Trivia: Harboring an awesome wellspring of determination, Australian émigré actress Poppy Montgomery moved from down under to Los Angeles in 1993 (at the tender age of 18) and, with no connections or leads to her name, bought a copy of a book called How to Make it in Hollywood. In that text, Montgomery read an anecdote about one of Julia Roberts' early managers, who had helped engineer some of the actress' early successes. Montgomery searched diligently until she found the manager's telephone number, then so plagued him with calls, one after another, that she ultimately wore down his resistance; he put Montgomery in touch with a manager who helped launch her career. The self-assurance evident in this "breakout strategy" had taken root early in Montgomery's life; born June 19, 1975, in Paddington, New South Wales, Australia (a suburb of Sydney), Montgomery realized as a young girl that she only wanted to spend her life acting. Once in Hollywood, she refused to be snubbed or overlooked. As an ingenue in Los Angeles, Montgomery sustained smaller turns for seven years, including a role on NYPD Blue and performances in the Eddie Murphy comedy Life and the Garry Marshall tearjerker The Other Sister, until late 2000, when she landed the highly coveted lead role of Marilyn Monroe in the autobiographical miniseries about the superstar, Blonde, adapted from the book by esteemed belletrist Joyce Carol Oates. Though critics felt the telemovie uneven, most singled out Montgomery and raved over her interpretation.This unique, inherent ability to reach down deep into a character and understand her on the most intuitive level shone through again and again in Montgomery's work, and doubtless enabled her to land a recurring role on the CBS drama Without a Trace, about the day-to-day searches of a missing-persons unit headed by Anthony LaPaglia. When she received the call about Without a Trace, Montgomery had contributed exemplary work to two otherwise unsuccessful series -- Elizabeth Waclawek in The Beat (2000) and Ellie Sparks in Glory Days (2002) -- and needed a boost. The program, of course, became a massive hit, thanks in no small part to Montgomery's fine work. In the series she portrays FBI agent Samantha Spade with marked believability. As one season of Without a Trace after another unfolded, Montgomery worked with equal emphasis in film and television. Her cinematic roles included Allison in the Gen-X indie comedy How to Lose Your Lover (2004) and Nadine Roberts in David Ocañas' metaphysical thriller Between (2004); in 2005, Montgomery played Generosa Rand, the issue-ridden (and possibly homicidal) wife of wealthy investment banker Ted Ammon, in the made-for-television true crime saga Murder in the Hamptons. TV would prove a good fit for Montgomery, and she would find additional success with series like Without a Trace and Unforgettable.

Trivia: Possessing the sort of bland, familiarly handsome looks that make him equally effective at creating both instantly likable and inexplicably repelling characters, actor Dylan Walsh, born November 17th, 1963, generally specialized in the former. When he took to the latter, however, the unexpected change of pace could make for an extremely effective performance. Although audiences may recognize his face from such high-profile Hollywood fare as Congo (1995) and We Were Soldiers (2002), his most affecting roles have been in low-budget independent fare such as the low-key 2001 drama Jet Boy. A California native who graduated from Annandale High School in Virginia, Walsh wowed audiences as Atticus Finch in a high school stage production of To Kill a Mockingbird, giving signs of great things to come from the burgeoning actor. Subsequently gaining his footing as an actor with a recurring role on television's Kate and Allie, his first feature credit came with the 1989 Patrick Dempsey comedy Loverboy. His career truly beginning to gain momentum in the early '90s, Walsh's appearances in Betsy's Wedding (1990) and Nobody's Fool (1994) showed an actor just waiting for his breakthrough role. Although he would take the lead for the eagerly anticipated jungle adventure Congo, the film's dismal fate at the box office certainly didn't do anything for his career. Subsequent efforts such as Divided by Hate (1997) and Chapter Zero (1999) showed an actor capable of much more than what he was given with which to work. Admittedly taking roles just to pay the bills, Walsh was offered the lead in Calgary filmmaker Dave Schultz's dark psychological drama Jet Boy. Cast as a shady, morally ambiguous undercover cop who befriends a street smart orphan while attempting to take down a big-time drug dealer, the role offered some contrast to Walsh's recent performances, and simultaneously proved that he was fully capable of handling a leading dramatic role. Due to the success of Jet Boy, his career was somewhat reinvigorated and subsequent parts in We Were Soldiers and Blood Work paid testament to an actor regaining his footing after a few early falters. In 2003, Walsh donned scrubs for the critically acclaimed television series Nip/Tuck. In 2006 Walsh could be seen back up on the big screen as the buttoned-down boyfriend of Sandra Bullock's haunted character in the fantasy-flavored romantic drama The Lakehouse. Walsh changed his tune for The Stepfather (2009), which starred the actor as a sociopathic murderer. In 2010, he joined the cast of Secretariat in a supporting role as the husband of housewife-turned-horse racer Penny Cherry (Diane Lane).

Trivia: Originally went to college to become a teacher and tutored elementary students throughout high school and college. Married with two children. Crossed paths with Tony Soprano as a compulsive gambler in the pilot episode of The Sopranos. Made his Broadway debut in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, opposite Eddie Izzard, in 2003. Originally read for the role of Johnston Green for Jericho.

Trivia: Wanted to be a stunt man after watching the Fall Guy as a kid, until he realized Lee Majors was only an actor playing a stunt man. First TV appearance was on Unsolved Mysteries. Made his big-screen debut in 1997 with a bit part in Robert Duvall's The Apostle. Proposed to his girlfriend while filming the pilot for NBC medical drama Trauma, having carried the ring around for two years, waiting for the right opportunity. Plays guitar, sings and writes music in his spare time.

Trivia: Family moved to Oakland when she was 2 years old. Father is East Indian and mother is Italian-American. Studied ballet at the Oakland Ballet Company. Was a member of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in New York. Is a member of a theater group called Theatre Tribe. Enjoys hiking, jogging, yoga and bodysurfing.

Trivia: At 14, developed her acting talents in an eight-week program at Philadelphia's Society Hill Playhouse, where students wrote and performed their own scripts. Was accepted into the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan. Discovered while working as a receptionist at a fitness club. Stage work at the Lark Play Development Center in New York includes Andrea Thome's Undone in 2003 and Kristoffer Diaz's Welcome to Arroyo's in 2005.

Trivia: When character actor Omar Metwally commenced film appearances in the mid-2000s, he most often tackled roles that took advantage of his Middle Eastern heritage and appearance, such as his work in Steven Spielberg's critically praised docudrama Munich (as a militant PLO leader) and his haunting portrayal of a suspected suicide bomber in Gavin Hood's Rendition (2007).

Trivia: Venerable broadcast journalist Lesley Stahl ascended to her best-known position -- that of correspondent for the institutional CBS news magazine 60 Minutes -- in early 1991. Stahl replaced Meredith Vieira, when the latter allegedly left the show in the midst of a dispute with the network. Dedicated TV news adherents will doubtless realize that Stahl's 60 Minutes tenure represented only the cap on an astounding career, and that she -- like her colleagues -- sustained a decades-long resumé of prestigious assignments prior to her arrival on the CBS Sunday-night telecasts. Born December 16, 1941, in Swampscott, MA, Stahl attended and graduated from Wheaton College, and first made her mark reporting, for CBS, on the Watergate scandal of the early '70s. Additional key assignments for Stahl during that decade included coverage of the U.S.-Russian summit meetings and of each U.S. presidential election. In the late '70s, Stahl graduated from regular CBS news correspondent to the network's chief White House correspondent during the Carter presidency, the Reagan era, and part of the term of George H.W. Bush. During this time period, Stahl also served as chief commentator on Face the Nation. Stahl's memorable 60 Minutes pieces included reports on David Kessler's feud with tobacco manufacturers, a business profile of Google, and legendary interviews with Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill of the George W. Bush administration.Stahl made a humorous guest appearance alongside her colleagues on a 1993 episode of the situation comedy Murphy Brown. She carried her involvement in that program one step further than the rest, however, by also returning to host a best-of retrospective of clips at the end of the 1994-1995 season. Stahl is married to journalist and author Aaron Latham, best known to cinephiles for authoring the Esquire articles that inspired the enjoyable Urban Cowboy (1980) and the subpar Perfect (1985), and for penning the screenplay of the 1993 James Caan sports drama The Program.

Trivia: Became an actor almost by accident. On a lark, at age 16, she auditioned for a community-theater production of Damn Yankees and was cast as the reporter Gloria. Leapt from high school to the stage without first attending college, though she eventually was recruited to—and earned an MFA from—the Yale School of Drama. Sings; and plays guitar and ukulele. Formed the Hipgnosis Theatre Company with friends not long after moving to New York in 2005. She named it "Hipgnosis" after the design company that created the cover art for albums by such acts as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Wings. Comes by her music geekness the old-fashioned way: her DNA. Her dad loved music, managed bands while working a full-time job, and even co-authored the book Elvis Presley, Reluctant Rebel: His Life and Our Times. Nominated for a 2012 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her work in The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World.

Trivia: Supporting actor, onscreen from 1989.

Trivia: Famed for (and lucky enough to be) one of Saturday Night Live's original Not Ready for Primetime Players, Jane Curtin made her debut in 1975 among such heavies as John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and Gilda Radner. Together they formed the sketch comedy troupe that wrote a new chapter in American comedy. Curtin is different from many of her famous SNL cohorts in that she left the show without being easily identified with a single character. Audiences loved her as Mrs. Conehead and as the co-anchor of Weekend Update with Dan Akroyd, but Curtin remained as understated as someone could be with a two-foot cone on her head.After her two Emmy nominations from Saturday Night Live, Curtin went on to star in a number of other series. In the 1980s, viewers empathized with her as Allie Lowell in Kate and Allie (for which she won back-to-back Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmys in 1984 and 1985); in the 1990s, she kept audiences in stitches with her wacky characterization of Dr. Mary Albright, the anthropologist love interest of John Lithgow on 3rd Rock From the Sun. As the 2000's unfolded, Curtin would remain active in a vareity of roles, appearing most notably in comedies like I Love You, Man and on TV series like the crime drama Unforgettable.

Trivia: Equipped with classical training as a stage actor, American thespian Dallas Roberts cut his chops on and off Broadway during the 1990s and early 2000s before transitioning to film -- a shift that represented a broad stylistic and technical leap for the dramatist. Born and raised in the Houston area, Roberts first attended a Lone Star community college with an unclear idea of how he wanted to spend his professional life. Had he never discovered Juilliard, his life might very well have forked off in another direction; instead, Roberts -- directed toward acting at the behest of a collegiate drama professor -- applied to the hallowed New York conservatory and gained acceptance. Involvement in numerous theatrical productions on the Great White Way ensued, such as the 2002 Burn This (with Edward Norton and Catherine Keener) and Adam Rapp's Nocturne, for which Roberts received a Drama Desk Award nomination.Though a couple of unremarkable independent films preceded it, the Michael Mayer-directed, Michael Cunningham-scripted 2004 picture A Home at the End of the World (an adaptation of Cunningham's beloved novel) marked Roberts' first noteworthy cinematic achievement. The picture also shot Roberts instantly to third billing -- not an unpromising start for a cinematic newcomer. It concerns the relationship triangle that develops between Jonathan (Roberts), a thirtysomething gay man desperate to act as a father to his roommate's baby; the eccentric roommate Clare (Robin Wright Penn); and Jonathan's lifelong, heterosexual best friend, Bobby (Colin Farrell), who move to a house together in rural, upstate New York. Roberts, who reportedly felt a bit thrown by the lack of advance character preparation and dramatic adjustment in film (compared to theater) nonetheless delivered a bravura performance; the film itself received mixed reviews.Over the next several years, Roberts would enjoy a sustained level of fame and respect as an actor, appearing memorably in movies like Walk the Line (2005) , 3:10 to Yuma, and on TV series like The Walking Dead, Rubicon, The Good Wife, and Unforgettable.

Trivia: The frequently glamorous African-American actress Tawny Cypress built her career from the very late '90s onward. Her first major role was the minor character Melissa in the Richard Gere/Winona Ryder sudser Autumn in New York (2000). She went on to appear in a variety television programs in both guest parts (NYPD Blue, Law & Order: Criminal Intent) and recurring roles (Third Watch, All My Children), but it wasn't until 2006 that she truly gained mainstream attention. That fall, she took on the role of Simone Deveaux on the prime-time fantasy drama Heroes, a series that soon became a massive hit. She remained with the show for one season, and then could be seen on the New Orleans-set police drama K-Ville in the fall of 2007, playing Ginger "Love Tap" LeBeau, the only main character who was a female officer.

Trivia: Is the son of immigrants from Taiwan and Japan. Enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school, but was medically discharged soon after. Worked several odd jobs until his sister encouraged him to apply at the Juilliard School and was accepted after auditioning. Played Brutus in the stage production of Julius Caesar while studying at the Juilliard School. Is a graduate of the professional acting program at the Marjorie Ballentine Studio. Made his professional theater debut as Song Liling in M. Butterfly at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in 2004.

Trivia: Won the 2008 College Comedy Championship with her college improv team. Joined the comedy troupe, The Striking Viking Story Pirates in 2009. Used the footage from her final round performance with her college improv team as her audition for Big Lake. Trained at the Upright Citizens' Brigade Theatre in New York.

Trivia: American character actress Kathy Najimy specializes in offbeat, theatrical characters. A substantial and energetic woman with distinctive curly hair and exotic features, Najimy has appeared on-stage, in feature films, and on television. She has also voiced cartoons. Film credits include The Fisher King, Soapdish (both 1991), Sister Act (1992), and Jeffrey (1996). In 1996, she appeared -- over 100 pounds thinner -- for a brief but memorable recurring role as a manic-depressive psychiatrist on the CBS TV series Chicago Hope. In 1997, she became a regular on the Kirstie Alley sitcom Veronica's Closet. Beginning in 1997 she spent thirteen seasons voicing Peggy Hill, the wife to tried and true Texan Hank Hill on the animated series King of the Hill. During the run of the show she appeared in a variety of big-screen projects including Bride of Chucky, Rat Race, Scream Team, and Say Uncle. She landed a recurring role on the TV series Numb3rs, and joined the Pixar family when she lent her vocal talents to WALL-E in 2008.

Trivia: Worked for Citigroup in Dallas for five years after college. After appearing in a friend's grad-school film, began working in independent films on the weekends; finally left the business world when he was cast in The Mist (2007). Formerly known as Ryan Hurst, but changed his stage name to Jackson, in tribute to Jack Kerouac, to avoid confusion with a Sons of Anarchy actor with the same name. Made his television debut in 2006 in a guest role on Inspector Mom. Appeared in The Closer and NCIS before being cast as a regular on Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva as Grayson Kent.

Trivia: From his first onscreen appearance opposite Winona Ryder in the 1996 coming-of-age tale Boys, Skeet Ulrich has invited comparisons with actors ranging from Johnny Depp to James Dean. With his cool stare and glacier-cut cheekbones, Ulrich has repeatedly been hailed as one of Young Hollywood's hottest, brightest stars, an accolade he has attempted to live up to with steady, if uneven, work.Born Brian Ray Ulrich on January 20, 1970, the actor was raised in North Carolina by his divorced father. Ulrich acquired his unusual nickname from a Little League coach who dubbed him "Skeeter" because he was small, like a mosquito. Following high school, Ulrich enrolled at New York University where he was "discovered" by playwright David Mamet, who invited him to join his celebrated Atlantic Theater Company as an apprentice. Ulrich performed in a number of productions, and during one of them, he was spotted by director Stacy Cochran, who cast him in an ABC Afterschool Special. Cochran then gave Ulrich his first screen role in Boys, in which he was cast as Winona Ryder's brutish boyfriend. 1996 proved to be a prolific year for the newly discovered actor, who followed his debut with performances in The Craft (which also featured his future Scream co-star, Neve Campbell), the Sharon Stone prison drama Last Dance, Albino Alligator, and, most notably, Scream, in which Ulrich played Campbell's unhinged boyfriend.1997 emerged as a quieter year for Ulrich, who appeared only in a small part (that, it should be noted, was much larger before the tyranny of the cutting-room floor) in James L. Brooks' critically acclaimed As Good As It Gets, and in the leading role in the largely unseen Touch. 1998 saw Ulrich take part in two more films: the obscure Vietnam drama A Soldier's Sweetheart (in which Ulrich starred with his future wife, Georgina Cates) and Richard Linklater's much-anticipated The Newton Boys, a film expected to mine box-office gold in part because of its ridiculously photogenic cast, which, in addition to Ulrich, included Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D'Onofrio. Despite such a powerful combination of tanned skin, flawless dentistry, and charmingly exuded testosterone, the film failed to find favor among critics or audiences. Ulrich's next feature, 1999's Chill Factor, met a similar fate, causing some to ponder what would come next for an actor who just three years earlier had been toasted as one of the most tantalizing samples that Hollywood had to offer. Ulrich fared somewhat better with Ride With the Devil: a Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee and co-starring Tobey Maguire, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Jeffrey Wright, and Jewel, it received a moderately favorable critical response.