Trivia: A hulking character actor who brings new meaning to the concept of versatility, Oliver Platt has appeared in a dizzying array of films that make him instantly recognizable but not instantly placeable to the average filmgoer. Since making his screen debut as an oily Wall Street drone in Mike Nichols' Working Girl (1988), Platt has lent his talents to almost every conceivable genre, including period dramas, political comedies, children's films, and campy horror movies.The son of a U.S. Ambassador, Platt was born in Windsor on January 12, 1960, Platt and his family soon moved to Washington, D.C. Thanks to his father's job, he had an exceptionally itinerant childhood. By the time he was 18, he had attended 12 different schools in places as diverse as Tokyo, the Middle East, and Colorado. Long interested in acting, Platt received a BA in drama from Boston's Tufts University; following graduation, he remained in Boston for three years to pursue his stage career. In 1986 he moved to New York, where he performed in a number of off-Broadway productions and had the lead in the 1989 Lincoln Center production of Ubu. Following his screen debut in Working Girl, Platt began finding steady work in such films as Married to the Mob (1988), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Beethoven (1992) -- which featured him and future collaborator Stanley Tucci as puppy thieves -- and Benny and Joon (1993). He also proved himself adept at cheesy period drama in The Three Musketeers (1993), which cast him as Porthos, and at all-out comedy, as demonstrated by his turn as a struggling comic in Funny Bones (1995). Rarely cast as a leading man, Platt has always been visible in substantial supporting roles, equally comfortable at portraying nice guys, bad guys, and just flat out weird guys alike. As Ashley Judd's suitor in Simon Birch (1998), he was the straight man, while in The Impostors (1998), his second collaboration with Tucci (two years earlier he served as associate producer for the latter's Big Night), he again displayed his capacity for broad physical comedy as a struggling actor who finds himself a stowaway on an ocean liner. In Dangerous Beauty (1998), Platt was able to exercise his nasty side as a bitter nobleman-turned-religious zealot in 16th-century Venice; that same year, his capacity for exasperated quirkiness was displayed in Bulworth, which cast him as Warren Beatty's put-upon, coke-snorting campaign manager.1999 proved to be a somewhat disappointing year for Platt, as two of his films, Three to Tango (which featured him as a gay architect) and the schlock-horror Lake Placid, which cast him as an idiosyncratic mythology expert, were both critical and commercial flops. A third film that year, Bicentennial Man -- in which Platt played the scientist who turns the titular robot (Robin Williams) into a man -- fared somewhat better. The following year, Platt's comic abilities were again on display in Gun Shy, in which he hammed it up as a bottom-rung mafioso with an overblown ego.Fortunately for the workhorse actor, the 2000s seemed to prove the boost -- and exposure -- his sagging career needed. Earning back to back Emmy nominations in 2006 and 2007 for his performance opposite former Tufts University classmate Hank Azaria in the weekly dramedy Huff, Platt was also nominated for a Screen Actor's Guild Award for his turn as New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in the TV mini-series The Bronk is Burning (2007). With 2008 came yet another Ammy nomination -- this time for his guest role on the hit FX series Nip/Tuck -- and in 2009 he appeared as Nathan Detroit in the Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls. Other notable television appearances from this phase of Platt's career included a recurring character on the seriocomic HBO series Bored to Death and a prominent role as the husband of a suburban housewife diagnosed with cancer in the Showtime comedy drama series The Big C.

Trivia: S. Epatha Merkerson is a Tony-nominated and Obie-winning, African-American stage actress, but is best known for her portrayal of detective squad chief Lt. Anita Van Buren in the series Law and Order. Born and raised in Detroit as the youngest of five children, she was a fine arts graduate of Wayne State University and began her New York theater career in the late 1970s. Merkerson was nominated for a Tony award for Best Actress for her performance as Berniece in The Piano Lesson and won an Obie award in 1992 for her work in I'm Not Stupid. Her screen credits include Jacob's Ladder and Loose Cannons and, perhaps most visibly, her role as Joe Morton's terrified wife in James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Merkerson made her television debut as Reba, the Mail Lady on Pee Wee's Playhouse, and has appeared on The Cosby Show, among other series, but her most important single television appearance may have been in the first season Law and Order show "Mushrooms," in which she portrayed the grief-stricken mother of an 11-month-old boy who is shot accidentally. Her work was not only memorable to the audience during that key first season, but also to the producers, who later picked Merkerson for the role of the new detective squad chief in the series' fourth season--a role she continued to play for over ten years. Merkerson's talent on the small screen led to roles in numerous TV movies such as Breaking Through and A Mother's Prayer, as well as roles in such films as Radio and The Rising Place. Still, her monumental gifts in both presence and interpretation may not have truly been utilized until she took the part of a strong matriarch who runs a 1960's boarding house in HBO's mini series Lackawanna Blues. Her first leading role in almost twenty years on screen, her performance earned her an Emmy Award as well as a Golden Globe. After her triumphant turn in Lackawanna Blues she returned to the big-screen in Craig Brewer's follow-up to Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan co-starring Christina Ricci and Samuel L. Jackson.Over the coming years, Merkerson would appear in a number of films, like The Six Wives of Henry Lefay and Mother and Child.

Trivia: Is of African-American and Brazilian descent and speaks Portuguese, French, Spanish and English. Was the runner-up in Season 3 of America's Next Top Model in 2004. Worked as a model for companies including Garnier Fructis, Oil of Olay, RadioShack and Dr. Scholls. Was in the music video for Jay-Z's "Roc Boys" in 2007. Appeared off-Broadway in The First Breeze of Summer, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

Trivia: Born in Cleveland's Little Italy and later moved with his family to the suburb of Chesterland, OH. Played junior varsity soccer in high school. Studied "red nose clowning" as part of his undergraduate acting studies. Played Lysander in the 2012 Classic Stage Company's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, opposite Bebe Neuwirth and Christina Ricci. Appeared onstage in Neil LaBute's Reasons To Be Pretty at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, with Shawn Hatosy, Alicia Witt and Amber Tamblyn in 2014.

Trivia: Began acting in his high school's stage production of Barnum where he juggled and sang in the choir. Started formally singing in high school and took his first voice lesson at 17. Received the Outstanding Senior Project Award in 2005 from Indiana University for his work in their Individualized Major Program. Was nominated for three Astaire awards for his performance in the 2011 Broadway revival of Anything Goes. Appears in Norah Jones' music video for "Happy Pills" (2012).

Trivia: Born on the Japanese island of Okinawa, Brian Tee moved with his parents to the U.S. at the age of two. After growing up in the sunny suburbs of L.A., he graduated high school and enrolled at Cal State Fullerton with a major in pre-law. In an effort to remain connected to the arts, he took an acting for non-majors class and discovered a deep love of performance. Causing something of a family upset, he dropped out of Cal State and enrolled in the Dramatic Arts Acting program at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, he began auditioning, landing appearances on shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Pretender. In 2006 he scored a role as the Drift King in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift before signing on for Nanking, Bill Guttentag's documentary about the 1937 massacre of the Chinese city.

Trivia: Grew up wanting to be an entertainer; would often sing and act out scenes for friends and family from Grease, Newsies and Les Misérables. Often went on tour with her father, who was a drummer for Billy Joel. Began playing the violin as a child and was a member of the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra. Played a violin solo at the wedding of Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook. First professional acting job was at age 16 on the WB's Safe Harbor. Worked as a model in Japan after graduating from high school. Big break came in 2005 when she was cast on ABC Family's Beautiful People; was later cast on One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars and The Vampire Diaries. Played violin on Raphael Saadiq's 2004 album Ray Ray and on Stevie Nicks' 2011 CD In Your Dreams. Is a hospice volunteer and is the first-ever Hospice Ambassador for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

Trivia: Is the daughter of two scientists and the sister of a doctor. Knew she wanted to be an actor from a young age. Was a VJ for the station Musique Plus in Montreal. Performed in a 2001 production of Hamlet with the Hudson Shakespeare Company. Appeared on many of Dick Wolf's crime series, including Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Trial By Jury, before starring on his medical series Chicago Med. Speaks fluent French.