Trivia: It took versatile actor James Belushi several years to slowly come into his own, which wasn't an easy task following in the fiery footsteps of his flamboyant, self-destructive brother, the late comic John Belushi. Despite that obstacle, the easy-going actor with the crooked smile still managed to forge a respectable career playing co-leads in a variety of film genres, including comedy, action, and drama in roles ranging from a sleazeball thief to a cop to a party animal in a gorilla suit. Prior to his first television appearances, the Chicago-born actor earned a degree in Speech and Theater, and worked on-stage in The Pirates of Penzance and True West. Like John, James joined the notorious Second City improvisational comedy group. He also began making regular guest appearances on Saturday Night Live, where his brother became famous in the mid-'70s. Making his feature film debut playing James Caan's calm partner in 1981's Thief, James Belushi began acting under John Landis (who also directed his brother) in Trading Places (1983). He continued playing supporting roles and occasional leads -- most notably in Oliver Stone's Salvador with James Woods in 1986 -- but his big break came when he played a bad cop in 1988's Red Heat with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was equally popular in K-9 the following year. Although his subsequent films were not as successful, Belushi continued to grow as a dramatic actor. In 2001, Belushi began headlining the successful ABC sitcom According to Jim.

Trivia: Blonde, slim, and polished television actress Courtney Thorne-Smith first appeared as Stacy Hamilton on Fast Times, the television series spin-off of the successful teen movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. She made her film debut in the sports comedy Lucas, which also starred the rising young stars Winona Ryder, Corey Haim, and Charlie Sheen. When she did work on films, they were mostly lightweight comedies like Welcome to 18, Summer School, and Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise. Back on television, she appeared in the short-lived sitcom Day by Day and some TV movies before joining the cast of L.A. Law as Kimberly Dugan. Staying with TV dramas, she played Alison on the FOX soap opera Melrose Place from 1992-1997, and then she joined the cast of Ally McBeal and its truncated spawn Ally as Georgia Thomas. She also appeared in the Carrot Top movie Chairman of the Board. After a few guest-starring roles on Spin City, she moved over to ABC for the family sitcom According to Jim as Jim Belushi's wife, Cheryl.

Trivia: Though she worked consistently throughout the 1990s, Kimberly Williams made her biggest impression on movie audiences as the sweet ingenue in the remake of Father of the Bride (1991). Raised in New York, Williams began acting in commercials as a teenager. During her second year at Northwestern University, Williams got her feature film break when she was cast as protective father Steve Martin's soon-to-be-married daughter Annie in the (slightly) modernized version of the popular 1950s comedy Father of the Bride. Though the movie became a hit, Williams chose to finish college rather than head immediately to Hollywood, appearing only in the gentle nostalgia piece Indian Summer (1993) before she earned her degree. After school, Williams reunited with screen parents Martin and Diane Keaton to play the now-expectant mother Annie in the genial sequel Father of the Bride II (1995). Moving beyond gentle, crowd-pleasing comedy, Williams co-starred with TV heartthrob Jason Priestley in the hitman black comedy Coldblooded (1995), played Emilio Estevez's sister in the Vietnam drama The War at Home (1996), and appeared in the TV version of the Neil Simon play Jake's Women (1995). Williams' doe-eyed earnestness also won over a cadre of fans when she was cast as the female lead in the Edward Zwick/Marshall Herskovitz series Relativity in 1996, but the critically acclaimed show lasted only one season. Along with acting in Broadway and off-Broadway plays in the late '90s, Williams also played the young Sharon Stone in the film version of Sam Shepard's Simpatico (1999), joined the ensemble cast of the romantic comedy Just a Little Harmless Sex (1999), and starred as a contemporary young woman transported to fairytale land in the splashy NBC miniseries The 10th Kingdom (2000). That assignment seemed prophetic in retrospect, for Williams subsequently gravitated toward television projects and away from the big screen; she played Dana, sister-in-law of the titular suburbanite (Jim Belushi) on the popular ABC sitcom According to Jim (2001), and also began accepting leads in longform features. The majority of these projects constituted sentimental, family-friendly melodramas, such as the 2001 Follow the Stars Home (with Williams as a young woman deserted by her husband after she gives birth to a deformed baby) and the 2002 outing The Christmas Shoes (as a mother dying of congenital heart failure). Also in 2002, Williams turned up in Rodrigo García's drama Ten Tiny Love Stories, as one of several characters who deliver heartfelt monologues on their romantic lives. She married country singer Brad Paisley in 2003 and they have two children. Her film and television career includes Identity Theft, How to Eat Fried Worms, Eden Court, and Amish Grace.

Trivia: Perhaps one of the most instantly recognizable -- yet seemingly unidentifiable -- character actors to have succeeded in Hollywood, Stephen Tobolowsky's non-movie star looks have enabled the native Texan to portray a wider variety of characters more conventional movie stars simply could not. Born and raised in Dallas, Tobolowsky attended Southern Methodist University for his undergraduate degree and went on to earn a Master's degree in acting from the University of Illinois. While at S.M.U., the young Tobolowsky won his first film role in a low-budget horror film entitled Keep My Grave Open. Soon after finishing his studies, he went west to Los Angeles and started working somewhat consistently in both television and film in the early '80s -- while gaining some notice for his work in the films Swing Shift and Mississippi Burning. After toiling on the West Coast for a few years, Tobolowsky became a bi-coastal star with a role in a 1981 Broadway production of Beth Henley's play The Wake of Jamey Foster. In 1986, he collaborated with Henley -- who also happened to be a fellow student of Tobolowsky's during his undergraduate studies at S.M.U. -- and David Byrne to co-write the script for Byrne's 1986 film True Stories. The multi-talented thespian then went on to write and direct his own play, Two Idiots in Hollywood, which he also turned into a film in 1988. The early '90s brought Tobolowsky his greatest exposure to the movie-going public, with a number of diverse and interesting roles that highlighted the actor's great range and skill -- nearly to the extent of upstaging these films' higher-profile stars. Perhaps the most prototypical Tobolowsky characterization can be found in the 1993 Harold Ramis comedy Groundhog Day, in which Tobolowsky portrayed the hapless insurance salesman Ned Ryerson. Other memorable performances from this decade include Thelma & Louise, Basic Instinct, Sneakers, and The Radioland Murders. Tobolowsky continued creating endearing characters into the 2000s, starting with Christopher Nolan's indy hit Memento. As amnesiac Sammy Jankis, Tobolowsky created one of the most powerful dramatic performances of his career. His next significant film role came via the 2002 Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman film Adaptation, which further displayed the nearly chameleon-like actor's range and talent that make him one of the best character actors in the industry. In the years to come, Tobolowsky would remain active on screen, appearing on shows like Glee and Californication.