Trivia: Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jonah Hill first started to find success in show business as a cast member of the brilliant but canceled Judd Apatow series Undeclared. Like many of the actors who were fortunate to work for the successful writer/director/producer, Hill became a part of Apatow's extended stock company, going on to appear in a number of films including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, as a young man who really wants to buy some boots, and Knocked Up, as the buddy who suggested his friend's pregnant girlfriend get "something that rhymes with smushmortion." He also starred alongside his onetime roommate Justin Long in a variety of projects, including the college comedy Accepted. Hill re-teamed with Apatow and company for their second major effort of summer 2007, the Greg Mottola-directed, Seth Rogen-scripted comedy Superbad, but on that occasion, Hill scored his first lead. He starred as Seth, a slightly geeky high school senior desperate for sex and suffering from some fairly serious adolescent angst. The film rang in as a blockbuster and won critical raves across the board. At about the same time, Hill signed on for a much different screen assignment (and target audience), agreeing to provide one of the voices in the animated outing Horton Hears a Who (2008). He followed that up with a small but funny role in the heartbreak comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall as a starstruck hotel worker who really, really wants a visiting rock star to listen to his demo.He scored laughs in the Judd Apatow-directed Funny People, and worked again with Russell Brand in Get Him to the Greek. Hill shored up his indie cred by starring in the Duplass Brothers comedy Cyrus as a young man who is way too attached to his mother.2011 found Hill earning the best notices of his career in Moneyball, as the numbers-crunching Ivy Leaguer who helps Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) build the Oakland A's into a first-rate baseball team with seemingly second-rate players. His work in the movie brought him Best Supporting Actor nods from the Academy, BAFTA, the Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild. Soon however, the actor was ready to get back to his comedic roots, pairing with Chaning Tatum for a satirical big-screen take on the 80's TV show 21 Jump Street, and following that up starring alongside Ben Stiller in The Watch.

Trivia: Baby-faced Michael Cera first gained fame as the hilariously named George Michael Bluth, son of Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), and the youngest member of a dysfunctional family of land-tract developers, on the riotous Fox sitcom Arrested Development (2003-2006). No stranger to "difficult" or "awkward" roles, Cera made one of his first marks in 2002, as the sexually overactive "younger version" of game show host Chuck Barris, in George Clooney's biopic Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. A short time after that, he signed for the Arrested part -- which required him to project a deep-seated amorous yen for his character's cousin. Cera's mostly comedic resumé also includes a multi-season turn as the voice of Josh Spitz in the animated series Braceface. In 2007, he co-starred in two highly successful big-screen comedies: SuperBad, opposite Jonah Hill, and Juno (which re-teamed him with Jason Bateman), alongside fellow rising star Ellen Page. In 2008 he starred in the indie-minded romantic comedy Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist opposite Kat Dennings. 2009 found him in the lead of two comedies, Youth in Revolt and Year One, both of which fell far short of the box office total taken in by his previous work. He took the title role in Edgar Wright's adaptation of the graphic novel Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Trivia: Square-jawed comedic actor Bill Hader emerged as an onscreen presence in the mid- to late 2000s, both as a regular player on the hallowed Saturday Night Live and as an occasional performer in movies such as the animated Doogal (2004) and the Owen Wilson vehicle You, Me and Dupree (2006). Hader rose to higher billing with his guffaw-inducing turn in the frat-boy comedy Superbad (2007), playing a seriously irresponsible cop and the partnered with Seth Rogen. He was the brother to Jason Segel's character in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, had a brief but memorable cameo right at the beginning of Pineapple Express, and played a sycophantic assistant to Tom Cruise's monstrous Hollywood mogul in Tropic Thunder, all in 2008. The next year he had a huge hit voicing a character in the animated smash Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and earned good reviews for his work in Adventureland. He appeared in the sci-fi comedy Paul in 2011. Hader continued to appear in supporting and cameo roles in films, appearing in an impressive nine films in 2013 (many of them voice roles, including Monsters University and reprising his role in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2), before annoucing he was leaving Saturday Night Live. Once leaving SNL, he stretched his acting legs by starring opposite Kristen Wiig in the dramedy The Skeleton Twins in 2014.

Trivia: American actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse took his cinematic bow in 2007 in the Greg Mottola-directed comedy Superbad. In that picture, Mintz-Plasse played a nerdy but extremely resourceful young man who procures a lousy fake ID and gains the friendship of two wild cops. He followed up with parts in Role Models and Year One, and lent his distinctive voice to family films like Marmaduke and How To Train Your Dragon. He had a major part in the remake of Fright Night in 2011.

Trivia: Canadian-born actor Seth Rogen tapped into his skills as a comedian when he was only 13, signing up for comedy classes and honing his deadpan style. He tooled around as an amateur for a few years but eventually took his act down south, hoping to find success as an actor and standup comedian in the U.S. He was soon discovered by Judd Apatow and was cast in his short-lived series Freaks and Geeks. After its cancellation, Apatow cast Rogen in his next series, Undeclared -- for which Rogen significantly contributed as a writer. Undeclared met the same fate as Freaks and Geeks and was canceled mid-season, but both series became surprisingly hot cult hits upon their DVD releases. Rogen went on to write for Da Ali G Show and take minor roles in Donnie Darko and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy before being tapped by Apatow once again for a new project, this time on the big screen. The film was 2005's The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Rogen's role as Steve Carell's well-meaning friend Cal finally brought him the large-scale success that made his comic skills a valuable commodity. Rogen also acted as co-producer on the film, which was touted as the funniest movie in years by critics and audiences alike, eventually grossing well over a hundred million dollars. There was obviously good chemistry on the set of The 40 Year Old Virgin, so Rogen signed on to appear in Apatow's 2007 comedy Knocked Up. Appearing alongside his old cast mates Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, Rogen starred as a man who is forced to deal with serious unforeseen consequences when his one-night stand becomes pregnant. After the filmmakers' initial plans to cast Anne Hathaway in the opposite role fell through, Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl signed on to star as the female lead. The smash success of Superbad made him one of the biggest comedy stars of his generation and led to Pineapple Express, a pot comedy opposite James Franco. He was Zack in Zack and MIri Make a Porno, and took a screenwriting credit on Drillbit Taylor in 2008. He lent his distinctive gravelly voice to a number of animated films including Kung Fu Panda and Monsters vs. Aliens. In 2009 he stretched himself, reteaming with Apatow for Funny People, and taking the lead in the black comedy Observe and Report. In 2011 he was The Green Hornet, but he also appeared as the best friend to a young cancer victim in the comedy 50/50. He also played the husband of Michelle Williams in Sarah Polley's Take This Waltz.

Trivia: Unlike many actresses who pay their dues with supporting roles and bit parts for years, the pretty and lithe brunette Martha MacIsaac scored a lead remarkably early in her career, as the title character of the Canadian series Emily of New Moon. That program, like the seminal Anne of Green Gables, constituted an adaptation of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery, and enabled MacIsaac to make a significant impression in her native country, where the series found a substantial audience. The actress followed it up with bit parts in features such as the 2003 This Time Around and the 2005 Ice Princess, then joined the cast of Greg Mottola's Superbad (2007), a frat-boy comedy about a couple of high-school losers who try to join the "in club" by catering alcohol for a local party.

Trivia: The physically stunning actress Emma Stone first made her mark among American audiences as an ingenue, via her involvement in the massively successful comedy Superbad (2007). The actress's combination of deadpan comic timing and undeniable beauty made her an instant hot property in Hollywood, and she was soon appearing in comic fare like The House Bunny and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, as well as the hugely successful horror comedy Zombieland (2009). By 2010, Stone had earned top billing status, and was starring in her own comedy -- a hilarious modern take on the Scarlet Letter called Easy A. The following year found Sone's star rising even further in the realm of comedy with roles in Friends with Benefits and Crazy, Stupid, Love, but it also proved to be the year in which the young actress branched more full force into drama, starring in the much anticipated adaptation of the Kathryn Stockett novel The Help. She became part of a superhero franchise when she took over the part of Gwen Stacy in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, and she took a part in the period crime film Gangster Squad that same year.Stone enjoyed a very busy 2014 that involved her returning to the part of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and being tapped to star in Woody Allen's period comedy Magic in the Moonlight. However, her turn as the self-destructive daughter of a middle-age actor trying to make a comeback on the stage in Birdman earned her the first Oscar nomination of her career, getting a nod in the Best Supporting Actress category.

Trivia: As a fresh-faced college kid, Joe Lo Truglio probably never guessed that joining the sketch comedy troupe The State would eventually lead to a successful career in TV and movies. But when the New York-based group got its own show on MTV in 1993, Lo Truglio and the group's 10 other members gained a foothold in the media that they would all build on for years to come. Drawing on influences like Monty Python and Kids in the Hall, The State's bizarre brand of comedy struck a chord with audiences, and even after the show ended its run in 1995, many members of the group would find new projects together and with up-and-coming names in comedy. Lo Truglio went on to appear in a wide variety of projects, like The Station Agent, Hitch, The Sarah Silverman Program, Pineapple Express, and Superbad. He also collaborated with his castmates from The State for a number of comedic projects, like 2001's summer camp satire Wet Hot American Summer and for the popular Cops spoof Reno 911!

Trivia: One of the most prolific and reliably excellent actors on the independent film circuit, Kevin Corrigan has made a name for himself portraying a painfully memorable array of geeks, stoners, and generally pathetic losers. Consistently good at playing bad, he has elevated the expression of basic freakishness into something of an underrated art form.A native of the Bronx, where he was born on March 27, 1969, Corrigan first became interested in acting as a teenager. At the age of 17, his play The Boiler Room was produced by the Young Playwrights Festival of New York. The 1990s got off to a promising start for Corrigan with a supporting role as Ray Liotta's brother in Martin Scorsese's critically acclaimed Goodfellas (1990). More gangster action followed the next year with a part in Billy Bathgate, but Corrigan then took a turn toward smaller features with Zebrahead, a 1992 film that opened to generally positive reviews but little box-office action. After supporting roles in The Saint of Fort Washington and True Romance (both 1993), Corrigan had a substantial part in director Matthew Harrison's Rhythm Thief, a black-and-white drama that won Harrison a directing award at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. The film marked the beginning of Corrigan's immersion in the growing and increasingly lucrative world of independent film, with supporting roles in Tom DiCillo's acclaimed Living in Oblivion (1995), in which the actor provided laughs as a dimbulb cameraman, and Trees Lounge (1996), the directorial debut of Corrigan's Oblivion co-star Steve Buscemi. The same year, Corrigan had substantial roles in the well-received independent comedy Walking and Talking, in which he had a memorable turn as a nebbishy video clerk who sleeps with Catherine Keener, and Illtown, a crime drama in which he starred with Lili Taylor and Zebrahead co-star Michael Rapaport. Following a turn as a stoner guitarist in the obscure Bandwagon (1996) and a supporting role in Hal Hartley's 1997 film Henry Fool, Corrigan co-wrote and starred in the comedy Kicked in the Head, his second collaboration with Rhythm Thief director Harrison. The film had the distinction of being executive produced by Martin Scorsese, who had signed on after being favorably impressed by Rhythm Thief. The movie was also notable for the fact that the misadventures of Corrigan's character -- a guy who gets kicked out of his apartment and dumped by his girlfriend -- were based on events in the actor's own life. He would later remark that the film was a form of therapy and followed it up with what was essentially a form of therapy for another director, Tamara Jenkins' The Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). Playing a Manson Family-obsessed stoner, Corrigan made a repugnantly vivid impression in the widely acclaimed movie and the same year made a similar impression with his role as Vincent Gallo's best friend in Buffalo '66. After a small part in Paul Auster's Lulu on the Bridge (which premiered at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival), Corrigan worked on two more independents, the romantic drama Roberta, which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Festival and featured Corrigan in a lead role as a shy computer expert, and Coming Soon, which opened at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in April of the same year.

Trivia: Made his TV debut in a 2006 episode of 7th Heaven. Was a regular on the short-lived 2008 Fox sitcom Do Not Disturb; subsequently joined the cast of Scrubs for the series' ninth season. Had bit parts in the big-screen hits Superbad (2007) and Milk (2008). Collaborated with his brother, James Franco, on the Funny or Die Web series Acting with James Franco.

Trivia: Dancer-turned-actress Stacy Edwards spent a decade in TV and B movies before her breakthrough in Neil LaBute's controversial In the Company of Men (1997). Air Force brat Edwards was raised around the world before a dance scholarship landed her in Chicago at age 18. She became a full-time actress when she joined TV's daytime drama Santa Barbara in 1986. Edwards spent the late '80s and early '90s guest-starring on such TV series as 21 Jump Street, and acting in TV movies, including Dinner at Eight (1989). Edwards added several B-flicks, including Relentless 3 (1993), to her credits as well.Edwards proved her strength as an actress beyond her pretty face in 1997. As the deaf victim of a yuppie seduction scheme in In the Company of Men, Edwards' finely shaded performance was the only emotional oasis in LaBute's caustic treatise on male cruelty. Edwards followed her critically lauded turn with a role on CBS' Chicago Hope. Along with playing Chicago Hope's Dr. Caterra from 1997 to 1999, Edwards burnished her film resumé with a starring role as Houdini's wife in the TV biopic Houdini (1998), as well as featured parts in political film à clef Primary Colors (1998) and James Toback's incendiary ensemble film on race and pop culture Black and White (1999). Maintaining her film career after Chicago Hope, Edwards emerged unscathed from Madonna's failed vehicle The Next Best Thing (2000) and joined the cast of action director Renny Harlin's racecar drama Driven (2001).

Trivia: With her role as a memorably over-caffeinated college freshman on television's critically praised Undeclared, youthful actress Carla Gallo has endeared herself to former campus dorm-rats nationwide. And though her actual age may betray the naïve nature of those making the leap from the high school hallways to the college campus, Gallo has succeeded in making her television alter ego believable, in part by drawing on the vivid recollections of her college career. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Gallo attended the LaGuardia School of Performing Arts before setting her sights on Cornell University. Like her television counterpart, Gallo dabbled in numerous potential careers before pursuing a career as an actress, though the lure of the theater was too magnetic to resist and the formerly undeclared student graduated a few short years later with a Theater Arts degree. Being nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her feature debut in 1994's Spanking the Monkey proved to be a good start for the fledgling thespian, and though it would be five more years until her next feature role, Gallo would next appear in The 24-Hour Woman in 1999. With small-screen appearances in both E.R. and Law & Order priming her for her work on Undeclared, the actress approached the series on a positive note after hitting it off early on with series creator Judd Apatow. As someone who encouraged improvisation, Apatow often drew on Gallo's previous college experiences to make the character more multidimensional and believable. Thinking back to the frantic all-night cram sessions of her college days, Gallo recalled a session in which her synapses fired on overdrive due to an oversaturation of caffeine. Apatow encouraged her to expand on such recollections (recollections that often found their way into the show), which were a key factor in his aspiration to create a realistic portrayal of the college experience, warts and all.

Trivia: A bit player and occasional scriptwriter on features, Ben Best made his entrée into show business in the mid- to late 2000s, by authoring the screenplay and playing one of the leads in independent director Jody Hill's low-budget martial arts comedy The Foot Fist Way (2006). Best followed that up with small on-camera assignments in A-listers including Superbad (2007) and What Happens in Vegas (2008).

Trivia: One of the more accomplished young actors to be immortalized on celluloid in the late 1990s, David Krumholtz has distinguished himself with both talent and the sort of unconventional looks that allow him to be both dashing and nebbish at the same time.A native of New York City, where he was born May 15, 1978, Krumholtz began his professional career at the age of 13, when he starred opposite Judd Hirsch in the Broadway production of Conversations with My Father. He went on to make his film debut in 1993, appearing as an obnoxious child actor in the Michael J. Fox comedy Life with Mikey. That same year, he had a small role as Wednesday Addams' (Christina Ricci) socially stunted love interest in Addams Family Values. Krumholtz's first truly memorable film role was that of Francis Davenport, the Upper East Side brat who gets Katie Holmes drunk in Ang Lee's The Ice Storm (1997). He'd go on to play Natasha Lyonne's older brother in The Slums of Beverly Hills, and a high schooler in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). As the years wore on, Krumholtz would prove himself to be a viable force on screen, appearing in movies like Ray, Serenity, Walk Hard, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and This is the End,, and on the popular crime proceedural Numb3rs.

Trivia: Born Martin Schienle, Martin Starr (his stage name) began life in Southern California and grew up as the son of an elementary school guidance counselor father and a mother employed as the head of In the Act Productions, a company built around producing networking workshops for aspiring actors. With that familial background, Starr came to show business naturally and began doing commercials from the age of six. The upstart moved to southwest Florida during high school with his dad and stepmom, but remained connected to show business thanks to his mom. He scored his first major career coup in his late teens at the hands of executive producer Judd Apatow, whose short-lived but critically acclaimed seriocomedy Freaks and Geeks reeled in a devoted cult following when it turned up on NBC in the fall of 1999; Starr played Bill Haverchuck, a distinctly geeky but not-so-bright social misfit attending a Michigan high school in 1980. Subsequent years witnessed Starr moving into features and maintaining a multi-film series of collaborations with Apatow and company, including the Knocked Up and Superbad (both 2007), and the bitter, acerbic romantic comedy Good Dick (2007) opposite Marianna Palka, Jason Ritter, and Tom Arnold. He was cast in the cult TV hit Party Down in 2009, landing a major part in the coming-of-age comedy Adventureland that same year. He would go on to appear in A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, 6 Month Rule, and Save the Date.

Trivia: Child actress Laura Marano first culled recognition from television viewers via her portrayal of Kate Malone, pint-sized daughter of FBI agent Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia), on the detective series Without a Trace -- a role she held opposite her sister, Vanessa Marano (the two played siblings). Additional accomplishments included a small role in the futuristic psychological thriller The Jacket (2005), starring Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley, voice work on the popular CG-animated feature Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), and a couple apperances on the serial-killer drama Dexter as the younger version (in flashbacks) of the titular character's sister, Debra. In 2007, Marano played a young version of Sarah Silverman on her self-titled Comedy Central series, took part in the game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, and then went on to play Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer's child, Gracie Carr, on the local-news sitcom Back to You. That series only lasted a year, but Marano soon found work voicing Mei Mei for the animated Nickelodeon series Ni Hao, Kai-lan. Over the coming years, Marano would continue to act on screen, appearing on The Sarah Silverman Program and Austin & Ally.

Trivia: Studied and performed improv comedy during the start of the original Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City. Was a member of the Naked Babies sketch-comedy troupe with comedians Rob Corddry, Seth Morris and John Ross Bowie at the UCB. Was one of the panelists on the popular VH1 show Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins. Starred in a series of commercials for Sonic Drive-In. Won the Webby award for Best Individual Performance in 2015 for College Humor's If Google Was a Guy.

Trivia: Actor Clark Duke entered the professional acting sphere during childhood, with an ongoing role as Elliot Hartman, one of two sons of congressional legislative assistant John Hartman (John Ritter, whom Duke resembled), on the popular CBS sitcom Hearts Afire (1992-1995). Thereafter, Duke took nearly a decade off to pursue his studies, but received renewed attention years later thanks to an off-camera friendship and professional partnership with the popular comedic actor Michael Cera (Arrested Development). That association began when Duke appeared alongside Cera in the Judd Apatow-produced, Greg Mottola-directed sex comedy Superbad, and continued via the pair's creation of the successful web series Clark and Michael. The program, done in an extremely dry, put-upon mockumentary style that recalled both The Office and Arrested Development, starred the actors as themselves, and depicted their adventures attempting to break through the impenetrable walls of show business. It drew a substantially large fan base and became something of a cult hit. Thereafter, Duke starred in the popular frat-boy-themed series Greek (2007) and signed on as one of the leads in the big-screen teen sex comedy-road movie Sex Drive (2008). Over the next several years, Duke would also appear in a number of big screen comedies, like Sex Drive, Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine, and A Thousand Words.