Trivia: Decided that he wanted to become a comedian at the age of 11. Was not professionally trained and considers Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor his biggest influences. At the age of 19, began his stand-up career by self-promoting and performing at The Lion's Den in Chicago. Worked as the house emcee at Jokes and Notes comedy club in Chicago. Performed at the NBC Diversity Showcase in Los Angeles and Aspen Showcase in New York. Launched The Lil Rel Company in 2009. In 2012, was named by Variety magazine as one of the Top 10 Comics to Watch.

Trivia: A graduate of Yale Drama School, character actor Maulik Pancholy became a familiar face on sitcoms and prime-time dramas during the mid- to late 2000s -- nearly always in a recurring or guest acting capacity -- and ushered in occasional bit parts in features. He netted particularly substantial recognition for his ongoing turn as Jack Donaghy's (Alec Baldwin) loyal and slightly high-strung personal assistant, Jonathan, on the Tina Fey/Lorne Michaels-produced NBC sitcom 30 Rock, and for his portrayal of pot dealer Sanjay on Weeds. Cinemagoers might also associate Pancholy with his appearance as Will Smith's overeager doorman in the romantic comedy Hitch. In 2008, Pancholy appeared as Trent opposite Katherine Heigl and James Marsden in the Anne Fletcher-directed romantic comedy 27 Dresses, and he picked up still more fans through his role on the sticom Whitney.

Trivia: Father is former professional bowler Billy Hardwick. Named after sports broadcaster Chris Schenkel. Was a member of the chess and Latin clubs in high school. Roomed with actor Wil Wheaton in college. Started at UCLA as a math major, but then switched to art and finally philosophy. One-half of the music-and-comedy duo Hard 'N' Phirm, with Mike Phirman. They were winners of UCLA's prestigious Spring Sing competition in 1995. Runs a multimedia company called Nerdist Industries and has written a self-help book called The Nerdist Way.

Trivia: Though most commonly associated with her multi-season portrayal of marketing executive Gina Waters-Payne, significant other of Martin Payne (Martin Lawrence) on the Fox sitcom Martin (1992-97), Tisha Campbell began her lengthy Hollywood career with a role that film buffs will have little difficulty remembering. Campbell made her feature debut as Chiffon, a member of the black female doo-wop group that acts as a Greek chorus, in the 1986 Frank Oz musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors (1986). An Oklahoma City native, born to a coat factory employee father and a gospel singer mother, Campbell moved with her family to Newark, New Jersey at the age of three, where the entire clan suffered from abject poverty. At age 6, Campbell won a talent contest, and the following year landed a turn in an ABC Afterschool Special entitled Unicorn Tales, as well as a supporting role in the off-Broadway musical Really Rosie. Campbell attended and graduated from Newark's Arts High School, then made the ambitious trek out to Los Angeles (with her family's encouragement) and spent several years surviving numerous television pilots that failed to take off. Shop, however, rocketed Campbell to national attention and jump-started her film career. She landed additional roles in Spike Lee's School Daze (1988), House Party (1988) (which she also choreographed), and Boomerang (1992). Campbell met future co-star Lawrence on the set of House Party; according to Campbell's later recollections, Lawrence immediately invited her to play his girlfriend should he ever land a sitcom. In 1992, that plan materialized. The program scored sensational ratings and immediately connected with a young, black, urban market; the arc of the series witnessed Gina and Martin transitioning from lovers to intendeds to husband-and-wife. Campbell originally planned to remain with the series through its final season, but actually left Martin several months prematurely, in November of 1996, asserting that Lawrence verbally, physically and sexually abused her on the set of the program - allegations that Lawrence and his representatives aggressively denied, claiming that Campbell was using the actor as a pawn in a contractual dispute with the network despite the fact that the actress left in mid-season.After her stint on Martin, Campbell signed for supporting roles in a number of low-profile features including Linc's (1998), The Sweetest Gift (1998) and Snitch (1999), then returned to network television briefly as one of the stars of the domestically-themed situation comedy My Wife and Kids (2001).Campbell is also occasionally credited by her married name of Tisha Campbell-Martin. She enjoyed a brief tenure as a recording artist with a 1993 r&b release entitled Tisha.