Trivia: Though known mainly for his role as complicated police officer Vic Mackey on F/X's television cop drama The Shield, Massachusetts native Michael Chiklis has been acting professionally since the age of 13, when he made several appearances at the Town and Country Playhouse in Salem, NH. From there, Chiklis enlisted in a variety of classical, occasionally Shakespearian theatrical productions at the prestigious Merrimack Repertory Theatre and ultimately studied acting in the drama program at Boston University's College of Fine Arts. After graduating, Chiklis traveled to New York and began the auditioning process. In 1988, he was picked to portray John Belushi in the feature film Wired, though litigation and controversy delayed the release and proper promotional process, and the picture itself was a wretched mess (not to mention a depressing affair).By 1991, after making guest appearances in some of the most popular sitcoms of the time (Murphy Brown, L.A. Law, and Seinfeld, to name a few), Chiklis was cast as amiable police commissioner Tony Scali on ABC's The Commish. Though a few extra pounds at that time helped him land the role after his audition, his subsequent weight loss required him to wear a "fat suit" to remain in character (though the actor was only in his mid-twenties, series producers created the role for someone much older). When The Commish ceased to be after a five-year run, Chiklis took on a small role in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995) and starred in the ill-fated NBC sitcom Daddio (2000). Two years later, the series premiere of The Shield catapulted Chiklis back into the forefront of network success. His role on the popular series would bring him two Best Actor nominations from the Golden Globes, as well as one from the Screen Actor's Guild.Chiklis contented himself with this part for several years, but in 2005, he returned to cinematic ventures and went big budget with the FX-laden summer extravaganza Fantastic Four. This film - like the famous Stan Lee comic strip - concerns a group of individuals who journey into outer space to investigate a cosmic storm, and find each of their DNA codes altered in a unique way; one by one, they become The Human Torch, The Thing, The Invisible Girl, and Mr. Fantastic (four superheroes, each of whom has a unique power) -- and must collectively take on the seemingly invincible Doctor Doom (Julian McMahon). Chiklis plays The Thing (nee Ben Grimm), a creature made entirely of stone. Though broadly derided in the press, the public ignored the negative critical responses and helped The Fantastic Four reel in an estimated worldwide gross of around $330 million -- paving the way for a 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The Shield would end its run in 2008, but that same year, Chiklis signed for a supporting role in director D.J. Caruso's psychological thriller Eagle Eye. He was soon back on the small screen, however, with a starring role on the short-lived comedy series No Ordinary Family.

Trivia: American character actor Jon Cypher is best known to daytime-drama devotees as Dr. Alex Keith on CBS' As the World Turns. Those who prefer NBC's soap-opera lineup will recognize Cypher as Dr. Arthur Donnelly on Santa Barbara. In the nighttime TV hours, the actor has been seen as such self-important characters as Chief Fletcher P. Daniels on Hill Street Blues (1981-1987), Jeff Munson on Knot's Landing (1982-1983 season), and Maj. Gen. Marcus Craig on Major Dad (1990-1993). Jon Cypher has also played similarly authoritative roles in his film work, beginning with his portrayal of land baron Frank Tanner in 1971's Valdez Is Coming.

Trivia: Petite brunette leading lady Theresa Saldana made her first film appearance in 1978's I Wanna Hold Your Hand. In 1980, Saldana was seen as Jake LaMotta's sister-in-law in Raging Bull and as Sophia Loren's sister Maria in the made-for-TV Sophia Loren: Her Own Story. That same year, she showed up in a traditional woman-in-peril role in Defiance. One of the most fervent fans of that film was a drifter by the name of Arthur Richard Jackson, who couldn't stand the thought of his beloved Saldana (whom he'd never met) being subjected to danger and evil. Reportedly, he decided then and there to "save" the actress by killing her himself. On March 15, 1982, Saldana was assaulted and nearly stabbed to death by Jackson. After a long and traumatic recuperation period, she organized Victims for Victims, a support group for other people who'd survived near-fatal attacks from "devoted admirers." Her own story was dramatized in the 1984 TV movie Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story, in which she played herself. More recently, Theresa Saldana co-starred as Rachel Scale, wife of the title character, in the 1990s TV series The Commish, and hosted the Lifetime Cable Network "reality" series Confessions of Crime (1991). Saldana retired from acting in 2004; she passed away in 2016 at age 61.

Trivia: Along with attracting fans as a member of Canada's famed sketch comedy troupe the Kids in the Hall and for his stint on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show, Scott Thompson has also made his comic presence felt in the movies. Raised in Brampton, Ontario, Thompson headed to York University to study drama. He was asked to leave after his third year due to his "disruptive presence," so he began to hone his skills on the improv and stand-up comedy circuit instead. After meeting Mark McKinney in 1984, Thompson joined the Kids in the Hall, easily meshing with their outrageous humor. Though he appeared in several movies during his years with the Kids, including the science fiction yarn Millennium (1989) and the horror comedy Popcorn (1990), Thompson and his cohorts became TV stars when their series The Kids in the Hall began broadcasting in 1989. During the show's five-year run, Thompson was famous for such characters as Queen Elizabeth, Danny Husk, and the controversially bitchy gay bar owner/philosopher Buddy Cole. After the show ended in 1994, Thompson appeared in the pseudo-documentary about a porn actor/director, Super 8 1/2 (1994), and joined the other Kids for the troupe's feature debut Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996). Though the drug culture spoof included inspired moments of Kids lunacy, particularly Thompson's spectacular "coming out" musical number, Brain Candy failed at the box office and the Kids disbanded. Thompson, though, had already scored a role on another highly esteemed TV series in 1995, Garry Shandling's mercilessly funny Hollywood satire The Larry Sanders Show. During his three seasons as Hank's Jeffrey Tambor personal assistant. Brian, Thompson also played a horrific assistant to a deplorable producer in the Tinsel Town comedy Hijacking Hollywood (1997) and appeared in the miniseries Armistead Maupin's More Tales of the City (1998). After The Larry Sanders Show went off the air in 1998, Thompson began to work again with his Kids in the Hall colleagues, co-authoring Buddy Babylon: The Autobiography of Buddy Cole with Paul Bellini in 1998, and playing a role in Brain Candy director Kelly Makin's Mob comedy Mickey Blue Eyes (1999). The Kids in the Hall officially reunited for a 2000 tour, but Thompson also continued to pursue non-Kids projects, including his own Internet series Scottland and acting in Amy Heckerling's presciently titled college comedy Loser (2000).