Trivia: An eighth-generation Texan, actor Tommy Lee Jones, born September 15th, 1946, attended Harvard University, where he roomed with future U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Though several of his less-knowledgeable fans have tended to dismiss Jones as a roughhewn redneck, the actor was equally at home on the polo fields (he's a champion player) as the oil fields, where he made his living for many years.After graduating cum laude from Harvard in 1969, Jones made his stage debut that same year in A Patriot for Me; in 1970, he appeared in his first film, Love Story (listed way, way down the cast list as one of Ryan O'Neal's fraternity buddies). Interestingly enough, while Jones was at Harvard, he and roommate Gore provided the models for author Erich Segal while he was writing the character of Oliver, the book's (and film's) protagonist. After this supporting role, Jones got his first film lead in the obscure Canadian film Eliza's Horoscope (1975). Following a spell on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live, he gained national attention in 1977 when he was cast in the title role in the TV miniseries The Amazing Howard Hughes, his resemblance to the title character -- both vocally and visually -- positively uncanny. Five years later, Jones won further acclaim and an Emmy for his startling performance as murderer Gary Gilmore in The Executioner's Song. Jones spent the rest of the '80s working in both television and film, doing his most notable work on such TV miniseries as Lonesome Dove (1989), for which he earned another Emmy nomination. It was not until the early '90s that the actor became a substantial figure in Hollywood, a position catalyzed by a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role in Oliver Stone's JFK. In 1993, Jones won both that award and a Golden Globe for his driven, starkly funny portrayal of U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard in The Fugitive. His subsequent work during the decade was prolific and enormously varied. In 1994 alone, he could be seen as an insane prison warden in Natural Born Killers; titular baseball hero Ty Cobb in Cobb; a troubled army captain in Blue Sky; a wily federal attorney in The Client; and a psychotic bomber in Blown Away. Jones was also attached to a number of big-budget action movies, hamming it up as the crazed Two-Face in Batman Forever (1995); donning sunglasses and an attitude to play a special agent in Men in Black (1997); and reprising his Fugitive role for the film's 1998 sequel, U.S. Marshals. The following year, he continued this trend, playing Ashley Judd's parole officer in the psychological thriller Double Jeopardy. The late '90s and millennial turnover found Jones' popularity soaring, and the distinguished actor continued to develop a successful comic screen persona (Space Cowboys [2000] and Men in Black II [2002]), in addition to maintaining his dramatic clout with roles in such thrillers as The Rules of Engagement (2000) and The Hunted (2003).2005 brought a comedic turn for the actor, who starred in the madcap comedy Man of the House as a grizzled police officer in tasked to protect a house full of cheerleaders who witnessed a murder. Jones also took a stab at directing that year, helming and starring in the western crime drama The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. In 2006, Jones appeared in Robert Altman's film adaptation of A Prairie Home Companion, based on Garrison Keillor's long running radio show. The movie's legendary director, much loved source material and all-star cast made the film a safe bet for the actor, who hadn't done much in the way of musical comedy. Jones played the consumate corporate bad guy with his trademark grit.2007 brought two major roles for the actor. He headlined the Iraq war drama In the Valley of Elah for director Paul Haggis. His work as the veteran father of a son who died in the war earned him strong reviews and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. However more people saw Jones' other film from that year, the Coen brothers adaptation of No Country for Old Men. His work as a middle-aged Texas sheriff haunted by the acts of the evil man he hunts earned him a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The actor co-starred with Stanley Tucci and Neal McDonough for 2011's blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger, and reprised his role as a secret agent in Men in Black 3 (2011). In 2012 he played a Congressman fighting to help Abraham Lincoln end slavery in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, a role that led to an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Trivia: Given his formidable success in numerous arenas of the entertainment industry, the multi-talented Will Smith qualifies as an original "Renaissance man." Although Smith initially gained fame as the rap star Fresh Prince prior to the age of 20, (with constant MTV airplay and blockbuster record sales), he cut his chops as an A-list Hollywood actor on the small and big screens in successive years, unequivocally demonstrating his own commercial viability and sturdy appeal to a broad cross section of viewers. A Philadelphia native, Smith entered the world on September 25, 1968. The son of middle-class parents (his father owned a refrigeration company and his mother worked for the school board) and the second of four children, Smith started rapping from the age of 12, and earned the nickname "Prince" thanks to his ability to slickly talk his way out of trouble. Smith engendered this moniker as a household phrase when he officially formed the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, with fellow performer Jeff Townes in 1986. That team netted two Grammys (one for the seminal 1988 youth anthem "Parents Just Don't Understand" and one for the 1991 single "Summertime") and scored commercially with a series of albums up through their disbandment in 1993 that did much to dramatically broaden the age range of rap listeners (unlike artists in the gangsta rap subgenre, Smith and Townes never ventured into R- or X-rated subject matter or language). However, by the time he was 21, Smith had frittered away much of his fortune and had fallen into debt with the IRS. Help arrived in the form of Warner Bros. executive Benny Medina, who wanted to create a family-friendly sitcom based on his own experiences as a poor kid living with a rich Beverly Hills family, starring the genial Smith. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuted on NBC on September 10, 1990, and became a runaway hit, lasting six seasons. The program imparted to Smith -- who had turned down an MIT scholarship to pursue his career -- even wider audience exposure as the show's protagonist, introducing him to legions of viewers who fell outside of the rap market. During Prince's lengthy run, Smith began to branch out into film work. Following roles in Where the Day Takes You (1992) and Made in America (1993), he drew substantial critical praise on the arthouse circuit, as a young gay con man feigning an identity as Sidney Poitier's son, in Six Degrees of Separation (1993), directed by Fred Schepisi and adapted by John Guare from his own play. Smith also elicited minor controversy around this time for remarks he made in an interview that some perceived as homophobic. In 1994, Smith and Martin Lawrence signed on with powerhouse producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to co-star in the action-comedy Bad Boys, in which the two play a hotshot pair of Miami cops; it eventually raked in over 141 million dollars worldwide. The following year, Smith topped his Bad Boys success (and then some) with a turn in the sci-fi smash Independence Day, the effects-laden tale of an alien invasion. Co-written, executive-produced, and directed by Roland Emmerich for 20th Century Fox, this picture eventually pulled in over 816 million dollars globally, making it not only the top grosser of 1996, but one of the most lucrative motion pictures in history. Smith then tackled the same thematic ground (albeit in a completely different genre), as a government-appointed alien hunter partnered up with Tommy Lee Jones in Barry Sonnenfeld's zany comedy Men in Black (1997), another smash success. Not long after this, Smith achieved success on a personal front as well, as he married actress Jada Pinkett on New Year's Eve 1998. The following autumn, Smith returned to cinemas with Enemy of the State, a conspiracy thriller with Gene Hackman that had him on the run from government agents. That film scored a commercial bull's-eye, but its triumph preceded a minor disappointment. The following summer, Smith starred opposite Kevin Kline in Wild Wild West, Sonnenfeld's lackluster follow-up to Men in Black, an overwrought and ham-handed cinematic rendering of the late-'60s TV hit.The late fall of 2000 found Smith back in cinemas, playing a mysterious golf caddy who tutors down-on-his-luck putter Matt Damon in the syrupy The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). Smith then trained rigorously for his most demanding role up to that point: that of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali in director Michael Mann's biopic Ali (2001). The film struggled to find an audience, and critics were mixed, even if Smith's well-studied performance earned praise as well as his first Oscar nomination. While Smith executive produced the Robert De Niro/Eddie Murphy comedy Showtime (2002), he doubled it up with work in front of the camera, on the sci-fi comedy sequel Men in Black II, also helmed by Barry Sonnenfeld. As expected, the film made an unholy amount of money; he followed it up with yet another sequel, the Bruckheimer-produced Bad Boys II. It topped the box office, as expected. The next year saw Smith pull the one-two punch of I, Robot -- a futuristic, effects-laden fantasy -- and the CG-animated Shark Tale, in which he voiced Oscar, a little fish with a big attitude who scrubs whales for a living. While Smith had proven himself as an action star time and again and had received high marks for his dramatic work, it remained to be seen if he could carry a romantic comedy. All speculation ceased in early 2005 with the release of Hitch: Starring Smith as a fabled "date doctor," the film had the biggest opening weekend for a rom-com to date, leading many to wonder if there was anything Smith couldn't do.The following year, Smith starred in the period drama The Pursuit of Happyness. Set in early-'80s San Francisco, and directed by Gabriele Muccino (a director specifically summoned for the task by Smith), the film recounted the true story of Charles Gardner (Smith), a single dad struggling in an unpaid position as an intern at Dean Witter, all in an effort to be able provide for his son. The film tapped new reserves of compassion and desparation in Smith's persona, as he managed to fully embody another real-life character while maintaining all of the qualities that endeared him to audiences in the first place: His humor, his hustle and his ingenuity. Upon its release, Happyness provided Smith with perhaps his first cinematic hat trick: critical praise, a second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and staggering box-office success (the film would become one of his largest hits). Meanwhile, he began work as the lead in I Am Legend (2007), the third screen incarnation of sci-fi giant Richard Matheson's seminal novel of the same title (following a 1964's The Last Man on Earth, and 1971's The Omega Man).The actor continued to keep busy in 2008 with films including Seven Pounds (despite an unintentionally comical suicide by sea life, the film was a critical failure) and superhero comedy Hancock, featuring Smith in the lead role as a hard-drinking ne'er-do-well who is reluctantly thrust into the world of crime-fighting. After producing a remake of The Karate Kid (starring his son, Jaden Smith) and spy comedy This Means War, Smith reprised his role as Agent J for Men in Black III in 2012. MIB III was a box office success, in no small part due to the chemistry between Smith and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones).

Trivia: Rip Torn may qualify as a "character actor" in the broadest sense of the term -- he typically fleshes out variations on the same role again and again, typecast as genially earthy, volatile, and loudmouthed good old boys. But, love him or hate him, Torn's roles over the course of more than half a century are distinct and pronounced enough to have elevated him above many of his contemporaries, into a veritable staple of American cinematic pop culture.Born Elmore Rual Torn, Jr. in Temple, TX, on February 6, 1931, and nicknamed "Rip" by his father, Torn attended Texas A&M as an undergraduate and studied animal husbandry. He intended to establish himself as a rancher after graduation, but first opted to pursue an acting career as a means to buy a ranch, mistakenly believing that he would hit Hollywood and achieve instant stardom. Instead, Torn scrounged around Los Angeles for several years as a dishwasher and short-order cook, but continued to pursue acting in his off time. Torn's persistence paid off, and he eventually landed several bit parts in movies and television series. He moved to Manhattan in the late '50s, where he formally studied acting under Lee Strasberg and danced under the aegis of Martha Graham; a wealth of movie roles followed over the next several decades, beginning with that of Brick in Actors Studio associate Elia Kazan's controversial classic Baby Doll (1956, with a script by Tennessee Williams) and, a few years later, the role of Finley in another Williams drama, the Richard Brooks-directed Sweet Bird of Youth (for which Torn received a great deal of notoriety). Additional supporting roles throughout the late '60s and early '70s included Slade in Norman Jewison's The Cincinnati Kid (1965), I.H. Chanticleer in Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now (1966), and Sgt. Honeywell in Cornel Wilde's Beach Red (1967).In the late '60s, two key (albeit temporary) shifts occurred in Torn's career. First, he went counterculture (and arthouse) with an unofficial trilogy of experimental roles. In the most pronounced -- Joe Glazer in Milton Moses Ginsberg's Coming Apart (1969, opposite Andy Warhol regular Sally Kirkland) -- Torn plays a nutty psychiatrist who specializes in female neuroses and decides to film all of his sessions, then his own mental breakdown. (Ginsberg films all of the action as reflected in a mirror.) The X-rated picture -- which features graphic sequences of Kirkland performing fellatio on Torn -- was (and is still) widely derided as spectacularly bad. Variety hit the proverbial nail on the head in 1969 when it concluded, "The problem with Coming Apart is that while it suggests some interesting ideas, it can't deliver any of them in cogent form....The results are not satisfactory." Neither are the second or third installments in Torn's "experimental" phase: roles in the first and third features directed by literary giant Norman Mailer, Beyond the Law (1967) and Maidstone (1970). Of Law -- an improvisational, comic piece set in a precinct house (with Torn as a character called Popcorn), The Motion Picture Guide sneered, "Barney Miller may have been inspired by this movie," and Roger Ebert declared it unintentionally funny, but those were the kindest reactions. Maidstone -- a fragmented, barely coherent drama -- stars only Mailer, as a politician-cum-film director, and Torn. This partially improvised picture became notorious for an on-camera sequence in which Torn (playing Mailer's half-brother) attacks Mailer with a hammer (allegedly for real), sans forewarning, bloodying up the author's face while the actress playing his wife screams in the background. Some wrote the scene off as a fake, but many others dissented. Variety observed in 1970: "[Torn] states he had to do it to make his character real and for the film. But he claims he pulled the hammer and had never drawn blood before while acting. The Mailer character is furious and vindictive. Mailer would not disclose whether it was real or not, but it did look ferociously authentic...."The second "shift" of Torn's career in the early '70s yielded infinitely greater success: a pair of rare leads in A-list features. He played Henry Miller opposite Ellen Burstyn in Joe Strick's marvelous, picaresque adaptation of that author's novel, Tropic of Cancer, and the abusive, booze and pill-addled country singer Maury Dann in Daryl Duke's harrowing drama Payday (1973). The pictures opened to generally spectacular reviews and raves over Torn's portrayals; Variety, for one, termed his performance in the Duke picture "excellent."While these lead roles showcased limitless dramatic ability, they unfortunately marked exceptions to the rule, and for the remainder of the '70s, '80s, and '90s, Torn contented himself with an endless (albeit impressive) array of colorful supporting turns -- dozens of them. High points include Nathan Bryce in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976); Dr. George in Coma (1978); the boozing, hell-raising, and philandering Senator Kittner in Jerry Schatzberg's The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979); longhaired record producer Walter Fox in Paul Simon's One Trick Pony (1980); the pirate-like Scully in Carl Reiner's Summer Rental (1985); Buford Pope in Robert Benton's sex farce Nadine (1987); the none-too-gifted afterlife attorney Bob Diamond in Albert Brooks' fantasy Defending Your Life (1991); Zed in Men in Black (1997); acid-mouthed coach Patches O'Houlihan in the Ben Stiller comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004); and King Louis XV in Sofia Coppola's much-ballyhooed tertiary directorial outing, Marie Antoinette (2006). His low point undoubtedly arrived in 2001, when he played Tom Green's father, Jim Brody, in the controversial comedian's yuck-fest Freddy Got Fingered (2001). (A very low point; the film's comic highlight has Torn being showered with fake elephant ejaculate.)In addition to his film work, Torn made a series of critically acclaimed contributions to the small screen throughout the '80s and '90s, most vividly as Artie on HBO's Larry Sanders Show, for which he gleaned two Cable Ace awards, three Emmy nominations, and an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Torn did direct one feature, the 1988 Whoopi Goldberg vehicle The Telephone, which opened and immediately closed to devastating critical reviews and dismal box office.Torn was married to actress Ann Wedgeworth from 1956 until their divorce in 1961 and Geraldine Page from 1961 until her death in 1987, and is currently married to actress Amy Wright. He is the cousin of actress Sissy Spacek.

Trivia: Actress Lara Flynn Boyle has David Lynch to thank for becoming so famous at such a young age. She was barely 20 when she made her series-TV bow on Twin Peaks in the role of Donna Hayward, best friend of the ill-fated Laura Palmer. After the debut of Twin Peaks in 1990, Boyle did steady work in both films and television. Some of her more notable ventures included John Dahl's Red Rock West (1993), a neo-noir in which she played a scheming femme fatale; Threesome (1994), which cast her as a college student whose unique boarding situation provides the basis for oodles of hormonal adventures with her two male roommates; Afterglow (1997), a romantic drama in which Boyle starred as an unhappy wife; and Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), a very, very black comedy that cast the actress as an irredeemably bitchy celebrity writer. On television, Boyle nabbed one of her most prominent roles to date when she was cast as a lawyer in the acclaimed series The Practice in 1997. The Practice ran for seven years and her most high-profile film role afterward came in Men In Black II. She had recurring roles on the TV shows Huff and Las Vegas and in 2011 she appeared in the sex comedy Cougar Hunting.

Trivia: Johnny Knoxville became both a beloved goofball and a lightning rod for controversy as soon as his signature TV show, Jackass, premiered on MTV in 2000. The show, which featured Knoxville and his friends executing a variety of stupid pranks and dangerous stunts, made an instant star of its hip, easygoing, developmentally arrested host, who was quickly signed on for a variety of film projects. However, its subject matter of foolish bicycle jumps, gross eating feats, and pepper spray testing drew the ire of concerned parents whose children were hurting themselves trying to imitate their hero.Knoxville was born Philip John Clapp in Knoxville, TN, on March 11, 1971, son of a used car salesman. At age eight, the asthmatic suffered a simultaneous bout of flu, pneumonia, and bronchitis that nearly killed him. Knoxville would later joke that surviving this period convinced him he was invincible, making possible his future vocation as a performer who would injure himself for laughs. Knoxville had originally planned to go into acting through normal channels, attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, CA. However, it was while writing for a skateboarding magazine called Big Brother that Knoxville got his big break. Working on a story about self-defense equipment, Knoxville agreed to let magazine editor Jeff Tremaine film him testing the devices on himself. Hence, Jackass was born, with Tremaine, Knoxville, and director Spike Jonze serving as co-creators. MTV won a bidding war with Comedy Central, and the show became a hit -- one quickly festooned with warning labels not to try this at home.After a role in the little-seen indie Desert Blues (1995) (credited as Phillip John) and a blink-and-you'll-miss-him appearance in Coyote Ugly (2000), Knoxville was offered a string of film roles following the success of Jackass, as well as a stint on Saturday Night Live, which he turned down. However, his cinematic coming-out party was delayed when Big Trouble, which featured a nuclear weapon smuggled aboard a commercial airplane, was pushed back indefinitely due to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. In 2001, he was also cast in the smaller films The Tree, The Ranger, and Life Without Dick, in which he plays the title character. As if one Knoxville wasn't enought to keep fans in stitches, the death-defying funnyman turned up as a two-headed alien in Men in Black II before taking his small screen antics to the silver screen, unrestrained by the restrictions of television, in Jackass: The Movie (both 2002). Though to this point Knoxville's fairly minimal film roles (of course excluding Jackass: The Movie) called for any true acting ability, increasingly prominant roles in such efforts as Grand Theft Parsons (2003) and Walking Tall (2004) found the likeable Jackass successfully developing a notable film career. Following a supporting performance alongside wrestler-turned-actor in Walking Tall, Knoxville landed a role in self-described "Prince of Puke" director John Waters' Baltimore-based comedy A Dirty Shame. In 2005 Knoxville made two big attempts to court the mainstream, though neither struck box office gold. He starred as Luke Duke in the big-screen version of The Dukes of Hazzard, and was the lead in the comedy The Ringer, where he played a man who pretended to be disabled so he could compete in the Special Olympics. He reteamed with the Jackass crew for a second feature film playfully titled Jackass: Number Two.In the years to follow, Knoxville would do more and more conventional acting, appearing in movies like The Ringer and Nature Calls, as well as writing and producing projects like The Dudesons in America.

Trivia: New York-born and bred actress Rosario Dawson made her screen debut in Larry Clark's controversial Kids (1995). Literally picked off the street to play Ruby, one of the film's titular teens, Dawson -- who is of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Black, Irish, and Native American heritage -- had never acted before being cast in the film. Following Kids, she next appeared in Spike Lee's He Got Game (1998) and that same year starred in Side Streets, a series of vignettes about life in New York's five boroughs. Faithful to her New York roots through and through, Dawson has continued to star in films set in her hometown, including Light It Up and Down to You.Soon, Dawson branched into mainstream film, appearing in populist projects like Josie and the Pussycats, Men in Black 2, The Rundown, and the big-screen adaptation of Rent. The actress would also appear in harder films, like Sin City and Death Proof, as well as damanding dramatic roles, like that of a rape victim struggling to recover in Descent.

Trivia: A uniquely gifted and versatile actor possessing the distinct ability to immerse himself in a role so convincingly that he becomes almost unrecognizable -- from a quality obsessed restaurateur (Big Night, 1996) to a master criminal bent on world domination (Spy Kids, 2001) -- one can always count on Tony Shalhoub to deliver a memorable performance no matter how small his role may be.Well-known to television audiences for his extended stint as a self-deprecating cabbie on the long-running series Wings, Shalhoub made the often-painful transition from television to film with a grace seldom seen. Born on October 9th, 1953 in Green Bay, WI, Shalhoub developed his passion for theater at the youthful age of six when he volunteered via his sister to play an extra in a high-school production of The King and I. Shalhoub was hooked. After earning his master's degree from the Yale Drama School and spending four seasons at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, Shalhoub packed his bags for New York where he began a luminous career on Broadway. Broadway brought Shalhoub success not only in his career, but in his personal life as well: he was nominated for a Tony for his role in Conversations With My Father and he met his future wife, actress Brooke Adams, while acting in The Heidi Chronicles. It was not long after his Broadway success that Shalhoub made his feature debut, as a doctor in the 1990 AIDS drama Longtime Companion.Shalhoub's film career has been a testament to his range and a compliment to his abilities. Though prone to comedy, his dramatic roles have gained him just as much, if not more, recognition than his comedic roles. Winning the Best Supporting Actor award from the National Society of Film Critics for his well-researched role in Big Night (1996), Shalhoub expanded his dramatic film repertoire with roles in A Civil Action and The Siege (both 1998), while always maintaining his knack for humor (1997's Men in Black). Shalhoub's role as the ultra-mellow "anti-Scottie" in the Star Trek send-up Galaxy Quest (1999) proved that his comic persona was indeed still as sharp as ever. Sticking in the sci-fi/fantasy mold for his roles in Imposter and Spy Kids (both 2001), Shalhoub once again proved that he could do 180-degree character turnarounds with ease.Though Shalhoub would stay in sci-fi mode for his role in Men in Black 2, he would return to solid ground with his role as an obsessive-compulsive detective in the well-received television pilot Monk (2002). Directed by Galaxy Quest helmer Dean Parisot, the pilot for Monk successfully paved the way for the curiously innovative USA series to follow and found the actor warmly re-embracing the medium that had propelled him to stardom. As Monk's popularity continued to grow, Shaloub found success on the big screen in the role of a gifted psychologist for The Great New Wonderful (2005), and voiced the lovable Luigi in Cars (2006) and Cars 2 (2011). In 2007, he worked alongside John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson for the supernatural horror film 1408.

Trivia: Squared-jawed beefcake Patrick Warburton leapt into pop culture consciousness as David Puddy, Elaine's on-again, off-again boyfriend on the hit sitcom Seinfeld in 1995, and has since then steadily found his deadpan talents in ever-greater demand. With his squinty eyes and hard-boiled detective's voice, Warburton has become a humorous personality who can generate giggles with almost no effort, whether onscreen or in voice-overs.Warburton was born on November 14, 1964, in Paterson, NJ, and raised in Southern California, a son of little-known television actress Barbara Lord. The future Bugle Boy model studied marine biology at Orange Coast College, where he met his wife, Cathi, before dropping out to pursue modeling and acting at age 19. In his first screen appearance, the 17th century slave film Dragonard (1987), Warburton was subject to what is thought to be the longest onscreen flogging on film, a 100-lash scene that consumes nearly four minutes of screen time. He also appeared in the sequel, Master of Dragonard Hill (1989), before turning his attention to television.Warburton had guest spots on such shows as Murphy Brown, Designing Women, and Quantum Leap before scoring a recurring role on the short-lived Dave Barry sitcom Dave's World in 1993. But it was not until he appeared in the 1995 episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Fusilli Jerry" that Warburton really started to attract attention. As Puddy, Jerry's lunkhead mechanic who spits out dialogue in macho spurts, notably the catchphrase affirmation "Yeah that's right," Warburton quickly became a popular semi-regular, involved in a running joke about his frequent breakups and reconciliations with Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). He stayed with the show until it finished in 1998, and provided the voice for Superman in a series of commercials starring Seinfeld.Warburton had another recurring role as unscrupulous businessman Johnny Johnson on News Radio in 1999, then contributed his memorable voice to characters on the animated shows Family Guy, Hercules, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. By this time the big screen was really beckoning, as Warburton flexed his comic talents as a bodyguard in Scream 3 (2000), then toned them down as an American astronomer in Australia in The Dish (2000). His voice was again called upon, this time by Disney, for the role of a sorceress' thug assistant in The Emperor's New Groove (2000). Going zanier than on Seinfeld, Warburton signed on as the star of the Fox sitcom The Tick, about a muscle-bound but dimwitted superhero in a blue costume, which premiered in the fall of 2001. High-profile projects in 2002 would include a role in the delayed ensemble farce Big Trouble and as Agent T alongside Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in Men in Black 2.Warburton became an in demand voice actor working on a variety of projects including TV series like The Venture Brothers and Family Guy, as well as movies such as Home on the Range, Chicken Little, The Wild, and Bee Movie. In 2007 he started on a successful run with the sitcom Rules of Engagement, and in 2012 he appeared in Seth McFarland's directorial debut, Ted.

Trivia: Had to audition for high school in 1983, which required two three-minute monologues from a dramatic work; unable to find a script from a play, rented a VHS copy of The Odd Couple and memorized dialogue by the characters Oscar and Felix. Went to high school with Jennifer Aniston and Chastity Bono (now Chaz Bono). Made Broadway debut in a 2007 revival of Terrence McNally's The Ritz, starring Rosie Perez and Kevin Chamberlin. Other stage work includes Gilbert David Feke's Psychoneurotic Phantasies (1990), Eduardo de Filippo's Filumena (1996) and Ethan Coen's Happy Hour (2011).

Trivia: Whether appearing on camera or simply stepping in front of the microphone to voice one of countless animated characters, actor/writer/producer and director Jay Johnston had a way of bringing the laughs to every project he worked on. While Johnston's career got off to a respectable start thanks to walk-on roles in Ellen and Just Shoot Me, it was the multi-faceted funnyman's involvement with Mr. Show that truly served to launch his career. Later, in between roles in such features as Jack Frost, Bicentennial Man, Not Another Teen Movie, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Johnston kept busy with appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Malcolm in the Middle. By the time Johnston assumed the role of Officer Taylor on Arrested Development, he was widely considered one of the comedy world's best-kept secrets. A role in the 2006 comedy Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny found Johnston helping to bring the self-proclaimed "Greatest Band in the World" to the big screen, with a recurring role on The Sarah Silverman Program following in quick succession. In 2007, Johnston signed on as writer/producer/voice star of the cynical, clay-animated religious satire Moral Orel -- which took direct aim at such kitchy religious propaganda as Davey and Goliath.

Trivia: Studied opera and theatre in college before leaving two classes shy of his degree to pursue his career; he re-enrolled in 2007 and received his diploma. Toured with the American National Theatre and Academy for a year. Studied with John Houseman's The Acting Company in New York for three years. Hadn't publicly sung opera in decades when the producer of Brooklyn Nine-Nine asked him to sing in the show.

Trivia: Began acting in school plays in second grade. Founding member of the Rude Mechanicals Theater Company in New York City. Starred in The Beat opposite Mark Ruffalo, in his only recurrent television role. Starred in interactive mystery series Push, Nevada, which was canceled before fans could solve it; Cecil gave remaining clues to fans during Monday Night Football commercial break. Credited as a still photographer in 2015 documentary Little House in the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Trivia: Born August 3rd, 1941, Martha Stewart came by many of her skills as a domestic goddess honestly, as her mother taught the young Martha Kostyra how to cook and her father shared his skills as an avid gardener. As a young adult, Martha maintained a successful modeling career, while renovating a few different family homes with her husband, Andy Stewart. Her growing interest in homemaking led her to write a book that, after being published in 1982, made her one of the most sought-after authorities on the subject. Cookbooks, magazines, and television appearances followed. She built a successful empire, but ended up serving five months in jail for an obstruction of justice charge stemming from questionable business practices. She returned to television with The Martha Stewart Show, and a failed attempt to rework The Apprentice with her in the Donald Trump role.

Trivia: Multi-talented teen star Nick Cannon was born in San Diego, CA, in 1980. He was introduced to the entertainment industry as a dancer on Soul Train and as a standup comedian in Los Angeles. Like many of his teen-star brethren, Cannon quickly found a home on the Nickelodeon cable channel. During the 1998 season, he joined the cast of the teen sketch comedy show All That. During this time, he could be seen all over the channel, from Snick show host to series writer on Cousin Skeeter and Kenan & Kel. Also a songwriter and rapper, Cannon's cover of "Parents Just Don't Understand" (originally recorded by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince) appeared on the soundtrack to the Nickelodeon animated feature Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. After a few bit parts in the feature films Whatever It Takes and Men in Black II, he got ready to make his media breakthrough in film, television, and music.Cannon's first starring role came in the 2002 musical drama Drumline. He played Devon, a percussionist from Harlem who joins the competitive show-style marching band at Atlanta A & T University. His song "I'm Scared of You" appeared on the soundtrack. The same year, he created The Nick Cannon Show (along the same lines as The Amanda Show for his All That co-star Amanda Bynes). He then gained a lot of exposure with the romantic comedy Love Don't Cost a Thing (with a story borrowed from the '80s romantic comedy Can't Buy Me Love). On the soundtrack, he performs with Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, and Chingy for the song "Shorty (Put It on the Floor)." In December of 2003, he released his self-titled debut album on Jive Records. He collaborated with several big names, including R. Kelly on the hit single "Gigolo." Film projects for 2004 include the feature films Shall We Dance? and The Underclassman. In 2006 Cannon would strap on his rollerskates for the retro-minded comedy drama Roll Bounce, and after appearing alongside an impressive cast of players that included Forest Whitaker, Kelsey Grammer, and Danny DeVito in the gambling drama Even Money, the fast-maturing actor would earn his first voice credit as the titular hopper in The Adventures of Brer Rabbit. His voice well-suited to the world of animation, Cannon would step back into the recording booth to provide the voice for trigger-happy Office Lister in the computer animated family comedy Monster House. Next, Cannon took direction from Emilio Estevez with a role in the actor turn director's Robert F. Kennedy biopic Bobby, before doing a turn in the zombie horror flick Day of the Dead in 2008. Cannon's star would rise considerably the next year, as he not only took on hosting duties of the competitive reality show America's Got Talent, but also married pop star Mariah Carey. The very public couple soon became very public parents to a pair of twins, and soon Cannon's professional life was reflecting his personal life, as he took on a recurring role in the parenthood themed sitcom Up All Night in 2011. After the series ended, Cannon continued to work as a producer, host and occasional actor.

Trivia: Stands 4'1" and has a rare form of dwarfism known as acromicric dysplasia. High-school extracurricular activities included football and drama club. Post-high school, made his acting debut at Radio City Music Hall, where he continued to perform for 10 years. In addition to acting, has worked as a stuntman since the early '90s; credits include movies such as Evan Almighty and Van Helsing. Is close friends with Little People, Big World stars Matt and Amy Roloff and appeared on their show several times. Is an accomplished soccer player who competed in the 2009 World Dwarf games as a member of soccer team the Statesmen. Works with the Coalition for Dwarf Advocacy, a nonprofit foundation formed to assist and advocate for people with dwarfism.

Trivia: The younger brother of Gunsmoke star James Arness, American actor Peter Graves worked as a musician and radio actor before entering films with 1950's Rogue River. At first, it appeared that Graves would be the star of the family, since he was cast in leads while brother Jim languished in secondary roles. Then came Stalag 17 (1953), in which Graves was first-rate as a supposedly all-American POW who turned out to be a vicious Nazi spy. Trouble was, Graves played the part too well, and couldn't shake the Nazi stereotype in the eyes of most Hollywood producers. Suddenly the actor found himself in such secondary roles as Shelley Winters' doomed husband in Night of the Hunter (1955) (he was in and out of the picture after the first ten minutes), while sibling James Arness was riding high with Gunsmoke. Dissatisfied with his film career, Graves signed on in 1955 for a network kid's series about "a horse and the boy who loved him." Fury wasn't exactly Citizen Kane, but it ran five years and made Graves a wealthy man through rerun residuals--so much so that he claimed to be making more money from Fury than his brother did from Gunsmoke. In 1966, Peter Graves replaced Steven Hill as head honcho of the force on the weekly TV adventure series Mission: Impossible, a stint that lasted until 1973. Though a better than average actor, Graves gained something of a camp reputation for his stiff, straight-arrow film characters and was often cast in films that parodied his TV image. One of the best of these lampoonish appearances was in the Zucker-Abrahams comedy Airplane (1980), as a nutty airline pilot who asks outrageous questions to a young boy on the plane (a part the actor very nearly turned down, until he discovered that Leslie Nielsen was co-starring in the film). Peter Graves effortlessly maintained his reliable, authoritative movie persona into the '90s and 2000s, and hosted the Biography series on A&E, for which he won an Emmy; he also guest-starred on programs including Cold Case, House and American Dad. Graves died of natural causes in March 2010, at age 83.

Trivia: Known for both his multifaceted career and his habit of channeling drama into comedy, Barry Sonnenfeld has been working steadily since the mid-'80s as a director, cinematographer, producer, and, from time to time, as an actor. At his best he has given audiences such sharp, witty, and deftly directed films as Get Shorty (1995) and The Addams Family (1991); at his worst, he has been responsible for unequivocal stinkbombs like For Love or Money (1993) and Wild Wild West (1999).A native of New York, where he was born April 1, 1953, Sonnenfeld spent many of his high school days going to the movies instead of class. His principle interest was in photography, which he learned the basics of as a darkroom lab technician at New York University. While at N.Y.U., he made the acquaintance of two fellow students, Joel and Ethan Coen. Sonnenfeld, who had been earning extra cash as a cameraman on low-budget films, including pornographic ones, began collaborating with the Coen brothers on their first film, Blood Simple (1984), as a cinematographer. He continued to work with them in this capacity on two of their subsequent films, Raising Arizona (1987) and Miller's Crossing (1990).Sonnenfeld also lent his cinematographic talents to such films as Throw Momma From the Train (1987), Big (1988), When Harry Met Sally (1989), and Misery (1990), before making his directorial debut with The Addams Family in 1990. An amiably twisted family comedy starring Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia, the film was a big hit, and Sonnenfeld duly turned out a sequel, Addams Family Values, three years later. It was for Get Shorty (1995), however, that he received his greatest praise to date; a cool, neatly packaged adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel, it was hailed as one of the best films of the year, and played no small part in resurrecting the once-flagging career of John Travolta, who starred as Chili Palmer, a loan collector for the mob mixed up in bad business in Hollywood. Men in Black (1997), Sonnenfeld's next directorial outing, proved to be a critical mixed bag, although the box-office receipts for the comedy about two government agents (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones) doing battle with aliens were lucrative enough to mitigate the slings and arrows of disgruntled critics. The following year, Sonnenfeld once again earned a share of critical approval as the executive producer of Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight, another stylishly satisfying Elmore Leonard adaptation starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. Unfortunately, Sonnenfeld's next stint as a director was Wild Wild West, a Western starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline that headed into the deep, deep South at the box office and the realm of critical opinion. After taking a breather for a couple of years, Sonnenfeld returned to theaters in 2002 with two more comedies, Big Trouble and Men in Black 2. The former, a Get Shorty-like ensemble comedy involving a botched terrorist plot, was delayed for six months after the September 11th tragedies and failed to make an impression at the box office upon release. As a producer he helped bring a number of visually inventive television shows to the small-screen including The Tick. Karen Sisco, and Pushing Daises, even while his directorial career continued with the Robin Williams vehicle RV and a third Men in Black film in 2012.

Trivia: With an inspiring fan-boy-makes-good backstory that proves a testament to the old adage about hard work and dedication paying off in the long run, Underworld writer/star Kevin Grevioux went from comic book-collecting bouncer to Hollywood hot property by bringing the vampire versus werewolf action-horror hybrid Underworld to the big screen in 2003. Though movie lovers may not yet recognize his name, chances are you've seen his face in such efforts as The Mask and Men in Black II. Born in Chicago, Grevioux's somewhat nomadic childhood found him and his family frequently moving from city to city. It was around the age of 11 that Grevioux developed an enduring addiction to comic books, and though the self-professed "Marvel zombie" could often be found escaping into lovingly framed flights of fancy by such legends as Stan Lee, his Harvard-educated parents influenced him to relegate his favorite pastime to a hobby and pursue a more sensible career in microbiology at Howard University. It was while studying genetic engineering in grad school (and working nights as a bouncer to support himself) that Grevioux found his mind constantly wandering into comic book fantasies, and when his writing began to interfere with his scientific studies, he abandoned grad school to chase his dreams to Hollywood. Initially writing by night and educating himself in the business of movies by day, work as an extra on the film Stargate found Grevioux making the acquaintance of aspiring director Len Wiseman -- then working as a prop boy. The two genre fans hit it off immediately, and it wasn't long before they were collaborating on what initially was going to be a simple werewolf film. As Grevioux hit the books to research the history of lycanthropes, his comic book and science backgrounds collided, and the story eventually became a racial allegory with vampires and werewolves locked in a never-ending struggle for power. In the end, Grevioux not only served as a writer for the film, but one of the main werewolves as well; his background in bouncing and stunts providing the required physical groundwork. Though Grevioux had been appearing in such capacity -- as well as minor supporting roles -- since his feature debut in 1994's Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Underworld proved to be the Hollywood breakthrough he had been looking for. The film was such a success that both a prequel and a sequel were immediately green-lighted for production. That same year, Grevioux lived out a childhood dream by providing stunt work for the long-awaited feature The Hulk.

Trivia: With a tough, imposing, and thoroughly frightening presence -- accentuated by his muscular build, deep-set eyes, and bald head -- Derek Mears fit the bill for menacing roles in Hollywood. He remained active from the mid-'90s on, dividing his time between grueling, physically demanding stunt work -- in big-budget Hollywood outings such as World Trade Center (2006) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) -- and on-camera character turns as thugs, hoods, muggers, creepy villains, and occasional psychopaths. Mears' career culminated with the remakes of two iconic slasher movies: The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007), in which his appearance seemed to evoke the presence of Michael Berryman's Pluto from the two original Wes Craven Hills movies; and producer Michael Bay's remake Friday the 13th (2009), where he played the hockey mask-wearing, machete-wielding serial killer Jason Voorhees.

Trivia: The seven-and-a-half-foot-tall American actor Matthew McGrory has a mild-mannered speaking voice and a composed screen presence. Growing up in suburban Pennsylvania, McGrory played drums and studied at Widener University. His proportions earned him media exposure when he was named as having the largest feet in the world (size 29 1/2) by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1992. Since then, he has warmly embraced his status and participated in various radio, television, and film projects.On television, McGrory has appeared on various talk shows, from Oprah to Howard Stern. As a guest star, he's made memorable appearances on FOX's Malcolm in the Middle, the WB's Charmed, and HBO's Carnivàle. MTV audiences may recognize him from the Marilyn Manson music video for "Coma White" and the Iron Maiden music video for "Wickerman." In 1999, he made his film debut in the low-budget horror movie The Dead Hate the Living. Other big-screen roles followed in Bubble Boy, Men in Black II, and House of 1000 Corpses, and in the short film Apple Jack. His major breakthrough came in 2003 as the gentle giant Karl in Tim Burton's warm family drama Big Fish. As Karl, McGrory got a chance to showcase his calm, dreamy demeanor with a real speaking part. Big Fish was nominated for several Golden Globes and an Oscar. Projects for 2004 include Geofrey Hildrew's Big Time and Drew Sky's Planet of the Pitts.