Trivia: Born in a musically talented family.Grew up in Gary, Indiana.The first African American MFA graduate at Rutgers University.Recorded his lessons for his theater students at Rutgers University while working on the set of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, often in costume.Plays jazz piano.

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: Though she has several features and TV movies to her credit, Terry Farrell has thrived primarily as an actress on series television. Born Theresa Lee Farrell Grussendorf in Cedar Rapids, IA, Farrell moved to New York City to become a model. During her several years as a cover girl, she also studied acting and landed her first major role as an actress by playing a model on the short-lived TV series Paper Dolls (1984). While she continued her acting studies, Farrell had a small role in the Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School (1986) and appeared in the TV movies Beverly Hills Madam (1986) and The Deliberate Stranger (1986), a well-received docudrama on serial killer Ted Bundy. After she starred in the horror sequel Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), Farrell attracted a following as Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1998). During her five years on Deep Space Nine, Farrell also appeared in the TV adaptation of Danielle Steel's Star (1993), the B-action movie Red Sun Rising (1994), and the TV thriller Reasons of the Heart (1996). After Deep Space Nine ended, the actress stayed with TV, signing on to play Reggie, the beautiful diner worker and occasionally sharp-tongued foil to Ted Danson's grumpy doctor on the CBS sitcom Becker (1998).

Trivia: While his name might suggest a birthplace somewhere in France -- or at the very least Quebec -- actor Rene Auberjonois was born in New York City. However, his well-to-do parents were of noble European blood, thus French was the language of choice in his household. Despite his first-born-American status, Auberjonois was shunned by many of his schoolmates as a foreigner, and teased for having a "girl's" name. As a defense mechanism, Auberjonois became the class clown, which somehow led naturally to amateur theatricals. The influence of such neighborhood family friends as Burgess Meredith and Lotte Lenya solidified Auberjonois' determination to make performing his life's work. He was cast in a production at Stratford (Ontario)'s Shakespeare company by John Houseman -- another neighbor of his parents' -- and after moving with his family to England, Auberjonois returned to complete his acting training at Carnegie-Mellon University. There he decided to specialize in character parts rather than leads -- a wise decision, in that he's still at it while some of his handsomer and more charismatic Carnegie-Mellon classmates have fallen by the wayside. Three years with the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. led Auberjonois to San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre, of which he was a founding member. Movie and TV work was not as easy to come by, so the actor returned to New York, where he won a Tony for his Broadway role in the musical Coco. An introduction to director Robert Altman led Auberjonois to his first film, M*A*S*H (1970), in which he introduced the character that would later be fleshed out on TV as Father Mulcahy (with William Christopher in the role). He worked in two more Altman films before he and the director began to grow in opposite directions. More stage work and films followed, then TV assignments; Auberjonois' characters ranged from arrogant dress designers to snooty aristocrats to schizophrenic killers on film, while the stage afforded him more richly textured roles in such plays as King Lear and The Good Doctor. In 1981, Auberjonois was cast as Clayton Endicott III, the terminally fussy chief of staff to Governor Gatling on Benson. Like so many other professional twits in so many other films, Auberjonois' job was to make life miserable for the more down-to-earth hero, in this case Robert "Benson" Guillaume. Blessed with one of the most flexible voiceboxes in show business, Auberjonois has spent much of his career providing voice-overs for cartoon characters in animated projects like the Disney's The Little Mermaid, The Legend of Tarzan, Justice League, and Pound Puppies. In 1993, Rene Auberjonois assured himself a permanent place in the hearts of "Trekkies" everywhere when he was cast as Odo (complete with understated but distinctive "alien" makeup) on the weekly syndicated TV show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which he appeared on until 1999.Auberjonois would remain extremely active on screen in the years to come, appearing in movies like The Patriot, and on shows like Boston Legal.

Trivia: A versatile performer born into the lap of show business -- her parents were Gypsy stage choreographer Robert Tucker and ballet instructor Nenette Charisse, and her aunt (by marriage) acclaimed dancer Cyd Charisse -- Nana Visitor grew up on the west side of Manhattan, not far from Broadway. Visitor followed her parents' lead by formally training as a ballet dancer from the age of seven, then segued into tap dance, and in virtually no time seemed destined for the stages of the Great White Way, an accomplishment secured by late adolescence. Visitor's stage credits include My One and Only, Gypsy, 42nd Street, and The Ladies' Room; by the mid-'80s she began signing for on-camera appearances as well, often though not always in telemovies and series roles. Her best-known parts include a regular role as Major Kira Nerys on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for the series' entire seven-season run and a recurring part during the first season of James Cameron's Dark Angel as the nefarious Dr. Elizabeth Renfro (aka Madame X). Visitor then went on to star as Roxie Hart in a revival of the stage musical Chicago before again taking a regular TV role. This time, Visitor played Jean Ritter on the horse-racing teen drama Wildfire.

Trivia: Comedy writer-actor, onscreen from the '80s. She was often teamed with Griff Rhys Jones.

Trivia: Paul Dooley is fondly remembered by fans of '80s cinema as the forgetful but well-intending father of a disgruntled Molly Ringwald in the John Hughes teen classic Sixteen Candles (1984). The longtime character actor's droopy, distinctive features and endearing onscreen warmth have kept him a familiar figure in both film and television. A Parkersurg, WV, native who originally aspired to become a cartoonist, Dooley drew comic strips for a local newspaper before entering the navy. Upon discharge, the future actor entered college, where he discovered his passion for the stage. A move to New York found the aspiring actor landing frequent stage work, and after discovering a previously untapped ability for comedy, Dooley tried his hand at standup for about five years. Always looking to expand his skills, he made his film debut in the 1970 comedy The Out-of-Towners. From 1971 to 1972, Dooley was also head writer for the popular children's television series The Electric Company. After showing promise in such late-'70s efforts as Slap Shot (1977) and A Wedding (1978), Dooley made a big impression with his supporting role as the lead character's worrisome father in Breaking Away (1979). Though he was overlooked at Oscar time, he was nominated for a New York Film Critics Circle award and won the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actor. He kicked off the most successful decade of his film career with a performance as Wimpy in the much-maligned Robert Altman musical comedy Popeye (1980). Besides his memorable turn in Sixteen Candles, Dooley also delivered hilarious performances in the 1980s films Strange Brew (1983) and John Cassavetes' Big Trouble (1985). Fans of the extraterrestrial comedy series ALF will also remember him as the curiously named Whizzer Deaver.Though his feature roles through the 1990s largely consisted of such B-grade fare as My Boyfriend's Back (1993) and Error in Judgment (1998), Dooley managed to stay on top thanks to parts in such popular television series as Mad About You, Dream On, Grace Under Fire, and The Practice. He also took on occasional roles in more notable films, including Waiting for Guffman (1996), Clockwatchers (1997), Happy, Texas (1999), and Runaway Bride (also 1999), which served to remind movie buffs just how funny the talented comic actor could be when given the opportunity. Dooley's performances in such later efforts as Insomnia (2002) hinted at a darker side rarely explored by the usually jovial actor. In 2003, after re-teaming with Waiting for Guffman cohort Christopher Guest to blow A Mighty Wind, he took a supporting role in former MTV beauty queen Jenny McCarthy's comedy Dirty Love.

Trivia: Colm Meaney is no stranger to the run down Barrytown district of Dublin depicted in The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van, having grown up near the much mythologized neighborhood. The Dublin native began his acting career at the age of 14, eventually receiving formal training at Dublin's prestigious Abbey Theatre School of Acting and going on to join the Irish National Theatre Company. Meaney eventually graduated to the English stage, working in various London theaters, and then began to audition for television work, mainly landing bit parts in such TV shows as the cop drama Z Cars.Meaney moved to the U.S. in 1982, continuing to work mainly on the stage, but gradually made the transition into television and film playing small parts and guest roles on a variety of series. He was part of the cast of One Life to Live from 1986 to 1987, playing Patrick London, and then was hired for a bit part on Encounter at Farpoint, the pilot for the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. He was hired again for another part and then given the role of Chief Miles Edward O'Brien, and quickly went from being a bit player to an important member of the ensemble cast. The character was transferred to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the pilot for that series, and Meaney became a staple member of the show's cast.During his tenure on both Star Trek series, Meaney's motion picture career began to take off, as the bit parts he was given gradually became more substantial. Meaney made his greatest impact in smaller films like the so-called Barrytown Trilogy -- The Commitments (1991), in which he played the father of one of the band members; The Snapper (1993), in which he portrayed Dessie, who finds himself out of a job and suddenly a grandfather; and The Van (1996), which cast him as Larry, a layabout who manages to have a grand idea one day that results in his and a friend Bimbo starting a business out of a derelict vending van. Meaney was also notable in 1996's The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain: his Morgan the Goat, a randy Welsh pub owner with a flair for smart remarks, was an appropriate foil for the naive Englishman played by Hugh Grant. Meaney has continued to divide his time between the U.K. and the U.S., making particularly notable appearances in Paul Quinn's This Is My Father (1998), which cast him as the swishy son of an old gypsy woman; Lodge Kerrigan's Claire Dolan, in which he played a high-class pimp; Ted Demme's Monument Avenue (1998), which featured him as the bullying leader of a Boston gang; and Chapter Zero (2000), an independent comedy that cast Meaney as the cross-dressing father of a struggling writer.He continued to work steadily well into the 21st century in a variety of projects including Bitter Harvest, Intermission, Layer Cake, and Turning Green. He played soccer coach Don Revie in the sports drama The Damned United before playing the father of a strung-out rockstar in the comedy Get Him to the Greek. He appeared in Robert Redford's historical drama The Conspirator, as well as the period drama Bel Ami.

Trivia: Born to an English mother and Sudanese father. Uncle Sadiq Al Mahdi was a two-time Prime Minister of Sudan (in the 1960s and '80s). Was bitten by the acting bug as a teenager, when he played Puck in a high-school production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Initially aspired to be a director, and has directed plays as well as two episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Interests include wine collecting, role-playing games, gardening and home projects.