Trivia: While still in high school, American actor Timothy Hutton, son of actor Jim Hutton, toured with his father in a stage production of Harvey. After high school he moved to southern California and managed to land roles in several TV films, notably Friendly Fire and Young Love, First Love (both 1979). He debuted onscreen as a troubled teenager in Robert Redford's first directorial effort, Ordinary People (1980). For his work in that film he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, at the time the youngest actor to earn such an honor. Hutton soon became typecast as sensitive, somewhat wimpy youths in a string of major films, a mold he didn't break out of until the late '80s. Despite his auspicious beginning, most of Hutton's films have been financially unsuccessful. In 1984 he made his New York stage debut in Orpheus Descending, and in 1990 starred on Broadway in the hit romance Prelude to a Kiss. He has also done some directing, including an episode of the TV show Amazing Stories and a rock video made by the band The Cars. He married and divorced actress Debra Winger.

Trivia: Blonde actress Beth Riesgraf made the majority of her on-camera appearances in a guest capacity on various television series, then took her debut feature bow with a bit role in the CG-animated Jason Lee-starrer Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007). Riesgraf was engaged Lee for a time, and the couple had a child together in 2003. In 2008, the actress signed to star opposite Timothy Hutton in Leverage, a TNT original series about an insurance investigator-turned-high-tech outlaw.

Trivia: When he initially surfaced as an on-camera presence during the 1990s and 2000s, supporting actor Aldis Hodge recalled a young Will Smith, with his looks, his relaxed charm, and easygoing manner; like Smith, Hodge made one of his first significant impressions on the small screen, yet he maintained a lower profile. Parts included guest starring appearances on such series programs as ER, CSI, NYPD Blue, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Around 2005, Hodge broke into big-screen features, first with small-scale roles, such as an appearance in the David Mamet-Stuart Gordon thriller Edmond, then in that same year's Snoop Dogg-headlined urban drama The Tenants. Hodge also provided one of the adorable penguins' voices in George Miller's animal picture Happy Feet (2006). One the small screen that year, Hodge could be seen in a recurring role on the critically acclaimed sports drama series Friday Night Lights as Ray "Voodoo" Tatum. He enjoyed a healthy run on the hit cable program Leverage as part of a group of criminals who take revenge against other scammers in order to help out those who have been victimized. Aldis Hodge is not to be confused with Al Hodge (Captain Video and His Video Rangers), a television actor from the '50s and '60s -- nor are they related.

Trivia: Versatile performer Christian Kane posed a dual threat in Hollywood, juggling multiple careers as an actor and vocalist/guitarist. Born to a prosperous oil-industry family in Dallas, TX, Kane relocated frequently with his family as a youngster, but ultimately settled in Norman, OK. From early boyhood, he nurtured dreams of Hollywood stardom -- dreams that eventually prompted him to leave college and head to the lights of Los Angeles; he also possessed an ingenuity that helped him find an "in" to the seemingly impenetrable entertainment industry, by approaching a prestigious Hollywood production company and offering to deliver scripts in exchange for talent consideration. It marked a bold but innovative move; significantly, the bid worked and Kane got his foot in the proverbial door. He soon landed his premier on-camera role, as one of the leads in the late '90s television series Fame L.A. Meanwhile, he jump-started a career as a musician on the side, by meeting the man who quickly became his songwriting partner, Steve Carlson. The two formed a band, christened KANE and started turning heads via Christian's unique country & western-infused vocals; with that outfit they headlines numerous Southern California hotspots including The Mint and The Viper Room.Unfortunately, Fame L.A. only lasted a short time, but Kane connected with much greater success via a recurring run on the vampire-themed fantasy series Angel, as attorney Lindsey McDonald. He then moved into feature roles and racked up a series of supporting turns in A-listers including the gentle Disney drama Secondhand Lions (2003), the dismal Ashton Kutcher sex farce Just Married (2003), and the critically acclaimed Billy Bob Thornton sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004). In the years that followed, Kane returned to television on two high-profile series: he played prosecutor's husband Jack Chase on the acclaimed Jerry Bruckheimer procedural drama Close to Home (2005-2006), then signed to star opposite Timothy Hutton and Beth Riesgraf in Leverage (2008), a TNT original series about an insurance investigator-turned-high-tech outlaw. While continuing to work on that successful program, he appeared in The Donner Party and Universal Squadrons.

Trivia: From the outset of her career, sloe-eyed British actress Gina Bellman exuded an alluring, exotic appeal that recalled the glamorous screen sirens of Hollywood's Golden Age. She first achieved fame by virtue of her collaboration with the English playwright-cum-scriptwriter/director Dennis Potter, in whose overtly sexual and explicit Blackeyes she starred. In that controversial outing, Bellman played the sexual abuse victim of the title -- an imaginary character within the context of the film. The choice of project (given its content) marked a bold move for the actress, but an intelligent one given Potter's peerless reputation and the respect afforded him in the English film industry. More importantly, it succeeded in turning spectators' and critics' heads toward Bellman in the very best way.Intriguingly, Bellman had no educational or industry experience as an actress when she auditioned for Blackeyes (1990), shy of a role as King David's daughter in Bruce Beresford's critically maligned Biblical epic King David (1985). The daughter of Russian-Jewish-Polish parents, born in New Zealand, Bellman grew up with a father who worked in retail and a homemaker mother. The family immigrated to London before Bellman's 11th birthday, and within a year, she discovered a passion for acting and soon began attending auditions. After Blackeyes, parts came quickly and furiously, marked by the actress' intriguing, distinguished choice of projects on-stage, in features, and on television. Some of her higher-profile endeavors included the eccentric Jewish-themed feature comedy Leon the Pig Farmer (1992), a theatrical role in David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow, and an ongoing turn as the flighty, hare-brained man-hunter Jane Christie on the BBC's wildly popular (and extremely explicit) sex comedy series Coupling (2000).In 2006, Bellman signed for a supporting role in director Martin Curland's raunchy sci-fi comedy Zerophilia, while the following year, she co-starred opposite James Nesbitt in the BBC miniseries Jekyll, an unusual revisionist version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the years to come, Bellman would remain an active force on screen, most notably on shows like Leverage.

Trivia: Jeri Lynn Ryan is the stunning actress adored by science fiction fans for her portrayal of the Borg-human Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager. She was born in Munich, Germany, but was raised on several military bases all over the world. Settling on Illinois for college, she joined a sorority and competed in beauty pageants, making it all the way to the Miss America Pageant in 1990. She started her acting career with TV movies (Co-Ed Call Girl) and made several guest appearances on shows like Matlock and Melrose Place. In 1997, she gained a reoccurring role on the short-lived NBC series Dark Skies and joined the cast of Voyager. She has since gained a loyal fan base for this role, which requires a costume so tight it takes nearly an hour to get into it. In 2001, she moved on to the role of Ronnie Cooke on the Fox drama Boston Public, a role creator David E. Kelley penned specifically for her. After that show's demise, Ryan popped up as a guest on a number of series, notably The O.C. as a con artist, but the drama she faced on screen was nothing compared to her tumultuous personal life. When her former husband, Jack Ryan, ran for the Illinois state senate in 2004, details of their 1999 divorce became public, including her allegations that he had tried to pressure her into visiting sex clubs. But the scandal failed to tarnish the actress' reputation, and in 2006 she landed a regular role as a district attorney on Shark. Once that show ended, she maintained her presence on TV with guest roles on Law & Order: SVU, Leverage and Psych, before joining the main cast of the new show Body of Proof. She made her feature film breakthrough in Men Cry Bullets, followed by starring roles in The Last Man and Down With Love.

Trivia: University of Buffalo graduate, former Bella Abzug campaign worker, and onetime schoolteacher Peter Riegert finessed an early flair for comedy into appearing with an improv troupe called the War Babies. This led to Riegert's Broadway bow in 1975, then to his being hired by the National Lampoon people for several projects, the first of which was Animal House (1978), in which the actor portrayed Donald "Boon" Schoenstein. He went on to play such roles as the feckless corporate-flunky good guy in Local Hero (1983) and the unhitched pickle vendor Amy Irving would never marry in a million years but does anyway in Crossing Delancey (1989). Usually bypassed by the gossip columnists (which he doesn't seem to mind at all), Riegert raised journalistic eyebrows when he was cast opposite his onetime lady friend Bette Midler in the 1993 TV version of Gypsy. In the years to come, Riegert would venture behind the camera as a director, in addition to continued roles on screen, including regular appearances on One Tree Hill and The Good Wife.