Trivia: After graduating from Georgetown University in 1997, Bradley Cooper set his sites on becoming not just a working actor, but a good actor. He enrolled in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University and began molding his abilities around a love of the craft, rather than a paycheck. He made his first onscreen debut while attending the program, with an appearance on Sex and the City in 1998, as well as a starring role on the short-lived Darren Star series The $treet. Cooper kept his life well-balanced, however, spending time teaching acting to inner-city children through the Learning through the Expanded Arts Program and taking a job as host of the Discovery Channel show Extreme Treks in a Wild World, which took him on journeys to Peru and British Colombia. His first feature film role came in 2001 with a part in the absurdist comedy Wet Hot American Summer. Near this time, Cooper was cast as Will Tippin in the ABC series Alias, which he stayed with for two seasons. He was also cast in a number of canceled series such as Miss Match, Touching Evil, and Kitchen Confidential. Cooper would find greater and greater success with comedy, however, landing a part in 2005's Owen Wilson comedy The Wedding Crashers that exposed him to a wider audience, as well as roles in 2006's Failure to Launch, and 2008's Yes Man . But of course, Cooper's breakthrough film turned out to be the explosively successful 2009 comedy The Hangover. Cooper's starring role as the smartest friend in a misguided trio, searching for their buddy after losing track of him during his extremely wild bachelor party made him an instant household name, and he would reprise the role for 2011's The Hangover 2. In the meantime, Cooper would nab starring roles in more and more films, like the thriller Limitless and the big screen adaptation of The A-Team.He scored his biggest critical hit to date with 2012's Silver Linings Playbook where his portrayal of a bi-polar man trying to pull his life back together after being released from a mental institution garnered him a number of year-end accolades including a nomination for Best Actor from the Screen Actors Guild and at the Academy Awards. He returned to the Oscar race in 2014 playing the title role in Clint Eastwood's 21st century war drama American Sniper, for which he also was nominated for Best Picture, having served as a producer on the film.

Trivia: A former standup comedian whose four-year stint as a Daily Show correspondent laid the groundwork for a successful onscreen career, Atlanta, GA, native Ed Helms has since gone on to keep fans in stitches as abrasive cubicle drone Andy Bernard on the hit television series The Office and as an undead flesh-eater who only wants a girlfriend and equal rights in the popular comedy short Zombie-American (2005). It was after a stint at Oberlin College in Ohio that Helms first began working the standup circuit, with regular appearances at some of the top comedy clubs in New York City quickly gaining him a loyal fan base. Helms' poker-faced sense of humor was an ideal fit for The Daily Show, and with only a handful of credits to his name, the rising star quickly became a regular fixture on the show. In 2006, shortly after wrapping a four-year stint on the Emmy Award-winning Comedy Central faux-newscast, Helms turned up as a member of the Stamford branch on The Office -- a series that also helped launch former Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell to stardom. When the Stamford branch eventually merged with the Scranton branch in the series, Helms' angry ass-kisser became a regular fixture on the show -- his decidedly short-fused character quickly becoming a foil for office prankster Jim Halpert (played by John Krasinski). Having previously studied improvisational comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade, Helms became a semi-regular fixture at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City while simultaneously preparing for appearances in the Carell comedy Evan Almighty and the stoner-friendly sequel Harold and Kumar 2. He continued to get good reviews for his work on The Office, but he had a smash hit as one of the three bachelors trying to piece together their night in The Hangover. He would star in the very funny Cedar Rapids two years later, but that film would not do nearly as well at the box office as The Hangover Part II that same year. In 2012 he had a major part in The Duplass Brothers' Jeff, Who Lives At Home, and voiced one of the main characters in the smash animated film Dr. Seuss' The Lorax.

Trivia: Born October 1, 1969, in North Carolina, Zach Galifianakis emerged as one of the more distinct comedic performers to grace the stage during the mid- to late 2000s. A short, slightly stocky presence with a thick outgrowth of beard that quickly became a personal trademark, Galifianakis used his behind-the-mike stints to riff on everything from veganism to multiple personality disorder, while constantly displaying a lightning-flash wit and marked inventiveness. He debuted with feature roles during the early 2000s, in films including Heartbreakers (2001) and Bubble Boy (2001). He also briefly emceed his own short-lived talk show, Late World with Zach (2002), on the VH1 network.By 2003, Galifianakis secured a regular role (as a morgue worker, Davis) on the Fox supernatural drama series Tru Calling (2003-2005). Thereafter, the performer spent many years placing his strongest emphasis on standup and on filmed standup specials, such as the 2005 Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion and the 2007 Comedians of Comedy: Live at the Troubador, but continued to tackle occasional feature work from time to time. Among other screen accomplishments, Galifianakis ushered in a rare dramatic turn in Sean Penn's biographical drama Into the Wild (2007) and then played a socially maladroit friend of Ashton Kutcher in the sex farce What Happens in Vegas (2008).It wasn't until his role as a well-meaning but socially lacking participant in a bachelor party horribly gone wrong, however, that the actor would find true mainstream recognition. Alongside Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms, Galifianakis starred in The Hangover, 2009's wildly successful buddy film (the actor reprised the role for 2011's The Hangover Part 2). He would go on to co-star with Robert Downey Jr. in Due Date (2010), which followed the mismatched couple on a wacky road trip to L.A., and take on supporting roles in Dinner for Schmucks, Youth in Revolt, and Up in the Air. He lent his voice to the 2011 animated film Puss in Boots, and co-stars with Will Ferrell in the political comedy Campaign (2012).

Trivia: Fort Lauderdale-born, West Bloomfield, MI-raised actor Justin Bartha earns a footnote for one of the more eccentric debuts in American film, when he signed to portray a mentally impaired, rapping kidnap victim in Martin Brest's colossal turkey Gigli (2003). Given the film's poor reception, the assignment represented something of a setback for Bartha, but the role at least clocked in a memorable one and paved the way for continued work in Hollywood A-listers -- notably in the outings National Treasure (2004) and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), and the Sarah Jessica Parker/Matthew McConaughey romantic comedy Failure to Launch (2006). He would go on to appear in the major comedy landmark The Hangover franchise and in the sitcom The New Normal, which was canceled after only one season.

Trivia: Blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and possessing a certain bodacious je ne sais quoi, Heather Graham has had one of the more inspiring career trajectories of the 1990s. After debuting in 1988's License to Drive, which featured the two Coreys (Haim and Feldman) and little else, Graham worked in relative obscurity for years before hitting it big in a string of successful films, including Swingers, Boogie Nights, and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Originally hailing from the Midwest, Graham was born in Milwaukee, WI, on January 29, 1970. The elder of two girls (younger sister Aimee is also an actress), Graham led a fairly itinerant childhood thanks to her father's job with the F.B.I. A quiet, unpopular girl, by her own account, Graham became interested in acting at a young age. She had her first role, as Dorothy, in a school production of The Wizard of Oz and remained active in the theater throughout high school, winning the title of Most Talented from her peers. After high school, Graham packed up and headed to Los Angeles, where she discovered that talented as she may have been, it was no guarantee of employment. She worked a variety of odd jobs, including a stint as an usher at the Hollywood Bowl, before making her 1988 film debut in License to Drive as the object of Corey Haim's desire. The following year, Graham's career began to travel in a more auspicious direction when she was cast as a doomed drug addict in Gus Van Sant's critically acclaimed Drugstore Cowboy. Despite winning raves for her performance, stardom eluded Graham, as her subsequent film roles were largely incidental. However, she did win a recurring role on the TV series Twin Peaks in 1990, and the following year, starred in the widely celebrated made-for-TV movie O Pioneers!. In 1992, Graham had a supporting role in Diggstown, the most notable effect of which was a relationship with co-star James Woods, who was twice her age. After appearing in a few more films of varying quality (Six Degrees of Separation [1993] at one end of the spectrum and 1994's Don't Do It, which paired her with Drugstore boyfriend James LeGros, at the other), the actress finally got a break with the 1996 hit Swingers, appearing in a small but memorable role as the girl of Jon Favreau's dreams. The part marked the beginning of an upswing in Graham's career; in the following year she had a bit part in the movie-within-a-movie in Scream 2, which led to her inclusion on a Rolling Stone cover featuring the movie's assorted Hot Young Things, and also had her breakthrough role in Boogie Nights. As Rollergirl, an underdressed, oversexed, coke-snorting young porn actress, Graham made an indelible impression on audiences everywhere. In 1997 she also starred in Gregg Araki's Nowhere, in which she did little except have copious amounts of sex with the similarly golden-tressed Ryan Phillippe, and Two Girls and a Guy, a critically acclaimed piece that featured her as one of the title's two girls opposite Robert Downey Jr.'s guy.Unfortunately, Graham's first big-budget undertaking, the 1998 sci-fi film Lost in Space, was swallowed in a deep pit of critical and commercial quicksand. The actress more than rebounded the following year, however, earning top billing in two films, the Steve Martin comedy Bowfinger and the eagerly awaited Austin Powers sequel Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The same year Graham earned the 1999 ShoWest convention's Female Star of Tomorrow title.Though she appeared to be on a track toward superstardom as the a new decade and millennium unfolded, a string of duds (From Hell, The Guru, Killing Me Softly, etc.) derailed Graham's career a bit. As many actors in her position often do, she decided to give television a try. Unfortunately, like much of her film work of the period, the ABC comedy Emily's Reasons Why Not was met with little excitement from critics audiences alike, and the heavily hyped series was cancelled after a single episode. Her recurring role on the comedy Scrubs, however, was well received. She continued to work in little-seen movies, but that changed in 2009 when she played a Vegas girl who falls for Ed Helms nerdy dentist in the smash hit The Hangover. Two years later she would play Aunt Opal in Jus Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, and score a small part in the horror sequel Scream 4.

Trivia: Lived for 4 years in France, where her mother worked as a model, and then moved to Los Angeles.Both her and her mother made their acting debuts in Homer and Eddie (1989).Attended Provo Canyon School in Orem, Utah County, Utah; Ojai Valley School in Ojai, California; Lycée Français de Los Angeles in Los Angeles; and The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks.Studied acting at the Actors Circle Theater with Arthur Mendoza.In May 2014, announced plans to pursue professional poker.

Trivia: Born July 8th, 1944, character actor Jeffrey Tambor has built his career in comedies playing the role of the uptight boss, or more generally, the stuffy guy. After graduate school, teaching, and a prolific stage career, Tambor started making television guest-starring appearances in the early '70s. He showed up on Three's Company enough that he eventually got a spot on the spin-off series The Ropers as the disapproving next-door neighbor Jeffrey. After the show's two-season run, he did a few TV movies before landing a reoccurring roles on the television version of 9 to 5, naturally playing the Dabney Coleman boss character. Throughout the '80s and early '90s, he continued to play the role of the stuffy guy on television (The Golden Girls, L.A. Law, Max Headroom) and movies (Mr. Mom, City Slickers, Life Stinks). His big break came in 1992, when he was cast as Garry Shandling's smiling sidekick, Hank Kingsley, on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show, his most recognizable role. For the rest of the '90s, he frequently returned to playing snide characters for movies (Teaching Mrs. Tingle, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Muppets From Space), although he would be more well-known for his work on television. In 1999, he appeared on the AMC series The Lot for its two-season run and provided voice talent for the MTV cartoon show 3 South. He played another boss type in the heist film Scorched in 2002.In 2003, Tambor joined the cast of Arrested Development for the role of George Bluth, an imprisoned millionaire and patriarch to a seriously dysfunctional family. The role would earn two Emmy nominations. Tambor tried his luck at television success once again in Welcome to the Captain, a short-lived sitcom in 2006, and returned to the big screen for the buddy comedy Twenty Good Years. He played a supporting role in 2009's critically acclaimed comedy the Invention of Lying, and played father of the bride in the megahit The Hangover. In 2011, Tambor took another supporting role for the comedy drama Win Win, and reprised his role in The Hangover for The Hangover Part 2.

Trivia: Was born in Detroit but raised in Greensboro, NC; he is the son of Korean immigrants. During high school, he played violin and was elected to the student council. Graduated at 16 and earned Greensboro's Youth of the Year award. Won the Big Easy Laff Off comedy contest in New Orleans while completing his medical residency. Made his feature-film debut as Dr. Kuni in Judd Apatow's 2007 comedy Knocked Up. His wife, Tran, is also a physician, as well as a breast-cancer survivor.

Trivia: Comedic blonde actress Rachael Harris has found plenty of ways to make audiences laugh, whether it meant commenting on pop culture for VH1's I Love the '80s or appearing in quirky commercials for Quaker rice cakes. A veteran of the Los Angeles improve troupe the Groundlings, Harris transitioned to the screen as a correspondent for the popular news-parody The Daily Show. With her horn-rimmed glasses and tightly wound persona, Harris immediately found her niche in on-screen comedy, garnering fans with her own brand of straight-faced delivery. Harris would occasionally take on completely different characters for TV and film roles like her part in 2009's The Soloist, but the comedian more often played off of her own signature style, especially for comedies like Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, The Hangover, and Evan Almighty. In 2010, she played the lead character's mother in Diary of Wimpy Kid, reprising the role in two sequels. Harris would also find continued success on the small screen,on shows like Reno 911!, In the Motherhood, and Notes from the Underbelly and as a prolific guest star on a number of series. In 2016, Harris landed a series regular role on Lucifer, playing Lucifer's theraprist.

Trivia: A heavyweight champion of the world for three and a half years (November 1986-February 1990), boxer Mike Tyson also earned a historical footnote as the youngest individual ever to win, and lose, the said title in his chosen sport. Both during and after his heavyweight tenure in the ring, Tyson also courted an overwhelming amount of controversy for his reported anti-social behavior, which included raping a beauty pageant contestant in an Indianapolis hotel room (an act for which he received six years in prison, later commuted to three) and biting off a piece of fighter Evander Holyfield's ear, mid-fight (an act that DQ'd him from that particular match and sent the media into a tailspin). For the most part, Tyson spent his early years on-camera in projects exclusively related to boxing, but following his release from prison, he became acquainted with director James Toback (Fingers), and that marked the beginning of a long friendship that witnessed the men frequently working together. Their collaborations commenced with the improvisational, racially themed 1998 drama Black on White (in which Tyson makes an extended cameo and receives a very blatant pass from a gay character played by Robert Downey, Jr.), the erotic drama When Will I Be Loved? (2004), and, ultimately, the documentary portrait Tyson (2008), which Toback put together from over 30 hours of interviews with the then-retired boxer. Aside from the Toback projects, Tyson's résumé also includes small roles in the 2000 boxing comedy Play It to the Bone and the 2006 boxing drama Rocky Balboa.

Trivia: Mike Epps' name has become synonymous with a particular style of humor, through his appearance with several other African-American artists in the same genre. Epps earned a large portion of his fame through his credits in several Ice Cube films, including Next Friday (also starring Chris Tucker), How High (with Redman and Method Man), Friday After Next, and All About the Benjamins. Aside from featuring Ice Cube, the common thread of these films was the hilarious prominence of marijuana-smoking comic characters like the ones portrayed by Epps.Born in Indianapolis, IN, into a large family, Epps' natural comedic ability was encouraged at an early age, and he began performing standup as a teenager. He moved to Atlanta where he worked at the Comedy Act Theater, before moving to New York City to star in Def Comedy Jam in 1995. His first major film role came just two years later when he starred in Vin Diesel's Strays, a dramatic portrayal of relationships and drugs. In 1999, he made an appearance on the HBO mafia series The Sopranos.In addition to his aforementioned film work with Ice Cube, Epps had several other feature-film appearances. In 2000, he was featured in Bait, starring Jamie Foxx and David Morse, and in the jail-comedy 3 Strikes. He performed the voice of Sonny in Dr. Dolittle 2, starring Eddie Murphy, in 2001. As he gained more recognition, his comedic talent began to blossom, as demonstrated in his two 2002 features: Kevin Bray's All About the Benjamins, an action-packed comedy, and the sequel-to-the-sequel, Friday After Next, in which he starred as Day-Day. He took over the part of Ed Norton in the big-screen remake of The Honeymooners, and had a major supporting role in the Petey Green biopic Talk to Me. He had a part in the smash 2009 comedy The Hangover, had a big part in Next Day Air, and a turn in Lottery Ticket. In addition to his acting, he kept churning out comedy specials.In 2012 he was one of the stars of Whitney Houston's last movie Sparkle, and played a teacher in the comedy Mac + Devin Go to High School. He reprised his role in The Hangover Part III and played the love interest in the HBO film Bessie. Epps also had a presence in TV, appearing in series like Survivor's Remose and Being Mary Jane, and playing the title role in the remake of Uncle Buck.

Trivia: Comedian Rob Riggle earned his chops in the theater and film program at the University of Kansas. Also, perhaps surprisingly, the successful comic cut his teeth in the military, joining the Marines in 1990 and eventually earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Riggle would go on to forge a creative partnership with fellow comedian Rob Huebel, working together in the sketch comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade, projects for VH1, and more. Riggle would go on to be a featured player on Saturday Night Live, and become an extremely popular member of the staff on The Daily Show, in addition to appearing in movies like The Hangover, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, and Pushing Tom.

Trivia: Was a theater major in college. In 1983, originated the role of Yvonne in the school stage production of Eleven-Zulu. Moved to New York City after college to work in the theater. First appeared on a national TV show in 1988 on the NBC comedy The Cosby Show in an episode called "If the Dress Fits, Wear It." Cinematic debut was in the 1989 drama Rooftops. Performed in the 1992 off-Broadway musical revue A...My Name Is Still Alice. First recurring small-screen series role was in the Fox drama Boston Public in 2001. In 2010, returned to TV in the CBS comedy Mike & Molly. Teaches acting classes.

Trivia: Of Irish, Italian and American Indian descent.Due to his father's job as a banker, lived overseas until he was 14.Worked at Lehman Brothers for two years.Studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.Frequent performer at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.Host of The Bryan Callen Show podcast.

Trivia: Founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade with comedians Matt Besser, Amy Poehler and Ian Roberts. They met while studying at the ImprovOlympics Theater in Chicago. Cowrote and starred in the 2003 movie Martin & Orloff. Hosts a sports podcast called Bear Down, about the Chicago Bears.

Trivia: Switched his focus from baseball to acting after a serious injury during high school. Worked as a set builder in Hollywood for two years before pursuing acting roles. Enjoys golfing, hiking and furniture building and design.

Trivia: Supporting actress Currie has appeared on screen since the '80s.

Trivia: Was a member of the Second City comedy troupe, and toured with the Second City National Touring Company. Made her big-screen debut with a small role in the Kevin Costner supernatural drama Dragonfly (2002). Joined the cast of MADtv for the Fox sketch comedy's ninth season. Has been a series regular on the short-lived ABC sitcom Sons & Daughters and the CBS legal drama The Defenders. Was cast in the pilot of Transparent, but the role was recast (with Melora Hardin) when Vigman had to pull out due to her pregnancy.

Trivia: Raised on a steady diet of such goofy '80s comedy staples as Revenge of the Nerds (1984), Stripes (1981), and Just One of the Guys (1985), fearless filmmaker Todd Phillips didn't even see a Bergman or Welles film until he hit his early twenties -- a fact that's relentlessly obvious when watching his debut fiction feature, the raunchy retro-reeking teen-comedy Road Trip. Born Todd Bunzel in Long Island, NY, and inspired by his junk-food movie addiction, Phillips enrolled in N.Y.U. to pursue a career as a filmmaker. Fascinated by the revolting antics of extreme punk rocker G.G. Allin, Phillips set out to film a documentary about the controversial feces-slinging musician while still a student at N.Y.U. With such a unique subject matter to begin with, it would have been hard to make the documentary uninteresting, though with Phillips' no-holds-barred, guerilla approach and keen editing skills, the film became an instant underground sensation (pegged by many as a funnier, true-to-life version of Spinal Tap) and paved the way for Phillips to continue honing his notable documentarian skills. After next producing an insightful look into the life of Screw magazine publisher Al Goldstein (Screwed) in 1996, Phillips returned to the director's chair with a scathing and unflinchingly graphic portrayal of college hazing rituals in Frat House (1998). Produced as an installment of HBO's popular America Undercover series, the film took the Grand Jury Prize for Documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival before becoming marred in controversy and shelved by HBO due to questions of authenticity and complaints from the subjects. Asked to leave and later threatened with physical harm by their subjects in a jarring scene, Phillips and partner Andrew Gurland were forced to continue production by finding another willing fraternity and actually taking part in the extreme hazing process (Gurland was later hospitalized as a result of one of the rituals), a situation Phillips claims to have given him a new perspective by breaking the boundaries and actually experiencing that which he documented. Though he admits to feelings of disappointment over the fact that the film never reached a large audience, the film continues to circulate heavily on the gray market and Phillips continues to push for a suitable release for the acclaimed film. It wasn't long before Phillips decided to expand his horizons, and after meeting producer Ivan Reitman and directing polarizing MTV funnyman Tom Green in a series of Pepsi One commercials, the established documentary filmmaker made a leap to fictional features with Road Trip in 2000. Simultaneously producing and directing Bittersweet Motel, a documentary on musical cult phenomenon Phish, Phillips' debut feature gained a lukewarm reception at the box office though his further documentary pursuits gained positive receptions from legions of rabid Phish-heads. Regardless of the less-than overzealous reaction to Road Trip, Phillips continued his celluloid tributes to the zany comedies of the Me decade with Old School in 2002. The unabashedly low-brow comedy proved a hit at the box office thanks in no small part to a fearless comic performance by former Saturday Night Live leading-man Will Ferrell, and it wasn't long before Phillips was gearing up for his next feature comedy.If Road Trip and Old School only hinted at referencing the "anything goes" comedies of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Phillips' next film would find him taking the helm for a direct (at least in name) remake of the beloved 1970s cop show Starsky & Hutch. With Ben Stiller stepping into Paul Michael Glaser's wooly sweater and Owen Wilson donning David Soul's trademark 1970s mop top, it seemed as if everything were in place for another comedy hit. Though anticipation ran high for Phillips' version of Starsky & Hutch, the excitement was somewhat dampened by the fact that the film received only fair to middling reviews upon release in early 2003. Nevertheless, Phillips would stick with frequent screenwriter Scot Armstrong to tell the tale of a shy meter-reader who enrolls in a confidence-building class in order to get the attention of the girl he longs for, only to discover that his teacher also has eyes for the girl, in a modern-day adaptation of the 1960 comedy School for Scoundrels or How to Win Without Actually Cheating! entitled The Better Man in 2006. With a cast that included Billy Bob Thornton and Napoleon Dynamite sensation Jon Heder - as well as an impressive supporting cast of comic talents including David Cross, Sarah Silverman, and Luis Guzmán - Phillips kept audiences laughing as he began preparations for the eagerly anticipated sequel to his 2003 hit Old School.

Trivia: The balding, likeable, nervous-looking character actor Paul Giamatti is the son of the author, Yale president, and Major League Baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. After earning his M.F.A. in Drama from Yale, the younger Giamatti got started on his acting career with small film parts and TV guest spots. He quickly became a recognizable face but his name was not yet well-known in Hollywood, while on-stage he appeared in lead roles for Broadway productions of The Three Sisters and The Iceman Cometh. Giamatti's film breakthrough came in 1997 with the role of media executive Kenny (aka "Pig Vomit") in the Howard Stern movie Private Parts. In his next few films, he played small yet funny parts like the inept mob henchman in Safe Men, the slave-peddling ape in Planet of the Apes, and the bellboy in My Best Friend's Wedding. He then got starring roles in the HBO movies Winchell (opposite fellow character actor Stanley Tucci) and If These Walls Could Talk 2. Giamatti seemed to get good parts in both independent films (Storytelling, Confidence) and in major studio blockbusters (Big Momma's House, Big Fat Liar). After playing the real-life eccentric Bob Zmuda in Milos Forman's Man on the Moon, he got his first major starring role in 2003 as the leading real-life eccentric Harvey Pekar in American Splendor, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The same year he starred in the FX original movie The Pentagon Papers with James Spader.Many thought Giamatti was more than deserving of an Academy Award nomination for his role in American Splendor, but when the nods were announced his name was absent. Nonetheless, he received even more raves for his next film. As the wine-loving love-lorn lead in Sideways, Giamatti wowed critics and increased his popularity with audiences exponentially. However, despite the overwhelming accolades and multiple Oscar nominations for the film, Giamatti was again ignored by the Academy.Next up, Giamatti returned to supporting work with a role in director Ron Howard's acclaimed 2005 biopic of boxer Jim Braddock, Cinderella Man. Playing the concerned, passionate manager to Russell Crowe's headstrong underdog, Giamatti finally received some belated Academy attention, even if he lost the 2005 Best Supporting Actor prize to popular favorite George Clooney. No matter, since Giamatti was already at work on his next leading man project in M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water. Of course his role as the befuddled apartment complex supervisor attempting to protect a mysterious woman who emerges from the swimming pool in Shyamalan's eagerly-anticipated fairy-tale thriller still only seemed like the beginning of an incredibly productive period that continued to capitalize on Giamatti's post-Sideways success, and with an exhausting six films featuring the actor scheduled for release in 2006 alone, the actor previously content essaying supporting roles found himself increasingly gravitating towards the status of leading man. Still, it wasn't all big budget blockbusters for the screen's most well-known wine connisseur, and with a prominant role as an obsessive falconer in writer/director Julian Goldberger's 2006 adaptation of author Harry Crews 1973 novel The Hawk is Dying, Giamatti delivered the distinct message that his career was still very much about the creativity afforded to actors and not necessarily the financial payoff. An additional role in the romantic fantasy adventure The Illusionist that same year found Giamatti taking a trip back to turn-of-the-century Vienna to play a conflicted police inspector whose outward obligations to the aristocracy belie his growing suspicions that they may be covering up an especially confounding murder. With a voice that was equally as recognizable as his distinctive face, Giamatti began lending his vocal chords to a variety of animated projects including Robots, The Ant Bully, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto and the curiously titled Amazing Screw-on Head as well. Unrelenting in the coming years, Giamatti would continue to take on a wide range of memorable character roles in interesting films like Shoot Em Up, John Adams, Cold Souls, The Last Station, The Hangover Part II, The Ides of March and Rock of Ages.