Trivia: Trained theater actor Anson Mount hesitated to audition for his breakthrough film role in the Britney Spears vehicle Crossroads (2002), fearing that the project was too cheesy and mainstream. Yet, a little prodding from Spears fan Robert De Niro convinced him otherwise and the 29-year-old Mount was soon America's newest teen heartthrob. Born Anson Adams Mount II in Prospect Heights, IL, Mount is the only child of former professional golfer Nancy Smith and late Playboy Magazine sports editor Anson Mount II. He grew up in White Bluff, TN, and attended Dickson County High School in nearby Dickson, where he landed his first acting role as a supporting player in a school play. After graduating in 1991, Mount enrolled at Tennessee's University of the South, joined a fraternity, and dedicated himself to performance art and theater. He went on to earn a master's degree in fine arts and acting from Columbia University and then joined the New York City theater scene. Mount first made headlines in 1998, when he starred as Joshua, a gay character who represents a modern-day Jesus, in playwright Terrence McNally's controversial Corpus Christi. Over 1,000 protesters representing religious groups turned out for the play's much-hyped opening performance, which then received scathing reviews from right-wing and left-wing newspapers alike. In 1999, Mount made his television debut in a guest spot on Fox's Ally McBeal and then took a memorable turn in an episode of HBO's Sex in the City. The part led to a recurring role on the NBC drama Third Watch in 2000. That same year, he appeared on film in Boiler Room with Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck, played the title role in Hillary Birmingham's The Truth About Tully, and portrayed a driven student filmmaker in the sequel to Urban Legends, Urban Legends: Final Cut. After working on 2001's forgettable Poolhall Junkies with Chazz Palminteri and Rick Shroder, Mount earned a part in the star-studded City by the Sea, with Robert De Niro, Patti Lupone, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, William Forsythe, and Francis McDormand. Mount was on the set of City by the Sea, reading the screenplay to Tamra Davis' Crossroads, when De Niro asked about the script. Mount explained that he was up for the part of Britney Spears' love interest in the film, but he had doubts about the project. De Niro told Mount not to be foolish, and agreed to help the young actor rehearse by reading Spears' lines. Mount landed the role, and even appeared in the pages of Teen and Seventeen magazines, but he did not allow himself to be pigeonholed as a mainstream actor: Around the time of Crossroads' highly publicized opening, he sealed a deal to appear in a film to be directed by the notoriously unconventional Peter Greenaway.

Trivia: Best known for his individualistic promulgation of jazz-rap during the 1990s -- a decade when gangsta rap threatened to take over much of the urban music scene -- underground rapper Common attained recognition for the sophisticated lyrics and ever-present political subtexts in his raps. Something of a critics' favorite, Common also achieved commercial success with such albums as Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992, his debut), Like Water for Chocolate (2000), Electric Circus (2002), and Be (2005). During the first 15 years or so of his career, the Chicago native's filmed activity remained generally confined to music videos, performance films, and also urban and rap-themed documentaries such as the 2003 Soundz of Spirit, the 2004 Letter to the President, and 2005's jubilant Dave Chappelle's Block Party. By 2007, Common began branching out into dramatic roles. That year, the rapper landed supporting parts in such films as Joe Carnahan's darkly comic action thriller Smokin' Aces and Ridley Scott's period crime drama American Gangster.In 2008 he appeared in Wanted, and the next year he landed a role in the high-profile sequel Terminator Salvation. He played the part of an scary bad guy in the comedy Date Night in 2010, the same year he played the lead opposite Queen Latifah in the romantic comedy Just Wright. He was one of the many members of the ensemble cast in 2011's New Year's Eve, and lent his vocal talents to Happy Feet Two that same year. In 2012 he appeared in the family fantasy film The Odd Life of Timothy Green.

Trivia: Colm Meaney is no stranger to the run down Barrytown district of Dublin depicted in The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van, having grown up near the much mythologized neighborhood. The Dublin native began his acting career at the age of 14, eventually receiving formal training at Dublin's prestigious Abbey Theatre School of Acting and going on to join the Irish National Theatre Company. Meaney eventually graduated to the English stage, working in various London theaters, and then began to audition for television work, mainly landing bit parts in such TV shows as the cop drama Z Cars.Meaney moved to the U.S. in 1982, continuing to work mainly on the stage, but gradually made the transition into television and film playing small parts and guest roles on a variety of series. He was part of the cast of One Life to Live from 1986 to 1987, playing Patrick London, and then was hired for a bit part on Encounter at Farpoint, the pilot for the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. He was hired again for another part and then given the role of Chief Miles Edward O'Brien, and quickly went from being a bit player to an important member of the ensemble cast. The character was transferred to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the pilot for that series, and Meaney became a staple member of the show's cast.During his tenure on both Star Trek series, Meaney's motion picture career began to take off, as the bit parts he was given gradually became more substantial. Meaney made his greatest impact in smaller films like the so-called Barrytown Trilogy -- The Commitments (1991), in which he played the father of one of the band members; The Snapper (1993), in which he portrayed Dessie, who finds himself out of a job and suddenly a grandfather; and The Van (1996), which cast him as Larry, a layabout who manages to have a grand idea one day that results in his and a friend Bimbo starting a business out of a derelict vending van. Meaney was also notable in 1996's The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain: his Morgan the Goat, a randy Welsh pub owner with a flair for smart remarks, was an appropriate foil for the naive Englishman played by Hugh Grant. Meaney has continued to divide his time between the U.K. and the U.S., making particularly notable appearances in Paul Quinn's This Is My Father (1998), which cast him as the swishy son of an old gypsy woman; Lodge Kerrigan's Claire Dolan, in which he played a high-class pimp; Ted Demme's Monument Avenue (1998), which featured him as the bullying leader of a Boston gang; and Chapter Zero (2000), an independent comedy that cast Meaney as the cross-dressing father of a struggling writer.He continued to work steadily well into the 21st century in a variety of projects including Bitter Harvest, Intermission, Layer Cake, and Turning Green. He played soccer coach Don Revie in the sports drama The Damned United before playing the father of a strung-out rockstar in the comedy Get Him to the Greek. He appeared in Robert Redford's historical drama The Conspirator, as well as the period drama Bel Ami.

Trivia: Made his film debut in 1994's Highlander III: The Sorcerer, as Ponytail.Won the 2012 Leo Award for Best Performance in a Children's Program, for his performance in R.L. Stine's 'The Haunting Hour - Fear Never Knocks'. Won the 2013 ACTRA Montreal Award for Outstanding Performance for his role as Thor Gundersen in Hell on Wheel. Won the Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Male in 2015, for his role in Eadweard. In 2017, starred as Gagnon in the first season of drama Tin Star.

Trivia: While still in college, she played a younger version of Vanessa Redgrave's character in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie The Locket (2002). Won a three-year contract as Jennifer Munson on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns just as she graduated from college, and started work 10 days after receiving her degree. Was nominated for Daytime Emmy awards in 2005 and '06. In 2006, hosted the Miss Connecticut USA and the Miss Connecticut Teen USA pageants. In 2007, she starred in a stage production of The 39 Steps, which opened at the Huntington Theatre in Boston and moved to Broadway in 2008. Has made guest appearances on Life on Mars, Law & Order; SVU, Fringe and White Collar. Landed the lead role of Dana Faraday on the NBC series The Cape.

Trivia: Has cited 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as one of the first films that inspired her to become an actress. Watched Misery, Carrie and Natural Born Killers to prepare for her role as a sadistic, jilted prom date in the 2009 horror film The Loved Ones. Played Stella in an acclaimed 2009 Sydney Theatre Company production of A Streetcar Named Desire, which featured Cate Blanchett as Blanche and was directed by Liv Ullmann. In 2012, promoted to series regular on Hell on Wheels as Eva, a character based on a real-life 14-year-old settler who was captured by Yavapai tribesmen and eventually sold to Mohaves, from whom she received a face tattoo. Enjoys soul music, especially James Brown, Etta James and Charles Bradley.

Trivia: His parents immigrated to Canada from Ireland. Plays harmonica. Honed his craft at the Actors Theatre Workshop in New York. Has a background in improv, having performed with Second City and the Upright Citizens Brigade. Plays ice hockey.

Trivia: Lived on a five-acre farm with her parents for the first three years of her life. Spent a year living in the Caribbean. Supports the charities Caleb's Hope, Doctors Without Borders and the Canadian Red Cross. Studied acting at the Lyric School of Acting in Vancouver.

Trivia: One of Hollywood's standbys for playing genial everymen during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, Jake Weber was born in Britain on March 19th, 1964.. His roles typically constituted bit parts in A-list Hollywood features, beginning with that of Kyra Sedgwick's (unnamed) boyfriend in the Oliver Stone-directed period saga Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and continuing with work for directors including Sidney Lumet (A Stranger Among Us, 1992), the late Alan J. Pakula (The Pelican Brief, 1993) and Martin Brest (Meet Joe Black, 1998). Weber fortified his nice-guy image -- and scored one of his premier leads -- as Dr. Matt Crower, a kindly physician who takes charge of a young boy and protects him from a possessed sheriff -- in actor-turned-producer Shaun Cassidy's short-lived supernatural drama series American Gothic (1995) on CBS. Unfortunately, that program soon folded after it first bowed, as did the Mike Binder sitcom The Mind of the Married Man (2001), in which Weber signed on as one of the leads, Chicago newspaper employee Jake Berman. After a substantial role in the gory horror remake Dawn of the Dead (2004), Weber played one of the leads in the popular CBS series Medium -- as Joe Dubois, the husband of a woman (Patricia Arquette) plagued by psychic visions, who uses her ability to help solve crimes.

Trivia: Grew up on a cattle ranch in Canada. Began studying voice, piano, violin and dance at the age of 4. Her brother, Kalan, won the second season of Canadian Idol. Won the Nashville North Star competition in 2011. Released her debut single "I Wish I'd Known" in 2012; she was later nominated for a Canadian Country Music Association Award for Rising Star. Her self-titled debut album was released in 2014.

Trivia: Was inspired to pursue acting after watching such '80s movies as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future and Ghostbusters. Wielded a 50-pound machine gun throughout multiple scenes while shooting The Pacific. Contributed an afterword to the rereleased edition of World War II veteran Chuck Tatum's memoir, Red Blood, Black Sand; Esler portrayed Tatum in The Pacific. Tested his Irish accent for Hell on Wheels by using it in Irish pubs. Cowrote and directed the short film Gravediggers.

Trivia: First became interested in acting after watching the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis in 1989's My Left Foot. In 2011, made her American television debut in Hell on Wheels. Considered for the role of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Has twice played characters with the surname Bell: in the 2009 feature film Moon (Tess Bell); and in Hell on Wheels (Lily Bell).

Trivia: Fair-haired Canadian actor (and Toronto native) Jonathan Scarfe began signing for roles in the late '90s; he specialized predominantly in bit parts and guest roles on television series programs including Murder, She Wrote, NYPD Blue, and especially ER, where he enjoyed a lengthy, multi-episode run as heroin addict Chase Carter (Dr. John Carter's cousin). Scarfe also carved out a frequent presence on telemovies such as Our Mother's Murder (1997), White Lies (1998), and Judas (2004).

Trivia: A character actor with a reputation for playing heavies and high rollers, Gregg Henry got his start on screen in the late '70s. He landed small roles in projects like the TV movies Hot Rod and Dummy, before adding some big-screen parts to his résumé. Perhaps Henry's most memorable movie role of his early career was the sly Sam Bouchard in the de Palma thriller Body Double. He would continue to find a home with TV, however, making notable appearances on shows like Magnum, P.I., and Jake and the Fatman, and playing recurring roles over the coming years on Matlock, L.A. Law, Murder, She Wrote, Gilmore Girls, The Riches, and 24. Henry would also continue to take on occasional movie roles, including in 2006's The Black Dahlia and 2011's Super.