Trivia: Took tap-dancing lessons as a youngster. Modelled for Modell's Sporting Goods and Toys"R"Us. Appeared in Pleasure P's 2008 music video for "Did You Wrong." Provided the voice of Jace in the video game Gears of War 3. Was homeschooled but was allowed to play on the basketball team at New Jersey's Newark Arts High School. Once received a $40,000 royalty check that was supposed to be sent to NBA great Michael Jordan, who starred in Space Jam. The catchphrase "Where's Wallace?", a reference to his teen drug-dealer role in HBO's The Wire, became popular among fans of the series. His middle name, Bakari, is Swahili and means "of noble promise."

Trivia: An icon of machismo and Hollywood action heroism, Sylvester Stallone is responsible for creating two characters who have become a part of the American cultural lexicon: Rocky Balboa, the no-name boxer who overcame all odds to become a champion, and John Rambo, the courageous soldier who specialized in violent rescues and revenge. Both characters are reflections of Stallone's personal experiences and the battles he waged during his transition from a poor kid in Hell's Kitchen to one of the world's most popular stars. According to Stallone, his was not a happy childhood. On July 6, 1946, in the aforementioned part of Manhattan, Sylvester Enzio Stallone was born to a chorine and an Italian immigrant. A forceps accident during his birth severed a facial nerve, leaving Stallone with parts of his lip, tongue, and chin paralyzed. In doing so, the accident imprinted Stallone with some of the most recognizable components of his persona: the distinctively slurred (and some say often nearly incomprehensible) speech patterns, drooping lower lip, and crooked left eye that have been eagerly seized upon by caricaturists. To compound these defects, Stallone was a homely, sickly child who once suffered from rickets. His parents were constantly at war and struggling to support Stallone and his younger brother, Frank Stallone (who became a B-movie actor). The elder brother spent most of his first five years in the care of foster homes. Stallone has said that his interest in acting came from his attempts to get attention and affection from those strangers who tried to raise him. When he was five, his parents moved their family to Silver Spring, MD, but once again spent their time bickering and largely ignored their children. Following his parents' divorce in 1957, the 11-year-old Stallone remained with his stern father. The actor's teen years proved even more traumatic. As Stallone seemed willing to do just about anything for attention, however negative, he had already been enrolled in 12 schools and expelled several times for his behavior problems. His grades were dreadful and his classmates picked on him for being different. Stallone coped by becoming a risk taker and developing elaborate fantasies in which he presented himself as a brave hero and champion of the underdog. At age 15, Stallone moved to Philadelphia to be with his mother and her new husband. By this time, he had begun lifting weights and took up fencing, football, and the discus. He also started appearing in school plays. Following graduation, Stallone received an athletic scholarship for the American College of Switzerland. While there he was a girls' athletic coach and in his spare time starred in a school production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. The experience inspired him to become an actor and after returning stateside, he started studying drama at the University of Miami until he decided to move to New York in 1969. While working a variety of odd jobs, Stallone auditioned frequently but only occasionally found stage work, most of which was off-Broadway in shows like the all-nude Score and Rain. He even resorted to appearing in the softcore porn film, Party at Kitty's and Studs, which was later repackaged as The Italian Stallion after Stallone became famous. Stallone's face and even his deep voice were factors in his constant rejection for stage and film roles. He did nab a bit role in Woody Allen's Bananas (1971), but after he was turned down for The Godfather (1971), Stallone became discouraged. Rather than give up, however, Stallone again developed a coping mechanism -- he turned to writing scripts, lots of scripts, some of which were produced. He still auditioned and landed a starring role in Rebel (1973). During his writing phase, he married actress Sasha Czack in late 1974 and they moved to California in the hopes of building acting careers. His first minor success came when he wrote the screenplay for and co-starred in the nostalgic Lords of Flatbush (1974) with Henry Winkler. The film's modest success resulted in Stallone's getting larger roles, but he still didn't attract much notice until he penned the screenplay for Rocky. The story was strong and well written and studios were eager to buy the rights, but Stallone stipulated that he would be the star and must receive a share of the profits. Producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff accepted Stallone's terms and Rocky (1976) went on to become one of the biggest movie hits of all time. It also won several Oscars including ones for Best Picture, Best Director for John Avildsen, and a Best Actor nomination for Stallone. Suddenly Stallone found himself on Hollywood's A-list, a status he has largely maintained over the years. In addition to writing four sequels to Rocky, he penned three Rambo films (First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, and Rambo 3) and F.I.S.T. (1979). Stallone made his directorial debut with Paradise Alley, which he filmed in Hell's Kitchen. He also wrote and directed but did not appear in the sequel to Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive (1983). In addition, Stallone has continued to appear in the films of other directors, notably Demolition Man (1993), Judge Dredd (1995), and Copland (1997), a film in which he allowed himself to gain 30 pounds in order to more accurately portray an aging sheriff. Occasionally, Stallone has ventured out of the action genre and into lighter fare with such embarrassing efforts as Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) and Oscar (1991), which did not fare well at the box office. Following these missteps, Stallone found greater success with the animated adventure Antz (1998), a film in which his very distinctive voice, if not his very distinctive physique, was very much a part. Stallone was back in shape for the 2000 remake of Get Carter and hit the race tracks in the following year in the CART racing thriller Driven. Though the early 2000s found his career sputtering along with such forgettable duds as D-Tox and Avenging Angelo, Stallone took his career into his own hands by returning to the director's chair to resurrect two of his most iconic characters. Lacing his boxing gloves up once again for Rocky Balboa, the veteran action star proved he still had some fight left in him, and venturing into the jungles of Burma as John Rambo just two years later, he proved that hard "R" action could still sell in the era where most filmmakers were playing it "PG-13"safe. That trend continued with Stallone's all-star action opus The Expendables in 2010, with the success of that film leading to a sequel (with Simon West taking over directorial duties) featuring even more action icons in 2012. Incredibly, not even a broken neck suffered during production of The Expendables proved capable of slowing Stallone down, and 2013 found him teaming with Walter Hill for Bullet to the Head -- which followed a cop and a killer as they teamed up to take down a mutual enemy. In 2015, Stallone returned to Rocky Balboa once more, but this time as a supporting character in the spin-off film Creed. He earned rave reviews and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, making him only the sixth performer to be nominated for playing the same character in two separate films.

Trivia: First acting experience was a school play she appeared in with classmate Amber Tamblyn. Auditioned for on-camera roles as a child, but subsequently stuck to theater until she was cast on Veronica Mars in 2005. Has performed in plays like The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet with the Colony Theater in Burbank, CA. Sings in the R&B ensemble Caught a Ghost.

Trivia: A talented Broadway actress who shot to fame with her portrayal of loving mother-of-five and high-powered attorney Claire Huxtable in television's The Cosby Show, Phylicia Rashad's strong television presence has lent itself to numerous dramatic roles in the years since her role as the member of one of the most famous families in television history. Born the daughter of a dentist in Texas in 1948, Rashad's (born Phylicia Allen) continual focus on her potential as an actress has attracted her to roles of integrity and honesty, with generally family friendly fare that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. After making her television debut in the 1978 production of The Wiz, Rashad appeared in such soap operas as One Life to Live and Santa Barbara before settling into an eight-year run as mother to one of television history's most beloved families (during which period she would also star with television daughter Keshia Knight Pulliam in a pair of television movies based on the popular children's character Polly). Married to Village People member Victor Willis in 1975, Rashad would later wed former Minnesota Viking and sports announcer Ahmad Rashad (who extravagantly proposed to her during a televised football game) in 1985. Continuing her television career following the end of The Cosby Show's run, Rashad would also turn up in such made-for-television thrillers as The Possession of Michael D. and The Babysitter's Seduction (both 1995) before once again joining television husband Bill Cosby in 1996's Cosby. A well-known member of numerous charities including the Diabetes Association African-American Program and the Educational Teacher's Association, Rashad has strived to bring social issues to the small screen with roles in such thoughtful productions as Uncle Tom's Cabin (1985) and Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored (1996). Though many female actors lament the glass ceiling that prevents them from obtaining roles in their later years, Rashad's maturity brings a distinctive presence to her roles in such dramatic television productions as Free of Eden (1999) and The Old Settler (2001). Over the next several years, Rashad would prove as consistent a force on screen as ever, appearing in movies like For Colored Girls and Good Deeds, as well as on TV series like Psych and Everybody Hates Chris.

Trivia: A tall, polished actor adept at a broad array of parts and types, Wood Harris grew up amid the impoverished and crime-ridden ghettos of Chicago's West Side -- and reportedly felt intrigued by the many contradictions of the surrounding environment. The young man also felt drawn to acting, and the two interests converged in his first cinematic assignment: a role in Jeff Pollack's urban-themed sports drama Above the Rim (1994), starring gangsta rap legend Tupac Shakur. Harris only had a bit part in the film, but his work continued, and 2000 marked his breakthrough year: the year that not only brought with it a highly visible role as a footballer in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced inspirational sports drama Remember the Titans (opposite screen heavyweight Denzel Washington) but -- more significantly for Harris -- a lead in the Showtime telemovie Hendrix, a biopic of rock demigod Jimi Hendrix. The drama paved the way for more prominent billings, and Harris continued to realize his potential with a regular role on HBO's The Wire (as Avon Barksdale) and a key supporting part as Dion Warner (aka Dion Element) in Richard Kelly's dystopian black comedy Southland Tales (2006). Meanwhile, at around the same time, Harris recorded his first rap album, K-Town -- its title a reference to the infamous Chicago neighborhood of the same name -- which chronicled his experiences growing up in the Windy City.

Trivia: Highly intelligent and extremely well educated -- earning an M.A. at Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology and a Fulbright Fellowship at M.I.T. -- Dolph Lundgren is better known for his athletic achievements than his intellectual pursuits. An internationally recognized kick-boxing champion, the 6' 6", 250-pound Lundgren was working as a doorman at a trendy New York disco when his personally produced exercise video Maximum Potential caught the eye of movie producers. His 1984 cinematic debut was a bit part in the James Bond opus A View to a Kill, which co-starred Lundgren's then-lover Grace Jones. (Earlier reports that Lundgren appeared in 1970's The Out-of-Towners were really out of town.) His breakthrough film role was as Drago, the automaton-like Russian ring opponent of Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV (1985). The content of Lundgren's subsequent films is implicit in their titles: Masters of the Universe (in which Lundgren played bulging-biceped cartoon character He-Man), Universal Soldier (sharing the screen with fellow bodybuilder Jean-Claude Van Damme), Red Scorpion, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Army of One, etc. When Lundgren showed up as a street preacher in the futuristic Johnny Mnemonic (1995), one got the feeling that he was not going to be advocating peace on earth for long.

Trivia: Supporting player Russell Hornsby joined the casts of numerous features and television series during the 1990s and 2000s. He made his first significant appearance in the Jada Pinkett Smith urban comedy Woo (1998), then followed it up with scattered, multi-episode roles in such series as Law & Order, Gideon's Crossing, and Playmakers, and parts in the movies After the Sunset (2004), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), and Something New (2006). Hornsby attained greater recognition and a higher profile with his lead role of Eddie Sutton in the ABC series drama Lincoln Heights. Over the coming years, Hornsby would appear on TV series like In Treatment and Grimm.

Trivia: Born July 8th, 1977, by the time Milo Ventimiglia graduated from high school in 1994, the bright lights of Hollywood had already shone their way to his Orange County home, and within the next year, the young actor was making his first onscreen appearance with a walk-on role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The part was the first of many, as Ventimiglia proceeded to spend the late '90s and early 2000s with similar roles in movies like She's All That and on shows like CSI. In 2004, Ventimiglia nabbed what most actors would consider a big break when he landed a recurring role on the hit series American Dreams, but a much bigger break was still in store. He joined the regular cast of the WB series Gilmore Girls in 2005, playing the part of Jess Mariano and making millions of viewers familiar with his face. The boost to his star-power no doubt influenced casting directors, who cast him as the son of Sylvester Stallone in 2006's Rocky Balboa, and then as a young man who discovers he harbors superpowers on the smash-hit sci-fi series Heroes. Ventimiglia appeared in the sci-fi action thriller Gamer in 2009, and took on a supporting role in the 2012 Adam Sandler vehicle That's My Boy.

Trivia: Statuesque Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen was once married to Sylvester Stallone. As for her career achievements...uh....Statuesque Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen was once married to Sylvester Stallone. Well, let's be fair: she wasn't bad as the comic-book sword 'n' sorcery heroine Red Sonja in the 1985 film of the same name. And she certainly filled the costumes (what there were of them) in Domino (89) and Chained Heat 2 (93). To fully assess the thespic skills of Brigitte Nielsen, one must witness her starkly realistic performance as a curvaceous NASA detective in the lunar looney tune Murder by Moonlight (93). Appearances in minor films would continue for Nielsen throughout the 90's and 2000's, but the actress's second wind would come in the form of reality TV. After a memorable stint on VH1's The Surreal Life in 2004, Nielsen would go on to appear on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

Trivia: Endured one of the greatest injustices in Olympic boxing history when judges scored the 1988 light-middleweight gold-medal match a 3-2 win for Si-Hun Park over Jones, who landed 86 punches to Park's 32. The decision led to changes in the Olympic scoring system. Captured his first title belt with a unanimous decision over Bernard Hopkins in 1993. Named Fighter of the Decade for the 1990s by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Ventured into the music world as a rapper in 2001, recording a solo album in '02 and a group album with Body Head Bangerz in '04. Displayed his ring versatility by taking the WBA heavyweight title from John Ruiz in 2003, giving Jones titles in four different weight classes and the distinction of the first boxer ever to start as a junior middleweight and rise to heavyweight champ.