Trivia: Actor, producer, writer, and director Vin Diesel had a charmed entry into the world of screen acting: after seeing Multi-Facial, a short that Diesel wrote, produced, financed, directed, and starred in, Steven Spielberg created the role of Private Caparzo specifically for the talented young newcomer in his Saving Private Ryan (1998).Born in New York City on July 18, 1967, Diesel made his stage debut at the age of seven in "Theatre for the New City," which was produced in Greenwich Village. He continued to be involved with the theatre throughout his adolescence, and he went on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his studies in creative writing led him to begin writing screenplays. Diesel became active in filmmaking in the early '90s, first earning notice for the short Multi-Facial, which was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. He followed up Multi-Facial with his first feature-length film, 1997's Strays, an urban drama in which he cast himself as a gang boss whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed, and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, which led to a deal with MTV to turn it into a series.Following the success of Saving Private Ryan, Diesel could be heard voicing the title character of the animated The Iron Giant (1999), another critically praised feature. He then starred with fellow young actors Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Affleck, Jamie Kennedy, and Nicky Katt in Boiler Room, an off-Wall Street drama that cast him as one of the members of a shady brokerage firm. He also flexed his sci-fi muscles in Pitch Black (2000), an interplanetary thriller that featured him and fellow Earthlings doing battle with a host of nasty alien mutants. Diesel jumped genres yet again as a devious, determined hot-rodder in The Fast and the Furious (2001), a cheeky, action-packed street racing picture in the vein of '50s exploitation flicks. The low-profile, star-free summer release left skid marks at the box office as it grossed over $40 million dollars in its first weekend alone -- more than enough to cover its production costs, and enough to lead many to believe that Diesel had finally arrived as a bankable leading man.Indeed Diesel was growing increasingly comfortable in his role as a tough guy action icon, though the ex-NYC club bouncer's prominent smirky scowl (usually accompanied by a hearty smile and laugh) proved almost a wink to his fans that while it worked well for him, he didn't take the image altogether seriously. The following year found Diesel teetering on the edge of mega-stardom with the release of his eagerly anticipated reteaming with The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen, XXX. With images of a bulky Diesel adorning movie theaters nationwide and an advertising campaign that left almost no viable stone unturned, the duo were undoubtedly aiming to repeat the success of the muscle-car extravaganza. This time setting their sights on breathing life into the ailing secret agent action adventure genre, XXX's protagonist, a former extreme sports athlete recruited by the government to take on a dangerous mission, would prove a large-scale attempt at bringing James Bond style thrills into the 21st century. With his reputation set in stone, Diesel would spend the 2000's enjoying a steady stream of similar work, starring in action adventure films like The Chronicles of Riddick (a sequel to 2000's Pitch Black) and Babylon A.D., as well as occasional comedic turns, like The Pacifier. He eventually rejoined the Fast & Furious franchise, reprising his role of Dom Toretto in numerous sequels, and also working as a producer on the films. In 2014, he voiced the role of Groot in the smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy, and also recorded his iconic line "I am Groot" in numerous languages for international versions of the film.

Trivia: With looks suggesting a closet full of football trophies, the blond, blue-eyed Paul Walker has made a name for himself with a number of high-profile projects, including the successful teen flicks She's All That and Varsity Blues.Hailing from Glendale, CA, where he was born on September 12, 1973, Walker got his start at a young age, modeling and acting in various TV shows including Charles in Charge, Diff'rent Strokes, and Who's the Boss. His film debut came in the 1986 horror spoof Monster in the Closet, which complemented a part in the short-lived 1986 sitcom Throb. After high school, where he was active in a variety of sports, Walker opted to study marine biology at a series of California community colleges. Realizing his real love was acting, Walker resumed his long-dormant career in 1993, with a role on the CBS soap The Young and the Restless. This was followed by a lead role in Tammy and the T-Rex, which also starred an unknown Denise Richards. In 1998, after starring in the desultory Meet the Deedles, Walker won a secondary role as the object of Reese Witherspoon's pent-up passion in the critically acclaimed Pleasantville. His onscreen success continued with the following year's She's All That and Varsity Blues, both of which allowed the actor to capitalize on the craze for teens on the screen. In 2001, Walker tackled a leading role as he put the pedal to the metal with burgeoning star Vin Diesel in The Fast and the Furious. A throwback to the forgotten drive-in exploitationers of the past, adrenalized and pumped-up for the new millennium, The Fast and the Furious brought Walker into edgier thriller territory as a youthful undercover FBI agent drawn into the world of underground racing gangs. Taking to the road once again, Walker appeared later that year as a teen stalked by a maniacal trucker while on the way to pick-up his dream girl (Leelee Sobieski) in Joy Ride.In 2003, Walker reprised his Fast and the Furious role for the sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, before signing on to appear alongside Penelope Cruiz, Susan Sarandon, and Alan Arkin for veteran actor Chazz Palminteri's big screen directorial debut, the ensemble drama Noel. The low-key movie provided a fore into films of a more subdued, dramatic nature, but the young actor wouldn't stay away from the thriller genre for long. In 2005 he appeared with Jessica Alba in the underwater adventure Into the Blue, and by 2006 he starred in the crime drama Running Scared. Walker kept the adrenaline pumping but widened his target audience for his next film, the Disney feature Eight Below. Walker starred as an Antarctic explorer who is forced to leave his beloved sled dogs behind when his life is in danger, but remains determined to rescue them. The movie was more family friendly than his other recent efforts, but before long he would be back to the grown-up fare that seemed to suit him. He next took a role in the John Herzfeld action flick The Death and Life of Bobby Z, in which he played opposite Laurence Fishburne as a convict who agrees to pose as a deceased drug dealer during a hostage switch. The edgy crime film was right up his alley, but Walker would change gears again for his next film, playing one of the six soldiers who raised the American flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima during WWII, in the Clint Eastwood movie Flags of Our Fathers. He was the lead in the 2006 action film Running Scared, as well as the star of the old-fashioned adventure film Eight Below. In 2009 he returned to his signature franchise with Fast & Furious, and followed that up with the crime film Takers, and then Fast Five, which became a huge hit. Walker continued to apppear in The Fast and the Furious franchise films before ironically losing his life as a passenger in a car crash at age 40 in 2013.

Trivia: A Muay Thai master whose formidable martial arts skills have dazzled action lovers in such films as Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector), Tony Jaa was first inspired to take up fighting when, at the age of 15, he first saw director Panna Rittikrai's classic action film Born to Fight. A breathtaking martial arts masterpiece that proved to Jaa there were indeed opportunities for a young action star in Thailand, Born to Fight would inspire the impressionable viewer to begin training harder than ever before. Nicknamed Tony Jaa by Ong Bak director Prachya Pinkaew (the "T" in Tony stands for Thailand, and the "Jaa" is the actor's Thai nickname), the talented martial artist is better known in his native Thailand by the name Jaa Panom.A native of the rural Surin province which is located some 200 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, Jaa took a cue from his Muay Thai-boxer father and began training at the age of ten. It was shortly thereafter that a Jackie Chan movie prompted young Jaa to begin a rigorous training regiment that would instill him with the deadly dexterity of his cinematic idol, with a subsequent, junior-high-school viewing of Born to Fight offering a vivid vision of a future in film. Granted permission by his father to seek out Rittikrai and ask permission to become the filmmaker's student, Jaa traveled to the nearby Khon Kaen province to meet the man who could make all of his dreams come true. It was over the course of the next three years that Jaa truly immersed himself in the film industry, rapidly rising through the ranks from water boy to best boy while constantly practicing martial arts during his down time. When Jaa graduated from senior high and Rittikrai recommended that the rising star refine his skills at the University of Physical Education in Sarakam Province; a stint studying Taekwondo, Bushido, Ju-Jitsu, gymnastics, and stick- and sword- fighting at the school provided just the kind of well-rounded education needed to expand his skills and take his career to the next level. Weekend training sessions with Rithikrai soon convinced the veteran and star that his young protégé had the skills to truly shine on the big screen, with an invitation to join Rithikrai's skilled stunt team offering Jaa the irresistible opportunity to finally merge the artistry of film with the beauty of martial arts. His eye-popping fusion of gymnastics and Muay Thai boxing resulted in the formation of a group that performed in various high schools in the northeastern provinces of Thailand, as well as a local sword team which eventually allowed the emerging martial artist to travel to China as an exchange student. Jaa was later named the official representative of the University of Physical Education throughout northeastern Thailand and Bangkok, and was awarded multiple medals in sword, staff, gymnastic, and track and field events. His skills as a performer steadily expanding thanks to his role as a stunt man in the Thai television series Golden Eagle, Jaa would soon bring his skills to the big screen when, in 1997, he appeared as an uncredited stunt double for Robin Shou in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. It wasn't until the release of Ong Bak some six years later that Jaa would receive full credit for his remarkable martial arts skills, with the stripped-down brutality of Muay Thai offering a refreshing change of pace from the graceful wire-fu that saturated the international film market in the wake of The Matrix. The result of four years of Muay Thai training on behalf of Jaa, Ong Bak proved that the human body is capable of amazing things even without the aid of computer animation. A playfully placed invitation courting renowned French action producer/filmmaker Luc Besson eventually paid off when Ong Bak caused quite a rift in its native Thailand, with the highly regarded filmmaker subsequently agreeing to re-edit the film for international release. By this point Jaa had been named heir apparent to the legacies of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan by nearly every film critic from Bangkok to Hollywood, and on top of that, the emerging martial arts icon developed a whole new form of Muay Thai (dubbed "Muay Thai Cochisai" for using the movements of an elephant) with which to woo audiences in the eagerly anticipated action entry Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector).

Trivia: Began training in judo when she was 8, training under her mother, a former World Champion. Became the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in Judo, earning the bronze at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Retired from judo after the Olympics at 21, and worked as a bartender before started her MMA career. Was the first UFC Women's Bantamweight champion. In 2015, she was the third-most searched person on Google. Won her first 12 UFC fights before falling to Holly Holm in 2015. Was one of three cover girls on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2016.

Trivia: Started acting as a child, and her breakthrough role came as Young Nala in the original London production of The Lion King in 1999. Got noticed on British TV playing Sasha Valentine on the soap opera Hollyoaks (2006-10). Made film debut in 2012 thriller Twenty8k, which also featured her future Game of Thrones costar Stephen Dillane. First appearance as Missandei on HBO's Game of Thrones came in the third-season premiere, "Valar Dohaeris," in 2013. Credits Game of Thrones role for opening doors to more work in feature films, including Furious 7 (2015) and Fast 8 (2017), the seventh and eighth installments, respectively, of The Fast and the Furious franchise, and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018), the second and third titles, respectively, in The Maze Runner movie series.

Trivia: Last name is Romanian for "someone who lived near a creek." Was inspired to act by her grandfather, who was a theater actor. Majored in journalism in college while taking acting classes in her free time. Launched a clothing line in 2004 called PTKY. Crossed over to the U.S. market with a supporting role in Snakes on a Plane (2006).

Trivia: Actor Djimon Hounsou first gained acting attention in Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997). Born April 24th, 1964 in West Africa, he moved with his family to Paris, France, at age 13. When he left school, he became homeless and spent a couple of years wandering the streets of Paris before being discovered by fashion designer Thierry Mugler. After he resettled himself, Hounsou moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting. While on the way to stardom, Hounsou appeared in music videos, including those of Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Steve Winwood. After his turn as a rebellious slave in Amistad, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, he found increasingly steady employment on both the big and small screens, becoming a semi-regular on the hospital drama ER and appearing in such films as the historical epic Gladiator (2000). After such high-profile projects, Hounsou's success in the following two years would prove no surprise to anyone who glanced at his filmography. Aside from prominent roles in such high-profile French films as 2002's Le Boulet (Dead Weight) and the following year's Muraya -- l'Expérience Secrète de Mike Blueberry (The Adventures of Mike S. Blueberry), Hounsou's bid for screen stardom was simultaneously on display in such stateside features as The Four Feathers (2002), Biker Boyz, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider -- The Cradle of Life (both 2003).In 2003, Hounsou received his first Oscar nomination for his acclaimed supporting role in Jim Sheridan's In America. And while he spent much of the next three years appearing in films that earned mixed reactions from both audiences and critics, he was back in top form in 2006's Blood Diamond, which found him opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. The film appeared on a number of Top Ten lists, garnered Hounsou accolades from countless critics groups and snagged him his second Oscar nod.Following the success of Blood Diamond, Hounsou made several guest appearances on th popular television show Alias, and joined filmmaker Michae Bay's 2005 action drama The Island, which co-stars Scarlet Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Sean Bean. In 2009, Hounsou played the rle of n aget determined to thwart the plans of a group of telekinetic American ex-pats. The actor joined the Academy-award winning actress Helen Mirren in the 2011 film adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, in which Mirren played the traditionally male role of Prospero.

Trivia: An L.A. native whose self-titled debut album quickly propelled him to the top of the charts, smooth-voiced R&B crooner Tyrese (born Tyrese Gibson on December 30th, 1978) immediately stood out from the pack, thanks to the remarkable honesty of his songwriting, his alluring passion, and his self-assured style behind the microphone. It was at the age of 14 that a series of wins on the local talent circuit gave the up-and-coming singer his first enticing taste of success, with a Coca Cola commercial providing the breakthrough that would soon propel him to release his eponymous debut album in 1998. Of course, anyone who happened to catch Tyrese's Coca Cola commercial couldn't help but notice the singing sensation's undeniable screen presence. After making his acting debut with a small role in acclaimed filmmaker Julie Dash's made-for-television drama Love Song, the singer-turned-actor jumped headlong into features, as the protagonist of John Singleton's Boyz 'N the Hood follow-up, Baby Boy. Cast as an urban mama's boy whose staunch refusal to leave the nest eventually stifles his transition into adulthood, Tyrese offered just the right mixture of naïveté and street-tough bravado to draw audiences in, while showing notable promise for the future. With two films, a hit album, and a series of television appearances in such series as Martin and Moesha under his belt, Tyrese returned to the music scene for his sophomore effort, 2000 Watts, before jumping into the driver's seat for the 2003 film 2 Fast 2 Furious. The following year Tyrese kept the action moving at a clip with a supporting role in Flight of the Phoenix before opting for more dramatic roles in director Justin Lin's Annapolis and former collaborator John Singleton's family-themed revenge drama Four Brothers. A supporting role in Better Luck Tomorrow director Justin Lin's Navy boxing misfire Annapolis was quickly followed by another headline performance as an ex-convict struggling to get his son back after his vehicle is carjacked with the boy still inside in the 2006 action thriller Waist Deep.

Trivia: One of a number of hip-hop musicians to successfully tackle a career in movies as well, Ludacris began his career as a humble radio DJ working in Atlanta, GA. He used the job as an opportunity to hone his skills as a musician and rapper, eventually hooking up with talents like super-producer Timbaland and getting signed to a subsidiary of Def Jam in 2000. He shortly thereafter released his first album, Inconegro, and soon became a household name, not to mention one of the most important forces in hip-hop. His fame was only boosted when, in 2002, he was signed to do a promotional deal with Pepsi, but the sponsorship was terminated when right-wing TV news shock-jocker Bill O'Reilly complained that Ludacris' image promoted violence. The controversy created much debate and attracted substantial attention, possibly more than the promo contract would have earned on its own, and the rapper's album sales continued to rise.It wasn't long before Ludacris' notoriety had movie directors tapping him to make appearances in their films. After a small role in 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious, he was cast in the 2005 film Hustle & Flow, a movie starring Terrence Howard as Djay, an aspiring rapper trying desperately to make it. Ludacris played Skinny Black, a world-famous hip-hop star who started out in Djay's hometown of Memphis. The movie became a critical success, and Ludacris followed it up with a 2006 appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as the stepson of cast member Ice-T. His booming music career didn't make it easy, but Ludacris couldn't help signing onto another project in 2007, parodying his own street-tough image as a disgruntled elf in the Christmas comedy Fred Claus.

Trivia: A young actress with dark-haired good looks and a strong personality, Jordana Brewster was born in Panama City, Panama, on April 26, 1980; her father, Alden Brewster, is a successful investment banker, while her mother, Maria Jaao, is a former model whose resumé includes an appearance in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Mr. Brewster's career dictated a certain amount of traveling, so Jordana lived in London, England, until age six, then spent four years in Rio de Janeiro, before settling in New York City at age ten. While studying at the New York Professional Children's School, Jordana was bitten by the acting bug, and at the age of 15 she landed the role of Nikki Graves on the soap opera As the World Turns. The same year, Jordana was also cast in a supporting role on another soap, All My Children; her run on All My Children was less than a year, but she continued to appear on As the World Turns until 1998. 1998 also marked Jordana's big-screen debut as the sharp-tongued Delilah in the teen horror opus The Faculty, while a year later she was cast in a showy role in the popular miniseries The '60s. After graduating from high school, Jordana was accepted at Yale, but took time off from her studies to resume her acting career, appearing in two films in 2001, including the box-office blockbuster The Fast and the Furious. While subsequent roles in D.E.B.S. and Annapolis found the emerging actress climbing the credits list with impressive ease, the fact that both films went laregely unseen after receiving only lukewarm reception did little to slow the determined Brewster down. In 2006 the actress prepared to do battle with one of the most notorious villains in screen history as she took an ill-advised turn down an unmarked road in the horror sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. She returned to the role of Mia Toretto in 2009's Fast & Furious and continued to appear in subsequent sequels in the series. In 2012, she took on a series-regular TV role in the revival of Dallas, which lasted for three seasons. Brewster played Denise Brown, Nicole Brown's sister, in the 2016 series American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson. She returned to network TV later that year, in the film-to-TV adaptation of Lethal Weapon.

Trivia: Created her stage name by combining her dog's name, Iggy, with the name of the street she lived on as a child. Began rapping at age 14. Dropped out of high school and moved to the U.S. by herself just before she turned 16. Released her debut mix tape, Ignorant Art, in 2011. Signed with Wilhelmina Models International in 2012, and has modeled in campaigns for Levi's and House of Holland. Released her debut album, The New Classic, in 2014. In 2014, became the second artist, after The Beatles in 1964, to have the number 1 and 2 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, with "Fancy" and "Problem" (which was a collaboration with Ariana Grande).

Trivia: Though he has proven to be a natural, allegedly Lucas Black's ambition is not to be an actor when he grows up. Born and raised in Alabama, Black became a professional actor when an open casting call landed him a bit part in Jon Avnet's The War (1994). After starring on TV's American Gothic (1995), Black definitively caught the audience's attention with his pivotal role in Billy Bob Thornton's award-winning drama Sling Blade (1996). Resisting child actor treacle, Black turned in a genuinely charming and moving performance as the young boy who befriends Thornton's mentally challenged ex-con. Despite the acclaim, however, Black opted to stay home in Alabama rather than go Hollywood. Black continued to act throughout his high school years, playing supporting roles in the racial drama Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) and the big-screen version of The X-Files (1998), and starring in the TV movie Flash (1997) and as the politically aware Peejoe in Crazy in Alabama (1999). In Thornton's second directorial effort All the Pretty Horses (2000), Black's performance as the young drifter who gets Matt Damon into trouble once again revealed his ability to hold his own against -- indeed outshine -- Hollywood's best. Black, however, has asserted that his ultimate goal is to become a professional fisherman. High profile roles as everything from a piano savant in Killer Diller to a high school football star in Friday Night LIghts and a fresh-faced Marine in Jarhead proved without question that Black had the acting range needed to craft and impressive and enduring career, and in 2006 Black put the peddle to the metal as a troubled teen whose trip to Tokyo finds him mastering the art of the drift in the adrenaline-charged sequel The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Trivia: At age 5, his mother told him the plot of The Godfather as a bedtime story; he later became obsessed with Marlon Brando and watched all his movies. At school, wanted to be a professional basketball player and to represent India, but fractured his hand and began writing and acting in plays instead. In 2009, made his Bollywood film debut in Rajkumar Hirani's 3 Idiots. Made his Hollywood debut as Safar in Furious 7; organised a drag race in Lonavla in memory of Paul Walker in 2015. Is an avid rock climber and has trekked the Himalayas several times.

Trivia: Actor and occasional producer Sung Kang launched his career in the early 2000s. Though he continually tackled bit parts or supporting roles that called for standard Asian types, such as guest spots on NYPD Blue and in features such as Antwone Fisher (2002) and Forbidden Warrior (2004), Kang made his most enduring mark by co-producing and starring in a series of critically praised independent films with predominantly Asian-American casts and crews. The first of these projects arose when Kang signed to associate produce and tackle a plum role as one of the leads in writer/director Justin Lin's drama Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), about a group of troubled Asian-American adolescents who drift ever so casually into low-level crime. He followed it up by producing and starring in a sophomore project, the action-infused crime saga Undoing (2006), as a somewhat naïve young man who embarks on a crusade of vengeance against the thugs who rubbed out his best friend. Additional supporting roles ensued, in features such as The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), and War (2007).

Trivia: Is of Vietnamese descent.Speaks English and Vietnamese.Was a cheerleader in high school.Was the copresident at her Vietnamese Club.Worked as a kindergarten teacher.Considered pursuing a career as an embalmer.Is skilled in martial arts.Is an animal advocate.