Trivia: Perhaps the ultimate thinking man's sex symbol, Helen Mirren is also one of the most respected actresses of British stage, screen, and television. With classical training, years of work on the London stage, an acclaimed television series, and dozens of films to her name, Mirren has proven herself an actress of talent, versatility, and unforgettable presence.Born Ilynea Lydia Mironoff on July 26, 1945, in London, Mirren is a descendant of the White Russian nobility. Her father was a member of an aristocratic Russian military family who came to England during the Russian Revolution, but while Mirren was growing up, he worked in turn as a violinist with the London Philharmonic, a taxi driver, and a driving instructor. His daughter, on the other hand, knew her true calling by the age of six, when she realized she wanted to become an actress, in the "old-fashioned and traditional sense." After trying to please her parents with a stint at a teacher's college, Mirren joined the National Youth Theatre, where she first made her mark playing Cleopatra. The acclaim for her performance led the way to other work, and she was soon a member of the vaunted Royal Shakespeare Company, with whom she performed a wide range of classics. Her stage career thriving, Mirren made her screen debut in 1968 in the somewhat forgettable Herostratus. The same year, she made a more auspicious appearance as Hermia in Peter Hall's lauded adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and her screen career soon took off. She worked steadily throughout the late '60s and '70s, starring in 1969's Age of Consent and working with such directors as Robert Altman on The Long Goodbye (1973) and Lindsay Anderson on O Lucky Man! (also 1973). In 1977, Mirren earned permanent notoriety for her work in Caligula, a mainstream porn offering from the powers at Penthouse that also starred such notables as Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, and Malcolm McDowell.During the subsequent decade, Mirren continued to work on the stage, and she also broadened her cinematic resumé and fan base with such films as Excalibur (1981) and Cal (1984). Her portrayal of an older woman in love with a younger man in the latter film earned her a Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival and further established her reputation as an actress willing to explore the kind of unconventional relationships often ignored on the screen. The actress' willingness go beyond safe conventionality was demonstrated with her work in such films as The Mosquito Coast (1986), Pascali's Island (1988), The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989), and The Comfort of Strangers (1991). She again took on the role of an older woman in love with a younger man in Where Angels Fear to Tread in 1991, proving that seven years after Cal, her powers of attraction had been in no way tempered by time.At the beginning of the 1990s, Mirren began appearing on the television series Prime Suspect. Her character, Jane Tennison, a hard-boiled detective, proved immensely popular with viewers and critics alike, and she stayed with the series for its seven incarnations. Mirren also continued to do acclaimed work for the stage and screen, earning a Cannes Best Actress award and Oscar and BAFTA nominations for her work in The Madness of King George in 1994, and making her Broadway debut in Turgenev's A Month in the Country in 1995. The following year, she earned further acclaim for her work in Some Mother's Son, in which she played the mother of a Belfast prison hunger striker. In 1997, Mirren found the time to marry producer/director Taylor Hackford before signing on to provide the voice of the Queen in the Disney animated film The Prince of Egypt (1998). In 1999, she played the titular teacher in Kevin Williamson's disappointing Teaching Mrs. Tingle, earning the only good reviews given the movie, and she again won over critics with her title role in the made-for-television The Passion of Ayn Rand, earning an Emmy for her performance. Back on the big screen, Mirren continued with a lighthearted role as a master gardener in Greenfingers (2000), turned up in director Hal Hartley's comic monster fable No Such Thing (2001) and earned her second Oscar nomination for her re-teaming with Altman in the director's acclaimed comedy Gosford Park (2001).This pattern solidified for Mirren as her career moved through the new millennium. She was well received for her performance in yet another quirky British sleeper in 2003, with Calendar Girls. In it she played a middle-aged woman who raises money (as well as eyebrows) for a Women's Institute by posing nude with her peers. She also made notable appearances in movies like the thriller The Clearing (2004) and the romantic comedy Raising Helen (2004), before awing audiences with a performance in Shadowboxer (2005) as an assassin who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. 2005 would prove to be a special year for Mirren as September of that year would kick off a full 12 months of nonstop praise and excitement. Two of Mirren's projects would emerge during this period that would usher her into the upper tier of cinema's lead actresses -- a place that critics and fans had known she belonged all along. Coincidentally, these two projects would find her playing two different English monarchs who shared the same name. First, her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in the BBC miniseries Elizabeth I aired in September 2005, blowing viewers away with her ability to convey the full power and command of perhaps the most important crowned head in British history, all while confined to the small screen. Immersing herself into the opulent 16th century costumes and sets, Mirren tackled the Virgin Queen as a leader, a woman, and a human being, leaving such an impression that the miniseries was later aired in the U.S. By September 2006, the commotion over Mirren's performance had died down just enough for her to make an even bigger splash with her acclaimed role as Queen Elizabeth II in Stephen Frears' film The Queen. Despite the shared name, playing the modern-day figure was as different from her earlier role as it could be. Taking place in 1997 after the death of the globally beloved Princess Diana -- whose divorce from Prince Charles had been a source of epic tabloid controversy -- The Queen found Mirren playing a monarch who wielded little-to-no executive power, but whose title derived all its meaning from tradition, symbolism, and national pride. Mirren handled this queen with gentle attention to detail, following her on confused journeys both personal and in the national consciousness, showing her surprise and bewilderment as the stoic exterior on which a queen's public face had always been built suddenly caused her to be reviled. Mirren's two Elizabeths were both honored with Golden Globe wins, one for Best Actress in a Drama, and one for Best Actress in a TV Movie or Mini-Series. She was further rewarded for her efforts by capturing the Oscar for Best Actress in The Queen.In the next year she appeared in the blockbuster sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets, but in 2009 she starred opposite Christopher Plummer in The Last Station as the wife of the dying Leo Tolstoy. For her work in that drama Mirren garnered acting nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the Academy. Substantial roles continued to rack up honors and acclaim for the actress in 2010, as she played an intriguing role as a former Mossad agent in The Debt, and no-longer-retired secret agent in Red, and none other than the leading role in William Shakespeare's The Tempest - with the gender of the part changed to female. Mirren would then make a comic turn in the 2011 remake of Arthur alongside British comedian Russell Brand, before delving back into drama once more with the reflective 2012 film The Door.

Trivia: Although he made his name playing ruthless, genteel villains like Die Hard's Hans Gruber and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' Sheriff of Nottingham, Alan Rickman proved himself equally remarkable in romantic, comic, and good-guy dramatic roles. An actor of brooding charisma who intones his lines in a deep, milky baritone, Rickman began his career on-stage, building up a sizable résumé before embarking on a film career.Of Irish and Welsh parentage, Rickman was born in London's Hammersmith district on February 21, 1946. His father, who was a painter and decorator, died of cancer when the actor was eight, leaving behind Rickman, his mother, and three siblings. After winning a scholarship to West London's Latymer Upper School, Rickman began acting at the encouragement of his teachers. He also developed an interest in art, and he went on to study graphic design at the Royal College of Art. He founded a Soho-based design company, but after deciding that his heart was in acting, he abandoned the company when he was 26 to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He spent three years there, serving as a dresser to such actors as Ralph Richardson and Nigel Hawthorne. After leaving RADA, Rickman began to make his name on the stage, first appearing in repertory and then landing lead roles in London productions. He gained particular acclaim for his portrayal of Valmont in a West End production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, eventually reprising his role for the Broadway production and winning a Tony nomination.In 1988, Rickman got his first dose of big-screen recognition with Die Hard. After the film's huge success, and praise for his delightfully nasty portrayal of the film's villain, he went on to make a couple of poorly received features, including 1989's The January Man and 1990s Quigley Down Under. Success greeted him again in 1991: playing Kevin Costner's nemesis, the vile and loathsome Sheriff of Nottingham, in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Rickman proved to audiences why being bad could be so much fun. The same year, he endeared himself as a markedly more sympathetic character in Truly, Madly, Deeply. As a deceased cellist who reappears to comfort his lover (Juliet Stevenson), Rickman proved himself adept at romantic comedy, and began to accrue a reputation as a thinking woman's sex symbol (something he vocally resented).The actor spent the remainder of the decade turning in solid performances in a number of diverse films: he could be seen as an actor with a troubled past in An Awfully Big Adventure (1994), a very sympathetic Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995), Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins (1996), a has-been sci-fi television star in Galaxy Quest (1999), and a grumpy angel in Dogma (1999). In 1997, Rickman branched out into directing, making his debut with The Winter Guest. Starring real-life mother and daughter Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson as an estranged mother and daughter, the film won a number of positive notices, further establishing Rickman as a man of impressive versatility, both in front of and behind the camera. Though Rickman's voice would be featured on the animated television series King of the Hill in 2003, he wasn't truly absorbed into mainstream pop-culture among the kid circuit until after starring in the movie adaptations of author J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Rickman played the sinister Professor Snape in the films, one of the few post-pubescent constants in the franchise.In 2005, just months before the fourth installment in the Potter series, Rickman showed up in the first big-screen adaptation of another literary series with a rabid fan base, lending his voice to the character of Marvin the neurotic robot in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.He went on to appear in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, and in 2007 he played Judge Turpin in Tim Burton's adaptation of Sweeney Todd. E reteamed with the director for Alice in Wonderland in 2010, and the next year saw the final installment of the Harry Potter franchise hitting screens. In 2013, he played President Ronald Reagan in Lee Daniels' The Butler and club owner Hilly Kristal in CBGB. The following year, Rickman directed his second feature film, A Little Chaos, and also appeared in the film as King Louis XIV. Rickman died in 2016, at age 69.

Trivia: Many know actor Aaron Paul for his role as Jesse Pinkman on the series Breaking Bad. The Idaho native began his career in the early 2000s, with a long list of appearances on shows like Suddenly Susan, The X-Files, CSI: Miami, Judging Amy, Criminal Minds, and Veronica Mars. In 2008, he took on a steady gig, joining the cast of Breaking Bad as a small-time drug dealer who joins up with Bryan Cranston to form the world's most unlikely meth manufacturing team. The following year he also began making recurring appearances on the HBO series Big Love, as well as taking on feature film work with roles in Last House on the Left and Wreckage. In 2009, he was nominated for an Emmy for his work on Breaking Bad in the acclaimed drama's second season, and the next year he would the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a drama series.

Trivia: Family fled war-torn Somalia when he was 7; spent the next seven years in Yemen before moving to Minneapolis at age 14. Worked as a disc jockey and a limo driver. Had never acted before when he answered a local casting call for Captain Phillips (2013). Didn't meet his Captain Phillips co-star Tom Hanks until they filmed the scene where their characters met. Was named an ambassador for Adeso, a humanitarian organization in Africa, in 2013.

Trivia: Possessing the kind of tall, dark good looks that could easily get him mistaken for David Duchovny's British brother, Jeremy Northam has impressed transatlantic audiences as the type of actor who can make everything from giant cockroaches to Jane Austen look sexy.The fourth child of two Cambridge University professors, Northam was born in Cambridge on December 1, 1961. Following his family's move to Bristol in 1972, he got his first taste of the theatrical world when he took a backstage job at a local playhouse. He went on to study English at London University, but after deciding that acting was his true vocation, left school to pursue his career. Drama studies at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, a stint as a singing waiter, and a role in the 1987 TV movie Suspicion followed. In 1989, Northam got his first -- albeit unexpected -- big break when, as an understudy in a production of Hamlet, he took over at the last minute for Daniel Day-Lewis, who suffered a nervous breakdown one night during his performance as the title character. Receiving positive notices for his impromptu portrayal, the actor found further acclaim the following year, with his performance as Edward Voysey in the Royal National Theatre's production of The Voysey Inheritance. Northam won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his work, and after appearing in 1992's Wuthering Heights and the 1995 Canadian feature Voices, he traveled to Los Angeles, where he landed a leading role in The Net (1995) within five days of his arrival. Playing Jack Devlin, Northam managed to make a mark on audiences as the charismatic villain who tries to off heroine Sandra Bullock while still finding time to sleep with her. Later that year, the actor appeared as a ne'er-do-well of a different sort, when he played one of Dora Carrington's army of lovers in Carrington. Although his role was essentially limited to a brief maritime seduction of the illustrious lady (played by Emma Thompson), Northam had already landed the considerably more substantial part of Mr. Knightley in Douglas MacGrath's 1996 adaptation of the Austen novel Emma. Starring opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, Northam won both critical praise and the distinction of being that year's thinking woman's luxury import.The following year, the actor played a supporting role in Steven Spielberg's Amistad and then went on to explore completely different territory with a turn as Mira Sorvino's husband in the big-budget giant cockroach thriller Mimic. In 1998, Northam played another married man when he starred as Parker Posey's husband in the romantic comedy The Misadventures of Margaret. He then returned to the world of corsets and BBC English, first as a lawyer in David Mamet's 1999 adaptation of Terence Rattigan's The Winslow Boy and then as An Ideal Husband in Oliver Parker's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play. Having gotten the gentrified leading man role down to an science, Northam next went in an entirely different direction as a con man forced to pose as accomplice Steve Zahn's gay lover in a small Texas town in Happy, Texas, which had its premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

Trivia: A handsome supporting player whose occasional leap into the lead has resulted in some interestingly varied performances, actor Iain Glen has appeared in everything from low-budget indies to high-profile Hollywood blockbusters -- frequently holding his own opposite such screen heavies as Harvey Keitel (The Young Americans) and Billy Connolly (Gabriel & Me). A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, who studied at Edinburgh Academy and the University of Aberdeen before honing his craft at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the talented Shakespearian actor would go on to impress audiences in such stage works as Macbeth and Henry V. In 1985, the ascending stage talent made a successful transition to the screen with a small role in an episode of the popular U.K. mystery series Taggart, and after making the leap to the big screen with a supporting role in the 1987 feature Will You Love Me Tomorrow, Glen returned to television the next year for a role in the series The Fear. In the years that followed, Glen's big-screen career gained notable momentum thanks to solid performances in Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), with his early years coming to a peak when he took home a Best Actor award from the Berlin International Film Festival for his turn as a convicted killer in the 1990 film Silent Scream. That same year, Glen also received accolades for his portrayal of real-life explorer Lt. John Hanning Speke in Mountains of the Moon, though the remainder of the decade would find him sticking mainly to U.K. television (occasionally taking the lead, as in 1992's Frankie's House). Following an endearing turn as a sports reporter whose one-night fling leads him to come to terms with his tragic past in Glasgow Kiss, Glen received notable international exposure with a high-profile role opposite Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Though Glen's shattering performance as a father suffering terminal lung cancer in the drama Gabriel & Me (screenwriter Lee Hall's follow-up to Billy Elliot) ultimately failed to gel with audiences, Glen's horrific turn as a seemingly possessed father in Darkness offered the talented actor at his manic best. By this point, Glen seemed to be growing increasingly comfortable alternating between more independent-minded features and more large-scale productions, taking the role of noted psychiatrist Carl Jung in the 2003 romantic drama The Soul Keeper before taking a more epic turn as an anthropologist who hunts and captures pygmies in order to study them and prove a link between man and ape in 2005's Man to Man. He appeared in Ridley Scott's epic Kingdom of Heaven, as well as Resident Evil: Extinction. In 2008 he had a major part in a retelling of The Diary of Anne Frank for the BBC, and followed that up with a part in the Michael Caine vehicle Harry Brown. In 2011 he acted in the Oscar winning biopic The Iron Lady.

Trivia: Both of her parents are actors.Worked in the office of a comedy club.Was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on her third attempt.Met husband actor Kyle Soller at RADA.In 2011, was nominated for Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.Was featured in the Screen International Stars of Tomorrow list in 2011.

Trivia: Born in the United Kingdom, but grew up in Gambia. Worked as an auditor and studied microbiology at Imperial College London prior to beginning his career in acting. Acquired his first role in film when the casting director for the film Severance saw him in a production of Macbeth. Role in Inspector Lewis was a bold step in the show's casting, which up until that point maintained a predominantly Caucasian cast of characters.

Trivia: South African filmmaker Gavin Hood is most well known as the director of the award-winning urban drama Tsotsi, however, few know that he learned the ropes and paid his dues by appearing in B-movies like Curse 3: Blood Sacrifice and American Kickboxer. He also studied law at the University of Witwatersrand before opting to follow his true calling by traveling to the U.S. to study film at UCLA. It was there that he experienced his first big break -- or so he thought -- when a script he'd written called A Reasonable Man won the Diane Thomas Screenwriting Award in 1993. The producers who took interest in the story, however, wanted to move the setting from South Africa to America, and soften the script's harsh, culturally divisive content with a happy ending. Hood refused to agree to such changes, agreeing only to make the film on the condition that he direct it himself -- causing interest in the project to vanish as quickly as it had appeared. Hood traveled back to Johannesburg, where he was commissioned to write and direct a series of educational dramas for television by the South African Department of Health. Tackling issues like the AIDS epidemic for the masses of his newly apartheid-free country was a monumental task for Hood's first professional stint behind the camera, and he accomplished the task deftly, earning an Artes Award (The South African Emmy Award) for his work. A short time later, he directed and produced a short script he'd written called The Storekeeper, about an elderly man who takes the law into his own hands in order to protect his store from robbery -- a decision that ends in tragedy. Hood entered the film into competition at a number of international film festivals, where it was very well received. This earned him the credibility he needed to finally produce A Reasonable Man and in 1999 he did exactly that. The story of a young shepherd who kills a baby whom he believes is possessed by a demon was inspired by an actual 1933 court case that Hood had read about in law school. He cast himself in a supporting role in the film, appearing opposite veteran actor Sir Nigel Hawthorne, and entered it into competition on the festival circuit as he had with The Storekeeper. He met with even more success this time, winning the grand prizes at a number of film festivals and serious praise from many critics. In 2001, Hood signed on to adapt and direct a film version of Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel In Desert and Wilderness, an adventure story about two children in Africa. Though the film had to be made entirely in Polish -- which Hood neither spoke nor had time to learn -- he rose to the challenge, working extensively with a translator to create what would prove to be an award-winning film, and the highest-grossing movie in Poland that year. By 2003, Hood had established himself in the filmmaking community as both a talented and conscientious director. It was around this time that he was approached in by producer Peter Fudakowski about adapting legendary playwright Athol Fugard's only novel, Tsotsi, for the screen. Hood had loved the unflinching tale of desperation, hope, and redemption ever since he'd first read it -- but the rights had always been optioned by other parties. He jumped at the chance to write and direct the story, though he updated the setting from the 1950s to the present, replacing the forces of apartheid with classism, AIDS, and disappointment. The central story remained the same, however: a tough, young gang member to whom stealing and killing are a simple means of survival, murders a woman before realizing her baby is with her. Subjected to a spiritual and ethical transformation, the young man cares for the baby over the course of the next week, as his sense of obligation to the child gradually awakens in him a long-repressed sense of humanity. The film was a complete success, winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Trivia: Gained an interest in acting after performing in a Cub Scout play as a young child. Chose the stage name Richard as a tribute to an English teacher he admired as an 11-year-old student. Was in the same term as fellow actor Mark Rylance while studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Is a classical theatre actor who joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1986 and has regularly performed in RSC productions since. In 1989, played the role of Puck in an RSC production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Originated the role of Christopher Marlowe in Peter Whelan's School of Night in 1993. Starred in the titular role in a national tour of Hamlet with Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 1999 until 2001. Performed the role of Romeo opposite Kathryn Hunter as Juliet in Ben Power's adaptation of the Shakespearean play titled A Tender Thing in 2012. Played the role of Ben Jonson opposite Patrick Stewart in a stage production of Bingo at the Old Vic. Made his Broadway debut as Prime Minister Harold Wilson in The Audience opposite Helen Mirren. Is an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Trivia: Is of Irish descent.Started acting in school plays when she was young.Was supported by her parents to pursue her as an actress.Worked behind a bar at a pub it was her first job.Has had an extensive career in theaters.Is a member of the renowned Out Of Joint Theatre Company.

Trivia: Became interested in theatre after watching performances of Shakespeare - The Animated Tales at the Barbican in London when he was 11 years old. Played the role of Francisco/Lucianus in English Touring Theatre's production of Hamlet in 2005. Performed with Sir Ian McKellan in King Lear in 2008. First National Theatre lead role was in Edward II in September 2013. To prepare for his role in Oppenheimer in 2015 he watched YouTube videos of J. Robert Oppenheimer to pick up his vocal energy and mannerisms. Played the title role in Macbeth with Anna Maxwell Martin as Lady Macbeth at the Young Vic theatre in London in 2015.

Trivia: Actor Michael O'Keefe was educated at NYU and trained for a theatrical career at AADA. O'Keefe made his first off-Broadway appearance in 1974's Killdeer, his Broadway debut in Fifth of July, and in 1975 made his TV bow in the small-screen remake of Friendly Persuasion. Within a year of his 1978 film debut, he was Oscar-nominated for his portrayal of Ben Meechum (author Pat Conroy's alter ego) in The Great Santini (1979). He followed that up by starring opposite comedy heavyweights Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield as the caddy Danny Noonan in Caddyshack.While his subsequent stage credits were consistently praiseworthy -- he won a 1982 Theatre World Award for Mass Appeal, and was a co-founder of the Collanade Theatre Lab -- his screen efforts of the 1980s alternated between brilliant (Ironweed) and lamentable (The Slugger's Wife). On television, O'Keefe was briefly seen as Jackie's (Laurie Metcalf) husband Fred on Roseanne (1988), gonzo attorney Simon MacHeath in Against the Law (1990), suburbanite Ron Steffey in Middle Ages (1992), and also as basketball coach/househusband Kevin Hunter in Life's Work (1996).O'Keefe continued to work steadily in film and television, in movies like The Hot Chick (2002) and Michael Clayton (2007) and with guest appearances on shows like The West Wing, House, The Closer, Criminal Minds, and Brothers & Sisters. In 2014, he had a recurring role on Homeland's fourth season. O'Keefe was married to singer Bonnie Raitt from 1991 to 1999, with whom he has co-written two songs, one of them the Grammy-nominated "Longing in Their Hearts".

Trivia: Lead actress, onscreen from 1986.