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William Bradley "Brad" Pitt was born on December 18, 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri to Jane Etta Pitt (née Hillhouse), a school counselor & William Alvin "Bill" Pitt, a truck company manager. At Kickapoo High School, Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government and school musicals. Pitt attended the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism with a focus on advertising. He occasionally acted in fraternity shows. He left college two credits short of graduating to move to California. Before he became successful at acting, Pitt supported himself by driving strippers in limos, moving refrigerators and dressing as a giant chicken while working for El Pollo Loco.

Pitt's earliest credited roles were in television, starting on the daytime soap opera Another World (1964) before appearing in the recurring role of Randy on the legendary prime time soap opera Dallas (1978). Following a string of guest appearances on various television series through the 1980s, Pitt gained widespread attention with a small part in Thelma & Louise (1991), in which he played a sexy criminal who romanced and conned Geena Davis. This led to starring roles in badly received films such as Johnny Suede (1991) & Cool World (1992).

But Pitt's career hit an upswing with his casting in A River Runs Through It (1992), which cemented his status as an multi-layered actor as opposed to just a pretty face. Pitt's subsequent projects were as quirky and varied in tone as his performances, ranging from his unforgettably comic cameo as stoner roommate Floyd in True Romance (1993) to romantic roles in such visually lavish films as Interview with the Vampire (1994) and Legends of the Fall (1994), to an emotionally tortured detective in the horror-thriller Se7en (1995). His portrayal of frenetic oddball Jeffrey Goines in 12 Monkeys (1995) won him a Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.

Pitt's portrayal of Achilles in the big-budget period drama Troy (2004) helped establish his appeal as an action star and was closely followed by a co-starring role in the stylish spy-versus-spy flick Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). It was on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith that Pitt, who married Jennifer Aniston in a highly publicized ceremony in 2000, met Angelina Jolie. Pitt left Aniston for Jolie in 2005, a break-up that continues to fuel tabloid stories years after its occurrence.

He continues to wildly vary his film choices, appearing in everything from high-concept popcorn flicks such as Megamind (2010) to adventurous critic-bait like Inglourious Basterds (2009) and The Tree of Life (2011). He has received two Best Actor Oscar nominations, for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Moneyball (2011). In 2014, he starred in the war film Fury (2014), opposite Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, and Michael Peña.

Pitt and Jolie have 6 children, 3 adopted & 3 biological.

Ed left his hometown two years after graduating from Plainwell High School (Plainwell, Michigan) at the age of 20 with $41 in his pocket and hitched a ride California to pursue his dream of being not a "star", but a steady working Hollywood "actor". His very first experience in the "biz" was auditioning for and subsequently winning the lead role of Howard the Duck. Initially he was told "you are too tall" (he keeps that letter readily available in his living-room and often refers to it with a humble smile).

Early in his career, Ed had performed many of his own stunts such as being run over by a big rig, flying on wires, fight scenes, being tossed, thrown & dropped great distances, and crashing through the windshield of a moving vehicle. However, his most impressive stunts just might be his full-body burns in the first Child's Play movie and his full-body burn while "flying" on wires in Leprechaun 3.

Ed Gale appeared in over 130 television shows, films, and commercials to date; playing some of Hollywood's most famous (and infamous) characters such as Howard in Howard the Duck; Chucky in Child's Play, Child's Play 2, and Bride of Chucky; Birdie the Early Bird in one of the very few McDonald's commercials in which Birdie actually flew; Tasha the baby dinosaur in the ABC Saturday morning kids show The New Land of the Lost; and the The Mole in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Other popular films to Ed Gale's credit include Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, Mom & Dad Save the World, and the Christmas holiday hit The Polar Express.

Out of costume, Ed played some rather notable human roles as well: Hank Tarver (The District), Oscar (3rd Rock from the Sun), Stan (Santa, Jr.), Benson (Call Me Claus), Larry Briggs (The Hughley's), Jimmy (Just Shoot Me), and Baby Jesus (Grounded for Life).

Ed is probably most recognized for his roles as Lavalle (Bones), Little Prisoner (My Name is Earl), Simon McKay (Baywatch), and the Little Man (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

Ed starred, co-starred, & guest-starred along side of some of the biggest names in Hollywood, among them Lea Thompson, Kym Whitley, John Candy, Mel Brooks, Keanu Reeves, Catherine Hicks, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, Ray Liotta, Charlton Heston, Billy Bob Thornton, Jeffrey Jones, Teri Garr, Hal Sparks, Holly Robinson-Peete, Caroline Rhea, Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Bobby Lee and many, many more!

Ed was no stranger to television commercials either, pitching such products as Burger King, Toys R US, Cingular Wireless, Best Buy, Progressive Insurance, Nike, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (with Fabio), Kinko's, Twisted Metal 4, Taco Bell, Polaroid Cameras, Snapple, McDonald's, Holiday Inn, Nissan Cars (Japan), California Eggs, & Sony Video. (just to name a few!)

Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.

In January of 1992, first-time writer-director Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. The film garnered critical acclaim and the director became a legend immediately. Two years later, he followed up Dogs success with Pulp Fiction (1994) which premiered at the Cannes film festival, winning the coveted Palme D'Or Award. At the 1995 Academy Awards, it was nominated for the best picture, best director and best original screenplay. Tarantino and writing partner Roger Avary came away with the award only for best original screenplay. In 1995, Tarantino directed one fourth of the anthology Four Rooms (1995) with friends and fellow auteurs Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Allison Anders. The film opened December 25 in the United States to very weak reviews. Tarantino's next film was From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), a vampire/crime story which he wrote and co-starred with George Clooney. The film did fairly well theatrically.

Since then, Tarantino has helmed several critically and financially successful films, including Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012) and The Hateful Eight (2015).

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. He was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one named 'The Kids'. When he married Lori A. Depp, he took a job as a ballpoint-pen salesman to support himself and his wife. A visit to Los Angeles, California, with his wife, however, happened to be a blessing in disguise, when he met up with actor Nicolas Cage, who advised him to turn to acting, which culminated in Depp's film debut in the low-budget horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), where he played a teenager who falls prey to dream-stalking demon Freddy Krueger.

In 1987 he shot to stardom when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular TV series 21 Jump Street (1987). In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim Burton came about when Depp played the title role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). Following the film's success, Depp carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity by appearing in many features before re-joining with Burton in the lead role of Ed Wood (1994). In 1997 he played an undercover FBI agent in the fact-based film Donnie Brasco (1997), opposite Al Pacino; in 1998 he appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), directed by Terry Gilliam; and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film The Astronaut's Wife (1999). The same year he teamed up again with Burton in Sleepy Hollow (1999), brilliantly portraying Ichabod Crane.

Depp has played many characters in his career, including another fact-based one, Insp. Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001). He stole the show from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez's "mariachi" trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). In that same year he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Capt. Jack Sparrow. The film's enormous success has opened several doors for his career and included an Oscar nomination. He appeared as the central character in the Stephen King-based movie, Secret Window (2004); as the kind-hearted novelist James Barrie in the factually-based Finding Neverland (2004), where he co-starred with Kate Winslet; and Rochester in the British film, The Libertine (2004). Depp collaborated again with Burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and later in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Dark Shadows (2012).

Off-screen, Depp has dated several female celebrities, and has been engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He was married to Lori Anne Allison in 1983, but divorced her in 1985. Depp has two children with his former long-time partner, French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis: Lily-Rose Melody, born in 1999 and John Christopher "Jack" III, born in 2002. He married actress/producer Amber Heard in 2015, divorcing a few years later.

Jason Isaacs was born in Liverpool. He studied law at Bristol University but fell in love with the theatre and directed, produced and appeared in dozens of productions there, at the National Student Theatre Festival and at the Edinburgh Festival. He graduated in 1985 but then attended the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and began working in 1988.

Jason's notable roles include Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, Mr. Darling/Captain Hook in Peter Pan (2003), and many soldiers: Col. William Tavington in Roland Emmerich's The Patriot (2000), Captain Steele in Ridley Scott's Blackhawk Down, Major Briggs in Paul Greengrass's Green Zone, Captain Waggoner in Fury, Captain Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery, Field Marshall Zhukov in Armando Iannucci's The Death of Stalin and Rear-Admiral Godfrey in John Madden's Operation Mincemeat. He was Hap in the cult series The OA, Maurice in the WW2 film Good (2008) and Jay in the multi-award winning MASS. He has made many TV series in Britain and the US and has won or been nominated for a Golden Globe, International Emmy, BAFTA, Critics Choice, Peabody, Satellite and many other awards.

On stage he was Louis Ironson in the original productions of Angels in America parts 1 and 2 for the Royal National Theatre and has performed at the Royal Court, Almeida and West End Theatres.

Jason is married to documentary filmmaker Emma Hewitt, who he met at drama school and with whom he has two children.

Emmanuelle Béart was born August 14, 1963, in Gassin, France. She lived with her mother, brothers, and sister on a farm not far from Saint-Tropez in Provence (southern France), because her father, singer and poet Guy Béart, did not want his children to be affected by the glamour world of Paris. When Emmanuelle was thirteen, she saw Romy Schneider in the movie Mado (1976). From that time on, she wanted to be an actress. In Emmanuelle's teens, her parents sent her to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, for four years, so she could learn English. There, she was engaged for a Robert Altman movie that was never made. After returning to France, she took drama classes and got her first TV role, in Raison perdue (1984). David Hamilton, the photographer/director, was impressed by her beauty and gave her a role in First Desires (1983). She met her spouse-to-be, Daniel Auteuil, while making Love on the Quiet (1985). The film that made her famous in France was Manon of the Spring (1986), in which she played the role of a blonde shepherd dancing nude in the fields. Director Tom McLoughlin chose her out of 5,000 candidates for her first Hollywood picture, Date with an Angel (1987). Emmanuelle is a very sensitive and a perfectionist. For the part of Camille in the film A Heart in Winter (1992), she took violin lessons for a whole year. Her biggest success was as a nude model in the art film La belle noiseuse (1991), which starred Michel Piccoli and was directed by Jacques Rivette.

Ming-Na ("enlightenment") was born on the island of Macau, forty miles from Hong Kong. Her mother, Lin Chan Wen, divorced her father when Ming-Na was only a toddler. She has an older brother named Jonathan. After the divorce, they moved to Hong Kong where her mother became a nurse. There her mother met Soo Lim Yee, a U.S. businessman. They soon married, and at four years, Ming-Na moved with her family to Queens, New York. Five years later, they transferred to Yee's hometown of Pittsburgh where his family runs the Chinatown Inn restaurant. Jonathan and half-brother, Leong, now manage this restaurant. Struggling to fit in at school, she changed her name to Maggie & Doris. She found a love for acting while appearing in a third grade Easter play, where she played a klutzy bunny. Her mother was not excited about her desire to pursue acting, She preferred that she go into medicine. Nonetheless, Ming-Na graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in theatre. She got her first acting job in 1988 on the soap As the World Turns (1956). Her big break came when she was cast in The Joy Luck Club (1993). When she needed a ride to the premiere of the film, her acting instructor sent one of his students, Eric Michael Zee. The two started dating in 1994 after Ming-Na moved permanently to Los Angeles and married in 1995, dropping her last name, Wen, at that time. She says she is now like Ann-Margret. Zee is a screenwriter and, with Ming-Na, manages At Last, a boy band.

Elisabeth Shue was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Anne Brewster (Wells), who worked for the Chemical Banking Corporation, and James William Shue, a lawyer and real estate developer. She is of German and English ancestry, including descent from Mayflower passengers. Shue's parents divorced while she was in the fourth grade. Owing to the occupational demands of her parents, Shue and her siblings found plenty of time to get into trouble in their suburban neighborhood, but Elisabeth soon enrolled in Wellesley College, an all-female institution which kept her out of trouble.

During her studies, she found a way to make a little extra money by acting in television commercials. Elisabeth became a common sight in ads for Burger King, DeBeers diamonds, and Hellman's mayonnaise. In 1984, she landed a role in the The Karate Kid (1984) as the on-screen girlfriend of Ralph Macchio and a role as the teenage daughter of a military family in the short-lived series Call to Glory (1984). At this time, Shue got herself an acting coach and transferred to Harvard, where she began studying political science.

She continued her acting work with Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Cocktail (1988), Soapdish (1991) and The Marrying Man (1991). Unfortunately, time was catching up with the impressive girl-next-door. Her brother Andrew Shue had almost eclipsed her own fame by landing a starring role in the hit TV series Melrose Place (1992). It was at this time that Elisabeth took a chance on a low-budget, high-risk project entitled Leaving Las Vegas (1995), directed by Mike Figgis. Her gutsy portrayal of a prostitute mixed up with a suicidal alcoholic paid off as she was recognized with a Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards that year. This was the turning point of her career. What followed was a barrage of film roles, including The Saint (1997), Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry (1997), Palmetto (1998) and Hollow Man (2000).

Geoff Bell didn't start acting until he was 29. He enrolled in a Morley College theatre course. Since then, Geoff has gone on become one of Britain's top character actors who has appeared in over 50 movies since 2000, as well as some quality TV series. Geoff has just started to venture into writing and directing, His first film "Bacon" won the first-time director award at the Venice film festival.

British actor Mark Strong, who played Jim Prideaux in the 2011 remake of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), is often cast as cold, calculating villains. But before he became a famous actor, he intended to pursue a career in law.

Strong was born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London, England, to an Austrian mother and an Italian father. His father left the family not long after he was born, and his mother worked as an au pair to raise the boy on her own. Strong's mother had his name legally changed, by deed poll, when he was young in order to help him better assimilate with his peers. He became Mark Strong.

Strong attended Wymondham College in Norfolk, and studied at the university level in Munich with the intent of becoming a lawyer. After a year, he returned to London to study English and Drama at Royal Holloway. He went on to further master his craft of at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Although Americans are most familiar with Strong's roles as Sinestro in Green Lantern (2011), mob boss Frank D'Amico in Kick-Ass (2010), and Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes (2009), British audiences know him from his long history as a television actor. He also starred in as numerous British stage productions, including plays at the Royal National Theatre and the RSC.

His most prominent television parts include Prime Suspect 3 (1993) and Prime Suspect: The Last Witness (2003) as Inspector Larry Hall, and starring roles in the BBC Two dramas Our Friends in the North (1996) and The Long Firm (2004), the latter of which netted Strong a BAFTA nomination. He also played Mr. Knightley in the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen's classic tale Emma (1996).

Strong resides in London with his wife Liza Marshall, with whom he has two sons, the younger of which is the godson of his longtime friend Daniel Craig.

Michael John Myers was born in 1963 in Scarborough, Ontario, to Alice E. (Hind), an officer supervisor, and Eric Myers, an insurance agent. His parents were both English, and had served in the Royal Air Force and British Army, respectively.

Myers' television career really started in 1988, when he joined Saturday Night Live (1975), where he spent six seasons. He brought to life many memorable characters, such as Dieter and Wayne Cambell. His major movies include Wayne's World (1992), Wayne's World 2 (1993), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), the Austin Powers movies and The Cat in the Hat (2003).

Donnie Yen was born in Guangzhou, China. His mother, Bow-sim Mark, was a kung fu master and his father, Kylster Yen, a newspaper editor and amateur musician. When Donnie was just two years old, the family moved to Hong Kong and then, when he was 11, to Boston, Massachusetts.

There, Master Bow-sim Mark became a pioneer for Chinese martial arts in America, and it was only natural that her only son was trained from early childhood in the same skills. At the same time, Donnie was influenced by his parents' love of music and reached a high level of proficiency as a pianist. All these interests would have a manifest influence on Yen's later life.

In his teens, Donnie defined his own persona by rebelling against his parents edicts. Beyond the limitations of his mother's school, Yen began training in various different fighting arts, including Japanese karate, Korean taekwondo and western boxing. Donnie also took up hip-hop and break-dancing. At the same time, he began spending his nights in Boston's notorious Combat Zone. Given that he was by now a serious practitioner of modern Wu Shu, his parents decided to send him to Beijing to train at the Chinese capital's famed Wu Shu academy.

It was when Yen returned to Hong Kong en route back to Boston that he met the famed martial arts movie director Yuen Woo-ping.

Donnie exploded onto the Hong Kong movie scene when he was cast in the lead role of director Yuen Woo-ping's 'Drunken Tai Chi'. His debut film immediately established him as a viable leading man, and Yen has remained a major figure in Chinese action cinema to this day.

Yen skills as a street dancer were to the fore in his second starring role, 'Mismatched Couples', in which he showed off his breakdance moves, as well as his general athleticism. This slapstick romantic comedy was produced by Hong Kong's prestigious Cinema City studio.

Donnie was subsequently signed by the newly formed D&B Films, and cast in the hit cop actioner 'Tiger Cage'. In this movie, and his follow-up features for the company ('In the Line of Duty 4', 'Tiger Cage 2'), Yen showed off his own unique form of contemporary screen combat, a form that included elements of rapid fire kicking, Western boxing and grappling moves.

Having established a worldwide fan base, Yen moved on to star in a string of independent Asian action features before director Tsui Hark tapped him to co-star in 'Once Upon A Time In China 2'. The film's two action highlights saw Donnie's character duel the legendary martial arts master Wong Fei-hung, played by his old friend Jet Li. The film brought Yen his first real attention as a thespian and he was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category at that year's Hong Kong Film Awards.

Tsui Hark went on to produce a remake of King Hu's classic 'New Dragon Inn', which provided another showcase role for Donnie as the film's apparently invincible villain.

Donnie was reunited with director Yuen Woo-ping for 'Iron Monkey', a film which brought Yen's acting and action skills both into focus. In 'Iron Monkey', Yen played the father of Wong Fei-hung, and its success prefigured that which he would later enjoy as another pugilistic patriarch in 'Ip Man'. Donnie collaborated with Yuen on the action for the film, designing a new on-screen interpretation of Wong Fei-hung's classic 'Shadowless Kick'.

'Iron Monkey' was all the more remarkable in that, years after its Asian release, it was acquired by the American studio Miramax, re-cut, re-scored and given a wide release in US theatres. After premieres in New York and Los Angeles, the film enjoyed great acclaim from the American critics, and won a prize at that year's Taurus Awards, an event held to celebrate action in cinema.

After working on a number of independent features, Yen went on to enjoy huge success on the small screen when he accepted a lucrative offer from Hong Kong's ATV to film a series based on the Bruce Lee classic 'Fist of Fury'. The show was the top-rated action drama show around the region, and was subsequently re-edited for international distribution on video.

Donnie went on to make his directorial debut with 'Legend of the Wolf', a stylish period actioner that even attracted the attention of legendary American film-maker Francis Coppola. The film, about an amnesiac warrior returning to his home village, has become a bona fide cult classic.

As director, Donnie followed 'Legend of the Wolf' with a very different venture, 'Ballistic Kiss', an urban thriller about a conflicted assassin. The film played at the prestigious Udine Festival in Italy, and took home awards at several other events, including the Japanese Yubari International Action Film Festival.

Donnie's body of work had by then attracted the attention of Hollywood, and Yen was approached to choreograph the action for the mainstream franchise films 'Highlander: Endgame' and 'Blade 2'. After a period where he was based in Los Angeles, Donnie returned East by way of the West when Jackie Chan requested that Yen play his nemesis in the hit 'Shanghai Knights', a shoot that took the star from Prague to London.

Yen returned to China to co-star in director Zhang Yimou's epic wu xia master work 'Hero'. Yen's duel with Jet Li brought his skills to the emerging Mainland Chinese theatrical audience, and paved the way for Donnie to become the country's biggest action star. The film received a wide US theatrical release from Miramax, and remains one of the most successful foreign language titles ever distributed in the America market.

Donnie returned to Hong Kong to choreograph the smash hit fantasy-horror-comedy 'The Twins Effect', and went on to enjoy his most productive partnership with a director. Beginning with the cop actioner 'SPL', Donnie teamed with helmer Wilson Yip for a series of very different films that Yen would star in and action choreograph and Yip would direct. Star and director subsequently teamed to create the comic book inspired fantasy actioner 'Dragon Tiger Gate' and the gritty police thriller 'Flashpoint', in which Donnie created what fans feel is the definitive on-screen MMA action scene. Yen was to return to this hard-hitting, urban action style for the later 'Special ID'.

Donnie now found himself in demand as a leading man in a series of prestigious period actioners produced for the Chinese market. 'Seven Swords' premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and proved a hit with worldwide audiences. The film was released in North America by The Weinstein Company's Dragon Dynasty label, and remains its biggest hit.

Yen also attracted rave reviews when he played an honorable general in 'An Empress and her Warriors' and an offbeat ghost-buster in Gordon Chan's 'Painted Skin'.

Yen took his career to a new level when he accepted producer Raymond Wong's suggestion that he play Bruce Lee's teacher, 'Ip Man', in an eponymous film relating the life of the great master. The film was a huge success in Hong Kong and China, and 'Ip Man' went on to find favor with audiences worldwide. Donnie also received a Best Actor nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

'Ip Man' confirmed Donnie's position as China's greatest action hero, and he was immediately signed to lead a strong ensemble cast for Teddy Chen's 'Bodyguards and Assassins', produced by Peter Chan. Besides his on-screen performance, Donnie was also called on to choreograph the dynamic duel between himself and MMA champion Cung Le. The movie went on to sweep the board at the Hong Kong Film Awards winning Best Film, among many other prizes. Yen himself was nominated for Best Actor at the Chinese Hundred Flower awards.

Yen followed this with 'Ip Man 2', a rare example of a sequel that proved a match for its predecessor. The film followed Ip's life journey to Hong Kong, where he faces both rival kung fu masters, led by the film's choreographer, Sammo Hung, and a brutal foreign boxer, portrayed by the late Darren Shahlavi. 'Ip Man 2' was the biggest local hit of the year in China, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release in the US.

The film's success led to Donnie being cast as a number of legendary Chinese heroes: He played General Qin-long in Daniel Lee's '14 Blades', Guan Yu in 'The Lost Bladesman' and reprised Bruce Lee's Chen Zhen role in Andrew Lau's 'Legend of the Fist'. Yen also used the lighter side of his screen persona to good effect in two installments of the hit Hong Kong comedy movie series 'Alls Well Ends Well'.

Yen was cast opposite Tang Wei and Takeshi Kaneshiro in director Peter Chan's 'Wu Xia' (aka 'Dragon'), a dark, elegant period martial arts murder mystery. The film premiered to great acclaim at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, and subsequently received a North American theatrical release from The Weinstein Company.

Donnie Yen played 'The Monkey King' in a hit reimagining of the Chinese classic. Donnie starred opposite screen legend Chow Yun-fat in the film, which smashed box office records in Mainland China.

Showing his versatility, Yen went on to play a kung fu master facing challenges in the modern era in director Teddy Chen's 'Kung Fu Jungle'. The movie, which premiered at the London Film Festival, paid tribute to the great history of Hong Kong martial arts cinema.

During the shooting of his ambitious, time travel themed action fantasy 'Iceman 3D', Yen was approached to revitalize the greatest brand in the history of Chinese martial arts cinema. 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny' was shot primarily on location in New Zealand, with Yen in the lead role. The world class creative team gathered by producer Harvey Weinstein included legendary kung fu film director Yuen Woo-ping, acclaimed directors Peter Berg and Morten Tyldum (as producers), 'X-Men' series DP Tom Sigel as well as the Oscar-winning production, costume and FX designers from the 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Hobbit' film series.

The film debuted in most international territories as a Netflix Original movie, making it the most widely seen wu xia of all time. 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Sword of Destiny' also played at selected Imax theatres in North America, and enjoyed a wide theatrical release in China, where it was screened in its 3D version.

Yen reteamed with his former mentor Yuen Woo-ping for the hugely popular 'Ip Man 3'. The film, with Wilson Ip as director and Yuen as choreographer, pitted the title character against legendary boxing champion Mike Tyson. The film out-performed all the previous movies featuring the character of Ip Man, smashing box office records throughout Asia. Following a high profile Los Angeles premiere, 'Ip Man 3' enjoyed a Los Angeles premiere and a US theatrical release, earning rave reviews in the mainstream American media.

Having conquered every territory beneath the Asian skies, Donnie accepted an invitation to join the cast of an entry in the world's biggest film franchise. In 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story', Yen plays one of the Rebel warriors responsible for the theft of the Death Star plans, the adventure that, within the 'Star Wars' universe, leads to the events of the very first film in the series. The film was shot primarily at the famed Elstree Studios in England.

Donnie had a role opposite Vin Diesel and his fellow Asian action star, Tony Jaa, in xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), which filmed in Toronto, Canada.

Now firmly established as a leading player across the globe, Donnie Yen continues to present a unique blend of Eastern experience and Western innovation, of musical grace with martial impact, from Hong Kong to a galaxy far, far away....

Donnie is one of the leading martial arts choreographers in the world of action cinema. His skills behind the camera began developing from his early days in the industry, and he was very much involved with the action choreography of his films for D&B Films. He received his first full action directing credit on the Michelle Yeoh, kung fu drama 'Wing Chun', in which he also starred.

Yen further developed his style of choreography in the high pressure world of Hong Kong television, where he created the action for his hit series 'Kung Fu Master' and 'Fist of Fury', and as a low-budget film-maker, when he directed, starred in and choreographed the movies 'Legend of the Wolf' and 'Ballistic Kiss'.

It was after Yen had helmed his first two Chinese features that Hollywood made its first serious bid for his services. He was signed to co-star in and action direct 'Highlander: Endgame', the latest in a series of fantasy actioners. The film, which starred Adrian Paul and Christopher Lambert, was produced by the US studio Dimension, and enjoyed a successful worldwide theatrical release.

Having relocated to Los Angeles, Yen paid his dues by directing action scenes for the Dimension action thriller 'Stormbreaker' and providing the fight sequences for the German TV series 'The Puma'.

Donnie agreed to both action direct and cameo in the major New Line action franchise entry 'Blade 2', starring Wesley Snipes. The film, directed by Guillermo del Toro, was a huge hit, earning almost twice the box office of the original 'Blade'.

Returning to Hong Kong, Yen found he now had a major contribution to make behind the camera, co-directing the SFX action adventure 'The Twins Effect'. The film, which starred two of China's top pop idols, told the tale of young vampire hunters with well-honed martial arts skills. A huge hit for Emperor, the film earned Yen his first Best Action Director prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

'The Twins Effect' saw Donnie start to introduce elements of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) in his film fight scenes. He took the on-screen depiction of the style to new heights with the film 'SPL', released in the US as 'Kill Zone'. Yen's final reel duel with Sammo Hung is now regarded as a classic of the genre. The film won Donnie his second Best Action Choreography prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

He took his on-screen depiction of MMA to new heights in 'Flashpoint', which featured an even longer and more intense final showdown, this time between Yen and 'Matrix Reloaded' actor Collin Chou. The film won Donnie his third Best Action Choreography prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards, as well as a prize for Best Action in a Foreign Language Film at the Taurus Awards.

Yen explored different styles of screen combat when he choreographed the stunning kung fu fights for the period actioners 'Legend of the Fist' and 'The Lost Bladesman', the fantasy combat for 'The Monkey King' and the time travel adventure 'Iceman Cometh 3D'.

Many fans feel that Yen delivered his best choreographic work to date in Peter Chan's masterful 'Wu Xia', released in the US as 'Dragon'. The film saw Donnie bring his own unique flair to classical Shaw Bros style kung fu action.

Donnie brought traditional Chinese martial arts into the modern era with 'Kung Fu Jungle', for which his work won yet another Best Choreography prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Away from the cameras, Yen entered into the most rewarding partnership of his life when he married former beauty queen, Cissy Wang. The couple now has two children, a girl and boy, Jasmine and James.

David Thewlis was born David Wheeler in 1963 in Blackpool, Lancashire, to Maureen (Thewlis) and Alec Raymond Wheeler, and lived with his parents above their combination wallpaper and toy shop during his childhood. Originally, he came to London with his band Door 66, however he changed his plans and entered Guildhall School of Drama.

He had minor roles in films and TV until he took the main role in Naked (1993). The film won him several awards including the New York Critics Award. He has since been in many other films including DragonHeart (1996), Restoration (1995), Black Beauty (1994) and he took the part of Professor Remus John Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and its sequels.

Recently, he starred in the third season of FX's Fargo (2014).

He lived with the British actress Anna Friel from 2001-2010. They have a daughter, Gracie Ellen Mary, born July 9, 2005.

Steven Andrew Soderbergh was born on January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the second of six children of Mary Ann (Bernard) and Peter Soderbergh. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother was of Italian ancestry. While he was still at a very young age, his family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his father was a professor and the dean of the College of Education at Louisiana State University. While still in high school, around the age of 15, Soderbergh enrolled in the university's film animation class and began making short 16-millimeter films with second-hand equipment, one of which was the short film "Janitor". After graduating high school, he went to Hollywood, where he worked as a freelance editor. His time there was brief and, shortly after, he returned home and continued making short films and writing scripts.

His first major break was in 1986 when the rock group Yes assigned him to shoot a full-length concert film for the band, which eventually earned him a Grammy nomination for the video, Yes: 9012 Live (1985). Following this achievement, Soderbergh filmed Winston (1987), the short-subject film that he would later expand into Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), a film that earned him the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or Award, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director, and an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Over the next six years, he was married to actress Betsy Brantley and had a daughter named Sarah Soderbergh, who was born in 1990.

Also during this time, he made such films as Kafka (1991), King of the Hill (1993), The Underneath (1995) and Gray's Anatomy (1996), which many believed to be disappointments. In 1998, Soderbergh made Out of Sight (1998), his most critically and commercially successful film since Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989). Then, in 2000, Soderbergh directed two major motion pictures that are now his most successful films to date: Erin Brockovich (2000) and Traffic (2000). These films were both nominated for Best Picture Oscars at the 2001 Academy Awards and gave him the first twin director Oscar nomination in almost 60 years and the first ever win. He won the Oscar for Best Director for Traffic (2000) at the 2001 Oscars.

Gail Ann O'Grady an American actress and producer, is best known for her roles on television. Her roles include Donna Abandando in the ABC police drama NYPD Blue, and Helen Pryor in the NBC drama series American Dreams. O'Grady is also well known for her lead roles in a number of television movies. She has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Awards three times.

Helen Hunt began studying acting at the age of eight with her father, respected director and acting coach Gordon Hunt. A year later she made her professional debut and afterwards worked steadily in films, theatre and television.

Dermot Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, to Ellen and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova. Since being discovered at Northwestern University by a Hollywood talent agent 28 years ago, Mulroney has been seen in over 70 films. Mulroney is a classically trained cellist who began playing in Alexandria, Virginia's public school system when he was 7 years old. He plays with the scoring orchestras on many films for Academy Award winning composers such as James Newton Howard and Michael Giacchino.

Harold Perrineau is an American actor best known for his roles as Michael Dawson on the television series Lost (2004-2008; 2010), Augustus Hill in the television series Oz (1997-2003), Link in The Matrix franchise (2003), and Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996). He has also starred in the films Woman on Top (2000), Smoke (1995), The Edge (1997), The Best Man (1999), 28 Weeks Later (2007), and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). His other television credits include Sons of Anarchy (2012), Constantine (2014-2015), Claws (2017-2022), and The Rookie (2019-2021). He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the hit indie film Smoke.

Lisa Whelchel was born in Littlefield, Texas, USA on Wednesday, May 29, 1963. She is the daughter of James "Jimmy" and Virginia "Genny" Whelchel. Her parents divorced in 1981 and her mother married Roy Coleman in 1983. She has a younger brother, James (Cody) Whelchel, and a younger half-brother, Casey Coleman. Raised in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, she is an American actress, singer-songwriter, author, and speaker. She discovered acting at age 8 and performed in musical theater for the next four years. At 10 she became a born-again Christian and devoted her life to her Christian faith. When she was 12 she wrote to the Disney Studios asking for an audition as a Mouseketeer on The New Mickey Mouse Club (1977). She moved to California the next year and appeared in syndication from 1977-1978. In 1979, she began her starring role as wealthy, preppy, private-school girl "Blair Warner" on The Facts of Life (1979). The show lasted nine years and she filmed the last regular episode, Big Apple Blues (1988) televised on Saturday, March 19th, 1988. 6 and 7 weeks later came two larger-cast specials, The Beginning of the End (1988), televised on Saturday, April 30, 1988, and the series finale, The Beginning of the Beginning (1988) televised on Saturday, May 7, 1988. On Saturday, July 9, 1988, she married Steven Cauble, who was an associate pastor at Whelchel's church, "The Church On the Way" in Van Nuys, California. On Saturday, January 17, 1990, she gave birth to son Tucker Stephenson Cauble (aka Tucker Cauble). Her second child and first daughter, Haven Katherine Hill Cauble, was born on Thursday, September 26, 1991, followed by third child and second daughter, Clancy Elizabeth Cauble (aka Clancy Cauble), who was born on Thursday, November 12, 1992. She released a Christian pop album, "All Because of You," in 1984. The next year she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance. She has written many books including "Creative Correction", "So You're Thinking About Homeschooling", "The Facts of Life (and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me)", "Friendships for Grown-Ups", "Taking Care of the Me in Mommy", and "Speaking Mom-Ese". In 2001, she reprized her role of "Blair Warner" for the made-for-television movie, The Facts of Life Reunion (2001), on the ABC Network. On Sunday, March 7, 2004, she and Charlotte Rae performed "The Facts of Life" theme song at the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards. On Thursday, April 10, 2011, Whelchel and the cast of The Facts of Life (1979), including Charlotte Rae, Nancy McKeon, Mindy Cohn, Kim Fields, Geri Jewell & Cloris Leachman were honored with the Pop Culture Award at the 9th Annual TV Land Awards at the Javits Center in New York City. She officially divorced her husband, Steven Cauble, on Thursday, March 1, 2012, after 23 years of marriage. She appeared on the 25th season of Survivor (2000), located in the Philippine Islands, as part of the Tandang tribe. The first episode aired on Wednesday, September 19th, 2012. She appeared on the CBS talk show, The Talk (2010), to promote her appearance on "Survivor" on Wednesday, September 19, 2012. Whelchel appeared on "The Jeff Probst Show" (2012) on Monday, October 29, 2012, on the episode, "Teen Star Lisa Whelchel: Surviving 'Survivor' and Divorce". She also appeared on a second episode titled "Survivor Finalists" along with fellow 'Survivor: Philippines' contestants, Abi-Maria Gomes, Michael Skupin, Denise Stapley and Malcolm Freberg for being in the final five. On Wednesday, December 16, 2012, during the 25th Season Reunion Show on CBS, "America's Sweetheart" won the fan-voted Sprint Player of the Season by 0.7% over Malcolm which is the closest margin of victory in Survivor history. The prize money that Lisa Whelchel won was $100,000 U.S. Lisa began to co-host on The Jeff Probst Show (2012) with filming, that started televising in January of 2013.

Alejandro González Iñárritu (ih-nyar-ee-too), born August 15th, 1963, is a Mexican film director.

González Iñárritu is the first Mexican director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and by the Directors Guild of America for Best Director. He is also the first Mexican-born director to have won the Prix de la mise en scene or best director award at Cannes (2006), the second one being Carlos Reygadas in 2012. His six feature films, 'Amores Perros' (2000), '21 Grams' (2003), 'Babel' (2006), 'Biutiful' (2010), 'Birdman' (2014) and 'The Revenant' (2015), have gained critical acclaim world-wide including two Academy Award nominations.

Alejandro González Iñárritu was born in Mexico City.

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a cargo ship at the ages of seventeen and nineteen years, González Iñárritu worked his way across Europe and Africa. He himself has noted that these early travels as a young man have had a great influence on him as a film-maker. The setting of his films have often been in the places he visited during this period.

After his travels, González Iñárritu returned to Mexico City and majored in communications at Universidad Iberoamericana. In 1984, he started his career as a radio host at the Mexican radio station WFM, a rock and eclectic music station. In 1988, he became the director of the station. Over the next five years, González Iñárritu spent his time interviewing rock stars, transmitting live concerts, and making WFM the number one radio station in Mexico. From 1987 to 1989, he composed music for six Mexican feature films. He has stated that he believes music has had a bigger influence on him as an artist than film itself.

In the nineties, González Iñárritu created Z films with Raul Olvera in Mexico. Under Z Films, he started writing, producing and directing short films and advertisements. Making the final transition into T.V Film directing, he studied under well-known Polish theatre director Ludwik Margules, as well as Judith Weston in Los Angeles.

In 1995, González Iñárritu wrote and directed his first T.V pilot for Z Films, called Detras del dinero, -"Behind the Money", starring Miguel Bosé. Z Films went on to be one of the biggest and strongest film production companies in Mexico, launching seven young directors in the feature film arena. In 1999, González Iñárritu directed his first feature film Amores perros, written by Guillermo Arriaga. Amores perros explored Mexican society in Mexico City told via three intertwining stories. In 2000, Amores perros premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Critics Weeks Grand Prize. It also introduced audiences for the first time to Gael García Bernal. Amores perros went on to be nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards.

After the success of Amores Perros, González Iñárritu and Guillermo Arriaga revisited the intersecting story structure of Amores perros in González Iñárritu's second film, 21 Grams. The film starred Benicio del Toro, Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, and was presented at the Venice Film Festival, winning the Volpi Cup for actor Sean Penn. At the 2004 Academy Awards, Del Toro and Watts received nominations for their performances.

In 2005 González Iñárritu embarked on his third film, Babel, set in 4 countries on 3 continents, and in 4 different languages. Babel consists of four stories set in Morocco, Mexico, the United States, and Japan. The film stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Adriana Barraza. The majority of the rest of the cast, however, was made up of non-professional actors and some new actors, such as Rinko Kikuchi. It was presented at Cannes 2006, where González Iñárritu earned the Best Director Prize (Prix de la mise en scène). Babel was released in November 2006 and received seven nominations at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. González Iñárritu is the first Mexican director nominated for a DGA award and for an Academy Award. Babel went on to win Best Motion Picture in the drama category at the Golden Globe Awards on January 15, 2007. Gustavo Santaolalla won the Academy Award that year for Best Original Score. After Babel, Alejandro and his writing partner Guillermo Arriaga professionally parted ways, following González Iñárritu barring Arriaga from the set during filming (Arriaga told the LA Times in 2009 "It had to come to an end, but I still respect González Iñárritu").

In 2008 and 2009, González Iñárritu directed and produced Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem, written by González Iñárritu, Armando Bo, and Nicolas Giacobone. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festial on May 17, 2010. Bardem went on to win Best Actor (shared with Elio Germano for La nostra vita) at Cannes. Biutiful is González Iñárritu's first film in his native Spanish since his debut feature Amores perros. For the second time in his career his film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards. It was also nominated for the 2011 Golden Globes in the category of Best Foreign Film, for the 2011 BAFTA awards in the category of Best Film Not in the English Language and Best Actor. Javier Bardem's performance was also nominated for Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 2014, González Iñárritu directed Birdman, starring Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, and Andrea Riseborough. The film is Iñárritu's first comedy. Birdman is about an actor who played an iconic superhero, and who tries to revive his career by doing a play based on the Raymond Carver short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. The film was released on October 17, 2014.

In April 2014, it was announced that González Iñárritu's next film as a director will be The Revenant, which he co-wrote with Mark L. Smith. It is based on the novel of same name by Michael Punke. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy and Will Poulter with shooting began in September 2014, for a December 25, 2015 release.The Revenant is being filmed in Alberta and B.C. with production scheduled to wrap in February 2015. The film will be a 19th Century period piece, and is described as a "gritty thriller" about a fur trapper who seeks revenge against a group of men who robbed and abandoned him after he was mauled by a grizzly bear.

From 2001 to 2011, González Iñárritu directed several short films.

In 2001, he directed an 11 minute film segment for 11.09.01- which is composed of several short films that explore the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks from different points of view around the world.

In 2007, he made ANNA which screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival inside Chacun son cinéma. It was part of the 60th anniversary of the film festival and it was a series of shorts by 33 world-renown film directors.

In 2012, he made the experimental short film Naran Ja: One Act Orange Dance - inspired by L.A Dance Project's premiere performance. The short features excerpts of the new choreography Benjamin Millepied crafted for Moving Parts. The story takes place in a secluded, dusty space and centers around LADP dancer Julia Eichten.

In 2001/2002, González Iñárritu directed "Powder Keg", an episode for the BMW film series The Hire, starring Clive Owen as the driver.

In 2010, González Iñárritu directed Write the Future, a football-themed commercial for Nike ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which went on to win Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions advertising festival.

In 2012, he directed Procter and Gamble's "Best Job" commercial spot for the 2012 Olympic Ceremonies. It went on to win the Best Primetime Commercial Emmy at Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Natasha Jane Richardson was born in Marylebone, London, England, to director and producer Tony Richardson and actress Vanessa Redgrave. She was the sister of actress Joely Richardson, the niece of actors Corin Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave, and the granddaughter of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson.

Trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, Richardson performed extensively on stage in roles, including "Helena" in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Ophelia in "Hamlet" at the Young Vic. In 1986, she garnered the London Drama Critics' Most Promising Newcomer Award for her performance as "Nina" in "The Seagull", with Vanessa Redgrave and Jonathan Pryce. In 1987, she played "Tracey Lord" in Richard Eyre's musical, "High Society".

Natasha made her feature film debut as Mary Shelley in Ken Russell's Gothic (1986). Her performance caught the attention of director Paul Schrader, who cast her in the title role in Patty Hearst (1988). Natasha achieved notable success in such films as Pat O'Connor's A Month in the Country (1987), Roland Joffé's Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) and The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991), featuring Bob Hoskins and Jeff Goldblum. For her performance in Volker Schlöndorff's The Handmaid's Tale (1990) and Schrader's The Comfort of Strangers (1990), Richardson earned The London Evening Standard Award for Best Actress of 1990; and for Widows' Peak (1994), also starring Mia Farrow and Joan Plowright, she received the Best Actress Award at the 1994 Karlovy Vary Festival.

Also in 1994, she co-starred with Jodie Foster and Liam Neeson in Nell (1994) and, in 1998, in The Parent Trap (1998) with Dennis Quaid. Her early 2000s films include Blow Dry (2001) released in 2001, and Ethan Hawke's Chelsea Walls (2001).

Natasha performed the title role of "Anna Christie", first in London, where she was voted London Drama Critics' Best Actress Award in 1992, then on Broadway at the Roundabout in 1993, where she was nominated for a Tony for Best Actress in a Play, a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut of an Actress, and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actress. For her performance as Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes' production of "Cabaret", she won the 1998 Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actress in a Musical. She then appeared on Broadway in Patrick Marber's Tony-nominated play "Closer". In December 2009 she had been intended to play "Miss Julie" on Broadway with Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by David Leveaux for Roundabout Theatre.

Richardson's television credits included Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" for the BBC, also starring Judi Dench, Michael Gambon and Kenneth Branagh; the HBO cable feature Hostages (1992); the BBC film Suddenly, Last Summer (1993), based on the play by Tennessee Williams, and also starring Maggie Smith and Rob Lowe. In 1993 she starred as Zelda Fitzgerald in the TNT movie Zelda (1993), co-starring Timothy Hutton and directed by Pat O'Connor (cable Ace nomination for Best Actress). She played Ruth Gruber in the 2001 CBS mini-series Haven (2001) based on Ms. Gruber's autobiography.

In March 2009, Natasha died in a New York City hospital, after falling and receiving a head injury whilst skiing in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. Natasha was married to actor Liam Neeson from 1994 until her death, and the couple have two children.

Phoebe Belle Cates was born on July 16, 1963 in New York City, New York, and raised there. She is the daughter of Lily and Joseph Cates, who was a Broadway producer and television pioneer. Her uncle was director/producer Gilbert Cates. Phoebe is of Russian Jewish, and one quarter Chinese, descent. She studied at Miss Hewitt's school and at the Professional Children's School in New York City. She took classes at Juilliard when she was ten-years-old for three and a half years until a knee injury forced her to stop. Phoebe had been a busy New York model starting at the age of fourteen. She's since been featured on the covers of four Seventeens, two Elle covers, a British Vogue, and Andy Warhol's Interview, as well as in numerous layouts in other magazines. She actively pursued her modeling career, until she met her film agent at a party at New York's Studio 54. She trains with Robert Ravan, founder of The Actors' Circle in New York. Previously she studied with Alice Spivack of the H.B. Studios. Cates made her motion picture debut as Sarah in Paradise (1982) in the same year she starred as Jennifer Jason Leigh's "experienced" confidante in Amy Heckerling's acclaimed Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). Cates then landed the role of "Christine Ramsey" in Private School (1983), then co-starred in the innovative Gremlins (1984) for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, directed by Joe Dante. Cates has remained active in theatre, as well. After making her New York debut in Joseph Papp's Off-Broadway production of "The Nest of the Wood Grouse" in 1984, she followed with David Henry Hwang's "Rich Relations" at The Second Stage and a one-act festival at the Manhattan Punchline. On the West Coast, Cates played "Nina" in the La Jolla Playhouse production of Anton Chekhov's "The Sea Gull" and has since appeared in "Much Ado About Nothing" at New York's Public Theatre, and as "Juliet" in Chicago's Goodman Theatre production of "Romeo and Juliet".

Since 1989, Cates has been married to actor Kevin Kline, with whom she has two children.

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 10, 1963, Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn developed an interest in performing through her father, guitarist Tom Tripplehorn, who at one time recorded with the pop group Gary Lewis & The Playboys on such hits as "This Diamond Ring". (Note: many references list Jeanne's father's birth date as February 2, 1949, but this seems unlikely as he would have been only 14 years old when she was born). Graduating from Edison High School, Jeanne began her career as a local radio and TV host.

Educated at both the University of Tulsa and the drama division of The Juilliard School in New York City, she made her major TV debut in a supporting role in The Perfect Tribute (1991), a fictional story that centered around President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The next year she made a big splash with her second lead, in Paul Verhoeven's thriller Basic Instinct (1992), in support of Michael Douglas. In this movie, which made a sex star out of Sharon Stone, Jeanne's weird psychiatrist role established her as a talent to be reckoned with, although a torrid sex scene with Douglas certainly helped. She earned a huge break when she replaced a pregnant Robin Wright in the role of Tom Cruise's wife in the box-office smash The Firm (1993). Her smart work in this film afforded her the opportunity to work opposite other "top guns" in the industry, including Kevin Costner in the futuristic Waterworld (1995), Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors (1998) and Hugh Grant in Mickey Blue Eyes (1999). While none of these roles impressed to a great degree, they nevertheless put her in good standing. Reaching into her versatile bag of tricks, she went on to play everything from a lesbian gangster in Mike Figgis' experimental film, Timecode (2000), to a love interest of left-wing activist Abbie Hoffman in Steal This Movie (2000).

On stage, the lady with the strikingly open face and penetrating glare made her Broadway bow in the role of "Masha" in Anton Chekhov's "The Three Sisters", opposite Amy Irving and Lili Taylor. Prior to this, she appeared off-Broadway in John Patrick Shanley's "The Big Funk" in 1990, then co-starred with Val Kilmer in a 1993 production of John Ford's 1630s play, "'Tis Pity She's a Whore". In 2002, Jeanne was one of a revolving door of guest stars to appear in the Actor's Alley play "The Guys", a tribute to the valiant firefighters of the 9/11 attack. On television, Jeanne appeared less frequently but did star, opposite Arliss Howard, in a superlative TV-movie adaptation of William Faulkner's Old Man (1997).

Back in the 1990s, she maintained a roller coaster relationship with actor/writer Ben Stiller. Engaged at one point in 1993, she even appeared on his early '90s TV show, The Ben Stiller Show (1992), on occasion. But the union broke up after six years. In 2000, Jeanne married actor Leland Orser of TV's ER (1994) fame. They appeared together in the TV movie Brother's Keeper (2002) and the films Very Bad Things (1998) and Morning (2010), the latter one written and directed by Orser. The couple has one son, August Tripplehorn Orser, born in 2002.

Jeanne's career on TV has deservedly been on an upswing of late as the senior wife of polygamist Bill Paxton's three live-ins in the HBO, drama, Big Love (2006); as Jackie Kennedy Onassis in the TV movie Grey Gardens (2009); after joining the cast as Alex Blake in the series Criminal Minds (2005); and as Eleanor Schlafly in the political mini-series Mrs. America (2020) starring Cate Blanchett.

Into the millennium, Jeanne has also graced such films as Relative Values (2000), the Madonna misfire Swept Away (2002), The Amateurs (2005), Winged Creatures (2008), Crazy on the Outside (2010) and Ana (2020), as well as co-starring roles in Little Pink House (2017) with Catherine Keener and We Only Know So Much (2018) with Damian Young.

Wendell Edward Pierce is an American actor and businessman. He is known for roles in HBO dramas such as Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme; as well as portraying James Greer in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, high-powered attorney Robert Zane in Suits, and Michael Davenport in Waiting to Exhale. Pierce also had roles in the films Malcolm X, Ray, and Selma, and performed the lead role of Willy Loman in the 2019 revival of a play Death of a Salesman on the West End in London at the Piccadilly Theatre, which earned him a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play. He has been thrice nominated for Independent Spirit Awards.

After this feisty, highly offbeat actress from Chattanooga, Tennessee, broke into TV in the 1980s, she immediately set herself apart from the norm with a prime role as new owner Bud Cort's female friend in the bizarre mini-movie Bates Motel (1987). This rather inauspicious beginning would also set Lori Petty off on a career as a kinetic fighter and a misfit, types for which she would be best known.

Lori was born on October 14, 1963, and spent her childhood traveling the US with her father, a Pentecostal minister. Her keen talents first lent themselves toward being a graphic artist in Omaha, Nebraska, but an impulsive desire to act quickly took precedence and soon she was off to New York, where she took acting classes and pounded the pavement for jobs.

Going nowhere fast, she eventually headed for Los Angeles and finally found an "in". Following a number of mediocre TV roles, she won a bit of attention on the short-lived series Booker (1989) as a lippy secretary, then hit pay dirt in secondary roles as an outrageous Cyndi Lauper wannabe in Cadillac Man (1990) and as Patrick Swayze's ex-girlfriend/waitress who hooks up with Keanu Reeves in Point Break (1991).

It looked like mainstream stardom might happen for the tomboy actress, especially after getting cast as Geena Davis' bratty baseball-playing sister in the highly successful A League of Their Own (1992). However, while Lori proved to be an intriguing, kooky sort, she also proved more difficult to cast. Such disparate roles as a kind-hearted animal trainer in Free Willy (1993) and the sole female recruit in Pauly Shore's inane comedy In the Army Now (1994) only proved the point.

She seemed bent towards playing scrappy, hard-edged figures alongside the big action guys but started off on the wrong foot when she was replaced by Sandra Bullock in Sylvester Stallone's Demolition Man (1993) due to "artistic differences". She did play a lone female cop in the thriller The Glass Shield (1994), then found her true calling as the bizarre cartoon heroine Tank Girl (1995), which was billed as "a post-apocalyptic comedy." Playing along the same hard lines, Lori portrayed an FBI agent who teams up with a Tokyo policewoman Yûki Amami in the crime thriller Countdown (1996); played a butch lesbian in the social comedy Relax... It's Just Sex (1998); and an aggressive, tough-talking stripper at odds with the Mafia in the potboiler The Arrangement (1999). She ended the decade on TV as Max, a motel clerk, in the crime drama fantasy series Brimstone (1998).

Into the millennium, the crop-haired, tough-as-nails actress continued to take it to the limit. Following roles in the action films Firetrap (2001) and Route 666 (2001), Lori co-starred alongside the similarly tough-styled Gina Gershon in Prey for Rock & Roll (2003) as members of a punk rock band. She later starred in the creature vs. human horror opus Cryptid (2006); had a small part (First Murderer) in a contemporary Hollywood updating of Shakespeare's Richard III (2007); a deputy in the cross-country sports movie Chasing 3000 (2010); a doctor in the horror thriller Dead Awake (2016); a starring role as a lady Marine in Fear, Love, and Agoraphobia (2018); and a campy role in the low-budget horror flick A Deadly Legend (2020).

On TV, Lori would be seen as a guest in such shows as "The Beast," "NYPD Blue," "CSI: NY," "Masters of Horror," "House," "Prison Break," "Hawaii Five-0," and, more notably, in the recurring and amusing role of loony, paranoiac Lolly in the women's prison series Orange Is the New Black (2013). On the other side of the camera, the still-single Lori wrote and directed the film The Poker House (2008) starring Jennifer Lawrence, a re-dramatization of Lori's teenage years in Iowa. The film earned awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival