Trivia: Initially known as a teen idol thanks to his role on 21 Jump Street and tortured pretty-boy looks, Johnny Depp survived the perils of adolescent heartthrob status to earn a reputation as a respected adult actor. His numerous collaborations with director Tim Burton, as well as solid performances in a number of critically acclaimed films, have allowed Depp to carve a niche for himself as a serious, if idiosyncratic performer, a real-life role that has continuously surprised critics intent on writing him off as just another photogenic Tiger Beat casualty.Born in Kentucky and raised in Florida,Depp had the kind of upbringing that would readily lend itself to his future portrayals of brooding lost boys. After his parents divorced when he was 16, he dropped out of school a year later in the hopes of making his way in the world as a musician. Depp fronted a series of garage bands; the most successful of these, the Kids, was once the opening act for Iggy Pop. During slack times in the music business, Depp sold pens by phone. He got introduced to acting after a visit to L.A. with his former wife, who introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage, who encouraged Depp to give it a try. The young actor made his film debut in 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street (years after attaining stardom, Depp sentimentally played a cameo in the last of the Elm Street series), and his climb to fame was accelerated in 1987, when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of Officer Tom Hanson, a cop assigned to do undercover duty by posing as a student in crime-ridden Los Angeles-area high schools, in the Canadian-filmed Fox TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-90). Biding his time in "teen heartthrob" roles, Depp was first given a chance to exhibit his exhausting versatility in the title role of Tim Burton's fantasy Edward Scissorhands (1990).Following the success of Edward Scissorhands, the actor made a conscious effort never to repeat himself. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity for his work, most notably in Benny & Joon (1993), What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood and Dead Man. Depp continued to ascend the Hollywood ranks. He would continue to play quirky character roles, starring turn as Hunter S. Thompson's alter ego in Terry Gilliam's trippy adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), and teaming with Burton again to play a decidedly mincing Icabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow. Depp's charm still made him a natural romantic lead, however, as he proved in Chocolat.In what was perhaps his most surprising departure since Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Depp shed his oftentimes angst-ridden persona for a role as flamboyant pirate Jack Sparrow in 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean. Essaying the crusty role in the manner of a drunken, debauched rock star -- Depp publicly admitted Keith Richards was his inspiration -- the actor added a dose of off-kilter fun to an above-average summer thrill ride, and found himself with his biggest hit and first Oscar nomination ever.The role effectively made Depp both a character actor and full-fledged leading man, and he would continue to appear in several films over the coming years that allowed him to star in large scale productions, playing decidedly quirky characters. Films like Secret Window, Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd, Public Enemies, and a slew of massively successful Pirates of the Caribbean sequels would prove again and again how taken audiences were with the star, always playing the hero, but with an unconventional twist.Despite this massive success (or maybe as a result), Depp's career suffered a downswing after a string of critical and commercial flops. Films like The Tourist (opposite Angelina Jolie), Dark Shadows (a rare misstep with Tim Burton) and The Lone Ranger failed to connect with audiences and critics alike and left many to wonder when Depp's career would recover. He continued to have a strong presence in the film industry, though, and in 2016, reprised his role as the Mad Hatter in Alice Through the Looking Glass and began work on a fourth Pirates movie.

Trivia: Possessing a chameleon-like ability to disappear into his characters, which frequently renders him unrecognizable save for his piercing eyes, it's no wonder that Javier Bardem chose to pursue a career as an actor given his family's long history in show business. Always hesitant to play the same type of character twice, the very foundation of Bardem's career is his remarkable ability to so immerse himself in character that audiences never even see the actor. Each role is a transformation that occurs both mentally and physically, and Bardem's hesitance to embrace celebrity culture and make a conscious effort to break into the American market has only served to make him more alluring to stateside filmmakers. Born the youngest member of a family of actors in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain, in 1969, Bardem's first role came at the age of six with the film El Picaro (aka The Scoundrel). Bardem was a shy boy who immediately took to acting, and numerous television roles as well as a stint touring with an independent theater company found the young rugby enthusiast increasingly dedicated to the stage. An interest in painting led Bardem to study at Madrid's Escuela de Artes y Officios, but following a series of odd jobs and the realization that he would never develop the skills to become a great artist, he eventually drifted back into acting. Moving into the 1990s, Bardem's collaborations with such filmmakers as Pedro Almodóvar (High Heels [1991] and Live Flesh [1997]) and J.J. Bigas Luna (Jamón Jamón [1992] and Huevos de Oro [1994]) found his popularity as a Spanish screen star growing. Goya-nominated for his performances in both Jamón Jamón and Huevos de Oro, Bardem took home the award for his roles in Dias Contados (1994) and Boca a Boca (1995), and it was becoming increasingly clear that a formidable international talent was emerging. Though some may have regarded Bardem as little more than a beefcake sex symbol due to his steamy early roles, a turning point came with the release of 2000's Before Night Falls. A thoughtful look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, Bardem took over the role after Benicio Del Toro abandoned the it, and his physical transformation stunned audiences worldwide. Arenas was an ultimately tragic figure who eventually committed suicide while living in poverty in New York City, and Bardem prepared tirelessly for the role by changing his diet, immersing himself in Arenas' works, and traveling to Cuba to speak with those who knew the writer personally and to learn the Cuban dialect. In addition to drawing the actor international accolades, the role also found Bardem making history as the first Spanish actor ever to be nominated for an Academy Award. Though the offers came flooding in following the success of Before Night Falls, Bardem remained steadfast in his resistance to the Hollywood system. Turning down roles in such blockbusters as The World is Not Enough, it became increasingly obvious that Bardem was indeed sincere in his intentions to remain thoughtful about his career choices. Following his role in actor John Malkovich's directorial debut, The Dancer Upstairs (2002), Bardem's role as an unemployed dockworker in Fernando León de Aranoa's Mondays in the Sun (also 2002) again found the actor drawing praise. Though the film ultimately didn't take home the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, it did net Bardem another Best Lead Actor Goya in addition to being voted Best Film at the awards.In 2004 Bardem joined forces with director Alejandro Amenabar for the euthenasia drama The Sea Inside , earning solid reviews for his work as a man fighting to die with dignity. He bolstered his status as an international leading man with Milos Foreman's Goya's Ghosts in 2006, but the following year would bring Bardem the most substantial praise of his career to that point with his work in the Coen Brothers No Country for Old Men. His portrayal of the remorseless, amoral killer earned him nearly unanimous praise and several year end accolades including the Best Supporting Actor prize from the Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Globes, and the Academy Awards.He followed up the career defining work playing Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh's biopic Che, and was a red-blooded Spanish lover in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. In 2010 he earned rave reviews for his work in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Biutiful. In 2012 he joined an ever-growing list of actors who have played the bad guy in a James Bond film when he appeared in that capacity in Skyfall.

Trivia: One of Australia's most popular and distinguished actors, Geoffrey Rush came to the attention of the international community in 1996 with his performance as pianist David Helfgott in Shine (1996). Rush won an Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe, and Australian Film Institute Award for his work, and he subsequently began appearing in films that would further make him known to audiences all over the world. A Queensland native, Rush was born in Toowoomba on July 6, 1951. After taking an arts degree from the University of Queensland, he began his theater career at Brisbane's Queensland Theatre Company. In addition to honing his skills with the classics, Rush lived in Paris for two years, where he studied pantomime at the Jacques Lecoq School of Mime. After returning to Australia, the actor resumed his stage work, at one point co-starring in Waiting for Godot with former roommate Mel Gibson. He spent much of the early '80s as part of director Jim Sharman's Lighthouse troupe and he also began working in film; his debut came in the 1981 Hoodwink, which also featured a young Judy Davis. Rush continued to appear in Australian films and on the stage, directing a number of theatrical productions in addition to acting in them. His big international break came in the form of the aforementioned Shine; following the adulation surrounding his performance as the unbalanced piano prodigy, Rush began to garner substantial roles in a number of high-profile projects. First was Gillian Armstrong's Oscar and Lucinda (1997), in which he played Oscar's great-grandson. The following year the actor drew raves for his work in Elizabeth, which featured him as the Queen's casually sinister confidant, and Shakespeare in Love, for which he again donned tights, this time to play a debt-ridden theater owner. His work in that film scored him his second Oscar nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actor. The same year, he could also be seen as the dastardly Inspector Javert in Bille August's adaptation of Les Miserables.In 1999, Rush exchanged the past for the future with Mystery Men. Starring as the dastardly Casanova Frankenstein, he shared the screen with an unlikely assortment of actors, including Greg Kinnear, Janeane Garofalo, Ben Stiller, and Paul Reubens. The same year, he starred as an eccentric millionaire who invites a few guests (including Bridgette Wilson, Taye Diggs, and Peter Gallagher) over for some tea and terror in the remake of William Castle's 1958 classic The House on Haunted Hill.At this point audiences in the know were indeed well aware of Rush's versitility, and any actor able to move from the campy, big budget B-horror to the Oscar nominated art-house antics of Phil Kaufman's Quills had little need to prove himself to either critics or audiences. Though he may not have taken home the trophy at the 2001 Academy Awards, his performance as the Marquis de Sade in the Kaufman film drew praise from nearly every corner of the critical spectrum and Rush was now recognized as one of the premier talents of his generation. Whether appearing in such deadly serious independent drama as Frida or wide release cotton candy as The Banger Sisters, Rush was never anything less than fascinating to watch and his enthusiasm for his craft always managed to shine through into his performances. Though the film wasn't seen by the majority of stateside audiences, 2003's Swimming Upstream offered Rush in a meorable turn as the distant father of Australian swimmer Tony Figleton. After taking on one of Austrailia's most notorious outlaws in the 2003 drama Ned Kelley and offering vocal work for the popular Pixar family adventure Finding Nemo, Rush remained on this high seas - this time mostly above water - as the leader of an undead crew of pirates in the 2003 swashbuckler Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Though his menacing performance may have been slightly overshadowed by the flamboyant antics of co-star Johnny Depp, Rush nevertheless managed to craft one of the most complex and rousing villians in recent screen history. Next turning up as the hapless victim of a gold-digging maneater in the Coen Brothers' Intolerable Cruelty, Rush soon began preparation for his role as none other than the immortal Inspector Clouseau in the made-for-television biography The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. Rush played the Mossad representative who acts as the contact for the group of avenging agents in Steven Spielberg's outstanding Munich. Then he returned to the biggest hit of his career, reprising his part as a pirate in the next two Pirates of the Carribean films. He also agreed to reteam with director Shekhar Kapur and co-star Cate Blanchett for the sequel to Elizabeth reprising his role as Sir Francis Walsingham.As anticipated, the 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opened to spectacular box office and solid (if not exemplary) reviews, though few of the critics who praised the film actually singled out Rush's fine performance in it as Barbossa (doubtless blinded by the impressive torrent of special effects and the squishy villainry of Bill Nighy that took center stage). Rush also joined the cast of that same year's Candy. Not to be mistaken for the awful Christian Marquand picture of the same title (or a remake thereof), the film actually constitutes a finely-tuned gut-wrencher about the heroin addictions of a poet and art student who become romantically entwined and decide to wed. Rush plays the ultra-liberal professor who first encourages the heroin use as experimentation, but later acknowledges the couple's inseparable, volatile bond to one another other via shared use of the substance. The picture stars Abbie Cornish and Heath Ledger as the marrieds. THINKFilm scheduled Candy for release in October 2006 as Shekhar Kapur directed Rush in The Golden Age - the Elizabeth sequel for Universal and Working Title - which the studios slated for an October 2007 premiere. Meanwhile, the actor also lent a great deal of his time to shooting the third Pirates installment, also debuting in 2007. 2010 would prove a banner year for Rush, as he was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as a speech therapist in The King's Speech, and the winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for the same film. In 2011, Rush reprised his Pirates role once again for Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides.Rush married Shakespearean stage actress Jane Menelaus in 1988, with whom he has two children - Angelica and James. The couple resides in Melbourne. He is actively involved with environmental causes.

Trivia: Made his film debut, in 2010's Charge Over You, while still in college. Had a recurring role on the Australian soap opera Home and Away. Enjoys surfing and was able to put his hobby to use when he played a surfer in Ride (2014).

Trivia: Is fluent in Portuguese. Her parents divorced when she was a child and she adopted the surname of her mother's Italian grandfather. Was only 14 and had no prior acting experience when she auditioned for Skins. Worked as a model, appearing in magazines like Vogue, Elle UK, and Nylon. Appears in several music videos for Plan B, including 2009's "Stay Too Long," and 2012's "Candy" by Robbie Williams. Was voted 13th in the UK edition of FHM's 100 World's Sexiest Women in 2010. Appeared in a photo shoot for Centrepoint and the Big Issue Foundation to raise awareness for teen homelessness in 2013. Has stated that she has struggled with dyslexia most of her life, badly affecting her self-esteem. In 2017, as a member of the Me Too movement, revealed that at age 12 she had been sexually assaulted by someone who is protected by 'family members' in Brazil.

Trivia: Supporting actor, onscreen from the '80s.

Trivia: A native of Tehran, Iran, actress Golshifteh Farahani began life on July 10, 1983, and gravitated to formal music lessons (voice and piano) by the age of five, exhibiting prodigious talent in this arena. She sought to capitalize on her abilities by entering music school full-time at the age of 12, and subsequently gained admission to the prestigious Vienna Conservatory. Not long afterward, an Iranian cinema giant, the director Dariush Mehrjui, discovered Farahani and cast her in a pivotal role in his 1998 Derakht-E Golabi (The Pear Tree) -- as the mysterious young girl, M, who spurs his adolescent male protagonist on to lofty creative and erotic heights. The association with Mehrjui suggested that great things lay in store for Farahani, and she wasted no time in realizing them, beginning with the attainment of a covetable honor, the Crystal Simorgh Prize, at Tehran's 16th annual Fajr Film Festival (awarded for Derakht-E Golabi). Numerous additional projects followed the Mehrjui collaboration, including the 2004 Iranian production The Tear of the Cold (as a seductive and wily shepherdess), Nacer Khemir's adventure drama/road movie Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul (2006), and -- as Farahani's first major Hollywood production -- the romantic lead opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Ridley Scott's political thriller Body of Lies (2008). Throughout, Farahani revealed a proclivity for collaborations with top-tiered directors, including not only Mehrjui and Scott, but Bahman Ghobadi and Rasool Mollagholi Poor.

Trivia: David Wenham is a versatile, red-haired actor whose chameleon-like ability to disappear into his characters has found him successful in everything from large-scale epics to intimate domestic dramas. His success on the stages of his native Australia eventually led him to international success thanks to roles in such acclaimed features as Moulin Rouge (2001) and the final two entries in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The youngest of seven siblings, Wenham was raised in Merrickville, Australia. The aspiring actor honed his craft at the University of Western Australia before making an impression on television audiences with a role in the popular small-screen drama Sons and Daughters in the mid-'80s. As the '90s rolled in, so did the film roles, and after a memorable turn as an embittered ex-convict in the stage play The Boys, Wenham landed parts in such features as Greenkeeping (1992) and the Hollywood sci-fi action film No Escape. In 1996, he found critical acclaim when he transferred his role as a pyromaniac in Cosi from stage to screen. After taking on a handful of small film and television parts, Wenham once again reprised a theater role with the release of The Boys in 1998. His big-screen portrayal of the explosive ex-convict who returns home after a short sting in prison found Wenham the darling of Australian critics. With a popular role in the 1998 Australian Broadcasting Company series SeaChange, Wenham earned a reputation as a reluctant sex symbol, as well as a nomination at the Australian Film Institute Awards. The following year, he took on the role of a philanthropic priest attempting to console lepers in Molokai: The Story of Father Damien, once again earning an AFI nomination for Best Actor. Though subsequent performances in Better Than Sex (2000) and Russian Doll (2001) earned Wenham even more critical acclaim overseas, it was his role as a transvestite playwright in director Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge that gave the rising star his first true taste of international success. By this time, it was clear that Wenham could carry a film, and with his turn as a mathematics wizard with an innovative plan for predicting the stock market in The Bank, he proved this once and for all. In 2002, he followed a supporting performance in The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course with a role as a heroin dealer in Pure. Later that same year, Wenham truly found an international audience when he joined the hugely successful The Lord of the Rings franchise as Faramir in its second installment, The Two Towers. 2003 proved an exhaustive year for the increasingly busy actor, as he starred in the Australian slice-of-life miniseries After the Deluge and the crime comedy Gettin' Square, for which he won the AFI award for Best Actor. Wenham then returned to the role of Faramir in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, making an even greater impression with more emotional scenes and screen time. By then, Wenham was a recognizable international talent, and following a pair of Australian television appearances, he turned up alongside Hugh Jackman in the 2004 action fantasy Van Helsing.

Trivia: Knew that he wanted to act since he was 10. Became friends with Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of Gangs of New York, and Dicaprio recommended Graham to director Michael Mann for his role in Public Enemies. Sent Mann an audition tape made by his wife on her handheld video camera. Found it difficult at first to play a racist in 2007's This Is England because of his mixed-race heritage. (His grandfather is Jamaican.) Honed his Brooklyn accent for Boardwalk Empire with Brooklynite Charlie, a gaffer on the set of the series.

Trivia: In tandem with John Lennon, musician Paul McCartney is responsible for composing most of the songs in the nine-year history of the Beatles. While still a member of the group, McCartney wrote the score for the 1966 film The Family Way; it would be his last solo gig until the Beatles' breakup in 1970. So prolific and popular was McCartney in his post-Beatles years that it became a standard joke amongst post-postwar kids to query "You mean that Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?" Also grist for the humor mill was McCartney's incredible wealth; his legal ownership of virtually every song ever written (including such state anthems as "On Wisconsin"); and the strict vegetarian edicts of his wife and business partner Linda Eastman McCartney. Paul McCartney has also kept active in the film world, penning the theme for the 1973 James Bond flick Live And Let Die, and producing, scoring and acting in the 1984 vanity project Give My Regards to Broad Street, in which viewers were offered the unlikely premise that McCartney would face bankruptcy if he didn't locate a lost record album.

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

Trivia: Orlando Bloom began reading J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy as a teenager before abandoning the books in favor of sports and girls. He did not complete the three volumes until his early twenties: first in print, and then on camera as one of a handful of actors carefully selected for New Line Cinema's highly anticipated, $270 million, three-film screen adaptation of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The international success of the trilogy's first installment, The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), made Bloom a sought-after young actor. The talented Brit works the talk show circuit, mugs in magazines, and appears at every important award show -- always with a playful demeanor and an uncorrupted smile that suggest he could still be just as easily fulfilled by rugby and romance. Bloom was raised in Canterbury, Kent, with his sister, Samantha. Their mother taught them to enjoy the arts and encouraged them to participate in the local Kent Festival. Bloom began by reciting poetry and prose, displaying an advanced sensitivity to tone and modulation. Yet, it wasn't this precociousness or his frequent trips to the theater that influenced Bloom to become a professional actor. He was in awe of larger-than-life characters -- from Superman to the members of the A-Team -- and knew the only way to become one was to play one on the screen. At 16, Bloom relocated to London and performed with the National Youth Theatre for two seasons before winning a scholarship to train with the British American Drama Academy. At the conclusion of his term with the group, he played the lead in A Walk in the Vienna Woods, and secured an agent. This led to small roles on British television and an appearance in Brian Gilbert's Wilde (1997). Wishing to further his education, Bloom then enrolled at London's prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama (the alma mater of Ewan McGregor, Joseph Fiennes, and Ben Chaplin, among others). There, he acted in several plays, including Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Chekov's Three Sisters, and Sophocles' Antigone. While still in school, Bloom was trying to make it onto a friend's rooftop terrace when he fell three stories and broke his back. The accident almost paralyzed the actor, but surgery let him walk out of the hospital on crutches. Soon afterward, all his peers auditioned for coveted roles in the upcoming The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The extensive and selective casting process took place in every English-speaking country. Bloom good-naturedly tried out for the role of Faramir, a character introduced in the second film, The Two Towers (2002). After meeting with the project's director, Peter Jackson, Bloom was not cast as Faramir. Instead, Jackson asked that he read for the part of Legolas Greenleaf, a much more prominent figure who is featured in all three films. The director offered Bloom the role a few weeks later, only two days before the burgeoning star graduated from drama school. Legolas, Tolkien's warrior elf, has super-human strength, swift reflexes, and heightened sensory awareness. To play him, Bloom trained in archery, swordplay, and horseback riding for two months prior to shooting. He developed a graceful style of combat based on the characters in Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai and worked to manage his posture, poise, and composure. As Legolas, Bloom is immortal, and at 2,931 years old, is a tall, athletic, and skilled fighter of evil -- he truly is larger than life. After finishing The Lord of the Rings -- all three films, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, were shot simultaneously over 18 months in New Zealand -- Bloom headed to Morocco for a role in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down. The film chronicles the horrific Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, in which a "simple" mission left 18 U.S. soldiers dead and 73 wounded. Debuting his American accent, Bloom plays a neophyte ranger who breaks his back after falling 70 feet from a helicopter. This combat film opened only a few weeks after The Fellowship of the Ring and received equal acclaim. Following these blockbusters, Bloom performed in several quirky films with limited releases such as Lullaby of Clubland (2001). But it wouldn't be long before Bloom was blowing up the box-office once again with the 2003 crowd-pleaser The Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Bloom showed up opposite Brad Pitt and Black Hawk Dawn costar Eric Bana in the 2004 historical epic Troy, his intense star-power was unquestionable.Bloom faced a down year in 2005, failing to match the box office success of Troy with Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven. That same year he stepped into the role once occupied by Ashton Kutcher in Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown, but the film never recovered from the bad press it received after its initial film festival screening, failed to find an audience in theaters, and was unpopular with critics. Bloom rebounded one year later by returning with the other principles in back-to-back filmed sequels for Pirates of the Caribbean, the first of which, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, shattered box office records for opening day and opening weekend, and became the first film to take in one hundred million dollars in just two days. It will hardly strike one as prescient, then, that industry insiders and the trades were advance prepping Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End as one of the most lucrative releases of 2007, possibly of any year. The actor would appear in more down tempo projects in the coming years, like 2010's Main Street, and 2011's The Good Doctor, before hopping on board another swashbuckler, playing the Duke of Buckhingham in The Three Musketeers. Though the film wasn't a huge success in the States, Bloom would have another franchise ticket to cash in the following year, reprising the role of elf Legolas in the Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit.

Trivia: Pixie-ish British actress Keira Knightley went from a relative unknown to a blockbuster leading lady after 2002's sleeper soccer flick Bend It Like Beckham caught on with an international audience. Born in Teddington, London, England, in 1985, young Knightley was enticed by the lure of cinema at an early age. Playwright mother Sharman McDonald and actor father Will Knightley were at first reluctant to let their daughter follow them into show business. Although they would accommodate her wish three years later, their strict demand that their daughter study through school holidays and only take jobs that didn't interfere with her education ensured that Keira would keep her priorities straight.Trained in dance from an early age, Knightley made her film debut when she was 12 in Moira Armstrong's romantic drama A Village Affair. Gradually climbing the credits with subsequent roles in Innocent Lies (1995) and the made-for-TV features Treasure Seekers (1996) and Coming Home (1998), she got her first big break when cast as the decoy queen in the eagerly anticipated Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Knightley resembled the actual queen (portrayed by Natalie Portman) so much that her mother couldn't distinguish the two and some fans still insist both were portrayed by Portman. Returning to non-decoy status for the television miniseries Oliver Twist (2000), Knightley stayed with the small screen as Robin Hood's daughter in the 2001 adventure Princess of Thieves. Although audiences would truly begin to take note of her talent in the thriller The Hole that same year, her star-making turn in the sleeper comedy drama Bend It Like Beckham endeared her to audiences everywhere and ultimately served as her breakthrough starring role. Playing the best friend to Parminder K. Nagra, Knightley proved that she could turn what might have been little more than a noteworthy supporting role into a truly spunky, scene-stealing performance. As Lara Antipova in the 2002 miniseries Doctor Zhivago, Knightley gracefully slipped into a role that was previously made famous by Julie Christie, and the timeless romantic drama proved a hit with U.K. television viewers. With the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, however, the actress was catapulted into an entirely new realm of popularity. Opposite Johnny Depp's truly eccentric portrayal of pirate Jack Sparrow, Knightley charmed as the beautiful young maiden whose blood may hold the key to life for a group of undead pirates.While King Arthur (2004) and Domino (2005) were high-profile flops, Knightley's status as a movie-star on both sides of the pond was firmly cemented in early 2006 when she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in 2005's Pride & Prejudice. 2006 also saw the release of the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which was shot back-to-back with the franchise's third entry, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which was scheduled for release in 2007. In the meantime, Knightley forged ahead on the period drama Silk, opposite Michael Pitt. As the decade wore on, Knightly remained a fixed presence on screen, appearing in such films as The Duchess, London Boulevard, A Dangerous Method, Anna Karenina, and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.Knightley appeared in a pair of indie films in 2014, {Laggies and Begin Again, as well as the big-budget action film Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. However, she earned the most praise that year for her supporting turn in The Imitation Game, playing a woman who helps crack German codes during WWII. She garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in that film, which also scored Best Picture and Best Actor nods.

Trivia: Supporting actor, onscreen from 1970.

Trivia: Decided to pursue a career as an actor while he was studying in college.Enrolled in acting classes in the renowned Western Australian Academy for Performing Arts in Perth, Australia.Started his acting career performing in theater.In 2010, he made his debut as an actor on television.Is skilled at piano.

Trivia: New Zealand-born Michael Dorman scored his first big break in 2002 when he was cast in the Australian series The Secret Life of Us. He would stick with the show until 2005 before going on to appear in a number of other Australian projects, like the 2008 horror film Acolytes and 2009's Prime Mover. In 2010, Dorman made the transition to American cinema, with a role in the vampire movie Daybreakers.

Trivia: Aussie actor James Fraser debuted as a child star in his native country, with one of the lead roles in the gently felt coming-of-age drama December Boys (2007). The saga concerns a clique of young orphan boys who find their friendship threatened when they learn that one is to be adopted.

Trivia: The only son of veteran British actors Nigel Davenport and Maria Aitken, Jack Davenport did not plan to follow his parents into show business. They even warned him against it, feeling that he falsely believed their lucrative careers were representative of the typical acting experience. But Davenport was too poor of an athlete to participate in any school sports and eventually wandered into the drama department, where he fell in love with performing. Born on March 1, 1973 in Suffolk, England, Davenport grew up in both Ibiza and Suffolk. He attended local schools until his parents' divorce in 1981, when he went to live at the Dragon School. Davenport then enrolled at his father's former school, Cheltenham College. After graduation, he took a year off before entering university, during which he took a summer drama course. Impressed by Davenport's performance as a rapper in a practice skit, the director of the Welsh national theater offered him a job. At 18, he moved to Wales to play bit parts in the theater's production of Hamlet. Davenport majored in English Literature and Film Studies at the University of East Anglia. When he finished school, his mother urged him to try getting a job behind the scenes in filmmaking or theater. At her suggestion, Davenport wrote actor/writer John Cleese to ask him if he could work as a production assistant on the set of his upcoming movie Fierce Creatures (1997) (in which his mother had a role). Cleese, instead, cast Davenport in the film. Fierce Creatures was barely in post-production when Davenport made his small-screen debut in This Life, a 1996 British television series about five young lawyers who share an apartment. His role as the self-absorbed Miles Stewart in the well-reviewed, much-watched show made him an instant celebrity in England. Davenport appeared as Malcolm in a television update of Macbeth (1998), before starring as a detective who is recruited into a mysterious troop of vampire hunters in the stylish hit miniseries Ultraviolet. After playing a similar role in the horror film The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998), Davenport landed a supporting role in his first major international release, Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). Critics hailed Davenport for giving soul to what could have easily been the cardboard cutout role of Ripley (Matt Damon)'s doomed lover, gentle musician Peter Smith-Kinsley. A year later, international audiences enjoyed Davenport again when Mystery! kicked off its 21st season with his performance as Derek Jacobi's son in The Wyvern Mystery. Based on Irish writer J.S. Le Fanu's 1869 thriller, the two-part miniseries also starred Naomi Watts and Iain Glen. He then tried his hand at comedy in Coupling, a television sitcom dubbed by reviewers as a British Friends. While continuing to appear onscreen -- in films such as Subterrain (2001), Not Afraid, Not Afraid (2001), Gypsy Woman (2001), and The Bunker (2001) -- Davenport returned to the stage to star in The Servant at England's Lyric Theater. Davenport is also an accomplished voice-over actor. He narrated the audio versions of John Buchan's The 39 Steps and Andy McNab's Crisis Four, as well as recorded parts in the radio productions of George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman, Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, and Nicholas Monsarrat's A Cruel Sea. Most notably, however, he is the deep voice behind the famous "For everything else, there's MasterCard" commercials.In 2003 he landed a part in the smash hit The Pirates of the Caribbean, playing Norrington not just in that film but in the next two sequels as well. He appeared in the 2004 period drama The Libertine. He appeared in the failed TV drama Swingtown, but found greater small-screen success a few years later as part of NBC's behind-the-scenes Broadway drama Smash.

Trivia: His first role was an uncredited role in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).Has appeared in Gods of Egypt (2016), Hacksaw Ridge (2016) and Alien: Covenant (2017).

Trivia: British actor Mackenzie Crook rose to fame at the hands of U.K. comedy giants Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, when the pair cast him as Gareth Keenan, the snide, obnoxious, and mirthless servant of office manager David Brent (Gervais) on the immensely popular BBC sitcom The Office (2001-2004). Crook then moved into films, where his unusual manner and appearance -- gaunt and wide-eyed, with stark features and a thick Cockney accent -- were put to excellent use in a variety of roles, often farcically. Among other accomplishments, Crook played Ragetti, a washed-up, bug-eyed member of a zany two-person pirate team (used for comic relief and as a deus ex machina) in Jerry Bruckheimer's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise; evoked a bit of Shakespearean drollery as Launcelot Gobbo in the Michael Radford-directed Merchant of Venice (2004); and landed a small supporting role in the British sex farce I Want Candy (2007). Crook also signed for a supporting role in Michael J. Bassett's period adventure Solomon Kane.