Trivia: Raven-haired Julianna Margulies may have become an award-winning TV star on NBC's phenomenally successful ER in the 1990s, but she was ready to exit the series to pursue movies and theater full time by decade's end. Born in Spring Valley, NY, Margulies spent part of her childhood living abroad before settling back in her hometown for a bohemian life with her free-spirit mother. Though she earned a B.A. in art history from Sarah Lawrence College, Margulies performed in college plays and decided to pursue an acting career. Margulies landed her first movie role in 1991, playing a prostitute in the Steven Seagal flick Out for Justice. With no more movie roles forthcoming, Margulies made a living with theater work and TV guest star stints on Law and Order and Homicide in the early '90s. Margulies subsequently landed a role in the pilot for Michael Crichton's new hospital drama ER in 1994, but her character was slated for death after that single episode. Due to a positive audience response, however, Margulies' compassionate Nurse Hathaway survived the pilot. During her six seasons on the most popular TV drama of the 1990s, Margulies won the Emmy and the SAG Award and became a perennial nominee. Buoyed by her TV fame, Margulies returned to films during her hiatuses, starring as the would-be victim of Bill Paxton's Irish con in Traveler (1996), a POW alongside Glenn Close and Cate Blanchett in the ensemble drama Paradise Road (1997), and as Matthew McConaughey's girlfriend in Richard Linklater's Western-esque bank robber saga The Newton Boys (1998). Continuing to avoid glossy big budget Hollywood fare in favor of a more independent sensibility, Margulies also appeared in Boaz Yakin's A Price Above Rubies (1998) and Gurinder Chadha's multiethnic Thanksgiving tale What's Cooking? (2000). Margulies finally took on a blockbuster of sorts when she voiced one of the pre-historic reptiles in the animated Dinosaur (2000). Despite an offer that would have made her one of the highest paid actresses on TV, Margulies announced in 2000 that six years of ER was enough. While Hathaway departed to a future with George Clooney's Dr. Ross, Margulies moved back to New York to hit the off-Broadway stage with Donald Sutherland in Ten Unknowns (2001). Margulies returned to the small-screen for the female-centric version of the King Arthur legend The Mists of Avalon, before appearing in The Man from Elysian Fields, and opposite Pierce Brosnan in the drama Evelyn. After an appearance in the horror film Ghost Ship, Margulies would not appear in another widely released motion picture until she landed one of the main parts in the 2006 summer phenomenon known simply as Snakes on a Plane. Three years later, the veteran actress was back on the small screen as the lead in The Good Wife -- a popular CBS series about a former litigator who returns to work following a public scandal involving her state attorney husband. Though her performance in the series earned Margulies a Best Lead Actress Emmy in 2010, the award that year went to Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer instead. But fans of the actress had good reason to hold out hope that she'd be a strong contender the next year as well, and indeed when the 2001 Emmy winners were announced Margulies emerged the victor.

Trivia: A veteran of film and television, Chris Noth is probably best known for his work on Law and Order and HBO's Sex and the City, the latter of which featured him as the charming but terminally untrustworthy Mr. Big, erstwhile boyfriend/bad habit of the series' heroine, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker). Hailing from Madison, WI, where he was born November 13, 1954, Noth moved around a lot throughout his childhood, living in England, Yugoslavia, and Spain. Returning to the States, he studied with the storied acting coach Stanford Meisner before being accepted into the prestigious Yale School of Drama.Noth got his start on the stage and in television performing at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT, and appearing in productions with theater companies across the country, including the Manhattan Theater Club and Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum. Working in television beginning in 1982, he did a number of shows before breaking into film with small parts in Off Beat (1986) and the Diane Keaton comedy Baby Boom (1987). Noth's big break came in 1989, when he was chosen to play Det. Mike Logan on Law and Order. Noth portrayed the young policeman for five seasons, winning both critical nods and fans, many of whom were saddened when his Law and Order contract was not renewed in 1995. Noth continued to work on television and did minor work in films such as Naked in New York (1994) before getting his next big break in the form of Sex and the City (1998). As Big, he was one of the few male characters who could hold his own in the presence of the series' strong female protagonists, played by Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Kristin Davis. The show proved to be an enormous critical and commercial hit, in the process winning Noth more fans. He would reprise the role for subsuquent big screen adaptations of the show, in addition to other films like My One and Only and Lovelace. Noth would also enoy successful turns on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, and Titanic: Blood and Steel.

Trivia: Designer label-clad force of nature, neurotic diva, and the owner of one of the most expansive mouths in the free world, Christine Baranski is one of the more distinctive actresses working on the stage and screen today. Known to television audiences for her portrayal of Cybill Shepard's brassy and unapologetically arrogant best friend on the sitcom Cybill, Baranski has also made a name for herself on the New York stage, where she has won a number of awards, and has worked as a character actress on a variety of films.Born in Buffalo, New York, on May 2, 1952, Baranski was influenced from a young age by her Polish grandparents, who were both actors. After studying acting at Julliard, she began working on the New York stage and on various TV shows, and made her film debut in 1982. The stage proved to be a particularly good medium for Baranski's talents; a staple of many New York productions, the actress earned Tony Awards and a number of other honors for her work in the Broadway productions of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and Neil Simon's Rumors. Usually cast as a supporting player onscreen, Baranski has done particularly notable work in Jeffrey (1995), in which she played a New York socialite; The Birdcage (1996), which featured her as the brassy mother of Robin Williams' grown son; and Cruel Intentions (1999), in which she did another hilarious turn as a New York socialite. In one of her rare excursions as a lead, Baranski gave a memorable performance as a struggling actress in Bowfinger (1999), sharing the screen with the likes of Steve Martin, Heather Graham, and Eddie Murphy.In 2002 Baranski appeared in the Best Picture Oscar winner Chicago, and she continued to work steadily on TV, in movies, and on stage appearing in projects as diverse as Eloise at the Plaza, Welcome to Mooseport, and the smash hit adaptation of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia! In 2009 she began work on the well-respected CBS drama series The Good Wife opposite Julianna Margulies.

Trivia: Endowed with the kind of dark, puppy-eyed, lanky looks that have often gotten him cast as sensitive, shy young men, actor Josh Charles first became known to audiences as sensitive, shy prep school boy Knox Overstreet in Dead Poets Society (1989). A native of Baltimore, where he was born September 15, 1971, Charles made his entrance into acting through stand-up comedy, which he began performing at the age of eight. He made his film debut in fellow-native son John Waters' Hairspray (1988), and following the success of Dead Poets Society the next year, earned a reputation as a member of the '90s version of the Brat Pack.Charles' subsequent film appearances were sporadic and in projects of wildly varying quality; ranking among his better-known work are Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), Threesome (1994), and the made-for-television Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996). In 1998, Charles was cast as one of the leads in the highly acclaimed TV show Sports Night, a sitcom revolving around the goings-on of a late night cable sports news program. Though Sports Night did indeed gain positive critical notice and a loyal fanbase for its smart writing and multi-dimensional characters, it was unfortunately cancelled before it really had a chance to fully develope. Hollywood did however take notice of Charles' talents as an actor, and the quality and substance of the roles he was being offered slowly began to rise. Following a pair of low-key roles in such indie dramas as Meeting Daddy (2000) and Our America (2002), Charles was cast in the high-profile action thriller S.W.A.T. Over the next several years, Charles would remain active on screen, appearing on TV series like In Treatment and The Good Wife and films like The Ex and Weakness.

Trivia: Grew up in Johnson City, TN. In 1998, he won the Mr. College of Charleston pageant. Captain of his college tennis team. Made his TV debut in a 2000 episode of Freaks and Geeks. Dated Kate Bosworth for two years. Appeared in People Magazine's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive issue. Says his last name is pronounced "Z-O-O-K-RIE."

Trivia: Raven-haired actress Archie Panjabi claimed a unique, exotic, and alluring look that spoke to her Indian ancestry -- and that opened up a myriad of doors in Hollywood productions, usually in a supporting capacity. Raised in Britain, Panjabi first broke through to international acclaim as tomboy Meenah in the Damien O'Donnell-directed Miramax comedy East Is East (1998), then graced the cast of one of the preeminent sleeper hits of 2002, the soccer comedy Bend It Like Beckham. Additional assignments included a small supporting turn in Fernando Meirelles' political thriller The Constant Gardener (2005), a portrayal of Gemma in the Russell Crowe/Marion Cotillard-headlined, Ridley Scott-directed romantic comedy drama A Good Year (2006), and a role in the grueling docudrama A Mighty Heart (2007) as Asra Nomani, a journalist and friend of the Pearl family, who helped in the investigation of his disappearance and murder. In 2006, Panjabi signed with the BBC to portray Maya Roy in the sci-fi-tinged police drama series Life on Mars. In 2008, she appeared opposite Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce in the summer thriller Traitor. She was cast in the CBS drama The Good Wife, in the part of Kalinda Sharma, and that well-reviewed award-winning show kept her busy for a few years.

Trivia: Made his stage debut in a production of Annie, when he was still in kindergarten. Has sung with the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Appeared on Broadway in the musicals 13 and A Christmas Carol. First major big-screen appearance was in the 2007 comedy Evan Almighty. Landed his first series-regular role in 2009, playing the son of Julianna Margulies' character on CBS drama The Good Wife.

Trivia: Is half Colombian. Made her big-screen debut in the Nicolas Cage dramedy The Family Man (2000), for which she won a Young Artist Award. Has landed series-regular roles on ABC sitcom the Geena Davis Show and CBS drama The Good Wife.

Trivia: Trained as an opera singer at Northwestern University. Performed with the Metropolitan and New York City Opera Companies. Appeared on Broadway in such shows as Nine, Sunday in the Park With George and The King and I, for which she received a Tony nomination. In 1971, originated the role of Alma in the stage production of Summer and Smoke, based on a Tennessee Williams play. A 1982 TV production of the work also featured her in the same role; the New York Times called her TV work "superb." Has appeared in the TV series Dawson's Creek and The Good Wife. In 2010, performed in the stage production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. The following year, was in the stage cast of Follies. She took on that role while also filming her scenes for The Good Wife.

Trivia: Though he spent most of his childhood in Japan and Europe, Joe Morton, along with his mother and remaining family, moved from Germany to New York after the passing of his father. While he hadn't given acting an incredible amount of thought during his adolescence, Morton decided to pursue a career in the performing arts during his first day at Hofstra University. After his first professional acting job in an off-Broadway production of A Month of Sundays, Morton was cast in Hair (1968), and subsequently became a well-known name within Broadway circles. Morton's role in Raisin, a musical version of A Raisin in the Sun, earned him a Tony nomination. Though he didn't manage to snag the award, the young actor nonetheless found work on several popular television shows of the time, including M*A*S*H and Mission: Impossible. By the late '70s, Morton had appeared in a variety of equally acclaimed films, such as The Outside Man (1973), Between the Lines (1977), and ...And Justice for All (1979).After continuing his work in television, Morton made his first leading-man feature-film appearance as "The Brother," an intergalactic escaped slave, in John Sayles' 1984 hit The Brother From Another Planet. A year later, Morton could be seen in a supporting capacity alongside Lori Singer and Keith Carradine in the post-noir romantic drama Trouble in Mind (1985). Though Morton found no small amount of work during the 1980s, it wasn't until 1991 that he would play one of the most recognizable roles of his career: the cyborg-components researcher in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. However, Terminator 2 was by no means the peak in his career -- that same year, he reunited with Sayles and played a frustrated city councilman in City of Hope. In 1994, Morton portrayed a police captain in Speed, and, after a recurring role on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street, starred in two highly lauded films: The Walking Dead (1995), in which he played a deeply religious marine, and Lone Star (1996), another John Sayles film. By this stage in his career, Morton had developed a reputation for playing scientists and government officials, and his role as an explosives expert in Executive Decision (1996) was no exception. However, Morton was certainly not incapable of more emotional fare, as demonstrated in his performance in HBO's Miss Evers' Boys, which won three Emmy awards in 1997. In 1998, Morton further avoided typecasting with his role in Blues Brothers 2000 as Cabel Chamberlain, the son of music man Curtis (Cab Calloway) from the original film.The early 2000s proved an equally busy time for Morton, who, aside from participating in numerous documentaries and made-for-television features, continued his role as Leon Chiles in NBC's Law & Order, and began regularly appearing as Dr. Steve Hamilton on the WB's Smallville. During this time, he could also be seen in supporting performances for What Lies Beneath (2000), Bounce (2000), and Ali (2001). 2003 found Morton playing another government agent in Paycheck, while 2004 brought another opportunity altogether -- Morton took the director's seat for Sunday on the Rocks. Also that year, Morton joined director Rob Cohen to film Stealth. A recurring role on the Pentagon television drama E-Ring found the actor continuing on his impressive television run, with a supporting role in the 2006 feature The Night Listener serving well to keep Morton's feature credits expanding as well.A contributing narrator of the long-running PBS series The American Experience, Morton became a familiar voice to television viewers who refused to switch their brains off for prime-time viewing. But it was recurring roles in both The Good Wife and Eureka that helped to keep him a familar face to more casual TV fans.

Trivia: Sang in his school choir and performed in high school musicals.In high school, was on the student council, ran track and played varsity football.Was a member of his high school's forensics club.Was accepted into the Goodman School of Drama, the drama school of DePaul University, but decided to attend Wayne State University because he won a theater scholarship. While attending Wayne State University, spent a semester at the British American Drama Academy.Appeared in commercials for brands like Flonase, Nyquil, Nissan Pathfinder, Campbell's Soup and Dairy Queen.Has worked in film, television and theater.Best known for playing Special Agent Dwight Harris on The Sopranos.

Trivia: Spent time as a child on the set of The Cosby Show with her mother Phylicia Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable on the program. Studied classical piano for ten years during her childhood. Won the Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance in 2009 for her work in the off-Broadway play Ruined. Starred alongside Orlando Bloom in a 2013 Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet.

Trivia: Born in Chile, Pascal and his family fled the country in the 1970s as political refugees during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Spent time in Denmark, Texas and Southern California, before moving to New York City at age 18 to pursue theatre. Was a competitive swimmer as a child, qualifying for the state championships in Texas at age 11. The stage veteran received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award and Garland Award for his role in the International City Theatre production of Orphans. Directed original productions for the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre and as a member of Off-Broadway's renowned LAByrinth Theatre Company. Before filming Series 1 of Narcos, he and his co-star Boyd Holbrook spent a week in Virginia, during which they were able to train at Quantico and met the real-life undercover DEA agents they portray on the Netflix series. Appeared with Heidi Klum in a video set to Sia's "Fire Meet Gasoline" filmed for the model's Intimates Lingerie collection.

Trivia: University of Buffalo graduate, former Bella Abzug campaign worker, and onetime schoolteacher Peter Riegert finessed an early flair for comedy into appearing with an improv troupe called the War Babies. This led to Riegert's Broadway bow in 1975, then to his being hired by the National Lampoon people for several projects, the first of which was Animal House (1978), in which the actor portrayed Donald "Boon" Schoenstein. He went on to play such roles as the feckless corporate-flunky good guy in Local Hero (1983) and the unhitched pickle vendor Amy Irving would never marry in a million years but does anyway in Crossing Delancey (1989). Usually bypassed by the gossip columnists (which he doesn't seem to mind at all), Riegert raised journalistic eyebrows when he was cast opposite his onetime lady friend Bette Midler in the 1993 TV version of Gypsy. In the years to come, Riegert would venture behind the camera as a director, in addition to continued roles on screen, including regular appearances on One Tree Hill and The Good Wife.

Trivia: Named after Robert Culp's character in I Spy. As a child, appeared in a political ad for his father's campaign for Congress. First performed in a play during elementary school as Captain Corcoran in John Eaton's production of H.M.S. Pinafore. In 2005, played Octavius in the Broadway production of Julius Caesar opposite Denzel Washington as Brutus. Played a lead C.I.A. operative in J.T. Rogers' Blood and Gifts at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2012. In 2015, played the role of Fred in Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Of Good Stock.

Trivia: Met her husband onstage during a theater production, which is the same way her parents met. Considers her parents the most influential people in her career. Appeared on Broadway in Getting Away With Murder in 1996. Won a Robby Award (a California theater award) for her performance in The Violet Hour with South Coast Repertory in 2002.

Trivia: Got her break with a role in the 2004 film Garden State. Doesn't have a driver's license, even though her father and brother were race-car drivers. Earned her first gig as a series regular with her role as Jill Casey in the USA Network series Royal Pains.