Trivia: Actor Jon Bernthal went to great lengths to learn his craft, moving from his native Washington, D.C., to Russia where he attended the Moscow Art Theatre School. Following his return to the U.S., Bernthal then obtained his M.F.A. from Harvard University's Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at the American Repertory Theatre. After graduating, he pursued a career in theater, appearing in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway plays, before he began transitioning into onscreen work with appearances on shows like Boston Legal and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 2006, Bernthal was cast in a starring role on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class, after which he appeared alongside Elijah Wood in the indie feature Day Zero. Berenthal scored the part of Al Capone in the sequel to the mega-successful Night at the Museum, and he had his most high-profile success to that point in 2010 when he was cast as Shane in the AMC zombie series The Living Dead. He also appeared in Oren Moverman's sophomore film, the cop drama Rampart.

Trivia: Directed a number of episodes of the UK dramedy Teachers, earning a 2004 BAFTA Awards nomination for Best New Director for his work. The flower girl at his wedding to Gael Anderson was Apple Martin, the daughter of actor Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay singer Chris Martin. Father-in-law is Ian Anderson, front man for the progressive rock band Jethro Tull. Is a prolific voiceover artist who has narrated a number of documentaries and TV and radio commercials. Starred on several British shows, including This Life and Strike Back, before landing the lead role of Georgia sheriff Rick Grimes on AMC zombie series The Walking Dead.

Trivia: After a number of small roles on various television shows, Hawaiian-raised actress Sarah Wayne Callies gained prominence in 2005 as one of the leads on Fox's hit drama Prison Break. She parlayed the show's success into supporting roles in the feature adaptation of The Celestine Prophecy (2006) and the thriller Whisper (2007), as well as a starring role on the series Walking Dead.

Trivia: Laurie Holden took one of her first on-camera bows as a teenager, in Michael Anderson's sex farce Separate Vacations (1986), then forked off into a series of programmers that included the 1989 Burt Reynolds cop drama Physical Evidence; the 1996 historical saga The Pathfinder, based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper; and the 2004 animal picture Bailey's Billion$. Holden also found some success on the small screen, playing a memorable recurring role on the seminal sci-fi series The X-Files, that of Marita Covarrubias, a mysterious government worker who becomes an informant to Special Agent Fox Mulder starting in the fourth season of that show through the final one (1996-2002). She also had a supporting role, as Mary Travis, on the shortlived Western series The Magnificent Seven (1998-2000). Holden achieved her cinematic big break in 2001 -- when producers tapped her to appear as the sunny romantic interest of Jim Carrey in Frank Darabont's colossal fantasy The Majestic; Holden followed it up with an equally lucrative and exciting part in yet another A-list film: Debbie McIlvane in the effects-heavy summer blockbuster Fantastic Four (2005). She also essayed a prominant role, as a police woman, in the critically panned but fiscally successful horror opus Silent Hill (2006), adapted from the popular video game of the same title, and re-teamed with Darabont for both the 2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist (2007), and the hit AMC zombie series The Walking Dead. In addition to her film and television work, Holden is active with such children's charities as Planet Hope and Feed the Children.

Trivia: Parents own two beauty-supply stores in Detroit. Performed with Monkapult, a Kalamazoo College improv group. As a psychology major in college, was responsible for training two white lab rats. Was a member of Stir Friday Night, a sketch-comedy group made up of Asian-American performers. Was a member of the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. Has appeared in commercials for Best Buy, Milky Way and Apple.

Trivia: Began acting as a member of the Mountebanks, the oldest student theater group in the U.S. In college, planned to be an engineer. Was a member of the National Shakespeare Company and did summer seasons at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center. Actually voiced O'Neill in the 1983 PBS documentary A Glory of Ghosts. Made his Broadway debut in 1976 in Comedians. Has appeared in a number of projects for writer-director Frank Darabont, who considers him a "good-luck charm." One of his most thrilling acting moments was his scene with James Cagney in 1981's Ragtime. Won a Cable ACE Award for his performance in HBO's Citizen X (1995).

Trivia: Wanted to act professionally ever since performing with her mom in an off-Broadway cabaret show in New York at the age of 12; moved to Manhattan to pursue acting at 16. Landed her first leading role on the big screen starring in Frozen (2010), a suspense-thriller about three snowboarders who are trapped on a ski lift. Named one of the 55 Faces of the Future in Nylon magazine's young Hollywood issue in 2010. Appeared in a music video for singer Miles Fisher, which spoofs the Saved By the Bell series and Final Destination horror films. Advocate for a number of organizations, including Unite, which helps the struggle to end poverty around the world, as well as the NOH8 campaign.

Trivia: Enjoys swimming, mountain biking, Rollerblading and skiing. Is a drummer and a tap dancer. Played a munchkin in a musical-theater production of The Wizard of Oz. Favorite horror film is The Mist, which was directed by The Walking Dead's executive producer Frank Darabont and featured Walking Dead costars Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn and Juan Pareja. Father plays in a band called Jillhammer.

Trivia: Lost his mother to HIV/AIDS while he was still in high school. Wrote a play in high school based on Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech for a city-wide contest in Atlanta; earned second-place honors. Attended college on academic and athletic scholarships. Played defensive back and later running back on the University of Georgia football team. Prior to breaking into film and television, wrote and performed a one-man stage show, IronE...Resurrected. Performed as Homer the Brave, the mascot for the Atlanta Braves baseball team, from 1997 to 2006. Also briefly worked as Thrash, the mascot for the Atlanta Thrashers ice-hockey team. Changed his name to IronE in 2000, to use as an icebreaker while trying to launch his showbiz career.

Trivia: A male model-turned-actor, Norman Reedus is almost as recognizable from his hipster, late-'90s print ads for Prada clothes as for his collection of movie psychos. After leaving home at a young age, Reedus lived in London and Japan before landing in California. Supporting himself with various jobs, including fixing motorcycles, Reedus finally got his acting break in 1997. After a bit part in the Mira Sorvino horror film Mimic, Reedus captured critical attention as a creepy hitman in the independent black comedy Six Ways to Sunday. Playing off the sharply scruffy good looks that simultaneously made him the male face for ultra-fashionable clothing designer Prada, Reedus again took a walk on the wild side as a mysterious stranger in the indie Dark Harbor (1998) and as a prisoner in Joel Schumacher's reviled snuff film thriller 8MM (1999). Lead roles in the independent cop movie Boondock Saints (2000), opposite Willem Dafoe, and in the teensploitation movie Gossip (2000), as a malevolent college student, subsequently landed Reedus on Vanity Fair's April 1999 cover featuring young stars to watch. Gossip's poor reception, as well as the low profile of Boondock Saints and Reedus' other indie films -- including I'm Losing You (1999) and Preston Tylk (2000) -- did not make good on the Vanity Fair promise. And although Reedus followed up with three more films with similarly dismal returns, his re-teaming with Mimic director Guillermo Del Toro found Reedus back in blockbuster territory with his turn as a vampire hunter's technical assistant in Blade II (2002). Reedus has a son with Danish supermodel/companion Helena Christensen.

Trivia: Worked behind the scenes as a casting agent while also pursuing a career in acting. Began her professional acting career in 1991 in Atlanta, GA. Made her TV debut on a 1993 episode of Matlock. Working with producer-director Frank Darabont on The Mist (2007) directly led to her role in The Walking Dead. Was the voice-double for Anne Bancroft in the 2008 animated feature Delgo. Has a strong interest in psychology.

Trivia: Was homeschooled by the time she lived with her family in Alpharetta, Georgia.Wanted to pursue a career in acting at the age of 6.Is a big fan of actor Eddie Redmayne.Plays the violin.Is passionate about literature.Belongs to a family of actors.

Trivia: Raised in Chicago by his divorced mother, Michael Rooker lived a hand-to-mouth existence until his teens. Rooker successfully auditioned for the Goodman School, and upon graduation, appeared in Chicago-area stage productions. He made a spectacular film debut in the sociopathic title role of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, which was filmed in 1986 but not given a general release until four years later. Henry established Rooker as a gifted purveyor of "don't screw with me" roles, such as chief "Black Sox" conspirator Chick Gandil in Eight Men Out (1988). Michael Rooker's more rugged film assignments of the 1990s included Cliffhanger (1993) and Tombstone (1994).

Trivia: After the death of his mother when he was 10, he and his brother chose to live in a children's home in London instead of being sent to America to reside with a relative. He stayed in foster care for eight years. Aspired to be a professional rugby player as a teen. Was introduced to acting after following a girl he was interested in to an audition for a play. Was once employed by the British government's social security office. Penned the autobiographical TV film, Storm Damage, in 2000. Wrote the well-received play The Sons of Charlie Paora, which opened in London's Royal Court in 2004. Landed the role of Robert Hawkins on Jericho after his first audition.

Trivia: Began acting at the age of 9 in church pageants. At the same age, he began doing celebrity impressions as a member of the Boy Scouts of America. Briefly double majored in marketing and acting at the University of Colorado before focusing solely on acting and earning a BFA in theatre. A successful impressionist, voice actor and improv artist, he used those skills to to impress casting directors Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas, who cast him as Aaron on AMC's The Walking Dead.

Trivia: Early acting appearances included guest spots on Dawson's Creek, Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. Supplied voice work for Fox's animated comedy Family Guy, doing impressions of celebrities such as Cybill Shepherd, Sarah Jessica Parker and Christina Aguilera. Played Willa McPherson, Lucy's protégé-in-training, for two seasons on FX's Dirt.

Trivia: Multi-talented actor Austin Nichols effectively straddled industry films and smaller, low-budget independent productions when he debuted onscreen in the early 2000s. With a fresh-faced, clean-cut look that spoke to his heightened versatility in many roles, Nichols landed his first major feature assignment in Richard Loncraine's quirky romantic comedy Wimbledon (2004) -- with a memorable turn as a snotty, obnoxious American tennis player trying desperately to seduce Kirsten Dunst. Following small roles in the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Jerry Bruckheimer's period basketball saga Glory Road (2006), Nichols "went indie" with a part in the low-budget drama Lenexa, 1 Mile. He also landed a plum role on the HBO series John From Cincinnati, as a mystically powered surfer, but that program failed to connect with an audience and received a cancellation after only one season. Off-camera, Nichols was a champion athlete who ranked third in the international pantheon of water skiers and won the 1997 Pan American championship in that sport; he also demonstrated great prowess in equestrianism, golf, and tennis, which more than prepared him for the Wimbledon role.

Trivia: Parents are from Zimbabwe; she moved there with them when she was 5. Has written three plays that she says are "a trilogy of Zimbabwe's coming-of-age from a female perspective." Calls herself a Zimerican because of her roots in Zimbabwe and America. Speaks four languages: French, Shona, Xhosa and English. Taught playwriting and acting in Zimbabwe, Liberia and South Africa. Received the Macalester College 2011 Young Alumni Award.

Trivia: Philadelphia-born, British-educated actress Lauren Cohan studied drama and English literature at the University of Winchester and King Alfred's College in England, then spent a healthy amount of time touring with a theatrical ensemble that she had co-established before moving into film and television work. Ever a versatile performer, Cohan showcased her talents in both classically oriented fare (such as the big-screen historical saga Casanova, in 2005) and more commercially oriented outings, such as 2006's National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj. In 2007, the actress secured a role as Bela in the cult TV series Supernatural.

Trivia: Acted on Broadway in Spring Awakening in 2008; also choreographed and staged a 2012 production of Spring Awakening at her alma mater, Nebraska Wesleyan University. Appeared in 20 plays during her four years at college. Released the five-song EP Blue Toothbrush in 2011. Maintains a blog about her experiences as a young actor at the Web site BackStage. Considers herself a chronic listmaker. Has a tattoo of a heart with a music note inside it on her left shoulder.

Trivia: Extremely prolific British actor David Morrissey sounded off as a vociferous, intense player in English pictures such as Peter Greenaway's Drowning by Numbers (1988, as an unfortunate victim of mariticide), Stephen Gyllenhaal's drama Waterland (1992, as the simple-minded brother of Jeremy Irons), and Hilary and Jackie (1998, as a loving and devoted husband). He forsook British arthouse material for more mainstream Hollywood fare with key performances in the seamy Basic Instinct 2 (2006) and ascended to top billing as the male lead of Hilary Swank in The Reaping (2007), a religious-themed horror outing. That same year, Showtime tapped Morrissey to headline the series Meadowlands, as an English patriarch attempting at all costs to help his wife and children escape the family's crime-saturated past. Over the coming years, he would go on to find even more notable success on the zombie series The Walking Dead.

Trivia: Starting acting her sophomore year in high school, when she won the lead of a play premiering at a nearby festival. Was salutatorian of her senior class. Played the recurring role of Tamara on the second and third seasons of Once Upon a Time. Her hometown honored her with her own day in July 2013. Was a recurring character on the third season of The Walking Dead; was upped to a series regular for the fourth season.