Trivia: One of the most endearing goofballs to ever grace the stages of Saturday Night Live, affectionately offensive funnyman Adam Sandler has often been cited as the writer/performer who almost single-handedly rescued the long-running late-night television staple when the chips were down and it appeared to have run its course. Though his polarizing antics have divided audiences and critics who often dismiss him as lowbrow and obnoxious, Sandler's films, as well as the films of his Happy Madison production company, have performed consistently well at the box office despite harsh and frequent critical lashings.Born in Brooklyn on September 9th, 1966, it may come as no surprise that Sandler was a shameless class clown who left his classmates in stitches and his teachers with a handful. Never considering to utilize his gift of humor to pursue a career, Sandler eventually realized his potential when at the age of 17 his brother encouraged him to take the stage at an amateur comedy competition. A natural at making the audience laugh, the aspiring comedian nurtured his talents while attending New York University and studying for a Fine Arts Degree. With early appearances on The Cosby Show and the MTV game show Remote Control providing the increasingly busy Sandler with a loyal following, an early feature role coincided with his "discovery" by SNL cast member Dennis Miller at an L.A. comedy club. As the unfortunately named Shecky Moskowitz, his role as a struggling comedian in Going Overboard (1989) served as an interesting parallel to his actual career trajectory but did little to display his true comic talents.It wasn't until SNL producers took Miller's praise to heart and hired the fledgling comic as writer on the program that Sandler's talents were truly set to shine. Frequent appearances as Opera Man and Canteen Boy soon elevated him to player status, and it wasn't long before Sandler was the toast of the SNL cast in the mid-'90s. While appearing in SNL and sharpening his feature skills in such efforts as Shakes the Clown (1991) and Coneheads (1993), Sandler signed a recording contract with Warner Bros., and the release of the Grammy-nominated They're All Gonna Laugh at You proved the most appropriate title imaginable as his career began to soar. Striking an odd balance between tasteless vulgarity and innocent charm, the album found Sandler gaining footing as an artist independent of the SNL universe and fueled his desire -- as numerous cast members had before him -- to strike out on his own. Though those who had attempted a departure for feature fame in the past had met with decidedly mixed results, Sandler's loyal and devoted fan base proved strong supporters of such early solo feature efforts as Billy Madison (1996) and, especially, Happy Gilmore (1996).His mixture of grandma-loving sweetness and pure, unfiltered comedic rage continued with his role as a slow-witted backwoods mama's boy turned football superstar in The Waterboy (1998), and that same year found Sandler expanding his persona to more sensitive territory in The Wedding Singer. Perhaps his most appealing character up to that point, The Wedding Singer's combination of '80s nostalgia and a warmer, more personable persona found increasing support among those who had previously distanced themselves from his polarizing performances. As the decade rolled on, Sandler also appeared in the action-oriented Bulletproof (1996) and the even more affectionate Big Daddy (1999). In 2002, Sandler starred in a re-imagining of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, titled simply Mr. Deeds.Beginning in the late nineties, Sandler's Happy Madison production company launched such efforts as Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), Little Nicky (2000), The Animal and Joe Dirt (both 2001). Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo appeared in (2005), and Grandma's Boy in (2006). Despite critical castigation for scraping the bottom of the barrel with these efforts, Sandler's commercial instinct remained intact; the films all hit big at the box office and drew an ever-loyal base of fans who gravitated to any feature with Sandler's name attached.The early 2000s also saw Sandler attempting to branch out in a number of unusual directions, which included the animated "Hanukkah Musical" 8 Crazy Nights (2002). Sandler also began dipping his toes into the realm of drama with a starring role in the eccentric, critically acclaimed tragicomedy Punch-Drunk Love (2002), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Sandler also starred in the Jim Brooks-helmed comedy/drama Spanglish (2004), an unsually subdued and gentle turn away from the irascible types that Sandler usually played. The critical receptions were, again uneven, as reviewers loathed 8 Crazy Nights, justifiably praised Punch-Drunk across the board, and espoused mixed feelings about Spanglish.Perhaps well aware of the extent of these risks that he was taking with his career, Sandler continued to sustain his popularity with a steady (and reliable) stream of crowd-pleasing star vehicles throughout the early 2000s. 2002's self-produced Sandler vehicle Anger Management (which teamed him up with a maniacal Jack Nicholson); the 2004 effort 50 First Dates, in which he co-starred with fellow Wedding Singer alum Drew Barrymore; and the 2005 remake of Robert Aldrich's The Longest Yard all made box office gold. In 2006, Sandler starred in yet another hit: Click, a surrealistic comedy directed by Frank Coraci, co-starring Sean Astin, Kate Beckinsale and Christopher Walken. The film was a big hit and, having spent the past few years playing it safe, Sandler decided it was a good time to take another chance. He signed on to star with Don Cheadle in the 2007 drama Reign Over Me, playing a man who lost his wife and children in the 9/11 attacks, and is headed for complete self-destruction. The critics weren't as enamored with this dramatic attempt as they were with Punch-Drunk Love, but Sandler was mostly well received even when the film wasn't. Always tempering his risks with more predictable career moves, the actor next signed on to appear alongside King of Queens star Kevin James in the buddy movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, a comedy about two straight firefighters who pretend to be a gay couple to receive domestic partner benefits.On a seemingly never-ending roll with his broadly appealing comedic roles, Sandler next played an Israeli secret agent and skilled beautician in 2008's You Don't Mess with the Zohan. He followed this up with a turn in the kids comedy Bedtime Stories in 2009, before adding a dash of dramatic acting to a humorous role once more, with the 2009 Judd Apatow flick Funny People. For Sandler's next project, he reteamed with Cuck and Larry co-star Kevin James for the 2010 romp Grown Ups, before cozying up to Jennifer Aniston for the romantic comedy Just Go With It in 2011. Despite his beautiful co-star, Just Go With It did poorly at the box office, and so for his next movie, the funnyman chose a more bankable supporting actor: himself, playing both a man and his own annoying twin sister in the 2012 comedy Jack and Jill.

Trivia: Following her breakthrough in 1988's Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder emerged as one of the most celebrated actresses of her generation. Adept at playing characters ranging from depressed, angst-ridden goths to Edith Wharton debutantes, the saucer-eyed, porcelain-skinned Ryder has attained critical respect in addition to widespread popularity.Ryder was born in and named after the city of Winona, MN, on October 29, 1971. The daughter of communal hippies and the goddaughter of LSD guru Timothy Leary, she grew up on a commune in Northern California. Ryder's family moved to Petaluma when she was ten; following regular abuse from her classmates, who targeted her for her unconventional, androgynous appearance (she was once jumped by a group of boys who had mistaken her for a gay boy), she was home schooled. At the age of 11, she joined the American Conservatory Theatre, and was soon trying out for movie roles. An audition for the part of Jon Voight's daughter in Desert Bloom failed to yield a role but did land the actress an agent, and at the age of 14, Ryder -- who had changed her last name from Horowitz -- made her film debut in Lucas (1986).Finding popularity with her turn as a suicidal teen who has more in common with the ghosts living in her attic than with her yuppie parents in Tim Burton's black comedy Beetlejuice, Ryder quickly became one of the most steadily employed actresses in Hollywood. She continued to corner the alienated and/or confused teen market with starring roles in a number of offbeat films, including the 1989 cult classic Heathers, Great Balls of Fire (in which she played Jerry Lee Lewis' 13-year-old bride), Burton's Edward Scissorhands, and Mermaids.The early '90s saw Ryder begin to branch out from teen roles toward parts requiring greater maturity. Following a turn as a taxi driver in Jim Jarmusch's Night on Earth (1991), the actress starred in Francis Ford Coppola's lavish adaptation Bram Stoker's Dracula and then went on to play Antonio Banderas' lover in the critically disembowelled The House of the Spirits. Greater success came with Martin Scorsese's 1993 adaptation of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Ryder won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Daniel Day-Lewis' picture-perfect wife, and in the process started getting taken seriously as an actress capable of playing more adult characters.A second Oscar nomination -- this time for Best Actress -- followed the next year for Ryder's portrayal of Jo March in Gillian Armstrong's adaptation of Little Women. The same year, the actress took on an entirely different role in Reality Bites, in which she played a twentysomething suffering from post-graduation angst. Similar twentysomething angst followed in How to Make an American Quilt (1995) but was then traded for Puritanical adultery, hair extensions, and another turn with Daniel Day-Lewis in Nicholas Hytner's 1996 adaptation of The Crucible.Following a starring role in the highly anticipated and almost as highly criticized Alien Resurrection in 1997, Ryder had a turn as the waif-ish object of Kenneth Branagh's affections in Woody Allen's Celebrity. She managed to escape much of the criticism leveled at both of these films, and in 1999 and 2000, she reappeared with lead roles in two films, Girl, Interrupted, in which she played a mental institution inmate in the female answer to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and the supernatural thriller Lost Souls. Winona shed her skin once more in 2002, when she took the romantic lead in Mr. Deeds, a typically goofy Adam Sandler vehicle. This was a surprising move for Ryder, who, despite making a niche for herself in nearly every imaginable genre, has rarely delved into the world of madcap romantic comedies. Of course, 2001-2002 wouldn't be complete without mention of Winona's inexplicable thievery; the young millionaire was convicted for stealing $5,500 worth of merchandise from a Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue. 2003, meanwhile, meant more unfamiliar territory for Ryder -- she left fiction behind for a part in the documentary The Day My God Died. An uncredited turn as a warped child psychologist in director Asia Argento's The Heart is Decietful Above all Things showed without question that Ryder was still willing to shake things up on the silver screen, and in 2006 she would play an insurance claims investigator assigned the task of investigating a curious death in the aptly titled comedy The Darwin Awards. Later that same year, Ryder would be rotoscoped for a supporting role in director Richard Linklater's animated adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel A Scanner Darkly. The next few years found the maturing actress eschewing Hollywood for roles in smaller independent features such as Sex and Death 101 and David Wain's The Ten, and on the heels of a brief yet memorable turn as Spock's mother in 2009's Star Trek, Ryder channeled her dark energy into the role of a former ballet ingenue on the decline in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. Meanwhile, in 2012, a voice role in Tim Burton's canine creature feature Frankenweenie found Ryder reuniting with the director who helped launch her to cinema stardom in the late-1980s.

Trivia: A handsome, brooding actor equally at home in mainstream Hollywood fare and in American independent projects -- as well as on the theatrical stage -- Peter Gallagher was born August 19, 1955, in Armonk, NY. While attending Tufts University, he spent his summers appearing with area theater groups, and after graduating in 1977, he acted on Broadway in a revival of Hair. Gallagher then starred as Danny Zuko in Grease, a performance which led to his portrayal of a '50s-era pop singer in his film debut, 1980's The Idolmaker. Summer Lovers followed two years later, but proved such a miserable experience that Gallagher fled Hollywood to return to the stage. He won a Theatre World Award that same year for his work in the Broadway musical A Doll's Life, and earned a Clarence Derwent Award in 1984 for his turn in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing.In 1985, Gallagher returned to film in the Dennis Potter-scripted Dreamchild, followed in 1987 by My Little Girl. After garnering a Tony nomination for his work in a controversial revival of Long Day's Journey into Night, he enjoyed his motion picture breakthrough as an adulterous attorney in Steven Soderbergh's influential 1989 debut sex, lies, and videotape. The performance earned Gallagher considerable credibility within the independent filmmaking community, but his next several efforts were more mainstream productions like 1990's Tune in Tomorrow and the television drama Love and Lies. However, a subsequent turn in Peter Sellars' 1991 avant-silent The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez brought acclaim from art-house audiences, and with a lead role in Robert Altman's 1992 comeback The Player, Gallagher's stock rose even higher. That same year, the actor wowed theater audiences with his portrayal of Sky Masterson in the Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls, a widely praised production that also starred Nathan Lane.Over the following years, Gallagher split his time between edgier material (Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts, Altman's Short Cuts, and Soderbergh's The Underneath) and lighter, glossier projects (Malice, While You Were Sleeping, and To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday). In 1999, he gave smarm a good, or at least convincing, name, starring as a sleazy physician in The House on Haunted Hill, a remake of William Castle's 1958 horror classic, and as a similarly repugnant real estate salesman in American Beauty. Gallagher would spend the following years enjoying particular fame in the realm of TV, starring on such successful shows as The O.C., Californication, Rescue Me, and Covert Affairs. Gallagher would also remain active in film, however, in movies like Burlsesque and Conviction.

Trivia: One of the top character actors of his era, John Turturro is a fixture of the contemporary American independent filmmaking landscape. Born February 28, 1957, in Brooklyn, NY, Turturro became fascinated by movies during childhood, and after graduating from college he won a scholarship to study at the prestigious Yale School of Drama. He first gained notice in regional theater and off-Broadway, earning an Obie Award for his starring role in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. He made his film debut in Martin Scorsese's 1980 masterpiece Raging Bull but did not reappear onscreen prior to 1984's The Exterminator 2. That same year, he debuted on Broadway in Death of a Salesman.Small roles in diverse fare including Susan Seidelman's 1985 comedy Desperately Seeking Susan, Scorsese's 1986 drama The Color of Money, and Woody Allen's masterful Hannah and Her Sisters kept Turturro busy throughout much of the decade, but his breakthrough performance did not arrive until Spike Lee cast him as a bigoted pizzeria worker in 1989's Do the Right Thing. A scene-stealing turn in the Coen brothers' 1990 gangland drama Miller's Crossing followed, and in 1991 the Coens cast him as the titular Barton Fink, a performance which garnered Best Actor honors at the Cannes Film Festival. Subsequent lead roles were infrequent, although in 1992 he wrote, directed, and starred in Mac, a little-seen indie feature that won him a Golden Camera award for Best First Feature at the 1992 Cannes Festival. Supporting turns in acclaimed offerings including Quiz Show, Clockers, and Grace of My Heart (in which he expertly portrayed a Phil Spector-like music producer) followed before Turturro's next starring role, in Tom DiCillo's whimsical 1996 comedy Box of Moonlight. In 1998, the actor again collaborated with both Lee and the Coen brothers, working with the former on He Got Game and the latter on The Big Lebowski. Also in 1998, Turturro wrote, directed, produced, and starred in Illuminata, a comedy set against the backdrop of a struggling, turn-of-the-century New York theater company. The following year, he again took on the New York theater, appearing in Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock, an exploration of the relationship between art and politics set in 1930s New York.He remained an in-demand character actor, as well as an occasional director into the next century, starting the 2000s with a leading role in the chess drama The Luzhin Defence, reteaming with the Coen brothers for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and working with Adam Sandler on Mr. Deeds. In 2004 he worked for Spike Lee yet again in She Hate Me. In 2005 he wrote, directed, and acted in the blue-collar musical Romance & Cigarettes. He appeared in The Good Shepherd in 2006, and the next year he appeared in the sci-fi blockbuster Transformers. In 2008 he joined up with Lee yet again to play a soldier in his World War II film Miracle At. St. Anna, and teamed with Sandler again for You Don't Mess With the Zohan. The next year he appeared in the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, and the Transformers sequel. He would return to that franchise for the third film in 2011, and that same year he would join the Pixar family voicing Lightnin' McQueen's rival in Cars 2.

Trivia: British actor Jared Harris first won recognition for his riveting portrayal of influential American pop artist Andy Warhol in the acclaimed I Shot Andy Warhol (1996). Though he is the son of esteemed British actor Richard Harris, he showed little interest in following his father's path until he was cast in a college production while attending North Carolina's Duke University during the early '80s. Following graduation, he returned to Britain and worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company for several years, before heading back to the states to appear off-Broadway. The actor made his screen debut in The Rachel Papers (1989). Following his appearances as Harvey Keitel's slightly retarded shop assistant in Smoke and its companion piece Blue in the Face (both 1995), Harris became a familiar face in American independent films, though he still made the occasional foray into mainstream films, appearing in Lost in Space in 1998. After portraying a sleazy Russian cab driver in Todd Solondz's acclaimed Happiness (1998), Harris could be seen in Michael Radford's B. Monkey, starring opposite Asia Argento, Rupert Everett, and Jonathan Rhys Myers. He went on to appear in Perfume and Igby Goes Down in the next few years. In 2003 he found himself playing one of Europe's most famous historical figures when he tackled the role of King Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl. The next year he had small parts in The Day After Tomorrow and Ocean's Twelve. Although he was in the notorious flop Lady in the Water in 2006, two years later he appeared in the multiple Oscar nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In 2009 he had his most high-profile success joining the cast of the award-winning drama Mad Men as a British businessman. He was the bad guy in the second of Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes films, and played one of the important figures in American history when Steven Spielberg cast him in Lincoln as General Ulysses S. Grant.

Trivia: One of the most important character actors of the 1990s, Steve Buscemi is unmatched in his ability to combine lowlife posturing with weasely charisma. Although active in the cinema since the mid-'80s, it was not until Quentin Tarantino cast Buscemi as Mr. Pink in the 1992 Reservoir Dogs that the actor became known to most audience members. He would subsequently appear to great effect in other Tarantino films, as well as those of the Coen Brothers, where his attributes blended perfectly into the off-kilter landscape.Born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 13, 1957, Buscemi was raised on Long Island. He gained an interest in acting while a senior in high school, but he had no idea of how to pursue a professional career in the field. Working as a fireman for four years, he began to perform stand-up comedy, but he eventually realized that he wanted to do more dramatic theatrical work. After moving to Manhattan's East Village, he studied drama at the Lee Strasberg Institute, and he also began writing and performing skits in various parts of the city. His talents were eventually noticed by filmmaker Bill Sherwood, who was casting his film Parting Glances. The 1986 drama was one of the first feature films to be made about AIDS (Sherwood himself died from AIDS in 1990), and it starred Buscemi as Nick, a sardonic rock singer suffering from the disease. The film, which was a critical success on the independent circuit, essentially began Buscemi's career as a respected independent actor.Buscemi's resume was given a further boost that same year by his recurring role as a serial killer on the popular TV drama L.A. Law; he subsequently began finding steady work in such films as New York Stories and Mystery Train (both 1989). In 1990, he had another career breakthrough with his role in Miller's Crossing, which began his longtime collaboration with the Coen brothers. The Coens went on to cast Buscemi in nearly all of their films, featuring him to particularly memorable effect in Barton Fink (1991), in which he played a bell boy; Fargo (1996), which featured him as an ill-fated kidnapper; and The Big Lebowski (1998), which saw him portray a laid-back ex-surfer. Although Buscemi has done his best work outside of the mainstream, turning in other sterling performances in Alexandre Rockwell's In the Soup (1992) and Tom Di Cillo's Living in Oblivion (1995), he has occasionally appeared in such Hollywood megaplex fare as Con Air (1997), Armageddon (1998), Big Daddy (1999), and 28 Days (2000), the last of which cast him against type as Sandra Bullock's rehab counselor. Back in indieville, Buscemi would next utilize his homely persona in a more sympathetic manner as a soulful loner with a penchant for collecting old records in director Terry Zwigoff's (Crumb) Ghost World. Despite all indicators pointing to mainstream prolifieration in the new millennium, Buscemi continued to display his dedication to independent film projects with roles in such efforts as Alaxandre Rockwell's 13 Moons and Peter Mattei's Love in the Time of Money (both 2002). Of course there are exceptions to every rule, and Buscemi's memorable appearances in such big budget efforts as Mr Deeds and both Spy Kids 2 and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over served to remind audiences that Buscemi was still indeed at the top of his game, perhaps now more than ever. In 1996, Buscemi made his screenwriting and directorial debut with Trees Lounge, a well-received comedy drama in which he played a down-on-his-luck auto mechanic shuffling through life on Long Island. He followed up his directorial debut in 2000 with Animal Factory, a subdued prison drama starring Edward Furlong as a young inmate who finds protection from his fellow prisoners in the form of an older convict (Willem Dafoe). Moving to the small screen, Buscemi would next helm an episode of the acclaimed HBO mob drama The Sopranos. Called Pine Barrens, the episode instantly became a fan-favorite.In 2004, Buscemi stepped in front of the camera once again to join the cast of The Sopranos, costarring as Tony Blundetto, a recently paroled mafioso struggling to stay straight in the face of temptation to revert back to his old ways. In 2005 Buscemi reteamed with Michael Bay for The Island in the same year that he directed another low-budget film, Lonesome Jim, with a stellar cast that included Seymour Cassel, Mary Kay Place, Liv Tyler, Casey Affleck, and Kevin Corrigan. He also played one of the leads in John Turturro's musical Romance & Cigarettes. His very busy 2006 included an amusing cameo in Terry Zwigoff's Art School Confidential, and continued work in animated films, with vocal appearances in Monster House and Charlotte's Web (2006). His contributions to those projects earned critical acclaim; Buscemi achieved an even greater feat, however, that same year, when he mounted his fifth project as director, Interview (2007). Like Trees Lounge (1996), Lonesome Jim (2005) and other Buscemi-helmed outings, this searing, acerbic comedy-drama spoke volumes about Buscemi's talent and intuition, and arguably even suggested that his ability as a filmmaker outstripped his ability as a thespian. With great precision and insight, the narrative observed a roving paparazzi journalist (Buscemi) during his unwanted yet surprisingly pretension-stripping pas-de-deux with a manipulative, coke-addled prima donna actress (Sienna Miller).At about the same time, the quirky player geared up for a host of substantial acting roles including parts in We're the Millers (2008), Igor (2008) and Keep Coming Back (2008). He appeared as the father of a deceased soldier in The Messenger in 2009, and the next year he landed the lead role of Nucky Thompson, an Irish gangster, in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. His work on that show would earn him Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards.

Trivia: Known to many as the guy who appears in all the Adam Sandler movies, Allen Covert grew up in Florida and went to college in New York, where he met Sandler while working at a restaurant. After trying his hand at improv, he became steadily more interested in comedy, and began to collaborate with his friend Sandler, helping write the material for Sandler's comedy albums and eventually appearing in his films. Covert has subsequently appeared in almost all of Sandler's movies, beginning with 1989's Going Overboard (also known as Babes Ahoy). His appearances have ranged from small cameos to major supporting roles, and he even gained 40 lbs. to play Sandler's roommate in Little Nicky. The comedian has also worked as a writer, producer, and actor on his own, for movies like 2006's Grandma's Boy and 2008's Strange Wilderness.

Trivia: Expressive comic actress Conchata Ferrell attended drama classes at West Virginia University and Marshall University. Ferrell's first off-Broadway appearance was as good-natured hooker April Green in Lanford Wilson's Hot L Baltimore (1972), a role she would reprise in the short-lived 1975 TV sitcom version. In 1973, she won an Obie Award for her performance in The Sea Horse. Her first major film role was feisty frontier widow Elinore in the 1981 western Heartland, a performance that earned her a "Wrangler Award" from the Cowboy Hall of Fame. She has also been seen in Network (1976), Mystic Pizza (1988) and Edward Scissorhands (1991), to name but a few. As active on TV as elsewhere, Conchata Ferrell has played such regular TV-series roles as female cop Wilhelmina "The Fox" Johnson in BJ and the Bear (1979), café owner Vangie Cruise in McClain's Law (1981), nurse Joan Thor in the original ER (1984), zoo secretary Kate Galindo in A Peaceable Kingdom (1989), entertainment lawyer Susan Bloom in LA Law (1991-92 season, earning an Emmy nomination in 1992), and cynical psychologist/advice columnist Dr. Madeline Stoessinger in Hearts Afire (1993-95).

Trivia: Following brief enlistment as a regular cast member on television's The Larry Sanders Show and The Jeff Foxworthy Show, comedic actor Peter Dante scored a series of bit parts and supporting roles in farces produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production company (many of which also featured Sandler in the cast). These outings included Big Daddy (1999), Little Nicky (2000), Grandma's Boy (2006), and Strange Wilderness (2008).

Trivia: A native of Mount Vernon, NY (born Jerry Brooks -- hence the initials), standup comic, comedy writer, and actor J.B. Smoove began his career as a dancer in an hip-hop ensemble, performing as J. Smoove. The performer transitioned to schtick early on and cut his chops in Manhattan-area clubs, then landed a few small roles in Hollywood features (including the 2001 Pootie Tang and the 2002 Mr. Deeds), before striking gold on Saturday Night Live as both a sketch writer and a sketch participant. Smoove culled greatest attention, however, for his recurring role during season six of Curb Your Enthusiasm; he played the über-confident, street-smart Leon Black, a member of an African-American family adopted by Larry David and his wife after their residence is decimated by a hurricane. Smoove later acknowledged that the popularity of the role "set fire" to his career and led to roles on the sitcoms Everybody Hates Chris and 'Til Death.

Trivia: From his earliest days, character actor Erick Avari's family knew that he would eventually end up with a career in show business -- though given the fact that his grandparents on both sides of the family owned movie theaters throughout India and Asia (not to mention that his great-grandfather was a Victorian-era theater producer often credited with introducing women into Indian theater), they no doubt thought he would lean more towards the "business" side and less towards the "show." The majority of Avari's childhood was spent in Darjeeling, India. Though young Avari's primary language was English, he also mastered Nepali, Bengali, Hindi, and Gujarati over the course of his childhood. A steady diet of English-language films viewed at one of his father's two theaters no doubt aided the aspiring actor in bettering his English skills, and following a small role in Satyajit Ray's Kanchenjungha and a chance meeting with the Kendall family theater troupe, Avari's career was soon moving in the right direction. Following several years of college in India, Avari was awarded a scholarship to the College of Charleston, SC, where he studied acting before moving to New York to pursue a stage career. Roles in New York's Joseph Papp Public Theater and in the Broadway production of The King and I were quick to follow, and Avari made his feature debut with a role in the 1984 fantasy comedy Nothing Lasts Forever. Through the remainder of the '80s and the '90s, Avari carved a successful niche in film as the go-to guy for roles that called for mysterious men from the Far East, and roles in such wide-release films as Encino Man, For Love or Money, Stargate, and The Mummy kept him in the public eye. By the millennial turnover, audiences were no doubt familiar with Avari's face, with roles in Planet of the Apes, Mr. Deeds, The Master of Disguise, and Daredevil cementing his status as a talented character actor with impeccable comic timing.

Trivia: First earning an international reputation in opera and musical comedy, Harve Presnell made his feature-film debut in the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown playing opposite Debbie Reynolds. Though he has spent the bulk of his career on the stage, Presnell periodically appeared in other films through the '70s. After taking no film roles in the '80s, Presnell re-emerged in the Coen brothers' Fargo (1996) and continued to play character roles in films such as Julian Po (1997) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

Trivia: As an amateur in 1977, won mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Mary Carillo, and made the semifinals in singles. Won NCAA singles and team titles with Stanford in 1978, the year he also turned pro. Won first Grand Slam event in 1979 (U.S. Open). Won 10 singles events and 17 doubles events. Best year came in 1984, when he went 82-3 in matches, and won 13 singles titles. In his career, he won titles at four U.S. Opens and three Wimbledons, but lost to Bjorn Borg in 1980 in a final many call the best in Wimbledon history. Won 57 doubles titles with partner Peter Fleming. With his tennis career winding down, he opened an art gallery in Manhattan and started a rock group, the Johnny Smyth Band, in the 1990s. Starred in a TV game show (The Chair) and his own talk show (McEnroe). His 2002 autobiography, You Cannot Be Serious, was a best-seller. Continues to play tennis on senior tours.

Trivia: Comedian and actor Blake Clark grew up in Georgia and fought in the Vietnam War before hitting the small screen in the early 1980s in a string of guest starring spots on shows like M*A*S*H, Moonlighting, and St. Elmo's Fire. During this time, he was also featured in comedy specials on HBO, NBC, and ABC. The roles kept pouring in for the gruff-voiced actor, who landed a regular role on Home Improvement in 1994. He played Tim Taylor's friend Harry, who owned the hardware store where Tim spent much time and money. Clark also had recurring roles on The Drew Carey Show, The Jamie Foxx Show, and Boy Meets World (as Shawn's father, Chet). On the big screen, Clark became a favorite of Adam Sandler and was cast in many of his movies, including The Waterboy, Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds, and 50 First Dates. Clark also replaced the late Jim Varney as the voice of Slinky Dog in 2010's Toy Story 3.