Trivia: Initially known as a teen idol thanks to his role on 21 Jump Street and tortured pretty-boy looks, Johnny Depp survived the perils of adolescent heartthrob status to earn a reputation as a respected adult actor. His numerous collaborations with director Tim Burton, as well as solid performances in a number of critically acclaimed films, have allowed Depp to carve a niche for himself as a serious, if idiosyncratic performer, a real-life role that has continuously surprised critics intent on writing him off as just another photogenic Tiger Beat casualty.Born in Kentucky and raised in Florida,Depp had the kind of upbringing that would readily lend itself to his future portrayals of brooding lost boys. After his parents divorced when he was 16, he dropped out of school a year later in the hopes of making his way in the world as a musician. Depp fronted a series of garage bands; the most successful of these, the Kids, was once the opening act for Iggy Pop. During slack times in the music business, Depp sold pens by phone. He got introduced to acting after a visit to L.A. with his former wife, who introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage, who encouraged Depp to give it a try. The young actor made his film debut in 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street (years after attaining stardom, Depp sentimentally played a cameo in the last of the Elm Street series), and his climb to fame was accelerated in 1987, when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of Officer Tom Hanson, a cop assigned to do undercover duty by posing as a student in crime-ridden Los Angeles-area high schools, in the Canadian-filmed Fox TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-90). Biding his time in "teen heartthrob" roles, Depp was first given a chance to exhibit his exhausting versatility in the title role of Tim Burton's fantasy Edward Scissorhands (1990).Following the success of Edward Scissorhands, the actor made a conscious effort never to repeat himself. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity for his work, most notably in Benny & Joon (1993), What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood and Dead Man. Depp continued to ascend the Hollywood ranks. He would continue to play quirky character roles, starring turn as Hunter S. Thompson's alter ego in Terry Gilliam's trippy adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), and teaming with Burton again to play a decidedly mincing Icabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow. Depp's charm still made him a natural romantic lead, however, as he proved in Chocolat.In what was perhaps his most surprising departure since Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Depp shed his oftentimes angst-ridden persona for a role as flamboyant pirate Jack Sparrow in 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean. Essaying the crusty role in the manner of a drunken, debauched rock star -- Depp publicly admitted Keith Richards was his inspiration -- the actor added a dose of off-kilter fun to an above-average summer thrill ride, and found himself with his biggest hit and first Oscar nomination ever.The role effectively made Depp both a character actor and full-fledged leading man, and he would continue to appear in several films over the coming years that allowed him to star in large scale productions, playing decidedly quirky characters. Films like Secret Window, Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd, Public Enemies, and a slew of massively successful Pirates of the Caribbean sequels would prove again and again how taken audiences were with the star, always playing the hero, but with an unconventional twist.Despite this massive success (or maybe as a result), Depp's career suffered a downswing after a string of critical and commercial flops. Films like The Tourist (opposite Angelina Jolie), Dark Shadows (a rare misstep with Tim Burton) and The Lone Ranger failed to connect with audiences and critics alike and left many to wonder when Depp's career would recover. He continued to have a strong presence in the film industry, though, and in 2016, reprised his role as the Mad Hatter in Alice Through the Looking Glass and began work on a fourth Pirates movie.

Trivia: Christian Bale is one of the few actors in Hollywood whose child stardom has successfully translated to steady and respectable adult employment. With a wistful handsomeness to complement his impressive, sometimes underrated talent, Bale has become something of a quiet sensation, netting choice roles in a number of unconventional, critically acclaimed films.Born January 30, 1974, in Pembrokeshire, Wales, Bale was raised in England, Portugal, and the U.S. The product of a creative family (his mother was a dancer and both of his grandfathers were part-time actors), Bale made his stage debut at the age of ten, playing opposite British comedian Rowan Atkinson in The Nerd. In 1986, he debuted on television as Alexis in the miniseries Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna. His film debut came the following year with the lead role in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun. Although the film met with very mixed reviews, Bale received almost ubiquitous praise for his portrayal of a young boy interned in a Japanese prison camp during World War II. Following a starring role in a Swedish film, Mio min Mio, Bale next appeared in Kenneth Branagh's celebrated 1988 adaptation of Henry V and in 1990, starred opposite Charlton Heston in a highly-regarded cable adaptation of Treasure Island. In 1992, Bale appeared in his first adult role in the musical Newsies, in which he could be seen singing, dancing, and sporting a fairly convincing American accent. His next film, Swing Kids (1993), also featured him dancing, this time alongside Robert Sean Leonard in wartime Germany. Although the film failed to impress most critics, it succeeded in making a favorable impact on teenage girls and swing afficionados everywhere. The following year, Bale appeared as Laurie in Gillian Armstrong's acclaimed adaptation of Little Women and then went on to lend his voice to Disney's animated film Pocahontas, which proved to be one of 1995's biggest box-office draws. The actor next appeared in The Secret Agent (1996), which, despite a strong cast including Gérard Depardieu, Bob Hoskins, and Patricia Arquette, was widely unseen in the U.S. After a tragically small role in the same year's The Portrait of a Lady, Bale was finally given the opportunity to step into the limelight with the 1997 film Metroland, an adaptation of Julian Barnes' novel. Starring alongside Emily Watson, Bale played a young husband and father wallowing in discontented nostalgia and received overwhelmingly positive notices for his thoughtful, complex portrayal. The film was not released in the U.S. until the following year, when he also had lead roles in Todd Haynes' eagerly anticipated Velvet Goldmine and All the Little Animals, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to strong reviews. The following year, Bale starred alongside Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Rupert Everett in a lavish adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. In addition to the exposure he (literally) received in his role as Demetrius, Bale got a different kind of recognition for his part in the well-documented controversy surrounding the casting of Mary Harron's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho. After winning and then losing the film's lead role to Leonardo DiCaprio, Bale then won it back, prompting a wave of media coverage and at least one publication's decision to describe him as everyone's favorite underdog. It was a title that, deserved or not, seemed to fit an actor who, beneath all of the hyperbole and hype, was one of Hollywood's most engaging and underrated treasures. Bale next starred in the humans versus dragons opus Reign of Fire (2002), followed by the dystopian thriller Equilibrium before returning to the present day with the low-key sexual comedy drama Laurel Canyon (2002). Bale was about to make a breakthrough move into blockbuster film, however, as he was cast as the superhero Batman in Christopher Nolan's latest entry in the franchise, Batman Begins. The franchise reboot would prove overwhelmingly successful, especially with the dark, crime-drama style sequel, The Dark Knight (2008). Though Bale would become something of an infamous fixture in viral media for an explosively angry outburst at an on-set crewmember that was caught on audio, this did nothing to upset the actor's star power. He would also collaborate with Nolan on The Prestige (2006), before starring in the critically acclaimed western 3:10 to Yuma. Bale would also take on the infamous role of John Conner in a long-awaited Terminator Salvation in 2009, before playing a hard-nosed FBI agent on the trail of Johnny Depp's John Dillinger in Public Enemies that same year. In 2010, Bale joined the cast of the hard hitting sports drama The Fighter, directed by David O. Russell, playing the troubled brother and coach of an underdog boxer played by Mark Wahlberg. Bale would take home the Oscar and Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, but he was soon onto his next project, the period war drama Flowers of War. Soon, he was gearing up to don the cowl once again, with the third and final installment in Nolan's Batman franchise, The Dark Knight Rises. He reteamed with Russell to play a con man in American Hustle, earning Bale a second Oscar nomination. In 2014, he played Moses in Ridley Scott's bible epic Exodus: Gods and Kings. The following year, he returned in the ensemble film The Big Short, garnering Bale a third Oscar nomination.

Trivia: At once earthy and modern, yet effortlessly capable of projecting the aura of a glamorous, silent-era film starlet, French actress Marion Cotillard has achieved fame in her home country with substantial roles in such high-profile blockbusters as the Taxi series, and such critically acclaimed arthouse hits as Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement and Olivier Dahan's La Vie en Rose. The Paris native got in tune with her desire to become a performer early in life, and soon began honing her talents as both an actress and a singer. As fate would have it, Cotillard's parents were both active members of the Paris theater community who lovingly nurtured their daughter's creative talents and encouraged her to pursue a career on the stage and screen. Cotillard debuted onscreen at just 16 years old, in the 1994 Philippe Harel romance The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed. While Cotillard's sensitive performance in the film indeed marked the arrival of a skilled young actress, it wasn't until the release of Taxi in 1998 that audiences truly perked up to the promise of this emerging talent. Cotillard was nominated for a Most Promising Actress award at the 1999 César ceremonies thanks to her performance in that movie. She went on to appear in the second and third installments of the series while simultaneously drawing notice for performances in Haute Tension director Alexandre Aja's 1999 debut, Furia, and Gilles Paquet-Brenner's dark family drama Pretty Things -- which earned Cotillard her second César nomination. While the elusive César award had been well within her grasp twice before, Cotillard finally won the coveted trophy as the result of her role in Amélie director Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement. Cast as a vengeful prostitute who sets out to punish the person responsible for the death of her love, Cotillard was awarded the Best Supporting Actress César in 2005, cementing her arrival as a formidable onscreen talent.At this point in her career, Cotillard was an increasingly familiar face to stateside film fans thanks to supporting roles in such films as Tim Burton's Big Fish and Jeunet's international arthouse hit, yet as with any great actress, she was still willing to take the kind of risks needed to take her career to the next level. Subsequent roles in Guillaume Nicloux's A Private Affair and Abel Ferrara's Mary proved that she was most certainly up to the task, serving nicely to offset the mainstream sweetness of efforts like the airy 2003 romance Love Me If You Dare. In 2006, Cotillard was back on stateside screens, this time opposite international superstar Russell Crowe in director Ridley Scott's A Good Year. If anyone at this point had doubted Cotillard's abilities as an actress, those reservations would be put to the ultimate test when she assumed the role of a lifetime in the 2007 Edith Piaf biopic La Vie en Rose. Cast as the enigmatic French songstress who went from being a common street busker to a national icon, Cotillard found the perfect cinematic vehicle to combine her duel interests in acting and music (though audio recordings of Piaf were used in the film), and drew near unanimous praise from critics both foreign and domestic. In addition to netting another César, she captured a host of year-end accolades in the States including Best Actress awards from the Golden Globes and the L.A. Film Critics, as well as a nomination from the Screen Actors Guild. Most impressive of all, Cotillard won the much-coveted Best Actress Oscar, launching her into another level of international success and marketability. Her next roles were of the prestigious Hollywood variety, in the Michael Mann period crime drama Public Enemies, opposite Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, and the Rob Marshall musical drama Nine, alongside Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz.In 2010 she showed up as the woman of Leonardo DiCaprio's nightmares in Inception for director Christopher Nolan - and earned a spot in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises in the process. 2011 saw the Oscar winner tackling both Steven Soderbergh's killer virus thriller Contagion as well as Woody Allen's Oscar winning comedy Midnight in Paris. In 2014 she scored strong reviews in a pair of dramas that included The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night. Her work in the latter film garnered a number of year-end accolades including an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

Trivia: Initially known for his work on the stage, Billy Crudup emerged in the late '90s as a young actor of considerable talent, gracing the screen in an increasing number of films. Tall, lean, and possessing one of the best-defined jaws in the Western Hemisphere,Crudup was born on Long Island, NY, on July 8, 1968. Raised in Florida and Texas, he earned an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and then received a Master's degree from New York University.Crudup first won audience attention and critical acclaim in his role as an amorous tutor in the widely praised New York production of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. His performance netted him both an Outer Critics Circle Outstanding Newcomer Award and a Theater World Award. He followed this success with a lead in the stage production of Bus Stop, winning similarly excellent reviews for his performance. He made his film debut in 1996 with a small part in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You, and the same year he got a more sizable part among the all-star cast of Sleepers. Acting alongside Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Jason Patric, and Minnie Driver, Crudup received some recognition for his portrayal of a troubled survivor of childhood abuse. This recognition was amplified the following year, when he starred with Joaquin Phoenix in Inventing the Abbotts, a small film that cast him as an amorous, destructive ladies' man. That same year, he starred with Woody Harrelson in Stephen Frears' critically maligned The Hi-Lo Country (1998), and he won kudos for his performance as runner Steve Prefontaine in Without Limits. Critics praised both his physical resemblance to the late athlete and his ability to portray him with a vivid blend of arrogance, pathos, and sympathy. In 1999, Crudup could be seen starring in the acclaimed independant film Jesus' Son, but his mainstream breakthrough would happen the following year in Cameron Crowe's ode to 70s-era rock-and-roll, Almost Famous. Cruddup's performance as an up-and-coming rock star made him a stop tier star as well as a sex-symbol, and he would capitalize on his success over the coming years with selective, prominent roles in films like Charlotte Grey, Big Fish, The Good Shepherd, Watchmen, Eat Pray Love, and Too Big to Fail.

Trivia: Actor Channing Tatum might be best known to audiences as a shirtless young man baring his muscular physique for the pages of Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs. His career began when he was cast as an extra in the Ricky Martin video for "She Bangs." Up until then, he'd been drifting from one job to another after the promising football career he prepared for in military school floundered when he entered college. Modeling proved to be a natural fit for Tatum, and he cultivated a successful career appearing in print ads and commercials for such companies as Nautica, Gap, Aeropostale, Emporio Armani, American Eagle, and Pepsi. His charisma in front of the camera didn't go unnoticed and he soon parlayed his modeling career into a shot at acting, landing an appearance on CSI: Miami in 2004. He was soon given a substantial role in the sports drama Coach Carter, which dealt with familiar subject matter for the lifelong athlete. He had no trouble being cast in films geared toward twentysomethings, as 2005 and 2006 brought him roles in Havoc, Supercross, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, She's the Man, and Step Up. Within only a few short years, Tatum had worked with many other up-and-coming actors of his generation, such as Amanda Bynes, Anne Hathaway, Jenna Dewan, and Bijou Phillips. In 2007, Tatum was cast in the leading role in 2007's epic Genghis Khan biopic Mongol: The Early Years of Genghis Khan, directed by legendary Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov, but he was later replaced by Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano amid rumors that Tatum's dominantly caucasian features were ill recieved by producers, who wanted an actor of Asian descent to play the 13th century Mongolian leader. Tatum's career didn't stall as a result of the upset, however, as he was soon working with acclaimed director Kimberly Peirce on the Iraq War drama Stop-Loss. He played Pretty Boy Floyd in Michael Mann's gangster drama Public Enemies in 2009, the same year he had a prominent role in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2010 he appeared in the Nicholas Sparks written romantic drama Dear John. The next year he had a short but memorable part in The Dilemma, but 2012 turned out to be something of a breakout year for the actor when he appeared in a variety of projects. First up was Haywire, Steven Soderbergh's action thriller. While working on that film, the duo cooked up Magic Mike based on stories Channing shared about his days as a male stripper. That film opened in the summer of 2012. Between those two projects, the comedy 21 Jump Street came out, featuring Tatum as an undercover cop working a high school with his best friend and partner played by Jonah Hill. His work paid off when he was named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in late 2012. Tatum continued working at a neck-breaking pace the following year, reprising his role in the G.I. Joe sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, starring in psychological thriller Side Effects and action film White House Down and appearing in cameo roles in This Is The End and Don Jon.

Trivia: Knew that he wanted to act since he was 10. Became friends with Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of Gangs of New York, and Dicaprio recommended Graham to director Michael Mann for his role in Public Enemies. Sent Mann an audition tape made by his wife on her handheld video camera. Found it difficult at first to play a racist in 2007's This Is England because of his mixed-race heritage. (His grandfather is Jamaican.) Honed his Brooklyn accent for Boardwalk Empire with Brooklynite Charlie, a gaffer on the set of the series.

Trivia: Born December 17, 1974, in Los Angeles, Giovanni Ribisi began his career in network television, with recurring and guest roles on a number of shows, including The Wonder Years. As a teenager, he was typecast for several years as a dimwitted slacker in films and on television, with a memorable guest spot in an episode of The X-Files and a recurring role as Lisa Kudrow's brother on Friends. Ribisi was eventually able to break the grunge mold, first with a secondary role in Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do! (1996) and then in Richard Linklater's SubUrbia (1997). It was his role in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998) that caused many critics to dub him one of the leading actors of his generation, a status confirmed by his appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair with a number of fellow up-and-comers. Ribisi was given further opportunities to showcase his sleepy-eyed versatility in such films as 1999's The Mod Squad and The Other Sister. If Ribisi's best roles had been unfairly weighed down by an overabundance of commendable but little seen roles in the previous years, all this would change as the young actor began to focus increasingly on roles that were not only high quality, but high profile as well. His role in the high stakes 2000 drama The Boiler Room may have went largely unseen in theaters, but healthy word of mouth combined with an impressive cast of up and comers found the film an enduring shelf life on cable and DVD. After burning rubber in the fast and furious Nicolas Cage action thriller Gone in Sixty Seconds, Ribisi's memorable performance in director Sam Raimi's southern gothic flavored chiller The Gift preceded a touching turn in the affecting made-for-television drama Shot in the Heart. Ribisi's subsequent role as a conflicted police officer in the 2002 drama Heaven may have been a well-intended commentary on the state of crime and terrorism, but audiences largel dismissed the effort as pretentious tripe and the actor took a brief turn into blockbuster territory with Basic before a turn as an aloof, celebrity obsessed photogapher in director Sophia Coppola's art-house hit Lost in Translation. If his turn as a celebrity who turns convention in its head by stalking a fan in I Love Your Work didn't strike home with viewers, an appearance in the same year's Cold Mountain offered him the chance to flex his dramatic skills alongside an impressive cast that included Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. Of course Ribisi never was one to be predictable with his choice of roles, and following the romantic comedy Love's Brother he essayed a supporting role in the 2004 sci-fi thriller Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow. A handful of largely forgettable roles followed, and on the heels of recurring television roles in My Name is Earn and Entourage, Ribisi dove back into sci-fi with a role as villainous Chief Administrator Parker Selfridge in James Cameron's phenominally successful Avatar. And if Ribisi's performace in that film failed to make your skin crawl, his turn as a psychotic, heavily-tattooed drug dealer in the fast paced 2012 action thriller Contraband was sure to do the trick. He continued his villainous run as a stalker in the surprise hit film Ted (2012). Ribisi later re-teamed with his Ted director, Seth MacFarlane, in 2014's A Million Ways to Die in the West. He also appeared in the Oscar-nominated film Selma that same year.

Trivia: Not to be confused with the right-wing U.S. political commentator of the same name, the distinguished-looking Australian character actor Jason Clarke burst onto the scene in the early 2000s with a series of critically praised and somewhat edgy roles. He began down under, opposite Aussie superstar Bryan Brown, in the crime thiller Risk (2000), and was particularly memorable two years later as a slimy constable in the politically tinged period docudrama Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002). Clarke then took on a four-episode guest role the Sci-Fi Channel's Farscape (2003), playing Jenek. After that, he signed for a lead role -- local politician Tommy Caffee -- in the acclaimed Showtime series Brotherhood, opposite Jason Isaacs. Over the coming years, Clarke would remain an active force on screen, appearing in films like Public Enemies, Trust, and Texas Killing Fields.

Trivia: Upon graduating from Swarthmore College, Stephen Lang worked at the Folger Theatre in Washington, then made his off-Broadway debut in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Thereafter he virtually specialized in Shakespearean roles -- a direct contrast to his All-American demeanor and naval-ensign facial features. Lang was praised for his appearance as Happy in Dustin Hoffman's 1984 revival of Death of a Salesman, reprising the role for the subsequent TV-movie version. The next season, Lang costarred in the original Broadway production of A Few Good Men. From 1986 through 1988, the actor played prosecutor David Abrams on the weekly TV series Crime Story. Stephen Lang has appeared in such films as Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989) and Gettysburg (1993), and in 1991 won the title role in the made-for-TV Babe Ruth. He was cast as the one-armed man in the 2000 remake of The Fugitive TV show. In 2003 he portrayed the legendary historical figure General Stonewall Jackson in the civil war drama Gods and Generals. He continued to work steadily with a particularly busy year coming in 2009 where he could be seen in the box-office smash Avatar, the comedy The Men Who Stare At Goats, and the gangster film Public Enemies. In 2011 he starred as Khalar Zym in the remake of Conan the Barbarian.

Trivia: Balancing independent film and Hollywood, Stephen Dorff made his name as a versatile actor with a particular talent for playing assorted rebels and villains. The son of composer Steve Dorff, the younger Dorff opted for the acting side of show business instead. Entering the industry as a teenager, Dorff cut his acting teeth on TV in the late '80s with guest spots on several series, including Roseanne and Married With Children, and roles in TV movies, including I Know My First Name Is Steven (1989). Dorff jumped to feature films with the starring role as a socially conscious South African boxer in The Power of One (1992). Voted the National Association of Theater Owners' Male Star of Tomorrow in 1992, Dorff next earned attention with his lead performance as Beatle manqué Stu Sutcliffe in the British biopic Backbeat (1993). He also appeared in the genre thriller Judgment Night that same year, with Emilio Estevez and Cuba Gooding Jr. Despite his Hollywood beginnings, Dorff focused more on independent productions in the mid-'90s, including the media satire S.F.W. (1994). His nuanced performance as Warhol Factory transvestite superstar Candy Darling in Mary Harron's acclaimed I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), though, definitively revealed that Dorff could be more than a pretty, brooding face. Dorff further held his own opposite Jack Nicholson in neo-noir Blood and Wine (1997) and against Harvey Keitel in crime drama City of Industry (1997), but neither film made a box office impression. Dorff scored a summer popcorn hit, however, as Wesley Snipes' flamboyant vampire nemesis in the comic book adaptation Blade (1998). Displaying his range, Dorff starred opposite Susan Sarandon in the romance Earthly Possessions (1999) for HBO, and put two different spins on movie director characters in Phil Joanou's film à clef Entropy (1999) and John Waters' black comedy Cecil B. Demented (2000). Branching out into another medium, Dorff starred in Quantum Project (2000), the first film produced for the Internet. Dorff continued to do work in a series of independent films, but occasionally would appear in more mainstream fare such as fear dot com, Cold Creek Manor, and Alone in the Dark. He had his largest profile film in years in 2006 as part of the cast of Oliver Stone's 9/11 film World Trade Center. He maintained his footing in the independent film world by starring opposite Milla Jovovich and Aisha Taylor on that same year's .45.Over the next several years, Dorff would find an ongoing series of roles in an impressive variety of projects, like Michael Mann's Public Enemies, Sophia Coppola's Somewhere, and Tarsem Singh's Immortals.

Trivia: David Wenham is a versatile, red-haired actor whose chameleon-like ability to disappear into his characters has found him successful in everything from large-scale epics to intimate domestic dramas. His success on the stages of his native Australia eventually led him to international success thanks to roles in such acclaimed features as Moulin Rouge (2001) and the final two entries in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The youngest of seven siblings, Wenham was raised in Merrickville, Australia. The aspiring actor honed his craft at the University of Western Australia before making an impression on television audiences with a role in the popular small-screen drama Sons and Daughters in the mid-'80s. As the '90s rolled in, so did the film roles, and after a memorable turn as an embittered ex-convict in the stage play The Boys, Wenham landed parts in such features as Greenkeeping (1992) and the Hollywood sci-fi action film No Escape. In 1996, he found critical acclaim when he transferred his role as a pyromaniac in Cosi from stage to screen. After taking on a handful of small film and television parts, Wenham once again reprised a theater role with the release of The Boys in 1998. His big-screen portrayal of the explosive ex-convict who returns home after a short sting in prison found Wenham the darling of Australian critics. With a popular role in the 1998 Australian Broadcasting Company series SeaChange, Wenham earned a reputation as a reluctant sex symbol, as well as a nomination at the Australian Film Institute Awards. The following year, he took on the role of a philanthropic priest attempting to console lepers in Molokai: The Story of Father Damien, once again earning an AFI nomination for Best Actor. Though subsequent performances in Better Than Sex (2000) and Russian Doll (2001) earned Wenham even more critical acclaim overseas, it was his role as a transvestite playwright in director Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge that gave the rising star his first true taste of international success. By this time, it was clear that Wenham could carry a film, and with his turn as a mathematics wizard with an innovative plan for predicting the stock market in The Bank, he proved this once and for all. In 2002, he followed a supporting performance in The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course with a role as a heroin dealer in Pure. Later that same year, Wenham truly found an international audience when he joined the hugely successful The Lord of the Rings franchise as Faramir in its second installment, The Two Towers. 2003 proved an exhaustive year for the increasingly busy actor, as he starred in the Australian slice-of-life miniseries After the Deluge and the crime comedy Gettin' Square, for which he won the AFI award for Best Actor. Wenham then returned to the role of Faramir in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, making an even greater impression with more emotional scenes and screen time. By then, Wenham was a recognizable international talent, and following a pair of Australian television appearances, he turned up alongside Hugh Jackman in the 2004 action fantasy Van Helsing.

Trivia: Supporting actor Rory Cochrane made his film debut with a small role in James Dearden's A Kiss Before Dying (1991). Prior to that, while still enrolled at New York City's LaGuardia High School, he had appeared in the CBS television docudrama Saturday Night With Connie Chung (1989); he then appeared in an episode of the ABC series H.E.L.P. (1990). Cochrane has subsequently earned recognition for playing memorable character roles in independent features. He is best known for playing the constantly zoned-out teenaged stoner Slater in Richard Linklater's ode to adolescence in the 1970s, Dazed and Confused (1993). Other notable roles include a turn as a troubled teen wrangling with a dysfunctional father (Jeff Goldblum) in Fathers and Sons (1992) and Cochrane's multilayered and funny portrayal of a paranoid, gun-loving biker in Love and a .45 (1994). Cochrane continued to work steadily in little-seen independent films like Empire Records, and The Low Life. He did have a major role in James Toback's confrontational Black and White. He appeared in Hats's War opposite fellow Dazed and Confused alum Cole Hauser. Cochrane scored a role on the CSI spin-off CSI: Miami, but his character was killed off. In 2006 Cochrane would be cast again by Richard Linklater in his adaptation of A Scanner Darkly. Cochrane would remain active on screen as the years rolled on, apperaing in movies like Public Enemies and on shows like The Company, CSI: Miami, and 24.

Trivia: Born in 1981 in Australia, Emilie de Ravin trained as a ballerina before shifting her focus to acting. Her first onscreen role was as one of the leads on the syndicated TV version of The Beastmaster in 1999. But the stint proved shortlived when de Ravin accepted a starring spot on a network series, the cult-hit sci-fi show Roswell. After that series bowed in 2002, de Ravin could be seen in a few TV guest roles and in a made-for-TV remake of Carrie. But in 2004, she landed the part that would elevate her to the next level of stardom when she was cast as the young single mother Claire Littleton on ABC's hit mindbender Lost. While appearing on Lost, de Ravin also began to pursue a career on the big screen with roles in such prominent films as the horror remake The Hills Have Eyes and the acclaimed indie noir homage Brick. The actress remained a popular character on Lost and worked on the show until its conclusion in 2010. The same year she co-starred in Operation: Endgame, a comedy thriller following two groups of elite assassins as they fight amongst themselves. In 2012, she guest-starred on the first season of Once Upon a Time as Belle, and was upped to a series regular the following season.

Trivia: One of the more promising actors to emerge during the late-1990s Teen Invasion, Shawn Hatosy got his start in commercials and theatre. The Maryland native first broke into film with a miniscule role in the 1995 Home for the Holidays, and two years later appeared in a string of films, with his most notable role being the high school student who stands up for an outed Kevin Kline in In & Out. He gained further recognition the following year as a football player battling alien teachers in The Faculty, and in 1999 had a number of substantial roles: he could be seen as the protagonist of the Farrelly Brothers' coming-of-age comedy Outside Providence, as a young Nick Nolte in Simpatico, and as the guy who teaches Natalie Portman a few things about life in Wayne Wang's Anywhere But Here. As the new century got under way, Hatosy could be seen in a variety of projects including Down to You, 11:14, and the indie hit The Cooler. He continued to work steadily in projects such as Faith of My Fathers, Alpha Dog, Factory Girl, and Nobel Son. He landed a major part in the cop series Southland, and found time during his work on that show to appear in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and Michael Mann's historical gangster film Public Enemies.

Trivia: Like many of his Canadian contemporaries, actor Matt Craven broke into films by way of such adolescent sex comedies as Meatballs (1979) and Hog Wild (1980). Craven honed his acting skills on the off-Broadway stage, beginning with the 1984 production Blue Willows. He has since contributed supporting performances to films like Blue Steel (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), and Crimson Tide (1995). Matt Craven's TV-series roles include bartender Ritchie Massina in the Robby Benson starrer Tough Cookies (1986) and Bobby Kratz in the Alan Arkin vehicle Harry (1987). In 1998, Craven was part of an ensemble cast for the medical drama L.A. Doctors. In the 21st century he enjoyed a brief recurring role on the hit medical dram ER and appeared in moves such as Dragonfly and Timeline. He continued to work steadily on a wide variety of projects including The Life of David Gale, the TV series The Lyon's Den, the remake of Assault on Precinct 13, Disturbia, Public Enemies, and the superhero prequel X-Men: First Class.

Trivia: A burly, thickset, and occasionally scruffy character actor with a domineering and imposing presence, Peter Gerety often accepted roles as ordinary working-class stiffs, judges, or inner-city law officers. A performer with equal footing in film and on the stage, Gerety took his premier onscreen bow during the early '80s but first began drawing substantial attention over a decade later. Gerety remains best known for his multi-season portrayal (1996-1999) of Detective Stuart Gharty on the cop drama Homicide: Life on the Street. He also played the recurring role of Judge Daniel Phelan on another Baltimore-set crime series, The Wire (2002-2008). Big-screen projects include Sleepers (1996), K-PAX (2001), Syriana (2005), Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Leatherheads (2008), and Public Enemies (2009).

Trivia: A tough and slightly surly character actor most at home in ethnically oriented Hollywood roles, John Ortiz often found himself cast as nefarious hoods and toughs. Ortiz landed one of his earliest assignments with a 1992 guest appearance on Law & Order, then branched out into A-list supporting roles in such features as Carlito's Way (1993), Ransom (1996), Piñero (2001), and Miami Vice (2006). Ortiz essayed two extremely different cinematic assignments in 2007: a part in the Ridley Scott-directed period crime drama American Gangster and one in the sci-fi-horror opus Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

Trivia: Parents are Italian immigrants. Originally aspired to become a baseball player. At the age of 16, landed his first acting job after attending an open casting call for Robert De Niro's directorial debut, A Bronx Tale. Is often cast to play policemen, including his portrayal of Thomas "Herc" Hauk in the critically-acclaimed series The Wire and his role as Ira Hornstock in Rosewood.

Trivia: English-born actress Carey Mulligan made her on-screen debut with the role of Kitty in the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. She would go on to appear in TV series like The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard and Doctor Who, as well as in movies like Public Enemies. However, it was her work in 2009's An Education, as a smart high school girl who throws away the chance for higher education after falling in love with a shady older man, which was her breakthrough. For her work in the film, Mulligan won a number of critics awards for Best Actress, as well as garnering nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Academy. She became one of the most respected and in-demand young actresses of her generation and she continued to choose challenging projects like the psychological sci-fi film Never Let Me Go, and the Olive Stone directed sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. In 2011 she appeared in audience dividing films. She starred opposite Ryan Gosling in the action film Drive, and played the sister of a sex addict in Shame. In 2012 she was tapped to play the iconic literary role of Daisy Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

Trivia: Manhattan-born character actor James Russo has been showing up in hard-bitten film supporting roles since 1981. In the otherwise teen-oriented Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Russo brought a welcome gust of reality as a nasty robber. His gangster characters have borne spell-it-out names like Bugsy (1982's Once Upon a Time in America) and Vince Hood (1984's Cotton Club). Even in such westerns as 1994's Bad Girls, James Russo could be counted upon to show up as a Bad Boy (in this instance, a worthy by the name of Kid Jarret).

Trivia: A slightly tough and weathered character actor who specialized in playing gruff, domineering types (including guards, Mafiosos, and authoritarian fathers), Christian Stolte debuted onscreen in the early '90s and went on to distinguish himself with bit parts in films including Novocaine (2001), Road to Perdition (2002), and Stranger Than Fiction (2006). On the small screen, Stolte took on the recurring role of C.O. Keith Stolte during the first two seasons (2005-2007) of the cult series Prison Break. Back on the big screen, he received unusually prominent billing with his wry comic turn as a Mafia hitman assigned to rub out his cousin, in the character comedy Osso Bucco (2007).

Trivia: One of the most versatile actresses working in film today, Lili Taylor is known for taking on complex, thorny roles that many of her more glamorous colleagues avoid. In the 1990s, she became a staple of the independent film circuit, turning in one engaging performance after another in films like The Addiction (1995), Girls Town (1996), and Pecker (1998). A native of Glencoe, IL, where she was born on February 20, 1967, Taylor was raised in a comfortable middle-class household as the second youngest of six children. She started acting in grade school and briefly attended DePaul University's Goodman Theater School before launching her professional career in local and regional theater. She acted for a time with Evanston's Piven Theater, performing in the company of such future notables as John Cusack, Aidan Quinn, and Jeremy Piven. In 1987, she spent a season on-stage in Czechoslovakia, returning stateside the following year to make her New York City stage debut in a production of What Did He See? That same year, Taylor ventured into feature films with a bit part in the John Hughes comedy She's Having a Baby. Though the role brought Taylor little recognition, she scored big with her sophomore effort, a starring role in Mystic Pizza (1988) as one of three amorous pizzeria girls (the other two were Julia Roberts and Annabeth Gish) working in a small Connecticut coastal town. More recognition followed for Say Anything... (1989), in which Taylor played John Cusack's hilariously obsessive best friend; she continued to shine in films like Bright Angel (1991), in which she was cast as the drifter sister of a jailbird, and in Dogfight (1991), in which she was the obligatory "ugly duckling" who both transformed and was transformed by her reluctant date, River Phoenix. From the late '80s through the 1990s, Taylor proved to be a willing and able ensemble player in the works of several respected directors: Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Nancy Savoca's Household Saints (1993), Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993), and Alan Rudolph's Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994). She also did notable work in independent films, starring in Abel Ferrara's The Addiction (1995); Girls Town (1996), a drama about four high school girls trying to cope with everyday hardship, for which she also co-wrote the screenplay; and I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), which cast her in one of her most memorable roles as the mad, murderous Valerie Solanas. In 1998, Taylor played the uncharacteristically glamorous role of an art dealer who tries to seduce the young hero of John Waters' Pecker, and also tried her hand at screwball comedy with Stanley Tucci's The Imposters. Having demonstrated her range in a number of genres, Taylor then took on big-budget horror in 1999 with her starring role in Jan de Bont's The Haunting. However, staying true to her indie loyalties, she could also be seen playing an ordinary woman who begins to lead an extraordinary life in Toni Kalem's adaptation of Anne Tyler's A Slipping Down Life, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of that year.As the new century began Taylor could be seen alongside her old co-star John Cusack in High Fidelity, and in 2001 she tackled the historical role of Miep Gies in a retelling of Anne Frank. She had a memorable role on the HBO series Six Feet Under. She continued to work steadily in diverse projects such as The Secret, Starting Out in the Evening, Brooklyn's Finest, Public Enemies, and Being Flynn.

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: Started working on movies and TV shows in 2005.Appeared in 2006 in the film Flags Of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood.Was a Ukrainian mobster in the 2011 comedy film A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas.Portrayed an FBI agent opposite in 2009 crime drama Public Enemies.Is best known for his role as Matice in 2019 TV series Jack Ryan.

Trivia: Was an ensemble member of the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in Chicago from 2009 to 2015.Landed her first leading role in a feature film in 2010's Earthlings.Has previously performed with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Trivia: Born Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski on June 10, 1982, Leelee Sobieski had shot to ingénue stardom in the time it took to say "Helen Hunt's spitting image." The young actress, who does indeed bear a striking resemblance to Hunt, first came to the attention of art house audiences with her role in A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998). Thanks to her participation in two high-profile projects, Deep Impact and Eyes Wide Shut, Sobieski has garnered both widespread recognition and the distinction of being one of the most promising actresses of her generation.Born and bred in New York City, Sobieski, the eldest of two children, was raised by her father, a French painter, and her mother, a freelance writer. She was "discovered," rather unexpectedly, in her school's cafeteria by Woody Allen's casting director. With the encouragement of her parents, Sobieski began auditioning, trying out at one point for the part that went to Kirsten Dunst in Interview With the Vampire. She landed her first screen role in the 1997 Tim Allen comedy Jungle 2 Jungle, and then was cast as Channe in Merchant/Ivory's A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998). Sobieski drew raves for the depth and intelligence of her performance and was further rewarded with another leading role, that of Joan of Arc in the 1999 TV miniseries Joan of Arc. Sobieski then turned her back on typical ingénue roles with her portrayal of a geek queen in the Drew Barrymore comedy Never Been Kissed. The film's producers had originally wanted Sobieski for the role of the most popular girl in school, but the actress had insisted on that of her antithesis, a choice that reflected her desire to take on more unconventional roles. This choice was made further apparent with her casting in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, in which Sobieski had a brief but memorable appearance as the silent, flirtatious daughter of a costume-shop owner.In 2000 Sobieski returned to more conventional fare with Here on Earth, a romantic drama in which she starred as a young woman coping with first love and terminal illness. That same year, she could be seen in the teen thriller Squelch and My First Mister, a romantic comedy that featured her as a recent high-school grad who develops a crush on her much older boss (Albert Brooks). Gaining notice for her increasing ability to carry a movie, Sobieski earned her first million-dollar salary that same year for her role in the thriller The Glass House, followed shortly thereafter by another prominent role in the throwback CB thriller Joy Ride. A Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 2001 World War II drama Uprising served well to balance out such lukewarm efforts as the 2001 thriller The Glass House and the 2003 literary adaptation Dangerous Liaisons, and on the heels of a fairly forgettable 2005 Sobieski took a trip to a neo-pagan island where nothing is really as it seems in the Neil LaBute-directed remake The Wicker Man. She next appeared in 88 Minutes, opposite Al Pacino, and Public Enemies, opposite Johnny Depp. Sobieski switched gears after that, appearing in some TV guest spots before taking on a regular role in the short-lived NYC 22.