Trivia: One of the most versatile and charismatic actresses that Hollywood has to offer, Holly Hunter has made a name for herself with smart, strong portrayals of dependably eccentric women. Born March 20, 1958, in Conyers, GA, Hunter was raised on a farm as the youngest of seven children. With the encouragement of her parents, she began acting at a young age, landing her first starring role as Helen Keller in a fifth grade play. Hunter went on to receive theatrical training at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University, after which she moved to New York to pursue her acting career. Following her off-Broadway debut in 1981, the fledgling actress enjoyed a serendipitous twist of fate in the form of being stuck in a stalled elevator with playwright Beth Henley. The chance meeting led to a collaboration between the two women, first with the stage production of The Miss Firecracker Contest and then with Hunter's 1982 Broadway debut, Crimes of the Heart. Meanwhile, Hunter had made her onscreen debut in the 1981 horror flick The Burning, a film remarkable both for its high schlock quotient and its casting of a similarly obscure young actor named Jason Alexander. After moving to Los Angeles in 1982, Hunter appeared in some made-for-TV movies before being cast in a supporting role in 1984's Swing Shift. The same year, she had her first collaboration with Ethan Coen and Joel Coen in Blood Simple, making something of a limited appearance as a voice on an answering machine recording. More obscure film and television work followed until 1987, when thanks to a starring role in the Coens' Raising Arizona and her Academy Award-nominated turn in Broadcast News, Hunter finally got her share of the limelight. The praise she received led to more acclaimed work in 1989; the actress won raves for her parts in three different films: the screen adaptation of Henley's Miss Firecracker; Steven Spielberg's Always, a romantic drama with Richard Dreyfuss; and the made-for-TV docudrama Roe vs. Wade. Following her second collaboration with Dreyfuss in Once Around (1991), Hunter once again garnered a wealth of critical appreciation for her work in three 1993 films, two of which resulted in her being nominated for Academy Awards as both Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress in that same year. Hunter's performance in The Firm won her a nomination for the former and her portrayal of a mute Scottish woman entangled in a treacherous affair with Harvey Keitel in Jane Campion's The Piano won her the latter. Unfortunately, over the next couple of years, Hunter found herself starring in vehicles that ranged from underrated to dreadful, with Home for the Holidays (1995) at one end of the spectrum and the thriller Copycat (also 1995) at the other. Her work in David Cronenberg's Crash (1996) did win her strong notices, but it was swallowed by the controversies surrounding the film, and her appearance as a sardonic angel in A Life Less Ordinary suffered a similar fate. However, the actress rebounded the following year with her portrayal of a recently divorced New Yorker in Richard LaGravenese's Living Out Loud. Starring alongside Danny DeVito, Queen Latifah, and Martin Donovan, Hunter won overwhelmingly positive reviews for her performance, convincing critics and audiences alike that she was back in the saddle again. Hunter rounded out the 1990s with a minor role in the indie drama Jesus' Son and as a housekeeper torn between a grieving widower and Kiefer Sutherland's little-seen character-driven drama Woman Wanted (1999).Hailing in the new millennium with a memorable performance in the Coen Brothers O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), the talented actress took top billing in the same year's television production Harlan County War, a powerful account of labor struggles among Kentucky coal-mine workers. Hunter would continue her small screen streak with a role in When Billy Beat Bobby and as narrator of Eco Challenge New Zealand before returning to film work with a minor role in the 2002 drama Moonlight Mile. The following year found Hunter drawing favorable reviews for her role in the otherwisecritically maligned redemption drama Levity. In 2004 she voiced the mom of the superhero family The Incredibles. She had a well-respected run on the small-screen as the star of Saving Grace, a drama about an ethically challenged cop who has a very unconventional guardian angel watching over her. In 2012 she returned to the silver screen with a crucial role in Diablo Cody's directorial debut Lamb of God.

Trivia: A veteran actor with a charming drawl, South Carolina native Leon Rippy began his acting career in the early '80s, making very minor appearances in very big films, like a store clerk in The Color Purple and an FBI agent in Firestarter. Rippy would continue to appear in several projects over the coming years, often taking on a number of roles every year. He notably played a prosecutor in 1988's Illegally Yours, and an Army sergeant in 1990's Moon 44, one of seven collaborations Rippy would make with director Roland Emmerich. The '90s would find the actor just as active as ever, appearing in the usual plethora of movies and TV shows, including high-profile appearances in 2000's The Patriot and on the series Walker, Texas Ranger. The new millennium would bring even more prominent work for the now silver-haired actor, with a starring role on the HBO western series Deadwood, which Rippy would appear on from 2004 to 2006. He soon took on another starring role on the police drama Saving Grace with Holly Hunter, playing Earl, a tough-talking, tobacco-spitting messenger from God. Although he was away from screens for nearly a half-decade after Saving Grace came to an end, he returned in the Johnny Depp project The Lone Ranger.

Trivia: A handsome performer with a clean-cut image yet the ability to project heightened aggression, Kenny Johnson specialized in portrayals of authoritative professional types, such as state troopers, police detectives, and macho athletes. The East Coast native grew up on a farm in Vermont, and as a young man formally trained in drama under the tutelage of acting coaches Vincent Chase and Larry Moss. Following a brief start in show business as a TV commercial spokesperson, Johnson moved into narrative work, and spent much of the 1990s turning up as a guest star on programs including Caroline in the City, Grace Under Fire and Arli$$, in addition to theatrical releases such as the 1998 issues Major League: Back to the Minors and Blade. Johnson scored his most significant break, however, with an ongoing role on the popular FX police drama The Shield: that of Detective Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemansky. Beginning in 2007, Johnson signed for a regular supporting role on the TNT drama series Saving Grace; he played Ham Dewey, Detective Grace Hanadarko's (Holly Hunter) on-the-job partner and occasional lover.

Trivia: Earned a football scholarship to Duke University after a successful high-school career as a linebacker. Made his first television appearance as a lifeguard on an episode of Married...With Children. After a two-year stint as Chris Hughes on As the World Turns, he went on to star as another Hughes—Steve Hughes—on MyNetwork TV's Watch Over Me. Frequently rides horses as a Wyoming sheriff's deputy in the A&E series Longmire; he learned how to ride as a child on a farm in Illinois where his father had horses. Is an avid Chicago Cubs fan.

Trivia: A strikingly handsome actor who projects an image of strength whether playing drama or comedy, Bokeem Woodbine was born in Harlem, NY, on April 13, 1973. A solid student, Woodbine attended the prestigious Dalton School in New York before transferring to the LaGuardia School of Music and Art in the city. At the suggestion of his mother, Woodbine tried to land a job as an extra on a film shooting near his neighborhood; he picked up work as a stand-in, and he attracted the attention of a casting agent who gave him a role as a police informant and drug dealer in the made-for-cable drama Strapped. Woodbine's strong performance won him several key supporting roles in noted films, including Crooklyn, Jason's Lyric, and Dead Presidents. A few years later, Woodbine got to show off his lighter side in the comedies Almost Heroes and Life, as well as the witty action film The Big Hit. Woodbine also began working in episodic television, first with an appearance on The X-Files, and later with guest shots on New York Undercover and The Sopranos, as well as a weekly role on the short-lived series Battery Park and a recurring role on City of Angels.

Trivia: Born in New Jersey to Italian-American parents, deep-voiced actress Laura San Giacomo studied at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. After performing in regional theater, off-Broadway, and TV guest-star roles, she made her auspicious debut in Steven Soderbergh's sex, lies, and videotape. As the down-to-earth yet adulterous Cynthia, her presence brought a sense of inhibition to the cast of otherwise sexually repressed characters. This was followed by a series of other good roles: the prostitute Kit in Pretty Woman, the hardworking waitress in Vital Signs, Holly Hunter's sister in Once Around, and the American expatriate Crazy Cora in Quigley Down Under. In addition to providing her husky voice to the star-studded animated series Gargoyles, she moved over to TV movies, most notably the Stephen King adaptation The Stand. On the big screen, she starred in Nina Takes a Lover, Stuart Saves His Family, and The Apocalypse (co-starring her then-husband Cameron Dye). After having her son Mason, she started playing the memorable role of magazine journalist Maya Gallo on Just Shoot Me, which ran from 1997-2003 on NBC. She worked steadily in the years following Just Shoot Me, but she was away from screens for four years after 2001, returning in the 2005 drama Havoc. Two years later she starred opposite Holly Hunter in the supernatural series Saving Grace.

Trivia: Born in Trinidad and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Began acting at 11 years old. Landed her first paying job the same day she graduated college with Shakespeare & Company. Played Titania in a 1987 off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, opposite F. Murray Abraham, Fisher Stevens and Elizabeth McGovern. Nominated for five NCAAP Image Awards for her work on Any Day Now.

Trivia: Started his career as a child model. Featured in commercials for Tide and GMC. Played a young Charlie Sheen in an episode of Two and a Half Men and portrayed a young Michael Scofield in episodes of Prison Break. Appeared in the music video for Shinedown's "The Crow & the Butterfly." Won a battle-of-the-bands contest with his band, the Feaver, landing the group a gig on the 2011 Vans Warped Tour.

Trivia: While his name might suggest a birthplace somewhere in France -- or at the very least Quebec -- actor Rene Auberjonois was born in New York City. However, his well-to-do parents were of noble European blood, thus French was the language of choice in his household. Despite his first-born-American status, Auberjonois was shunned by many of his schoolmates as a foreigner, and teased for having a "girl's" name. As a defense mechanism, Auberjonois became the class clown, which somehow led naturally to amateur theatricals. The influence of such neighborhood family friends as Burgess Meredith and Lotte Lenya solidified Auberjonois' determination to make performing his life's work. He was cast in a production at Stratford (Ontario)'s Shakespeare company by John Houseman -- another neighbor of his parents' -- and after moving with his family to England, Auberjonois returned to complete his acting training at Carnegie-Mellon University. There he decided to specialize in character parts rather than leads -- a wise decision, in that he's still at it while some of his handsomer and more charismatic Carnegie-Mellon classmates have fallen by the wayside. Three years with the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. led Auberjonois to San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre, of which he was a founding member. Movie and TV work was not as easy to come by, so the actor returned to New York, where he won a Tony for his Broadway role in the musical Coco. An introduction to director Robert Altman led Auberjonois to his first film, M*A*S*H (1970), in which he introduced the character that would later be fleshed out on TV as Father Mulcahy (with William Christopher in the role). He worked in two more Altman films before he and the director began to grow in opposite directions. More stage work and films followed, then TV assignments; Auberjonois' characters ranged from arrogant dress designers to snooty aristocrats to schizophrenic killers on film, while the stage afforded him more richly textured roles in such plays as King Lear and The Good Doctor. In 1981, Auberjonois was cast as Clayton Endicott III, the terminally fussy chief of staff to Governor Gatling on Benson. Like so many other professional twits in so many other films, Auberjonois' job was to make life miserable for the more down-to-earth hero, in this case Robert "Benson" Guillaume. Blessed with one of the most flexible voiceboxes in show business, Auberjonois has spent much of his career providing voice-overs for cartoon characters in animated projects like the Disney's The Little Mermaid, The Legend of Tarzan, Justice League, and Pound Puppies. In 1993, Rene Auberjonois assured himself a permanent place in the hearts of "Trekkies" everywhere when he was cast as Odo (complete with understated but distinctive "alien" makeup) on the weekly syndicated TV show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which he appeared on until 1999.Auberjonois would remain extremely active on screen in the years to come, appearing in movies like The Patriot, and on shows like Boston Legal.

Trivia: A seasoned dramatic actor who brought an extensive theater background to his work in film and television, Steven Culp was born in La Jolla, CA. When he was young, his parents divorced, and Culp moved with his father, a naval officer, and his two sisters to Virginia. After high school, Culp studied English literature at The College of William & Mary. On advice from his professors, Culp transferred to the University of Exeter in England, and while in London, he became acquainted with a group of student actors. Culp soon developed an interest in the theater, and when he returned to the United States, Culp transferred to Brandeis University, where he majored in acting and theater arts. After graduating, Culp began working in off-Broadway and regional theater, and was first seen by a national audience in 1983 when he earned a role on the daytime drama One Life to Live, which lasted for a year. In the late '80s, Culp was relocated to California and began working regularly in television, while still working in theater as often as his schedule would allow. Culp made his TV-movie debut with a small role in 1988's Lincoln. His big-screen debut came a year later, in the movie Gross Anatomy. In 1995, Culp was cast as Special Agent Clayton Webb in the made-for-TV movie JAG. A year later, the movie was spun off into a weekly series, and Webb became a recurring character, developing a loyal fan base among the show's viewers. The same year the JAG series debuted, Culp was cast as Robert F. Kennedy in Norma Jean and Marilyn, a drama produced for HBO about the life and career of Marilyn Monroe. Culp's strong performance as Kennedy (as well as his chiseled good looks) was impressive enough that in 2000, Culp was cast again as RFK, this time in the Cuban Missile Crisis drama 13 Days. When he isn't busy with film and television commitments, Culp still performs in live theater and is a member of the artistic committee of the Interact Theater Company of North Hollywood, CA. Culp is married with two children. He likes to play the guitar and writes fiction in his spare time. Culp worked steadily through the 2000s and made appearances on the television series' Ally McBeal (2000), Murder She Wrote (2000), Desperate Housewives (2004), and The Traveler (2007).

Trivia: New York native Mary-Margaret Humes began her career in show business competing on the pageant circuit, winning the 1975 Miss Florida USA pageant and taking home third place in the same year's Miss USA. She soon transitioned into film, making a memorable appearance as a Vestal Virgin in Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I, and making several guest appearances over the years on everything from The A-Team to Grey's Anatomy.

Trivia: Born in Okinawa, Japan, actress Tamlyn Tomita performed on-stage in Los Angeles before making her film debut in The Karate Kid Part II in 1986 as Ralph Macchio's love interest, Kumiko. Soap opera appearances and supporting roles followed, as well as a few made-for-TV movies about Hiroshima. In 1990, she gained some attention as Dennis Quaid's love interest in Alan Parker's WWII romance Come See the Paradise. In 1993, she was part of the excellent ensemble cast in the generation-gap drama The Joy Luck Club, based on the novel by Amy Tan. Other films include the Hawaiian-set romantic drama Picture Bride, the clever comedy drama Four Rooms, the horror thriller Killing Jar, and the independent relationship comedy Hundred Percent. On television, she found work in the sci-fi movie Babylon 5: The Gathering and landed reoccurring roles on The Burning Zone JAG, and 24. She also can be seen in Greg Pak's little-seen but critically praised digital video project Robot Stories and Roland Emmerich's 2004 sci-fi disaster film The Day After Tomorrow.

Trivia: Began acting in plays as a child and did theatre at university. Visited New York City while at university to interview for jobs on Wall Street, but also used the time to go on auditions. Attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Often portrays some type of authority figure. Was cast as a cop in Lethal Weapon 2, a commanding officer in Starship Troopers, and a state trooper in Little Miss Sunshine, amongst others. Has created several videos parodying his cop persona, including a fictional show called Cop Talk and one that pokes fun at his character in the series Breaking Bad.

Trivia: Learning the ropes at the Bucks County Playhouse and New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, Jessica Walter, born January 31st, 1949, made her Broadway debut in 1961's Advise and Consent. The raven-haired leading lady was then seen on a regular basis in several Manhattan-based TV programs, including the daytimer Love of Life and the 1965 nighttime series For the People. In films from 1964, Jessica was one of eight young female "newcomers" (Candice Bergen, Elizabeth Hartman, Joanna Pettet et. al.) who went on to greater things after appearing en masse in Sidney Lumet's The Group (1966). Her flashiest screen role was as the dangerously possessive "number one fan" Evelyn Draper in Clint Eastwood's Play Misty for Me (1971). Of her many weekly-TV assignments, Walter's title role in the mid-'70s cop series Amy Prentiss garnered her the most attention; that is, until recently, when Walter found late-career acclaim on the award-winning sitcom Arrested Development. As the insensitive, materialistic matriarch of the Bluth family, Walter garnered a plum comedic role, and Emmy attention to boot. Walter continued to remain active in television appearances following the cancellation of Arrested Development, and joined the cast of the Broadway revival of Anything Goes in 2011.