Trivia: A burly, bald black actor of stage, screen, and television, Ving Rhames specializes in playing villains and, indeed, having grown up on Harlem's meanest streets, is no stranger to violence. His onscreen persona, however, is no match for his real-life reputation as a deeply compassionate man, seriously dedicated to his profession. The actor ably demonstrated his capacity for abundant generosity during the 1998 Golden Globes ceremony when he handed over the award he had just won for portraying the title character of the cable film Don King: Only in America to fellow nominee Jack Lemmon, simply because he felt Lemmon's contributions to film exceeded his own.Though his upbringing in Harlem was rife with many temptations to engage in easy money criminal ventures, the deeply religious Rhames separated himself from street riffraff at a young age and focused his energies on school. It was his ninth grade English teacher who steered the sensitive young man toward acting, in large part because Rhames was unusually well spoken, frequently earning praise for his clear elocution. Inspired by a poetry reading he had attended with schoolmates, Rhames successfully auditioned for entrance into New York's prestigious High School for the Performing Arts. Once enrolled, he immersed himself in his studies and fell in love with acting. Following graduation in 1978, he attended the Juilliard School of Drama on a scholarship and focused his studies there on classical theater. After graduating from Juilliard in 1983, he went on to perform in Shakespeare in the Park productions. In 1984, Rhames made his television debut in Go Tell It on the Mountain and, the following year, landed his first Broadway role starring opposite Matt Dillon in The Winter Boys. Thus began a steady, fruitful theater career augmented by recurring roles on such daily soap operas as Another World and Guiding Light, and guest-starring parts on such primetime series as Miami Vice. He entered films in Native Son (1986), following that up with appearances in a series of modest films and television movies. Rather than getting a single big break into stardom, he made a gradual ascent that began with his appearance in Brian De Palma's grim Vietnam War saga Casualties of War (1989). Rhames again worked with Matt Dillon in 1993 on The Saint of Fort Washington. While filming on location in New York, Dillon introduced him to a man who had approached him, asking about the actor's involvement with Rhames on Broadway. It turned out that the stranger was Rhames' long-estranged older brother, Junior, who had lost contact with the family while serving in Vietnam. Troubled and unable to reintegrate into mainstream society, he had been living in a nearby homeless shelter. The compassionate Rhames was thrilled to see his big brother and promptly moved him into his apartment, helped him get a job, and later bought a home for his brother and parents to share. In 1994, Rhames gained considerable acclaim for his disturbingly convincing portrayal of the sadistic Marsellus Wallace in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. His performance paved the way for supporting roles opposite some of Hollywood's most popular stars in such big budget features as Mission Impossible (1996) (as well as John Woo's 2000 sequel to the film), Con Air (1997), Out of Sight (1998), and Entrapment (1999). In addition to his film credits, Rhames has also continued to appear frequently on such television shows as E.R. Rhames' performance as a former gangster turned honest, hardworking man proved a highlight of Boyz N the Hood director John Singleton's 2001 drama Baby Boy, and after lending his distinctive voice to the computer animated box-office disaster Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within the actor returned to the small screen for a pair of made-for-television features. If subsequent efforts such as Undisputed failed to make a sizable dent at the box office, Rhames continued to impress with contributions to such features as Lilo and Stitch (again providing vocals for the animated film) and as a conscientious cop in the 2002 police drama Dark Blue. A role opposite Gary Oldman in the 2003 crime drama Sin flew under the radar of most mainstream film audiences, and in early 2004 Rhames took up arms against the hungry legions of the undead in the eagerly anticipated remake Dawn of the Dead. Subsequently reprising his role as Luther Stickell in Mission Impossible III, the imposing Rhames flexed his comedy muscles with a role in 2007's I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry before hitting what could be considered a career low-point in Steve Miner's embarassing Day of the Dead remake. An outrageous performance in 2009's The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard garnered some big laughs, and the following year Rhames did over-the-top horror the right way in Alexandre Aja's outrageous remake Piranha. In the next few years, however, Rhames' film output seemed to grow increasingly erratic, with roles in such Z-grade fare as Death Race 2 and Zombie Apocalypse earning the Emmy-winning veteran steady paychecks but precious little artistic integrity.

Trivia: At once pixie-ish and masculine with a pair of piercing blue eyes that seem to glow even while under the bright spotlights of Hollywood, former top-list model-turned-actor Ian Somerhalder has the unique looks to make it in both worlds. Add to that an introspective philosophy toward acting, which he claims is a unique opportunity to explore his true inner motivations and feelings, and you have all the ingredients necessary to create one of the most sought-after young actors of the new millennium. A native of Covington, LA, who spent much of his childhood enjoying such outdoor activities as training horses, Somerhalder would soon join up with the school's drama club and make many stage appearances with the local theater group. Encouraged by his mother to pursue a career in modeling, Somerhalder's career was soon ablaze with many summers spent in New York City. Though he would shy away from modeling in junior high school to focus more on academics and athletics, an opportunity to travel Europe while modeling was too much to resist and the worldly youngster was soon posing for the likes of Guess?, Versace, Calvin Klein, and Dolce and Gabanna. Settling in New York at age 17 to devote himself to acting under the tutelage of William Esper proved a fateful move that found the developing thespian eschewing his modeling career entirely. Though his feature debut as an extra in Black and White (1998) would eventually end up on the cutting-room floor, his presence caught the attention of a visiting talent agent who immediately signed Somerhalder for representation. After gaining exposure on the television series The Young Americans (2000), the up-and-comer would appear in the made-for-MTV drama Anatomy of a Hate Crime (also 2000) before returning to features, role fully intact, in 2001's Life as a House. Reluctant to discuss his modeling career lest he be considered just another pretty face, Somerhalder turned up in Changing Hearts (2002) before accepting a prominent role in director Roger Avery's edgy teen drama The Rules of Attraction. But it wasn't until he got Lost on an island in 2004 that Somerhalder found stardom, as he played a plane-crash survivor secretly in love with his spoiled brat of a step-sister. Although his character was killed off in the first season, the time-bending nature of the show didn't rule out appearances in future seasons. Film work followed, as well as a racy (and undressed) role on HBO's Tell Me You Love Me. In 2009, Somerhalder once again landed steady series work, playing a not-so-nice vampire on the CW's hit Vampire Diaries. Off-screen, he is an animal lover and has even filmed PSAs for Louisiana's Humane Society.

Trivia: Whether portraying a drunken sociopath, a good-hearted construction worker, a strong-willed multiple sclerosis victim, or a down-on-his-luck steel worker who resorts to shaking his naked groove thing for cash, Scottish actor Robert Carlyle has repeatedly wowed transatlantic audiences with his chameleon-like ability to inhabit a range of roles. Born April 14, 1961, in Glasgow, Carlyle was raised by his father after his mother walked out when the actor was four years old. The elder Carlyle was, according to his son, a disciple of the tune in, turn on, drop out mentality, and the younger Carlyle led an itinerant bohemian existence. Carlyle dropped out of school at 16, and according to his own accounts, had a fairly disastrous stay in England before returning to Glasgow. It was there that he enrolled in acting classes at the Glasgow Arts Centre after finding inspiration in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. This led to a stint at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he studied for a term before becoming disenchanted with the institution. He found work in various television and stage productions, winning a coveted Actor's Equity card with his turn as Oberon in The Royal Scottish Orchestra's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Film audiences first became aware of the actor in Ken Loach's Riff Raff (1991), the story of the trials and tribulations of a group of construction workers. Carlyle won favorable notices, which in turn led to more work, first in the 1993 film Safe and then in 1994's Priest, the critically acclaimed and very controversial story of the moral struggles of a gay priest, in which he played the priest's lover. He went on to a very different role in the next year's Go Now, in which he played a man suffering from multiple sclerosis. The same year, he also found a place in the hearts of many a Scottish TV viewer with his portrayal of the title character on Hamish MacBeth. The show, which cast him as a kindhearted Highlands police constable, made him something of a star in his native country. Ironically, it was his turn as a character of a completely different stripe that won Carlyle international attention. As the drunken, raving psychotic Begbie in Trainspotting (1996), Carlyle was one of the more disturbing aspects of a relentlessly disturbing film, as he invested in Begbie the type of rage that made many filmgoers unable to separate the character from the actor who gave him life. The film was the object of both critical adulation and controversy, and made a star out of at least one of its actors, the charmingly rough-edged Ewan McGregor.Carlyle's follow-up feature was a decidedly smaller affair. Collaborating again with Ken Loach, he starred as a bus driver in Carla's Song (1996), a film that met with an arthouse release but little fanfare. However, it was Carlyle's turn as the down-and-out Gaz in the following year's The Full Monty that brought him fully into the spotlight. Directed by Peter Cattaneo, the film was a sleeper hit, winning both box-office millions and five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. The success of the film made Carlyle one of the more bankable foreign players in Hollywood, something that was reflected in his casting with fellow up-and-comers David Arquette, Jeremy Davies, and Guy Pearce in the highly entertaining but virtually unmarketable box-office bomb Ravenous (1999). In the same year, Carlyle shared the screen with the likes of Liv Tyler and fellow Trainspotter Jonny Lee Miller in Plunkett & Maclean. An unusual end to a decidedly uneven year, Carlyle rounded out 1999 with two films that couldn't have been more different -- the explosive James Bond actioner The World Is Not Enough, and the bleak literary drama Angela's Ashes. Thankfully for fans, Carlyle was as busy as ever in the first few years of the new millennium, and though his reunion with Trainspotting director Danny Boyle (The Beach) and pairing with certified silver-screen badass Samuel L. Jackson (Formula 51) largely failed to win over stuffy critics, the actor was still fun as ever to watch and his indie credibility was steadily maintained, thanks to roles in Once Upon a Time in the Midlands and Black and White. When it came to chilling viewers, 2003's Emmy Award-winning Hitler: The Rise of Evil found Carlyle's explosive, wild-eyed fury put to frightening use as the German dictator who plunged the planet into World War II. Though 2004's Dead Fish found Carlyle joining an impressive cast of players including Gary Oldman, Terence Stamp, and Karel Roden, the flashy British/German co-production polarized viewers and still hadn't managed to reach stateside screens two years after debuting at the Warsaw Film Festival. A brief trip back in time found Carlyle cast as King James I in the U.K. miniseries Gunpowder, Treason and Plot, with roles as a depressed ballroom dancer in the awkwardly titled Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School; a trio of made for television films; and a part in dragon-riding disappointer Eragon following in short order. Though Carlyle was originally slated to appear in first-time director Steve Hudson's bleak 2006 drama True North, he was forced to drop out due to the death of his father and was quickly replaced by actor Peter Mullan. In 2007, just as The Scotsman reported that the entire Trainspotting cast would be reuniting for the Boyle-directed sequel Porno, Carlyle would be reunited with Gunpowder, Treason & Plot co-star Catherine McCormack in 28 Weeks Later -- director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's sequel to 2002 horror hit 28 Days Later (directed by none other than Danny Boyle). Carlyle took on the role of a priest for The Tournament, a 2009 thriller from director Scott Mann, and has become well-known for his portrayal of Dr. Nicholas Rush in the sci-fi television drama Stargate Universe. He found television success once more in ABC's fantasy drama Once Upon a Time, in which he plays the part of Rumplestiltskin. 2012 found the actor starring as a former pop star facing deportation from the United States in California Solo, a comedy drama from director Marshall Levy.

Trivia: Beautiful Hawaiian actress Kelly Hu parlayed early experience as a model and beauty pageant winner into a busy career as an actress in television and film. Kelly Hu was born in Honolulu, HI, on February 13, 1968. While a student at Kameameha High School, Hu began taking modeling jobs on the advice of her friends, which led to her spending four months in Japan working on various assignments. Hoping to advance her career, Hu entered a local beauty pageant, which led to her being named Miss Teen U.S.A. in 1985, making her the first Asian-American to hold the title. While winning the prize ironically put her modeling career on pause (pageant regulations prevent winners from taking modeling assignments), it did help her launch an acting career; after her reign, Hu moved to Los Angeles, and in 1987, after landing a number of television commercials, she scored her first high-profile acting job when she was cast as Melia, Kirk Cameron's love interest, on several episodes of the TV sitcom Growing Pains. Hu began receiving a steady stream of television work, making guest appearances on such shows as Tour of Duty, Night Court, and 21 Jump Street, before she earned her first film role, a small part in Friday the 13th: Part VIII -- Jason Takes Manhattan. Hu's next film assignment would be a bit more prestigious -- she played the wife of musician Ray Manzarek (played by Kyle MacLachlan) in Oliver Stone's The Doors. More film and television work followed, including a brief run in 1992 on the daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful, before Hu took another stab at the pageant circuit, representing Hawaii in the 1993 Miss U.S.A. Pageant. Hu soon returned to acting, making memorable appearances on Melrose Place and Murder One, before she won the role of Michelle Chan on the action-drama series Nash Bridges. Hu lasted two years on the show; her next long-term TV role allowed her to make use of her martial arts skills (she holds a brown belt in karate) when she was cast opposite Sammo Hung on the action-comedy series Martial Law. Hu starred opposite Dwayne Johnson (aka the Rock) in 2002's The Scorpion King, the prequel to the runaway hit The Mummy. In 2003 Hu played the villainess Lady Deathstrike in X-Men: Reunited, and joined the cast of CSI: NY in the reoccurring role of Detective Kaile Maka (2005-2006). She played one-time valedictorian Kelly Lee in ABC's sitcom in 2007, though the show would unfortunately be cancelled after its first season. Luckily, the actress found more success on the small screen in The CW's popular supernatural romance series The Vampire Diaries in the role of Pearl (2010-2011), and appeared briefly on numerous television shows including Hawaii Five-0, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and NCIS. Hu took a starring role in Almost Perfect (2011) to play Vanessa, a thirtysomething career woman whose sudden familial problems threaten her seemingly ideal new relationship.

Trivia: Began Tae Kwon Do training at age 14. Is a kickboxing instructor for the Professional Karate Association. One of his earliest acting roles was in the British soap Doctors, which filmed in his hometown of Birmingham. Frequently collaborates with director Isaac Florentine, beginning with 2003's Special Forces. Tore his ACL six weeks before filming began on Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012), but filmed that movie and his next three with it torn so he wouldn't have to back out of any commitments.

Trivia: Irish actor Liam Cunningham has spent much of his career on stage, but also occasionally appears on television and in feature films. He made his movie debut with a small role in Mike Newell's charming Irish fantasy Into the West (1993). He has since played supporting roles in productions such as War of the Buttons (1994) and Michael Winterbottom's Jude (1996). Before entering drama school in the 1980s, Cunningham had been an electrician. He started out on the Irish stage and then embarked upon a U.S. tour with a travelling Irish troupe. Cunningham's other stage credits include stints with the Passion Machine theater company and London's Royal Court Theatre. His television credits include guest-starring roles on such British series as Cracker.

Trivia: Knew that he wanted to act from the age of 12; age 15 came second in the Midland's Shakespeare Competition. In 2012, played the role of Laurence in Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London; this earned him a nomination for best supporting actor at the 2013 London What's On Stage awards. Is a frequent collaborator with fellow magician Derren Brown; co-wrote and co-directed four of Brown's stage shows, one of which, Enigma, was nominated for Best Entertainment at the 2010 Olivier Awards. Is the co-creator, writer and director of the long-running horror play Ghost Stories with Jeremy Dyson; in 2017 directed and starred in the film adaptation of the play.

Trivia: An actor whose sad eyes and brooding presence often get him cast as moody, tragic figures, John Lynch first lent his haunted charm to the title role of Pat O'Connor's Cal (1984). Cast as a young IRA recruit who falls in love with the widow (Helen Mirren) of a man he has killed, Lynch earned wide praise for his sensitive, complex performance, and more than held his own opposite the more seasoned Mirren.Born in Corrinshego, Newry, Northern Ireland, on December 26, 1961, Lynch was raised as the eldest of five children (his sister, Susan Lynch, also went into acting). He got his first break during his second year at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, when he was picked to star in Cal. Following his work on the film, Lynch dropped out of the movies for almost a decade, preferring to work on the stage in England and Ireland. When he resurfaced in front of the cameras in the mid-'90s, he began working steadily, appearing in films ranging from Agneiszka Holland's celebrated 1993 adaptation of The Secret Garden, to Jim Sheridan's acclaimed political drama In the Name of the Father (1993), to John Sayles' similarly feted family fantasy The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), which also featured Lynch's sister, Susan. In addition to In the Name of the Father, Lynch did starring work in subsequent dramas that focused on the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Among them were Thaddeus O'Sullivan's Nothing Personal (1995), in which the actor portrayed an apolitical but conflicted Catholic; and Terry George's Some Mother's Son (1996), an account of the 1981 Belfast prisoner's hunger strike that, in addition to casting Lynch as IRA prisoner and strike leader Bobby Sands, reunited him with Cal co-star Mirren. In 1998, he appeared in the little-seen This Is the Sea, a romantic drama about the relationship between a Protestant woman and a Catholic man living in post-1994 cease-fire Northern Ireland.Lynch has also worked in films that have taken him out of the geographical and topical boundaries of Northern Ireland. Peter Howitt's Sliding Doors (1998) saw him play Gwyneth Paltrow's hapless, two-timing boyfriend, while Best (2000), which Lynch co-wrote with his wife, Mary McGuckian, who also directed, cast him as the title figure of real-life football legend George Best. And, like many actors hailing from that section of the world, Lynch has also put in time in various period dramas, including the 1996 TV adaptation of Moll Flanders.

Trivia: Theater credits include Sit and Shiver and the European premiere of The Prayer Room. Moved with his family from Israel to England when he was 10, and grew up in St. John's Wood in northern London. Left school at 16 to become an actor. Father is an architect. Speaks fluent Hebrew. Coproduced 2005's The Mascot.