Trivia: Jason Biggs gained overnight recognition for his role in the 1999 summer smash American Pie. As the boy who put the American in the Pie, Biggs earned a place alongside There's Something About Mary's Ben Stiller on the screen roster of Most Embarrassing Moments Involving Genitalia and Inanimate Objects. What many people who saw him as an overnight success didn't realize, however, was that he'd actually been acting--on the screen, stage, and television--for most of his young life. A native of Pompton Plains, New Jersey, where he was born May 12, 1978, Biggs began modeling and acting in commercials when he was a small child. When he was barely an adolescent, the young actor made his Broadway debut opposite Judd Hirsch in the acclaimed play Conversations With My Father and landed a recurring role on the short-lived sitcom Drexell's Class around the same time. At the age of fifteen, he joined the cast of the daytime drama As The World Turns as Pete Wendall. His performance on the show, on which he appeared from 1994 to 1995, earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination. With this honor to his name, Biggs segued into film a short time later, debuting in the 1997 Camp Stories.In 1999, the unequivocal hit that was American Pie came along, and Biggs, portraying Jim, one of the more perpetually humiliated members of a group of four friends trying to lose their virginity by high-school graduation, made an undeniably distinct impression on critics and audiences alike. Riding high on his success, he soon entered into a two-picture deal with Miramax and a development project with 20th Century Fox Television, ensuring that his career had certainly gotten off to an auspicious and memorable start.In the two years following Pie, Biggs' recently-won popularity was evidenced by his starring roles in a number of films. Included amongst them were Robert Iscove's Boys and Girls, which cast the actor as a college student, and Amy Heckerling's Loser, in which Biggs again set foot on a college campus to play a social misfit in love with an unattainable girl (Pie co-star Mena Suvari). Pairing the young star with two comic actors 10 years his senior (Jack Black and Steve Zahn), Saving Silverman followed in early 2001; with it, Biggs completed a triumverate of critical and commercial failures.Finding himself in need of a comeback at the ripe old age of 23, Biggs seemed poised to do just that later in the year, beginning with his reprisal of the bumbling post-adolescent Jim in American Pie 2. Taking a step back from leading roles, the actor then poked fun at the movie industry with a cameo in director Kevin Smith's satire Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back before playing a supporting part opposite Christina Ricci in the big-screen adaptation of Elizabeth Wurtzel's memoir, Prozac Nation. After rounding out the American Pie trilogy with 2003's American Wedding, Biggs would once again appear opposite Ricci in the Woody Allen comedy Anything Else (also 2003). Though the film may have performed fairly well with teens at the box office given the names of the young stars involved, an 'R' rating from the MPAA was likely the culprit in relegating the movie to little more than a brief "blip" on the box-office radar. In 2004, Biggs returned to the screen with a supporting-role in Jersey Girl, which reteamed him with Smith but was plagued by scathing reviews and the stigma of the "Bennifer" fiasco of 2003. Biggs would keep a low profile for the next few years, appearing in movies like Eight Below and Wedding Daze before turning to the small screen with the sitcom Mad Love in 2011, alongside Judy Greer and Sarah Chalke. Around that same time, Biggs signed on for another installment in the franchsie that launched his career, reprising the role of Jim in 2012's American Reunion. In 2013, he took on a supporting role in the surprise hit Orange is the New Black, playing Larry Bloom.

Trivia: Born of Syrian, Lebanese, and Cherokee heritage in Houston, TX, on September 7, 1973, the actress made her film debut in 1998's Dish Dogs before her landmark role in American Pie. After the success of the blockbuster teen comedy, Elizabeth was signed to a three-picture deal with Miramax, ensuring that her career was off to an auspicious start. Elizabeth would appear in films like Scary Movie, 13 Ghosts, Love, Actually, and Cursed, in addition to a number of American Pie sequels. Elizabeth would also appear on a number of successful TV shows, like That 70's Show and Cuts.

Trivia: Born March 24, 1974, in Washington, D.C., Hannigan became a TV commercial veteran following her family's move to Atlanta. From the age of four, Hannigan appeared in a steady stream of commercials, including ones for Oreo and McDonald's. At the age of 11, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television. She made her big-screen debut in the 1988 film My Stepmother Is an Alien, as Dan Aykroyd's daughter. The following year, she won a regular spot on the short-lived sitcom Free Spirit and acted in a variety of television miniseries and sitcoms (including Roseanne and Picket Fences) until 1997, when she won the part of Willow on Buffy.The show proved to be an unexpected success among critics and viewers alike, and paved the way for Hannigan to appear opposite Tom Everett Scott in the 1998 comedy Dead Man on Campus. American Pie followed the next year, giving Hannigan wider recognition and making her an unintentional poster child for band camps everywhere. She would return for sequels in the franchise, but Hannigan would also become just as well known for her subsuquent role on the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

Trivia: Possessing the sort of apple-cheeked, translucent-skinned All-American wholesomeness that has made him a natural for the pretty-boy jock roles which began his career, Chris Klein started a minor sensation after appearing in only two films. The actor was born in Hinsdale (Chicago), Illinois on March 14, 1979. After spending the first 13 years of his life there, he moved with his family to Nebraska. It was while he was in high school that Klein was discovered by director Alexander Payne, who was busy casting his upcoming film, Election (1999). Klein won the role of Paul Metzler in Payne's film, which opened to enthusiastic reviews. As Paul, Klein played the dim but sweet football player persuaded by Matthew Broderick's Jim McAllister to run against the unopposed Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) in the school's student council election. Klein played a similar character in his next film, the 1999 summer smash American Pie. As Chris "Oz" Ostreicher, Klein was again seen as a sweetly dim high-school jock, who, rather than wanting to win an election, channeled his energies toward losing his virginity. The success of the film was great enough to lead Klein to drop out of Texas Christian University (where he had been a freshman) to follow an acting career that had certainly gotten off to a serendipitous beginning. His days as a youthful and fresh-faced gentle jock numbered, 2002 found Klein substantially roughing it up with his action debut in director John McTiernan's much delayed and critically panned Rollerball. That same year he was in the indie drama The United States of Leland. He continued to work steadily in projects such as Just Friends, American Dreamz, and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. In 2011 he was cast in the American remake of the odd Australian sitcom Wilfred, and he answered the call when the Pie gang got back together for 2012's American Reunion. Klein later had guest spots on shows like Idiotsitter and The Grinder.

Trivia: After achieving fame as a child star in the early '90s, Thomas Ian Nicholas graduated to (slightly) more adult subjects in the raunchy teen hit American Pie (1999). During his Los Angeles childhood, Nicholas' mother worked in casting, providing her son with an early entry into the business. The dark-haired boy first appeared on camera at age eight, playing Tony Danza's younger self in an episode of the 1980s sitcom Who's the Boss?. Nicholas moved to films in 1992, in the fantasy-drama Radio Flyer. Nicholas earned his first feature starring role as the miraculously endowed young pitcher in the lighthearted, child-oriented crowd-pleaser Rookie of the Year (1993). Continuing his de facto magical mystery tour, Nicholas starred as a contemporary teen transported to mythic Camelot in A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) and its sequel A Kid in Aladdin's Palace (1997). Shedding his kid persona, Nicholas formed his own rock band T.I.N. Men, releasing its first album in 1997. By 1999, Nicholas revealed that he was definitively over the age of consent (if not out of teen films) in American Pie. As a high-school senior aiming to lose his virginity with girlfriend Tara Reid, Nicholas' Kevin may have been in a better position to do the deed by graduation than buddy Jason Biggs, but his performance anxiety became another source of ribald humor. Nicholas followed his American Pie success with a guest-starring stint on TV drama Party of Five's final season and the inevitable American Pie sequel. Continuing the trend of appearing in teen pics, Nicholas would next turn up in such films as Halloween: Resurrection and The Rules of Attraction (both 2002) before appearing as a young incarnation of Old Blue Eyes in Stealing Sinatra (also 2002). Nicholas kept a lower-profile in the next decade, appearing in films like The Chicago 8 (playing Abbie Hoffman) and Walt Before Mickey (playing Disney himself). He also had a recurring role on the short-lived series Red Band Society.

Trivia: With her wild curls, gawky build, and street-smart attitude, Natasha Lyonne presents a refreshing departure from the many blow-dried, plasticized young actors of her generation. Since appearing in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You in 1996, Lyonne has consistently wowed critics with her intelligent, no-nonsense portrayals of teenage girls who are anything but typical.Born into a conservative Jewish family on April 4, 1979, in New York City, Lyonne spent her childhood in New York and Israel. She broke into show business early with her role as Opal on Pee-Wee's Playhouse (1986). Her first film of any import (aside from Heartburn (1986), in which she had an uncredited role) was 1993's Dennis the Menace. It was her next film, Everyone Says I Love You, that won Lyonne initial recognition. Critics praised her portrayal of Woody Allen's daughter, praise that was magnified with her role in Tamara Jenkins' The Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). The film won almost unanimous critical praise, as did Lyonne's endearingly jaded portrayal of Vivian Abramowitz. The success of Slums was inversely proportional to that of Lyonne's next film, Krippendorf's Tribe, which also starred Richard Dreyfuss and Jenna Elfman. However, the disappointment of that movie was more than made up for by Lyonne's following project, the very successful American Pie. As the wise and weary Jessica, Lyonne, in the minds of many critics, stole the show with her all-too limited appearance. Fortunately, thanks to both the film's success and her consistently solid performances, it was virtually ensured that critics and audiences alike would be able to see a great deal more of her, though her roles in the sequels American Pie 2 and Scary Movie 2 amounted to little more than glorified cameos, almost unrecognizably so in the case of the latter.

Trivia: As one of the stars of the 1999 summer smash American Pie, Tara Reid experienced an almost meteoric ascent into overnight celebrity. Possessing the kind of buxom blond good looks that ensure future employment and Internet shrines, Reid was best-known for her role as The Big Lebowski's trophy wife, Bunny Lebowski, before being cast in Pie. A native of Wyckoff, New Jersey, where she was born on November 8, 1975, Reid broke into acting at the age of six, when she was a contestant on the CBS children's game show, Child's Play. She went on to study at New York's Professional Children's School, where her classmates included Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jerry O'Connell, and Macaulay Culkin. After appearing in commercials for such products as Jell-O and Crayola, Reid landed a role on the sitcom Saved by the Bell: the New Class in 1994 and then had a recurring role on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives the following year. She got her first substantial film roles in 1998, appearing in the Ed Wood-scripted I Woke Up Early the Day I Died, The Big Lebowski, the independent film Around the Fire, and Urban Legend, the latest in a long line of teen slasher flicks. Reid won some amount of recognition for the last film, which featured a Who's-Who line-up of post-pubescent stars and cast her as a campus radio talk show host. The following year, Reid earned a form of screen immortality with her role as the girlfriend of one of four high school guys who make a pact to lose their virginity in American Pie. She also appeared in more low-profile roles in the independent film Girl and in Cruel Intentions, which featured her as one of Ryan Phillippe's more unfortunate conquests. Later that year, she had a starring role in Body Shots, playing one of a group of twenty-something friends on the prowl for love and/or sex in Los Angeles.Edging ever closer to leading woman status, Reid's star continued to rise as the vibrant young actress took on roles in such high profile efforts as Dr. T and the Women (2000), Josie and the Pussycats (2001) and, of course, American Pie 2 (also 2001). After taming the savage party animal in the lowbrow comedy Van Wilder, Reid gave screen heartthrob Ashton Kutcher the runaround in the romantic comedy My Boss's Daughter. Sadly, Reid's star dwindled throughout the 2000s with a series of critical and commerical flops that failed in comparison to her highly publicized personal troubles. Reid was able to find some success when she rejoined the original cast of American Pie for American Reunion in 2012.

Trivia: Known in the halls of history as the smirking Stifler from the 1999 teen sex comedy American Pie, Seann William Scott found his niche in show business due in no small part to that very iconic, wisecracking character. Born on October 3rd, 1976 in Cottage Grove, MN, Scott finished high school early and moved to L.A., where he soon caught a break with a prominent role in the music video for "A Hole in My Soul" by Aerosmith. Within a couple of years of moving to the West Coast, Scott had an impressive list of appearances on his resumé -- though it would be the role of Stifler that would cement his place in Hollywood.He reprised the character for American Pie's two sequels in 2001 and 2003, but in the meantime, Scott found no shortage of work in movies geared toward a similar audience, starring in 2000s Road Trip and Dude, Where's My Car? He even appeared alongside martial arts legend Chow Yun-Fat in the tongue-in-cheek tribute to the kung-fu genre with 2003's Bulletproof Monk, and played the beloved character of Bo Duke in the feature film adaptation of The Dukes of Hazzard in 2005. The comedian also proved that his keen comic timing didn't always depend on the smarmy jackass characters that served as his bread-and-butter, playing a touchy-feely self-help book author (and former miserable nerd) in 2007's Mr. Woodcock. But Scott was never reluctant to do what he does best, and in 2008 he found a new, endearingly crude fast talker to play, starring alongside Paul Rudd in the super-sarcastic comedy Role Models. After taking several voice roles in the late 2000s, Scott joined the original cast of American Pie for 2012's American Reunion.

Trivia: Blonde, blue-eyed, and looking for all the world like Heather Graham's little sister, Mena Suvari made her film debut with a small role in Gregg Araki's 1997 Nowhere. The same year, Suvari, who was born in Newport, RI, on February 9, 1979, appeared in two other films, Snide & Prejudice and Kiss the Girls. After another small role, in The Slums of Beverly Hills (which starred her future American Pie co-star Natasha Lyonne), Suvari landed her breakthrough role playing the forthright, virginal Heather in the 1999 sex comedy smash American Pie. The same year, the actress (who had also done television work on shows such as E.R. and Chicago Hope) won further recognition with a lead role as the teenaged object of Kevin Spacey's middle-aged affections in the hugely acclaimed American Beauty. With yet another lead role that year, this time in the made-for-TV disaster film Atomic Train, Suvari seemed perfectly poised on the well-trod brink of stardom. Her profile received another boost in 2000, thanks to starring roles in Sugar & Spice and Loser, the latter of which saw her starring as the apple of American Pie co-star Jason Biggs' eye. That same year, the then 21-year-old actress made headlines of a different sort with her marriage to Richard Brinkman, a cinematographer 17 years her senior. The marriage would only last until 2005, but that wouldn't stop Suvari from a series of projects during that time, ranging from a quirky role in the comedy Beauty Shop to an arc on the popular TV series Six Feet Under. Gravitating more and more toward challenging, left of center roles, the actress would go on to choose parts like the supporting role of Richie Berlin in the 2007 Andy Warhol/Edie Sedgwick biopic Factory Girl, and corn-rowed hardened criminal Brandi Boski in 2008's Stuck. As the first decade of the new millennium drew to a close, it became clear that Suvari was finally free of the somewhat limiting image of the pretty, blonde starlet that her breakthrough roles in American Pie and American Beauty had pigeon-holed her into. She would enjoy memorable roles in everything from the zombie flick Day of the Dead to the WWII period drama The Garden of Eden, based on the Hemingway novel. Suvari would also make appearances on TV series like Sex and the City, Psych, The Cape, and American Horror Story - on which she played the infamous "Black Dahlia" murder victim Elizabeth Short. By 2012, Suvari was gearing up to remember her roots, with an all-star installment in the American Pie fanchise, American Reunion.

Trivia: Actor Eddie Kay Thomas first rose to national prominence for his work in the teen comedy hit American Pie, but Thomas' background and resumé are a good bit more varied and distinguished than that credit might lead one to expect. Eddie Kay Thomas was born in New York City on October 31, 1980, and won his first stage role at the age of seven. By the time Thomas graduated from New York's Professional Children's High School, he was already a seasoned veteran of the Broadway stage, appearing in Four Baboons Adoring the Sun in 1992 and The Diary of Anne Frank (opposite Natalie Portman) in 1997. Thomas made his screen debut in 1996, appearing in an episode of the TV series Law and Order (it was the first of three appearances on the show for Thomas), as well as landing a small role in the independent feature Illtown. In 1999, Thomas made a strong impression in the otherwise poorly received horror opus The Rage: Carrie 2, and also appeared in James Toback's controversial Black and White, but from a commercial standpoint the highlight of Thomas' year was American Pie, in which he gave a memorable comic performance as the uptight would-be continental hipster Finch. In 2000, Thomas was cast as the mischievous Russell on the WB sitcom Brutally Normal, which unfortunately lasted a mere five weeks before being canceled by network brass. The following year found Thomas back in the sitcom harness, playing Mike on the series Off Center, which was executive produced by Chris and Paul Weitz, who produced and directed American Pie. That same year, the Weitz brothers brought Thomas back to re-create the role of Finch in American Pie 2, while gross-out comic Tom Green tapped Thomas to play the title role in his first directorial effort, Freddie Got Fingered. The third chapter in the American Pie series, entitled American Wedding, was soon to follow in 2003.

Trivia: A gifted comic actor who also won acclaim as a writer and director, Eugene Levy was born on December 17, 1946, in Hamilton, Ontario, the home of McMaster University, where he enrolled after graduating from Westdale High School in the same city. Levy studied film at McMaster, and, in 1967, became vice president of the McMaster Film Board, a student film group where he met fellow aspiring moviemaker Ivan Reitman. (Other McMaster students at the time included Martin Short and Dave Thomas.) In 1970, Reitman began work on a low-budget horror movie called Cannibal Girls and cast Levy as Clifford Sturges. One of his co-stars was a struggling actress named Andrea Martin, who would later work alongside Levy's old pals Short and Thomas -- as well as John Candy and Joe Flaherty -- on the short-lived Canadian sitcom The David Steinberg Show. Levy and Martin's paths crossed again when they were cast in the Toronto production of the musical Godspell; the cast also included Gilda Radner and Paul Shaffer, in addition to Short, Candy, and Thomas. After Godspell closed in 1973 (just in time for the long-delayed Cannibal Girls to finally hit the grind-house circuit), Levy joined the Toronto company of the famed improvisational Second City comedy troupe, in which Candy and Flaherty were already cast members. After two years as a part of Second City, Levy, Candy, and Flaherty decided to move to California to try their luck in the States; they didn't fare well at first, but their idea for a television series about a ramshackle, low-budget television station eventually blossomed into Second City TV, or (SCTV, for short). While the show, ironically, brought Levy and his friend's back to Toronto (where it was shot), it also became a solid hit in Canada and developed a loyal cult following in the U.S., and, moreover, launched the careers of Levy, Flaherty, Thomas, Candy, Short, Martin, and Catherine O'Hara in America. (After SCTV's initial run ended in 1981, NBC brought the show back in an extended version called SCTV Network 90, which featured a higher budget, more guest stars, and ran until 1983. Levy also won two Emmy awards as a member of the show's writing staff.) Levy and Candy also created an acclaimed spin-off from the show based around their characters of polka musicians Stan and Yosh Shmenge, a 1984 cable special entitled The Last Polka. By the mid-'80s, Levy had become a familiar face on both episodic television and in movies, albeit almost always in comic supporting roles. In 1989, he began working behind the camera again, directing a special for his old partner Martin Short, and, in 1992, made his feature directorial debut with the John Candy/Jim Belushi comedy Once Upon a Crime. In 1996, however, Levy scored a bigger breakthrough when he and Christopher Guest began writing a screenplay for a mockumentary about a small town theater troupe. Waiting for Guffman became a surprise hit and gave Levy a meaty comic role as stage-struck dentist Allan Pearl. In 1999, the actor won another high-profile success with the blockbuster hit American Pie, in which he played the understanding but terminally non-hip father of hormonally charged teenager Jim (Jason Biggs); Levy reprised the role in the 2001 sequel American Pie 2 and again in 2003's American Wedding. Levy and Guest teamed up again in 2000 for the comedy, Best in Show, for which the two received a Best Screenplay nomination from the Writers Guild of America. He and Guest also co-wrote and starred in another 2003 mockumentary, A Mighty Wind, a parody about '60s folk musicians who reunite for a tribute concert several years after their heyday.For a few years after, it began to look as if Levy's primary occupation was reprising his role as Jim's dad in a series of lackluster, straight-to-video American Pie sequels -- with appearances in high profile films like A Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock becoming few and far between. In 2011, however, the comedy veteran received the prestigious distinction of being appointed a Member of the Order of Canada -- one of the nation's highest civilian honors -- before rejoining his former SCTV castmates in the made-for-television movie I, Martin Short, Goes Home, serving up a slice of nostalgia in American Reunion, and appearing opposite Tyler Perry in the 2012 comedy Madea's Witness Protection.

Trivia: A comely and multidisciplined actress who thrived on the transcendent experience of overcoming incredible odds, Broadway singer/dancer- turned-film starlet Denise Faye has appeared in such films as Mighty Aphrodite (1995) and Donnie Brasco (1997) since the mid-'90s, though it wasn't until her turn as a local temptress in American Pie 2 that she truly caught the eye of filmgoers. Despite that role being based almost solely on sex appeal, a glimpse beneath the surface offered a look at a true talent who just happened to have beauty on her side. Born in New York City and aspiring to be a Broadway dancer since her earliest days, Faye's father was a doctor and her mother a psychiatric social worker, giving her a grounded look at life well before she opted for a career in showbusiness. Following her parents' divorce when she was 13, Faye's interests in human behavior eventually lead her to pursue a double major in Psychology and Urban Studies at Columbia University. Despite her dedication to her studies, the lure of Broadway proved too tempting and the aspiring actress abandoned her education to be in her first New York show. It wasn't long before the bright lights of Broadway were shining on Faye and all of her fantasies were coming true. Taking the stage opposite such luminaries as Nathan Lane in Guys and Dolls, Faye continued to appear on-stage in Chicago, Swinging on a Star, A Madhouse in Goa, Filumena, and The Winters Tale. After making her film debut in Donnie Brasco the lure of the screen proved as irresistible as the lure of the stage, and frequent film and television roles were soon to follow. Parlaying her stage experience to the screen, Faye would both appear in and take on the role of associate choreographer for the eagerly anticipated feature-film adaptation of the long-running Broadway hit Chicago.

Trivia: It's not every day that an unknown actor lands a role that will allow him to deliver a line that enters into the public lexicon and still manages to avoid the "Where's the beef?" syndrome of being forever linked with the resulting catch phrase, but with his role as the "MILF" guy in the breakout comedy American Pie, actor John Cho somehow managed to do just that. With stage skills that aren't limited to Shakespeare (Cho spends his off-time touring with his band Left of Zed) and a killer sense of comic timing onscreen, the fresh-faced Korean actor has transcended his status as Asian-American "It" boy to become one of the most promising stars of his generation. A move from Korea to Los Angeles found young Cho's interest in acting piqued when he began studying English literature at the University of California, Berkeley, and after taking to the boards in a Berkeley Repertory Theater production of The Woman Warrior (which would subsequently move to Boston's Huntington Theater and Los Angeles' James Doolittle Theater), the up-and-coming talent made his screen debut in director Justin Lin's decidedly bizarre 1997 feature Shopping for Fangs.Subsequent years found Cho essaying supporting roles in such high-profile features as Wag the Dog and Bowfinger, with his breakout role in American Pie preceding roles in such widely seen films as Bowfinger, American Beauty, Evolution, and the Chris Rock comedy Down to Earth. Though the films may not have offered Cho the most memorable parts, they kept him familiar with audiences until he reprised his most famous role to date in the hit sequel American Pie 2. In 2002, Cho truly got to show his talent in director Lin's critically acclaimed indie effort Better Luck Tomorrow. Following a crew of high-school-aged Asian-Americans who use their reputations as studious bookworms to mask their criminal activities, the movie proved without a doubt that Cho had what it took to make it in film. More supporting roles in Big Fat Liar and Solaris were quick to follow, and after rounding out the "American" trilogy in American Wedding, it was burger time for Cho as he played one of the titular characters (opposite Van Wilder's Kal Penn) in the 2004 comedy Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. The next year, Cho went on to essay a supporting role on the short-lived chef sitcom Kitchen Confidential before returning to feature films. Over the coming years, Cho would continue to reimain an active force on screen over the coming years, appearing on shows like FlashForward and as Sulu in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek franchise.

Trivia: A precocious youngster who is equally adept in the realms of stage, film, and television, Eli Marienthal has turned in stand-out performances in all arenas since dedicating himself to acting at the age of nine. A Santa Monica, CA, native, Marienthal received his primary education at the East Bay French-American Ecoile Bilingue school where he sharpened his French skills from the age of four. Refining his acting abilities at the prestigious American Conservatory Theater's Young Conservatory, Marienthal also attended part-time schooling in Paris in the third and fourth grades. His early stage performances in such Bay Area productions as the Berkeley Repertory Theater's Missing Persons and The Life of Galileo, and in San Francisco's Magic Theater production of Cryptogram, earned the young thespian both positive recognition and a Black Box award for the latter. Making his television debut alongside Dolly Parton in Unlikely Angel (1996) and his film debut the following year (First Love, Last Rites), Marienthal continued his rapid rise to recognition with roles in such popular films as Jack Frost (1998), American Pie (1999), and some voice work in the animated The Iron Giant (also 1999). Marienthal's early role as the youngest member of the nomadic Abromowitz clan in The Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) also caught some laughs, giving audiences a hint of things to come from the gifted youngster. Taking the title role on television's Tucker (2000) and providing more voice work for The Zeta Project, the next year saw Marienthal's star beginning to grow legs, and a return to the role of Stifler's younger brother in the sequel American Pie 2 found him humorously following in his cocky older celluloid sibling's footsteps.

Trivia: The younger brother of actor Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck spent the last few years of the 1990s working his way out of his brother's muscular shadow. The younger Affleck, who remarkably bears almost no resemblance to his older brother, was born August 12, 1975, in Falmouth, MA. He made his television debut in the 1987 American Playhouse special Lemon Sky and three years later played the young Robert Kennedy in the TV miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts. The young actor's film debut came in 1995, with Gus Van Sant's To Die For, in which he had a supporting role as one of Joaquin Phoenix's slacker friends. The next year, he appeared in the largely unseen Race the Sun, and in 1997 benefited from the Power of Ben with roles in two of his brother's films. In the first, Chasing Amy, Affleck was little more than a blip on the screen, but in the second, Van Sant's Good Will Hunting, he had a decidedly more substantial part as one of Matt Damon's South Boston homeboys. Following the astounding, Oscar-winning success of Hunting, Affleck landed substantial roles in two films with casts featuring Who's Who lineups of Hollywood's Young and Hot: Desert Blue (1998), in which he starred with Christina Ricci, Kate Hudson, and Brendan Sexton III; and 200 Cigarettes (1999), in which he appeared as a soft-hearted punk alongside Desert Blue co-stars Ricci and Hudson, along with Paul Rudd, Courtney Love, Janeane Garofalo, and brother Ben. Although the film basically flopped, it did little to hurt the actor's career and the same year he attained added credibility with an unbilled appearance in the summer smash American Pie. The next few years found the younger Affleck in some notable more noticeable roles with his work in Hamlet, Committed, and Drowning Mona (all 2000). In 2001 he would get his largest billing yet, as well as his induction into the teen horror craze, with Soul Survivors.A re-teaming with Good Will Hunting co-horts Van Sant and Damon in 2002's deliberate independent drama Gerry was bookended by sizable supporting roles in director Steven Soderbergh's carefree crime comedies Ocean's Eleven and Ocean's Twelve, and in 2005 the younger Affleck would prove without question his ability to carry a dramatic feature with his subtle portrayal of an aimless twenty-something hindered by familial obligations in Steve Buscemi's Sundance-nominated drama Lonesome Jim. In 2006 Casey would star opposite Zach Braff in director Tony Goldwin's romantic comedy re-make The Last Kiss. 2007 would prove to be a turning point for the actor. In addition to reprising his character for the third installment of the Ocean's Eleven franchise, Affleck earned strong reviews for two drama that year. He headlined brother Ben Affleck's directorial debut, an adaptation of Dennis Lehane's Gone Baby Gone, bring to life the character of Patrick Kenzie, a private eye with close ties to the mean streets of Boston. But his work as the title coward in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford brought him numerous good reviews even though the film failed to make much of a splash at the box office. His work earned him a number of year-end accolades including nominations from the Academy and the Screen Actors Guild for Best Supporting Actor (even though he is the lead).After these critical successes he was poised for a breakthrough, but he was away from the big screen for three years, not returning to movies until 2010 as the star of the Jim Thompson adaptation The Killer Inside Me, and as director/producer/screenwriter/editor of I'm Still Here, a mockumentary that satirized celebrity meltdowns starring Joaquin Phoenix. He was part of the ensemble in Tower Heist the next year, and followed that up by voicing a part in ParaNorman in 2012.

Trivia: Grew up in an Army family and frequently moved around the U.S. when she was younger; went to high school in Albany, GA. Attended Augusta State University on an athletic scholarship for swimming and cross-country. Moved to New York after her second year of college to pursue a modeling career and worked for Elite and Wilhelmina Models. Made her TV debut in a 1996 episode of Law & Order. Founded a film-production company called Blarma with husband Andy Bates, a producer, cinematographer and editor. Their productions include the 2006 documentary Altered by Elvis. Starred in the Blarma production Girl and a Gun, which won a Best Original Short medallion at the 2008 Washougal International Film Festival in Washington.

Trivia: Character actor Larry Drake worked steadily on television and in feature films since making his feature-film debut in This Stuff'll Kill You (1971). Though the burly actor has played roles ranging from rednecks to murderous doctors (Dr. Giggles) to detectives (Power 98), Drake is best remembered for his convincing portrait of gentle, mentally retarded Benny on the NBC television series L.A. Law (1986-1994). Drake continued working through the '00s; he died in 2016, at age 66.

Trivia: Specializing in roles as cranky authority figures and unassuming mothers, longtime character actress Lee Garlington has the kind of familiar face that makes people wonder, "Where have I seen her before?" With numerous roles on some of the most popular television series of the past 20 years -- including Family Ties, Seinfeld, NYPD Blue, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and CSI -- most TV viewers probably have seen her face before, though wading through her exhaustive list of credits to find out where might be a daunting task. In addition to a busy television career, Garlington found a steady stream of work in features. Averaging about three films per year since her debut in the 1983 sequel Psycho II. The actress turned up again opposite Anthony Perkins three years later in Psycho III, and parts in Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), The Seventh Sign (1988), and Field of Dreams (1989) rounded out the decade. Though Garlington had a featured role in the 1989 Seinfeld pilot, her character was replaced by Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) when the series came to fruition the following year. Throughout the '90s, Garlington frequently alternated between the big and small screens, and though most of her TV appearances were only guest spots, she had a rare recurring role in the 1996 series Townies. Garlington became an increasingly familiar supporting player over the next few years in such features as Evolution (2001), American Pie 2 (2001), One Hour Photo (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002), and The Hot Chick (2002). In 2003, the longtime actress once again returned to weekly television with a role on the popular evening drama Everwood.

Trivia: A character actress who has used her blond, voluptuous features to shrewd comic effect, Jennifer Coolidge appeared in some of the most celebrated film and TV comedies of the 1990s. Perhaps best known by mainstream audiences for her role as Stifler's mom in American Pie (1999), she has also done equally memorable work in films like Christopher Guest's Best in Show (2000), which cast her as the lesbian trophy-wife of a frail and oblivious old multimillionaire.Originally hailing from Boston, Coolidge began her professional acting career when she moved to New York, where she became a member of the Gotham City Improv group. Work with the group led her to Los Angeles, where she continued to nurture a career in improvisational acting as a member of the Groundlings, the city's legendary improv troupe. In the early '90s, Coolidge broke into television-acting through spots on various shows, including Seinfeld and the animated King of the Hill, and segued into films with her debut in the forgettable 1997 comedy Trial and Error. The actress earned her first dose of recognition for her scene-stealing cameo as a high school student's seductive mother in the blockbuster comedy American Pie. The breakout role made Coolidge a mainstay in the realm of comedy, and she would henceforth appear in numerous projects a year, most memorably in Best in Show, Zoolander, Legally Blonde, A Cinderella Story, For Your Consideration, and on shows like 2 Broke Girls and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.