Trivia: One of the few movie "superstars" truly worthy of the designation, actor Sean Connery was born to a middle-class Scottish family in the first year of the worldwide Depression. Dissatisfied with his austere surroundings, Connery quit school at 15 to join the navy (he still bears his requisite tattoos, one reading "Scotland Forever" and the other "Mum and Dad"). Holding down several minor jobs, not the least of which was as a coffin polisher, Connery became interested in bodybuilding, which led to several advertising modeling jobs and a bid at Scotland's "Mr. Universe" title. Mildly intrigued by acting, Connery joined the singing-sailor chorus of the London roduction of South Pacific in 1951, which whetted his appetite for stage work. Connery worked for a while in repertory theater, then moved to television, where he scored a success in the BBC's re-staging of the American teledrama Requiem for a Heavyweight. The actor moved on to films, playing bit parts (he'd been an extra in the 1954 Anna Neagle musical Lilacs in the Spring) and working up to supporting roles. Connery's first important movie role was as Lana Turner's romantic interest in Another Time, Another Place (1958) -- although he was killed off 15 minutes into the picture. After several more years in increasingly larger film and TV roles, Connery was cast as James Bond in 1962's Dr. No; he was far from the first choice, but the producers were impressed by Connery's refusal to kowtow to them when he came in to read for the part. The actor played the secret agent again in From Russia With Love (1963), but it wasn't until the third Bond picture, Goldfinger (1964), that both Connery and his secret-agent alter ego became a major box-office attraction. While the money steadily improved, Connery was already weary of Bond at the time of the fourth 007 flick Thunderball (1965). He tried to prove to audiences and critics that there was more to his talents than James Bond by playing a villain in Woman of Straw (1964), an enigmatic Hitchcock hero in Marnie (1964), a cockney POW in The Hill (1965), and a loony Greenwich Village poet in A Fine Madness (1966). Despite the excellence of his characterizations, audiences preferred the Bond films, while critics always qualified their comments with references to the secret agent. With You Only Live Twice (1967), Connery swore he was through with James Bond; with Diamonds Are Forever (1971), he really meant what he said. Rather than coast on his celebrity, the actor sought out the most challenging movie assignments possible, including La Tenda Rossa/The Red Tent (1969), The Molly Maguires (1970), and Zardoz (1973). This time audiences were more responsive, though Connery was still most successful with action films like The Wind and the Lion (1974), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), and The Great Train Robbery (1979). With his patented glamorous worldliness, Connery was also ideal in films about international political intrigue like The Next Man (1976), Cuba (1979), The Hunt for Red October (1990), and The Russia House (1990). One of Connery's personal favorite performances was also one of his least typical: In The Offence (1973), he played a troubled police detective whose emotions -- and hidden demons -- are agitated by his pursuit of a child molester. In 1981, Connery briefly returned to the Bond fold with Never Say Never Again, but his difficulties with the production staff turned what should have been a fond throwback to his salad days into a nightmarish experience for the actor. At this point, he hardly needed Bond to sustain his career; Connery had not only the affection of his fans but the respect of his industry peers, who honored him with the British Film Academy award for The Name of the Rose (1986) and an American Oscar for The Untouchables (1987) (which also helped make a star of Kevin Costner, who repaid the favor by casting Connery as Richard the Lionhearted in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves [1991] -- the most highly publicized "surprise" cameo of that year). While Connery's star had risen to new heights, he also continued his habit of alternating crowd-pleasing action films with smaller, more contemplative projects that allowed him to stretch his legs as an actor, such as Time Bandits (1981), Five Days One Summer (1982), A Good Man in Africa (1994), and Playing by Heart (1998). Although his mercurial temperament and occasionally overbearing nature is well known, Connery is nonetheless widely sought out by actors and directors who crave the thrill of working with him, among them Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas, who collaborated with Connery on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), where the actor played Jones' father. Connery served as executive producer on his 1992 vehicle Medicine Man (1992), and continued to take on greater behind-the-camera responsibilities on his films, serving as both star and executive producer on Rising Sun (1993), Just Cause (1995), and The Rock (1996). He graduated to full producer on Entrapment (1999), and, like a true Scot, he brought the project in under budget; the film was a massive commercial success and paired Connery in a credible onscreen romance with Catherine Zeta-Jones, a beauty 40 years his junior. He also received a unusual hipster accolade in Trainspotting (1996), in which one of the film's Gen-X dropouts (from Scotland, significantly enough) frequently discusses the relative merits of Connery's body of work. Appearing as Allan Quartermain in 2003's comic-to-screen adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the seventy-three year old screen legend proved that he still had stamina to spare and that despite his age he could still appear entirely believeable as a comic-book superhero. Still a megastar in the 1990s, Sean Connery commanded one of moviedom's highest salaries -- not so much for his own ego-massaging as for the good of his native Scotland, to which he continued to donate a sizable chunk of his earnings.

Trivia: Formed the theatre group Motley Productions in 1977 along with Tom Alter and Benjamin Giliani. A three-time winner of a National Film Award - twice for Best Actor. Winner of three Filmfare Best Actor Awards. Honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2003. Undertook his first directing venture with Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota (2006).

Trivia: Although a career as an actress may seem unusual for a girl who grew up in a house without a television or radio, what may seem to be a negative in inspiring a cinematic career was actually a blessing in disguise for Peta Wilson. Entertaining her family for hours on end by staging musical shows and lip-synching to Neil Diamond records gave the budding young actress a solid foundation for entertaining.Born in Sydney, Australia, Wilson spent a large portion of her childhood in the wilds of Papua New Guinea. Educated at an all-girls Catholic School in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Wilson turned to athletics as a means to stay out of trouble, though her mother enrolled her into deportment classes in attempts to discourage the more tomboyish traits that accompanied Wilson's fondness for sports. It was during these courses that Wilson was spotted by a modeling agent who encouraged her to consider a career on the catwalk. Traveling Europe in the following years as a successful model, Wilson soon began to nurture her affection for acting, prompting the aspiring actress' 1991 move to L.A.Studying at the Actors Circle Theater in L.A. under the tutelage of Arthur Mendoza, Wilson began to get small roles in such independent films as Loser (1996), and set her television career into motion with an appearance on the HBO series Strangers. Shortly before her departure for New York in 1996 to continue her studies in theater, Wilson's agent persuaded her to audition for the television series La Femme Nikita -- a happy coincidence that resulted in Wilson's casting as the title character in the USA series based on Luc Besson's Nikita (1990).Soon appearing in such films as One of Our Own (1998) and Mercy (2000), Wilson would eventually make it to New York for her role in A Girl Thing (2001).

Trivia: Scottish actor Tony Curran attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before gaining notoriety with a prominent role on the BBC series This Life. He would go on to make a name for himself in movies with a sci-fi/fantasy bent, like The 13th Warrior, Blade II, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Beowulf & Grendel, and Ondine. He also gained notoriety in 2010 for his appearance as the mysterious Man in Black in the 2010 thriller The Presence, before signing on for the 2011 action comedy Cat Run.

Trivia: The sultry Shane West -- a Gemini whose genuine handsomeness is doubly effective in combination with his mesmerizing raspy voice -- made his mark on the Hollywood scene within the realm of teen drama. Beginning with appearances on television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Picket Fences, West was soon cast as a more permanent staple in teenage tube-life, as well as on the big screen.West was born on June 10, 1978, in Baton Rouge, LA, where he spent his life until he made the decision to pursue an acting career in 1995. Upon moving to L.A., West found much success on dramatic television, landing a starring role on ABC's Once and Again (1999) as Eli Sammler after appearing in the Showtime original movie The Westing Game (1997). A more contemporary rendition of the Cyrano de Bergerac story, Whatever It Takes (2000) featured a book-smart West. He appeared in Dracula in 2000, and made a cameo in the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven. Huge publicity surrounding the pop superstar status of Mandy Moore brought West much attention as her love interest in 2002's A Walk to Remember. From the cool crowd, West's character, Landon Carter, learns of matters of a deeper significance during his interaction with Jamie Sullivan (Moore). West's adoring fan base increased in significance as well in his role as sexy and romantic Landon. He joined the cast of ER for that show's final three seasons, and then went on to appear as punk hero Darby Crash in the biopic What We Do Is Secret. He followed that up with The Lodger, Red Sands, and The Presence.

Trivia: Born December 15th, 1972, Stuart Townsend would grow up to possess the kind of dark, coolly seductive looks that lend themselves to playing either ladies' men or raving psychos, {Townsend is one of the more compelling actors to have emerged from Ireland during the 1990s. A native of Dublin, Townsend was born to pro golfer Peter Townsend and Lorna Townsend, a well-known former model who died in 1994. He first became interested in performing through his then-girlfriend, who was studying at the Gaiety School of Acting. Townsend also enrolled at the school and made his stage debut in the school's production of Tear Up the Black Sail. He made his professional stage debut in John Crowley's True Lines. In 1996, Townsend broke onto the screen with his role in Gillies MacKinnon's Trojan Eddie. Portraying a seductive young man who steals away a bride from her groom on their wedding day, Townsend was afforded the opportunity to work with the legendary Richard Harris. His exposure in the film led to his first starring role, in Shooting Fish (1997), a successful comedy which cast him as a sweet-natured con man. That same year, Townsend had a supporting role in Carine Adler's acclaimed drama Under the Skin, engaging in emotional dysfunction and phone sex with the film's heroine. He also made a terrifying impression in the Irish crime thriller Resurrection Man, playing a psychotic killer. Townsend subsequently extended his talents to period drama, portraying an impoverished Jew in 19th century Silesia in Simon Magus (1998) and essaying a dual role in the 16th- and 20th century-set The Venice Project (1999). In 1999, he was also visible in Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland, an ensemble drama that screened at that year's Cannes Film Festival. The turnover to the new millennium found Townsend with some big shoes to fill as he stepped into the role of Anne Rice's staple bloodsucker Lestat (originally portrayed by Tom Cruise in Neil Jordan's Interview With the Vampire (1994) in 2002. Baring his fangs alongside co-star and title character Aaliyah (who perished in an airplane crash shortly before the film opened in theaters) Townsend recieved a fair amount of praise for his role in the film, which was previously rumored to have been heading for a straight to video release. In 2005 he joined the cast of ABC's Night Stalker for a role as an investigative reporter determined to catch the person responsible for his wife's murder.

Trivia: An actor who is equally adept at donning wigs and machine guns for period dramas and modern gangster films alike, Jason Flemyng is one of Britain's more versatile, unpredictable, and underrated performers. Born in London on September 25, 1966, Flemyng made his stage debut at the age of ten as the Tin Man in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. After studying drama at the National Youth Theatre and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, he was accepted into the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he stayed for three years. Flemyng broke into film and television in 1992, appearing in a number of made-for-TV movies and in John Schlesinger's Question of Attribution, an adaptation of Alan Bennett's play about the 1950s Burgess-Maclean-Philby spy scandal. Supporting roles and a lead in Indian Summer (1996), which cast him as a dancer with AIDS, followed, and in 1996, the actor garnered a measure of international recognition for his work in two films. One, Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty, saw him sharing a scene with Liv Tyler, while the searing family drama Hollow Reed featured Flemyng as a white-collared child abuser who beats his girlfriend's young son.After a turn as an 18th-century composer in François Girard's The Red Violin (1998), Flemyng starred in perhaps his most internationally successful film to date, Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). An incredibly stylish crime comedy set in London's rough East End, the film -- which starred Flemyng as one of a group of friends trying to pull off a heist -- was a surprise hit in both the U.K. and overseas, which resulted in widespread attention for its director and cast. Flemyng re-teamed with Ritchie in 2000 for Snatch, another heist picture. That same year, he also had a number of other projects lined up, including Bruiser, a thriller about a put-upon magazine grunt who strikes back at everyone who has wronged him, and The Body, a religious drama in which he appeared alongside Antonio Banderas and Derek Jacobi. Gaining increasing exposure in such films as Rock Star and From Hell (both 2001), Flemyng would soon re-team with Snatch co-star Vinnie Jones in the The Longest Yard remake Mean Machine (2001) before taking the lead in the comedy Lighthouse Hill (2002) and gearing up to go schizophrenic as the malevolent Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde in the eagerly anticipated comic book adaptation The League of Extrodinary Gentlemen (2003).

Trivia: A handsome, sharp-featured actor who has played everything from action baddies to charming romantic comedy leads, Australian actor Richard Roxburgh became a familiar face to international audiences thanks to roles in such high-profile Hollywood features as Moulin Rouge and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Born the youngest of six siblings in Albury, Australia, Roxburgh's interest in acting wasn't sparked until he became somewhat disillusioned with studying economics (his father was a successful accountant) at A.N.U. in Canberra. An interest in acting prompted the young Roxburgh to enroll in Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Arts, though it wasn't a successful film career to which he aspired, but one in the theater. He gained a reputation as a talented actor and stage director capable of both classic and contemporary work, and soon found his star rising in Europe as well. The actor had an early supporting role in the made-for-TV feature The Saint: Fear in Fun Park, which showed the stage-oriented actor possessing remarkable onscreen charisma. Though he continued to work on-stage, Roxburgh also began making appearances in television miniseries, and grew increasingly comfortable in front of the cameras. After more supporting roles in such features as Billy's Holiday (1995) and Children of the Revolution (1996), Roxburgh landed his first feature lead in the country & western-themed road movie Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997) -- a role that earned the rising star an AFI award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. That same year, he charmed Australian audiences opposite Cate Blanchett in the romantic comedy Thank God He Met Lizzie as a reluctant groom whose fantasies about an ex-girlfriend threaten to sour his wedding day. Though Roxburgh's onscreen exposure, to this point, had been limited mostly to European audiences, all of that changed in the early 2000s. Cast as the villainous henchman in John Woo's high-profile sequel Mission: Impossible II, Roxburgh made quite an impression despite his limited screen time. The following year, he made even more of an impact on international audiences thanks to a role as the sniveling Duke of Worcester in Baz Luhrmann's breakout musical hit Moulin Rouge. Roxburgh's later role as legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes in 2002's The Hound of the Baskervilles courted controversy by depicting Holmes as a drug addict, and, in 2003, he suited up to fight crime once again in the comic book adaptation The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Roxburgh played another famous character -- Count Dracula -- in the eagerly anticipated horror feature Van Helsing in 2004.

Trivia: When the film version of the Broadway musical Camelot was released in 1967, critics had a jolly old time lambasting director Joshua Logan for casting non-singers in the leading roles. While it's certainly true that Lynn Redgrave, Richard Harris and Franco Nero seemed to suffer from Tin-Ear Syndrome, the critics were most unfair in picking on the fellow who played Mordred: David Hemmings. The son of a cookie merchant, Hemmings was a successful touring boy soprano at age nine, performing with the English Opera Group. He briefly left the musical world when his voice changed, studying painting at the Epsom School of Art and staging his first exhibition at 15. He returned to singing in his early 20s, first in nightclubs, then on the musical stage. Easing into acting, Hemmings appeared as misunderstood youths and belligerent "Teddy Boys" in a number of British programmers before attaining international stardom as the existential fashion photographer "hero"of Antonioni's Blow-Up (1966). With 1971's Running Scared, the indefatigable Hemmings began yet another new career as director; he has since helmed theatrical and made-for-TV films in England, Australia and Canada. With business partner John Daly, Hemmings formed the Hemdale Corporation for the express purpose of allowing the actor to do pretty much what he pleased both before and behind the cameras. In later years, he added novel writing to his considerable list of accomplishments. David Hemmings was the former husband of American actress Gayle Hunnicutt.

Trivia: Steel-hewn, barrel-chested screen performer Max Ryan sported a rugged, threatening image that immediately placed him in a tight genre niche in action movies; producers typically, though not always, cast him as the villain. Among other accomplishments, Ryan made one of his earliest appearances as a heavy opposite martial arts superstar Jet Li in Chris Nahon's action thriller Kiss of the Dragon (2001), played one of the nemeses of Sean Connery in Steve Norrington's muddled, roundly disappointing comic book-style adventure The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), and ushered in a sense of pure unadulterated evil with his portrayal of a psychotic, sadistic madman in Robby Henson's thriller Thr3e (2007). The following year, Ryan again starred as the villain, this time opposite Joan Allen and Jason Statham, in Death Race (2008), Paul W.S. Anderson's remake of the Corman outing Death Race 2000 (1975).

Trivia: Radio, film, stage and TV actor. Was brought up near Newcastle-upon-Tyne and often acted in amateur performances at the People's Theatre. Took an active role in student drama at university. Originally trained as a primary school teacher after graduating from university, but opted to be an actor after a year of teaching. Began his professional career in the theatre. Played Vronsky in a BBC Radio 4 production of Anna Karenin in 2002. Revealed he was a descendant of John Lilburne, after being confirmed to portray him in a 2008 production of The Devil's Whore. After performing in Enron in 2009, he reunited with director Rupert Goold in Earthquakes in London in 2010. Is a patron of Scene and Heard, a charity based in London that aims to improve the prospects of children through mentoring and courses in drama skills.

Trivia: Moved from Pennsylvania to the Czech Republic at the age of 11. Trained in ballet and musical theater during middle and high school. Started acting at the age of 13 in American and European film and TV productions that came through Prague. Attended Carnegie Mellon University's summer-theater program when she was 17 years old. Began studying performing arts at New York's Atlantic Theatre Company at the age of 19. Was featured on the cover of Playboy in March 2011.

Trivia: The latest in an illustrious line of actors to convince American audiences that the British make the cinema's most sinister and cold-hearted villains, Jason Isaacs earned the vicarious enmity and disgust of filmgoers everywhere in his role as the vile Colonel Tavington in the 2000 summer blockbuster The Patriot. Actually an incredibly versatile performer whose previous characterizations included a priest, a brilliant scientist, and a drug dealer, the tall, blue-eyed actor won admiration and respect for his performance, and soon found himself being hailed in the American press as one of the most exciting British imports of the early 21st century.The third of four sons of a Liverpool merchant, Isaacs was born in his father's hometown on June 6, 1963. He initially planned to go into law -- a white-collar profession that would have fit nicely with those of his brothers, who became a doctor, lawyer, and accountant -- but was swayed by acting early in the course of his law studies at Bristol University. Although he first became interested in acting in part because "it was a great way to meet girls," Isaacs soon found deeper meaning in the theater (in one interview he was quoted as saying "I could release myself into acting in a way that I was not released socially") and duly dropped out of Bristol to hone his skills at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. Once in London, Isaacs began landing professional work almost immediately, appearing on the stage and on television. He made his big-screen debut in 1989 with a minor turn as a doctor in Mel Smith's The Tall Guy and that same year won a steady role on the TV series Capital City. Isaacs exhibited his versatility in several more TV series and on-stage in such productions as the Royal National Theatre's 1993 staging of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America. He also began to find more work onscreen, receiving his first nod of Hollywood recognition in his casting in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Armageddon (1998). Initially called upon to take a fairly substantial role, Isaacs was eventually cast in a much smaller capacity as a planet-saving scientist so that he could accommodate his commitment to Divorcing Jack (1998), a comedy thriller he was making with David Thewlis. After portraying a priest opposite Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes in Neil Jordan's acclaimed adaptation of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair, Isaacs got his biggest international break to date when he was picked to portray Colonel Tavington, the resident villain of Roland Emmerich's Revolutionary War epic The Patriot. Starring opposite Mel Gibson, who (naturally) played the film's hero, Isaacs made an unnervingly memorable impression as a man whose pastimes included infanticide, rape, and church- burning, emerging as one of summer 2000s most indelible screen presences. Although his work in the film earned him comparisons to Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of evil Nazi Amon Goeth in Schindler's List and talks of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, the actor was not content to be typecast in the historical scum mold. Thus, he logically signed on to play none other than a drag queen for his next project, Sweet November (2001), a romantic comedy-drama starring Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves. For his lead portrayal in the 2007 miniseries The State Within, Isaacs received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. Over the next several years, Isaacs appeared in films like Green Zone and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 2. He would also star in TV series like Case Histories and Awake.