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: An alumnus of State University of New York and the University of Massachusetts, American actor Bill Pullman excelled in both wacky comedy and intense drama during his stage years, working with such repertory companies as the Folger Theatre Groupe and the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Before college, he attended a technical institute and studied building construction (years later he used those skills to build his own house in California). In films, Pullman could be relied upon to almost invariably lose the girl, as witness his brace of 1993 films, Sleepless in Seattle and Somersby. He almost lost his screen wife Geena Davis to Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own (1992), but this gratuitous plot point was eliminated from the script. Only since 1994 has Pullman won the heroine's hand with any regularity. The summer of 1995 found Bill Pullman with back-to-back leading roles in two of the season's biggest box-office successes: While You Were Sleeping and Casper: The Movie. Pullman gained even more recognition for his heroic portrayal of the self-sacrificing U.S. president in the special effects blockbuster Independence Day. Up to this point, Pullman was pretty well typecast in "nice guy" roles. In David Lynch's Lost Highway (1996), he broke that mold by appearing as a deeply disturbed husband. In 1995, Pullman began a side career as a producer when he founded his own production company Big Town.

Trivia: Tall, gangly, and oddly handsome, stage, screen, and television actor Jeff Goldblum is an unlikely sex symbol. But for many women, especially those fond of eccentric intellectual types, he fits the role perfectly. Known for the range of quirky, often otherworldly characters he has portrayed, Goldblum is adept at playing lead and supporting roles in dramas and comedies alike. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, where he was born October 22, 1952, Goldblum moved to New York at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career. He got his start at Sanford Meisner's distinguished Neighborhood Playhouse, and in the '70s began performing in a wide variety of on and off-Broadway productions. When he was 22, Goldblum made his film debut with a small role as a rapist in Michael Winner's brutal revenge drama Death Wish (1974). He was performing on-stage in the El Grande de Coca Cola review when Robert Altman gave him a small part in California Split (1974) and a slightly larger role in Nashville (1975). Afterwards, Goldblum was steadily employed as a bit player in both major and minor features, turning in one of his most notable performances as a nervous houseguest struggling to remember his mantra in the Los Angeles-set segment of Annie Hall (1977). In 1980, Goldblum branched out into television, starring opposite Ben Vereen in the short-lived television detective comedy Tenspeed and Brown Shoe. As Brown Shoe, Goldblum played an uptight stockbroker trying to make it as a hardboiled private detective. Although the role may have given him greater recognition, the actor gained his first really favorable reviews playing a tabloid magazine reporter in The Big Chill (1983). This led to leading roles in such films as Into the Night (1985), where Goldblum played an aerospace engineer opposite Michelle Pfeiffer, and Silverado (also 1985), which cast him as a villainous gambler. In 1986, he had his first hit movie with David Cronenberg's terrifying sci-fi-horror film The Fly (1986), playing a driven scientist whose research turns him into a gruesome mutant. His co-star was his then-wife, Geena Davis, whom he met while they were on the set of the comedy-thriller Transylvania 6-5000 (1985). The couple divorced in the early '90s and Goldblum then embarked on a highly publicized relationship with actress Laura Dern that broke up in the mid-'90s.In 1989, Goldblum made a favorable transatlantic impression in the British romantic comedy The Tall Guy, playing a perpetually unemployed actor who is cast as the lead of a musical about the Elephant Man. He continued to work steadily throughout the subsequent decade, appearing in films of markedly varying quality. He found great success in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, playing a mathematician in one of the decade's biggest blockbusters. In 1996, Goldblum again explored blockbuster territory with a leading role as a computer genius in Independence Day. He reprised his role from Jurassic Park in that film's sequel 1997 sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. He starred opposite Eddie Murphy in the notorious bomb Holy Man.At the beginning of the next decade Goldblum worked primarily in independent films such as Burr Steers' debut Igby Goes Down, and playing the romantic and professional rival to Bill Murray in Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. In 2006 he scored a role in his most mainstream film in quite sometime as part of the impressive ensemble in Barry Levinson's satire Man of the Year. In 2009, Goldblum joined the cast of Law & Order: Criminal Intent in the show's eighth season to play the role of Detective Zach Nichols. 2010 found the actor co-starring with Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton for the showbiz comedy Morning Glory. In 2014, he re-teamed with Anderson in The Grand Budapest Hotel. The following year, he appeared opposite Johnny Depp in Mortdecai and began filming his role in the long-awaited Indepdendence Day sequel, due in 2016.

Trivia: Renowned stage and screen actress Mary McDonnell graced East Coast stages for two decades before getting her major screen breakthrough in Dances with Wolves (1990). Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on April 28, 1952, McDonnell was raised in Ithaca, New York, and graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia. After a few seasons in regional repertory, she established herself on Broadway with such successful 1980s plays as The Heidi Chronicles. She made her film debut in 1984's Garbo Talks; three years later, she was showered with critical adulation for her portrayal of mining town landlady Elma Radnor in director John Sayles' Matewan. Further adulation and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination followed for McDonnell's portrayal of Stands with a Fist, a white woman raised by the Lakota Sioux, in Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990). One year later, she starred in the PBS "American Playhouse" dramatization of Willa Cather's O Pioneers!, and also did starring work as the wife of an immigration attorney (Kevin Kline) in Lawrence Kasdan's acclaimed Grand Canyon. Her film career has continued with roles in films big and small, ranging from Sayles' excellent Passion Fish (1992) to the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day to Kasdan's Mumford (1999), which cast McDonnell as a dissatisfied housewife with a mail order catalog obsession.

Trivia: Born March 15th, 1935, Bronx-native Judd Hirsch attended CCNY, where he majored in engineering and physics. A blossoming fascination in the theatre convinced Hirsch that his future lay in acting. He studied at the AADA and worked with a Colorado stock company before his 1966 Broadway debut in Barefoot in the Park. He spent many years at New York's Circle Repertory, where he appeared in the first-ever production of Lanford Wilson's The Hot L Baltimore. After an auspicious TV-movie bow in the well-received The Law (1974), Hirsch landed his first weekly-series assignment, playing the title character in the cop drama Delvecchio (1976-77). From 1978 to 1982, he was seen as Alex Reiger in the popular ensemble comedy Taxi, earning two Emmies in the process. While occupied with Taxi, Hirsch found time to act off-Broadway, winning an Obie award for the 1979 production Talley's Folly. In the following decade, he was honored with two Tony Awards for the Broadway efforts I'm Not Rappoport and Conversations with My Father. His post-Taxi TV series roles include Press Wyman in Detective in the House (1985) and his Golden Globe-winning turn as John Lacey in Dear John (1988-92). Judd Hirsch could also be seen playing Jeff Goldblum's father in the movie blockbuster Independence Day (1996). In 2001, Hirsch co-starred with Paul Bettany and Christopher Plummer in the multi-Award winning biopic A Beautiful Mind. The actor once again found success on the television screen in CBS' drama Numb3rs, in which he took on the role of Alan Eppes, father of FBI agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and Professor Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz). After appearing on all four seaons of Numb3rs, Hirsch took a small role in director Brett Ratner's crime comedy Tower Heist (2011).

Trivia: A versatile, no-nonsense actress, Margaret Colin has moved easily between TV and films throughout her career, from such acclaimed series as Chicago Hope to Hollywood blockbusters and independent features.Born in Brooklyn to a large Irish-Catholic family and raised on Long Island, Colin began acting in elementary school. Along with winning a drama scholarship to Hofstra University, Colin studied the craft at the Stella Adler Conservatory and Juilliard. Leaving school for a career in Manhattan, Colin soon landed on the TV daytime dramas Edge of Night and As the World Turns in the early '80s. Colin made the move to feature films playing one of teen icon Molly Ringwald's teachers in Pretty in Pink (1986) and psycho Ray Liotta's wife in Jonathan Demme's off-kilter romance Something Wild (1986). With substantial roles in the TV movies The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987) and Warm Hearts, Cold Feet (1987), and the cop series Leg Work (1987) created as a vehicle for her, Colin was poised to become a small-screen star. Leg Work, however, didn't last beyond its first season. Nevertheless, Colin remained quite visible, appearing as Tom Selleck's love interest in the wildly popular feature comedy Three Men and a Baby (1987) and earning kudos for her turn as an intrepid investigator in the James Woods legal drama True Believer (1989). Back on the small screen, Colin starred in the well-received docudrama Goodnight, Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston (1990).Though she decided to start a family with husband and erstwhile daytime TV colleague Justin Deas, Colin continued to work regularly. After sharing screen time with such stars as Demi Moore, Nicolas Cage, and Samuel L. Jackson in the ill-received feature comedies The Butcher's Wife (1991) and Amos and Andy (1993), and appearing as a regular guest on CBS's lauded hospital drama Chicago Hope, Colin landed roles in two high-profile movies. As the President's press secretary and addled scientist Jeff Goldblum's ex, Colin was a key part of the ensemble battling an apocalyptic alien attack in the flashy summer blockbuster Independence Day (1996). Harking back to her family's history in law enforcement, Colin was then cast as N.Y.C. Irish cop Harrison Ford's wife in the political thriller The Devil's Own (1997). Despite the presence of Ford and co-star Brad Pitt, however, The Devil's Own was a financial disappointment. Colin fared better, at least critically, with her role as the title character's mother in the indie teen comedy The Adventures of Sebastian Cole (1998). Cast as John Goodman's wife in CBS's supernatural spy series Now and Again (1999), Colin then seemed to be on the verge of regular TV series work again, but Now and Again failed to live up to the hype. After a handful of roles in independent and TV films, including coming-of-age drama and Sundance Film Festival entrant Blue Car (2002), Colin returned to glossy Hollywood product with an appearance as one of Diane Lane's friends in the infidelity potboiler Unfaithful (2002).

Trivia: Six-foot four-inch, beefy character actor with rubbery, homely face, Quaid's first professional show-business work was as the "straight man" half of a comedy duo with actor Trey Wilson in Houston. While a third-year college drama student he was cast by Peter Bogdanovich in a supporting role in The Last Picture Show (1971), then went on to have small roles in Bogdanovich's next two movies. He made a big impression as a naive sailor alongside Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail (1973), for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. By the mid '70s, he worked in films frequently, usually typecast as a dim-witted fool or redneck. In the mid '80s he was (for one season) in the regular cast of the weekly sketch-comedy series "Saturday Night Live," on which he demonstrated his considerable comedic talent and often impersonated President Ronald Reagan. More recently he has gotten straight dramatic roles, a transition marked by his off-Broadway stage debut in True West in 1983. He has also worked frequently in TV movies, portraying Lenny in Of Mice and Men (1981) and Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Days (1987); for his portrayal of Mitch in the TV version of A Streetcar Named Desire (1984) he won an Emmy. He is the brother of actor Dennis Quaid, with whom he appeared in The Long Riders (1980).

Trivia: Forceful leading actor Robert Loggia left plans for a journalistic career behind when he began his studies at New York's Actors Studio. His first important Broadway assignment was 1955's The Man with the Golden Arm; one year later, he made his first film, Somebody Up There Likes Me. In 1958 he enjoyed a brief flurry of TV popularity as the title character in "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca," a multipart western originally telecast on Walt Disney Presents. His next weekly TV assignment was as a good-guy burglar in 1967's T.H.E. Cat. A fitfully successful movie leading man, Loggia truly came into his own when he cast off his toupee and became a character actor, often in roles requiring quiet menace. As Richard Gere's bullying father, Loggia dominated the precredits scenes of An Officer and a Gentleman (1981), and was equally effective as the villain in Curse of the Pink Panther (1982) and as mafia functionaries in Scarface (1983) and Prizzi's Honor (1985). He was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a two-bit detective in The Jagged Edge (1985). The most likeable Robert Loggia screen character thus far is his toy manufacturer in Big (1988), the film in which Loggia and Tom Hanks exuberantly dance to the tune of "Heart and Soul" on a gigantic keyboard. Loggia would remain an active force on screen for decades to come, appearing in movies like Opportunity Knocks, Independence Day, and Return to Me, as well as TV shows like Mancuso, FBI, Wild Palms, and Queens Supreme. Loggia passed away in 2015, at age 85.

Trivia: One of America's most recognizable character actors, James Rebhorn was a veteran of over 100 television shows, feature films, and plays. While best known for portraying lawyers, politicians, doctors, and military men, he delivered equally notable performances in a variety of other roles, including that of a brutal serial killer on NBC's Law & Order, a shipping magnate in Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), and a comically doomed restaurateur in Billy Morrisette's Scotland, PA (2001).Born in Philadelphia, PA, on September 1, 1948, Rebhorn moved to Anderson, IN, as a child. A devout Lutheran, he attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Wittenburg University in Ohio, where he studied political science. After graduating in 1970, Rebhorn moved to New York City, where he earned a Master's of Fine Arts in acting from Columbia University's School of the Arts and joined the metropolitan theater scene.After making his television debut on the NBC soap opera The Doctors in 1977, Rebhorn starred on Another World: Texas and The Guiding Light, as well as earned a 1989 Soap Opera Digest Award for his performance as Henry Lange on As the World Turns. He displayed his comic talents during a recurring role on Kate and Allie, and in an unforgettable turn as the district attorney who jails the Seinfeld gang in the show's final episode. He also garnered recurring roles on some of television's most heralded dramas -- including Law & Order, Third Watch, Now and Again, and The Practice -- and memorable telefilms -- including Sarah, Plain and Tall (1981), North and South (1985), Skylark (1993), From the Earth to the Moon (1998), and A Bright Shining Lie (1998).Rebhorn's feature-film career began in the early '80s with roles such as "Lawyer" in Soup for One (1982), "Los Alamos Doctor" in Silkwood (1983), and "Drunken Business Man" in Cat's Eye (1985). As the decade progressed, his parts increased in importance and he emerged in the '90s as an established supporting actor with roles in several high-profile films. After appearing in 1991's Regarding Henry with Harrison Ford and Annette Bening, Rebhorn gave stand-out performances opposite Marisa Tomei and Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny (1992), Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct (1992), Chris O'Donnell and Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman (1992), and Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte in Lorenzo's Oil (1992). He went on to earn prominent roles in Carlito's Way (1993), Guarding Tess (1994), I Love Trouble (1994), Up Close & Personal (1996), Independence Day (1996), If Lucy Fell (1996), and My Fellow Americans (1996). Rebhorn rounded out the '90s by playing the mysterious Consumer Recreation Services representative in The Game (1997), the prosecuting attorney in Snow Falling on Cedars (1999), and Jude Law's shipping magnate father in the above-mentioned The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). The new millennium saw him starring as Robert De Niro's future in-law in Meet the Parents (2000) and a modern-day version of Macbeth's Duncan in the above-mentioned Scotland, PA, before gearing up for the Eddie Murphy sci-fi vehicle The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), and Todd Haynes' long-awaited return to directing, Far From Heaven (2002).Towards the end of his career, Rebhorn returned to television, playing recurring characters on several different shows, playing the CEO of Abbadon Industries on HBO's Enlightened, an FBI special agent on USA's White Collar and, his final role, Carrie Mathison's father on Showtime's Homeland.While juggling his film and television work, Rebhorn frequently returned to the stage. He appeared at the Manhattan Theater Club, Playwright's Horizons, the New York Shakespeare Festival, the LaJolla Playhouse, the Ensemble Studio Theater, and Lincoln Center. In 2002, he earned rave reviews for his performance in the Roundabout Theater's production of Arthur Miller's first play, The Man Who Had All the Luck, with Chris O'Donnell and Samantha Mathis.Rebhorn was diagnosed with melanoma in 1992 and struggled with the disease for the next two decades, before succumbing in 2014 at the age of 65.

Trivia: A graduate of the Pratt Institute, actor/playwright Harvey Fierstein made his off-Broadway debut in something called Pork. Outspokenly homosexual, Fierstein has successfully smashed previous "gay" stereotypes with his deep, ratchety voice and his engaging "You got a problem with that?" belligerence. In 1982, Fierstein wrote and starred in the stage play Torch Song Trilogy, a bittersweet three-part comedy concerning the homosexual experience in the AIDS era; the play won two Tony Awards and became one of the longest-running Broadway productions in history, toting up 1,222 performances. Fierstein repeated his stage characterization of Arnold Beckoff for the heavily rewritten and severely shortened 1988 movie version of Torch Song Trilogy. The actor's crossover performances in mainstream roles have often been quite successful, notably his appearance as the likable cosmetician brother of Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). In 1994, Fierstein co-starred in the short-lived TV series Daddies' Girls, unfortunately lapsing into some of the clichéd gay mannerisms which he had so successfully avoided in his previous work. He was part of the ensemble in Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway, and had a part in the smash sci-fi action spectacle Independence Day. He went on to be in the drubbed Death to Smoochy, Duplex, and a series of animated projects that include Mulan II and Foodfight!

Trivia: The acting career of Adam Baldwin -- no relation to the famous Baldwin brothers Alec, William, and Stephen -- has been filled with ups and downs as he aspires to the stardom that as yet, seems to elude him. Due to his muscular 6'4" frame, the handsome Baldwin is frequently cast as hulking bad guys and psychopathic killers. He has been involved with films since he appeared in My Bodyguard (1980), the story of a victimized teenager seeking the protection of the school bully (Baldwin) who is believed to have killed his brother. While he did a fine job as the taciturn, deeply traumatized young man who affects a violent facade to conceal his inner pain, it was his costar Matt Dillon who became famous. Baldwin then went on to play supporting roles in three lesser films before playing the lead in the 1986 bomb Bad Guys, where he dyed his naturally dark hair bright blond and played a young cop who becomes a wrestler after he is suspended from the force. One year later he appeared in his most memorable role as the psychopathic war-loving soldier Animal in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). In 1992, Baldwin played a drunken, abusive stepfather in Radio Flyer. He continued to work steadily in projects such as How to Make an American Quilt and Independence Day. He had the title role in the 1999 retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As the new century began he was part of the cast of the short-lived but much beloved sci-fi series Firefly as Jayne, a character he would return to in Serenity, the big-screen version of that show. He voiced Jonah Hex and Superman in various animated projects, and in 2007 landed the part of Major John Casey on the NBC series Chuck, about a geeky dude who becomes a super spy. He could be seen on big screens in the thriller InSight in 2011.

Trivia: Best known for playing the android Data on the syndicated television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and in its feature film spin-offs, Brent Spiner is also a talented singer. Before agreeing to play Data, Spiner had spent a decade on the New York stage. A native of Houston, TX, he was raised by his mother and her second husband (Spiner's real father died when he was a baby). The Quaid brothers Randy and Dennis were among his high school classmates and the three learned about acting under Cecil Pickett. Eventually Pickett would leave the school to take a teaching job at the University of Houston. Spiner enrolled there soon after graduation, but only remained at the university through 1974 when he decided to become a professional actor in New York City. Like many other aspiring thespians, Spiner had dues to pay in the form of taking a job as a cab driver before launching his career off-Broadway. He made his Broadway debut with Sunday in the Park With George opposite Mandy Patinkin. He made his television debut in a miniseries, The Dain Curse, and first appeared in films with a bit part in Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980). Spiner had a rare starring role in Rent Control (1981). He moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and launched a career as a television guest star on series and as a supporting actor in telemovies and miniseries. He most frequently appeared on the sitcom Night Court as the man who establishes a snack bar in the courthouse. He then successfully auditioned for the role of Data. Interestingly, Spiner claims no particular love for science fiction and was not a big fan of the original Star Trek. He says he mainly took the job because he didn't think the new series would last and because he needed to pay a few bills. The show lasted seven years also spawning a successful film series, and from the start, his was the most popular character on the show. In an effort to capitalize and satirize his nonhuman role on the show -- and perhaps to poke fun at actors William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy who capitalized on their Star Trek fame by each recording equally awful albums (can anyone forget Nimoy's bouncy rendition of "Bilbo Hobbitt"?) -- Spiner recorded his own album, Old Yellow Eyes Is Back (1991), with an 80-piece orchestra and fellow castmates Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, and Michael Dorn. Though the bulk of his fame comes from being Data, Spiner is not content to spend the rest of his career typecast and so occasionally plays other characters. His portrayal of prissy singing cruise director Gil Godwin was the funniest thing about Martha Coolidge's waterlogged Out to Sea (1997).

Trivia: Perhaps best known for his work as a black-clad muse for Gregg Araki, James Duval has built a career on playing alienated, melancholic lost boys. Part of his ability to capture such alienation comes from the actor's own real-life experiences: of French, Vietnamese, Native American and Irish descent, he was constantly picked on by schoolmates while growing up. A native of Detroit, Michigan, where he was born on September 10, 1973, Duval made his way to Hollywood, where, eighteen and down on his luck after a band to pursue an acting career, he had his fateful encounter with Araki. The two met in a café that Duval frequented; Araki approached him, asked if he was an actor, and proceeded to cast him in Totally F***ed Up, the first installment of his so-called "teen-angst trilogy." The 1993 film, which focused on a group of alienated gay teens in Los Angele, was a cult hit, giving its director cult status and Duval more employment opportunities. After a turn as a biker in Mod Fuck Explosion, Jon Moritsugu's 1994 tale of urban teen dysfunction, Duval again collaborated with Araki, this time on The Doom Generation (1995). Cast as Jordan White, a lamb-for-the-slaughter role Araki had written specifically for him, the actor again got to demonstrate his capacity for disillusioned brooding and his readiness to take on less than salubrious subjects. The second installment of Araki's "teen-apocalypse" trilogy, The Doom Generation was also the most controversial, mainly due to its liberal inclusion of graphic violence--the most shocking of which centered on Duval's character. No such controversy surrounded Araki and Duval's subsequent collaboration, 1997's Nowhere. The last of the trilogy, it starred Duval as yet another bored, alienated Los Angeles teen and covered Araki's familiar stomping grounds of sexual experimentation, urban disillusionment, and the search for true love amid L.A.'s cultural wasteland. It met with a degree of success on the independent circuit, further establishing Duval as one of Araki's most visible mouthpieces. Aside from his work with Araki, Duval has also appeared in a number of independent films, including SLC Punk and Doug Liman's Go (both 1999). He has also made the occasional foray into mainstream film, appearing in the 1996 summer blockbuster Independence Day.

Trivia: Vivacious actress Vivica A. Fox has been attracting attention for performances that mix equal parts sass and class since making her 1989 screen debut in Born on the Fourth of July. A native of Indianapolis, where she was born July 30, 1964, Fox got her start on television with a stint on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives. After making her debut as a hooker in Oliver Stone's aforementioned Born on the Fourth of July, the actress continued to do much of her work on television while appearing in the occasional film. She first attracted notice as Will Smith's girlfriend in the blockbuster Independence Day (1996); her dynamic turn earned her -- together with Smith -- the MTV Award for Best Kiss that year. Fox subsequently appeared in a diverse array of films, ranging from the acclaimed black ensemble romantic drama Soul Food (1997), which cast her as one of three sisters (the other two were played by Vanessa L. Williams and Nia Long), to Batman & Robin (1997), in which she played femme fatale Ms. B. Haven, to Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), which featured her in a critically lauded portrayal of one of the three wives of singer Frankie Lymon.Fox's profile declined somewhat in the new millenium, although an appearance in the battle-of-the-sexes comedy Two Can Play That Game caught the attention of Quentin Tarantino, who was casting his long-gestating fourth feature, Kill Bill. As the first victim of hired killer Uma Thurman, Fox brought a little blaxploitation-era sass to the role, making for a memorable, suburban-kitchen battle scene.In addition to her flourishing film work, Fox continued to work on the small screen, most notably as Dr. Lillian Price on Steven Bochco's predominately African American hospital drama City of Angels. 2005's one-season-only reality show The Starlet offered Fox the opportunity to pass on her actorly wisdom -- alongside head judge Faye Dunaway -- to a group of young hopefuls. The following year, she could be seen hoofing it up as a contestant on the astronomically popular ABC competition Dancing With the Stars. Though she worked steadily throughout the 2000s and continues to be active in the film industry, Fox has yet so far been unable to achieve the success she enjoyed in earlier years.

Trivia: Supporting actress Lisa Jakub began her acting career at age seven, with a small role in the 1985 film adaptation of Nicholas Gage's dramatic autobiography Eleni. She was born in Toronto, Canada. In addition to a promising career in feature films, Jakub has racked up considerable television credits guest starring on series ranging from Night Court to E.R. She has also appeared in television movies, such as Blue Heaven.

Trivia: Mae Whitman began acting at the ripe old age of six with a role in the 1994 alcoholism drama When a Man Loves a Woman. Appearances in Bye Bye, Love and Independence Day followed before multiple-episode stints on the CBS dramas Chicago Hope and JAG. In 2001, Whitman was cast in the title role of the Fox Family Channel period sitcom State of Grace, about a pair of adolescent girls overcoming cultural differences against the backdrop of 1960s America. After that show's two-season run, she could next be seen as George Michael's milquetoast girlfriend Ann on the critically acclaimed Fox sitcom Arrested Development. A starring role opposite Andre Braugher on the short-lived FX series Thief came in 2006. And in 2007, Whitman was cast in a supporting role on NBC's reimagined The Bionic Woman. In the years to come, Whitman would remain active on screen, starring on the series Parenthood, and in movies like The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Trivia: Taught acting at the University of Massachusetts. Co-founded the No Theatre Company. Made his New York debut in the No Theatre Company's 1978 production of The Elephant Man. Made his professional debut in an understudy role in the 1980 world premiere of Arthur Miller's "The American Clock". Received the 1993 Michael Landon Humanitarian Award for his work with the Down Syndrome Congress.

Trivia: Harry Connick Jr. is, first and foremost, known for his abilities behind a piano and for his smooth, baritone vocals. Connick is a prodigious performer, having released some 15 albums by the age of 30. He was approached by Rob Reiner to put together some music for the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally. He brought together an orchestra and covered many popular big-band era songs. An album was put together and prompted a whirlwind tour that helped the album sell amazingly well. Because of this success and Connick's Aw Shucks personality, film appearances were inevitable. His first was in 1990's Memphis Belle and he has consistantly worked in film since then, most notably as Will Smith's wisecracking friend in Independence Day, and in an unexpected turn as the mimicking, murdurous psychopath in Copycat (1995). The late '90s found Connick in larger roles that were a testament to his versatility, including Hope Floats (1998) and Wayward Son (1999). In 2000, Connick brought in the new millennium with a role in My Dog Skip. In 1994, Connick married model Jill Goodacre and together they have two daughters.

Trivia: From his first infomercial appearance as a young boy hungry for hot dogs to his directorial debut with the outrageous pseudo-reality comedy Trailer Town, eternally unpredictable actor-turned-director Giuseppe Andrews has constantly surprised audiences, regardless of which side of the camera he happens to be on. Andrews's debut feature resembles something of a cross between Gummo and Pink Flamingos, making it obvious to anyone who has seen the film that there are few boundaries Andrews is not willing to completely obliterate. He had a nomadic childhood, residing in a van with his father, sleeping in supermarket parking lots while his dad gulped experimental pills for hospital surveys -- but a simple newspaper ad seeking an older man to get his hair cut in an infomercial offered a catalyst for the unassuming youngster's first foray into film. When the producer asked the elder Andrews if he knew of a young boy who could ask for hot dogs while his father was getting his hair cut, young Andrews landed the role with ease, acquiring an agent in the process. After making his feature debut in the 1989 comedy Getting It Right, Andrews continued on with appearances in such efforts as 12:01, Prehysteria 2, and White Dwarf, also landing a role in the widely released 1995 drama Unstrung Heroes, providing his most high-profile role to date. All of that would change when Andrews was cast in director Roland Emmerich's 1996 sci-fi blockbuster Independence Day. The following year's roles in efforts such as Pleasantville and American History X found his resumé expanding and his recognition factor rising. Though Andrews would eventually climb the credits to land a substantial role in director Adam Rifkin's 1999 retro-comedy Detroit Rock City, the film was widely panned by critics and died a quick death at the box office. A starring role in the 1999 made-for-television feature Student Affairs preceded a recurring role in the short-lived weekly series Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, and in 2002 Andrews cracked up audiences as "Party Cop" deputy Winston in the horror hit Cabin Fever. Positive word of mouth from Cabin Fever director Eli Roth helped to get Andrews' early films seen, and in the summer of 2004, Troma DVD released his debut feature Trailer Town, and the sound of dry heaving filled living rooms nationwide. With roles in Tweek City, 2001 Maniacs, and The Black Dahlia set to follow soon after, audiences could rest assured that Andrews wasn't going to completely abandon his acting career for that of a director just yet.

Trivia: Became interested in acting after playing the role of Tiny Tim in a stage production of A Christmas Carol in third grade. Studied at American Conservatory Theater's Young Program. Lived in Italy and other locations in Europe while attempting to find work as an international banker. First professional acting job was in a Folgers commercial. Began appearing on TV in the early 1990s, performing in small roles on Cheers, The X-Files, NYPD Blue and Mad About You. Wrote, directed and starred in a 2010 film titled Morning opposite his wife, actress Jeanne Tripplehorn.

Trivia: Rafael Sbarge has been acting since his late teens. After studying at the Hagen-Bergdorf studio and making his off-Broadway debut in 1981, Sbarge was fortunate enough to be seen in one of the most popular teen-oriented flicks of the 1980s, Risky Business. He then went on to show up in such roles as Sherman in My Science Project (1985) and Schmoozler in Vision Quest (1985). In the decades to come, Sbarge would find success in numerous projects like Message in a Bottle and Pearl Harbor and on shows like The Guardian, 24, Prison Breakm, and Once Upon a Time.

Trivia: Best known as Jack Arnold, the husband and father with one of the world's softest hearts, on the period comedy drama The Wonder Years (1988-1993), burly actor Dan Lauria's accomplishments as an actor far outstripped that single characterization. Lauria sustained an impressive and versatile career that encompassed soap operas, situation comedies, long-form features and miniseries, and theatrical work, to name only a few arenas. As a young man, the Brooklyn-born Lauria attended Southern Connecticut State University, where he played collegiate football, then enlisted in the Marines. He received formal dramatic training under coaches Constance Welch (at Yale) and Davey Marlin-Jones (at the Washington Theatre Club) -- both of whom tutored him with an approach resolutely opposed to that of the classic "Method." Lauria then debuted onscreen in the early '80s largely with telemovies, such as the 1983 Without a Trace and the 1985 Brass, and with occasional appearances on sitcoms such as Growing Pains. The Wonder Years, of course, represented one of Lauria's most significant breaks, and he later reflected that it would remain his chief legacy as an actor. After Years wrapped in 1993, Lauria continued his small-screen work. He appeared on such programs as ER, Law & Order, Smallville, and Boy Meets World; played legendary network head Fred Silverman in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels; and played Crawford in the Martin Lawrence comedy vehicle Big Momma's House 2 (2006). He also maintained a busy theatrical schedule, with a particularly strong presence at L.A.'s Coronet Theater.

Trivia: Supporting actor John Bennett Perry has performed in a variety of venues, including television, feature films, theater, and as a member of the Serendipity Singers. A native of Williamstown, MA, Perry studied psychology and music at St. Lawrence University. After appearing both on and off-Broadway, he entered feature films in Midway (1976). Perry's television credits include regular roles on such series as Falcon Crest and guest-starring roles on series such as Civil Wars, Murder She Wrote, and Silk Stalkings. He has also appeared on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. Some viewers may recognize Perry as the clean-shaven, nice smelling sailor from Old Spice cologne television commercials of the 1970s and 1980s. Perry's son, Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler on the hit sitcom Friends, is a rising star of films and television.

Trivia: Distinguished character actor Tim Kelleher built his career out of playing everymen with a rough-cut and slightly somber demeanor, which lent him perfectly to portrayals of such types as NARCs, urban cops, military lieutenants, and slightly shady corporate flunkies. A Bronx native, Kelleher moved to Staten Island at the age of four, where he attended primary and secondary school (playing and excelling at football), but moved to New Jersey not long after and finished high school in that locale. Kelleher attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania, then enrolled in a religious order known as the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and did work for it before returning to New York City and founding his own theatrical troupe, the Colony, primarily devoted to putting on its own original plays (including several authored by Kelleher). An experience playing a role in a non-Colony production helped Kelleher secure an agent, and soon after he moved to Hollywood (in the late '80s), landing roles in a myriad of features, including Black Rain (1989), Malcolm X (1992), Clockers (1995), Matchstick Men (2003), and Flash of Genius (2008). He was particularly memorable in Flash, as a Ford employee sent out on multiple occasions to attempt to buy off Robert Kearns (Greg Kinnear) with an out-of-court settlement.

Trivia: With his distinct appearance, the bald and imposing African-American player Thom Barry made a seemingly perfect character actor, and thus found himself frequently cast as guards, police detectives, and heavies in mainstream Hollywood features, from the early '90s on. He landed a bit part as a guard in Rob Reiner's The American President (1995), appeared as Samahani in Congo (1995), and played Sgt. Marcus in the Shaquille O'Neal-headlined superhero picture Steel (1997). Barry maintained a higher profile as Agent Bilkins in two Jerry Bruckheimer-produced action pictures, The Fast and the Furious (2001) and its sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003). Additionally, after years of guest-acting work on the small screen, he signed for his first regular role -- that of homicide investigator Will Jeffries -- on the popular detective series Cold Case (2006).

Trivia: Made his TV debut in 1981 in the television movie Enter the Ninja (1981).Has performed in multiple Shakespeare's plays, including Othello and The Tempest.Has worked in multiple films directed by Roland Emmerich playing military personnel, including Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996) and Godzilla (1998).Has appeared in multiple shows from the JAG and NCIS universe, including JAG, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans.Best known for his work in NCIS: New Orleans, In the Dark and 9-1-1: Lone Star.

Trivia: Encouraged by better-than-average success as a stage performer in such plays as Mister Roberts and The Seven Year Itch, American actor Rance Howard decided to try his luck in Hollywood. Talent, however, meant less than star appeal in Tinseltown, thus Howard was confined to small roles which took only minimal advantage of his abilities. Howard's wife Jean was also an actress, but retired to raise their son Ron (both mother and child appeared in the 1956 Western Frontier Woman). Ron was photogenic enough to attain supporting parts on various TV shows and films, leading to a regular role as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show (1960). Those cynics who believe that Rance Howard forced his son into acting in order to create a meal ticket are referred to a well-known anecdote concerning the earliest years of the Griffith program. Little Ron decided to test his value by throwing a temper tantrum -- whereupon Rance took the boy aside, gave him a spanking, and told his son that if he didn't want to act like a professional he'd have to go home and forget about acting. While Rance certainly did not rely on Ron's fame alone to get work (he remained a busy stage actor), it is true that Ron recommended his dad for supporting roles in such films as The Music Man (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963), both of which featured the younger Howard. When child star Ronny Howard became A-list film director Ron Howard in the '80s he continued casting both dad Rance and younger brother Clint Howard in Splash (1984) and other films. Rance Howard remained a reliable general purpose actor well into the 2000s.

Trivia: TV teen heartthrob Andrew Keegan was born in Los Angeles, CA, on January 29, 1979. Keegan's career before the camera began before he was even out of diapers, when his parents got him work as a model for a series of magazine ads for Gerber baby foods. Keegan continued to work in commercials as a child, and by the time he was 12, he began making guests shots in episodic television, scoring small roles on Empty Nest, Baywatch, and Full House. Keegan made his motion picture debut in 1994, in the comedy Camp Nowhere, and the same year he was cast in a recurring role on the short-lived television series Thunder Alley. In 1997, Keegan earned his first brush with fame as Wilson West, a teenage father who catches the eye of Mary (played by Jessica Biel) on the series 7th Heaven. Keegan's performance clicked with younger viewers, and he was soon cast on the show Party of Five as hunky football player Reed Isley, who became the love interest for Claudia (Lacey Chabert). Keegan's success on television led to several higher-profile film roles, including Ten Things I Hate About You, O, and The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy. Keegan began focusing on more indie fare, like 2005's Cruel World and eventually turned his attention to Full Circle, a spiritual center he founded in California.

Trivia: Grandfather Harry Piddock had a music-hall act with Charles and Sydney Chaplin, before Charles left for the U.S. Was in the original Broadway production of Noises Off (1983). Created, produced and wrote the BBC series Too Much Sun. Has appeared in a number of Christopher Guest comedies, including Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006), and teamed with Guest to create and star in the cable comedy Family Tree. Provides a faux commentary extra in the director's cut of Joel and Ethan Coen's Blood Simple.

Trivia: A handsome, silver-crowned news anchor whose soothing baritone voice and warm familiarity helped him to endure as one of L.A.'s most beloved and trustworthy newscasters, Jerry Dunphy's remarkable 40 years as a broadcaster brought him both instant local recognition and numerous film roles in which he usually played a character fairly close to home. Born in Milwaukee in 1921, Dunphy served as a captain in the Army Air Corps during WWII before returning to his home state to finish college and begin his career as a broadcaster in Peoria, IL. Subsequently working for CBS Radio and ABC, Dunphy later moved to Los Angeles, which positioned him well for numerous roles as a broadcaster in film and television. Appearing in such television series as Batman and Roseanne and such features as Oh, God! (1977) and Independence Day (1996), Dunphy's persona was the definition of the distinguished and sincere newscaster. After suffering heart attacks in both 1978 and 1991, Dunphy died in May of 2002 after stricken by a third heart attack in front of his L.A. condo. He was 80.

Trivia: Character actor Pat Skipper specialized in everyman roles, with a slightly stocky appearance that enabled him to convincingly play rough-hewn types on some occasions, law enforcement officers on others. He landed his first major film credit in 1987, with a bit part as a postal inspector in Oliver Stone's corporate-evisceration drama Wall Street, then alternated, for the next two decades, between A-list theatrical releases (Lethal Weapon 2, Predator 2, Independence Day) and direct-to-video potboilers (Demonstone, Ed Gein). Skipper was particularly memorable as Mason Strode, the ill-fated father of psychopath victim Laurie Strode, in Rob Zombie's 2007 gore-filled remake of the John Carpenter classic Halloween.

Trivia: Of European descent.Has worked in theater (Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theater), film, television and commercials.Best known for her work on the television movies Read It and Weep (2006), Dear Dumb Diary (2013) and Christmas Under Wraps (2014).