A handsome, dark-haired Irish actor with an intense screen presence, Colin Farrell shot to fame in the USA as a cagey army recruit with a penchant for troublemaking in "Tigerland" (2000). Like so many actors who seem to achieve overnight stardom, the Dublin-born actor had paid his dues with film and TV roles. Raised in the Castleknock section of Dublin, this son of a soccer player admits to a somewhat rebellious youth, attending several schools and indulging in beer drinking. After spending a year in Australia, he returned to Ireland and enrolled at the Gaiety School of Acting but left after a year when his career began to take off. Farrell landed his first film role in "Drinking Crude" (1997) and the following year had a supporting role in the period TV drama "Falling For a Dancer" (aired in the USA on Romance Classics). He then landed the regular role of Danny Byrne on the popular Irish series "Ballykissangel", which he played for two seasons.

 A vibrant, toothpick-thin comedian, actor and writer whose stand-up material has often dared to take on the African-American establishment yet found the universality in the American experience, Chris Rock became the favored comic de jour after distinguishing himself on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" from 1990-93. He later headlined two HBO specials and launched his own talk show "The Chris Rock Show" on HBO in 1997.

 In an age when celebrities seem willing to confess every and all of their foibles and failings, Chris O'Donnell seems like an anomaly. Variously labeled by the press as "The Last Boy Scout" or "Mr. Squeaky Clean", he is an actor whose ordinary, decent personal life has translated to the screen in wholesome, regular guy roles. Blandly attractive, but possessing enough gravity to be a compelling screen presence, he has provided able support to some of cinema's powerful personalities (e.g., Jessica Lange, Al Pacino) as well as proving a successful light comedian, It was only when he attempted to translate his straight-laced, preppy persona and instinctual approach to performing into a dramatic leading man (as in 1997's "The Chamber") that he stumbled.

This 16th "James Bond girl" followed in the spike-heeled footsteps of female actors as diverse as Ursula Andress, Jill St John, Jane Seymour and Joanna Lumley (as well as more than a few whose names are long-forgotten). A geologist's daughter, the New York-born Lowell grew up in Libya, Holland, Virginia and Texas. By the time she was a fine-featured high school graduate, she had been signed by the Ford modeling agency and was posing for Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein while attending college.

 A statuesque brunette of Irish descent, Bridget Moynahan first turned heads as Mr. Big’s fresh-faced wife Natasha on “Sex and the City” (HBO, 1998-2004) before landing roles in some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. A natural beauty, Moynahan began her career as a model, appearing in a number of fashion magazines. Shifting her career towards acting, she went on to land starring roles in such high profile flicks as “The Sum of All Fears” (2002), “The Recruit” (2003) and “I, Robot” (2004).

Handsome, with chiseled, smooth looks and deep olive skin, Benjamin Bratt became known to TV viewers in 1995 when he joined the hit NBC series "Law & Order" in its sixth season, creating the role of Reyaldo 'Rey' Curtis, whose mestizo ancestry--mixed Latino-Indian and German background--matched Bratt's own. His character on the series, a family-oriented younger cop with conservative values, provided a marked contrast to the older, more liberal and cynical Det. Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach).

Actor, writer, and director Ben Affleck hit the Hollywood radar in 1997 as the co-writer and co-star of “Good Will Hunting,” earning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay along with childhood best friend Matt Damon. In fact, the seemingly overnight ascent to stardom in tandem with Damon, became one of the great “Hollywood” stories” of all time – right up there with Lana Turner being discovered at Schwab’s Drugstore.

 espite a Quaker upbringing, actress Amanda Peet has depicted some wildly offbeat—and often risqué—characters throughout her career. Born in New York, NY on January 11, 1972, Peet attended the Friends Seminary until she was 7-years-old, when her family moved to London. Four years later, the family returned to New York where Peet continued her Quaker education before attending Columbia University where she earned a degree in American History.

 An intense, precise and authoritative performer, Alec Baldwin went from being an often uninspiring leading man to being a highly sought-after character actor, whose breezy charm and sharp comic timing allowed him to often elevate mediocre fare. Born on April 3, 1958 in Amityville, NY and the eldest male in a brood of six that included actors Daniel, Stephen and William as well as non-actors Carol and Elizabeth Baldwin was interested in politics prior to acting, attending Georgetown University where he studied political science and ran a failed campaign for student body president.