Trivia: Born in Alberta, Canada, in 1971, Nathan Fillion took his acting ambitions to the United States when he moved to New York in 1994 to portray Joey Buchanan on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. Having previously appeared in a single TV movie, Ordeal in the Arctic, Fillion's acting career had taken a backseat to his plans to be an English teacher. His three-year stint on the long-standing daytime TV staple, however, changed his focus in a big way. When his time on One Life to Live was up, the 27-year-old actor relocated to Los Angeles to assume a regular role on the sitcom Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. Shortly afterward, he made a memorable appearance as the "wrong Ryan" in Steven Spielberg's WWII epic Saving Private Ryan. He also made appearances on The Outer Limits, King of the Hill, Pasadena, and other projects. It was in 2002, however, that he assumed the role that would make his career. Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon selected Fillion to portray rugged captain Mal Reynolds for his new sci-fi/Western series Firefly. The show found a rabidly loyal cult fan base, as well as incomparable critical praise, but tragically, failed to find the wide audience that Fox had been hoping for. The show was canceled after only 11 episodes, but Fillion had reached a level of familiarity with the public that most actors never hope to achieve. He reprised the role of Mal in 2005 for the feature-film adaptation of Firefly, Serenity, to the delight of fans. In 2006, Fillion stayed on the cream of the fringe with the much anticipated horror film Slither. Starring alongside Elizabeth Banks, the actor stole the show with his humorous, low-key performance. For his next project, he signed on to act alongside Keri Russell in the romantic comedy Waitress. When the writer's strike hit, Fillion teamed with his old collaborator Joss Whedon to star in the direct-to-the-web musical miniseries Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. In 2009 he landed the title role on the ABC series Castle, and took a small role in the dark superhero comedy Super in 2010.

Trivia: Became interested in acting as a small child but did not begin performing until college. Earned her MFA at University of Alabama through the school's master's program with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Moved to New York City to pursue her acting career in 2008 following the completion of her master's degree. Cast as the understudy for three female leads in Joe Turner's Come and Gone on Broadway in 2009. In 2010, replaced Kerry Washington in the starring role of Susan in David Mamet's Race on Broadway after working as her understudy for 7 months. Played the role of Jo in an off-Broadway production of The Legend of Georgia McBride at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 2015.

Trivia: The physically striking actor Eric Winter originally started out as a model before he cut his acting chops in the early 2000s, with periodic contributions (in guest-acting roles) to such programs as Charmed and CSI. In 2002, he found regular work on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, playing the mysterious Rex Brady for several years. When Winter left that show, there was no shortage of work for the handsome thespian, who was soon appearing on such programs as Wildfire, Viva Laughlin, and Brothers & Sisters. On the latter series (the most popular of the bunch), he portrayed gay minister Jason McCallister, the brother of Republican presidential candidate Senator Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe) and a love interest for lawyer Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys). Winter followed that up with a recurring part as ADA Benjamin Talbot on the short-lived vampire detective series Moonlight. Also in 2007, he appeared in the stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (the sequel to the massive sleeper hit Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) as Colton Graham, the outwardly perfect but secretly manipulative and smug Republican fiancé of Kumar's ex-girlfriend (whom Kumar is still in love with).

Trivia: Won the third season of Canadian Idol in 2005. Released her self-titled debut album in 2005. Performed as Eponine in a 2013 Toronto production of Les Miserables; she later joined the 2014 Broadway revival cast of the show, acting in the ensemble and as an understudy for Eponine and Fantine. Won a 2014 Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in Theatre/Opera for her performance in Les Miserables.

Trivia: African-American supporting player Richard T. Jones boasts a resumé exhibiting the genre versatility of the most gifted character actors. Jones made his first significant onscreen appearance in 1993, with a bit part as Ike Turner Jr. in the harrowing drama What's Love Got to Do With It? He then branched out into supporting roles in such pictures as the military comedy Renaissance Man, the goofy Pauly Shore yuck-fest Jury Duty, the sci-fi horror film Event Horizon, and the psychological thrillers Kiss the Girls (1997) and Twisted (2004). In addition, Jones played Officer Clement Johnson on the short-lived cop drama Brooklyn South in the late '90s. The actor was particularly memorable in his regular role opposite Amy Brenneman on the legal drama series Judging Amy (1999-2005), as Court Services officer Bruce Van Exel. After taking appearing in multiple episodes of the sitcom Girlfriends as Aaron and in supporting roles in films such as Why Did I Get Married? and Vantage Point, Jones scored a regular part on the hit sci-fi series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, playing FBI agent James Ellison, who is constantly on the hunt for the fugitive Sarah Connor. He also appeared in J. J. Abrams 2011 Spielberg homage Super 8.

Trivia: Frequently relocated throughout his childhood because of his father's military service.Took voice lessons when he was middle school.Started acting during his senior year of high school, at age 17, securing a lead role in his first musical, 1940 Radio Hour.Worked as a New York Knicks Acroback Tumbler, performing during half-times at the Knicks Madison Square Garden home games, early in his entertainment career.Was also a part of Liberty Dancers, the co-ed hip hop WNBA dance team.

Trivia: Is of Colombian and Mexican-American descent. As a kid she dreamed of becoming a dancer. Was introduced to acting in elementary school when a teacher asked her if she would rather take a cooking class or one in theater. Her first role was Huckleberry Finn. Big break came when she landed the role of Celia Ortega on the soap opera As the World Turns in 2005. Best known for her role as Jasmine on The Nine Lives of Chloe King and as Gloria on Army Wives. Is trained in martial arts and is a huge fan of Bruce Lee.

Trivia: Moved to the U.S. from Sweden at age 12. Made her first film appearance in an uncredited role in the 2006 romantic comedy The Breakup. Was a series regular on two short-lived shows, The Finder and 666 Park Avenue, back-to-back in 2012.

Trivia: An accomplished young actor who has graced the stage, screen, and television, Harold Perrineau Jr. has earned a well-deserved reputation as a performer willing to take on just about anything, with roles ranging from drag queens to hardened criminals. A native of Brooklyn, Perrineau studied music and theatre at the Shenandoah Conservatory, but began his career as a dancer with the Alvin Ailey Company, performing with the troupe for a year and a half. A gradual shift to acting led Perrineau to the theatre, where he acted in a number of shows including Dreamgirls, the critically acclaimed Avenue X, and the off-Broadway revival of Godspell.While he was working on the stage, Perrineau also began appearing on TV in such shows as The Cosby Show, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, I'll Fly Away, and Law & Order. He segued onto the big screen in the late '80s, but had his first memorable role as Rashid Cole, a young man searching for his long-absent father (Forest Whitaker) in Smoke, an acclaimed 1995 drama directed by Wayne Wang and based upon the writings of Paul Auster. The following year he gained further exposure for his flamboyant, explosive portrayal of Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. At one point outfitted in a glitter miniskirt and platform heels, Perrineau proved a worthy, if idiosyncratic, foil for Leonardo Di Caprio's Romeo and gave a performance that marked him as one of the more distinctive Mercutios in the play's history.Perrineau subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles in films ranging from Auster's Lulu on the Bridge (1998) to The Best Man (1999), a celebrated romantic comedy directed by Malcolm D. Lee (cousin of Spike Lee) that saw Perrineau share the screen with other members of a group widely billed as a new generation of African-American actors, including Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut, and Nia Long. In addition to appearances in various independent films, Perrineau starred in Woman on Top (2000), a comedy that cast him as the drag queen best friend of a young woman (Penelope Cruz) experiencing romantic woes.In 1997, Perrineau made the move to the small screen, assuming the role of paraplegic convict and narrator Augustus Hill on the acclaimed HBO series Oz. The brutally violent, hard-hitting series generated Perrineau thousands of fans, and he stayed with the show until 2003 - the same year he took up the role of Link in The Matrix Reloaded, the second film in the explosive Matrix franchise. He would reprise the role the next year for the third and final installment in the series, The Matrix Revolutions, before returning to television just months later for the role of Michael on the cryptic ABC sci-fi/mystery/drama Lost. Playing a conflicted and sometimes morally ambiguous character, Perrineau soon proved to be a vital member of the cast, taking a hiatus from the series in 2007 only to return in 2008.Despite becoming a pivotal component of primetime TV, the actor remained as active in movies as ever. He took on the role of Flynn in the 2007 horror sequel 28 Weeks Later, and starred alongside Michael Madsen in the 2008 thriller The Killing Jar. After Lost ended in 2010, Perrineau continued to alternate between TV and film, playing the villain in season 5 of Sons of Anarchy and a decidedly lighter role as the bass player in a wedding band in the short-lived TBS comedy Wedding Band. He also played a supporting role in the controversial Oscar-nominated film Zero Dark Thirty (2012).

Trivia: Once she decided to become an actress, Ali Larter (born February 28th, 1976) swiftly became caught up in the late '90s surge of teen-oriented entertainment. A native of Cherry Hill, NJ, Larter began modeling at age 13. After seven years as a cover girl and a globe-trotting Ford model, she opted to move to Los Angeles to set her sights on acting, and soon landed guest star roles on several TV series, including a two-episode stint on the WB's hit teen drama Dawson's Creek in 1998. Quickly making the jump to movies, Larter co-starred in the high school gridiron hit Varsity Blues (1999) as an alluring, ambitious cheerleader with eyes for Dawson's Creek heartthrob James Van der Beek's quarterback. Though her next two movies, Drive Me Crazy (1999) and The House on Haunted Hill (1999), were not as successful, Larter's status as an up-and-coming young movie actress was enhanced by the sleeper success of teen horror film Final Destination (2000), in which she sported a brunette hair color to suit her artist character's gothic leanings. The following summer, Larter could be seen -- this time playing characters closer to her own age -- in two more high-profile releases for the PG-13 set: first as Reese Witherspoon's possibly-homicidal sorority sister in the comedy Legally Blonde (2001); and later, as the main squeeze of Colin Farrell, one of the titular train robbers in American Outlaws . The next several years brought much more of the same for Larter, as she signed for supporting roles in mostly buttered popcorn pictures and Hollywood programmers - such as the supernatural thriller follow-up Final Destination 2 (2003) and the Ashton Kutcher/Amanda Peet romantic comedy A Lot Like Love (2006) - but her career took an interesting twist in 2006. That year, Larter switched venues, signing for her first major television role: that of Niki Sanders, a single mom suddenly dumbstruck by the discovery of her violent, uber-strong alter ego, on the superhero-themed serial drama Heroes. In 2007, Larter tackled two major roles, very different from one another: that of Marigold Lexton, a young actress who stumbles into the cast of a Bollywood musical, in the quirky comedy-drama Marigold, and that of Alice, a resilient fighter who helps save the world from a zombifying virus, in the effects-heavy video game adaptation Resident Evil: Extinction. Larter played a dangerous femme fatle in Obsessed (2009), and starred in Resident Evil: Afterlife in 2010. In 2014, Larter returned to television in the TNT crime drama Legends.

Trivia: Knew from the age of 2 that she wanted to be a dancer. Originally from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, she moved to Orlando when she was 7. Appeared on many Nickleodeon programs, including Noah Knows Best and Kenan & Kel. Toured for two years as Carmen in Fame--The Musical. Was one of only two female dancers chosen for Michael Jackson's This Is It tour.

Trivia: Though she qualifies as a direct descendant of Middle Eastern royalty -- the great-great-grandaughter, in fact, of a 19th century Persian shah -- Iranian-American Sarah Shahi lived out several offscreen roles exotic enough to rival anything in her lineage. During her adolescence, she enjoyed stints as a USO performer and Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, and graduated from that experience to a successful Hollywood acting career at the behest of Robert Altman, who advised her in 2000 to make a beeline for the West Coast and audition for television pilots. Heeding this advice, Shahi gained national attention a short time later, as Jenny during the first season of the spy series Alias (opposite Jennifer Garner), and -- following guest appearances on Dawson's Creek -- debuted cinematically with a small but memorable role as a (very) willing classroom participant, in the Will Ferrell/Vince Vaughn frat boy comedy Old School (2003). Alongside fleeting appearances in such movies as Legally Blonde 2 (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006), Shahi also played the regular role of Carmen de la Pica Morales on Showtime's lesbian-themed drama The L Word during that program's second and third seasons. After her run on that series, she appeared in the short-lived sitcom Teachers (2006), and then found another regular role the next year on the cop drama Life, playing Dani Reese, partner of main character Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis). Shahi would continue to appear in several other projects, including films like I Don't Know How She Does It and the TV series Fairly Legal. In 2013, she had a guest stint on Person of Interest, which turned into a series regular role.

Trivia: A multi-talented actress who's just as comfortable on the stage as she is before the cameras, Lauren Tom has built quite an impressive resumé by establishing herself as one of the most prolific small-screen players of her generation. While fans of such popular television sitcoms as Friends and Men in Trees are no doubt familiar with her face, Tom has also crafted an impressive voice-over career thanks in large to work on such animated television series as Batman Beyond, Futurama, and King of the Hill. Though she would first gain notice as the dutiful daughter of an Asian-American family attempting to bridge the gap between the past and the present in The Joy Luck Club, Tom had already been acting in film and television for over a decade -- her career gradually gaining momentum thanks to bit parts in such films as Wall Street, Blue Steel, and Cadillac Man. Two years after her breakout performance in The Joy Luck Club, Tom would shine in her recurring role as Ross' girlfriend Julie in Friends. While her onscreen presence was indeed captivating, audiences would soon discover that Tom's unique voice could be a huge asset to any number of animated productions. Though in the following years, Tom's voice could be heard in a variety of animated releases, onscreen performances in shows like Monk and movies such as Bad Santa proved that the increasingly active voice-over artist was still very much committed to her onscreen career as well. In 2006, Tom made a sizable impression on theatergoers by relating her quest for inner peace in her Dramalogue Award-winning one-woman show 25 Psychics. With a Broadway background that has included performances in A Chorus Line and Hurly Burley, Tom has a ready comfort on the stage that has allowed her to focus on her impressive storytelling skills. In 2006, Tom was back in front of the camera keeping television viewers in stitches as mail-order bride (Mai) to crusty pilot Buzz (John Amos) in the rural comedy drama Men in Trees.

Trivia: Her father worked for the United Nations. Spent most of her childhood living in Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Met a producer while working at a restaurant in Los Angeles, which led to her first professional acting job in the movie Cellular in 2004.

Trivia: Of Jewish descent.Moved to Canada when she was seven.Won a Leo Award for her work as Tina Renwald in The Guard.Two of her costars from The 100, Donna Yamamoto and Ty Olsson, also appear in the movie 2012 (2009).One of the many actors from The 100 to have appeared on R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour.

Trivia: Went to Fresno State University on a track scholarship and was an All-American shot-putter. Won 15 professional arm-wrestling titles; also competed in weightlifting and bodybuilding tournaments. After college, worked four and a half years as a counselor at a Fresno correctional facility for juvenile offenders; later played corrections officers on iCarly (2008) and Desperate Housewives ('09). Broke into TV in Knights and Warriors, an American Gladiators clone, in 1992 (Jones' nom de guerre: Lady Battleaxe). Was cast as Coach Shannon Beiste in Glee after running into executive producer Brad Falchuk in an L.A. supermarket and asking to be on the show. Jones had previously worked with Falchuk and Glee creator Ryan Murphy on Nip/Tuck and their failed pilot Pretty/Handsome.