Trivia: A graduate -- like Will Ferrell, Kathy Griffin, and many others -- of the famed Groundlings comedy troupe in Southern California, comic-turned-actor/screenwriter Will Forte segued from that stage ensemble into a series of small-screen producing assignments, on such sitcoms as 3rd Rock From the Sun and That '70s Show. Forte only began to gain national attention, however, when he signed on as one of the regular cast members of Saturday Night Live in 2002. Within the framework of that series, the comic parlayed his versatile all-American winsomeness into a host of diverse characterizations including President George W. Bush, The Falconer, Senator Zell Miller, and Tim Calhoun. Meanwhile, he also authored scripts for Late Night with David Letterman on the side and penned a feature script, for the comic vehicle The Brothers Solomon (2007), in which he also starred opposite Will Arnett. In that picture, the men played John and Dean Solomon, two socially hopeless brothers desperate to find a woman to have their baby, to fulfill their dying father's last wish. At about the same time, Forte also joined scripters Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and others by contributing to the screenplay of the teen sex comedy Parental Guidance Suggested (2007). As an actor, Forte's resumé also includes roles in such comic romps as Beerfest (2006) and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. In 2008 he had a small part in Tina Fey's Baby Mama, and the next year he appeared in the Broken Lizard vehicle The Slammin' Salmon. In 2010 he wrote and starred in a big-screen adaptation of his recurring SNL character MacGruber, but the film met a chilly box office reception. In 2012 he had a part in the jukebox musical Rock of Ages.

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: The latest in an illustrious line of actors to convince American audiences that the British make the cinema's most sinister and cold-hearted villains, Jason Isaacs earned the vicarious enmity and disgust of filmgoers everywhere in his role as the vile Colonel Tavington in the 2000 summer blockbuster The Patriot. Actually an incredibly versatile performer whose previous characterizations included a priest, a brilliant scientist, and a drug dealer, the tall, blue-eyed actor won admiration and respect for his performance, and soon found himself being hailed in the American press as one of the most exciting British imports of the early 21st century.The third of four sons of a Liverpool merchant, Isaacs was born in his father's hometown on June 6, 1963. He initially planned to go into law -- a white-collar profession that would have fit nicely with those of his brothers, who became a doctor, lawyer, and accountant -- but was swayed by acting early in the course of his law studies at Bristol University. Although he first became interested in acting in part because "it was a great way to meet girls," Isaacs soon found deeper meaning in the theater (in one interview he was quoted as saying "I could release myself into acting in a way that I was not released socially") and duly dropped out of Bristol to hone his skills at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. Once in London, Isaacs began landing professional work almost immediately, appearing on the stage and on television. He made his big-screen debut in 1989 with a minor turn as a doctor in Mel Smith's The Tall Guy and that same year won a steady role on the TV series Capital City. Isaacs exhibited his versatility in several more TV series and on-stage in such productions as the Royal National Theatre's 1993 staging of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America. He also began to find more work onscreen, receiving his first nod of Hollywood recognition in his casting in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Armageddon (1998). Initially called upon to take a fairly substantial role, Isaacs was eventually cast in a much smaller capacity as a planet-saving scientist so that he could accommodate his commitment to Divorcing Jack (1998), a comedy thriller he was making with David Thewlis. After portraying a priest opposite Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes in Neil Jordan's acclaimed adaptation of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair, Isaacs got his biggest international break to date when he was picked to portray Colonel Tavington, the resident villain of Roland Emmerich's Revolutionary War epic The Patriot. Starring opposite Mel Gibson, who (naturally) played the film's hero, Isaacs made an unnervingly memorable impression as a man whose pastimes included infanticide, rape, and church- burning, emerging as one of summer 2000s most indelible screen presences. Although his work in the film earned him comparisons to Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of evil Nazi Amon Goeth in Schindler's List and talks of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, the actor was not content to be typecast in the historical scum mold. Thus, he logically signed on to play none other than a drag queen for his next project, Sweet November (2001), a romantic comedy-drama starring Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves. For his lead portrayal in the 2007 miniseries The State Within, Isaacs received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. Over the next several years, Isaacs appeared in films like Green Zone and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 2. He would also star in TV series like Case Histories and Awake.

Trivia: Began performing at the age of 7 with the dance company Fantasia Juvenil. At 16, was accepted into Columbia University NY- Theatrical Collaboration. Studied theater at the Atlantic Theatre Company and Experimental Theatre Wing. Learned to rap for her role in the indie film Filly Brown (2012).

Trivia: Actor Zac Efron's career began when he was just 11 years old, when his parents took note of his tremendous singing talent. They let him audition for a production of Gypsy, and he won a small role in a production that would run for 90 performances. He would eventually graduate to on-screen acting, scoring a recurring role on the hit series Summerland in 2004. This would seem like his big break, but an even bigger role would come the next year, in the hugely popular Disney feature High School Musical. Efron immediately earned a strong, loyal fan base, going on to star in big screen projects like Hairspray, 17 Again, Charlie St. Cloud, and The Lucky One.

Trivia: Wide-eyed actress Amanda Seyfried is best known to audiences for her hilarious performance as slow-witted but popular Karen Smith in the 2004 film Mean Girls. The former child model had graduated from high school the year before, though throughout her secondary education Seyfried had been acting on the popular soaps As the World Turns and All My Children, and by the time Mean Girls producers cast her for her big break, she was an experienced performer. She followed up the film's success with a role on the popular series Veronica Mars, playing the title character's murdered best friend in a series of "Laura Palmer-esque" flashbacks. She also took a role on the popular and controversial series Big Love before signing on to star in the big-screen adaptation of the popular Broadway play Mamma Mia!, a musical about a bride-to-be searching for her real father, set to the tunes of the popular Swedish disco group ABBA. She stretched her range with the 2009 erotic drama Chloe, and starred opposite Channing Tatum in the Nicholas Sparks adaptation Dear John the next year. In 2011 she was the lead in Red Riding Hood, and played opposite Justin Timberlake in the sci-fi film In Time.

Trivia: Began acting at the age of 16 when she landed roles on various Disney channel programmes, including Shake It Up!, Austin & Ally and Cloud 9. Worked at Abercrombie Kids as a teenager during her time working for Disney. Appeared in Trey Songz's music video for "SmartPhones" in 2014. Starred in DJ Snake's music video for "Middle" alongside fellow actor Josh Hutcherson. In 2015, was featured in Lady Gaga's music video "Til It Happens to You," which aimed to address college-campus rape culture. Is a talented singer who collaborated with Pharrell Williams on the soundtrack for Dope, a film that she also starred in. Enjoys using her fame as a platform to support social issues that she cares about, including LGBT rights, women's rights and combating racism in Hollywood.

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: His high school senior class voted him most likely to recede.While working on a dog food commercial, the producer's girlfriend suggested he audition for Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!Originally auditioned for the role of Scooby in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!Voiced eight of the original Decepticons and two of the original Autobots on the animated series The Transformers (1984).His Doctor Claw voice is the result of an impression of singer Barry White.His voice of the Cave of Wonder in Aladdin (1992) was based on Sir Sean Connery.Has voiced most of Scooby-Doo's Fred Jones, including animated series, parodies and cameos.The first voice actor to appear in two films that made $1 billion.Was honored with an Emmy Award for lifetime achievement in 2016.

Trivia: A child of theatrically-inclined parents. Is a web-based theatre critic under the name of IainLovesTheatre. In 2015, Perez Hilton hired him to cover the Tony Awards. Won the lead role on Young Sheldon by sending a home video of him reading the part. Known for playing Sheldon Cooper in Young Sheldon and Ziggy Chapman in Big Little Lies.

Trivia: Moved to California when she was 7.The 8-month audition process for the role of Mary Adler in Gifted (2017) included more than 600 girls.Learned how to ice-skate to prepare for her role as young Tonya Harding in the film I, Tonya (2017).Played young versions of many older characters, including Sabrina Spellman in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina; Tonya Harding in I, Tonya (2017); Carol in Captain Marvel (2019); Theo in The Haunting of Hill House; and Emma in Once Upon a Time.Supports PETA and Farm Sanctuary.

Trivia: Is of Puerto Rican descent.Started dancing at a very young age.Started her career as an actress when she was 6-years-old.Is an animal advocate.Is skilled at guitar.Is skilled at pottery.

Trivia: Christina Hendricks jump-started her career on television in the early 2000s, with a particularly effective multi-episode contribution to the medical drama ER. On that program, she played Joyce, a battered housewife given solace -- and shelter -- by one of the female employees of Cook County Hospital. Also in 2002, Hendricks appeared in a memorable role on the short-lived cult sci-fi series Firefly as the seductive, scheming conwoman Saffron (in two episodes, one of which never aired). She continued to find steady work on television, notably co-starring with Taye Diggs on the short-lived legal drama Kevin Hill (2004-2005). In 2007, Hendricks took on a prominant role on one of the most promising and original new series of 2007: Mad Men. Her work as Joan on the show earned her strong reviews as the show became the most respected on television winning the Emmy for best drama series each of its first four seasons. She parlayed that into a film career that includes appearances in I Don't Know How She Does It, Detachment, and the cult hit Drive, where she played a lethal criminal.

Trivia: A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, American actor Henry Winkler, born October 30th, 1945, first appeared on Broadway and in films (Crazy Joe, The Lords of Flatbush [both 1974]) before making the guest-star rounds on TV sitcoms. He worked several times for MTM productions, appearing in such roles as Valerie Harper's date on Rhoda and a charming thief undergoing psychoanalysis on The Bob Newhart Show. In 1973, Winkler was selected among hundreds of candidates (including ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz) to play the small recurring role of Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, a leather-jacketed auto mechanic, on the new TV sitcom Happy Days. Though the series' stars were ostensibly Ron Howard, Anson Williams, and Donny Most, the bulk of the fan mail sent to Happy Days during its first season was addressed to "the Fonz." By the time the second season rolled around, Winkler was afforded second billing and a larger slice of screen time on each week's episode. Soon the more impressionable TV fans of America were parroting such Fonzie catchphrases as "Aaaaay" and "Sit on it!," while the nonplussed Winkler, who always regarded himself as a Dustin Hoffman-esque character actor, climbed to teen-idol status, complete with fan magazine interviews, posters, and Fonzie dolls. He also enjoyed a substantial salary boost, from 750 dollars per episode to (eventually) 80,000 dollars. At first, the off-stage Winkler could be as testy and sarcastic as his on-stage persona, but as Fonzie assumed "role model" proportions, the actor began comporting himself in as polite and agreeable a manner as possible. Accordingly, Fonzie became less of a Marlon Brando-type hoodlum and more of a basically goodhearted, moralistic young fellow who happened to be a motorcycle-racing dropout. By the time Happy Days ended in 1983 (by which time Winkler was elevated to top billing), Fonzie was a "drop-in," with a good job as a high school shop teacher and the possibility of a solid marriage. During his Happy Days heyday, Winkler was determined to prove he was capable of playing parts above and beyond Fonzie by taking film roles as far removed from his TV character: the troubled Vietnam vet in Heroes (1977), the vainglorious actor-turned-wrestler in The One and Only (1981), a '30s-style Scrooge in An American Christmas Carol (1982), and the timorous morgue attendant in Night Shift (1983). Following the example of his Happy Days co-star Ron Howard, Winkler also began working his way into the production and direction end of the business. In addition, Winkler used his name value for the benefit of others, remaining active in charitable and political causes. After several years away from the camera, Winkler returned to acting in the 1991 TV-movie Absolute Strangers, playing the husband of a woman caught in the middle of a volatile pro-life/pro-choice argument. And in 1993, Henry Winkler starred in the brief TV sitcom Monty, portraying a bombastic Limbaugh-type conservative TV personality. Winkler appeared in Little Nicky (2006) and You Don't Mess With the Zohan (2008), both times playing himself. Winkler continued to take small roles and guest spots on television and film throughout the 2000s.

Trivia: Best known as one of the five founding members of the Broken Lizard Comedy Troupe (alongside director Jay Chandrasekhar and fellow comedians Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, and Erik Stolhanske), Kevin Heffernan came of age in West Haven, CT, attended the prestigious and exclusive Fairfield College Preparatory School in nearby Fairfield, and eventually enrolled in Colgate University, where he met Chandrasekhar and Co.; the bunch formed a collegiate comedy troupe called "Charred Goosebeak." Heffernan plays significant roles in the Lizard features, including 1996's Puddle Cruiser, 2001's Super Troopers, 2004's Club Dread, and 2006's Beerfest. He maintained a moderately high profile in Super Troopers, where he portrays the no-nonsense, by-the-book cop Farva, who makes an unsuccessful attempt to crack down the pot-smoking, prank-playing deadhead cops played by the other troupe members. Yet his prominence among his contemporaries increased quite a bit in Club Dread, in which he played a character called Lars. Heffernan edited, co-produced, and co-wrote the script for Puddle, edited and co-wrote Troopers, and co-wrote Club Dread and Beerfest. Like the other four members of the Lizard troupe, he also joined the ensemble cast of the poorly received (yet insanely lucrative) 2005 effort The Dukes of Hazzard, alongside Burt Reynolds, Seann William Scott, Johnny Knoxville, and Jessica Simpson; Heffernan plays Sheev. In addition to his Lizardian activities, Heffernan also co-wrote the script of Divine Trash, the 1998 documentary on cinematic "gutter king" John Waters, with director Steve Yeager. Critics responded quite favorably; The New York Times' Stephen Holden referred to the piece as "a fine and fascinating biography."

Trivia: Grew up with an older sister and a younger sister.Worked in his school yearbook and literary magazine, and was a member of the drama club.Began his career in radio as an intern at National Public Radio (NPR) in 1978.Worked as a production assistant to Keith Talbot at NPR.In 1995, developed This American Life with Torey Malatia after earning a grant from the MacArthur Foundation.Best know for hosting This American Life since 1995.

Trivia: Was nominated for an LA Weekly Theatre Award for her performance in an local production of Hamlet. Trained at the International Theatre Workshop in Amsterdam. Was the winner of the 2005 Emerging Young Artist award. Is half of the comedic duo, MANA, with Anna Konkle.

Trivia: A performer whose onscreen activity peaked in the 2000s, Puerto Rican-American actress Justina Machado specialized in portrayals of mature and professional Latina types, often with a pronounced maternal quality and a sexy edge. Early assignments consisted of bit roles in the Nick Cassavetes-directed drama She's So Lovely and the Steven Spielberg epic fantasy A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, as well as guest spots on such series as ER, Angel, and Touched by an Angel, though Machado only rose to fame courtesy of her portrayal of Vanessa Diaz, the wife of mortician Rico (Freddy Rodriguez), on the HBO drama Six Feet Under. In 2007, Machado appeared in a supporting role as Sophia, under the aegis of director Griffin Dunne, in the romantic comedy The Accidental Husband.