Trivia: African American actor Dennis Haysbert first appeared on the TV scene as "Stuff" Wade on the weekly actioner Code Red (1981). Haysbert went on to play such TV-series roles as Cletus Maxwell in Off the Rack (1985) and Coach Duane Johnson in Just the Ten of Us (1988-89). He was also featured as Cherokee Jack in the 1993 miniseries Return to Lonesome Dove. Dennis Haysbert's best-loved film assignment was as voodoo-worshipping ballplayer Pedro Cerrano in the two Major League movies.

Trivia: After commencing minor on-camera appearances in the early '80s, multi-talented African-American actress Regina Taylor juggled careers as a character actress and playwright with great aplomb. As both a thespian and a scribe, Taylor often dealt with material that grappled with race relations and civil rights. This was hardly accidental, for she rose up out of a bitter and tumultuous youth in the Deep South that forced her to face racism head-on and thus marked her for life. After an appearance as Mrs. Carter in John G. Avildsen's uneven Joe Clark biopic Lean on Me (1989), Taylor first made members of the press sit up and take notice with her pivotal role on I'll Fly Away. This thoughtful and heartfelt series drama -- set in the apocryphal Southern town of Bryland in the late '50s -- starred the venerable Sam Waterston as D.A. Forrest Bedford, a conservative prosecuting attorney grappling with shifting attitudes about race relations as he took on a new black housekeeper, Lilly Harper (Taylor). The program's consistent inability to land an audience, in spite of across-the-board critical acclaim, marked one of the most unfortunate events to befall a prime-time series program during the early '90s. Taylor returned to similar themes -- albeit in a much earlier setting -- with the 1995 Children of the Dust, a telemovie starring Sidney Poitier, about the tensions between black and white homesteaders. The actress also graced the casts of such noteworthy theatrical features as Spike Lee's Clockers (1995), Ed Zwick's Courage Under Fire (1996), and F. Gary Gray's The Negotiator (1998) before hearkening back to television as military man Jonas Blane's (Dennis Haysbert) beleaguered wife, Molly, on the CBS drama The Unit. As a playwright, Taylor received her first significant break with the 1983 Watermelon Rinds, and spent the following decades authoring such critically acclaimed productions as Oo-Bla-Dee (2000) and Urban Zulu Mambo (2001). She debuted on Broadway in 2004 with her work Drowning Crow, a loose adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull posited in the Gullah Islands of South Carolina. At one point, she was reported to have been involved with the Broadway musical production of The Color Purple, but it was ultimately credited to other writers.

Trivia: Born on July 15, 1972, in Kansas City, KS, Foley is the oldest of three sons. Thanks to his father's job as an international banker, Foley grew up all over the world, spending the most time in Sydney, Australia and Tokyo, Japan. He caught the acting bug at age six after his mother took him to see the children's musical Annie. Foley made his theatrical debut only a few years later, singing "I'll Do Anything" in his school's production of Oliver. When he was a teenager, his family settled in St. Louis, MO, where he participated in community and regional theater. Shortly after graduating high school, he bought a one-way plane ticket to Hollywood.Foley's big break came when he landed a role on the WB's teen drama Dawson's Creek, playing all-American high school quarterback Cliff Elliot, Dawson's (James Van Der Beek) romantic rival. Originally hired to guest star in the series' first three episodes, Foley hung around for five. With his popularity steadily increasing, WB executives cast Foley in Felicity, a one-hour drama about a college freshman who follows her lifelong crush from their California high school to a university in New York City. Originally hired to portray the object of Felicity's (Keri Russell) affection, Foley stepped in to play her resident advisor and confidante, Noel Crane, when producers could not find an actor for the role. The show, which first aired in the fall of 1998, became a critical favorite and earned a Golden Globe nomination in its first year.Foley would stick with Felicity for its four year run, cementing his position as a TV star. After the show wrapped, Foley would continue to find starring roles on a series of popular shows, like A.U.S.A., Scrubs, The Unit, Grey's Anatomy, and True Blood. Foley booked another series regular gig on the hit series Scandal, joining the show during the second season, playing Captain Jake Ballard.

Trivia: While significant mainstream recognition has eluded Robert Patrick, with two notable exceptions -- he all but replaced David Duchovny in the waning days of The X-Files and admirably portrayed "the liquid metal cop guy" in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) -- he has nonetheless built an impressive resumé with over 60 television and film appearances since the mid-'80s. The eldest of five children, Patrick didn't choose to pursue a career in acting until his mid-twenties, despite having a bona fide diva moment during a third-grade production of Peter Pan, for which he refused to wear the required green tights. Rather, after a successful stint as a linebacker for Bowling Green University, Patrick became a house painter and may have continued as such were it not for a serious accident in the waters of Lake Erie, where he nearly drowned. The accident served as a revelation of sorts for Patrick, who promptly quit his day job and moved from Ohio to Los Angeles. It took more than a few sacrifices -- a then 26-year-old Patrick lived in his car and tended bar for his major source of income -- but the young actor found himself playing small roles in various low-budget films, which he credited to his tough-looking exterior and motorcycle-riding abilities.Though Patrick spent most of the late '80s paying his dues, his breakout performance landed him opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in director James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Patrick readied himself for the role of the T-1000 android in a rather unique fashion; in addition to martial arts, endurance, and strength training, he observed the movements of cats, eagles, and praying mantises. Odd as that may have sounded at the time, it certainly enhanced one of the most memorable roles in one of the most memorable films of the decade. After T2, Patrick was able to leave the world of B-movies and hold his own alongside some of the most established actors in Hollywood, including a second performance with Schwarzenegger in Last Action Hero (1993) and a more prominent role opposite Demi Moore in Striptease (1996). Patrick also expressed a fondness for martial arts films, and starred in both Double Dragon and Hong Kong 97 in 1994. However, it was his 1993 performance as a stoic regular-guy-turned-UFO-believer in Fire in the Sky that caught the attention of X-Files director Chris Carter. Carter immediately thought of Patrick when David Duchovny distanced himself from The X-Files, and, after auditioning 70-odd actors for the role of John Doggett, became determined to initiate Patrick into his long-running world of conspiracy theories and paranormal phenomena. To the surprise of fans and critics alike, Patrick was received quite well on The X-Files, and quickly found himself gracing the covers of many a genre magazine -- he was even anointed one of the Ten Sexiest Men of Sci-Fi by TV Guide.By the time The X-Files aired its last show, Patrick had developed a solid reputation within the industry; critics, fans, and co-stars alike praised him for his work ethic, personality, and consistent performances. Rather than fading into the scenery, Patrick starred as the mysterious Mr. Lisp in Spy Kids (2001), and later starred as a reclusive wilderness tracker in Pavement (2002). After making appearances in Richard Shepard's Mexico City (2002), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), and the sci-fi spin-off series Stargate: Atlantis, Patrick filmed director Jay W. Russell's Ladder 49 (2004). A memorable performance as Johnny Cash's distant father Ray in Walk the Line followed in 2005, with a subsequent role as a security expert in the Harrison Ford thriller Firewall preceeding a return to weekly television in the David Mamet-created series The Unit in 2006. Later in 2006, Patrick would incur the wrath of WWE superstar John Cena with his role as a ruthless kidnapper in the explosive action thriller The Marine. Patrick lives with his wife, Barbara, whom he married during the filming of T2, and their two children.

Trivia: Ethereally beautiful Hollywood actress Audrey Marie Anderson first attained recognition for her work on the prime-time military drama The Unit, as Kim Brown, the wife of super-aggressive recruit Bob Brown (Scott Foley). Her resumé also includes small appearances in such features as Moonlight Mile (2002), Beerfest (2006, in which she was billed as "The Giddy Girl"), and Drop Dead Sexy (2006).

Trivia: Born in upstate New York in 1969, actor Max Martini performed on the stage throughout college before landing small but memorable roles in the high-profile feature films Saving Private Ryan and Contact. A number of TV guest spots followed, including multiple-episode arcs on Fox's 24 and the acclaimed Canadian cop show Da Vinci's Inquest. In 2006, Martini landed a lead role opposite Dennis Haysbert on CBS's The Unit, a military drama from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Mamet.

Trivia: From the time of her debut in the early 2000s, Tennessee-born actress Abby Brammell graced the casts of innumerable television series, initially in one- or two-shot stints. Brammell's resumé packs in appearances on such programs as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Push, Nevada, The Shield, and Crossing Jordan. She landed her first regular role, as Tiffy Gerhardt, on the CBS military drama The Unit, starring Dennis Haysbert.

Trivia: Hollywood supporting actor Michael Irby's mixed ethnicity enabled him to play characters from a broad array of cultural backgrounds -- from Obaid, one of the Middle Eastern men mistaken by Jodie Foster for a terrorist, in Robert Schwentke's ham-handed thriller Flightplan (2005), to Hispanic writer-in-training Reinaldo Povod (the brief recipient of Miguel Piñero's bisexual overtures) in the 2001 biopic Piñero. Irby's multiethnic quality also accounted for the malleability of his on-camera appearance (depending upon the dramatic situation); he was able to guest as multiple characters, for instance, on the series Law & Order. Irby culled the most widespread attention, however, for his series work on the prime-time military actioner The Unit, as special ops team member Charles Grey.

Trivia: Well-known for the sense of gravitas he imparts to his characters, the tall and appealing Canadian actor Demore Barnes chalked up his broadest fan base with his portrayal of Hector Williams, a special forces ops member on the David Mamet-created action series The Unit. Barnes' resumé also includes bit parts in such big-screen features as Blackout (2001) and Jasper, Texas (2003).

Trivia: Rising to fame as American family man Al Bundy on the lowbrow sitcom Married...With Children, actor Ed O' Neill was the physical embodiment of almost every stereotype leveled at lower-middle-class husbands and fathers. Although many sneered at the bathroom humor and questionable taste of the series (O'Neill himself admitted that he thought the show would be canceled after a mere six episodes), his perfection in the role was undeniably effective -- so much so that it was difficult for him to avoid typecasting despite the versatility he displayed in such features as Prefontaine and The Spanish Prisoner (both 1997). Following graduation from Ursuline High School, the Youngstown, OH, native worked a series of odd jobs before studying theater and history at Ohio University College and, eventually, Youngstown State University. A talented football player, O'Neill was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, though was cut from the team shortly thereafter. His early stage auditions weren't much more encouraging, and between minor theater roles, the acting hopeful returned to his former high school to teach social studies. He continued to dream of becoming an actor, however, so moved to New York in 1977 and studied at the famed Circle in the Square. An early break came when O'Neill, an understudy for the lead role in the Broadway play Knockout, was asked to take the stage when the original actor abandoned the production. Although O'Neill had appeared in a brief (one-line), uncredited role in 1972's Deliverance, he had his first real part as a police detective in the Al Pacino thriller Cruising in 1980. As the decade progressed, O'Neill found steady work in made-for-TV features and occasional television guest appearances. In 1986, his performance in the title role in Popeye Doyle (a real-life character memorably portrayed by Gene Hackman in The French Connection) showed him to be a confident and effective lead. During a stage performance as Lenny in Of Mice and Men in Hartford, CT, an executive from FOX happened to be in the audience. After showing the script of Married...With Children to his wife, O'Neill knew that it was not an opportunity to let pass. He landed the role with ease, and his portrayal of the bumbling Al Bundy not only formed the backbone of the series, but created a caricature of American family life which would only be matched by the likes of Homer Simpson. O'Neill appeared in several feature films during the show's ten-year run, including Dutch (1991), Wayne's World (1992), Blue Chips, and Little Giants (both 1994). As the series drew to a close in 1997, the actor began to venture outside the confines of the Bundy family living room in such unexpectedly dramatic turns as The Spanish Prisoner and The Bone Collector. O'Neill later returned to the small screen in Big Apple (2001) and a 2003 remake of Dragnet, playing policemen in both series.He appeared in the David Mamet thriller Spartan in 2004, and worked with the director again on 2008's Redbelt. He was on the short-lived HBO series John From Cincinnati in 2007. However, in 2009 he scored a major career boost as the patriarch in the ABC sitcom Modern Family. His work on the show earned him an Emmy nomination, something that never happened during his days as Al Bundy.

Trivia: Was an All-American wrestler in high school and college. Worked as a computer programmer before being discovered by a talent agent when he accompanied a friend to a modeling convention in Dallas, and was persuaded to move to Los Angeles to pursue acting, even though he had no prior acting experience. Big break came in 2007 when Denzel Washington cast him in The Great Debaters, which Washington was directing. Made his screenwriting and directorial debut with The Birth of a Nation at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival; the movie sold to Fox Searchlight for $17.5 million, establishing a record price for an acquisition at Sundance. In March 2016, announced the fall opening of the Nate Parker School of Film and Drama at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.

Trivia: California-born director W.L. Norton began his interesting if uneven output with the underrated 1972 drama Cisco Pike, starring Gene Hackman, Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black, and Harry Dean Stanton. Despite this cast and some good reviews, the movie somehow got lost amid a brace of drug-based crime films coming out at the time, and Norton next turned up working on television. Norton's 1972 TV movie Gargoyles, starring Cornell Wilde and Bernie Casey, was a superb horror movie, atmospheric, well paced, and exceptionally convincing (helped by Stan Winston's monster make-up). Since then, however, Norton has not had an opportunity to show off, mostly working in less noticeable vehicles such as the ill-fated More American Graffiti (1979), the TV production Tour of Duty (1987), and 1991's False Arrest.