Celebs Profile

If one were to believe the idiom “one good turn deserves another,” then it was also possible that one good acting turn deserved another, as in the case of Ken Leung. The Asian-American actor gave such a magnificently raw performance as a mental patient in an episode of “The Sopranos” (HBO, 1999-2007), that producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse created a role specifically for him in their hit series “Lost” (ABC, 2004- ). “Nobody else read for it,” Lindelof said. “It had to be him.” Leung also racked up a versatile big screen resume, with notable appearances in blockbuster franchises like “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006) and “Saw” (2004). Ken Leung was born on Jan. 21, 1970 in New York, NY. Raised in the Two Bridges section of the Lower East Side, his family eventually moved to Midwood, Brooklyn, and he graduated high school in Old Bridge, NJ. During his junior year at New York University, Leung fell in love with acting, especially with the guidance of his mentors Catherine Russell, Na...

for the span of 19 years, Randall Duk Kim chose to work exclusively on the stage, specializing in Shakespeare and other classical works. In 1994 he began accepting movie and television offers and co-starred with John Hurt in the BBC Special "Prisoners in Time". Subsequently, he has played Alan Chan in "The Replacement Killers" and General Alak in "Anna and the King" (both in 1998). In addition, Kim had a key role in the sequel "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003). He played Shu in the two-part movie The Lost Empire for NBC’s Hallmark Hall of Fame and was featured in an episode of 100 Centre Street. In 1996, after a twenty year absence from New York, Mr. Kim returned to play The Kralahome in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of The King and I. Following that, he starred as Eng Tieng-Bin in David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child on Broadway, Balarius in Cymbeline at the NY Shakespeare Festival, Marc in Yasminia Reza’s ART at the Singapore Repertory Theatre...

Daughter of a famous actor long with the Peking Opera, Tsai Chin was educated at England's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and soon thereafter played the title role in the West End production of "The World of Suzie Wong". She also made an auspicious film debut as Ingrid Bergman's adopted daughter in the touching biopic, "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" (1958). Through the 1960s, she was cast in decorative, small roles in films ranging from "Blow Up" (1966) to "You Only Live Twice" (1967), achieving her greatest recognition for the five films she made with Christopher Lee in which she played the villainous and inscrutable daughter of his equally treacherous Fu Manchu, beginning with 1965's "The Face of Fu Manchu". Tsai Chin did better onstage during the 70s and 80s and even returned to her native land to considerable acclaim when she taught and directed at Beijing's Central Academy of Dramatic Art. She returned to feature f...

Born July 25, 1989 on Flint, Michigan, U.S. He appeared on Hannah Montana as "Thor", a new kid from Minnesota that Jackson befriends. He also plays the bully, Bubba Bixby, in the Nickelodeon movie, Shredderman Rules, which was based on Wendelin Van Draanen's book series. He also provided the voice of the teenage Avatar Roku in Avatar The Last Airbender. Caldwell has made many appearances as small roles in several movies, including Transformers. He had a role in the film Drillbit Taylor, starring Owen Wilson, and he will be having a lead role in the 2008 comedy film College alongside Drake Bell.

Is an award-winning American actor, comedian, guitarist, singer/songwriter and television director. Bell is commonly associated with his real-life best friend Josh Peck, who co-starred with him in both The Amanda Show and Drake & Josh. After beginning his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared on The Amanda Show and became well-known among young audiences for his role on the series Drake & Josh. In addition to his acting, Bell has a growing career as a musician, and wrote and performed the theme song to Drake & Josh entitled "Found a Way". In 2005 he independently released his debut album, Telegraph. His second album, It's Only Time, was released in 2006 after signing with Universal/Motown. His third album is most likely to be released early 2009, but this is still as yet uncertain. He is the cousin of San Diego Padres pitcher Heath Bell. Quick Info Born Drake Bell June 27, 1986, Orange County, California, USA

Paul C. Vogt born Dec 16, 1964, in Buffalo, New York. Graduated from Kenmore East High School in 1982) was, from 2002 - 2005, one of the lead actors on the comedy sketch-show MADtv. He left the show because he had an out in his contract after three years.

Hayes was born June 26, 1970, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Mary, a director of a non-profit food bank, and Ronald Hayes, a lithographer. He is of Irish descent and was raised Roman Catholic, attending high school in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, at Glenbard West High School. Hayes studied piano performance and conducting at Illinois State University but left before graduating. He worked as a classical pianist and served as a music director at the Pheasant Run Theater in St. Charles, Illinois. He also composed original music for a production of Antigone at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. He participated in The Second City improvisational comedy troupe. Hayes moved to Los Angeles in 1995, where he found work as a stand-up comedian, stage actor and as an actor in television commercials, including a 1998 Doritos ad featuring model Ali Landry.

Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York. His mother, Catherine (née Muir), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States as an eleven year-old. Her schooling was limited and as a result she prized her children's education. His father, Angelo Leno, who worked in the insurance business, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and though his high school guidance counselor recommended he drop out of high school he not only graduated but went on to receive a bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, in 1973. Leno's siblings include his late brother Patrick, who was a veteran. As he was growing up he used to say that he would take over Johnny Carson's job, which he eventually did. Early in his career Leno did commercials for Doritos brand tortilla chips. In the late 1970s, he was the warm-up act for Johnny Mathis, Tom Jones and John Denver. He replaced Johnny Carson as host of...

Jennifer Coolidge born August 28, 1963 in Boston, Massachusetts, is an American actress best known for playing "Stifler's mom", the consummate "MILF", in the American Pie films, Hilary Duff's stepmother in A Cinderella Story, Paulette, the manicurist in Legally Blonde and its sequel, and the voice of Aunt Fanny in the animated feature Robots (film).

Shannon was born on September 16, 1964 in Shaker Heights, Ohio to an Irish American Catholic family. Her mother, Peg, was a teacher, and her father, James F. Shannon, was a sales manager. Shannon was involved in a traumatic car accident when she was four years old which killed her mother, younger sister, and cousin. Shannon attended St. Dominic School in Shaker Heights for grade school, and Hawken School in Gates Mills, Ohio, for high school. Shannon married artist Fritz Chesnut on May 29, 2004. They have two children: daughter Stella (b. 2003), and son Nolan (b. 2005).

Izzard was born February 7, 1962, in Aden, Yemen, the youngest son of an English couple—Dorothy Ella, a midwife and nurse, and Harold John Izzard, an accountant who was working in Yemen with British Petroleum. A year after his birth, Izzard's family moved to the UK. His mother died of cancer in March 1968, when Izzard was 6 years old. Izzard found some degree of solace in comedy after the death of his mother. He drew particular comfort from the works of Monty Python, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, and the early Benny Hill. After an education at St Bede's Preparatory School and at Eastbourne College, he began to toy with stand-up at the University of Sheffield and, after being ingloriously kicked off his accountancy degree course, he took his act into the streets. Having spent a great deal of the 1980s working as a street performer in Europe and the United States, Izzard moved his act into the stand-up comedy venues of Britain, first appearing at The Comedy Store in London in 1987...

John Marwood Cleese born on October 27, 1939, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England, is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and singer who is probably best known as being a prominent member of Monty Python, a group of comedians responsible for the legendary sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and for three memorable motion pictures; The Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. Outside of Python, he also co-created, wrote and starred in the renowned sitcom Fawlty Towers and has also starred in multiple films, most notably A Fish Called Wanda.

Born on Dec 13, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Dorothy, who worked as a hostess at Howard Johnson's, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran. Buscemi's father was Italian American and his mother Irish American. He has three brothers: Jon, Ken, and Michael. Buscemi was raised Catholic, but had given up on God by junior high school. He graduated in 1975 from Valley Stream Central High School in Valley Stream, New York, a school which he attended with writer Edward Renehan and actress Patricia Charbonneau. In high school, Buscemi wrestled for the varsity squad and participated in the drama troupe, at that time directed by Mr. Lynne C. Lappin. (Buscemi's 1996 film Trees Lounge, in which he not only starred but served as screenwriter and director, is set in and was largely shot in his childhood village of Valley Stream.) Buscemi briefly attended Nassau Community College before moving to Manhattan to enroll in the Lee Strasberg Institute. In the early...

Cusack was born on June 28, 1966 in Evanston, Illinois, to an Irish American Catholic family. His father, Dick Cusack (1925–2003), as well as his siblings Ann, Joan, Bill, and Susie have also been actors; his father was also a documentary filmmaker, owned a film production company and was a friend of activist Philip Berrigan. Cusack's mother, Nancy, is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. Cusack spent a year at New York University before dropping out, saying that he had "too much fire in his belly".

Keegan Connor Tracy was born on 3 December 1971, is a Canadian actress known for her roles as the ill-fated Kat Jennings in Final Destination 2 (2003) and Dawn/Molly in Blackwoods (2002). She obtained a degree in Social Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Her more recent work has included Beggars and Choosers, Stargate SG-1, Jake 2.0, Psych, Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural, and the Geoffrey Sax film White Noise. She was born Tracy Armstrong in Sarnia in Windsor, Ontario.

Gleason was born as Joanne Hall in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of Marilyn (née Plottel), a producer, writer, and actress, and television personality Monty Hall.[1] At the time, her father worked at the Canadian Wheat Board and had changed his name from Halprin to Hall to sound better on the radio. He later started his TV career and went on to fame as host of Let's Make a Deal. Monty Hall's brother, Robert Halprin, also changed his name to Hall. In May 1956 the Hall family moved to New York and, in the early 1960s, they again moved to Los Angeles, California. Gleason graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1968. While attending BHHS she was in the school's productions of The Music Man, The Mikado, The Grass Harp, and The Madwoman of Chaillot. In high school Gleason received acting instruction from John Ingle, the soap-opera star, who taught at BHHS from 1955 to 1985. She continued her education at UCLA, then Occidental College, from which she graduated. Gleason has ...

Lynn Whitfield born May 6, 1953, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, is an Emmy Award-winning American actress most famous for her 1991 portrayal in film of dance and performance pioneer Josephine Baker. Other winning roles include A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) and Eve's Bayou (1997).

Gasteyer was born on May 4, 1967, in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Marianna, an artist, and Phil Gasteyer, the mayor of Corrales, New Mexico. She graduated from Sidwell Friends School and Northwestern University. Ana and her husband Charlie welcomed their daughter, Frances McKittrick in June 2002, she weighed 9 lb 1 oz (4.1 kg). Ana welcomed a son in March 2008.

Mazar was born in Queens, New York, the daughter of Nancy and Harry Mazar. Her father was born in the Latvian SSR, Soviet Union, to a Jewish family, while her mother was a Catholic who converted to Judaism and later became a Buddhist and for a period of time was a Jehovah's Witness. She married Gabriele Corcos on March 16, 2002, and they have two daughters: Evelyn Maria, born on July 12, 2002, and Giulia Isabel, born on March 17, 2006. Mazar and Corcos are currently hosting a very successful internet show focused on Tuscan cuisine: Under The Tuscan Gun. The family divides their time between their home in Los Angeles and a fourteenth-century house outside of Florence that was given to them as a wedding present by Mazar’s in-laws Quick Info Born Deborah Mazar August 15, 1964, Queens, New York, U.S. Occupation actress Spouse(s) Gabriele Corcos (2002-Present) 2 Children

Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, screenwriter and novelist. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. Quick Info Born Carrie Frances Fisher October 21, 1956, Beverly Hills, California, U.S. Years active 1975 – present Spouse(s) Paul Simon (1983-1984)

Is an American singer, actress and comedian, also known to her fans as The Divine Miss M. She is named after the actress Bette Davis although Davis pronounced her first name in two syllables, and Midler uses one (/bɛt/). During her career, she has won four Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. She is currently performing a new concert show, The Showgirl Must Go On, live five nights a week as one of the current headliners at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (together with Cher and Elton John). Quick Info Birth name Bette Davis Midler Also known as The Divine Miss M Born December 1, 1945, Origin Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Genre(s) Vocal, Pop, Rock, Comedy Occupation(s) Singer, Actress Years active 1965 – present Label(s) Atlantic (1972–1997) Warner Bros. (1998–2001) Columbia (2003–present) Associated acts Barry Manilow Official Website

Leachman, the eldest of three sisters, was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the daughter of Cloris and Buck Leachman, who owned a lumber company. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1944. She later majored in drama at Northwestern University, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta and a classmate of future comic actor Paul Lynde. Leachman began appearing on television and in films shortly after competing in Miss America as Miss Chicago 1946. Before that she was very active at the Des Moines Playhouse starring in many productions. From 1953 to 1979, Leachman was married to Hollywood impresario George Englund. The marriage produced five children, most of whom are in show business. A son George Englund, Jr., was once married to actress Sharon Stone. Leachman was predeceased by her son, Bryan, who died from a drug overdose in 1986. Some reports state that it was an overdose of ulcer medication, while others, such as in the Lifetime television program Intimate Portrait: Cloris Leachman (...

Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-winning American actress and former fashion model, known primarily for her roles in sitcoms and television. She is best known for her starring role on the television situation comedy Murphy Brown, and as Shirley Schmidt, the legal partner of Denny Crane (played by William Shatner), on the ABC hit comedy-drama Boston Legal. Earlier in her career she starred in the famous Revisionist Western movie Soldier Blue. Quick Info Born Candice Patricia Bergen May 9, 1946, Beverly Hills, California Spouse(s) Louis Malle (1980–1995) Marshall Rose (2000–present)

Pinkett Smith was born Jada Koren Pinkett in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Adrienne Banfield, the head nurse of an inner-city clinic in Baltimore, and Robsol Pinkett, Jr., who runs a construction company. Her parents divorced after only a few months of marriage and her mother has since re-married twice; Her mother became pregnant with her while still in high school. Pinkett Smith majored in theatre at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where she met classmate Tupac Shakur with whom she developed a close friendship. In the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Shakur says, "Jada is my heart and soul. She will be my friend for my whole life." Also in this documentary, Pinkett Smith calls Shakur "one of my best friends. He was like a brother. It was beyond friendship for us. The type of relationship we had, you only get that once in a lifetime." The two remained close friends until Shakur's death in 1996. After graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts, P...

Messing was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, the daughter of Sandra (née Simons), who has worked as a professional singer, banker, travel and real estate agent, and Brian Messing, a sales executive for a jewelry manufacturer. Messing is Jewish, a descendant of immigrants from Russia and Poland. When Messing was three, she moved with her parents and her older brother, Brett, to East Greenwich, a small town outside Providence, Rhode Island. During her high school years, she acted (and sang) in a number of high school productions, including the starring role in the musical "Annie" and "Fiddler On the Roof". Messing took lessons in dance, singing, and acting. In 1986, she was Rhode Island's Junior Miss and competed in Mobile, Alabama in the America's Junior Miss scholarship program. While her parents encouraged her dream of becoming an actress, they also urged her to complete a liberal arts education before deciding on acting as a career. Following...

Mendes was born in Miami, to Cuban-American parents and was raised in Los Angeles by her mother after her parents' divorce; Mendes has said that her mother "suffered so much to make my life OK" during her early years. Her father was a car salesman and her mother, also named Eva, is now an elementary school principal. She is the youngest of four children (she has two sisters and a brother). She was raised Roman Catholic and aspired to be a nun. As a child, Mendes was teased about her "buck teeth". As a child she lived in Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles, California. She never saw herself as an actress while she was young and decided to pursue other interests. She attended Hoover High School in Glendale and later attended California State University, Northridge to study marketing, but dropped out after meeting boyfriend Zedrick Threatt, who helped her to begin an acting career. She studied with Ivana Chubbuck. It was reported on January 31, 2008 Mendes has been in ...

Bening was born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Shirley, a church singer and soloist, and Grant Bening, a sales training consultant and insurance salesman. Her parents, natives of Iowa, were practicing Episcopalians and conservative Republicans. Her sister and two brothers are Jane Bening (born 1953), Bradley Bening (born 1955) and Byron Bening (born 1957). The family moved to Wichita, Kansas, in 1959, where she spent her early childhood. In 1965, her father took a job with a company in San Diego, California, and they moved there. She began acting in junior high school, playing the lead in The Sound of Music. She studied drama at Patrick Henry High School. She then spent a year working as a cook on a charter boat taking fishing parties out on the Pacific Ocean, and scuba diving for recreation. She attended San Diego Mesa College, then completed an academic degree in theatre arts at San Francisco State University. Bening joined the acting company at the American Conservatory Theater ...

Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, the daughter of Susan Hyra Jordan (née Ryan), a former actress, casting director, and English-teacher, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. She has two sisters, Dana and Annie, and a brother musician, Andrew Hyra of Billy Pilgrim. The main relatives of the Hyra family are in Canada. Ryan was raised a Roman Catholic and graduated from Saint Pius X Elementary School in Fairfield, where her mother taught the sixth grade. There, Ryan was confirmed into the Catholic Church, choosing Anne as her confirmation name. Ryan's mother had appeared in one television commercial and later worked briefly as an assistant casting director in New York City. She supported and encouraged her young daughter's study of acting. She graduated from Bethel High School in 1979. She went on to study journalism at the University of Connecticut and then at New York University, while acting in television commercials to earn extra money. Her success a...

Keram Malicki-Sánchez (born 14 May 1974) is a Canadian actor, singer, and writer born in Toronto to a Polish father and Ecuadorian mother. Quadrilingual, with fluency in English, French, Polish, and Spanish, he studied ecclesiastical and classical choral music at Michael's Choir School in Toronto, Canada. His career began with musical theater and expanded outward from there. Described as "not merely artistic, but ultra-artistic" and as "a one-man cultural blitzkrieg, active in music, theatre, film, philosophy, writing and publishing," he has also appeared in films such as John Q, Happy Campers, American History X, and Crazy/Beautiful, as well as television series, among them CSI, 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER, Saving Grace and Catwalk.

Benz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father is a Pittsburgh surgeon and, contrary to rumor, her mother was never an ice figure skater. The family settled in nearby Murrysville when Benz was two, and she started ice skating when she was three. She competed in the 1988 U.S. Championships in junior ice dancing with her partner David Schilling, coming in 13th. Her older brother and sister, Jeffrey and Jennifer, were the 1987 U.S. Junior Champions in ice dancing and competed internationally. When Benz was 14, she had a bad stress fracture and had to take time off. She grew up in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, graduating from Franklin Regional High School. She later graduated from New York University. Benz was previously married to actor John Kassir from May 30, 1998 until she filed for divorce in December 2007. Quick Info Born May 1, 1972, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Spouse(s) John Kassir (30 May 1998 - December 2007)

Hutchison was born 26 May 1960, in Dover, Delaware, the son of Ashley and Richard Hutchison. He spent most of his childhood in Detroit, Michigan and Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has a younger brother named Erik. Years later, he moved to New York City, where he briefly attended the Juilliard School. He studied with Sanford Meisner for two years. As is the case with many aspiring actors, Hutchison was forced to make ends meet through odd-jobs, including dressing as a Citibank card while handing out fliers in Times Square.

Born December 6, 1962 in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, the son of Sylvia Ivy Brundenell Salmon, a nurse. He attended Putteridge and Ashcroft High School. He supports the Luton Town Football Club. Salmon married Fiona Hawthorne in 1988; the two have four children.

Born May 24, 1974 in New York City, New York to actor parents and attended the Bronx High School of Science. He was raised in Greenwich Village. He is mostly featured is supporting roles in big box office hits such as The Day After Tomorrow, The Perfect Storm, The Thin Red Line, and Romeo + Juliet. He has studied dance and can be seen in former girlfriend Alanis Morissette's music video So Pure. Mihok has been cast as "Detective Martin Soap" in The Punisher: War Zone which is set for a December 2008 release.

Knight was born in New York City, the son of Bill Knight, a textile factory supervisor, who soon moved the family to Cartersville, Georgia, where Knight grew up. Knight was an undergraduate at the University of Georgia. He left the college as an honor student but one credit shy of a degree to pursue his career at the Barter Theatre in Virginia. After an internship there, he joined the company and left with Equity card in hand to take on New York City. Two years later he had his first role on Broadway. Quick Info Born August 7, 1955, Cartersville, Georgia Occupation Film, television and stage Actor Spouse(s) Paula Sutor (26 May 1996 - 2003) (divorced) Holly Ann Wentlent (12 July 2005 - Present)

Born October 15, 1969, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. West was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England to George West, who owned a plastics manufacturing plant, and to Moya, a housewife. West attended Eton College and Trinity College, Dublin for his education.

George Raymond "Ray" Stevenson, born May 25, 1964 in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, he moved with his family to Lemington, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England in 1972, and later to Cramlington, Northumberland, where he was raised. The second of three sons of a Royal Air Force pilot, Stevenson, as a child, dreamt of becoming an actor but thought the dream impossible to achieve. So he pursued his other love, art, and went to art school instead. He was an interior designer with an architectural firm in London when he at 25 decided to try out acting. Eventually he attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating at the age of 29.

Olesya Rulin Om Puri Oscar Isaac

Born on January 5, 1980, in Guatemala to a Cuban father and a Guatemalan mother but was raised in Miami, Florida. He is also of French, Israeli, and other European descent. While in Miami, he played lead guitar and sang vocals for his band "The Blinking Underdogs". He graduated from Juilliard School in 2005.

In Persian: گلشیفته فراهانی , born July 10, 1983 in Tehran is an acclaimed Iranian actress. She is the daughter of actor/theater director Behzad Farahani and sister of actress Shaghayegh Farahani. Golshifteh Farahani started studying music and playing the piano at the age of 5. At 12, she entered a music school in Tehran. After graduation, she was accepted at the Vienna Conservatory. At the age of 14 she was cast as the lead in Dariush Mehrjui's The Pear Tree for which she won the Crystal Roc for Best Actress from the International Section of the 16th Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran. The win contributed to her decision to stay in Iran and choose a career in film over music. She never boarded the plane to Vienna. Since then she has acted in 18 films, many of which have received international awards. For Boutique she won the Best Actress award from the 26th Nantes Three Continents Festival (France). In recent years she has acted in movies by some of Iran's best directo...

Vince Colosimo (born 11 November 1966 in Melbourne) is an Australian stage and screen actor of Italian descent. He has worked in both Australia and the United States. Colosimo is not married. He has a daughter Lucia (2002) with his former partner, actress Jane Hall.. Colosimo and Hall worked together on A Country Practice in 1994. He lives in North Fitzroy, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Colosimo is the cousin of Simon Colosimo[citation needed], who plays for Sydney FC, a team competing in Australia's A-League.

Born August 1963 in London, England . Strong, the son of an Italian father and an Austrian mother, was born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London, England, and attended Wymondham College in Norfolk. His English name is not a stage name, but one chosen by his mother when she decided to change his name by deed poll when he was a child, hoping that it would help him to fit in better with his peers. At school he was the singer in punk rock bands called The Electric Hoax and Private Party. His original ambition was to become a lawyer, but after studying for a year at University in Munich, Germany he decided to change his direction in life and returned home to London. There he enrolled in a joint English & Drama degree at Royal Holloway, and later attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Carice van Houten was born on September 5, 1976 in Leiderdorp, the Netherlands. Her mother Margje Stasse is on the board of Dutch educational TV and her father Theodore van Houten is a writer and broadcaster. She has a younger sister, Jelka van Houten, who is also an actress. She went to the St. Bonifatiuscollege (high school) in Utrecht, where she played the leading role in Hugo Claus' Tijl Uilenspieghel, directed by Ad Migchielsen. Van Houten studied at the Kleinkunstacademie in Amsterdam.

Crowe was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of Jocelyn Yvonne (née Wemyss) and John Alexander Crowe, both of whom were movie set caterers; his father also managed a hotel. Crowe's maternal grandfather, Stan Wemyss, was a cinematographer who, according to Crowe, produced the first film by New Zealander Geoff Murphy, and was also named an MBE for filming footage of World War II. Crowe's maternal great-great grandmother was Māori, and as a result Crowe is registered on the Māori electoral roll in New Zealand; Crowe also has Welsh, Scottish, Norwegian and Irish ancestry. Two of Russell Crowe's cousins, Martin and Jeff Crowe are former New Zealand national cricket captains. When Crowe was four years old, his family moved to Australia, where his parents pursued a career in film set catering. The producer of the Australian TV series Spyforce was his mother's godfather, and Crowe at age five or six was hired for a line of dialogue in one episode, opposite series star Jac...