Trivia: An actress whose piercing, pale blue eyes could give even Meg Foster a run for her money, Emily Deschanel has come quite a long way since being listed as one of Interview magazine's "Six Actors to Watch" back in 2001. The firstborn daughter of Oscar-winning cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Weir (their second was starlet Zooey), Emily received her B.F.A. in theater from Boston University before launching her career on the stage and screen. Early roles in It's a Shame About Ray and Rose Red found the rising starlet gradually gaining her footing before the cameras, and as her confidence as an actress increased, so did her screen time. By the time Deschanel appeared in such features as Cold Mountain and The Alamo, viewers were already beginning to pick up on her talent, while she could also still be seen acting on-stage, frequently appearing in plays for the Interact Theatre Company. In 2003, Deschanel appeared in minor capacity as a receptionist in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, with her role in Ghost House Pictures' 2004 frightener Boogeyman serving to prove that she was much more than just another pretty face.As the 2000's rolled on, Deschanel would prove to be an even bigger force on the small screen, playing forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, partner of FBI agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), on the popular Fox crime drama series Bones.

Trivia: Look up the words "handsome" and "brooding" in any dictionary and chances are you'll have a pretty good description of actor David Boreanaz. Tall, dark, and possessing the sort of alluring charisma that suggests an Abercrombie and Fitch model from the dark side, Boreanaz flourished on the small screen in the early 2000s when his Buffy the Vampire Slayer role was spun off into the supernatural-flavored series Angel.Born in Buffalo, NY, and raised in Philadelphia, Boreanaz was inspired at age seven to pursue a career in acting after witnessing the legendary Yul Brynner's performance in The King and I. In the years that followed, the aspiring actor would strive to keep the dream alive, and when it came time for higher education, Boreanaz opted to study his craft at Ithaca College in New York. The allure of a life in films soon drew Boreanaz to Los Angeles, although it wouldn't take him long to realize that struggling actors were a dime a dozen in sunny California. Dreams of his name in lights soon gave way to realities such as earning a living by parking cars and handing out towels at a sports club -- and uncredited parts in such films as Aspen Extreme and Best of the Best 2 (both 1993) certainly weren't paying the rent. A one-time role on Married...With Children as daughter Kelly's (Christina Applegate) motorcycle-riding boyfriend gained the struggling actor modest exposure -- and his luck would soon change in the most unexpected (though somewhat typical by Hollywood standards) way. While Boreanaz was walking his dog in Hollywood, a manager was taken by his captivating intensity, and a subsequent introduction to casting agent Marcia Shulman almost immediately ensured his landing the role of the vampire Angel on the soon-to-be-hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Two years after the premiere of Buffy, Boreanaz's character proved popular enough to earn his own eponymously titled spin-off series, and the show proved a solid hit for the WB until it was inexplicably canceled in mid-2004. Of course, by this point, Boreanaz could rest fairly easy thanks to roles in such features as Valentine (2001) and I'm With Lucy (2002). Fans who couldn't get enough of the actor's dark side could look forward to his role as the villainous Luc Crash in The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2004).Soon however, Boreanaz found another compelling small-screen role, playing Special Agent Seeley Booth on the hit detective series Bones.

Trivia: A Boston native whose early work included stints with the Dallas Theater Center and New York's Mint Theater Company, actor T.J. Thyne studied his craft with theaters throughout the United States and British Columbia before receiving his B.F.A. in acting from the USC School of Theater. Numerous television roles were quick to follow after Thyne hit the audition circuit with unusual ferocity, and by the year 2000, Thyne had racked up nearly 50 small-screen credits thanks to appearances on such shows as Home Improvement, Party of Five, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Just Shoot Me. In 2002, Thyne founded the Los Angeles-based Theater Junkies Productions with the aim of producing for both stage and screen; their popular short film Validation subsequently screened at film festivals across the country. Memorable supporting roles in such high-profile features as Erin Brockovich Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Ghost World, How High, and Something's Got to Give made Thyne an increasingly familiar face to movie fans, though it was the actor's casting as bug expert Dr. Jack Hodgins in the hit Fox forensics drama Bones that would transform him into a bona fide television star. Thyne has also done frequent commercial work, with his role as a Shania Twain-singing Chevy truck passenger proving a particularly memorable television spot.

Trivia: Michaela Conlin knew she wanted to be an actress from the tender age of six, and from the time she appeared in her first play that same year, there was no turning back from her future on the stage and screen.A native of Allentown, PA, who honed her skills in community and regional theater before studying acting at New York City's Tisch School of the Arts, Conlin earned her B.F.A. while simultaneously appearing in productions at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School and the Atlantic Theater Company. Later, she would travel to Amsterdam to take part in the Experimental Theater Wing's International Training Program. While Conlin's first screen role after graduation was grounded firmly in reality (she was chosen to appear in a documentary film detailing the lives of young actors in New York City), it was only after moving to Los Angeles that her career truly began to catch on. Roles in MDs, JAG, and The D.A. quickly helped to establish Conlin as a rising small-screen talent, and in 2005 she signed on to play Angela Montenegro in the Fox forensic crime drama Bones. She made her first post-Bones jump to the big screen playing a detective in the legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer.

Trivia: Canadian-born Tamara Taylor first caught the eyes of fans with a recurring role on the '90s series Party of Five. She would make numerous appearances on various shows over the coming years, but Taylor's next big break came in 2006, with a starring role on the crime series Bones playing Dr. Camille Saroyan.

Trivia: Many know Illinois native John Francis Daley for his memorable role as high school freshman Sam Weir on the cult hit series Freaks and Geeks. An actor from the age of nine, Daley appeared in the touring production of the Broadway musical Who's Tommy? before branching into screen acting. He would go on to appear in films like Waiting and on the series Kitchen Confidential, later scoring another leading role on the popular crime show Bones, playing psychologist Lance Swees. He turned his talents to work done behind the camera, co-writing the script for the hit 2011 comedy Horrible Bosses.

Trivia: Actor Eugene Byrd debuted as a teen star in the early '90s, with contributions to episodes of The Cosby Show and Law & Order, then spent the following decades alternating between occasionally intelligent, offbeat features (Dead Man [1995], 8 Mile [2002]) and more conventional programmers (Piñata: Survival Island [2002], Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid [2004]). Circa 2006, Byrd took on a supporting role in Alison Eastwood's psychological drama Rails and Ties (2007).

Trivia: From her memorable role in the made-for-television Alice in Wonderland (1999) to feature roles in Waterworld (1995) and Andre (1994), Tina Majorino has made a lasting impression in television and film with her youthful glow. Born Albertina Marie Majorino in Westlake, CA, in 1985, Majorino began her career as an actress in a series of television commercials. Soon making her formal television debut alongside future Oscar winner Hilary Swank in Camp Wilder, the busy young actress would soon have three substantial film roles -- in movies that opened within three months of one another -- at the tender age of ten. Following the triple threat of When a Man Loves a Woman, Corrina, Corrina, and Andre (all 1994), Majorino was soon back in the saddle with Waterworld and gearing up for an even busier year in 1997. With three made-for-television features and a big-screen effort in the same year, it was hard for the 12-year-old black belt to practice Tang Soo Do, much less pursue any other outside interests. Following her role in the lavish television production of Alice in Wonderland in 1999, it came as no surprise that Majorino sought a little time out of the limelight, though audiences could rest assured that she would return in good time.

Trivia: Upon earning his BA at Bucknell University, Ralph Waite embarked upon no fewer than three careers before deciding upon acting. First, Waite was a social case worker in New York's Westchester County, a job he quit after running into the stone walls of indifference and bureaucracies. Then, after spending three years at the Yale School of Divinity, he was a practicing Presbyterian minister; this, too fell by the wayside due to Waite's unwillingness to conform to church protocol and his disenchantment over the perceived hypocrisy of his fellow clerics. Finally, he worked as a religious editor for the publishing firm of Harper & Row. This job might have panned out, but Waite, separated from his wife and suffering an identity crisis, felt the need to "prove himself" by entering a tougher, more competitive field. Thus, at the age of 30, Waite began taking acting lessons. His professional debut in the off-Broadway production The Balcony proved so disastrous that it is little wonder he chooses to regard his 1965 Broadway bow in Hogan's Goat as the true beginning of his career. After an excellent showing as Jack Nicholson's impotent brother in Five Easy Pieces (1971) the offers began pouring in. In 1972, Waite was cast as John Walton in the immensely popular TV series The Waltons. During the nine-season run of that ratings bonanza, Waite helped form the Los Angeles Actors' Theatre. He also was prominently featured in the blockbuster miniseries Roots (1977), and wrote and directed (but did not star in) the 1980 film On the Money. His post-Walton credits included the TV series Mississippi, the film Cliffhanger (1993) and TV movies Crash and Burn and Sin and Redemption. Towards the end of his career, he had a recurring role on Day of Our Lives as Father Matt, and played the father of two leading men on two long-running series - Gibbs on NCIS and Booth on Bones. Waite died in 2014 at age 85.

Trivia: Began acting in commercials at age 5. Said he was inspired by his big brother, Fred Savage, to get into acting. Made his film debut at age 9 in Little Monsters (1989), which also starred Fred. Best known for playing Cory Matthews, the main character in ABC's hit series Boy Meets World, from 1993 to 2000. Interned for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) in 2003. Is an avid Bruce Springsteen fan, and took a break from acting to follow Springsteen's tour around the country with his father. In November 2012, announced via Twitter that he and fellow Boy Meets World veteran Danielle Fishel were planning to be a part of a spin-off series. Volunteers for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.