Trivia: Like his older brother, Keenan Ivory Wayans, African-American performer Damon Wayans matriculated from standup comedy to series television to movies. He was a regular on TV's Saturday Night Live and -- along with virtually everyone else in the Wayans family -- In Living Color. Exhibiting a fondness for the outrageous, Wayans attracted both adulation and condemnation for his many In Living Color characterizations, notably the dour Homey the Clown and the excessively effeminate co-host of the "Men on Film" skits. Damon's first film was 1984's Beverly Hills Cop 2; he has since functioned as co-star (with brother Marlon Wayans), co-producer, co-writer, and director of Mo' Money (1992), and has been heard but not seen as the voice of a troublesome baby in Look Who's Talking 2 (1992). In 1995, Damon Wayans played a role once essayed by Charlton Heston, in Major Payne, a remake of Heston's The Private War of Major Benson (1955).

Trivia: With a prematurely grizzled image enhanced by a dash of post-grunge earthiness, rugged young athlete-turned-actor Clayne Crawford maintains a staunchly anti-Hollywood glitz outlook, having made his film debut in a pair of quirky independent features before moving on to such teen films as A Walk to Remember and Swimfan (both 2002). An Alabama native who initially moved to Los Angeles in hopes of playing baseball at U.C.L.A., Crawford found himself questioning the reality of his dream when he was sidelined by an injury that ended his career on the diamond and found him seeking work in construction. After witnessing the ease with which his friends found commercial work, the onetime baseball hopeful opted to eschew concrete pouring in favor of being in front of the cameras. Though success was by no means immediate, it wasn't long before Crawford met actress Sunny Mabrey while working in a local theater. After finding out the two grew up a mere 20 minutes from one another, the aspiring actors became inseparable and eventually engaged. By Crawford's account, it was the exact day that he decided to let rejection roll down his back that he was offered a substantial role in the independent drama Gas Station Jesus (2001). After appearing in the I Am Legend-inspired horror-thriller One Blood Planet that same year, Crawford's newfound success found him landing roles in A Walk to Remember and Swimfan before turning up alongside Al Pacino in 2003's The Recruit.

Trivia: Texan Kevin Rahm's screen-acting career started off with a number of small television guest roles before he landed a spot as a regular on the second season of the short-lived Christina Applegate vehicle Jesse in 1999. In 2001, he joined the cast of the legal drama Judging Amy and continued to appear on the show into its fifth season. Following his exit from Judging Amy, Rahm could be seen in a supporting role in the 2004 remake of Alfie, as well as several guest appearances on TV shows ranging from Grey's Anatomy to CSI. In 2007, Rahm joined the cast of ABC's hit series Desperate Housewives, staying with the series until the end, in 2012.. In 2010, he began playing the recurring role of Ted Chaough, one of the partners of the rival firm CGC on AMC's Mad Men. Rahm was promoted to a series regular in the show's sixth season.

Trivia: A young actress with dark-haired good looks and a strong personality, Jordana Brewster was born in Panama City, Panama, on April 26, 1980; her father, Alden Brewster, is a successful investment banker, while her mother, Maria Jaao, is a former model whose resumé includes an appearance in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Mr. Brewster's career dictated a certain amount of traveling, so Jordana lived in London, England, until age six, then spent four years in Rio de Janeiro, before settling in New York City at age ten. While studying at the New York Professional Children's School, Jordana was bitten by the acting bug, and at the age of 15 she landed the role of Nikki Graves on the soap opera As the World Turns. The same year, Jordana was also cast in a supporting role on another soap, All My Children; her run on All My Children was less than a year, but she continued to appear on As the World Turns until 1998. 1998 also marked Jordana's big-screen debut as the sharp-tongued Delilah in the teen horror opus The Faculty, while a year later she was cast in a showy role in the popular miniseries The '60s. After graduating from high school, Jordana was accepted at Yale, but took time off from her studies to resume her acting career, appearing in two films in 2001, including the box-office blockbuster The Fast and the Furious. While subsequent roles in D.E.B.S. and Annapolis found the emerging actress climbing the credits list with impressive ease, the fact that both films went laregely unseen after receiving only lukewarm reception did little to slow the determined Brewster down. In 2006 the actress prepared to do battle with one of the most notorious villains in screen history as she took an ill-advised turn down an unmarked road in the horror sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. She returned to the role of Mia Toretto in 2009's Fast & Furious and continued to appear in subsequent sequels in the series. In 2012, she took on a series-regular TV role in the revival of Dallas, which lasted for three seasons. Brewster played Denise Brown, Nicole Brown's sister, in the 2016 series American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson. She returned to network TV later that year, in the film-to-TV adaptation of Lethal Weapon.

Trivia: When the sensual and alluring African-American actress Keesha Sharp first came to national attention in the early 2000s, she did so via a series of bit roles in urban comedies and dramas, such as the goofy Lance Crouther-headlined superhero farce Pootie Tang (2001) and Laurice Guillen's ethnic ensemble piece American Adobo (2002). Following small appearances in the 2003 duds Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood and Malibu's Most Wanted, Sharp signed for her most prominent turn, that of Monica in the syndicated series Girlfriends. She could also be seen in a recurring role on the family sitcom Everybody Hates Chris starting in 2005.

Trivia: His father is from Honduras and his mother from Colombia.Moved to the Poconos in Pennsylvania with his family when he was seven.Started doing comedy while attending college.Moved to New York City after his college graduation, where he began to work in television production and study at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.Is a member of Homes4Families, a Non-profit organization that helps homeless veterans.

Trivia: Moved to Los Angeles when she was one year old.Started dancing at the age of three and is trained in tap dance, ballet, contemporary dance, jazz dance and hip-hop.Studied dance at Debbie Allen Dance Academy, the Los Angeles Ballet Academy and the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C.Started acting at the age of nine and studied at Marnie Cooper School of Acting in Los Angeles.Began training in martial arts at 10 and at 13 got her first degree black belt.In April 2015, qualified for the Youth America Grand Prix with her dance troupe.Was homeschooled through an independent extension of a high school.In May 2018, was admitted in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).Co-founder of Chandler's Friends, an organization that helps disadvantaged youths.

Trivia: Actress Hilarie Burton launched herself out of obscurity and into celebrity by winning a national competition. In 2000 -- as a student at Fordham University, a Jesuit college in New York -- Burton signed up for a Total Request Live contest to interview celebs at the annual MTV Music Video Awards. Because that position reportedly brought with it some disparaging treatment at the hands of obnoxious celebrities, it toughened Burton up; that spunk, when coupled with Burton's genial on-camera presence and photogenic qualities, paved the way for an acting career, doubtless made possible by the exposure of the MTV gig. The WB's popular drama series One Tree Hill marked Burton's most first major endeavor; she played Peyton Sawyer, a gorgeous teenager who is attracted to the lower-middle-class but warm-hearted local boy Lucas (Chad Michael Murray). Meanwhile, the actress also managed to branch off into films as well, starting with a plum role in Cameron Watson's beautifully crafted, small-town Miramax drama Our Very Own (2005). Burton later worked for Beth Schacter in that director's teen-oriented comedy Normal Adolescent Behavior (2007) and for Blair Witch helmer Daniel Myrick in his supernatural thriller Solstice. In 2008, Burton scored her first major Hollywood film role, playing Deborah Owens, opposite Dakota Fanning and others, in the high-profile movie adaptation The Secret Life of Bees, based on the best-selling Sue Monk Kidd novel.

Trivia: The slightly gritty and wizened Cuban-American actor Tony Plana boasts a resumé that is no less than extraordinary. Whatever the limitations of Hispanic typecasting, Plana soared high above them from the time of his debut in the early '80s, seeking out roles in several of Hollywood's most respected and venerable films -- ethnically themed and otherwise. He first culled attention as Rudy in Luis Valdez's stylized, theatrical period piece Zoot Suit (1981), starring a then-unknown Edward James Olmos. Plana's subsequent efforts read like a best-of early-'80s cinema; he tackled An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Love and Money (1982), Valley Girl (1983), and El Norte (1983), all within a few years of one another. Plana was particularly effective as Fr. Manuel Morantes in John Duigan's wondrous, overlooked biopic Romero (1989, about archbishop and activist Oscar Romero) and as Carlos Bringuier in Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). In the 2000s, Plana unveiled a heightened interest in television, gracing the casts of such series as Ally McBeal and The Drew Carey Show as an occasional guest performer. Plana is best known to younger viewers, however, for two small-screen portrayals: that of cutthroat terrorist Omar in 24, and -- on a very different note, Ignacio -- the widower dad of the title character -- on the comedy drama Ugly Betty. Educationally, Plana trained in the drama programs at Loyola Marymount University and London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He made the leap from acting to directing with two projects: A Million to Juan (1994, co-helmed with Paul Rodriguez) and The Princess and the Barrio Boy (2000). The latter constitutes Plana's directorial debut. It tells of a young well-to-do Hispanic woman (Marisol Nichols) who bucks convention by falling for a working-class boy, and simultaneously attempts to stand in the way of her father's marriage to a wicked lover.

Trivia: Drove trucks for the army before becoming an actor. Tried to resist the urge to become an actor because he felt it was an impractical career choice. Performed in Shakespeare tours after graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Is a regular presenter on the Australian children's show Play School.

Trivia: Is of Puerto Rican and Peruvian-Japanese heritage. Has practiced martial arts since she was a teenager and holds a fourth-degree green belt in karate. Made her big-screen debut in 1997's Academy Boyz. Best known for her role as Anna Taggaro on CW's One Tree Hill. Supports animal rights through organizations like PETA.

Trivia: Made his stage acting debut when he was 10 in a community theater production of the musical Oliver!Moved to New York to pursue an acting career making ends meet by working as a doorman at New York's Wellington Hotel.First professional acting job was in a 1986 Pepsi commercial that was Miami Vice-themed and directed by Ridley Scott.Was previously vice president of the Screen Actors Guild.Was the founding executive vice president of SAG-AFTRA.