Trivia: The daughter of a Kosher frozen-food distributor, American actress Debra Winger dropped out of high school at 16 in order to join an Israeli kibbutz. Upon returning to the U.S., she studied criminology and sociology at California State University, but before long she had dropped out and became a tour guide at the Magic Mountain amusement park. A serious accident suffered on the job at age 18 gave Winger time to contemplate her future, and it was then that she settled upon an acting career. Her first taste of fame was as the superpowered younger sister of Lynda Carter in the fantasy TV series Wonder Woman. But Winger chafed at the impositions placed on her by tight TV filming schedules and she retreated to theatrical films, where she made a most inauspicious debut in the award-losing Slumber Party '57 (1977). Winger became a full-fledged audience favorite for her peppery role opposite John Travolta in Urban Cowboy (1980), which led to the most famous of her "working-class" roles in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). Already balking at the "Hollywood Game," Winger made no secret of her discomfort in that film's famous nude love scene, nor of her failure to truly connect with co-star Richard Gere. The actress' next truly important part was as Shirley MacLaine's foredoomed daughter in Terms of Endearment (1983). Her resultant Terms performance was so good that it warranted an Oscar nomination. Winger never again had a box-office success to match Terms of Endearment, though she remained a darling of the film critics for her work in such little-seen epics as Mike's Murder (1984) and Black Widow (1986). As the actress' star stature diminished, media scrutiny of her private life increased thanks to her romance with Nebraska governor Robert Kerrey. Winger's roles became fewer and more unorthodox as she continued to seek out acting challenges -- never more so than when she popped up in a lengthy, unbilled male part (complete with goatee) in Made in Heaven (1987), which starred her then-husband, Timothy Hutton. Winger continued to appear in high-profile but low-grossing films into the 1990s, delighting critics and fans in such films as The Sheltering Sky (1990) and Shadowlands (1993). Winger missed out on appearing in one of the most profitable films of the 1990s when she was replaced by Geena Davis in A League of Their Own (1993); it was not temperament but personal injuries and a recurring back ailment that prevented Winger from participating in two other major moneymakers, Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and Bull Durham (1988). She did appear opposite Billy Crystal in the romantic comedy Forget Paris. As the 21st century began, Winger starred in and produced Big Bad Love, and the next year she was the subject of Searching for Debra Winger, a fascinating documentary about how actresses balance their lives and their career. She went on to appear in Radio, Rachel Getting Married, the third season of the HBO drama In Treatment, and the 2012 comedy Lola Versus.

Trivia: His first play, Killer Joe, premiered in a 40-seat theatre outside Chicago before eventually transferring to an off-Broadway theatre and London's West End. Joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's acting ensemble in 2002. Won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County. Father Dennis Letts originated the role of August: Osage County patriarch Beverly Weston. The only person to have won a Tony Award for acting and a Pulitzer Prize.

Trivia: The embodiment of the line "when Irish eyes are smiling, they're up to something bad," Aidan Gillen oozed ruthless charisma and wicked sex appeal in his role as the sexually prolific Stuart Alan Jones in the 1999 British TV series Queer As Folk. Bringing wry humor and understatement to a potentially over-the-top role, Gillen earned a reputation as one of the U.K.'s most compulsively watchable new performers.Born in Dublin, Gillen got his professional start in the late '80s, appearing in minor film roles. He worked steadily through the 1990s, in film and on television, popping up in such diverse offerings as Circle of Friends (1995), Some Mother's Son (1996), and Jez Butterworth's Mojo (1997). His major breakthrough role was inarguably that of Queer As Folk's Stuart, an arrogant, vain, and thoroughly sexy PR executive who strips countless men of both their clothing and resistance. The success of the controversial miniseries ensured that it -- and its talented actors -- would be back for a second go-round, which followed in 2000. That same year, Gillen found accompanying acclaim on the big screen, in Jamie Thraves' acclaimed directorial debut The Low Down, in which he starred as an amiable but frustrated commercial artist whose life changes when he meets a radiant, ambitious woman. He appeared in both My Kingdom and Lorna Doone, as well as the action comedy Shanghai Knights before joining the cast of the revered HBO series The Wire in that show's third season. When his time on that program came to a close he was in the action film 12 Rounds, and then was cast in the series Identity.

Trivia: A versatile actress who can bring a keen emotional edge to either comic or dramatic roles, Melora Walters is best known for her work with director Paul Thomas Anderson, who, more than anyone, seems to have known how to best utilize her gifts onscreen. Melora Walters began her career in acting doing off-Broadway theater in New York before she began to make a name for herself in television, in 1989 scoring a small recurring role as Debbi on the popular sitcom Roseanne. After making her film debut in an undistinguished low-budget thriller, 1988's Underground Terror, Walters earned her Screen Actors Guild card for her work as Gloria in the 1989 hit Dead Poets Society. Over the next several years, Walters made a number of appearances on episodic television shows, including such hits as The Wonder Years, Seinfeld, and NYPD Blue, while playing small roles in several forgettable films, as well as occasional high-profile items such as Cabin Boy, Ed Wood, Eraser, and the critically respected indie film Twenty Bucks. In 1996, Walters was cast in a small role in a little-seen independent film called Hard Eight. However, the film's director, first-time feature filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, was impressed enough to cast her in a much meatier role in his second feature. Walters played Jessie St. Vincent, a soft-hearted second-string porn actress in the breakthrough hit Boogie Nights, and the film made a name for both Anderson and Walters. Walters' new notoriety helped her land a regular role as Felicity on the television drama series L.A. Doctors, but the show only lasted a single season. Thankfully, Anderson once again had plans for Walters, and cast her as Claudia, a cocaine-addled woman on the verge of emotional collapse in Magnolia; hers was one of the strongest performances in one of the year's most eagerly anticipated films, and the critical response to her intense portrayal led to a string of leading roles in independent films, including Rain, Desert Saints, and Jupiter City. She continued to work steadily, bouncing between Hollywood projects and indie fare like Wisegirls, Runaway Jury, Cold Mountain, Melvin Goes to Dinner, and The Butterfly Effect. In 2006 she was cast in the HBO drama series Big Love as Wanda Hendricks. After her run on that show came to an end, she could be seen in I Melt With You, and she made cameo in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master.

Trivia: Travelled widely with her parents as a child, living in New York and attending school in Trinidad and Tobago. Thought she'd botched her audition for Skins because she was so timid in the group scene she'd been asked to perform, but the producers liked her reticence and cast her as Grace. Was pursued by real police officers after shooting a loud shoplifting scene for Skins at a Bristol shopping centre. The production crew had to intervene on her behalf to prevent her arrest.