A dynamic performer with a big body and even bigger screen presence, African-American funnyman Anthony Anderson became an almost ubiquitous feature player beginning in 1999, providing comic relief in an impressive number of films early on in his career. The California native landed his first professional job at age five, appearing in a television commercial. Twenty years later, he could be seen on the NBC sitcom “In the House″, starring LL Cool J. While Anderson’s career lulled, the performer was busy with his education, attending a performing arts high school and earning a talent scholarship to the prestigious Howard University. A 1996 cameo in “Alien Avengers”, a segment of the Showtime series “Roger Corman Presents”, led to a regular role as a hefty but capable basketball player on the NBC teen series “Hang Time″ (from 1997 to 1998). A guest role on “NYPD Blue″ followed in 1998, predating his feature film onslaught, which began with 1999’s “Life″, a 1930s prison comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence.
Baby-faced enough that he was able to play teens well into his twenties but easily aged with a bit of facial hair, Anderson proved a versatile player, and followed up his role in “Life″ with a part in Barry Levinson’s 1950s Baltimore-set drama “Liberty Heights” and a guest turn on the UPN sitcom “Malcolm and Eddie″. The actor ushered in 2000 with credits in two episodes of “Ally McBeal” (Fox) before taking on Andrzej Bartkowiak’s “Romeo Must Die″, where he played a bumbling bodyguard. He reteamed with Martin Lawrence as an over-ambitious security guard in “Big Momma’s House″ and played one of a group of film students targeted by a mysterious murderer in “Urban Legends: Final Cut”. He was given more room to strut his stuff in “Me, Myself & Irene″ as Jamaal, the most vocal of Jim Carrey’s overgrown triplet sons (born to his wife after an affair with an African-American midget). One of the few well-rounded roles in the Farrelly brothers film, Jamaal was foul-mouthed but well-educated, and unexpectedly respectful of his father, the town pushover.

Anderson played David Arquette’s postal colleague and confidant in the inane comedy “See Spot Run” in 2001. That year saw him with breakout roles in the actioner “Exit Wounds” and the funeral-set feature “Kingdom Come″. Reteaming with Bartkowiak and DMX on the former, Anderson brought much-needed comic relief to the casualty-heavy Steven Seagal caper, working with Tom Arnold to make a genuinely funny if unexpected comedy pair. In “Kingdom Come″, Anderson won raves as the worthless womanizing husband of demanding Jada Pinkett Smith. Later that year, the actor was featured in the romantic comedy “Two Can Play That Game.” And in 2003, Anderson starred, alongside Jerry O’Connell, as a New Yorker on the lam in the Australian Outback in the comedy feature “Kangaroo Jack.”

Ben Affleck’s combination of good looks and charm make him a huge draw to the box office. Born in 1972 in Berkeley, California, both he and his younger brother Casey grew up to be actors. Affleck’s best friend from childhood is actor Matt Damon. Ben was an actor as a child, appearing in a television series and numerous TV movies.

Ben Affleck then moved into theatrical films. His early films include the teen hit Dazed and Confused, directed by Richard Linklater and featuring Jason London. Mallrats and Chasing Amy followed, which started his continuing collaboration with cult director Kevin Smith. Other notable films include Armageddon, directed by Michael Bay and starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton. Changing Lanes was a morality tale directed by Roger Michell and co-starring Samuel L Jackson. Another Michael Bay film, the blockbuster Pearl Harbor, cemented Ben as an A-List star, and co-starred Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. Ben played a blind comic book hero in Daredevil, directed by Mark Steven Johnson and co-starring Jennifer Garner and Colin Farrell as the villain.

In 1997, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon took the unusual move of writing their own screenplay. The result was Good Will Hunting, starring Damon and Robin Williams. The screenplay was widely praised and won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Ben Affleck has been a keen political campaigner for the Democrats, supporting both Al Gore and John Kerry in their bids to become president. He introduced Hillary Clinton at a rally at Cornell University and joined Helen Hunt, Martin Sheen, and Rob Reiner in a campaign to persuade people to vote in elections.

Ben Affleck’s romantic liaisons have caused a great deal of media interest, especially his relationships with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez. In 2004, Ben married Daredevil co-star Jennifer Garner and their daughter Violet was born a year later.

If Ben Affleck ever got tired of making movies he could always earn a living on the poker circuit. Ben is an expert player, having been taught by professionals Annie Duke and Amir Vahedi. Affleck won the Californian State Poker Championship in 2004.

The future looks busy for Ben Affleck. In 2006, Affleck was reuinted with writer and director Kevin Smith, in his sequel Clerks 2. Ben is also set to make his directorial debut in 2007, in a film adapted from a Dennis Lehane novel, Gone, Baby, Gone.

Initially a teenage heartthrob on TV, Ashton Kutcher has developed a reputable career in movies. Born in 1978 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he dropped out of his Biochemical Engineering Course at the University of Iowa and took advantage of his good looks to start a modeling career in New York. What Ashton Kutcher really wanted to do was act, and his first break came when he got a lead part in the TV series That ‘70’s Show. It was a hit and launched him and his other unknown colleagues to fame. The story concerned a group of teenage friends, played by Kutcher, Laura Prepon, Topher Grace, Danny Masterson, and Mila Kunis. His best friend, Wilmer Valderrama, also appeared in the show.
From television, Ashton Kutcher moved into films. He starred in the successful comedy Dude, Where’s My Car? in 2000, directed by Danny Leiner and co-starring Seann William Scott and Jennifer Garner. Texas Rangers followed the next year, directed by Steve Miner and featuring James Van Der Beek and veteran Tom Skerritt. Kutcher made an impression in a mature role in the thriller, The Butterfly Effect, which also starred Melora Walters and Amy Smart, and was directed by Eric Bress.

Ashton Kutcher joined the cast in 2006 to do the voice for a deer called Eliot in the animated movie Open Season, directed by Roger Allers and Jill Culton. Other characters were voiced by Billy Connolly and Debra Messing.
Not content with just acting, Ashton Kutcher has also worked as a producer, notably on the cult MTV show Punk’d, which he co-created with his friend Jason Goldberg. Kutcher also co-hosted many of the episodes.

Ashton Kutcher has gainted major celebrity status and has done the round of the top chat shows, with guest spots on the Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He has also played himself, with appearances on The Andy Dick Show and The Rosie ODonnell Show.
This showbiz status Ashton Kutcher enjoys has been helped along by interest in his love life, which has included a relationship with actress Brittany Murphy. The surprise relationship however, was with Hollywood star Demi Moore. The two got married in a ceremony attended by actress Lucy Liu and Moore’s ex-husband Bruce Willis.

The year 2006 brought more film projects for Ashton Kutcher. The Guardian, which is Kutcher’s most recent project to date, is directed by Andrew Davis and features Kevin Costner. There has also been much interest in Bobby, which is about the assassination of Senator Robert F Kennedy, and is written and directed by Emilio Estevez. It has an all-star cast that includes Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, and Elijah Wood.

Antonio Banderas, with his good looks and amiable charm, was born to be a movie star. Hailing from in Spain in 1960, it wasn’t long before Banderas became a successful actor in Spanish films, notably in the films of celebrated director, Pedro Almodovar. He moved to the United States with limited English speaking skills and forged a career as a Hollywood star.

The breakthrough movie for Antonio Banderas was The Mambo Kings in 1992. He and Armand Assante play brothers who are Cuban musicians in the 1950s. Arne Glimcher directed and Cathy Moriarty and Desi Arnaz Jr. co-starred. His next film boasted an impressive cast for The House of the Spirits. The romantic drama co-starred Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Winona Ryder, and Vanessa Redgrave; Bille August directed. In the same year, Banderas was seen in Philadelphia in 1993, playing the partner of Tom Hanks. The film dealt with the response to the AIDS virus and was very well received. Jonathan Demme directed and Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, and Joanne Woodward co-starred.

A cult horror film followed in 1994, with Interview with the Vampire, directed by Neil Jordan. Antonio Banderas co-starred with Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, Stephen Rea, and Christian Slater. Gaining another role in 1995, Miami Rhapsody was a contrasting comedy with David Frankel casting Banderas alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Gil Bellows, Mia Farrow, Naomi Campbell, and Jeremy Piven.

In 1995, Richard Donner cast Antonio Banderas in a cat and mouse thriller with Sylvester Stallone, called Assassins. Julianne Moore was in support. When Alan Parker cast the part of Che Guevara to Banderas in his film version of Evita in 1998, it seemed the perfect choice. The adaptation from the stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice starred Madonna as Eva Peron. Jimmy Nail and Jonathan Pryce also featured.

Antonio Banderas was then chosen to play the rebel swordsman, Zorro in The Mask of Zorro( 1998). This fun homage to the swashbuckling movies of yesteryear co-starred Catherine Zeta Jones and Anthony Hopkins, with Martin Campbell directeing. Banderas made another lighthearted film with Spy Kids in 2001, directed by Robert Rodriguez. It co-starred Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Teri Hatcher, and Cheech Marin. The film spawned two sequels.

In contrast, Antonio Banderas was cast in the dramatic, true life tale of the life of the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo in 2002. Julie Taymor directed Frida and the title role was played by Salma Hayek. Alfred Molina played her artist husband, Diego Rivera. Soon after, in 2003, Banderas was re-united with Salma Hayek and director Robert Rodriguez in the action thriller, Once Upon A Time In Mexico. It featured Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, and Willem Dafoe.

The animated sequel film, Shrek 2 (2004), introduced Antonio Banderas to the regular cast, as the sword wielding cat named Puss In boots. The other characters were voiced by Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, and Rupert Everett. A third installment to the Shrek movies is planned for release in 2007. Shrek The Third will feature Puss In boots once more, alongside the regulars. New characters are being voiced by Larry King, Ian McShane, Justin Timberlake, and ex-Monty Python Eric Idle.

Antonio Banderas divorced his first wife, actress Ana Leza, to marry actress Melanie Griffith. They went on to have a daughter together. Melanie Griffith had previously been married to Miami Vice star, Don Johnson. Banderas had been stepfather to the actor Alexander Bauer and is stepfather to actress Dakota Johnson.

Long before Hollywood made this actor a blockbuster star in his all action films, he was experiencing his own action packed life living through the unsuccessful American ‘Bay of Pigs’ invasion of Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 1961.

Andy Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba on April 12th 1956 to an English teacher mother and a lawyer father. In Cuba, Andy, his parents and his two brothers led a comfortable life until they were forced to leave, for political reasons after 1961. The family moved to Miami, Florida where his parents had to take on menial jobs in order to survival.

After many years of hard work and using his business skills, Andy’s father, Rene and his mother Amelia built up a multi-million dollar perfume company. Andy was raised as a Catholic and attended Miami Senior High School where he enjoyed playing on the basketball team until he was diagnosed with hepatitis. It was during his period of illness that he decided to pursue a career in acting.

While attending Florida International University Garcia followed his interest in acting and was soon drawn to Hollywood where he knew the big time could be found. As with most actors starting out in Hollywood, Garcia supported himself initially with part time work as a waiter and working in a warehouse.

He played bit parts in less well known movies but began hitting the big time when he was offered a role as a gang member in the television series ‘Hill Street Blues’ starring Dennis Franz and Veronica Hamel.

After his appearance in ‘Hill Street Blues’ he was spotted by director, Brian de Palma and was instantly signed up for 1987 movie, ‘The Untouchables’ and starred with Kevin Costner, Sean Connery and Robert De Niro which made him a Hollywood star. From there he went on to star in ‘The Godfather Part III’ which had him winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Garcia, once again appeared with several more of Hollywood’s greats when he starred in the 2001 remake of ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon. He also went on to appear in the 2004 sequel, ‘Ocean’s Twelve’ .

Garcia turned his hand to writing and co-wrote ‘The Lost City’ which he directed and starred in alongside Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray. With its release came an outburst of controversy in Latin America over the movie’s negative portrayal of the Cuban Revolution, and Che Guevara’s part in it. Garcia is a fervent critic of the Cuban government. Together with other stars and in particular Gloria Estefan, who was also born in Cuba, made a stand for Elian Gonzalez staying in the United States rather than returning to Cuba in early 2000.

In 1982 Andy married Maria Victoria Lorido and together they have three daughters and currently spend their time between their two homes in Miami and Los Angeles.