Trivia: Born on December 31, 1937, as the only son of a baker, Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins was drawn to the theater while attending the YMCA at age 17, and later learned the basics of his craft at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1960, Hopkins made his stage bow in The Quare Fellow, and then spent four years in regional repertory before his first London success in Julius Caesar. Combining the best elements of the British theater's classic heritage and its burgeoning "angry young man" school, Hopkins worked well in both ancient and modern pieces. His film debut was not, as has often been cited, his appearance as Richard the Lionhearted in The Lion in Winter (1968), but in an odd, "pop-art" film, The White Bus (1967).Though already familiar to some sharp-eyed American viewers after his film performance as Lloyd George in Young Winston (1971), Hopkins burst full-flower onto the American scene in 1974 as an ex-Nazi doctor in QB VII, the first television miniseries. Also in 1974, Hopkins made his Broadway debut in Equus, eventually directing the 1977 Los Angeles production. The actor became typed in intense, neurotic roles for the next several years: in films he portrayed the obsessed father of a girl whose soul has been transferred into the body of another child in Audrey Rose (1976), an off-the-wall ventriloquist in Magic (1978), and the much-maligned Captain Bligh (opposite Mel Gibson's Fletcher Christian) in Bounty (1982). On TV, Hopkins played roles as varied (yet somehow intertwined) as Adolph Hitler, accused Lindbergh-baby kidnapper Bruno Richard Hauptmann, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame.In 1991, Hopkins won an Academy Award for his bloodcurdling portrayal of murderer Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. With the aplomb of a thorough professional, Anthony Hopkins was able to follow-up his chilling Lecter with characters of great kindness, courtesy, and humanity: the conscience-stricken butler of a British fascist in The Remains of the Day (1992) and compassionate author C. S. Lewis in Shadowlands (1993). In 1995, Hopkins earned mixed acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his impressionistic take (done without elaborate makeup) on President Richard M. Nixon in Oliver Stone's Nixon. After his performance as Pablo Picasso in James Ivory's Surviving Picasso (1996), Hopkins garnered another Oscar nomination -- this time for Best Supporting Actor -- the following year for his work in Steven Spielberg's slavery epic Amistad. Following this honor, Hopkins chose roles that cast him as a father figure, first in the ploddingly long Meet Joe Black and then in the have-mask-will-travel swashbuckler Mask of Zorro with Antonio Banderas and fellow countrywoman Catherine Zeta-Jones. In his next film, 1999's Instinct, Hopkins again played a father, albeit one of a decidedly different stripe. As anthropologist Ethan Powell, Hopkins takes his field work with gorillas a little too seriously, reverting back to his animal instincts, killing a couple of people, and alienating his daughter (Maura Tierney) in the process.Hopkins kept a low profile in 2000, providing narration for Ron Howard's live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and voicing the commands overheard by Tom Cruise's special agent in John Woo's Mission: Impossible 2. In 2001, Hopkins returned to the screen to reprise his role as the effete, erudite, eponymous cannibal in Ridley Scott's Hannibal, the long-anticipated sequel to Jonathan Demme's Silence of the Lambs (1991). The 160-million-dollar blockbuster did much for Hopkins' bank account but little for his standing with the critics, who by and large found Hannibal to be a stylish, gory exercise in illogical tedium. Worse yet, some wags suggested that the actor would have been better off had he followed his Silence co-star Jodie Foster's lead and opted out of the sequel altogether. Later that year, the moody, cloying Stephen King adaptation Hearts in Atlantis did little to repair his reputation with critics or audiences, who avoided the film like the plague.The long-delayed action comedy Bad Company followed in 2002, wherein audiences -- as well as megaproducer Jerry Bruckheimer -- learned that Chris Rock and Sir Anthony Hopkins do not a laugh-riot make. But the next installment in the cash-cow Hannibal Lecter franchise restored a bit of luster to the thespian's tarnished Hollywood career. Red Dragon, the second filmed version of Thomas Harris' first novel in the Lecter series, revisited the same territory previously adapted by director Michael Mann in 1986's Manhunter, with mixed but generally positive results. Surrounding Hopkins with a game cast, including Edward Norton, Ralph Finnes, Harvey Keitel and Emily Watson, the Brett Ratner film garnered some favorable comparisons to Demme's 1991 award-winner, as well as some decent -- if not Hannibal-caliber -- returns at the box office.Hopkins would face his biggest chameleon job since Nixon with 2003's highly anticipated adaptation of Philip Roth's Clinton-era tragedy The Human Stain, a prestige Miramax project directed by Robert Benton and co-starring Nicole Kidman, fresh off her Oscar win for The Hours. Hopkins plays Stain's flawed protagonist Coleman Silk, an aging, defamed African-American academic who has been "passing" as a Jew for most of his adult life. Unfortunately, most critics couldn't get past the hurtle of accepting the Anglo-Saxon paragon as a light-skinned black man. The film died a quick death at the box office and went unrecognized in year-end awards.2004's epic historical drama Alexander re-united Hopkins and Nixon helmer Oliver Stone in a three-hour trek through the life and times of Alexander the Great. The following year, Hopkins turned up in two projects, the first being John Madden's drama Proof. In this Miramax release, Hopkins plays Robert, a genius mathematician who - amid a long descent into madness - devises a formula of earth-shaking proportions. That same year's comedy-drama The World's Fastest Indian saw limited international release in December 2005; it starred Hopkins - ever the one to challenge himself by expanding his repertoire to include increasingly difficult roles - as New Zealand motorcycle racer Burt Munro, who set a land speed record on his chopper at the Utah Bonneville Flats. The quirky picture did limited business in the States but won the hearts of many viewers and critics.He then joined the ensemble cast of the same year's hotly-anticipated ensemble drama Bobby, helmed by Emilio Estevez, about the events at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles just prior to RFK's assassination. Hopkins plays John Casey, one of the hotel proprietors.Hopkins long held true passions in arenas other than acting - specifically, painting and musical composition. As for the former, Hopkins started moonlighting as a painter in the early 2000s, and when his tableaux first appeared publicly, at San Antonio's Luciane Gallery in early 2006, the canvases sold out within six days. Hopkins is also an accomplished symphonic composer and the author of several orchestral compositions, though unlike some of his contemporaries (such as Clint Eastwood) his works never supplemented movie soundtracks and weren't available on disc. The San Antonio Symphony performed a few of the pieces for its patrons in spring 2006.Hopkins would remain a prolific actor over the next several years, appearing in films like The Wolfman, Thor, and 360.Formerly wed to actress Petronella Barker and to Jennifer Lynton, Hopkins married his third wife, actress and producer Stella Arroyave, in March 2003.

Trivia: South Carolina-born African American comedian Chris Rock grew up in Brooklyn and projected a marked aptitude for comedy early in life. Rock traveled the New York club circuit during his adolescence, so aggressively and persistently that he established himself as a seasoned veteran by his late teens. He happened to be performing at the New York Comedy Strip c. 1984, when his break arrived in the form of an audience visit by one Eddie Murphy. Deeply impressed with the then eighteen-year-old rising star, Murphy cast him in his forthcoming Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), as a parking valet. It hardly constituted a breakout performance, but the role and newfound connection with Eddie Murphy helped Rock land a couple of small supporting roles, and eventually a spot on NBC's hallowed Saturday Night Live, from 1990-93. During his SNL stint, Rock also periodically guest-starred in fellow comedian Keenan Ivory Wayans' African American sketch comedy series In Living Color. In 1991, Rock broke from comedy in favor of a more dramatic role, and his performance as a surprisingly innocent crack addict-cum-informant in Mario Van Peebles' New Jack City attracted a substantial amount of favorable attention; Roger Ebert praised Rock as "effortlessly authentic and convincing."One could argue with some foundation that the role in New Jack City is indicative of Rock's driving force (i.e., the politics of modern society and race within the contextual framework of American culture). Although Rock employs comedic delivery, many of his favorite topics are quite grave, and Rock's ability to confront these issues, cloaked in ribald humor, helped launch his career during the late '90s. While his 1993 screenwriting debut, on Tamra Davis's CB4: The Movie, received lukewarm reviews at best, Rock established himself as a household name after his scathing HBO comedy special Bring the Pain (1996) earned him two Emmy awards and a significantly larger fan base. The same year, he received a third Emmy for his work as a writer and correspondent for Comedy Central's Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. Then, in 1997, the successes of Rock's stand-up, his contributions to Saturday Night Live and In Living Color, his film roleass, and his work on Bring the Pain collectively inspired HBO to sign Rock for a sketch comedy series, The Chris Rock Show, that ran from 1997 to 2000. The program borrowed the formats of Saturday Night Live and In Living Color, yet it upped the vulgarity, volatility, and presence of hot-button contemporary issues - in addition to the intelligence. In addition to Rock, the program featured a cast of up-and-coming African American comics, such as Wanda Sykes and Mario Joyner. The program ran to sensational reviews. Rock's film career expanded throughout the late '90s, and the young comic won particular notice for his role as a hot-headed law enforcement agent in 1998's Lethal Weapon 4 opposite Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, and later for Kevin Smith's irreverent Dogma(1999), as a bitter apostle of Jesus. He also published a book titled Rock This! with much success. Though Dogma received mixed reviews, in 1999 Rock mounted his second HBO comedy special, Bigger & Blacker, which found the comedian addressing topics from gun control to Bill Clinton and proper parenting techniques. In late 2000, Rock played an obnoxious hitman equipped with an incredibly inventive string of obscenities in Neil La Bute's controversial black comedy Nurse Betty, alongside Renee Zellweger and Morgan Freeman.In 2001, Rock put his screenwriting abilities to the test in Down to Earth, a remake of 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan, and again in Pootie Tang, a feature spin-off of one of the characters from The Chris Rock Show. In 2001, Rock voiced one of the characters in Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and another in Osmosis Jones, and rejoined Kevin Smith for a cameo in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. In 2002, Rock was one of several comedians featured in Christian Charles' documentary Comedian, and in the same year starred opposite Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins as a CIA spy in the Joel Schumacher-directed action comedy dud Bad Company. Rock then directed, co-wrote and starred in 2003's Head of State as an unlikely presidential candidate for the Democratic party.Head of State divided critics; most felt nonplussed, or espoused mixed feelings, such as The Los Angeles Times's Manohla Dargis, who mused, " Rock can't set up a decent-looking shot, and… doesn't care about niceties such as character development… but…nonetheless wrings biting humor from serious issues with the… ferocity [of]… Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce." After Head, Rock's big screen activity diminished just a bit; he voiced Marty the Zebra in the CG-animated, family-oriented features Madagascar (2005) and Madagascar 2 (2008), but his most frequent turn during this period arrived in the form of a new semiautobiographical sitcom on UPN, Everybody Hates Chris, that debuted in September 2005. As written and produced by Rock, it cast Tyler James Williams as a younger version of the comedian, during the early '80s, who lives in the steel-tough area of Bedford-Stuyvesant and is bused, each day, to a school full of Italian Americans. As narrated by Rock, this sweet, gentle, nostalgic and witty program caught everyone off guard and drew outstanding ratings during late 2005 "TV Sweeps"; New York Times correspondent Alessandra Stanley was certainly not alone when she praised it as "charming" and compared it favorably to The Cosby Show - high praise, indeed.In 2007, Rock returned to cinemas, posing a quadruple threat (writer/producer/ director/star) with the adults-only sex comedy I Think I Love My Wife. In that picture (a remake of Eric Rohmer's Chloe in the Afternoon!) Rock plays Richard Cooper, a suburban investment banker saddled with a wife and two kids, who finds it increasingly difficult to avoid delving into a rich world of sexual fantasies, and then to avoid an imminent affair with a gorgeous "old friend" (Kerry Washington) seeking career advice. I Think I Love My Wife took its stateside bow in mid-March 2007, to reviews as mixed as anything in Rock's prior career; most critics either loved or hated it; a few responded ambivalently. Rock took on a supporting role in 2012's What to Expect When You're Expecting, and voiced the character of Marty the Zebra in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted the same year. He resprised his role in Grown Ups 2 in 2013. In 2014, he wrote, directed and starred in Top Five.

Trivia: Has worked in film, theater, radio and television since 1977.Often plays British, South African, German, American and Russian roles.Has appeared in the series Casualty playing 3 different characters Brian Carroll, Russell Miller and Geoff Marks.Played Alexander Haig, the United States Secretary of State, in the 2011 film The Iron Lady.His frequent theater work includes plays like Privates on Parade, Hamlet, Stags & Hens, Comedians, The Day You'll Love Me, Marya, All My Sons, The Lodger, The LIttle Foxes, and more.

Trivia: Actress Kerry Washington's strong background in theater and academics found the talented and ambitious young starlet, even at the start of her career, setting her sights on producing, screenwriting, and eventually directing -- a goal that certainly seemed reachable given her early success in such films as Lift and Save the Last Dance. The daughter of a real-estate broker, Washington was born in New York City and attended the Spence School of Manhattan before enrolling in George Washington University's theater program. It wasn't long after her 1998 graduation that the aspiring actress made her feature debut in the 2000 drama Our Song, with nominations for the film at the Independent Spirit Awards and the Sundance Film Festival serving to increase her exposure among cinephiles, even if the film did go largely unseen by the masses. Of course it would take more than a small independent film to truly set Washington apart from the pack, and many saw her performance in the 2001 romantic drama Save the Last Dance as one of the few redeeming qualities in the otherwise forgettable teen drama. Though her only true experience as a thief resulted in the stealing of an apple from a New York deli when directors DeMane Davis and Khari Streeter encouraged her to engage in a minor bit of thievery in preparation for her role as a shoplifter in the 2001 drama Lift, Washington ultimately proved so convincing and effective in the role that she received a nomination as Best Female Lead at the 2002 Independent Spirit Awards. Of course the all-too-honest actress would return to the deli to pay for the apple following completion of the film. By this point there was little doubt as to Washington's talent, and despite the fact that she would be overshadowed by such big names as Anthony Hopkins and Meg Ryan in such subsequent efforts as Bad Company, The Human Stain, and Against the Ropes, she still managed to make an impression with a series of memorable supporting roles. A substantial role as a lesbian looking to be impregnated by her ex-boyfriend in director Spike Lee's 2004 comedy drama She Hate Me threatened to put an end to the trend of casting Washington almost exclusively in supporting roles; a role as the wife of legendary musician Ray Charles in the same year's Ray truly took her career to the next level. Despite her recent onscreen success, Washington remains true to her stage roots by remaining active in theater and has also begun to branch out by attempting to make a name for herself as a writer and producer as well.Still, it was on the screen that Washington truly earned her keep, and following roles in Sexual Life, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Fantastic Four, Washington took a trip to the courtroom for a supporting role on David E. Kelley's Emmy-winning television comedy Boston Legal. In 2006 Washington would find herself the recipient of a most unusual houseguest when a diminutive thief appeared on her doorstep disguised as an abandoned toddler in the Wayans brothers comedy Little Man. She was in Chris Rock's romantic comedy I Think I Love My Wife, and appeared in Spike Lee's World War II movie Miracle at St. Anna. As the 2010's approached, Washington soon found herself a bonified star, remaining adored and in demand due to performances in high profile features like Django Unchained and her star turn as Olivia Pope in ABC's smash hit Scandal.

Trivia: With a cool stoic gaze suggesting unmentionable thoughts lurking somewhere deep behind those deep, blank eyes, popular character actor Peter Stormare offered American audiences slightly discomforting comic relief in Joel and Ethan Coen's popular dark comedy Fargo (1996), though his versatility and adaptability have since led him to roles in everything from major Hollywood blockbusters to the stripped-down Dogma 95 efforts of eccentric Danish director Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark (2000). Born Peter Rolf Stormare in Arbra, Sweden, on August 27th,1953, the dynamic Nordic actor began his career with an 11-year stint with the Royal National Theater of Sweden. Aside from appearing in such productions as Don Juan and The Curse of the Starving Class, Stormare would pen such original plays as El Paso and The Electric Boy. Later earning positive critical reception in such classic Shakespearian productions as King Lear, the actor made his big-screen debut, and began a 15-year association with legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, with a brief appearance in Fanny and Alexander in 1982. Later earning positive critical reception for his role in the legendary filmmaker's stage adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet in 1988, Stormare continued to gain career trajectory with numerous memorable stage and film roles in his native country. In 1990, Stormare became the Associate Artistic Director at the Tokyo Globe Theatre and made his American screen debut as a neurochemist who questions Robin Williams' experimental medical tactics in the touching Awakenings. Subsequently appearing in numerous international films (Freud's Leaving Home [1991] and Damage [1992]), Stormare hit his stateside stride with his chilling turn as a woodchipper-happy kidnapper in Fargo. Though he would continue to make appearances in such Swedish efforts as Ett Sorts Hades and Bergman's In the Presence of a Clown (1996 and 1997 respectively), his Hollywood star was on the rise with memorable roles in such increasingly mega-budgeted efforts as The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Armageddon (1998). Equally adept in comparatively low-budget efforts such as director George Romero's Bruiser (2000) and the aforementioned Dancer -- two roles which couldn't possibly be more polar opposites -- Stormare branched out into sitcom territory with his turn as Julia Louis-Dreyfuss' enamored superintendent in the ill-fated Watching Ellie in 2002. It wasn't long before Stormare was back on the silver screen, and with the same year potential blockbuster triple threat of The Tuxedo, Windtalkers, and Minority Report, it appeared as if Stormare's unique talents were as in-demand as ever. 2002 also found the established actor branching out with his role as producer of the romantic comedy The Movie Nut and His Audience.In 2005 he joined the cast of The Brothers Grimm in the role of an interogator, and took on a regular role in the television drama Prison Break. Stormare made guest appearances on a variety of television stand-outs throughout the 2000s, among them including Weeds, Monk, Entourage, and Hawaii Five-0.

Trivia: It may come as little surprise to those who have seen beautiful model-turned-actress Garcelle Beauvais (also credited as Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) that she was voted one of "The Ten Sexiest Women of 2001" by readers of Black Men Magazine, but take a look beyond the surface and you'll see that Beauvais has the talents to back up her beauty. Born in Haiti, the youngest of seven children, Beauvais moved to Massachusetts with her mother and siblings following her parents' divorce. Beauvais' first years in the U.S. were spent in boarding school while her mother supported the family by attending nursing school. With little knowledge of the English language, the French- and Creole-speaking youngster slowly began the process of educating herself by taking in episodes of Sesame Street. Though going from being a member of the social majority in Haiti to being a minority in America was a difficult transition, it was the change of climate that proved most jarring to young Beauvais. Roles in numerous school plays fueled a love for performing, and it wasn't long before the family opted for a more familiar climate in Miami when Beauvais was 16. The following year, the emerging model moved to New York and gained an increasing presence on the catwalk and numerous Essence and Ebony layouts. Early television appearances on such popular shows as Miami Vice, Family Matters, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air found Beauvais refining her skills in front of the camera, and it wasn't long before she was appearing in such high-profile films as Manhunter (1986) and Coming to America (1988). An ideal role in the Aaron Spelling-produced television series Models, Inc. found Beauvais combining both her modeling and acting experience, and after settling into a role on The Jamie Foxx Show in 1996 (playing Francesca "Fancy" Monroe), she would once again hit the big screen with Wild Wild West (1999) and Double Take (2001). Having previously appeared as ADA Valerie Heywood in the popular television police drama NYPD Blue, Beauvais expanded her role by joining the series full-time in 2001. A feature role in Bad Company (2002) opposite Chris Rock found Beauvais' feature career taking off, and hinted for great things to come. She subsequently moved into scripted dramatic roles with a heightened emphasis on big-screen features, including plum roles in the 2004 Ice Cube comedy Barbershop 2: Back in Business and the Lindsay Lohan shocker I Know Who Killed Me (2007), in addition to prominent billing in the sci-fi telemovie 10.5: Apocalypse (2006). In 2007, Beauvais also took some time out from filmdom to give birth to twins, and made headlines for appearing nude, while pregnant, in the August 2007 issue of Playboy magazine. She had a role in the 2009 sex comedy Women in Trouble.

Trivia: Though a preternaturally gifted actor by any standard, Gabriel Macht endured years of underutilization by Hollywood. He officially debuted as a child actor at the age of 8 with a small role in director Larry Peerce's critically maligned, family-friendly romance Why Would I Lie? (1980), but remained offscreen until his late twenties, when he reemerged as a film star with supporting roles in the romantic comedies The Adventures of Sebastian Cole (1998) and 101 Ways (The Things a Girl Will Do to Keep Her Volvo) (2000), and a regular turn as Mark Gabriel on television's psychological thriller series The Others (2000). Macht then bided his time for several years in action yarns unworthy of his abilities, including Joel Schumacher's Bad Company (2002) and Roger Donaldson's The Recruit (2003). The course of Macht's career, however, changed with 2004's John Travolta alcoholism drama A Love Song for Bobby Long, which afforded the thespian third billing after Travolta and Scarlett Johansson. In it, Macht delivered a searing portrayal of Lawson Pines, an alcoholic writer in the American south. He followed it up with a key supporting role in Robert de Niro's critically acclaimed historical saga The Good Shepherd (2006), and tackled the lead in director Frank Miller's The Spirit (2008), a supernaturally charged action saga about a masked crime fighter. Though The Spirit disappeared at the box office, Macht continued to work steadily appearing in Whiteout, Love and Other Drugs, Mille Man, and A Bag of Hammers over the next few years. In 2011, he took the lead role on the USA legal drama Suits.

Trivia: The actress whose convincing portrayal of one of Buffalo Bill's potential victims in The Silence of the Lambs had audiences squirming in their seats, Brooke Smith has subsequently built an enduring career with memorable roles in such efforts as Robert Altman's Kansas City (1996) and the searing reality television satire Series 7: The Contenders (2001). Born the daughter of renowned publicist Lois Smith and raised in New York City, Brooke was immersed in show business from the moment she left the womb. A graduate of Tappan Zee High School, Smith is also a professional journalist whose published interviews with such stars as Ed Harris and Steve Buscemi have earned her kudos in the world of entertainment journalism. Smith made her film debut in the 1988 drama The Moderns, and it was only three short years later that her breakthrough role in The Silence of the Lambs would launch a successful career working with some of the most respected names in the business. Directed by everyone from Louis Malle (Vanya on 42nd Street) to Sydney Pollack (Random Hearts), Smith can usually be spotted in minor, albeit sometimes pivotal supporting roles that always serve to elevate any project in which she appears. In 2001 Smith took the lead, to memorable effect, in 2001's Series 7: The Contenders. A film that took the concept of reality television to the next level, Series 7 found Smith cast as an expectant mother who becomes a participant in a deadly television series in which participants are expected to kill or be killed. Smith's performance as the ice-cold participant who seems to derive pleasure from tormenting her opponents gave the film a disturbing edge that left audiences chilled to the core. Subsequently appearing in the Coen brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) and Joel Schumacher's big-budget action opus Bad Company, it seemed that Smith might finally be on her way to becoming a recognizable figure in the world of film.

Trivia: "Sunjata," originally his middle name, is a Guinean word for "hungry lion" and was given to him by his adoptive parents. Played on two state championship football teams in high school. Performed in a student play his sophomore year at Florida A&M, which prompted him to switch majors from business to fine arts. Began making a name for himself on stage in the late 1990s, particularly in Twelfth Night with Helen Hunt, and then on TV, most notably as a sailor attempting to woo Sarah Jessica Parker on a 2002 episode of Sex and the City. In 2003 won a Theater World Award and earned his first Tony nomination for playing a gay baseball player in Take Me Out. In 2003 was named by People magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people of the year. Came to the public's attention as New York firefighter Franco Rivera on Rescue Me in 2004 and as Nurse Eli on Grey's Anatomy in 2010. Has shown support for the 9/11 Truth Movement that wants the 9/11 attacks to be reinvestigated; in a 2009 interview with Russia Today said he believes the 9/11 attacks were an inside job.

Trivia: With his extremely tall, imposing figure and gray-white hair, character actor John Slattery specialized in utterly convincing portrayals of stoic businessmen, office workers, politicians, and other suits, whenever a film called for one. This typecasting rendered Slattery laudably versatile and prolific; his credits include such multi-genre blockbusters as City Hall (1996), Bad Company (2002), Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004, in the Jerry Orbach role of the disapproving father), and Flags of Our Fathers (2006). On television, Slattery memorably appeared in guest roles on such popular series as Sex and the City (as a politician wooing Carrie), Will & Grace (as Will's older brother), and Law & Order. He found work as a regular on shows like K Street and Jack & Bobby, and appeared in recurring roles on Ed (as a high-school principal) and Desperate Housewives, for which he again played a politician, this time wooing and marrying Gabrielle (Eva Longoria). In 2007 he was cast as Roger Sterling in the AMC drama Mad Men, a show that would win the Emmy for Best Drama Series multiple times and earned the actor multiple Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The show boosted his film career helping to land him the part of Tony Stark's father in Iron Man 2, and playing a mysterious figure in the time-travel thriller The Adjustment Bureau.

Trivia: Perhaps inevitably, Beirut-born Lebanese actor Peter Macdissi initially found himself cast as Middle Eastern stereotypes in Hollywood productions, such as David O. Russell's Three Kings (1999) and Joel Schumacher's Bad Company (2002). In time, however, Macdissi cultivated a more serious reputation as a thespian via an ongoing series of impressive collaborations with acclaimed writer/director Alan Ball (American Beauty) -- collaborations that offered Macdissi the advantages of intelligent scripts with sharp dialogue and multi-layered characterizations. The director and star worked together on the series Six Feet Under (in which Macdissi played bisexual art teacher Olivier Castro-Staal) and in Ball's feature directorial debut, Towelhead (2007, aka Nothing Is Private), in which Macdissi gave a chilling portrayal of a dictatorial and authoritarian Lebanese father. Macdissi's resumé also includes guest appearances on such television series as JAG and The X-Files.

Trivia: A matriarchal supporting actress of film and television whose quick wit and instantly likable persona has served her well on stage and screen, Irma P. Hall has found frequent work in such African-American-oriented dramas as A Family Thing, Soul Food, and Beloved. Equally effective with comedic roles in such features as Nothing to Lose and The Ladykillers, the multi-talented educator, poet, and actress actually stumbled into a career before the cameras by accident -- impressing director Raymond St. Jacques at a poetry reading so much that the filmmaker requested she essay a role in his 1973 crime film Book of Numbers. Her acting career subsequently snowballed, and it didn't take long for the increasingly busy actress to make quite a name for herself on both the stage and screen. The Texas native's early career consisted of teaching foreign languages at public schools in her home state. An interest in acting eventually led the then educator and poet to co-found a small repertory theater in Dallas. In 1973, Hall's performance in Book of Numbers resulted in frequent small-screen work. Her career continued to blossom throughout the 1980s, and with feature-film work increasing in the 1990s, she became more recognizable than ever thanks to work in such features as Backdraft and Straight Talk. Despite the fact that the roles she essayed were frequently relegated to the supporting variety, her onscreen presence was undeniable, and Hall continued throughout the decade with roles in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Beloved. In A Family Thing, her role as a kindly blind African-American woman who helps her family warm to their newly discovered white relative earned Hall a Chicago Film Critics Association Award. An Image award for her role in the feature Soul Food followed in 1997 -- the same year she was voted "Chicagoan of the Year." The early 2000s found Hall flourishing on the small screen with roles in such series as Soul Food (a spin-off of the popular feature), A Girl Thing, and All Souls in addition to meatier parts in such made-for-television features as Miss Lettie and Me and An Unexpected Love. For her role as the perceptive landlady who catches wind of a criminal scheme in The Ladykillers, Irma P. Hall received the Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Unfortunately, Hall suffered a massive heart attack while driving shortly before the film was released into theaters -- resulting in an automobile accident. Hall was eventually able to overcome her injuries thanks to intense physical rehabilitation, and later that same year, she could be seen in both the family short Gift for the Living (based on O. Henry's tale The Gift of the Magi) as well as the Michael Mann thriller Collateral.

Trivia: Deborah Rush performs in theater, feature films, and on television. In film, she has worked with a number of respected directors, including Woody Allen, John Schlesinger, Blake Edwards, and Sidney Lumet. Born in Chatham, NJ, Rush's interest in performing began in childhood, when she wrote and starred in a play about the founder of the Sisters of Charity. Following graduation from high school, Rush joined the Playhouse of the Ridiculous comedy troupe and this paved the way to her career in New York. There, she frequently appeared in Shakespeare in the Park productions, often working alongside the likes of such stars as Raul Julia and Meryl Streep. For her portrayal of Brooke in a Broadway production of Noises Off, Rush received a Tony nomination. On television, she has guest starred on numerous programs and has had regular roles on a few series, notably the ABC sitcom Spin City, where she briefly played the Mayor's busy wife. Rush made her feature film debut in Oliver's Story (1978). Her subsequent film roles include A Night in Heaven (1983), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), My Blue Heaven (1990), and In and Out (1997).

Trivia: A native of Silver Spring, MD, suave and clean-cut actor Michael Ealy appeared on-camera from the late '90s. He began on the small screen, with guest appearances on network programs including Law & Order and ER, but scored his breakout role with a much-favored turn as Ricky Nash, a convict-in-the-running with several past charges against him, in the predominantly African American ensemble comedies Barbershop (2002) and Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004). The billing in these projects was somewhat prescient: Ealy continued to take challenging and unique supporting roles and gradually worked his way up the Hollywood ladder, openly declaring himself in no hurry to become a top-billed star. Additional projects included the action sagas 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and S.W.A.T. (2003) and the psychological thriller November (2003), but Ealy netted much greater acclaim -- and flexed some impressive dramatic muscle -- with his portrayal of Teacake in the Oprah Winfrey-produced telemovie Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005). He then landed the incredibly demanding and edgy lead role of Darwyn Al-Sayeed, a terrorist plotting an attack on the United States, in the Showtime original miniseries Sleeper Cell (2005). In 2008, Ealy starred opposite Will Smith and Rosario Dawson in the earnest suicide drama Seven Pounds, directed by Gabriele Muccino (The Pursuit of Happyness). Ealy took on a leading role as a Bishop hiding in a small Italian village that opposes the Nazi cause in Spike Lee's acclaimed war drama Miracle at St. Anna (2008), and co-starred with Julianna Margulies and Michael J. Fox in the CBS television series The Good Wife the following year. In 2010 he played a supporting role in the crime thriller Takers, and starred in the romantic comedy Think Like a Man in 2010.

Trivia: New York-born actor Charlie Day appeared in an impressive array of Williamstown Theatre productions before transitioning into television with a brief appearance in the Mary Tyler Moore/Valerie Harper reunion special Mary and Rhoda. Subsequent roles on Madigan Men, Law & Order, and Third Watch helped Day build an impressive list of small-screen credits, and in 2005 he joined the cast of the deliciously warped FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Cast as an inherently good-natured guy often done in by his own shady intentions and poor luck with ladies, Day held his own opposite Danny DeVito, helping to establish himself as a respectable rising talent. Although he tried to stretch out in projects like A Quiet Little Marriage and Going the Distance, it was the 2011 hit Horrible Bosses that earned him his greatest praise apart from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In 2006 he married his Philadelphia co-star Mary Elizabeth Ellis.

Trivia: An athletic, all-American actor whose remarkable audition opposite Colin Farrell led director Joel Schumacher to cast him in his 2000 war drama Tigerland on the spot, Shea Whigham may not be a household name, but with impressive performances in such subsequent features as All the Real Girls and Out of This World, he's certainly become a talent to watch for. Born the son of former Florida State University quarterback Frank Whigham, the young athlete excelled at tennis and soccer in his early years, eventually entering college on a tennis scholarship. It was during his higher education that Whigham discovered a passion for acting, and soon thereafter, the aspiring thespian was accepted into New York's prestigious S.U.N.Y. Purchase Conservatory. A friendship with roommate Kirk Acevedo led the burgeoning actors to co-found the New York-based theater troupe The Rorschach Group, following graduation, with Whigham serving double duty as both performer and artistic director at the downtown Manhattan theater company for three years. After making an impression on audiences with his performance in Tigerland, Whigham went on to appear opposite Sam Neill in the made-for-television nautical drama Submerged, and in the next few years he would continue to gain onscreen momentum by turning in impressive performances in such efforts as All the Real Girls. If the majority of his post-Tigerland roles didn't offer quite the exposure of his impressive debut, appearances in such high-profile Hollywood efforts as Cheer Up and The Lords of Dogtown showed that Whigham was ready and willing to work his way back into the spotlight. He followed through on his potential with a string of mostly indie films including Wristcutters: A Love Story, Splinter, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and Machete. He was cast as the corrupt police officer brother of the scheming prohibition-era gangster Nucky Thompson in HBO's Boardwalk Empire, and he would co-star in Take Shelter with his Boardwalk castmate Michael Shannon. In 2012 Wigham could be seen on the big screen in three big projects, Big Miracle, Oliver Stone's drug drama Savages, and David O Russell's crowd-pleaser Silver Linings Playbook.

Trivia: Moved from Pennsylvania to the Czech Republic at the age of 11. Trained in ballet and musical theater during middle and high school. Started acting at the age of 13 in American and European film and TV productions that came through Prague. Attended Carnegie Mellon University's summer-theater program when she was 17 years old. Began studying performing arts at New York's Atlantic Theatre Company at the age of 19. Was featured on the cover of Playboy in March 2011.