Trivia: Has British and Swiss-German ancestry. Attended high school with actor Lee Pace and remains good friends with him. Got his acting start in a Houston stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire while in high school. After graduating from college, moved to New York and landed recurring roles on daytime soaps All My Children and Guiding Light. Was tipped to star in Superman Returns (2006), until a change of directors led to Brandon Routh being cast as the titular superhero. Gained a higher profile with starring roles on the short-lived ABC drama Traveler and the acclaimed USA Network series White Collar. Named People magazine's Sexiest Rising Star in 2009. Was awarded a Golden Globe in 2015 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in The Normal Heart. Supports 12 charities involving research into AIDS and cancer, as well as equal rights and family life.

Trivia: Theatrical actor Tim DeKay graduated from Rutgers University, where he met his wife, actress Elisa Taylor. In 1987, he quit his job with a casket company in Syracuse, NY, in order to pursue an acting career. Most of DeKay's work has been on or off Broadway, in regional theater, and on national tours. On television, he's appeared on SeaQuest, Party of Five, The Larry Sanders Show, Sports Night, and Ally McBeal, among others. A few of his memorable role include Bizarro Jerry on Seinfeld and Rev. Keyes on Everwood. On the big screen, he was in the action thriller Swordfish, the romantic drama Big Eden, and the independent film Welcome to the Neighborhood. DeKay got his breakthrough role on HBO's Carnivàle, as Samson's (Michael J. Anderson) right-hand man, Jonesy. Subsuquently, DeKay would remain a consistent presence on screen, appearing in movies like Peaceful Warrior and Get Smart, and on TV shows like Tell Me You Love Me and White Collar.

Trivia: Curvaceous brunette Tiffani Thiessen is best known for her roles on two teen-oriented television shows, Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills 90210. Originally credited as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, the actress dropped the second half of her first name as she tried to progress into more adult roles, both on television and in the Born on January 23, 1974, in Long Beach, CA, Tiffani Thiessen found her good looks and composure recognized early on in life. She was crowned Miss Junior America in 1987 and won Teen Magazine's Great Model Search in 1988, the end product of a string of pageants throughout her childhood. In 1989 she began a four-year stint on the teen soap opera/sitcom Saved by the Bell, the show that launched Elizabeth Berkeley and Mark-Paul Gossalaar, portraying the wholesome Kelly Kapowski. When she materialized on Beverly Hills 90210 in 1994, midway through the show's run, she had reinvented herself as a vixen and sex object, courtesy of a shorter haircut and breast implants. Her Valerie Malone crossed purposes with almost every character on the show during her four years appearing on the Fox mainstay. A regular TV-movie actress and guest performer in sitcoms, Thiessen began venturing into feature films by the late '90s. She appeared in Love Stinks (1999) and The Ladies Man (2000), as well as the straight-to-video parody Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th (2000). Her most reputable film role came when she was cast in Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending (2002). In the fall of 2002, she began another gig as a series regular on Fox's Fastlane, a hip, pastel-colored hybrid of The Fast and the Furious and Miami Vice, overseen by Charlie's Angels director McG. Thiessen continued to work mostly on television, with recurring roles in Good Morning, Miami and What About Brian before landing a lead role on USA's White Collar, which ran from 2009 to 2014. She memorably reprised her Kelly Kapowski character for a Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon sketch in 2015.

Trivia: A bald and frequently bespectacled screen presence whose "average Joe" appearance and keen talent allow him the unique ability to truly transform into the character at hand, Willie Garson may have won over Sex and the City viewers as protagonist Carrie's (Sarah Jessica Parker) endlessly loyal friend, but with over a decade of film and television appearances to his credit by that time, his success should certainly be labeled more "long-time coming" than "overnight sensation." Garson began training as an actor at New York's Actor's Institute in his early teens, and in the years following high school graduation he studied theater and psychology at Wesleyan University. It didn't take long for the talented stage and screen presence to find roles following his higher education, with guest appearances in such popular television shows as Family Ties, Mr. Belvedere, and Quantum Leap eventually leading to a supporting role in the well-received made-for-television feature The Deliberate Stranger. If his film roles throughout the majority of the '90s were generally of the thankless variety, Garson nevertheless grew increasingly active thanks to roles in such high-profile features as Groundhog Day, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, The Rock, and There's Something About Mary. A three-year stint in a supporting role in NYPD Blue showed Garson lending the series a decidedly human presence as Detective Simone's (Jimmy Smits) landlord. The stage-minded actor never forgot his roots, remaining constantly active with such New York-based theater companies as The Manhattan Theatre Club and The Roundabout Table. A long-time friend of actress Parker, Garson's friendship with the actress no doubt contributed to the easy rapport shared by the duo in the hit HBO series Sex and the City. With subsequent roles in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed sci-fi miniseries Taken, and in addition to such features as Freaky Friday proving that he was as much an "actor's actor" as a crowd-pleaser, Garson's post-Sex and the City career seemed as healthy as ever. He worked steadily in projects such as House of D, Fever Pitch, and in appeared in Jackass: Number Two. He returned to the small-screen as the lead in the series White Collar in 2009. In his increasingly non-existent spare time, Garson can be found reading to school children on a weekly basis as part of the Screen Actors Guild popular "Bookpals" program.

Trivia: A talented dramatic actor who first caught the attention of television viewers thanks to his role as the handsome Dr. Michael Gallant on the long-running medical drama ER, former stage actor Sharif Atkins made the transition from stage acting to screen acting with an ease that gave notable testament to his remarkable range. A native of Pittsburgh, Atkins relocated with his family to Chicago when he was six years old. His grade-school stage roles failed to spark the kind of lifelong enthusiasm usually experienced by future thespiansm, and it wasn't until enrolling in Northwestern University that the acting bug truly bit. By the time Atkins had earned his bachelor's degree in 1997, his calling had become crystal clear to the burgeoning star. A series of stage roles in local Chicago productions saw Atkins impressively honing his craft to a fine point before making the transition to the screen with supporting performances in such television efforts as Early Edition. In 1999, he made the transition to feature films with a bit part in Light It Up. Atkins subsequently essayed a handful of small but memorable television appearances that helped to drive his career in the following years. Starting in 2001, he donned scrubs for a two-and-a-half-year stint as an idealistic young doctor on ER. Though Atkins would take a brief trip into the history of television as a musically inclined performer in the 2001 made-for-television feature The Big Time, it was his subsequent turn as a Chicago cop reassigned to Hawaii on the aptly titled NBC series Hawaii that earned the actor top billing and placed him on the cusp of true stardom.

Trivia: Has said that 1976 crime comedy Bugsy Malone inspired her to become an actress. As a child, joined the prestigious Oldham Theatre Workshop, a children's ensemble in Lancashire, England. First television appearance was on 8:15 from Manchester, a British Saturday morning kids' show. Made her big-screen debut in the controversial 1994 drama Priest. Has said that before joining NBC's Las Vegas, she knew nothing about gambling and couldn't even shuffle a deck of cards. Was friends with Lost cast member Dominic Mognahan before joining the series as a recurring guest star.

Trivia: Character actor Richard Schiff has done prolific work on both the large and small screens, and has appeared in films ranging from Seven (1995) to Living Out Loud (1998). Appearing as a cross between Wallace Shawn and Kevin Spacey, Schiff, a native of the East Coast, began his career as a stage director in New York. After founding and serving as the artistic director of the Manhattan Repertory Theatre and directing a number of on- and off-Broadway productions, he realized that he wanted to act. As such, Schiff began performing on both the stage and in independent films, then moved to Los Angeles so as to better pursue an acting career. He continued to work in the theatre, joining Tim Robbins' Actors Gang, and gradually broke into film. Appearances in such films as Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992), the Coen Brothers' The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), and Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) helped to put Schiff on the map as a character actor and led to substantial roles in Living Out Loud, which cast him as Danny De Vito's brother, and Dr. Dolittle (1998), in which he played one of Eddie Murphy's fellow men of medicine.Schiff also continued to do a great deal of work on television, appearing in shows ranging from Ally McBeal to E.R. In 2000, he joined the cast of the acclaimed NBC series The West Wing, playing the Chief Press Advisor to the President (Martin Sheen). That same year, he received a Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Emmy nomination for his portrayal. In the years to come, Schiff would remain active on screen, appearing on TV series like Past Life, The Cape, and House of Lies.

Trivia: Youthful actor Andrew McCarthy went to prep school in New Jersey, lending to his classic, clean-cut good looks. A member the so-called Brat Pack of '80s Hollywood teen stars, McCarthy was usually cast as a good-guy leading man, basically sincere underneath his brooding teen angst. After studying theater at N.Y.U., he made his film debut in 1983 in the teen sex comedy Class with Rob Lowe and Jacqueline Bisset. In 1985, he appeared as the sulky writer Kevin in St. Elmo's Fire and the new Catholic school kid in Heaven Help Us. The next year, he was cast opposite Molly Ringwald as rich boy Blaine in John Hughes' Pretty in Pink. He later re-teamed with Ringwald for the dark romantic drama Fresh Horses. In 1987, he appeared opposite Kim Cattrall in the screwball comedy Mannequin and opposite Jami Gertz and Robert Downey Jr. in the addiction drama Less Than Zero. The same year, he portrayed Henry Hopper in the PBS American Playhouse production of Waiting for the Moon, based on the colorful lives of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. In 1989, McCarthy formed a winning comedy team with Jonathan Silverman for the goofy farce Weekend at Bernie's, a surprisingly funny hit. They re-teamed for the less-successful Weekend at Bernie's II in 1993. The next year, he appeared briefly in the critically acclaimed ensemble films The Joy Luck Club and Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. In 1999, he married his college girlfriend, actress Carol Schneider. His youthful good looks enabled him to play Bobby Kennedy in the 2000 television miniseries Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. As the following years passed, McCarthy would find success on the series Lipstick Jungle, as well as in movies like The Spiderwick Chronicles, Camp Hell, Main Street, and Snatched.

Trivia: Actress Hilarie Burton launched herself out of obscurity and into celebrity by winning a national competition. In 2000 -- as a student at Fordham University, a Jesuit college in New York -- Burton signed up for a Total Request Live contest to interview celebs at the annual MTV Music Video Awards. Because that position reportedly brought with it some disparaging treatment at the hands of obnoxious celebrities, it toughened Burton up; that spunk, when coupled with Burton's genial on-camera presence and photogenic qualities, paved the way for an acting career, doubtless made possible by the exposure of the MTV gig. The WB's popular drama series One Tree Hill marked Burton's most first major endeavor; she played Peyton Sawyer, a gorgeous teenager who is attracted to the lower-middle-class but warm-hearted local boy Lucas (Chad Michael Murray). Meanwhile, the actress also managed to branch off into films as well, starting with a plum role in Cameron Watson's beautifully crafted, small-town Miramax drama Our Very Own (2005). Burton later worked for Beth Schacter in that director's teen-oriented comedy Normal Adolescent Behavior (2007) and for Blair Witch helmer Daniel Myrick in his supernatural thriller Solstice. In 2008, Burton scored her first major Hollywood film role, playing Deborah Owens, opposite Dakota Fanning and others, in the high-profile movie adaptation The Secret Life of Bees, based on the best-selling Sue Monk Kidd novel.

Trivia: Made her start in modeling with NEXT Model Management. Modeled for Ralph Lauren's 2005-06 G.I.V.E. campaign. Plays keyboards in the band Reserved for Rondee. Had a recurring role on The Office in season 7. Won the Futures Award from the Environmental Media Association in 2011 for her work as an environmental activist.

Trivia: Actress, singer, and entertainer Diahann Carroll was awarded a Metropolitan Opera scholarship to attend the High School of Music and Art in New York at the age of ten. While a sociology student in college, Carroll modeled, which led to work as a singer in nightclubs and as a TV performer. In 1954, she made her debut on Broadway (House of Flowers) and in films (in Carmen Jones). She won a Tony Award for her Broadway starring role in No Strings (1962) and later starred on the TV series Julia (1968-69), a TV breakthrough in that it was the first regular series to star (not co-star) a black actor. Carroll was nominated for a "Best Actress" Oscar for her work in Claudine (1974). She was married to actor/singer Vic Damone.

Trivia: First appeared on stage in a sixth-grade musical. Studied acting in college and appeared in numerous plays and commercials. Appeared on the PBS series The Electric Company and Cyberchase. Had a recurring role on White Collar. Broadway debut was in the 2008 musical Passing Strange. Biggest break came in 2012 when she was cast as a surgical intern on Emily Owens, M.D., opposite Mamie Gummer. Is a founding member of the Jaradoa Theater company in New York City.