Trivia: To some, it might have seemed as though British actor Daniel Day-Lewis burst out of nowhere to star in 1989's My Left Foot, but in fact he'd been in films since 1971. The son of British Poet Laureate C. Day Lewis and actress Jill Balcon and grandson of British film executive Michael Balcon, Day-Lewis had neither the time nor the inclination for boarding schools and social training, and by age 13 he'd dropped out of his privileged life style. Thanks to his granddad's influence, Day-Lewis managed to secure a bit part as a teenage hoodlum in John Schlesinger's Sunday, Bloody, Sunday (1971), but he didn't take acting seriously until he was 15. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic and made his legitimate stage debut in 1982, and shortly afterward appeared in small roles in such films as Gandhi (1983) and The Bounty (1985). Day-Lewis first caught the eyes of critics with his performance as an insufferable young aristocrat in Merchant-Ivory's Room with a View (1985); other early performances of note could be seen in My Beautiful Launderette (1984) and The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)--films that, though designed for limited audience, managed to break into big-time distribution. Day-Lewis won an Academy Award for the role of true-life paralyzed artist/writer Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989), then assured the film extra publicity attention with his near-monastic protection of his own privacy. My Left Foot opened the doors for subsequent superlative Daniel Day-Lewis appearances: He was a virile Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans (1992); offered an astonishingly restrained performance in The Age of Innocence (1993) as a man trapped by the sexual mores of the 19th century; and in In the Name of the Father (1993), Day-Lewis played real-life character Gerry Conlon, the Belfast man, one of the Guildford Four, falsely imprisoned for a terrorist bombing. He turned in a powerful performance as Irish boxer Danny Flynn, who after serving a twelve year sentence for IRA activities, returns to Belfast to try and establish a non-denominational boxing club in the tragic The Boxer (1996).

Trivia: The daughter of a California-based civil engineer and a Costa Rican émigré, Madeleine Stowe attended the University of Southern California, but cut classes to watch plays. Her life as a waitress came to an end when she was fired for being "too spacey," but she was anything but spacey when it came to pursuing an acting career on the California theater circuit. Stowe eventually attracted the attention of Richard Dreyfuss' agent -- not for her stage work, but because the agent spotted her watching one of Dreyfuss' performances. This serendipitous turn of events enabled Stowe to get a bit part in the TV series Baretta, which led to more substantial roles on other shows. While working on the mid-'80s miniseries The Gangster Chronicles, the actress met her husband, future Dream On star Brian Benben. Stowe's screen career during the 1980s and '90s was not exactly a string of blockbusters, but she usually garnered excellent reviews and positive audience response, so that when she was in a bona fide hit, such as 1992's The Last of the Mohicans, reviewers were often inclined to credit her for at least some of the film's success. Stowe also starred in Robert Altman's critically-acclaimed Short Cuts in 1993 and Terry Gilliam's sci-fi cult film 12 Monkeys in 1995. She disappeared from screen for the next three years, but reappeared as part of the ensemble in Playing By Heart, and followed that up next year with The General's Daughter. She appeared in the made-for-TV remake of The Magnificent Ambersons, and co-starred opposite Sylvester Stallone in 2002's Avenging Angelo. She tried her hand at TV with 2007's Raines.

Trivia: British adolescent and ingenue actress, onscreen from age 13 in A World Apart (1988).

Trivia: Once described as "the most famous American Indian since Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse," Oglala/Lakota Sioux Russell Means made a name for himself as an activist two decades before he became an actor. Born in Pine Ridge, SD, near the storied Black Hills, Means joined the late '60s cultural foment as an avid advocate for American Indian rights and recognition. As the first national director of the American Indian Movement (he disdained the term "Native American") and a participant in the 1972 standoff with the government at Wounded Knee, Means became a prominent voice calling for self-determination and the preservation of American Indian heritage. Furthering his activist reach during the 1980s, Means traveled abroad to support freedom for other indigenous peoples worldwide, and ran for president as the Libertarian Party candidate in 1988. Seeing the potential in synergy, Means became a multimedia presence in the 1990s. Along with recording two albums and authoring his autobiography Where White Men Fear to Tread, Means also went into acting. Making his movie debut in Michael Mann's florid adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Means starred as the titular Chingachgook, father figure to Daniel Day-Lewis' Hawkeye. Taking his cue from such prior Native American actors as Chief Dan George and Will Sampson, Means portrayed Indians in a range of films and with humor as well as dignity. Following the ultra-serious Last of the Mohicans, Means appeared in the Western spoof Wagons East! (1994), and played the spiritually portentous Old Indian in Oliver Stone's bloody media satire Natural Born Killers (1994). Along with voicing Chief Powhatan in Disney's animated features Pocahontas (1995) and Pocahontas: Journey to a New World (1998), Means put his stamp on other well-known American Indian tales, reprising his role as Chingachgook in an adaptation of Cooper's The Pathfinder (1996), and appearing in the movie version of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem The Song of Hiawatha (1997). Responding to charges that his Hollywood career was a sell-out, Means noted that he poured his earnings back into such activist projects as American Indian education and continued to act. Means finished the decade with several films, including the crime drama Black Cat Run (1998) and the children's fantasy Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). He died of throat cancer in 2012, a few weeks before his 73rd birthday.

Trivia: A prolific Canadian actor of German and Inuit decent, Eric Schweig has excelled onscreen since his feature debut in the 1990 drama The Shaman's Source. A notable key player in such subsequent features as The Last of the Mohicans, Squanto: A Warrior's Tale, and Ron Howard's The Missing, the stocky, physically imposing Schweig has built a lucrative career in Hollywood by both embracing his Inuit heritage and delivering performances that are thoughtful and moving. Schweig was adopted by a German family living in the Western Arctic shortly after his birth in the Canadian Northwest Territories in the summer of 1967, and though he would spend much of his youth living in Bermuda with his adopted family, the clan eventually returned to Canada to settle in Northern Ontario. Striking out on his own at the age of 16, the resourceful teen made a living by framing houses in his native Canada before a role in a 1987 Ontario stage production of The Cradle Will Fall sparked an interest in acting. In 1992, Schweig's career received just the boost it needed when he was hired by director Michael Mann to appear in The Last of the Mohicans, and the remainder of the 1990s found his onscreen career flourishing thanks to roles in such features as Squanto: A Warrior's Tale, The Scarlet Letter, and Tom and Huck. Schweig's 2000 portrayal of a quiet and unassuming general store owner who unexpectedly falls for a New York artist in the independent drama Big Eden offered what was perhaps his most emotionally complex role to date, and the grateful actor earned almost unanimous critical praise for his memorable performance. Though Schweig's strong leading performance as a policeman attempting to save his brother from self-destruction in Skins also earned positive critical notice, the film unfortunately went largely unseen. Following a pair of supporting roles in 2003's Mrs. Barrington and Cowboys and Indians: The J.J. Harper Story, Schweig could next be seen as the menacing mystic whose powers border on the supernatural in acclaimed director Ron Howard's brutal Western The Missing. In addition to his acting career, Schweig has also gained a solid reputation as an artist thanks to his remarkable series of Inuit-inspired masks.

Trivia: Studied at Old Farnley Primary School and Ryecroft Middle School.Performed in his school plays.Started his career as an extra and some speaking roles in Yorkshire Television productions.Was accepted at the East 15 Acting School shortly after turning 18.Joined the Royal Shakespeare Company after graduating from acting school.

Trivia: Full-blooded Cherokee actor Wes Studi didn't discover his true calling until much later in life than most actors. Stricken by his vocational teacher's early advice that he should be realistic and settle for life as a low-paid and under-appreciated worker, Studi admits that the advice cast a shadow under which he lived for years, uninspired to seek his fortune in the face of overwhelming adversity and slim odds of finding true success.Born in Nofire Hollow, OK, in 1946 (or maybe 1947), Studi laughingly admits that there is some uncertainty to the actual date), the soft-spoken actor was the eldest of four sons and spent the majority of his childhood in Northeastern Oklahoma. The son of a ranch hand, Studi received his early education at Chilocco Indian School before graduating high school and being drafted into the army. Soon after being drafted Studi served 18 months in Vietnam.Returning disillusioned by the horrors of war and the sometimes hostile reception that veterans received, Studi drifted for a couple of years, spending much of his time traveling and visiting his old Vietnam buddies. Seeking further sustenance, Studi entered Tulsa Junior College on the G.I. Bill. After Tulsa, Studi became inspired to make a difference in peoples lives, soon joining the American Indian Movement. Later attending Tahlequah University, Studi made further attempts at positive influence in his work with the Cherokee Nation. Though he had been married previously, the relationship had failed and Studi remarried in 1974. Working for the Tulsa Indian Times while his wife worked as a teacher, the couple had two children while living in their Tulsa ranch before his second marriage suffered the same unfortunate fate as his first. It was the breakup of this marriage that found Studi discovering his true calling as an actor. Studi found success appearing in theater as well as in productions for Nebraska Public Television in the summer of 1985. It was after Studi's role in the 1988 PBS production The Trial of Standing Bear that he fully realized his passion for acting. Soon deciding to make the fateful move to Los Angeles, Studi found work in such films as Dances With Wolves (1990) and Last of the Mohicans (1992) before taking a starring role in 1993's Geronimo: An American Legend. Making memorable appearances in such films as Heat (1995), Crazy Horse (1996), and Deep Rising (1998), Studi flourished in his new calling, finding frequent work with his expressive features and warm sense of humor.

Trivia: Some actors have such defining traits that they seem to have "leading man" written all over them, while others, like Terry Kinney, succeed with an uncanny ability to drastically alter their appearance at the drop of a hat. Though his chameleon-like skills have helped the actor land numerous roles on the stage and screen, it's his talent that ultimately formed the backbone of his enduring career. After graduating from high school, the Lincoln, IL, native attended Illinois State University. It was there that he befriended aspiring actor Jeff Perry, who invited Kinney to Chicago to watch his best friend perform in a stage production of Grease. Perry's friend was an ambitious young actor named Gary Sinise, and the three soon began planning to open their own regional theater. Though it was founded in 1974, the Steppenwolf Theater wouldn't quite get off the ground until two years later -- when Kinney and Perry graduated from I.S.U. The venture was largely unprofitable at first, so its founders supported themselves and their dream through a series of odd jobs before the theater moved from a Highland Park church basement to the old St. Nicholas Theater building in the early '80s. The change of scenery proved to be just what the theater needed to flourish, and it was soon drawing good crowds. In the years that followed, the company moved once again -- this time to a permanent location in Chicago -- and Kinney served as Steppenwolf's artistic co-director alongside Sinise. During this profitable period, Kinney and his co-founders were nominated for numerous theatrical awards, while their productions made headway on Broadway. Kinney, of course, had aspirations beyond regional theater, and, in 1986, made his film debut with a small part in the romantic comedy Seven Minutes in Heaven. The remainder of the '80s found the actor landing bit parts in No Mercy (1986) and Sinise's Miles From Home (1988), in addition to a brief stint on television with thirtysomething. It wasn't until the following decade, however, that his film career truly began to blossom. Following an appearance in The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Kinney drew favorable reviews for his top-billed turn in Abel Ferrara's Body Snatchers, and his billing remained high with The Firm (1993), Fly Away Home (1996), and Sleepers (1998). In 1997, Kinney landed an extended gig on the acclaimed HBO prison drama Oz. Cast as Cell Block Five Unit Manager Tim McManus, Kinney's hardened performance lent the show both dimension and a certain foundation. Kinney frequently balanced his role on this series with a number of feature performances, including such films as The Young Girl and the Monsoon (1999, his second lead), Luminous Motion (1998), and The House of Mirth (2000). Although the bulk of his work in Save the Last Dance (2001) ended up on the cutting room floor, audiences could still get a good look at Kinney in such features as The Laramie Project (2001) and the 2004 soccer drama The Game of Their Lives.

Trivia: Was a drama teacher before becoming an actor. Studied at the Bristol Old Vic Drama School in Bristol, England. Appeared in plays with the Royal Shakespeare Company in England. Breakthrough film performance came playing the role of a violent father in Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988). His role in In the Name of the Father (1993) won him widespread acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. First portrayed a romantic lead in 1997's Among Giants. In 2002, he performed in the one-man play Scaramouche Jones. Awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2004. Appeared in the 2009 climate-change film The Age of Stupid. Portrayed Spyros, the adoptive father of Perseus, in 2010's Clash of the Titans. Passed away in January 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Trivia: Born to a pair of lawyers in Syracuse, NY, and raised in nearby Lynchburg, Dylan Baker attended Georgetown Prep and William and Mary College before earning his B.F.A. at Southern Methodist University, where his passion for acting was ignited with numerous stage roles. Later refining his talents at Yale's School of Drama, Baker would turn professional with big screen roles in movies like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Delirious (1991), and Love Potion No. 9 (1992). The mid-'90s found the increasingly busy actor dividing his time between stage, screen, and television, and Baker would soon wed actress Becky Ann Baker (the couple later appeared together in Woody Allen's Celebrity [1998]). A successful stage performance of La Bete found Baker nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards, and Baker and his wife continued to develop a close association with New York's Drama Department theater troupe. Following his remarkable performance in Happiness, Baker would appear in films such as Random Hearts, The Cell, and Thirteen Days (all 2000). As the 2000's unfolded, Baker would remain an active force on screen, appearing in movies like The Tailor of Panama, and Along Came a Spider, and on TV shows like 24, Damages, and Hawaii Five-O.

Trivia: Colm Meaney is no stranger to the run down Barrytown district of Dublin depicted in The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van, having grown up near the much mythologized neighborhood. The Dublin native began his acting career at the age of 14, eventually receiving formal training at Dublin's prestigious Abbey Theatre School of Acting and going on to join the Irish National Theatre Company. Meaney eventually graduated to the English stage, working in various London theaters, and then began to audition for television work, mainly landing bit parts in such TV shows as the cop drama Z Cars.Meaney moved to the U.S. in 1982, continuing to work mainly on the stage, but gradually made the transition into television and film playing small parts and guest roles on a variety of series. He was part of the cast of One Life to Live from 1986 to 1987, playing Patrick London, and then was hired for a bit part on Encounter at Farpoint, the pilot for the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. He was hired again for another part and then given the role of Chief Miles Edward O'Brien, and quickly went from being a bit player to an important member of the ensemble cast. The character was transferred to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the pilot for that series, and Meaney became a staple member of the show's cast.During his tenure on both Star Trek series, Meaney's motion picture career began to take off, as the bit parts he was given gradually became more substantial. Meaney made his greatest impact in smaller films like the so-called Barrytown Trilogy -- The Commitments (1991), in which he played the father of one of the band members; The Snapper (1993), in which he portrayed Dessie, who finds himself out of a job and suddenly a grandfather; and The Van (1996), which cast him as Larry, a layabout who manages to have a grand idea one day that results in his and a friend Bimbo starting a business out of a derelict vending van. Meaney was also notable in 1996's The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain: his Morgan the Goat, a randy Welsh pub owner with a flair for smart remarks, was an appropriate foil for the naive Englishman played by Hugh Grant. Meaney has continued to divide his time between the U.K. and the U.S., making particularly notable appearances in Paul Quinn's This Is My Father (1998), which cast him as the swishy son of an old gypsy woman; Lodge Kerrigan's Claire Dolan, in which he played a high-class pimp; Ted Demme's Monument Avenue (1998), which featured him as the bullying leader of a Boston gang; and Chapter Zero (2000), an independent comedy that cast Meaney as the cross-dressing father of a struggling writer.He continued to work steadily well into the 21st century in a variety of projects including Bitter Harvest, Intermission, Layer Cake, and Turning Green. He played soccer coach Don Revie in the sports drama The Damned United before playing the father of a strung-out rockstar in the comedy Get Him to the Greek. He appeared in Robert Redford's historical drama The Conspirator, as well as the period drama Bel Ami.

Trivia: A native of Manchester, England, born in 1951, actor David Schofield grew up in a working-class family as one of 10 children, and first caught the drama bug at age 12 at an all-boy's school located in his hometown. Deeply interested in the theater, Schofield began not on-stage but in the wings, taking backstage positions at a local repertory theater that included waiting tables, making tea, building props, sweeping the stage, and -- ultimately -- scripting plays. At age 19, Schofield left this establishment to enroll in London's legendary Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and soon began regularly accepting professional roles with a much heavier emphasis on theater than film; in fact, Schofield frequently performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at theaters in the West End of London. He moved into film work in the early '70s and thereafter maintained a steady output of assignments in films and on television. Memorable features included Ridley Scott's Best Picture-winner Gladiator (2000), the Hughes Brothers' Jack the Ripper thriller From Hell (2001), the elaborate fantasy-adventure Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), and the Tom Cruise-produced World War II thriller Valkyrie (2008). Series (mostly British) that featured Schofield in recurring or guest capacities included The Bill, Our Friends in the North, and Holby City.

Trivia: British actor Jared Harris first won recognition for his riveting portrayal of influential American pop artist Andy Warhol in the acclaimed I Shot Andy Warhol (1996). Though he is the son of esteemed British actor Richard Harris, he showed little interest in following his father's path until he was cast in a college production while attending North Carolina's Duke University during the early '80s. Following graduation, he returned to Britain and worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company for several years, before heading back to the states to appear off-Broadway. The actor made his screen debut in The Rachel Papers (1989). Following his appearances as Harvey Keitel's slightly retarded shop assistant in Smoke and its companion piece Blue in the Face (both 1995), Harris became a familiar face in American independent films, though he still made the occasional foray into mainstream films, appearing in Lost in Space in 1998. After portraying a sleazy Russian cab driver in Todd Solondz's acclaimed Happiness (1998), Harris could be seen in Michael Radford's B. Monkey, starring opposite Asia Argento, Rupert Everett, and Jonathan Rhys Myers. He went on to appear in Perfume and Igby Goes Down in the next few years. In 2003 he found himself playing one of Europe's most famous historical figures when he tackled the role of King Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl. The next year he had small parts in The Day After Tomorrow and Ocean's Twelve. Although he was in the notorious flop Lady in the Water in 2006, two years later he appeared in the multiple Oscar nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In 2009 he had his most high-profile success joining the cast of the award-winning drama Mad Men as a British businessman. He was the bad guy in the second of Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes films, and played one of the important figures in American history when Steven Spielberg cast him in Lincoln as General Ulysses S. Grant.

Trivia: Is of French and Scottish descent. Fluent in French, English, Spanish and Italian. Lived on a sailboat with his parents from the ages of 12 to 18. Is an accomplished equestrian and swordsman. Moved to the United States from France in 1992. His 2014 wedding to Alicia Hannah was officiated by actor Oded Fehr.