Trivia: Texas native Jared Padalecki was only 12 years old when he started studying acting. He took to the stage all throughout high school, competing on his school's speech team and appearing in school plays. In 1999, the 17-year-old won Fox's "Claim to Fame" contest and had the chance to appear at the Teen Choice Awards. The opportunity led to the young actor signing up with an agent and beginning his professional career. He began scoring appearances on shows and in TV movies, playing the victim of a car accident on an episode of ER and a wealthy suitor in Ring of Endless Light. Then in 2001, Padalecki was cast as Dean Forester, love interest of Rory Gilmore on the hit series Gilmore Girls. He stayed with the show until 2005, when he joined up with the sci-fi thriller series Supernatural. Padalecki also ventured onto the big screen, appearing in films like House of Wax and The Christmas Cottage.

Trivia: An actor with a penchant for getting hired in as a series regular on one-hour TV shows, Jensen Ackles left his native Texas to pursue an acting career after graduating from high school. His big break came in 1997, when he was cast in the role of Eric Brady on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. He made regular appearances on the show over the next three years, winning a Best Male Newcomer award from Soap Opera Digest and getting nominated for a Daytime Emmy no less than three times. Ackles left Days of Our Lives in 2000 and shortly thereafter appeared in an episode of the James Cameron adventure series Dark Angel, playing a psychotic, murderous X5 (a genetically engineered superhuman) named Ben. Ackles was brought back as a regular the next season, playing the less sinister twin/clone of Ben, Alec, who reluctantly aided Jessica Alba's Max from time to time despite his cocky, selfish nature. In 2002, Ackles moved on to join the cast of the WB series Dawson's Creek for its sixth and final season, and when that show wrapped he took a role on another WB series, Smallville. He'd auditioned for the leading role of Clark Kent when the series first went into production in 2001, and lost the part to Tom Welling, but this time Ackles was cast as Jason Teague, love interest of Lana Lang. Then in 2005, Ackles nabbed a part on yet another TV series, and this time he won the lead. In the role of Dean Winchester on Supernatural, Ackles played a young man who investigates paranormal activity with his brother. The show was a hit, picking up a few Emmy and Saturn Award nominations, and as the show rocketed through season after season, Ackles' star continued to rise, also providing him the chance to direct episodes as well.

Trivia: Worked as a carpenter to pay his college tuition. Took a year off from college, during which he spent time at a Tibetan monastery. Planned on a career in politics before switching to acting. Interned at the White House during the Clinton administration. Founded a software company after college. Worked as a producer and copywriter for the NPR program Weekly Edition. Enjoys outdoor activities, including biking, kayaking, hiking and snowboarding. Lives in a house he designed and built himself. Is a published poet.

Trivia: British actor Mark A. Sheppard tackled guest spots on such varied small-screen series as CSI, Firefly, Charmed, Monk, and Battlestar Galactica, as well as appearing for a six-episode stint during the fifth season of 24. In 2007, he landed a regular supporting part on the weekly sci-fi drama Bionic Woman (2007) -- as Dr. Anthony Anthros, the father of the title character's boyfriend and the scientist who invented her "bionic" technology. Sheppard's resumé also includes appearances in such features as Boa (2002), Evil Eyes (2004), and Broken (2006).