Trivia: Mainstream America got its first taste of David Caruso when he appeared in a nationally syndicated mid-'70s coffee commercial as a stock boy in a general store run by Margaret Hamilton. In those days, Caruso would pick up extra cash by appearing in lineups for the New York police department, where his street-urchin style made him fit right in. This same street-tough quality won Caruso his first semi-regular TV series role in 1981, as the Irish-American gang leader "Shamrock" on Hill Street Blues. Building up his resumé, he continued to take supporting roles like the "washout" aviation candidate in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and assistant to Judd Nelson's quest for revenge in Blue City (1986). 1984 proved a busy year as he divorced wife Cheri Maugans and married Rachel Ticotin, with whom he had a daughter, Greta, later that year. More supporting roles paid Caruso's bills throughout the '80s, as well as a starring TV gig on a short-lived 1990 cop series called H.E.L.P. A much more important law enforcement role still lay ahead, however, in the form of a hot new series called NYPD Blue that premiered in 1993. Playing the role of Detective John Kelly on the series made Caruso an overnight star. The show was produced by his old Hill Street Blues boss Steven Bochco, and Caruso had the groundbreaking drama to thank for his transformation from working actor to sought-after star -- yet he remained with the monumentally successful show for only 26 episodes. After a very public series of disagreements with producers, Caruso left NYPD Blue in 1994, hoping to use his new celebrity to invigorate a film career. He returned to audiences in 1995, starring the crime thriller Kiss of Death. Unfortunately, Kiss of Death was a critical and box-office failure, as were his successive suspense thrillers Jade, Cold Around the Heart, and Body Count. Though he walked down the isle a third time in 1995, the actor's wedding seemed to be the only happy news associated with his name. By the end of the '90s, Caruso's decision to leave NYPD Blue was considered one of the most infamous career blunders in history, landing him on the C-list and making a joke of the inflated ego that some said put him there. In 1997, the first episode of the outrageous animated media satire South Park seemed to summarize the actor's status with a gag in which the two-year-old character Ike is persuaded to jump from a spaceship and fall several feet to the ground when his brother yells "Do your impression of David Caruso's career!" Many actors find themselves remembered as cinematic or TV one-hit wonders, and this was how Caruso was already being recorded in pop-culture history. The new millennium, however, would find the actor defeating the Hollywood laws of physics with a resurrection on a par with that of John Travolta. In 2002, the hit procedural prime-time crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation was launching a spin-off, CSI: Miami, and in the starring role of Lieutenant Horatio Caine was none other than David Caruso. The spin-off proved to be just as successful as its predecessor, and almost ten years after his first shot at fame with NYPD Blue, Caruso was back in the game. While cynics predicted that he would grow too big for his britches and leave the series in a disastrous repetition of history, Caruso remained loyal to the show, even making cameo appearances on the other CSI series. Though 2005 brought a divorce, it also saw the birth of a son with girlfriend Liza Marquez.

Trivia: Born October 08, 1968, actress Emily Procter made her way into the stormy world of acting by forecasting the weather. While a Journalism and Dance major at East Carolina University, she landed a job as a weather anchor for a local CBS affiliate. One thing led to another, and soon she was headed west, travelling the well-travelled route to Los Angeles. Luck greeted Procter shortly after her arrival, when she began landing spots on television sitcoms and dramas. After appearing on such shows as Lois and Clark and Friends, Procter made her film debut with a small role in Leaving Las Vegas in 1995. Work in a number of small films followed, as did parts in Jerry Maguire (1997), the HBO movie Breast Men (1997), and such television movies as The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (also 1997). 1999 proved a busy year for the actress, as she had supporting roles in both Guinevere and the Scottish film The Big Tease. She also starred in Body Shots, playing a member of a group of friends looking for love and/or sex in pre-millennial Los Angeles.2002 brought what could effectively be called a "big break" as Procter landed a leading role on the CSI spin-off CSI: Miami. The show proved just as successful as its predecessor and Procter found herself on one of the most watched shows on television, sticking around for season upon season as its popularity seemed to only grow with each passing year.

Trivia: Latino actor and heartthrob Adam Rodriguez found a convenient backdoor to Hollywood success. Proving definitively the old adage that "it's all in who you know," Rodriguez's dad, the longtime COO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, happened to be watching the Emmys in 1996 and recognized an old army buddy accepting a production award. The gentleman in question had graduated from policeman to NYPD Blue consultant to one of the program's producers. The elder Rodriguez impulsively phoned his pal to congratulate him on the award; this led to a renewed friendship, and in time, a small guest spot for Adam on NYPD Blue. At that point, Rodriguez had only just decided on his true calling in life. A stint of seemingly random occupations (including stockbroker and bellhop) followed by a brief theatrical tenure at the Jersey Peppermill Playhouse convinced the young man that his passion lay in acting. The Emmy incident, as it were, happened almost immediately afterward.A recurring role on the brief series drama Brooklyn South ensued, followed by a guest spot on Law & Order, then a bit part in the Gary Fleder movie Impostor. Rodriguez attained his first substantial recognition, however, as Jesse Ramirez, an erudite attorney unknowingly saddled with an extraterrestrial girlfriend, on the sci-fi series Roswell. But his greatest exposure was still yet to come. Beginning in 2002, he played Eric Delko, drug and fingerprint expert at the Miami-Dade crime laboratory, on CSI: Miami, the first successful spin-off to the crime series phenomenon CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Shortly thereafter, Rodriguez also signed for a part in Jessica Kavana Dornbusch's indie coming-of-age drama Thanks to Gravity (2005), about the trials and travails of a young woman of Jewish-Hispanic ancestry enrolled at Harvard. Numerous film roles followed, and on the heels of an appearance in Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself Rodriguez turned up in Ugly Betty as Hilda's on again-off again flame Bobby Talercio. In 2012 the chisled actor could be seen opposite Channing Tatum in Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike.

Trivia: Cuban-American actor Eddie Cibrian was born in California, where he got a taste for show business early on. Like a lot of good-looking young actors, he got his feet wet in the business with a role on a soap opera, playing Matt Clark on The Young and the Restless. He'd eventually take on the starring role of Griff Walker on the tawdry show Baywatch Nights before rounding out the '90s with a three-year stint on Sunset Beach. The new millennium found Cibrian's career on a continual upward trajectory, most prominently assuming the role of Jimmy Doherty on the series Third Watch between 1999 and 2005. He went on to spend most of 2006 playing Russell Varon on the sci-fi series Invasion, and Agent Daniel Lucas on the show Vanished, and in the years following, Cibrian found his way onto myriad popular shows, appearing on Dirty Sexy Money, Ugly Betty, Samantha Who?, CSI: Miami, and The Playboy Club.

Trivia: U.S. character actor Jonathan Togo is best known for his multi-season portrayal of Ryan Wolfe, the police officer-turned-laboratory geneticist on the blockbuster crime series CSI: Miami. His resumé also includes an appearance in the Clint Eastwood-helmed ensemble feature Mystic River (2003).

Trivia: With his bald head and beefy exterior, Hollywood character player Rex Linn quickly built up an acting resumé replete with many portrayals of toughs, feds, cops, thugs, and -- occasionally -- unremarkable, beleaguered everymen. Born in the panhandle of the Lone Star State, Linn came of age in the small Texas town of Spearman. He discovered a lingering interest in drama during his teenage years, but buckled under the weight of discouragement from an acting coach, and put acting on the shelf to focus on career pursuits in banking and the oil industry. Dissatisfied with these fields, Linn convinced an Oklahoma talent agent to sign him, and made the leap from commercials to feature roles with his portrayal of serial murderer Fred Epps in the Peter Masterson-directed thriller Night Game (1989), opposite Roy Scheider. The pleasure of this experience prompted Linn to head to the West Coast, where he worked construction, landed intermittent acting assignments, and studied the craft under the tutelage of Silvana Gallardo in Studio City, CA. Linn was memorable as the rogue treasury agent who assists terrorist John Lithgow in the Sylvester Stallone vehicle Cliffhanger (1993), which brought the actor the recognition he so persistently sought and led to a series of supporting roles in dozens of feature films. Linn's portrayal of Frank McLaury in Wyatt Earp (1994) marked the first in a series of several onscreen collaborations with Kevin Costner that also included the romantic comedy Tin Cup (1996) and the laborious sci-fi epic The Postman (1997). Linn also landed guest appearances on such series as JAG and 3rd Rock From the Sun. He is best known, however, for his fine portrayal of Miami-Dade Police Department detective Frank Tripp on the hit crime series CSI: Miami.

Trivia: Sexy and talented, with a memorably exotic look (due to a multiethnic ancestry), model-turned-actress Eva La Rue (also occasionally billed by her married name, Eva LaRue Callahan) launched her career in print work, with a heavy emphasis on covers for such periodicals as Woman's World, Latina, and Cosmopolitan en Español. La Rue segued into acting in the late '80s and early '90s, and landed a number of nonfiction television assignments, first as cohost, with the legendary Dom DeLuise, of the gag-laden series revival The New Candid Camera (1991), then as hostess of the Miss America Pageant and the Lifetime network special Weddings of a Lifetime. The ever-versatile La Rue concurrently tackled scripted roles as well. After supporting parts in many a Hollywood programmer (Robocop 3, Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College, Mirror Images 2) and several years as a regular on the soap All My Children, she earned stellar notices for her portrayal of Mouseketeer-turned-beach bunny Annette Funicello in the telemovie A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story. She went on to perform in recurring roles on the popular series Third Watch and Soul Food. La Rue culled her broadest fan base, however, for her portrayal of lab specialist and grant writer Natalia Boa Vista on the crime series phenomenon CSI: Miami.

Trivia: Dramatic actor Laurence Fishburne gained widespread acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his gripping performance as the Svengali-like Ike Turner in the Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got to Do With It (1993) and went on to rack up an impressive string of credits playing leads and supporting roles on stage, screen, and television.Born in Augusta, GA, the sole child of a corrections officer and an educator, Fishburne was raised in Brooklyn following his parents' divorce. An unusually sensitive child with a natural gift for acting, he was taken to various New York stage auditions before landing his first professional role at the age of ten. Two years later, he made his feature film debut with a major role in Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975). A turning point in the young actor's career came when he lied about his age and won the role of a young Navy gunner in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. On location in the Philippines, the teenage actor effectively bade farewell to childhood as he endured the many legendary problems that befell Coppola's production over the next two years. In between shooting days, Fishburne hung out with the adult actors, often exposing himself to their offscreen drinking and drugging antics.Back in Hollywood by the late '70s, he continued playing small supporting roles in features and on television. Like many black actors, he was frequently relegated to playing thugs and young hoodlums. He would continue to appear in Coppola productions like Rumble Fish (1983) and The Cotton Club (1984) throughout the 1980s. Wanting a change from playing heavies, he accepted a recurring role as friendly Cowboy Curtis opposite Paul Reubens on the loopy CBS children's series Pee-Wee's Playhouse. By the early '90s, Fishburne had begun to escape the stereotypical roles of his early career. In 1990, he played a psychotic hit man opposite Christopher Walken in Abel Ferrara's King of New York and a chess-playing hustler in Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993). Following his great success in the Tina Turner biopic, he became one of Hollywood's most prolific actors, appearing in films such as John Singleton's Higher Learning (1995). Fishburne, who had known Singleton when the latter was a security guard on the Pee-Wee's Playhouse set, had previously appeared in the director's debut film Boyz 'N the Hood (1991). After Higher Learning came Othello (1995) and Always Outnumbered, which he also produced. Fishburne had previously produced Hoodlum (1997), in which he also starred. In 1999, he stepped into blockbuster territory with his starring role in the stylish sci-fi action film The Matrix. Increasingly geared towards action films, Fishburne could be seen in the fast and furious motorcycle flick Biker Boyz as fans prepared for the release of the upcoming Matrix sequels. Indeed, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) earned Fishburne further praise from both fans and critics. The same year, Fishburne co-starred with Tim Robbins and Sean Penn in the role of a homicide detective for the Academy Award-winning thriller Mystic River. The actor went on to star as a cop-killing mobster for the crime drama Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), and as a somber professor of English in the critically acclaimed urban drama Akeelah and the Bee (2006). He would co-star in the ensemble political docudrama chronicling the life and death of Robert F. Kennedy (also in 2006), and join the cast of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2007. Fishburne found success again in director Steven Soderbergh's Contagion (2011), and co-stars in the Superman reboot Man of Steel (2013) as the editor-and-chief of "The Daily Planet". In addition to his work in cinema, Fishburne has established a distinguished stage career, winning a Tony Award in 1992, for his role in August Wilson's Two Trains Running.

Trivia: A native of rural Humboldt, IA, character actor Christian Clemenson left his home state when a scholarship that he netted as part of his paperboy route afforded him the opportunity to attend the prestigious Phillips Academy preparatory school in Andover, MA. That experience imparted Clemenson with a deep-seated love of theatrics, and he spent his Iowan summers during college acting in local stage productions. The upstart subsequently attended Harvard as an undergraduate and Yale Drama School as a grad student, then moved to Los Angeles in the mid-'80s, where he accepted a long series of bit parts and supporting roles in A-list features, typically cast as nebbishy professional types. Early films in which Clemenson appeared included Heartburn (1986), Legal Eagles (1986), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and Broadcast News (1987).Beginning in the late '90s, Clemenson began placing a stronger emphasis on television work, with guest roles in series including Ally McBeal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The West Wing, and NYPD Blue. He received critical kudos for his portrayal of ill-fated executive Thomas E. Burnett Jr., a victim of the September 11th terrorist attacks, in Paul Greengrass' feature United 93 (2006), then joined William Shatner, Candice Bergen, and James Spader of David E. Kelley's offbeat seriocomedy Boston Legal in a recurring capacity during the show's second season; on the program, Clemenson played Jerry "Hands" Espenson, a troubled lawyer plagued by Asperger's Syndrome. He went on to win Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2006 for that role, and continued to appear on the show, later attaining regular status and staying with the series until it folded in 2009. Clemenson would continue to appear regularly on screen as the years went on, appearing on shows like CSI: Miami and Harry's Law.

Trivia: Has appeared in several television shows including The X-Files, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Charmed. Played Callie on the TV show Summerland (2004-05). Played Jackie Wilcox on the TV show Heroes (2006-10). Has played a cheerleader alongside Hayden Panettiere twice, in Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006) and Heroes (2006). Sang and performed as the rock-star lead in MTV's first scripted series, Kaya (2007). In 2014, was cast as Margo in the Supernatural spinoff series Supernatural: Bloodlines, which was not ordered to series.

Trivia: Is of Greek descent, and his parents are Greek immigrants from the Peloponnese.Played in the Australian National Soccer League in the late 1980s.Is an expert in Muay Thai Kickboxing.Originally pursued a boxing career before being influenced to try acting.Founded production company Krakatau Film which has produced several award-winning independent films.

Trivia: Stocky and heavyset African-American supporting player Omar Benson Miller (whose looks recalled a young Forest Whitaker) debuted onscreen in the early 2000s. Miller appeared in a host of films of varying quality, including 8 Mile (2002), the Richard Gere remake Shall We Dance? (2004), and the direct-to-video sexploitation comedy American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005). In 2007, Miller tackled slightly more somber material with a key role in the Halle Berry-Benicio Del Toro psychological drama Things We Lost in the Fire, about the relationship between a grieving widow and a heroin addict. Miller would continue to find success on screen for years to come, appearing in movies like Miracle at St. Anna and The Sorcerer's Apprentice, as well as on the TV series CSI: Miami.

Trivia: An artist, a dancer, and a true "actor's actor," hard-working Khandi Alexander began her career on-stage with the first national touring company of Bob Fosse's Dancin' and then on Broadway in Dreamgirls. While the mid-'80s saw Alexander land small roles in movies like Streetwalkin' and Maid to Order, her skills as a dancer earned her a full scholarship at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater School. Her dance career also regularly found her appearing in award shows, which eventually brought her into contact with pop sensation Whitney Houston. Impressed with Alexander's talent and no-nonsense attitude, Houston signed Alexander on to choreograph her sold-out I'm Your Baby Tonight world tour.Music was only part of the picture for the thespian, however, and to pursue her dream of becoming an accomplished actress, Alexander enrolled at the Stella Adler Conservatory. While she would continue to accept supporting roles in projects she was attracted to, two prominent gigs would catapult Alexander's career in 1995 when she accepted a regular part on the prime-time drama ER as sister to Eriq La Salle's Dr. Peter Benton, as well as a starring role in the critically acclaimed ensemble sitcom NewsRadio. While the two strong characters and formats were drastically different, Alexander stayed with NewsRadio until 1998, and continued to reprise her role on ER for seven years. After retiring from both of her TV gigs, Alexander continued to participate in a variety of projects until 2002, when an irresistible character would draw her back into television. The CSI spin-off CSI: Miami offered the part of smart, dignified coroner named Dr. Alexx Woods. The character seemed tailor-made for the charismatic actress, who joined the cast from the show's inception. Alexander would stick with the series for season upon season, as it became one of the most watched shows on TV. Alexander never abandoned the love of dance and stage acting that once dominated her career. In 1998 she played the leading role of Velma Kelly in a nationally touring production of Bob Fosse's Chicago. She has also taken to the stage in productions such as The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, Legacy, Period of Adjustment, and Color of Blue.

Trivia: Though her family would ultimately settle in Italy, Sofia Milos was born to a Greek father and Italian mother in Zurich, Switzerland. By the time she reached adolescence, Milos had demonstrated a clear knack for the liberal arts, and, in addition to proving herself a skilled painter, had become fluent in Italian, French, German, Greek, Suisse, Spanish, and English. Though she wouldn't begin acting until later in life, Milos nonetheless got used to public scrutiny when she won a beauty contest at the age of 14, beginning a successful modeling career a year later -- so successful, in fact, that the money she earned modeling throughout France, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States paid for her education at the School of Business and Economics in Switzerland.In 1990, Milos decided to take up residence in the United States, where she spent time living in New York before settling down in Los Angeles. Shortly after her arrival, Milos began attending acting classes at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, which is led by renowned acting coach and director Milton Katselas. Milos worked primarily in theater circles until 1993, when she was cast in Café Americain, NBC's short-lived sitcom co-starring Valerie Bertinelli and Maurice Godin. Though the show wasn't a hit, the right people noticed her potential, and Milos began racking up an impressive television resumé. She appeared on Friends in 1995, made a guest appearance on Mad About You in 1996, and landed a reoccurring role on Caroline in the City from 1997-1998. Though she made her feature film debut in 1999 -- she played one of Tim Meadows' voluptuous love interests in The Ladies Man -- it wasn't until her performance as mob boss Annalisa Zucca on HBO's The Sopranos that she would achieve mainstream recognition.HBO continued to showcase Milos' talents in Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm, for which she played an entirely improvised role as the girlfriend of Richard Lewis. After several more unsuccessful television pilots and a guest spot on ER, Milos starred as a long-suffering widow opposite Jason Isaacs and Lupe Ontiveros in Passionada (2003). Following the film, Milos landed a regular role as detective Yelina Salas in the hit television drama CSI: Miami.

Trivia: Puerto Rican born Amaury Nolasco had no intention of becoming an actor when he was studying biology at the University of Puerto Rico on the road to becoming a doctor, but a casting director who recruited him into an appearance in a commercial changed his plans, and within a few gigs he was hooked. He packed his bags and moved to New York, where he enrolled at the American-British-Dramatic-Arts School and began appearing on shows like CSI and ER. Within a few years, Nolasco had built up a resumé that made him more viable for substantial movie roles. In 2003, he landed a small part in 2 Fast 2 Furious, and in 2004 he scored a role in the Bernie Mac comedy Mr. 3000. These big breaks were nothing, however, compared to the job he got in 2005 when he was cast as series regular Fernando Sucre on the hit series Prison Break. On the heels of this success, Nolasco nabbed a supporting role in the David Spade comedy The Benchwarmers, but much more impressive was the role he signed up for later that year, joining the cast of the hotly anticipated big-screen version of Transformers, slated for release in 2007.

Trivia: Supporting actor Rory Cochrane made his film debut with a small role in James Dearden's A Kiss Before Dying (1991). Prior to that, while still enrolled at New York City's LaGuardia High School, he had appeared in the CBS television docudrama Saturday Night With Connie Chung (1989); he then appeared in an episode of the ABC series H.E.L.P. (1990). Cochrane has subsequently earned recognition for playing memorable character roles in independent features. He is best known for playing the constantly zoned-out teenaged stoner Slater in Richard Linklater's ode to adolescence in the 1970s, Dazed and Confused (1993). Other notable roles include a turn as a troubled teen wrangling with a dysfunctional father (Jeff Goldblum) in Fathers and Sons (1992) and Cochrane's multilayered and funny portrayal of a paranoid, gun-loving biker in Love and a .45 (1994). Cochrane continued to work steadily in little-seen independent films like Empire Records, and The Low Life. He did have a major role in James Toback's confrontational Black and White. He appeared in Hats's War opposite fellow Dazed and Confused alum Cole Hauser. Cochrane scored a role on the CSI spin-off CSI: Miami, but his character was killed off. In 2006 Cochrane would be cast again by Richard Linklater in his adaptation of A Scanner Darkly. Cochrane would remain active on screen as the years rolled on, apperaing in movies like Public Enemies and on shows like The Company, CSI: Miami, and 24.