Trivia: Until she headlined Jerry Maguire opposite Tom Cruise in late 1996, Renée Zellweger claimed extremely limited public recognition. Though Zellweger essayed several key roles before Maguire, the vulnerability and versatility that the actress exhibited as Cruise's (long undeclared) love interest in Cameron Crowe's seriocomedy netted much-deserved praise from critics and audiences alike. Though the Academy passed her over when that year's Oscar nominations rolled around, she received several other laurels for her work in Maguire, including the title of Best Breakthrough Performer by the National Board of Review.Born April 25th, 1969, the willowy, strawberry blonde Zellweger began life in Katy, TX, a small town on the outskirts of Houston. The town was so small that it possessed neither cable television nor a movie theater. As a result, Zellweger reportedly did not see her first art film until she was a student at the University of Texas in Austin. Her career at U.T. was an exceptional one; a regular on the Dean's List, she graduated a year early with a B.A. in Radio, Film, and Television. While in college, Zellweger took an acting class and discovered a knack for performing; following graduation, she made her feature-film debut with a bit part in Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused (1993). She then landed a role playing a whacked-out waitress in Love and a .45 (1994), for which she won her first Independent Spirit Award nomination; she won a second nomination for The Whole Wide World (1996), earning additional acclaim at various film festivals.Following the tremendous success of Jerry Maguire, Zellweger went on to prove herself as a versatile actress able to play roles ranging from an ambitious journalist (who temporarily shelves her career to care for her mother) in One True Thing (1998) to a rebellious Hassidic Jew in Boaz Yakin's A Price Above Rubies (1998). She then exhibited a capacity for romantic comedy in The Bachelor (1999), starring as the long-suffering girlfriend of a commitment-phobic Chris O'Donnell. Zellweger's second role as a deeply confused soap opera fanatic in Neil LaBute's offbeat crime comedy Nurse Betty won her the Best Actress in a Comedy Award at the 2000 Golden Globes. Nominated for yet another Golden Globe the following year for her memorable performance in Bridget Jones' Diary (2001), that same role also earned Zellweger her maiden Oscar nod. The following few years found Zellweger's leading lady status growing and numerous lucrative film offers flowing in, and the release of White Oleander (2002) the starlet received numerous positive reviews despite the film's lackluster performance. Later that same year, Zellweger was on top of the world when she received rave reviews for her role in Chicago. Based on the popular Broadway musical of the same name, director Rob Marshall's flashy cinematic extravaganza received nearly unanimous praise accompanied by multiple Academy Award nominations, including a second Best Actress in a Leading Role nod to Ms. Zellweger for her lively performance.Zellweger lost the award bid to Nicole Kidman, and then teamed up with that actress for Anthony Minghella's epic Cold Mountain. The performance netted Zellweger her third Oscar nomination, and on February 29, 2004, her losing streak ended as she took home the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Attempting to keep up the momentum, Zellweger then returned to the character that earned her her first Oscar nod, starring in the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004). Unfortunately, that outing (directed by To Wong Foo helmer Beeban Kidron) failed to draw the critical acclaim of its predecessor and was widely greeted with public apathy in the States, but in the final analysis, it grossed nearly as much as the premier outing (with a massive overseas take). After the second Bridget Jones installment, Zellweger's screen activity decrescendoed somewhat, but she placed a heightened emphasis on more offbeat and unusual roles, including a portrayal of children's author Beatrix Potter in the Weinstein Company outing Miss Potter (2006), and a throwback role to the days of classic Hollywood screwball comedy, as the romantic lead of George Clooney and John Krasinski in the period sports outing Leatherheads (2008). The actress lent her voice to the animated children's fantasy Monsters vs. Aliens, and will reprise her role as Bridget Jones for Bridget Jones' Baby. Off-camera, Zellweger has been romantically linked to funnyman Jim Carrey and to rocker Jack White, of The White Stripes. She was married very briefly to Kenny Chesney; the two received an annulment in less than a year.

Trivia: Played Romeo in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's 2008 all-male production of Romeo and Juliet. Made TV appearances on Cold Case, ER and CSI: Miami before his October 2009 debut as All My Children's Damon Miller, a role he held until January 2011. First appeared on the big screen in the 2010 crime drama Twelve. Debuted on Broadway in 2012 in Death of a Salesman, playing Happy Loman opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman's Willy Loman. Cowrote the 2015 indie film The Submarine Kid.

Trivia: Sporting the kind of darkly mischievous good looks that often get him cast as randy, ne'er-do-well paramours, Rufus Sewell began his film career in the early '90s and soon emerged as one of England's most promising young actors. The son of an Australian animator who died when he was ten, Sewell was born in Twickenham, Middlesex, on October 29, 1967. He trained to become an actor at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, leaving the school after three years. After making a promising debut on the London stage with an award-winning performance in Making It Better, Sewell originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, which earned him a nomination for the prestigious Olivier Award. He also won acclaim on the other side of the Atlantic, winning Broadway's Theatre World Award for his performance in Translations.In addition to his work on the stage, Sewell had been acting on both the large and small screen, making his film debut in 1991 with Twenty-One, in which he played Patsy Kensit's junkie boyfriend. In 1994 he caught the attention of American art house filmgoers with his role as a sweet-natured bus driver who becomes the object of Albert Finney's affections in A Man of No Importance; the same year, PBS viewers could see him star in the acclaimed adaptation of Middlemarch.Sewell's art house recognition increased the following year, when he had starring roles in John Schlesinger's Cold Comfort Farm and Carrington. The first film cast him as an earthy farmer accustomed to rolls in the hay, while the second cast him as one of Emma Thompson's army of spurned lovers. Both films helped to get him noticed, even if the attention centered primarily on his imported lust-object status, but it was not until 1998 that he was given his first starring role, headlining the cast of Dark City. Unfortunately, the film vaporized at the box office, as did Sewell's other film that year, Dangerous Beauty.In 1999, the actor was again visible to transatlantic audiences, first as a bitter, alcoholic cokehead in The Very Thought of You, a romantic comedy released in Britain the previous year; and then in John Turturro's Illuminata, a turn-of-the-century romantic farce which cast him as an amorous actor. The latter film -- which also featured Susan Sarandon, Ben Gazzara, and Christopher Walken in its impressive cast -- won a number of good reviews, as did Sewell, an actor who by this point had made the expression of earthy lustiness into something of an endearing trademark.In 2000 Sewell graced the screen in Bless the Child, a supernatural thriller that also starred Kim Basinger and Christina Ricci. Of course few actors of his generation could essay such instantly dislikable villains as the talented Sewell, and after raising the ire of the noble Heath Ledger in the popular period adventure A Knight's Tale, he would once again make viewer's skin crawl as an aristocratic creep with more than a few skeletons in the closet in Neil Burger's romantic fantasy The Illusionist. In 2008 Sewell appeared as Alexander Hamilton in the Emmy-winning HBO mini-series John Adams, with subsequent roles in Eleventh Hour and The Pillars of the Earth preceding a turn as Detective Aurelio Zen in the TV mini-series Zen, and a turn as an evil bloodsucker with designs on the newly established United States in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

Trivia: Came in second on I'd Do Anything, a 2008 BBC-televised competition to find a new, unknown lead to play the role of Nancy in a West End revival of Oliver! Turned down an offer to understudy winner Jodie Prenger in order to appear in a revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, directed by Trevor Nunn. Completed a six-month residency at the world-famous Annabel's, singing jazz music. Performed opposite Jude Law in a West End production of Shakespeare's Henry V in 2014. Hand-picked to join Kenneth Branagh's theatre company in 2015.

Trivia: One of Britain's most revered stage performers, Michael Gambon (born October 19th, 1940) was described by the late Sir Ralph Richardson as "The Great Gambon." The fierce-looking Irish actor joined Britain's National Theatre in 1963 after being personally selected by Sir Laurence Olivier. He quickly worked his way up to leading parts and became particularly well known for his work in a number of Alan Ayckbourn plays. Gambon's career received a major boost in 1980, when he took the title role in John Dexter's production of The Life of Galileo; he subsequently became a regular player with both the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The actor received particular acclaim for his work in A View from the Bridge, for which he won all of the major drama awards in 1987, and Volpone, for which he won the 1995 Evening Standard Award. Gambon made his Broadway debut in 1997 in New York's Royal Theatre production of David Hare's Skylight.While he was busy racking up an impressive number of plays, Gambon also found time to nurture a film career. Although he made his screen debut in a 1965 adaptation of Othello, the actor appeared only sporadically in films until the late '80s, when he began earning recognition for his work in such films as Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989), which cast him as the sadistic titular thief. He went on to do starring work in a number of diverse films, including A Man of No Importance (1994), The Browning Version (1994), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), and Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999). Extremely busy during the millennial turnover, Gambon once again caught the attention of audiences in Robert Altman's much-praised comedy Gosford Park before taking over the late Richard Harris's role as Albus Dumbledore in 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, subsequently portraying the character for the remainder of the films. Gambon, who became a familiar face to PBS devotees via his title role in Dennis Potter's quirky TV serial The Singing Detective (1986-1987), was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1992.The actor would further demonstrate his range by appearing in 2004's highly stylized sci-fi adventure Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the British crime thriller Layer Cake, and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, an edgy comedy from director Wes Anderson. Gambon continued in his role of Dumbledore until the Harry Potter film franchise came to an end in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.

Trivia: In 2016, was nominated for the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. Is perhaps best known for playing Lance Corporal Will Jensen in drama series Strike Back between 2017 and 2018. In 2016, appeared in Kenneth Branagh's big-screen adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express as Colonel John Armstrong.

Trivia: Began stage acting at age four when they joined a local Stagecoach group. First audition was for an amateur production of Music Man, and they won the lead part of Amaryllis. Screen debut was as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones.

Trivia: Knew that he wanted to act from the age of 12; age 15 came second in the Midland's Shakespeare Competition. In 2012, played the role of Laurence in Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London; this earned him a nomination for best supporting actor at the 2013 London What's On Stage awards. Is a frequent collaborator with fellow magician Derren Brown; co-wrote and co-directed four of Brown's stage shows, one of which, Enigma, was nominated for Best Entertainment at the 2010 Olivier Awards. Is the co-creator, writer and director of the long-running horror play Ghost Stories with Jeremy Dyson; in 2017 directed and starred in the film adaptation of the play.

Trivia: Played Craig in Evan Placey's play Scarberia, Theatre Royal, York in 2012. In 2013, was cast as Dee in Blair's Children at the Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone, in which five actors performed five interchanging monologues. Made his film debut as 'HIM' in the British romcom Love Me Till Monday in 2014. Played both Ligarius and Dardanius in Julius Caesar in the Sheffield Theatres, 2017.

Trivia: Performed as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company between 1992 and 1995. Is perhaps best known for playing Wickham in the 1995 mini-series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Played Dr. David Shearer in TV Medical Drama Peak Practice between 1997 and 1999. Between 1999 and 2000, acted in the Royal National Theatre Repertoire Season. In 2019, was nominated for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Olivier Award for his role in The Price.

Trivia: Of Jewish descent.Named Edmund after the poet Edmund Gosse.Studied at a boarding school.His father's reaction to him pursuing acting was discouraging at first.Met wife Amie Stoppard on the set of the film Rogue Trader (1999).

Trivia: Son of an English father and a French mother.Speaks English and French.Best known for his work in Downton Abbey.