A statuesque Danish beauty, Connie Nielsen has lent her considerable talents to parts that have cast her as everything from Satan's spawn to an astronaut to an emperor's daughter. Regardless of the role or the quality of the script, she has managed to transcend the limitations and delivered memorable full-bodied performances. Raised in a small coastal village in Denmark, Nielsen became enamored with movies at a young age through weekly visits at the local movie theater. She was encouraged to pursue a theatrical career by her actress-writer mother, alongside whom she made her stage acting debut at age 15. Three years later, Nielsen moved to Paris to pursue a career and she further studied her craft in such far-flung locations as South Africa, NYC and Rome. Fluent in several languages, she easily found work in films produced in Italy and France and caught a break with the American made-for-cable movie "Voyage" (USA Network, 1993).

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.

 Well-known for his trademark rapid-fire wisecracks, actor-comedian Chris Tucker broke into movies in the mid-1990s, following a successful career in stand-up. After his scene-stealing turn in director F. Gary Gray’s 1995 cult comedy hit “Friday,” Tucker took on the role of his career as Jackie Chan’s comic foil and partner in the action-comedy, “Rush Hour” (1998). Thanks to the worldwide success of “Rush Hour,” Tucker became the fastest actor ever to make Hollywood’s elite “$20 Million Club” – a princely sum he received for appearing in the 2001 sequel. Despite wracking up a prolific flurry of credits at the start of his career, Tucker’s output slowed to a trickle by the early 2000s, limiting his film roles strictly to the “Rush Hour” franchise.

 A child star who enjoyed that rare successful transition to onscreen adulthood, Christina Ricci’s continuing film presence was aided in no small part by the fact that her early roles did not depend on dimpled cuteness, but on an unnerving maturity that suggested her characters were smarter than their adult counterparts. Ricci spent her teens as a gloomy, precocious lead in Goth-tinged big budget comedies and heavier independent dramas – all of which best showcased her flair for unconventional teen females burdened by fear and identity issues. As the actress matured, she enjoyed increasing respect from the art house crowd, but had difficulty translating her persona as an intelligent, tough-talking, yet vulnerable outsider into the limited confines of Hollywood female characters.

 Despite having all the necessary tools to become a star – looks, talent, presence – actor Christian Bale lacked one necessary ingredient at the start of his career: tolerance for being in the spotlight. After achieving instant celebrity after being tapped by Steven Spielberg to star in his epic period film, “Empire of the Sun” (1987), Bale suddenly discovered that he hated dealing with publicity. Instead of faking his way through interviews and junkets, he mentally bailed out, sometimes sitting through an entire session without answering, and occasionally flat out refusing to participate. But as he got older, he realized that the publicity aspect of acting was vital to his success, so he grew more and more comfortable with every new career landmark – “Little Women” (1994), “American Psycho” (2000) and “Batman Begins” (2005), chief among them.

Audiences paid up to see Samuel L. Jackson go nuts on his new neighbors in the thriller "Lakeview Terrace," which debuted as the weekend's No. 1 movie with $15 million.

Samuel L. Jackson ruled the North American box office for the second time this year, while moviegoers largely ignored three other new releases as overall weekend sales resumed their downward spiral.

Samuel L. Jackson ruled the North American box office for the second time this year, while moviegoers largely ignored three other new releases as overall weekend sales resumed their downward spiral.

Samuel L. Jackson ruled the weekend box office in North America for the second time this year with his crazy cop thriller "Lakeview Terrace," while moviegoers largely ignored three other new releases.

 A raffish performer whose relaxed style and working-class persona made him an indelible favorite during his star-making turn on the quirky detective series, “Moonlighting” (ABC, 1985-89), actor Bruce Willis used his cocky charm and insatiable will to become one of the biggest movie stars in the world. A surprisingly versatile performer, Willis hit his peak as an action hero during the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially as the star of the behemoth hit “Die Hard” (1988).