Trivia: With his soulful, deep-set blue eyes and a dark, eerily beautiful countenance, Jim Caviezel has inspired more than a few comparisons to Montgomery Clift. Thus, it was somewhat fitting -- and more than a little ironic -- that Caviezel first broke through to the American public as The Thin Red Line's Private Witt, a character loosely based on Clift's Private Prewitt in From Here to Eternity. A native of Washington state, Caviezel was born in Mount Vernon in 1968, one of five children in a devout Catholic family. A gifted athlete as a young man, he performed brilliantly on the basketball court and dreamt of joining the NBA. He attended Seattle's O'Dea High School, and later Burien Kennedy High, attending Bellevue Community College after graduation (where he continued to play ball), but a foot injury forced him to withdraw from the team and try acting instead. He debuted cinematically with a bit part as an airline clerk in Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho (1991), Caviezel landed an equally minor role in Michael Ritchie's disappointing boxing yarn, Diggstown (1992). Accepted at Juilliard that same year, he declined the school's offer in favor of a supporting role in Lawrence Kasdan's 1994 Wyatt Earp. Unfortunately, this film (like Diggstown) flopped, and for the next several years, Caviezel bounced back-and-forth, between minor roles in big budget Hollywood films like The Rock (1996) and G.I. Jane (1997) and more substantial roles in turkeys such as Bill Couturie's Ed (1996). Fortunately, in 1998, the long-dormant Terrence Malick came calling with a role in his war opus The Thin Red Line (adapted from James Jones's Guadalcanal Diary) and Caviezel struck gold. The film received a number of Oscar nominations including Best Picture, and its stellar ensemble cast, which included Ben Chaplin, Sean Penn, George Clooney, and Nick Nolte, earned almost unanimous acclaim. The following year, Caviezel gained further recognition with his role as one of a group of renegade Civil War soldiers in Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil and his portrayal of a football coach's embittered son in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday. In 2000, Caviezel starred in the supernatural thriller Frequency, as a fireman who -- through a supernatural occurrence -- communicates with his long-dead father (Dennis Quaid) over a ham radio. The low-budgeted film became a modest hit.Later that same year, Caviezel starred in Mimi Leder's shameless tearjerker Pay it Forward as a homeless junkie befriended by a young boy (Haley Joel Osment). He then landed a role opposite Jennifer Lopez in the heady romantic drama Angel Eyes (2001); the picture died a quick death at the box office, yet Caviezel's performance in the film dramatically increased his prominence, and critics further took note of the actor's ability.The following year's period adventure The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) boasted a similarly fine lead performance by Caviezel, and though the film - and the actor's work - drew favorable reviews from critics, that motion picture failed to attract audiences. Before embarking on a blood-soaked revenge spree in Highwaymen (2004), Caviezel took a turn as a mysterious former Marine in High Crimes and a lower-key role in the Paul Feig drama I Am David. Audiences who had followed Caviezel's career thus far had no doubt taken note of the actor's vocal religious convictions. With his role as Jesus in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ -- not to mention the actual suffering that he endured when his shoulder was separated during the crucifixion sequence -- the actor pushed to more extreme lengths than almost any performer of his generation. The story of the film is, by now, notorious; in time it became one of the highest grossers in movie history, capping $600 million worldwide, despite savaging critical assessments from many reviewers and accusations of anti-Semitism. Millions viewers flocked to the motion picture and turned it into one of the seminal moviegoing events of 2004, evi.As the 2000's and 2010's rolled on, Caviezel continued to enjoy success as a bankable actor, enjoying success on the new frontier of modern TV with shows like the remake of The Prisoner and the drama Person of Interest

Trivia: Bruce MacLeish Dern is the scion of a distinguished family of politicians and men of letters that includes his uncle, the distinguished poet/playwright Archibald MacLeish. After a prestigious education at New Trier High and Choate Preparatory, Dern enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, only to drop out abruptly in favor of Lee Strasberg's Actors' Studio. With his phlegmatic voice and schoolyard-bully countenance, he was not considered a likely candidate for stardom, and was often treated derisively by his fellow students. In 1958, he made his first Broadway appearance in A Touch of the Poet. Two years later, he was hired by director Elia Kazan to play a bit role in the 20th Century Fox production Wild River. He was a bit more prominent on TV, appearing regularly as E.J. Stocker in the contemporary Western series Stoney Burke. A favorite of Alfred Hitchcock, Dern was prominently cast in a handful of the director's TV-anthology episodes, and as the unfortunate sailor in the flashback sequences of the feature film Marnie (1964). During this period, Dern played as many victims as victimizers; he was just as memorable being hacked to death by Victor Buono in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1965) as he was while attempting to rape Linda Evans on TV's The Big Valley. Through the auspices of his close friend Jack Nicholson, Dern showed up in several Roger Corman productions of the mid-'60s, reaching a high point as Peter Fonda's "guide" through LSD-land in The Trip (1967). The actor's ever-increasing fan following amongst disenfranchised younger filmgoers shot up dramatically when he gunned down Establishment icon John Wayne in The Cowboys (1971). After scoring a critical hit with his supporting part in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Dern began attaining leading roles in such films as Silent Running (1971), The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), The Great Gatsby (1974), and Smile (1975). In 1976, he returned to the Hitchcock fold, this time with top billing, in Family Plot. Previously honored with a National Society of Film Critics award for his work in the Jack Nicholson-directed Drive, He Said (1970), Dern received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of an unhinged Vietnam veteran in Coming Home (1978), in which he co-starred with one-time Actors' Studio colleague (and former classroom tormentor) Jane Fonda. He followed this triumph with a return to Broadway in the 1979 production Strangers. In 1982, Dern won the Berlin Film Festival Best Actor prize for That Championship Season. He then devoted several years to stage and TV work, returning to features in the strenuous role of a middle-aged long distance runner in On the Edge (1986).After a humorous turn in the 1989 Tom Hanks comedy The 'Burbs, Dern dropped beneath the radar for much of the '90s. He would appear in cult favorites like Mulholland Falls and the Walter Hill Yojimbo re-make Last Man Standing (both 1996), as well as The Haunting (1999) and All the Pretty Horses (2000). As the 2000's unfolded, Dern would continue to act, apperaing most notably in film like Monster and Django Unchained.Formerly married to actress Diane Ladd, Bruce Dern is the father of actress Laura Dern.

Trivia: Seemingly coming out of nowhere to essay the difficult role of famed shock-jock Howard Stern's wife in 1997's autobiographical Private Parts, actress Mary McCormack has since gone on to offer memorable performances in such fare as Mystery, Alaska (1999) and K-PAX (2001). A native of Plainfield, NJ, McCormack's interest in performing was piqued at an early age when the aspiring, 12-year-old actress gender-bent her way through a production of Menotti's Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. Since none of the local boys possessed the necessary vocal abilities, McCormack donned a hat and hit the notes needed to carry the play. Subsequently performing in regional theater before continuing her education at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, it was there that McCormack would major in English and painting while continuing to hone her stage skills. After earning her Comparative Arts degree from Trinity, McCormack decided to further her acting career by studying at the William Esper Studio. Performances at such New York theaters as The Atlantic Theater Company were quick to follow, as was her film debut in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. Simultaneously appearing on the small screen in the popular crime series Murder One (1995), it wasn't long before Private Parts would offer a stratospheric boost to her onscreen career. A cinematic love letter to Stern's real-life wife, Private Parts offered the burgeoning actress a complex emotional role that proved without a doubt what she was fully capable of. Follow-up roles in such high-profile fare as Deep Impact (1998) and Mystery, Alaska (1999) didn't quite offer McCormack the chance to shine that Private Parts did, though it was obvious to all who viewed her subsequent roles that her star was on the rise. The millennial turnover found McCormack successfully alternating between drama (Madison) and comedy (High Heels and Low Lifes) before once again heading the Hollywood route with a supporting performance in K-PAX. An unconventional role in director Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal was quick to follow, and McCormack was soon beginning preparation for the television miniseries based on Soderbergh's Traffic (which was in turn inspired by 1989 U.K. series Traffik).She was the female lead in the creepy apocalyptic thriller Right at Your Door, and landed a small part in Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration. In 2008 she landed the lead role on the cable series In Plain Sight and enjoyed the most consistent success of her career.

Trivia: Jake Lloyd became the screen's most prominent wee moppet when he was cast as the young Darth Vader in George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. The first of the long-awaited Star Wars prequels, the 1999 film proved to be extremely popular, duly thrusting its hitherto-unknown young star into the celebrity stratosphere. Hailing from Fort Collins, Colorado, where he was born March 5, 1989, Lloyd got his big break when he was cast as Arnold Schwarzenegger's son in Jingle All the Way (1996). More recognition followed when he appeared as Marisa Tomei's son in Nick Cassavetes' Unhook the Stars (also 1996). Thanks to the success of The Phantom Menace, Lloyd's face soon became visible everywhere, adorning products ranging from action figures to thermoses.

Trivia: Paul Dooley is fondly remembered by fans of '80s cinema as the forgetful but well-intending father of a disgruntled Molly Ringwald in the John Hughes teen classic Sixteen Candles (1984). The longtime character actor's droopy, distinctive features and endearing onscreen warmth have kept him a familiar figure in both film and television. A Parkersurg, WV, native who originally aspired to become a cartoonist, Dooley drew comic strips for a local newspaper before entering the navy. Upon discharge, the future actor entered college, where he discovered his passion for the stage. A move to New York found the aspiring actor landing frequent stage work, and after discovering a previously untapped ability for comedy, Dooley tried his hand at standup for about five years. Always looking to expand his skills, he made his film debut in the 1970 comedy The Out-of-Towners. From 1971 to 1972, Dooley was also head writer for the popular children's television series The Electric Company. After showing promise in such late-'70s efforts as Slap Shot (1977) and A Wedding (1978), Dooley made a big impression with his supporting role as the lead character's worrisome father in Breaking Away (1979). Though he was overlooked at Oscar time, he was nominated for a New York Film Critics Circle award and won the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actor. He kicked off the most successful decade of his film career with a performance as Wimpy in the much-maligned Robert Altman musical comedy Popeye (1980). Besides his memorable turn in Sixteen Candles, Dooley also delivered hilarious performances in the 1980s films Strange Brew (1983) and John Cassavetes' Big Trouble (1985). Fans of the extraterrestrial comedy series ALF will also remember him as the curiously named Whizzer Deaver.Though his feature roles through the 1990s largely consisted of such B-grade fare as My Boyfriend's Back (1993) and Error in Judgment (1998), Dooley managed to stay on top thanks to parts in such popular television series as Mad About You, Dream On, Grace Under Fire, and The Practice. He also took on occasional roles in more notable films, including Waiting for Guffman (1996), Clockwatchers (1997), Happy, Texas (1999), and Runaway Bride (also 1999), which served to remind movie buffs just how funny the talented comic actor could be when given the opportunity. Dooley's performances in such later efforts as Insomnia (2002) hinted at a darker side rarely explored by the usually jovial actor. In 2003, after re-teaming with Waiting for Guffman cohort Christopher Guest to blow A Mighty Wind, he took a supporting role in former MTV beauty queen Jenny McCarthy's comedy Dirty Love.

Trivia: Pleasant-looking and genial American character player Reed Diamond delivered a number of early performances prior to his first major assignment -- as Detective Mike Kellerman on the series Homicide: Life on the Street. Diamond carried the role from 1995 through 1998, and reprised it in Jean de Segonzac's 2000 feature Homicide: The Movie. After essaying the Lloyd Bridges role in that same year's telemovie remake of High Noon, Diamond then branched off into cinematic work. He was memorable as John Aaron in George Clooney's Edward R. Murrow biopic Good Night, and Good Luck., and lent supporting roles to the horror picture The Darkroom (2006) and the thriller Adrenaline (2007). Diamond continued to work on the small screen as well, playing Stuart Collins for many episodes of Judging Amy and appearing in episodes of such popular series as CSI, Law & Order, The West Wing, and Ghost Whisperer. In 2007, he scored a regular role on the short-lived sci-fi drama Journeyman, as Jack Vassar, the brother of main character Dan Vasser (Kevin McKidd). He also appeared in the first season of Joss Whedon's short-lived series Dollhouse in 2009, and the next year he landed a recurring part on the 8th season of the FOX action series 24. He returned to the big screen in 2011 playing Mark Shapiro in Moneyball, and returned to the Whedonverse with a role in the director's 2012 adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

Trivia: Lettered in baseball, basketball and football in high school. First stage role was in college, playing the lead role in King Lear. Served four years in the Air Force after college, including a stint in Vietnam in 1967-68. Was a radio disc jockey in Texas. Made his film debut in 1976's Keep My Grave Open. Appeared in legendary sports movies Hoosiers (1986), Major League (1989) and Rudy (1993). Character name in both Basic Instinct and The Sopranos was Capt. Talcott.

Trivia: First professional acting job was in the play The Tropical Pickle at the Jeff Daniels Purple Rose Theater Company in Chelsea, MI. Made his film debut with a small role in Gettysburg (1993) after director Ron Maxwell saw him on stage. Broke into television in 1995 with the short-lived CBS series Almost Perfect. Appeared on Broadway in Neil Simon's Proposals in 1997. Wrote and directed a farce called Sea of Fools, which premiered at his old stamping grounds in Chelsea, MI.

Trivia: Hawaiian beauty Kristine Anapau may have started out as a model, though after a successful turn as an actress in the 1997 made-for-television movie Escape From Atlantis, the catwalk queen was soon packing her bags for Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television. A native of Hilo, HI, Anapau (sometimes credited Kristina Roper) often credits her remarkable early maturity to 12 years of classical ballet training. Graduating high school at the age of 15 to attend the University of Hawaii, the earthy islander segued into modeling early on, later auditioning for a role in Atlantis at the suggestion of her agent. After refining her acting skills in Los Angeles, Anapau appeared on television in both Undressed and The Opposite Sex before her feature debut in 100 Girls (2000). Her next role, in Madison (also 2000), would find the actress in the company of Bruce Dern and James Caviezel. In addition to her film work, Anapau also dabbles in music with her band, the Three G's.

Trivia: Despite the dubious distinction of having made his feature debut in the Tom Arnold clunker Big Bully, young Cody McMains has nevertheless gone on to turn in memorable performances in such efforts as What Love Sees (1996) and Tumbleweeds (1999). Born in October of 1985, and raised in Pasadena, CA, McMains appeared on the small screen in The Pretender after his debut, and has since turned up in such features as Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Bring It On (both 2000), and Not Another Teen Movie (2001). Taking home a Young Artist Award for his role in What Love Sees, McMains was later nominated for yet another Young Artist Award for his memorable turn in Tumbleweeds.