Trivia: An actor whose remarkable versatility has often been described as chameleon-like, Kevin Spacey has made an art of portraying a gallery of morally ambiguous characters ranging from the mildly shady to the all-out murderous. His reputation as one of the best-respected actors of his generation was bolstered by an Oscar, a Tony, and an award as Best Actor of the Decade from England's Empire magazine in 1999.The son of a technical procedure writer and a secretary, Spacey was born in South Orange, NJ, on July 26, 1959. His family moved a great deal thanks to his father's job, eventually settling for a time in Los Angeles. It was there that Spacey -- who had previously done a stint at military school -- attended Chatsworth High School, where he was very active in the theater. After an attempt at standup comedy, Spacey went to Juilliard, though his time was cut short after his second year, when he decided to quit school and begin his career.He made his theatrical debut in 1981 with Shakespeare in the Park, performing alongside the likes of Mandy Patinkin and John Goodman. The actor continued to be a fixture on the theater scene throughout the decade, performing both on Broadway and in regional productions. It was through the theater that he got his first big break: While auditioning for a Tom Stoppard play, Spacey was approached by director Mike Nichols, who cast him in his production of David Rabe's Hurlyburly. The actor's work in the play led Nichols to cast him as a subway mugger in his 1986 Heartburn. Two years later, the director and actor worked together again in Working Girl, in which Spacey had a small but memorable role as a sleazy businessman.By this time, Spacey was starting to work steadily in film, although he maintained his stage work, winning a 1990 Tony Award for his role in the Broadway production of Lost in Yonkers. He also did a substantial amount of television work, appearing on the series Wiseguy as deranged criminal Mel Proffitt. Criminal or morally questionable activities were to figure largely in Spacey's subsequent portrayals: His first starring role in a film was as the husband of a murdered woman in the 1992 Consenting Adults. The same year, he won acclaim for his portrayal of a foul-mouthed, leech-like real estate agent in James Foley's screen adaptation of the David Mamet play, Glengarry Glen Ross. Spacey landed his next memorable film role as yet another foul-mouthed jerk in the 1994 Swimming With Sharks, which he also co-produced. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his portrayal of an abusive studio executive, and he gained further recognition the same year for his entirely different role in The Ref, in which he played one half of a constantly arguing married couple. However, it was with his performance in the following year's The Usual Suspects that Spacey fully stepped into the spotlight. As the enigmatic, garrulous "Verbal" Kint, Spacey was one of the more celebrated aspects of the critically lauded sleeper hit, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work. The actor won additional acclaim the same year for his role as a serial killer in the stylish and unrelentingly creepy thriller Seven. Spacey went on to make his directorial debut the following year with Albino Alligator. A New Orleans-based crime drama starring Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, and Gary Sinise, the film won some positive reviews, though it made little impact at the box office. In addition to directing, Spacey kept busy with acting, appearing the same year in A Time to Kill and Al Pacino's documentary Looking for Richard. The actor went on to star in Clint Eastwood's highly anticipated 1997 adaptation of John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and then had a sizable role in the big-budget The Negotiator in 1998. The same year, he also lent his voice to the computer-animated A Bug's Life and starred in the screen adaptation of Hurlyburly. While doing steady film work, Spacey also continued to appear on the stage, winning raves for his performance in an adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, first on the London stage in 1998, and then on Broadway the following year. Also in 1999, Spacey won an Academy Award as Best Actor for American Beauty, director Sam Mendes' dark comedy about a man experiencing a mid-life crisis. Following up Beauty with starring roles in The Big Kahuna and Ordinary Decent Criminal, Spacey would later appear as a mental patient who claims to be from a distant planet in K-PAX. K-Pax proved to be a minor flop, as did the actor's other major film in 2001, Lasse Hallstrom's adaptation of The Shipping News. Although Spacey drew positive notices for his portrayal of a man trying to start a new life in Newfoundland, the film, which also starred Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, and Judi Dench, quickly sank at the box office and received only a lukewarm reception from critics.Spacey maintained a busy schedule throughout 2003, appearing in three disparate projects that reflected his extraordinary versatility. Besides cropping up as himself in the third Austin Powers outing, Austin Powers: Goldmember, he played the title character of The Life of David Gale, the story of a University of Texas professor whose anti-capital punishment stance assumes very personal meaning when he is convicted of rape and murder and lands on death row; the picture received a critical drubbing and faded quickly from view. That year, Spacey also starred in The United States of Leland, playing the father of a fifteen-year-old (Ryan Gosling) who murders an autistic child.2004 marked a key year for Spacey. The actor -- who had dreamed of portraying crooner Bobby Darin since childhood, and spent years striving to produce a biopic of the late singer through his production house, Trigger Horse Productions, ultimately realized that goal in December '04. In addition to starring Spacey as Darin, the biopic, entitled Beyond the Sea, enlisted Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee, John Goodman as Steve Blauner, and Brenda Blethyn as Polly Cassotto. Beyond earned a decidedly mixed critical reception.In 2005, Spacey cut back on his acting schedule and devoted more attention to his role as artistic director of the legendary Old Vic Theatre in London -- a position he had assumed in 2003, under ten-year contract. In a Charlie Rose appearance c. 2005, the actor openly discussed his desire to use his position to revive a series of theatrical classics and reestablish The Vic as one of the world's premier stage venues. Unfortunately, Spacey's work here also earned some derision; under his aegis, The Vic mounted Arthur Miller's Resurrection Blues in May 2006 - an effort helmed by Robert Altman - and it drew vicious critical pans, one from a reviewer who demanded that Spacey resign. Although Spacey listened to the complaints about the Altman effort, (shelving the production during the theater's busy summer tourist season), he vowed to continue his efforts at the Vic unabated.Summer 2006 also saw the actor appearing in the highly anticipated big-budget extravaganza Superman Returns, playing Lex Luthor to Brandon Routh's Superman/Clark Kent and Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane. With a powerhouse supporting cast that includes Frank Langella (Good Night, and Good Luck.), and Eva Marie Saint (North by Northwest), the picture predictably opened up to spectacular box office (becoming one of summer's top grossers) and enthusiastic critical notices. Those who did criticize the film singled out Spacey's interpretation of the Luthor role.About a month prior to the Superman debut, Spacey signed with Warner Brothers to co-star in Joe Claus (originally titled Fred Claus), a Christmas comedy that reteamed Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin with funnyman Vince Vaughn, and enlisted Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Sideways) as a co-star. Additional roles in the years that followed further reflected Spacey's penchant for the offbeat, such as his portrayal of an envious military man caught up in psychic phenomena in the satire The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009), corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the acerbic comedy Casino Jack (2010) and a sadistic boss with a taste for humiliation in Horrible Bosses (2011). Meanwhile, at about the same time, Spacey took on the role of one of Shakespeare's most iconic villains in the Old Vic's production of Richard III - for which he earned considerable critical praise. In 2013, Spacey returned to television on Netflix's House of Cards, playing ruthless congressman Frank Underwood, earning Spacey nominations from the Emmys, SAGs and Golden Globes. In 2015, he earned both a Special Olivier Award for his work as the artistic director of the Bristol Old Vic, and was awarded an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II (though, as he's not a British or Commonwealth citizen, he's not entitled to be called "Sir.")

Trivia: Although some of her recognition may stem from her 1992 marriage to Warren Beatty, Annette Bening has established herself as an actress capable of far more than domesticating one of Hollywood's most notorious playboys. After winning raves for her role in 1990's The Grifters, Bening turned in a series of strong performances in films ranging from The American President to Richard III to American Beauty.Born in Topeka, Kansas, on May 29, 1958, Bening moved with her family to San Diego, California when she was very young. It was there that she began to pursue her career, first as a dancer in various productions at a local college. Eventually graduating from San Francisco University (an education she paid for by working as a cook on a charter boat), Bening acted with San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre before moving to New York to further her stage experience. Her career in New York had its auspicious moments, such as winning a Tony Award nomination and a Clarence Derwent Award for Outstanding Debut Performance for her performance in Coastal Disturbances, but Bening endured a five-year struggle before breaking into film.She made her debut as Dan Aykroyd's irritable wife in The Great Outdoors in 1988; more substantial work followed in the form of Milos Forman's Valmont, a 1989 adaptation of Chodleros de Laclos' Les Liaisons Dangereuses that featured Bening as the scheming, manipulative Marquise de Merteuil. The film suffered in comparison to Stephen Frears's Dangerous Liaisons, which had been released the previous year; fortunately, the same couldn't be said of Bening's next major effort, 1990's The Grifters. Frears's gripping, stylish adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel of the same name, The Grifters met with almost unanimous critical acclaim, much of which was aimed at the performances of Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, and Bening as the film's protagonists. Bening won special praise for her portrayal of an ill-fated con artist, accruing Best Supporting Actress nominations from the Academy, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the British Academy.Her performance also won the attention of Warren Beatty, who was so impressed with her work that he cast her as his love interest in his 1991 Bugsy. Although the film proved a relative disappointment, it did result in both a Golden Globe nomination for Bening and a 1992 marriage for her and Beatty. The two could be seen collaborating again onscreen two years later in Love Affair, a remake of the 1957 An Affair to Remember. Unfortunately, the film fared poorly, both at the box office and at the hands of disapproving critics. Bening had more luck with her subsequent role as Michael Douglas' presidential love interest in Rob Reiner's The American President (1995), and then went on to explore politics of a different sort with Richard Loncraine's 1996 adaptation of Richard III. Her starring turn as the embattled Queen Elizabeth drew praise, and the attention she garnered for her performance helped to lighten the load of antipathy directed toward Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!, the actress' other film that year.Following lead roles in 1998's underperforming The Siege and 1999's ill-fated In Dreams, Bening could be seen in American Beauty (also 1999) as Kevin Spacey's status-obsessed, control-freak wife. As part of the film's superb ensemble cast, which also featured Chris Cooper, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and Mena Suvari, the actress won praise for her work, and the added distinction of being part of what many hailed as one of the best films of the year. Her first Best Actress Oscar nomination followed, although Bening's near-lock on the award was stolen away from her by Hilary Swank, a newcomer almost as auspicious as she once was.Adding insult to injury, Bening lost the Oscar at the same time she could be seen in theaters alongside Garry Shandling in the much-derided sci-fi comedy What Planet Are You From? Perhaps as a result of this -- or due to her decision to spend more time with her four children -- the actress chose her parts very carefully in the coming years. She re-emerged in a leading role in 2003 opposite Kevin Costner in the sleeper-hit western Open Range, and followed that comeback with a triumphant diva turn as the title character in Being Julia, an adaptation of M. Somerset Maugham's back-stabbing, backstage comic melodrama Theater. Though little-seen, the film garnered immense praise for Bening -- including a Best Actress nod from the National Board of Review -- and an eventual Best Actress Oscar nomination. However, in a moment of Hollywood irony that echoed both her character's situation in Being Julia and the fate of the 2000 awards ceremony, Bening was denied the award in favor of Hilary Swank's tour-de-force as a doomed boxer in Oscar favorite Million Dollar Baby.She was the mother in the cinematic adaptation of Running With Scissors, and had a major part in the big-budget misfire remake of The Women. In 2010 she won the SAG award for best actress and was nominated for the Oscar in that same category for her work as a lesbian mother of two who finds out her partner is cheating on her in the comedy The Kids Are All Right.

Trivia: By the time six-year-old Thora Birch made her feature film debut with a small role in Purple People Eater (1988), she was already a veteran television actress with two years' worth of commercial and series work under her diminutive belt. Probably best known up to that point for her work opposite über-grandad Wilford Brimley in a Quaker Oats commercial, Birch went on to grow up in front of the camera, evolving from Monkey Trouble's moppet with a primate to a bras and boys-obsessed teeny bopper in Now and Then to Kevin Spacey's rebellious daughter in American Beauty. Birch, who was born in Los Angeles on March 11, 1982, first attracted sizable notice for her role as Elijah Wood's tomboy friend in Paradise, a 1991 family drama that also starred Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Afterwards, her visibility began to increase, first with a supporting role as Harrison Ford's daughter in Patriot Games (1992) (which she reprised in 1994's Clear and Present Danger), and then as one of the three kids who inadvertently bring three witches back to life in Hocus Pocus (1993).The actress got her first chance to play a teenaged role in the aforementioned Now and Then (1995), a coming-of-age drama that cast her as the younger version of Paradise co-star Melanie Griffith. Neither that film, nor Birch's subsequent project, Alaska (1996), made a great impact among critics or audiences, and it was not until the actress was cast in American Beauty (1999) that her career really began to accelerate. Birch, who dyed her hair Goth black and adopted a resolute sullenness for her role as the rebellious Jane Burnham, earned wide praise and a Screen Actors Guild award, and a host of international awards nominations, for her work in the acclaimed film. After the success of American Beauty, Birch -- who also had an uncredited role in that same year's Anywhere but Here -- was suddenly busy with a number of projects. Included among them were Ghost World, Terry Zwigoff's screen adaptation of Daniel Clowes' celebrated comic about two teenage girls trying to deal with life after high school; The Smokers, a teen drama that cast Birch as a drug-addled schoolgirl; and Dungeons and Dragons, in which she played an empress whose mystical kingdom is threatened by an evil wizard (Jeremy Irons).

Trivia: Wes Bentley was a relative newcomer to film when he starred in Sam Mendes' American Beauty (1999), but his haunting portrayal of the battered, enigmatic Ricky Fitts made him one of the most talked about young actors of the year. Dark, lanky, and possessing a pair of blue eyes of diamond-cutting intensity, Bentley beat out 20 young Hollywood actors for the role (according to Mendes), and his breakthrough performance was soon generating Oscar buzz. The actor originally hailed from Jonesboro, AR, where he was tormented by school bullies for being a "pretty boy," and he came to film via New York's Juilliard School, where he acted in a number of productions. While in New York, Bentley also sought other work, and an open casting call for Rent led to a casting director's request for him to do some reading for a small film. Prior to American Beauty, Bentley's film experience had been limited to roles in independent films such as Three Below Zero and Halfway to Pleasantville, and a small part in Jonathan Demme's Beloved. Following his acclaimed role in American Beauty, Bentley appeared in The White River Kid, in which he played the film's titular murderer.In the wake of American Beauty, Bentley starred in Michael Winterbottom's The Claim, as well as yet another version of the classic adventure tale The Four Feathers. He was away from screens for three years at that point, but returned in 2005's The Game of Their Lives and continued to work steadily in a variety of projects including Ghost Rider and Jonah Hex. He scored his most high-profile role since American Beauty in 2012 when he played the part of Seneca Crane, the elaborately bearded game-master in The Hunger Games. He played a supporting role in Christopher Nolan's outerspace epic Interstellar in 2014.

Trivia: Blonde, blue-eyed, and looking for all the world like Heather Graham's little sister, Mena Suvari made her film debut with a small role in Gregg Araki's 1997 Nowhere. The same year, Suvari, who was born in Newport, RI, on February 9, 1979, appeared in two other films, Snide & Prejudice and Kiss the Girls. After another small role, in The Slums of Beverly Hills (which starred her future American Pie co-star Natasha Lyonne), Suvari landed her breakthrough role playing the forthright, virginal Heather in the 1999 sex comedy smash American Pie. The same year, the actress (who had also done television work on shows such as E.R. and Chicago Hope) won further recognition with a lead role as the teenaged object of Kevin Spacey's middle-aged affections in the hugely acclaimed American Beauty. With yet another lead role that year, this time in the made-for-TV disaster film Atomic Train, Suvari seemed perfectly poised on the well-trod brink of stardom. Her profile received another boost in 2000, thanks to starring roles in Sugar & Spice and Loser, the latter of which saw her starring as the apple of American Pie co-star Jason Biggs' eye. That same year, the then 21-year-old actress made headlines of a different sort with her marriage to Richard Brinkman, a cinematographer 17 years her senior. The marriage would only last until 2005, but that wouldn't stop Suvari from a series of projects during that time, ranging from a quirky role in the comedy Beauty Shop to an arc on the popular TV series Six Feet Under. Gravitating more and more toward challenging, left of center roles, the actress would go on to choose parts like the supporting role of Richie Berlin in the 2007 Andy Warhol/Edie Sedgwick biopic Factory Girl, and corn-rowed hardened criminal Brandi Boski in 2008's Stuck. As the first decade of the new millennium drew to a close, it became clear that Suvari was finally free of the somewhat limiting image of the pretty, blonde starlet that her breakthrough roles in American Pie and American Beauty had pigeon-holed her into. She would enjoy memorable roles in everything from the zombie flick Day of the Dead to the WWII period drama The Garden of Eden, based on the Hemingway novel. Suvari would also make appearances on TV series like Sex and the City, Psych, The Cape, and American Horror Story - on which she played the infamous "Black Dahlia" murder victim Elizabeth Short. By 2012, Suvari was gearing up to remember her roots, with an all-star installment in the American Pie fanchise, American Reunion.

Trivia: A handsome, brooding actor equally at home in mainstream Hollywood fare and in American independent projects -- as well as on the theatrical stage -- Peter Gallagher was born August 19, 1955, in Armonk, NY. While attending Tufts University, he spent his summers appearing with area theater groups, and after graduating in 1977, he acted on Broadway in a revival of Hair. Gallagher then starred as Danny Zuko in Grease, a performance which led to his portrayal of a '50s-era pop singer in his film debut, 1980's The Idolmaker. Summer Lovers followed two years later, but proved such a miserable experience that Gallagher fled Hollywood to return to the stage. He won a Theatre World Award that same year for his work in the Broadway musical A Doll's Life, and earned a Clarence Derwent Award in 1984 for his turn in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing.In 1985, Gallagher returned to film in the Dennis Potter-scripted Dreamchild, followed in 1987 by My Little Girl. After garnering a Tony nomination for his work in a controversial revival of Long Day's Journey into Night, he enjoyed his motion picture breakthrough as an adulterous attorney in Steven Soderbergh's influential 1989 debut sex, lies, and videotape. The performance earned Gallagher considerable credibility within the independent filmmaking community, but his next several efforts were more mainstream productions like 1990's Tune in Tomorrow and the television drama Love and Lies. However, a subsequent turn in Peter Sellars' 1991 avant-silent The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez brought acclaim from art-house audiences, and with a lead role in Robert Altman's 1992 comeback The Player, Gallagher's stock rose even higher. That same year, the actor wowed theater audiences with his portrayal of Sky Masterson in the Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls, a widely praised production that also starred Nathan Lane.Over the following years, Gallagher split his time between edgier material (Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts, Altman's Short Cuts, and Soderbergh's The Underneath) and lighter, glossier projects (Malice, While You Were Sleeping, and To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday). In 1999, he gave smarm a good, or at least convincing, name, starring as a sleazy physician in The House on Haunted Hill, a remake of William Castle's 1958 horror classic, and as a similarly repugnant real estate salesman in American Beauty. Gallagher would spend the following years enjoying particular fame in the realm of TV, starring on such successful shows as The O.C., Californication, Rescue Me, and Covert Affairs. Gallagher would also remain active in film, however, in movies like Burlsesque and Conviction.

Trivia: Having spent much of his youth on his father's Missouri cattle ranch, it is not surprising that supporting and leading actor of stage, screen, and television Chris Cooper has specialized in playing cowboys, ranchers, and other hardworking men. His rugged Everyman demeanor has best been put to use by filmmaker John Sayles, who cast him in a number of his films, beginning with 1987's Matewan.Cooper's interest in the theater began in his late teens, when he designed and constructed sets for a community group. Following high school, he studied agriculture and acting at the University of Missouri before moving to New York City in hopes of making it on the stage. It took awhile, but by 1980 he was starring in productions like Of the Fields Lately, The Ballad of Soapy Smith, and Cobb, in which he played the title role. His film debut came in 1980, in Nicholas Roeg's Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession. He didn't get his big break until seven years later, when Sayles cast him as Joe Kenehan, a member of the coalminer's union who is sent to a tiny mountain town to organize the workers in Matewan (1987). He again worked with Sayles in City of Hope (1991) and then in Lone Star (1996), for which he won great acclaim playing the enigmatic Sam Deeds, the prodigal son of a tiny Texas town's sheriff who solves a mystery and comes to grips with his relationship with his late father. Subsequently, Cooper -- who had also made his mark on the small screen as cowboy July Johnson in Lonesome Dove (1989) -- appeared as a deputy in a A Time to Kill (1996), Robert Redford's younger brother in The Horse Whisperer (1998), and Ethan Hawke's brother-in-law in Great Expectations. In 1999, the actor again demonstrated his impressive range, first playing a coalminer in October Sky and then turning in a chilling performance as Kevin Spacey's unbalanced neighbor in American Beauty. If Cooper was somewhat lost in the shuffle of 2002's Interstate 60, his Oscar winning performance in that same years' Adaptation would find Cooper receiving lavish praise for his portrayal of a lively orchid hunter. Cast opposite Meryl Streep, Cooper's toothless performance was in turns hilarious, sad and poetic, providing the perfect showcase for his impressive range. In 2003, Cooper was nominated for Best Supporting Actor by the Screen Actors Guild for his turn as a soft-spoken horse trainer in Seabiscuit. Cooper worked steadily through the early 2000s, largely in a supporting capacity. He won no small amount of praise for his work in Syriana and Capote (both 2005), and showed demonstrated his range as an actor in 2007, when he co-starred in The Kingdom, Married Life, and Breach. Cooper lent his voice to Spike Jonze's remake of Maurice Sendak's classic children's novel Where the Wild Things Are, and joined Ben Affleck for a supporting role in The Town, a 2010 crime thriller based on author Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. Cooper found more success, however, for his role in Amiga (2010) John Sayles' war drama, in which he played an American military colonel deeply prejudiced against Filipinos. The actor took on a decidedly less serious role as a dastardly villain extraordinaire in The Muppets (2011).

Trivia: One of the most talented -- and often underappreciated -- character actresses of the late 1990s, Allison Janney first began courting critical attention with roles in such acclaimed films as Big Night (1996) and American Beauty (1998). Able to play characters ranging from a name-dropping Manhattan socialite to a withdrawn, abused wife, the 6'0" Janney infuses all of her portrayals with equal parts poignancy and unforced gusto.A product of Dayton, Ohio, where she was born November 19, 1959, Janney was raised as the daughter of a homemaker and the president of a real estate firm. She aspired to be a champion figure skater from a young age, but any hopes of pursuing a skating career were halted by a freak accident that badly damaged Janney's leg when she was in her mid-teens. As a student at Kenyon College, she became interested in acting, and got her first break when she successfully auditioned for a play being directed by Kenyon alum Paul Newman. After impressing Newman, a racing enthusiast, with both her acting skills and her love of fast cars, Janney went on to impress his wife, Joanne Woodward, who directed her in a number of off-off-Broadway plays during the early 1980s.Although she enjoyed early stage success, Janney had difficulty starting her career, something that was hindered by her height: one disparaging casting agent went so far as to tell her that the only roles she was suitable for were lesbians and aliens. Thankfully, the actress pressed on in the face of such idiocy, waitressing and scooping ice cream to support herself during dry spells. Her luck began to change for the better in the late 1990s, when she started garnering luminous reviews for her work both on Broadway -- where she earned a Tony nomination for her role in 1998's A View from the Bridge -- and onscreen in such films as Big Night (1996) and Mike Nichols' Primary Colors (1998). In the former film, she appeared as the quiet, capable love interest of Tony Shalhoub's struggling Italian chef, while the latter featured the actress in the minor but poignant role of a painfully-awkward schoolteacher who is seduced by John Travolta's libidinous Presidential candidate. Janney, who had been appearing on television and in films since the early '90s, went on to do reliably excellent work in a variety of films that ranged from The Object of My Affection (1998), in which she played the supercilious, name-dropping wife of a high-powered literary agent (Alan Alda); to Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), which featured her as a beehived, chain-smoking trailer park resident; to American Beauty (1999), in which she gave a quietly powerful portrayal of the abused wife of a tyrannical ex-Marine (Chris Cooper). Janney's talents have also been put on ample display on the small screen: in 1999, she joined the cast of the acclaimed NBC White House drama The West Wing, originating the role of tough press secretary C.J. Cregg.In addition to continuing her work on The West Wing, Janney played a supporting role in the award winning psychological drama The Hours (2002), and voiced Peach the Starfish in Pixar's wildly successful Finding Nemo (2003). The actress' would play the neighbor of protagonist Jim Winters (Anthony LaPaglia) in 2004's drama Winter Solstice, and continued to play small, yet meaty roles throughout the coming years (among them include On Our Very Own and Hairspray), she earned mainstream attention and critical praise for her role as the parent of a pregnant teen (Ellen Page) in Juno. Ironically, in light of her Juno success, Janney was also critically recognized for her performance as an emotionally detached mother in Sam Mendes' bittersweet comedy Away We Go (2009).

Trivia: Best known for portraying time traveler Dr. Sam Beckett in the popular sci-fi series Quantum Leap, Scott Bakula is also a noted Broadway actor and occasional movie star, though it is in the last venue that he has had the least amount of success. The son of a musician, Bakula is said to have started his own rock band when he was in the fourth grade. He also sang with the St. Louis Symphony before attending the University of Kansas. Bakula launched his acting career as a teen in regional theater and as a stage actor specializes in musical comedy. He made his Broadway debut in 1983 in Marilyn: An American Fable. He started showing up regularly on television as a guest star on such series as My Sister Sam and Designing Women during the 1980s. In 1986, Bakula starred in an unsuccessful television series, Gung Ho! Two years later he headlined another unsuccessful one, Eisenhower and Lutz. In 1988, Bakula was nominated for a Tony for his work in Romance, Romance. The following year, he was cast in Quantum Leap and has since gained a cult following; in 1992, he won a Golden Globe and was nominated four more times. Bakula was also nominated for a quartet of Emmys. Bakula made his feature-film debut starring opposite Kirstie Alley in Sibling Rivalry (1990). Other notable film appearances include L.A. Story (1991) and My Family/Mi Familia (1995). In 1993, Bakula had a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown as a love interest of Candice Bergen. He has also appeared in a number of television movies and in 1996, he had a stint in another short-lived series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith.Though he worked steadily in movies, television turned out to be his next great success when, in 2001, he took the part of Capt. Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise, a program that lasted four seasons.In 2009 Bakula would star alongside Ray Romano and Andre Braugher in the well-respected comedy/drama series Men of a Certain Age, and landed in one of the best films of his career, Steven Soderbergh's The Informant!.

Trivia: The son of actors Jason Robards and Lauren Bacall, actor Sam Robards made his feature debut in The Tempest (1982). He has gone on to work in television, starring on shows like Get a Life, Law & Order, Gossip Girl, and Treme, as well as feature films like Bounce, Life as a House, and The Rebound.

Trivia: It's not every day that an unknown actor lands a role that will allow him to deliver a line that enters into the public lexicon and still manages to avoid the "Where's the beef?" syndrome of being forever linked with the resulting catch phrase, but with his role as the "MILF" guy in the breakout comedy American Pie, actor John Cho somehow managed to do just that. With stage skills that aren't limited to Shakespeare (Cho spends his off-time touring with his band Left of Zed) and a killer sense of comic timing onscreen, the fresh-faced Korean actor has transcended his status as Asian-American "It" boy to become one of the most promising stars of his generation. A move from Korea to Los Angeles found young Cho's interest in acting piqued when he began studying English literature at the University of California, Berkeley, and after taking to the boards in a Berkeley Repertory Theater production of The Woman Warrior (which would subsequently move to Boston's Huntington Theater and Los Angeles' James Doolittle Theater), the up-and-coming talent made his screen debut in director Justin Lin's decidedly bizarre 1997 feature Shopping for Fangs.Subsequent years found Cho essaying supporting roles in such high-profile features as Wag the Dog and Bowfinger, with his breakout role in American Pie preceding roles in such widely seen films as Bowfinger, American Beauty, Evolution, and the Chris Rock comedy Down to Earth. Though the films may not have offered Cho the most memorable parts, they kept him familiar with audiences until he reprised his most famous role to date in the hit sequel American Pie 2. In 2002, Cho truly got to show his talent in director Lin's critically acclaimed indie effort Better Luck Tomorrow. Following a crew of high-school-aged Asian-Americans who use their reputations as studious bookworms to mask their criminal activities, the movie proved without a doubt that Cho had what it took to make it in film. More supporting roles in Big Fat Liar and Solaris were quick to follow, and after rounding out the "American" trilogy in American Wedding, it was burger time for Cho as he played one of the titular characters (opposite Van Wilder's Kal Penn) in the 2004 comedy Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. The next year, Cho went on to essay a supporting role on the short-lived chef sitcom Kitchen Confidential before returning to feature films. Over the coming years, Cho would continue to reimain an active force on screen over the coming years, appearing on shows like FlashForward and as Sulu in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek franchise.

Trivia: When supermodel Amber Smith decided to leave the catwalks and exotic tropical beaches and head for Hollywood, she was not prepared to be told that she was too tall or too beautiful for many of the roles she desired. It wasn't until Paul Mazursky cast her as a philandering husband's love object in Faithful that the leggy and voluptuous actress got her first break. A native of Tampa, FL, Smith started modelling at age 16. With little more than her determination and a strong resemblence to Rita Hayworth, she went to Paris to learn about modelling and to find work. It took four years and a dye-job (changing her blonde hair to red) to change her luck. In addition to working for Vogue and other fashion magazines, Smith became a popular swimsuit model for Sports Ilustrated, appearing in two consecutive issues of their celebrated Swimwear Edition. Smith was then chosen to be the Vargas Girl of the 1990s by Esquire Magazine. In 1995, Smith posed for a Playboy magazine spread. The acting bug bit after she appeared in two European made-for-television specials: Inferno and one made just for her called Forever Amber. After her appearance in Faithful, she continued to appear in major feature films. In television, Smith made guest appearances on such series as Friends and Just Shoot Me.

Trivia: Singer/dancer/actress Marissa Jaret Winokur achieved celebrity on the basis of her stage work, by originating the role of Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway production of the musical Hairspray (based, in turn, on the 1988 John Waters film of the same title). The daughter of an architect, raised with three siblings in Bedford Village, NY, Winokur first revealed a passion for entertaining when she caught a Connecticut regional production of Meet Me in St. Louis at age eight, subsequently memorized the entire show, and later declared Ethel Merman as one of her chief role models. After attending Bedford Village's Fox Lane High School, Winokur attended Manhattan's prestigious American Musical and Dramatic Academy, then joined the touring company of Grease (performing as Pink Lady Jan). Scattered bit parts in movies followed, including Never Been Kissed (1999), American Beauty (1999), and Scary Movie (2000); Hairspray, however, represented Winokur's big breakthrough when it premiered in the late summer of 2002. She starred in that production opposite Harvey Fierstein, Laura Bell Bundy, and others, and it paved the way for an eminent acting career.Winokur followed this with an upsurge in television activity -- first with a part as a coffee-counter employee on the short-lived Pamela Anderson sitcom Stacked (2005-2006), then as a contestant on season six of the reality series Dancing With the Stars (where Winokur danced with partner Tony Dovolani). She became the host of Dance Your Ass Off, and a member of The Talk, a daytime series modeled on The View.