Trivia: Actor Nicolas Cage has always strived to make a name for himself based on his work, rather than on his lineage. As the nephew of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, Cage altered his last name to avoid accusations of nepotism. (He chose "Cage" both out of admiration for avant-garde musician John Cage and en homage to comic book hero Luke Cage). Even if he had retained the family name, it isn't likely that anyone would consider Cage holding fast to his uncle's coattails. Time and again, Cage travels to great lengths to add verisimilitude to his roles.Born January 7, 1964, in Long Beach, CA, to a literature professor father and dancer/choreographer mother, Cage first caught the acting bug while a student at Beverly Hills High School. After graduation, he debuted on film with a small part in Amy Heckerling's 1982 classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Following a lead role in Martha Coolidge's cult comedy Valley Girl (1983), Cage spent the remainder of the decade playing endearingly bizarre and disreputable men, most notably as Crazy Charlie the Appliance King in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Hi McDonough in Raising Arizona (1987), and Ronny Cammareri in the same year's Moonstruck, the last of which won him a Golden Globe nomination and a legion of female fans, ecstatic over the actor's unconventional romantic appeal.The '90s saw Cage assume a series of diverse roles, ranging from a violent ex-con in David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990) to a sweet-natured private eye in the romantic comedy Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) to a dying alcoholic in Mike Figgis' astonishing Leaving Las Vegas (1995). For this last role, Cage won a Best Actor Oscar for his quietly devastating portrayal, and, respectability in hand, gained an official entrance into Hollywood's higher ranks. After winning his Oscar, along with a score of other honors for his performance, Cage switched gears in a way that would prove to be, with the occasional exception, largely permanent. He dove into a series of action movies like the Michael Bay thriller The Rock, the prisoners-on-a-plane movie Con Air, and the infamous John Woo flick Face/Off. Greeted with hefty paychecks and audience approval, Cage forged ahead on a career path lit largely with explosions.There would be exceptions, like 1998's City of Angels, a remake of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, and Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead, and the the lightly dramatic romantic comedy The Family Man, but Cage stuck mostly to thrillers and action movies. A spate of such films would fill his resume, like Gone in 60 Seconds, The Life of David Gale, 8MM, and Snake Eyes, but Cage would briefly revisit his roots in character work, teaming with Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze in 2002 for a duel role in the complex comedy Adaptation (2002). With Cage appearing as both screenwriter Charlie Kaufman as well as his fictional brother Donald, Adaptation followed Charlie's attempt to adapt author Susan Orlean's seemingly unfilmable novel The Orchid Thief as a feature film, and Donald's parallel efforts to write his own hacky yet lucrative script by following the guidance of a caustic, Syd Field-like screenwriting instructor (Brian Cox). A weighty role that demanded an actor capable of portraying characters that couldn't differ more emotionally despite their outward appearance, Adaptation brought Cage his second Oscar nomination -- and he was soon back to business as usual.2004 saw the release of the megahit adventure film National Treasure, which cast Cage as an archaeologist convinced there's a treasure map on the back of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The outrageous film would earn a sequel in 2007, but first Cage made the ill-advised decision to star in Neil LaBute's reworking of the Robin Hardy/Anthony Shaffer collaboration The Wicker Man (2006). Though video compilations of the movie's most hilariously hackneyed moments would become popular on the internet, Cage was soon portraying a motorcycle-driving stuntman who sells his soul to Mephistopheles -- in Mark Steven Johnson's live-action comic book adaptation Ghost Rider. Upon premiering in the States, the film became a big success. In the same year's sci-fi thriller Next, directed by Lee Tamahori, Cage plays Cris Johnson, a man who attains the ability to see into the future and must suddenly decide between saving himself and saving the world; the film failed to ignite the way Ghost Rider did just a couple months before it. Next came Bangkok Dangerous, Knowing, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, Drive Angry, Seeking Justice, and Trespass -- all high octane, high adrenaline movies that found Cage diving, leaping, and shooting his way through the story. Cage found himself with a surprise hit in Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass (2010), playing a vigilante former cop in the black comedy film. He voiced the main character in 2013's animated The Croods, but then mostly stuck to action-crime-thriller-type movies for the next couple of years, including films like Left Behind (2014), The Runner (2015) and The Trust (2016).

Trivia: Ron Perlman grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City, where his father was a radio/TV repairman and his mother an employee with the city's Department of Health. A profoundly unhandsome youth, Perlman was nonetheless very active in high school theater by virtue of his height (6-foot-2) and his deep, rolling voice. He continued studying drama at Lehman College and later at the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a master's degree in theater arts. He went to work with New York's Classic Stage Company, an organization specializing in Elizabethan and Restoration plays. Perlman starred in several Manhattan and touring productions staged by Tom O'Horgan of Hair fame before accepting his first film role as a Neanderthal man in 1981's Quest for Fire. Emotionally drained, Perlman backed off from acting after finishing the movie, but was soon back in the groove, essaying such attention-getting roles as the hunchbacked Salvatore in The Name of the Rose (1986). Most often cast as brooding, inarticulate, villainous characters in films (such as Pap in 1993's The Adventures of Huck Finn), Perlman became best known for his performance as the beneficent, albeit hideously ugly, sewer-dwelling Vincent in the late-'80s TV series Beauty and the Beast. Though this remained the actor's defining role for years after the show's run had drawn to a close, he was busier than ever through the '90s. Appearing in everything from obscure arthouse hits (Cronos [1993] and The City of Lost Children [1995]) to voice-over work for television (Aladdin) and video games (Fallout, A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game) to overblown Hollywood blockbusters (Alien Resurrection), Perlman left few stones unturned in terms of flexibility and experimentation in new media. He continued this trend into the early 2000s, alternating between various arenas with remarkable ease and refusing to be pigeonholed, appearing in such high-profile releases as Titan A.E. (2000), Enemy at the Gates (2001), and Blade II (2002). Though his recognition factor seemed higher than ever, few could foresee the opportunity just ahead when Blade II and Cronos director Guillermo del Toro announced that Perlman would star in the film adaptation of Mike Mignola's popular comic book Hellboy, although it seemed highly unlikely that studios would invest the millions of dollars needed to bring the comic to life with an actor of such minimal "marquee value." They wanted Vin Diesel for the role, but del Toro, with the blessing and encouragement of character originator Mignola, eventually won out to have Perlman play the Nazi-creation-turned-superhero in the 2004 fantasy-action film.

Trivia: Appeared in productions of Much Ado About Nothing and Antony and Cleopatra with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Made feature-film debut in 2003's Bright Young Things. Played the role of Irwin in the play The History Boys when it ran on Broadway, on the West End and in Sydney. Shot a pilot with girlfriend Claire Foy for a medical drama called Pulse. Suffered a bout of food poisoning while filming 2008's The Bank Job, and was assisted by costar David Suchet after collapsing in the parking lot. Took on the role of Chris in a West End production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons in 2010 when director Howard Davies offered him the role following their first meeting.

Trivia: Knew that he wanted to act since he was 10. Became friends with Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of Gangs of New York, and Dicaprio recommended Graham to director Michael Mann for his role in Public Enemies. Sent Mann an audition tape made by his wife on her handheld video camera. Found it difficult at first to play a racist in 2007's This Is England because of his mixed-race heritage. (His grandfather is Jamaican.) Honed his Brooklyn accent for Boardwalk Empire with Brooklynite Charlie, a gaffer on the set of the series.

Trivia: Fair-haired Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen initially sailed to fame on the basis of his lead role in the Dogme 95 Thomas Vinterberg-directed seriocomedy The Celebration (1998). In that film, Thomsen played Christian, a restaurant proprietor headquartered in France, who scandalizes his entire family by accusing the patriarch of improprieties. After a pair of more conventional Hollywood productions -- the James Bond actioner The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Kathryn Bigelow's cerebral drama The Weight of Water (2000) -- Thomsen returned to audience-pleasing arthouse work with a key supporting role in the offbeat comedy Mostly Martha (2001), then tackled additional supporting turns in transcontinental productions including Max (2002), Sergeant Pepper (2004), and Allegro (2005). Kingdom of Heaven (2005) -- an epic about the Crusades -- marked Thomsen's return to elephantine-budgeted Hollywood productions, demonstrating the actor's crossover appeal. He next landed a lead in the Danish farce Clash of Egos, about a dad who gets sweet revenge on a pretentious director thanks to an ugly accident on a movie set, and then played the lead in the psychodrama Opium: Diary of a Madwoman (2007), as a morphine-addicted neurologist who makes a warped pact with a disturbed young woman.

Trivia: Her maternal grandparents were from Dublin and Kildare. The youngest of three children, her parents divorced when she was eight years old. Trained as a ballet dancer from a young age, but developed juvenile arthritis at the age of 13 and retired from dancing. Is highly skilled at playing the piano. Nominated for a Royal Television Society award in 2009 for her role in Little Dorrit. Was listed as one of 55 Faces for the Future by Nylon Magazine in 2010. Played Lady Macbeth in the 2013 West End production of Macbeth, opposite James McAvoy. /Has won five awards for her role as the young Queen Elizabeth ll in The Crown: a Golden Globe Award in 2017 for Best Actress in a Television Drama; a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2018; a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series in 2017 and 2018; and a Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress in 2018.

Trivia: Became interested in acting during primary school when he played the lead in his school's production of Oliver With a Twist. Did not undergo any formal training to be an actor. Made his film debut in Song for a Raggy Boy (2003) at age 14. Won a BAFTA Television Award in 2010 along with his fellow cast mates of the British sci-fi drama Misfits.

Trivia: After several years in secondary film roles, the skeletal, menacing Christopher Lee achieved horror-flick stardom as the Monster in 1958's The Curse of Frankenstein, the second of his 21 Hammer Studios films. Contrary to popular belief, Lee and Peter Cushing did not first appear together in The Curse of Frankenstein. In Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948), in which Cushing plays the minor role of Osric, Lee appears as the cadaverous candle-bearer in the "frighted with false fires" scene, one of his first film roles. In 1958, Lee made his inaugural appearance as "the Count" in The Horror of Dracula, with Cushing as Van Helsing. It would remain the favorite of Lee's Dracula films; the actor later noted that he was grateful to be allowed to convey "the sadness of the character. The terrible sentence, the doom of immortality...."Three years after Curse, Lee added another legendary figure to his gallery of characters: Sherlock Holmes, the protagonist of Sherlock Holmes und das Halsband des Todes. With the release eight years later of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Lee became the first actor ever to portray both Holmes and Holmes' brother, Mycroft, onscreen. Other Lee roles of note include the title characters in 1959's The Mummy and the Fu Manchu series of the '60s, and the villainous Scaramanga in the 1974 James Bond effort The Man With the Golden Gun. In one brilliant casting coup, the actor was co-starred with fellow movie bogeymen Cushing, Vincent Price, and John Carradine in the otherwise unmemorable House of Long Shadows (1982). Established as a legend in his own right, Lee continued working steadily throughout the '80s and '90s, appearing in films ranging from Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) to Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999).In 2001, after appearing in nearly 300 film and television productions and being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the international star with the most screen credits to his name, the 79-year-old actor undertook the role of Saruman, chief of all wizards, in director Peter Jackson's eagerly anticipated screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Thought by many to be the millennial predecessor to George Lucas' Star Wars franchise, audiences thrilled to the wondrous battle between Saruman and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) atop the wizard's ominous tower, though Lee didn't play favorites between the franchises when Lucas shot back with the continuing saga of Anakin Skywalker's journey to the dark side in mid-2002. Wielding a lightsaber against one of the most powerful adversaries in the Star Wars canon, Lee proved that even at 80 he still had what it takes to be a compelling and demanding screen presence. He lent his vocal talents to Tim Burton's Corpse Bride in 2005, and appeared as the father of Willy Wonka in the same director's adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic. He appeared as Count Dooku in Revenge of the Sith, and voiced the part for the animated Clone Wars. He appeared in the quirky British film Burke & Hare in 2010, and the next year he could be seen Martin Scorsese's Hugo. In 2012 he teamed with Tim Burton yet again when he appeared in the big-screen adaptation of Dark Shadows.Now nearly into 90s, Lee returned to Middle Earth in 2012 with Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, appearing in the first (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) and third (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) films. He also reprised the role in a number of video games based on the two series. Lee was still actively working when he died in 2015, at age 93.

Trivia: Made his debut in a 1996 episode of This Life. In 2003, starred as Sammy Samuelson in miniseries Trust. Made his film debut in 2006's Scenes of a Sexual Nature. In 2007, appeared as Roger Aspinall on Waterloo Road. In 2013, starred in the National Theatre Production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Trivia: Worked as a lumberjack and bridge painter prior to acting. First gained notice by appearing in a Scottish breakfast-cereal commercial. Won a Scottish BAFTA Award for his role in the 2002 TV series The Book Group. Is an avid outdoorsman and experienced mountaineer; got to put his climbing skills to good use in the TV series Rockface. Plays the piano.

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.