Trivia: A uniquely gifted and versatile actor possessing the distinct ability to immerse himself in a role so convincingly that he becomes almost unrecognizable -- from a quality obsessed restaurateur (Big Night, 1996) to a master criminal bent on world domination (Spy Kids, 2001) -- one can always count on Tony Shalhoub to deliver a memorable performance no matter how small his role may be.Well-known to television audiences for his extended stint as a self-deprecating cabbie on the long-running series Wings, Shalhoub made the often-painful transition from television to film with a grace seldom seen. Born on October 9th, 1953 in Green Bay, WI, Shalhoub developed his passion for theater at the youthful age of six when he volunteered via his sister to play an extra in a high-school production of The King and I. Shalhoub was hooked. After earning his master's degree from the Yale Drama School and spending four seasons at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, Shalhoub packed his bags for New York where he began a luminous career on Broadway. Broadway brought Shalhoub success not only in his career, but in his personal life as well: he was nominated for a Tony for his role in Conversations With My Father and he met his future wife, actress Brooke Adams, while acting in The Heidi Chronicles. It was not long after his Broadway success that Shalhoub made his feature debut, as a doctor in the 1990 AIDS drama Longtime Companion.Shalhoub's film career has been a testament to his range and a compliment to his abilities. Though prone to comedy, his dramatic roles have gained him just as much, if not more, recognition than his comedic roles. Winning the Best Supporting Actor award from the National Society of Film Critics for his well-researched role in Big Night (1996), Shalhoub expanded his dramatic film repertoire with roles in A Civil Action and The Siege (both 1998), while always maintaining his knack for humor (1997's Men in Black). Shalhoub's role as the ultra-mellow "anti-Scottie" in the Star Trek send-up Galaxy Quest (1999) proved that his comic persona was indeed still as sharp as ever. Sticking in the sci-fi/fantasy mold for his roles in Imposter and Spy Kids (both 2001), Shalhoub once again proved that he could do 180-degree character turnarounds with ease.Though Shalhoub would stay in sci-fi mode for his role in Men in Black 2, he would return to solid ground with his role as an obsessive-compulsive detective in the well-received television pilot Monk (2002). Directed by Galaxy Quest helmer Dean Parisot, the pilot for Monk successfully paved the way for the curiously innovative USA series to follow and found the actor warmly re-embracing the medium that had propelled him to stardom. As Monk's popularity continued to grow, Shaloub found success on the big screen in the role of a gifted psychologist for The Great New Wonderful (2005), and voiced the lovable Luigi in Cars (2006) and Cars 2 (2011). In 2007, he worked alongside John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson for the supernatural horror film 1408.

Trivia: Appeared in TV commercials while still in high school. Traylor is her mother's maiden name. Worked at a greeting-card company after graduating from college. Made her sitcom debut in 1996 on Boston Common. Replaced Bitty Schram on Monk in 2005, playing the detective's peppy sidekick, Natalie.

Trivia: Striking terror deep in the hearts and subconsciousness of filmgoers worldwide with his chilling portrayal of aspiring transsexual serial killer James "Buffalo Bill" Gumb in director Jonathan Demme's acclaimed thriller The Silence of the Lambs, Steppenwolf Theater alumnus Ted Levine may not have received the star status some may have expected would follow the role, but he can consistently be counted on to turn in a lively performance, no matter how small his part may be.Born in Cleveland, OH, Levine received his M.F.A. in acting from the University of Chicago before making frequent appearances in such 1980s made-for-television efforts as Michael Mann's Crime Story (1986) and his feature debut in 1987's Ironweed. Taking small roles in such features as Betrayed (1988) and Next of Kin (1989) before his big break in Silence, Levine, curiously, stuck mostly to television following his portrayal of Buffalo Bill, not taking another featured role until his turn as a cop on the trail of a carnivorous industrial speed iron in The Mangler (1995). Appearing in Georgia and Michael Mann's acclaimed Heat the same year, Levine began to gain more prominent roles in the following years before taking to the seas with Patrick Stewart in Moby Dick (1998). Though he received critical acclaim for his role in the controversial television series Wonderland (2000), the show aired a meager two episodes (though four were produced) before being pulled due to outcry over its portrayal of the mental health system and its inhabitants. Bouncing back to the big screen, fans found that Levine could still be counted on to turn in absorbing performances in such features as Evolution and The Fast and the Furious (both 2001). Over the next several years, Levine would remain extremely active, appearing in films like The Manchuriuan Candidate, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Hills Have Eyes, and Shutter Island, as well as on TV series like Monk and Luck.

Trivia: With his mountainous, imposing, and slightly terrifying presence, it seemed fitting that Hollywood character actor Tyler Mane achieved his greatest recognition in the first decade of his career by donning a mask, seizing a butcher knife, and stalking coeds as psychopath Michael Myers in Rob Zombie's 2007 gorefest Halloween. The film, of course, constituted a remake of John Carpenter's seminal horror classic, and Mane inherited the role from Tony Moran and others, but few doubted that Mane and Zombie would make it their own. Prior to this turn, Mane waxed equally threatening as the furry, ravenous villain Sabretooth in the effects-laden blockbuster X-Men (2000), and wielded massive force as two barrel-chested heroes of old: Ajax in Wolfgang Petersen's historical epic Troy (2004) and Antaeus in Roger Young's HBO miniseries Hercules (2005). Mane grew up in Saskatoon, Canada. Reportedly something of an underdog, who suffered from relentless bullying as a child, he took this mistreatment and spun it into determination, with an aggressive immersion into all forms of martial arts -- including karate, judo, and tae kwon do. Then wrestling beckoned; Mane trained from the age of 19 on, first in Calgary, Alberta, then in Los Angeles. From 1986 through 1999, this Canuck import assumed the characterization of Big Sky (in a tag team with Kevin Nash) and as Nitron, and competed in professional wrestling tournaments around the world for the WCW and UWF. The jump from wrestling to acting constituted a short one, and Mane took that leap with X-Men. His resumé also includes portrayals in such features as Black Mask 2 and Joe Dirt, and he first worked with Zombie in The Devil's Rejects (2005); Halloween thus represented their sophomore collaboration. Mane publicly described his evocation of Myers as "demanding...both physically and emotionally," because of the extent to which Zombie sought to lay bare the maniac's psychopathology in the film.

Trivia: Initially aspired to become a basketball player but opted to pursue acting instead. Did a great deal of voice work at the start of his career, including playing Donatello for the animated series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. Auditioned for a guest spot in the Monk pilot but was cast in the regular role of Lieutenant Randy Disher instead. Sang backup vocals on Russell Crowe's album Gaslight after costarring with him in 1999's Mystery, Alaska and 2001's A Beautiful Mind.

Trivia: Spent her early childhood in Houston and England (where she attended the American School in England). Won a 2004 Young Artist Award (Supporting Actress) for her first professional role, a girl orphaned by a terrorist attack in Italy, in the HBO film My House in Umbria. Has studied ballet and enjoys sailing on Long Island Sound.

Trivia: Supporting actress Bitty Schram had the small but memorable role of Evelyn, the baseball-playing single mother who makes the mistake of crying in front of manager Tom Hanks during a baseball game in Penny Marshall's A League of Their Own (1992). A native of New Jersey and a graduate of the University of Maryland, Schram would appear in numerous feature films over the years, but is perhaps best known for the role of handler Sharona Fleming on the TV series Monk.

Trivia: An actor of seemingly boundless range, New York-born Hector Elizondo began his career as a dancer. His initial training was at the Ballet Arts school of Carnegie Hall, from which he moved on to the Actors Studio. After several years' stage work, Elizondo made an inauspicious movie debut as "The Inspector" in the low-budget sex film The Vixens (1969). He was shown to better advantage in his next film, Hal Ashby's The Landlord (1970), which he followed up with strong character parts in such Manhattan-based productions as The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and Thieves (1977). With Young Doctors in Love (1982), Elizondo began his long association with director Garry Marshall, who has since cast the actor in all of his films, in roles both sizable (Matt Dillon's dad in The Flamingo Kid [1984], the cafe owner in Frankie and Johnny [1991]), and microscopic (Overboard [1987]). Elizondo's screen roles have run the gamut from scrungy garbage scow captains to elegant concierges (Pretty Woman). In addition, he has been a regular on several mediocre television series: Popi, Freebie and the Bean, Casablanca (in the old Claude Rains role of Inspector Renault), a.k.a. Pablo, Foley Square, and Down and Out in Beverly Hills, In 1994, Elizondo took on a co-starring role as a demanding chief of surgery on the popular TV medical drama Chicago Hope. Other non-Marshall highlights in his filmography include Tortilla Soup, Overboard, Necessary Roughness, and Music Within.

Trivia: At first wanted to be a movie actress, but found the work tedious. Was cast as the voice of Minnie Mouse in 1986, beating out nearly 200 other hopefuls; has held the role longer than any other voice actor. In 1991, married the man who provided the voice for Mickey Mouse, Wayne Allwine. Provides the voice of Martin Prince on The Simpsons. Was nominated for Daytime Emmys for her voice work in PBS's Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks. Was named a Disney Legend in 2008, along with her husband. Founded the production company Taylor-Allwine Associates with her husband.

Trivia: Not the average model-turned-actor, D.J. Qualls made his name with a decidedly unglamorous debut in the popular teen gross-out comedy Road Trip (2000). Raised in Tennessee as one of five children, Qualls was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease at age 14. After drastic surgery and two years of chemotherapy, the cancer went into remission. Determined to forge on with his life, the rail-thin Qualls began acting in local Nashville theater productions and attended Belmont University. After he was spotted by flamboyant photographer David LaChappelle, Qualls also began modeling, appearing most notably in ads for Prada. He first got to act in front of the camera in the TV movie Mama Flora's Family (1998), but he did not make the jump to features until he was cast a couple of years later in Road Trip. Originally auditioning for a bit part, Qualls instead landed a starring role as one of the college youths who makes the eponymous journey to retrieve a sexually incriminating videotape. As humorously nerdy virgin Kyle, Qualls received better reviews than the movie, establishing himself as a rising young actor. He subsequently appeared in the darkly comic teen thriller about a murderer targeting virgins, Cherry Falls (2000). 2002 found Qualls taking the lead role of an uncool high-school student who gets an ultrahip image makeover in the teen comedy The New Guy.

Trivia: Grew up on a farm in Kansas. Enjoys skydiving.

Trivia: Lead actor, onscreen from the '80s.

Trivia: In the late 1800s, his maternal great-grandparents published the first Pakistani magazine for women. Parents are actor-writer-directors. Originally considered majoring in business and economics in college, but switched to theater. For his Iron Man screen test, director Jon Favreau had him and costar Robert Downey Jr. do the same scene 10 different ways. Played the villainous Raza, who kidnapped and tortured the lead character, in Iron Man (2008). Upon reading the screenplay, he convinced the filmmakers to make the bad guys mercenaries instead of the originally scripted Muslim terrorists. Son, Javan, had a small role in Iron Man.