Trivia: The boy who won one of the most coveted roles in film history, young Daniel Radcliffe beat out legions of aspiring bespectacled mini-wizards to fill the shoes of author J.K. Rowling's junior sorcerer Harry Potter in the much-anticipated film adaptation of Rowling's wildly popular book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). Born July 23, 1989, in England, Radcliffe began to realize his love for acting at the age of five. Although his parents voiced objections, youthful enthusiasm soon won out and Radcliffe was on his way to stardom. Convincing his mother to send a picture to the BBC for consideration in an upcoming adaptation of David Copperfield, the precocious youth was quickly cast in the role of the young Copperfield, shortly thereafter turning up alongside Pierce Brosnan in John Boorman's The Tailor of Panama. It was his next role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), however, that would launch the young actor directly into the heart of the public eye. Based on the first book in J.K. Rowling's enormously popular fantasy series that followed the adventures of young Potter as he attends Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the film faithfully captured the essence of the book in bringing the otherworldly exploits of the magical youngster to the screen. Radcliffe turned out one Harry Potter film after another; all were blockbusters, and all well received by the public and press. By the time the final film in the series was released to theaters -- 2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 -- Radcliffe had graduated to the ranks of adult actors, and was appearing in the gostly thriller The Woman in Black the next year.During his breaks from playing Harry, Radcliffe starred in the stage revival of Peter Shaffer's Equus, and had a lead performance in Rod Hardy's gentle 2006 coming-of-ager December Boys (set in rural Australia during the '60s). Radcliffe took on the starring role of barrister Arthur Kipps, a widower who discovers a supernatural presence after taking a job as caretaker to a crumbling estate in 2012's gothic horror The Woman in Black. Fresh off the 2011 conclusion of the Harry Potter films, many critics praised Radcliffe for readily handling the drastically different tone of The Woman in Black. He next played beat poet Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings (2013), followed by quirkier roles in the dark fantasy film Horns and the romantic comedy What If.

Trivia: Emma Watson made her big-screen debut in 2001's box-office smash Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, bringing to life Hermione Granger, friend to the famous protagonist Harry Potter of J.K. Rowling's children's novel. Born in Paris, where she lived for the first five years of her life, Watson acted only in school plays before breaking into Hollywood with this film, but her performance skills had been honed through dancing, singing, and poetry recitals, the latter of which she had already received recognition for by the age of seven. In the years following that blockbuster, she reprised her role alongside co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint for the subsequent beloved Harry Potter films. Her first foray into acting outside of the Harry Potter universe came with the made-for-TV movie Ballet Shoes in 2008, and after the phenomenally popular series came to an end in 2011 she could be seen in My Week With Marilyn. She took one of the leading roles in 2012's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. In 2013, Watson played a spoiled L.A. socialite in Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, followed by a small role, playing herself, in This is the End. She had a supporting role opposite Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly in the big-budget epic Noah (2014).

Trivia: Rupert Grint made his big-screen debut in 2001's box-office smash Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, bringing to life Ronald Weasley, friend to the famous protagonist Harry Potter of J.K. Rowling's children's novel. Born in England in 1988, Grint had only performed in plays for school and local theater in Europe before making the giant leap into Hollywood with Harry Potter. He scored a role in the family comedy Thunderpants soon afterward, but was kept busy for the next several years as audiences saw him grow up alongside co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson while appearing in the ongoing Harry Potter sequels. He emerged in 2006 with a starring role in the well-received comedy drama Driving Lessons, alongside Hollywood heavyweights Julie Walters and Laura Linney. Though he appeared in the 2009 films Cherrybomb and Wild Target, he was still most well known as Harry Potter's best friend. The series came to a close in 2011.

Trivia: Stumbling into acting after a family friend recognized his inherent talent and suggested he meet with an agent, it was a mere two weeks before then eight-year-old Tom Felton landed an international commercial campaign that launched his career. Born in September of 1987, Felton began singing in four choirs at the age of seven. The family friend was not the only one to recognize young Felton's talents, as he was offered a place in the Guildford Cathedral Choir shortly before launching his acting career. Beating out over 400 aspiring young actors for the coveted ad campaign, Felton made his feature debut in The Borrowers (1997), turned in a memorable performance as a witness to crime in television's Second Sight, and turned up alongside Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat in Anna and the King (1999). In 2001, Felton took on his biggest challenge to date when he appeared in the much anticipated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Felton continued his work in the Potter films until the series' conclusion in 2011), and has appeared in films such as The Disappeared (2008), Night Wolf (2011), and The Apparition (2012)

Trivia: Perhaps the actress most widely identified with corsets and men named Cecil, Helena Bonham Carter was for a long time typecast as an antiquated heroine, no doubt helped by her own brand of Pre-Raphaelite beauty. With a tumble of brown curls (which were, in fact, hair extensions), huge dark eyes, and translucent pale skin, Bonham Carter's looks made her a natural for movies that took place when the sun still shone over the British Empire and the sight of a bare ankle could induce convulsions. However, the actress, once dubbed by critic Richard Corliss "our modern antique goddess," managed to escape from planet Merchant/Ivory and, while still performing in a number of period pieces, eventually became recognized as an actress capable of portraying thoroughly modern characters. Befitting her double-barreled family name, Bonham Carter is a descendant of the British aristocracy, both social and cinematic. The great-granddaughter of P.M. Lord Herbert Asquith and the grandniece of director Anthony Asquith, she was born to a banker father and a Spanish psychotherapist mother on May 26, 1966, in London. Although her heritage may have been defined by wealth and power, Bonham Carter's upbringing was fraught with misfortune, from her father's paralysis following a botched surgery to her mother's nervous breakdown when the actress was in her teens. Bonham Carter has said in interviews that her mother's breakdown first led her to seek work as an actress and she was soon going out on auditions.She made her screen debut in 1985, playing the ill-fated title character of Trevor Nunn's Lady Jane. Starring opposite Cary Elwes as her equally ill-fated lover, Bonham Carter made enough of an impression as the 16th century teen queen to catch the attention of director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant, who cast her as the protagonist of their 1986 adaptation of E.M. Forster's A Room With a View. The film proved a great critical success, winning eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The adulation surrounding it provided its young star with her first real taste of fame, as well as steady work; deciding to concentrate on her acting career, Bonham Carter dropped out of Cambridge University, where she had been enrolled.Unfortunately, although she did indeed work steadily and was able to enhance her reputation as a talented actress, Bonham Carter also became a study in typecasting, going from one period piece to the next. Despite the quality of many of these films, including Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (1990) and two more E.M. Forster vehicles, Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991) and Howards End (1992), the actress was left without room to expand her range. One notable exception was Getting It Right, a 1989 comedy in which she played a very modern socialite. Things began to change for Bonham Carter in 1995, when she appeared as Woody Allen's wife in Mighty Aphrodite and then had the title role in Margaret's Museum. Bonham Carter's work in the film prompted observers to note that she seemed to be moving away from her previous roles, and although she still appeared in corset movies -- such as Trevor Nunn's lush 1996 adaptation of Twelfth Night -- she began to enhance her reputation as a thoroughly modern actress. In 1997, she won acclaim for her performance in Iain Softley's adaptation of The Wings of the Dove, scoring a Best Actress Oscar nomination in the process.After playing a woman stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease opposite offscreen partner Kenneth Branagh in the poorly received The Theory of Flight (1998) and appearing with Richard E. Grant in A Merry War (1998), Bonham Carter landed one of her most talked-about roles in David Fincher's 1999 Fight Club. As the object of Brad Pitt's and Edward Norton's desires, the actress exchanged hair extensions and English mannerisms for a shock of spiky hair and American dysfunction, prompting some critics to call her one of the most shocking aspects of a shocking movie. But Bonham Carter was soon gearing up for another surprising turn in director Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001). If critics were shocked by her unconventional role in Fight Club, they would no doubt be left dumbfounded with her trading of extravagant period-piece costumes for Rick Baker's makeup wizardry as the simian sympathyser to Mark Wahlberg's Homo sapiens' plight.Burton would become Bonham Carter's partner both in film and in life, as the two would go on to cohabitate and have children, as well as continue to collaborate on screen. The actress would appear in Burton's films like Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, Sweeny Todd, and Dark Shadows. Her often spooky personna in Burton's films no doubt helped her score the role of Beatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter films, but Bonham Carter would also continue to take on more down to earth parts -- though for an actress of Bonham Carter's image, those roles included that of Queen Elizabeth in The King's Speech, and the crazed Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. She played Madame Thénardier in the 2012 adaptation of Les Misérables, and tackled screen icon Elizabeth Taylor in the television movie Burton & Taylor (2013).

Trivia: One of England's most versatile character actors, Jim Broadbent has been giving reliably excellent performances on the stage and screen for years. Particularly known for his numerous collaborations with director Mike Leigh, Broadbent was shown to superlative effect in Leigh's Topsy-Turvy, winning the Venice Film Festival's Volpi Cup for his portrayal of British lyricist and playwright W.S. Gilbert.Born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1949, Broadbent trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Following his 1972 graduation, he began his professional career on the stage, performing with the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and as part of the National Theatre of Brent, a two-man troupe he co-founded that performed reduced histories. In addition to his theatrical work, Broadbent did steady work on television, acting for such directors as Mike Newell and Stephen Frears. Broadbent made his film debut in 1978 with a small part in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout. He went on to work with such directors as Stephen Frears (The Hit, 1984) and Terry Gilliam (Time Bandits [1981], Brazil [1985]), but it was through his collaboration with Leigh that Broadbent first became known to an international film audience. In 1991, he starred in Leigh's Life Is Sweet, a domestic comedy that cast him as a good-natured cook who dreams of running his own business. Broadbent gained further visibility the following year with substantial roles in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game and Newell's Enchanted April, and he could subsequently be seen in such diverse fare as Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Widows' Peak (1994), Richard Loncraine's highly acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III (1996), and Little Voice (1998), the last of which cast him as a seedy nightclub owner. Appearing primarily as a character actor in these films, Broadbent took center stage for Leigh's Topsy-Turvy (1999), imbuing the mercurial W.S. Gilbert with emotional complexity and comic poignancy. Roles in Bridget Jones's Diary, Moulin Rogue, and Iris made 2001 quite a marquee year for Broadbent; the actor earned both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his affecting turn in Iris.He remained one of the most respected actors of his generation and continued to work steadily for directors all over the world. In 2002 he was cast in Martin Scorsese's epic historical drama Gangs of New York. In 2003 he took a cameo part in Bright Young Things. In 2004 he returned for the Bridget Jones sequel, and took a bit part in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake. He worked in a number o animated films including Doogal, Valiant, and Robots. In 2007 he had the title role in Longford, a historical drama about the infamous Moor Murders, and the next year he was part of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls.As the 2010's continued, Broadbent would remain a vital, respected, and beloved force on screen, appearing most memorably in projects like The Young Victoria and The Iron Lady.

Trivia: Although he made his name playing ruthless, genteel villains like Die Hard's Hans Gruber and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' Sheriff of Nottingham, Alan Rickman proved himself equally remarkable in romantic, comic, and good-guy dramatic roles. An actor of brooding charisma who intones his lines in a deep, milky baritone, Rickman began his career on-stage, building up a sizable résumé before embarking on a film career.Of Irish and Welsh parentage, Rickman was born in London's Hammersmith district on February 21, 1946. His father, who was a painter and decorator, died of cancer when the actor was eight, leaving behind Rickman, his mother, and three siblings. After winning a scholarship to West London's Latymer Upper School, Rickman began acting at the encouragement of his teachers. He also developed an interest in art, and he went on to study graphic design at the Royal College of Art. He founded a Soho-based design company, but after deciding that his heart was in acting, he abandoned the company when he was 26 to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He spent three years there, serving as a dresser to such actors as Ralph Richardson and Nigel Hawthorne. After leaving RADA, Rickman began to make his name on the stage, first appearing in repertory and then landing lead roles in London productions. He gained particular acclaim for his portrayal of Valmont in a West End production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, eventually reprising his role for the Broadway production and winning a Tony nomination.In 1988, Rickman got his first dose of big-screen recognition with Die Hard. After the film's huge success, and praise for his delightfully nasty portrayal of the film's villain, he went on to make a couple of poorly received features, including 1989's The January Man and 1990s Quigley Down Under. Success greeted him again in 1991: playing Kevin Costner's nemesis, the vile and loathsome Sheriff of Nottingham, in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Rickman proved to audiences why being bad could be so much fun. The same year, he endeared himself as a markedly more sympathetic character in Truly, Madly, Deeply. As a deceased cellist who reappears to comfort his lover (Juliet Stevenson), Rickman proved himself adept at romantic comedy, and began to accrue a reputation as a thinking woman's sex symbol (something he vocally resented).The actor spent the remainder of the decade turning in solid performances in a number of diverse films: he could be seen as an actor with a troubled past in An Awfully Big Adventure (1994), a very sympathetic Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995), Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins (1996), a has-been sci-fi television star in Galaxy Quest (1999), and a grumpy angel in Dogma (1999). In 1997, Rickman branched out into directing, making his debut with The Winter Guest. Starring real-life mother and daughter Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson as an estranged mother and daughter, the film won a number of positive notices, further establishing Rickman as a man of impressive versatility, both in front of and behind the camera. Though Rickman's voice would be featured on the animated television series King of the Hill in 2003, he wasn't truly absorbed into mainstream pop-culture among the kid circuit until after starring in the movie adaptations of author J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Rickman played the sinister Professor Snape in the films, one of the few post-pubescent constants in the franchise.In 2005, just months before the fourth installment in the Potter series, Rickman showed up in the first big-screen adaptation of another literary series with a rabid fan base, lending his voice to the character of Marvin the neurotic robot in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.He went on to appear in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, and in 2007 he played Judge Turpin in Tim Burton's adaptation of Sweeney Todd. E reteamed with the director for Alice in Wonderland in 2010, and the next year saw the final installment of the Harry Potter franchise hitting screens. In 2013, he played President Ronald Reagan in Lee Daniels' The Butler and club owner Hilly Kristal in CBGB. The following year, Rickman directed his second feature film, A Little Chaos, and also appeared in the film as King Louis XIV. Rickman died in 2016, at age 69.

Trivia: One of Britain's most revered stage performers, Michael Gambon (born October 19th, 1940) was described by the late Sir Ralph Richardson as "The Great Gambon." The fierce-looking Irish actor joined Britain's National Theatre in 1963 after being personally selected by Sir Laurence Olivier. He quickly worked his way up to leading parts and became particularly well known for his work in a number of Alan Ayckbourn plays. Gambon's career received a major boost in 1980, when he took the title role in John Dexter's production of The Life of Galileo; he subsequently became a regular player with both the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The actor received particular acclaim for his work in A View from the Bridge, for which he won all of the major drama awards in 1987, and Volpone, for which he won the 1995 Evening Standard Award. Gambon made his Broadway debut in 1997 in New York's Royal Theatre production of David Hare's Skylight.While he was busy racking up an impressive number of plays, Gambon also found time to nurture a film career. Although he made his screen debut in a 1965 adaptation of Othello, the actor appeared only sporadically in films until the late '80s, when he began earning recognition for his work in such films as Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989), which cast him as the sadistic titular thief. He went on to do starring work in a number of diverse films, including A Man of No Importance (1994), The Browning Version (1994), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), and Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999). Extremely busy during the millennial turnover, Gambon once again caught the attention of audiences in Robert Altman's much-praised comedy Gosford Park before taking over the late Richard Harris's role as Albus Dumbledore in 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, subsequently portraying the character for the remainder of the films. Gambon, who became a familiar face to PBS devotees via his title role in Dennis Potter's quirky TV serial The Singing Detective (1986-1987), was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1992.The actor would further demonstrate his range by appearing in 2004's highly stylized sci-fi adventure Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the British crime thriller Layer Cake, and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, an edgy comedy from director Wes Anderson. Gambon continued in his role of Dumbledore until the Harry Potter film franchise came to an end in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.

Trivia: Breathes there a theatergoer or film fan on Earth who has not, at one time or another, fallen in love with the sublimely brilliant British comedic actress Dame Maggie Smith? The daughter of an Oxford University pathologist, Smith received her earliest acting training at the Oxford Playhouse School. In 1952, she made her professional stage bow as Viola in Twelfth Night. Four years later she was on Broadway, performing comedy routines in Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1956; that same year, she made her first, extremely brief screen appearance in Child in the House (she usually refers to 1959's Nowhere to Go as her screen debut).In 1959, Smith joined the Old Vic, and in 1962 won the first of several performing honors, the London Evening Standard Award, for her work in the West End production The Private Ear/The Public Eye. Her subsequent theatrical prizes include the 1963 and 1972 Variety Club awards for Mary Mary and Private Lives, respectively, and the 1990 Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway play Lettice and Lovage. In addition, Smith has won Oscars for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and California Suite (1978), and British Film Academy awards for A Private Function (1985), A Room With a View (1986), and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987).These accolades notwithstanding, Smith has had no qualms about accepting such "lightweight" roles as lady sleuth Dora Charleston (a delicious Myrna Loy takeoff) in Murder By Death (1976), the aging Wendy in Steven Spielberg's Peter Pan derivation Hook (1991), and the Mother Superior in Whoopi Goldberg's Sister Act films of the early '90s. During the same decade, she also took more serious roles in Richard III (1995), Washington Square (1997), and Tea With Mussolini (1999). On a lighter note, her role in director Robert Altman's Gosford Park earned Smith her sixth Oscar nomination. She earned a whole new generation of fans during the first decade of the next century when she was cast as Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a part she would return to for each of the film's phenomenally successful sequels. She worked in other films as well including Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Becoming Jane, and Nanny McPhee Returns. In 2010 she earned rave reviews for her work in the television series Downton Abbey.Made a Dame Commander in 1989, Smith was elected to the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1994. Previously married to the late actor Sir Robert Stephens, she is the wife of screenwriter Beverly Cross and the mother of actors Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin.

Trivia: Stocky Scottish comic actor Robbie Coltrane was trained as an artist in Glasgow. During the 1970s, he rose to prominence as an improvisational nightclub comedian, usually working in ensemble groups (one of his partners was actress Emma Thompson). During the '80s, he was in a number of British features and made-for-TV movies. A regular at London's Comic Strip comedy club, he had a habit of appearing as himself in comedy specials like Secret Policeman's Third Ball. He also showed up in small comedic cameos in National Lampoon's European Vacation and Kenneth Branagh's Henry V. Though he was popular in the U.K. on TV shows like Alfresco, Tutti Fruitti, Black Adder, and The Young Ones, he wasn't widely known in the U.S. until his antic performance in Nuns on the Run with Eric Idle. He then starred as the title character in the satiric comedy The Pope Must Die (released in the U.S. as The Pope Must Diet). In 1993, he starred in the British TV detective series Cracker as Fitz, a nervous forensic psychologist who helps crack cases. He won a BAFTA TV award for the role, and he won a Cable ACE award when it was rebroadcast in the U.S. on A&E. When the show ended, he briefly joined up with the James Bond film series as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. In the late '90s, he starred in a few independent films (Montana, Frogs for Snakes) and played Sgt. Peter Goldy in the Hughes brothers' thriller From Hell. However, he's been most successful in the area of family entertainment. He was delightful as the con man in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with Elijah Wood; he was Tweedledum to George Wendt's Tweedledee in Alice in Wonderland; and he found a fine place for himself as Hagrid the Giant in the Harry Potter film series. In 2002, he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the British Academy for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In 2003, he returned to British TV to play lawyer Jack Lennox in The Planman. Coltrane continued to work as Hagrid throughout the Harry Potter film series (2001-2011), and lent his voice to films including The Tales of Despereaux (2008) and Brave (2012).

Trivia: The second of three children, David Thewlis grew up in an apartment above his family's combination toy store and wallpaper shop. He received his training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. A veteran of the London stage and English television (Prime Suspect 3), Thewlis found his particular cinematic niche as the antihero of director Mike Leigh's Naked (1993). From the moment that Thewlis, playing an indigent from Manchester, showed up unannounced at the doorstep of his old girlfriend and immediately proceeded to verbally trash everyone in sight, the audience knew it wasn't in for a Noël Coward revival. The result of Thewlis's antisocial screen behavior was the unqualified praise of discriminating moviegoers, not to mention awards from the Cannes jury, the New York Film Critics, and the National Society of Film Critics. He went on to demonstrate his versatility in a number of diverse roles, including Paul Verlaine in 1995's Total Eclipse, an animated earthworm in James and the Giant Peach (1996), a mountaineer in Seven Years in Tibet (1997, a role for which the actor was subsequently banned from entering China), and an expatriate British composer living in Rome in Bernardo Bertolucci's Besieged in 1998. Also that year, Thewlis could be seen doing a brief but hilarious turn as a giggling conceptual artist in The Big Lebowski. As rare as it is for an actor to possess the versatility needed to alternate between such adult-oriented fare as director Mike Leigh's Naked and such innocent fun as James and the Giant Peach, Thewlis could be as effective in the former as he was endearing in the latter. Following a chilling performance as the leader of a London gang in the 2002 crime drama Gangster No. 1, Thewlis switched gears somewhat to portray the villain in the made-for-television family adventure Dinotopia shortly thereafter. In 2003, Thewlis expanded his resumé by making his feature directorial debut with Cheeky, a comedy drama concerning a mournful widower (Thewlis) whose life takes a change for the better after appearing in a popular game show of questionable taste. His profile steadily increasing thanks to roles in such high-profile releases as Timeline and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (as Professor Remus Lupin), the actor began to make as big a name for himself in large-scale Hollywood blockbusters as he previously had in intimate independent dramas. Of course, that's not to say that Thewlis had lost his taste for smaller-scale films, just that his skills were now in increased demand stateside as a direct result of his powerful early-career performances. After a busy year in 2005 with roles in the historical dramas Kingdom of Heaven and The New World, Thewlis drifted back into modern times to play a small but pivotal role in an American-shot segment of the international short anthology All the Invisible Children -- a powerful meditation on the modern mistreatment of youth by the increasingly jaded adult population. A brief turn as the Scotland Yard homicide detective trailing Sharon Stone in the belated and ill-fated sequel Basic Instinct 2 may have gone unseen by many fans after the film received considerably negative word of mouth, though a fun turn as the paranoid, bubblegum-chomping reporter hot on the trail of the young Antichrist in the 2006 remake of The Omen gave audiences much more to chew on and offered Thewlis the opportunity to have a bit of fun, to the delight of fans everywhere. The following year, Thewlis reprised his role of Prof. Lupin in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and appeared in the title role in The Inner Life of Martin Frost. He could next be seen in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a film adaptation of the John Boyne Holocaust novel, which focuses on the friendship that develops between the child of a Nazi commander at a concentration camp and a young Jewish prisoner. Thewlis enjoyed a high-profile 2011 when the last of the Harry Potter films hit screens, as did other films he was cast in including the Shakespearean drama Anonymous, and Steven Spielberg's Oscar nominated War Horse.

Trivia: British character actress Julie Walters has made a career out of playing working-class women with good hearts and sharp tongues -- which should come as no surprise, given her background. Born in Birmingham, England, on February 22, 1950, Walters was raised in a strong, practical family where she was encouraged to study nursing. Walters did in fact enroll in the nursing program at Manchester Polytechnic, but in her second year of studies she developed an interest in acting, and eventually changed her major to theater. Walters soon made friends with fellow theater student Pete Postlethwaite, and they joined a small theater troupe with Matthew Kelly; Walters made her legitimate stage debut not long after in a Liverpool production of The Taming of the Shrew. Walters also began moonlighting as a comedian, performing as a standup act and with an improvisational troupe called Van Load. In 1976, Walters made her London stage debut in Funny Peculiar, and in 1980, she was cast in the title role of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Willy Russell's play Educating Rita. Walters won rave reviews for her performance, and the comedy-drama became a major success; following her appearances in several well-received television productions, Walters was cast in the film version of Educating Rita opposite Michael Caine, and the movie was a solid critical and financial success in both Europe and the United States. Walters' budding film career seemed to have gotten off to a solid start when she was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in Educating Rita; while she didn't win, she did receive Golden Globe and British Film Academy awards for her performance. However, Walters opted to continue living and working in Britain, and while she maintained a busy schedule of television and stage work, it would be a few years before Walters became a regular presence in films. In 1987, she won the leading role in the fact-based comedy Personal Services, as well as a major supporting role in the Joe Orton biopic Prick up Your Ears, and the following year she starred opposite pop star Phil Collins in another comedy-drama drawn from real life, Buster. Over the next ten years, Walters continued to work steadily in British television (both in dramatic roles and in comedic appearances, frequently with English comedy star Victoria Wood), but her next major screen success wouldn't arrive until 2000, when she played dance instructor Mrs. Wilkinson in the international hit Billy Elliot; the role earned her another Academy Award nomination, as well as a British Film Academy nomination. The following year, Walters appeared in a small role in one of the year's biggest box-office blockbusters, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, as well as a number of TV projects. Offscreen, Walters is married to Grant Roffey, who operates a successful organic farm; they're the parents of a daughter, Maisie. In 1999, Walters received special recognition for her work in the arts when she was presented an Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth for her services to British drama. In the years to come, Walters would remain active on screen, appearing in moviesl ike Mama Mia!.

Trivia: A prolific English actress with a marked flair for period drama, Helen McCrory accepted one of her first roles as a New Orleans prostitute in Neil Jordan's gothic horror opus Interview with the Vampire (1994); though this merely constituted a bit part, McCrory gradually ascended to higher billing in outings such as Witness Against Hitler (1995), The James Gang (1997), and Split Second (1999), before tackling the lead role of Anna Karenina in director David Blair's 2001 miniseries adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's seminal novel, and signed for another lead in the humorous made-for-television crime thriller Dead Gorgeous (2002), adapted from the novel On the Edge by Peter Lovesey. McCrory maintained a higher profile and netted more widespread global recognition as the title character's mother in Lasse Hallström's Casanova (2005) and as Cherie Blair, the wife of British prime minister Tony Blair, in the 2006 docudrama The Queen. McCrory then signed for a plum role as Narcissa Malfoy in the fantasy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008).

Trivia: Actress Jessie Cave joined the Harry Potter cast as Lavender Brown in the film series' sixth installment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Cave also appeared in the fact-based British television drama Summerhill and had a minor part in director Iain Softley's adaptation of Inkheart, a children's fantasy novel penned by Cornelia Funke.

Trivia: A former martial arts champion, David Bradley played leads and supporting roles in low-budget or direct-to-video actioners since 1988.

Trivia: British actress Bonnie Wright ascended to fame by virtue of her recurring role as Ginny Weasley in the big-screen installments of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, beginning with the first film, the 2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Trivia: Actor Warwick Davis is best known for portraying the title character -- a role written especially for him by story writer George Lucas -- in Ron Howard's sword and sorcery fantasy Willow (1988). Davis made his film debut at age 11 playing the Ewok Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi (1983). Then only 2'11" tall, he auditioned the role after his grandmother overheard a casting call for little people on the radio. During production he began a friendship with director George Lucas and went on to reprise the role in a pair of made-for-television movies: The Ewok Adventure (1984) and The Battle of Endor (1986). When Davis married in 1991, he and wife, Samantha Burroughs, honeymooned on Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. Fans of horror fare will recognize Davis as the murderous, magical little person in the five Leprechaun (1993) films. In addition to his feature film work, which includes Prince Valiant (1997) and Star Wars: Episode 1, Davis has also appeared on television in movies and miniseries such as the BBC's popular Chronicle of Narnia and the American-made Gulliver's Travels (1996). In addition, he works occasionally on the British stage. Davis owns a production company, Inch High Productions, and for it has directed and produced musical and industrial videos. In 1994, he co-founded Willow Personal Management Ltd. with former castmate Peter Burroughs. They bill it as "The Largest Agency for Short Actors in the World."In the first decade of the 21st century Davis was cast as Professor Filius Flitwick in the Harry Potter films and he would go on to appear in every film in that highly successful franchise. He appeared in the 2004 biopic Ray, and in 2011 he joined forces with Ricky Gervais for the sitcom Life's Too Short.

Trivia: Actor Frank Dillane signed for one of his first screen roles as the teenage version of Tom Riddle (who later becomes Lord Voldemort) in the fantasy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008).

Trivia: Actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin landed his first major film assignment with a portrayal of 11-year-old Tom Riddle (who later becomes Lord Voldemort) in the fantasy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008).

Trivia: Her grandfather was a Member of Parliament and was awarded a hereditary baronetcy; her father and mother were both titled. At age 8, boarded at the Arts Educational School in Tring Park to do ballet, drama and music; originally wanted to be a ballet dancer but soon realised she was better at acting. Her breakout role was as DS Jane Penhaligon in Cracker from 1993 to 1995; her co-star Robbie Coltrane's funny stories often made her corpse during filming. In 2003, played Henriette d'Angleterre in Lindsay Posner's staging of Power at the National Theatre, London. Was offered the role of Lily Potter in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone after JK Rowling turned it down; went on to appear in every film of the franchise.

Trivia: Perhaps the actor most closely associated with director Mike Leigh, Timothy Spall has acted in productions for the director on both the stage and screen. Spall made a particularly strong impression in Leigh's Life is Sweet (1991), which cast him as a socially awkward gourmet chef, and Secrets & Lies (1996), in which his starring performance as a portrait photographer struggling with marital problems earned him award nominations from the British Academy and the London Film Critics Circle. In addition to his work with Leigh, Spall has appeared in a number of disparate productions. He made his film debut with a supporting role in the Who's Quadrophenia in 1979 and spent the next decade splitting his time and energy between the stage and screen. He acted extensively for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, and he also did acclaimed work on television, most notably as Mr. Venus in the BBC production of Charles Dicken's Our Mutual Friend, for which he received a BAFTA Best Actor nomination.Spall began to gain recognition and respect as a film actor in the 1990s, thanks in large part to his collaborations with Leigh. In addition to his work with the director, Spall was particularly memorable in Brian Gibson's Still Crazy (1998), a comedy that cast him as the drummer for a defunct 1970s rock band trying to make a come-back. In 1999, the actor enjoyed another collaboration with Leigh in Topsy-Turvy, an acclaimed drama about the partnership between Gilbert and Sullivan that featured Spall as an effeminate opera diva. The following year, he could be seen as Don Armado in Kenneth Branagh's musical adaptation of Love's Labour's Lost, and heard as a chicken farm denizen in Nick Park's animated Chicken Run. In recognition of his contributions to the arts, Spall was named an Officer of the Order of British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth on New Year's Eve, 1999.

Trivia: First acting experience came from reading a sonnet at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London in 1997. Is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. Reprised his role of Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter video games.. Made his professional stage debut on London's West End in the play Happy New in 2012.

Trivia: Ireland native Evanna Lynch was picked out of over 15,000 hopefuls in her audition for the role of Luna Lovegood, Harry's eccentric yet insightful new friend in the fifth installment to the Potter series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Not only did Lynch stand out at the audition, but many critics and fans declared her a perfect fit for the role. Lynch is known for being an active participant in the Potter "fandom," and has contributed to various fan sites and podcasts.

Trivia: British-born actor Jamie Waylett began his movie career at the age of 12, playing the role of Vincent Crabbe in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001. He would reprise the role for all the subsequent Harry Potter films and voice the character for franchise video games.

Trivia: Actor Matthew Lewis (not to be confused with the middle-aged character player of the same name) achieved fame as an adolescent star, with a recurring portrayal of Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films -- beginning with the first installment, 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Trivia: Appeared in Coram Boy and Coast of Utopia at the National Theatre. Played Alexander in Troilus and Cressida for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Performed opposite Helen Mirren in the play The Audience in the West End in 2013 when she stormed out to quiet a drumming troupe playing outside the theatre in order to finish the play.

Trivia: European-born actress Natalia Tena launched her career as a supporting actress in features produced on her native continent, initially placing her heaviest emphasis on films from the U.K. She took one of her earliest bows with a supporting role as a boarding-school student in John Irvin's erotically tinged psychodrama The Fine Art of Love (2005), then joined the cast of Stephen Frears' period piece Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005). For her Hollywood debut, Tena essayed the role of Nymphadora Tonks in two of the Harry Potter installments -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008).

Trivia: A British character actor best known for two feats -- his lengthy tenure as a participant in the small-screen sketch comedy program The Fast Show, and his multi-film portrayal of the genial and sweet-natured patriarch Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter movies -- Mark Williams in fact chalked up a lengthy series of feature roles that extended far beyond the scope of those projects, beginning in the early '80s. Throughout, he tended to specialize in average-looking everyman types but made his strongest impression in fantasy-themed material. He debuted on the big screen in the 1982 Privileged (during his early twenties) and subsequently signed for projects including The Master (1989), Kill Line (1991), and The Borrowers (1997). Fantasy lovers will invariably associate Williams with his Weasley characterization, but may also remember his portrayal of Billy (a goat who had been changed into human form) in the Robert De Niro-Michelle Pfeiffer fantasy adventure Stardust (2007).

Trivia: Since 1963, Gemma Jones has been one of the most esteemed character actresses in British film and theater. Not until 1995, however, did she receive widespread recognition outside the U.K. That was the year she played the mother of two darlings of the modern cinema, Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, in their roles as the Dashwood sisters in director Ang Lee's Oscar-winning adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility. In 1997, Jones performed in another acclaimed film, Wilde, as Lady Queensbury, the woman who accused 19th century Irish author Oscar Wilde of corrupting her son, thereby setting in motion a notorious trial that ruined Wilde. Then good got better for Jones. Between 1999 and 2001, she played in three other popular productions that won numerous awards: first as Grace Winslow opposite Nigel Hawthorne in David Mamet's production of The Winslow Boy, then as Elizabeth Harrison in Charles Sturridge's production of Longitude, and finally as Mrs. Pam Jones in Sharon Maguire's production of Bridget Jones' Diary. By 2002, Gemma Jones was at work filming what promised to be one of the biggest box-office draws of the year, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, in which she portrays Madame Pomfrey, the maker of magical healing potions.The daughter of British actor Griffth Jones, Gemma Jones was born Jennifer Jones on December 4, 1942, in London. Because acting was in her blood, it was no surprise when she enrolled in the British Academy of Dramatic Art to be molded into an actress in the classic tradition. Shortly after graduation, she performed in Baal on the same stage with Peter O'Toole. After other stage and TV productions, she debuted on film in director Ken Russell's The Devils in 1971, then performed in several TV series, including The Duchess of Duke Street, a popular 1976 series in Britain that starred her as "London's best cook." Between film and TV roles, she also performed on the stage as a member of the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company in such Shakespeare plays as A Winter's Tale, The Merry Wives of Windsor, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet. She also acted in productions of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mount Morgan, and Henrik Ibsen's The Masterbuilder. When stardom arrived in 1995 with Sense and Sensibility, she continued to perform in lesser known but highly praised productions, including The Feast of July, Jane Eyre, The Theory of Flight, and Captain Jack. Her 2002 role in the Harry Potter film promises to make her a household name among children as well as adults -- perhaps for decades to come.

Trivia: Fans of British television will have little difficulty placing English actor Ralph Ineson. He scored massive popularity on the hit BBC series The Office as Chris Finch, a sociopathically obnoxious sales rep whose antics consisted of insulting and belittling nearly everyone in sight to puff himself up. The part was somewhat indicative of Ineson's typecast, not from the standpoint of obnoxious characters, but from the standpoint of aggression; time and again, he came to specialize in playing dominant, outspoken, Type A personalities. A native of Yorkshire, Ineson signed for roles in a myriad of BBC telemovies and series (notably the iconic programs The Bill and Coronation Street), displaying equal adroitness for riotous comedy and straight-faced drama. Many American viewers experienced Ineson for the first time courtesy of his fine supporting work in the features First Knight (1995) and From Hell (2001). In 2007, Ineson scored a highly visible turn as Harry Marber, a member of Scotland Yard's armed response unit, in the feature thriller Shoot on Sight.

Trivia: Actress Katie Leung had no intention of becoming an actress when she auditioned for the role of Cho Chang in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at an open casting call in her hometown of Glasgow, Scotland. In fact, the then-18-year-old had never even performed in a school play, but at her father's encouragement, she attended the audition and a few callbacks later, she was known to millions of Harry Potter fans as Cho. Born to Chinese immigrants, Leung is fluent in Cantonese. She attended high school at the prestigious Hamilton College in South Lanarkshire before being cast in Goblet of Fire. After Leung was chosen from among thousands of girls for the coveted role of Cho, she decided to see her acting ventures through to the end, signing on for the next movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and vowing to improve her craft and become as good an actress as possible.

Trivia: Was a member of the National Youth Theater. Took a year off of college to film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Recorded the songs "Knockin'" and "Possibilities" for his movie A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song.

Trivia: With an expansive range that stretches from Shakespeare to Chicken Run and just about everything in between, actress Imelda Staunton has, not surprisingly, become one of the most highly respected actresses working in the U.K. If her penchant for playing what many would consider to be mundane, everyday characters found Staunton criminally overlooked in the early years of her career, it was her keen ability to inject those characters with a remarkable complexity that eventually made the stage mainstay-turned-small-screen powerhouse one of Britain's most sought-after talents.A London native and graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Staunton wasted no time launching her career following graduation, becoming associated with such prestigious venues as The Old Vic and the National Theatre. A trio of productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company gained her numerous critical accolades, and in 1986 Staunton made an impressive television debut in the legendary BBC production of Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective. Increasingly busy throughout the 1990s, Staunton continued to gain momentum on-stage while earning three Oliviers for her performances in the The Corn Is Green, A Chorus of Disapproval, and Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. As Staunton's numerous stage roles continued to earn her critical success, frequent television and film roles made her a familiar and endearing face to the general public. Though many of her U.K. television roles went unseen by stateside audiences, supporting roles in such features as Much Ado About Nothing, Sense and Sensibility, and Shakespeare in Love found Staunton slowly working her way into the conscience of U.S. film buffs as well. Moving into the new millennium, Staunton's roles in such films as Chicken Run (for which she provided the voice of Bunty), Crush, Bright Young Things, and I'll Be There found the established television actress actively distancing herself from the small screen in favor of feature films. Of course, every actor dreams of the breakthrough role that will make him or her an international star, and for Imelda Staunton that role was of a 1950s era abortionist caught in a downward spiral in director Mike Leigh's 2004 drama Vera Drake. Her undeniably affecting portrayal of the title role -- a selfless housewife and cleaning woman who makes a name for herself performing illegal abortions -- earned her near-universal praise. After earning accolades from both The Venice Film Festival and The New York Film Festival as well as the Los Angeles and Chicago film critic associations, Staunton had undeniably arrived when the role earned her a Best Actress nomination for the 77th Annual Academy Awards.Subsequent roles in the U.K. television comedy Little Britain as well as the features Nanny McPhee and Freedom Writers served well to introduce her to entirely new, often American, audiences. In 2007, just one year after appearing in a colorful Masterpiece Theatre production of the children's classic The Wind and the Willows, she remained in the world of fantasy for her role in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Staunton played Dolores Umbridge -- the latest in a long line of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors -- whose severe disposition drew the ire of Harry Potter himself. She was part of the cast of the well-respected television production Cranford, and appeared in the inspirational drama Freedom Writers. She teamed with Mike Leigh again for 2010's Another Year, and that same year she appeared in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. She continued to work in animated family films such as Arthur Christmas and The Pirates! Band of Misfits.

Trivia: Actor Rob Knox began acting on British television when he was 11, appearing on various TV shows and the reality show Trust Me, I'm a Teenager. His big break came when he was cast in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Sadly, Knox was killed before the film's release in 2009, after being stabbed in an altercation outside a bar in 2009. He was 19.