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: Lanky blond and balding actor Anthony Edwards' career reached a pinnacle with his role as the easy-going Dr. Green on the hit NBC television series E.R.. While his rise to fame seems sudden, the actor has been in the business since he was 12 years old. At that young age, Edwards began acting on stage. For the next five years he would act in over 30 plays before going to study at the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1980. He also studied drama at USC, Los Angeles. While there he made his feature-film debut in Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982). Unlike many actors who are typecast into certain roles in particular genres, Edwards has remained firmly between genres, having played in everything from teen exploitation flicks (Revenge of the Nerds [1984]), and serious drama (Mr. North [1988]), to actioners (Top Gun [1986]) and thrillers (Downtown [1990]). In 1992, Edwards had a recurring and memorable role as the environmentally-hypersensitive Bubble man on the popular offbeat CBS TV show Northern Exposure. He continued to work on ER until the show's 8th season in 2001, and co-starred Daryl Hannah and Ben Foster in the fantasy drama Northfolk in 2003. Edwards continued to find success as an actor and producer throughout the mid-2000s, and in 2007 took on the role of Inspector William Armstrong in Zodiac, director David Fincher's docudrama chronicling the gruesome story of the serial murderer known as the Zodiac killer. In 2008 he starred in The Dark Lurking, a sci-fi thriller, and starred along with Minnie Driver and Uma Thurman in the independent comedy Motherhood the following year. In 2010 he co-starred in director Rob Reiner's coming-of-age comedy Flipped.

Trivia: The daughter of Mark Miller, an actor best known for his starring role on the mid-1960s TV sitcom Please Don't Eat the Daisies, actress Penelope Ann Miller was born in California and raised in Texas. After a year of attending Menlo College, Miller dropped out to train with acting coach Herbert Berghof. Her first role of note was as ditsy ingenue Daisy in the Neil Simon Broadway comedy Biloxi Blues, a role she would later recreate in the film version. For her role in Our Town she was nominated for a Tony award in 1989. In 1987, the blonde, saucer-eyed actress made her film debut in the wacked-out comedy Adventures in Babysitting, after which she costarred with popular leading men ranging from Pee-Wee Herman (Big Top Pee-Wee) to a GOlden Globe nominated performance alongside Al Pacino in Carlito's Way. Some of Miller's best known film roles have included that of Marlon Brando's enigmatic daughter in The Freshman (1990), a brief turn as silent film actress Edna Purviance in Chaplin (1992), and the svelte 1930s pulp heroine Margot Lane in The Shadow (1994). As the 1990s progressed Miller alternated ever more frequently between television and film, tempering high profile roles in The Shadow (1994) and The Relic (1997) with more intimate small screen roles in mini-series The Last Don (1997) and as the titular character in the true-life television feature The Mary Kay Letorneau Story: All American Girl (2000). If her roles in the following years weren't as high profile as in the previous decade, solid performances in Along Came a Spider (2001) and Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story (2003) eventually led to a role in the popular but shortlived Norm Macdonald sitcom A Minute with Stan Hooper. Cast as the titular character's (Macdonald) city-slicker wife, the coupled opted to eschew the city for small town life to Newhart-like effect. Her gift for comedy more obvious than ever, Miller was subsequently cast in the made for television feature National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion (2003).

Trivia: One of today's best character actors, the inexhaustible Joe Pantoliano boasts over 100 film, television, and stage credits. A favorite of directors Richard Donner, Steven Spielberg, Andrew Davis, and Andy and Larry Wachowski, he is also a dependable scene stealer with more than his share of memorable roles -- including killer pimp Guido in Risky Business (1983), bumbling criminal Francis Fratelli in The Goonies (1985), double-crossing bail bondsman Eddie Moscone in Midnight Run (1988), cynical U.S. Marshall Cosmo Renfro in The Fugitive (1993), turncoat Cypher in The Matrix (1999), and shady sidekick Teddy in Memento (2000). Born on September 12, 1951 in Hoboken, NJ, the actor is the only son of Dominic, a hearse driver, and Mary Pantoliano, a part-time seamstress/bookie. When he was 12, Pantoliano's mother left his father for her distant cousin Florio, though the couple never officially divorced. Pantoliano and his younger sister Maryann grew up throughout northern New Jersey with their mother and Florio, whom they eventually came to regard as their stepfather. Pantoliano suffered from severe dyslexia, and at age 17, he was still reading at the third-grade level. After seeing the youngster perform in his senior play, Up the Down Staircase, Florio convinced him to pursue acting professionally. Pantoliano moved to Manhattan, where he worked as a waiter while juggling acting classes and auditions. In 1972, he landed the coveted role of stuttering Billy Bibbit in the touring production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Four years later, Pantoliano moved west to try his luck in Hollywood. After making his television debut in the sitcom pilot McNamara's Band, he landed a recurring role in Rob Reiner's summer replacement series, Free Country. Reiner then tapped Pantoliano to co-star with him in James Burrows' television movie More Than Friends (1978). This led to the part of Angelo Maggio -- a role originated by fellow Hoboken-ite Frank Sinatra -- in NBC's miniseries adaptation of James Jones' From Here to Eternity (1979). After making his major feature-film debut in The Idolmaker (1980), Pantoliano guest starred on Hart to Hart, M*A*S*H, and Hardcastle and McCormick, as well as appeared on the Los Angeles stage in Orphans. He also landed a sizable part opposite a young Tom Cruise in the surprise hit Risky Business (1983). The comic ruthlessness with which Pantoliano's pimp tortures Cruise quickly earned the character actor a loyal cult following. He gave standout performances in Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) and the off-Broadway play Visions of Kerouac, before thrilling audiences again in the Spielberg-produced adventure The Goonies (1985). Scores of plum roles followed: Pantoliano joined Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines in Running Scared (1986), portrayed Lou Diamond Phillips' music producer in La Bamba (1987), re-teamed with Spielberg in Empire of the Sun (1987), and acted opposite Robert De Niro in Midnight Run (1988). He then topped these performances off with an unforgettable turn opposite Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford in The Fugitive (1993), delivering a funny, fiery tour de force that was pure Pantoliano right down to the name he chose for his character, Cosmo -- his grandfather's name. By the mid-'90s, Pantoliano had a recognizable name and a devoted fan base. While making numerous television guest appearances, he starred with Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon in directors Andy and Larry Wachowski's debut thriller, Bound (1996). Pantoliano's edgy performance as a doomed money launderer impressed the Wachowskis so much that they created the character of Cypher in The Matrix (1999) exclusively for him. Shortly afterward, his co-star in the sci-fi spectacular, Carrie-Anne Moss, insisted that director Christopher Nolan hire Pantoliano for the third lead in his sleeper-hit Memento (2000). In 2001, at the behest of producer David Chase, Pantoliano joined the cast of the landmark HBO series The Sopranos. While earning a well-deserved Emmy as psychopathic mobster Ralphie Cifaretto on the hit show, the actor published Who's Sorry Now: The True Story of a Stand-Up Guy, a bittersweet memoir about his New Jersey childhood. He also put the finishing touches on his directorial debut, Just Like Mona (2002), and began filming his role as reporter Ben Urich in the comic book adaptation Daredevil (2003). Over the course of the next decade, the versatile actor continued his trend of turning in memorable supporting performances on film and television, with turns in films like Bad Boys II and Pecy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief offering the most exposure. Meanwhile, in 2009, Pantoliano got personal with his fans as the director of No Kidding, Me Too!, a playful yet poignant documentary exploring the devastating effects of mental illness, and the steps being taken to eradicate it.

Trivia: Supporting actor David Clennon was first seen on screen in the '70s.

Trivia: Black supporting actor Art Evans appeared onscreen in the '70s and '80s.

Trivia: Husky voiced Hispanic-American character actress Wanda De Jesus began appearing onscreen from the late '80s onward, with a particularly strong emphasis on action-oriented material. Early roles included parts in the Anthony Edwards-headlined action comedy Downtown (1989), the futuristic police saga Robocop 2 (1990), and Charles Burnett's cop drama The Glass Shield (1994). De Jesus is perhaps best known, however, as Graciella Rivers, a Latino woman still enraged over the murder of her sister, in the haunting Clint Eastwood procedural Blood Work (2002). She followed that up with a recurring role as Detective Adell Sevilla on the popular crime show CSI: Miami (from 2002-2003), and a prominent role in the Mafia-themed crime thriller Illegal Tender (2007), directed by Franc Reyes.

Trivia: Frank McCarthy worked as an executive producer for 20th Century Fox and Universal following retirement from the military. During his career in the army, McCarthy, a former reporter, press agent, and holder of a master's degree from the Virginia Military Institute, rose to the ranks to become a brigadier general.

Trivia: With a father who was a prominent jazz trumpeter, a grandmother who danced at The Cotton Club, and a grandfather who was a member of the Nat King Cole Trio, it may seem a given that actor Wren T. Brown would pursue a career in show business. Despite the fact that Brown has been acting almost as long as he can recall, he nearly put his career in the spotlight aside for a shot at becoming a professional tennis player. Though Brown landed his first commercial appearance at age 11, the following six years would be spent running the courts before returning to commercials in McDonald's first "Chicken McNuggets" campaign at age 17. Following a television debut in Knight Rider and a feature debut in Robert Townsend's 1987 comedy Hollywood Shuffle, strong supporting performances in The Hidden (1987) and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! (1988) eventually led to a leading role in the 1992 feature The Importance of Being Earnest (1992). His appearance in such popular sitcoms and dramas as Seinfeld, Frasier, The West Wing, and Ally McBeal gaining Brown ever-widening exposure, a Dramalogue Award for his role in a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It and a NAACP Image Nomination for his work in 2001's Jeffrey's Plan proved that he had what it took to make it on-stage as well. Moving into the new millennium with roles in Dancing in September (2000) and Biker Boyz (2003), Brown returned to the small screen with a supporting role in the 2003 sitcom Whoopie.

Trivia: Though he straddled standup comedy and acting with equal emphasis, Michael Colyar (pronounced "Koll-yer") initially made his most dramatic strides behind the microphone. In that venue, Colyar broke from the mold set by many African-American comedians by delving into routines neither vulgar, nor profane, nor directed exclusively to a black audience. As performed during weekends on the Boardwalk of Venice Beach, CA (an event that occurred for over a decade, five times a day, every Saturday and Sunday -- which prompted many to tag Colyar "The King of Venice Beach"), Colyar's schtick transcended demographical barriers by appealing to those of all ages, ethnicities, and personal backgrounds. Significantly, Colyar (recalling, for example, Whoopi Goldberg's mid-'80s Broadway stage revue) interwove piercing insights and cultural lessons throughout his routines, thus balancing entertainment with an educational element seldom heard in the comedy arena. Colyar scored his on-camera breakthrough in 1990, when he won the standup competition on Star Search -- reeling in 100,000 dollars in the process. He also made headlines for altruistically taking half of the money he won on that program and donating it to Los Angeles-area charities. By the time this occurred, the performer had also diversified by moving into film roles, frequently though not always in a humorous vein. Early assignments included small supporting roles in the comedies Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Johnny Be Good (1988), and House Party 3 (1994), and the dramas What's Love Got to Do With It? (1993) and Poetic Justice (1993). In 1999, Colyar also signed on as the host and emcee of his own cable talk show, BET Live from L.A. From the outset of the following decade, Colyar placed a renewed emphasis on standup material, particularly in comedy videos and televised specials. He also continued his acting work on the side, with a lead in the low-budget, direct-to-video urban drama The Beat (2003), a small supporting role as Morris the Barber in the hit Eddie Murphy farce Norbit (2007), and another supporting turn in Fred Durst's sports comedy The Longshots, opposite Ice Cube and Keke Palmer.

Trivia: Dreadlocked character actor Glenn Plummer began his acting career on television during the late '80s. He appeared in the TV movies The Women of Brewster Place, Heat Wave, and Deadlock. On the big screen, he played thug High Top in Dennis Hopper's crime drama Colors and rookie pitcher Tyrone in the baseball movie Pastime. In 1992, he landed his first starring role as an ex-convict father who wants the best for his son in Steve Anderson's compelling drama South Central. After supporting roles in Trespass, Menace II Society, and Speed, he made a brief return to television to play staff member Timmy Rawlins during the first season of ER. Back on the big screen, he played a choreographer in Showgirls, a musician/activist in Strange Days, and drama teacher in The Substitute More feature films followed, he landed a spot on the HBO miniseries The Corner, and he tried producing with Love Beat the Hell Outta Me. In addition to several straight-to-video action thrillers, Plummer appeared in the feature film The Salton Sea. He also had starring roles in the independent drama 100 Kilos and the motorcycle movie Road Kings.