Trivia: One of Hollywood's sexiest and most magnetic leading men, Denzel Washington's poise and radiantly sane intelligence permeate whatever film he is in, be it a socially conscious drama, biopic, or suspense thriller. More importantly, Washington's efforts, alongside those of director Spike Lee, have done much to dramatically expand the range of dramatic roles given to African-American actors and actresses.The son of a Pentecostal minister and a hairdresser, Washington was born in Mount Vernon, NY, on December 28, 1954. His parents' professions shaped Washington's early ambition to launch himself into show business: from his minister father he learned the power of performance, while hours in his mother's salon (listening to stories) gave him a love of storytelling. Unfortunately, when Washington was 14, his folks' marriage took a turn for the worse, and he and his older sister were sent away to boarding school so that they would not be exposed to their parents' eventual divorce. Washington later attended Fordham University, where he attained a B.A. in Journalism in 1977. He still found time to pursue his interest in acting, however, and after graduation he moved to San Francisco, where he won a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theatre. Washington stayed with the ACT for a year, and, after his time there, he began acting in various television movies and made his film debut in the 1981 Carbon Copy. Although he had a starring role (as the illegitimate son of a rich white man), Washington didn't find real recognition until he joined the cast of John Falsey and Joshua Brand's long-running TV series St. Elsewhere in 1982. He won critical raves and audience adoration for his portrayal of Dr. Phillip Chandler, and he began to attract Hollywood notice. In 1987, he starred as anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom alongside Kevin Kline, and though the film itself alienated some critics (Pauline Kael called it "dumbfounding"), Washington's powerful performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.Two years later, Washington netted another Best Supporting Actor nod -- and won the award -- for his turn as an embittered yet courageous runaway slave in the Civil War drama Glory. The honor effectively put him on the Hollywood A-List. Some of his more notable work came from his collaboration with director Spike Lee; over the course of the 1990s, Washington starred in three of his films, playing a jazz trumpeter in Mo' Better Blues (1990), the title role in Lee's epic 1992 biopic Malcolm X (for which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination), and the convict father of a high-school basketball star in He Got Game (1998).Washington also turned in powerful performances in a number of other films, such as Mississippi Masala (1991), as a man in love with an Indian woman; Philadelphia (1993), as a slightly homophobic lawyer who takes on the cause of an AIDS-stricken litigator (Tom Hanks); and Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), as a 1940s private detective, Easy Rawlins. Washington also reeled in large audiences in action roles, with the top box-office draw of such thrillers as The Pelican Brief (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), and The Siege (1998) attesting to his capabilities. In 1999, Washington starred in another thriller, The Bone Collector, playing a paralyzed forensics expert who joins forces with a young policewoman (Angelina Jolie) to track down a serial killer. That same year, he starred in the title role of Norman Jewison's The Hurricane. Based on the true story of a boxer wrongly accused of murdering three people in 1966, the film featured stellar work by Washington as the wronged man, further demonstrating his remarkable capacity for telling a good story. His performance earned him a number of honors, including a Best Actor Golden Globe and a Best Actor Oscar nomination.After another strong performance as a high-school football coach in Boaz Yakin's Remember the Titans, Washington cut dramatically against his "nice guy" typecast to play a corrupt policeman in Training Day, a gritty cop drama helmed by Antoine Fuqua. Washington surprised audiences and critics with his change of direction, but in the eyes of many, this change of direction made him a more compelling screen presence than ever before. (It also netted him an Oscar for Best Actor.) 2002 marked an uneven year for Washington. He joined the cast of Nick Cassavetes' absurd melodrama John Q., as a father so desperate to get medical attention for his ailing son that he holds an entire hospital hostage and contemplates killing himself to donate his own heart to the boy. Critics didn't buy the film; it struck all but the least-discriminating as a desperate attempt by Washington to bring credulity and respectability to a series of ludicrous, manipulative Hollywood contrivances. John Q. nonetheless performed healthily at the box (it grossed over a million dollars worldwide from a 36-million-dollar budget). That same fall, Washington received hearty praise for his directorial and on-camera work in Antwone Fisher (2002), in which he played a concerned naval psychiatrist, and even more so for director Carl Franklin's 2003 crime thriller Out of Time. Somewhat reminiscent of his role in 1991's crime drama Ricochet, Out of Time casts Washington as an upstanding police officer framed for the murder of a prominent citizen. In 2004, Washington teamed up with Jonathan Demme for the first occasion since 1993's Philadelphia, to star in the controversial remake of 1962's The Manchurian Candidate. Washington stars in the picture as soldier Bennett Marco (the role originally performed by Frank Sinatra), who, along with his platoon, is kidnapped and brainwashed during the first Gulf War. Later that year, Washington worked alongside Christopher Walken and Dakota Fanning in another hellraiser, director Tony Scott's Man on Fire, as a bodyguard who carves a bloody swath of vengeance, attempting to rescue a little girl kidnapped under his watch. Washington made no major onscreen appearances in 2005 -- and indeed, kept his activity during 2006 and 2007 to an absolute minimum. In '06, he joined the cast of Spike Lee's thriller Inside Man as a detective assigned to thwart the machinations of a psychotically cunning burglar (Clive Owen). The film opened to spectacular reviews and box-office grosses in March 2006, keeping Washington on top of his game and bringing Lee (whose last major feature was the disappointing 2004 comedy She Hate Me) back to the pinnacle of success. That same year, Washington joined forces once again with Tony Scott in the sci-fi action hybrid Déjà Vu, as an ATF agent on the trail of a terrorist, who discovers a way to "bridge" the present to the past to view the details of a bomb plot that unfolded days earlier. The Scott film garnered a fair number of respectable reviews but ultimately divided critics. Déjà Vu bowed in the U.S. in late November 2006. Meanwhile, Washington signed on for another action thriller, entitled American Gangster -- this time under the aegis of Tony Scott's brother Ridley -- about a drug-dealing Mafioso who smuggles heroin into the U.S. in the corpses of deceased Vietnam veterans.Washington appeared as New York City subway security chief Walter Garber in the 2009 remake of the 1974 thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and begun filming the post-apocalyptic drama The Book of Eli in the same year. He earned a Best Actor nomination in 2012 for his work as an alcoholic pilot in Robert Zemeckis' drama Flight.

Trivia: Actor Will Patton successfully divides his time between mainstream and independent features, television films, and a stage career on and off-Broadway. Born and raised in North Carolina, the son of a Lutheran minister, Patton learned his craft at the North Carolina School of the Arts and at New York's Actor's Studio where he studied under Lee Strasberg. In addition, Patton studied at the Open Theater under Joseph Chaikin before making it to the New York stage. Patton has won two Obie Awards for Tourists and Refugees No. 2 and for Sam Shepard's Fool for Love. Patton also has had experience working at London's Royal Court Theatre. Upon his return to New York, Patton joined the experimental Winter Project troupe. During the 1970s, Patton performed in two soap operas, Search for Tomorrow and Ryan's Hope. Patton first appeared on film in the short underground film Minus Zero(1979). During the early '80s, Patton appeared in such New York-based independent films as Michael Oblowitz's King Blank and Variety (both 1983). After playing a small but important villainous role in Susan Seidelman's Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Patton was cast in his first big-budget film, Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985), where he played a brutish boyfriend with a thing for leather and chains. His best portrayal of a villain can be found in the Gene Hackman-starring thriller No Way Out (1987). In the '90s he could be seen in The Rapture, In the Soup, Romeo Is Bleeding, Copycat, the infamous Kevin Costner project The Postman, and the Michael Bay blockbuster Armageddon. At the beginning of the 21st century Patton continued to remain busy with major roles in Remember the Titans, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Mothman Prophecies, and The Punisher, as well as smaller roles in diverse films like Into the West, Wendy and Lucy, Meek's Cutoff, and Brooklyn's Finest.

Trivia: A tall, polished actor adept at a broad array of parts and types, Wood Harris grew up amid the impoverished and crime-ridden ghettos of Chicago's West Side -- and reportedly felt intrigued by the many contradictions of the surrounding environment. The young man also felt drawn to acting, and the two interests converged in his first cinematic assignment: a role in Jeff Pollack's urban-themed sports drama Above the Rim (1994), starring gangsta rap legend Tupac Shakur. Harris only had a bit part in the film, but his work continued, and 2000 marked his breakthrough year: the year that not only brought with it a highly visible role as a footballer in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced inspirational sports drama Remember the Titans (opposite screen heavyweight Denzel Washington) but -- more significantly for Harris -- a lead in the Showtime telemovie Hendrix, a biopic of rock demigod Jimi Hendrix. The drama paved the way for more prominent billings, and Harris continued to realize his potential with a regular role on HBO's The Wire (as Avon Barksdale) and a key supporting part as Dion Warner (aka Dion Element) in Richard Kelly's dystopian black comedy Southland Tales (2006). Meanwhile, at around the same time, Harris recorded his first rap album, K-Town -- its title a reference to the infamous Chicago neighborhood of the same name -- which chronicled his experiences growing up in the Windy City.

Trivia: A talented and handsome blond actor who has also shown a marked interest behind the camera, Ryan Hurst may have been destined to pursue a career in film considering his father's notable television career and his mother's occupation as an acting coach. Born in Los Angeles, CA, in 1976, Hurst found early commercial work before completing his primary education at Santa Monica High School. After an early appearance in a Spam commercial and a few helpful tips from mom and dad, the youth began to hit his stride on the stage. In addition to role his portrayal of Brutus in Julius Caesar and his work in such familiar plays as Harvey and Guys and Dolls, Hurst staged his own adaptation of the well-loved Cyrano de Bergerac for the Santa Monica Civic Light Opera and received a Best Performance award from Backstage West for his Canon Theater production of The Last Night of Ballyhoo. Television roles in Saved by the Bell: The New Class and Boston Common followed, and in 1997 Hurst made his feature debut in the Kevin Costner epic The Postman. Subsequent roles in such high-profile releases as Saving Private Ryan and Patch Adams (both 1998) continued to find his budding career flourishing; with a small role in 2000's The Rules of Engagement, Hurst also contributed behind the camera (he shot the 16 mm montage) and then turned up in the sports drama Remember the Titans (also 2000). Continuing to rise to the top of the credits with each film role, Hurst's roles in We Were Soldiers and Lone Star State of Mind (both 2002) were a testament to his remarkable versatility.

Trivia: Born May 25th, 1976, Manhattan native Ethan Suplee began to realize his love for acting early in life through school plays and drama projects. Lacking a sense of direction after graduating from high school, Suplee was prompted by friend and fellow actor Giovanni Ribisi to attend acting classes; Suplee took his friend's advice. Frustrated at his teacher's lack of promotion and encouragement, Suplee dropped out after one year and soon landed his first major role, as a recurring character on the television sitcom Boy Meets World in 1994. After making his feature debut in Mallrats, Suplee stuck mainly to the big screen, with diverse roles in such films as Desert Blue and the controversial American History X (both 1998). Frequently appearing in later Kevin Smith efforts, as well as comedies like Road Trip (2000) and Evolution (2001), Suplee also appeared in the drama Blow (2001), and with Denzel Washington in both Remember the Titans (2000) and the emergency room hostage drama John Q. (2001). Suplee found success on the small screen on My Name is Earl (2005), when he took on the role of Lee's dimwitted friend. In 2009 Suplee appeared in the critically acclaimed drama Brothers, and later joined the cast of the USA Network's sitcom Wilfred in 2011.

Trivia: Create a checklist consisting of the ideal features of a Teen Beat icon, and, chances are, the results would practically scream the name Kip Pardue. With an Ivy-league education, a successful career as a model and athlete, and an acting career that took off at hyper-speed, the fiercely independent young actor has adoring young female fans putting up web-shrines faster than you can say "newest teen icon superstar" three times fast.Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, Pardue attended Dunwoody High School before putting himself through Yale and hitting the gridiron at the prestigious college. Playing football until his senior year, Pardue opted for a stint in modeling on the home stretch in order to better finance his education. Posing for such fashion icons as Armani and Ralph Lauren, Pardue soon caught the eye of filmmakers and received his first film role in the independent, sexual identity crisis satire But I'm a Cheerleader (1999). After a small role in the pilot of Popular and an appearance on 7th Heaven, Pardue returned to the gridiron with Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans (2001) before taking a starring turn and hitting the tracks with Sylvester Stallone in Driven (2001). Keeping up the momentum that same year alongside Leelee Sobieski in The Glass House, Pardue also turned up in Rat in a Can that same year before looking forward to 2002 with Vaccums.

Trivia: Though she was only 17, by the time Hayden Panettiere gained stardom as one of the leads on NBC's hit superhero drama Heroes, she'd already been acting for more than 16 years. After appearing in television commercials beginning at 11 months old, flaxen-haired Panettiere was cast as a regular on One Life to Live at five. She remained on the show for three years, before leaving for a stint on another soap, Guiding Light. Meanwhile, she appeared in a number of small movie parts as well as one of the lead voices in Pixar's A Bug's Life. After Panettiere showed up in such films as Remember the Titans and Joe Somebody, her next notable role was Maddie Harrington, the long-lost daughter of the quirky title character on Fox's Ally McBeal. Along with supporting parts in Raising Helen and Racing Stripes and the lead in the second straight-to-DVD Bring It On sequel, several more small TV roles followed before 2006, when she was cast on Heroes as the cheerleader with the ability to spontaneously heal herself. A major hit with television viewers, Heroes was nominated for Emmy awards every year from 2006 through 2010 -- ultimately taking home a trophy for Best Visual Effects in 2009. After Heroes went off the air in 2010, Panettiere seemed determined to show her versatility by taking on the role of a convicted murderess in the made-for-TV movie Amanda Knox; Murder on Trial in Italy, returning to vocal work as Little Red Riding Hood in Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, and appearing as a successful young pop star in the 2012 ABC drama Nashville.

Trivia: A graduate of the Tisch School for the Performing Arts as well as a published poet, Nicole Ari Parker began acting in small-stage productions in Harlem before landing her film debut in The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995). She would go on to appear in other independent features, such as The End of Violence, Boogie Nights, and 200 Cigarettes. She also began working in television, starring in a Rosie Perez-produced episode of Subway Stories and getting a reoccurring role on The Cosby Show. In 2001, she gained two NAACP Image award nominations: one for her work in the feature film Remember the Titans, and the other for her role as the lawyer Teri on the Showtime original series Soul Food. Parker would go on to play another lawyer a year later in the romantic comedy Brown Sugar, with Taye Diggs. In the years to come, Parker would find ongoing success with movies like Black Dynamite and Pastor Brown and tje TV series The Deep End.

Trivia: A champion equestrian whose film debut came by chance after she auditioned for a role in Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer (1998) out of simple curiosity about the film industry, actress Kate Bosworth's inherent natural beauty has perfectly suited her to roles in such earthy films as her aforementioned debut and Blue Crush (2002), which found Bosworth taking the lead as an adrenalized competitive surfer who finds her balance shifting as she falls for a promising quarterback. Born in 1983 in Los Angeles, Bosworth displayed both brains and athletic skill early on with her membership in the National Honor Society and involvement with varsity soccer and lacrosse. Though her previous acting experience consisted of little more than an appearance in a community theater production of Annie, Bosworth's film debut in The Horse Whisperer found the burgeoning actress carefully considering a full-time career in front of the cameras. After taking an 18-month sabbatical during which she weighed her options and finished her high school education, Bosworth returned to the sound stage for roles in the short-lived television series The Young Americans, and such features as Remember the Titans and The Newcomers (both 2000). Developing into an engaging screen presence, Bosworth would next hit the waves during production of the romantic surf drama Blue Crush.Her comfort before the cameras increasingly evident thanks to substantial roles in such subsequent features as The Rules of Attraction, Wonderland, and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, Bosworth would next tackle her most demanding role to date when she portrayed screen icon Sandra Dee in the 2004 Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea. Cast opposite Kevin Spacey, Bosworth proved that she could indeed hold her own onscreen with one of the most respected actors in Hollywood. Though Bosworth's role in Beyond the Sea may have been the most dramatically challenging of her still relatively new career, her highest profile role would follow soon thereafter when the maturing actress accepted the role of iconinc Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane in 2006's Superman Returns. Taking over right where Margot Kidder left off in 1980's Superman II, Bosworth's expansion of the character to both mother and wife added an extra dimension to Lane that fans would find especially compelling within the Superman universe. She would next appear in the card-counting thriller 21, followed by the fantasy Western Warrior's Way, and some low-key fare like Another Happy Day and L!fe Happens, before appearing in the hard hitting remake of the 70's thriller Straw Dogs. Soon, Bosworth joined the cast of Big Sur, based on the Kerouac novel.In addition to her film work, Bosworth gave back to her community by volunteering in a Los Angeles-based program that helps physically disabled children learn to ride horses.

Trivia: Despite his confident good looks and his role as the son of Zeus on television's popular Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Ryan Gosling ironically used to get chuckles by donning a Speedo and flexing like a professional weightlifter as a scrawny six-year-old. Born in London, Ontario, Canada, in November 1980, and raised in nearby Cornwall, Gosling was withdrawn for private schooling early on due to harassment by his classmates. Quickly learning the value of confidence, the bright youngster focused his energy into acting and landed a two-year role on The Mickey Mouse Club at age 12. Soon moving on to television commercials and roles in such films as Disney's Frankenstein and Me (1996), Gosling returned to television in 1997 for the short-lived Breaker High before finding more sturdy television ground in his Hercules role the following year. Since then, the actor has tackled increasingly challenging roles such as his turn as a conflicted Jewish student in The Believer (2001) and as a teen who commits murder in the name of mercy in The United States of Leland (2002). That same year, the increasingly busy Gosling starred in both The Slaughter Rule, and alongside Sandra Bullock in the crime thriller Murder by Numbers.Though he was racking up credibility as a serious young actor in indie features, Gosling became an unlikely box-office heartthrob with the 2004 summer-season romance The Notebook. Starring opposite another young break-out Canadian actor, Rachel McAdams, Gosling added some depth to the otherwise treacly adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' popular tome of enduring love before and after World War II. Rather than parlay his newfound fame into leading-man action roles, Gosling chose a route not unlike Edward Norton before him, alternating between indie features and challenging, bigger-budget Hollywood productions. This strategy didn't yield great dividends with the spooky 2005 misfire Stay, but it did bring Gosling high praise for the 2006 Sundance Festival favorite Half Nelson. A slice-of-life drama focusing on a young, cocaine-addicted, inner-city middle-school teacher and the student with whom he forms a bond, the film offered Gosling the opportunity to play another intense, conflicted young man in a natural, effortless style, a performance aided in large part by his bracing young co-star Shareeka Epps. Helped by glowing reviews, the micro-budgeted Half Nelson became an arthouse success through awards season, when Gosling's name was mentioned by numerous critics' organizations in year-end honors. Though ignored by the Golden Globes, the dark-horse Gosling was recognized among a formidable group of Best Actors when Oscar nominations were announced.Having cemented himself as one of the most formidable actors of his generation, Gosling next signed on for a quirky 2007 drama called Lars and the Real Girl, about a small town man who falls in love with a life sized doll. His performance in the film earned him a Golden Globe nod, but Gosling still had other goals he wanted to pursue. He spent the next few years playing and recording with his band, Dead Man's Bones, which released a self-titled debut in 2009. When Gosling returned to acting the following year, it was for a heart-wrenching independent relationship drama called Blue Valentine, opposite Michelle Williams. Based on a short film, the movie told the story of a relationship by showing its beginning and its end. Gosling was nominated for yet another Golden Globe, but was still up for a challenge. For his next project, he took on the thriller All Good Things, playing an upper class husband who turns violent and psychotic in All Good Things. Next on the docket was 2011's Drive, which found Gosling playing a stunt man turned getaway driver, quickly followed by the political thriller The Ides of March, opposite George Clooney. Shortly afterward, Gosling took on a supporting role in the award-winning romantic comedy Crazy Stupid Love, which follows a divorced man as he finds his footing in life once again.Gosling expanded his producing credits in 2013, with Only God Forgives, in which he co-starred, and released his directorial debut, Lost River, in 2014. In 2015, he co-starred in the Oscar-nominated The Big Short, and, the following year, teamed with Russell Crowe for The Nice Guys.

Trivia: Born in New York City on August 8th, 1968 and raised in Fairfield, CT, prolific film and television actor Michael Weatherly got his start on an episode of The Cosby Show before moving on to carve out an impressive career on screens both large and small. While many television viewers would recognize Weatherly from walk-on roles in such popular television series as Charmed and Ally McBeal, it was the actor's controversial age-disparity romance with Dark Angel co-star Jessica Alba that got tongues wagging around Tinseltown back in 2001. He could be seen opposite Alba on that sci-fi program throughout its two-season run (2000-2001). Later, Weatherly portrayed actor Robert Wagner in the made-for-television drama The Mystery of Natalie Wood before revealing a deeply personal secret about his onscreen girlfriend in Her Minor Thing. In 2003, Weatherly landed his most regular television role to date, as a Naval criminal investigator on NCIS.

Trivia: Character actor Afemo Omilami built a career out of portraying gritty, urban types in Hollywood features, often with an aggressive edge, such as taxi drivers, longshoremen, barkeeps, drill sergeants, and angry spouses. Omilami debuted onscreen in the late '70s and evolved into an increasingly common screen presence as the years passed. The dozens of projects in which he appeared include the Tom Hanks-Shelley Long disaster comedy The Money Pit (1986), the Sydney Pollack-directed legal thriller The Firm (1993), Best Picture winner Forrest Gump (1994) (as a screaming drill sergeant), and the Ray Charles biopic Ray (2004). In 2007, Omilami joined the cast of director Deborah Kampmeier's rape-themed period drama Hounddog.

Trivia: First acting gig was in his senior year of high school in a production of Fiddler on the Roof, in which he was cast as the lead, Tevye. Studied sports medicine before changing his focus to acting. Won the Natalie Wood Acting Award at UCLA. Nearly left the acting profession when he was offered a lucrative job in financial services. Served as Georgia's representative on the National Board of the Screen Actors Guild from January 2002 to September 2004. Advocated for the merger of SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) prior to their 2012 merger as SAG-AFTRA. Has also served as the Atlanta Local First Vice-President of SAG-AFTRA. Has used acting principles and experience to launch a successful business as a career coach.

Trivia: Working as a Disneyland concessionaire in his teens, comedian Steve Martin's first experiences in entertainment were of the party performer variety -- he picked up skills in juggling, tap-dancing, sleight of hand, and balloon sculpting, among other things. He later attended U.C.L.A., where he majored in philosophy and theater before moving on to staff-writer stints for such TV performers as Glen Campbell, the Smothers Brothers, Dick Van Dyke, John Denver, and Sonny & Cher. Occasionally allowed to perform as well as write, Martin didn't go into standup comedy full-time until the late '60s, when he moved to Canada and appeared as a semi-regular on the syndicated TV variety series Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour. As the opening act for rock stars in the early '70s, Martin emulated the fashion of the era with a full beard, shaggy hair, colorful costumes, and drug jokes. Comedians of such ilk were common in this market, however, so Martin carefully developed a brand-new persona: the well-groomed, immaculately dressed young man who goes against his appearance by behaving like a lunatic. By 1975, he was the "Comic of the Hour," convulsing audiences with his feigned enthusiasm over the weakest of jokes and the most obvious of comedy props. His entire act a devastating parody of second-rate comedians who rely on preconditioning to get laughs, Martin became internationally famous for such catch phrases as "Excu-u-use me!," "Happy feet!," and "I am...one wild and crazy guy!" It was fun for a while to hear audiences shout them out even before he'd uttered them, but it wasn't long before Martin was tired of live standup and anxious to get into films. Though Martin had roles in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1977) and The Muppet Movie, Martin's true screen bow was The Jerk (1979), in which, with the seriousness of Olivier, he portrayed a bumbling, self-described poor black child-turned accidental millionaire. Had he been a lesser performer, Martin could have played variations on The Jerk for the remainder of his life, but he preferred to seek out new challenges. It took nerve to go against the sensibilities of his fans with an on-edge portrayal of a habitual loser in Pennies From Heaven (1981), but Martin was successful, even if the film wasn't. And few other actors could convincingly pull off a project like Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1983), wherein, and with utter conviction, he acted opposite film clips of dead movie stars. After a first-rate turn in All of Me (1984), in which he played a man whose body is inhabited by the soul of a woman, Martin's film work began to fluctuate in quality, only to emerge on top again with Roxanne (1987), a potentially silly but ultimately compelling update of Cyrano de Bergerac. Though he participated in a fair amount of misses in the '80s and '90s (Mixed Nuts (1994), Housesitter (1992), Leap of Faith (1992), and Sgt. Bilko (1996), to name a few), Martin was unarguably full of surprises, as witnessed in his unsympathetic portrayal in Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1989), his hilariously evil dentist in Little Shop of Horrors (1986), his angst-ridden father in Parenthood (1989), his smooth-talking Italian in My Blue Heaven, and his callow film producer in Grand Canyon (1991) -- though the public still seemed to prefer his standard comic performances in The Three Amigos (1986), Father of the Bride (1991), and L.A. Story (1991). Martin then went out on yet another artistic limb with A Simple Twist of Fate (1994) -- a film update of that high-school English-class perennial Silas Marner. After starring in a very dark role in David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner (1997) and an unsuccessful return to comedy in The Out-of-Towners (1999), Martin again won acclaim for Bowfinger, a 1999 comedy-satire that cast him as its titular hero, an unsuccessful movie director trying to make a film without the aid of a real script or real star. Martin -- who also wrote the film's screenplay -- played the straight man against Eddie Murphy, once again impressing critics with his versatility. According to rumor, Martin based Heather Graham's character on former flame Ann Heche.In addition to his Hollywood activities, Martin is well-known for his intellectual pursuits. His play Picasso at the Lapin Agile was produced successfully off-Broadway, and he has contributed numerous humor pieces to The New Yorker magazine, and penned the bestselling novella Shopgirl. Martin was also a featured artist in the PBS documentary series Art 21: Art in the 21st Century and discussed the visual arts as an integral form of self-expression. The 2000's found Martin in a slew of smaller roles, including a cameo as a heckler in Remember the Titans (2000), and a supporting role in director Stanely Tucci's historical comedy drama Joe Gould's Secret (2000). In 2001's Novacaine, Martin found himself playing dentist for the second time in his life, though this dentist would be decidedly less sadistic than the one he had played in camp favorite Little Shop of Horrors (1986). Despite an all-star cast (besides Martin, Novacaine featured Oscar-winner Helena Bonham Carter and Laura Dern) the black comedy was dismally received. Luckily, 2003's odd-couple comedy Bringing Down the House with Queen Latifah, rapper and surprising Oscar nominee for her role in Chicago, fared relatively well in theaters. Martin teamed up with the likes of Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, and Bugs Bunny in Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), in which he plays the evil Mr. Chairman, head of the monolithic Acme Corporation. A film version of Shopgirl starring Martin and Claire Danes is currently slated for a 2005 release. Martin would remain a vital comedic actor in the years to come, appearing in films like Baby Mama and It's Complicated.

Trivia: Comedic actor Donald Faison began his acting career with bit parts in gritty urban dramas like Juice and Sugar Hill before breaking through with a supporting role in the hit 1995 comedy Clueless. A year later, he was one of the few cast members to make the leap to the film's TV spin-off and stuck with the show throughout its three-year run. After Clueless bowed, Faison wasted little time before joining the cast of the popular drama Felicity. But it was in 2001 that he would land his most noteworthy role, that of surgeon Dr. Christopher Turk on the hit NBC medical-sitcom Scrubs. When Scrubs ended in 2010, Faison immediately jumped to another show, the TV Land sitcom The Exes.