Trivia: If Harrison Ford had listened to the advice of studio heads early in his career, he would have remained a carpenter and never gone on to star in some of Hollywood's biggest films and become one of the industry's most bankable stars. Born July 13, 1942, in Chicago and raised in a middle-class suburb, he had an average childhood. An introverted loner, he was popular with girls but picked on by school bullies. Ford quietly endured their everyday tortures until he one day lost his cool and beat the tar out of the gang leader responsible for his being repeatedly thrown off an embankment. He had no special affinity for films and usually only went to see them on dates because they were inexpensive and dark. Following high school graduation, Ford studied English and Philosophy at Ripon College in Wisconsin. An admittedly lousy student, he began acting while in college and then worked briefly in summer stock. He was expelled from the school three days before graduation because he did not complete his required thesis. In the mid-'60s, Ford and his first wife, Mary Marquardt (his college sweetheart) moved to Hollywood, where he signed as a contract player with Columbia and, later, Universal. After debuting onscreen in a bit as a bellboy in Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966), he played secondary roles, typically a cowboy, in several films of the late '60s and in such TV series as Gunsmoke, The Virginian, and Ironside. Discouraged with both the roles he was getting and his difficulty in providing for his young family, he abandoned acting and taught himself carpentry via books borrowed from the local library. Using his recently purchased run-down Hollywood home for practice, Ford proved himself a talented woodworker, and, after successfully completing his first contract to build an out-building for Sergio Mendez, found himself in demand with other Hollywood residents (it was also during this time that Ford acquired his famous scar, the result of a minor car accident). Meanwhile, Ford's luck as an actor began to change when a casting director friend for whom he was doing some construction helped him get a part in George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973). The film became an unexpected blockbuster and greatly increased Ford's familiarity. Many audience members, particularly women, responded to his turn as the gruffly macho Bob Falfa, the kind of subtly charismatic portrayal that would later become Ford's trademark. However, Ford's career remained stagnant until Lucas cast him as space pilot Han Solo in the megahit Star Wars (1977), after which he became a minor star. He spent the remainder of the 1970s trapped in mostly forgettable films (such as the comedy Western The Frisco Kid with Gene Wilder), although he did manage to land the small role of Colonel G. Lucas in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979). The early '80s elevated Ford to major stardom with the combined impact of The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and his portrayal of action-adventure hero Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which proved to be an enormous hit. He went on to play "Indy" twice more, in 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. Ford moved beyond popular acclaim with his role as a big-city police detective who finds himself masquerading as an Amish farmer to protect a young murder witness in Witness (1984), for which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his work, as well as the praise of critics who had previously ignored his acting ability. Having appeared in several of the biggest money-makers of all time, Ford was able to pick and choose his roles in the '80s and '90s. Following the success of Witness, Ford re-teamed with the film's director, Peter Weir, to make a film adaptation of Paul Theroux's novel The Mosquito Coast. The film met with mixed critical results, and audiences largely stayed away, unused to the idea of their hero playing a markedly flawed and somewhat insane character. Undeterred, Ford went on to choose projects that brought him further departure from the action films responsible for his reputation. In 1988 he worked with two of the industry's most celebrated directors, Roman Polanski and Mike Nichols. With Polanski he made Frantic, a dark psychological thriller that fared poorly among critics and audiences alike. He had greater success with Nichols, his director in Working Girl, a saucy comedy in which he co-starred with Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver. The film was a hit, and displayed Ford's largely unexploited comic talent. Ford began the 1990s with Alan J. Pakula's courtroom thriller Presumed Innocent, which he followed with another Mike Nichols outing, Regarding Henry (1991). The film was an unmitigated flop with both critics and audiences, but Ford allayed his disappointment the following year when he signed an unprecedented 50-million-dollar contract to play CIA agent Jack Ryan in a series of five movies based upon the novels of Tom Clancy. The first two films of the series, Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), met with an overwhelming success mirrored by that of Ford's turn as Dr. Richard Kimball in The Fugitive (1993). Ford's next effort, Sydney Pollack's 1995 remake of Sabrina, did not meet similar success, and this bad luck continued with The Devil's Own (which reunited him with Pakula), despite Ford's seemingly fault-proof pairing with Brad Pitt. However, his other 1997 effort, Wolfgang Petersen's Air Force One, more than made up for the critical and commercial shortcomings of his previous two films, proving that Ford, even at 55, was still a bona fide, butt-kicking action hero. Stranded on an island with Anne Hesche for his next feature, the moderately successful romantic adventure Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), Ford subsequently appeared in the less successful romantic drama Random Hearts. Bouncing back a bit with Robert Zemeckis' horror-flavored thriller What Lies Beneath, the tension would remain at a fever pitch as Ford and crew raced to prevent a nuclear catastrophe in the fact based deep sea thriller K-19: The Widowmaker. As the 2000's unfolded, Ford would prove that he had a strong commitment to being active in film, continuing to work in projects like Hollywood Homicide, Firewall, Extraordinary Measures, Morning Glory, and Cowboys & Aliens. Ford would also reprise one of his most famous roles for the disappointing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Trivia: An eighth-generation Texan, actor Tommy Lee Jones, born September 15th, 1946, attended Harvard University, where he roomed with future U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Though several of his less-knowledgeable fans have tended to dismiss Jones as a roughhewn redneck, the actor was equally at home on the polo fields (he's a champion player) as the oil fields, where he made his living for many years.After graduating cum laude from Harvard in 1969, Jones made his stage debut that same year in A Patriot for Me; in 1970, he appeared in his first film, Love Story (listed way, way down the cast list as one of Ryan O'Neal's fraternity buddies). Interestingly enough, while Jones was at Harvard, he and roommate Gore provided the models for author Erich Segal while he was writing the character of Oliver, the book's (and film's) protagonist. After this supporting role, Jones got his first film lead in the obscure Canadian film Eliza's Horoscope (1975). Following a spell on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live, he gained national attention in 1977 when he was cast in the title role in the TV miniseries The Amazing Howard Hughes, his resemblance to the title character -- both vocally and visually -- positively uncanny. Five years later, Jones won further acclaim and an Emmy for his startling performance as murderer Gary Gilmore in The Executioner's Song. Jones spent the rest of the '80s working in both television and film, doing his most notable work on such TV miniseries as Lonesome Dove (1989), for which he earned another Emmy nomination. It was not until the early '90s that the actor became a substantial figure in Hollywood, a position catalyzed by a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role in Oliver Stone's JFK. In 1993, Jones won both that award and a Golden Globe for his driven, starkly funny portrayal of U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard in The Fugitive. His subsequent work during the decade was prolific and enormously varied. In 1994 alone, he could be seen as an insane prison warden in Natural Born Killers; titular baseball hero Ty Cobb in Cobb; a troubled army captain in Blue Sky; a wily federal attorney in The Client; and a psychotic bomber in Blown Away. Jones was also attached to a number of big-budget action movies, hamming it up as the crazed Two-Face in Batman Forever (1995); donning sunglasses and an attitude to play a special agent in Men in Black (1997); and reprising his Fugitive role for the film's 1998 sequel, U.S. Marshals. The following year, he continued this trend, playing Ashley Judd's parole officer in the psychological thriller Double Jeopardy. The late '90s and millennial turnover found Jones' popularity soaring, and the distinguished actor continued to develop a successful comic screen persona (Space Cowboys [2000] and Men in Black II [2002]), in addition to maintaining his dramatic clout with roles in such thrillers as The Rules of Engagement (2000) and The Hunted (2003).2005 brought a comedic turn for the actor, who starred in the madcap comedy Man of the House as a grizzled police officer in tasked to protect a house full of cheerleaders who witnessed a murder. Jones also took a stab at directing that year, helming and starring in the western crime drama The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. In 2006, Jones appeared in Robert Altman's film adaptation of A Prairie Home Companion, based on Garrison Keillor's long running radio show. The movie's legendary director, much loved source material and all-star cast made the film a safe bet for the actor, who hadn't done much in the way of musical comedy. Jones played the consumate corporate bad guy with his trademark grit.2007 brought two major roles for the actor. He headlined the Iraq war drama In the Valley of Elah for director Paul Haggis. His work as the veteran father of a son who died in the war earned him strong reviews and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. However more people saw Jones' other film from that year, the Coen brothers adaptation of No Country for Old Men. His work as a middle-aged Texas sheriff haunted by the acts of the evil man he hunts earned him a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The actor co-starred with Stanley Tucci and Neal McDonough for 2011's blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger, and reprised his role as a secret agent in Men in Black 3 (2011). In 2012 he played a Congressman fighting to help Abraham Lincoln end slavery in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, a role that led to an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Trivia: Born July 11th, 1956, brunette leading lady Sela Ward graduated from the University of Alabama, where among many other activities she was a cheerleader for the Crimson Tide football team. Heading to New York, Ward determined to either become an airline stewardess or a model; a fear of flying led to her choosing the latter vocation. She proved she could act as well as pose when she was cast in the 1985 Burt Reynolds vehicle The Man Who Loved Women. Beginning in 1991, Ward portrayed Teddy on the weekly TV "dramedy" Sisters, a role that earned her a 1994 Emmy award. Sela Ward's additional television credits include the title role in the 1995 cable TV biopic Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story, as well as Once and Again, for which she would win the Best TV Series Actress in a Drama Award at the 2000 Golden Globes. 2004 would find the actress in the role of a private investigator in the made-for-tv movie Suburban Madness, and appeared on the big screen for The Day After Tomorrow. The following year Ward joined the cast of Fox's hit television series House in the recurring role of Stacy Warner, ex-partner of House, and former attorney for the hospital. Though her character was eventually written off the show, Ward reprised the role of Stacy Warner in House's 2012 finale.

Trivia: Boasting talent, versatility, and one of the most distinctive heads of hair in Hollywood, Julianne Moore has proven herself equally adept in both mainstream blockbusters and smaller, more intelligent films. The daughter of a military judge and a Scottish social worker, Moore was born in Fayetteville, NC, on December 3, 1961. After attending Boston University, she began her acting career via the taxing world of soap opera. From 1985 until 1988, she was best-known for her role as Franny Hughes on As the World Turns. The part, which on occasion required her to play twins, won Moore a 1988 Daytime Emmy Award.The actress made her entrance into the big-screen arena with a 1990 debut in the schlocktastic Tales From the Darkside: The Movie (which also featured Steve Buscemi). Two years later, after making various TV movies, Moore reappeared in feature films with supporting parts in Curtis Hanson's tale of a babysitter gone bad, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and the comedy The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag. The following year, her exposure increased further thanks to roles in four different films that ranged from the half-baked thriller Body of Evidence to the sweetly quirky Benny and Joon to the big-budget smash The Fugitive to Robert Altman's epic Short Cuts. The last film gave Moore literal exposure in addition to the more figurative kind: she was required to play one scene naked from the waist down, something that predictably won the attention of critics and filmgoers.The intermittent praise that had been afforded Moore was amplified in 1994 with her performance as Yelena in Vanya on 42nd Street. The object of adjectives ranging from "luminescent" to "radiant" to "revelatory," the actress went on to play a very different character in Todd Haynes' Safe (1995). Moore won an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her portrayal of a woman (literally) sickened by the environment around her and further proved that she was an actress of distinct versatility. The same year she again demonstrated this ability with a starring role opposite Hugh Grant in the comedy Nine Months.Following a turn as one of Picasso's numerous lovers in Surviving Picasso (1996), a lead in the family drama The Myth of Fingerprints (she would later have a son with the film's director, Bart Freundlich), and a substantial part in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Moore nabbed what was one of the plum roles of her career in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights. For her portrayal of a porn actress, she won Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. A substantial role as an erotic artist in Ethan Coen's and Joel Coen's The Big Lebowski followed in 1998, along with a turn as Marion Crane's sister in Gus Van Sant's Psycho remake. The next year, Moore starred in a number of high-profile projects, beginning with Robert Altman's Cookie's Fortune, in which she was cast as the dim sister of a decidedly unhinged Glenn Close. A portrayal of the scheming Mrs. Cheveley followed in Oliver Parker's An Ideal Husband, with a number of critics asserting that Moore was the best part of the movie. The actress then enjoyed another collaboration with director Anderson in Magnolia, an epic telling of nine interweaving stories inspired by Short Cuts and featuring an impressive cast that included Anderson regulars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Baker Hall, and John C. Reilly. The same year, Moore also starred in the drama The End of the Affair, with Ralph Fiennes and Stephen Rea, and portrayed a grieving mother in A Map of the World, which premiered at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival.2001 found the popular actress stepping into dark territory with the role of FBI Agent Clarice Starling in Ridley Scott's Hannibal, the long-awaited and eagerly anticipated follow-up to Jonathan Demme's numbingly suspenseful Silence of the Lambs. A few short months later, Moore lightened the mood substantially with her humorous turn as a bumbling government scientist in the sci-fi comedy Evolution. Increasingly comfortable alternating between big-budget features and more personal art-house films, Moore bowled over audiences with a pair of powerhouse performances in both Far From Heaven and The Hours. A detailed throwback to the forgotten Hollywood melodrama, the former featured Moore's Oscar nominated role as a housewife who enters into a controversial relationship after discovering her husband's homosexuality and provided audiences a dose of Douglas Sirk that hadn't been tasted since the mid-1950s. A variation on the themes presented in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, the film version of Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer prize winning novel The Hours once again found Moore Oscar nominated for her role as a repressed 1950s era housewife, this time taking a special shine to Mrs. Dalloway while pondering an escape from her stifling marriage. In the wake of arguably her most successful year to date, Moore began to dabble behind the scenes for the first time, serving as executive producer on the 2003 independent adaptation of Wallace Shawn's play Marie and Bruce, a film that she also starred in. The following year, audiences could find Moore onscreen opposite Pierce Brosnan in the romantic comedy The Laws of Attraction and in the poorly-received thriller The Forgotten. In 2005 she earned good reviews for The Prize Winner of Defiance, OH, but the film failed to catch on with audiences. She continued to work steadily starring opposite Sam Jackson in the adaptation of Richard Price's Freedomland, and starring opposite Clive Owen in Alfonso Cuaron's futuristic thriller Children of Men. She once again teamed with her director husband Bart Freundlich in the relationship comedy Trust the Man. Shortly after returning to television with a recurring role on the hit comedy series 30 Rock, the talented actress earned numerous positive reviews for her nuanced performance in The Kids Are All Right, and while she failed to earn a BAFTA Award as one half of a same sex couple attempting to help their children come to terms with being adopted, Moore's memorable performance as a frustrated housewife in 2011's Crazy, Stupid, Love. showed an actress still capable of balancing drama and comedy to striking effect. On the heels of her performance in Paul Weitz's Being Flynn the following year, it was announced that Moore would be following in the formidable footsteps of Piper Laurie in the 2013 remake of the Stephen King's Carrie starring Chloe Grace Moritz (Let Me In, Hugo). One year later she earned a slew of year-end accolades, including an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, for her work playing an accomplished professor deteriorating from Alzheimer's in Still Alice.

Trivia: One of today's best character actors, the inexhaustible Joe Pantoliano boasts over 100 film, television, and stage credits. A favorite of directors Richard Donner, Steven Spielberg, Andrew Davis, and Andy and Larry Wachowski, he is also a dependable scene stealer with more than his share of memorable roles -- including killer pimp Guido in Risky Business (1983), bumbling criminal Francis Fratelli in The Goonies (1985), double-crossing bail bondsman Eddie Moscone in Midnight Run (1988), cynical U.S. Marshall Cosmo Renfro in The Fugitive (1993), turncoat Cypher in The Matrix (1999), and shady sidekick Teddy in Memento (2000). Born on September 12, 1951 in Hoboken, NJ, the actor is the only son of Dominic, a hearse driver, and Mary Pantoliano, a part-time seamstress/bookie. When he was 12, Pantoliano's mother left his father for her distant cousin Florio, though the couple never officially divorced. Pantoliano and his younger sister Maryann grew up throughout northern New Jersey with their mother and Florio, whom they eventually came to regard as their stepfather. Pantoliano suffered from severe dyslexia, and at age 17, he was still reading at the third-grade level. After seeing the youngster perform in his senior play, Up the Down Staircase, Florio convinced him to pursue acting professionally. Pantoliano moved to Manhattan, where he worked as a waiter while juggling acting classes and auditions. In 1972, he landed the coveted role of stuttering Billy Bibbit in the touring production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Four years later, Pantoliano moved west to try his luck in Hollywood. After making his television debut in the sitcom pilot McNamara's Band, he landed a recurring role in Rob Reiner's summer replacement series, Free Country. Reiner then tapped Pantoliano to co-star with him in James Burrows' television movie More Than Friends (1978). This led to the part of Angelo Maggio -- a role originated by fellow Hoboken-ite Frank Sinatra -- in NBC's miniseries adaptation of James Jones' From Here to Eternity (1979). After making his major feature-film debut in The Idolmaker (1980), Pantoliano guest starred on Hart to Hart, M*A*S*H, and Hardcastle and McCormick, as well as appeared on the Los Angeles stage in Orphans. He also landed a sizable part opposite a young Tom Cruise in the surprise hit Risky Business (1983). The comic ruthlessness with which Pantoliano's pimp tortures Cruise quickly earned the character actor a loyal cult following. He gave standout performances in Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) and the off-Broadway play Visions of Kerouac, before thrilling audiences again in the Spielberg-produced adventure The Goonies (1985). Scores of plum roles followed: Pantoliano joined Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines in Running Scared (1986), portrayed Lou Diamond Phillips' music producer in La Bamba (1987), re-teamed with Spielberg in Empire of the Sun (1987), and acted opposite Robert De Niro in Midnight Run (1988). He then topped these performances off with an unforgettable turn opposite Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford in The Fugitive (1993), delivering a funny, fiery tour de force that was pure Pantoliano right down to the name he chose for his character, Cosmo -- his grandfather's name. By the mid-'90s, Pantoliano had a recognizable name and a devoted fan base. While making numerous television guest appearances, he starred with Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon in directors Andy and Larry Wachowski's debut thriller, Bound (1996). Pantoliano's edgy performance as a doomed money launderer impressed the Wachowskis so much that they created the character of Cypher in The Matrix (1999) exclusively for him. Shortly afterward, his co-star in the sci-fi spectacular, Carrie-Anne Moss, insisted that director Christopher Nolan hire Pantoliano for the third lead in his sleeper-hit Memento (2000). In 2001, at the behest of producer David Chase, Pantoliano joined the cast of the landmark HBO series The Sopranos. While earning a well-deserved Emmy as psychopathic mobster Ralphie Cifaretto on the hit show, the actor published Who's Sorry Now: The True Story of a Stand-Up Guy, a bittersweet memoir about his New Jersey childhood. He also put the finishing touches on his directorial debut, Just Like Mona (2002), and began filming his role as reporter Ben Urich in the comic book adaptation Daredevil (2003). Over the course of the next decade, the versatile actor continued his trend of turning in memorable supporting performances on film and television, with turns in films like Bad Boys II and Pecy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief offering the most exposure. Meanwhile, in 2009, Pantoliano got personal with his fans as the director of No Kidding, Me Too!, a playful yet poignant documentary exploring the devastating effects of mental illness, and the steps being taken to eradicate it.

Trivia: Supporting player, onscreen from the '80s.

Trivia: Lead actor, onscreen from 1985.

Trivia: Became interested in acting while in her high school drama club. Made her Broadway debut in 1980 in the Tony-nominated play Home. In 1988, played Bertha Holly in August Wilson's stage production of Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Won a Helen Hayes Award for her performance as Clemma Diggins in Broadhurst Theatre's production of Proposals in 1998. Was a company member of the Negro Ensemble Company. Won an Obie Award for her performance in Lee Blessing's Going to St. Ives. In 2011, was a guest speaker at the Actors' Equity Association's New Member Reception.

Trivia: Actor Mark D. Espinoza began his career in the early '90s with recurring roles on Married...With Children and Beverly Hills 90210. As the 2000s dawned, Espinoza began building his career around appearances on popular TV series, playing memorable guest roles on shows like Nip/Tuck and Numb3rs.

Trivia: On stage from 1957, American actor Andy Romano made his film bow two years later. Romano's earlier assignments included the part of J.D., a member of Eric Von Zipper's "Rat Pack," in several of American-International's Beach Party movies. He later played lawmen and crooks, both comic and otherwise. On TV, Andy Romano played Detective Joe Caruso in Get Christie Love! (1975) and Frank Richards in Friends (the 1979 "teen angst" sitcom, not the current NBC hit).

Trivia: A Windy City native, distinguished character actor Richard Riehle earned his undergraduate degree from Notre Dame and his master's from the University of Minnesota, then took his first cinematic bow with a bit part in 1975's Western Rooster Cogburn -- opposite John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn. After Rooster, Riehle abandoned screen work for over a decade to hit the East Coast and focus almost exclusively on Broadway and regional theater. Ed Zwick's acclaimed Civil War opus Glory (1989) marked Riehle's Hollywood comeback; he subsequently increased his screen time dramatically, and chalked up a resumé playing everymen -- usually heavyset and unpolished working stiffs such as policemen, detectives, judges, and bartenders -- in literally dozens of films. Riehle's credits include Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Mercury Rising (1998), Office Space (1999), Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), and National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2 (2006). The actor is also known for his regular presence on two television series: the 1990 Ferris Bueller (as Principal Ed Rooney) and the 2001-2005 Grounded for Life (as Walt Finnerty). Riehle subsequently returned to National Lampoon work with the 2007 frat-boy comedy National Lampoon Presents The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell.

Trivia: An everyman character actor with a slightly authoritarian bent, Nick Searcy spent his first two decades onscreen specializing in portrayals of such easily recognizable types as policemen, FBI agents, private detectives, and military colonels. Searcy took one of his first bows as a highway patrol officer in the Tom Cruise-headlined Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer outing Days of Thunder (1990), then followed this up with roles in such projects as the telemovies Nightmare in Columbia County and White Lie (both 1991) and the Barbra Streisand feature drama The Prince of Tides (1991). Moviegoers may also associate Searcy with another portrayal from that same year, albeit a far nastier one: that of Frank Bennett, the slug of a husband who ends up as human barbecue at the Whistle Stop Café in Jon Avnet's sleeper hit Fried Green Tomatoes.As the following two decades unfurled, Searcy maintained an almost constant onscreen presence in dozens of films (albeit frequently low-profiled ones). Some of his more memorable projects included Michael Apted's Nell (1994) opposite Jodie Foster, Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away (2000) opposite Tom Hanks, and The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) opposite Sean Penn. In 2008, Searcy signed on as a regular -- portraying Roy Buffkin -- in the CW network's series drama Easy Money. That series was short-lived, but Searcy kept going with roles in The Ugly Truth and Blood Done Sign My Name. He was part of the cast for Justified, the hit cable series based on the work of Elmore Leonard, and in 2011 he played Matt Keough in the Brad Pitt sports drama Moneyball.

Trivia: Writer, actress, and comedian Jane Lynch is a slim six-feet-tall and usually wears her blonde hair cropped in a pixie cut. Born in Illinois, she went to a public university and got her M.F.A. in theater from Cornell. Her extensive theater background involved touring with the Second City comedy troupe and playing Carol Brady in The Real Live Brady Bunch. She also wrote and starred in the award-winning play Oh Sister, My Sister. Originally produced in 1998, the play kicked off the Lesbians in Theater program at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center in 2004. Lynch's other stage credits include Tales of the Lost Formicans, Ennui, and Waiting for Iggy. She made her film debut in 1988 with a small role in the body-switching comedy Vice Versa. On television, she was in the Lifetime movie In the Best Interest of the Children and made numerous guest appearances on sitcoms. After some meager roles in Straight Talk, The Fugitive, and Fatal Instinct, she had the good fortune to join Christopher Guest's gang of improvisational comic actors. Her breakthrough role was butch Christy Cummings, the personal dog handler to trophy wife Sheri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge) in the 2000 mockumentary Best in Show. Over the next two years, she played a government agent in the action movie Collateral Damage, a sarcastic nurse in the ABC medical comedy MDs, and a 1940s-style receptionist in the TNT movie The Big Time. In 2003, she reunited with the cast from Best in Show for the musical spoof A Mighty Wind. She performed her own music in the role of Laurie Bohner, the former porn star and member of the New Main Street Singers. In 2004, Lynch appeared in Sleepover, Little Black Boot, and The Californians. Over the course of the next few years, Lynch remained one of the comedy world's best kept secrets while getting steady work in film and television. But that secret wouldn't be kept for long, because in 2009, after essaying a recurring role on the hit Showtime series The L Word, Lynch made a major impression on television viewers as villainous cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on the hit musical series Glee -- a role for which she was awarded both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.