Trivia: One of the leading actors of her generation, Kirsten Dunst made her name in teen films without succumbing to entrapment in the teen film ghetto. Skinny, blonde, and possessing a charmingly crooked Pepsodent smile, she has repeatedly demonstrated her talent and charisma in projects ranging from kiddie comedies to high school romances to towering summer blockbusters.Born in Point Pleasant, NJ, on April 30, 1982, Dunst first appeared in front of a camera at the age of three, when she became a Ford model and commercial actor. She continued to model and do commercials until 1989, when she made her film debut in Woody Allen's New York Stories. Her uncredited role led to a part as Tom Hanks' daughter in the infamously troubled 1990 adaptation of Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities.Three years later, Dunst got her first big break when director Neil Jordan chose her over 5,000 hopefuls for the role of Claudia, the child vampire in his 1994 adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. Dunst made a big impact on audiences and critics alike with her portrayal of a woman trapped eternally in the body of an 11-year-old, kissing co-star Brad Pitt, and gorging herself on human and animal blood. That same year, Dunst also appeared alongside Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon in Gillian Armstrong's adaptation of Little Women; the combined success of these two movies propelled Dunst to the top of the child-actor hierarchy, in terms of both bankability and exposure.Dunst followed up with a lead role in the Robin Williams action-fantasy Jumanji (1995), and lent her voice to a few animated features, including Disney's Anastasia (1997). She also had a brief but memorable turn as a refugee from a war-torn country in Barry Levinson's highly praised satire Wag the Dog (1997).1999 marked a turning point in Dunst's career, as she began appearing in films that cast her as a young woman instead of a precocious child. She starred as a small-town beauty queen contestant in the satirical comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous and as one of two teenage girls (the other played by Michelle Williams) who unwittingly uncover the Watergate scandal in Dick, another satirical comedy. Dunst further lived up to her title as one of Teen People's 21 Hottest Stars Under 21 with her leading role as the sexually rebellious Lux in Sofia Coppola's acclaimed adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides' novel The Virgin Suicides (1999). Her work in the film proved to be a critical breakthrough for Dunst, whom critics praised for her portrayal of the conflicted, headstrong character.Dunst subsequently did her bit for the high school comedy-romance genre, starring as a cheerleader in Bring It On (2000), and as another teen queen in Get Over It (2001); she also forsake makeup and a hairdresser for her role as the archetypal poor little rich girl in crazy/beautiful (2001), a teen romantic drama.Subsequently cast as the actress Marion Davies in Peter Bogdanovich's The Cat's Meow, Dunst got her first shot at playing a grown woman. She garnered praise for her work in the period drama, but any notice she received was quickly eclipsed by the maelstrom of publicity surrounding her starring role as Mary Jane Watson, true love of Peter Parker in Sam Raimi's big-budget adaptation of Spider-Man. Playing opposite Tobey Maguire as the web-spinning superhero, Dunst spent a lot of the movie running around as a damsel in distress, but there was nothing distressing about the 110-million dollars the film grossed in its opening weekend, breaking new box-office records and catapulting both Dunst and Maguire into the rarefied realm of full-fledged movie stars. She would stick with the franchise as it became a trilogy, and she became a bigger star than ever before.Even though Spider-Man gave her a great deal of box-office clout, Dunst would continue to appear in more independent minded films as the years wore on as well. While appearing in films like Mona Lisa Smile and Elizabethtown, Dunst would also earn accolades for appearances in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Marie Antoinette, and Melancholia. After spending a couple of years making small appearances in even smaller movies, Dunst resurged in a big way, playing the lead in season 2 of Fargo on FX. Dunst earned raved reviews for her work on the series and spent the next seasons on the awards circuit.

Trivia: One of the most famous film personalities to hail from the South Pacific, New Zealand-bred actor Sam Neill possesses the kind of reassuring handsomeness and soft-spoken strength that have made him an ideal leading man. Born Nigel Neill to a military family in Omagh, Northern Ireland, Neill relocated to New Zealand in 1953 at the age of six. There he picked up the nickname that would become his stage name, and attended both the University of Canterbury and the University of Victoria before beginning his acting career. Neill labored as a director/editor/screenwriter for the New Zealand National Film Unit for several years; he made his first movie in 1975 and scored his first significant film success four years later as the romantic lead opposite Judy Davis in director Gillian Armstrong's My Brilliant Career. Shortly thereafter, Neill was brought to England under the sponsorship of star James Mason (who undoubtedly recognized the marked similarity between his acting style and Neill's). The actor's subsequent movie work included two memorable collaborations with actress Meryl Streep and director Fred Schepisi: Plenty (1985) and A Cry in the Dark (1988). Neill's British TV credits were highlighted by his starring role in the unorthodox espionage drama Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983), for which he won the British television BAFTA Best Actor award. He also began working on American films during the '80s, including the 1981 Omen sequel The Final Conflict (in which he demonstrated a considerable breadth of range as Satan's son Damien) and the 1987 TV miniseries Amerika. Neill also kept busy with projects down under, with perhaps his most memorable film being Dead Calm (1989), a masterfully crafted thriller that starred the actor as Nicole Kidman's husband.Neill truly came to international prominence during the '90s (as evidenced by his guest spot as a cat burglar on an episode of The Simpsons). He experienced a bumper-crop year in 1993, portraying the raptor-fearing Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Jurassic Park, before returning to New Zealand to portray Holly Hunter's taciturn, unexpectedly violent husband in The Piano (1993). He was also honored with the Order of the British Empire that same year. Neill continued to work on a wealth of diverse international projects throughout the rest of the decade, notably John Duigan's Sirens (1994), which cast him as a '30s bohemian artist; the Australian satire Children of the Revolution (1996), reuniting him with Judy Davis; Revengers' Comedies (1997), which cast him as a suicidal businessman; the acclaimed miniseries Merlin (1998), in which he played the titular wizard; Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer (1998), as the husband of Kristin Scott Thomas (the two had previously co-starred in Revengers' Comedies); and Bicentennial Man (1999), which featured the actor as the head of a family who purchases an uncannily human robot played by Robin Williams.Though Neill was notably absent from the 1997 sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park, the second sequel in the series, 2001's Jurassic Park III, found the stalwart actor once again fleeing ornery dinosaurs on a tropical island and living to tell the tale. A turn as Victor Komarovsky in the made-for-TV remake of Doctor Zhivago quickly followed, and over thecourse of the next decade Neill would alternate frequently between television (Triangle, Merlin's Apprentice) and film (Wimbledon, Dayberakers), while still managing to land the occasional meaty role in projects like The Tudors (2007) and Dean Spanley (2008). In 2011, Neill brought an impressive air of menace to the ecological thriller The Hunter with his turn as an outwardly benevolent Aussie with a dark secret, and the following year he returned to television as a federal agent on the trail of convicts who mysteriously vanished without a trace in Alcatraz. In addition to acting and managing a New Zealand winery, Neill directed an acclaimed 1995 documentary about the New Zealand film industry, Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill.

Trivia: When producers of the Lord of the Rings trilogy needed an actor of eminence and power to play King Théoden in the second and third films, they went fishing and reeled in a prize catch: Bernard Hill. It was Hill who portrayed Captain E.J. Smith in the 1997 box-office blockbuster Titanic. By sinking to the bottom as the stiff-upper-lipped commanding officer of the doomed ship, Hill rose to new heights in his profession, receiving international recognition for his acting skill. Although Titanic was mediocre artistically, audiences loved it for its soapy melodrama, special effects, and strong performances from veteran actors like Hill. But who was Hill? When fans checked into his background, they discovered that he was among Britain's most accomplished actors. In the 1980s, he earned critical acclaim for roles in stage and television productions of Shakespeare's plays and won Britain's Press Guild award for Achievement of the Decade for his performance in the TV miniseries Boys From the Blackstuff. In 1994, he received a British Academy award for his starring role in Skallagrigg. Further research revealed that Hill had portrayed Gratus in what was unquestionably one of the top three or four TV miniseries of all time -- I, Claudius (1976) -- and Sergeant Putnam in the 1982 Academy Award-winning biodrama Gandhi. Hill was born on December 17, 1944, in Manchester, England, and eventually resided with his own family in Suffolk. Since the early '70s, he has acted in television and film, as well as theater. Hill has appeared in TV adaptations of such classics as The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot; The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; and Antigone by Sophocles. Hill accepted roles in a string of films with offbeat names: Besides Skallagrigg, he appeared in Madagascar Skin (1995), Drug-Taking and the Arts (1994), Dirtysomething (1993), Drowning by Numbers (1988), Bellman and True (1987), Milwr Bychan (1986), Squaring the Circle (1984), The Spongers (1978), and Pit Strike (1977). In the Lord of the Rings films, Hill plays white-haired Théoden Ednew, the 17th king of Rohan and a defender of Middle-earth. Made old and decrepit beyond his chronological age by the machinations of Grima Wormtongue and Saruman, Théoden regains his vigor through the intervention of Gandalf and rides his horse, Snowmane, to battlefield glory.

Trivia: Statuesque British comic actress Eleanor Bron rose to fame on radio, stage, and television as a member of the Establishment, a London revue troupe. Her gift for mimicry was generously showcased in her first film appearance as the Middle-Eastern cultist/spy in the Beatles' Help! (1965). She was also effective as a pretentious American tourist in Two for the Road (1967) and as the less-than-bright waitress heroine in Bedazzled (1967). In the last two decades, Eleanor Bron has augmented her film work with one-woman stage presentations and various satirical British television weeklies.

Trivia: After a number of roles in his native Denmark, actor Nikolaj Waldau began appearing in U.S. films in the early 2000s with bit parts in Black Hawk Down and Wimbledon, to name a few. In 2007, he landed the lead role on Fox's New Amsterdam, a supernatural cop show from director Lasse Hallström.

Trivia: Multi-talented actor Austin Nichols effectively straddled industry films and smaller, low-budget independent productions when he debuted onscreen in the early 2000s. With a fresh-faced, clean-cut look that spoke to his heightened versatility in many roles, Nichols landed his first major feature assignment in Richard Loncraine's quirky romantic comedy Wimbledon (2004) -- with a memorable turn as a snotty, obnoxious American tennis player trying desperately to seduce Kirsten Dunst. Following small roles in the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Jerry Bruckheimer's period basketball saga Glory Road (2006), Nichols "went indie" with a part in the low-budget drama Lenexa, 1 Mile. He also landed a plum role on the HBO series John From Cincinnati, as a mystically powered surfer, but that program failed to connect with an audience and received a cancellation after only one season. Off-camera, Nichols was a champion athlete who ranked third in the international pantheon of water skiers and won the 1997 Pan American championship in that sport; he also demonstrated great prowess in equestrianism, golf, and tennis, which more than prepared him for the Wimbledon role.

Trivia: Onscreen for nearly a decade at the time he was cast in director Kevin McDonald's The Last King of Scotland, Glasgow-born actor James McAvoy seemed to many an overnight sensation. The fact is, however, that the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama alumnus had already formed the foundation of an enduring career at the time he was charged with holding his own opposite the formidable -- and, eventually, Oscar-winning -- Forest Whitaker.McAvoy's parents divorced when he was just seven years old. In the aftermath, he and his mother would go to live with his grandparents in Glasgow's housing projects, with the youngster's notable interest in stage and film work eventually leading him to study at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. At 16, McAvoy made his professional acting debut in the child abuse drama The Near Room, with a role in the long-running British crime drama The Bill following in short order. On the heels of a part in 2001's Emmy Award-winning WWII miniseries Band of Brothers, McAvoy caught the eye of critics in the small-screen adaptation White Teeth before being cast in a pivotal role in the sci-fi effort Children of Dune. While roles in such U.K. television dramas as Early Doors, Shameless, and State of Play found McAvoy growing increasingly comfortable on the small screen, feature performances in Bright Young Things, Wimbledon, and Inside I'm Dancing (aka, Rory O'Shea Was Here) brought him to the attention of Hollywood. In 2005, the actor went global in a very big way with a pivotal appearance as Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. But it was his Last King role the following year, as a hard-partying doctor who gradually becomes a captive to one of the 20th century's most notorious dictators, that truly propelled him to international acclaim. With his star-making role in The Last King of Scotland, McAvoy became not only a critical darling, but a serious dramatic talent whose future appeared to hold great things as well. Indeed, his follow-ups to Last King proved to feature him in one lead role after another. He romanced Anne Hathaway in Becoming Jane, a story about the young Jane Austen; anguished over his separation from Keira Knightley in the Oscar-nominated WWII-era romance Atonement; and fell unexpectedly in love with Christina Ricci in the fantasy Penelope. After this string of romantic leading-man roles, McAvoy did an about-face and co-starred as a reluctant but innately talented assassin in the action-packed thriller Wanted opposite Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. He had the lead role in 2009's drama The Last Station, and played a layer in the historical drama The Conspirator one year later. He voiced the part of Gnomeo in the animated family film Gnomeo & Juliet in 2011, and that same year he was cast as the young Professor X in the action spectacle X-Men: First Class. That role kept him busy for the next couple of years, as he reprised the character in several sequels, including X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).

Trivia: Star tennis player Chris Evert was featured in a few films of the 1990s.

Trivia: Was a counselor at Port Washington Tennis Academy before becoming a professional tennis player and trained under Australian International Tennis Hall of Famer Harry Hopman. Played on the women's professional tennis circuit from 1977 to 1980 and was ranked as high as No. 33 as a singles player, but was forced to retire early because of numerous knee injuries and operations. Won the French Open mixed-doubles title in 1977 with teammate and hometown friend John McEnroe. First broadcasting gig was with USA Network as a tennis analyst in 1980. Named Broadcaster of the Year by the Women's Tennis Association in 1981 and 1985, as well as by Tennis Magazine multiple times. Received a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Long Feature in 2005 as a reporter for HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel. Was formerly a member of the Women's Tennis Association Board of Directors. Has coauthored two books: Tennis My Way with Martina Navratilova and Tennis Kinetics with Navratilova and Rick Elstein. Completed her own broadcasting "Grand Slam" after reporting on the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open on separate occasions. In 2010, was the first woman to receive the Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism. Participated as a torchbearer in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.

Trivia: Wanted to be a ballerina, but was rejected from the Royal Ballet; as a result, she suffered from anorexia and spent three months in psychiatric hospital as part of her recovery. Made her stage debut at age 16 as a chorus girl at a theatre in Colchester, England. Discovered on the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are that one of her ancestors was imprisoned in the infamous Tower of London, and another was accused of plotting to kill King Charles II. Released her debut novel, Not Quite Nice, in 2015.

Trivia: At the age of nine, presented radio broadcasts for Children's Hour. Worked as a stage hand at the Birmingham Rep at the age of 16. Moved to London to become an actor immediately upon getting his O-Levels. Worked as a fight director and stunt man throughout the 1960s, under the name 'Jack Barry'. Portrayed Dr George Bullard in Midsomer Murders from 1998 to 2011.

Trivia: Best known for his role as Michael in I'm Alan Partridge. Has worked as a voice artist and given his voice to the Shaun the Sheep Movie, The Octonauts and - most famously - Aleksander the meerkat in the comparethemarket.com adverts. Won the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award in 1995 for the Harry Enfield's Television Programme. Voice the character of Murgo in the Fable video game franchise.

Trivia: Began his broadcasting career with Hospital Radio at Wakefield's Broadcast to Hospitals Service where he volunteered while at school. Joined Radio Luxembourg in 1992 and stayed there until it closed later that year. Won the Silver Sony Award for DJ of the year in 1998, Gold in 2008 and Silver again in 2010. Is the author of The Gospel According to Chris Moyles and The Difficult Second Book, published in 2006 and 2007. The rugby league team Featherstone Rovers renamed their ground The Chris Moyles Stadium in 2007. Climbed Mount Killimanjaro for Comic Relief in 2009 with Cheryl Cole, Alesha Dixon and Ronan Keating. Raised more than £2.4 million for Comic Relief in 2011 when he recorded a record-breaking 52-hour show on Radio 1, guests included Katy Perry and Jimmy Carr.

Trivia: A member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, husky-voiced British actress Samantha Bond has an all-too-fitting surname for her onscreen career. She is most known stateside for her repeat performance as Miss Moneypenny, associate to Pierce Brosnan's James Bond. Her first appearance was in GoldenEye 1995, and she repeated the role for Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. She is the fourth actress to play the small yet established super-secretary role, most notably played by Lois Maxwell. Bond's acting credits are predominately on the stage, however, ranging from touring companies to Broadway to London's West End. She has shared the stage and screen with veterans like Claire Bloom, Maggie Smith, and David Suchet, although she has gained more high-profile roles in her television career. Mostly appearing in British murder mysteries and thrillers, she gained a starring role as Detective Sergeant Maureen Picasso for the BBC series NCS: Manhunt. Bond appeared opposite Dame Judi Dench in the award-winning play Amy's View, and also shared a bill with her for Die Another Day in 2002.

Trivia: Seemingly coming out of nowhere to essay the difficult role of famed shock-jock Howard Stern's wife in 1997's autobiographical Private Parts, actress Mary McCormack has since gone on to offer memorable performances in such fare as Mystery, Alaska (1999) and K-PAX (2001). A native of Plainfield, NJ, McCormack's interest in performing was piqued at an early age when the aspiring, 12-year-old actress gender-bent her way through a production of Menotti's Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. Since none of the local boys possessed the necessary vocal abilities, McCormack donned a hat and hit the notes needed to carry the play. Subsequently performing in regional theater before continuing her education at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, it was there that McCormack would major in English and painting while continuing to hone her stage skills. After earning her Comparative Arts degree from Trinity, McCormack decided to further her acting career by studying at the William Esper Studio. Performances at such New York theaters as The Atlantic Theater Company were quick to follow, as was her film debut in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. Simultaneously appearing on the small screen in the popular crime series Murder One (1995), it wasn't long before Private Parts would offer a stratospheric boost to her onscreen career. A cinematic love letter to Stern's real-life wife, Private Parts offered the burgeoning actress a complex emotional role that proved without a doubt what she was fully capable of. Follow-up roles in such high-profile fare as Deep Impact (1998) and Mystery, Alaska (1999) didn't quite offer McCormack the chance to shine that Private Parts did, though it was obvious to all who viewed her subsequent roles that her star was on the rise. The millennial turnover found McCormack successfully alternating between drama (Madison) and comedy (High Heels and Low Lifes) before once again heading the Hollywood route with a supporting performance in K-PAX. An unconventional role in director Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal was quick to follow, and McCormack was soon beginning preparation for the television miniseries based on Soderbergh's Traffic (which was in turn inspired by 1989 U.K. series Traffik).She was the female lead in the creepy apocalyptic thriller Right at Your Door, and landed a small part in Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration. In 2008 she landed the lead role on the cable series In Plain Sight and enjoyed the most consistent success of her career.