Trivia: Handsome actor Ryan Reynolds may be best known to television viewers for his role in the popular Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, though if it weren't for his close friend Chris Martin, Reynolds' star may have not risen quite as smoothly as it did. Born in 1976, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to a food wholesaler father and a retail store saleswoman, Reynolds harbored an affection for acting from his early youth, and was undeterred after failing a drama class at the age of twelve. Making his television debut two years later on the Nickelodeon show Fifteen, the aspiring youngster crossed the border and relocated to Florida for the taping of the show, moving back to Vancouver soon after production ceased in 1991. Turning up in numerous television series such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and made-for-TV movies in the following years, Reynolds soon grew despondent that his career was not moving along as smoothly as he wished. Recognizing his friend's frustrations, fellow actor Martin suggested that the two pick up and head for the Hollywood hills. Crashing in a cheap hotel and having his jeep stripped and rolled down a hill did little to raise Reynolds' spirits, though the determined actor carried on, landing his role on Two Guys in 1997. The only actor to read for the role of Berg, Reynolds won the favor of the producers and was soon on his way to success in the States. Following with roles in the teen horror comedy Boltneck (1998) and later Dick (1999) and Finder's Fee (2000), Reynolds soon began assuming his position among the hot young actors of the early millennium, taking the lead in 2001 for Van Wilder.Prominent roles in more high-profile films followed, including the part of Hannibal King in 2004's Blade Trinity, and the lead role of George Lutz in the 2005 remake of the classic horror movie The Amityville Horror. He soon followed this up with starring roles in two comedies: 2005's Waiting and Just Friends. With his career on a meteoric path upward, he continued to branch, snagging starring roles in films like the supernatural thriller The Nines, and the romantic comedy Definitely Maybe, eventually signing on to play the character of Deadpool in the next installment in the X-Men franchise X-Men Origins: Wolverine, as well as starring alongside Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy The Proposal. Officially having made the transition into Leading Man Actor, Reynolds took a few unexpected roles in smaller films, playing supporting characters in 2009's Adventureland and making a quirky comedic turn in 2010's Paper Man. By 2011, however, Reynolds was ready to get back in the game, taking the lead in the super hero movie Green Lantern. The next year he appeared alongside Denzel Washington in the action thriller Safe House. He made cameo appearances in two Seth MacFarlane films, Ted and A Million Ways to Die in the West, and voiced a character in the animated film The Croods.

Trivia: The physically stunning actress Emma Stone first made her mark among American audiences as an ingenue, via her involvement in the massively successful comedy Superbad (2007). The actress's combination of deadpan comic timing and undeniable beauty made her an instant hot property in Hollywood, and she was soon appearing in comic fare like The House Bunny and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, as well as the hugely successful horror comedy Zombieland (2009). By 2010, Stone had earned top billing status, and was starring in her own comedy -- a hilarious modern take on the Scarlet Letter called Easy A. The following year found Sone's star rising even further in the realm of comedy with roles in Friends with Benefits and Crazy, Stupid, Love, but it also proved to be the year in which the young actress branched more full force into drama, starring in the much anticipated adaptation of the Kathryn Stockett novel The Help. She became part of a superhero franchise when she took over the part of Gwen Stacy in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, and she took a part in the period crime film Gangster Squad that same year.Stone enjoyed a very busy 2014 that involved her returning to the part of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and being tapped to star in Woody Allen's period comedy Magic in the Moonlight. However, her turn as the self-destructive daughter of a middle-age actor trying to make a comeback on the stage in Birdman earned her the first Oscar nomination of her career, getting a nod in the Best Supporting Actress category.

Trivia: Actor Nicolas Cage has always strived to make a name for himself based on his work, rather than on his lineage. As the nephew of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, Cage altered his last name to avoid accusations of nepotism. (He chose "Cage" both out of admiration for avant-garde musician John Cage and en homage to comic book hero Luke Cage). Even if he had retained the family name, it isn't likely that anyone would consider Cage holding fast to his uncle's coattails. Time and again, Cage travels to great lengths to add verisimilitude to his roles.Born January 7, 1964, in Long Beach, CA, to a literature professor father and dancer/choreographer mother, Cage first caught the acting bug while a student at Beverly Hills High School. After graduation, he debuted on film with a small part in Amy Heckerling's 1982 classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Following a lead role in Martha Coolidge's cult comedy Valley Girl (1983), Cage spent the remainder of the decade playing endearingly bizarre and disreputable men, most notably as Crazy Charlie the Appliance King in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Hi McDonough in Raising Arizona (1987), and Ronny Cammareri in the same year's Moonstruck, the last of which won him a Golden Globe nomination and a legion of female fans, ecstatic over the actor's unconventional romantic appeal.The '90s saw Cage assume a series of diverse roles, ranging from a violent ex-con in David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990) to a sweet-natured private eye in the romantic comedy Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) to a dying alcoholic in Mike Figgis' astonishing Leaving Las Vegas (1995). For this last role, Cage won a Best Actor Oscar for his quietly devastating portrayal, and, respectability in hand, gained an official entrance into Hollywood's higher ranks. After winning his Oscar, along with a score of other honors for his performance, Cage switched gears in a way that would prove to be, with the occasional exception, largely permanent. He dove into a series of action movies like the Michael Bay thriller The Rock, the prisoners-on-a-plane movie Con Air, and the infamous John Woo flick Face/Off. Greeted with hefty paychecks and audience approval, Cage forged ahead on a career path lit largely with explosions.There would be exceptions, like 1998's City of Angels, a remake of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, and Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead, and the the lightly dramatic romantic comedy The Family Man, but Cage stuck mostly to thrillers and action movies. A spate of such films would fill his resume, like Gone in 60 Seconds, The Life of David Gale, 8MM, and Snake Eyes, but Cage would briefly revisit his roots in character work, teaming with Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze in 2002 for a duel role in the complex comedy Adaptation (2002). With Cage appearing as both screenwriter Charlie Kaufman as well as his fictional brother Donald, Adaptation followed Charlie's attempt to adapt author Susan Orlean's seemingly unfilmable novel The Orchid Thief as a feature film, and Donald's parallel efforts to write his own hacky yet lucrative script by following the guidance of a caustic, Syd Field-like screenwriting instructor (Brian Cox). A weighty role that demanded an actor capable of portraying characters that couldn't differ more emotionally despite their outward appearance, Adaptation brought Cage his second Oscar nomination -- and he was soon back to business as usual.2004 saw the release of the megahit adventure film National Treasure, which cast Cage as an archaeologist convinced there's a treasure map on the back of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The outrageous film would earn a sequel in 2007, but first Cage made the ill-advised decision to star in Neil LaBute's reworking of the Robin Hardy/Anthony Shaffer collaboration The Wicker Man (2006). Though video compilations of the movie's most hilariously hackneyed moments would become popular on the internet, Cage was soon portraying a motorcycle-driving stuntman who sells his soul to Mephistopheles -- in Mark Steven Johnson's live-action comic book adaptation Ghost Rider. Upon premiering in the States, the film became a big success. In the same year's sci-fi thriller Next, directed by Lee Tamahori, Cage plays Cris Johnson, a man who attains the ability to see into the future and must suddenly decide between saving himself and saving the world; the film failed to ignite the way Ghost Rider did just a couple months before it. Next came Bangkok Dangerous, Knowing, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, Drive Angry, Seeking Justice, and Trespass -- all high octane, high adrenaline movies that found Cage diving, leaping, and shooting his way through the story. Cage found himself with a surprise hit in Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass (2010), playing a vigilante former cop in the black comedy film. He voiced the main character in 2013's animated The Croods, but then mostly stuck to action-crime-thriller-type movies for the next couple of years, including films like Left Behind (2014), The Runner (2015) and The Trust (2016).

Trivia: Catherine Keener ranks with Parker Posey as one of the queens of 1990s American independent cinema. A muse for director Tom Di Cillo (Johnny Suede, Living in Oblivion, Box of Moonlight, The Real Blonde), she is married to one of her peers, the also-underrated Dermot Mulroney. Keener graduated from Wheaton College in 1983 and in 1986 she landed her first film role, a small part in About Last Night. She appeared in a string of independent films throughout the 1990s, in addition to all the aforementioned Di Cillo titles; she had the lead, opposite Anne Heche, in the acclaimed Walking and Talking (1996), written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, a role which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2000, Keener received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in Being John Malkovich. Appearing in Simpatico and giving birth to a baby boy the same year, the tireless actress continued to turn up in such quirky films as Death to Smoochy, Full Frontal, and eccentric director Spike Jonze, follow-up to Being John Malkovich, Adaptation. Keener would spend the next several years enjoying her reputation as a both charming and well respected actress, appearing in movies like The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Capote, Into the Wild, Synechdoche, New York, Where the Wild Things Are, Cyrus, and Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding.