Trivia: A bald and frequently bespectacled screen presence whose "average Joe" appearance and keen talent allow him the unique ability to truly transform into the character at hand, Willie Garson may have won over Sex and the City viewers as protagonist Carrie's (Sarah Jessica Parker) endlessly loyal friend, but with over a decade of film and television appearances to his credit by that time, his success should certainly be labeled more "long-time coming" than "overnight sensation." Garson began training as an actor at New York's Actor's Institute in his early teens, and in the years following high school graduation he studied theater and psychology at Wesleyan University. It didn't take long for the talented stage and screen presence to find roles following his higher education, with guest appearances in such popular television shows as Family Ties, Mr. Belvedere, and Quantum Leap eventually leading to a supporting role in the well-received made-for-television feature The Deliberate Stranger. If his film roles throughout the majority of the '90s were generally of the thankless variety, Garson nevertheless grew increasingly active thanks to roles in such high-profile features as Groundhog Day, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, The Rock, and There's Something About Mary. A three-year stint in a supporting role in NYPD Blue showed Garson lending the series a decidedly human presence as Detective Simone's (Jimmy Smits) landlord. The stage-minded actor never forgot his roots, remaining constantly active with such New York-based theater companies as The Manhattan Theatre Club and The Roundabout Table. A long-time friend of actress Parker, Garson's friendship with the actress no doubt contributed to the easy rapport shared by the duo in the hit HBO series Sex and the City. With subsequent roles in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed sci-fi miniseries Taken, and in addition to such features as Freaky Friday proving that he was as much an "actor's actor" as a crowd-pleaser, Garson's post-Sex and the City career seemed as healthy as ever. He worked steadily in projects such as House of D, Fever Pitch, and in appeared in Jackass: Number Two. He returned to the small-screen as the lead in the series White Collar in 2009. In his increasingly non-existent spare time, Garson can be found reading to school children on a weekly basis as part of the Screen Actors Guild popular "Bookpals" program.

Trivia: Acclaimed as one of Britain's funniest standup comedians, Omid Djalili also retained the distinction of being the country's sole Iranian standup act. Following the smashing success in the 1995 Edinburgh Festival and such satirical U.K. efforts as Small Potatoes (2001) and Between Iraq and a Hard Place (2003), Djalili seemed poised to take the U.S. by storm with his supporting role in the new Whoopi Goldberg sitcom Whoopi. Born to an Iranian journalist and photographer who had settled in London in 1957, Djalili's father was both a contributor to Iran's top newspapers and a translator for the Iranian embassy. Severing his ties with the Iranian government following the 1979 Iranian revolution, the elder Djalili opened a medical hostile for Iranian immigrants, and it was there that young Omid witnessed his father's unique ability to entertain and began to get a true sense of the cultural differences between native-born Londoners and their Iranian immigrant counterparts. His enrollment in London's multi-cultural Holland Park school also served to provide young Djalili with a strong catalog of various foreign accents that would later prove key to his success as a standup act. Djalili graduated from the University of Ulster with a degree in English and theater arts in 1988, and embarked on a series of odd jobs after returning to London and being rejected from 16 different drama schools. Gradually working his way from the outskirts of the theater scene to small roles on stage and screen, it wasn't long before Djalili met his future wife, Annabel Knight, at a friends wedding and the two began collaborating on various projects. After working themselves into the experimental theater scene in the Czech Republic via a cultural exchange program, the couple was preparing to have their first child when Mrs. Knight decided to pen a one man play for her husband to star in. An introspective, humorous, and honest depiction of the struggle for truth in the face of religious prosecution, A Strange Bit of History proved an enormous hit after debuting in Edinburgh to capacity crowds. His crossover appeal in part the result of his ability to relate to numerous foreign cultures, Djalili took home the coveted LWT Stand Up Award in 1997 and has since gone on to numerous film and television roles. Djalili endeared himself to U.K. television audiences in the late '90s, and after making his film debut in the 1999 Hollywood blockbuster The Mummy, it seemed as if his appeal had made the sometimes difficult translation from the U.K. to the U.S. Alternating between work in Europe and America into the new millennium, Djalili received stateside exposure with roles in such high-profile releases as The World is Not Enough (1999) and Spy Game (2001) while maintaining U.K. credibility with supporting performances in Mean Machine (2001) and The Calcium Kid (2003). Following the premiere of Whoopi, Djalili began preparation for his role as Pablo Picasso in the feature Modigliani (2004). Over the next several years, Djalili would continue to remain a force on screen, appearing in films like Casanova and The Infadel, as well as TV series like The Paul Reiser Show.

Trivia: One of Spain's foremost leading ladies of the 1990s, Penélope Cruz has managed to make her mark with international audiences as well. Born in Madrid on April 28, 1974, Cruz was one of three children of a merchant and a hairdresser. After years of intensive study in ballet and jazz, she broke into acting in 1992. That year, she had starring roles in Jamón Jamón and Belle Epoque, two very disparate films. The former cast her as the desperately poor daughter of a village prostitute, while the latter featured her as one of four lusty daughters of a wealthy man in pre-Franco Spain. Belle Epoque proved to be a huge success, winning nine Goya Awards (the Spanish equivalent of an Academy Award) and an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Its success gave Cruz a dose of international recognition, and after starring in a number of Spanish films, she enhanced this recognition in 1997 with the Sundance entry Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes). That same year, she had a brief but memorable role in Pedro Almodóvar's Carne Trémula (Live Flesh). In 1998, Cruz had her first starring role in an English-language film, playing Billy Crudup's Mexican-American love interest in Stephen Frears' The Hi-Lo Country. She had another go at English later that year in the Spanish-British romantic comedy Twice Upon a Yesterday, which cast her as a Spanish barmaid living in London. In 1999, she returned to Spain to collaborate once again with Almodóvar on Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother), a wildly acclaimed film that premiered at Cannes that year.The next two years would prove to be a critical turning point in both Cruz's personal and professional life, with increasingly visible roles in large-scale Hollywood productions as well as a developing relationship with one Tinseltown's most popular leading men. Gaining notice for her roles in All the Pretty Horses in 2000 and Blow the following year, it appeared as if Cruz's career had suddenly kicked into overdrive. After starring alongside Nicolas Cage in the underperforming Captain Corelli's Mandolin in 2001, Cruz dove back into familiar territory with director Cameron Crowe's remake of Abre los Ojos, Vanilla Sky (2001). Developing a close relationship with lead Tom Cruise as his much publicized breakup with Nicole Kidman drew to a close, the pair soon found themselves the center of considerable paparazzi attention as they became Hollywood's hottest new couple.While "Cruz & Cruise" outlasted most celebrity couplings born on movie sets -- even generating wedding talk -- the duo went their separate ways in 2004. Perhaps not coincidentally, Cruz's career took a backseat to her paramour's while she was dating him; between 2001 and 2004, most of her roles were either minor ones in uncelebrated American indies (Waking Up in Reno, Masked and Anonymous, Noel) or meatier ones in foreign films that failed to gain traction in the States (Fanfan la Tulipe, Don't Move, Bandidas). Luckily, the actress rebounded with a performance thought by many critics to be the best of her career, when she re-teamed with one of her earliest champions, Pedro Almodóvar, for his nostalgic, bittersweet Volver in 2006. Warm, witty, and biting, Cruz's performance kept her name in the running for many year-end awards, even garnering her her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress.In 2008, Cruz earned strong reviews for her work in Elegy, but it was her turn in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona that garnered her Best Supporting Actress nods from the Hollywood Foreign Press, the Screen Actors Guild, and winning the trophy in that category from the Academy.She was nominated the next year for the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Oscar for her sexy supporting turn in Rob Marshall's big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Nine. Despite the film itself doing poorly, Cruz proved that she'd found a solid career trajectory as the 2010's progressed, appearing in projects like Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Trivia: A child performer who went on to become an adult actor in one of the more radical transformations in the history of the American entertainment industry, Sarah Jessica Parker has captained both a career and a public image that could be accurately classified under the heading Revenge of the Nerd. As a pubescent actor most famous for her roles in the acclaimed high school-set TV series Square Pegs and in the big screen's Footloose and Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Parker played the skinny girl with frizzy hair who was either the sidekick or underdog; when she wasn't cleaning up after Lori Singer in Footloose, she was battling snotty rich girls for the right to dance on local television in Girls Just Want to Have Fun. However, thanks to perseverance, talent, a fabulous stylist, and an HBO series called Sex and the City, Parker had emerged, by the end of the 1990s, as one of the most glamorous and employable actors around, known as much for the designer frocks she wore to awards ceremonies as for her work on the screen.Born in Nelsonville, OH, on March 25, 1965, as the fourth of eight siblings, Parker grew up in relative poverty following the divorce of her mother, an elementary school teacher, and her father, an aspiring writer. Raised by her mother and often out-of-work stepfather, she trained as a dancer and singer, bringing home paychecks from a young age. As a fledgling actor, Parker landed her first TV show at the age of eight; in 1976, after winning her first Broadway role in The Innocents, her family moved to New Jersey to encourage her career. Parker worked on the stage for the next few years, touring -- with four of her siblings -- in the national company of The Sound of Music and getting her first major break when she was chosen to take over the title role of Annie on Broadway, from 1979 to 1980.Continuing her training at the American Ballet Theater and the New York Professional Children's School, Parker made her film debut in the 1979 Rich Kids, which co-starred John Lithgow, Trini Alvarado, and Olympia Dukakis. In 1982, she won her first starring role in the aforementioned Square Pegs, and then received additional attention thanks to her role as Lori Singer's best friend and Chris Penn's girlfriend in the 1984 hit Footloose. The following year, Parker kept on dancing -- this time alongside a very young Helen Hunt -- in the similarly winning Girls Just Want to Have Fun. The actor's success in both films paved the way for steady work through the rest of the decade; in addition to her work on the big screen, Parker also starred in a number of TV shows, including the 1986 miniseries A Year in the Life and the drama series Equal Justice.The early '90s saw Parker segue into more adult roles, playing the Southern Californian creation SanDeE* alongside Steve Martin in L.A. Story (1991), then earning both critical and cult credibility as Nicholas Cage's fiancée in Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) and as the wife of consummate schlockmeister Ed Wood in Tim Burton's celebrated 1994 film about Wood's life and times. Offscreen, as well, she was garnering notice for her attachment to actor Matthew Broderick; Parker -- who had been in high-profile relationships with Robert Downey Jr. and John F. Kennedy Jr. -- married Broderick in 1997.Following a turn as Mia Farrow's daughter in the widely panned Miami Rhapsody (1995), supporting work in The First Wives Club and Burton's Mars Attacks! (both 1996), and a number of New York productions (including Sylvia, for which she earned a Drama Desk Award nomination), Parker landed the starring role of New York sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw on the new HBO series Sex and the City. Touted by some observers as the luckiest break in the actor's career to date, the show, which focused on the sex lives of four close friends (played by Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis) became a huge hit among both critics and viewers, ensuring Parker -- who won the Golden Globe for her work in 2000, 2001and 2002 -- both steady employment and an unimpeachably chic image that was eons removed from the bony elbows and frizzy bangs of her days as a square peg.Parker continued to appear in film roles during and after the Carrie Bradshaw years; among them include a starring role in The Family Stone (2005), and a supporting role in the 2008 comedy drama Smart People. In 2010 she starred in Sex and the City 2, and played a devoted mother attempting to balance her family with her career in 2011's comedy drama I Don't Know How She Does It.

Trivia: Supporting player David Alan Basche did some of his earliest work on the small screen, with guest appearances on such smash series as Law & Order, Frasier, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He broke through to full acclaim, however, not on television but on the big screen -- by essaying the role of Todd Beamer, one of the more famous victims of September 11th Flight 93, in Paul Greengrass' Oscar-winning docudrama United 93 (2006). Basche then signed for the lead in the much different I'll Believe You (2007) -- a comedy drama about a hick-town radio host who picks up signs of extraterrestrial activity via an on-air distress signal. Basche's next project involved taking a regular supporting role in the Brooke Shields-headlined prime-time drama Lipstick Jungle -- a Sex and the City-style romp (from the same author, Candace Bushnell) that traces the vicissitudes in the lives of New York's "Three Most Powerful Women." In 2011 he appeared in The Adjustment Bureau.

Trivia: Actress Alice Eve began her onscreen career in 2004, with appearances in the TV movies Hawking and The Rotters' Club, in addition to the feature film Stage Beauty. She would go on to take on a major role in the 2006 sleeper hit Starter for 10, before moving on to appear in Big Nothing, Losing Gemma, and Crossing Over. Moving into the 2010s, Eve starred as the unattainable lead character in She's Out of My League, and also signed on to appear in Sex and the City 2. In 2012 she landed a big part in The Raven, and was cast in the star-studded sequel Men in Black 3. She also appeared in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).

Trivia: A veteran of film and television, Chris Noth is probably best known for his work on Law and Order and HBO's Sex and the City, the latter of which featured him as the charming but terminally untrustworthy Mr. Big, erstwhile boyfriend/bad habit of the series' heroine, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker). Hailing from Madison, WI, where he was born November 13, 1954, Noth moved around a lot throughout his childhood, living in England, Yugoslavia, and Spain. Returning to the States, he studied with the storied acting coach Stanford Meisner before being accepted into the prestigious Yale School of Drama.Noth got his start on the stage and in television performing at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT, and appearing in productions with theater companies across the country, including the Manhattan Theater Club and Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum. Working in television beginning in 1982, he did a number of shows before breaking into film with small parts in Off Beat (1986) and the Diane Keaton comedy Baby Boom (1987). Noth's big break came in 1989, when he was chosen to play Det. Mike Logan on Law and Order. Noth portrayed the young policeman for five seasons, winning both critical nods and fans, many of whom were saddened when his Law and Order contract was not renewed in 1995. Noth continued to work on television and did minor work in films such as Naked in New York (1994) before getting his next big break in the form of Sex and the City (1998). As Big, he was one of the few male characters who could hold his own in the presence of the series' strong female protagonists, played by Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Kristin Davis. The show proved to be an enormous critical and commercial hit, in the process winning Noth more fans. He would reprise the role for subsuquent big screen adaptations of the show, in addition to other films like My One and Only and Lovelace. Noth would also enoy successful turns on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, and Titanic: Blood and Steel.

Trivia: Spent time as a child on the set of The Cosby Show with her mother Phylicia Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable on the program. Studied classical piano for ten years during her childhood. Won the Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance in 2009 for her work in the off-Broadway play Ruined. Starred alongside Orlando Bloom in a 2013 Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet.

Trivia: Was raised in Eatonville, Florida.Worked at the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, the Orlando Sentinel.Started his acting career in theater.In 2008, released his debut studio album This Is the Life!In 2014, became the first African American to play the role of the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.A founding member of Black Theatre United.

Trivia: Primarily a stage actress, Lynn Cohen has also done some memorable work in film and television. Her stage credits include performances at the Lincoln Center Theater and the New York Shakespeare Festival. In 1993, she made her feature film debut in Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery. The same year, she guest-starred on the NBC crime drama Law & Order as Arraignment Judge Elizabeth Mizener, a role she would continue for the next decade. Her other television appearances include the reoccurring role of Magda on HBO's Sex and the City. On the big screen, Cohen also appeared in Louis Malle's Vanya on 42nd Street, adapted from the play by Anton Chekhov. During the mid '90s, she appeared in several small independent films by up-and-coming female directors, such as Mary Harron's I Shot Andy Warhol, Nicole Holofcener's Walking and Talking, and Sharon Pollack's Everything Relative. During this time, she also read at several of the Fifth Night Screenplay Readings at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City. She also appeared in the childhood drama Hurricane, the romantic comedy Once We Were Strangers, and the addiction drama The Jimmy Show. Back on the stage, she appeared in The Golem at the Manhattan Ensemble Theater during the 2002-2003 season. In 2004, she appeared in Enid Zentelis' independent coming-of-age drama Evergreen, which was part of the dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

Trivia: Is of Cuban-Dominican descent. Became interested in acting during elementary school after seeing a play by the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. Was cast in her first professional acting job in a stage production of Simpson Street with the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. Starred in New World Stages' production of Celia in 2007. Played the role of Lela in an off-Broadway production of Basilica. Partnered with Orgullosa to donate $30,000 to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Is an Angel Ambassador for Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research. Attended a prom for teen patients of the Children's Hospital at Montefiore in 2015. Is an activist for LGBT rights and has a sister who is a transgender woman.

Trivia: Steel-hewn, barrel-chested screen performer Max Ryan sported a rugged, threatening image that immediately placed him in a tight genre niche in action movies; producers typically, though not always, cast him as the villain. Among other accomplishments, Ryan made one of his earliest appearances as a heavy opposite martial arts superstar Jet Li in Chris Nahon's action thriller Kiss of the Dragon (2001), played one of the nemeses of Sean Connery in Steve Norrington's muddled, roundly disappointing comic book-style adventure The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), and ushered in a sense of pure unadulterated evil with his portrayal of a psychotic, sadistic madman in Robby Henson's thriller Thr3e (2007). The following year, Ryan again starred as the villain, this time opposite Joan Allen and Jason Statham, in Death Race (2008), Paul W.S. Anderson's remake of the Corman outing Death Race 2000 (1975).

Trivia: Has had roles on the daytime soaps Guiding Light, All My Children and As the World Turns. Shared a kiss with Ed Westwick's character Chuck Bass in a 2009 episode of Gossip Girl. Was in the original 2009 Broadway production of Impressionism, starring Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen. Has been involved with the 52nd Street Project, a New York City theater company that is dedicated to the creation and production of new plays for, and often by, kids between the ages of 9 and 18. Appeared in a commercial for Old Spice's Danger Zone line of products that only aired in international markets.

Trivia: A popular screen figure of the 1980s and '90s whose casting in HBO's runaway hit series Sex and the City provided her career with a solid second wind, Emmy-winning actress Kim Cattrall has endured to prove that older women can retain their sexuality and femininity while simultaneously maintaining a vital screen presence. Born in Liverpool, England, Cattrall's parents immigrated the family to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, when the future actress was three years old. After returning to England at age 11 to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Cattrall finished high school in Vancouver, and at age 16 struck out on her own after winning a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Though director Otto Preminger would sign Cattrall to a five-year contract and give the actress her film debut in Rosebud (1975), Universal would soon step in to buy out her contract, making Cattrall one of the last actors to participate in the now defunct Universal Contract Player System. Following with television appearances in Starskey and Hutch and Charlie's Angels, and turning up in such features as Deadly Harvest (1977), it appeared as if good things were in store for Cattrall in the future. The dawn of the 1980s found Cattrall's star ascending in such features as Porky's (1981), and with the release of Police Academy in 1984 her face was becoming a familiar one to film and television audiences.Following up with such typically '80s fare as Turk 182! (1985), Cattrall essayed the role of the green-eyed girl whose fate was questionable in John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China (1986), the year before her most famous (until Sex and the City of course) role in Mannequin (1987). Essentially a typical '80s throwaway comedy, Cattrall's effervescent presence, combined with Starship's catchy title tune "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," gave the film such a boost that it even spawned a Cattrall-less sequel. It was following Mannequin that Cattrall's career began to stall in the wake of such instantly forgettable films as Honeymoon Academy (1990) and the Gary Busey actioner Breaking Point (1993), though her role in 1995's Live Nude Girls proved a curious precursor to her role on Sex and the City. A frank and funny HBO series based on the writings of New York Observer columnist Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City gave Cattrall a chance to shine as a lusty an unabashedly sexual PR executive whose confidence in the bedroom rivals only her confidence in the boardroom. A runaway hit that's popularity only grew as the show entered is sixth season, Sex and the City once again made Cattrall a household name as it influenced everything from fashion to the drinks of the New York scene. Cattrall's character made her a bigger pop culture icon than ever, and she would stick with the franchise throughout its spin-off movies, while also appearing in feature films like Ice Princess and The Ghost Writer.

Trivia: Born in Michigan but moved to Florida at a young age. Studied with actress Jane Alexander at Florida State University and the Asolo Theater in Florida. Studied playwriting and Shakespearean and Restoration performance under professors who worked with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Started a non-profit theater production company called I'm a Parade Productions. Wrote, produced and directed the short film Eggshells for Soil in 2010.

Trivia: Best known as Steve, the boyishly charming nice-guy bartender (and the perfect complement to his onscreen romantic partner, snappish Miranda Hobbes) in HBO's blockbuster original series Sex and the City, the slightly diminutive, raven-haired American character actor David Eigenberg was born in Manhasset, NY, on May 17, 1964. As the only boy in a family of six children, Eigenberg moved with his parents and sisters at age four to Naperville, IL, a farming community just outside of the Windy City -- where he remained through the end of adolescence. Eigenberg reportedly struggled as a student, barely scraping by; a handful of run-ins with the law and minor recreational drug abuse allegedly ensued. Eigenberg did graduate from Naperville High School in 1982, however, and was promptly accepted to the University of Iowa, where he planned to study social work. For better or worse, this was not to be, for the Chicagoan ripped his dormitory apart during the first semester and was promptly booted out of the university after five weeks.A stint in the Marines and various construction jobs followed, instilling in Eigenberg healthy amounts of much-needed self-discipline and a sharply honed work ethic. These skills paved the way for Eigenberg's true calling: acting. A love of the dramatic arts had already taken root for the thespian when -- at age 12 -- he had signed on to play a key role in a local production of Kurt Vonnegut's Happy Birthday, Wanda June, and received an outstanding review from a local critic. These fond memories doubtless came flooding back when an adult Eigenberg auditioned -- and was selected for -- a large part in the Dennis Rosa-directed Chicago stage musical One Shining Moment, opposite Megan Mullally and Alan Ruck. Dissatisfied with a mere taste of the theatrical arts and eager to extend acting into a full-time passion, Eigenberg subsequently moved to New York and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, working odd jobs on the side (construction et al.) to put himself through school.Scattered roles followed, including a guest appearance on The Cosby Show and a bit part in the awful 1989 generation-gap comedy Rude Awakening (co-starring Cheech Marin and Eric Roberts), but Sex and the City (which Eigenberg auditioned for out of innumerable hopefuls) represented the actor's first huge break. He reportedly auditioned for a small part, and though the show's producers did not deem him right for the characterization, they felt so impressed by Eigenberg's presence that they created the character of Steve Brady especially for him, as an extension of his own personality; the plan, again, was to create a sincere, committed, down-to-earth male paramour to offset Miranda's (Cynthia Nixon) cynicism.Though initially intended as a temporary part, the popularity of the character among viewers (and Eigenberg's onscreen chemistry with Nixon) led to Eigenberg's permanent inclusion on the show, as well as subsuquent movies.Circa 2002, Eigenberg expanded into film roles by playing the business partner of Richard Gere in Mark Pellington's underrated supernatural thriller The Mothman Prophecies. When Eigenberg's Sex and the City run ended with the wrap-up of that series (at the end of the 2003-2004 season), he continued his cinematic work, first voicing Nermal the Cat in the FX-extravaganza Garfield: The Movie, then playing Reggie, the lover of Alicia Goranson's Myra, in Adrienne Weiss' quirky indie romantic comedy Love, Ludlow. Eigenberg returned to the same genre amid a cast of unknowns with the 2007 film The Trouble with Romance, directed by Gene Rhee. He reprised his role in the Sex and the City movie in 2008 and the sequel in 2010. In 2012, he joined the cast of NBC's Chicago Fire, playing a firefighter in the Windy City.

Trivia: A true-blue New York actress who has worked on the stage and screen since her adolescence, Cynthia Nixon is probably best known to pop culture aficionados as Miranda Hobbes, the high-powered lawyer who has dated some of New York City's most dysfunctional men on HBO's Sex and the City. Although Nixon's starring role on the hugely popular series may have brought her to the attention of a new audience, observers of the New York theater had been watching the actor on and off Broadway since 1980, where she had performed in productions that included David Rabe's Hurlyburly, Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, Angels in America, and Indiscretions, for which she earned a Tony nomination.Born in New York City on April 9, 1966, Nixon made her film debut in the 1980 movie Little Darlings. She worked steadily through the rest of the decade, appearing in films ranging from Sidney Lumet's Prince of the City (1981) to Milos Forman's Oscar-winning Amadeus (1984) to Robert Altman's satirical Tanner '88, which cast her as the daughter of the titular politician. Nixon also worked on television, popping up in various miniseries, including the 1982 abortion drama My Body, My Child, in which she co-starred with Vanessa Redgrave and future Sex and the City co-star Sarah Jessica Parker. Continuing to appear on-stage in productions of Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (for which she won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award), and Philadelphia Story (for which she won a Theater World Award), Nixon also became a founding member of the off-Broadway theater group The Drama Dept. In 1998, after appearing onscreen sporadically throughout the 1990s, in such films as Addams Family Values (1993), the actor landed the most widely recognized role of her career up to that point, on Sex and the City. Co-starring alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, and Kristin Davis, Nixon, as the hilariously caustic Miranda, enjoyed critical praise and a number of awards and nominations for her work on the show, which formed another entry on an already long and varied resumé. She would reprise the role for big screen adaptations of the show, in addition to movie roles in Lymelife and An Englishman in New York, as well as a popular turn on the Showtime series The Big C.

Trivia: The bald and slightly diminutive, affable character actor Evan Handler began his career in big-screen features with a handful of memorable portrayals in films such as the military actioner Taps (1981); the gentle, underrated coming-of-age dramedy Sweet Lorraine (1987); and Oliver Stone's gonzo anti-media orgy Natural Born Killers (1994). After 1996, Handler focused almost exclusively on television, with both guest and recurring roles on popular programs (Friends, 24, Lost) and short-lived series (Hot Properties, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip). He is perhaps best-known for his recurring role on Sex and the City (in seasons five and six) as Charlotte's divorce lawyer, Harry Goldenblatt, who ultimately won her heart and became her husband. In 2007, Handler joined David Duchovny and Natascha McElhone with a regular role as Hank Moody's (Duchovny) agent and best friend, Charlie, on the quirky Showtime series comedy Californication. He reprised his role as Harry Goldenblatt for Sex and the City 2 in 2010, and worked in the HBO docudrama Too Big to Fail in 2011.Off-camera, Handler remains active in the theater; he essayed respectable performances in such New York-based stage productions as I Hate Hamlet (1991), Big Al (1992), and Time on Fire (1993).

Trivia: A high-energy performer with a strong comedic bent, Mario Cantone entered show business as host of the Gotham children's show Steampipe Alley. In that venue, Cantone turned more than a few heads by injecting adult-oriented comedic material into dialogue that evaded the younger set; in the process, he reeled in a substantial audience that transcended age barriers. Taking the success of this assignment as a cue, Cantone then delved headfirst into traditional standup comedy, in such top-tiered venues as Atlantic City, Broadway, and Carnegie Hall, and also ushered in a remarkably successful stage career on and off Broadway, in such varied productions as The Taming of the Shrew, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Tempest, and The Crumple Zone. In terms of on-camera work, Cantone is perhaps best known as Anthony Marantino, the flamboyant wedding planner and friend of Charlotte (Kristin Davis), on the blockbuster HBO series Sex and the City (1998-2004) -- a role he reprised in the 2008 big-screen version. Cantone's resumé also includes an appearance in Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza's standup documentary The Aristocrats (2005, delivering one of the more colorful and surrealistic monologues in that production), Charles Picerni's road comedy Three Days to Vegas (2007), and a voice in the family-oriented animated comedy Surf's Up (2007). Cantone returned to the small screen as well, scoring a recurring role on the romantic comedy drama Men in Trees (2006-2008); he portrayed gay NYC hairdresser Terri, who was a bit of a fish out of water in the small Alaskan town of Elmo. Over the next several years, Cantone would remain a force in stand-up, and would continue to appear on screen, memorably appearing on Men in Trees, and in films like Circus Maximus and Dirty Movie.

Trivia: Licensed as a pilot, frequently flying out of Van Nuys, CA; originally planned to join the Royal Air Force. Attended prep school with eventual Spooks costar Rupert Penry-Jones. Emerged on the London stage when cast as Sky in Mamma Mia! and in the leading role of Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of Bombay Dreams. Created and coproduced RED, a dance show celebrating various movements and their influences on and from India.

Trivia: With jawbones that could slice a diamond, a cleft-chin that puts Kirk Douglas' famous face to shame, and piercing blue eyes that make the Mediterranean Sea look muddy by comparison, it's no surprise that actor Jason Lewis got his start in the entertainment industry as a fashion model. While early stints for Guess Jeans and frequent appearances on the catwalk worked wonders to help the aspiring actor get comfortable in the presence of a camera, it wasn't until the mid-'90s that Lewis made his true aspirations known. Early roles in Beverly Hills 90201 and director Brad Anderson's 1998 comedy Next Stop Wonderland likely had many enchanted female viewers trying to recall where they had seen his face before (most likely in magazine ads for Guess Jeans or Tommy Hilfiger clothes), and in 2003, Lewis' hunky presence went a long way in spicing up the final season of Sex and the City. Subsequent appearances in the supernatural television series Charmed and the 2005 thriller The Jacket found Lewis comfortably alternating between film and television, with his role in the 2006 romantic comedy My Bollywood Bride marking his arrival as a romantic male lead. Back on the small screen Lewis would become a semi-regular fixture on the series Brothers and Sisters before assuming the role of a recently deceased drug dealer in the 2007 crime drama The Death and Life of Bobby Z. That same year, Lewis also essayed the role of the Bible's most notorious fallen angel in the short film Lucifer in addition to making an appearance in the high-profile Kevin Costner thriller Mr. Brooks. He appeared in the big-screen version of Sex and the City, as well as the sequel, and also acted in Tribute, Textuality, and Red Lights.

Trivia: Enrolled in his first theater class at age 9 and performed in his first show at age 11. Started his professional career by doing voice-over work in various video games and cartoons, including Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Had replacement roles in the Broadway productions of Hairspray and Jersey Boys before landing one of the lead roles in the original Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon. Researched his role in The Book of Mormon by meeting with some missionaries. Was cast in Girls after the producers attended the opening night of The Book of Mormon and then asked him to audition for the role of Elijah.

Trivia: With his ability to seamlessly alternate between a laid-back rugged handsomeness and fashionably well-coifed GQ good looks, John Corbett's endearingly goofy charm and picture-perfect smile have built the talented actor a devoted female fan base in addition to making him perfectly suited for roles in such diverse beloved television hits as Northern Exposure and Sex and the City. With his role as the culture-shocked WASP groom introduced into an extended Greek family in Nia Vardalos' surprise breakout hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding, longtime fans of Corbett's small-screen work were delighted to see the actor finally match that success in feature films. Born and raised in West Virginia, Corbett initially moved to California not to seek success in the bright lights of Hollywood, but to pursue a decidedly less glamorous career working in a steel factory. Concurrently taking classes at a local college, fate had other plans for Corbett as he was forced to halt his factory work after six years due to an injury. Deciding to sit in on a friend's drama class on a lark and called to the stage by the teacher to assist in an exercise, Corbett's talent was clear to all and he was soon on his way to forging a new career on-stage. The encouragement and support of his teacher gave Corbett the confidence to develop his talents and seek a career as an actor, and it wasn't long before he was finding frequent work in commercials. Corbett's big break would come in the late '80s with an appearance on The Wonder Years, though it was his Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated performance in the popular television drama Northern Exposure (1990-1995) that endeared him to audiences and officially commenced his career in the public eye. As the free-thinking intellectual disc jockey who finds himself settled in the quirky town of Cicely, AK, Corbett settled into a role that would gain him a considerable fan base. Roles in numerous television productions followed, and Corbett's appearances in such features as Tombstone (1993) and Volcano (1997) found him successfully developing as an actor while maintaining his unique and likeable presence in front of the cameras. His role as Sarah Jessica Parker's love interest on the breakout HBO hit series Sex and the City found audiences sympathizing with the marriage-minded but lovelorn character, and after a role as a new age musician in the romantic comedy Serendipity, Corbett finally tied the knot in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Shot on a miniscule budget but becoming a massive success in the weeks following its release, My Big Fat Greek Wedding delivered Corbett's small-screen promise to the big screen with effectively side-splitting results and paved the way for a successful feature career. He had another brief TV run as a gambler in the cable series Lucky in 2003. In 2004 he appeared in the Kate Hudson romcom Raising Helen. Though he continued to work steadily in film, he returned to TV in order to be in The United States of Tara on HBO. He appeared in Sex and the City 2 and played the father in Ramona and Beezus in 2010.

Trivia: While still in college, she played a younger version of Vanessa Redgrave's character in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie The Locket (2002). Won a three-year contract as Jennifer Munson on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns just as she graduated from college, and started work 10 days after receiving her degree. Was nominated for Daytime Emmy awards in 2005 and '06. In 2006, hosted the Miss Connecticut USA and the Miss Connecticut Teen USA pageants. In 2007, she starred in a stage production of The 39 Steps, which opened at the Huntington Theatre in Boston and moved to Broadway in 2008. Has made guest appearances on Life on Mars, Law & Order; SVU, Fringe and White Collar. Landed the lead role of Dana Faraday on the NBC series The Cape.