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: North Carolina native Mary Elizabeth Winstead began training as a ballet dancer as a child, and later studied at Joffrey Ballet School in Chicago. She also studied singing and acting intensively and pursued a successful career on Broadway, appearing in productions like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Eventually transitioning to the screen, Winstead became an audience favorite when she made a handful of appearances on the soap opera Passions in 1999. She would go on to appear in movies like 2005's Sky High and Final Destination 3, before scoring the role of Lee -- the girl whose friends use her as collateral in order to drive a mint Dodge Charger -- in 2007's Death Proof, part of the double-feature Grindhouse. She played Lucy in Live Free or Die Hard, before taking on the role of Ramona V. Flowers in the quirky 2010 graphic novel adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Trivia: One of the Culkin clan of child actors, Kieran Culkin emerged from older brother Macauley Culkin's considerable shadow in the late 1990s. Born and raised in New York, Culkin made his movie debut playing his sibling's cousin in the blockbuster family comedy Home Alone (1990). Along with returning for the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Culkin bolstered his presence as a cute foil playing Steve Martin's young son in Father of the Bride (1991) and Father of the Bride Part II (1995). Despite his parents' well-publicized custody battle over their acting brood in the mid-1990s, Culkin continued to work steadily, finally graduating to starring status in The Mighty (1998). As a physically challenged boy who forms a deep bond with an illiterate classmate, Culkin displayed his dramatic abilities as well as comedic, proving that he could be more than just an adorable face. Culkin followed up his lead turn with prominent supporting roles as another little brother in the teen romantic comedy She's All That (1999), Meryl Streep's teenage son in Music of the Heart (1999), and one of the orphans in The Cider House Rules (1999).After playing at the Sundance Film Festival, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys earned strong reviews for Culkin's performance as one of the imaginative, restless Catholic schoolboys grappling with adolescence and dour nun teacher Jodie Foster in the 1970s. A rare teen film with a brain, Altar Boys became an art house success. Delving into the rarified world of the genteel poor, and enhancing Culkin's status as an "alternative" teen lead, Igby Goes Down starred Culkin as the titular alienated son who must deal with harridan mother Susan Sarandon and superficial brother/romantic rival Ryan Phillippe while pondering whether he'll suffer the same fate as his schizophrenic father Bill Pullman.

Trivia: A handsome young actor whose breakout role as a popular jock in Not Another Teen Movie found him in high demand, Chris Evans (born June 13th, 1981) followed with a role in the moderately successful comedy The Perfect Score before truly coming into his own before the cameras. Born in Sudbury, MA, Evans spent the majority of his childhood in Boston before his love of acting brought him to New York City the summer after his junior year of high school. It was during this time that the aspiring actor alternated between an internship at a casting office and summer acting classes. With a little help from a contact he made that summer, Evans began auditioning shortly after graduating from high school. A supporting role in the short-lived television series Opposite Sex gave the up-and-comer his first break on the small screen, and a supporting role in the feature The Newcomers preceded an appearance in the popular prime-time drama Boston Public.At this point it appeared as if everything was going smoothly for Evans, but his career would soon shift gears and kick into overdrive thanks to a featured role in the teen comedy parody Not Another Teen Movie. Cast as the popular jock who transforms an ugly duckling into a popular princess, Evans ran with the role and proved a more than capable comic talent. If audiences had wondered where Evans had disappeared to in the following few years, their curiosities were answered when the young actor took a leading role in the moderately successful comedy The Perfect Score. Though to many it may have seemed that Evans career had stalled somewhat, a role as an unsuspecting young man who receives a desperate phone call from a kidnapping victim in the 2004 thriller Cellular offered some relief from the seeming drought of choice roles. A subsequent role in the same year's The Orphan King served as a strong follow-up before hearty roles in such 2005 releases as Fierce People and The Fantastic Four found him leaning ever closer to becoming a true marquee draw.The role of Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four would be somewhat telling of what was in store for the actor -- though not for a few more years. He would appear in projects like the romcom The Nanny Diaries in 2007 and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in 2010, but none of these breaks compared to the big one he scored in 2011, playing the title role in 2011's Captain America: America's Soldier. He found similar success in 2012's wildly successful The Avengers, for which he reprised his role as Captain America.

Trivia: Tony-nominated, Drama Desk award-winning actress Anna Kendrick got her start on the stage before segueing into film with roles in the Todd Graff musical comedy Camp and Spellbound director Jeffrey Blitz's post-Napoleon Dynamite teen misfit comedy Rocket Science. Cast in the latter as the love interest of a stuttering high-school student seeking to steady his voice by joining the debate team, Kendrick charmed viewers with her effervescent radiance before taking the lead as a teen desperately searching for her missing best friend in cinematographer-turned-director Nathan Hope's 2007 thriller Elsewhere. Later that same year, Kendrick could be seen opposite Ben Stiller and Jason Schwartzman in director Todd Louiso's arrested-development comedy The Marc Pease Experience. In 2008 she landed a recurring part in the highly successful Twilight series, but her real breakthrough came in 2009 with her Oscar-nominated turn opposite George Clooney in Up in the Air. In 2010 she appeared in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and a year later she earned strong reviews playing a psychiatrist counseling a young cancer victim in 50/50. In 2012 she was in the ensemble pregnancy comedy What to Expect When You're Expecting, lent her voice to the animated film ParaNorman, and scored a huge hit with the a capella comedy Pitch Perfect.

Trivia: Actress and singer Brie Larson began her career in the late '90s, making appearances on shows like Touched By an Angel when she was still in elementary school. In 2001, she scored a starring role on the series Raising Dad, which lasted for just one season, but the young actress had no trouble finding new projects, as she was cast in the Disney Channel TV movie Right on Track in 2003. She subsequently appeared in another Disney movie, Sleepover, and released an album, Finally Out of P.E., in 2005. Larson would go on to appear in movies like 13 Going on 30 and The Babysitter, before being cast as Kate on the acclaimed Showtime series The United States of Tara. She played Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (which let her showcase her vocal talents) and was the love interest in 21 Jump Street. Larson has a supporting role in Joseph Gordon Levitt's Don Jon and had a recurring role on Community. In 2015, she played Amy Schumer's sister in Trainwreck, but made a bigger mark later in the year with the independent film Room. Playing a young woman held captive for seven years, Larson won rave reviews and an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Trivia: Praised by industry insiders for the discernment of her role choice and her ability to segue without a hitch between theatrical and cinematic assignments, baby-faced Canadian actress Alison Pill tackled a series of low-key supporting roles onscreen before achieving her breakthrough with two filmic evocations. She delivered a compelling portrayal as the young Lorna Luft in the superior Alliance Atlantis telemovie Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001), and then -- on a very different note -- convincingly played Beth Burns, the goody-two-shoes sister of the title character (Katie Holmes) in the Thanksgiving dramedy Pieces of April (2003). Meanwhile, Pill won coveted stage assignments in such productions as Neil LaBute's The Distance from Here and Christopher Shinn's On the Mountain.In 2006, Pill returned to television with a regular role as a marijuana-happy minister's daughter, Grace, in the über-controversial religious series drama The Book of Daniel; for better or worse, the controversy surrounding that program failed to magnetize an audience, and it folded soon after. Pill followed it up with a small role in the 2007 Steve Carell feature Dan in Real Life.Beginning in 2008, Pill effortlessly alternated between supporting roles in major films and starring roles in TV shows. She played Harvey Milk's campaign advisor opposite Sean Penn in Milk (2008), followed by a main role as a patient on the second season of HBO's In Treatment; Michael Cera's ex-girlfriend in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and Princess Maud on the Starz's miniseries The Pillars of the Earth; and a pair of Woody Allen movies, 2011's Midnight in Paris and 2012's To Rome with Love. Pill then took one of her highest-profile roles yet, a part on Aaron Sorkin's highly anticipated HBO series The Newsroom, playing associate producer Maggie Jordan.

Trivia: Comedian and actress Aubrey Plaza honed her skills with the renowned Upright Citizen's Brigade comedy troupe beginning in 2004, as well as performing standup at places like the Laugh Factory. She graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2006, and soon began making the transition to the screen, appearing as Daisy in the 2009 Judd Apatow comedy Funny People, and as Robin on the series Mayne Street. In 2009, Plaza joined the cast of the comedy series Parks and Recreation, acting alongside Upright Citizen's founding member Amy Poehler. Her performance as bored teenage intern April was a hit with audiences, and Plaza followed it the next year with a role in the quirky 2010 graphic novel adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. She appeared in Whit Stillman's Damsels in Distress, as well as the comedy Safety Not Guaranteed opposite the Duplass brothers.

Trivia: Not unlike the character that would catapult his acting career, Brandon Routh was born in a rural state on October 9th, 1979, far from the bright lights of Hollywood. Raised in the Des Moines suburb of Norwalk, IA, Routh discovered his love of acting in high school when he began participating in community theater at the Norwalk Theater of the Performing Arts. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Iowa intending to study English. His desire to begin his career was too much to resist, however, and he left after a year to see what opportunities might await him on the West Coast. Routh began paying his dues with appearances on Odd Man Out, Undressed, and Gilmore Girls. In 2002, he completed a year-long stint on the soap opera One Life to Live, continuing to make single-episode appearances over the next few years on popular shows like Cold Case, Will & Grace, and Oliver Beene. Then, around 2004, Routh auditioned for the one of the most sought-after roles of the decade: Superman. The upcoming relaunch of the Superman franchise had been through copious adjustments and would still see more, and Routh originally auditioned for director McG, who was signed to the film at the time. Numerous directors had, in fact, been tied to the film over a period of development that would take over ten years to come to fruition. By the time Superman Returns would go into production, the names Tim Burton, Wolfgang Petersen, Brett Ratner, Shekhar Kapur, and more had been officially or unofficially linked to the film. Just as many actors were considered for the leading role, both legitimately and in rumor, from Nicolas Cage in the early stages to actors like Jake Gyllenhaal, Ashton Kutcher, and Josh Hartnett more recently. When director Bryan Singer was secured as director, however, he wanted the Man of Steel to be a fresh face. Impressed by the performance Routh had given in his audition for McG, as well as the young actor's uncanny resemblance to both the classic depictions of Superman and the late Christopher Reeve, who'd immortalized the hero in earlier films, Routh was eventually offered the part. Routh took on a small supporting role in director Kevin Smiths racy 2008 comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and appeared in the crime drama Life is Hot in Crackdown in 2009. The actor joined the cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) to portray one of Ramona Flowers' seven ex-boyfriends.

Trivia: Relatives of famous people rarely have the chops to overcome nepotism cries, but Jason Schwartzman, nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, is one actor who does.Schwartzman was born June 26, 1980, to producer Jack Schwartzman and actress Talia Shire, the latter best known as Rocky Balboa's love interest Adrian. He graduated from the Windwood School in 1999 and continued to live with his mom and two brothers at their home in the Los Angeles area.Chosen at the tail end of an exhausting casting search, Schwartzman burst into the film industry with his deft, hilarious portrayal of chronic overachiever Max Fischer in Wes Anderson's critically acclaimed Rushmore (1998). Since then, the young actor kept a low profile, opting to spend time with his band Phantom Planet, which recorded an album for Epic Records. Keeping with his geek-chic nature, he also chose small, quirky roles in television, such as his guest appearance as a slimy fake-ID dealer on NBC's tragically short-lived series Freaks and Geeks or his work in spoofs for the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.He maintained his credibility in the independent scene during the next couple of years, appearing in Spun, and acting in his cousin Roman Coppola's CQ. After a role on the short-lived, though critically acclaimed, Fox sitcom Cracking Up in 2003, Schwartzman began kicking his film career into high gear. After a role in the quirky 2004 David O. Russell ensemble comedy I Heart Huckabees, the young actor appeared in 2005's big-screen version of Bewitched with Will Ferrell. He then played a lovable slacker in the intimate, critically acclaimed dramedy Shopgirl, appearing with Claire Danes and Steve Martin, who wrote the novella that the script was adapted from. In 2006, Schwartzman joined the cast of his cousin Sophia Coppola's biopic Marie Antoinette, playing French king Louis XVI opposite star Kirsten Dunst. Then in 2007, he re-teamed with Wes Anderson, starring in and co-writing The Darjeeling Limited, a film about three brothers taking a soul-searching train ride through India. The film got mixed reviews, but reception to it was positive overall, setting Schwartzman up nicely for his next film, The Marc Pease Experience, in which he played the title role of a former high-school musical star who's stuck living in the past.He voiced the role of Ash in Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2009 which turned out to be a busy year for him as he co-starred in Funny People, and became the star of the HBO comedy Bored to Death. He had a brief but memorable turn in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in 2010, and two years later he teamed up with Anderson yet again in Moonrise Kingdom.

Trivia: Debuted on film after inquiring about a misprinted casting notice for a female lead in a short film called My Ambition (2006). After auditioning, Simmons was cast on the spot and the directors never re-ran the notice with a correction. Won the role of Chip Dove in Jennifer's Body despite stiff competition from actor Bo Barrett. Was offered the role as Young Neil in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World over Facebook. Played Andrew in the short film version of Whiplash, which preceded the feature-length version. Has stated an interest in founding a charity which provides for the homeless.

Trivia: Striking parallels manifested themselves between actor Mark Webber's early life and his intense, emotionally demanding choice of onscreen roles. The child of a broken family, Webber grew up under the guardianship of his mom, and the two battled economic hardship thanks to difficult circumstances. Matters took a serious turn when Webber's mom became involved with an altruistic group called Up and Out of Poverty Now and accepted grant money from that organization that enabled her to earn a teaching certificate. Because she failed to report the grant monies, federal marshals turned up and arrested her under allegations of welfare fraud, ultimately revoking the certificate and rendering mother and child homeless for two years despite the ultimate exoneration of the mother. Acting, as Webber later recalled, came out of this naturally, for he almost instinctively began disguising his own impoverished status among schoolmates; he also fell in love with film at an early age -- as a series of magical escapes into other worlds -- and thus strongly wanted to be a part of this.Webber began acting professionally in 1997 and placed a strong emphasis, throughout his career, on small, offbeat indie productions, again, honing in almost exclusively on intense characterizations that presented great multileveled challenges. Key projects included the efforts The Laramie Project (2001) (as one of gay adolescent Matthew Shepard's killers), Ethan Hawke's directorial outing Chelsea Walls (2001) (as a lovestruck drifter in the legendary Hotel Chelsea), the Woody Allen comedy Hollywood Ending (2002) (as Allen's son), and, on an impressive but overlooked note, Pete Winters, the academically struggling younger son of a widower father in Josh Sternfeld's stunning debut drama Winter Solstice (2004). He was also memorable, in a crucial but extremely brief appearance, as a young boy misread by a loner (Bill Murray) as the man's son in Jim Jarmusch's super-low key, critically acclaimed drama Broken Flowers (2005). In 2007, Webber starred opposite Marianna Palka and Jason Ritter in the acerbic sex comedy Good Dick.

Trivia: Mae Whitman began acting at the ripe old age of six with a role in the 1994 alcoholism drama When a Man Loves a Woman. Appearances in Bye Bye, Love and Independence Day followed before multiple-episode stints on the CBS dramas Chicago Hope and JAG. In 2001, Whitman was cast in the title role of the Fox Family Channel period sitcom State of Grace, about a pair of adolescent girls overcoming cultural differences against the backdrop of 1960s America. After that show's two-season run, she could next be seen as George Michael's milquetoast girlfriend Ann on the critically acclaimed Fox sitcom Arrested Development. A starring role opposite Andre Braugher on the short-lived FX series Thief came in 2006. And in 2007, Whitman was cast in a supporting role on NBC's reimagined The Bionic Woman. In the years to come, Whitman would remain active on screen, starring on the series Parenthood, and in movies like The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Trivia: Participated in community theater while in high school. Began doing behind-the-scenes jobs in TV production at age 14. After graduating from college, she visited her parents' homeland of Cambodia while on a backpacking trip. Has tae kwon do training, which proved to be an asset for her in her film debut Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). In 2012, she received an ACTRA nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female for her role in the short Silent Cargo (2011). Is a fan of martial-arts films.

Trivia: Son of writer-director Howard Franklin, he began working on film sets at the age of 17. Worked as an assistant to magician-actor Ricky Jay and producer Stuart Cornfeld. Received an award for excellence from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Had recurring roles on New Girl, Veep and black-ish at the same time in 2016.

Trivia: Made his feature-film debut in the religious thriller Tribulation (2000). Was nominated for a 2002 Young Artist Award for his work on the CBS drama The Guardian. Landed his first series-regular role on the CBS cult favorite Jericho.

Trivia: Actor, screenwriter, and director Don McKellar is one of the most prolific and well-respected members of the Canadian film industry. During the 1990s, he frequently collaborated with such directors as Atom Egoyan, Bruce McDonald, David Cronenberg, and François Girard, and he did a substantial amount of work for television and the stage. In 1998, McKellar stepped behind the camera to make Last Night, which he also wrote and starred in. The film--a comedy-drama about the last night of the world--was enthusiastically received at both the Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals, further establishing McKellar as a dynamic personality in both Canadian and world cinema.McKellar was born in Toronto on August 17, 1963. After earning a BA in English and Theatre from the University of Toronto, he made both his screenwriting and acting debut in 1989's Roadkill, a Bruce McDonald film that cast him as a serial killer. He won Genie nominations for his performance and screenplay, and he went on to collaborate with McDonald two years later on Highway 61. McKellar reprised his actor-writer role for the film, starring as the lead character, a barber who finds a corpse. That same year, the he appeared in The Adjuster, his first screen collaboration with Atom Egoyan. After making his directorial debut with the 1992 Blue, which starred Cronenberg, McKellar collaborated with Girard on Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1994). Directed by Girard and co-written with him by McKellar, the film was a critical success, going on to win four Genies (Canada's equivalent of the Oscar) and a Special Jury Citation for Best Canadian Film at the 1993 Toronto Film Festival. More success followed that same year for McKellar when he starred in Egoyan's Exotica. A lush, mysterious film centering on the happenings of the titular strip club, the film featured McKellar as a gay pet shop owner, a man as low-key and moody as the movie itself.That same year, McKellar served as the screenwriter for the similarly acclaimed Dance Me Outside, a film about Anglo-Indian tensions in Canada. After another collaboration with Egoyan--the made-for-TV Yo-Yo Ma Inspired by Bach: Sarabande--as well as roles in a number of other films, he turned back to screenwriting, co-writing Il Violino rosso with Girard, who also directed the film. McKellar also acted in the film, which received decent reviews. Its reception paled in comparison to that of Last Night, which also came out (in Canada) that year. A studied contrast to the doomsday heroics of such films as Armageddon and Deep Impact (which also came out that year), Last Night took a laid-back, casually comic look at the end of the world. The film won a Prix de la Jeunesse at that year's Cannes Film Festival, as well as a number of Genies and a Best Canadian First Feature Film award at the Toronto Film Festival. It also allowed its director to step out from the shadows of his more famous mentors (McDonald, Girard, and Cronenberg all had cameos in the film) and into his own patch of limelight. In 1999, Last Night was released in the United States. Audiences could also see McKellar that year in Cronenberg's eXistenZ and in The Passion of Ayn Rand, which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

Trivia: A performer born in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, as the son of noted stage thespian Keith Dinicol, Joe Dinicol debuted as an actor in his early teens, with a supporting role in the 1997 farce Elvis Meets Nixon, then followed it up with a succession of unique, albeit low-profile, character parts in features including The Virgin Suicides (1999, as a troubled young man who commits suicide via a roof jump), the 2003 Kart Racer (as a school bully), and the Lifetime Network VD drama She's Too Young (2004, as the supportive best friend of a syphilis-infected school pariah). In 2007, Dinicol starred as one of several young men and women struggling to fend off hordes of flesh-eating zombies in George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead.