Sean Patrick Astin was born February 25, 1971 in Santa Monica, California to John Astin (famous for playing Gomez on The Addams Family among other things) and Patty Duke, both actors. He was their first child, but when Sean was two his brother Mackenzie was born (he also became an actor). They also have three older half brothers, David, Allen and Tom, who belong to their father. Sean was literally brought up on acting due to his famous parents. Although you may think that his first acting job was in The Goonies, it wasn't. In 1981, at age 9, Sean starred with his mother in the after school special Please Don't Hit Me, Mom. The Goonies followed and since then he has had a steady stream of good roles. Sean attended Crossroads High School for the Arts. He has also studied with the famous Stella Adler. Of course, we all know that starring in a teen comedy is almost inevitable for a young actor. Sean was no exception. In 1987 he co-starred with another teen heartthrob, Kirk Cameron in Like Father Like Son. A few very good movies followed, including Toy Soldiers and Where the Day Takes You. More recently Sean has starred in Rudy and the Showtime movie Harrison Bergeron. But his career in film has expanded much further than just acting. He directed and co-produced the short film Kangaroo Court which was nominated in the Best Short Film category at the 67th Annual Academy Awards in 1995. Interestingly enough, Sean's father was nominated for the same award in 1969. Sean is now married to Christine Astin, who co-produced Kangaroo Court with him. The couple live in Los Angeles. Even though he's a successful director, he's not about to give up acting.

Born in Los Angeles but raised in Manhattan and educated at Middlebury College and Carnegie Tech, James Cromwell - the son of noted film director John Cromwell - studied acting at Carnegie-Mellon. He went into the theater (like both his parents) doing everything from Shakespeare to experimental plays. He started doing TV in 1974, gaining some notice in a recurring role as Archie Bunker's buddy Stretch Cunningham in All in the Family, made his film debut in 1976, and goes back to the stage periodically. Some of his more noted film roles have been in Revenge of the Nerds and the surprise hit about a charming pig, Babe. He garnered some of the best reviews of his career - many of which said he should have received an Oscar - for his role as a corrupt, conniving police captain in L.A. Confidential.

An acting chameleon who can easily lose himself in the life of his film and TV characters, Clifton Collins Jr. is a native Angeleno who grew up destined to become a part of the Latino entertainment industry. Playing everything from cops to boxers to serial killers, he has managed to transcend the typical racial trappings and play flesh-and-blood, three-dimensional characters

Born short, lean and mean on June 16, 1970, he started his career in 1988. Toiling in typical "barrio" roles at the beginning of his career, Collins Jr. found himself stuck in bit parts either as a struggling blue-collar worker or urban thug. His breakout role as Cesar, the vicious student and gangbanger in One Eight Seven opposite L.A. substitute teacher Samuel L. Jackson, set him on the right path. This led to a mesmerizing collection of other portrayals in such films as The Replacement Killers, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and Tigerland. His versatility finally tested, he played everything from a gay Mexican hitman in the critically acclaimed Traffic to a psychological profiler for the FBI in the mainstream actioner Mindhunters. A number of top guest appearances came his way \on such shows as NYPD Blue and The Twilight Zone and he had recurring roles on Resurrection Blvd. and Alias.

A monumental shift forward in his career happened recently with his hypnotic portrayal of killer Perry Smith, the object of writer Truman Capote's obsession, in the art-house favorite Capote. This heralded achievement has enabled Collins to move into the co-producer's chair of late, notably for Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders, in which he inhabits the role of serial killer Kenneth Bianchi. Obviously, there's plenty more in the works for this major talent.