Trivia: Like many small-screen veterans who headline a hit network series for multiple seasons, the fresh-faced, genial American actor Richard Dean Anderson will forever be associated with one role -- that of Angus MacGyver, the multilingual, crack Special Forces agent and science expert capable of using common household substances and implements to perform feats of wonder, on the Henry Winkler-produced action-adventure series MacGyver. Although Anderson's resumé packs in a number of key telemovies and a recurrent starring role on the popular Stargate SG-1, the actor is best known for turning MacGyver into a veritable American icon for Gen-Xers during the mid- to late '80s and early '90s.Anderson was born on January 23, 1950, in Minneapolis, MN, to a schoolteacher father, Stuart Anderson, who taught English, humanities, and drama at an area high school, and an artist mother. During middle school and high school, Anderson's plans to embark on a career as a professional hockey player were curtailed by two unfortunate accidents in which he broke both arms, encouraging the young man to pursue drama as an alternate option. After high school, Anderson enrolled in both St. Cloud State University and Ohio University, where he studied acting, but -- feeling listless -- he dropped out before receiving his degree, and spent time in San Francisco and Manhattan, then moved permanently to L.A. In Southern California, Anderson held down gigs as a street mime, juggler, and aquatic performer at Marineland, then appeared in the stage production Superman in the Bones at the Pilgrimage Theatre.Aficionados of 1970s American television might recall that Anderson's "breakthrough" arrived not as MacGyver, but as Dr. Jeff Webber on the long-running ABC soap opera General Hospital, circa 1976 -- then in production for 13 years. Not long after two failed series attempts on CBS -- the adventure drama Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1982 and the Dennis Weaver-headlined military drama Emerald Point, N.A.S. in 1983 -- Anderson auditioned for Henry Winkler and others to portray MacGyver on that character's eponymous action series. The premise found MacGyver enlisting as a member of a "think tank" called "The Phoenix Foundation," devoted to traveling around the world and thwarting criminal activity. The program's gimmick revolved around scientist MacGyver's abhorrence of guns, and his ability to use seemingly innocent, harmless objects -- such a candy bar, a paperclip, a toothpick, and (of course) his ever-present Swiss Army knife -- to blow up buildings, escape from deathtraps, save lives, etc. Winkler and his co-producers purportedly gave Anderson the part because of his request to wear eyeglasses during the reading -- an act that suggested humility to them and thus meshed perfectly with the character. MacGyver debuted on ABC on September 29, 1985, and lasted seven seasons, retaining a faithful audience despite at least 11 shifts in its night and time slot. It finally wrapped on August 8, 1992. Two telemovies, MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday and MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis, aired in 1994, both produced by Anderson.Alongside the MacGyver series run and shortly thereafter, Anderson signed for key roles in several network telemovies, including Ordinary Heroes (1985), Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992, which uncharacteristically cast him as a psychotic stalker), Beyond Betrayal (1994), and the epic-length disaster miniseries Pandora's Clock (1996). These proved moderately successful, but Anderson's two additional attempts to produce a network series through his Gekko film production company during the early '90s (Firehouse and Legend) died quick deaths.Anderson nevertheless caught his second wind and returned to series television (garnering a loyal cult following among sci-fi buffs) as Col. Jack O'Neill in the 1997 series Stargate SG-1, which originated on Showtime. Adapted from the hit 1994 movie Stargate, the program found O'Neill emerging from semi-retirement and continually traveling to interstellar "stargate" portals to protect the universe from hostile alien invasions. Stargate SG-1 bowed to extraordinary reviews and ratings and became a permanent hit; Anderson stayed with the series through its eighth season, and appeared as a guest star occationally during the rest of its run. He would go on to appear on the spin off SGU Stargate Universe, as well as the dramedy series Fairly Legal.Though Anderson has never married, he has been romantically linked with such actresses as Marlee Matlin, Deidre Hall, Sela Ward, Teri Hatcher, and Lara Flynn Boyle, and the champion skater Katarina Witt. In 1996, Anderson entered an ongoing romantic relationship with Apryl Prose, and the two had a daughter, Wylie Quinn Annarose Anderson, born in August 1998. Anderson divides his time between residences in Vancouver, Los Angeles, and northern Minnesota.

Trivia: Dreamed of playing professional hockey as a teen. Studied business in college but switched to theater after failing a calculus course. Was inspired to pursue an acting career after seeing future Stargate SG-1 costar Richard Dean Anderson shoot a scene from MacGyver on a Vancouver beach. Performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival for two seasons. Met his wife, Lexa Doig, while guest-starring in an episode of her sci-fi series, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. Played hockey on the Stargate SG-1 team that competed against other productions, such as Smallville, that also shot in British Columbia.

Trivia: Parents wanted her to pursue a career in science. Appeared in stage productions of Steel Magnolias, Children of a Lesser God and Noises Off. First TV job was an appearance in a 1989 commercial for the Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Hortons. In the early 1990s, cofounded the Canadian comedy group Random Acts, with Katherine Jackson and Anne Marie Kerr. Won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress in the 2006 film Breakdown. Received Gemini Award nominations for her work on Stargate SG-1 (2001) and Sanctuary (2009). The Gemini Awards honor excellence in Canadian TV.

Trivia: Played football for the University of Oregon. Had guest-starring roles on MacGyver and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air before becoming a regular on Sirens. Voiced characters in the series X-Men: Evolution and Action Man. Wrote four episodes of Stargate SG-1 while appearing on the series as Teal'c.

Trivia: South African filmmaker Gavin Hood is most well known as the director of the award-winning urban drama Tsotsi, however, few know that he learned the ropes and paid his dues by appearing in B-movies like Curse 3: Blood Sacrifice and American Kickboxer. He also studied law at the University of Witwatersrand before opting to follow his true calling by traveling to the U.S. to study film at UCLA. It was there that he experienced his first big break -- or so he thought -- when a script he'd written called A Reasonable Man won the Diane Thomas Screenwriting Award in 1993. The producers who took interest in the story, however, wanted to move the setting from South Africa to America, and soften the script's harsh, culturally divisive content with a happy ending. Hood refused to agree to such changes, agreeing only to make the film on the condition that he direct it himself -- causing interest in the project to vanish as quickly as it had appeared. Hood traveled back to Johannesburg, where he was commissioned to write and direct a series of educational dramas for television by the South African Department of Health. Tackling issues like the AIDS epidemic for the masses of his newly apartheid-free country was a monumental task for Hood's first professional stint behind the camera, and he accomplished the task deftly, earning an Artes Award (The South African Emmy Award) for his work. A short time later, he directed and produced a short script he'd written called The Storekeeper, about an elderly man who takes the law into his own hands in order to protect his store from robbery -- a decision that ends in tragedy. Hood entered the film into competition at a number of international film festivals, where it was very well received. This earned him the credibility he needed to finally produce A Reasonable Man and in 1999 he did exactly that. The story of a young shepherd who kills a baby whom he believes is possessed by a demon was inspired by an actual 1933 court case that Hood had read about in law school. He cast himself in a supporting role in the film, appearing opposite veteran actor Sir Nigel Hawthorne, and entered it into competition on the festival circuit as he had with The Storekeeper. He met with even more success this time, winning the grand prizes at a number of film festivals and serious praise from many critics. In 2001, Hood signed on to adapt and direct a film version of Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel In Desert and Wilderness, an adventure story about two children in Africa. Though the film had to be made entirely in Polish -- which Hood neither spoke nor had time to learn -- he rose to the challenge, working extensively with a translator to create what would prove to be an award-winning film, and the highest-grossing movie in Poland that year. By 2003, Hood had established himself in the filmmaking community as both a talented and conscientious director. It was around this time that he was approached in by producer Peter Fudakowski about adapting legendary playwright Athol Fugard's only novel, Tsotsi, for the screen. Hood had loved the unflinching tale of desperation, hope, and redemption ever since he'd first read it -- but the rights had always been optioned by other parties. He jumped at the chance to write and direct the story, though he updated the setting from the 1950s to the present, replacing the forces of apartheid with classism, AIDS, and disappointment. The central story remained the same, however: a tough, young gang member to whom stealing and killing are a simple means of survival, murders a woman before realizing her baby is with her. Subjected to a spiritual and ethical transformation, the young man cares for the baby over the course of the next week, as his sense of obligation to the child gradually awakens in him a long-repressed sense of humanity. The film was a complete success, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Trivia: Childhood ambition was to be an optometrist. Moved to England at age 18 to apprentice under voice coach Patsy Rodenburg. Won a Canadian Gemini Award in 2000 for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for The City. Her rescue dog, Sedgewick, had two cameos on Stargate Atlantis, appearing in her character Dr. Elizabeth Weir's flashback scenes.