Trivia: Renowned stage and screen actress Mary McDonnell graced East Coast stages for two decades before getting her major screen breakthrough in Dances with Wolves (1990). Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on April 28, 1952, McDonnell was raised in Ithaca, New York, and graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia. After a few seasons in regional repertory, she established herself on Broadway with such successful 1980s plays as The Heidi Chronicles. She made her film debut in 1984's Garbo Talks; three years later, she was showered with critical adulation for her portrayal of mining town landlady Elma Radnor in director John Sayles' Matewan. Further adulation and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination followed for McDonnell's portrayal of Stands with a Fist, a white woman raised by the Lakota Sioux, in Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990). One year later, she starred in the PBS "American Playhouse" dramatization of Willa Cather's O Pioneers!, and also did starring work as the wife of an immigration attorney (Kevin Kline) in Lawrence Kasdan's acclaimed Grand Canyon. Her film career has continued with roles in films big and small, ranging from Sayles' excellent Passion Fish (1992) to the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day to Kasdan's Mumford (1999), which cast McDonnell as a dissatisfied housewife with a mail order catalog obsession.

Trivia: Though he would return to higher education nearly three decades later, Texas native G.W. Bailey left college and spent the mid-'60s working at local theater companies. Determined to establish an acting career for himself, a young Bailey moved to California in the 1970s and worked in a variety of settings. From appearances on television's Starsky and Hutch and Charlie's Angels to stage productions of Shakespearian classics, Bailey, despite his lack of professional experience, proved a surprisingly versatile actor. He did not, however, attain significant mainstream recognition until 1981, when he was cast as pool-hall con artist Private Rizzo in CBS's long-running series M*A*S*H. The exposure led to five large supporting roles on a variety of feature-length television dramas, and ultimately, a very different type of performance all together: that of the imposing yet incompetent Lieutenant Harris in the lowbrow cop comedy Police Academy (1984). His Police Academy role was reprised as sequels were churned out in rapid succession, and he was cast as a similarly inept authority figure in 1987's Mannequin.Though the 1980s found Bailey immersed in fairly unmemorable film roles (mainly comedies and dark thrillers), he was able to forge a more than respectable resumé in the realm of television movies, including the popular Murder in Texas (NBC, 1981), On Our Way (CBS, 1985), Spy Games (ABC, 1991), and Dead Before Dawn (ABC, 1993). His television roles offered a G.W. Bailey quite unlike Lieutenant Harris, and he was able to develop a following and a steady reputation as a supporting actor. Eventually, he was able to add "college graduate" to his list of accomplishments, as his mid-'90s stint at Southwest Texas State University proved successful as well. In 2004, Bailey lent his vocal chords to Disney's animated musical Western Home on the Range.He was cast as Lt. Provenza on The Closer, a show that would be for a time the highest rated scripted program on basic cable, and he would stay on the show for its entire run.

Trivia: Supporting actor Anthony Denison has appeared onscreen since the '80s.

Trivia: Raised in Richmond, CA. Decided to pursue acting while in college. Stage debut came in 1977's The Year of the Dragon with the San Francisco-based Asian American Theatre Company. Appeared in the 1981 off-Broadway production of Family Devotions. Played Data's father in the 1985 film The Goonies. His first TV series was the 1994 syndicated drama Valley of the Dolls. Provided the voice for Jimmy Ho on Fox's animated comedy The PJs. Likes to ride, build and restore single-speed bikes.

Trivia: Grew up in East Los Angeles. Was inspired to take up acting after a school trip to see the classic film To Kill a Mockingbird. Made TV debut in 1987 and has appeared in guest or recurring roles in some 30 series, including Cagney & Lacey, Knots Landing, China Beach, The X-Files, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, NYPD Blue, 24, My Name Is Earl, Nip/Tuck and CSI: Miami. Was a regular on The Eddie Files, a Peabody Award-winning math-education program that aired on PBS stations in the late 1990s. Received a 2010 Saturn Award nomination for his role as psychotic drug dealer Tuco on Breaking Bad. Likes to build and ride motorcycles; a bike he owns appeared in a 2008 episode of The Closer.

Trivia: Fluent in German and Spanish. Worked as a Pan Am flight attendant and collects airplane memorabilia. Has a pilot's license. Enjoys renovating homes. Made his feature-film debut in the 2004 drama Role of a Lifetime. Best known for playing a surveillance expert on the hit police drama The Closer, starting in 2007.

Trivia: As a child, she was inspired by the mix of love and success depicted on The Cosby Show, prompting her to consider a career in medicine before focusing on acting. Trained as a gymnast. A Broadway veteran, appeared in such productions as Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway; Catch Me If You Can; Guys and Dolls; Sweet Charity; and Tarzan. Once described herself as "a little part Southern, a little part complete nerd, mixed with one part soccer mom."

Trivia: Developed a passion for acting after appearing in a production of The King and I at the 2000 French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts in Hancock, NY. After moving to New York with his family, landed a guest part in Law & Order: Criminal Intent and a role in Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door (2007), which was his big-screen debut. Was cast as Trent Pearson in The Bill Engvall Show after his first Hollywood audition.

Trivia: Character actor Jon Tenney has appeared on stage and in feature films, but he may be best known for his television work, notably for playing Patrol Sergeant Francis X. Donovan on Steven Bochco's short-lived police drama Brooklyn South. His film work includes Twilight of the Golds (1997), Fools Rush In (1997), and With Friends Like These... (1998). Tenney's interest in acting stems from early childhood and it developed further while he attended Vassar College, where he majored in drama and philosophy. Afterwards, he was accepted to Juilliard, where he was a standout student. He made his professional debut starring in a touring production of The Real Thing, directed by Mike Nichols. This led to his working steadily on and off Broadway, as well as in regional theater. His television credits include Equal Justice and Crime and Punishment. His made-for-television movie credits include Alone in the Neon Jungle (1987). Since 1994, Tenney has been married to popular television actress Teri Hatcher. He appeared in Kenneth Lonnergan's first film, You Can Count on Me, and Albert Brooks cast him in Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. In 2005 he was cast in the hit cable series The Closer as Agent Fritz Howard, and he would stay with that show for the next few years. He continued to work on the big screen in projects such as The Stepfather, Rabbit Hole, and Green Lantern.

Trivia: Laurie Holden took one of her first on-camera bows as a teenager, in Michael Anderson's sex farce Separate Vacations (1986), then forked off into a series of programmers that included the 1989 Burt Reynolds cop drama Physical Evidence; the 1996 historical saga The Pathfinder, based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper; and the 2004 animal picture Bailey's Billion$. Holden also found some success on the small screen, playing a memorable recurring role on the seminal sci-fi series The X-Files, that of Marita Covarrubias, a mysterious government worker who becomes an informant to Special Agent Fox Mulder starting in the fourth season of that show through the final one (1996-2002). She also had a supporting role, as Mary Travis, on the shortlived Western series The Magnificent Seven (1998-2000). Holden achieved her cinematic big break in 2001 -- when producers tapped her to appear as the sunny romantic interest of Jim Carrey in Frank Darabont's colossal fantasy The Majestic; Holden followed it up with an equally lucrative and exciting part in yet another A-list film: Debbie McIlvane in the effects-heavy summer blockbuster Fantastic Four (2005). She also essayed a prominant role, as a police woman, in the critically panned but fiscally successful horror opus Silent Hill (2006), adapted from the popular video game of the same title, and re-teamed with Darabont for both the 2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist (2007), and the hit AMC zombie series The Walking Dead. In addition to her film and television work, Holden is active with such children's charities as Planet Hope and Feed the Children.

Trivia: Born in 1972, Canadian actor Colin Ferguson began his career as a member of the improvisational troupe "On the Spot" in his native Montreal and helped found the Second City chapter in Detroit, MI, before making the leap to feature films in the late '90s. Early filmed projects included the features Rowing Through (1996) and Night Sins (1997) and the television miniseries More Tales of the City, as well as prominent roles in the celebrity-themed telemovie biopics Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story (2000) and Inside the Osmonds (2001). Ferguson is best known, however, for his ongoing lead role as Sheriff Jack Carter on the popular Sci-Fi Channel series Eureka (2006). In the years to come, Ferguson would continue to appear on screen, appearing in movies like Life's a Beach.

Trivia: Family is Jewish.Dreamed of becoming a cardiac surgeon before pursuing a career in acting.Trained in acting with esteemed acting coach Lesly Kahn and attended the Harvey Lembeck Comedy Workshop.Has played with his former General Hospital co-stars Steve Burton, Bradford Anderson and Scott Reeves in the rock group Port Chuck.A soap opera regular himself, he also portrayed Melrose Place star Thomas Calabro in the Lifetime TV movie The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story in 2015.

Trivia: Born into the Carradine family of actors including dad Robert, uncle Keith, and grandfather John, Ever Carradine switched her major at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, from anthropology to theater. Graduating in 1996, she found quick work doing bit parts on television shows from Diagnosis Murder to Tracy Takes On. After a reoccurring role on the series Conrad Bloom, she gained the role of the airhead Pepper on NBC's Veronica's Closet in 1997. It wasn't long until she was playing Rosalie on Party of Five and Tiffany on Once and Again. Following a couple of made-for-TV movies, she moved on to feature films with the David Spade comedy Lost & Found. She then appeared in the mainstream comedies Bubble Boy and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and got some bigger roles in independent films such as Ropewalk, as well as a role on the primetime series Lucky. In 2002, she starred as Beth in the ABC series Couples about a group of Los Angeles couples in their early thirties. Carradine continued to find success on the small screen throughout the mid-2000s, including the prime-time political drama Commander in Chief (2005), detective show Women's Murder Club (2007), and the Fox network's long-running hit 24 (2009).

Trivia: Moved from Uruguay to America with his parents at 10 years old. Joined a touring company of Torch Song Trilogy at 18 years old. Made his Broadway debut as a replacement in Spoils of War in 1988. Served as an Obama Celebrity Surrogate for the 2012 Presidential Campaign. Received a Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award in 2013. Serves as the West Coast development consultant for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Trivia: Was originally a music major at the High School of Performing Arts in New York. First professional acting job was in an off-Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest after graduating from high school. Is the first cousin of Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. The play for which he won an NAACP Theater Award, Indigo Blues, was written by his wife, Michele. Learned to play drums for the 2009 cable movie Flying By.