Trivia: Before he started acting, Mark Wahlberg was best known as Marky Mark, the pants-dropping rapper who attained fame and notoriety with his group the Funky Bunch. In the tradition of Will Smith and Ice Cube, Wahlberg has made a successful transition from music to film, garnering particular early praise for his role in Boogie Nights.Born June 5, 1971, in Dorchester, MA, Wahlberg had a troubled early life. One of nine children, he dropped out of school at 16 (he would later earn his GED) and committed a number of minor felonies. After working various odd jobs, Wahlberg briefly joined brother Donnie and his group New Kids on the Block before forming his own, Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch. The group had widespread popularity for a time, most notably with its 1992 hit single "Good Vibrations." However, it was Wahlberg himself who received the lion's share of attention, whether it was for the homophobia controversy that surrounded him for a time, or for the 1992 Calvin Klein ad campaign featuring him wearing nothing more than his underwear, Kate Moss, and an attitude. In 1993, Wahlberg turned his attentions to acting with a role in The Substitute. The film, co-starring a then-unknown Natasha Gregson Wagner, was a critical and commercial failure, but Wahlberg's next project, 1994's Renaissance Man, with Danny De Vito, gave him the positive notices that would increase with the release of his next film, The Basketball Diaries (1995). Although the film received mixed reviews, many critics praised Wahlberg's performance as Mickey, Leonardo Di Caprio's friend and fellow junkie. Following Diaries, Wahlberg appeared in Fear (1996) in the role of Reese Witherspoon's psychotic boyfriend.It was with the release of Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights in 1997 that Wahlberg finally received across-the-board respect for his commanding yet unassuming performance as busboy-turned-porn-star Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler. The film was nominated for three Oscars and a slew of other awards by associations ranging from the British Academy to the New York Film Critics Circle to MTV. The positive attention landed Wahlberg on a wide range of magazine covers and gave him greater Hollywood pulling power. He had, as they say, arrived. Wahlberg's follow-up to Boogie Nights was 1998's The Big Hit, an action comedy that, particularly in the wake of Boogie Night's acclaim, proved to be a disappointment. This disappointment was hardly lessened by the relative critical and commercial shortcomings of Wahlberg's next film, The Corruptor (1999). An action flick that co-starred Chow Yun-Fat, The Corruptor showcased Wahlberg's familiar macho side and indicated that success in Hollywood is a strange and unpredictable thing. Though he gained positive notice for his role in David O. Russell' s unconventional war film Three Kings the same year, the film was only a moderate success, paving the way for an even more dramatic turn in the downbeat true story of the ill-fated Andrea Gail, The Perfect Storm, in 2000.The following year found Wahlberg filling some big shoes -- and receiving some hefty criticism as a result -- with his lead role in Tim Burton's much-anticipated remake of Planet of the Apes. Taking over the role that Charlton Heston made famous, Wahlberg found himself pursued onscreen by sinister simians, as well as offscreen by critics who decried the lack of depth that the actor brought to the role. Late that summer, Wahlberg came back down to Earth -- specifically to the everyday-Joe-rises-to-fame territory of Boogie Nights -- with Rock Star, the story of a tribute-band singer who gets a chance to sing for the band he idolizes. Though his noble attempt to fill the considerable shoes of Hollywood legend Cary Grant in the 2002 Charade remake The Truth About Charlie would be only slightly exceeded by his assumption of the role originally played by Michael Caine in the following year's remake of The Italian Job, Wahlberg would subsequently prove that there's nothing like the fresh breeze of an original script in director David O. Russell's existential 2004 comedy I Heart Huckabees. Of course, Wahlberg was never one to let a crowd down, and after riling audiences alongside Tyrese Gibson and André Benjamin in the Detroit-based revenge flick Four Brothers, the athletic actor would take to the gridiron to tell the inspirational story of one football fan whose dreams of playing in the NFL actually came true in the 2006 sports drama Invincible. Also released in the fall of 2006, The Departed allowed Wahlberg to act opposite such heavy hitters as Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, and his old Basketball Diaries co-star Leonardo Di Caprio under the direction of Martin Scorsese. Not only did Wahlberg hold his own against the cast of critics' darlings, he landed the film's only acting Academy Award nod. In 2007, Wahlberg starred in the suspense actioner The Shooter, as well as in director Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lovely Bones. Wahlberg starred as the leader of a ragtag group trying to survive amidst murderous plant life in M. Night Shyamalan's so-bad-it's-good The Happening (2008), and played the titular role of Max Payne, which was adapted from a video game of the same name. In 2010 the actor starred in the inspirational docudrama chronicling the life of brothers Micky and Dicky Ecklund as they take on the world of boxing. Wahlberg earned an Academy Award nomination for producing the film; that same year, he began producing a new show for HBO, Boardwalk Empire. Wahlberg had a huge hit in 2012 with Seth MacFarlane's Ted, and joined the Transformer franchise in Transformers: Age of Extinction in 2014. Wahlberg continued his steady work, starring and producing both Deepwater Horizon (which was nominated for two Oscars) and Patriots Day (about the Boston Marathon bombing) in 2016.

Trivia: A Big Easy-born actor who honed his skills at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts before completing his education at Juilliard, Anthony Mackie portrayed ill-fated rapper Tupac Shakur in a stage production of Up Against the Wind before taunting Detroit-based rapper Eminem as a member of the rival rhyming crew in the box-office hit 8 Mile. Subsequently appearing onscreen alongside some of the biggest names in the business, Mackie took the lead as a sperm-donating former biotech executive opposite Ellen Barkin and Ossie Davis in Spike Lee's She Hate Me, and proved that he could even hold his own against such screen legends as Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman with a substantial role in the boxing drama Million Dollar Baby. While it may be on the silver screen that Mackie has courted the majority of fame, the ascending star also appeared on the Broadway stage in high-profile productions of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Drowning Crow.Few actors could dream of a career that advanced as quickly as Mackie's did, and the same year he played leading man in She Hate Me, the then-twenty-five-year-old would earn an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his memorable portrayal of a homeless shelter employee struggling with his cultural and sexual identity in Brother to Brother. Just when it seemed as if Mackie's rigorous work schedule couldn't get any more demanding, the actor would appear in no less than six movies in 2006 including the racially charged kidnapping drama Freedomland, the underground street-ball drama Crossover, and opposite Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox in the fact-based football film We Are Marshall.Firmly established, he played a supporting role in the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker in 2008, and reprised his role of Tupac Shakur in the Notorious B.I.G. biopic, Notorious (2009). Mackie played a former Black Panther in Night Catches Us (2010) and played a supporting role in The Adjustment Bureau (2011). In 2012, he played the historical figure William H. Johnson, Abraham Lincoln's valet, in the fictionalized (obviously) historical action film, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Mackie joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2014, playing Sam Wilson/Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and reprised the role in later MCU movies.

Trivia: Bearing sharp, blue-eyed features and the outward demeanor of an everyday Joe, Ed Harris possesses a quiet, charismatic strength and intensity capable of electrifying the screen. During the course of his lengthy career, he has proven his talent repeatedly in roles both big and small, portraying characters both villainous and sympathetic.Born Edward Allen Harris in Tenafly, NJ, on November 28, 1950, Harris was an athlete in high school and went on to spend two years playing football at Columbia University. His interest in acting developed after he transferred to the University of Oklahoma, where he studied acting and gained experience in summer stock. Harris next attended the California Institute of the Arts, graduating with a Fine Arts degree. He went on to find steady work in the West Coast theatrical world before moving to New York. In 1983, he debuted off-Broadway in Sam Shepard's Fool for Love in a part especially written for him. His performance won him an Obie for Best Actor. Three years later, he made his Broadway debut in George Firth's Precious Sons and was nominated for a Tony. During the course of his career, Harris has gone on to garner numerous stage awards from associations on both coasts. Harris made his screen debut in 1977's made-for-television movie The Amazing Howard Hughes. The following year, he made his feature-film debut with a small role in Coma (1978), but his career didn't take off until director George Romero starred Harris in Knightriders (1981). The director also cast him in his next film, Creepshow (1982). Harris' big break as a movie star came in 1983 when he was cast as straight-arrow astronaut John Glenn in the film version of Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff. Twelve years later, Harris would again enter the world of NASA, this time playing unsung hero Gene Krantz (and earning an Oscar nomination) in Ron Howard's Apollo 13.The same year he starred in The Right Stuff, Harris further exhibited his range in his role as a psychopathic mercenary in Under Fire. The following year, he appeared in three major features, including the highly touted Places in the Heart. In addition to earning him positive notices, the film introduced him to his future wife, Amy Madigan, who also co-starred with him in Alamo Bay (1985). In 1989, Harris played one of his best-known roles in The Abyss (1989), bringing great humanity to the heroic protagonist, a rig foreman working on a submarine. He did further notable work in David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, and turned in a suitably creepy performance as Christof, the manipulative creator of Truman Burbank's world in Peter Weir's The Truman Show (1998). Harris earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his work. The following year, he could be seen in The Third Miracle, starring as a Catholic priest who finds his faith sorely tested.The new millennium found Harris' labor of love, the artist biopic Pollock, seeing the light of day after nearly a decade of development. Spending years painting and researching the modernist painter, Harris carefully and lovingly oversaw all aspects of the film, including directing, producing, and starring in the title role. The project served as a turning point in Harris' remarkable career, showing audiences and critics alike that there was more to the man of tranquil intensity than many may have anticipated; Harris was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award for his work. 2001 saw Harris as a German sniper with his targets set on Jude Law in the wartime suspense-drama Enemy at the Gates, and later as a bumbling Army captain in the irreverent Joaquin Phoenix vehicle Buffalo Soldiers. With his portrayal of a well known author succumbing to the ravages of AIDS in 2002's The Hours, Harris would recieve his fourth Oscar nominattion. 2004 found the actor working with Zooey Deschanel for Winter Passing, a psychological drama in which he played a one-time popular novelist who claims he is working on one last book. Harris was praised for his work in Empire Falls (2005), a two-part miniseries from HBO chronicling a middle-aged man who is concerned he has wasted his life, though his work as a scarred stranger with a score to settle in David Cronenberg's award-winning psychological thriller A History of Violence was his biggest success in 2005. In 2007, Harris played a Boston police detective in Ben Affleck's adaptation of author Dennis Lehane's Gone, Baby, Gone. A year later, Harris wrote, starred, directed, and produced Appaloosa, a western following a small town held under the thumb of a ruthless rancher and his crew, and continued to work throughout 2009 and 2010 in films including Once Fallen, Virginia, and The Way Back. Praise came his way once more in 2011's What I Am, a gentle coming-of-age comedy in which Harris plays a teacher who is a catalyst for the friendship of two young boys. In 2012, he earned Emmy and SAG nominations and a Golden Globe award for playing John McCain in the HBO movie Game Change. The next year had him appearing in six films, including playing a detective in Pain & Gain and voicing mission control in Gravity, a throwback to his earlier work in Apollo 13.

Trivia: As the correspondent of the popular Comedy Central tongue-in-cheek reportage series The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, acid-mouthed comic Rob Corddry developed a schtick that involved interviewing newsmakers and gleefully poking fun of them on live camera -- recalling the early days of series host Craig Kilborn (in Daily's pre-1999 incarnation). Corddry also took over Stephen Colbert's "This Week in God" segment and would frequently slip into character as a "take no prisoners" interviewer called Dino Ironbody when interrogating his subjects.Corddry hails from the Boston area. He was born in Weymouth, MA, in 1971 and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After graduation, he joined the comic ensemble Third Rail Comedy for a few years, then formed (with three others) the four-man comedic ensemble Naked Babies. In time, Corddry's antics secured a spot for him on Comedy Central -- initially on The Upright Citizens Brigade. As a comedic actor in feature films, Corddry debuted with a portrayal of Warren in the Will Ferrell-Luke Wilson frat-boy comedy Old School (2003), and his performance as a cracked gun salesman was one of the only saving graces of the awful Matthew McConaughey movie Failure to Launch (2006). The comic-turned-actor re-teamed with Ferrell and Wilson for the 2007 skating farce Blades of Glory, then signed for roles in such films as the Farrelly Brothers remake of The Heartbreak Kid (2007) and the 2008 sequel Harold and Kumar 2.Corrdry went on to play a supporting role in Operation: Endgame, a 2010 action comedy following the rivalry between two groups of government assassins, and won laughs, if not critical success, for his turn in Hot Tub Time Machine (2010). Corrdry reunited with fellow Daily Show alumni Ed Helms to play a small supporting role in Cedar Rapids (2011). The comedian solidified his cult following with Children's Hospital, a satirical medical comedy that relishes in the clichés of more traditional medical dramas. In addition to a starring role, Corrdry also came up with the show's concept. In 2012, Corrdry joined Steve Carrell (yet another former Daily Show co-star) for a supporting role in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, a comedy drama following a couple on their final road trip before an asteroid destroys mankind.

Trivia: If you can smell what the Rock is cookin' then you're no doubt familiar with superstar wrestler Dwayne Johnson's swaggeringly cocky alter ego. With his trademark right eyebrow raised and a penchant for implementing the patented "People's Elbow" to unwary opponents, the self-proclaimed "Most Electrifying Man in Sports-Entertainment" slammed, crashed, and crushed his way to becoming the youngest Intercontinental Champion in WWF history at the age of 24 before winning the WWF title record six times. After conquering the world of sports-entertainment, Johnson next set his sights on conquering Hollywood.Born May 2, 1972 in Hayward, CA, Johnson became a third-generation wrestler after shifting from a career in professional football to professional wrestling when an injury sidelined his gridiron aspirations. After flexing his acting muscles on television in Saturday Night Live, That '70s Show (in which he played his own father), and The Net, Johnson made his feature debut with his role as the dreaded Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns (2001). Returning as the same character the following year in the appropriately titled The Scorpion King, Johnson did little to enhance his reputation of a trained thespian, though he did get the summer film season off to a rousing start for audiences hungering for some energetic escapist fun. Recalling John Milius' 1982 hit Conan the Barbarian (another film that launched the cinematic action career of a then-little-known athlete named Arnold Schwarzenegger), the sword-and-sandal adventure raked in 36 million dollars on its opening weekend and stayed at the top of the box office in the weeks following its impressive debut.Though he would return to the ring for the remainder of 2002, it didn't take Johnson long to soften on the prospect of a return to the silver screen -- and with the following year's The Rundown, he did just that. Cast as a bounty hunter who is sent to Brazil to retrieve the son of a well-known mob boss (American Pie's Seann William Scott), the film provided Johnson with the sort of opportunity to display his comic flair -- a notable talent that was mostly neglected in the special-effects-laden Scorpion King. By this point, his screen career had earned the wrestler-turned-actor a notable fan base that reached well beyond the WWE universe, and in 2004 he took the law into his own hands with the feature remake (in name and general concept only) Walking Tall. Based on the exploits of hard-case Southern sheriff Buford Pusser (played by Joe Don Baker in the original 1973 version) -- the film found Johnson cast as an honest, retired soldier who -- upon return to his small, rural Washington State hometown -- discovers his former high-school rival Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough) has corrupted the once-prosperous town by introducing drugs and gambling and effectively shutting down the formerly successful lumber mill. Anyone who saw the original (and even those who didn't) could no doubt tell what follows -- and if there ever was a man to lay the smack down on the criminal element, few could doubt that Johnson would be up for the task. With his role as a gay bodyguard in the 2005 Get Shorty sequel, Be Cool, Johnson showed once and for all that he wasn't above poking a little fun at his tough-guy persona, and though he would return to the action genre with the sci-fi video-game adaptation Doom, the next year found the increasingly prolific entertainer cast in the complex role of a sporadically amnesiac actor who begins to have trouble separating reality from fantasy in Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly's apocalyptic sophomore effort, Southland Tales. Later that same year, Johnson turned his attention toward the sport of football to tell the inspirational true story of a detention-camp probation officer who teaches his troubled young charges the meaning of self-respect and social responsibility in Gridiron Gang -- a feature adaptation of the Emmy-winning 1993 documentary of the same name.He would appear in Get Smart and Race to Witch Mountain the following year, followed by Why Did I Get Married Too? in 2010 -- all films that grounded the actor in relatable, humorous roles. Never one to shy away from his roots, however, Johnson was back to action fare soon enough, and he joined the Fast & Furious series for the fifth installment (Fast Five) in 2011 and played Roadblock in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Johnson once again mixed action and comedy in Michael Bay's Pain & Jain. In 2014, he built up his already-impressive physique even more to play the title character in Hercules, and continued on the action route with roles in San Andreas and another Furious film.

Trivia: A uniquely gifted and versatile actor possessing the distinct ability to immerse himself in a role so convincingly that he becomes almost unrecognizable -- from a quality obsessed restaurateur (Big Night, 1996) to a master criminal bent on world domination (Spy Kids, 2001) -- one can always count on Tony Shalhoub to deliver a memorable performance no matter how small his role may be.Well-known to television audiences for his extended stint as a self-deprecating cabbie on the long-running series Wings, Shalhoub made the often-painful transition from television to film with a grace seldom seen. Born on October 9th, 1953 in Green Bay, WI, Shalhoub developed his passion for theater at the youthful age of six when he volunteered via his sister to play an extra in a high-school production of The King and I. Shalhoub was hooked. After earning his master's degree from the Yale Drama School and spending four seasons at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, Shalhoub packed his bags for New York where he began a luminous career on Broadway. Broadway brought Shalhoub success not only in his career, but in his personal life as well: he was nominated for a Tony for his role in Conversations With My Father and he met his future wife, actress Brooke Adams, while acting in The Heidi Chronicles. It was not long after his Broadway success that Shalhoub made his feature debut, as a doctor in the 1990 AIDS drama Longtime Companion.Shalhoub's film career has been a testament to his range and a compliment to his abilities. Though prone to comedy, his dramatic roles have gained him just as much, if not more, recognition than his comedic roles. Winning the Best Supporting Actor award from the National Society of Film Critics for his well-researched role in Big Night (1996), Shalhoub expanded his dramatic film repertoire with roles in A Civil Action and The Siege (both 1998), while always maintaining his knack for humor (1997's Men in Black). Shalhoub's role as the ultra-mellow "anti-Scottie" in the Star Trek send-up Galaxy Quest (1999) proved that his comic persona was indeed still as sharp as ever. Sticking in the sci-fi/fantasy mold for his roles in Imposter and Spy Kids (both 2001), Shalhoub once again proved that he could do 180-degree character turnarounds with ease.Though Shalhoub would stay in sci-fi mode for his role in Men in Black 2, he would return to solid ground with his role as an obsessive-compulsive detective in the well-received television pilot Monk (2002). Directed by Galaxy Quest helmer Dean Parisot, the pilot for Monk successfully paved the way for the curiously innovative USA series to follow and found the actor warmly re-embracing the medium that had propelled him to stardom. As Monk's popularity continued to grow, Shaloub found success on the big screen in the role of a gifted psychologist for The Great New Wonderful (2005), and voiced the lovable Luigi in Cars (2006) and Cars 2 (2011). In 2007, he worked alongside John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson for the supernatural horror film 1408.

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: Parents show dogs professionally. Encouraged her siblings, Ryot and Liberty, to try out for the first season of Amazing Race Australia. Contracted malaria while serving a year in South Africa as a Rotary International Youth Ambassador from Australia. Became a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig in Australia in 2011. Trained at the New York Film Academy and the Second City Training Center, after receiving a scholarship via the Australian Theatre for Young People. Launched her own clothing line, for Torrid, in 2015.

Trivia: A veteran of film, television, and the stage, frequent movie tough-guy Michael Rispoli, with his stocky build and unmistakable East Coast dialect, is the virtual personification of New York attitude. Born and raised in Tappan, NY, Rispoli launched his acting career at New York's famed Circle in the Square. Subsequently appearing for many years on the New York stage, Rispoli would turn up in such mainstay productions as Twelfth Night, MacBeth, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Though he would play up his tough-guy image in such early film and television appearances as Household Saints (1993) and Above the Rim (1994), his penchant for humor would slowly find Rispoli expanding his cinematic territory into comedy and lighter material such as Hacks (2001) and Death to Smoochy (2002). Nevertheless, frequent small-screen appearances in Third Watch, Big Apple, and most notably in the award-winning HBO organized crime-themed The Sopranos has found Rispoli frequently returning to the character roles that he so excels at. After a memorable supporting role in the romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping (1995), Rispoli leapt into leading man territory in the little-seen but warmly regarded romantic drama Two Family House (2000). As a blue-collar Italian-American New Yorker confronted with racism when he becomes romantically involved with an Irish immigrant who births an African-American child, Rispoli displayed a warmth and depth not yet reached in his previous two-dimensional roles, hinting at a promising future for the talented actor. On the heels of prominant supporting roles in such features as Mr. 3000, The Weatherman, and Lonely Hearts, Rispoli continued to flourish in features when he appeared in the inspirational 2006 sports drama Invincible.

Trivia: Great-great-grandfather Levi P. Morton was vice president of the U.S. under President Benjamin Harrison and was governor of New York; he also drove the ceremonial first rivet into the Statue of Liberty and was the first American to climb it. Great grandfather Frank L. Polk was acting secretary of state under President Woodrow Wilson. Drawn to acting as a child after watching her dad perform in Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Screen debut was in the 1999 short film Loves Me Loves Me Not. Films include National Lampoon's Van Wilder and Elizabethtown. Volunteers for Reading Is Fundamental. Enjoys sailing and cooking.

Trivia: American comic actor Larry Hankin was first seen on a major coast-to-coast basis in 1969. He was one of the members of a young, hip comedy troupe (including David Steinberg and Lily Tomlin) on an odd 45-minute TV variety series The Music Scene. Before this program, Hankin had a small part in the 1968 film domestic comedy How Sweet it Is (1968); after Music Scene, the actor had the misfortune to appear in the legendary all star fiasco The Phynx (1970), which never did get a general release. Hankin remained a supporting player, having a few moments here and there in such films as Thumb Tripping (1972), Ratboy (1986), She's Having a Baby (1988) and Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1991). TV fans could see Larry Hankin in the occasional guest role in series like All in the Family.

Trivia: The slightly gritty and wizened Cuban-American actor Tony Plana boasts a resumé that is no less than extraordinary. Whatever the limitations of Hispanic typecasting, Plana soared high above them from the time of his debut in the early '80s, seeking out roles in several of Hollywood's most respected and venerable films -- ethnically themed and otherwise. He first culled attention as Rudy in Luis Valdez's stylized, theatrical period piece Zoot Suit (1981), starring a then-unknown Edward James Olmos. Plana's subsequent efforts read like a best-of early-'80s cinema; he tackled An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Love and Money (1982), Valley Girl (1983), and El Norte (1983), all within a few years of one another. Plana was particularly effective as Fr. Manuel Morantes in John Duigan's wondrous, overlooked biopic Romero (1989, about archbishop and activist Oscar Romero) and as Carlos Bringuier in Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). In the 2000s, Plana unveiled a heightened interest in television, gracing the casts of such series as Ally McBeal and The Drew Carey Show as an occasional guest performer. Plana is best known to younger viewers, however, for two small-screen portrayals: that of cutthroat terrorist Omar in 24, and -- on a very different note, Ignacio -- the widower dad of the title character -- on the comedy drama Ugly Betty. Educationally, Plana trained in the drama programs at Loyola Marymount University and London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He made the leap from acting to directing with two projects: A Million to Juan (1994, co-helmed with Paul Rodriguez) and The Princess and the Barrio Boy (2000). The latter constitutes Plana's directorial debut. It tells of a young well-to-do Hispanic woman (Marisol Nichols) who bucks convention by falling for a working-class boy, and simultaneously attempts to stand in the way of her father's marriage to a wicked lover.

Trivia: With a cool stoic gaze suggesting unmentionable thoughts lurking somewhere deep behind those deep, blank eyes, popular character actor Peter Stormare offered American audiences slightly discomforting comic relief in Joel and Ethan Coen's popular dark comedy Fargo (1996), though his versatility and adaptability have since led him to roles in everything from major Hollywood blockbusters to the stripped-down Dogma 95 efforts of eccentric Danish director Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark (2000). Born Peter Rolf Stormare in Arbra, Sweden, on August 27th,1953, the dynamic Nordic actor began his career with an 11-year stint with the Royal National Theater of Sweden. Aside from appearing in such productions as Don Juan and The Curse of the Starving Class, Stormare would pen such original plays as El Paso and The Electric Boy. Later earning positive critical reception in such classic Shakespearian productions as King Lear, the actor made his big-screen debut, and began a 15-year association with legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, with a brief appearance in Fanny and Alexander in 1982. Later earning positive critical reception for his role in the legendary filmmaker's stage adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet in 1988, Stormare continued to gain career trajectory with numerous memorable stage and film roles in his native country. In 1990, Stormare became the Associate Artistic Director at the Tokyo Globe Theatre and made his American screen debut as a neurochemist who questions Robin Williams' experimental medical tactics in the touching Awakenings. Subsequently appearing in numerous international films (Freud's Leaving Home [1991] and Damage [1992]), Stormare hit his stateside stride with his chilling turn as a woodchipper-happy kidnapper in Fargo. Though he would continue to make appearances in such Swedish efforts as Ett Sorts Hades and Bergman's In the Presence of a Clown (1996 and 1997 respectively), his Hollywood star was on the rise with memorable roles in such increasingly mega-budgeted efforts as The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Armageddon (1998). Equally adept in comparatively low-budget efforts such as director George Romero's Bruiser (2000) and the aforementioned Dancer -- two roles which couldn't possibly be more polar opposites -- Stormare branched out into sitcom territory with his turn as Julia Louis-Dreyfuss' enamored superintendent in the ill-fated Watching Ellie in 2002. It wasn't long before Stormare was back on the silver screen, and with the same year potential blockbuster triple threat of The Tuxedo, Windtalkers, and Minority Report, it appeared as if Stormare's unique talents were as in-demand as ever. 2002 also found the established actor branching out with his role as producer of the romantic comedy The Movie Nut and His Audience.In 2005 he joined the cast of The Brothers Grimm in the role of an interogator, and took on a regular role in the television drama Prison Break. Stormare made guest appearances on a variety of television stand-outs throughout the 2000s, among them including Weeds, Monk, Entourage, and Hawaii Five-0.

Trivia: Best known for his role as Arwin in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Has done extensive voice work as well as live action film and television. Voiced numerous roles in The Loud House.

Trivia: With his knack for staging visually flashy blockbuster mayhem, Michael Bay became the commercial leader among a new, 1990s generation of advertising-and-MTV-bred directors. Hollywood to the core, Bay has claimed that he was the illegitimate child of a popular director of the 1970s -- although he won't reveal who -- and was given up for adoption at birth. Raised in Los Angeles, he spent his childhood staging Super-8 action movies. He studied film at Wesleyan University and the Pasadena Arts Center, where a Coke commercial he shot as a student project attracted offers to make the real thing. His Coke, Nike, Budweiser, and award-winning "Got Milk?" ads resulted in a 1994 Director's Guild nomination for Best Commercial Director. He was then tapped by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to make the kind of slick escapism that defined their 1980s heyday; Bay's directorial debut, Bad Boys (1995), became a star-maker for Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.Bay made his movie name with his second feature, The Rock (1996). While the lead trio of Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Ed Harris lent a modicum of class to the over-the-top story concerning treason and Alcatraz, Bay's rapid edits, mobile camera, multi-colored lighting effects, and extreme camera angles never let the narrative energy flag. Popular beyond expectations, The Rock remade the idiosyncratic Cage into a 1990s action star and put Bay on the directorial A-list. Bay's third film, Armageddon (1998), proved that The Rock was no commercial fluke. Although it was the second "asteroid" movie in three months, Armageddon's adrenalized, effects-laden exploits and a cast mixing veterans with hip newcomers turned it into one of the summer's top hits. Armageddon's success set the stage for a bigger, more ambitious, and far more expensive Bay film the next time out: 2001's historical epic/action hybrid Pearl Harbor. Aiming to out-Titanic Titanic, Bay took the events of December 7, 1941, and grafted them onto a fictional love triangle as vapid as it was implausible. The film's budget -- at the time, it was rumored to be the most expensive production ever -- assured that its 40-minute recreation of the 90-minute bombing would indeed be spectacular (in a hyper-edited, Bay sort of way). Unsurprisingly, critics eviscerated the film. But, despite a huge Memorial Day weekend opening and a by other standards large 198 million dollars in U.S. grosses, the public didn't respond to Pearl Harbor, either, and it failed to become the mega-blockbuster it was designed to be.In the next few years, Bay returned to the franchise that made his name, reuniting Will Smith and the errant Martin Lawrence for the predictably profitable (if surprisingly overlong) Bad Boys II. However, venturing outside of his tough-guys comfort zone for the futuristic sci-fi thriller The Island in 2005, Bay experienced his first true flop. The film combined two stars whose ability to open a picture had not yet been tested -- Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson -- and a premise that seemed more Logan's Run than The Matrix. Bay's dystopian, clones-on-the-run vision came and went in America, although it had better staying power in the worldwide market, where its stars had more influence.Bay augmented his career by producing a string of slick, profitable horror remakes (The Hitcher, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and its prequel) as he geared up for a remake of his own, bringing the venerable animated kid's show The Transformers to the big screen in 2007. It was such a box-office behemoth that he would make numerous sequels to the project over the next few years. While those would take up the majority of his directorial duties, Bay continued to work as producer on horror film remakes of classics like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street.