Trivia: Wil Wheaton was eight years old when he got his first showbiz break, appearing with Bill Cosby in a Jell-O pudding commercial. The following year (1982), Wheaton was prominently featured in the voiceover cast of the animated The Secret of NIMH. During this same period, he made his Los Angeles stage debut in a Company of Angels Theatre production of All My Sons. His starmaking turn was as Gordie Lachance, the Stephen King alter-ego, in the 1986 feature Stand By Me (1986). He then went on to play the title role in the 1987 Disney TV-movie Young Harry Houdini. Wheaton gained worldwide fame (and a worldwide website) as ensign Wesley Crusher in the weekly TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role he played from 1987 to 1990. After leaving STNG on his own accord, Wheaton transitioned into adult roles with appearances in Flubber and a slew of independent films, and in 2001 he launched Wil Wheaton Dot Net, a blog that quickly gained a considerable following while turning the veteran actor into something of a geek icon. Meanwhile, in addition to staying busy with voice roles in such popular videogames as the Grand Theft Auto series and Fallout: New Vegas, Wheaton also contributed vocally to such animated television series' as Naruto, Ben 10: Alien Force, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In 2009 he began riffing on his own public persona with a recurring role as a fictional version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, and in 2010 he joined the cast of the quirky Sci-fi Channel series Eureka as Dr. Isaac Parrish. The author of both Dancing Barefoot and Just a Geek, Wheaton is the brother of actress Amy Wheaton.

Trivia: Born into a hippie family, River Phoenix spent his childhood moving from place to place, living for a time in South and Central America. As an adolescent, he debuted before the camera in an episode of the daytime TV series Fantasy, after which he appeared in the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Family Ties. He debuted onscreen in Joe Dante's Explorers (1985), but first made a big impression in his second film, Rob Reiner's sleeper hit Stand By Me (1986). He soon gained a reputation as a precociously talented actor with a singular ability to reach inside himself, and made the transition to adult roles as a young hustler in Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho (1991). His brother Joaquin (aka Leaf) has also acted in many films. River Phoenix died of an overdose of cocaine and amphetamines in October, 1993.

Trivia: A professional actor from the age of three, Corey Feldman was kept busy early on with innumerable TV commercials and voice-overs. Feldman's first regular television work was a recurring role in Mork and Mindy (1978-1982), followed by the part of Regi Tower in the weekly sitcom version of The Bad News Bears (1979). He made his earliest film appearance as the inquisitive kid in the museum in Time After Time (1979). In the early '80s, Feldman showed up in several episodes of the syndicated Madame's Place (1982) and played precocious-brat roles in such fantasy flicks as Gremlins (1984) and The Goonies (1985). During this period, he also provided the voice of the Young Copper in the Disney animated feature The Fox and the Hound (1980). His breakthrough role, at age 14, was as the battered, bespectacled small-town hell-raiser Teddy Duchamp in Rob Reiner's Stand by Me (1986). Feldman's acting career then went into decline, leaving him with few professional choices outside of minor roles in features such as Maverick (1994) and leads in direct-to-video movies. His most successful post-Stand by Me venture was as the voice of Donatello in the first two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. In many of his latter-day efforts, Feldman co-starred with his offscreen best friend Corey Haim, another youthful performer.

Trivia: Like Henry Thomas and a few others of the same generation, Jerry O'Connell proves that second acts are far from impossible for Hollywood actors who began their careers as children. O'Connell first gained recognition among film fans as "that fat kid from Stand By Me," when he starred in the 1986 Rob Reiner film at the age of eleven - then experienced a massive physical transformation. Several years and many lost pounds later, O'Connell emerged as a tall, handsome screen lothario, a development that provoked substantial commentary from both film critics and any number of lay viewers.Born in New York City on February 17, 1974, O'Connell enrolled in acting classes at the age of six. He obtained his first professional assignments acting in commercials when he was ten, and a year later made his film debut in the critically acclaimed Stand By Me. Though somewhat overshadowed by the presence of teen idol co-stars River Phoenix and Corey Feldman, O'Connell still managed to win a place in the coming-of-age pantheon. After Stand By Me, he appeared in the memorable syndicated television series My Secret Identity (as a high schooler with superpowers) and enrolled at Manhattan's Professional Children's School. Following his graduation, he attended New York University, where he attained a B.A. in Film and Television in 1995. While still an NYU student, O'Connell appeared in the eminently forgettable Jason Priestley vehicle Calendar Girl (1993).After his college graduation, O'Connell began to pursue thesping full-time. He soon landed a starring role on the sci-fi series Sliders, which, despite low ratings, had a very loyal viewership. In 1996, the actor's popularity grew beyond the confines of television when he starred in both Joe's Apartment and Jerry Maguire. The latter film was a particular success, and O'Connell began to land steady film assignments once again. Next up was the slasher movie Scream 2 (1997), in which he played Neve Campbell's boyfriend. After an uncredited role in the Jennifer Love Hewitt vehicle Can't Hardly Wait (1998), O'Connell returned to television to star as a young Vietnam War soldier in the miniseries The '60s in 1999. That same year, he starred as a neanderthal-like jock in Body Shots, a film about the search for love and/or a lay amongst a group of Los Angeles twentysomethings.At this point, if O'Connell still carried a full resume, he often seemed to alternate between respectable A-list material - such as the disappointing but ambitious Brian De Palma sci-fi'er Mission to Mars (2000) and the generally pleasant family comedy Yours, Mine and Ours (2005) - and ridiculous studio dreck, such as the misogynistic sex comedy Tomcats (2001) and the awful 2002 "family" picture Kangaroo Jack (where the actor co-starred alongside a wisecracking CG-animated marsupial). In fall 2007, O'Connell trekked back to the small screen for one of the three lead roles in the sitcom Carpoolers - about a cadre of male buddies who share rides to and from work each day. O'Connell would spend the next few years appearing in movies like Obsessed and Piranha, in addition to successful TV runs like Do Not Disturb and The Defenders.O'Connell married supermodel and actress Rebecca Romijn in 2007. The two have two children.

Trivia: Perhaps the most definitive descriptor for Kiefer Sutherland's career is not any particular niche he's carved for himself, but rather his versatility. From the perfected subtleties he has portrayed in supporting roles, to his command of the screen as a star, Sutherland has covered abundant ground. His roles have ranged from deeply psychological, such as the medical student in Flatliners, to upbeat and authoritative, like the sheriff in Picking Up the Pieces. In addition to his talent on the big screen, Sutherland has earned directorial credits, as well as a Golden Globe Award in 2001 for Best Actor in a TV Drama.Kiefer Sutherland and his twin sister, Rachel, were born to acting parents Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas in the U.K. on December 21, 1966. In 1971, his parents divorced, and Sutherland moved from their home in L.A. to Toronto with his mother. Just six years later, he was appearing in theatrical performances, including a production of Throne of Strow. His first film appearance occurred in 1983, in Max Dugan Returns, with a scene featuring Sutherland alongside his father Donald Sutherland.The 1980s brought the beginning of what would become Kiefer Sutherland's lengthy list of film credits. Most notable were his roles in The Bay Boy -- a 1930s coming-of-age story set in Nova Scotia -- for which he won a Genie Award in 1984, and the Rob Reiner drama Stand by Me (1986) in which he played a scene-stealing bully. He appeared in The Lost Boys in 1987, also starring Jason Patric. In 1988, at age 20, Sutherland married Camelia Kath, who was 14 years his senior, and the couple had a daughter named Sarah Jude that same year. The marriage lasted for two years.Flatliners, 1990's groundbreaking psychodrama, starred Sutherland with Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, and Julia Roberts. The story involved four medical students experimenting with death, attempting to actually die to experience the after-life, and then be revived by their peers. The unique story line and strong performances earned the stars a lot of attention for the film. Sutherland and Roberts engaged in an offscreen romance, which endured for some time after shooting had wrapped.In 1992, Sutherland starred in the blockbuster A Few Good Men, also starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, and Kevin Bacon. Within a year, he made his directorial debut with the made-for-television drama Last Light, in which he also starred as a prison inmate. He was married a second time, to Kelly Winn, in 1996, but the relationship had ended by 2000.In the late '90s, his career picked up pace, with multiple acting and directing credits occurring within single years. The year 1997 featured Sutherland as Joey in a modern film noir called The Last Days of Frankie the Fly, and as director of the psycho-thriller Truth or Consequences, N.M. In A Soldier's Sweetheart, adapted from a story by Vietnam-vet writer Tim O'Brien, he played the narrator of the flashbacks, in 1998. That same year, he starred in the science fiction-mystery film Dark City with Jennifer Connelly and Rufus Sewell. His second self-directed TV movie, Woman Wanted, was one of four projects released crediting his name in 1999. He also appeared in a German film called After Alice, the psychotic drama Ground Control with Kristy Swanson and Kelly McGillis, and the thriller The Break Up starring Bridget Fonda.Shifting gears from the deep, psychosomatic, and eerie tones of his late-'90s films, Sutherland played the sheriff in 2000's Picking Up the Pieces. Featuring David Schwimmer, Cheech Marin, and Sharon Stone, the film was a satirical comedy infused with screwball humor, with a notable appearance by Woody Allen. Again revisiting a more dramatic genre, Sutherland starred in Fox's revolutionary action series 24 as antiterrorism agent Jack Bauer. With each 1-hour episode told in real time, the 24 episode season represented a single day in the show's chronology. Immediately garnering rave reviews and a rabid core fanbase, the series became a hit and in 2001, Sutherland's role on the program earned him recognition as Best Actor in a TV Drama at the Golden Globe Awards. The innovative series would continue to collect awards and nominations as it was renewed for successive seasons which each followed the single-day format, but took place months or sometimes years later in the timeline.As he continued to star on 24, Sutherland parlayed the show's success into some higher-profile film roles. In 2003, he played the menacing villain in the thriller Phone Booth, and the following year, he played another bad-guy opposite Ethan Hawke and Angelina Jolie in Taking Lives. 24 continued to be the actor's main gig, however, and by the time he began season six in 2006, the of character Jack Bauer had become a cultural icon as the ultimate anti-hero: and a man capable of doing or enduring anything in the name of justice, protection, or even vengeance. In addition to his work on 24, Sutherland took on a variety of voice roles (Monsters vs Aliens, Twelve, Marmaduke), and co-starred with Kristin Dunst in Lars von Trier's Melancholia (2011).

Trivia: Stocky, frequently bespectacled, eventually balding, and prematurely gray, Richard Dreyfuss is an unlikely candidate for a movie star. Even so, he has been one of Hollywood's most versatile, charismatic, and energetic leading men since the mid-'70s. Born in Brooklyn, NY, on October 29, 1947, Dreyfuss moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was nine. There he became friends with Rob Reiner and began acting in school productions and at the Beverly Hills Jewish Community Center. He attended San Fernando Valley State College, but was expelled after getting into a heated argument with a professor over Marlon Brando's performance in Julius Caesar (1953). Not wanting to be drafted for Vietnam, he registered as a conscientious objector and spent two years as a clerk at a Los Angeles hospital instead of enlisting. During this time, Dreyfuss started getting a few acting jobs on network television series such as Bewitched and Big Valley; he had his first film role in 1967's The Graduate, speaking the lines "Shall I call the cops? I'll call the cops" to Dustin Hoffman. He continued playing bit parts in a couple more films, but did not get his first big break until he played Baby Face Nelson in the bloody biopic Dillinger (1973). A memorable leading role as an intelligent, contemplative teen in George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973) earned Dreyfuss critical acclaim, as did his portrayal of an entrepreneurial Jewish youth in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974). In 1975, the actor's career exploded when he starred as an arrogant shark expert in Steven Spielberg's Jaws. He worked for Spielberg again two years later, playing an average Midwestern working stiff who learns that we are not alone in the universe in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Further success followed that same year when Dreyfuss portrayed a failed actor in Neil Simon's romantic comedy The Goodbye Girl. His performance won him an Oscar, making him, at the age of 29, the youngest performer ever to receive the Best Actor honor. After that, Dreyfuss was in demand and, until 1981, he continued to find steady work in a number of films. However, none of these proved particularly popular, and the actor's career began to nosedive. Matters were worsened by his reported drug use and Hollywood party antics; in 1982, he was involved in a car accident and arrested for possession of cocaine. Fortunately, Dreyfuss managed to turn his life around, and after appearing in the rarely seen Buddy System (1984), made a big comeback in Paul Mazursky's hit comedy Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), starring opposite Bette Midler and Nick Nolte. With his reputation restored, Dreyfuss went on to appear in lead and supporting roles in numerous films of varying quality. Highlights included Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), Postcards From the Edge (1990), What About Bob? (1991), and Quiz Show (1994). In 1996, Dreyfuss played one of his finest roles as a high school music teacher who sacrifices his dream of becoming a famous composer to help his students in Mr. Holland's Opus (1996). The role earned Dreyfuss an Oscar nomination. That same year, he won acclaim of a different sort, lending his voice to a sarcastic centipede in Tim Burton's animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. He went on to appear in Sidney Lumet's Night Falls on Manhattan (1997) and to star in Krippendorf's Tribe in 1998. The following year, he could be seen as titular Jewish gangster Lansky, a made-for-TV biopic scripted by David Mamet.In 2001, with his film career struggling a bit, Dreyfuss took his first stab at series television since 1964's short-lived sitcom Karen. The hour-long CBS drama The Education of Max Bickford starred the actor as a college history professor opposite Marcia Gay Harden and received largely positive reviews from critics. However, despite the accolades, the show failed to garner a substantial audience and was cancelled after one season.The following years would see Dreyfuss continuing to appear on screen, appearing most notably in movies like W., Leaves of Grass, and Red, and on TV shows like Weeds and Parenthood.

Trivia: The son of actor Richard Cusack and younger brother of comic actress Joan Cusack, John Cusack started his career at the age of eight, under the guidance of his theatrically active mother. He made his stage bow with Evanston's Pivan Theatre Workshop and quickly went on to do commercial work, becoming one of Chicago's busiest commercial voice-over artists.Although Cusack began to emerge as an actor during the heyday of the Brat Pack, and appeared in a number of "teen" movies, he managed to avoid falling into the narrowly defined rut the phenomenon left in its wake. After making his film debut in 1983's Class, he had a brief but painfully memorable appearance as a member of Anthony Michael Hall's nerd posse in Sixteen Candles (1984). Bigger and better opportunities came Cusack's way the following year, when he achieved a measure of stardom with his portrayal of a sexually anxious college freshman in The Sure Thing (1985). The same year, he gained further recognition with his starring roles in Better Off Dead (which also granted him a degree of cult status) and The Journey of Natty Gann.Cusack spent the rest of the 1980s carving out a niche for himself as both a solid performer and something of a lust object for unconventional girls everywhere, a status aided immeasurably by his portrayal of lovable underachiever Lloyd Dobler in Cameron Crowe's 1989 ....Say Anything. He also began winning critical acclaim for his parts in more serious films, notably as a disgraced White Sox third baseman in John Sayles' Eight Men Out (1988) and as a con artist in Stephen Frears' The Grifters (1990).Cusack enjoyed steady work throughout the 1990s, with particularly notable roles in Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (1994), which featured him as a struggling playwright; Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), in which he starred as a journalist investigating a murder; Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), which cast him as the film's protagonist, a neurotic hit man; and the impressively cast The Thin Red Line, in which he played a World War II soldier. Just about all of Cusack's roles allowed him to showcase his quirky versatility, and the films he did to close out the century were no exception: in 1999 he first starred as an air-traffic controller in the comedy Pushing Tin and then appeared as Nelson Rockefeller in Cradle Will Rock, Tim Robbins' exploration of art and politics in 1930s America; finally, in perhaps his most unique film to date, he starred in Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich as a puppeteer who discovers a way to enter the mind of the famous actor. The wildly original film turned out to be one of the year's biggest surprise hits, scoring among both audiences and critics. Cusack had yet another triumph the following year with High Fidelity, Stephen Frears' adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel of the same name. The actor, who co-wrote the script for the film in addition to starring in it, earned some of the best reviews of his career for his heartfelt comic portrayal of Rob, the film's well-meaning but oftentimes emotionally immature protagonist. The next year he played opposite Julia Roberts in the showbiz comedy America's Sweethearts. In 2002 he took a lead part in the controversial Hitler biopic Max, and he did a brief cameo for Spike Jonze in Adaptation.The next year he had a couple of hits with the John Grisham adaptation The Runaway Jury, and the psychological thriller Identity. In 2005 he was the lead in the black comedy The Ice Harvest opposite Billy Bob Thornton, as well as the romantic comedy Must Love Dogs.He earned solid reviews in 2007 for the Iraq War drama Grace Is Gone, playing the husband of a woman who dies while serving in the military., and in that same year he starred in the Stephen King adaptation 1408. In 2008 he appeared in and co-wrote the political satire War, Inc. The next year he was the lead in the disaster film blockbuster 2012.Cashing in on his status as an eighties icon, he had a hit in 2010 with the R rated comedy Hot Tub Time Machine, and in 2012 he portrayed Edgar Allan Poe in The Raven.

Trivia: Though not among Hollywood's best known supporting actors, Casey Siemaszko (pronounced Sheh-MA-zshko) has worked with some of Tinseltown's most important directors. Born Kazimierz Siemaszko in Chicago to a Polish survivor of a Nazi concentration camp and an English dancer, Siemaszko started performing at age five with his father's dance troupe, the Kosciuszko Dancers. As a young man, Siemaszko studied fine arts at Chicago's Goodman School of Drama and launched his professional career on the Chicago stage before moving to L.A. where it took him four years before landing a role in Class (1983). In 1985, he played 3-D in Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future (1985); he later reprised the role in the 1989 sequel. Since then Siemaszko has worked with Steven Spielberg on an episode of Amazing Stories, with Rob Reiner in Stand By Me(1986) where he played a member of Keifer Sutherland's gang, and had a major supporting role in Mike Nichol's Biloxi Blues (1989). Siemasko's film career slowed considerably in the 1990s with notable roles in Gary Sinise's Of Mice and Men (1992) and in Lance Young's sexually charged Bliss (1997).

Trivia: Bell is a supporting actor, onscreen from the '80s.

Trivia: American actor Bruce Kirby made his Broadway bow at age 40 in the 1965 production Diamond Orchid. More stage work followed, and then movie assignments, commencing with the all-star Catch 22 (1970), and continuing into the 1980s with such productions as Sweet Dreams (1985) and Throw Momma from the Train (1987). Kirby's TV career has embraced both series successes (1989's Anything But Love, as Jamie Lee Curtis' father), ignoble failures (1976's Holmes and Yoyo, as Henry Sedford), and a few projects which never sold (Kirby was in two busted pilots for something called McNamara's Band). In 1984, Kirbyreturned to Broadway to understudy Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman in the revival of Death of a Salesman. Bruce Kirby, sometimes billed as Bruce Kirby Sr., was the father of actor Bruno Kirby, who formerly billed himself as B. Kirby Jr.

Trivia: Actress Frances Lee McCain began her career on Broadway, appearing in stage shows throughout the late '60s before transitioning to the screen with a number of TV guest-appearances, as well as roles in movies like Gremlins and Footloose. The '90s would bring supporting roles in many more movies, including Scream and Patch Adams. McCain remained active in theater, especially in the San Francisco area.