Trivia: Actor, producer, writer, and director Vin Diesel had a charmed entry into the world of screen acting: after seeing Multi-Facial, a short that Diesel wrote, produced, financed, directed, and starred in, Steven Spielberg created the role of Private Caparzo specifically for the talented young newcomer in his Saving Private Ryan (1998).Born in New York City on July 18, 1967, Diesel made his stage debut at the age of seven in "Theatre for the New City," which was produced in Greenwich Village. He continued to be involved with the theatre throughout his adolescence, and he went on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his studies in creative writing led him to begin writing screenplays. Diesel became active in filmmaking in the early '90s, first earning notice for the short Multi-Facial, which was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. He followed up Multi-Facial with his first feature-length film, 1997's Strays, an urban drama in which he cast himself as a gang boss whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed, and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, which led to a deal with MTV to turn it into a series.Following the success of Saving Private Ryan, Diesel could be heard voicing the title character of the animated The Iron Giant (1999), another critically praised feature. He then starred with fellow young actors Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Affleck, Jamie Kennedy, and Nicky Katt in Boiler Room, an off-Wall Street drama that cast him as one of the members of a shady brokerage firm. He also flexed his sci-fi muscles in Pitch Black (2000), an interplanetary thriller that featured him and fellow Earthlings doing battle with a host of nasty alien mutants. Diesel jumped genres yet again as a devious, determined hot-rodder in The Fast and the Furious (2001), a cheeky, action-packed street racing picture in the vein of '50s exploitation flicks. The low-profile, star-free summer release left skid marks at the box office as it grossed over $40 million dollars in its first weekend alone -- more than enough to cover its production costs, and enough to lead many to believe that Diesel had finally arrived as a bankable leading man.Indeed Diesel was growing increasingly comfortable in his role as a tough guy action icon, though the ex-NYC club bouncer's prominent smirky scowl (usually accompanied by a hearty smile and laugh) proved almost a wink to his fans that while it worked well for him, he didn't take the image altogether seriously. The following year found Diesel teetering on the edge of mega-stardom with the release of his eagerly anticipated reteaming with The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen, XXX. With images of a bulky Diesel adorning movie theaters nationwide and an advertising campaign that left almost no viable stone unturned, the duo were undoubtedly aiming to repeat the success of the muscle-car extravaganza. This time setting their sights on breathing life into the ailing secret agent action adventure genre, XXX's protagonist, a former extreme sports athlete recruited by the government to take on a dangerous mission, would prove a large-scale attempt at bringing James Bond style thrills into the 21st century. With his reputation set in stone, Diesel would spend the 2000's enjoying a steady stream of similar work, starring in action adventure films like The Chronicles of Riddick (a sequel to 2000's Pitch Black) and Babylon A.D., as well as occasional comedic turns, like The Pacifier. He eventually rejoined the Fast & Furious franchise, reprising his role of Dom Toretto in numerous sequels, and also working as a producer on the films. In 2014, he voiced the role of Groot in the smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy, and also recorded his iconic line "I am Groot" in numerous languages for international versions of the film.

Trivia: Early in his acting career, Jordi Molla was in danger of being forever cast in pretty boy roles. Slender, short, and possessing a rugged and shaggy handsomeness, Molla changed that when he played a luckless small thief in La Buena Estrella (1997). Molla's other notable roles are in Bigas Luna's Jamon, Jamon (1994) and Montxo Armendariz's Kronen Stories (1994).

Trivia: In the early 1990s, played rugby league for several professional teams, including the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. At age 23, had a brief career as a light heavy-weight boxer. Wrote the screenplay for The Final Winter which was eventually made into a film in 2007. Move to the US in 2008 to play a detective in the TV movie, SIS. Published his first book, We Don't Live Here Anymore, in 2009. Was a writer for the rugby league comedy show The Matty Johns Show in 2010. In 2014, was chosen to play Ra's al Ghul in the third season of Arrow.

Trivia: Considering his previous experience essaying the recurring role of Julius Caesar on the popular small screen fantasy adventure series Xena: Warrior Princess, it seems only natural that New Zealand born actor Karl Urban would advance to slay orcs in Peter Jackson's epic Lord of the Rings trilogy. Appearing as a somewhat more rugged version of screen heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio, it's obvious from his work in such films as The Price of Milk that the handsome young actor has the looks and the skills to make it on his own. A Wellington native and son of a leather goods manufacturer, Urban's first acting experience came with an appearance in a New Zealand television show at the age of eight. Though he would subsequently eschew an acting career until after graduating from high school, Urban was drawn back in front of the cameras when he was offered the opportunity to appear on an evening soap opera entitled Shortland Street while preparing to attend Victoria University. The acting bug was a bit harder to shake the second time around, and after a mere year at Victoria, Urban abandoned higher education for a career on the stages of Wellington. A relocation to Auckland found Urban gaining exposure on New Zealand television, and after a turn as a heroin addict in Shark in the Park, he made an impression in the 1998 Scott Reynolds thriller Heaven. An unaired pilot for a show called Amazon High was eventually incorporated into an episode of Xena, and Urban would next take to the screen for the gory horror outing The Irrefutable Truth About Demons. A turning point of sorts came when Urban was cast as the lead in the romantic fantasy The Price of Milk, and his performance as a milk farmer whose relationship is on the rocks found him gaining increasing recognition on the international art house circuit. Though mainstream American audiences would begin to get acquainted with Urban courtesy of his role in the seafaring horror outing Ghost Ship, his role in the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers later that same year ensured that audiences would be seeing plenty more of him in the future. Following his escapades in Middle Earth, Urban would take to the stars opposite Vin Diesel in The Chronicles of Riddick (2004). Action roles continued to come at a clip when, after dodging bullets in the fast-moving sequel The Bourne Supremacy, Urban jettisoned to Mars to do battle with a particularly nasty breed of evil in the video game-to-screen adaptation Doom. From the far future to the distant past, Urban next laid down his plasma rifle to take up sword against his own people when he assumed the role of a Viking boy raised by Native Americans in director Marcus Nispel's 2006 fantasy adventure Pathfinder. He had his widest success to that point when he was cast as Bones in J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek, returning for the first of that franchise's sequel as well. In between he could be seen in the action comedy RED, as well as the 3D comic-book adaptation Dredd.

Trivia: Born April 8th, 1980, Oregon native Katee Sackhoff made her first onscreen appearance with a small role in the 1998 Lifetime original movie Fifteen and Pregnant when she was 18. She continued to build up her resumé with minor appearances like a role in the USA film Hefner: Unauthorized and a number of appearances on MTV's Undressed, but it was a supporting role on the TV series The Education of Max Bickford that proved to be her big break. Playing daughter to veteran actor Richard Dreyfuss' character provided both valuable tutelage and incredible exposure for the young actress, setting her up for her next project.Accepting the role of Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace in the 2003 miniseries Battlestar Galactica became one of the best moves of Sackhoff's career. The miniseries was so successful, it was sold as a standard TV show and began airing in 2004, with Sackhoff in the same leading role. With a regular paycheck and a base of devoted fans, she explored other projects when her show wasn't filming, taking on the role of Sherry Clarke in the 2007 sequel to White Noise, White Noise 2: The Light, alongside fellow sci-fi TV vet Nathan Fillion.

Trivia: A strikingly handsome actor who projects an image of strength whether playing drama or comedy, Bokeem Woodbine was born in Harlem, NY, on April 13, 1973. A solid student, Woodbine attended the prestigious Dalton School in New York before transferring to the LaGuardia School of Music and Art in the city. At the suggestion of his mother, Woodbine tried to land a job as an extra on a film shooting near his neighborhood; he picked up work as a stand-in, and he attracted the attention of a casting agent who gave him a role as a police informant and drug dealer in the made-for-cable drama Strapped. Woodbine's strong performance won him several key supporting roles in noted films, including Crooklyn, Jason's Lyric, and Dead Presidents. A few years later, Woodbine got to show off his lighter side in the comedies Almost Heroes and Life, as well as the witty action film The Big Hit. Woodbine also began working in episodic television, first with an appearance on The X-Files, and later with guest shots on New York Undercover and The Sopranos, as well as a weekly role on the short-lived series Battery Park and a recurring role on City of Angels.

Trivia: Worked as a bouncer after high school. Began his career as a professional wrestler in the Ohio Valley Wrestling league in 2000, under the name Leviathan. Joined the WWE in 2002, as Batista. Released his autobiography, Batista Unleashed, in 2007. Appeared as a judge on an episode of Iron Chef America in 2008. Made his MMA debut in 2010, against Vince Lucero; Bautista won the fight with a TKO.

Trivia: Was a competitive diver and gymnast as a child. Encouraged to take acting lessons by his dentist. Appeared in the music video for Miranda Cosgrove's "Stay My Baby" in 2008. Made his Broadway debut in the 2009 revival of Bye Bye Birdie, opposite John Stamos and Gina Gershon.

Trivia: Christened one of the 100 most creative people in Hollywood by popular showbiz magazine Entertainment Weekly, screenwriter/director David Twohy is the man responsible for some of the most compelling science fiction to grace the screen in some time. From his intelligent sci-fi sleeper The Arrival to the inventive suspense of Pitch Black, Twohy has certainly lived up to the title while occasionally branching out with screenplays for such atypical efforts as the Demi Moore military drama G.I. Jane. The California State University graduate wasted no time entering the entertainment industry following his college graduation, with early screenplays for Warlock and Critters 2: The Main Course soon paving the way toward his directorial debut, Grand Tour: Disaster in Time. A paranoid, thought-provoking time-travel drama with a heart, Grand Tour proved a rarity in a genre generally lacking in character development. Twohy subsequently slipped behind the typewriter to pen scripts for The Fugitive, Warlock: The Armageddon, Terminal Velocity, and Waterworld; it wasn't until 1996's The Arrival that he would once again assume directorial duties. By then, his skills behind the camera were at least equal to his talent as a screenwriter, and though The Arrival failed to find an audience upon its initial release, positive word of mouth ensured it a long and prosperous life on the home-video market. With the release of the 2000 sci-fi horror feature Pitch Black, it appeared as if Twohy had finally hit his stride. Aside from launching the career of nightclub bouncer-turned-action superstar Vin Diesel, Pitch Black served as a showcase for Twohy's unmistakable style and taut screenwriting skills -- and so began the birth of a franchise. If Twohy's subsequent submarine horror film Below (originally slated to be directed by screenwriter Darren Aronofsky) seemed something of a step backwards, it nevertheless proved a mildly prosperous sleeper when all was said and done. When it finally came time to follow the continued adventures of everyone's favorite Pitch Black character, Twohy was more than up to the task, serving as both director and screenwriter for the much-anticipated 2004 release The Chronicles of Riddick. The sequel carried a budget that easily eclipsed that of its predecessor, so audiences could rest assured that Twohy fully intended to deliver in crafting one of the summer's biggest "event" films.