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: 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: Wrote, directed and starred in the award-winning 2007 short film Centigrade. Has directed several music videos. Nominated for no less than 12 Leo Awards, a gala for the British Columbia film and television industry; nominated for two Gemini Awards in 2011. Plays tenor saxophone.

Trivia: A former contract player for MGM and 20th Century Fox during the '40s and '50s, Robert Lewis' greatest contribution came not from his performing career but from his ability to teach and direct the acting of others. In 1947, he, director Elia Kazan, and Cheryl Crawford co-founded the Actors Studio in New York. Lewis has also taught at the Group Theater, the Yale School of Drama, the Lincoln Center Training Program, and at his own Robert Lewis Theater Workshop. Many of the late 20th century's brightest stars, including Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Sally Field, Meryl Streep, Eli Wallach, Faye Dunaway, and John Garfield, have benefited from his tutelage.The New York City native launched his own acting career in 1929 when he joined Eva Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory Theater. While working at the Group Theater in 1931, Lewis became a staunch follower of Konstantin Stanislavsky's acting techniques, which are not to be confused with Lee Strasberg's Method, which Lewis felt represented a misinterpretation of Stanislavsky. In 1938, Lewis started his own acting studio. The following year, he made his Broadway directorial debut with a production of William Saroyan's My Heart's in the Highlands (1939). Lewis came to Hollywood in 1940 and after signing with Fox made his acting debut in Dragon Seed (1943). The highlight of Lewis' film career came when Charles Chaplin cast him as Maurice Botello in Monsieur Verdoux (1947). That year, Lewis went back to Broadway and became one of the Great White Way's most respected directors. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1991. That year, Kent State University established the Robert Lewis Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Theater Research in his honor.Lewis published three books. The first, Method -- or Madness? (1958), represented his take on Stanislavsky's teachings. The second, Advice to Players (1980), was a training guide for actors. His third, Slings and Arrows: Theater in My Life (1984), contained his memoirs. Lewis died of heart failure November 23, 1997, in New York at the age of 88.

Trivia: American actress Wendy Phillips has appeared in a few feature films of the '70s and '80s, but she primarily works on television. She made her film debut in the TV movies One of Our Own and Death Be Not Proud. From 1976 to 1977, she appeared regularly on the television series Executive Suite where she played the daughter. In 1977, Phillips appeared in her first feature film, Fraternity Row. In film, she earned acclaim for playing the wife of Robert De Niro in Midnight Run (1988) and for playing the wife of notorious gangster Bugsy Siegel in Bugsy (1991). As of 1996, Phillips was co-starring on the television series Promised Land.