Trivia: One known for straddling careers as a model, singer and actress, performer Milla Jovovich sported an utterly unique square-jawed look and the starkest of features that betrayed her Eastern European origins. Born to a Russian actress and a Yugoslavian doctor in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on December 17, 1975, Jovovich moved with her family to Sacramento, CA, when she was five. She began her professional modeling career at the age of 11, spending most of her teen years displaying her exotic, blue-eyed beauty on the covers of numerous magazines and in service of countless products.While pursuing a successful modeling career, Jovovich also began acting, appearing in Zalman King's softcore Two Moon Junction (1988) as Sherilyn Fenn's little sister and Return to the Blue Lagoon, the 1991 sequel to the endearingly awful Brooke Shields flesh-fest Blue Lagoon (1980). Following a role in Richard Linklater's high-school slacker opus Dazed and Confused (1993), Jovovich took a break from acting and also put her modeling career on hold. She turned instead to music, recording an album, The Divine Comedy, that received surprisingly good reviews. After touring for a few months, Jovovich returned to California and revived her acting career with the help of French director Luc Besson, who cast her in The Fifth Element in 1996. An incredibly stylish sci-fi chase film set in the 23rd century, it featured Jovovich as a tangerine-haired alien, speaking in gibberish and wearing little more than artfully placed ace bandages designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier. The film put her back on the Hollywood radar, something given further assistance by Jovovich's marriage to Besson (married in 1997, the two divorced in 1999). The following year Jovovich had a substantial role as a prostitute in Spike Lee's He Got Game, and, in 1999, she again stepped in front of the camera for Besson, this time to play the title role in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. She received strong notices for her work, although the film itself earned less than a warm reception. The following year, Jovovich appeared in Wim Wenders' futuristic The Million Dollar Hotel as a mental patient in the titular establishment. In 2001, Jovovich once again stepped into the lead, this time battling the undead in the action-oriented film version of the popular survival horror video game Resident Evil (2002).As the years progressed, that assignment would continue to color and define Jovovich's choices, as she soon agreed to headline each of the follow-ups, Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). The films received critical excoriation for their mindless, effects-heavy setups and nearly incoherent premises, but no matter: the franchise caught on with the public in a big way and turned Jovovich into an A-list action star, paving the way for the lead role in the nearly indistinguishable outing Ultraviolet (2006). In the meantime,Jovovich occasionally tackled varied material. She delivered a particularly off-beat and quirky performance as a singer who drifts into a Yiddish music career in the comedy-drama Dummy (2004), and in the role of Drusilla in director Gore Vidal's remake of Caligula.She worked alongside Robert DiNiro and Edward Norton in 2009's psychological drama A Perfect Getaway, and returned to the Resident Evil series in 2010 with Resident Evil: Afterlife. Jovovich played Milday de Winter in 2011's The Three Musketeers, and headlined yet another Resident Evil in 2012, Resident Evil: Retribution. In 2014, she appeared in an updated version of Shakespeare's Cymbeline.

Trivia: A Muay Thai master whose formidable martial arts skills have dazzled action lovers in such films as Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector), Tony Jaa was first inspired to take up fighting when, at the age of 15, he first saw director Panna Rittikrai's classic action film Born to Fight. A breathtaking martial arts masterpiece that proved to Jaa there were indeed opportunities for a young action star in Thailand, Born to Fight would inspire the impressionable viewer to begin training harder than ever before. Nicknamed Tony Jaa by Ong Bak director Prachya Pinkaew (the "T" in Tony stands for Thailand, and the "Jaa" is the actor's Thai nickname), the talented martial artist is better known in his native Thailand by the name Jaa Panom.A native of the rural Surin province which is located some 200 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, Jaa took a cue from his Muay Thai-boxer father and began training at the age of ten. It was shortly thereafter that a Jackie Chan movie prompted young Jaa to begin a rigorous training regiment that would instill him with the deadly dexterity of his cinematic idol, with a subsequent, junior-high-school viewing of Born to Fight offering a vivid vision of a future in film. Granted permission by his father to seek out Rittikrai and ask permission to become the filmmaker's student, Jaa traveled to the nearby Khon Kaen province to meet the man who could make all of his dreams come true. It was over the course of the next three years that Jaa truly immersed himself in the film industry, rapidly rising through the ranks from water boy to best boy while constantly practicing martial arts during his down time. When Jaa graduated from senior high and Rittikrai recommended that the rising star refine his skills at the University of Physical Education in Sarakam Province; a stint studying Taekwondo, Bushido, Ju-Jitsu, gymnastics, and stick- and sword- fighting at the school provided just the kind of well-rounded education needed to expand his skills and take his career to the next level. Weekend training sessions with Rithikrai soon convinced the veteran and star that his young protégé had the skills to truly shine on the big screen, with an invitation to join Rithikrai's skilled stunt team offering Jaa the irresistible opportunity to finally merge the artistry of film with the beauty of martial arts. His eye-popping fusion of gymnastics and Muay Thai boxing resulted in the formation of a group that performed in various high schools in the northeastern provinces of Thailand, as well as a local sword team which eventually allowed the emerging martial artist to travel to China as an exchange student. Jaa was later named the official representative of the University of Physical Education throughout northeastern Thailand and Bangkok, and was awarded multiple medals in sword, staff, gymnastic, and track and field events. His skills as a performer steadily expanding thanks to his role as a stunt man in the Thai television series Golden Eagle, Jaa would soon bring his skills to the big screen when, in 1997, he appeared as an uncredited stunt double for Robin Shou in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. It wasn't until the release of Ong Bak some six years later that Jaa would receive full credit for his remarkable martial arts skills, with the stripped-down brutality of Muay Thai offering a refreshing change of pace from the graceful wire-fu that saturated the international film market in the wake of The Matrix. The result of four years of Muay Thai training on behalf of Jaa, Ong Bak proved that the human body is capable of amazing things even without the aid of computer animation. A playfully placed invitation courting renowned French action producer/filmmaker Luc Besson eventually paid off when Ong Bak caused quite a rift in its native Thailand, with the highly regarded filmmaker subsequently agreeing to re-edit the film for international release. By this point Jaa had been named heir apparent to the legacies of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan by nearly every film critic from Bangkok to Hollywood, and on top of that, the emerging martial arts icon developed a whole new form of Muay Thai (dubbed "Muay Thai Cochisai" for using the movements of an elephant) with which to woo audiences in the eagerly anticipated action entry Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector).

Trivia: Ron Perlman grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City, where his father was a radio/TV repairman and his mother an employee with the city's Department of Health. A profoundly unhandsome youth, Perlman was nonetheless very active in high school theater by virtue of his height (6-foot-2) and his deep, rolling voice. He continued studying drama at Lehman College and later at the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a master's degree in theater arts. He went to work with New York's Classic Stage Company, an organization specializing in Elizabethan and Restoration plays. Perlman starred in several Manhattan and touring productions staged by Tom O'Horgan of Hair fame before accepting his first film role as a Neanderthal man in 1981's Quest for Fire. Emotionally drained, Perlman backed off from acting after finishing the movie, but was soon back in the groove, essaying such attention-getting roles as the hunchbacked Salvatore in The Name of the Rose (1986). Most often cast as brooding, inarticulate, villainous characters in films (such as Pap in 1993's The Adventures of Huck Finn), Perlman became best known for his performance as the beneficent, albeit hideously ugly, sewer-dwelling Vincent in the late-'80s TV series Beauty and the Beast. Though this remained the actor's defining role for years after the show's run had drawn to a close, he was busier than ever through the '90s. Appearing in everything from obscure arthouse hits (Cronos [1993] and The City of Lost Children [1995]) to voice-over work for television (Aladdin) and video games (Fallout, A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game) to overblown Hollywood blockbusters (Alien Resurrection), Perlman left few stones unturned in terms of flexibility and experimentation in new media. He continued this trend into the early 2000s, alternating between various arenas with remarkable ease and refusing to be pigeonholed, appearing in such high-profile releases as Titan A.E. (2000), Enemy at the Gates (2001), and Blade II (2002). Though his recognition factor seemed higher than ever, few could foresee the opportunity just ahead when Blade II and Cronos director Guillermo del Toro announced that Perlman would star in the film adaptation of Mike Mignola's popular comic book Hellboy, although it seemed highly unlikely that studios would invest the millions of dollars needed to bring the comic to life with an actor of such minimal "marquee value." They wanted Vin Diesel for the role, but del Toro, with the blessing and encouragement of character originator Mignola, eventually won out to have Perlman play the Nazi-creation-turned-superhero in the 2004 fantasy-action film.

Trivia: One of the most successful rap MCs of the early 2000s, Tip Harris (born Clifford Harris in Atlanta in 1980, and occasionally credited by his musical pseudonym, T.I.), earned the moniker "the Jay-Z of the South" for his ability (like the said East Coast rapper) to meld toughness and smoothness with great dexterity. With such album releases as the 2003 Trap Muzik, the 2004 Urban Legend, and the 2006 King, T.I. not only seemed able to do no wrong in terms of numbers, but attained such popularity that he could soon be heard within a couple of hours on any major urban radio station.T.I. segued into film work in the mid-2000s with two parts: the lead in the gentle, slice-of-life ensemble drama ATL (2006) -- a picture about a young man and his friends growing up amid a difficult and confusing life in Atlanta -- and a small role in the Denzel Washington-headlined period crime drama American Gangster (2007), directed by Ridley Scott.

Trivia: Worked as an actor in Mexican television from the age of 12, including a stint on the soap opera Rebelde. Despite acting in Mean Girls 2, he did not attend high school; was tutored while working. Recorded his first album Diego in Spanish in 2005, and then rerecorded it in Portuguese in 2006. Produced and wrote most of Indigo, his second Spanish-language album, in 2008. Hobbies include surfing and horseback riding.

Trivia: Meagan Good started acting onscreen in the late '90s, and has worked in a wide array of genres. Her first major film role was in Kasi Lemmons' gently observed, well-received ensemble drama Eve's Bayou (1997). Good followed it up with such projects as the romantic comedy Deliver Us From Eva (2002), the teen dance film You Got Served (2004), and the post-noir mystery Brick (2005). In 2007, Good signed for a supporting role in the Mike Myers comedy The Love Guru (2008). Though that film was an infamous turkey, she continued to find work in projects such as 35 & Ticking (which she co-produced), Jumping the Broom, and the sleeper box office hit Think Like a Man, as well as the drama The Obama Effect.

Trivia: Made his TV debut on the Australian soap opera Home and Away in 2007. Prepared for his role as a marine in the 2010 TV mini-series The Pacific by attending a boot camp that included training with real weapons, eating from ration packs and learning songs. Made his feature-film debut in Animal Kingdom (2010). In 2010, performed in Play With the Penguin at Summer Shorts 4, a festival of new short plays in New York. Broke his finger while filming Australian rules football drama Blinder (2013).