Trivia: Raven-haired Julianna Margulies may have become an award-winning TV star on NBC's phenomenally successful ER in the 1990s, but she was ready to exit the series to pursue movies and theater full time by decade's end. Born in Spring Valley, NY, Margulies spent part of her childhood living abroad before settling back in her hometown for a bohemian life with her free-spirit mother. Though she earned a B.A. in art history from Sarah Lawrence College, Margulies performed in college plays and decided to pursue an acting career. Margulies landed her first movie role in 1991, playing a prostitute in the Steven Seagal flick Out for Justice. With no more movie roles forthcoming, Margulies made a living with theater work and TV guest star stints on Law and Order and Homicide in the early '90s. Margulies subsequently landed a role in the pilot for Michael Crichton's new hospital drama ER in 1994, but her character was slated for death after that single episode. Due to a positive audience response, however, Margulies' compassionate Nurse Hathaway survived the pilot. During her six seasons on the most popular TV drama of the 1990s, Margulies won the Emmy and the SAG Award and became a perennial nominee. Buoyed by her TV fame, Margulies returned to films during her hiatuses, starring as the would-be victim of Bill Paxton's Irish con in Traveler (1996), a POW alongside Glenn Close and Cate Blanchett in the ensemble drama Paradise Road (1997), and as Matthew McConaughey's girlfriend in Richard Linklater's Western-esque bank robber saga The Newton Boys (1998). Continuing to avoid glossy big budget Hollywood fare in favor of a more independent sensibility, Margulies also appeared in Boaz Yakin's A Price Above Rubies (1998) and Gurinder Chadha's multiethnic Thanksgiving tale What's Cooking? (2000). Margulies finally took on a blockbuster of sorts when she voiced one of the pre-historic reptiles in the animated Dinosaur (2000). Despite an offer that would have made her one of the highest paid actresses on TV, Margulies announced in 2000 that six years of ER was enough. While Hathaway departed to a future with George Clooney's Dr. Ross, Margulies moved back to New York to hit the off-Broadway stage with Donald Sutherland in Ten Unknowns (2001). Margulies returned to the small-screen for the female-centric version of the King Arthur legend The Mists of Avalon, before appearing in The Man from Elysian Fields, and opposite Pierce Brosnan in the drama Evelyn. After an appearance in the horror film Ghost Ship, Margulies would not appear in another widely released motion picture until she landed one of the main parts in the 2006 summer phenomenon known simply as Snakes on a Plane. Three years later, the veteran actress was back on the small screen as the lead in The Good Wife -- a popular CBS series about a former litigator who returns to work following a public scandal involving her state attorney husband. Though her performance in the series earned Margulies a Best Lead Actress Emmy in 2010, the award that year went to Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer instead. But fans of the actress had good reason to hold out hope that she'd be a strong contender the next year as well, and indeed when the 2001 Emmy winners were announced Margulies emerged the victor.

Trivia: A veteran of film and television, Chris Noth is probably best known for his work on Law and Order and HBO's Sex and the City, the latter of which featured him as the charming but terminally untrustworthy Mr. Big, erstwhile boyfriend/bad habit of the series' heroine, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker). Hailing from Madison, WI, where he was born November 13, 1954, Noth moved around a lot throughout his childhood, living in England, Yugoslavia, and Spain. Returning to the States, he studied with the storied acting coach Stanford Meisner before being accepted into the prestigious Yale School of Drama.Noth got his start on the stage and in television performing at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT, and appearing in productions with theater companies across the country, including the Manhattan Theater Club and Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum. Working in television beginning in 1982, he did a number of shows before breaking into film with small parts in Off Beat (1986) and the Diane Keaton comedy Baby Boom (1987). Noth's big break came in 1989, when he was chosen to play Det. Mike Logan on Law and Order. Noth portrayed the young policeman for five seasons, winning both critical nods and fans, many of whom were saddened when his Law and Order contract was not renewed in 1995. Noth continued to work on television and did minor work in films such as Naked in New York (1994) before getting his next big break in the form of Sex and the City (1998). As Big, he was one of the few male characters who could hold his own in the presence of the series' strong female protagonists, played by Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Kristin Davis. The show proved to be an enormous critical and commercial hit, in the process winning Noth more fans. He would reprise the role for subsuquent big screen adaptations of the show, in addition to other films like My One and Only and Lovelace. Noth would also enoy successful turns on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, and Titanic: Blood and Steel.

Trivia: Designer label-clad force of nature, neurotic diva, and the owner of one of the most expansive mouths in the free world, Christine Baranski is one of the more distinctive actresses working on the stage and screen today. Known to television audiences for her portrayal of Cybill Shepard's brassy and unapologetically arrogant best friend on the sitcom Cybill, Baranski has also made a name for herself on the New York stage, where she has won a number of awards, and has worked as a character actress on a variety of films.Born in Buffalo, New York, on May 2, 1952, Baranski was influenced from a young age by her Polish grandparents, who were both actors. After studying acting at Julliard, she began working on the New York stage and on various TV shows, and made her film debut in 1982. The stage proved to be a particularly good medium for Baranski's talents; a staple of many New York productions, the actress earned Tony Awards and a number of other honors for her work in the Broadway productions of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and Neil Simon's Rumors. Usually cast as a supporting player onscreen, Baranski has done particularly notable work in Jeffrey (1995), in which she played a New York socialite; The Birdcage (1996), which featured her as the brassy mother of Robin Williams' grown son; and Cruel Intentions (1999), in which she did another hilarious turn as a New York socialite. In one of her rare excursions as a lead, Baranski gave a memorable performance as a struggling actress in Bowfinger (1999), sharing the screen with the likes of Steve Martin, Heather Graham, and Eddie Murphy.In 2002 Baranski appeared in the Best Picture Oscar winner Chicago, and she continued to work steadily on TV, in movies, and on stage appearing in projects as diverse as Eloise at the Plaza, Welcome to Mooseport, and the smash hit adaptation of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia! In 2009 she began work on the well-respected CBS drama series The Good Wife opposite Julianna Margulies.

Trivia: Endowed with the kind of dark, puppy-eyed, lanky looks that have often gotten him cast as sensitive, shy young men, actor Josh Charles first became known to audiences as sensitive, shy prep school boy Knox Overstreet in Dead Poets Society (1989). A native of Baltimore, where he was born September 15, 1971, Charles made his entrance into acting through stand-up comedy, which he began performing at the age of eight. He made his film debut in fellow-native son John Waters' Hairspray (1988), and following the success of Dead Poets Society the next year, earned a reputation as a member of the '90s version of the Brat Pack.Charles' subsequent film appearances were sporadic and in projects of wildly varying quality; ranking among his better-known work are Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), Threesome (1994), and the made-for-television Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996). In 1998, Charles was cast as one of the leads in the highly acclaimed TV show Sports Night, a sitcom revolving around the goings-on of a late night cable sports news program. Though Sports Night did indeed gain positive critical notice and a loyal fanbase for its smart writing and multi-dimensional characters, it was unfortunately cancelled before it really had a chance to fully develope. Hollywood did however take notice of Charles' talents as an actor, and the quality and substance of the roles he was being offered slowly began to rise. Following a pair of low-key roles in such indie dramas as Meeting Daddy (2000) and Our America (2002), Charles was cast in the high-profile action thriller S.W.A.T. Over the next several years, Charles would remain active on screen, appearing on TV series like In Treatment and The Good Wife and films like The Ex and Weakness.

Trivia: Grew up in Johnson City, TN. In 1998, he won the Mr. College of Charleston pageant. Captain of his college tennis team. Made his TV debut in a 2000 episode of Freaks and Geeks. Dated Kate Bosworth for two years. Appeared in People Magazine's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive issue. Says his last name is pronounced "Z-O-O-K-RIE."

Trivia: Raven-haired actress Archie Panjabi claimed a unique, exotic, and alluring look that spoke to her Indian ancestry -- and that opened up a myriad of doors in Hollywood productions, usually in a supporting capacity. Raised in Britain, Panjabi first broke through to international acclaim as tomboy Meenah in the Damien O'Donnell-directed Miramax comedy East Is East (1998), then graced the cast of one of the preeminent sleeper hits of 2002, the soccer comedy Bend It Like Beckham. Additional assignments included a small supporting turn in Fernando Meirelles' political thriller The Constant Gardener (2005), a portrayal of Gemma in the Russell Crowe/Marion Cotillard-headlined, Ridley Scott-directed romantic comedy drama A Good Year (2006), and a role in the grueling docudrama A Mighty Heart (2007) as Asra Nomani, a journalist and friend of the Pearl family, who helped in the investigation of his disappearance and murder. In 2006, Panjabi signed with the BBC to portray Maya Roy in the sci-fi-tinged police drama series Life on Mars. In 2008, she appeared opposite Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce in the summer thriller Traitor. She was cast in the CBS drama The Good Wife, in the part of Kalinda Sharma, and that well-reviewed award-winning show kept her busy for a few years.

Trivia: Made his stage debut in a production of Annie, when he was still in kindergarten. Has sung with the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Appeared on Broadway in the musicals 13 and A Christmas Carol. First major big-screen appearance was in the 2007 comedy Evan Almighty. Landed his first series-regular role in 2009, playing the son of Julianna Margulies' character on CBS drama The Good Wife.

Trivia: Is half Colombian. Made her big-screen debut in the Nicolas Cage dramedy The Family Man (2000), for which she won a Young Artist Award. Has landed series-regular roles on ABC sitcom the Geena Davis Show and CBS drama The Good Wife.

Trivia: Trained as an opera singer at Northwestern University. Performed with the Metropolitan and New York City Opera Companies. Appeared on Broadway in such shows as Nine, Sunday in the Park With George and The King and I, for which she received a Tony nomination. In 1971, originated the role of Alma in the stage production of Summer and Smoke, based on a Tennessee Williams play. A 1982 TV production of the work also featured her in the same role; the New York Times called her TV work "superb." Has appeared in the TV series Dawson's Creek and The Good Wife. In 2010, performed in the stage production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. The following year, was in the stage cast of Follies. She took on that role while also filming her scenes for The Good Wife.

Trivia: Scottish, versatile, and for a long time underappreciated, Alan Cumming is chameleon-like in both his choice of roles and his ability to inhabit them convincingly. Born January 27, 1965, in Perthshire, Scotland, Cumming studied drama at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before embarking on a career that would have its roots on the stage. For years, Cumming worked steadily in the theater as a member of repertory companies, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1992 he had his film debut in the largely unheard of Prague, which was essentially a historical overview of the city. In 1994 American audiences were introduced to the sound of Cumming's voice thanks to his role as the narrator of Black Beauty, but it wasn't until 1995 (Cumming's other 1994 film, Second Best notwithstanding) that they actually saw him, this time via his small but memorable role as a Russian computer programmer in Goldeneye.Wider exposure followed, thanks to two successful films. The first, Circle of Friends (1995), featured Cumming as Minnie Driver's slimy, unwelcome suitor, and the second, 1996's Emma, saw Cumming playing yet another unwelcome suitor, this time to Gwyneth Paltrow. More sympathetic roles followed in For My Baby, Buddy, and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (in which he played a sweetly awkward nerd with a crush on Lisa Kudrow), all released in 1997. Work in Spice World came next in 1998, as did the stage role that was to give Cumming critical acclaim, a host of awards, and the wider respect he deserved. That role was Cabaret's Emcee, and Cumming managed to make the character -- previously the sole territory of Joel Grey -- all his own, giving a wickedly delicious performance that was unabashedly dark, sly, androgynous, and altogether terrifying. His performance won him all three New York theater awards: a Tony, a Drama Desk, and an Outer Critics Circle. This triumph resulted in a new range of opportunities for the actor, one of which was the chance to be a part of what was to be Stanley Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Although Cumming's role as a hotel desk clerk was a small one, the actor turned in a sly and insinuating performance that reflected his ability to make the most out of even the most limited opportunities.Cumming was subsequently given almost unlimited opportunities to showcase his flamboyance in Julie Taymor's Titus, her 1999 adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. In his role as the queen's (Jessica Lange) debauched lover, he gave a performance that was as over-the-top and rococo as the film itself, leading some critics to say his portrayal had a little too much in common with a Christmas ham.Fortunately, Cumming surprised critics and audiences alike when he directed, with Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Anniversary Party (2001), a marital comedy-drama that starred him and Leigh as a husband and wife whose anniversary party exposes the many flaws of their fragile marriage. Featuring a cast that included Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. Reilly, and Jennifer Beals, the film, which was shot on digital video, earned a fairly warm reception from critics, many of whom praised Cumming for his work both behind and in front of the camera.Cumming took the part of the bad guy in the first Spy Kids movie, a role he would repeat in the film's first two sequels. He also played the evil corporate manipulator in Josie and the Pussycats. He appeared in the musical remake of Reefer Madness in 2004, and that same year voiced a cat in the live action Garfield the movie. He worked steadily in a variety of projects including Gray Matters, Eloise: Eloise in Hollywood, and Dare, but found his biggest critical success on the small screen as part of the cast in the highly-respected CBS drama The Good Wife which began its run in 2009.

Trivia: Australian actress Melissa George was born in Perth on August 6, 1976, the second of four children. As a child, she developed an interest in dancing and began studying jazz, tap, ballet, and modern dance at the age of seven. George's enthusiasm for dance eventually evolved into a passion for roller skating, and, after skating competitively in Australia, she represented her nation in several international events. At 16, George left skating behind when she quit school and began exploring the world of modeling; she was soon named Western Australia's Teenage Model of the Year. As a result of this honor, she auditioned for a role in the popular Australian soap opera Home and Away, and, in 1993, was cast as Angel Brooks. George's performance won her a sizable following in both Australia and Great Britain, but, after three years with the series, she left to pursue other projects. After appearing in several made-for-TV movies (and posing in the Aussie edition of Playboy), the actress landed a small role in the sci-fi thriller Dark City, and was cast as the female lead in an offbeat television pilot, Hollyweird, which, unfortunately, failed to sell. After a brief appearance in Steven Soderbergh's The Limey (as Terence Stamp's ill-fated daughter), George landed her first significant American role in the teen comedy Sugar & Spice, in which she played Cleo, a cheerleader-turned-criminal who has an unquenchable enthusiasm for Conan O'Brien; she also played a small but important role as mob-connected ingénue Camilla Rhodes in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, and appeared in the pilot of HBO's short-lived series adaptation of L.A. Confidential. In 2001, George was cast opposite John Stamos in the leading roles of the television series Thieves; despite positive reviews, however, the series lasted only three months. She got another chance to prove her mettle on American television in 2003, when she was cast in an American version of the popular British sitcom Coupling. Unfortunately, she only got to act in an unaired version of the pilot episode before her part was recast. The show failed anyway and George rebounded quickly, landing a prominent role in the 2003-2004 season of the popular spy series Alias as Lauren Reed, the new wife of Agent Vaughn (Michael Vartan) and romantic rival of Sydney Bristow (series star Jennifer Garner).After appearing the 2005 reboot of The Amityville Horror, George co-starred with Clive Owen and Jennifer Anniston in the psychological thriller Derailed (also 2005). The actress took another turn for the grisly Turistas (2006) to play part of an unlucky group destined to involuntarily donate their organs to a mad doctor. She found more success for her role in Music Within (2007), an inspirational biopic starring George as the free-spirited girlfriend of the film's subject, celebrated public speaker Richard Pimentel (Ron Livingstone). In 2008 she played an anesthesiologist who became romantically interested in her psychiatrist on the first season of HBO's lauded series In Treatment, and the same year was cast in 11 episodes of the fifth season of Grey's Anatomy. In 2011 she could be seen in the UK thriller A Lonely Place to Die, the TV movie Bag of Bones and on the Australian TV series The Slap. In 2012, she starred in the Cinemax series Hunter, and in 2013, joined CBS drama The Good Wife in a recurring role. She starred in the Australian miniseries The Slap in 2012, and reprised her role in the American remake in 2015.

Trivia: Was inspired to pursue an acting career when, as a youngster, he saw Denzel Washington in A Soldier's Story; 22 years later, he got to meet Washington. Appeared in the plays A Taste of Honey, Frankenstein and A Midsummer's Night Dream while at the University of South Carolina. Played boxer Big Willie Little in 2004's Million Dollar Baby.

Trivia: The only son of veteran British actors Nigel Davenport and Maria Aitken, Jack Davenport did not plan to follow his parents into show business. They even warned him against it, feeling that he falsely believed their lucrative careers were representative of the typical acting experience. But Davenport was too poor of an athlete to participate in any school sports and eventually wandered into the drama department, where he fell in love with performing. Born on March 1, 1973 in Suffolk, England, Davenport grew up in both Ibiza and Suffolk. He attended local schools until his parents' divorce in 1981, when he went to live at the Dragon School. Davenport then enrolled at his father's former school, Cheltenham College. After graduation, he took a year off before entering university, during which he took a summer drama course. Impressed by Davenport's performance as a rapper in a practice skit, the director of the Welsh national theater offered him a job. At 18, he moved to Wales to play bit parts in the theater's production of Hamlet. Davenport majored in English Literature and Film Studies at the University of East Anglia. When he finished school, his mother urged him to try getting a job behind the scenes in filmmaking or theater. At her suggestion, Davenport wrote actor/writer John Cleese to ask him if he could work as a production assistant on the set of his upcoming movie Fierce Creatures (1997) (in which his mother had a role). Cleese, instead, cast Davenport in the film. Fierce Creatures was barely in post-production when Davenport made his small-screen debut in This Life, a 1996 British television series about five young lawyers who share an apartment. His role as the self-absorbed Miles Stewart in the well-reviewed, much-watched show made him an instant celebrity in England. Davenport appeared as Malcolm in a television update of Macbeth (1998), before starring as a detective who is recruited into a mysterious troop of vampire hunters in the stylish hit miniseries Ultraviolet. After playing a similar role in the horror film The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998), Davenport landed a supporting role in his first major international release, Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). Critics hailed Davenport for giving soul to what could have easily been the cardboard cutout role of Ripley (Matt Damon)'s doomed lover, gentle musician Peter Smith-Kinsley. A year later, international audiences enjoyed Davenport again when Mystery! kicked off its 21st season with his performance as Derek Jacobi's son in The Wyvern Mystery. Based on Irish writer J.S. Le Fanu's 1869 thriller, the two-part miniseries also starred Naomi Watts and Iain Glen. He then tried his hand at comedy in Coupling, a television sitcom dubbed by reviewers as a British Friends. While continuing to appear onscreen -- in films such as Subterrain (2001), Not Afraid, Not Afraid (2001), Gypsy Woman (2001), and The Bunker (2001) -- Davenport returned to the stage to star in The Servant at England's Lyric Theater. Davenport is also an accomplished voice-over actor. He narrated the audio versions of John Buchan's The 39 Steps and Andy McNab's Crisis Four, as well as recorded parts in the radio productions of George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman, Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, and Nicholas Monsarrat's A Cruel Sea. Most notably, however, he is the deep voice behind the famous "For everything else, there's MasterCard" commercials.In 2003 he landed a part in the smash hit The Pirates of the Caribbean, playing Norrington not just in that film but in the next two sequels as well. He appeared in the 2004 period drama The Libertine. He appeared in the failed TV drama Swingtown, but found greater small-screen success a few years later as part of NBC's behind-the-scenes Broadway drama Smash.

Trivia: Frequently mislabeled as a performance artist, Eric Bogosian is a writer and an actor known for his comedic monologues and social commentary. Born on the East Coast and educated in the Midwest, he wrote and performed numerous one-man shows around New York during the late '70s and early '80s. After doing shows in art spaces like The Kitchen, he eventually had his solo work Fun House committed to video. The 1987 production was taped in front of a live audience. During this time he had also started acting in other people's projects, including Robert Altman's made-for-TV movie The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. The next year, he teamed with Oliver Stone for the film version of his off-Broadway show Talk Radio, starring himself as D.J. Barry Champlain. As a cinematic expansion of his original monologue, the film earned Bogosian a Silver Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival and a nomination at the Independent Spirit awards. His next big one-man show, Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll, was also made into a film, published in book form, and released on CD by Capitol. During the early '90s, he appeared as a television guest star on Law & Order and The Larry Sanders Show, and continued to publish his writing. In 1994, he finished work on the play Suburbia, which was later adapted to film by director Richard Linklater. As an actor, he had supporting roles in Dolores Claiborne, Under Siege 2, and Deconstructing Harry, followed by numerous cameos and vocal appearances. After finishing the play Griller, he went back to solo shows with Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, which was committed to film by InDigEnt. After Simon & Schuster published his novel Mall, he appeared in several TV movies and feature films, including the CBS miniseries Blonde, Atom Egoyan's Ararat, and the summer blockbuster Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.

Trivia: Actress Jess Weixler grew up in Louisville, KY, then later attended and graduated from the drama program at Juilliard. She scored her first major screen role as a stripper taking a swim class in Ishai Setton's comedy drama The Big Bad Swim (2005), but attained much broader recognition as a young virgin cursed with a bizarre and grisly anatomical aberration in Mitchell Lichtenstein's eccentric horror comedy Teeth (2007).

Trivia: Known for his outrageous, divinely comedic performances on stage and screen, Nathan Lane has led a career encompassing Broadway, television, and film. Born Joe Lane in Jersey City, New Jersey on February 3, 1956, Lane took his stage name from Nathan Detroit, the character he played to great acclaim in the 1992 Broadway version of Guys and Dolls.Lane made his film debut in 1987's Ironweed, and he spent the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s playing secondary roles in films like Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), and Addams Family Values (1993). During this time, his stage career was thriving; in addition to his celebrated turn in Guys and Dolls (for which he won a Tony nomination, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), he frequently collaborated with playwright Terrence McNally, who cast him in a number of his plays, including The Lisbon Traviata, in which Lane played an opera queen, and Love! Valour! Compassion!, in which he starred as Buzz, an HIV-positive musical aficionado who provides much of the play's comic relief and genuine anger. The actor won particular acclaim for his portrayal of the latter character, taking home Obie and Drama Desk Awards, as well as other honors, for his work.In 1994, the same year that he starred in the stage version of Love! Valour! Compassion! (his role was played in the film version by Jason Alexander), Lane gained fame of a different sort, lending his voice to Timon, a hyperactive meerkat in Disney's animated The Lion King. He reprised the role for the extremely successful movie's 1998 sequel. Two years after playing a meerkat, Lane finally became widely visible to screen audiences as Robin Williams' flamboyantly limp-wristed lover in The Birdcage, Mike Nichols' remake of La Cage aux Folles. The film helped to establish Lane--who was at the time starring on Broadway in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum--as a comic actor worthy of big-screen exposure, and in 1997 he was given his own vehicle to display his talents, Mouse Hunt. Unfortunately, the film was a relative disappointment, as was Encore! Encore!, a 1998 sitcom that cast the actor as a Pavorotti-like opera singer alongside Glenne Headly and Joan Plowright. However, Lane continued to work steadily, appearing both on stage and in film. In 1999, he could be seen in At First Sight and Get Bruce, a documentary about comic writer Bruce Vilanch. The same year, he could also be heard in Stuart Little, a live action/animated adaptation of E.B White's celebrated children's book.Over the coming years, Lane would appear in several films, including a new big screen adaptation of The Producers and the fairy tale Mirror Mirror.

Trivia: Born July 8th, 1944, character actor Jeffrey Tambor has built his career in comedies playing the role of the uptight boss, or more generally, the stuffy guy. After graduate school, teaching, and a prolific stage career, Tambor started making television guest-starring appearances in the early '70s. He showed up on Three's Company enough that he eventually got a spot on the spin-off series The Ropers as the disapproving next-door neighbor Jeffrey. After the show's two-season run, he did a few TV movies before landing a reoccurring roles on the television version of 9 to 5, naturally playing the Dabney Coleman boss character. Throughout the '80s and early '90s, he continued to play the role of the stuffy guy on television (The Golden Girls, L.A. Law, Max Headroom) and movies (Mr. Mom, City Slickers, Life Stinks). His big break came in 1992, when he was cast as Garry Shandling's smiling sidekick, Hank Kingsley, on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show, his most recognizable role. For the rest of the '90s, he frequently returned to playing snide characters for movies (Teaching Mrs. Tingle, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Muppets From Space), although he would be more well-known for his work on television. In 1999, he appeared on the AMC series The Lot for its two-season run and provided voice talent for the MTV cartoon show 3 South. He played another boss type in the heist film Scorched in 2002.In 2003, Tambor joined the cast of Arrested Development for the role of George Bluth, an imprisoned millionaire and patriarch to a seriously dysfunctional family. The role would earn two Emmy nominations. Tambor tried his luck at television success once again in Welcome to the Captain, a short-lived sitcom in 2006, and returned to the big screen for the buddy comedy Twenty Good Years. He played a supporting role in 2009's critically acclaimed comedy the Invention of Lying, and played father of the bride in the megahit The Hangover. In 2011, Tambor took another supporting role for the comedy drama Win Win, and reprised his role in The Hangover for The Hangover Part 2.

Trivia: A graduate of Yale Drama School, character actor Maulik Pancholy became a familiar face on sitcoms and prime-time dramas during the mid- to late 2000s -- nearly always in a recurring or guest acting capacity -- and ushered in occasional bit parts in features. He netted particularly substantial recognition for his ongoing turn as Jack Donaghy's (Alec Baldwin) loyal and slightly high-strung personal assistant, Jonathan, on the Tina Fey/Lorne Michaels-produced NBC sitcom 30 Rock, and for his portrayal of pot dealer Sanjay on Weeds. Cinemagoers might also associate Pancholy with his appearance as Will Smith's overeager doorman in the romantic comedy Hitch. In 2008, Pancholy appeared as Trent opposite Katherine Heigl and James Marsden in the Anne Fletcher-directed romantic comedy 27 Dresses, and he picked up still more fans through his role on the sticom Whitney.

Trivia: The son of an editor for the New Yorker, the diminutive comedic actor Wallace Shawn achieved immortality for his portrayal of the Sicilian Vizzini in the 1987 classic The Princess Bride. A graduate of both Harvard and Oxford University, he has taught several courses in English and struggled as a playwright in the early '70s; in 1977 he translated Machiavelli's The Mandrake. Shawn broke into films soon after, building a successful career as a supporting actor to help fund his playwriting. He debuted in two of the best films of 1979: Woody Allen's Manhattan and Bob Fosse's All That Jazz.In 1981, he co-wrote the semi-autobiographical My Dinner With André, a talky comedy starring himself and theater director André Gregory in a dinner conversation, directed by Louis Malle. The movie was acclaimed by critics and a cult favorite. After this personal project, Shawn would build a career out of playing brief but surprisingly memorable roles in a long list of movies. His performance as the leader of the misfit criminal gang in The Princess Bride proved a pivotal moment, and that same year, he supplied the heroic voice for the Masked Avenger in Woody Allen's Radio Days. Shawn would also go on to do voice acting in projects like The Goofy Movie, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and the Toy Story series. He would also continue to work with Woody Allen throughout the next decade, and picked up a new generation of fans playing debate teacher Mr. Hall in the 1995 high school classic Clueless. Shawn would also take his quirky persona to the small screen with appearances on TV shows likeMurphy Brown, The Cosby Show, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sex and the City, as well as the ABC sitcom version of Clueless. Throughout his acting career, Shawn has managed to continue writing successful plays, and eventually adapted one of them, The Designated Mourner, for a feature film in 1997. In 2002, he played the publishing boss Mr. Gelb for the "Greta" story in Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity: Three Portraits. Shawn would continue to appear regularly on screen in the years to come, playing recurring roles on The L Word, Gossip Girl, and Eureka,