Trivia: While his police-chief father wanted him to become a soccer player, Austrian-born actor Arnold Schwarzenegger opted instead for a bodybuilding career. Born July 30, 1947, in the small Austrian town of Graz, Schwarzenegger went on to win several European contests and international titles (including Mr. Olympia) and then came to the U.S. for body-building exhibitions, billing himself immodestly but fairly accurately as "The Austrian Oak." Though his thick Austrian accent and slow speech patterns led some to believe that the Austrian Oak was shy a few leaves, Schwarzenegger was, in fact, a highly motivated and intelligent young man. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in business and economics, he invested his contest earnings in real estate and a mail-order bodybuilding equipment company.A millionaire before the age of 22, Schwarzenegger decided to try acting. Producers were impressed by his physique but not his mouthful of a last name, so it was as Arnold Strong that he made his film bow in the low-budget spoof Hercules in New York (1970, with a dubbed voice). He reverted to his own name for the 1976 film Stay Hungry, then achieved stardom as "himself" in the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron. In The Villain (1979), a cartoon-like Western parody, he played "Handsome Stranger," exhibiting a gift for understated comedy that would more or less go unexploited for many years thereafter. With Conan the Barbarian (1982) and its sequel, Conan the Destroyer (1984), the actor established himself as an action star, though his acting was backtracking into two-dimensionality (understandably, given the nature of the Conan role). As the murderous android title character in The Terminator (1984), Schwarzenegger became a bona fide box-office draw, and also established his trademark of coining repeatable catchphrases in his films: "I'll be back," in Terminator, "Consider this a divorce," in Total Recall (1990), and so on.As Danny De Vito's unlikely pacifistic sibling in Twins (1988), Schwarzenegger received the praise of critics who noted his "unsuspected" comic expertise (quite forgetting The Villain). In Kindergarten Cop (1991), Schwarzenegger played a hard-bitten police detective who found his true life's calling as a schoolteacher (his character was a cop only because it was expected of him by his policeman father, which could have paralleled his own life). Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), wherein Schwarzenegger exercised his star prerogative and insisted that the Terminator become a good guy, was the most expensive film ever made up to its time -- and one of the biggest moneymakers. The actor's subsequent action films were equally as costly; sometimes the expenditures paid off, while other times the result was immensely disappointing -- for the box-office disappointment Last Action Hero (1992), Schwarzenegger refreshingly took full responsibility, rather than blaming the failure on his production crew or studio as other "superstars" have been known to do.A rock-ribbed Republican despite his marriage to JFK's niece, Maria Shriver (with whom he has four children), Schwarzenegger was appointed by George Bush in 1990 as chairman of the President's Council of Physical Fitness and Sports, a job he took as seriously and with as much dedication as any of his films. A much-publicized investment in the showbiz eatery Planet Hollywood increased the coffers in Schwarzenegger's already bulging bank account. Schwarzenegger then added directing to his many accomplishments, piloting a few episodes of the cable-TV series Tales From the Crypt as well as a 1992 remake of the 1945 film Christmas in Connecticut.Schwarzenegger bounced back from the disastrous Last Action Hero with 1994's True Lies, which, despite its mile-wide streak of misogyny and its gaping plot and logic holes, was one of the major hits of that summer's movie season. Following the success of True Lies, Schwarzenegger went back to doing comedy with Junior, co-starring with Emma Thompson and his old Twins accomplice Danny De Vito. The film met with critically mixed results, although it fared decently at the box office. Undeterred, Schwarzenegger continued down the merry, if treacherous, path of alternating action with comedy with 1996's Eraser and Jingle All the Way, the latter of which proved to be both a critical bomb and a box-office disappointment. In a move that suggested he had realized that audiences wanted him back in the world of assorted weaponry and explosives, Schwarzenegger returned to the action realm with 1997's Batman & Robin, which unfortunately proved to be a huge critical disappointment, although, in the tradition of most Schwarzenegger action films, it did manage to gross well over 100 million dollars at the box office and over 130 million dollars more the world over.The turn of the century found Schwarzenegger's star losing some of its luster with a pair of millennial paranoia films, 1999's End of Days and 2000's The 6th Day. The former film -- in which a security consultant has to save the world from Satan -- was critically lambasted and, despite a powerful opening weekend, failed to recoup its cost in the States. The latter film -- a cloning parable which bore more than a passing resemblance to Total Recall -- received more positive notices, but took in less than half the receipts Days did just one year prior. Perhaps as a response to these failures, Schwarzenegger prepped three films reminiscent of former successes, all scheduled for release in 2001 and 2002: the terrorist action thriller Collateral Damage, True Lies 2, and the long-anticipated Terminator 3. Though Collateral Damage received a chilly reception at the box office and the development of True Lies 2 fell into question, longtime fans of the cigar-chomping strongman rejoiced when Arnold resumed his role as a seriously tough cyborg in Terminator 3. Though he made a cameo in director Frank Coraci's adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days, Arnold's most notable role of the new millenium was political -- Schwarzenegger replaced Gray Davis as governor of California in the highly controversial recall election of 2003.In 2010, Schwarzenegger played the character of Trench in The Expendables, an action thriller following a group of tough-as-nails mercinaries as they deal with the aftermath of a mission gone wrong, and reprised the role for The Expendables 2 in 2012.

Trivia: Forest Whitaker attended college on a football scholarship, then, interested in Opera, transferred to U.S.C. on two more scholarships to study Music and Theater. He landed small roles on television and in two films, beginning with Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). He got his big break when he appeared in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money (both 1986). After a few more supporting roles, Whitaker got his first lead in Clint Eastwood's Bird (1988), in which he played the title role -- heroin-addicted jazz great Charlie Parker, a performance which won him the 1988 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award. Although now better-known as an lead actor, he was unable to greatly capitalize on his success and remained primarily a supporting player in films. He is the older brother of actor Damon Whitaker.

Trivia: Johnny Knoxville became both a beloved goofball and a lightning rod for controversy as soon as his signature TV show, Jackass, premiered on MTV in 2000. The show, which featured Knoxville and his friends executing a variety of stupid pranks and dangerous stunts, made an instant star of its hip, easygoing, developmentally arrested host, who was quickly signed on for a variety of film projects. However, its subject matter of foolish bicycle jumps, gross eating feats, and pepper spray testing drew the ire of concerned parents whose children were hurting themselves trying to imitate their hero.Knoxville was born Philip John Clapp in Knoxville, TN, on March 11, 1971, son of a used car salesman. At age eight, the asthmatic suffered a simultaneous bout of flu, pneumonia, and bronchitis that nearly killed him. Knoxville would later joke that surviving this period convinced him he was invincible, making possible his future vocation as a performer who would injure himself for laughs. Knoxville had originally planned to go into acting through normal channels, attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, CA. However, it was while writing for a skateboarding magazine called Big Brother that Knoxville got his big break. Working on a story about self-defense equipment, Knoxville agreed to let magazine editor Jeff Tremaine film him testing the devices on himself. Hence, Jackass was born, with Tremaine, Knoxville, and director Spike Jonze serving as co-creators. MTV won a bidding war with Comedy Central, and the show became a hit -- one quickly festooned with warning labels not to try this at home.After a role in the little-seen indie Desert Blues (1995) (credited as Phillip John) and a blink-and-you'll-miss-him appearance in Coyote Ugly (2000), Knoxville was offered a string of film roles following the success of Jackass, as well as a stint on Saturday Night Live, which he turned down. However, his cinematic coming-out party was delayed when Big Trouble, which featured a nuclear weapon smuggled aboard a commercial airplane, was pushed back indefinitely due to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. In 2001, he was also cast in the smaller films The Tree, The Ranger, and Life Without Dick, in which he plays the title character. As if one Knoxville wasn't enought to keep fans in stitches, the death-defying funnyman turned up as a two-headed alien in Men in Black II before taking his small screen antics to the silver screen, unrestrained by the restrictions of television, in Jackass: The Movie (both 2002). Though to this point Knoxville's fairly minimal film roles (of course excluding Jackass: The Movie) called for any true acting ability, increasingly prominant roles in such efforts as Grand Theft Parsons (2003) and Walking Tall (2004) found the likeable Jackass successfully developing a notable film career. Following a supporting performance alongside wrestler-turned-actor in Walking Tall, Knoxville landed a role in self-described "Prince of Puke" director John Waters' Baltimore-based comedy A Dirty Shame. In 2005 Knoxville made two big attempts to court the mainstream, though neither struck box office gold. He starred as Luke Duke in the big-screen version of The Dukes of Hazzard, and was the lead in the comedy The Ringer, where he played a man who pretended to be disabled so he could compete in the Special Olympics. He reteamed with the Jackass crew for a second feature film playfully titled Jackass: Number Two.In the years to follow, Knoxville would do more and more conventional acting, appearing in movies like The Ringer and Nature Calls, as well as writing and producing projects like The Dudesons in America.

Trivia: A well-respected character actor who specializes in playing tough guys with a heart, Luis Guzman has appeared in a dizzying array of film and television productions since he began his professional acting career in the early 1980s.Born August 28, 1956, Guzman graduated from City College and worked for some years as a youth counselor at the Henry Street Settlement House. During his time as a social worker, he began performing in street theatre and independent films. Guzman got his first big break in the early '80s with a role on the popular TV series Miami Vice. He went on to work sporadically in film and television throughout the rest of the decade, appearing in such films as Sidney Lumet's Family Business and Ridley Scott's Black Rain (both 1989).Guzman's work schedule grew increasingly crowded as the 1990s progressed; kicking off the decade with an appearance in another Lumet piece, Q & A (1990), the actor began popping up in films ranging from romantic comedy (Anthony Minghella's Mr. Wonderful, 1993) to crime drama (Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way, 1993) to gay and lesbian historical docudrama (Nigel Finch's Stonewall, 1995). Thanks to directors Steven Soderbergh and Paul Thomas Anderson, Guzman became more readily recognizable in the late 1990s. For Soderbergh, he had substantial roles in Out of Sight (1998), which cast him as a prisoner whose planned escape is ruined by George Clooney; and The Limey (1999), in which he played Terence Stamp's gruff but good-hearted partner in revenge. For Anderson, Guzman appeared in both Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999), playing a wannabe porn star in the former and a game show contestant in the latter. 2002 proved Guzman's busiest year to date as the increasingly visible actor appeared in no less than five films, including a prominant role in the caper comedy Welcome to Collinwood and a re-teaming with director Anderson with Punch-Drunk Love. On television, Guzman became a regular presence thanks to a recurring role on the HBO prison drama Oz, as well as appearances on such shows as Law and Order, NYPD Blue, and Walker, Texas Ranger.

Trivia: Because she couldn't sing well and her high school performed a lot of musicals, a teacher asked her to quit the theater group. Was one of a few girls on her high-school wrestling team. Appeared in the 2009 music video "Save You" by Matthew Perryman Jones. Portrays Han Solo in the 2010 web series Ultradome, in which she battles Indiana Jones to determine the best Harrison Ford character. Provides the voice of Sif in the 2011 video game Thor: God of Thunder. Her audition for 2011's Thor was conducted via Skype with director Kenneth Branagh, who was in Sweden at the time. Has the initials of her four brothers tattooed on her right arm.

Trivia: Brazilian-born actor Rodrigo Santoro discovered his interest in performing, like a lot of actors, while he was still a teenager. He would sometimes travel from his suburban home to nearby Rio de Janeiro for auditions, though his efforts wouldn't pay off until he'd already moved to the city. He was in his first semester of college when he was cast in a Brazilian soap opera, which he worked on while still living in the dorms. Santoro continued to work in his home country, soon transitioning to the big screen, where he gained more and more fame, as well as critical respect. Then, in 2003, Canadian producer Robert Allan Ackerman contacted Santoro after seeing him give such impressive performances in Brazilian cinema. Ackerman offered him a role in his TV movie The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, starring Helen Mirren, Anne Bancroft, and Brian Dennehy. Santoro jumped at the chance to work with such great actors and hopefully transition into North American film, and sure enough, after filming wrapped, he was offered a role in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Next, he played the office mate and potential love interest of Laura Linney in Love Actually, and by 2007, Santoro had a major role in one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, playing Xerxes, king of Persia, in the action-packed 300. Santoro also joined the third season of the hit prime-time drama series Lost in 2006, but protective fans of the show didn't take well to the addition of a new character, so his tenure with the series was short.

Trivia: A native of Evanston, IL, actor Zach Gilford attended the prestigious college of his hometown, Northwestern University. Eager to try his hand at professional acting after graduating, he started his career out strong when he was cast in the role of Matt Saracen on the popular series Friday Night Lights, a show based on the movie of the same name, about a small town in Texas where high-school football is among the most important things in life. After that show ended its four-year run, Gilford could be seen in Super, The River Why, Answers to Nothing, and In Our Nature.

Trivia: Her parents named her after the British rock band Genesis. Began school at the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart when she was only 2-and-a-half. During her early acting days, she had a recurring role on Days of Our Lives, as Becky Ferrer. In 2014, was named in a list of 8 Young Women Poised to Take Over Hollywood by Elle magazine. Is fluent in both Spanish and English and has had many roles on both American and Spanish television shows. Has done work as a L'Oreal Paris USA brand ambassador.

Trivia: Rough-cut character actor Chris Browning specialized in portrayals of rugged, earthy types, with a heavy emphasis on westerns and war dramas. After making appearances on such small-screen programs as Hardball, Wildfire, and In the House during the 1990s, Browning broke into features; his credits included James Mangold's psychological western remake 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Michael Salomon's road comedy Beer for My Horses (2008), and Kevin Bray's crime thriller Linewatch.

Trivia: Earned a scholarship to St. John's College.While in college, started training in mixed martial arts.Is a former MMA fighter.Owner of Undisputed Fitness, a gym in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that specializes in empowerment.Owner of Caveman Coffee.Host of the podcast The Tait Fletcher Show.

Trivia: A perpetually haggard character actor with hound-dog eyes and the rare ability to alternate between menace and earnest at a moment's notice, Harry Dean Stanton has proven one of the most enduring and endearing actors of his generation. From his early days riding the range in Gunsmoke and Rawhide to a poignant turn in David Lynch's uncharacteristically sentimental drama The Straight Story, Stanton can always be counted on to turn in a memorable performance no matter how small the role. A West Irvine, KY, native who served in World War II before returning stateside to attend the University of Kentucky, it was while appearing in a college production of Pygmalion that Stanton first began to realize his love for acting. Dropping out of school three years later to move to California and train at the Pasadena Playhouse, Stanton found himself in good company while training alongside such future greats as Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall. A stateside tour with the American Male Chorus and a stint in New York children's theater found Stanton continuing to hone his skills, and after packing his bags for Hollywood shortly thereafter, numerous television roles were quick to follow. Billed Dean Stanton in his early years and often carrying the weight of the screen baddie, Stanton gunned down the best of them in numerous early Westerns before a soulful turn in Cool Hand Luke showed that he was capable of much more. Though a role in The Godfather Part II offered momentary cinematic redemption, it wasn't long before Stanton was back to his old antics in the 1976 Marlon Brando Western The Missouri Breaks. After once again utilizing his musical talents as a country & western singer in The Rose (1979) and meeting a gruesome demise in the sci-fi classic Alien, roles in such popular early '80s efforts as Private Benjamin, Escape From New York, and Christine began to gain Stanton growing recognition among mainstream film audiences; and then a trio of career-defining roles in the mid-'80s proved the windfall that would propel the rest of Stanton's career. Cast as a veteran repo man opposite Emilio Estevez in director Alex Cox's cult classic Repo Man (1984), Stanton's hilarious, invigorated performance perfectly gelled with the offbeat sensibilities of the truly original tale involving punk-rockers, aliens, and a mysteriously omnipresent plate o' shrimp. After sending his sons off into the mountains to fight communists in the jingoistic actioner Red Dawn (also 1984) Stanton essayed what was perhaps his most dramatically demanding role to date in director Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas. Cast as a broken man whose brother attempts to help him remember why he walked out on his family years before, Stanton's devastating performance provided the emotional core to what was perhaps one of the essential films of the 1980s. A subsequent role as Molly Ringwald's character's perpetually unemployed father in 1986's Pretty in Pink, while perhaps not quite as emotionally draining, offered a tender characterization that would forever hold him a place in the hearts of those raised on 1980s cinema. In 1988 Stanton essayed the role of Paul the Apostle in director Martin Scorsese's controversial religious epic The Last Temptation of Christ. By the 1990s Stanton was a widely recognized icon of American cinema, and following memorably quirky roles as an eccentric patriarch in Twister and a desperate private detective in David Lynch's Wild at Heart (both 1990), he settled into memorable roles in such efforts as Against the Wall (1994), Never Talk to Strangers (1995), and the sentimental drama The Mighty (1998). In 1996, Stanton made news when he was pistol whipped by thieves who broke into his home and stole his car (which was eventually returned thanks to a tracking device). Having previously teamed with director Lynch earlier in the decade, fans were delighted at Stanton's poignant performance in 1999's The Straight Story. Still going strong into the new millennium, Stanton could be spotted in such efforts as The Pledge (2001; starring longtime friend and former roommate Jack Nicholson), Sonny (2002), and The Big Bounce (2004). In addition to his acting career, Stanton can often be spotted around Hollywood performing with his band, The Harry Dean Stanton Band.