Trivia: British director Guy Ritchie frequently attributes the success of his unorthodox crime films -- 1998's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, 2000's Snatch -- to the fact that his offbeat miscreants are more than believable, they are real. Preferring to cast for authenticity rather than resumé, Ritchie handpicks many of his actors from the true-life cult figures and rascals of London's underbelly. Actor Jason Statham is among the best of them.A one-time Olympic diver, fashion model, and black-market salesman, Statham came to acting by way of commercials and "street theater" -- a euphemism for hustling tourists on London's Oxford Street. Raised in Syndenham, London, he was the second son of a lounge singer and a dressmaker turned dancer. Although Statham had the familial background to go immediately into entertainment, he excelled first on the high dive. He was a member of the 1988 British Olympic Team in Seoul, Korea, and remained on the National Diving Squad for ten years. In the late '90s, a talent agent specializing in athletes landed Statham a gig in an ad campaign for the European clothing retailer French Connection. This led to an appearance in a Levi's Jeans commercial and a fledgling modeling career. Meanwhile, Statham had also earned local fame as a street corner con man, selling stolen jewelry and counterfeit perfume out of a briefcase. Thus, when French Connection's owner became one of the biggest investors in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, he naturally introduced the diver/model/hustler to knave-hunting Ritchie.Intrigued by Statham's past and impressed by his modeling work, Ritchie invited him to audition for a part in the film. The director challenged Statham to impersonate an illegal street vendor and convince him to purchase a piece of imitation gold jewelry. Statham was evidently so persuasive that Ritchie bought four sets. When the director attempted to return his worthless acquisition -- pretending that the gold had turned to stainless steel -- Statham was so graciously inflexible that Ritchie hired him.This unorthodox audition resulted in Statham's big screen debut as Bacon, one of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels' four primary characters engaged in a risky get-rich-quick scheme to repay a massive gambling debt. Bacon supplies a streetwise discipline and restraint that the other characters lack and a sense of humility crucial to Ritchie's film. In the director's follow-up crime comedy, Snatch, Ritchie rehired Statham to play Turkish, a smalltime hood vainly trying to break into the world of underground boxing. As this amateur but respectable hoodlum, Statham is attractive, urbane, immaculate, and smart enough to be bewildered by even his own laughable criminal ineptitude. The role began as a small supporting part in Snatch's star-filled ensemble cast but expanded throughout shooting. By the time of the film's theatrical release, Statham received top billing as its narrator and chief anti-hero.The Guy Ritchie oeuvre that supplied his breakthrough performances is not Statham's only acting arena. In 2000, he made his American film debut as a British drug dealer in Robert Adetuyi's Turn It Up starring Pras Michel. By 2001, he had finished shooting John Carpenter's sci-fi thriller Ghosts of Mars and joined Delroy Lindo in the cast of the Jet Li vehicle The One. A chance to reteam with former Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrel co-star Vinnie Jones proved too fun an opportunity to resist, and Stratham would round out a particularly busy 2001 with his role in the prison-bound sports remake Mean Machine. Just as audiences were finally standing up to take notice of the amiable tough-guy, Stratham stepped into his own as the action lead of the explosive 2002 adrenaline ride The Transporter. A sizable hit that would earn Statham increasingly prominent roles in such high profile pics as The Italian Job, and Cellular, The Transporter established Stratham as a bankable international action star and was eventually followed by a 2005 sequel that miraculously managed the improbable feat of upping the ante of the previous installment's over-the-top cartoon violence. A starring role in Ritchie's 2005 crime thriller Revolver found Stratham re-teaming with the director who launched his career with decidedly mixed results, and the following year it was off to race the clock and rescue the girl as a reformed assassin looking to make good in the hyper-intense action entry Crank. The positively outrageous Crank: High Voltage upped the ante (and the ampage) in every possible way in 2009, but not before Statham got behind the wheel for Resident Evil director Paul W.A. Anderson for the 2008 remake Death Race, discovered just how far a foolproof heist could go awry in The Bank Job, and once again put the pedal to the metal in The Transporter 3. All of this left little doubt that Statham had quickly become one of the most bankable action stars of his generation, and in 2010 he teamed with none other than Sylvester Stallone for the all-star action flick The Expendables. The action just kept coming in The Mechanic, Blitz, Killer Elite (which paired him with screen legend Robert DeNiro), Safe, and the super-sized The Expendables 2 in 2012. Statham next joined another franchise, making a cameo appearance in Fast & Furious 6. He also reprised his role in The Expendables 3. In 2015, Statham appeared in Furious 7 and flexed his comedy chops in Spy, opposite Melissa McCarthy, earning favorable reviews and opening him to another genre.

Trivia: Jennifer Lopez's first serious screen role in Gregory Nava's 1995 Latino melodrama My Family followed years of training in television movies and series. Like Rosie Perez, Lopez began her career as a Fly Girl -- a dancer on the sketch comedy series, In Living Color -- and appeared in music videos by Puff Daddy and Janet Jackson. Her big break came in 1997 when she appeared in the title role of Nava's Selena, the story of the successful Tejano singer who was tragically murdered in 1995. Lopez was at first cast as a femme fatale -- due in no small part to her classic Latina beauty (she was born in the Bronx to parents of Puerto Rican descent) -- and worked almost exclusively with acclaimed directors: Francis Ford Coppola (Jack, 1996), Oliver Stone (U-Turn, 1997), and Bob Rafelson (Blood and Wine, 1996). In 1998, she had one of her most acclaimed roles, starring opposite George Clooney in Out of Sight, Steven Soderbergh's adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel. Cast as a deputy federal marshal who falls for a charming criminal (Clooney), Lopez won raves for her tough, sexy performance, and in the process, she became the highest paid Latina actress in Hollywood history. That same year, she earned an introduction to a new generation of fans by lending her voice to the popular Antz (1998). The lavish but much more adult-oriented thriller The Cell (2000) followed shortly thereafter, bringing Lopez one of her first number-one openings. In an attempt to curry favor from the rom-com crowd, Lopez lightened things up a bit opposite Matthew McConaughey in 2001's romantic comedy The Wedding Planner. Though Lopez was consistently smooth in her frequent transitions from actress to songstress, her next role in the supernatural romance Angel Eyes (2001) failed to click with audiences and critics alike, and her role in the cathartic revenge thriller Enough (2002) likewise disappeared from theaters shortly after its release. Though Maid in Manhattan (2002) was ultimately relegated to a similar fate as her last few films, few could anticipate the outright hostility with which her 2003 comedy Gigli would be greeted. In the movie, Lopez was cast as a female gangster assigned to keep an eye on a kidnapper (played by then-real-life-boyfriend Ben Affleck) who is holding a psychologically challenged young boy hostage. The harsh public backlash against the film was likely due (at least in part) to over-saturated media coverage of the duo's tumultuous off-screen relationship. Though the film's failure wasn't exactly what one would call a career-ender for either star, their shoddy onscreen dynamic reportedly led director Kevin Smith to excise most of Lopez' role in the Affleck-starrer Jersey Girl.Finally, in 2005, it appeared the actress' string of bad box-office luck had possibly reached its end. Teaming up with Jane Fonda for the latter thespian's first feature in over a decade, Lopez scored a modest hit with the comedy Monster-In-Law. The Lasse Hallstrom-helmed drama An Unfinished Life followed later the same year with Lopez opposite heavy-hitters Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman. Lopez married singer Marc Anthony in 2006, and gave birth to twins in 2007. She subsequently worked less over the next few years, opting to spend time with her family. Lopez would get back into acting with the 2010 romantic comedy The Back-up Plan, but sadly, she and Anthony would separate in 2011. She continued to slip effortlessly between film, music and television, including taking a job as a judge on American Idol, setting up a residency in Las Vegas and starring and producing in her own show on NBC, Shades of Blue.

Trivia: Distinguished by his versatility and uncanny ability to immerse himself in the characters he portrays, filmgoers may recall Clifton Collins Jr. from his role as the intimidating thug Cesar in 187 (1997) or from his numerous other roles in such films as the Hughes brothers' Dead Presidents (1995) and Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed Traffic (2000). A native Angeleno, Collins Jr. is the grandson of actor Pedro Gonzalez. One of the first Mexicans to find Hollywood success, Gonzalez appeared alongside John Wayne in various Westerns and war films. Sometimes credited as Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez in honor of his grandfather's name, Collins Jr.'s range has found him work in a rich variety of films throughout the 1990s both in television and film. Other roles in The Replacement Killers and Disney's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (both 1998) showed great promise for a young actor on the verge of stardom heading into the new millennium. Supporting roles in such wide-release features as The Last Castle, and The Rules of Attraction found the young up-and-comer slowly gaining the momentum to set an enduring career in motion, and in 2004 Collins appeared opposite hot-property Eion Bailey in the thriller Mindhunters and the alcoholism-themed comedy drama Glory Days. That same year also found Collins taking a role in director Troy Duffy's Boondock II: All Saints Day - the eagerly anticipated follow-up to his 1999 cult hit The Boondock Saints.

Trivia: Actor Wendell Pierce spent the first 20 years or so of his career predominantly essaying character roles as authority figures, with many bit parts as cops, attorneys, government agents, and ministers to his credit. Pierce devoted the majority of his first decade to big-screen work (including such projects as The Money Pit, Family Business, and Get on the Bus); by 1995, he began to accept occasional bit parts on television, and indeed, this venue ultimately brought Pierce higher billing, when he was tapped to play two roles: Conrad "Candyman" Jones on Third Watch and Detective William "Bunk" Moreland on HBO's police drama The Wire. Pierce remained most active on-stage, however, where his powerhouse presence illuminated an impressive array of classical dramas, among them Cymbeline (1989), Antigone (1993), and Tartuffe (1999). Over the coming years, Pierce would find additional success on a series about his hometown, Treme.

Trivia: Though known mainly for his role as complicated police officer Vic Mackey on F/X's television cop drama The Shield, Massachusetts native Michael Chiklis has been acting professionally since the age of 13, when he made several appearances at the Town and Country Playhouse in Salem, NH. From there, Chiklis enlisted in a variety of classical, occasionally Shakespearian theatrical productions at the prestigious Merrimack Repertory Theatre and ultimately studied acting in the drama program at Boston University's College of Fine Arts. After graduating, Chiklis traveled to New York and began the auditioning process. In 1988, he was picked to portray John Belushi in the feature film Wired, though litigation and controversy delayed the release and proper promotional process, and the picture itself was a wretched mess (not to mention a depressing affair).By 1991, after making guest appearances in some of the most popular sitcoms of the time (Murphy Brown, L.A. Law, and Seinfeld, to name a few), Chiklis was cast as amiable police commissioner Tony Scali on ABC's The Commish. Though a few extra pounds at that time helped him land the role after his audition, his subsequent weight loss required him to wear a "fat suit" to remain in character (though the actor was only in his mid-twenties, series producers created the role for someone much older). When The Commish ceased to be after a five-year run, Chiklis took on a small role in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995) and starred in the ill-fated NBC sitcom Daddio (2000). Two years later, the series premiere of The Shield catapulted Chiklis back into the forefront of network success. His role on the popular series would bring him two Best Actor nominations from the Golden Globes, as well as one from the Screen Actor's Guild.Chiklis contented himself with this part for several years, but in 2005, he returned to cinematic ventures and went big budget with the FX-laden summer extravaganza Fantastic Four. This film - like the famous Stan Lee comic strip - concerns a group of individuals who journey into outer space to investigate a cosmic storm, and find each of their DNA codes altered in a unique way; one by one, they become The Human Torch, The Thing, The Invisible Girl, and Mr. Fantastic (four superheroes, each of whom has a unique power) -- and must collectively take on the seemingly invincible Doctor Doom (Julian McMahon). Chiklis plays The Thing (nee Ben Grimm), a creature made entirely of stone. Though broadly derided in the press, the public ignored the negative critical responses and helped The Fantastic Four reel in an estimated worldwide gross of around $330 million -- paving the way for a 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The Shield would end its run in 2008, but that same year, Chiklis signed for a supporting role in director D.J. Caruso's psychological thriller Eagle Eye. He was soon back on the small screen, however, with a starring role on the short-lived comedy series No Ordinary Family.

Trivia: With ruggedly handsome looks and a lengthy screen career, actor-producer Nick Nolte has established himself as a major industry figure. His enviable standing as one of Hollywood's most distinctive leading men was further cemented with a 1998 Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role in Affliction. A native of Omaha, NE, Nolte was born February 8, 1941. While a student at Arizona State University, he revealed talent as a football player, but whatever promise he may have had on the field was aborted by his expulsion from the school for bad grades. A subsequent move to California convinced Nolte to try acting instead. He studied at the Pasadena Playhouse, then at Stella Adler's Academy in Los Angeles under Bryan O'Byrne, while he held down a job as an iron worker. After his training, Nolte spent 14 years traveling the country and working in regional theater, occasionally landing parts in B-movies and television films. Debuting onscreen with a small role in Dirty Little Billy (1972), Nolte was 34 when he finally got his break in the acclaimed television miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). His portrayal of Tom Jordache earned him an Emmy nomination and led to a starring role opposite Jacqueline Bisset in The Deep (1977). In addition to starring in the football exposé North Dallas Forty (1979), Nolte contributed to its screenplay, written by Peter Gent.Showing a marked preference for unusual and difficult films, it was not long before Nolte became known as a well-rounded actor who brought realism, depth, and spirit to even his most offbeat or even unsympathetic roles. Some of those parts include Beat author Neal Cassady in Heart Beat (1980), a homeless bum who helps a dysfunctional rich family in the hit comedy Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), a family man attempting to come to grips with his family's traumatic past while falling in love with his therapist in The Prince of Tides (1991), a midwestern basketball coach in Blue Chips, and a world-weary detective in Mulholland Falls (1996).For a grim period in the late '80s, Nolte's career was threatened by his unrestrained drug and alcohol use, but a subsequent rehabilitation strengthened his career, paving the way for roles such as Jake McKenna in Oliver Stone's neo-noir thriller U-Turn (1997) and his Oscar-nominated turn as Sheriff Wade Whitehouse in Paul Schrader's Affliction (1997), a picture Nolte also executive produced. Following this triumph, Nolte further re-established his reputation as a major Hollywood player with his role in Terrence Malick's 1998 adaptation of James Jones' The Thin Red Line, headlining a cast including George Clooney, Sean Penn, and John Travolta. If the subsequent adaptation of author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s acclaimed novel Breakfast of Champions failed to capture the essence of the written word, Nolte still managed to offer an impressive performance in the following year's The Golden Bowl.At this point in his career Nolte could certainly be counted on to turn in compelling performances regardless of the project, which made the return of his former demons more tragic than ever. On the heels of a mesmerizing lead performance as an aging gambler in director Neil Jordan's The Good Thief (a remake of the Jean-Pierre Melville classic Bob le Flambeur), Nolte's arrest for driving under the influence in September of 2002 made headlines when it was discovered that he was under the influence of GHB. The disheveled mugshot that followed made him the butt of many a joke; Nolte would later credit the arrest for helping him to clean up his act and get back on track with his onscreen career. A late-night jam that found neighbors phoning police made headlines the following year, and the Hulk came and went with disappointing results.In the subsequent period, Nolte remained in good form, with idiosyncratic and fascinating roles. He triumphed in the spectacular late 2004 drama Hotel Rwanda, as the politically impotent Col. Oliver during the Rwandan genocide. Neophyte director Hans Petter Moland then tapped Nolte for a pivotal characterization in his drama The Beautiful Country, released in July 2005. That same year, Nolte also triumphed on the festival circuit with his delicate work in Olivier Assayas's harrowing dysfunctional family drama Clean. In 2006, he voiced Vincent in the hit animated feature Over the Hedge, and claimed a seldom-seen but pivotal role in the thriller A Few Days in September, as an American spy desperate to reconnect with his children. Next up was Mysteries of Pittsburgh, an adaptation of Michael Chabon's debut coming-of-age novel.In 2008 Nolte appeared as the grizzled Vietnam Vet whose life the movie within the movie in Tropic Thunder is based on, and in the next few years he continued to lend his distinct, gravelly voice to a number of projects including the Kevin James vehicle Zookeeper.In 2011 his work in Warrior, as the father of two MMA fighters, earned him strong reviews as well as Oscar, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Supporting Actor.

Trivia: Julliard-educated singer/actress Patti LuPone was visiting Europe and England with a student theatre troupe when she was tapped to make her formal stage debut with the Young Vic. LuPone's first professional American gig was with John Houseman's The Acting Company in 1972. She was nominated for a Tony award for her work in the 1975 Broadway musical The Robber Bridegroom, and four years later won the coveted prize for her starring performance in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. Her subsequent work included the London productions of Les Miserables and Sunset Boulevard; she was slated to star in the Broadway debut of the last-named property when, in a still-controversial move, Webber summarily replaced her with Glenn Close. She has since knocked 'em dead with her own New York-based one-woman show. LuPone has also made welcome film appearances since 1978's King of the Gypsies. On TV, Patti LuPone played Lady Bird Johnson in the 1987 biopic LBJ: The Early Years, starred as the mother of Christopher Burke in the weekly "dramedy" Life Goes On (1989-93), and was recently seen in the recurring role of a barracuda-like attorney on Law and Order.

Trivia: Frequently referred to in the Australian press as "the next big thing" during the first several years of her career, Aussie ingenue Emma Booth hailed from Western Australia (the Perth end). Booth was poised to become a sensation among American audiences when she signed to play Jill (and received third billing) in the 2007 romantic comedy Introducing the Dwights, also known as Clubland. This little film -- about the son of a blue comedian and a country music has-been, and his romance with a sprightly newcomer (Booth) -- shot up to qualify as a sleeper hit of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Booth subsequently joined the cast of director Beeban Kidron's period comedy Hippie Hippie Shake, about controversial Oz magazine editor Richard Neville and his battles with the Obscene Publications Squad.

Trivia: Growing up in Union City, NJ, Bobby Cannavale participated in the school play because his mother wanted him off the streets. Today, he is a recognizable New York-based character actor with roles in the city's best theater, television, and film productions. Cannavale was born in New Jersey to an Italian father and a Cuban mother. His parents insisted that he attend St. Michael's Catholic School in Union City where he took part in almost every after school activity, from the alter boys to the chorus. When he was eight, Cannavale secured the plum role of "the lisping boy" in his school's production of The Music Man and a part in Guys and Dolls. Ever since then, he wanted to do nothing but perform. Cannavale's parents divorced when he was 13 and his mother moved the family to Puerto Rico. After two years in Latin America, they returned to the United States and settled in Coconut Creek, FL. Cannavale returned to New Jersey after graduating high school in the late '80s -- he needed to be closer to New York in order to begin his acting career. Forgoing acting lessons for actual performance experience, Cannavale became involved with Manhattan's prestigious Circle Repertory Theater. He served as a "reader" for several plays and was eventually cast as Mark Linn-Baker's understudy in Georges Feydeau's French farce A Flea in Her Ear. Cannavale soon ended up replacing Baker for two weeks. His first-rate performance secured him a role in the company's next play, Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. Television powerhouse John Wells attended one of the shows and cast Cannavale in his television series Trinity. Cannavale's character, a tugboat operator, was supposed to appear in only three episodes of the show, but starred in nine. Trinity was canceled in 1998, but Wells immediately secured Cannavale for his next television venture, 1999's Third Watch. As dedicated and lovesick paramedic Robert "Bobby" Caffey, Cannavale struck a cord with female audiences. The show was renewed for a second season, but Cannavale felt that Caffey's character was not being developed. He asked Wells to let him exit the series and to make sure he exited "big." The producer obliged his friend: Caffey left the show mid-season after being fatally shot in the chest. The dramatic two-part episode even included a "beyond the grave" meeting between Caffey and his deceased dead-beat dad. In 2001, Cannavale joined the cast of his then-father-in-law, Sidney Lumet's heralded television courtroom drama, 100 Centre Street. Cannavale's brazen, ambitious prosecutor, J.J. Jellinek, is a far cry from the softhearted paramedic he portrayed on Third Watch. Debuting on the show at the beginning of its second season, Jellinek shook up 100 Centre Street -- immediately romancing a fellow lawyer and shamelessly advancing his career in any way possible. Cannavale's television career has not kept him away from theater or film. He appeared on-stage throughout the '90s, participating in productions such as Lanford Wilson's Virgil Is Still the Frog Boy and Noel Coward's In Two Keys. His movie credits include Herbe Gardner's I'm Not Rappaport (1996) with Walter Mathau and Ossie Davis, Lumet's Night Falls on Manhattan (1997), and Gloria (1999), John Irvin's HBO original film When Trumpet's Fade (1998), Phillip Noyce's The Bone Collector (1999) with Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington, Spike Lee's 3 A.M. (2001) with Danny Glover, Alec Baldwin's The Devil and Daniel Webster (2002), and Daisy Von Scherler Mayer's The Guru (2002). Cast as friendly and outgoing lunch truck vender Joe in the critically acclaimed 2003 indie hit The Station Agent, Cannavale provided the perfect contrast to Peter Dinklage's introverted protagonist. WIth subsequent small screen roles in Kingpin and OZ that same year, the up and coming actor would become a familiar face to television viewers before once again returning to the silver screen for supporting roles in Shall We Dance?, Haven, and Romance and Cigarettes.A recurring, Emmy-winning role on Will and Grace ensured Cannavale's continued presence on the small screen right through to the final episode of the series aired in May of 2006, with a slew of supporting performance in such the features The Night Listener, Fast Food Nation, Snakes on a Plane, 10 Items or Less, and Dedication that same year proving that Cannivale was the go-to guy for producers in search of quality supporting players. This trend would continue for the actor in the coming years, as he turned up in everything from the quirky Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, to the family friendly Paul Blart: Mall Cop. In 2010 he took a small part in the Will Ferrell comedy The Other Guys. The next year he reteamed with Tom McCarthy for Win Win. Cannavale continued to showcase his incredible range in the years to come. In 2012, he had a season-long arc on Boardwalk Empire, winning an Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He then had a recurring role on Nurse Jackie (opposite his son, Jake, playing Cannavale's character's son). After playing Chili in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine in 2013, Cannavale took supporting roles in Chef, Adult Beginners and the remake of Annie, all in 2014. The following year, he appeared in Danny Collins (opposite Al Pacino), and took smaller roles in big movies like Spy, Ant-Man and Daddy's Home.

Trivia: Swiss-born martial artist Daniel Bernhardt has followed in the violent footsteps of Belgian kickboxer Jean-Claude Van Damme as a handsome European-accented leading man in Hollywood action thrillers. After studying in the Swiss capital of Bern and modeling in Paris, Bernhardt literally took over for Van Damme in the second, third, and fourth incarnations of the Bloodsport film series. After starring in the low-budget debacle that is Future War, he kicked his way through the movies True Vengeance, Black Sea Raid, Perfect Target, and Global Effect. In 1998, he starred as Siro on the video game-inspired TV show Mortal Combat Conquest. In 2003, Bernhardt finally found a highly profitable outlet for his skills as Agent Johnson in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

Trivia: A gifted soccer player whose athletic career ended due to a knee injury during senior year in high school.A poet in her spare time.Best selling author of the self-motivational book Life Letters.Has been a host of That One Audition, a podcast about TV, film, performing arts, education and entrepreneurship.

Trivia: Began acting in school plays in second grade. Founding member of the Rude Mechanicals Theater Company in New York City. Starred in The Beat opposite Mark Ruffalo, in his only recurrent television role. Starred in interactive mystery series Push, Nevada, which was canceled before fans could solve it; Cecil gave remaining clues to fans during Monday Night Football commercial break. Credited as a still photographer in 2015 documentary Little House in the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Trivia: American producer/director Taylor Hackford was hired by a Los Angeles TV station after his two-year hitch in the Peace Corps. On his own, he created New Visions Productions, which he eventually merged into the New Century Company before giving up producing to concentrate on directing. He won an Academy Award in 1978 for Teenage Father, a short-subject elaboration of a TV news story on which he'd previously worked. Hackford's first feature was The Idolmaker (1980), a jaundiced recreation of the "Philadelphia school" of '50s rock & roll; he later returned to the rarefied world of vintage rock in his Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba and his revelatory documentary Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (both 1987). He also directed Dolores Claiborne (1995), the Al Pacino vehicle The Devil's Advocate (1997), and edited the boxing documentary When We Were Kings (1996). Though Hackford has toted up some impressive credits over his career, few of his films have matched the audience appeal or box-office bankability of his biggest hit, 1982's An Officer and a Gentleman. Hackford married British actress Helen Mirren in 1997, whom he had lived with since 1986.In 2000 he returned with the international kidnapping thriller Proof of Life, which made more of a buzz for the relationship that developed between stars Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe during filming. He scored one of the biggest hits of his career in 2004 with Ray, a biopic of Ray Charles that won Jamie Foxx the Oscar for Best Actor. He directed his wife in the 2010 film Love Ranch and a few years later helmed the Jason Statham vehicle Parker.