Trivia: Following his training at the North Carolina School of the Arts, actor Judge Reinhold worked in regional repertory, dinner theaters, and "outdoor" dramas. He gained prominence in TV roles as gawky teenagers, notably the lead in the syndicated Capital Cities Special A Step Too Slow. In films from 1979, Reinhold's first major role was high schooler Brad in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He hit his stride in 1984, playing the nice-guy detective sent to trail Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop (1984). Though he has proven a convincing villain when the need has arisen, Judge Reinhold has thrived in parts calling for decency and dependency. Reinhold's career slowed down a bit during the '90s and in the early part of the decade he seemed destined to be relegated to B-movies and television films such as Four Eyes and Six Guns (1993), but in 1994, he appeared in two major features, Beverly Hills Cop III and The Santa Clause.

Trivia: Tall, outdoorsy, easygoing, and known for giving consistently well-wrought, naturalistic performances, Fred Ward seems to have all the makings of a leading man, but for some reason he has had more success in supporting and character roles. He became an actor after a three-year Air Force stint and time spent studying at New York's Herbert Berghof Studio and in Rome. While in Italy he dubbed Italian movies and worked as a mime until he made his debut in two Roberto Rossellini films. Upon returning stateside in the early '70s, Ward spent time working in experimental theater and doing some television work. He made his first American film appearance playing a truck driver in Ginger in the Morning (1973). His first major role came in the Clint Eastwood vehicle Escape From Alcatraz (1979) as fellow escapee John Anglin. For Ward, 1983 was a very good year as he played key roles in three major films, Uncommon Valor, as an anguished Vietnam vet-turned-sculptor, Silkwood, as a brave union activist, and in a scene-stealing performance as Virgil "Gus" Grissom in Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff. In 1985, Ward starred in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, a James Bond-ian spy thriller; this was to be the film that made Ward a leading man. Unfortunately, it fizzled at the box office. This led to more leading roles, but again, none were particularly successful and he returned to major supporting roles. Notable performances from the '90s include that of a beaten-down, humiliated cop in Miami Blues, (Ward also co-produced it), a fascinating portrayal of author Henry Miller in Henry & June (both 1990), and as the studio security chief in The Player (1992). His role alongside Kevin Bacon in 1990's Tremors found Ward's comic abilities sharp and in tact, and after again appearing alongside Tim Robbins in the 1992 satire Bob Roberts, the talented actor would continue through the 1990s with role in The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), and the Keanu Reeves thriller Chain Reaction (1996). Increasingly busy into the new millennium, Ward continued to move effortlessly between television and film roles, displaying his sense of humor in Joe Dirt and Corky Romano (both 2001), and his penchant for action in The Chaos Factor (2000) and Full Disclosure the following year. He worked continuously in projects such as Enough and Sweet Home Alabama (both 2002), the Bob Dylan vehicle Masked and Anonymous, and appeared briefly on the hit television series Grey's Anatomy. In 2010 he was part of the cast of The United States of Tara, and the next year he appeared in the crime comedy 30 Minutes or Less.

Trivia: Supporting actor Dengel first appeared onscreen in the '80s.

Trivia: Born and raised in New Orleans, deep-voiced actress Patricia Clarkson studied drama at Yale. She stayed on the East coast working in theater productions before her feature film debut in The Untouchables (1987) as the wife of Elliot Ness. Continuing to work in film, she gained attention for her role as the drug-addicted Greta in the independent film High Art. Also working in TV, she had reoccuring roles on Wonderland and Fraser, and even won an Emmy award for her role as Sarah on the HBO drama Six Feet Under. She gave memorable performances in her smaller film roles, such as the bedridden wife in The Green Mile. Her career really picked up in 2002 with appearances in such films as the Russo brothers' Welcome to Collinwood, Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven, and Lars von Trier's Dogville. In 2003, Clarkson appeared in several films at the Sundance Film Festival, where she won the Outstanding Performance award for her work in All the Real Girls, The Station Agent, and Pieces of April. She continued to work steadily in projects such as the inspirational hockey drama Miracle, and George Clooney's Oscar-nominated Good Night, and Good Luck. She was part of the high-powered ensemble put together for the box-office disappointment All the King's Men, but remained one of the most in-demand character actresses of her time, In 2007 she appeared in Lars and the Real Girl, Married Life, and No Reservations. In 2008 she began a working relationship with Woody Allen when she was cast in Vicky Cristina Barcelona that continued with Whatever Works. She had a single scene in Martin Scorsese's paranoid thriller Shutter Island in 2010, the same year she appeared in the sleeper hit Easy A. The next year she acted in the romantic drama One Day as well as the comedy Friends With Benefits.

Trivia: Actor William Duff-Griffin specialized in Shakespearean and classical drama and was a regular on the New York stage. He started out as production manager at New York's la Mama in the 1960s, but soon graduated to performing. Duff-Griffin's few film credits include Basic Instinct (1992) and Romeo Is Bleeding (1994). He also appeared in an episode of the long-running television sitcom Murphy Brown, as well as in the made-for-TV movie The Kennedys of Massachusetts.

Trivia: Dan Hedaya has played a wide variety of characters on the stage, screen, and television. Fans of the long-running sitcom Cheers will remember Hedaya for his portrayal of barmaid Carla's grease bag husband Nick Tortelli. Following studies in literature at Tufts University, Hedaya launched his acting career. He then went on to act in the New York Shakespeare Festival for many years. Hedaya made his feature film debut in The Passover Plot (1975). Since 1980, Hedaya has appeared in over 20 feature films, and is frequently cast as cops, criminals, or rough-edged regular joes. In Blood Simple (1984), he got the opportunity to play a leading role as Marty, the jealous husband who hires a creepy detective to kill his faithless wife. It is on television, that Hedaya has found most of his work. He has guest-starred on numerous shows ranging from police and courtroom dramas like Hill Street Blues and Law and Order, to sitcoms such as Family Ties.

Trivia: An alumnus of the Yale School of drama, American actor Austin Pendleton was lucky enough to latch onto a starmaking stage role relatively early in life. Pendleton was the first performer to play the part of tailor Motel Kamzoil in the evergreen musical Fiddler on the Roof, in which he had one of the play's best non-Tevye songs, "Miracle of Miracles." Hollywood has been less generous to Pendleton in terms of good roles. He was cast in a supporting role in Skidoo (1968), a smash miss frequently cited as the worst film in the careers of most of its participants (Jackie Gleason, Groucho Marx, Carol Channing, Otto Preminger, et al.) He was shown to better advantage in What's Up, Doc? (1972), while in The Front Page (1974) he sparkled as a condemned killer plagued by a bad head cold on the eve of his execution. A first-rate character player, Austin Pendleton has never quite scaled the heights of stardom in films, though his theatre work as both actor and director has always been critically lauded.

Trivia: Rarely garnering a lead role, M. Emmet Walsh has become one of the busiest character actors in Hollywood, using his ruddy, seedy appearance to embody countless low-life strangers with unsavory agendas. In his rare sympathetic roles, he's also capable of generating genuine pathos for the put upon plight of struggling small-timers. His effortless portrayals have made him a welcome addition to numerous ensembles, even if many viewers can't match a name to his recognizable mug. In fact, his work is so well thought of that critic Roger Ebert created the Stanton-Walsh Rule, which states that no film featuring either Walsh or Harry Dean Stanton can be altogether bad.Contrary to his frequent casting as a Southerner, Walsh is a native New Yorker, born on March 22, 1935, in Ogdensburg, NY. As a youth he attended the prestigious Tilton School in New Hampshire, and went on to share a college dorm room with actor William Devane. He graduated from the Clarkson University School of Business, but it was not until his thirties that he discovered his true calling: acting. He first popped up in Midnight Cowboy (1969), and has worked steadily ever since, some years appearing in as many as eight motion pictures, other years focusing more on TV movies. Working in relative anonymity through the '70s and early '80s, appearing in films ranging from Serpico (1973) to Slapshot (1977) to Blade Runner (1982), Walsh landed his meatiest and most memorable role in Joel and Ethan Coen's remarkable debut, Blood Simple (1984). Without batting an eye, Walsh exuded more casual menace as the amoral private detective doggedly pursuing his own self-interest than a host of typecast villains could muster in their entire careers. His role was key to creating a stylish noir that would launch the careers of two modern masters. It earned him an Independent Spirit Award.Blood Simple did not markedly alter Walsh's status as a supporting actor, as he went on to appear in this capacity in Fletch (1985), Back to School (1986), and Raising Arizona (1987), his next collaboration with the Coens, in which his bull-slinging machinist scores riotously with less than a minute of screen time. One of the first appearances of the kindly Walsh was in 1988's Clean and Sober, in which he plays a recovering alcoholic helping Michael Keaton through the same struggle.As he crept into his late fifties and early sixties, the stature of Walsh's films diminished a little, if not his actual workload. Continuing to dutifully pursue his craft throughout the early '90s, Walsh again returned to a higher profile with appearances in such films as A Time to Kill (1996), William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996), and My Best Friend's Wedding (1997). More as a reaction to the ineptitude of the movie than Walsh's performance, Ebert called into question his own Walsh-Stanton Rule in his review of Wild Wild West, the 1999 Will Smith-Kevin Kline debacle in which Walsh is one of the only tolerable elements. In the years to come, Walsh would remain active on screen, appearing in films like Youth in Revolt and providing the voice of Olaf on the animated series Pound Puppies.

Trivia: Supporting actor Dennis Burkley has been onscreen from the '80s.

Trivia: One was always reminded of a startled chipmunk when viewing the work of American actor John Schuck. After theatre and improv-comedy work, Schuck was cast as Painless Pole in the irreverent Robert Altman comedy M*A*S*H (1970). Midway through the film, Schuck's character contemplates killing himself, which segues into the film's famous "Last Supper" sequence and a full rendition of the M*A*S*H theme song Suicide is Painless. Schuck appeared in a few other Altman projects, then in 1971 was hired for the role of Sgt. Charles Enright on the TV series McMillan and Wife. Enright's function was to keep the plot wheels turning while stars Rock Hudson and Susan St. James battled for the best camera angles. Schuck left McMillan and Wife in 1975 to play a robot cop (that's what we said) in the short-lived Holmes and Yoyo. Later, equally brief TV series assignments of John Schuck included Turnabout (1979) and The New Odd Couple (1982); there was also a more widely seen performance as Ordell in the groundbreaking miniseries Roots (1977).