Trivia: Over the course of a single decade - the 1990s - Leonardo DiCaprio graduated from supporting work in television to a status as one of the most sought-after Hollywood actors under 30. After leading roles in William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and James Cameron's Titanic, the actor became a phenomenon, spawning legions of websites and an entire industry built around his name. DiCaprio was born November 11, 1974, in Hollywood, CA. The son of a German immigrant mother and an underground comic book artist father who separated shortly after Leonardo's birth, he was raised by both of his parents, who encouraged his early interest in acting. At the age of two and a half, the fledgling performer had his first brush with notoriety and workplace ethics when he was kicked off the set of Romper Room for what the show's network deemed "uncontrollable behavior." After this rather inauspicious start to his career, DiCaprio began to hone his skills with summer courses in performance art while he was in elementary school. He also joined The Mud People, an avant-garde theater group, with which he performed in Los Angeles. In high school, DiCaprio acted in his first real play and began doing commercials, educational films, and the occasional stint on the Saturday morning show The New Lassie. In 1990, after securing his first full-time agent at the age of 15, DiCaprio landed a role as a teenage alcoholic on the daytime drama Santa Barbara. He also continued to appear on other TV shows, such as The Outsiders and Parenthood, and made his film debut in the 1991 horror film Critters 3. The actor got the first of many big breaks with a recurring role on the weekly sitcom Growing Pains. His portrayal of a homeless boy won him sufficient notice to get him an audition for Michael Caton-Jones's harrowing screen adaptation of Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life. DiCaprio won the film's title role after beating out 400 other young actors and it became his career breakthrough. The 1993 film, and DiCaprio's performance opposite Robert DeNiro, won raves and the actor further increased the adulation surrounding him when, later that year, he played Johnny Depp's mentally retarded younger brother in Lasse Hallström's What's Eating Gilbert Grape. DiCaprio won an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, and at the tender age of 19, was hailed as an actor to watch. Subsequent roles in three 1995 films, Sam Raimi's Western The Quick and the Dead; Total Eclipse (as the bisexual poet Rimbaud) and The Basketball Diaries (as a struggling junkie) all put the actor in the limelight, but it wasn't until the following year that he became a bona fide star, thanks to his portrayal of Romeo opposite Claire Danes in director Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996). The success of the film brought DiCaprio international fame, many lucrative opportunities, and frequent comparisons to predecessors such as James Dean. After starring with Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, and DeNiro in Marvin's Room (1996), DiCaprio achieved iconic status with his starring role in James Cameron's Titanic. With Kate Winslet as the female lead, the film became a box office sensation, earning garnered 14 Oscar nominations, winning 11, including Best Picture and Best Director, and earned a whopping 1.8 billion dollars at the global box office. DiCaprio's much-discussed exclusion from the Oscar nominations did nothing to hurt his popularity, and somewhat ironically, he next chose to parody his own celebrity with an appearance in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998) as a badly behaved movie star. After displaying his nastier side, he tackled a dual role as twins in the same year's swashbuckler The Man in the Iron Mask, opposite Jeremy Irons, Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich, and Gérard Depardieu. Following the commercial success of the film, DiCaprio then traveled in a completely different direction, with a lead role in Danny Boyle's screen adaptation of Alex Garland's novel The Beach. The film met with eager anticipation from its first day of shooting, as Leo fans everywhere waited with baited breath to see what kind of impression their golden child would next make on the film world; unfortunately, the muddled Beach drew neither praise nor box-office success. In 2002, DiCaprio began what became a series of collaborations with the legendary director Martin Scorsese, starting with the the epic Gangs of New York (2002) - a sprawling tale of gangland violence in early America. Reportedly delayed by a year given much-publicized disagreements between director Scorsese and producer Harvey Weinstein, the film was ultimately released in time for the 2002 holiday/Oscar season. The tireless actor re-united with director Steven Spielberg with the release of Catch Me if You Can, the true-life tale of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a scam artist so effective that he eluded authorities while assuming a number of high-profile false identities and racking-up over $2.5 million in fraudulent checks. Two years later, DiCaprio and Scorsese embarked on a sophomore collaboration - the biopic The Aviator (2004), with DiCaprio in a critically-praised, star-making turn as eccentric billionaire genius Howard Hughes in The Aviator. DiCaprio and Scorsese scaled even greater heights in 2006 with The Departed, a crime drama in which DiCaprio played an undercover cop trying to bring down criminal Jack Nicholson. Doubling up during Oscar season yet again, that same year he played the lead in Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond, as an Afrikaner who must team up with a South African mercenary in order to find a rare gem of great value to both of them. Both films opened to praise and box-office success, resulting in dual Golden Globe nominations. Perhaps pushing its luck, Warner Bros. -- the studio behind both films -- campaigned DiCaprio for a lead Oscar in Diamond and a supporting one in Departed; Oscar voters only nominated him for Diamond. In the years that followed, DiCaprio showed no signs of tapering off when it came to challenging and even iconic roles. He joined Titanic co-star Kate Winslet, megaproducer Scott Rudin and others for the blistering marriage drama Revolutionary Road (2008), teamed with Scorsese a fourth time for the thriller Shutter Island (2010), toplined Christopher Nolan's complex, elusive sci-fi drama Inception (2010), and in 2011, worked with director Clint Eastwood and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black on the biopic J. Edgar (2011), playing the famous titular FBI director. Meanwhile, DiCaprio also signed on for another collaboration with Baz Luhrmann - a new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, co-starring Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan, not to mention a first-time collaboration with Quinten Tarantino for Django Unchained. In 2013, he and Scorsese joined forces yet again for The Wolf of Wall Street, earning DiCaprio two Oscar nominations, for both Best Actor and Picture.DiCaprio took the next two years off, focusing on environmental causes, but came back in 2015 in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's The Revenant. He nabbed his sixth Oscar nom for the film and finally landed his first win, for Best Actor.The hybrid-car driving DiCaprio has also been an outspoken proponent of environmentalism, a topic he is so passionate about he was allowed to interview then-President Bill Clinton on the issue in a 2000 televised prime-time special.

Trivia: To some, it might have seemed as though British actor Daniel Day-Lewis burst out of nowhere to star in 1989's My Left Foot, but in fact he'd been in films since 1971. The son of British Poet Laureate C. Day Lewis and actress Jill Balcon and grandson of British film executive Michael Balcon, Day-Lewis had neither the time nor the inclination for boarding schools and social training, and by age 13 he'd dropped out of his privileged life style. Thanks to his granddad's influence, Day-Lewis managed to secure a bit part as a teenage hoodlum in John Schlesinger's Sunday, Bloody, Sunday (1971), but he didn't take acting seriously until he was 15. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic and made his legitimate stage debut in 1982, and shortly afterward appeared in small roles in such films as Gandhi (1983) and The Bounty (1985). Day-Lewis first caught the eyes of critics with his performance as an insufferable young aristocrat in Merchant-Ivory's Room with a View (1985); other early performances of note could be seen in My Beautiful Launderette (1984) and The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)--films that, though designed for limited audience, managed to break into big-time distribution. Day-Lewis won an Academy Award for the role of true-life paralyzed artist/writer Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989), then assured the film extra publicity attention with his near-monastic protection of his own privacy. My Left Foot opened the doors for subsequent superlative Daniel Day-Lewis appearances: He was a virile Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans (1992); offered an astonishingly restrained performance in The Age of Innocence (1993) as a man trapped by the sexual mores of the 19th century; and in In the Name of the Father (1993), Day-Lewis played real-life character Gerry Conlon, the Belfast man, one of the Guildford Four, falsely imprisoned for a terrorist bombing. He turned in a powerful performance as Irish boxer Danny Flynn, who after serving a twelve year sentence for IRA activities, returns to Belfast to try and establish a non-denominational boxing club in the tragic The Boxer (1996).

Trivia: Model-turned-actress Cameron Diaz seemed to come out of nowhere when she made her 1994 screen debut opposite Jim Carrey in The Mask. However, her unusual beauty -- the result of her Cuban-American and Anglo-German-Native-American parentage -- helped to ensure that she would not be soon forgotten.Born in San Diego, CA, on August 30, 1972, Diaz left school at 16 to become a model. For the next five years, she traveled the globe, working in Japan, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, and Paris. As a model for the Elite Agency, she did commercial work for such products as Coke, Nivea, and L.A. Gear. She returned to California at the age of 21 and was unknown in the film industry when cast in her breakthrough role as the target of Jim Carrey's hyper-animated lust in The Mask. Following the hoopla surrounding her performance -- or, more specifically, her physical appearance -- in the film, Diaz opted to take acting lessons and appear in a series of small, independent films, including The Last Supper (1995), She's the One (1996), and Feeling Minnesota (1996). After starring opposite Ewan McGregor in Danny Boyle's A Life Less Ordinary (1997), Diaz further endeared herself to audiences and critics with her performance in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997). Proving herself an acceptable foil for the film's star, Julia Roberts, she went on to greater success in the Farrelly brothers' There's Something About Mary in 1998. Starring as the film's titular heroine, Diaz turned in an audience-pleasing performance in the cheerfully bawdy film, which proved to be one of the year's biggest box-office successes. The same year, Diaz cameoed in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and starred as Jon Favreau's unhinged fiancée in the black comedy Very Bad Things. Now fully established as one of Hollywood's hottest properties, she accepted leads in 1999's Being John Malkovich, in which she played puppeteer John Cusack's wife, and Any Given Sunday, in which she played the president and co-owner of a football team in Oliver Stone's paean to American football.In 2000, Diaz joined Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu in Charlie's Angels, the much-hyped big-screen remake of the television classic. A comically self-aware and fairly faithful adaptation of the original series, Charlie's Angels served up Matrix-style action with retro-sensibilities, propelling the franchise into the new millennium. The following year found Diaz endearing herself to younger audiences as the voice of Princess Fiona in the animated box-office smash Shrek, as well as using her wide-eyed innocence to horrific effect in the Tom Cruise mindbender Vanilla Sky. Headlining the ill-fated comedy The Next Best Thing in 2002, Diaz would take a historical trip to the birthplace of America in director Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York before becoming the second (after Julia Roberts) actress to join the "20-Million-Dollar Club" with Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Like its predecessor, the film performed well at the box office, and Diaz further proved her box-office clout in 2004 when another sequel, Shrek 2, became the third-highest grossing film of all time.Diaz switched gears altogether in 2005 when she headed to the small screen, hosting and producing the MTV reality show Trippin'. With its focus on ecology and conservation, the program found the actress and her celebrity pals traipsing the globe to explore various natural environments. Diaz also remained a strong presence in Hollywood during the Christmas season of 2005 in the well-received Curtis Hanson film In Her Shoes. In this picture -- adapted from the Jennifer Weiner novel by Susannah Grant -- Diaz plays the beautiful yet thoroughly harebrained and irresponsible Maggie, sister of the prim, proper, and conservative attorney Rose (Australian import Toni Collette), with whom she comes to blows during their ill-advised stint as roommates. As Maggie discovers a grandmother that she never knew existed (Shirley MacLaine) and travels to Florida to bond with the woman, Rose experiences a significant romantic breakup and decides to change careers. A long-buried and dormant secret from the past then comes to light that reunites the women and forges a path to reconciliation. In Her Shoes struck box-office gold and won the hearts of many critics. And though it surprised just about everyone who foresaw a dopey, lame-brained romantic comedy, assiduous devotees of Hanson's career were perhaps less shocked given the director's keen intelligence and marvelous track record.Diaz maintained a relatively low profile throughout 2006, following up the Hanson film with yet another lightly comic dissection of contemporary relationships, Nancy Meyers' Holiday, followed by a voice-only turn in Dreamworks' tertiary installment of the Shrek franchise, Shrek the Third. Never shy about doing what her fans love, Diaz was soon signing on for more romantic comedies, starring alongside Ashton Kutcher in 2008's What Happens in Vegas and 2009's My Sister's Keeper. For her next project, however, Diaz tried something out of the ordinary, working with Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly for the supernatural thriller The Box. While not well received, the movie reminded critics and fans of Diaz's wide range. As the 2010's rolled onward, the actress proved that her charm was as strong with audiences as ever, most notably in action fare like Knight and Day, and comedies like the deliciously naughty Bad Teacher. In 2014, Diaz had a resurgent year, with the comedies The Other Woman and Sex Tape, before tackling the iconic role of Miss Hannigan in the remake of Annie.

Trivia: One of England's most versatile character actors, Jim Broadbent has been giving reliably excellent performances on the stage and screen for years. Particularly known for his numerous collaborations with director Mike Leigh, Broadbent was shown to superlative effect in Leigh's Topsy-Turvy, winning the Venice Film Festival's Volpi Cup for his portrayal of British lyricist and playwright W.S. Gilbert.Born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1949, Broadbent trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Following his 1972 graduation, he began his professional career on the stage, performing with the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and as part of the National Theatre of Brent, a two-man troupe he co-founded that performed reduced histories. In addition to his theatrical work, Broadbent did steady work on television, acting for such directors as Mike Newell and Stephen Frears. Broadbent made his film debut in 1978 with a small part in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout. He went on to work with such directors as Stephen Frears (The Hit, 1984) and Terry Gilliam (Time Bandits [1981], Brazil [1985]), but it was through his collaboration with Leigh that Broadbent first became known to an international film audience. In 1991, he starred in Leigh's Life Is Sweet, a domestic comedy that cast him as a good-natured cook who dreams of running his own business. Broadbent gained further visibility the following year with substantial roles in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game and Newell's Enchanted April, and he could subsequently be seen in such diverse fare as Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Widows' Peak (1994), Richard Loncraine's highly acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III (1996), and Little Voice (1998), the last of which cast him as a seedy nightclub owner. Appearing primarily as a character actor in these films, Broadbent took center stage for Leigh's Topsy-Turvy (1999), imbuing the mercurial W.S. Gilbert with emotional complexity and comic poignancy. Roles in Bridget Jones's Diary, Moulin Rogue, and Iris made 2001 quite a marquee year for Broadbent; the actor earned both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his affecting turn in Iris.He remained one of the most respected actors of his generation and continued to work steadily for directors all over the world. In 2002 he was cast in Martin Scorsese's epic historical drama Gangs of New York. In 2003 he took a cameo part in Bright Young Things. In 2004 he returned for the Bridget Jones sequel, and took a bit part in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake. He worked in a number o animated films including Doogal, Valiant, and Robots. In 2007 he had the title role in Longford, a historical drama about the infamous Moor Murders, and the next year he was part of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls.As the 2010's continued, Broadbent would remain a vital, respected, and beloved force on screen, appearing most memorably in projects like The Young Victoria and The Iron Lady.

Trivia: Standing a burly 6'4", Liam Neeson was once described by a theatre critic as a "towering sequoia of sex." To say that he has undeniable charisma is certainly accurate, but it is a charisma composed as much of impressive talent as of broken-nosed physical appeal. Bearing both versatility and quiet forcefulness, Neeson has been touted as one of the most compelling actors of the late 20th century.Born June 7, 1952, in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, Neeson had an upbringing partially defined by his involvement in boxing. He became active in the sport as a teenager, earning his distinctive broken nose in the process; he stayed with boxing until he began experiencing black-outs from repeated blows to the head. Initially interested in a career as a teacher, Neeson attended Belfast's Queens College, but he aborted his studies after developing a desire to act. In 1976, he joined Belfast's Lyric Theatre, and two years later he began performing the classics at Dublin's famed Abbey Theatre. While he was with the Abbey, Neeson was discovered by director John Boorman, who cast him as Gawain in 1981's Excalibur. Following his part in that action fantasy, Neeson had supporting roles in such films as The Mission (1986), and he was featured in leads opposite Cher in Suspect (1987) and Diane Keaton in The Good Mother (1988). He got his first starring vehicle in 1990 with Sam Raimi's Darkman; unfortunately, the film was a relative disappointment. Neeson continued to do starring work in such films as Big Man (1991), which featured him as a boxer, Ethan Frome (1992), and Under Suspicion (1992), but ironically, it was his work on the stage that led to his true screen breakthrough. In 1992, the actor was turning in a Tony-nominated performance in Anna Christie opposite Natasha Richardson (whom he would marry in 1994) on Broadway. His work attracted the notice of Steven Spielberg, who was so impressed with what he saw that he cast Neeson as Oskar Schindler in his landmark Holocaust drama Schindler's List (1993). Neeson received Best Actor Oscar and British Academy Award nominations for his performance, and he subsequently didn't have to worry about finding work in Hollywood, or elsewhere, again.More high-profile work followed for Neeson, who went on to star in such films as Nell (1994), Rob Roy (1995), and Michael Collins (1996). However acclaimed his previous work had been, none of it received the hype of one of Neeson's 1999 projects, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Although the film, which starred Neeson as a Jedi master, ultimately earned a galaxy's worth of negative reviews, it mined box office millions. Its success further enhanced Neeson's status as one of the world's most visible actors, and it even helped to downplay the disappointment of The Haunting, his other film that year.Neeson would enter the new millennium with a variety of projects on his to-do list, appearing in the Martin Scorsese period piece Gangs of New York in 2002, and the extremely popular romantic comedy Love Actually in 2003. The following year would find him tackling a meatier role, however, as he singed on to portray pioneering scientist and researcher on human sexuality Alfred Kinsey in the biopic Kinsey. The part would earn Neeson a Golden Globe nomination, and Neeson would follow its success with performances in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven, as well as one in the blockbuster superhero reboot Batman Begins in 2005. He would also sign on to provide the voice of lion king Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia fantasy franchise.In 2008, Neeson starred in the thriller Taken, portraying a former CIA officer who employs his brutal skills learned on the job to find his kidnapped daughter. Audiences weren't accustomed to seeing the actor hold down the lead in an action film, but Neeson succeeded and the film was a categorical success. Sadly, the following year, Liam's wife actress Natasha Richardson died suddenly after suffering a severe head injury during a skiing accident. Neeson was left in care of their two children, Michael and Daniel, but was later able to resume his career. Neeson would find himself appearing in many action/adventure films over the coming years. He starred as the cigar-chomping ohn "Hannibal" Smith in the big-screen adaptation of The A-Team in 2010, and a man fleeing for his life and fighting for his identity in 2011's Unknown. The following year, Neeson played an oil driller stranded amid a pack of wolves in The Grey.

Trivia: One of the screen's most versatile and woefully under-appreciated character actors, John C. Reilly has appeared in a series of films united only in their complete lack of similarity. To date, he has been used most intelligently by director Paul Thomas Anderson, who has cast him in Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia.A native of Chicago, where he was born May 24, 1965, Reilly broke into film in 1989, the year he starred in Casualties of War and We're No Angels, both of which featured Sean Penn and a less than stellar reception. Reilly subsequently spent the early '90s appearing in films of every conceivable genre, from the Tom Cruise testosterone extravaganza Days of Thunder (1990) to Woody Allen's Shadows and Fog (1992) to What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993). Thanks to his unglamorous appearance, Reilly also did an obligatory turn as a backwoods psycho, popping up alongside Kevin Bacon in The River Wild (1994) long enough to freak out Meryl Streep and her family.1996 marked the beginning of Reilly's collaboration with director Anderson. That year, he starred as a none-too-bright loser stranded in Vegas in Hard Eight, Anderson's feature-length directorial debut. Reilly earned wide praise for his work in the film, which went largely unseen by audiences. The same couldn't be said of Reilly and Anderson's second collaboration, Boogie Nights, the following year. One of the most critically lauded films of 1997, it featured Reilly as another loser, a dim porn actor with dreams of becoming a magician/songwriter.Thanks to the film's success, Reilly finally earned a bit of long-overdue recognition, as was evidenced by his subsequent casting in Terrence Malick's adaptation of The Thin Red Line (1998). The actor's visibility further increased the following year, thanks to prominent roles in no less than four films. One of these was Magnolia, Anderson's follow-up to Boogie Nights. Like his previous film, Magnolia boasted a large ensemble cast of first-rate actors; among them, Reilly stood out as a lonely police officer who becomes involved with an emotionally unstable woman.With his career continuing to build momentum, Reilly was next cast alongside George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg in the 2000 big-budget adaptation of the best-selling book The Perfect Storm. However, his biggest year to date came in 2002. Not only could Reilly be seen in prominent roles in four high-profile films, but his scene-stealing turn in the musical Chicago netted him his first Academy Award nomination. Riding high on his escalating stardom, Reilly spent 2003 hard at work on three big releases, The Aviator, Dark Water, and Criminal. Of Reilly's 2004 projects, Criminal arrived first - in September of that year. A remake of the late Argentinian director Fabian Bielinsky's debut crime, the American version tells the story of a couple of scammers (Reilly and Diego Luna) who con members of the Beverly Hills upper-crust, the picture (brought to fruition by Steven Soderbergh) received average to positive reviews. On the enthusiastic end, The Los Angeles Times's Carina Chocano called the picture "funny, original and very well observed," and The Philadelphia Inquirer's Carrie Rickey remarked, "Gregory Jacobs' zircon remake of that glowing Argentine gem Nine Queens is the film equivalent of Chinese boxes or Russian matrushka dolls. If you've never played with them before, then there's a prize inside for you." Less enthused was The Charlotte Observer's Lawrence Toppmann, who compared the film somewhat unfavorably to its original: "a watered-down version of the same pleasures." Issued in December 2004, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator fared immeasurably better (with critics and at the box) and left in its wake the most enduring legacy of Reilly's 2004 efforts. As Noah Dietrich, the individual who manages Howard Hughes's (Leonardo di Caprio) business affairs, Reilly contributed to a strong ensemble cast that included Cate Blanchett and the splendid Alan Alda. Dark Water, Walter Salles's gothic horror opus, hit cinemas in July 2005. As the real estate agent who leases young mother Jennifer Connelly a possessed New York City apartment, Reilly delivers effective and substantial menace, even as the motion picture divided critics. In 2006, Reilly starred in two key A-list releases. Released in June 2006, Bob Altman's Garrison Keillor cinematization A Prairie Home Companion lays out a "genial" Altmanesque tapestry of the backstage shenanigans at a fictionalized version of Prairie, that transpire between the cast members. Reilly (who established himself with such force in Altman protege Paul Anderson's similar films) portrays Lefty, one half of a cowboy duo opposite Woody Harrelson's Dusty; they bicker throughout the film and ultimately perform a dirty-lyrics musical number together. The picture opened, almost unanimously, to glowing reviews. The supporting cast includes Keillor, Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, and Kevin Kline. Reilly showcased his versatility by following up his work in the Altman film by co-starring opposite Will Farrell in the NASCAR comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.In 2007 he was the lead in the musical biopic spoof Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, also singing a number of song spoofs for the movie. The next year he reteamed with Will Farrell in Step Brothers. He had a major role in Cirque Du Freak in 2009. It was easy to find the well-respected character actor on screen in 2011, a year in which he appeared in the winning comedy Cedar Rapids, Roman Polanski's adaptation of the award-winning play Carnage, and the husband of Tilda Swinton in the psychological drama We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Trivia: Known to millions of early-'80s filmgoers as Elliot, the young boy who befriends a leathery, long-necked alien, Henry Thomas rocketed to fame with his starring role in Steven Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster E.T. the Extra-terrestial and then, just as quickly, plummeted out of sight. Unlike countless other child actors who seem to fall off the face of the earth with the onset of their first pimple, however, Thomas remained somewhat active in low-profile projects while maturing in the relative obscurity of his native Texas. When he eventually re-emerged on the big screen in the mid-'90s, he did so in a variety of projects that emphasized his versatility, until he was granted a sort of second coming, with his acclaimed supporting turn as a wandering cowboy in Billy Bob Thornton's 2000 epic All the Pretty Horses.By the time he was cast in E.T. the Extra-terrestial, Thomas had already made an impressive screen debut as Sissy Spacek's son in the 1981 drama Raggedy Man, which also starred Sam Shepard. A native of San Antonio, where he was born the son of a hydraulics mechanic on September 9, 1971, he returned to Texas after all of the hype surrounding E.T. the Extra-terrestial, acting in film and on TV from time to time while attending school and generally leading the life of a regular kid. In 1989, he appeared in his most high-profile project since E.T., playing the chivalrous young man who dispatches Colin Firth's titular ne'er-do-well in Valmont, Milos Forman's adaptation of Choderlos DeLaclos' Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Although the film was nowhere near as successful as Stephen Frears' adaptation of the same work the previous year, it did give Thomas exposure in one of his first adult roles. Substantially greater exposure followed for the actor in 1994, when he was cast as one of Anthony Hopkins' three sons in Edward Zwick's Legends of the Fall. Co-starring with Hopkins, Brad Pitt, and Aidan Quinn, Thomas was on the screen for a relatively brief length of time, but the popularity of the lavish, big-budget film did allow the young actor to make an impression on audiences who hadn't seen him since E.T. He subsequently switched gears to portray a troubled drifter in the independent production Niagara Niagara (1997), in which he co-starred with Robin Tunney, and then returned to large budgets and lavish production values when he won a major role in the most hotly anticipated project to date of his adult career, Thornton's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses. Featuring stunning Southwestern cinematography and equally photogenic turns by co-stars Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz, the film cast Thomas as Lacey Rawlins, Damon's best friend. Although the film came in for very mixed reviews, most critics were in agreement about Thomas' wry, low-key performance, with some even asserting it was the best thing about the picture. Despite the adulation surrounding his work, Thomas kept a low profile, playing in his band the Blueheelers and spending time in Italy to shoot Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2001) alongside the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Liam Neeson, and Leonardo DiCaprio.Thomas continued to work throughout the 2000's on a wide variety of projects, completing at least a few films a year, including the horror film Dead Birds and the comedy Tennis, Anyone?.... In 2007, he signed up to star alongside Anne Heche, Carrie Fisher, and David Boreanaz in the Alan Cumming-directed black comedy Suffering Man's Charity.

Trivia: A former teacher, burly Irish actor Brendan Gleeson spent the 1990s earning an increasing amount of acclaim for his work in a variety of films, most notably John Boorman's The General (1998). Gleeson, who made his feature film debut in Jim Sheridan's The Field (1990), first made an impression on audiences in the role of Hamish, William Wallace's hulking ally in Braveheart (1995).In 1997, the actor was given his first crack at a starring role in I Went Down, a likeable black comedy that cast him as a thick-skulled hitman. The role brought him a greater dose of recognition and respect on both sides of the Atlantic, but it was Boorman's The General (shot right after I Went Down wrapped) that truly demanded -- and received -- international attention. The story of real-life Irish criminal Martin Cahill, the film featured Gleeson in its title role, and his cocky, assured portrayal of Cahill was widely deemed the best part of an altogether excellent film. The numerous plaudits he won for his performance included awards from Boston and London film critics.His career flourishing, it was only a matter of time before Gleeson had the opportunity to expand his resumé to include the occasional Hollywood blockbuster. That opportunity came by way of John Woo's Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), which cast Gleeson, surprisingly enough, as one of the film's resident villains. After carefully balancing his roles between the mainstream and the more low-key, character-driven films in later 2000 and into 2001 (he gained notice for his starring role as a philanderous, boozing TV chef turned sensitive amnesiac in the romantic comedy Wild About Harry [2000]), Gleeson headed back to Hollywood with his lively turn as Lord Johnson-Johnson in Steven Spielberg's A.I. Appearing in Trainspotting director Danny Boyle's zombie thriller 28 Days Later the following year, it wasn't long before Gleeson was once again gracing stateside cinemas with appearances in such high-profile films as Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002) and the Kurt Russell police detective thriller Dark Blue (2003).Gleeson remained a presence in high-profile films over the ensuing two years. In 2004 he could be seen in both the M. Night Shyamalan brain-bender The Village and the sweeping historical epic Troy. The following year found the actor in another pair of big-budget Hollywood films, the box-office dud Kingdom of Heaven and the fourth installment in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Subsequent years found him re-teaming with 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy for the Neil Jordan comedy Breakfast on Pluto and reprising his role of Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).He had a memorable turn in the Irish comedy In Bruges in 2008. Two years later he returned as Mad Eye for the final Harry Potter movie. That same year he turned in one of his best performances in The Guard. He played opposite the Oscar nominated Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs in 2011, and enjoyed roles in a couple of high-profile Hollywood films - The Raven and Safe House the next year.

Trivia: His enduring love of literature and acting was inspired by Murray Learman, his high-school English teacher.Worked as a roadsweeper as a young man, after leaving school. Won a Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1978 as part theatre group Easterhouse. After graduating, read newspapers out loud for the blind, worked with the young unemployed and in a hostel for the homeless. Only committed himself to acting at the age of 32 when he joined Robert Carlyle's Raindog Theatre. Got his role in Gangs Of New York when Martin Scorsese was impressed by his performance in Billy Elliot.

Trivia: Knew that he wanted to act since he was 10. Became friends with Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of Gangs of New York, and Dicaprio recommended Graham to director Michael Mann for his role in Public Enemies. Sent Mann an audition tape made by his wife on her handheld video camera. Found it difficult at first to play a racist in 2007's This Is England because of his mixed-race heritage. (His grandfather is Jamaican.) Honed his Brooklyn accent for Boardwalk Empire with Brooklynite Charlie, a gaffer on the set of the series.

Trivia: A prolific character actor in his native Britain, Eddie Marsan specialized in challenging and provocative roles, in slightly tough and edgy projects that often took advantage of his unique, immediately identifiable countenance. After debuting as a bit player and guest star in English television series including Casualty, Game On, and The Bill, Marsan took one of his premier big-screen bows in Michael Radford's crime thriller B. Monkey (1998), then effectively played one of Tammany Hall's minions opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's period crime epic Gangs of New York (2002). On a much different note, Marsan subsequently teamed up with English cause célèbre director Mike Leigh in the abortion-themed character study Vera Drake (2004) -- in which the actor ushered in a partly improvised portrayal of a kindly road worker who romances the title character's daughter. Drake brought Marsan an upsurge of attention, and thereafter, assignments rolled in quickly and furiously from both sides of the Atlantic. These included supporting roles in Isabel Coixet's gentle, atmospheric drama The Secret Life of Words, Neil Burger's period supernatural drama The Illusionist, and the mega-budgeted action extravaganza Mission: Impossible III. 2008 marked a busy period for Marsan; that year, he both tackled a supporting part opposite Will Smith and Charlize Theron in the superhero comedy Hancock, and -- on a much-anticipated note -- re-teamed with Mike Leigh for a prominent role as an angsty teacher in the slice-of-life comedy Happy-Go-Lucky.

Trivia: Lean, incisive British actor Alec McCowen studied at the RADA before launching his stage career in 1942. McCowan's theatrical work has been devoted almost exclusively to Shakespeare and the classics; he regards Astrov in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya as his favorite role. In films from 1953, McCowen's most fondly remembered screen assignment was as mild-mannered Inspector Oxford in Hitchcock's Frenzy. The actor's expression of quiet desperation as he samples the horrendous gourmet dishes prepared by his wife was worth the admission price in itself. In the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1982), McCowen was far more brusque and businesslike as "Q" than Desmond Llewellyn ever was or ever will be. Looking quite at ease in historical costume, Alec McCowen has flourished into the 1990s in lavish period films like Henry V (1989) and The Age of Innocence (1993).

Trivia: When the film version of the Broadway musical Camelot was released in 1967, critics had a jolly old time lambasting director Joshua Logan for casting non-singers in the leading roles. While it's certainly true that Lynn Redgrave, Richard Harris and Franco Nero seemed to suffer from Tin-Ear Syndrome, the critics were most unfair in picking on the fellow who played Mordred: David Hemmings. The son of a cookie merchant, Hemmings was a successful touring boy soprano at age nine, performing with the English Opera Group. He briefly left the musical world when his voice changed, studying painting at the Epsom School of Art and staging his first exhibition at 15. He returned to singing in his early 20s, first in nightclubs, then on the musical stage. Easing into acting, Hemmings appeared as misunderstood youths and belligerent "Teddy Boys" in a number of British programmers before attaining international stardom as the existential fashion photographer "hero"of Antonioni's Blow-Up (1966). With 1971's Running Scared, the indefatigable Hemmings began yet another new career as director; he has since helmed theatrical and made-for-TV films in England, Australia and Canada. With business partner John Daly, Hemmings formed the Hemdale Corporation for the express purpose of allowing the actor to do pretty much what he pleased both before and behind the cameras. In later years, he added novel writing to his considerable list of accomplishments. David Hemmings was the former husband of American actress Gayle Hunnicutt.

Trivia: Studied classical clarinet in high school and at the Juilliard School. Took a summer acting class at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts after his sophomore year and decided to focus on acting. Studied at the Acting Studio in New York. Made his film debut in the independent film Straight Out of Brooklyn in 1991 after seeing a casting notice in a trade paper in New York.

Trivia: British-born actress Cara Seymour entered into a budding film career after establishing herself on-stage in both England and the United States. In the U.K., her performance in Now and at the Hour of Our Death earned her a Time Out award; in New York, she won an Obie for her work in Mike Leigh's Ecstacy and a Drama Desk nomination for her work in Goose Pimples. The actress made her film debut in the 1999 independent drama A Good Baby, and, in 2000, appeared in two acclaimed and highly individual films, Dancer in the Dark and American Psycho. Seymour was also featured in two of the most eagerly awaited films of 2002, Adaptation and Gangs of New York.

Trivia: Berling is a German supporting actor and producer.

Trivia: First role was the mother-in-law in a school production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Offered a role in a series that filmed in Los Angeles, he turned it down and recommitted to stage acting in London. Was engaged in long-standing prank with Judi Dench in which they tried to hide a black glove in each other's productions. Played both Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson at different points in his career; also wrote two children's books about the Baker Street Irregulars. Awarded the Order of the British Empire for his acting shortly before his death.