Trivia: German-born Hans Gudegast was still in his teens when he made his first film appearance in The Colossus of Rhodes (1957). Spending virtually his entire career in Hollywood, Gudegast achieved TV fame as the eternally outflanked Afrika Korps officer Hauptman on the weekly TV series The Rat Patrol (1967-1969). Sensing that he'd forever be typecast as a Nazi under his given name, Gudegast changed his professional cognomen to Eric Braeden in 1970 (he reportedly borrowed the name of his home town in Germany, though some sources indicate that he was actually born in Kiel). The actor's instincts were correct: under his new professional name, Braeden was afforded the opportunity to demonstrate his versatility as both leading man -- he was Charles Forbin in Colossus: The Forbin Project -- and villain. He was often called upon to convey insufferable arrogance, vide his memorable appearance as a media critic on an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (that's the one where Braeden received a pie in the face, courtesy of Ted Knight). Eric Braeden's best-known characterization was as the smoothly sinister Victor Newman in the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless. Braeden played a small role as the wealthy John Jacob Astor in 1997's mega-hit Titanic, and co-starred in the comedy Meet the Deedles the following year. Following a long run on The Young and the Restless, Braeden co-starred with fellow Titanic alumni Billy Zane in The Man Who Came Back (2008), and took on the role of Robin Scherbatsky, Sr. for the television series How I Met Your Mother.

Trivia: Actor Billy Zane kicked off his stage career in his hometown of Chicago. Able to harness his spoiled-brat countenance and quirky gestures to invoke either sympathy or repulsion, Zane has been seen principally in secondary roles in such films as Back to the Future (1985), Memphis Belle (1990), Orlando (1992), and Posse (1993). His most flamboyant role was as the young drifter who -- obvious to everyone but the hero and heroine -- is not what he seems in the Australian thriller Dead Calm (1989). Zane had a rare starring role in the filmization of the once popular comic strip The Phantom (1996), in which he showed off his lithe, muscular physique in a form-fitting purple body suit and performed many of the stylish film's daring stunts himself. The following year he had a lead role in the most successful film of his career, playing Kate Winslet's vile fiancé in Titanic. Zane is the younger brother of film and TV actress Lisa Zane.

Trivia: Early on in her modeling career, Carol Alt was lauded as "the Face" and "the Most Beautiful Woman in the World" by Life and Playboy magazines respectively. A native of Queens, NY, she became a fashion model at age 16 and soon rose to the top of her profession. Alt made her film debut in 1983 playing a small role in Portfolio, but she did not become an actress until 1986 when she starred in the Italian film Monte Napoleone. Alt has developed quite a following in Europe and the bulk of her film and television work has been produced in Italy. In 1991, she appeared in Vendetta, a television miniseries. Alt occasionally appears in U.S.-produced films, most notably, Private Parts (1996), The Look, Twisted Fortune, and Woody Allen's To Rome with Love. Alt also has appeared on-stage.

Trivia: Tall, slender, and graceful brunette actress Sean Young has had a busy film career, but has yet to make it past mid-range stardom. This may be partially due to some of the negative publicity generated through her personal life. Before coming to Hollywood in 1980 to perform in Jane Austen in Manhattan, Young had been a New York model and a dancer. Fans of the sci-fi epic Blade Runner (1982) remember Young for playing the sympathetic "replicant" Rachael. Although she appeared in several major features by 1987, Young didn't get much notice as a potential star until after she co-starred with Kevin Costner in the thriller No Way Out (1987). Her love scenes with Costner generated considerable heat on and off the screen. In 1989, Young made entertainment news when her former co-star from The Boost (1988), James Woods, filed a harassment suit against her claiming that she had repeatedly threatened him after their affair soured. Young retaliated by hitting the talk show circuit to deny the claims, all the while continuing her acting career. That year, she was scheduled to play Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's Batman, but broke her collarbone during a riding scene with Michael Keaton and was replaced by Kim Bassinger, something she publicly disputed with Burton. Through the '90s, Young continued to appear regularly onscreen.

Trivia: Supporting actor, onscreen from the '70s.

Trivia: Born into a show business family, George Kennedy made his stage debut at the age of two in a touring company of Bringing up Father. By the time he was seven, he was spinning records on a New York radio station. Kennedy' showbusiness inclinations were put aside when he developed a taste for the rigors of military life during World War II, and he wound up spending 16 years in the army. His military career ended and his acting career began when a back injury in the late 1950s inspired him to seek out another line of work.Appropriately enough, given his background, Kennedy first made his name with a role as a military advisor on the Sergeant Bilko TV series. In films from 1961, the burly, 6'4" actor usually played heavies, both figuratively and literally; quite often, as in Charade (1963) and Straitjacket (1964), his unsavory screen characters were bumped off sometime during the fourth reel. One of his friendlier roles was as a compassionate Union officer in Shenandoah (1965), an assignment he was to treasure because it gave him a chance to work with the one of his idols, Jimmy Stewart.Kennedy moved up to the big leagues with his Academy Award win for his portrayal of Dragline in Cool Hand Luke (1967). An above-the-title star from then on, Kennedy has been associated with many a box-office hit, notably all four Airport films. Unlike many major actors, he has displayed a willingness to spoof his established screen image, as demonstrated by his portrayal of Ed Hocken in the popular Naked Gun series. On TV, Kennedy has starred in the weekly series Sarge (1971) and The Blue Knight (1978), and was seen as President Warren G. Harding in the 1979 miniseries Backstairs at the White House. During the mid '90s, he became known as a persuasive commercial spokesman in a series of breath-freshener advertisements. In 1997, he provided the voice for L.B. Mammoth in the animated musical Cats Don't Dance, and the following year again displayed his vocal talents as one of the titular toys-gone-bad in Small Soldiers. Kennedy continued to steadily work through the next two decades; his final role was in The Gambler in 2014. He died in 2016, at age 91.

Trivia: Relegated to a series of low-budget thrillers in his later years despite impressive appearances in such films as Paradise Alley (1978) early on, Emmy-winning actor Armand Assante can always be relied upon to turn in a solid performance despite the fact that full-fledged stardom has eluded him throughout his long and varied career. A New York City native and a graduate of Cornwall Central High School, the handsome Irish-Italian actor got an impressive start to his acting career when he was awarded one of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts' highest honors while still a student at the renowned school. Assante is well versed in both stage and screen, and after he cut his teeth on such television dramas as How to Survive a Marriage and The Doctors, the fledgling actor got his big break opposite Sylvester Stallone in 1978's Paradise Alley. High-profile roles in Private Benjamin (1980) and Unfaithfully Yours (1984) found Assante gaining screen momentum in the early '80s, though the dedicated thespian continued to moonlight with numerous stage roles throughout the decade. From 1984 on, the majority of Assante's screen work was of the television variety, and in 1989 he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in the made-for-television feature Jack the Ripper. Assante started off the 1990s with a bang, and after gaining momentum with such efforts as Q & A (1990), The Mambo Kings (1992), and Hoffa (1992), an unrelentingly goofy performance in Fatal Instinct (1993) proved that he did indeed have a sense of humor despite his suave composure. With Judge Dredd (1995), Assante's feature career came to something of a head in the mid-'90s, and upon returning to the small screen he would take home an Emmy for his chilling performance as the eponymous character in the 1996 crime drama Gotti. Kudos would continue to roll in when Assante took the lead role in the television production of The Odyssey (1997), and after a strong few years onscreen he would usher in the new millennium with a voice role in the animated adventure The Road to El Dorado (2000). After taking the lead in the made-for-television remake of Stanley Kramer's nuclear war drama, On the Beach (2000), Assante spent the following few years appearing in such obscure action thrillers as Federal Protection (2001) and Partners in Action (2002). Despite his low profile, the tireless actor was in fact busier than ever as he appeared in no less than five films in 2003 alone.

Trivia: Heavyweight boxer Ken Norton is most famous for having defeated Muhammed Ali in a highly publicized 1973 match. He cashed in on his newfound celebrity by becoming an actor, making his debut playing a brawny African slave who is forced into a heated affair with a plantation mistress in Mandingo (1975). He also starred in the sequel, Drum (1976). Norton continued making sporadic film appearances through the early '90s.