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Amanda Peet was born and raised in New York City. She is the daughter of Penny (Levy), a social worker, and Charles Peet, a lawyer, and has an older sister. Her father was of mostly English and German ancestry, and her mother was from a Jewish family (from Germany, Russia, and Hungary). Peet's great-grandfathers were politician Samuel Levy and showbiz impresario S.L. Rothafel.

Peet made an unconventional stage debut at the age of three, when she jumped onto the stage during a play. Yet, despite this early start, she later studied acting more as a hobby than anything else. She studied history at Columbia University, where a drama professor convinced her to audition for acting teacher Uta Hagen, with whom she later went on to study for a four-year period. During this time, she participated in the off-Broadway revival of Clifford Odets' "Awake and Sing." She supported herself during the audition phase of her career by working as a waitress and with the residual checks she received from a Skittles candy commercial. Perseverance and hard work paid off, and, in 1995, she was cast in a guest-starring role on the hit series Law & Order (1990).

Her feature film debut came in 1995 with the movie Animal Room (1995). For a while afterward, Amanda continued to find steady work but also found herself appearing in a depressingly large number of indie films that were never picked up for distribution. She did, however, meet her boyfriend Brian Van Holt on the set of indie movie Whipped (2000). Her turn as the ditzy hit-woman with the heart of gold in the hit comedy The Whole Nine Yards (2000), opposite Bruce Willis, took her from supporting role status to leading lady. That same year she was voted one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by "People" Magazine.

De Oliveira was born in Toronto, Ontario, to a family of Brazilian origin. She began a modeling career at the age of 14, but she always knew she wanted to be an actress. She studied drama and dance at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, and once she went to college, she finally acquired an acting agent.

Jedidiah Goodacre was born on 11 January 1989 in Petrolia, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor, known for Legacies (2018), Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018) and Finding You (2020).

Poppy Liu is a bilingual, first generation Chinese American actress born in Xi'An, China and raised between Minnesota and Shanghai.

Poppy began performing at age 4. Her early performance background began with traditional Chinese dance which she performed for 10 years from childhood through early adolescence. At age 14 Poppy moved to Shanghai with her family where she began studying theater. Upon moving to New York in her early 20's, Poppy became active in New York's downtown theater and puppetry scenes.

Poppy's entry into film began with a number of collaborations with Chinese American and women indie filmmakers. In 2016 Poppy produced her first narrative short film Names of Women (2017) which she toured around the country speaking at numerous college campuses and conferences. In 2017 Poppy and her collaborators began producing Mercy Mistress (2018), a viral web series based on the memoirs of a Chinese American professional dominatrix in which Poppy stars as the title character Mistress Yin.

In the fall of 2018 Poppy made her network television debut on NBC's New Amsterdam (2018). In 2019 Poppy appeared as a series regular on NBC's Sunnyside (2019) and was recognized as one of 'Fall TV Breakout Stars' by TVLine, and in 2021 Poppy broke out in the critically-acclaimed, award-winning HBO Max series Hacks (2021).

Kyle Egan Richards was born in Los Angeles, California to Kathleen Mary Dugan and Kenneth Edwin Richards, a business executive. Ken died in 1998. Kathleen was diagnosed with breast cancer the same year, and passed away in March of 2002. Kyle, like her sister Kim, began acting at a very young age. She made many appearances on Little House on the Prairie (1974) as Alicia Sanderson Edwards.

Kyle has four daughters: Farrah (from her previous marriage to Guraish Aldjufrie), and Alexia, Sophia and Portia from her marriage to real estate agent Mauricio Umansky.

King appeared in several short films before landing guest roles on the CBS procedurals Blue Bloods and Person of Interest. Her big break came in 2012 when she was cast as new surgical intern Cassandra Kopelson on the CW drama Emily Owens, M.D. The series was canceled after a single season in 2013. She later starred in the Amazon Studios comedy pilot The Onion Presents: The News. King also played Wendell Pierce's daughter Abigayle in the independent film Four, released on September 13, 2013. Along with her castmates, she won a Los Angeles Film Festival Award for her role in this movie.

In 2014, King had a recurring role in the ABC drama series Black Box, and was later cast as one of the leads in the Shonda Rhimes' legal thriller How to Get Away with Murder.

Marc graduated Girard High School in 1990. Marc played basketball throughout high school and his senior year. Because of his athletic ability, Marc went on full scholarship to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem North Carolina. After college, he played one year in Europe for the Manchester Giants.

His acting break came when the producers of Eddie (1996) needed a baby-faced kid that could play basketball.

Phyllis Logan was born on 11 January 1956 in Paisley, Scotland, UK. She is an actress, known for Secrets & Lies (1996), Another Time, Another Place (1983) and Downton Abbey (2010). She has been married to Kevin McNally since 15 August 2011. They have one child.

Suave and handsome Australian actor arrived in Hollywood in the 1950s, and built himself up from a supporting actor into taking the lead in several well-remembered movies. Arguably his most fondly remembered role was that as George (Herbert George Wells), the inventor, in George Pal's spectacular The Time Machine (1960). As the movie finished with George, and his best friend Filby Alan Young seemingly parting forever, both actors were brought back together in 1993 to film a 30-minute epilogue to the original movie! Taylor's virile, matinée idol looks also assisted him in scoring the lead of Mitch Brenner in Alfred Hitchcock's creepy thriller The Birds (1963), the role of Jane Fonda's love interest in Sunday in New York (1963), the title role in John Ford's biopic of Irish playwright Sean O'Casey in Young Cassidy (1965), and a co-starring role in The Train Robbers (1973) with John Wayne. Taylor also appeared as Bette Davis future son-in-law in the well-received film The Catered Affair (1956). He also gave a sterling performance as the German-American Nazi Major trying to fool James Garner in 36 Hours (1964). Later, Taylor made many westerns and action movies during the 1960s and 1970s; however, none of these were much better than "B" pictures and failed to push his star to the next level. Additionally, Taylor was cast as the lead in several TV series including Bearcats! (1971), Masquerade (1983), and Outlaws (1986); however, none of them truly ignited viewer interest, and they were cancelled after only one or two seasons. Most fans would agree that Rod Taylor's last great role was in the wonderful Australian film The Picture Show Man (1977), about a travelling sideshow bringing "moving pictures" to remote towns in the Australian outback.

Rockmond Dunbar was born on 11 January 1973 in Berkeley, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Sons of Anarchy (2008) and The Family That Preys (2008). He has been married to Maya Dunbar since 8 June 2013. They have two children. He was previously married to Ivy Holmes.

Tetona Jackson was born on 11 January 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for All Night (2018), Severed Road and Maximum Ride (2016).

As of her debut in South Korean films, Ye-jin Son became one of the stars of Chungmoore, the Korean Hollywood, notably appearing in the beautiful "Drunk on Women and Poetry" by the master Kwan-taek Im. In "April Snow", directed by Jin-ho Hur (2005), she questioned her pure innocent girl image, playing to perfection an ordinary housewife confronted to tragedy and to an unexpected love story.

Devin Ratray was born on 11 January 1977 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Nebraska (2013), R.I.P.D. (2013) and Masterminds (2015).

Dawn Lyn made her acting debut at age four in the low-budget, independent Cry Blood, Apache (1970). It wasn't until she was 12 that she discovered she had played a Native American boy in the movie. She was the original Prudence in the pilot for Nanny and the Professor (1970) TV series. By the time the pilot sold at the last minute, Dawn had already been released from her contract and cast as Dodie in My Three Sons (1960), and the producers of "Nanny and the Professor" unsuccessfully sued in an attempt to get her back. She worked steadily, financially supporting her family, until she was in her mid-teens; she says her petite stature began to work against her instead of for her, as it had when she was a child.

Dawn decided to branch out professionally, instead of concentrating on acting, and has done many things over the years, including co-owning a boutique on Pier 39 when she lived in San Francisco. People often ask her if she will act again; her answer is that while she has not actively pursued roles, that door is not closed.

American character actor born in Cincinnati and raised in Louisville, Mitchell Ryan was a well known supporting actor in films and television. Joined the Navy in 1951 at age 17 and was later assigned to the Special Services Entertainment and became hooked on acting. After his term in the Navy, he appeared in dozens of plays until he received notice as playing a regular in TV's Dark Shadows (1966).

Beginning in the 1970s, he received work in motion pictures including Monte Walsh (1970), Magnum Force (1973) and in Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter (1973). He had a small part in Universal's Midway (1976) and returned to act in numerous soaps and television series, among them included a recurring guest role in Having Babies (1978), Executive Suite (1976), The Chisholms (1979) and All My Children (1970) and a growing list of television films and TV guest appearances.

He may have been best-known for portraying the villain that Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are after in Lethal Weapon (1987), but his career included several supporting roles in the past ten years including Judge Dredd (1995), Michael Myers' nemesis in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Liar Liar (1997) (with Jim Carrey), and as Harrison Ford's chief out to get Brad Pitt in the film The Devil's Own (1997).

Jason Connery has appeared in over 30 films, television movies and series, combined, since his breakthrough role as "Robin Hood" in the UK television series Robin Hood (1984) in 1985.

The son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento, Connery grew up in London and Scotland. He attended boarding school at Somerset, where he received a half-scholarship for swimming and held the under-16 freestyle record for the south of England. Connery's interest in acting developed while studying at the Gordonstoun School for Boys in the north of Scotland. He started the Inter-House Players Group - wherein two houses combine to put on one play each term. Connery also took on directing duties and directed fellow classmate Prince Edward (aka Prince Edward) in "Hotel Paradiso". Connery was accepted to The Bristol Old Vic Drama School and, one year later, to Perth Repertory Company in Scotland. For six months, he did weekly repertory work, acted, and worked as the assistant stage manager in an effort to earn his Equity card. He worked hard, rehearsing one play by day and performing another by night, learning as much as he could along the way.

His big break came in 1985 when he took over the role of "Robin Hood" in the popular UK television series "Robin of Sherwood" (1984). The role launched him to stardom in England and he remains a cult favorite with the show's passionate fans. He has since had starring roles in feature films including Return of the Thief of Baghdad (1999), Private Moments (2005), Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001), Requiem (2001), Shanghai Noon (2000), Bullet to Beijing (1995), Urban Ghost Story (1998) and Macbeth (1997). He has also starred in television movies (Merlin (1998) and Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming (1990)) and series (Smallville (2001), Liberty's Kids (2002) and Shoebox Zoo (2004)).

In 1996, he married actress Mia Sara and they have one son, Dashiell Connery. The couple divorced in 2002. He is most proud of his role as father to Dashiell Quinn Connery, whom he refers to as "the most wonderful person I know". Connery now resides in Los Angeles and spends every bit of free time with his son. Connery feels that, as an actor, he continues to grow because every job is a new and exciting challenge. He credits his mother and father, who inspire him in many ways, for his drive and his ability to survive and persevere in an unpredictable business. He is also inspired by live theatre - an inspirational journey unique to performance, in one moment, with one audience - that will never be duplicated. Most importantly, it is his son who inspires him to be a loving, nurturing human being and to hold close what is dear in life. Through affiliations with Coventry University's new filmmaking facility and the "Independent Filmmakers Group", he is working to educate and support the next generation of filmmakers. He recently wrapped Shoebox Zoo (2004) in the UK after two seasons and has completed three films in America - Hoboken Hollow (2006), The Far Side of Jericho (2006) and Night Skies (2007). After achieving success as an actor for two decades, Connery is working behind the cameras with his recently formed production company, "Unconditional Entertainment". The company, headed by Connery and Ricki Maslar, currently has several projects in development for film and television. "Unconditional" has announced Connery's directorial debut with the film Pandemic (2009).

Alfonso Arau has had a long and fruitful career both in front of and behind the camera and is one of the most prominent Latino film-makers in Hollywood. He was a drama disciple of Seki Sano--a Japanese teacher, classmate of Lee Strasberg with Konstantin Stanislavski in Russia--and traveled the world from 1964 to 1968 with his one-man show, "Pantomime Happy Madness", after studying with Etienne Decroux and Jacques Lecoq in Paris.

A renowned writer-producer-director-actor in theater and film for more than twenty years, in 1969 he directed his first feature film, El águila descalza (1971), in which he also starred. He has directed many films in Mexico, among them Inspector Calzonzin (1974) and Mojado Power (1981). He has received six Arieles--the Mexican equivalent of the Oscar--and numerous international film awards.

Arau has acted in a number of Mexican and Hollywood films, including The Wild Bunch (1969), El Topo (1970), Mojado Power (1981), Used Cars (1980), Romancing the Stone (1984), Three Amigos! (1986) and Committed (2000). In addition to Like Water for Chocolate (1992), his directing credits include A Walk in the Clouds (1995) with Keanu Reeves and Picking Up the Pieces (2000) with Woody Allen. For television he has done The Magnificent Ambersons (2001), based on the script of Orson Welles' film version (The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)) and the novel by Booth Tarkington.

Melanie attended RADA in London where she won the Vanburgh Award. Her stage plays have included Women Beware Women (Royal Court), Under Milk Wood, Selfish Shellfish, Twelfth Night, Deathtrap, Dirty Linen, Breezeblock Park, Who Killed Hilda Murrell?, Fire in the Lake, and the stage version of Bread (1986). She's best known as Aveline in the British TV series Bread (1986). Other TV appearances include Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983) (Hazel), Juliet Bravo (1980), The Bill (1984), A Night on the Tyne (1989) and Boon (1986). Melanie has two young daughters, Lorna and Molly.

Tom Ward was born on 11 January 1971 in Swansea, Wales, UK. He is an actor, known for The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells (2001), The Lost World (2001) and Quills (2000). He has been married to Emily Hohler since 2001. They have three children.

Teo was born Mateo Justis Briones in Oxford, England while his parents were on tour. His father is the Filipino actor/singer Jon Jon Briones and his mother is an American actress/singer. His sister Isa Briones is also an actress/singer. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of 3 and began acting and modeling at 5. He is a musician, playing guitar, bass and drums. He also does martial arts- XMA, Karate, gymnastics, acrobatics and cinematic marital arts.

After completing a BA in business studies at the University of Strathclyde, in his home city of Glasgow, he went on to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and has worked extensively in theatre film and television in both the UK and the USA Having first come to prominence in Channel 4's cult hit "The Book Group" ,he has since had recurring roles in many well known, much loved and award winning series such as "Happy Valley", " Undercover" ,"The Village", "Frankie", "No Angels" and "Clocking Off" In the US he starred alongside Lily Taylor in Lifetime's 'State of Mind' and is also known for the role of Stuart in series 2 and 3 of ABC's "Ugly Betty"

Olivia Barash began her work in the entertainment industry at the age of five. During her early years of acting, singing and dancing in classic musicals on stage in New York, Olivia starred as "Baby June" in Gypsy with Angela Lansbury. She was the first child actor to win the acclaimed New York Critics Circle Award. Moving to Hollywood to expand her acting experience, Olivia's career took on a new turn in television and feature films. One of her most memorable roles, the controversial character "Sylvia" in Little House On The Prairie, propelled her to receive consideration for an Emmy nomination. That led to the female lead role of "Leila" in the cult film classic, Repo Man. Olivia was then written into the hit T.V. series: Fame. Evolving as an indie film actor, she worked with a range of Hollywood greats including Robert Downey, Jr. and Johnny Depp. In between acting gigs, Depp hired Olivia as the in house promoter of his nightclub, The Viper Room. Crossing over as a songwriter/singer, she signed with Warner Chappell Music, placing her original songs in motion pictures such as Oliver Stone's, The Doors. Now bringing together her diverse experience, she began developing scripts and raising finance for indie films. Barash brought forward her own production company with record producer, Dave Jerden. Original Pixel Cowboys launched Olivia's animated/live action series starring dogs, BarkvilleTV. Jukin Media brought Olivia on board to direct and write content for The Pet Collective and Jukin's first branded content campaign for Mattel. Barash continues to create new content and is getting back in front of the camera. See less

Kim Coles was born on 11 January 1962 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Living Single (1993), Frasier (1993) and The Geena Davis Show (2000). She was previously married to Reggie Mckiver and Aton Edwards.

Kaliko Kauahi was born in Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii, USA. Kaliko is an actor, known for Superstore (2015).

Lionel Stander, the movie character actor with the great gravelly voice, was born on January 11th, 1908 in The Bronx borough of New York City. Stander's acting career was derailed when he was blacklisted during the 1950s after being exposed as a Communist Party member during the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings. In his own HUAC testimony in May 1953, Stander denounced HUAC's use of informers, particularly those with mental problems.

Stander specialized in playing lovable hoodlums and henchmen and assorted acerbic, hard-boiled types. His physique was burly and brutish, and his head featured a square-jaw beneath a coarse-featured pan that was lightened by his charm. But it was his gruff, foghorn voice that made his fortune.

Stander attended the University of North Carolina, but after making his stage debut at the age of 19, he decided to give up college for acting. Along with a successful stage career, his unusual voice made him ideal for radio. His movie screen debut was in the comedy short Salt Water Daffy (1933) with Jack Haley and Shemp Howard. He went on to star in a number of two-reel comedy shorts produced at Vitaphone's Brooklyn studio before moving to Hollywood in 1935, where he appeared as a character actor in many A-list features such as Nothing Sacred (1937).

John Howard Lawson, the screenwriter who was one of the Hollywood Ten and who served as the Communist Party's cultural commissar in Hollywood, held up Stander as the model of a committed communist actor who enhanced the class struggle through his performances. In the movie No Time to Marry (1938), which had been written by Party member Paul Jarrico, Stander had whistled a few bars of the "Internationale" while waiting for an elevator.

Stander thought that the scene would be cut from the movie, but it remained in the picture because "they were so apolitical in Hollywood at the time that nobody recognized the tune".

Stander had a long history of supporting left-wing causes. He was an active member of the Popular Front from 1936-39, a broad grouping of left-wing organizations dedicated to fighting reactionaries at home and fascism abroad. Stander wrote of the time, "We fought on every front because we realized that the forces of reaction and Faciscm fight democracy on every front. We, too, have been forced, therefore, to organize in order to combat them on every front: politically through such organizations as the Motion Picture Democratic Committee; economically through our guilds and unions; socially, and culturally through such organizations as the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League."

The Front disintegrated when the U.S.S.R. signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, which engendered World War II by giving the Nazis the get-go to invade Poland (with the Soviet Union invading from the East). The Communist Party-USA dropped out of the Front and from anti-Nazi activities, and during the early days of the War, before Germany invaded the U.S.S.R. in June 1941, it tried to hamper US support for the UK under the aegis of supporting "peace," including calling strikes in defense plants. Many communists, such as Elia Kazan, dropped out of the Party after this development, but many others stayed. These were the Stalinists that the American non-communist left grew to despise, and eventually joined with the right to destroy, though much of their antipathy after 1947-48 was generated by a desire to save themselves from the tightening noose of reaction.

Melvyn Douglas, a prominent liberal whose wife Helen Gahagan Douglas would later be a U.S. Representative from California (and would lose her bid for the Senate to a young Congressman named Richard Nixon, who red-baited her as "The Pink Lady"), had resisted Stander's attempts to recruit him to the Party. "One night, Lionel Stander kept me up until dawn trying to sell me the Russian brand of Marxism and to recruit me for the Communist Party. I resisted. I had always been condemnatory of totalitarianism and I made continual, critical references to the U.S.S.R. in my speeches. Members of the Anti-Nazi League would urge me to delete these references and several conflicts ensued."

Douglas, his wife, and other liberals were not adverse to cooperating with Party members and fellow travelers under the aegis of the MPDC, working to oppose fascism and organize relief for the Spanish Republic. They believed that they could minimize Communist Party influence, and were heartened by the fact that the Communists had joined the liberal, patriotic, anti-fascist bandwagon. Their tolerance of Communists lasted until the Soviet-Nazi Pact of August 1939. That, and the invasion of Poland by the Nazis and the USSR shattered the Popular Front.

Stander had been subpoenaed by the very first House Un-American Activities Committee inquisition in Hollywood, in 1940, when it was headed by Texas Congressman Martin Dies. The Dies Committee had succeeded in abolishing the Federal Theatre Project of the Works Progress Administration as a left-wing menace in 1939 (the FTP had put on a revival of Lawson's play about the exploitation of miners, "Prcessional," that year in New York). The attack on the FTP had been opposed by many liberals in Hollywood. Stung by the criticisms of Hollywood, the Dies Committee decided to turn its attention on Hollywood itself.

Sending investigators to Hollywood, Dies' HUAC compiled a long-list of subversives, including Melvyn Douglas. John L. Leech, a police agent who had infiltrated the Communist Party before being expelled in 1937, presented a list of real and suspected communists to a Los Angeles County grand jury, which also subpoenaed Stander. The testimony was leaked, and the newspapers reported that Stander, along with such prominent Hollywood liberals as James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Frederic March and Francot Tone, had been identified as communists.

Committee chairman Dies offered all of the people named as communists the opportunity to clear themselves if they would cooperate with him in executive session. Only one of the named people did not appear, and Stander was the only one to appear who was not cleared. Subsequently, he was fired by his studio, Republic Pictures.

Stander was then subpoenaed to testify before the California Assembly's Committee on Un-American Activities, along with John Howard Lawson, the union leader John Sorrell and others. During the strike led by Sorrell's militant Conference of Student Unions against the studios in 1945, Stander was the head of a group of progressives in the Screen Actors Guild who supported the CSU and lobbied the guild to honor its picket lines. They were outvoted by the more conservative faction headed by Robert Montgomery, George Murphy and Ronald Reagan. The SAG membership voted 3,029 to 88 to cross the CSU picket-line.

Stander continued to work after being fired by Republic. He appeared in Hangmen Also Die! (1943), a film about the Nazi Reinhard Heydrich, who was assassinated by anti-fascists. After the bitter CSU strike, which was smeared as being communist-inspired by the studios, HUAC once again turned its gaze towards Hollywood, starting two cycles of inquisitions in 1947 and 1951. The screenwriter Martin Berkeley, who set a record by naming 155 names before the the second round of Committee hearings, testified that Stander had introduced him to the militant labor union leader Harry Bridges, long suspected of being a communist, whom Stander called "comrade".

After being blacklisted, Stander worked as a broker on Wall Street and appeared on the stage as a journeyman actor. He returned to the movies in Tony Richardson's The Loved One (1965), and he began his career anew as a character actor, appearing in many films, including Roman Polanski's Cul-de-sac (1966) and Martin Scorsese's New York, New York (1977). Other movies he appeared in included Promise Her Anything (1966), The Black Bird (1975), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), 1941 (1979), Cookie (1989) and The Last Good Time (1994), his final theatrical film.

Stander is best remembered for playing Max on TV's Hart to Hart (1979) (1979-84) with Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, a role he reprised in a series of "Hart to Hart" TV movies. Stander also appeared on Wagner's earlier TV series It Takes a Thief (1968) and on the HBO series Dream On (1990).

Lionel Stander died of lung cancer on November 30, 1994 in Los Angeles, California. He was 86 years old.