Great Actors and Actresses - WIP

John Carroll Lynch was born August 1st, 1963 in Boulder, Colorado. He was raised in Denver Colorado. It was there John found a passion for acting and became a Denver Broncos fan. He graduated in the mid-80s with a B.F.A. in theatre from the The Catholic University of America / Hartke Theatre Acting program. From then, he continued to work in theatre around the country, but concentrated mostly on his work at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, acting in many plays from Shakespeare to Shaw to Chekhov. In the early nineties, John was able to find time away from the theatre to work in film, as productions came through Minnesota. In 1996, he received critical acclaim for his role as Marge Gunderson's simple husband Norm Gunderson in Fargo (1996). He went on to make two more films that year, both of which were conveniently set in Minnesota, the acclaimed Beautiful Girls (1996) and Feeling Minnesota (1996). Since then, John's film career has been on an amazing climb. Much like other well respected actors from the theatre, such as John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, he chooses to play very interesting and diverse roles.

Vince first started to get noticed for his excellent performances at the start of his career in Shy People (1987) and Mississippi Burning (1988). In both these films he played something of a blathering redneck idiot, although there was a streak of pathos in both performances which made it impossible to dismiss his characters as just 'bad' people. In 'David Lynch''s Wild at Heart (1990) and Adrian Lyne's Jacob's Ladder (1990/I), he put in performances which showed he was merely biding his time before his next great role came along. Well, as luck would have it, two great roles came along in two years. As Rub Squeers, Paul Newman's emotional work partner in Nobody's Fool (1994), he put in an excellent performance. However, this performance was nothing compared to the acting powerhouse which was Heavy (1995). In this tender indie film, also marking Liv Tyler's first proper film role, Vince practically carries the whole film, and does so with style. Watching him gradually lose grip of his life breaks your heart, and it is without doubt one of the most underrated performances of the 90s.

Vince has not really had a film role to touch this since, but he has been in the cult hit crime show, "Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer" (1997), as Clifford Banks. It was a rare opportunity for Vince to flex his acting muscles as a slightly different type of character. Vince undoubtedly has the ability to be a major star; he just needs to be given the opportunity.

Michael Shannon grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, and began his professional stage career in Chicago. His first acting role was in "Winterset" at the Illinois Theatre Center. Over the next several years he continued working on the stage with such companies as Steppenwolf, The Next Lab and the Red Orchid Theatre. He subsequently relocated to London for a year, and performed on stage in London's West End in such productions as "Woyzeck", "Killer Joe" and "Bug".

While in Chicago Shannon also kept busy in front of movie and television cameras, most notably in the big screen project Chicago Cab (1997), based on the long-running stage play "Hellcab". Kangaroo Jack (2003) marked the third Jerry Bruckheimer production in which Shannon has appeared. He also appeared in Bad Boys II (2003), directed by Michael Bay and starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, and in Grand Theft Parsons (2003), with Johnny Knoxville and Christina Applegate.

In addition, Shannon appeared in Pearl Harbor (2001), also directed by Bay. His other film credits also include Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile (2002); Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky (2001) with Tom Cruise; Carl Franklin's High Crimes (2002) with Morgan Freeman; John Waters' Cecil B.

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, as son of Nick Clooney, a TV newscaster of many years, who hosted a talk show at Cincinnati and often invited George into the studios already at the age of 5. Avoiding competition with his father, he quit his job as broadcast journalist after a short time.

George studied for a few years at Northern Kentucky University. He failed to join the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He came to acting when his cousin, Miguel Ferrer, got him a small part in a feature film. After that, in 1982, he moved to LA and tried for a whole year to get a role while he slept in a friend's closet. His first movie, together with Charlie Sheen, stayed unreleased but got him the producers' attention for later contracts.

Holly Hunter was born in Conyers, Georgia, the youngest of seven children whose father was a part-time sporting goods company representative and part-time farmer with a 250 acre farm. Her parents encouraged in her talent at an early age, and her first acting part was as Helen Keller in a fifth-grade play. In 1976 she went to Pittsburgh to pursue a degree in drama from Carnegie Mellon University. After graduating in 1980, she went to New York City, where she met playwright Beth Henley in a stalled elevator. Hunter went on to get roles in a number of Henley's southern gothic plays, including Crimes of the Heart and The Miss Firecracker Contest. In 1982 the actress went to Los Angeles. She landed her first starring role in the movies in the Coen brothers' Raising Arizona (1987), a part that is said to have been written with her in mind. She gained stardom in 1987 when she played the driven TV news producer Jane Craig in James L. Brooks' Broadcast News (1987). In 1993 she earned an Academy Award and worldwide acclaim with her performance as a mute bride to a New Zealand planter in The Piano (1993).

Highly talented, lightly built Italian American actor who always looks unsettled and jumpy has become a favourite of cult/arthouse film aficionados with his compelling performances in a broad range of cinematic vehicles. Has become a regular in the thought provoking films of Spike Lee and the off the wall comedies of Joel Coen & Ethan Coen. His wonderful performances include as the highly agitated "Pino" in Do the Right Thing (1989), as an intellectual playwright in Barton Fink (1991), a pedophile tenpin bowler in The Big Lebowski (1998), a confused boyfriend in Jungle Fever (1991) and as the voice of Harvey the dog in Summer of Sam (1999).

Turturro has continued to appeal to audiences despite his unconventional looks and the often annoying onscreen mannerisms of his characters which he used to great effect in films such as his blue collar tale of warring brothers in the construction business, Mac (1992), as the irate, dumped game show contestant, Herbie Stempel, in Robert Redford's dynamic Quiz Show (1994). One of modern American cinema's gems of acting, Turturro remains in strong demand for his high calibre thespian talents.

John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne (1988-1997) for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe award in 1993. Goodman is also noted for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising Arizona as an escaped convict, in Barton Fink as a congenial murderer, in The Big Lebowski as a volatile bowler and in O Brother Where Art Thou? as a cultured thief. Additionally, Goodman's voice work has appeared in numerous Disney films, including the voice for "Sulley" in Monsters, Inc. Having contributed to more than 50 films, Goodman has also won two American Comedy Awards and hosted Saturday Night Live fourteen times.

Came to prominence in the early films of Martin Scorsese after working in theatre for around ten years, particularly Mean Streets (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976). Faded into anonymity in the eighties even though he turned in some impressive performances in films by some of America's leading directors. He re-emergered into star status with his role as Mr. White in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992), Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant (1992), The Piano (1993) 0110912.

Ethan Suplee has established himself over the past decade as an actor of considerable talent and accomplishment. His diverse and eclectic resume ranges from hilarious roles in such comedies as Mallrats (1995) and Without a Paddle (2004) to hauntingly dramatic performances in intense features such as American History X (1998), Blow (2001) and Cold Mountain (2003). His breakthrough performance as a young football player in Disney's Remember the Titans (2000) with Denzel Washington garnered him critical acclaim and led to another role opposite Washington in director Nick Cassavetes' thriller, John Q (2002).

Elden Henson (formerly billed as Elden Ratliff and Elden Ryan Ratliff) got his start in the business at age two, as a baby model. By the time he was six, he was appearing in numerous commercials; by age ten, he was on his way to becoming a successful child actor. By the time he started high school, John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California, he got his big break, starring in the three The Mighty Ducks (1992) movies as enforcer Fulton Reed. From there, he went on to get rave reviews as Max Kane, the seemingly slow-witted giant in Miramax's The Mighty (1998). Elden has since starred in Idle Hands (1999), She's All That (1999), and Showtime's A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story (1999) (TV).

Ben Foster, born October 29th, 1980, in Boston, Massachusetts, was swiftly moved by his parents to be raised in Fairfield, Iowa - a town that had four community theaters. His passion for acting was discovered early on, and after starring in the title role in "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown," put on by one of the community theaters, he wrote, directed, and starred in his own play at the age of 12, a play that won second place in an international competition.

After attending Interlochen Theater Arts Summer Program at age 14 in Interlochen, Michigan, it was only a matter of time before Ben dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and moved to Los Angeles, California, where he was almost immediately snapped up for the Disney show "Flash Forward" (1996), in which two friends narrate the highs and lows of high school.

His film debut was a small role in the little-seen Kounterfeit (1996) (V), after which he was solicited for several made-for-TV movies and appearances on television shows before reaching his next milestone, Liberty Heights (1999), where he played alongside Adrien Brody and Joe Mantegna as a rebellious Jewish teen who engages in a forbidden relationship with a Black girl.

His first starring movie role was in the film Get Over It (2001), where he starred along with Kirsten Dunst as a lovelorn teen, and then the beautifully crafted Bang Bang You're Dead (2002), in which he played Trevor Adams, the starring role. Still, until 2005, his parts for the most part were small but beautifully played, and then he landed the role of Marshall Krupcheck in the movie Hostage (2005), an intense piece of acting that made people begin to take notice and recognize his potential and talent.

Since then, he received major roles in two major movies, Alpha Dog (2006) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

Norman Reedus was born in Florida, where he lived only a few months before moving to Los Angeles, California. He also lived in several cities in several different countries including Japan, Britain, and Spain. In Los Angeles, he worked at a Harley Davidson shop in Venice and at the same time contributed artwork to various shows as a painter, photographer, sculptor, and video artist. He got his first taste of acting in the play "Maps for Drowners" at the Tiffany Theater on Sunset Boulevard. Days later, he was cast in Mimic (1997), then in Six Ways to Sunday (1997), and Floating (1997). He then on to do many other films including The Boondock Saints (1999), Deuces Wild (2002), Blade II (2002), Let the Devil Wear Black (1999), Gossip (2000/I), Moroz po kozhe (2007), The Notorious Bettie Page (2005), Hero Wanted, and many others. Norman currently lives in New York with his son, Mingus Lucien Reedus.

Born in Bellaire, Ohio, in May, 1957, he was among the last graduating class of the Windsor Mountain School in Lennox, Massachusetts. Attended Marlboro College in Vermont. Performed in summer stock and regional theatres in Vermont, Michigan and West Virginia before settling in Chicago and joining The Remains ensemble. Levine worked on stage at Remains, Wisdom Bridge, and The Goodman and Steppenwolf theaters throughout the 1980s before he began working in television and film.

Alicia Christian Foster was born in Los Angeles. Her parents divorced three years before she was born, and she was conceived when her mother, Brandy, was visiting her father, Lucius, for child support. Alicia's siblings nicknamed her "Jodie," a name she has used in her profession. When she was just three years old, Jodie began acting in commercials to support the family, most notably for Coppertone sunblock. When she was five, Jodie landed her first acting role on the TV show "Mayberry R.F.D." (1968). She stayed very busy as a child actress, working on television programs such as "The Doris Day Show" (1968), "Adam-12" (1968), "Gunsmoke" (1955), and Disney movies like One Little Indian (1973), then with the film Taxi Driver (1976) in which she played a prostitute at the tender age of twelve. This performance earned her an Oscar nomination, and she went on to have a very successful career in her early teens with roles in more Disney films, most notably the classics Freaky Friday (1976) and Candleshoe (1977). The last film Jodie made during this era was the coming-of-age drama Foxes (1980), before enrolling at Yale University when she was 17. Tragedy struck Jodie during her Freshman year when a crazed and obsessed fan name John Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan to impress her.

Jodie graduated from Yale in 1985 with a degree in literature. Her main priority was now to become a successful adult actress. After a few forgettable B-movies, Jodie auditioned for The Accused (1988) and was cast Sarah Tobias, a party girl who testifies against the men who gang-raped her in a bar. For this role she won her first Academy Award and Golden Globe as Best Actress. But even though she had won an Oscar, Jodie had not yet established herself as a star. Her next film, Catchfire (1990), went straight to video, and she fought hard to get her next good role. In 1991 she starred as Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee who is assigned to track down a serial killer in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). The film was a blockbuster hit, winning Jodie her second Academy Award for Best Actress and establishing her as an international star at the age of 28. With the wealth and fame to do anything she wanted, Jodie turned to directing. She made her directorial debut with Little Man Tate (1991) followed by Home for the Holidays (1995). These movies were critically acclaimed but did not do well at the box office, and Jodie proved to be a far more successful actress than she was a director. 1994 proved to be a huge triumph for Jodie's acting career. She played a sexy con artist in the hugely successful western spoof Maverick (1994) with Mel Gibson. She also played title role in Nell (1994) alongside Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson. For her compelling performance as a wild, backwoods hermit who speaks an invented language and must return to civilization, Jodie was nominated for her fourth Academy Award and won a Screen Actors Guild Award as Best Actress.

Although Jodie was working far less frequently as an adult than she did as a child, the films she turned out were commercially successful and critically acclaimed. Her next big screen role was in the science fiction drama Contact (1997) opposite Matthew McConaughey. She played a scientist who receives signals from space aliens. The film was a huge hit and earned Jodie a Golden Globe nomination. She starred in the non-musical remake of The King and I (1956) entitled Anna and the King (1999), a film that was only modestly received in the U.S. but was very successful overseas. Three years after that she headlined the thriller Panic Room (2002), costarring Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker and Jared Leto. This film was a smash box-office hit and gave Jodie a $30 million opening weekend, the biggest of her career yet. She then appeared in two low-profile projects: the independent film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002) and the foreign film A Very Long Engagement (2004). She returned to making Hollywood mainstream films, first with Flightplan (2005), in which she played a woman whose daughter disappears on an airplane that she designed. Once again Jodie proved herself to be a box-office draw, and the film was a worldwide hit. The following year she starred in another hit, a thriller about a bank heist titled Inside Man (2006) with Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. Jodie seemed to be on a pattern of non-stop success. She was paid $15 million for her next film, the revenge thriller The Brave One (2007), which once again opened #1 at the box office and earned her another Golden Globe nomination. After starring in a string of dark-themed films, she returned to comedy in Nim's Island (2008) with Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin. Jodie will reunite with Mel Gibson in the upcoming movie The Beaver (2011), which is scheduled for general release in 2011.

Having spent nearly her entire life in the spotlight, Jodie Foster has had one of the most substantial film careers in Hollywood history. She is one of the most respected and highest-paid actresses working today, and there is no doubt that there will be many great things ahead for this child star turned two-time Oscar-winner.

Sigourney Weaver was born Susan Alexandra Weaver in Leroy Hospital in New York City. Her father, TV producer Sylvester L. Weaver Jr., originally wanted to name her Flavia, because of his passion for Roman history (he had already named her elder brother Trajan). Her mother, Elizabeth Inglis, was a British actress who had sacrificed her career for a family. Sigourney grew up in a virtual bubble of guiltless bliss, being taken care by nannies and maids. By 1959, the Weavers had resided in 30 different households. In 1961, Sigourney began attending the Brearley Girls Academy, but her mother moved her to another New York private school, Chapin. Sigourney was quite a bit taller than most of her other classmates (at the age of 13, she was already 5' 10"), resulting in her constantly being laughed at and picked on; in order to gain their acceptance, she took on the role of class clown.

In 1962, her family moved to San Francisco briefly, an unpleasant experience for her. Later, they moved back east to Connecticut, where she became a student at the Ethel Walker School, facing the same problems as before. In 1963, she changed her name to "Sigourney", after the character "Sigourney Howard" in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" (her own birth name, Susan, was in honor of her mother's best friend, explorer Susan Pretzlik). Sigourney had already starred in a school drama production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and, in 1965, she worked during the summer with a stock troupe, performing in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "You Can't Take It With You" (she didn't star in the latter because she was taller than the lead actor!). After graduating from school in 1967, she spent some months in a kibbutz in Israel. At that time, she became engaged to reporter Aaron Latham, but they soon broke up.

In 1969, Sigourney enrolled in Stanford University, majoring in English Literature. She also participated in school plays, especially Japanese Noh plays. By that time she was living in a tree house, alongside a male friend, dressed in elf-like clothes! After completing her studies in 1971, she applied for the Yale School of Drama in New Haven. Despite appearing at the audition reading a Bertolt Brecht speech and wearing a rope-like belt, she was accepted by the school but her professors rejected her, because of her height, and kept typecasting her as prostitutes and old women (whereas classmate Meryl Streep was treated almost reverently). However, in 1973, while making her theatrical debut with "Watergate Classics", she met up with a team of playwrights and actors and began hanging around with them, resulting in long-term friendships with Christopher Durang, Kate McGregor-Stewart and Albert Innaurato.

In 1974, she starred in such plays as Aristophanes' "Frogs" and Durang's "The Nature and Purpose of the Universe" and "Daryl and Carol and Kenny and Jenny", as "Jenny". After finishing her studies that year, she began seriously pursuing a stage career, but her height kept being a hindrance. However, she continued working on stage with Durang (in "Titanic" [1975]) and Innaurato (in "Gemini" [1976]). Other 1970s stage works included "Marco Polo Sing a Song", "The Animal Kingdom", "A Flea in Her Ear", "The Constant Husband", "Conjuring an Event" and others. However, the one that really got her noticed was "Das Lusitania Songspiel", a play she co-wrote with Durang and in which she starred for two seasons, from 1979 to 1981. She was also up for a Drama Desk Award for it. During the mid-70s, she appeared in several TV spots and even starred as "Avis Ryan" in the soap opera "Somerset" (1970).

In 1977, she was cast in the role Shelley Duvall finally played in Annie Hall (1977), after rejecting the part due to prior stage commitments. In the end, however, Woody Allen offered her a part in the film that, while short (she was on-screen for six seconds), made many people sit up and take notice. She later appeared in Madman (1978) and, of course, Alien (1979). The role of the tough, uncompromising "Ripley" made Sigourney an "overnight" star and brought her a British Award Nomination. She next appeared in Eyewitness (1981) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), the latter being a great success in Australia that won an Oscar and brought Sigourney and co-star Mel Gibson to Cannes in 1983. The same year she delivered an honorary Emmy award to her father, a few months before her uncle, actor Doodles Weaver, committed suicide. That year also brought her a romance with Jim Simpson, her first since having broken up two years previously with James M. McClure. She and Simpson were married on 1 October 1984. Sigourney had, meanwhile, played in the poorly received Deal of the Century (1983) and the mega-hit Ghostbusters (1984). She was also nominated for a Tony Award for her tour-de-force performance in the play "Hurly Burly". Then followed One Woman or Two (1985), Half Moon Street (1986) and Aliens (1986). The latter was a huge success, and Sigourney was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Oscar.

She then entered her most productive career period and snatched Academy Award nominations, in both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories, for her intense portrayal of Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and her delicious performance as a double-crossing, power-hungry corporate executive in Working Girl (1988). She ended up losing in both, but made up for it to a degree by winning both Golden Globes. After appearing in a documentary about fashion photographer Helmut Newton, Helmut Newton: Frames from the Edge (1989), and reprising her role in the sequel Ghostbusters II (1989), she discovered she was pregnant and retired from public life for a while. She gave birth to her daughter, Charlotte Simpson, on 13 April 1990, and returned to the movies as a (now skinhead) Ripley in Alien³ (1992) and a gorgeous "Queen Isabella of Spain" in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), her second film with director Ridley Scott. She starred in the political comedy Dave (1993) alongside Kevin Kline, and then a Roman Polanski thriller, Death and the Maiden (1994).

In 1995, she was seen in Jeffrey (1995) and Copycat (1995). The next year, she "trod the boards" in "Sex and Longing", yet another Durang play. She hadn't performed in the theater in many years before that play, her last stage performances occurring in the 1980s in "As You Like It" (1981), "Beyond Therapy" (1981), "The Marriage of 'Bette and Boo'" (1985) and "The Merchant of Venice" (1986). In 1997, she was the protagonist in Grimm's Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) (TV), The Ice Storm (1997) and Alien: Resurrection (1997). Her performance in The Ice Storm (1997) got her a BAFTA prize and another Golden Globe nod. She also gave excellent performances in A Map of the World (1999) and the sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest (1999). Her next comedy, Company Man (2000), wasn't quite so warmly welcomed critically and financially, however. She next played a sexy con artist in Heartbreakers (2001) and had a voice role in Big Bad Love (2001). Her father died at the age of 93. Sigourney herself has recently starred in Tadpole (2000) and is planning a cinematic version of The Guys (2002), the enthralling September 11th one-act drama she played on stage on late 2001. At age 60, she played a crucial role in Avatar (2009), which became the top box-office hit of all time. The film reunited her with her Aliens (1986) director James Cameron. Her beauty, talent, and hard-work keeps the ageless actress going, and she has continued to win respect from her fans and directors.

Jason Bateman is an American film and television actor best known for his role as Michael Bluth on the television sitcom "Arrested Development" (2003), as well as his role on "Valerie" (1986).

He was born in Rye, New York, USA. His father, Kent Bateman, is a film and television director and founder of a Hollywood repertory stage company. His mother, Victoria Bateman, was a flight attendant. In 1981, at the age of 12, young Bateman made his debut on television as James Cooper Ingalls in "Little House on the Prairie" (1974): Uncle Jed, appearing in 18 more episodes in one season. In the mid-1980s, he became the DGA's youngest-ever director when he directed three episodes of "Valerie" (1986) at age 18. During the 2000s, Bateman's film career has been on soaring trajectory. In 2005, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy, for "Arrested Development" (2003), and received other awards and nominations.

Bateman has been enjoying a happy family life with his wife, actress Amanda Anka (daughter of singer Paul Anka). Their first child, Francesca Nora Bateman, was born in Los Angeles on October 28, 2006. The Batemans reside in Los Angeles, California.

Giovanni Ribisi (born December 17, 1974) is an American actor. His film credits include Gone in 60 Seconds, Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan, The Mod Squad, The Gift, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Lost in Translation and more recently, Public Enemies and Avatar. He is also known for his role as Phoebe Buffay's brother Frank on the sitcom Friends. He also appeared in music videos for "Crystal Ball" by Keane and "Talk About the Blues" by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

Early life Ribisi was born Antonino Giovanni Ribisi in Los Angeles, the son of Gay Landrum, a manager of actors and writers, and Albert Anthony Ribisi, a musician who had been the keyboard player in People! (a band whose cover version of "I Love You" reached No. 14 on Billboards Hot 100, in the spring of 1968). Ribisi is the twin brother of actress Marissa Ribisi, and the brother of Gina Ribisi, a voice actress. Ribisi is of Sicilian (from his paternal grandfather), German, and English descent.

Career Ribisi began his career in network television with recurring and guest roles on a number of shows, including The New Leave It to Beaver, Married With Children, The Wonder Years and My Two Dads. He entered the public eye with a prominent performance in The X-Files episode "D.P.O." (an episode that also starred Jack Black), as well as with his recurring role as Frank Jr., the brother of Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) on Friends, but also starred as an extra earlier on in series 2 "The One with the Baby on the Bus". Between 2005-2008, he has appeared in multiple episodes of My Name Is Earl as the recurring character Ralph, earning a 2007 Emmy nomination for his performance on the series.

Ribisi has appeared on the video of British band Keane's single "Crystal Ball", which was released worldwide on , 2006. He appeared with Winona Ryder and John C. Reilly in Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's music video "Talk About the Blues". In , he appeared twice on the HBO comedy series Entourage.

Rory Culkin was born in New York, New York to Kit Culkin and Patricia Brentrup. He is the youngest of seven children (Shane, Dakota, Macaulay, Kieran, Quinn, and Christian being the other six). He grew up in New York along with his mother (his parents split up in 1995) and the rest of his siblings. He started his career by playing younger versions of his brothers in their films, such as Richie Rich and Igby Goes Down. He landed his first real role in 2000 in the Kenneth Lonergan film You Can Count on Me. Rory Culkin is best known for his work in the 2002 M. Knight Shyamalan film Signs but has also appeared in a number of independent films like Mean Creek, The Chumscrubber, Down in the Valley, The Night Listener, and Lymelife. He has also appeared in some television shows such as The Twilight Zone and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Sam Rockwell was born on November 5, 1968, in Daly City, California, the child of two actors. The family moved to New York when he was two years old, living first in the Bronx and later in Manhattan. When Sam was five years old, his parents split up, at which point he and his father moved to San Francisco, where he subsequently grew up, while summers and other times were spent with his mother in New York.

He made his acting debut when he was ten years old, alongside his mother, and later attended J.E. McAteer High School in a program called SOTA. While still in high school, he got his first big break when he appeared in the independent film Clownhouse (1989). The plot revolved around three escaped mental patients who dressed up as clowns and terrorized three brothers home alone--Sam played the eldest of the brothers. His next big break was supposed to have come when he was slated to star in a short-lived NBC TV-series called "Dream Street" (1989), but he was soon fired.

After graduating from high school, Sam returned to New York for good and for two years he had private training at the William Esper Acting Studio. During this period he appeared in a variety of roles, such as the "ABC Afterschool Specials" (1972): Over the Limit (1990) (TV) and HBO's "Lifestories: Families in Crisis" (1992): Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story (Season 1 Episode 7: 15 March 1993); the head thug in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990); and a guest-star turn in an Emmy-winning episode of "Law & Order" (1990), while working a string of regular day jobs and performing in plays.

In 1994, a Miller Ice beer commercial finally enabled him to quit his other jobs to concentrate on his acting career, which culminated in him having five movies out by 1996: Basquiat (1996); The Search for One-eye Jimmy (1994); Glory Daze (1995); Mercy (1995); and Box of Moon Light (1996). It was the latter film that would prove to be his real break-out in the industry. In Tom DiCillo's film, he found himself playing an eccentric named the Kid, a man-child living in a half-built mobile home in the middle of nowhere with a penchant for dressing like Davy Crockett, who manages to bring some much-needed chaos into the life of an electrical engineer played by John Turturro. The movie was not a box-office success, but it managed to generate a lot of critical acclaim for itself and Sam.

In 1997 he found himself the star of another critically lauded film, Lawn Dogs (1997). Once again he portrayed a societal outcast as Trent, a working-class man living in a trailer, earning a living mowing lawns inside a wealthy, gated Kentucky community. Soon Trent finds himself befriended by 10-year-old Devon (Mischa Barton), and the movie deals with the difficulties in their friendship and the outside world. He also gave strong performances in the quirky independent comedy Safe Men (1998), in which he plays one half of a pretty awful singing duo (the other half being played by Steve Zahn) that gets mistaken for two safe-crackers by Jewish gangsters; and the offbeat hit-man trainee in Jerry and Tom (1998) against Joe Mantegna.

After a few smaller appearances in films such as Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998) and the 1999 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), in which he played Francis Flute, he had larger parts in two of the bigger hit movies to emerge in 1999: The Green Mile (1999) and Galaxy Quest (1999), wowing audiences and critics alike with his chameleon-like performances as a crazed killer in the former and a goofy actor in the latter.

More recently, he appeared in another string of mainstream films, most notably as Eric Knox in Charlie's Angels (2000) and as Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), while continuing to perform in smaller independent movies. After more than ten years in the business, Sam has earned his success.

Karel Roden is an internationally known actor who was most recently seen in the United States in director Jaume Collet-Serra's "Orphan," starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard, and in Guy Ritchie's "RocknRolla," opposite Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson and Thandie Newton. His work can also be seen in such films as the hit comedy "Mr. Bean's Vacation," starring Rowan Atkinson; Wayne Kramer's "Running Scared," opposite Paul Walker and Vera Farmiga; Paul Greengrass' wildly successful "The Bourne Supremacy," the second film in the franchise starring Matt Damon; Guillermo del Toro's comics-based action thrillers "Hellboy" and "Blade II"; "Bulletproof Monk," starring Chow Yun-Fat and Seann William Scott; and "15 Minutes," starring Robert De Niro and Edward Burns.

Roden has been nominated several times and recently won a prestigious Czech Lion Award for Best Actor for his work in the film "Guard No. 47," produced in his native country, the Czech Republic. He has acted in numerous Czech films, including "Jménem krále"; "The Eye"; "Holka Ferrari Dino"; "Bathory"; "Little Girl Blue"; "Bestiar"; "Vaterland - Lovecký deník"; and "Wild Flowers." Roden has also acted in a variety of films produced throughout Europe, including France's "Largo Winch," from director Jérôme Salle and starring Kristin Scott Thomas; Spain's "The Abandoned," Poland's "Summer Love"; and the UK's "Shut Up and Shoot Me" and "The Last Drop." He appeared as himself in Jan Nemec's documentary "Late Night Talks with Mother."

On the small screen, Roden has appeared in the US series "The Philanthropist," the UK series "MI-5" and "The Scarlet Pimpernel," and in countless Czech productions, including the series "Trapasy" and the telepic "A Christmas Tale."

A graduate of the Prague Dramatic Academy of Fine Arts, Roden hails from a long tradition of Czech actors: his younger brother, Marian, is also an actor, and both men followed in the footsteps of their father and grandfather. Roden's upcoming films include the horror thriller "Andrassy Street 60.," opposite Talia Shire and Barry Corbin; the German period drama "Habermann"; and "Alois Nebel," an animated feature from the Czech Republic.

Peter Dinklage was born in Morristown, New Jersey. In 1991, he received a degree in drama from Bennington College and began his career. He continues to work in the theatre with roles in "The Killing Act", "Imperfect Love", and "Richard III".

Peter Dinklage received acclaim for his first film "Living in Oblivion" (1995), where he played an actor frustrated with the limited and caricatured roles offered to dwarf actors. In 2003, he starred in "The Station Agent" written and directed by Tom McCarthy. The movie received critical praise and Peter was nominated for best actor at the Screen Actors Guild and Independent Spirit Awards. He played Miles Finch, an acclaimed children's book author, in the comical 2003 film, "Elf". The English (2007) and American (2010) production of "Death and a Funeral", (2008) "Penelope", and (2008) "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" are a few more of his feature films.

He had recurring appearances in such television shows as HBO's "Entourage" and ABC's "Life as We Know It". He played a larger role in the critically acclaimed, yet short lived CBS show, "Threshold". In 2011, he landed a primary role as Tyrion Lannister on the HBO series "Game of Thrones". Tyrion's wit made him a favorite character on the series. At the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, Peter Dinklage won an Emmy in the best supporting actor category for his role as Tyrion Lannister.

Ralph Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes was born on December 22, 1962 in Suffolk, England to Mark Fiennes, a photographer, and Jennifer Lash, a novelist, the eldest of six children. Four of his siblings are also in the arts: Martha Fiennes, a director; Magnus Fiennes, a musician; Sophie, a producer; and Joseph Fiennes, an actor.

Fiennes has been honored with two Academy Award nominations, the first in 1994 for his performance in Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning Best Picture, Schindler's List (1993). Fiennes' chilling portrayal of Nazi Commandant Amon Goeth also brought him a Golden Globe nomination and a BAFTA Award, as well as Best Supporting Actor honors from numerous critics groups, including the National Society of Film Critics, and the New York, Chicago, Boston and London Film Critics associations. Four years later, Fiennes earned his second Oscar nomination, for Best Actor, in another Best Picture winner, Anthony Minghella's The English Patient (1996). He also garnered Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations, as well as two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations, one for Best Actor and another shared with the film's ensemble cast.

His long list of film credits also includes the award-winning drama The Reader (2008), co-starring Kate Winslet; Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar®-winning The Hurt Locker (2008); the Neil Jordan-directed films The End of the Affair (1999) and The Good Thief (2002/I); István Szabó's Sunshine (1999); Maid in Manhattan (2002); the animated The Prince of Egypt (1998); Oscar and Lucinda (1997); Robert Redford's Quiz Show (1994); and Wuthering Heights (1992), which marked his film debut. Fiennes notably portrayed of the evil Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter blockbuster film franchise. His nephew, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin played Tom Riddle, the young Lord Voldemort, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).

Fiennes made his feature film directorial debut with a contemporary version of Shakespeare's political thriller Coriolanus (2011), in which he also starred with Gerard Butler and Vanessa Redgrave. He will star next in Mike Newell's screen adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations (2012), with Helena Bonham Carter and Jeremy Irvine, and in the highly anticipated Skyfall (2012), the next film in the Bond series, from director Sam Mendes.