Trivia: From lamebrained teenage time traveler to metaphysical sci-fi Superman, Keanu Reeves has portrayed just about every character type imaginable in his sometimes wildly fluctuating career. Frequently lambasted by critics and often polarizing audiences suspicious of his talent's true extent, Reeves has nevertheless managed to maintain his lucrative career by balancing his lesser efforts with intermittent direct hits at the box office.Born Keanu Charles Reeves in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 2, 1964, and named for the Hawaiian word that means "cool breeze over the mountains," the future actor was a world traveler by the age of two, thanks to his father's career as a geologist. His mother, Patricia Taylor, worked as a showgirl and later a costume designer of film and stage, and after his parents divorced, Reeves followed his mother and sister to live in New York; the trio would later relocate to Toronto -- where Reeves' interest in ice hockey and acting took a substantial precedence over academics. His formidable presence in front of the goal eventually earned Reeves the nickname "The Wall," and it wasn't long before all interest in school waned and the talented goalie decided to pursue acting.Later working as a manager in a Toronto pasta shop, Reeves soon began turning up in small roles on various Canadian television programs, making his feature debut in the 1985 Canadian film One Step Away before American audiences got their first good look at him in the 1986 Rob Lowe drama Youngblood. Subsequently going back to television and garnering favorable notice for his role in 1986's Young Again, it was the release of Tim Hunter's The River's Edge later that year that would provide Reeves with his breakthrough role. A harrowing tale of teen apathy in small town America, The River's Edge provided Reeves with a perfect opportunity to display his dramatic range, and the film would eventually become a minor classic in teen angst cinema.Appearing in a series of sometimes quirky but ultimately forgettable efforts in the following few years, 1988 found Reeves drawing favorable nods for his role in director Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons. It was the following year's Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, however, that would transform the actor into something of an '80s icon. Reeves' performance of a moronic, air guitar wielding wannabe rocker traveling through time in order to complete his history report and graduate from high school proved so endearingly silly that it spawned both a sequel (1991's Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) and a Saturday morning cartoon. In an odd twist of fate, Reeves and co-star Alex Winter had initially auditioned for the opposite roles from those in which they were ultimately cast. Though he would later offer variations of the character type in such efforts as Parenthood (1989) and I Love You to Death (1990), it wasn't long before Reeves was looking to break away from the trend and take his career to the next level.After drawing favorable reviews for his turn as a rich kid turned street hustler opposite River Phoenix in Gus Van Sant's 1991 drama My Own Private Idaho, Reeves battled the undead in Francis Ford Coppola's lavish production of Dracula (1992). Showing his loyalty toward fellow Bill and Ted cohort Winter with a hilarious extended cameo in Freaked the following year, Reeves once again teamed with Van Sant for the critically eviscerated Even Cowgirls Get the Blues before surprising audiences with an unexpectedly complex performance as Siddhartha in Bernardo Bertolucci's Little Buddha (1993).Just as audiences were beginning to ask themselves if they may have underestimated Reeves talent as an actor, the mid-'90s found his career taking an unexpected turn toward action films with the release of Jan de Bont's 1994 mega-hit Speed (Reeves would ultimately decline to appear in the film's disastrous sequel). Balancing out such big-budgeted adrenaline rushes as Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and Chain Reaction (1996) with romantic efforts as A Walk in the Clouds (1995) and Feeling Minnesota (1996), Reeves spooked audiences as a moral attorney suffering from a major case of soul corrosion in the 1997 horror thriller The Devil's Advocate. The late '90s also found Reeves suffering a devastating personal loss when his expected baby girl with longtime girlfriend Jennifer Syme was stillborn, marking the beginning of the end for the couple's relationship. Tragedy stacked upon tragedy when Syme died two short years later in a tragic freeway accident. His career in fluctuation due to the lukewarm response to the majority of his mid-'90s efforts, it was the following year that would find Reeves entering into one of the most successful stages of his career thus far.As Neo, the computer hacker who discovers that he may be humankind's last hope in the forthcoming war against an oppressive mainframe of computers, Reeves' popularity once again reached feverish heights thanks to The Wachowski Brothers' wildly imaginative and strikingly visual sci-fi breakthrough, The Matrix. Followed by such moderately successful films as The Replacements (for which he deferred his salary so that Gene Hackman could also appear) and The Watcher (both 2000), Reeves took an unexpectedly convincing turn as an abusive husband in Sam Raimi's The Gift before returning to familiar territory with Sweet November and Hardball (both 2001). With the cultural phenomenon of The Matrix only growing as a comprehensive DVD release offered obsessive fans a closer look into the mythology of the film, it wasn't long before The Wachowski Brothers announced that the film had originally been conceived as the beginning of a trilogy and that two sequels were in the works. Filmed back to back, and with both scheduled to hit screens in 2003, excitement over The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions began to reach feverish heights in the months before release, virtually ensuring that the films would become two of the year's biggest box-office draws; they delivered on this promise despite mixed critical receptions.Reeves ensured his liberation from typecasting with a drastic turn away from The Matrix as the curtain fell on 2003, by appearing as heartthrob Dr. Julian Mercer in Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give. Although he played second fiddle to vets Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, Reeves scored a bullseye, especially with female viewers. In 2005, he joined the cast of the collegiate arthouse hit Thumbsucker as Perry Lyman and fought the denizens of hell in the occultic thriller Constantine. Reeves's 2006 roles included the animated Robert Arctor in Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly and Alex Burnham in Alejandro Aresti's romantic fantasy The Lake House (co-starring Sandra Bullock). In 2009, the actor was praised for his role as a bitter divorcee in the critically acclaimed comedy drama The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.Reeves soon pulled back from acting to focus more on behind-the-camera work, as a producer and director. He produced and starred in the limited release Henry's Crime (2010) and released his directorial debut, Man of Tai Chi, in 2013 (he also starred in the film). In 2014, Reeves executive produced and starred in John Wick, playing a retired hitman. He also produced a series of documentaries, Side by Side, about filmmaking in the digital and film world.Famously playing bass for the band Dogstar in his cinematic down time, Reeves' other personal interests include motorcycles, horseback riding, and surfing. When he's not filming, Reeves maintains an everpresent residence in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Trivia: A remarkably prolific and versatile talent, Gene Hackman was a successful character actor whose uncommon abilities and smart career choices ultimately made him a most unlikely leading man. In the tradition of Spencer Tracy, he excelled as an Everyman, consistently delivering intelligent, natural performances which established him among the most respected and well-liked stars of his era. Born January 30th, 1930 in San Bernardino, CA, Hackman joined the Marines at the age of 16 and later served in Korea. After studying journalism at the University of Illinois, he pursued a career in television production but later decided to try his hand at acting, attending a Pasadena drama school with fellow student Dustin Hoffman; ironically, they were both voted "least likely to succeed." After briefly appearing in the 1961 film Mad Dog Coll, Hackman made his debut off-Broadway in 1963's Children at Their Games, earning a Clarence Derwent Award for his supporting performance. Poor Richard followed, before he starred in 1964's production of Any Wednesday. Returning to films in 1964, Hackman earned strong notices for his work in Warren Beatty's Lilith and 1966's Hawaii, but the 1967 World War II tale First to Flight proved disastrous for all involved. At Beatty's request, Hackman co-starred in Bonnie and Clyde, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and establishing himself as a leading character player. After making a pair of films with Jim Brown, (1968's The Split and 1969's Riot), Hackman supported Robert Redford in The Downhill Racer, Burt Lancaster in The Gypsy Moths, and Gregory Peck in Marooned. For 1970's I Never Sang for My Father, he garnered another Academy Award nomination. The following year Hackman became a star; as New York narcotics agent Popeye Doyle, a character rejected by at least seven other actors, he headlined William Friedkin's thriller The French Connection, winning a Best Actor Oscar and spurring the film to Best Picture honors. Upon successfully making the leap from supporting player to lead, he next appeared in the disaster epic The Poseidon Adventure, one of the biggest money-makers of 1972. After co-starring with Al Pacino in 1973's Scarecrow, Hackman delivered his strongest performance to date as a haunted surveillance expert in Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 classic The Conversation and went on to tap his under-utilized comedic skills in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. Arthur Penn's grim 1975 thriller Night Moves and the Western Bite the Bullet followed before the actor agreed to The French Connection 2. While remaining the subject of great critical acclaim, Hackman's box-office prowess was beginning to slip: 1975's Lucky Lady, 1977's The Domino, and March or Die were all costly flops, and although 1978's Superman -- in which he appeared as the villainous Lex Luthor -- was a smash, his career continued to suffer greatly. Apart from the inevitable Superman 2, Hackman was absent from the screen for several years, and with the exception of a fleeting appearance in Beatty's 1981 epic Reds, most of his early-'80s work -- specifically, the features All Night Long and Eureka -- passed through theaters virtually unnoticed.Finally, a thankless role as an ill-fated war correspondent in Roger Spottiswoode's acclaimed 1983 drama Under Fire brought Hackman's career back to life. The follow-up, the action film Uncommon Valor, was also a hit, and while 1984's Misunderstood stalled, the next year's Twice in a Lifetime was a critical success. By the middle of the decade, Hackman was again as prolific as ever, headlining a pair of 1986 pictures -- the little-seen Power and the sleeper hit Hoosiers -- before returning to the Man of Steel franchise for 1987's Superman 4: The Quest for Peace. No Way Out, in which he co-starred with Kevin Costner, was also a hit. In 1988, Hackman starred in no less than five major releases: Woody Allen's Another Woman, the war drama Bat 21, the comedy Full Moon in Blue Water, the sports tale Split Decisions, and Alan Parker's Mississippi Burning. The last of these, a Civil Rights drama set in 1964, cast him as an FBI agent investigating the disappearance of a group of political activists. Though the film itself was the subject of considerable controversy, Hackman won another Oscar nomination. During the 1990s, Hackman settled comfortably into a rhythm alternating between lead roles (1990's Narrow Margin, 1991's Class Action) and high-profile supporting performances (1990's Postcards From the Edge, 1993's The Firm). In 1992, he joined director and star Clint Eastwood in the cast of the revisionist Western Unforgiven, appearing as a small-town sheriff corrupted by his own desires for justice. The role won Hackman a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. The performance helped land him in another pair of idiosyncratic Western tales, Wyatt Earp and The Quick and the Dead. In 1995, he also co-starred in two of the year's biggest hits, the submarine adventure Crimson Tide and the Hollywood satire Get Shorty. Three more big-budget productions, The Birdcage, The Chamber, and Extreme Measures, followed in 1996, and a year later Hackman portrayed the President of the United States in Eastwood's Absolute Power. In 1998, Hackman lent his talents to three very different films, the conspiracy thriller Enemy of the State, the animated Antz, and Twilight, a noirish mystery co-starring Paul Newman and Susan Sarandon. Moving into the new millennium with his stature as a solid performer and well-respected veteran well in place, Hackman turned up in The Replacements in 2000, and Heist the following year. 2001 also found Hackman in top form with his role as the dysfunctional patriarch in director Wes Anderson's follow-up to Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums. Hackman's lively performance brought the actor his third Golden Globe, this time for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.

Trivia: Breaking into acting after a brief stint in modeling and television commercials, Brooke Langton first gained exposure on everyone's favorite comely beach-bouncer series, Baywatch. A native Texan, it may seem fitting considering her freshman role that Langton studied Marine Biology at San Diego State University before making the leap from the classroom to the small screen. Living in Japan and modeling for eight months before moving to L.A. to pursue a career in acting, Langton got involved with theater in Portland and Texas before breaking into television on Baywatch and Beverly Hills 90210. After appearing in such made-for-television movies as Moment of Truth: A Mother's Deception (1994) and Eye of the Stalker (1995), Langton landed a role on 90210's mature (at least age-wise) cousin, Melrose Place. Later gaining notice for her role in Doug Liman's breakthrough indie hit Swingers in 1996, Langton returned to television for her role in The Net before going back to the big screen in The Replacements (2000). After the cancellation of The Net, Langton began work on another television series, When I Grow Up (2001). Following the cancellation of that short-lived series, Langton returned to the big screen with roles in Playing Mona Lisa, Kiss the Bride, and The Hulk. She is engaged to be married to Carl Hagmier in February 2005.

Trivia: A comic actor who began his Hollywood career working behind the scenes, Orlando Jones is more than just the popular pitch man exhorting the 2000-2001 TV audience to "Make 7-Up Yours." Raised in South Carolina, Jones discovered acting when he was cast in a school play while attending the College of Charleston. Aiming to make it in show business one way or another, Jones also formed Homeboy's Productions and Advertising while in college. Jones got his break, however, when a Hollywood visitor in Charleston saw him perform and signed him up, leading to a writing job on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. Jones then wrote for the sitcom Roc in 1991 and became a producer on The Sinbad Show in 1993. Jones finally got to act as well as write when he was cast in Fox's sketch comedy show Mad TV in 1995. After two seasons, Jones left the series and moved to films with a small part in Seinfeld co-creator Larry David's first feature Sour Grapes (1998). Jones managed to work consistently in movies from then on, with bit parts in Mike Judge's comedy Office Space (1999) and Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), as well as a starring role in Barry Levinson's praised but little-seen nostalgia piece Liberty Heights (1999). In 2000, Jones made his mark in TV advertising as the humorously incompetent advocate for 7-Up, enhancing his potential as a comic draw. Jones' lead role as one of the hapless scabs in The Replacements (2000) and a multi-character turn in Harold Ramis' version of Bedazzled (2000) further revealed his goofy versatility. After his action-comedy vehicle Double Take was a January 2001 washout, Jones was poised to team with Ivan Reitman for the latter's summer 2001 sci-fi comedy Evolution.Still, Jones retired as 7-Up's pitch man in early 2002, and would spend the 2000's nurturing his film and TV career, appearing in Runaway Jury and Drumline, as well as TV shows, like The Adventures of Chico and Guapo and Rules of Engagement.

Trivia: An actor whose solid everyman quality has endeared him to audiences and critics alike, Jon Favreau first made his name with 1996's Swingers. The story of a group of rat pack-obsessed, out-of-work actors slumming amiably through life in L.A., the indie-comedy was one of the year's biggest sleeper hits and made a star out of Favreau, who also wrote the script.A native of Queens, NY, where he was born on October 19, 1966, Favreau was raised as the only child of two educators. After attending the Bronx High School of Science, he did an abbreviated stint at Queens College before heading to Chicago to pursue a comedy career. In Chicago, he studied improvisational comedy with Del Close and was a member of the ImrovOlympic troupe. Favreau's time in Chicago ended when he decided to head to L.A. to try and break into film; his experiences as a lovelorn, out-of-work actor would later provide the inspiration for Swingers.After years of false hopes and false starts that took the form of supporting roles in such disappointing films as Rudy and P.C.U., Favreau began channeling his experiences and those of his friends (who included fellow Swingers star Vince Vaughn) into a rudimentary script for Swingers. Encouraged to make his script into a film, the actor despaired of securing enough funding for the project until he met fledgling director Doug Liman, who convinced him that the film could be made for 250,000 dollars. Costs were cut by filming largely without permits and making use of inexpensive shooting locations such as Favreau's own apartment. The film's low-budget charm was sufficient enough to sway the powers-that-be at Miramax who picked it up for distribution. When Swingers was eventually released in 1996, it was hailed by critics as a funny and painfully accurate account of the L.A. scene and its various faux-hipster denizens, as well as the dynamics at work amongst a group of guys (Favreau, Vaughn, and company) and the women they try so desperately to impress. In the wake of the film's success, Favreau, who was being hailed as the latest in the long line of Hollywood "Next Big Things," chose to star in Very Bad Things (1998), a black comedy directed by actor-turned-director Peter Berg. The film, in which Favreau played a soon-to-be married man whose Las Vegas bachelor party goes disastrously wrong, received very mixed reviews, although most critics praised the actor's performance as a "suburban Joe" caught up in circumstances that rapidly spiral beyond his control. After playing the eponymous boxing legend in the made-for-TV Rocky Marciano in 1999, Favreau returned to the screen in 2000 to star as a football player in The Replacements, a sports comedy directed by Howard Deutch. That same year, he returned to the indie scene with Love & Sex, a take on urban romance. In 2001, Favreau re-teamed with Vaughn for Made, a crime comedy that cast the two actors as aspiring mobsters and marked Favreau's feature directorial debut. Also in 2001, Favreau made the jump to the small screen, producing and hosting IFC's Dinner for Five, a candid roundtable program featuring fellow actors and filmmakers. In 2003, not only did Favreau show up in supporting roles in the hits Daredevil and Something's Gotta Give, his sophomore directorial effort, the Will Ferrell holiday comedy Elf proved to be one of the season's biggest crowd-pleasers, grossing over 100 million dollars at the box office. He followed up that success by bringing Chris Van Allsburg's Zathura to the big screen, although it did not match Elf's box office success. After making a few cameos on TV shows like My Name Is Earl and Monk, Favreau re-teamed with Vince Vaughn once again for a supporting role in the 2006 comedy The Break-Up. He also lent his vocal talents to the animated film Open Season. That same year he announced he would be taking on directorial duties for the big screen adaptation of the comic book Iron Man. Though it wouldn't be released until 2008, Iron Man was a huge success, and helped further Favreau's already solid reputation as a director. Favreau went on to direct Iron Man 2 (2010), which enjoyed similar success.Favreau returned to the screen to play a role in the 2009 comedy Couples Retreat (which he also wrote), which follows a group of married adults who realize their inclusion in a tropical vacation depends on taking part in intense, mandatory therapy sessions. The same year, Favreau appeared in the buddy comedy I Love You, Man, and lent his voice to the cast of the animated children's adventure G-Force. In 2011, Favreau directed and produced the popular sci-fi Western Cowboys & Aliens, and worked as an Executive Producer for 2012's blockbuster hit Marvel's The Avengers.

Trivia: A former prizefighter, nightclub bouncer and lifeguard, Jack Warden took to the stage after serving as a paratrooper in World War II. Warden's first professional engagement was with the Margo Jones repertory troupe in 1947. He made both his Broadway and film debuts in 1951, spending the next few years specializing in blunt military types and short-tempered bullies. Among his most notable screen roles of the 1950s was the homicidally bigoted factory foreman in Edge of the City and the impatient Juror #7 in Twelve Angry Men (both 1957). He was Oscar-nominated for his portrayal of the cuckolded Lester in Warren Beatty's Shampoo (1975) and for his work as eternally flustered sports promoter Max Corkle in another Beatty vehicle, Heaven Can Wait (1978). He has also played the brusque, bluff President in Being There (1978); senile, gun-wielding judge Ray Ford in ...And Justice For All (1979); the twin auto dealers--one good, one bad--in Used Cars (1980); Paul Newman's combination leg-man and conscience in The Verdict (1982); shifty convenience store owner Big Ben in the two Problem Child films of the early 1990s; the not-so-dearly departed in Passed Away (1992); and Broadway high-roller Julian Marx in Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (1994). Extensive though his stage and screen credits may be, Warden has been just as busy on television, winning an Emmy for his portrayal of George Halas in Brian's Song (1969) and playing such other historical personages as Cornelius Ryan (1981's A Private Battle) and Mark Twain (1984's Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues). Barely stopping for air, Jack Warden has also starred or co-starred on the weekly TV series Mister Peepers (1953-55), The Asphalt Jungle (1961), Wackiest Ship in the Army (1965), NYPD (1967-68), Jigsaw John (1975), The Bad News Bears (1979) and Crazy Like a Fox (1984-85); and, had the pilot episode sold, Jack Warden was to have been the star in a 1979 revival of Topper. Though this was not to be for Warden, the gruff actor's age and affectionately sour demeanor found him essaying frequent albiet minor feature roles through the new millennium. Remaining in the public eye withn appearances in While You Were Sleeping (1995), Ed (1996), Bullworth (1998) and The Replacements (2000), the former welterweight fighter remained as dependable as ever when it came to stepping in front of the lens.

Trivia: Welsh actor Rhys Ifans has not only one of the most distinctive names in the film industry but also one of its most idiosyncratic appearances. Tall, lanky, and snaggletoothed, Ifans can go from raving freak to persuasive romantic interest in less time than it takes to pronounce his name correctly.Ifans got his start acting in a number of Welsh language dramas and comedies, and he made his feature film debut in Anthony Hopkins' August (1996). The following year, he was part of one of the most successful films in Great Britain in 1997 when he starred in Twin Town. As one half of a set of twins (the other was portrayed by his real-life brother, Llyr Evans), he played what was undoubtedly one of the most riveting and revolting characters to come into contact with film audiences in years. The film's success opened the way for more work, and the following year he did a complete about-face, appearing as the charmingly errant father of Catherine McCormack's young son in Dancing at Lughnasa.The year after that, Ifans rejected grooming and general communication skills to play the role that was to give him international recognition, starring as Hugh Grant's hygienically challenged roommate in the romantic comedy Notting Hill. Many a critic agreed that Ifans virtually stole the show from his better-known co-stars, and that same year he had a chance to prove himself further in such diverse features as Heart, a black comedy in which he played a writer; and Rancid Aluminum, in which he starred as a man forced into business with the Russian mob after his father's death. Following an unlikely appearance as a football player in The Replacements (2000) and a turn as the son of Old Scratch in Little Nicky (2000), Ifans' role as a socially challenged forest dweller turned opera-loving socialite in the eccentric Human Nature provided audiences with abundant laughs and a further glimpse into the quirkiness of a truly unique actor.Of course the ever-eccentric Ifans was only warming up, and after supporting roles in such efforts as The 51st State, The Shipping News and Once Upon a Time in the Midlands Ifans once again took the lead in the 2003 comedy Donnie Deckchair. Cast as a man whose desperate attempt to escape the monotony of suburban life includes a bundle of large helium balloons and a lightweight deck chair, Ifans charmed Australian audiences in the family-friendly effort. Outside of his film work, Ifans briefly served as lead singer of the band Super Furry Animals before they struck the big time in the late 1990s.In 2006 he voiced McBunny in Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, but had major roles the next year in two very different projects -- Hannibal Rising and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. He appeared in 2009's Pirate Radio, reteaming with Notting Hill screenwriter Richard Curtis. Ifans had a strong supporting turn in Greenberg in 2010, and was center stage in Roland Emmerich's Shakespearean drama Anonymous in 2011. The next year he was part of the cast of the Spider-Man reboot, and was the romantic rival to Jason Segel in the comedy The Five-Year Engagement.

Trivia: Supporting actor Michael Jace was a regular on the short-lived ABC network drama Dangerous Minds (1996-1997). He has also appeared in feature films since 1996. The tall African-American did not originally aspire to perform, but a smart-aleck comment and a challenge led him to the bright lights. It happened while Jace was in college: A marketing major, he'd gone to watch his then-girlfriend rehearse for a campus play. Acting looked easy and he said so. The director overheard him and suggested he go up and read some lines. Jace accepted and proved to be a natural. Thus inspired, he enrolled in drama classes at the Classic Stage Conservatory in New York. Following graduation, Jace worked in regional theater across the U.S. before he moved to Los Angeles to further his career. It wasn't long before opportunity knocked and he was cast as the leader of the militant Black Panthers in Forrest Gump (1994). He has subsequently appeared in several films, including Strange Days (1995). Among his other television credits include guest-starring roles on L.A. Law, Bridges, and N.Y.P.D. Blue, though he became best known for his portrayal of a sexually confused police officer on The Shield (2002-2007), a gritty police drama from FX. In 2009 he took on a small role in State of Play, a political thriller starring Ben Affleck and Helen Mirren, and appeared in the sports comedy Football's Finiest in 2011. He had a recurring role on the TNT cop drama Southland.

Trivia: A plus-sized actor of Afro-Cuban descent whose killer smile and infectious laugh can liven up any comedy, Faizon Love got his start in such well-received African-American comedies as Fear of a Black Hat and Friday before getting wide recognition in such high-profile comedies as Money Talks, The Replacements, and Elf. It was during high school in New Jersey that the aspiring comic first became interested in performing for a crowd; his English teacher recognized Love's skill for comedy and allowing the student to perform for his classmates on days when lessons went especially well. Following graduation, Love moved to New York and made a bid for the big time in the East Coast entertainment capitol; it didn't take long for the performer to land an off-Broadway role in the Harlem National Black Theater production of Bitter Heart Midtown (a modernized retelling of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations). The subsequent death of beloved comic Robin Harris during the production of the animated comedy BeBe's Kids provided the emerging performer with his first big break in film, and though it was strictly a vocal affair, Love performed admirably under pressure. He could next be seen alongside Robert Townsend, Rusty Cundieff, Ice Cube, and Shawn Wayans in a series of low-budget but well-received comedy features. Love later parlayed his connection with Townsend into an extended television role on the small-screen sitcom The Parent 'Hood, and he continued to climb the credits until his role as a gridiron giant in The Replacements punted him into the mainstream. It was following his appearance in the Keanu Reeves sports comedy that Love's career truly took off, with a 2001 performance opposite Sean "Puffy" Combs in Jon Favreau's Made marking the beginning of a working relationship between the director and the actor that would continue when Love appeared opposite Will Ferrell in Elf (2003). Love's role as a surfing football player in Blue Crush in 2002 allowed the actor to overcomed his duel fears of sharks and water to brave the waves. And after attempting to remain in control of a prison as the warden in The Fighting Temptations, it was time to hit the road in Torque, a two-wheeled thrill ride starring Love's former Friday co-star Ice Cube. Video-game players with an ear for detail would recognize Love's substantial role in the hit 2004 release Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, with additional roles opposite Lindsay Lohan in Just My Luck and in the long-awaited OutKast musical Idlewild effectively serving to mark the arrival of a comedic actor whose versatility continued to impress.

Trivia: A native of Houston, TX, Brett Cullen graduated from that city's university, also finding time to compete in fencing and contribute to the Houston Shakespeare Festival. Opting for a shot at stardom over continuing his theater studies, Cullen landed a role on The Chisholms as his first breakthrough. He achieved much attention as Bob Cleary in the highly successful miniseries The Thorn Birds, which led to a stint on the nighttime soap Falcon Crest. He continued to work steadily on both the stage and the screen including production of Guys and Dolls, The Little Foxes, and numerous Shakespearean plays. His film credits include Courage Under Fire and Apollo 13, a role that led to him joining the cast of the Tom Hanks-produced television spectacle From the Earth to the Moon. Cullen has had recurring roles on such respected programs as Ugly Betty, Friday Night Lights, The West Wing, and Lost. In 2007, he starred opposite Uma Thurman in the drama In Bloom. That same year, Cullen starred in the pilot for the television program Life Is Wild, but he was replaced when the show went to series by D.W. Moffett. He had a major role in 2008's The Life Before Her Eyes as well as Brothel. Two years later he played the dad of the troubled lead singer of The Runaways, and he followed that up with a part in the teen comedy Monte Carlo. In 2012 he could be seen in the blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises.

Trivia: A former player and highly successful coach, sports announcer John Madden is best known for his work on broadcasts of National Football League games.

Trivia: Appeared in theatrical productions of Bus Stop and The Tempest. Made his big-screen debut in the 2000 comedy The Replacements. Portrayed the demon Skip in the Angel series. Cites Henry V as the work that inspired him to become an actor.

Trivia: Actor, singer, and voice actor Keith David has spent much of his career on the stage, but also frequently works in feature films and on television. A native of New York City, David first performed as a child, singing in the All Borough Chorus and later attended the prestigious High School of Performing Arts. Shortly after graduating from Juilliard, where he studied voice and theater, David landed a role in a production of Coriolanus at Joseph Papp's Public Theater. He starred opposite Christopher Walken. David made his Broadway debut in Albee's The Lady From Dubuque (1980) and, two years later, had his first film role in John Carpenter's The Thing. He would not appear in another feature film until he played King in Oliver Stone's Platoon (1986). In between, David alternated between stage and television work. He appeared in five films in 1988, including Clint Eastwood's Bird, where he gave a memorable performance as jazz sax player Buster Franklin. In 1992, David showed his considerable skill as a singer and dancer and won a Tony nomination for starring in the musical Jelly's Last Jam, opposite Gregory Hines. David's film career really picked up in the mid-'90s, with roles ranging from a gunslinger in Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead to a New York cop in Spike Lee's Clockers to an amputee who owns a pool parlor in Dead Presidents (all 1995). In 1998, David had a brief but memorable role as Cameron Diaz's boisterous stepfather in the Farrelly brother's zany Something About Mary. In one of the film's funniest scenes, David tries to help Diaz's prom date, Ben Stiller, extricate himself from an embarrassingly sticky situation. He is also well known to animation fans for his voice work in, among other projects, Disney's Gargoyles, HBO's Spawn, and the English-dubbed version of the Japanese-animated film Princess Mononoke. In 2000 he appeared in Requiem for a Dream, Pitch Black, and Where the Heart Is, as well as providing the narration of Ken Burns documentary on the history of jazz. He continued to work steadily in a variety of projects including Barbershop, 29 Palms, Agent Cody Banks, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and the 2005 Oscar winner for Best Picture, Crash. He also found work in Transporter 2, The Oh in Ohio, Meet Monica Velour, Lottery Ticket, and the 2010 remake of Death at a Funeral.

Trivia: After a single credit on the wonderful, overlooked Disney telemovie You Ruined My Life (1987), starring Paul Reiser and Soleil Moon Frye, producer Dylan Sellers spent the 1990s establishing himself as a production force, and the 2000s building up a fat resumé of glossy and lucrative Hollywood blockbusters. Sellers demonstrated no genre predilection overall, veering fluidly and swiftly from sports dramas to slasher horror to geriatric comedy, and grossing healthy returns in many arenas. His first major effort was the Wesley Snipes action vehicle Passenger 57, a nail-biter about a hijacking that found a substantial audience when it premiered in the holiday season of 1992. Despite fascinating content, the producer's next venture -- the enigmatic Paul Auster adaptation The Music of Chance (1993) -- clocked in as an unmitigated disaster, grossing only a few hundred thousand dollars nationally in an extremely limited release and orienting Sellers toward more commercial material. He received a production credit on the ambitious Ron Howard social drama The Paper (1994) and the Walter Matthau/Jack Lemmon vehicle Out to Sea (1997), both of which performed admirably. Sellers gravitated toward safer and more conventional material in the 2000s, and (perhaps as a result) consistently scored as a box-office topper. His releases included the Gene Hackman/Keanu Reeves inspirational sports drama The Replacements (2000), the serial killer-themed horror movie Valentine (2001) and -- most profitably -- the multi-installment Agent Cody Banks series, about a pint-sized super-spy played by Frankie Muniz.

Trivia: Good-ole-boy character actor Gailard Sartain first came to the attention of TV fans as a member of the comedy ensemble of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1976-77 season). Sairtain enjoyed more TV-screen time as dufus short order cook Willie Billie Honey in the 1978 syndicated comedy-variety weekly Hee Haw Honeys; cast as Willie Billie's younger sister, by the way, was one Kathie Lee Johnson, who went on to chatshow fame as Kathie Lee Gifford. In films, Sairtain was prominently featured as the Big Bopper in The Buddy Holly Story (1981) and as bucolic bumpkin Chuck in Jim Varney's Ernest flicks. Active into the 1990s, Gailard Sairtain usually shows up these days in featured roles as redneck Southern sheriffs and state troopers.