Trivia: While still in high school, American actor Timothy Hutton, son of actor Jim Hutton, toured with his father in a stage production of Harvey. After high school he moved to southern California and managed to land roles in several TV films, notably Friendly Fire and Young Love, First Love (both 1979). He debuted onscreen as a troubled teenager in Robert Redford's first directorial effort, Ordinary People (1980). For his work in that film he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, at the time the youngest actor to earn such an honor. Hutton soon became typecast as sensitive, somewhat wimpy youths in a string of major films, a mold he didn't break out of until the late '80s. Despite his auspicious beginning, most of Hutton's films have been financially unsuccessful. In 1984 he made his New York stage debut in Orpheus Descending, and in 1990 starred on Broadway in the hit romance Prelude to a Kiss. He has also done some directing, including an episode of the TV show Amazing Stories and a rock video made by the band The Cars. He married and divorced actress Debra Winger.

Trivia: Blonde actress Beth Riesgraf made the majority of her on-camera appearances in a guest capacity on various television series, then took her debut feature bow with a bit role in the CG-animated Jason Lee-starrer Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007). Riesgraf was engaged Lee for a time, and the couple had a child together in 2003. In 2008, the actress signed to star opposite Timothy Hutton in Leverage, a TNT original series about an insurance investigator-turned-high-tech outlaw.

Trivia: When he initially surfaced as an on-camera presence during the 1990s and 2000s, supporting actor Aldis Hodge recalled a young Will Smith, with his looks, his relaxed charm, and easygoing manner; like Smith, Hodge made one of his first significant impressions on the small screen, yet he maintained a lower profile. Parts included guest starring appearances on such series programs as ER, CSI, NYPD Blue, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Around 2005, Hodge broke into big-screen features, first with small-scale roles, such as an appearance in the David Mamet-Stuart Gordon thriller Edmond, then in that same year's Snoop Dogg-headlined urban drama The Tenants. Hodge also provided one of the adorable penguins' voices in George Miller's animal picture Happy Feet (2006). One the small screen that year, Hodge could be seen in a recurring role on the critically acclaimed sports drama series Friday Night Lights as Ray "Voodoo" Tatum. He enjoyed a healthy run on the hit cable program Leverage as part of a group of criminals who take revenge against other scammers in order to help out those who have been victimized. Aldis Hodge is not to be confused with Al Hodge (Captain Video and His Video Rangers), a television actor from the '50s and '60s -- nor are they related.

Trivia: Versatile performer Christian Kane posed a dual threat in Hollywood, juggling multiple careers as an actor and vocalist/guitarist. Born to a prosperous oil-industry family in Dallas, TX, Kane relocated frequently with his family as a youngster, but ultimately settled in Norman, OK. From early boyhood, he nurtured dreams of Hollywood stardom -- dreams that eventually prompted him to leave college and head to the lights of Los Angeles; he also possessed an ingenuity that helped him find an "in" to the seemingly impenetrable entertainment industry, by approaching a prestigious Hollywood production company and offering to deliver scripts in exchange for talent consideration. It marked a bold but innovative move; significantly, the bid worked and Kane got his foot in the proverbial door. He soon landed his premier on-camera role, as one of the leads in the late '90s television series Fame L.A. Meanwhile, he jump-started a career as a musician on the side, by meeting the man who quickly became his songwriting partner, Steve Carlson. The two formed a band, christened KANE and started turning heads via Christian's unique country & western-infused vocals; with that outfit they headlines numerous Southern California hotspots including The Mint and The Viper Room.Unfortunately, Fame L.A. only lasted a short time, but Kane connected with much greater success via a recurring run on the vampire-themed fantasy series Angel, as attorney Lindsey McDonald. He then moved into feature roles and racked up a series of supporting turns in A-listers including the gentle Disney drama Secondhand Lions (2003), the dismal Ashton Kutcher sex farce Just Married (2003), and the critically acclaimed Billy Bob Thornton sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004). In the years that followed, Kane returned to television on two high-profile series: he played prosecutor's husband Jack Chase on the acclaimed Jerry Bruckheimer procedural drama Close to Home (2005-2006), then signed to star opposite Timothy Hutton and Beth Riesgraf in Leverage (2008), a TNT original series about an insurance investigator-turned-high-tech outlaw. While continuing to work on that successful program, he appeared in The Donner Party and Universal Squadrons.

Trivia: From the outset of her career, sloe-eyed British actress Gina Bellman exuded an alluring, exotic appeal that recalled the glamorous screen sirens of Hollywood's Golden Age. She first achieved fame by virtue of her collaboration with the English playwright-cum-scriptwriter/director Dennis Potter, in whose overtly sexual and explicit Blackeyes she starred. In that controversial outing, Bellman played the sexual abuse victim of the title -- an imaginary character within the context of the film. The choice of project (given its content) marked a bold move for the actress, but an intelligent one given Potter's peerless reputation and the respect afforded him in the English film industry. More importantly, it succeeded in turning spectators' and critics' heads toward Bellman in the very best way.Intriguingly, Bellman had no educational or industry experience as an actress when she auditioned for Blackeyes (1990), shy of a role as King David's daughter in Bruce Beresford's critically maligned Biblical epic King David (1985). The daughter of Russian-Jewish-Polish parents, born in New Zealand, Bellman grew up with a father who worked in retail and a homemaker mother. The family immigrated to London before Bellman's 11th birthday, and within a year, she discovered a passion for acting and soon began attending auditions. After Blackeyes, parts came quickly and furiously, marked by the actress' intriguing, distinguished choice of projects on-stage, in features, and on television. Some of her higher-profile endeavors included the eccentric Jewish-themed feature comedy Leon the Pig Farmer (1992), a theatrical role in David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow, and an ongoing turn as the flighty, hare-brained man-hunter Jane Christie on the BBC's wildly popular (and extremely explicit) sex comedy series Coupling (2000).In 2006, Bellman signed for a supporting role in director Martin Curland's raunchy sci-fi comedy Zerophilia, while the following year, she co-starred opposite James Nesbitt in the BBC miniseries Jekyll, an unusual revisionist version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the years to come, Bellman would remain an active force on screen, most notably on shows like Leverage.

Trivia: The handsome blonde actor Cary Elwes (pronounced El-Ways) was born in London to a portrait painter and an interior designer. He moved to the U.S. to study at Sarah Lawrence College, but made his film debut in the U.K. with the coming-of-age drama Another Country (1984), co-starring alongside fellow handsome young actors Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. He soon started a pattern of appearing in historical dramas and other period pieces, first with Lady Jane (1985), opposite Helena Bonham Carter, and then as the lead role in Maschenka (1986), based on the book by Vladimir Nabokov. However, he didn't make his international film breakthrough until 1987 with Rob Reiner's classic adventure fairy tale The Princess Bride. He seemed to possess a timeless quality essential for the role of Westley, the sensitive-yet-daring farm boy who becomes the swashbuckling Dred Pirate Roberts and gallantly fights for his love. Continuing with historical films, he capably handled a Southern accent for the Civil War drama Glory and then tried a one-time stint as associate producer for the little-seen drama Leather Jackets. Next, he made a successful jump to broad comedy with lead roles in Hot Shots! (1991) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). Switching to darker themes, he played Lord Arthur Holmwood in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) and Alicia Silverstone's object of obsession in The Crush (1993). The following year, he briefly returned to adventures for The Jungle Book before moving on to playing authority figures in the thrillers Twister and Kiss the Girls. In the late '90s, he voiced cartoons and appeared in a few made-for-TV movies and miniseries until 1999, when he transformed his usually slender frame for the role of portly producer John Houseman (Orson Welles' colleague) in Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock. He continued portraying cinematic legends in his next few films, including the German cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner in Shadow of the Vampire and pioneering producer Thomas H. Ince in The Cat's Meow. In 2001,he played a reoccurring role on The X-Files as FBI Assistant Brad Follmer and returned to romantic comedy adventures as Prince Regent Edgar in Ella Enchanted (2003).He was the lead in the infamous 2004 slasher movie Saw, and had a lead part in the 2006 National Lampoon comedy Pucked. In 2007 he appeared in the ill-fated Lindsay Lohan movie Georgia Rule. He came back for Saw: The Final Chapter in 2010. 2011 turned out to be a busy year for Elwes with parts in the comedy No Strings Attached, the Spielberg-directed The Adventures of Tintin, and the ensemble romantic comedy New Year's Eve.

Trivia: The acting career of Adam Baldwin -- no relation to the famous Baldwin brothers Alec, William, and Stephen -- has been filled with ups and downs as he aspires to the stardom that as yet, seems to elude him. Due to his muscular 6'4" frame, the handsome Baldwin is frequently cast as hulking bad guys and psychopathic killers. He has been involved with films since he appeared in My Bodyguard (1980), the story of a victimized teenager seeking the protection of the school bully (Baldwin) who is believed to have killed his brother. While he did a fine job as the taciturn, deeply traumatized young man who affects a violent facade to conceal his inner pain, it was his costar Matt Dillon who became famous. Baldwin then went on to play supporting roles in three lesser films before playing the lead in the 1986 bomb Bad Guys, where he dyed his naturally dark hair bright blond and played a young cop who becomes a wrestler after he is suspended from the force. One year later he appeared in his most memorable role as the psychopathic war-loving soldier Animal in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). In 1992, Baldwin played a drunken, abusive stepfather in Radio Flyer. He continued to work steadily in projects such as How to Make an American Quilt and Independence Day. He had the title role in the 1999 retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As the new century began he was part of the cast of the short-lived but much beloved sci-fi series Firefly as Jayne, a character he would return to in Serenity, the big-screen version of that show. He voiced Jonah Hex and Superman in various animated projects, and in 2007 landed the part of Major John Casey on the NBC series Chuck, about a geeky dude who becomes a super spy. He could be seen on big screens in the thriller InSight in 2011.