Trivia: The quiet yet dynamic screen presence of actor Joe Mantegna has made him one of the most powerful supporting actors in Hollywood. Born in Chicago, Mantegna made his acting debut in the 1969 production of Hair. He then joined Chicago's Organic Theatre Company. In 1978, he debuted on Broadway in Working; he also helped write Bleacher Bums, an award-winning play. Still, he did not become well-known until he played a recurring role on the TV show Soap. By 1983 he'd returned to Chicago, where he began working with playwright David Mamet. While playing the lead in Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross (1983), Mantegna won a Tony. When Mamet began making films, Mantegna became his actor of choice in works such as House of Games (1987) and Homicide (1991). Prior to that, the actor had played small roles in a number of other films. He also continues to play in a variety of movie genres, working with some of Hollywood's top directors. Mantegna turned producer in 1998 with the crime comedy Jerry and Tom. That trend continued on the small screen as Montenga produced such shows as Midway USA's Gun Stories, Shooting Gallery, and QuickBites, but it was his role as a regular on the CBS series Joan of Arcadia that really kept him in the public eye. Continually returning to his recurring role as Fat Tony on The Simpsons over the next decade, Montegna joined the cast of the hit television series Criminal Minds in 2007, and recieved an Emmy nomination for his performance in the successful mini-series The Starter Wife that same year.

Trivia: Versatile as well as tall, dark, and handsome, Thomas Gibson has moved easily between TV stardom and a varied movie career working with some of the industry's major names. Born and raised in Charleston, Gibson found his calling as a child, making his acting debut at age ten in children's theater productions. Though he attended the College of Charleston, Gibson relocated when he won a scholarship to New York's prestigious Juilliard School. After earning his B.F.A., Gibson made his professional New York theater debut in 1985. Gibson spent the rest of the 1980s doing theater, as well as branching out into television with two seasons on the daytime drama Another World and the TV movie Gore Vidal's Lincoln (1988).Gibson made the transition to films in style with a co-starring role opposite Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Ron Howard's glossy Irish-American epic Far and Away (1992). Along with playing a bit part in Martin Scorsese's lush The Age of Innocence (1993), Gibson further distinguished himself that year with larger roles in the critically praised PBS miniseries Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City and French-Canadian director Denys Arcand's first English-language film, the contemporary drama Love and Human Remains (1993).Gibson subsequently appeared in the second part of Whit Stillman's preppy trilogy, Barcelona (1994), and in the indie Sleep With Me (1994), but he became better-known to TV audiences that year on the CBS hospital drama Chicago Hope. After three seasons on the show, Gibson became an even more prominent TV presence in 1997 when he was cast as the straight-laced husband Greg to Jenna Elfman's hippie Dharma on the ABC sitcom Dharma and Greg. In addition to the memorable role of Greg, Gibson would appear in a number of feature films, like Eyes Wide Shut, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, and Psycho Beach Party, as well as subsuquent TV series, like the the proceedural Criminal Minds.

Trivia: California-born Shemar Moore parlayed a successful modeling stint into an acting career that began in 1994 with a lead role on the soap opera The Young and the Restless. Moore played Malcolm Winters for eight years, and earned a Daytime Emmy for his performance in 2000. After leaving The Young and the Restless, Moore landed a role on the short-lived WB superhero series Birds of Prey. A prominent supporting role in the surprise hit Diary of a Mad Black Woman followed in 2005, and that same year, he was cast on the CBS drama Criminal Minds alongside Mandy Patinkin and Thomas Gibson. In 2007, Moore made headlines in the gossip rags for a DUI arrest. He would go on to star on the proceedural Criminal Minds.

Trivia: Las Vegas native Matthew Gray Gubler got his show-business start as a fashion model, working for designers like Tommy Hilfiger. After graduating from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2002, Gubler appeared in his first feature film, playing one of the interns in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in 2004. He soon followed that performance with a starring role in the series Criminal Minds, playing the young genius Dr. Spencer Reid. He also made a small appearance in the comedy RV before signing on to appear in The Great Buck Howard. He had a major supporting role in (500) Days of Summer, but has probably had his largest success voicing the part of Simon, the nerdy member of the rodent trio at the heart of three Alvin and the Chipmunks movies.

Trivia: Canadian-born A.J. Cook trained as a competitive dancer before beginning her acting career at age 17 in the children's TV series Goosebumps. She started out in small roles on made-for-TV dramas until her first big break as one of the blonde Lisbon sisters in The Virgin Suicides. She went on to a recurring role on Higher Ground, a Fox Family Channel series about teens in boot camp, where she played the love interest of fellow Canadian Hayden Christensen prior to his role of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones. After another TV movie and the snowboarding comedy Out Cold, Cook found her niche as a lead actress in horror movies with Ripper: Letter From Hell in 2001. She then headlined a number of other thrillers, including Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell, The House Next Door, and Final Destination 2. In 2005, she began her run in the series Criminal Minds, playing special agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau. Cook took on a supporting role in the romantic comedy I'm Reed Fish in 2006, and starred in director Ron Satlof's comedy Misconceptions in 2008. The actress took another lead role in 2011 for Bringing Ashley Home, a docudrama following a woman (Cook) determined to find her sister when she suddenly goes missing. Cook returned to the horror genre in 2013, with Wer. A member of the Mormon church, Cook lives in Salt Lake City, UT, with her husband, Nathan Andersen.

Trivia: Like a lot of showbiz hopefuls, Kirsten Vangsness has had her share of day jobs. After paying the bills as a substitute teacher, child counselor, and dinner-theater actress, Vangsness found her big break when she was cast in a Pepsi commercial. Soon afterward, she scored the role of Penelope Garcia on the hit show Criminal Minds in 2004. She made her feature film debut in the thriller In My Sleep.

Trivia: Actress Paget Brewster got her first big break with a recurring role on Friends in 1997 playing Chandler's girlfriend Kathy. A regular stint on the most popular show on television was just the springboard that the actress needed to build up her resumé, and soon she was cast in the cult hit Andy Richter Controls the Universe and the Showtime series Huff. In 2006, she had a prominent role in the family comedy Unaccompanied Minors, and later that same year, she joined the cast of the series Criminal Minds. She has also, most notably, provided the voice of Birdgirl for the Adult Swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

Trivia: A talented dramatic actor who first caught the attention of television viewers thanks to his role as the handsome Dr. Michael Gallant on the long-running medical drama ER, former stage actor Sharif Atkins made the transition from stage acting to screen acting with an ease that gave notable testament to his remarkable range. A native of Pittsburgh, Atkins relocated with his family to Chicago when he was six years old. His grade-school stage roles failed to spark the kind of lifelong enthusiasm usually experienced by future thespiansm, and it wasn't until enrolling in Northwestern University that the acting bug truly bit. By the time Atkins had earned his bachelor's degree in 1997, his calling had become crystal clear to the burgeoning star. A series of stage roles in local Chicago productions saw Atkins impressively honing his craft to a fine point before making the transition to the screen with supporting performances in such television efforts as Early Edition. In 1999, he made the transition to feature films with a bit part in Light It Up. Atkins subsequently essayed a handful of small but memorable television appearances that helped to drive his career in the following years. Starting in 2001, he donned scrubs for a two-and-a-half-year stint as an idealistic young doctor on ER. Though Atkins would take a brief trip into the history of television as a musically inclined performer in the 2001 made-for-television feature The Big Time, it was his subsequent turn as a Chicago cop reassigned to Hawaii on the aptly titled NBC series Hawaii that earned the actor top billing and placed him on the cusp of true stardom.

Trivia: Became interested in acting at the age of 5 after his sister booked a lead role in a TV commercial. First acting job was in an Oscar Meyer commercial. Moved to Los Angeles with his family in 2003 in hopes of furthering his acting career. Graduated high school at the age of 15 as class salutatorian. Member of the Alpha Gamma Sigma honor society. Studied culinary arts in college. Appeared in small roles in Without a Trace in 2005 and Hannah Montana in 2007.

Trivia: Somewhere between John Goodman and Robert Loggia -- at least on a physical scale -- there exists portly screen presence Paul Rae. A consistently reliable supporting player whose undeniable onscreen charisma has made him equally popular on film and television, Rae has appeared on the silver screen in such films as Coach Carter, Next, and Daddy Day Camp, and on the small screen in such shows as Desperate Housewives, The West Wing, and The Closer. Despite the fact that Rae has only been active in the entertainment industry since 2003, he has racked up an impressive list of credits while working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and proven himself equally adept at all genres.

Trivia: Classically trained actress Rowena King received formal dramatic instruction in Great Britain, at the London Drama School. From there, King transitioned to ensemble work with the esteemed Royal Shakespeare Company and became a frequent presence on U.K. television, in series programs including Just a Gigolo, Tales of the South Seas, and Full Stretch. King's big-screen appearances officially commenced in the early '90s, and she displayed a predilection for choosing unique, dynamic, and challenging material -- evidenced, for example, by her film-stealing turn as Amelie in John Duigan's South Seas erotic melodrama Wide Sargasso Sea (1992) and a rare lead as Rachel Morris in Welsh director Julian Richards' harrowing pagan horror outing, Darklands (1997). Her collaboration with Kenneth Branagh, as an attendant in the director's controversial four-hour screen version of Hamlet (1996) drew on the actress' Shakespearean background but provided her with relatively little screen time. King enjoyed a period of increased television activity during the late '90s and early 2000s, which included parts in the series Wonderful You and Breaking News, then moved back into films with supporting work in such features as A Perfect Day (2006) and The Bucket List (2007).

Trivia: Enrolled into dancing school when he was 4-years-old.Decided to pursue a career in acting while she was still in high school.At the age of 17, joined the renowned Al Fann Theatrical Ensemble.Made her debut as an actress on screens in tv commercials.Has provided her voice to several animations over the years for Warner Bros and Hanna-Barbera Productions.Is an acting coach.

Trivia: Character player Garret Dillahunt appeared onscreen from the late '90s, and -- though versatile -- often displayed a predilection for evocations of slightly rugged types. Early in his career, Dillahunt essayed a string of guest portrayals on series including NYPD Blue and The X-Files, and signed on as a fixture on less successful series outings such as Maximum Bob (1998), Leap Years (2001), and A Minute with Stan Hooper (2003). When these programs folded not long after they first bowed, Dillahunt continued to find work on the small screen, appearing in multiple episodes of such series as ER (2005-2006), The 4400 (2005-2006), John from Cincinnati (2007), and Damages (2007), in such a variety of characterizations that his versatility as an actor was clearly notable. Dillahunt's ability to disappear into a role lead to him portraying not one but two memorable characters on HBO's critically acclaimed Western series Deadwood; his evocation of Wild Bill Hickock murderer Jack McCall so impressed the series' producers that he was brought back the next season to portray George Hearst's emissary Francis Wolcott (who was also secretly a serial killer). The next year, the actor's evocation of Jesus on Jack Kenny, Flody Suarez, and John Tinker's risky comedy drama series The Book of Daniel (2006) brought him lead billing, but the program never caught fire with the public. In 2007, Dillahunt transitioned to features and appeared in at least two A-list theatrical releases: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men. For No Country, Dillahunt and his co-stars picked up a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. He appeared in the short-lived HBO surfing series John From Cincinnati, and had a recurring role on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. In 2009 he starred in the big-screen remake of Last House on the Left, and had a small role in The Road. In 2010 he landed the role of the grandfather of the title character on the FOX sitcom Raising Hope, which turned into a ratings hit. He was one of the stars in the drama Any Day Now as a gay lawyer attempting to adopt a child.

Trivia: Latino actor and heartthrob Adam Rodriguez found a convenient backdoor to Hollywood success. Proving definitively the old adage that "it's all in who you know," Rodriguez's dad, the longtime COO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, happened to be watching the Emmys in 1996 and recognized an old army buddy accepting a production award. The gentleman in question had graduated from policeman to NYPD Blue consultant to one of the program's producers. The elder Rodriguez impulsively phoned his pal to congratulate him on the award; this led to a renewed friendship, and in time, a small guest spot for Adam on NYPD Blue. At that point, Rodriguez had only just decided on his true calling in life. A stint of seemingly random occupations (including stockbroker and bellhop) followed by a brief theatrical tenure at the Jersey Peppermill Playhouse convinced the young man that his passion lay in acting. The Emmy incident, as it were, happened almost immediately afterward.A recurring role on the brief series drama Brooklyn South ensued, followed by a guest spot on Law & Order, then a bit part in the Gary Fleder movie Impostor. Rodriguez attained his first substantial recognition, however, as Jesse Ramirez, an erudite attorney unknowingly saddled with an extraterrestrial girlfriend, on the sci-fi series Roswell. But his greatest exposure was still yet to come. Beginning in 2002, he played Eric Delko, drug and fingerprint expert at the Miami-Dade crime laboratory, on CSI: Miami, the first successful spin-off to the crime series phenomenon CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Shortly thereafter, Rodriguez also signed for a part in Jessica Kavana Dornbusch's indie coming-of-age drama Thanks to Gravity (2005), about the trials and travails of a young woman of Jewish-Hispanic ancestry enrolled at Harvard. Numerous film roles followed, and on the heels of an appearance in Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself Rodriguez turned up in Ugly Betty as Hilda's on again-off again flame Bobby Talercio. In 2012 the chisled actor could be seen opposite Channing Tatum in Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike.

Trivia: Model-turned-actress Rachel Nichols began a plush and lucrative career as one of America's most sought-after cover girls during her late teens and early twenties, then transitioned fluidly from modeling into acting. During her early film career, producers took great advantage of Nichols' appearance, casting her as glamorous eye candy in films such as the 2000 Autumn in New York (at age 19), Dumb and Dumberer (2003), Shopgirl (2005), and The Amityville Horror (2005). In addition to her film work, Nichols also made a splash on the small screen, starting with a guest role on on the popular cable comedy Sex and the City (2002), in which she played an alluring hostess at a chic restaurant, whom Samantha (Kim Cattrall) has a threesome with, along with her boyfriend. A few years later, Nichols starred in the shortlived FBI drama The Inside (2005), as Special Agent Rebecca Locke, the survivor of a kidnapping by a brutal serial killer, who used her disturbing experience to her advantage in profiling other murderers. After that series folded, she quickly followed it up by joining the cast of the popular spy drama Alias, as CIA agent Rachel Gibson, during its last season. Nichols ascended to lead status on the big screen and essayed a second outing as a scream queen in the thriller P2 (2007) -- playing a young woman unwittingly kidnapped and tormented by a maniac one fateful Christmas Eve.

Trivia: Born September 18th, 1970, actress, comedian, author, reality-show host, and occasional scriptwriter Aisha Tyler came of age in San Francisco and studied poly sci at Dartmouth College before mounting a (brief) career as an advertising executive in her hometown. Dissatisfied by this pursuit, and pining to launch herself as a full-time entertainer, Tyler "dropped out" of the corporate world and hit the road with a solo standup comedy act in the mid-'90s.Around 2001 -- after five years in Los Angeles with occasional standup bookings and concomitantly limited acclaim and recognition -- Tyler landed two huge breaks, first as the host of the irreverent Talk Soup during that program's final year (a position she inherited from Greg Kinnear, John Henson, and others), and then as the primary host of the dating series The 5th Wheel. Riding the crest of popularity generated by reality television during the first several years of the millennium, Wheel coupled the unscripted spontaneity of The Real World and Survivor with the format of the dating series Blind Date. Its premise involved setting two couples up on blind dates, having them "swap" partners, and adding an unforeseen fifth member (the "wheel" of the title) to stir things up and add provocation. The program placed a greater emphasis on erotic and suggestive content than Blind and -- perhaps as a result -- it unsurprisingly became a massive, runaway hit.The ever-ambitious Tyler, however, continued to expand her horizons. She maintained a short tenure with Wheel and quickly moved on to other endeavors, placing a particularly strong emphasis on television work. This included a stint as Charlie (the only recurring African-American cast member) in the final two seasons of the popular sitcom Friends, and a recurring role as covert terrorist Marianne Taylor on the weekly suspenser 24. Tyler also portrayed attorney Andrea Moreno (who dies in a car crash but is then "ushered" over to the other side by Jennifer Love Hewitt's psychic) in the first season (2005-2006) of the supernatural drama The Ghost Whisperer. After that, Tyler segued into feature-film work, with bit roles in such pictures as The Santa Clause 3 and .45.Six feet tall and one of the most physically breathtaking young actresses of her generation, Tyler frequently provides beauty tips in such magazines as Ebony and Glamour; she is also an outspoken proponent of physical fitness and a strenuous exerciser who pushes herself to an almost unimaginable degree. A February 2007 issue of In Style magazine reported, "In addition to scaling walls, Tyler runs, uses a rowing machine, lifts weights, snowboards and scuba dives. But for her, nothing beats the mental rush of rock climbing." In 2004, Tyler also authored and published the best-seller Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl, a free-form, witty expostulation on such "hot" topics as men, bikini waxing, reality television, dating wars, sex, and body image.After filming several unremarkable movies throughout the mid-2000s, the actress found success on Archer, a television series that features Tyler as a dedicated but deadly agent for ISIS, a secret intelligence unit in New York City. While she continued work on Archer, she landed the job of co-host on The Talk, and later, host of the revamped Whose Line Is It Anyway? As if that weren't enough, Tyler also landed a recurring role on Criminal Minds in 2015.

Trivia: Studied conducting under David Zinman and Murry Sidlin at Aspen Music Festival and under Leonard Slatkin at the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C. Appointed an American Conducting Fellow of the Houston Symphony in 2004, and an assistant conductor of Kansas City Symphony in 2006. Has been a guest conductor at many orchestras, including Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Monte Carlo Philharmonic, and NHK Orchestra of Tokyo. Made his Broadway acting debut in the play Clybourne Park in 2012.

Trivia: Launching her performing career in her native Tulsa, Jeanne Tripplehorn spent several years as a local radio DJ and TV host. Educated at both the University of Oklahoma and Juilliard, Born June 10th, 1963, Tripplehorn was first seen on a nationwide basis in 1991 in a supporting role in the made-for-TV movie The Perfect Tribute, a fictionalized retelling of the events leading up to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Many of Tripplehorn's film characterizations have ranged from mildly eccentric to deeply disturbed, thanks in great part to her breakthrough appearance as Michael Douglas' "rough sex" partner in the erotic chiller Basic Instinct (1992). She got a chance to play normal -- albeit frazzled -- as Hugh Grant's fiancée in the romantic comedy Mickey Blue Eyes (1999); in 2000, she returned to rougher territory as a lesbian gangster in Mike Figgis' experimental ensemble film Timecode. In 2006 Tripplehorn found success on the small screen for her role as Barb Henrickson, a devout Mormon who often struggles with her polygamous lifestyle, in the HBO drama series Big Love.

Trivia: American actor C. Thomas Howell (the "C" is for Christopher) began his acting career at the age of four, when he was a regular on the TV series Little People; he went on to appear on two other series: Two Marriages and Into the Homeland. This led to a big break when he was cast at the age of 16 in a secondary role in Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), one of the most successful films of all time. Following that, Francis Ford Coppola gave him the lead (in part due to Howell's "pretty-boy" good looks) in The Outsiders (1983), which has led to a consistent film career. However, most of his movies (with the exception of The Hitcher, 1986, in which he is stalked by a killer) have fared badly at the box office. Besides being an actor, Howell is also a former junior rodeo circuit champion. He is married to actress Rae Dawn Chong, with whom he co-starred in Soul Man (1986). The two divorced in 1990, but Howell remarried Sylvie Anderson in 1992.Howell would continue to appear in several projects a year, playing such notable roles as Lt. Thomas D. Chamberlain in 1993's Gettysburg, and the title role in 1995's Baby Face Nelson. In 1995, he tried his hand at directing, helming the drama Hourglass. In 1996 he directed The Big Fall and Pure Danger, and later, Howell added writing and producing to his resume as well, earning both screenwriter and producer credits for 2004's Hope Ranch and 2005's Blind Injustice. Howell also never gave up acting, appearing in such varied films as 2004's Hidalgo and 2007's Hoboken Hallow. He continued to work steadily, directing projects like The Day the Earth Stopped, The Land That Time Forgot, and The genesis Code in addition to acting in various films. He enjoyed his highest profile success in many years when he played the father of a young boy rescued by a superhero in The Amazing Spider Man.