Trivia: Born Carlos Ray Norris, Chuck Norris served in Korea in the Army. While there, he studied karate and later became the World Middleweight Karate Champion. He was encouraged by one of his karate students, actor Steve McQueen, to go into acting. He debuted onscreen in the enormously popular Bruce Lee vehicle Enter the Dragon (1973); since the death of Lee he has been the screen's premier martial arts star. He has appeared primarily in militaristic movies in which he single-handedly kills many enemies. His breakthrough film was Missing in Action (1984), in which he played an ex-POW in search of American prisoners still held in Vietnam.

Trivia: Received a scholarship to UCLA but dropped out after just one semester to pursue a career in entertainment. Before embarking on her Hollywood career she was a featured member of the renowned performance troupe the Young Americans. Released her debut dance-pop album, Nothin' But Trouble, in 1988. Hosted a short-lived late-night musical variety show, The Party Machine With Nia Peeples, which was executive produced by Arsenio Hall. Volunteers for the American Heart Association and in 2011 participated in the AHA's "Go Red for Women Stiletto Strut" in Glendale, CA.

Trivia: Formerly a schoolteacher, Texas-born Noble Willingham has been essaying crusty character roles since 1969. Willingham's resumé includes a brace of location-filmed Peter Bogdanovich films, The Last Picture Show (1971) and Paper Moon (1973), and the role of Clay Stone in both of Billy Crystal's City Slickers comedies. Among his TV-movie credits is the part of President James Knox Polk in 1985's Dream West. A regular on several TV series (The Ann Jillian Show, Texas Wheelers, Cutter to Houston, AfterMASH, When the Whistle Blows), Willingham is best known to 1990s viewers as Mr. Binford (of Binford Tools) in Home Improvement and C. D. Parker in Walker, Texas Ranger. Noble Willingham's most recent film assignments include Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994) Up Close and Personal (1996) and Space Jam (1996). In 2000, Willingham left Walker, Texas Ranger to run for Congress in Texas. After losing the election to his Democratic opponent, Max Sandlin, Willingham returned to acting with a supporting role in the Val Kilmer thriller Blind Horizon. Sadly, the part would be the actor's last. In early 2004, at the age of 72, Willingham passed away at home from natural causes.

Trivia: Supporting actor, onscreen from the late '80s.

Trivia: A well-respected character actor who specializes in playing tough guys with a heart, Luis Guzman has appeared in a dizzying array of film and television productions since he began his professional acting career in the early 1980s.Born August 28, 1956, Guzman graduated from City College and worked for some years as a youth counselor at the Henry Street Settlement House. During his time as a social worker, he began performing in street theatre and independent films. Guzman got his first big break in the early '80s with a role on the popular TV series Miami Vice. He went on to work sporadically in film and television throughout the rest of the decade, appearing in such films as Sidney Lumet's Family Business and Ridley Scott's Black Rain (both 1989).Guzman's work schedule grew increasingly crowded as the 1990s progressed; kicking off the decade with an appearance in another Lumet piece, Q & A (1990), the actor began popping up in films ranging from romantic comedy (Anthony Minghella's Mr. Wonderful, 1993) to crime drama (Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way, 1993) to gay and lesbian historical docudrama (Nigel Finch's Stonewall, 1995). Thanks to directors Steven Soderbergh and Paul Thomas Anderson, Guzman became more readily recognizable in the late 1990s. For Soderbergh, he had substantial roles in Out of Sight (1998), which cast him as a prisoner whose planned escape is ruined by George Clooney; and The Limey (1999), in which he played Terence Stamp's gruff but good-hearted partner in revenge. For Anderson, Guzman appeared in both Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999), playing a wannabe porn star in the former and a game show contestant in the latter. 2002 proved Guzman's busiest year to date as the increasingly visible actor appeared in no less than five films, including a prominant role in the caper comedy Welcome to Collinwood and a re-teaming with director Anderson with Punch-Drunk Love. On television, Guzman became a regular presence thanks to a recurring role on the HBO prison drama Oz, as well as appearances on such shows as Law and Order, NYPD Blue, and Walker, Texas Ranger.

Trivia: Lead actress Patricia Charbonneau was first seen on screen in Desert Hearts (1986).

Trivia: Hardly diminutive, Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. has made his imposing presence felt in a multitude of films since the mid-'80s. Originally a professional wrestler nicknamed Zeus and Z-Gangsta, the 6' 5" 275 lb. Lister retired in 1985 to pursue an acting career. After making his movie debut in director Hal Ashby's final film 8 Million Ways to Die (1985), Lister spent the rest of the 1980s working primarily in A and B movies heavy on action, including Runaway Train (1985), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), and Walter Hill's Extreme Prejudice (1987). Lister earned his first starring role playing his wrestling alter ego Zeus in the Hulk Hogan vehicle No Holds Barred (1989). Lister continued his run of B films in the early '90s, as well as appearing in Walter Hill's higher profile actioner Trespass (1992) with future co-star Ice Cube, and Jean-Claude Van Damme's Universal Soldier (1992). As the 1990s went on, Lister played roles in a more varied assortment of films, including the quirky Johnny Depp/Marlon Brando/Faye Dunaway romantic fantasy Don Juan DeMarco (1995) and the Quentin Tarantino-wannabe noir Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995). Lister got to act for Tarantino himself in Jackie Brown, as well as play the President in Luc Besson's The Fifth Element. Lister's 1990s career also benefited from the decade's surge in African-American filmmaking, beginning with his starring role in Mario Van Peebles' Western Posse (1993). Lister subsequently starred as neighborhood bully Deebo opposite Ice Cube in the sleeper hit comedy Friday (1995). After appearing in comedian Martin Lawrence's A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996), Lister played a supporting role in Ice Cube's directorial debut The Players Club (1998), and starred as a hood in Master P's I Got the Hook-Up (1998). Adding to his eclectic credits in 2000, Lister notched another hit reprising his role as Deebo in the sequel Next Friday (2000), and co-starred as one of Satan's sons in the Adam Sandler comedy Little Nicky (2000).

Trivia: Actor Mike Norris specializes in low-budget or direct-to-video action films. The son of popular martial artist and actor Chuck Norris, he made his feature-film debut in Final Cut (1980).