Trivia: Actor Andrew Garfield arrived on the Hollywood scene in the mid- to late 2000s, with supporting roles in a pair of big-screen releases: he performed alongside Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, and Meryl Streep in Redford's directorial outing Lions for Lambs (2007) and then signed for a part in Terry Gilliam's fanciful morality tale Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (2009). But it turned out to be another 2009 project that gave him his breakthrough when he earned strong reviews for his work in the Red Riding trilogy. He parlayed that into an impressive 2010 when he starred in the Never Let Me Go, and played the co-founder of Facebook in David Fincher's The Social Network. Hot from that, he signed to play Spider-Man in a reboot of the successful superhero franchise. The first film in that new series hit screens in summer of 2012.

Trivia: The physically stunning actress Emma Stone first made her mark among American audiences as an ingenue, via her involvement in the massively successful comedy Superbad (2007). The actress's combination of deadpan comic timing and undeniable beauty made her an instant hot property in Hollywood, and she was soon appearing in comic fare like The House Bunny and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, as well as the hugely successful horror comedy Zombieland (2009). By 2010, Stone had earned top billing status, and was starring in her own comedy -- a hilarious modern take on the Scarlet Letter called Easy A. The following year found Sone's star rising even further in the realm of comedy with roles in Friends with Benefits and Crazy, Stupid, Love, but it also proved to be the year in which the young actress branched more full force into drama, starring in the much anticipated adaptation of the Kathryn Stockett novel The Help. She became part of a superhero franchise when she took over the part of Gwen Stacy in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, and she took a part in the period crime film Gangster Squad that same year.Stone enjoyed a very busy 2014 that involved her returning to the part of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and being tapped to star in Woody Allen's period comedy Magic in the Moonlight. However, her turn as the self-destructive daughter of a middle-age actor trying to make a comeback on the stage in Birdman earned her the first Oscar nomination of her career, getting a nod in the Best Supporting Actress category.

Trivia: One of the most popular African-American comedians of the late 1990s, TV star turned screen actor Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop in the small town of Terrell, Texas, on December 13, 1967. Foxx was raised by his grandparents after his parents separated. He enjoyed a happy upbringing, going to church every day with his grandparents and excelling at everything from academics to music to football. During his teen years he had his first taste of the entertainment business as his church's choir director and music director, and also started his own R&B band. Foxx studied music while a student at the U.S. International University in San Diego; it was during his college days that he got his start as a stand-up comedian. Attending a comedy club one night with some friends, he was encouraged to take the stage and perform some impersonations, which proved incredibly popular with the audience. Foxx's enthusiastic reception led to his decision to move to L.A. and pursue a comedy career. At the age of 22 he was hired for In Living Color, and he subsequently landed a recurring role on Charles Dutton's sitcom Roc. Foxx eventually broke through onto the big screen with small appearances in movies like The Truth About Cats and Dogs, The Great White Hype, and Booty Call. Foxx's big break in film came in 1999 with Any Given Sunday, and he would henceforth find himself on a short list of bankable dramatic actors in Hollywood. He would go on to star in Michael Mann's Ali and Collateral, before playing legendary musician Ray Charles for the biopic Ray, which found Foxx taking home a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his performance. Foxx would continue to remain a top-tier actor, starring in major films like Stealth, Jarhead, Miami Vice, Dreamgirls, The Soloist, Law Abiding Citizen, Django Unchained, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the 2014 remake of Annie.

Trivia: Began acting as a child in community and school theatre. Made his Broadway debut as understudy to Haley Joel Osment in the short lived 2008 revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo. Won an Obie Award in 2010 for his performance in Annie Baker's play The Aliens, directed by Sam Gold, at New York's Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. Met his wife, actress Anna Wood, while they were both students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Was the star of Prada's spring/summer 2014 menswear campaign, the second time he modeled for the brand.

Trivia: Having spent much of his youth on his father's Missouri cattle ranch, it is not surprising that supporting and leading actor of stage, screen, and television Chris Cooper has specialized in playing cowboys, ranchers, and other hardworking men. His rugged Everyman demeanor has best been put to use by filmmaker John Sayles, who cast him in a number of his films, beginning with 1987's Matewan.Cooper's interest in the theater began in his late teens, when he designed and constructed sets for a community group. Following high school, he studied agriculture and acting at the University of Missouri before moving to New York City in hopes of making it on the stage. It took awhile, but by 1980 he was starring in productions like Of the Fields Lately, The Ballad of Soapy Smith, and Cobb, in which he played the title role. His film debut came in 1980, in Nicholas Roeg's Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession. He didn't get his big break until seven years later, when Sayles cast him as Joe Kenehan, a member of the coalminer's union who is sent to a tiny mountain town to organize the workers in Matewan (1987). He again worked with Sayles in City of Hope (1991) and then in Lone Star (1996), for which he won great acclaim playing the enigmatic Sam Deeds, the prodigal son of a tiny Texas town's sheriff who solves a mystery and comes to grips with his relationship with his late father. Subsequently, Cooper -- who had also made his mark on the small screen as cowboy July Johnson in Lonesome Dove (1989) -- appeared as a deputy in a A Time to Kill (1996), Robert Redford's younger brother in The Horse Whisperer (1998), and Ethan Hawke's brother-in-law in Great Expectations. In 1999, the actor again demonstrated his impressive range, first playing a coalminer in October Sky and then turning in a chilling performance as Kevin Spacey's unbalanced neighbor in American Beauty. If Cooper was somewhat lost in the shuffle of 2002's Interstate 60, his Oscar winning performance in that same years' Adaptation would find Cooper receiving lavish praise for his portrayal of a lively orchid hunter. Cast opposite Meryl Streep, Cooper's toothless performance was in turns hilarious, sad and poetic, providing the perfect showcase for his impressive range. In 2003, Cooper was nominated for Best Supporting Actor by the Screen Actors Guild for his turn as a soft-spoken horse trainer in Seabiscuit. Cooper worked steadily through the early 2000s, largely in a supporting capacity. He won no small amount of praise for his work in Syriana and Capote (both 2005), and showed demonstrated his range as an actor in 2007, when he co-starred in The Kingdom, Married Life, and Breach. Cooper lent his voice to Spike Jonze's remake of Maurice Sendak's classic children's novel Where the Wild Things Are, and joined Ben Affleck for a supporting role in The Town, a 2010 crime thriller based on author Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. Cooper found more success, however, for his role in Amiga (2010) John Sayles' war drama, in which he played an American military colonel deeply prejudiced against Filipinos. The actor took on a decidedly less serious role as a dastardly villain extraordinaire in The Muppets (2011).

Trivia: The balding, likeable, nervous-looking character actor Paul Giamatti is the son of the author, Yale president, and Major League Baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. After earning his M.F.A. in Drama from Yale, the younger Giamatti got started on his acting career with small film parts and TV guest spots. He quickly became a recognizable face but his name was not yet well-known in Hollywood, while on-stage he appeared in lead roles for Broadway productions of The Three Sisters and The Iceman Cometh. Giamatti's film breakthrough came in 1997 with the role of media executive Kenny (aka "Pig Vomit") in the Howard Stern movie Private Parts. In his next few films, he played small yet funny parts like the inept mob henchman in Safe Men, the slave-peddling ape in Planet of the Apes, and the bellboy in My Best Friend's Wedding. He then got starring roles in the HBO movies Winchell (opposite fellow character actor Stanley Tucci) and If These Walls Could Talk 2. Giamatti seemed to get good parts in both independent films (Storytelling, Confidence) and in major studio blockbusters (Big Momma's House, Big Fat Liar). After playing the real-life eccentric Bob Zmuda in Milos Forman's Man on the Moon, he got his first major starring role in 2003 as the leading real-life eccentric Harvey Pekar in American Splendor, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The same year he starred in the FX original movie The Pentagon Papers with James Spader.Many thought Giamatti was more than deserving of an Academy Award nomination for his role in American Splendor, but when the nods were announced his name was absent. Nonetheless, he received even more raves for his next film. As the wine-loving love-lorn lead in Sideways, Giamatti wowed critics and increased his popularity with audiences exponentially. However, despite the overwhelming accolades and multiple Oscar nominations for the film, Giamatti was again ignored by the Academy.Next up, Giamatti returned to supporting work with a role in director Ron Howard's acclaimed 2005 biopic of boxer Jim Braddock, Cinderella Man. Playing the concerned, passionate manager to Russell Crowe's headstrong underdog, Giamatti finally received some belated Academy attention, even if he lost the 2005 Best Supporting Actor prize to popular favorite George Clooney. No matter, since Giamatti was already at work on his next leading man project in M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water. Of course his role as the befuddled apartment complex supervisor attempting to protect a mysterious woman who emerges from the swimming pool in Shyamalan's eagerly-anticipated fairy-tale thriller still only seemed like the beginning of an incredibly productive period that continued to capitalize on Giamatti's post-Sideways success, and with an exhausting six films featuring the actor scheduled for release in 2006 alone, the actor previously content essaying supporting roles found himself increasingly gravitating towards the status of leading man. Still, it wasn't all big budget blockbusters for the screen's most well-known wine connisseur, and with a prominant role as an obsessive falconer in writer/director Julian Goldberger's 2006 adaptation of author Harry Crews 1973 novel The Hawk is Dying, Giamatti delivered the distinct message that his career was still very much about the creativity afforded to actors and not necessarily the financial payoff. An additional role in the romantic fantasy adventure The Illusionist that same year found Giamatti taking a trip back to turn-of-the-century Vienna to play a conflicted police inspector whose outward obligations to the aristocracy belie his growing suspicions that they may be covering up an especially confounding murder. With a voice that was equally as recognizable as his distinctive face, Giamatti began lending his vocal chords to a variety of animated projects including Robots, The Ant Bully, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto and the curiously titled Amazing Screw-on Head as well. Unrelenting in the coming years, Giamatti would continue to take on a wide range of memorable character roles in interesting films like Shoot Em Up, John Adams, Cold Souls, The Last Station, The Hangover Part II, The Ides of March and Rock of Ages.

Trivia: Actress Felicity Jones paid her dues as a teenager, playing a recurring character on the low-budget U.K. fantasy series The Worst Witch. Her next big break would be a TV role, as well, but part of Zoe Brogan on the drama Cape Wrath would come with considerably more prestige. Jones then branched out with a part in the 2008 of the novel Brideshead Revisited and a prominent role in the 2009 Stephen Frears film Chéri. Jones co-starred in the well-received romantic drama Like Crazy, and scored her first Oscar nomination for her work in 2014's The Theory of Everything playing the wife of celebrated scientist Stephen Hawking.

Trivia: Born November 6, 1946, in Pasadena, CA, actress Sally Field was the daughter of another actress, Margaret Field, who is perhaps best known to film buffs as the leading lady of the sci-fi The Man From Planet X (1951). Field's stepfather was actor/stunt man Jock Mahoney, who, despite a certain degree of alienation between himself and his stepdaughter, was the principal influence in her pursuit of an acting career. Active in high-school dramatics, Field bypassed college to enroll in a summer acting workshop at Columbia studios. Her energy and determination enabled her to win, over hundreds of other aspiring actresses, the coveted starring role on the 1965 TV series Gidget. Gidget lasted only one season, but Field had become popular with teen fans and in 1967 was given a second crack at a sitcom with The Flying Nun; this one lasted three seasons and is still flying around in reruns.Somewhere along the way Field made her film debut in The Way West (1967) but was more or less ignored by moviegoers over the age of 21. Juggling sporadic work on stage and TV with a well-publicized first marriage (she was pregnant during Flying Nun's last season), Field set about shedding her "perky" image in order to get more substantial parts. Good as she was as a reformed junkie in the 1970 TV movie Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring, by 1972 Field was mired again in sitcom hell with the short-lived weekly The Girl With Something Extra. Freshly divorced and with a new agent, she tried to radically alter her persona with a nude scene in the 1975 film Stay Hungry, resulting in little more than embarrassment for all concerned. Finally, in 1976, Field proved her mettle as an actress in the TV movie Sybil, winning an Emmy for her virtuoso performance as a woman suffering from multiple personalities stemming from childhood abuse. Following this triumph, Field entered into a long romance with Burt Reynolds, working with the actor in numerous films that were short on prestige but long on box-office appeal.By 1979, Field found herself in another career crisis: now she had to jettison the "Burt Reynolds' girlfriend" image. She did so with her powerful portrayal of a small-town union organizer in Norma Rae (1979), for which she earned her first Academy Award. At last taken completely seriously by fans and industry figures, Field spent the next four years in films of fluctuating merit (she also ended her relationship with Reynolds and married again), rounding out 1984 with her second Oscar for Places in the Heart. It was at the 1985 Academy Awards ceremony that Field earned a permanent place in the lexicon of comedy writers, talk show hosts, and impressionists everywhere by reacting to her Oscar with a tearful "You LIKE me! You REALLY LIKE me!" Few liked her in such subsequent missteps as Surrender (1987) and Soapdish (1991), but Field was able to intersperse them with winners such as the 1989 weepie Steel Magnolias and the Robin Williams drag extravaganza Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). Field found further triumph as the doggedly determined mother of Tom Hanks in the 1994 box-office bonanza Forrest Gump, which, in addition to mining box-office gold, also managed to pull in a host of Oscars and various other awards.Following Gump, Field turned her energies to ultimately less successful projects, such as 1995's Eye for an Eye with Kiefer Sutherland and Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996). She also did some TV work, most notably in Tom Hanks' acclaimed From the Earth to the Moon miniseries (1998) and the American Film Institute's 100 Years....100 Movies series. The turn of the century found Field contributing her talents to a pair of down-home comedy-dramas, first with a cameo matriarch role in 2000's Where the Heart Is and later that year as director of the Minnie Driver vehicle Beautiful. Both films met with near-universal derision from critics; only the Steel Magnolias-esque Heart found a modest box-office following.In 2003, Field took a role alongside Reese Witherspoon in the legal comedy Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, & Bllonde, and in 2006 joined the cast of ABC's Brothers & Sisters in the role of matriach Nora Walker. The role earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2007. The actress was cast in the role of Aunt May for The Amazing Spiderman (2012), and was so revered as Mary Todd Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln that she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Trivia: B.J. Novak plays permanently apathetic temp Ryan so well on the hit comedy The Office, that you'd never guess he's actually a producer of the show. The actor and comedian grew up near Boston in the suburb of Newton, and graduated from high school with his Office co-star John Krasinski. He then attended Harvard University, where he earned a degree in English and Spanish Literature, graduating in 2001. Novak worked in standup comedy and joined the show Punk'd in 2002, where he helped pull pranks on celebrities like Hilary Duff and Mya. In 2005, he joined the team of The Office as not only a cast member but also a producer and occasional writer. He also began making appearances in movies like Reign Over Me, Knocked Up, and Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds.

Trivia: A classically trained stage star in his adopted home of Canada, Colm Feore became an increasingly familiar presence to movie and TV audiences as a prolific supporting actor in the 1990s.Though he was born in the U.S. and spent the first years of his life in Ireland, Feore and his family moved to Ottawa when he was three and Canada became his official home. After studying acting at Canada's National Theater School, Feore built a distinguished Canadian stage career, performing in over 40 productions during 13 seasons with the prestigious Stratford Festival.Feore began adding film and TV to his acting experience in the late '80s with such movies as Iron Eagle II (1988), Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1989), Beautiful Dreamers (1991) and Truman (1995). His non-stage career expanded further in the latter half of the 1990s and into the 2000s with numerous roles in a wide range of projects likeFace/Off, The Wrong Guy (1998), City of Angels, Titus (1999), and Michael Mann's Oscar-nominated docudrama, The Insider (1999). Though he spent part of 2000 acting in the New York Public Theater production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Feore was soon back in front of the cameras in an eclectic mix of works, like off-center murder mystery The Caveman's Valentine (2001) and played Admiral Kimmel in Michael Bay's overblown blockbuster Pearl Harbor (2001). As the years rolled on, Feore would continue to remain an active force on screen, appearing in movies like Chicago, Paycheck, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Changeling, and Thor. Feore would also find success on the small screen on shows like 24 and The Borgias.

Trivia: Fans of Steven Spielberg's acclaimed Schindler's List (1993) will recognize actress Embeth Davidtz for playing the abused Jewish maid Helen Hirsch, while those who love Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series may remember her for playing the two-faced Sheila in the third Evil Dead installment, Army of Darkness (1992). Still others will recognize the actress for her strong work in such period dramas as Feast of July (1995) and Mansfield Park (1998).Born in Indiana but raised in South Africa, Davidtz is fluent in English and Afrikaans, having studied classical and contemporary drama in both languages. A graduate of Rhodes University, she made an auspicious theatrical debut with the country's National Theater Company, as Juliet in a production of Shakespeare's classic romantic tragedy, and she subsequently garnered considerable accolades for her theatrical work. Davidtz entered films playing the daughter of an interracial couple in the South African television movie A Private Life (1988) and went on to win the country's equivalent of an Oscar in the Afrikaaner psychological drama Night of the Nineteenth. As her early work might indicate, Davidtz has shown a preference for appearing in political dramas from her first days in film.A resident of the U.S. since 1991, Davidtz has appeared in numerous television movies and miniseries, including the 1992 crime thriller Deadly Matrimony. In 1995, she won more critical praise for her work as a young woman who causes a family crisis after being impregnated and deserted by her callous lover in an acclaimed adaptation of H.E. Bates' novel The Feast of July. As a change of pace, she played a kindhearted teacher in Danny DeVito's darkly comic adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel Mathilda (1996) and then it was back to straight political drama with Garden of Redemption (1997). In 1998, Davidtz co-starred with Kenneth Branagh, in Robert Altman's adaptation of John Grisham's novel The Gingerbread Man, as a low-rent caterer with more than her share of dirty secrets. That same year, she continued in a similarly sly vein as the conniving Mary Crawford in Patricia Rozema's controversial adaptation of Mansfield Park, injecting the proceedings with a savory dollop of manipulative eroticism.Over the coming years, Davidz would remain as active on screen as ever, appearing in films like Mansfield Park and Fracture, and on shows like Citizen Baines, In Treatment, Californication, and Mad Men.

Trivia: The son of actors George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst, Campbell Scott obviously inherited some of his parents' talent, though he bears relatively little physical resemblance to either. Somewhat ironically, Scott, who was born in New York City on July 19, 1961, and studied drama at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, spent much of his youth starring in a number of films linked with the Grim Reaper. Some highlights included the PBS AIDS-related drama Longtime Companion (1990), the Civil War-based TV movie Perfect Tribute (1991) (which climaxes on the bloody grounds of Gettysburg), and Dying Young (1992), which featured Scott as a wealthy leukemia patient. One of the most curious -- and interesting -- film assignments for the handsome, lithe Scott was as the plain and portly humorist Robert Benchley in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), a role which earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Scott also turned in a winning performance in Cameron Crowe's Singles (1992), which cast him as one of the eponymous group of friends and acquaintances looking for love in grunge-era Seattle.Scott's career entered a new phase in 1996 when the actor began serving as a co-producer on various projects. Teaming up with old friend Stanley Tucci, Scott co-produced Greg Mottola's well-received independent comedy The Daytrippers, which starred Tucci -- and then, in concert with his friend, he co-directed, co-produced, and starred in Big Night, a drama about the failing fortunes of an Italian restaurant. Originally screened at the Sundance Festival, where it enjoyed an enthusiastic reception, the film earned widespread acclaim upon its general release and landed on numerous critics' top ten lists for that year.Scott followed this triumph with a return to acting, starring in David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner (1997) and in 1998 re-teamed with Tucci to star in the slapstick-on-a-steamer vehicle The Imposters. In 2000, he set sail for rougher seas, portraying the titular alcoholic in the black comedy Lush and the unreliable confidant of a man undergoing a marital crisis in the independent drama Other Voices.

Trivia: Shares an interest in acting and music with his three older brothers. Started acting after he accompanied his oldest brother Logan to an audition and ended up getting booked himself. Appeared opposite his three brothers in a scene in the 2012 movie adaptation of The Three Stooges. Called his role as the young Peter Parker in the 2012 feature film The Amazing Spider-Man a "dream come true," because he dressed up as the webbed crusader for Halloween at the age of 2. Covered Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" with his brother Logan in a YouTube video.

Trivia: An actor of remarkable intensity whether playing comedy, drama, or classical-stage roles, Marton Csokas first became familiar to stateside audiences as Borias on the hit television series Xena: Warrior Princess. And though American audiences may not have been privy to his early stage and screen work, his performance in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring made him a familiar face. Born in New Zealand in June 1966, Csokas' early schooling didn't exactly encourage creativity, and the future actor didn't discover his passion for the stage and screen until his late teens. While studying literature and art history for a year at Canterbury and Christchurch, Csokas became involved with a writer's club and theater company before graduating from the New Zealand Drama School and co-founding the The Stronghold Theater. Steadily gaining experience and harboring a growing passion for classical-stage drama, the actor landed a role in the television series Shortland Street before making his feature debut in Jack Brown Genius (1994). Numerous small film roles followed, and, after becoming a recognizable star in his native country, Csokas began to familiarize himself with American television audiences with Xena and such small-screen features as The Three Stooges (2000). His experience in the fantasy world of Xena prepared him well for his role as Celeborn in the first Lord of the Rings movie in 2001, and American audiences later saw the versatile actor as a villainous criminal mastermind bent on world domination in XXX (2002). He appeared in director Alex Proyas' decidedly upbeat Garage Days the same year and in Richard Donner's time travel fantasy Timeline in 2003.

Trivia: Started acting at age 10. An accomplished dancer, she trained at the National Ballet School of Canada. Named an Ontario Scholar upon graduation of high school. Has appeared on the Canadian television series Murdoch Mysteries, The Border and Being Erica.

Trivia: Moved with his family to Libertyville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, when he was 10 years old.Discovered acting in junior high when he auditioned for a role in Sweeney Todd while his family was experiencing trouble, and he got cast as Judge Turpin.First art department credit was on the 2012 short film Buried Treasure for which he designed the poster.Performed on Broadway in productions of Cabaret, in 2014, playing Clifford Bradshaw and Brooklyn Boy in 2005.

Trivia: Started her comedic training at iO Chicago while in college. Is an alum of Chicago's Second City improv troupe, where many other Saturday Night Live greats were discovered. Made her SNL debut in the show's 38th season, along with Tim Robinson and Cecily Strong, who also hail from Chicago's comedy scene. Her first impression on SNL was of CNN correspondent Candy Crowley, who moderated the second 2012 presidential debate.

Trivia: In 2007, moved to California with his family. Spent his senior year in Vancouver filming Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014). Ben Stiller and Robin Williams helped him with his "promposal" video.

Trivia: Developed interest in acting after getting to play Charlie Brown in 6th grade school play. During filming for Pass the Light, spent downtime learning sound mixing and other skills from the film crew. Missed a callback for Steven Spielberg's Super 8 because he was hunting in Colorado, out of cell phone range. Nearly took a break from acting after trying out for 14 pilots and getting none; after deciding to stick with it, landed leading role on Famous in Love. Helped found two businesses: Respark Media, whose goal is to make advertising appealing to younger generations, and SolAssist, which helps connect clean energy companies to customers.

Trivia: Attended first audition for a role in the television series Unsolved Mysteries. The audition was a literal race which Martinez won. Performed in Mail Order Bridge, a film which was almost entirely improvised. Won a screenwriting competition and earned an invitation to a conference for the National Association of Latino Independent Producers in 2009. One of only a handful of actors to have worked in the United Nations building on two separate occasions. A vocal advocate of self-empowerment for people of color, and frequently speaks on the importance of generating one's own opportunities.

Trivia: In 2016, the Astronomy Club, with him as a member, was named Comics to Watch by the New York Comedy Festival and Comedy Central.Head writer and member of the improv and sketch comedy group Astronomy Club. Collaborated with James III and Jerah Milligan in the first all-black house team at the Upright Citizen Brigade Theater, the Astronomy Club, before their podcast.Co-host of the podcast Black Men Can't Jump (in Hollywood) along with James III and Jerah Milligan.Performs at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City.

Trivia: In addition to being the man who crafted both the "Marvel Universe" as well as some of the most popular comic book superheroes of modern times, longtime artist and writer Stan Lee played a pivotal role in bringing genuine human emotion into comic book characters, a trait that, up until the creation of such characters as the enduring Spider-Man, was sorely lacking in comics. Born in New York in 1922, it was at the age of 17 that Lee began work as an assistant editor for Timely Comics. Promoted to editor soon thereafter, Lee remained with the company as it changed its name to Atlas and fought slumping sales in the following years. At first simply carrying on with the stories of the characters that had already been created, the company got a fresh burst of creativity when, in 1961, it changed its name from Atlas to Marvel Comics. Soon carrying stories of emotionally complex and multi-dimensional characters such as Spider-Man, The Hulk, and Daredevil, Lee's intelligent story lines -- coupled with artist Jack Kirby's impressive images -- helped Marvel's popularity surge during the '60s. Advancing to the position of publisher and editorial director in 1972, it was during this decade that such popular television series as The Incredible Hulk and The Amazing Spider-Man truly came to life on the small screen. Though many of the characters had appeared in cartoon form on television in the previous decade, their transformation from animated characters to living, breathing humans truly brought comics into a new light and exposed them to audiences who otherwise might have scoffed at such fiction. Of course, this was only the beginning, and throughout subsequent years, Lee's characters made the leap to feature films in such blockbusters as Bryan Singer's X-Men (2000) and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002). In addition to his role as a popular writer in comics, Lee also played a pivotal role in reducing censorship in the medium. Addressing the issue of drug addition in an issue of The Amazing Spider-Man at the request of public health officials, Lee defied the strict rules set by the Comics Code Authority (which banned any portrayal of drug use whether it be in a positive or negative light) and ultimately put the downfall of the CCA into motion. In the decades since, Lee's creations have not only graced the pages of comic books, but have sprung to life as never before with numerous film and television adaptations most successfully in the box-office smash The Avengers.