Trivia: Raven-haired Julianna Margulies may have become an award-winning TV star on NBC's phenomenally successful ER in the 1990s, but she was ready to exit the series to pursue movies and theater full time by decade's end. Born in Spring Valley, NY, Margulies spent part of her childhood living abroad before settling back in her hometown for a bohemian life with her free-spirit mother. Though she earned a B.A. in art history from Sarah Lawrence College, Margulies performed in college plays and decided to pursue an acting career. Margulies landed her first movie role in 1991, playing a prostitute in the Steven Seagal flick Out for Justice. With no more movie roles forthcoming, Margulies made a living with theater work and TV guest star stints on Law and Order and Homicide in the early '90s. Margulies subsequently landed a role in the pilot for Michael Crichton's new hospital drama ER in 1994, but her character was slated for death after that single episode. Due to a positive audience response, however, Margulies' compassionate Nurse Hathaway survived the pilot. During her six seasons on the most popular TV drama of the 1990s, Margulies won the Emmy and the SAG Award and became a perennial nominee. Buoyed by her TV fame, Margulies returned to films during her hiatuses, starring as the would-be victim of Bill Paxton's Irish con in Traveler (1996), a POW alongside Glenn Close and Cate Blanchett in the ensemble drama Paradise Road (1997), and as Matthew McConaughey's girlfriend in Richard Linklater's Western-esque bank robber saga The Newton Boys (1998). Continuing to avoid glossy big budget Hollywood fare in favor of a more independent sensibility, Margulies also appeared in Boaz Yakin's A Price Above Rubies (1998) and Gurinder Chadha's multiethnic Thanksgiving tale What's Cooking? (2000). Margulies finally took on a blockbuster of sorts when she voiced one of the pre-historic reptiles in the animated Dinosaur (2000). Despite an offer that would have made her one of the highest paid actresses on TV, Margulies announced in 2000 that six years of ER was enough. While Hathaway departed to a future with George Clooney's Dr. Ross, Margulies moved back to New York to hit the off-Broadway stage with Donald Sutherland in Ten Unknowns (2001). Margulies returned to the small-screen for the female-centric version of the King Arthur legend The Mists of Avalon, before appearing in The Man from Elysian Fields, and opposite Pierce Brosnan in the drama Evelyn. After an appearance in the horror film Ghost Ship, Margulies would not appear in another widely released motion picture until she landed one of the main parts in the 2006 summer phenomenon known simply as Snakes on a Plane. Three years later, the veteran actress was back on the small screen as the lead in The Good Wife -- a popular CBS series about a former litigator who returns to work following a public scandal involving her state attorney husband. Though her performance in the series earned Margulies a Best Lead Actress Emmy in 2010, the award that year went to Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer instead. But fans of the actress had good reason to hold out hope that she'd be a strong contender the next year as well, and indeed when the 2001 Emmy winners were announced Margulies emerged the victor.

Trivia: A veteran of film and television, Chris Noth is probably best known for his work on Law and Order and HBO's Sex and the City, the latter of which featured him as the charming but terminally untrustworthy Mr. Big, erstwhile boyfriend/bad habit of the series' heroine, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker). Hailing from Madison, WI, where he was born November 13, 1954, Noth moved around a lot throughout his childhood, living in England, Yugoslavia, and Spain. Returning to the States, he studied with the storied acting coach Stanford Meisner before being accepted into the prestigious Yale School of Drama.Noth got his start on the stage and in television performing at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT, and appearing in productions with theater companies across the country, including the Manhattan Theater Club and Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum. Working in television beginning in 1982, he did a number of shows before breaking into film with small parts in Off Beat (1986) and the Diane Keaton comedy Baby Boom (1987). Noth's big break came in 1989, when he was chosen to play Det. Mike Logan on Law and Order. Noth portrayed the young policeman for five seasons, winning both critical nods and fans, many of whom were saddened when his Law and Order contract was not renewed in 1995. Noth continued to work on television and did minor work in films such as Naked in New York (1994) before getting his next big break in the form of Sex and the City (1998). As Big, he was one of the few male characters who could hold his own in the presence of the series' strong female protagonists, played by Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Kristin Davis. The show proved to be an enormous critical and commercial hit, in the process winning Noth more fans. He would reprise the role for subsuquent big screen adaptations of the show, in addition to other films like My One and Only and Lovelace. Noth would also enoy successful turns on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, and Titanic: Blood and Steel.

Trivia: Designer label-clad force of nature, neurotic diva, and the owner of one of the most expansive mouths in the free world, Christine Baranski is one of the more distinctive actresses working on the stage and screen today. Known to television audiences for her portrayal of Cybill Shepard's brassy and unapologetically arrogant best friend on the sitcom Cybill, Baranski has also made a name for herself on the New York stage, where she has won a number of awards, and has worked as a character actress on a variety of films.Born in Buffalo, New York, on May 2, 1952, Baranski was influenced from a young age by her Polish grandparents, who were both actors. After studying acting at Julliard, she began working on the New York stage and on various TV shows, and made her film debut in 1982. The stage proved to be a particularly good medium for Baranski's talents; a staple of many New York productions, the actress earned Tony Awards and a number of other honors for her work in the Broadway productions of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and Neil Simon's Rumors. Usually cast as a supporting player onscreen, Baranski has done particularly notable work in Jeffrey (1995), in which she played a New York socialite; The Birdcage (1996), which featured her as the brassy mother of Robin Williams' grown son; and Cruel Intentions (1999), in which she did another hilarious turn as a New York socialite. In one of her rare excursions as a lead, Baranski gave a memorable performance as a struggling actress in Bowfinger (1999), sharing the screen with the likes of Steve Martin, Heather Graham, and Eddie Murphy.In 2002 Baranski appeared in the Best Picture Oscar winner Chicago, and she continued to work steadily on TV, in movies, and on stage appearing in projects as diverse as Eloise at the Plaza, Welcome to Mooseport, and the smash hit adaptation of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia! In 2009 she began work on the well-respected CBS drama series The Good Wife opposite Julianna Margulies.

Trivia: Endowed with the kind of dark, puppy-eyed, lanky looks that have often gotten him cast as sensitive, shy young men, actor Josh Charles first became known to audiences as sensitive, shy prep school boy Knox Overstreet in Dead Poets Society (1989). A native of Baltimore, where he was born September 15, 1971, Charles made his entrance into acting through stand-up comedy, which he began performing at the age of eight. He made his film debut in fellow-native son John Waters' Hairspray (1988), and following the success of Dead Poets Society the next year, earned a reputation as a member of the '90s version of the Brat Pack.Charles' subsequent film appearances were sporadic and in projects of wildly varying quality; ranking among his better-known work are Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), Threesome (1994), and the made-for-television Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996). In 1998, Charles was cast as one of the leads in the highly acclaimed TV show Sports Night, a sitcom revolving around the goings-on of a late night cable sports news program. Though Sports Night did indeed gain positive critical notice and a loyal fanbase for its smart writing and multi-dimensional characters, it was unfortunately cancelled before it really had a chance to fully develope. Hollywood did however take notice of Charles' talents as an actor, and the quality and substance of the roles he was being offered slowly began to rise. Following a pair of low-key roles in such indie dramas as Meeting Daddy (2000) and Our America (2002), Charles was cast in the high-profile action thriller S.W.A.T. Over the next several years, Charles would remain active on screen, appearing on TV series like In Treatment and The Good Wife and films like The Ex and Weakness.

Trivia: Grew up in Johnson City, TN. In 1998, he won the Mr. College of Charleston pageant. Captain of his college tennis team. Made his TV debut in a 2000 episode of Freaks and Geeks. Dated Kate Bosworth for two years. Appeared in People Magazine's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive issue. Says his last name is pronounced "Z-O-O-K-RIE."

Trivia: Raven-haired actress Archie Panjabi claimed a unique, exotic, and alluring look that spoke to her Indian ancestry -- and that opened up a myriad of doors in Hollywood productions, usually in a supporting capacity. Raised in Britain, Panjabi first broke through to international acclaim as tomboy Meenah in the Damien O'Donnell-directed Miramax comedy East Is East (1998), then graced the cast of one of the preeminent sleeper hits of 2002, the soccer comedy Bend It Like Beckham. Additional assignments included a small supporting turn in Fernando Meirelles' political thriller The Constant Gardener (2005), a portrayal of Gemma in the Russell Crowe/Marion Cotillard-headlined, Ridley Scott-directed romantic comedy drama A Good Year (2006), and a role in the grueling docudrama A Mighty Heart (2007) as Asra Nomani, a journalist and friend of the Pearl family, who helped in the investigation of his disappearance and murder. In 2006, Panjabi signed with the BBC to portray Maya Roy in the sci-fi-tinged police drama series Life on Mars. In 2008, she appeared opposite Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce in the summer thriller Traitor. She was cast in the CBS drama The Good Wife, in the part of Kalinda Sharma, and that well-reviewed award-winning show kept her busy for a few years.

Trivia: Made his stage debut in a production of Annie, when he was still in kindergarten. Has sung with the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Appeared on Broadway in the musicals 13 and A Christmas Carol. First major big-screen appearance was in the 2007 comedy Evan Almighty. Landed his first series-regular role in 2009, playing the son of Julianna Margulies' character on CBS drama The Good Wife.

Trivia: Is half Colombian. Made her big-screen debut in the Nicolas Cage dramedy The Family Man (2000), for which she won a Young Artist Award. Has landed series-regular roles on ABC sitcom the Geena Davis Show and CBS drama The Good Wife.

Trivia: Trained as an opera singer at Northwestern University. Performed with the Metropolitan and New York City Opera Companies. Appeared on Broadway in such shows as Nine, Sunday in the Park With George and The King and I, for which she received a Tony nomination. In 1971, originated the role of Alma in the stage production of Summer and Smoke, based on a Tennessee Williams play. A 1982 TV production of the work also featured her in the same role; the New York Times called her TV work "superb." Has appeared in the TV series Dawson's Creek and The Good Wife. In 2010, performed in the stage production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. The following year, was in the stage cast of Follies. She took on that role while also filming her scenes for The Good Wife.

Trivia: Scottish, versatile, and for a long time underappreciated, Alan Cumming is chameleon-like in both his choice of roles and his ability to inhabit them convincingly. Born January 27, 1965, in Perthshire, Scotland, Cumming studied drama at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before embarking on a career that would have its roots on the stage. For years, Cumming worked steadily in the theater as a member of repertory companies, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1992 he had his film debut in the largely unheard of Prague, which was essentially a historical overview of the city. In 1994 American audiences were introduced to the sound of Cumming's voice thanks to his role as the narrator of Black Beauty, but it wasn't until 1995 (Cumming's other 1994 film, Second Best notwithstanding) that they actually saw him, this time via his small but memorable role as a Russian computer programmer in Goldeneye.Wider exposure followed, thanks to two successful films. The first, Circle of Friends (1995), featured Cumming as Minnie Driver's slimy, unwelcome suitor, and the second, 1996's Emma, saw Cumming playing yet another unwelcome suitor, this time to Gwyneth Paltrow. More sympathetic roles followed in For My Baby, Buddy, and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (in which he played a sweetly awkward nerd with a crush on Lisa Kudrow), all released in 1997. Work in Spice World came next in 1998, as did the stage role that was to give Cumming critical acclaim, a host of awards, and the wider respect he deserved. That role was Cabaret's Emcee, and Cumming managed to make the character -- previously the sole territory of Joel Grey -- all his own, giving a wickedly delicious performance that was unabashedly dark, sly, androgynous, and altogether terrifying. His performance won him all three New York theater awards: a Tony, a Drama Desk, and an Outer Critics Circle. This triumph resulted in a new range of opportunities for the actor, one of which was the chance to be a part of what was to be Stanley Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Although Cumming's role as a hotel desk clerk was a small one, the actor turned in a sly and insinuating performance that reflected his ability to make the most out of even the most limited opportunities.Cumming was subsequently given almost unlimited opportunities to showcase his flamboyance in Julie Taymor's Titus, her 1999 adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. In his role as the queen's (Jessica Lange) debauched lover, he gave a performance that was as over-the-top and rococo as the film itself, leading some critics to say his portrayal had a little too much in common with a Christmas ham.Fortunately, Cumming surprised critics and audiences alike when he directed, with Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Anniversary Party (2001), a marital comedy-drama that starred him and Leigh as a husband and wife whose anniversary party exposes the many flaws of their fragile marriage. Featuring a cast that included Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. Reilly, and Jennifer Beals, the film, which was shot on digital video, earned a fairly warm reception from critics, many of whom praised Cumming for his work both behind and in front of the camera.Cumming took the part of the bad guy in the first Spy Kids movie, a role he would repeat in the film's first two sequels. He also played the evil corporate manipulator in Josie and the Pussycats. He appeared in the musical remake of Reefer Madness in 2004, and that same year voiced a cat in the live action Garfield the movie. He worked steadily in a variety of projects including Gray Matters, Eloise: Eloise in Hollywood, and Dare, but found his biggest critical success on the small screen as part of the cast in the highly-respected CBS drama The Good Wife which began its run in 2009.

Trivia: Raised in rural Salisbury, CT, and schooled at Northwestern, Mamie Gummer -- the eldest daughter of five-star actress Meryl Streep and sculptor Don Gummer -- followed in the footsteps of her wildly famous mother by entering the acting limelight. She did so at the wee age of 18 months -- appearing as the baby of Streep and Jack Nicholson -- in the disappointing Mike Nichols-Nora Ephron collaboration Heartburn (1986). (The scene reportedly required Gummer to scream her head off, and the filmmakers accommodated the infant by giving her a piece of candy and promptly tearing it away.) In addition to lead roles in many high-school stage productions, scattered film appearances ensued, with a young Gummer typically cast in supporting roles or bit parts of Streep pictures, including the 1993 The House of the Spirits and the 2006 The Devil Wears Prada. Gummer signed for her first substantial role in 2007, with her portrayal of a younger Streep in the poorly received Evening. Critics responded unevenly to Gummer's work in the film. Nearly all who commented on the blossoming ingenue in her early years belabored her striking and attractive (though not conventionally beautiful) allure. With a countenance that almost perfectly mirrored her mother's at a young age, the resemblance -- and the comparisons it engendered -- were inescapable.She appeared in the Iraq War drama Stop-Loss, and had a small role in Ang Lee's period comedy Taking Woodstock. She had major roles in 2010's The LIghtkeepers and 2011's The Ward. Gummer then tried her hand at television, appearing in two quickly-cancelled series. She first appeared in Shonda Rimes' short-lived 2011 series Off The Map (called "Grey's Anatomy in the jungle"). When the show wasn't picked up for a second season, she took the title role in the CW's medical drama Emily Owens, M.D. Low ratings plagued the show and it was cancelled after airing 13 episodes.

Trivia: An actor whom you've probably seen in more films than you realize, Zach Grenier possesses the rare ability to take the smallest of roles and transform them into memorable appearances that stick with audiences long after the credits have finished -- even if his frequently unsympathetic characters have often met an unpleasant demise. It was this ability and skill that found Grenier steadily building a career with appearances in such blockbusters as Cliffhanger (1993), Donnie Brasco (1997), Shaft (2000), and Swordfish (2001). Born in February 1954, Grenier's family lived a somewhat nomadic existence in his early years, moving 18 times before the worldly teen graduated from high school, where, in his junior year, the young man discovered his love of the stage while performing in a production of Shakespeare's Henry V. Continuing to hone his acting skills and frequently appearing on-stage following graduation, Grenier appeared in such other plays as Talk Radio and A Question of Mercy, and made his film debut in the 1987 drama The Kid Brother (aka Kenny). Soon appearing in such films as Working Girl and Talk Radio in 1988, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil the following year. The actor's parts may have been small, but his talent was growing and appearances memorable; his roles continued to expand throughout the '90s, and viewers saw the rising star in Twister and Maximum Risk (both 1996), among several other movies. A turn as Joseph Goebbels in that year's Mother Night gave him a chance to prove his dramatic skills in front of the camera, and a subsequent role in David Fincher's cult hit Fight Club (1999) found him holding his own well against the film's talented leads. Alternating between television and movies in subsequent work, Grenier starred in the little-seen thriller Chasing Sleep (2000) and joined the cast of the popular weekly suspense series 24 in 2001.

Trivia: Equipped with classical training as a stage actor, American thespian Dallas Roberts cut his chops on and off Broadway during the 1990s and early 2000s before transitioning to film -- a shift that represented a broad stylistic and technical leap for the dramatist. Born and raised in the Houston area, Roberts first attended a Lone Star community college with an unclear idea of how he wanted to spend his professional life. Had he never discovered Juilliard, his life might very well have forked off in another direction; instead, Roberts -- directed toward acting at the behest of a collegiate drama professor -- applied to the hallowed New York conservatory and gained acceptance. Involvement in numerous theatrical productions on the Great White Way ensued, such as the 2002 Burn This (with Edward Norton and Catherine Keener) and Adam Rapp's Nocturne, for which Roberts received a Drama Desk Award nomination.Though a couple of unremarkable independent films preceded it, the Michael Mayer-directed, Michael Cunningham-scripted 2004 picture A Home at the End of the World (an adaptation of Cunningham's beloved novel) marked Roberts' first noteworthy cinematic achievement. The picture also shot Roberts instantly to third billing -- not an unpromising start for a cinematic newcomer. It concerns the relationship triangle that develops between Jonathan (Roberts), a thirtysomething gay man desperate to act as a father to his roommate's baby; the eccentric roommate Clare (Robin Wright Penn); and Jonathan's lifelong, heterosexual best friend, Bobby (Colin Farrell), who move to a house together in rural, upstate New York. Roberts, who reportedly felt a bit thrown by the lack of advance character preparation and dramatic adjustment in film (compared to theater) nonetheless delivered a bravura performance; the film itself received mixed reviews.Over the next several years, Roberts would enjoy a sustained level of fame and respect as an actor, appearing memorably in movies like Walk the Line (2005) , 3:10 to Yuma, and on TV series like The Walking Dead, Rubicon, The Good Wife, and Unforgettable.

Trivia: Born Susan Williams Antonia Stockard Channing Schmidt on February 13, 1944, Channing is the daughter of a wealthy shipping executive, and became interested in the dramatic arts while attending college at Radcliffe. After graduating in the mid-sixties, Channing joined Boston's experimental Theater Company. Several unsuccessful Broadway auditions later, she landed a lead role in a Los Angeles production of Two Gentlemen of Verona. Eventually, Channing made it to Broadway, and won a Tony for her performance in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg.In the early '70s, Channing appeared in several small television roles, and made her big screen debut in 1971's The Hospital. In 1973, the actress starred in the Joan Rivers-penned black comedy The Girl Most Likely To..., a TV movie about an overweight college girl who loses weight, gets cosmetic surgery, and sets off in hopes of getting even. Channing's first major film role came two years later, when she starred in Mike Nichols' The Fortune with Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty. It wasn't until 1978, however, that Channing would win her most memorable role to date -- tough gal Rizzo in the retro-musical Grease. Interestingly enough, although she was cast as a teenager, the actress was in her early thirties when she was chosen for the film. Around the same time, Channing starred in two similar and short-lived sitcoms: Stockard Channing in Just Friends and The Stockard Channing Show. By 1980, Channing's film career was idling in neutral, so she focused her energies on the theater, though she began showing up in various supporting film roles in the mid to late eighties. In 1993, she was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for playing the formidable Upper East Side matron of Six Degrees of Separation; the role had also earned her a Tony nomination when she performed it in the film's stage version. Channing subsequently made steady appearances in both film and television, and co-starred as a witch in Practical Magic with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, as well as The First Wives Club, Moll Flanders, Edie & Pen, and An Unexpected Family. In 2000, Channing would play one of the more eccentric residents of a small Oklahoma town in Where the Heart Is. After filming Other Voices in 2001, which was screened at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, Channing would receive a solid amount of critical success for her role in The Business of Strangers (2001), in which she starred as a high-level corporate player who saves her own job only to find out her boss is a rapist. In between filming a variety of television and documentary appearances - namely, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (2002), A Girl Thing (2001), Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The William Haines Story (2001), and New York Firefighters: The Brotherhood of 9/11 (2002) -- Channing joined up with Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie in Stephen Herek's Life or Something Like It. In 2003, Channing made a cameo appearance in Bright Young Things, and went on to co-star in Le Divorce with Kate Hudson, Glenn Close, and Matthew Modine during the same year. The actress also signed on with the legendary Woody Allen in Anything Else, in which she played a middle-aged mother determined to land a role in a cabaret production. She would find particular success on the small screen over the coming years, with a starring role as first lady Abbey Bartlet on The West Wing.

Trivia: Actress Jess Weixler grew up in Louisville, KY, then later attended and graduated from the drama program at Juilliard. She scored her first major screen role as a stripper taking a swim class in Ishai Setton's comedy drama The Big Bad Swim (2005), but attained much broader recognition as a young virgin cursed with a bizarre and grisly anatomical aberration in Mitchell Lichtenstein's eccentric horror comedy Teeth (2007).

Trivia: Born February 12, 1963, John Michael Higgins is a character player who evinced a flair for comedic portrayals of middle-aged types, actor John Michael Higgins jump-started his career with a dead-on evocation of David Letterman in the made-for-cable comedy The Late Shift -- a picture about the cutthroat war between Letterman and Jay Leno to be crowned "King of Late Night Talk." Higgins followed this auspicious and covetable assignment with small roles in Barry Levinson's scathing political satire Wag the Dog (1997) and a guest appearance as one of Elaine's issue-ridden boyfriends on Seinfeld, but made his most substantial impression as an occasional character on Ally McBeal -- that of Steven Milter, an attorney who doubled as a psychoanalyst of Ally's. Beginning with Best in Show (2000), Higgins enjoyed a multi-film run on the big screen with Christopher Guest and his regular mockumentary collaborators that also included the farces A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006). He also had a recurring role as an attorney Wayne Jarvis on the critically acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development and supplied the voice of Mentok the Mindtaker for the animated comedy series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Back on the big screen, Higgins essayed two A-list supporting roles in 2007, in the Steve Carell-headlined farce Evan Almighty and the holiday-themedFred Claus starring Vince Vaughn. Higgins joined Vaughn again in Couples Retreat (2009), a romantic comedy following a group of couples who arrive on a tropical island only to find out they are required to participate in couples therapy in order to stay. He appeared on the FX television series Wilford in 2011, and joined the cast of the sitcom Happily Divorced, in which he co-stars with Fran Drescher (his real life ex-wife) as a man who amicably ended his marriage after coming to terms with his homosexuality. After working with Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz in the moderately successful comedy Bad Teacher in 2011, the actor played a small role in the 2012 adventure drama Big Miracle, which follows the plight of a journalist and volunteer who go to extreme lengths to save a beached whale.

Trivia: Was chosen as a Leonore Annenberg Fellow by Lincoln Center Theater.Trained at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company.Debuted on Broadway in a 2008 Roundabout Theater Company production of A Man for All Seasons.Nominated for 2 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor for his performances in Off-Broadway productions of The Coward in 2008, and David Ives' New Jerusalem in 2011.Has appeared in multiple films inspired by true events, such as Lincoln, Parkland, Zero Dark Thirty, Selma and The Big Short.

Trivia: Dyed his hair blue for the role of Judas in a high school production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Made his film debut in 2001 cult favorite Donnie Darko. The film's lead, Jake Gyllenhaal, was a high-school classmate of Kranz's. Landed his first regular TV role with CBS sitcom Welcome to the Captain. Frequently works with Joss Whedon, acting in Whedon's Dollhouse, The Cabin in the Woods and Much Ado About Nothing. Played Bernard in Mike Nichols' 2012 Broadway production of Death of a Salesman.

Trivia: An intense, unaffected, sloe-eyed Italian American player of television, stage, and film, Cara Buono never lacked determination. The product of a working-class Bronx household, she was determined to become an actor during adolescence, then broke into show business at age 12 (ca. 1983) and used a succession of roles, including Broadway and small screen assignments, to generate a steady income, support herself, and ultimately put herself through Columbia University in an astonishing three years. Buono made an admirable (albeit low-profile) debut in director Stephen Gyllenhaal's ambitious and vastly underrated psychological drama Waterland (as a student in the early '70s). Subsequent films varied enormously in quality, as did the scope of her roles; from a turn as an illegal immigrant daughter in the critically excoriated buddy comedy The Cowboy Way (1994), to a bit part in the critically worshipped Noah Baumbach seriocomedy Kicking and Screaming (1995). Subsequent highlights of Buono's career included a key supporting role in director Brad Anderson's wry romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland (1998) and a portrayal of Bruce Banner's mother, Edith, in director Ang Lee's unevenly received superhero opus Hulk (2003). In the years to follow, Buono shifted her focus to television with a season-long role as Grace Foster on Third Watch and a portrayal of Anna Turner in Season Six of The Dead Zone. She also co-starred opposite Jason Cottle in the occult horror thriller Cthulhu, adapted from a story by H.P. Lovecraft. In 2010 Buono had a major part in Let Me In, the American remake of the vampire film Let the Right One In, and she played psychiatrist Faye Miller, one of Don Draper's many girlfriends during the fourth season of the award-winning AMC series Mad Men. Two years later she was in the drama Drew Peterson: Untouchable.

Trivia: Participated in her high school choir which led to a serious interest in voice and singing. Originally aspired to be an R&B singer but changed to classical music after being inspired by voice teacher Gwendolyn Lentz. Spent a summer studying Shakespeare at Oxford University in England. Tried out for an understudy part in the Broadway production of Ghost the Musical but was later cast in the principal role of Oda Mae during an absence by the original actress due to an injury.

Trivia: From the beginning of his career, the inimitable, Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist Charlie Rose cultivated and sustained a reputation as one of America's foremost intellectually oriented talk show interviewers. The Henderson, NC, native received his formal education at Duke University, with an AB in history and a JD from the School of Law. His eponymous talk series debuted on PBS in 1992; it employed a unique (and now famous) style and venue that found him perched in a chair to one side of a round wooden table; celebrity guests (who spanned the fields of arts, entertainment, sports, politics, and current events per se) sat across from him, one at a time, and responded to an array of incisive, cerebral questions about their lives, careers, worldviews, and hopes for the future. In terms of interviewing style, Rose utilized an approach commonly termed "disarming" for its directness and lack of pretense and manipulation, but it was nevertheless softened by a southern warmth and graciousness that set him apart from the pack, which gave him a broad following. In addition to the program, Rose launched a documentary series called Great Masters that examined the lives and works of various artists. Though Rose strictly limited his cinematic activity, he turned up as himself in Isabel Coixet's 2008 psychological drama Elegy.