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: An Irish actor of charisma and talent, Ciarán Hinds has applied his skills to screen, stage, and television. A towering, burly man whose jagged features make him a natural for playing strong, silent types, Hinds has won respect and recognition from critics and drooling women alike.Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on February 9, 1953, Hinds was the fifth child of a doctor and an amateur actress. He attended Belfast's Queen's University for a year with an eye toward studying law, but he left to pursue acting. After studying at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Hinds found employment with the Glasgow Citizens Company, where he made his professional debut playing the back end of a horse in Cinderella. He acted with the company for the better part of the next decade, splitting his time between Glasgow and Ireland. In 1987, he received one of his first big breaks, at the hands of esteemed director Peter Brook, who selected him as a member of his Paris-based theatrical company; the actor was soon performing all over the globe.Hinds made his film debut in John Boorman's 1981 Excalibur, but he did not make another movie until 1989. That year, he appeared in a supporting role in Peter Greenaway's stylishly horrifying The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. After sharing the screen with actors like Richard Bohringer, Tim Roth, and Excalibur co-star Helen Mirren, Hinds went on to make December Bride the next year, and in 1993 he won acclaim for his performance in the made-for-TV Hostages. Two years later, Hinds began to win recognition outside of the U.K., first for his small role as a university professor in the popular Circle of Friends and then for his more sizable performance in Roger Michell's acclaimed adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion. As Captain Frederick Wentworth, captor of heroine Anne Elliot's repressed affections, Hinds caused many an audience member to wonder where he had been for so long, and, more important, when and where he would reappear. When was the following year and where was Some Mother's Son, a drama based on a 1981 hunger strike in a Belfast prison. Hinds had a supporting role in the film, which reunited him with Mirren, but the next year he had a more substantial part in Gillian Armstrong's Oscar and Lucinda, in which he played a reverend. That character was a far cry from his next role, a man trapped in the Irish conflict in 1970s Belfast in Titanic Town (1998). In 1999, Hinds could be seen in Chris Menges' The Lost Son with Daniel Auteuil, Bruce Greenwood, and Natassja Kinski, and in Il Tempo Dell'Amore, which was shown at that year's Toronto Film Festival.The new millennium seemed to bring about something of a re-birth for Hinds' enduring career, with featured roles in such widely-seen films as The Sum of All Fears, The Road to Perdition, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, and The Phantom of the Opera hinting that Hollywood may have finally grown savvy to the impressive talents of the physically-imposing actor. Of course it wasn't all Hollywood glamor, with roles in such limited-release but critically-praised independents as The Weight of Water and Veronica Guerin, and Calendar Girls serving well to help Hinds balance out the big-budget blockbusters. In 2006 Hinds would step into the sandals of no less that Julius Caesar when he essayed the role of the notorious Roman general in HBO's lavish historical drama Rome, with a subsequent role in director Steven Spielberg's 2005 drama Munich preceding a turn as a hard-charging FBI agent in Michael Mann's high-octane action thriller Miamy Vice in 2006. In 2007 he played the closest associate of oil tycoon Daniel Plainview in Paul Thomas Anderson' Oscar-winning There Will Be Blood, and appeared in Margot at the Wedding. He was in Todd Solondz's sort-of sequel to Happiness, Life During Wartime, and was prominent in the well-reviewed 2011 adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. He joined the cast of Harry Potter in that successful series' final entry, and a very busy 2012 found him with major roles in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, The Woman in Black, and providing a voice in the infamous box-office flop John Carter.In addition to his screen work, Hinds has kept busy both on television and the stage. On the small screen, he has appeared in series like Prime Suspect 3 (1993), A Dark Adapted Eye (1994), Jane Eyre (1997), and Ivanhoe (also 1997). On the stage, Hinds has taken part in a number of productions, perhaps most notably the London and Broadway productions of Patrick Marber's Closer in 1998 and 1999. As part of an ensemble cast including Natasha Richardson, Rupert Graves, and Anna Friel, Hinds won raves for his work, further establishing himself as an actor of international acclaim.

Trivia: Born in London on September 6, 1972, and raised in the Hackney borough, Elba pursued acting as a high school student at the behest of a drama teacher. Elba paid his dues with many supporting roles on British television, including such series as Bramwell, The Bill, Degrees of Error, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, and The Governor. The actor grew deeply frustrated, however, over the seemingly irrepressible tendency of British casting directors to peg him in supporting roles. "Back in London," he later recalled, "I was always just going to be the best friend, or the crook or the detective on the side." When Elba could take no more of this, he immigrated to the United States. Within a few years, Elba landed a starring role on what would come to be known as one of the best TV series of all time, The Wire.Elba's performance as pusher "Stringer" Bell attained widespread popularity with viewers and helped put Elba on the map. Elba then transitioned into big-screen roles in movies like The Gospel, The Reaping, Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls, 28 Weeks Later, and the Alien prequel Prometheus. Elba also enjoyed more stateside TV success on shows like The Office and Luther.

Trivia: Actor Johnny Whitworth racked up a lengthy resumé tackling everyman roles in American films, honing in largely on supporting parts in mainstream studio features, with the occasional indie effort. His film credits, which run the gamut in terms of quality and genre, include such outings as the John Grisham legal drama The Rainmaker (1997), the slasher picture Valentine (2001), and the Andy Warhol-centered drama Factory Girl (2006), about the tragic life of Edie Sedgwick.

Trivia: Attended the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London. Began his acting career as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Made his television debut in the movie Unwanted Woman in 1992. Appeared in several films associated with Ancient Greece – Troy (2004), 300 (2006) and Clash of the Titans (2010). Helped launch South London's Landor Theatre.