Trivia: The quiet yet dynamic screen presence of actor Joe Mantegna has made him one of the most powerful supporting actors in Hollywood. Born in Chicago, Mantegna made his acting debut in the 1969 production of Hair. He then joined Chicago's Organic Theatre Company. In 1978, he debuted on Broadway in Working; he also helped write Bleacher Bums, an award-winning play. Still, he did not become well-known until he played a recurring role on the TV show Soap. By 1983 he'd returned to Chicago, where he began working with playwright David Mamet. While playing the lead in Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross (1983), Mantegna won a Tony. When Mamet began making films, Mantegna became his actor of choice in works such as House of Games (1987) and Homicide (1991). Prior to that, the actor had played small roles in a number of other films. He also continues to play in a variety of movie genres, working with some of Hollywood's top directors. Mantegna turned producer in 1998 with the crime comedy Jerry and Tom. That trend continued on the small screen as Montenga produced such shows as Midway USA's Gun Stories, Shooting Gallery, and QuickBites, but it was his role as a regular on the CBS series Joan of Arcadia that really kept him in the public eye. Continually returning to his recurring role as Fat Tony on The Simpsons over the next decade, Montegna joined the cast of the hit television series Criminal Minds in 2007, and recieved an Emmy nomination for his performance in the successful mini-series The Starter Wife that same year.

Trivia: Versatile as well as tall, dark, and handsome, Thomas Gibson has moved easily between TV stardom and a varied movie career working with some of the industry's major names. Born and raised in Charleston, Gibson found his calling as a child, making his acting debut at age ten in children's theater productions. Though he attended the College of Charleston, Gibson relocated when he won a scholarship to New York's prestigious Juilliard School. After earning his B.F.A., Gibson made his professional New York theater debut in 1985. Gibson spent the rest of the 1980s doing theater, as well as branching out into television with two seasons on the daytime drama Another World and the TV movie Gore Vidal's Lincoln (1988).Gibson made the transition to films in style with a co-starring role opposite Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Ron Howard's glossy Irish-American epic Far and Away (1992). Along with playing a bit part in Martin Scorsese's lush The Age of Innocence (1993), Gibson further distinguished himself that year with larger roles in the critically praised PBS miniseries Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City and French-Canadian director Denys Arcand's first English-language film, the contemporary drama Love and Human Remains (1993).Gibson subsequently appeared in the second part of Whit Stillman's preppy trilogy, Barcelona (1994), and in the indie Sleep With Me (1994), but he became better-known to TV audiences that year on the CBS hospital drama Chicago Hope. After three seasons on the show, Gibson became an even more prominent TV presence in 1997 when he was cast as the straight-laced husband Greg to Jenna Elfman's hippie Dharma on the ABC sitcom Dharma and Greg. In addition to the memorable role of Greg, Gibson would appear in a number of feature films, like Eyes Wide Shut, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, and Psycho Beach Party, as well as subsuquent TV series, like the the proceedural Criminal Minds.

Trivia: California-born Shemar Moore parlayed a successful modeling stint into an acting career that began in 1994 with a lead role on the soap opera The Young and the Restless. Moore played Malcolm Winters for eight years, and earned a Daytime Emmy for his performance in 2000. After leaving The Young and the Restless, Moore landed a role on the short-lived WB superhero series Birds of Prey. A prominent supporting role in the surprise hit Diary of a Mad Black Woman followed in 2005, and that same year, he was cast on the CBS drama Criminal Minds alongside Mandy Patinkin and Thomas Gibson. In 2007, Moore made headlines in the gossip rags for a DUI arrest. He would go on to star on the proceedural Criminal Minds.

Trivia: Las Vegas native Matthew Gray Gubler got his show-business start as a fashion model, working for designers like Tommy Hilfiger. After graduating from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2002, Gubler appeared in his first feature film, playing one of the interns in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in 2004. He soon followed that performance with a starring role in the series Criminal Minds, playing the young genius Dr. Spencer Reid. He also made a small appearance in the comedy RV before signing on to appear in The Great Buck Howard. He had a major supporting role in (500) Days of Summer, but has probably had his largest success voicing the part of Simon, the nerdy member of the rodent trio at the heart of three Alvin and the Chipmunks movies.

Trivia: Canadian-born A.J. Cook trained as a competitive dancer before beginning her acting career at age 17 in the children's TV series Goosebumps. She started out in small roles on made-for-TV dramas until her first big break as one of the blonde Lisbon sisters in The Virgin Suicides. She went on to a recurring role on Higher Ground, a Fox Family Channel series about teens in boot camp, where she played the love interest of fellow Canadian Hayden Christensen prior to his role of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones. After another TV movie and the snowboarding comedy Out Cold, Cook found her niche as a lead actress in horror movies with Ripper: Letter From Hell in 2001. She then headlined a number of other thrillers, including Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell, The House Next Door, and Final Destination 2. In 2005, she began her run in the series Criminal Minds, playing special agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau. Cook took on a supporting role in the romantic comedy I'm Reed Fish in 2006, and starred in director Ron Satlof's comedy Misconceptions in 2008. The actress took another lead role in 2011 for Bringing Ashley Home, a docudrama following a woman (Cook) determined to find her sister when she suddenly goes missing. Cook returned to the horror genre in 2013, with Wer. A member of the Mormon church, Cook lives in Salt Lake City, UT, with her husband, Nathan Andersen.

Trivia: Like a lot of showbiz hopefuls, Kirsten Vangsness has had her share of day jobs. After paying the bills as a substitute teacher, child counselor, and dinner-theater actress, Vangsness found her big break when she was cast in a Pepsi commercial. Soon afterward, she scored the role of Penelope Garcia on the hit show Criminal Minds in 2004. She made her feature film debut in the thriller In My Sleep.

Trivia: Actress Paget Brewster got her first big break with a recurring role on Friends in 1997 playing Chandler's girlfriend Kathy. A regular stint on the most popular show on television was just the springboard that the actress needed to build up her resumé, and soon she was cast in the cult hit Andy Richter Controls the Universe and the Showtime series Huff. In 2006, she had a prominent role in the family comedy Unaccompanied Minors, and later that same year, she joined the cast of the series Criminal Minds. She has also, most notably, provided the voice of Birdgirl for the Adult Swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

Trivia: Born in England; her family moved to America when she was 9. A 2000 Tony nominee for The Rainmaker, she played both the male and female leads in the drama at 15 in a school acting competition. Met husband Michael Gill, also an actor, when they both appeared in a production of The Heiress at New Haven's Long Wharf Theater in 1989. Appeared with her 24 cast mate Stephen Spinella in the 2002 Broadway revival of Our Town that featured Paul Newman as the Stage Manager. Joined the cast of Criminal Minds in 2007 as Erin Strauss, section chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Has appeared in such films as Syriana (2005), Recount (HBO, 2008) and Handsome Harry (2009). Twice appeared in productions of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit (1998 and 2009), playing Ruth both times. Her performances were praised in both versions, though she admitted that, in the first production, she was reluctant to take on the role, finally coming around when she realized how much humor it offered. Supports such causes as diversity (via the educational theater company, Fringe Benefits) and international medical assistance (Doctors Without Borders.)

Trivia: While his name might suggest a birthplace somewhere in France -- or at the very least Quebec -- actor Rene Auberjonois was born in New York City. However, his well-to-do parents were of noble European blood, thus French was the language of choice in his household. Despite his first-born-American status, Auberjonois was shunned by many of his schoolmates as a foreigner, and teased for having a "girl's" name. As a defense mechanism, Auberjonois became the class clown, which somehow led naturally to amateur theatricals. The influence of such neighborhood family friends as Burgess Meredith and Lotte Lenya solidified Auberjonois' determination to make performing his life's work. He was cast in a production at Stratford (Ontario)'s Shakespeare company by John Houseman -- another neighbor of his parents' -- and after moving with his family to England, Auberjonois returned to complete his acting training at Carnegie-Mellon University. There he decided to specialize in character parts rather than leads -- a wise decision, in that he's still at it while some of his handsomer and more charismatic Carnegie-Mellon classmates have fallen by the wayside. Three years with the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. led Auberjonois to San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre, of which he was a founding member. Movie and TV work was not as easy to come by, so the actor returned to New York, where he won a Tony for his Broadway role in the musical Coco. An introduction to director Robert Altman led Auberjonois to his first film, M*A*S*H (1970), in which he introduced the character that would later be fleshed out on TV as Father Mulcahy (with William Christopher in the role). He worked in two more Altman films before he and the director began to grow in opposite directions. More stage work and films followed, then TV assignments; Auberjonois' characters ranged from arrogant dress designers to snooty aristocrats to schizophrenic killers on film, while the stage afforded him more richly textured roles in such plays as King Lear and The Good Doctor. In 1981, Auberjonois was cast as Clayton Endicott III, the terminally fussy chief of staff to Governor Gatling on Benson. Like so many other professional twits in so many other films, Auberjonois' job was to make life miserable for the more down-to-earth hero, in this case Robert "Benson" Guillaume. Blessed with one of the most flexible voiceboxes in show business, Auberjonois has spent much of his career providing voice-overs for cartoon characters in animated projects like the Disney's The Little Mermaid, The Legend of Tarzan, Justice League, and Pound Puppies. In 1993, Rene Auberjonois assured himself a permanent place in the hearts of "Trekkies" everywhere when he was cast as Odo (complete with understated but distinctive "alien" makeup) on the weekly syndicated TV show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which he appeared on until 1999.Auberjonois would remain extremely active on screen in the years to come, appearing in movies like The Patriot, and on shows like Boston Legal.

Trivia: Born September 18th, 1970, actress, comedian, author, reality-show host, and occasional scriptwriter Aisha Tyler came of age in San Francisco and studied poly sci at Dartmouth College before mounting a (brief) career as an advertising executive in her hometown. Dissatisfied by this pursuit, and pining to launch herself as a full-time entertainer, Tyler "dropped out" of the corporate world and hit the road with a solo standup comedy act in the mid-'90s.Around 2001 -- after five years in Los Angeles with occasional standup bookings and concomitantly limited acclaim and recognition -- Tyler landed two huge breaks, first as the host of the irreverent Talk Soup during that program's final year (a position she inherited from Greg Kinnear, John Henson, and others), and then as the primary host of the dating series The 5th Wheel. Riding the crest of popularity generated by reality television during the first several years of the millennium, Wheel coupled the unscripted spontaneity of The Real World and Survivor with the format of the dating series Blind Date. Its premise involved setting two couples up on blind dates, having them "swap" partners, and adding an unforeseen fifth member (the "wheel" of the title) to stir things up and add provocation. The program placed a greater emphasis on erotic and suggestive content than Blind and -- perhaps as a result -- it unsurprisingly became a massive, runaway hit.The ever-ambitious Tyler, however, continued to expand her horizons. She maintained a short tenure with Wheel and quickly moved on to other endeavors, placing a particularly strong emphasis on television work. This included a stint as Charlie (the only recurring African-American cast member) in the final two seasons of the popular sitcom Friends, and a recurring role as covert terrorist Marianne Taylor on the weekly suspenser 24. Tyler also portrayed attorney Andrea Moreno (who dies in a car crash but is then "ushered" over to the other side by Jennifer Love Hewitt's psychic) in the first season (2005-2006) of the supernatural drama The Ghost Whisperer. After that, Tyler segued into feature-film work, with bit roles in such pictures as The Santa Clause 3 and .45.Six feet tall and one of the most physically breathtaking young actresses of her generation, Tyler frequently provides beauty tips in such magazines as Ebony and Glamour; she is also an outspoken proponent of physical fitness and a strenuous exerciser who pushes herself to an almost unimaginable degree. A February 2007 issue of In Style magazine reported, "In addition to scaling walls, Tyler runs, uses a rowing machine, lifts weights, snowboards and scuba dives. But for her, nothing beats the mental rush of rock climbing." In 2004, Tyler also authored and published the best-seller Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl, a free-form, witty expostulation on such "hot" topics as men, bikini waxing, reality television, dating wars, sex, and body image.After filming several unremarkable movies throughout the mid-2000s, the actress found success on Archer, a television series that features Tyler as a dedicated but deadly agent for ISIS, a secret intelligence unit in New York City. While she continued work on Archer, she landed the job of co-host on The Talk, and later, host of the revamped Whose Line Is It Anyway? As if that weren't enough, Tyler also landed a recurring role on Criminal Minds in 2015.

Trivia: Studied conducting under David Zinman and Murry Sidlin at Aspen Music Festival and under Leonard Slatkin at the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C. Appointed an American Conducting Fellow of the Houston Symphony in 2004, and an assistant conductor of Kansas City Symphony in 2006. Has been a guest conductor at many orchestras, including Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Monte Carlo Philharmonic, and NHK Orchestra of Tokyo. Made his Broadway acting debut in the play Clybourne Park in 2012.

Trivia: Launching her performing career in her native Tulsa, Jeanne Tripplehorn spent several years as a local radio DJ and TV host. Educated at both the University of Oklahoma and Juilliard, Born June 10th, 1963, Tripplehorn was first seen on a nationwide basis in 1991 in a supporting role in the made-for-TV movie The Perfect Tribute, a fictionalized retelling of the events leading up to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Many of Tripplehorn's film characterizations have ranged from mildly eccentric to deeply disturbed, thanks in great part to her breakthrough appearance as Michael Douglas' "rough sex" partner in the erotic chiller Basic Instinct (1992). She got a chance to play normal -- albeit frazzled -- as Hugh Grant's fiancée in the romantic comedy Mickey Blue Eyes (1999); in 2000, she returned to rougher territory as a lesbian gangster in Mike Figgis' experimental ensemble film Timecode. In 2006 Tripplehorn found success on the small screen for her role as Barb Henrickson, a devout Mormon who often struggles with her polygamous lifestyle, in the HBO drama series Big Love.