Trivia: Handsome actor Ryan Reynolds may be best known to television viewers for his role in the popular Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, though if it weren't for his close friend Chris Martin, Reynolds' star may have not risen quite as smoothly as it did. Born in 1976, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to a food wholesaler father and a retail store saleswoman, Reynolds harbored an affection for acting from his early youth, and was undeterred after failing a drama class at the age of twelve. Making his television debut two years later on the Nickelodeon show Fifteen, the aspiring youngster crossed the border and relocated to Florida for the taping of the show, moving back to Vancouver soon after production ceased in 1991. Turning up in numerous television series such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and made-for-TV movies in the following years, Reynolds soon grew despondent that his career was not moving along as smoothly as he wished. Recognizing his friend's frustrations, fellow actor Martin suggested that the two pick up and head for the Hollywood hills. Crashing in a cheap hotel and having his jeep stripped and rolled down a hill did little to raise Reynolds' spirits, though the determined actor carried on, landing his role on Two Guys in 1997. The only actor to read for the role of Berg, Reynolds won the favor of the producers and was soon on his way to success in the States. Following with roles in the teen horror comedy Boltneck (1998) and later Dick (1999) and Finder's Fee (2000), Reynolds soon began assuming his position among the hot young actors of the early millennium, taking the lead in 2001 for Van Wilder.Prominent roles in more high-profile films followed, including the part of Hannibal King in 2004's Blade Trinity, and the lead role of George Lutz in the 2005 remake of the classic horror movie The Amityville Horror. He soon followed this up with starring roles in two comedies: 2005's Waiting and Just Friends. With his career on a meteoric path upward, he continued to branch, snagging starring roles in films like the supernatural thriller The Nines, and the romantic comedy Definitely Maybe, eventually signing on to play the character of Deadpool in the next installment in the X-Men franchise X-Men Origins: Wolverine, as well as starring alongside Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy The Proposal. Officially having made the transition into Leading Man Actor, Reynolds took a few unexpected roles in smaller films, playing supporting characters in 2009's Adventureland and making a quirky comedic turn in 2010's Paper Man. By 2011, however, Reynolds was ready to get back in the game, taking the lead in the super hero movie Green Lantern. The next year he appeared alongside Denzel Washington in the action thriller Safe House. He made cameo appearances in two Seth MacFarlane films, Ted and A Million Ways to Die in the West, and voiced a character in the animated film The Croods.

Trivia: A British actress whose name and dark looks effortlessly conjure up associations with Eastern European exoticism, Rachel Weisz first earned the attention of an international audience with her role as the spoiled daughter of a sculptor in Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty (1996). The daughter of a Jewish-Hungarian inventor and an Austrian psychoanalyst (both sides of the family fled Fascist Europe during the '30s), Weisz was born in London on March 3, 1971. Much of her adolescence was spent modeling, and after attending Cambridge to study English, she broke into acting with a role in Sean Mathias' West End revival of Noel Coward's Design for Living.Weisz's performance in the play won her the Critics' Circle Best Newcomer award, and she subsequently took advantage of this recognition with a starring role in the BBC's TV adaptation of Scarlet & Black (1993), and then in 1996 with her aforementioned part in Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty. Although most attention was paid to Liv Tyler in her role as the film's protagonist, Weisz managed to garner notice of her own, and this recognition was furthered by her top billing opposite Keanu Reeves in Chain Reaction that same year. Unfortunately, the big-budget thriller was an unmitigated turkey; Weisz followed it with leads in smaller films such as The Land Girls (1997), a WWII drama that cast her as a young socialite sent to work on a farm; and Going All the Way (1997), a post-war coming-of-age drama starring Ben Affleck and Jeremy Davies that saw Weisz play Wasp, Affleck's Jewish girlfriend.After returning to Britain to star as a hairdresser in the noirish drama I Want You (1998), Weisz reappeared on the Hollywood radar as Brendan Fraser's damsel in distress in the 1999 summer blockbuster The Mummy. That same year, she played yet another love interest, that of a womanizing Ralph Fiennes in Sunshine, István Szabó's epic drama about three generations of a family of Hungarian Jews. Weisz' subsequent turn in the period drama Enemy at the Gates (2000) saw her play the inamorata of yet another Fiennes brother, Joseph. As a Russian-American sniper caught between the affections of a Russian party official (Fiennes) and a legendary sniper (Jude Law), the actress again returned to the early part of the 20th century (this time the Battle of Stalingrad) and to the deep end of the Fiennes family gene pool.Dutifully returning for The Mummy Returns a few short months later, that same year found the starlet gaining positive notice for her role in director Neil LaBute's biting stage drama The Shape of Things. Cast as a young art student whose latest "piece" is a strikingly original form of sculpture, Weisz's character would attempt to transform her boyfriend from schlub to stud to surprising effect. When the play was adapted to film in 2001, the team stuck together with Weisz and co-star Paul Rudd stepping before LaBute's all-seeing lens. For her role in the 2003 crime drama Confidence, Weisz would join a band of talented con artists in a daring bid to take a banker with ties to organized crime for all he's worth. Though the film may not have struck box-office gold, it did prove something of a sleeper and drew generally favorable reviews from critics. Confidence would be one of two films that found Weisz cast alongside screen legend Dustin Hoffman in 2003, the other being the courtroom thriller Runaway Jury. If her last few years had been slightly weighed down in drama, audiences could be assured that things would lighten up considerably when Weisz joined the cast of the Barry Levinson comedy Envy (2004).In 2005 she starred alongside Keanu Reeves again in the comic book adaptation Constantine. The dark film about a man trying to avoid his fate in hell by battling demons on Earth helped keep Weisz's name in circulation, but her next project would create the biggest buzz of her career thus far. Her role in Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardener garnered praise from critics and audiences alike, winning her an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Weisz played a British activist working in Kenya whose investigations into government corruption cause her to turn up dead, prompting her husband, Ralph Fiennes, to embark on an epic search to reveal the truth behind her murder. On the heels of this tremendous success, she joined the cast of Darren Aronofsky's psychological science-fiction film The Fountain-a story spanning a thousand years and exploring issues of love, death, and spirituality. Weisz joined Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo for The Brothers Bloom (2008), and worked with celebrated director Alejandro Amenabar in Agora (2009), a historical drama featuring Weisz in the lead role. In 2010, Weisz played a major role in The Whistleblower, which was inspired by a true story of a corporation involved in human trafficking, and later worked opposite Daniel Craig in director Terrence Malick's thriller Dream House (2011).

Trivia: In the immediate aftermath of David Dobkin's Wedding Crashers (2005), many American filmgoers began to associate Isla Fisher largely (if not exclusively) with her vivacious turn in that blockbuster summer comedy as the feisty and slightly off-kilter Gloria, the sex-crazed daughter of treasury secretary William Cleary (Christopher Walken) and his wife (Jane Seymour). It was a testament not only to the memorable quality of the role but to Fisher's outstanding comic turn in it, as the seductress of gorilla Vince Vaughn. But this short, spunky actress had much more up her sleeve than simply the Gloria Cleary bit.Born in Oman but raised in Australia, Fisher published two teen romance novels in high school, then traveled to France and enrolled in a Parisian drama school, where she learned miming and juggling. Though Fisher's onscreen presence technically dates back to the late '80s, with a plum role in the small-screen Aussie soaper Home and Away, she took her Hollywood bow over a decade later, as Shaggy's girlfriend, Mary Jane, in the Raja Gosnell-directed Scooby-Doo (2002). Sandwiched in between forgettable features such as Dallas 362 (2003) and London (2005) came Fisher's portrayal of Heather in the David O. Russell "existential comedy" I Heart Huckabees (2005). The actress starred as the "unlikely" wife of Jason Biggs (American Pie) in the 2006 romantic comedy Wedding Daze, then geared up for choice parts in the sports comedy Hot Rod (2007) and the thriller The Lookout. She also signed to voice one of the characters in the 2008 animated feature Horton Hears a Who, adapted from the classic book by Dr. Seuss. Fisher joined the cast of the popcorn flick Confessions of a Shopaholic in 2009, and lent her voice to the cast of the animated children's feature Rango in 2011, as well as for director Peter A. Ramsey's Rise of the Guardians in 2012. Fisher co-stars with Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire for Baz Luhrmann's 2012 3D adaptation of The Great Gatsby. She had a supporting role in Life of Crime (2013) and later had a guest spot on the revived season 4 of Arrested Development.

Trivia: Derek Luke was an all-but-unknown actor who was still working a day job when Denzel Washington plucked him from obscurity in 2002 for the leading role in his first directorial effort, Antwone Fisher. Born in Jersey City, NJ, in 1974, Luke displayed a precocious interest in drama at the age of four, telling his mother he wanted to be an actor, and, in 1995, he moved to California in hopes of making a career for himself in film and television. The 1,000-dollar nest egg Luke brought with him didn't last long, but, determined to get his foot in the door of the business, he took jobs that would allow him to meet people in the entertainment industry -- first serving as an usher for television tapings at the Universal Pictures studios and later as a sales clerk at a shop selling candy, gifts, and sundries on the Sony Pictures Studios lot. While there, Luke became acquainted with Antwone Fisher, a screenwriter who had a development deal with the studio, and learned that Fisher's memoir about his turbulent early life was being made into a film. Luke became even more intrigued when he learned Denzel Washington was interested in directing the film, but, despite landing an audition for the project, the picture was put on hold before casting could be completed. In the meantime, Luke continued to work at the store and landed bit parts on the sitcoms The King of Queens and Moesha before auditioning for Antwone Fisher a second time in 2001. While Luke wasn't happy with his reading, Washington was convinced the actor had the right emotional pitch for the character, and, several weeks later, the Hollywood veteran stopped by the Sony Studios store to tell Luke he'd won the part. Though opinions on the film were mixed, Luke was singled out for his raw, authentic, and emotional performance. After completing Antwone Fisher, Derek Luke was soon cast in two 2003 features: Pieces of April and Biker Boyz.Though Luke was still every bit the dramatic powerhouse that he was in Antwone Fisher, his abilities were put on the back burner somewhat in the ensemble casts of Spartan, Friday Night Lights, and Glory Road. As a wronged family man who becomes a freedom fighter in apartheid-era South Africa, however, Luke proved in Phillip Noyce's 2006 biopic Catch a Fire that he was more than capable of carrying a major film. Luke would remain a familiar face on screen for years to come, appearing most notably in movies like Madea Goes to Jail and on TV shows like Trauma and Hawthorne.

Trivia: The younger sister of child thespian Spencer Breslin (Disney's the Kid, The Santa Clause 2, The Shaggy Dog), the dynamic young actress Abigail Breslin was born in Manhattan in 1996 and began shooting television commercials at the age of three. In 2001, Tamil-American director and Spielberg protégé M. Night Shyamalan discovered then five-year-old Breslin and brought about her movie debut by casting her in his sci-fi thriller Signs -- the tale of a farmer and pastor (Mel Gibson) who discovers a giant crop circle on his property as an early indicator of an extraterrestrial invasion. Breslin plays Bo Hess, Gibson's asthma-ridden, paranoiac daughter who is racked by the delusion that she must never drink water, for every glass in the house is now contaminated. The terror evident in this characterization was not unique. From an early age, the pint-sized Breslin became notorious for her preternatural ability to pour an extraordinary amount of emotional intensity into each role, which led to several challenging parts that Breslin pulled off with ease. The first of these turns, 2004's sadly overlooked Keane, is a harrowing drama about a drug- and alcohol-riddled schizophrenic named William Keane (Damian Lewis), obsessed with attempting to find his young daughter, who may never have even existed. Amy Ryan and Breslin play, respectively, Lynn Bedik and Kira Bedik, a mother and daughter who wander into William's life and concurrently raise, within him, a towering fear of himself and the capacity for emotional connection. The New York Post's V.A. Musetto called Breslin "a revelation."After light-hearted turns in Garry Marshall's terribly received Raising Helen (which marked the first onscreen pairing of Breslin and her older brother) and David S. Cass' little-seen domestic comedy Family Plan (2005), Breslin signed on as the central character in Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton's Little Miss Sunshine. This road comedy -- about a severely dysfunctional family that bands together and treks off to the titular children's beauty pageant in which young Olive (Breslin) is participating -- unexpectedly dazzled viewers with its acerbic wit, flashes of wild humor, exemplary characterizations, and touching insights into familial relationships, when it premiered in summer 2006. In fact, it became, hands down, one of the most significant sleeper hits of that year. Thanks in no small part to her mature evocation of sweet-natured, pure-hearted Olive (who elevates the film to new levels not only by strengthening family ties, but by performing an outrageous final dance number in the beauty pageant), Breslin became one of the youngest individuals in Hollywood history to receive a Best Supporting Actress nod when the Oscar nominations rolled around in January 2007 -- younger, by seven months, than Tatum O'Neal, during her Oscar win in early 1974. Meanwhile, Breslin signed on for several additional roles alongside her studies. These included Zoe, the niece of Catherine Zeta-Jones's character in Scott Hicks' romantic comedy No Reservations (a remake of the German film Mostly Martha); a sick child befriended by a lonely, itinerant young man (Drew Fuller) in Michael O. Sajbel's The Ultimate Gift; and the confused, inquisitive 11-year-old daughter of a political consultant (Ryan Reynolds) in Adam Brooks' romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe (2008). That same year she had the lead role in the family adventure film Nim's Island, and the title part in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. The next year she would appear in the comedy Zombieland. In 2011 she provided one of the voices for the Oscar winning animated film Rango, and was one of many in the ensemble cast of New Year's Eve as the independent-minded daughter of Sarah Jessica Parker.

Trivia: Possessing the kind of elegant screen beauty that often draws comparisons to a Breakfast at Tiffany's-era Audrey Hepburn, actress Elizabeth Banks' onscreen career has been steadily rising since the up-and-coming actress won the Young Hollywood Award for "Exciting New Face" back in 2003. With roles in such notable Hollywood hits as the Spider-Man films and Seabiscuit, Banks has not only had the pleasure of sharing the screen with hot-property actor Tobey Maguire multiple times, but has also been nominated -- alongside Maguire, Jeff Bridges, William H. Macy, and Gary Stevens -- for an "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture" award by the Screen Actors Guild for her performance in the latter. The Pittsfield, MA, native got her first taste of fame when nominated Harvest Queen in her hometown's annual fall celebration, and in the years that followed, Banks would receive her bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and go on to pursue her graduate degree at the American Conservatory Theater. In 1998, Banks made her feature debut in the controversial addiction drama Surrender Dorothy, with subsequent small-screen roles in Third Watch and Sex and the City only serving to contribute to her rapidly growing profile in film and television. Of course, a move from New York to Los Angeles also may have had something to due with her landing more film roles, and though she would appear under her real name, Elizabeth Mitchell, in the 2000 action thriller Shaft, she soon had to change her name to avoid conflict with another actress who had already established a career under that surname. Undaunted, Banks forged on with roles in the cult comedy Wet Hot American Summer and the romantic drama Ordinary Sinner in 2001, with a supporting performance as Betty Brant in the 2002 box-office smash Spider-Man providing her most substantial onscreen performance to date. With roles opposite Madonna in Swept Away and Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can, it was obvious that Banks' career was on the rise, but it was her winning performance in Seabiscuit that truly put her on the map. Though the Screen Actors Guild award that the she and the cast were nominated for would ultimately go to the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, it was obvious to all who had been following her career that Banks was only at the beginning of her Hollywood ascent. In 2003, Banks appeared in the drama The Trade before reprising her role as Betty Brant for Spider-Man 2, and with increasingly prominent roles in Heights, The Sisters, and The Baxter scheduled through 2005, audiences could rest assured that they would be seeing plenty more of Banks in the years to come.By the time Banks turned in a standout supporting role as a bookstore employee who may hold the means of solving The 40 Year Old Virgin's titular dilemma in the 2005 Steve Carell hit, it seemed that she was an actress capable of brightening most any screen. A substantial role as a small-town trophy wife in director James Gunn's comic-frightener Slither found Banks having noticable fun in front of the cameras, with a pair of appearances on the popular television medical comedy Scrubs preceding a more serious-minded turn in the inspirational 2006 sports drama Invincible.2008 was a very busy year for Banks in which she continued to build her career as a comedic presence in films as varied as Role Models, Meet Dave, and Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and was also allowed to stretch her dramatic wings as Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's biopic W. In 2009 she first played the role of a conservative television commentator who becomes a romantic partner for Alec Baldwin's character on the award-winning sitcom 30 Rock, a role she would return to intermittently for the next few years. In 2011 she co-starred in the comedy Our Idiot Brother, and in 2012 she had a supporting part in the phenomenally successful adaptation of The Hunger Games.

Trivia: One of the most versatile and respected actors of his generation, Kevin Kline has made a name for himself on the stage and screen. Equally comfortable in comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of those rare actors whose onscreen characterizations are not overshadowed by his offscreen personality; remarkably free of ego, he has impressed both critics and audiences as a performer in the purest sense of the word.A product of the American Midwest, Kline was born in Saint Louis, MO, on October 24, 1947. He became active in theater while growing up in the Saint Louis suburbs, performing in a number of school productions. He continued to act while a student at Indiana University at Bloomington, and following graduation, moved to New York, where he was accepted at the Juilliard School. In 1972, Kline added professional experience to his formal training when he joined New York's Acting Company, led at the time by John Houseman. He toured the country with the company, performing Shakespeare and winning particular acclaim for his portrayals of Romeo and Hamlet. This praise translated to the New York stage a few years later, when Kline won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his role in the 1978 Broadway production of On the Twentieth Century. Three years later, he earned these same honors for his work in the Broadway production of The Pirates of Penzance (he later reprised his role for the musical's 1983 film adaptation). After a stint on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, Kline made his film debut in Alan Pakula's 1982 Sophie's Choice. It was an inarguably auspicious beginning: aside from the wide acclaim lavished on the film, Kline earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Nathan Landau. The following year, he again struck gold, starring in The Big Chill, Lawrence Kasdan's seminal exploration of baby-boomer anxiety. Two years later, Kline and Kasdan enjoyed another successful collaboration with Silverado, an homage to the Westerns of the 1950s and '60s. After turning in a strong performance as a South African newspaper editor in Cry Freedom, Richard Attenborough's powerful 1987 apartheid drama, Kline won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his relentlessly hilarious portrayal of dimwitted petty thief Otto West in A Fish Called Wanda (1988). The award gave him international recognition and established him as an actor as adept at comedy as he was at drama, something Kline again proved in Soapdish; the 1991 comedy was a major disappointment, but Kline nonetheless managed to turn in another excellent performance, earning a Golden Globe nomination.The '90s saw Kline -- now a married man, having wed actress Phoebe Cates in 1989 -- continue to tackle a range of diverse roles. In 1992, he could be seen playing Douglas Fairbanks in Chaplin, while the next year he gave a winning portrayal of two men -- one, the U.S. President, the other, his reluctant stand-in -- in Dave, earning another Golden Globe nomination. Kline then appeared in one of his most high-profile roles to date, starring as a sexually conflicted schoolteacher in Frank Oz's 1997 comedy In & Out. His portrayal earned him another Golden Globe nomination, as well as a number of other accolades (including an MTV Award nomination for Best Kiss with Tom Selleck). Further praise followed for Kline the next year, when he turned in a stellar dramatic performance as an adulterous family man in 1973 Connecticut in Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. He then turned back to Shakespeare, portraying Bottom in the star-studded 1999 adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. His work in that film was so well received that it helped to overshadow his involvement in Wild Wild West, one of the most critically lambasted and financially disappointing films of the year.2001 found Kline returning to straight drama in the introspective Life as a House. The actor continued in this niche the following year, starring as an unorthodox prep school teacher in The Emperor's Club. After playing songwriter Cole Porter in the 2004 biopic De-Lovely, Kline began work on his return to comedy, a remake of the classic The Pink Panther, with him cast opposite Steve Martin.Kline played Guy Noir in Robert Altman's film adaptation of the radio program Prairie Home Companion, and fulfilled the hopes of Shakespeare enthusiasts around the world when he appeared in the Kenneth Branagh directed adaptation of As You Like It, marking the first time the two respected Shakespearean performers collaborated on a work by the Bard. Over the next several years, Kline woudl continue to remain a charismatic force on screen, appearing in films like De-Lovely, Definitely, Maybe, The Conspirator, No Strings Attached, Darling Companion, and TV shows like Bob's Burgers.

Trivia: One of the most prolific and reliably excellent actors on the independent film circuit, Kevin Corrigan has made a name for himself portraying a painfully memorable array of geeks, stoners, and generally pathetic losers. Consistently good at playing bad, he has elevated the expression of basic freakishness into something of an underrated art form.A native of the Bronx, where he was born on March 27, 1969, Corrigan first became interested in acting as a teenager. At the age of 17, his play The Boiler Room was produced by the Young Playwrights Festival of New York. The 1990s got off to a promising start for Corrigan with a supporting role as Ray Liotta's brother in Martin Scorsese's critically acclaimed Goodfellas (1990). More gangster action followed the next year with a part in Billy Bathgate, but Corrigan then took a turn toward smaller features with Zebrahead, a 1992 film that opened to generally positive reviews but little box-office action. After supporting roles in The Saint of Fort Washington and True Romance (both 1993), Corrigan had a substantial part in director Matthew Harrison's Rhythm Thief, a black-and-white drama that won Harrison a directing award at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. The film marked the beginning of Corrigan's immersion in the growing and increasingly lucrative world of independent film, with supporting roles in Tom DiCillo's acclaimed Living in Oblivion (1995), in which the actor provided laughs as a dimbulb cameraman, and Trees Lounge (1996), the directorial debut of Corrigan's Oblivion co-star Steve Buscemi. The same year, Corrigan had substantial roles in the well-received independent comedy Walking and Talking, in which he had a memorable turn as a nebbishy video clerk who sleeps with Catherine Keener, and Illtown, a crime drama in which he starred with Lili Taylor and Zebrahead co-star Michael Rapaport. Following a turn as a stoner guitarist in the obscure Bandwagon (1996) and a supporting role in Hal Hartley's 1997 film Henry Fool, Corrigan co-wrote and starred in the comedy Kicked in the Head, his second collaboration with Rhythm Thief director Harrison. The film had the distinction of being executive produced by Martin Scorsese, who had signed on after being favorably impressed by Rhythm Thief. The movie was also notable for the fact that the misadventures of Corrigan's character -- a guy who gets kicked out of his apartment and dumped by his girlfriend -- were based on events in the actor's own life. He would later remark that the film was a form of therapy and followed it up with what was essentially a form of therapy for another director, Tamara Jenkins' The Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). Playing a Manson Family-obsessed stoner, Corrigan made a repugnantly vivid impression in the widely acclaimed movie and the same year made a similar impression with his role as Vincent Gallo's best friend in Buffalo '66. After a small part in Paul Auster's Lulu on the Bridge (which premiered at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival), Corrigan worked on two more independents, the romantic drama Roberta, which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Festival and featured Corrigan in a lead role as a shy computer expert, and Coming Soon, which opened at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in April of the same year.

Trivia: After a memorable screen debut in 1976 -- as one of the vociferous Chicano gang members who heckle runner Babe Levy (Dustin Hoffman) at the outset of John Schlesinger's psychological thriller Marathon Man -- Jaime Tirelli established himself as a reliable standby whenever Hollywood needed to fill a Hispanic or simply a blanket ethnic role. In this vein, Tirelli contributed bit parts to features including Author! Author! (1982), The Brother from Another Planet (1984), The Cowboy Way (1994), Piñero (2001), and Kinsey (2004) -- among dozens of other films -- while concurrently filling guest spots on such small-screen series as In the Line of Duty, Law & Order, and NYPD Blue. In 2006, the actor signed for slightly higher billing than usual, with a supporting role as a father in the Alejandro Monteverde-directed romantic drama Bella, starring Eduardo Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard.

Trivia: As a teen, studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York. Was part of an Obie Award-winning ensemble cast for Craig Lucas's off-Broadway play Small Tragedy (2004), and his role also earned a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor. In 2006, costarred as Jeff in a Second Stage Theater revival of Eric Bogosian's subUrbia (directed by Bogosian's wife, Jo Bonney), a play Gold directed and acted in for his senior thesis at Pennsylvania State University. Has appeared in commercials for McDonald's and Aflac.

Trivia: Was named "class clown" in his high-school yearbook. Made his stand-up debut at the same Long Island comedy club that launched the careers of Eddie Murphy, Ray Romano, Paul Reiser, Kevin James, Rosie O'Donnell and Jim Carrey. Received two American Comedy Award nominations. Made three guest appearances on King of Queens, playing a different character each time. Was a regular on his Rescue Me costar Denis Leary's 2001-02 NYPD comedy-drama The Job.

Trivia: Took her great-grandmother's maiden name as a stage name. Trained in England at London's Holborne Center for Performing Arts. In 2001, her role as Julia Lindsay Snyder on As the World Turns earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Young Actress. Before joining the Law & Order cast in its 15th season as ADA Alexandra Borgia, she played an exotic dancer in a May 2002 episode titled "Attorney Client." Has been an active stage actress, appearing in Broadway's Prelude to a Kiss (2007) and starring in the title role of the play Becky Shaw (2009). Taught a class called Acting for the Camera at Fordham University.

Trivia: With an exotically beautiful appearance attributable to her Canadian mother and Uzbekistani-Jewish father, brunette actress Liane Balaban was born in North York, Ontario, in 1980, and grew up in nearby Willowdale, where her parents worked as a medical secretary and a real estate agent. Balaban never seriously intended to become an actress, but a chance encounter with Canuck producer Julia Sereny (April One) -- who reportedly lived in the same neighborhood as her aunt and uncle and became acquainted with the young woman via holiday dinners -- changed all that. Sereny invited Balaban to audition for the low-budget drama The New Waterford Girl (1999), to be directed by Allan Moyle (Pump up the Volume). She not only landed the lead role of doe-eyed teenager Agnes-Marie "Moonie" Pottie in that film, but received a Special Jury Congratulation at the Toronto Film Festival and snagged a nomination at the annual Canadian Comedy Awards. Those successes set the young woman on the path to stardom, and though she spent her first several years as a thespian in mostly Canadian efforts -- such as the 2001 feature After the Harvest and the 2006 miniseries Above and Beyond -- she eventually began to branch out into Hollywood roles, commencing in 2008 with a turn as the bride-to-be daughter of Dustin Hoffman in the low-key romantic drama Last Chance Harvey (2008) and a small supporting turn in the Ryan Reynolds/Isla Fisher romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe (2008).

Trivia: A striking character actor with a knack for playing either cops or outlaws and a sinister undercurrent, Nestor Serrano was born in New York City on February 26, 1957. Serrano got his start as an actor on the New York stage, appearing in off-Broadway productions while supporting himself as a computer operator. Serrano landed his first big break in 1985 when he was an understudy in the Broadway drama The Boys of Winter, starring Matt Dillon, Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames, and Andrew McCarthy. In 1986, Serrano landed a showier role in the off-Broadway production Cuba and his Teddy Bear, in which Robert De Niro made his first stage appearance in over 15 years. Serrano made his film debut in 1986 with a bit part as a pilot in Brenda Starr, although it would be several years later before the film received a theatrical release. His first role to be seen by audiences was a small part as a housepainter in the comedy The Money Pit. Serrano also began adding television work to his increasingly busy schedule of stage roles and film appearances; he played the recurring role of Officer Geno Toffenelli on the short-lived police drama True Blue, and he was also a regular on two other cop shows, The Hat Squad, which lasted a single season in 1992-1993, and Moloney, another short-lived series which bowed in 1996. However, in 2001, Serrano finally landed a high-profile television role on the sci-fi action fantasy series Witchblade, where he played Captain Bruno Dante, nemesis of detective-turned-superheroine Sara Pezzini (Yancy Butler). Serrano also played notable supporting roles in Bringing Out the Dead, The Negotiator, Bait, and The Insider.

Trivia: Actress Alexie Gilmore began appearing onscreen in the mid-2000s with a number of bit parts on TV and films. In 2007, she was cast as a regular on Lasse Hallström's New Amsterdam, a supernatural mystery show on Fox.

Trivia: Danced for the Joffrey Ballet during her childhood. Studied Chinese at Vassar College and intended to be a translator before opting to become an actress. Starred in the Funny or Die online sitcom Halal in the Family alongside Aasif Mandvi. Was a passenger on the Amtrak train that crashed in Philadelphia on May 12, 2015.

Trivia: A graduate of Alfred University, American actor Robert Klein spent the 1960s and 1970s amassing a respectable list of stage and film credits (he played George Segal's befuddled roomie in The Owl and the Pussycat [1970]), but his bread and butter turned out to be his career as a stand-up comic. First gaining national attention as host of the 1970 TV variety series Comedy Tonight, Klein went on to transcribe his comedy routines in a series of popular record albums. A "reporter" of humor, the raspy-voiced, heavily eyebrowed Klein is at his best commenting offhandedly on the absurdities of everyday life. Some of his best routines involve the dissection of such pop-culture icons as The Little Rascals, My Little Margie, and Babe Ruth; other monologues recall such childhood experiences as civil defense drills and the first dance (complete with imitations of the Johnny Mathis records heard on the PA). Klein continued taking acting jobs into the 1970s and 1980s: one of his longer engagements during this period was in the Neil Simon Broadway musical They're Playing Our Song. In 1991, Robert Klein found himself the unofficial spokesperson for the Comedy Central cable service, hosting the weekly series Dead Comics Society and Stand Up Stand Up. He also appeared occasionally on the NBC drama Sisters. Klein continued to take small roles in respectable films throughout the late 1990s and 2000s; among his credits include Primary Colors (1998), Next Stop Wonderland (1998), and Ira & Abby (2006). In 2007 he appeared in the noted documentary Sputnik Mania, and continues to be active in film and television.

Trivia: Dropped out of college and took public speaking classes to help further her career. At the premiere of Gone (2012) she admitted she's always had a fear of being kidnapped. Was cast in NCIS in 2013 as a replacement for the departing Cote de Pablo; she was promoted to a series regular before her first episode aired.