, landed a recurring role of Frank on the George Lopez show. Did voice-over work for the 2006 animated comedy flick Shark Bait.