Trivia: Doing for bald men what no amount of Minoxodil ever could, Patrick Stewart won international fame for his portrayal of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the popular TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Before earning immortality for his ability to handle a phaser convincingly, Stewart was known as a stage actor of great talent in his native Britain, where he had been performing since he was a teenager.Born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England on July 13, 1940, Stewart was performing in various drama groups by the age of twelve. After leaving school at fifteen, he went to work as a junior reporter for a local newspaper. He quit the job after being told by the paper's editor that he was spending too much time at the theatre and not enough on the newspaper and worked for a year as a furniture salesman to pay for drama school. He was accepted at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1957, and two years later made his professional stage debut in a production of Treasure Island. Stewart went on to enjoy a prolific and acclaimed stage career, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and remaining with it for the next twenty-seven years. He also began to work on the big and small screens, and in the early 1980s started popping up in a number of popular films like Excalibur (1981) and Dune (1984). In 1987, he was chosen to play Picard on Next Generation. Certain that he would be fired from the series, Stewart reportedly refused to unpack his bags for six weeks. Although more than one snarky observer spent the first year of the series making idiot jokes about Stewart's bald pate, the actor--and the show--proved to be a hit. Stewart stayed with Next Generation for seven seasons, and then reprised his role for a string of successful Star Trek films: 1994's Star Trek Generations, 1996's Star Trek: First Contact, 1998's Star Trek: Insurrection and 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis.In addition to his work with the Next Generation series and films, Stewart also continued to work on the stage and in various films. In 1995, he had a hilarious turn as a flamboyant, acid-tongued interior decorator in Jeffrey, while in 1997 he tried his hand at intrigue with a part in The Conspiracy Theory. The following year, he appeared on the small screen, giving a terrific portrayal of the obsessive Captain Ahab in Moby Dick. Though a new Star Trek film every few years may not have been quite enough to keep the legions of sci-fi addicts satisfied, Stewart scored brownie points among fans by taking an impressive turn as Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men (2000), X2: X-Men United (2003), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). On the stage, Stewart enjoyed acclaim for a number of productions, particularly a one-man production of A Christmas Carol, which he performed in numerous theatrical venues around the world, winning numerous awards for his portrayal. He also earned extensive praise for his portrayal of Prospero in the Broadway production of The Tempest in 1996. Interestingly, Stewart, though appreciative of his star status, has repeatedly bristled at the notion that his lack of hair is "sexy," à la Yul Brynner. In regards to his reluctant sex symbol status, he has stated that he would much rather be judged on the basis of his acting ability rather than his appearance.

Trivia: Handsome, dark-haired, blue-eyed actor/director Jonathan Frakes is best known among Star Trek lovers for playing Commander William Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) and in the Star Trek feature films. Before joining the other legends of Gene Roddenberry's operatic future world, Frakes had worked on television and was a regular in two sudsy, short-lived series, Bare Essence (1983) and Paper Dolls (1984). The Pennsylvania native made his television debut in the 1979 movie Beach Patrol. Frakes has also appeared in numerous miniseries including Beulah Land (1980) and both installments of North and South (1985 and 1986). Frakes cut his directorial teeth with episodes of Star Trek the Next Generation and went on to helm other episodes in the Star Trek franchise, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. He has also directed episodes of Diagnosis Murder and University Hospital, as well as the CD-ROM Star Trek-Klingon (1996). Frakes made his feature-film debut as an actor in Star Trek: Generations (1994). He made his big-screen directorial bow in Star Trek: First Contact (1996). His fame from Star Trek has led Frakes to host various sci-fi/paranormal-oriented documentaries including the UPN network's series Paranormal Borderline and the Fox network's popular special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.

Trivia: African American actor LeVar Burton was a 19-year-old UCLA drama student when he was catapulted into international fame. On January 23, 1977, Burton made his professional debut as young Kunta Kinte, the protagonist of the classic TV miniseries Roots. He went on to give first-rate performances in such TV movies as Dummy (79) and One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story (78). Among LeVar Burton's more conspicuous TV appearances in the past decade have included his hosting chores on PBS' Reading Rainbow and his regular role as sightless Lieutenant Geordi LaForge on the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation (87-92). He has continued playing Lt. LaForge in the feature film versions of Star Trek. Burton is also a published author. Aside from the Star Trek films, his big-screen credits include the biopic Ali. Burton has also directed a handful of projects including episodic television, the senior-citizen romantic comedy Reach for Me, and Miracle's Boys - a drama about three brothers growing up in difficult circumstances.

Trivia: African-American actor Michael Dorn received much of his on-the-job training as a semi-regular on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives. In the prime-time hours, Dorn was seen as Officer Turner during the final two seasons (1980-1982) of the weekly cop series CHiPs. He went on to a flurry of supporting-cast activity in such theatrical features as The Jagged Edge (1985). Then, in 1987, Michael Dorn donned mounds of facial makeup for what was to be his signature role: the U.S.S. Enterprise's Klingon officer Lt. Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994).

Trivia: A black-eyed, exotic beauty from Great Britain, supporting actress Marina Sirtis is best known for playing the empathic Lt. Commander Deanna Troi on the Star Trek: The Next Generation series and in the feature films it spawned. Of Greek heritage, Sirtis was born in East London but raised in North London. Before launching her acting career with the Worthing Repertory Theatre, she studied at the Guild Hall School of Music and Drama. She appeared in many classical dramas with the theater, including Hamlet. A versatile performer, she has also appeared in musicals and, at one time, toured Europe in a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Sirtis has extensive experience on British television and made her film debut in The Wicked Lady (1983) opposite Faye Dunaway. She had a major role in the Charles Bronson revenge vehicle Death Wish III (1985).

Trivia: Best known for playing the android Data on the syndicated television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and in its feature film spin-offs, Brent Spiner is also a talented singer. Before agreeing to play Data, Spiner had spent a decade on the New York stage. A native of Houston, TX, he was raised by his mother and her second husband (Spiner's real father died when he was a baby). The Quaid brothers Randy and Dennis were among his high school classmates and the three learned about acting under Cecil Pickett. Eventually Pickett would leave the school to take a teaching job at the University of Houston. Spiner enrolled there soon after graduation, but only remained at the university through 1974 when he decided to become a professional actor in New York City. Like many other aspiring thespians, Spiner had dues to pay in the form of taking a job as a cab driver before launching his career off-Broadway. He made his Broadway debut with Sunday in the Park With George opposite Mandy Patinkin. He made his television debut in a miniseries, The Dain Curse, and first appeared in films with a bit part in Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980). Spiner had a rare starring role in Rent Control (1981). He moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and launched a career as a television guest star on series and as a supporting actor in telemovies and miniseries. He most frequently appeared on the sitcom Night Court as the man who establishes a snack bar in the courthouse. He then successfully auditioned for the role of Data. Interestingly, Spiner claims no particular love for science fiction and was not a big fan of the original Star Trek. He says he mainly took the job because he didn't think the new series would last and because he needed to pay a few bills. The show lasted seven years also spawning a successful film series, and from the start, his was the most popular character on the show. In an effort to capitalize and satirize his nonhuman role on the show -- and perhaps to poke fun at actors William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy who capitalized on their Star Trek fame by each recording equally awful albums (can anyone forget Nimoy's bouncy rendition of "Bilbo Hobbitt"?) -- Spiner recorded his own album, Old Yellow Eyes Is Back (1991), with an 80-piece orchestra and fellow castmates Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, and Michael Dorn. Though the bulk of his fame comes from being Data, Spiner is not content to spend the rest of his career typecast and so occasionally plays other characters. His portrayal of prissy singing cruise director Gil Godwin was the funniest thing about Martha Coolidge's waterlogged Out to Sea (1997).

Trivia: Gates McFadden (aka Cheryl McFadden) primarily works in television and is best known for playing Dr. Beverly Crusher on the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), but she has also done some film work, including the Star Trek film series. McFadden has also worked as a choreographer on The Dark Crystal (1982), Dreamchild (1985), and Labyrinth (1986). McFadden made her film debut in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). In the thriller The Hunt for Red October (1990), she played Caroline Ryan, the wife of Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) (in the sequel, McFadden was replaced by Ann Archer). In addition to Star Trek: The Next Generation, McFadden has been a semi-regular on Mad About You, The Cosby Show, and Party of Five.

Trivia: After building a career as a character actor playing dozens of military men and cops, Ken Jenkins founds steady work and notoriety in 2001 when he was cast as Chief of Medicine Dr. Bob Kelso on NBC's Scrubs. Born in New Boston, OH, Jenkins began acting on the stage in the 1960s and continued to be a presence in the theater world throughout the '70s and into the '80s before transitioning to a screen career. His film roles included such varying and prominent features as Matewan and The Abyss, and his TV work included work on everything from Newhart to Star Trek: The Next Generation. In 1991, Jenkins got his first taste of regular series work when he was cast on the acclaimed family drama Homefront, which lasted two seasons. More supporting work followed before the creators of Scrubs came knocking and offered the role for which he would come to be best known. He would appear on the show until 2010, after which he took on a recurring role on the series Cougar Town.

Trivia: Former adolescent actor Scott Grimes first appeared onscreen at age 15 in Critters (1986).

Trivia: Wil Wheaton was eight years old when he got his first showbiz break, appearing with Bill Cosby in a Jell-O pudding commercial. The following year (1982), Wheaton was prominently featured in the voiceover cast of the animated The Secret of NIMH. During this same period, he made his Los Angeles stage debut in a Company of Angels Theatre production of All My Sons. His starmaking turn was as Gordie Lachance, the Stephen King alter-ego, in the 1986 feature Stand By Me (1986). He then went on to play the title role in the 1987 Disney TV-movie Young Harry Houdini. Wheaton gained worldwide fame (and a worldwide website) as ensign Wesley Crusher in the weekly TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role he played from 1987 to 1990. After leaving STNG on his own accord, Wheaton transitioned into adult roles with appearances in Flubber and a slew of independent films, and in 2001 he launched Wil Wheaton Dot Net, a blog that quickly gained a considerable following while turning the veteran actor into something of a geek icon. Meanwhile, in addition to staying busy with voice roles in such popular videogames as the Grand Theft Auto series and Fallout: New Vegas, Wheaton also contributed vocally to such animated television series' as Naruto, Ben 10: Alien Force, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In 2009 he began riffing on his own public persona with a recurring role as a fictional version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, and in 2010 he joined the cast of the quirky Sci-fi Channel series Eureka as Dr. Isaac Parrish. The author of both Dancing Barefoot and Just a Geek, Wheaton is the brother of actress Amy Wheaton.

Trivia: Though best known as an outspoken comedienne, Whoopi Goldberg is also a talented dramatic actress. By virtue of her distinctive appearance and a persona that is both no-nonsense and empathic, Goldberg has emerged as one of the most recognizable celebrities of the '80s and '90s.Born Caryn Johnson on November 13, 1955 in New York City, Goldberg began her long career when she was eight years old, performing with New York's Helena Rubenstein Children's Theater. She then went on to study with the Hudson Guild children's arts program and attended the prestigious High School for the Performing Arts. After graduating, Goldberg occasionally won small parts in Broadway productions such as Hair, Pippin and Jesus Christ Superstar, but also supported herself doing odd jobs like bricklaying and serving as a funeral parlor make-up artist. In 1975, Goldberg moved West and helped found the San Diego Repertory Theater, where she appeared in a number of plays, including Brecht's Mother Courage and Marsha Norman's Getting Out. After several stints with the Spontaneous Combustion improvisational troupe and work in avant-garde productions at Berkeley's Blake Street Hawkeyes theater, Goldberg devised The Spook Show, a one woman satirical production in which she played several characters. The show, which originated in San Francisco, eventually toured the U.S. and Europe, earning acclaim and the attention of director Mike Nichols. Nichols went on to direct a 1984 Broadway version of the show, which earned Goldberg Drama Desk and Theatre World awards, as well as a Grammy for the album recording.Goldberg made an auspicious Hollywood debut with her portrayal of Celie, the lead character in Steven Spielberg's controversial 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker's novel. Goldberg's moving performance was rewarded with an Oscar nomination and Best Actress Golden Globe, as well as instant stardom for the actress. Although Goldberg's film career looked promising, the actress unfortunately spent much of the decade's remainder appearing in terrible action comedies such as Fatal Beauty and Burglar (both 1987) that did not do her comic gifts justice. Her one partial success during this period was her first action comedy, Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), which did relatively well at the box office and gave her a certain cult status. In 1988, Goldberg took a break from comedy with a memorable turn as a worldly Jamaican nanny in the otherwise unremarkable Clara's Heart. She also made numerous appearances in television specials, most notably as a co-host for the annual Comic Relief benefit for the homeless. Her attempt at sitcoms failed with the short-lived series Bagdad Cafe, but she did find greater television success with a small but crucial recurring role as the sagacious intergalactic bartender Guinan on the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation. Around the same time, Goldberg's film career underwent a sharp turn-around. She won acclaim playing a selfless housekeeper opposite Sissy Spacek in the provocative Civil Rights drama The Long Walk Home (1989), and then played an eccentric con artist possessing unexpected psychic powers in the 1990 smash hit Ghost. Goldberg's funny yet moving performance earned her her first Oscar and the widespread opinion that this marked her comeback performance. After a couple of missteps that had a few people rethinking this verdict, Goldberg scored again with the 1992 hit comedy Sister Act. Nominated for Golden Globes and two NAACP awards, the film spawned mass ticket sales and an unsuccessful 1993 sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Meanwhile, Goldberg also continued her television work with a 1992 late night talk show. A laid back affair that ran for 200 episodes, it was praised by critics but failed to secure high ratings and went on permanent hiatus after only six months. However, Goldberg continued to appear on TV with her recurring role as a Comic Relief co-host and as an MC for the Academy Awards ceremony, a role she reprised multiple times. At the same time, Goldberg continued to work in film, doing both comedy and drama and experiencing the obligatory highs and lows. Some of her more memorable roles included that of a single mother who discovers that Ted Danson, not a black genius, fathered her daughter in Made in America (1993), a lesbian lounge singer in Boys on the Side (1995), a white-middle-aged corporate executive in The Associate (1996), Angela Bassett's best friend in the 1998 hit How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and a private detective in the drama The Deep End of the Ocean (1999). In addition, Goldberg also appeared in two notable documentaries, The Celluloid Closet (1995), and Get Bruce! a piece about comedy writer Bruce Vilanch that also featured fellow comedians such as Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Nathan Lane and Bette Midler.As the new decade dawned, Goldberg could be seen in supporting roles in projects like Rocky and Bullwinkle and the ensemble comedy Rat Race. Then, in 2003, she tried her hand at a starring sitcom role for the first time with Whoopi. The show found Goldberg playing an irreverent hotel owner and was met with mixed reviews before being cancelled mid-season.In 2004, Goldberg focused her career on voice work with appearances in Doogal, The Lion King 1 1/2, and P3K: Pinocchio3000. She continued this trend in the following years with such films as Racing Stripes and Everyone's Hero. Then, in 2007, Goldberg returned to the small-screen, replacing Rosie O'Donnell on the ABC panel show The View. Goldberg lent her voice to Pixar's Toy Story 3 in 2010, and as the narrator for 2011's documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey.