Trivia: Brooding and intense, Al Pacino has remained one of Hollywood's premier actors throughout his lengthy career, a popular and critical favorite whose list of credits includes many of the finest films of his era. Pacino was born April 25, 1940, in East Harlem, NY. Raised in the Bronx, he attended the legendary High School for Performing Arts, but dropped out at the age of 17. He spent the next several years drifting from job to job, continuing to study acting and occasionally appearing in off-off-Broadway productions. In 1966, Pacino was accepted to train at the Actors' Studio, and after working with James Earl Jones in The Peace Creeps, he starred as a brutal street youth in the off-Broadway social drama The Indian Wants the Bronx, earning an Obie Award as Best Actor for the 1967-1968 theatrical season. A year later, he made his Broadway debut in Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie? Although the play itself closed after less than 40 performances, Pacino was universally praised for his potent portrayal of a sociopathic drug addict, and he won a Tony Award for his performance. Pacino made his film debut in the 1969 flop Me, Natalie. After making his theatrical directorial debut with 1970's Rats, he returned to the screen a year later in Panic in Needle Park, again appearing as a junkie. (To prepare for the role, he and co-star Kitty Winn conducted extensive research in known drug-dealer haunts as well as methadone clinics.) While the picture was not a success, Pacino again earned critical raves. Next came Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 Mafia epic The Godfather. As Michael Corleone, the son of an infamous crime lord reluctantly thrust into the family business, Pacino shot to stardom, earning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his soulful performance. While the follow-up, 1973's Scarecrow, was received far less warmly, the police drama Serpico was a smash, as was 1974's The Godfather Part II for which he earned his third Academy Award nomination. The 1975 fact-based Dog Day Afternoon, in which Pacino starred as a robber attempting to stick up a bank in order to finance his gay lover's sex-change operation, was yet another staggering success.The 1977 auto-racing drama Bobby Deerfield, on the other hand, was a disaster. Pacino then retreated to Broadway, winning a second Tony for his performance in the title role in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel. Upon returning to Hollywood, he starred in ...And Justice for All, which did not appease reviewers but restored him to moviegoers' good graces. Pacino next starred in William Friedkin's controversial Cruising, portraying a New York City cop on the trail of a serial killer targeting homosexuals; it was not a hit, nor was the 1982 comedy Author! Author! Brian DePalma's violent 1983 remake of Scarface followed; while moderately successful during its initial release, the movie later became a major cult favorite. Still, its lukewarm initial reception further tarnished Pacino's star. However, no one was fully prepared for the fate which befell 1985's historical epic Revolution; made for over $28 million, the film failed to gross even $1 million dollars at the box office. Pacino subsequently vanished from the public eye, directing his own film, The Local Stigmatic, which outside of a handful of 1990 showings at the Museum of Modern Art was never screened publicly. While his name was attached to a number of projects during this time period, none came to fruition, and he disappeared from cinema for over four years. Finally, in 1989, Pacino returned with the stylish thriller Sea of Love; the picture was a hit, and suddenly he was a star all over again. A virtually unrecognizable turn as a garish gangster in 1990's Dick Tracy earned him a sixth Oscar nomination, but The Godfather Part III was not the financial blockbuster many anticipated it to be. The 1991 romantic comedy Frankie and Johnny was a success, however, and a year later Pacino starred in the highly regarded Glengarry Glen Ross as well as Scent of a Woman, at last earning an Oscar for his performance in the latter film. He reunited with DePalma for 1993's stylish crime drama Carlito's Way, to which he'd first been slated to star in several years prior. Remaining in the underworld, he starred as a cop opposite master thief Robert De Niro in 1995's superb Heat, written and directed by Michael Mann. Pacino next starred in the 1996 political drama City Hall, but earned more notice that year for writing, directing, producing, and starring in Looking for Richard, a documentary exploration of Shakespeare's Richard III shot with an all-star cast. In 1997, he appeared with two of Hollywood's most notable young stars, first shooting Donnie Brasco opposite Johnny Depp, and then acting alongside Keanu Reeves in The Devil's Advocate. Following roles in The Insider and Any Given Sunday two-years later, Pacino would appear in the film version of the stage play Chinese Coffee (2000) before a two-year periods in which the actor was curiously absent from the screen. Any speculation on the workhorse actor's slowing down ended when in 2002 Pacino returned with the quadruple-threat of Insomnia, Simone, People I Know and The Recruit. With roles ranging from that of a troubled detective investigating a murder in the land of the midnight sun, to a film producer who builds the worlds first virtual actress, Pacino reenforced his image as a versatile, energetic and adventurous an actor. The films struck uneven chords, however; Insomnia hit a zenith, critically and commercially, while Pacino scraped bottom with Simone. Pacino fared better at the box and in the press with Michael Radford's December 2004 Merchant of Venice but dodged critical bullets with the D.J. Caruso-helmed 2005 gambling drama Two for the Money. Circa 2006, Pacino starred as Jack Gramm in 88 Minutes, the gripping tale of a college prof who moonlights as a forensics expert for the feds. He also announced plans, that year, to join the cast of Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen and a remake of Jules Dassin's seminal Rififi, to reunite him with City Hall helmer Harold Becker.

Trivia: Born Andrés Arturo García-Menéndez on April 12th, 1956, actor Andy Garcia was five-years-old when he fled with his family from his native Cuba to Miami, where Garcia's father, a former lawyer, established a successful cosmetics business upon becoming an American citizen. Following his graduation from Florida International University, Garcia moved to L.A. and performed briefly as a standup comic, working as a furniture expediter and waiter when jobs were scarce. While his TV debut was a small role in the 1981 pilot of Hill Street Blues, Garcia did not have to travel far from his adopted hometown for his film bow, Blue Skies Again (1983), which was shot on location in Florida. (Also making her first screen appearance in this forgettable baseball comedy was actress Mimi Rogers).It was not until he was cast as a drug kingpin in Hal Ashby's 8 Million Ways to Die (1985) that Garcia's career really took off. After turning in strong roles in both The Untouchables (1987) and Stand and Deliver (1988), he achieved an additional degree of stardom when he was cast as Michael Corleone's hot-headed nephew in The Godfather Part III (1990), a role for which he earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. The range of Garcia's talents was impressive enough for screenwriter Henry Bean to write the script for the 1990 police-corruption drama Internal Affairs with the actor specifically in mind. But after several years of on-the-edge characters, Garcia softened his screen image as the too-good-to-be-true husband of an alcoholic (Meg Ryan) in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). Garcia's career waned a bit during the second half of the '90s, and the actor concentrated some of his energies on starring in various made-for-TV movies and such Spanish-made films as Death in Granada (1997). Although Garcia found his place in American cinema -- indeed, he was one of the few Latino stars to successfully cross over into Hollywood films -- his deep connection and loyalty to his Cuban heritage was illustrated by his involvement in projects that reflect that sentiment. He has produced and directed a tribute to Cuban mambo artist Cachoao entitled Cachoao: Like His Rhythm There Is No Other, and, at one time, he planned to direct and star in a film adaptation of The Lost City, an epic novel of revolution and exile by Cuban writer Guillermo Cabrera Infante.Garcia worked alongside George Clooney and Brad Pitt for 2001's Ocean's 11, in which he portrayed the unscrupulous owner of a casino, and appeared in the film's sequels Ocean's 12 (2004) and Ocean's 13 (2007). He joined the cast of The Pink Panter 2 in 2009, and took a lead role in the historical drama Greater Glory (2012), which follows a group of Mexican patriots devoted to defending future generations from tyranny. A devoted family man, Garcia lives outside of the spotlight with his wife Maria Victoria (also a Cuban immigrant) and their three daughters.

Trivia: Long before earning his B.A. from the University of Texas and his M.A. in Education from C.C.N.Y., Eli Wallach made his first on-stage appearance in a 1930 amateur production. After World War II service and intensive training at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, the bumpy-nosed, gravel-voiced Wallach debuted on Broadway in Skydrift (1945). In 1951, he won a Tony award for his portrayal of Alvaro Mangiaco in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo. Though a staunch advocate of "The Method," Wallach could never be accused of being too introspective on-stage; in fact, his acting at times was downright ripe -- but deliciously so. He made his screen debut in Baby Doll (1956) playing another of Tennessee Williams' abrasive Latins, in this instance the duplicitous Silva Vaccaro; this performance earned Wallach the British equivalent of the Oscar. He spent the bulk of his screen time indulging in various brands of villainy, usually sporting an exotic accent (e.g., bandit leader Calvera in The Magnificent Seven [1960]). Perhaps his most antisocial onscreen act was the kidnapping of Hayley Mills in The Moon-Spinners (1965). Even when playing someone on "our" side, Wallach usually managed to make his character as prickly as possible: a prime example is Sgt. Craig in The Victors (1963), who manages to be vituperative and insulting even after his face is blown away. Busy on stage, screen, and TV into the 1990s, Wallach has played such unsavory types as a senile, half-blind hitman in Tough Guys (1986) and candy-munching Mafioso Don Altobello in The Godfather III (1990). He continued to work steadily into the 1990s with parts in the Chinatown sequel The Two Jakes, the remake of Night and the City, Article 99, and narrating a number of documentaries. He didn't slow down much at all during the 21st century, appearing in the comedy Keepin the Faith, Clint Eastwood's Oscar Winning Mystic River, and The Hoax. In 2010 he acted for Roman Polanski in his thriller The Ghost Writer, and for Oliver Stone in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, which was to be his last film role; Wallach died in 2014 at age 98.His television work has included an Emmy-winning performance in the 1967 all-star TV movie The Poppy Is Also a Flower and the continuing role of mob patriarch Vincent Danzig in Our Family Honor. Married since 1948 to actress Anne Jackson, Wallach has appeared on-stage with his wife in such plays as The Typists and the Tiger, Luv, and Next, and co-starred with her in the 1967 comedy film The Tiger Makes Out. Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson are the parents of special effects director Peter Wallach.

Trivia: The quiet yet dynamic screen presence of actor Joe Mantegna has made him one of the most powerful supporting actors in Hollywood. Born in Chicago, Mantegna made his acting debut in the 1969 production of Hair. He then joined Chicago's Organic Theatre Company. In 1978, he debuted on Broadway in Working; he also helped write Bleacher Bums, an award-winning play. Still, he did not become well-known until he played a recurring role on the TV show Soap. By 1983 he'd returned to Chicago, where he began working with playwright David Mamet. While playing the lead in Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross (1983), Mantegna won a Tony. When Mamet began making films, Mantegna became his actor of choice in works such as House of Games (1987) and Homicide (1991). Prior to that, the actor had played small roles in a number of other films. He also continues to play in a variety of movie genres, working with some of Hollywood's top directors. Mantegna turned producer in 1998 with the crime comedy Jerry and Tom. That trend continued on the small screen as Montenga produced such shows as Midway USA's Gun Stories, Shooting Gallery, and QuickBites, but it was his role as a regular on the CBS series Joan of Arcadia that really kept him in the public eye. Continually returning to his recurring role as Fat Tony on The Simpsons over the next decade, Montegna joined the cast of the hit television series Criminal Minds in 2007, and recieved an Emmy nomination for his performance in the successful mini-series The Starter Wife that same year.

Trivia: After rising to fame in a series of hit Woody Allen comedies, Diane Keaton went on to enjoy a successful film career both as an actress and as a director. Born Diane Hall on January 5, 1946, in Los Angeles, she studied acting at Manhattan's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater and in 1968 understudied in Hair. On Broadway she met actor/director Allen and appeared in his 1969 stage hit Play It Again, Sam. In 1970, Keaton made her film debut in the comedy Lovers and Other Strangers and rose to fame as the paramour of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone in the 1972 blockbuster The Godfather. That same year, she and Allen -- with whom Keaton had become romantically involved offscreen -- reprised Play It Again, Sam for the cameras, and in 1973 he directed her in Sleeper. The Godfather Part II followed, as did Allen's Love and Death. All of these films enjoyed great success, and Keaton stood on the verge of becoming a major star; however, when her next two pictures -- 1976's I Will, I Will for Now and Harry and Walter Go to New York -- both flopped, she returned to the stage to star in The Primary English Class.In 1977, Allen released his fourth film with Keaton, Annie Hall. A clearly autobiographical portrait of the couple's real-life romance, it was a landmark, bittersweet, soul-searching tale which brought a new level of sophistication to comedy in films. Not only did the film itself win an Academy Award for Best Picture, but Keaton garnered Best Actress honors. That same year, she also headlined the controversial drama Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Two more films with Allen, 1978's Bergmanesque Interiors and the 1979 masterpiece Manhattan followed; however, when the couple separated, Keaton began a romance with Warren Beatty, with whom she co-starred in the 1981 epic Reds; she earned a Best Actress nomination for her work in Beatty's film. Continuing to pursue more dramatic projects, she next co-starred in 1982's Shoot the Moon, followed by a pair of box-office disappointments, The Little Drummer Girl and Mrs. Soffel. The 1986 Crimes of the Heart was a minor success, and a year later she made her directorial debut with the documentary Heaven. Keaton's next starring role in the domestic comedy Baby Boom (1987) was a smash, and after close to a decade apart, she and Allen reunited for Radio Days, in which she briefly appeared as a singer. Upon starring in 1988's disappointing The Good Mother, she began splitting her time between acting and directing. In between appearing in films including 1990's The Godfather Part III, 1991's hit Father of the Bride, and 1992's telefilm Running Mates, she helmed music videos, afterschool specials (1990's The Girl with the Crazy Brother), and TV features (1991's Wildflower). She even directed an episode of the David Lynch cult favorite Twin Peaks. After stepping in for Mia Farrow in Allen's 1993 picture Manhattan Murder Mystery, Keaton essayed the title role in the 1994 TV biopic Amelia Earhart: the Final Flight and in 1995 made her feature-length directorial debut with the quirky drama Unstrung Heroes. After co-starring with Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn in the 1996 comedy smash The First Wives Club, she earned another Oscar nomination for her work in Marvin's Room. In 1998, Keaton starred in The Only Thrill and followed that in 1999 with The Other Sister. She subsequently stepped into another familial role in 2000's Hanging Up with Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow. Despite participating amongst a star-studded cast including veterans Goldie Hawn, Garry Shandling, Charlton Heston, and Warren Beatty, 2001's Town & Country was not particularly well-received among audiences or critics. In 2003, Keaton played Jack Nicholson's love interest in director Nancy Meyers's Something's Gotta Give (for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination) and executive produced director Gus Van Sant's avant-garde Elephant), which won Best Director and Golden Palm awards at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Keaton would spend the ensuing years appearing frequently on screen in films like Because I Said So, Mad Money, and Darling Companion.

Trivia: Talia Shire (born Talia Coppola) attended the Yale School of Drama and landed roles in several Roger Corman films. The sister of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, she benefited from her family connection when she was cast in The Godfather (1972), launching her screen career in earnest. After receiving a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance in The Godfather Part II (1974), Shire was cast by Sylvester Stallone to play his girlfriend in the hit Rocky (1976), for which she won the New York Film Critics Award and received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Although Shire went on to appear in a number of films throughout the 1980s and '90s, her career primarily revolved around the eight films emerging from the original Godfather and Rocky movies. Divorced from composer David Shire, she later married producer Jack Schwartzman; the two of them developed movie projects together, forming the TaliaFilm production company. The mother of actors Jason Schwartzman and Robert Schwartzman, Shire directed the film One Night Stand in 1994.She continued to act in a number of films including The Landlady, Lured Innocence, and Kiss the Bride. In 2004 she was cast in I Heart Huckabees playing the mother of the character portrayed by her real life son Jason Schwartzman. She appeared thanks to archival footage in Rocky Balboa. She also appeared in a pair of National Lampoon comedies.

Trivia: Actor George Hamilton got his start in high school dramatics. Movie-star handsome, Hamilton played the lead in his very first film, Crime and Punishment USA (1959). While his acting talent was barely discernible in his earliest effort, Hamilton steadily improved in such MGM films as Home From the Hill (1960), Where the Boys Are (1960), Light in the Piazza (1961). He was at his best in a brace of biopics: in Warner Bros.' Act One (1963) he played aspiring playwright Moss Hart, while in Your Cheatin' Heart (1965), he registered well as self-destructive C&W singer Hank Williams. His much-publicized mid-1960s dating of President Johnson's daughter Lynda Bird was unfairly written off by some as mere opportunism, a calculated ploy to buoy up a flagging career. In fact, it did more harm than good to Hamilton: by 1969, movie roles had dried up, and he was compelled to accept his first TV-series role, playing jet-setter Duncan Carlyle in The Survivors. The following year, he starred as State Department functionary Jack Brennan in the weekly TV espionager Paris 7000. He staged a spectacular comeback as star and executive producer of Love at First Bite (1979), a screamingly funny "Dracula" take-off that won the actor a Golden Globe nomination. Even better was Zorro the Gay Blade (1980), which unfortunately failed to match the excellent box-office performance of First Bite but which still provided a much-needed shot in the arm to Hamilton's career. He went on to play such campish roles as villainous movie producer Joel Abrigor in TV's Dynasty (1985-86 season only) and jaded 007-type Ian Stone in the weekly Spies (1987). Throughout the thick and thin of his acting career, Hamilton remained highly visible on the international social scene, squiring such high-profile lovelies as Elizabeth Taylor and Imelda Marcos. He also remained financially solvent with his line of skin products and tanning salons. In 1995, George Hamilton hopped on the talk-show bandwagon, co-starring with his former wife Alana (who'd remarried rocker Rod Stewart) on a not-bad syndicated daily TV chatfest.

Trivia: The granddaughter of Henry Fonda, daughter of Peter Fonda, and niece of Jane Fonda, Bridget Fonda was to the celluloid manor born. Although her famous lineage may have initially helped her when she was starting out, she has evolved into a strong performer in her own right, noted for the grit, spirit, and complexity of her performances.Born January 27, 1964, in Los Angeles, Fonda had her first film experience at the age of five, when she accompanied her father to the set of Easy Rider. That aside, she didn't see her father much during her early years, but the two still managed to form a bond. After her parents' divorce in 1972, Fonda went to live with her mother, actress Susan Brewer, in Los Angeles. She first became involved with the theatre when she was cast in a school production of Harvey. Sustaining her interest in acting through her teenage years, Fonda went on to study drama at New York's famed Lee Strasberg Institute. Although she suffered severe stage fright during her first two years, she was able to overcome her fears, and, upon leaving the institute two years later, she began to find work on the stage.Fonda made her film debut with a non-speaking role in the 1982 comedy Partners, and it was not until 1988 that she had her first speaking role in a feature film. That year, she appeared in both You Can't Hurry Love and Shag, the latter opposite Phoebe Cates as one of a group of girls looking for a good time in Myrtle Beach. The following year, Fonda earned her first measure of acclaim with her portrayal of real-life good-time girl Mandy Rice-Davies in Michael Caton-Jones' Scandal. The combined impact of her favorably reviewed performance in that film and her lead in another 1989 film, Strapless, effectively gave Fonda a small bit of land on the Hollywood map.In the early 1990s, Fonda began to work steadily in features, starting with a small but memorable role as a reporter in The Godfather Part III (1990). She went on to star in such films as Cameron Crowe's Singles (reportedly, Crowe wrote Fonda's role specifically for her), Single White Female (1992), Bodies, Rest, and Motion (1993), Point of No Return (1993), and It Could Happen to You (1994). Having demonstrated her talents in a number of romantic comedies, the most successful being Singles and It Could Happen to You, Fonda surprised and delighted many an observer when she took on the role of a perpetually stoned, ill-fated beach bunny in Jackie Brown (1997). The following year, she portrayed another atypical character in A Simple Plan, earning raves as Bill Paxton's pregnant, increasingly crazed wife. Over the next several years, Fonda would be selective about her projects, appearing memorably in Jackie Brown, Lake Placid, and on the Chris Isaak Show.

Trivia: Perhaps it makes sense that a woman whose earliest memory was on the set of Apocalypse Now would grow up to direct a dark fable about five adolescent girls who unapologetically and unceremoniously kill themselves, but for Sofia Coppola, the path to the director's chair was an uncertain one. Literally christened into a filmmaking career, the third child and only daughter of Francis Ford and Eleanor Coppola was born in Manhattan in the spring of 1971, during the production of her father's masterpiece, The Godfather. When it came time to shoot the baptism scene near the end of the film, the elder Coppola didn't have to look very far for an infant, and the epic became the impromptu actress' first, uncredited role. He found another bit part for the tiny Sofia in The Godfather Part II before her memorable experience on the tumultuous set of Apocalypse, as recorded in Eleanor's 1991 documentary of the making of the film, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. Coppola continued to pop up in her father's films in the early '80s and even ventured outside of the clan for a spot in 1987's Anna. It wasn't until father and daughter collaborated on a segment in the 1989 anthology film New York Stories, however, that Sofia began to attract critical attention -- albeit of a disparaging ilk. She and Francis co-wrote the half-hour children's fantasy Life Without Zoe in an attempt to evoke the glamorous, candy-colored world of the classic Eloise children's tales. In her dual role as costume designer, the 17-year-old swathed the film's lead characters in lavish designer jewelry and threads. Unfortunately, the Coppola portion of the film almost universally bewildered critics, who found it too trifling for adults and too baffling for children. By then a high school graduate, Sofia retreated from the world of filmmaking and concentrated on fashion design, contributing her costuming talents to The Spirit of '76 (1990), a Dazed and Confused-style comedy co-written by her brother Roman. Fate intervened, however, when cloudy circumstances forced Winona Ryder to bow out of Francis' much-anticipated The Godfather Part III. Sofia was swiftly cast in the role of Mary Corleone, and rumors regarding her acting chops -- or lack thereof -- began to swirl before she even shot a scene. When the film was released in late 1990, critics had a field day with her minor, but rather wooden, performance, finding it "hopelessly amateurish" and unintentionally comical. Even her aquiline profile became fodder for ridicule, and in March 1991, the Razzie Awards gave her the dubious distinction of Worst Supporting Actress as well as Worst New Star. Again, Coppola recoiled from Hollywood, entering the fine arts program at the California Institute of the Arts. There she began to nurture her interests in photography as well as costuming and experimented with video shorts. As their first post-graduate effort, she and some friends created the TV series High Octane, an offbeat news magazine on cable's Comedy Central network. The show was discontinued in 1994 after just four episodes, and Coppola continued to work on her brother's projects, primarily music videos. Around this time, Coppola read Jeffrey Eugenides' 1993 novel The Virgin Suicides and was captivated by its dark, haunting take of adolescent sexuality. More significantly, she relished the challenge of translating the fervid, pubescent-male viewpoint of the book to the big screen, and she began writing her own screen adaptation of the text. Coppola was undaunted when she found that the rights to the book were already secured by Muse Productions, whose script was much more violent and overtly sexual than hers. Impressed with her work, Muse scrapped their version and backed Coppola. After securing a stellar cast -- including James Woods, Kathleen Turner, and Kirsten Dunst -- and the production assistance of her father, she began shooting the film in Toronto. When the finished work premiered in the Directors Fortnight of the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, the reception was an about-face from her previous run-ins with the press. Critics applauded Coppola's delicate, evocative handling of the tale, as well as her subtle, dream-like visual sense, aided by ace cinematographer Edward Lachman. Paramount Classics picked up the film for distribution in May 2000, when it received a brisk arthouse run. In the summer of 1999, Coppola indoctrinated yet another filmmaker into her already distinguished clan of actors, composers, and auteurs when she married director Spike Jonze, whom she had met on the set of a Sonic Youth music video at the beginning of the decade. Jonze shot his first feature -- the critically acclaimed Being John Malkovich -- at the same time Coppola was helming her debut. Just as her husband was faced with the challenge of following up such a promising debut, Coppola too spent the years after The Virgin Suicides dabbling in TV production (on the ill-fated UPN hip-hop soap Platinum) and developing her sophomore feature. This time, however, she chose to fashion a screenplay not based on existing material but on her own experiences visiting Japan in her early twenties. The resulting character study, 2003's Lost in Translation, drew from a disparate set of memories: her father's work on a liquor ad with Akira Kurosawa in the mid-'70s, her memories of a former mentor in the fashion industry, and her own uncertainty over her future. Starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson as two similarly displaced, maritally dissatisfied Americans toiling away the hours in a posh Tokyo hotel, the film built upon Suicides' ethereal, deliberate pace and tone as it offered Murray one of the most textured, soulful roles of his career. An autumn arthouse smash that managed to cross over to mainstream audiences, Translation remained in theaters well into the new year, as the film, its director, and two leads were showered with accolades from critics' groups and industry organizations. After winning Golden Globes for Best Screenplay and Picture (Comedy or Musical), the young filmmaker took home the prize for Best Original Screenplay at the 2004 Academy Awards. Coppola also made history by becoming the first American woman to receive a Best Director Oscar nomination, though she ultimately lost the award to Peter Jackson. Lost in Translation's success garnered attention of another sort: critics and audiences speculated that Coppola's marriage to Jonze was not-so-discreetly mirrored in one of Translation's plot threads -- the distant relationship between Johansson's character and her flighty photographer husband, played with a Jonze-like intensity by Giovanni Ribisi. Sure enough, Coppola and Jonze announced their divorce plans in December 2003, and the indie film world lost its nascent royal couple. After the mirrored triumphs of Suicides and Lost, rumors swirled in the trades surrounding Coppola's tertiary effort in the director's chair, which she announced as an adaptation of Antonia Fraser's historical novel Marie Antoinette: The Journey. The 2006 period piece/costume drama starred Virgin lead Kirsten Dunst as the titular queen of France and archduchess of Austria, alongside a four-star cast highlighted by the presence of Jason Schwartzman (the director's cousin), Judy Davis, and the venerable Rip Torn as King Louis IV. She returned four years later with Somewhere a story about the relationship between a jaded actor played by Stephen Dorff and his young daughter.

Trivia: Educated at the University of Turin, Raf Vallone was a professional soccer player and jack-of-all-trades journalist before making a spectacular film acting debut in the neorealist classic Bitter Rice. While Vallone has never wanted for roles of depth and meaning (Giovanni in De Sica's Two Women [1961], Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge [1962]), some producers insist upon casting him only as a jet-setting playboy, nattily attired in the latest fashions, a beautiful girl on each arm. In addition, Vallone has played so many unsavory characters like Mario Bello in 1964's Harlow that one wonders if his first name shouldn't be "Raffish." The actor began curtailing his film work in 1990, not long after his well-rounded portrayal of Cardinal Lamberti in The Godfather III (1990). Raf Vallone is the husband of his one-time co-star, actress Ellen Varzi.

Trivia: Best known for his portrayal of anguished souls, sinister villains, and twisted Nazis, Teutonic actor Helmut Berger has earned international acclaim. Born Helmut Steinberger in Salzburg, Austria, but raised in Stuttgart, Germany, Berger learned to act at the University of Perugia in Italy and started out in English and French television commercials. He first worked in movies as an extra until he was discovered by Italian director Luchino Visconti and given the lead in his controversial, powerhouse drama The Damned (1969). From there he found steady employment in European and occasionally American films. In the U.S., Berger spent a season on television nighttime soap Dynasty. Berger also has a busy television career and occasionally directs both TV shows and feature films.

Trivia: While attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, John Savage helped organize a children's theatre troupe, giving non-profit performances at various housing projects. When next heard from, Savage had won a Drama Circle award for his starring performance in a Chicago-New York revival of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In films and television from 1972, Savage reached a watershed in 1975, starring as cub reporter Jim Malloy in the TV series Gibbsville and both starring in and composing the music for the theatrical feature Sister-in-Law. His career continued to flourish as the 1970s drew to a close: he played paraplegic war veteran Steven in the Oscar-winning The Deer Hunter (1978), hippie convert Claude in Hair, guilt-ridden police officer Karl Hettinger in The Onion Field (1979) and the suicidal, physically challenged Roary in Inside Moves (1980). For reasons unknown, Savage's star began fading in the 1980s, despite such choice roles as a cynical photojournalist in Oliver Stone's Salvador (1986). Most of John Savage's footage as Andrew Hagen in 1990's The Godfather III unfortunately wound up on the cutting room floor.

Trivia: Pop crooner Al Martino was discovered in a talent competition in 1948. His first single, "Here in My Heart," went to number one on the UK Singles Chart, and thus began a life in showbusiness that would span several decades. In addition to releasing several singles throughout the '50s, Martino would record over 30 studio albums. He passed away in 2009, at the age of 82.

Trivia: American character actress Jeannie Linero first worked in burlesque and was a belly dancer before beginning her career on stage, television and feature films. She was frequently cast in comical roles and portrayed earthy, unrefined women.

Trivia: A gruff character actor, Caridi has been onscreen from the '70s.

Trivia: American stage actor Don Costello was brought to films via an MGM contract in 1939. A valuable screen menace, Costello played such steely-eyed toughies as "Noose" in Red Skelton's Whistling in the Dark (1941). He moved to 20th Century-Fox in 1942, where among other things he was seen as the elderly--but no less criminally inclined--Doc Lake in Laurel and Hardy's A-Haunting We Will Go (1942). Perhaps his frequent association with comedians enabled his screen characters to develop a sense of humor, albeit a wicked one. In the Republic "Red Ryder" western The Great Stagecoach Robbery (1945), he scores several solid laughs as an outlaw leader posing as a schoolteacher, assuring an anxious mother that he'll learn to love her children, then muttering "If they live that long...." Don Costello died suddenly at the age of 44; his last appearance was in the Alan Ladd thriller The Blue Dahlia (1946).

Trivia: Al Ruscio played character roles since his film debut in Al Capone (1959). His best-known roles included crime boss Leo Cuneo in The Godfather: Part III (1990) and a recurring role on Life Goes On; he also appeared in the pilot episode of Seinfeld as the manager of Monk's Café. Ruscio worked as an acting teacher for years and regularly appeared in stage productions in Los Angeles. He passed away in 2013 at age 89.

Trivia: Debuting in 1946's Killer McCoy, powerfully built American actor Mickey Knox flourished in the late '40s in hoodlum and hardguy parts. He was one of juvenile delinquent John Derek's cronies in Knock on Any Door (1949), a gambler in Any Number Can Play (1949) and a mob boss' henchman (named Angles) in the Bowery Boys' Angels in Disguise (1949). Knox was showered with critical approval for his role as the Pacific Kid, a small-time punk with big-time aspirations in the 1950 B-picture Western Pacific Agent; so sociopathic was Knox's character that at one point he tried to bump off his own father (Morris Carnovsky). For obscure reasons (possibly political), Knox dropped out of Hollywood in the early '50s, resurfacing a decade later in Italy. Active in European-filmed productions into the '80s, Knox was cast in A View From the Bridge (1961), Reds (1981) Inchon (1982) and Bolero. Knox also occupied his time as a screenwriter: it was he who wrote the English adaptation of Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1968).

Trivia: Actor Brett Halsey came into this world as Charles Oliver Hand, the son of a San Francisco contractor. Formerly a page at the CBS studios in Hollywood, the 20-year-old Halsey was signed to a Universal contract in 1953. His earliest film efforts include The Glass Web (1953) and Ma and Pa Kettle at Home (1954), in which he played one of the myriad of Kettle offspring. He went on to play leads in bottom-budget juvenile delinquent films, including the immortal 1958 howler Speed Crazy. Under contract to 20th Century-Fox in the late 1950s-early 1960s, Halsey starred in Return of the Fly (1959) and was seen on a weekly basis as swinging journalist Paul Templin in the TV series Follow the Sun (1961). He then packed his bags and headed to Italy, where he played leads in swashbucklers, spy films, and Westerns (occasionally under the pseudonym Montgomery Ford). His experiences as a journeyman actor in Europe were encapsulated in his novel Magnificent Strangers. Halsey returned to the U.S. in the early 1970s, where he acted in such TV daytime dramas as Love is a Many Splendored Thing, Search for Tomorrow and, General Hospital, as well as in feature films, including Francis Ford Coppolas' Godfather III (1990). Brett Halsey was at one time married to actress Luciana Paluzzi.

Trivia: Rick Aviles was a stand-up comedian and actor who played small supporting roles in several major films of the early '90s. The Manhattan native launched his career as a street performer in Greenwich Village's Washington Square Park. He gained a following and made it to cable television where he hosted Showtime at the Apollo and One Night Stand on HBO. Aviles made his film debut in Cannonball Run (1981) and went on to appear in features ranging from Street Smart (1987), to Ghost (1990), to Carlito's Way (1993). Aviles made his final film appearances in Kevin Costner's Waterworld (1995) and Joe's Apartment (1996).

Trivia: Prolific and versatile, actor Michael Bowen joined the casts of some of the most critically respected and lucrative pictures of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, nearly always enlisted as an unremarkable everyman. Bowen launched his career with bit parts in such pictures as Valley Girl (1983), Iron Eagle (1985), and Less Than Zero (1987), then graduated to supporting roles by the late '90s. He was particularly memorable as cop Mark Dargus, the partner of ATF agent Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton) in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction follow-up, Jackie Brown (1997), then turned in a haunting portrayal of Rick, the dysfunctional father of game show contestant Stanley (Jeremy Blackman) in Paul Thomas Anderson's mosaic of contemporary L.A. life, Magnolia (1999). In the following decade, Bowen re-teamed with Tarantino for the neo-martial arts opus Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and delivered an intense performance as a cruel and vile counselor at a rehab center in first-time director Monty Lapica's psychodrama, Self-Medicated (2005). He also took on a recurring role on the hit TV drama Lost as Danny Pickett, a hotheaded, tough member of the Others, during the second and third seasons of the series (2006-2007).

Trivia: Grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York. Made her acting debut in the second grade when she was selected by Marlo Thomas to appear in the ABC special Free to Be... A Family. Became the youngest photographer to ever shoot the cover of New York Magazine, at age 15, and also shot the entire eight-page cover story about prep school gangsters, which was published in December 1996. Was previously the voice of Nickelodeon's educational channel block Noggin while she was in college. Joined the cast of Cartoon Network show Adventure Time in its season three finale, voicing the recurring role of Flame Princess. Has lent her voice to a number of video games, such as Kingdom Hearts II, DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, The Lego Movie Videogame, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Pimp My Ride and Tarzan Untamed.

Trivia: Occasional actress, legendary cook, and the mother of distinguished filmmaker Martin Scorsese, Catherine Scorsese was a first generation Italian-American and grew up in New York's Little Italy. After marrying and having two boys, Catherine went to work in the garment district. Scorsese gave his mother tiny roles in his films such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas, and Casino. When not appearing before the camera, Scorsese was cooking enormous meals for the cast and crew. Later, her son used her and her husband, Charles, as the subjects of his documentary Italianamerican. Catherine Scorsese has also appeared in a couple of other films, including Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Pt. 3. Shortly before her death, she published The Scorsese Family Cookbook. Mrs. Scorsese died of complications from Alzheimer's disease at the age of 81.