ALWAYS open their mouths?

 Actors:

Harrison Ford 

Perhaps the most fateful casting of his career was for a role that Ford very nearly passed up. A promising young director named George Lucas offered him a supporting part in his film American Graffiti, but Ford walked off the set in disgust when he learned that he would be paid only $485 a week--less than half what he was earning as a carpenter. Luckily, he changed his mind when the studio offered him an extra fifteen dollars a week. The film was a surprise hit, and, more importantly, it marked the beginning of a lasting friendship between director and actor. When Lucas was unable to cast the role of Star Wars' cynical space adventurer Han Solo, he asked Ford to read for the part and, at the age of thirty-four, the actor-turned-artisan was a star in one of the most phenomenal blockbusters in the history of cinema.

Tom Cruise 

Born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse New York, Tom Cruise has become one of the most successful stars in Hollywood today. His road to the top was a difficult one, though, because before getting his break on the hit movie Risky Business, Cruise survived on hot dogs and rice in Los Angeles. After Risky Business came a string of hits including Top Gun, Days of Thunder, Rainman, A Few Good Men, Interview With a Vampire, Jerry Maguire, and Mission Impossible. Since then, though, Cruise has opted to take on movies with more artistic potential than box office appeal such as Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia. In his most recent movie, however, Mission Impossible 2, Cruise portrays the same confident nice-guy/hero audiences know and love.

Brad Pitt      

Brad Pitt was born in Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri. His mother's name is Jane. His father, Bill, worked in management at a trucking firm in Springfield. In high school Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government and school musicals. Pitt attended the University of Missouri where he majored in journalism with a focus on advertising. He occasionally acted in fraternity shows. He left college two credits short of graduating to move to California. Before he became successful at acting, Pitt supported himself by driving strippers in limos, moving refrigerators and dressing as a giant chicken while working for "el Pollo Loco".

Billy Zane    

Brendon Fraser 

The son of a Canadian travel executive who frequently moved his family, Brendan can claim affinity with Ottawa, Indianapolis, Detroit, Seattle, London and Rome. His early exposure to theatre, particularly in London, led him to Seattle's Cornish Institute. After graduation he found a minor role as Sailor #1 in River Phoenix's "Dogfight" (1991), then somewhat more substantial roles in "Encino Man" (1992) and "School Ties" (1992). He expresses a preference for playing "fish out of water" men. Five more years of supporting work led finally to the title role in "George of the Jungle" (1997), a role which fully utilized his charm and beefy good looks, as well as offering him a chance to show off his comic talents. He describes this role as the one which dramatically altered his career. Critical raves for his role in "Gods and Monsters" (1998) pointed to yet another dimension to his dramatic persona.

Jude Law 

Jude Law was born December 29, 1972 in Southeast London. He started acting with the National Youth Music Theatre at the age of 12, and at 17 he dropped out of school completely, to star in a Granada daytime TV Soap called Families. In 1992, Jude began his stage career. He starred in many plays throughout London, and was nominated for the Olivier Award of "Outstanding Newcomer." After doing the play Indiscretions in London, he moved and did it again on Broadway. This time, he was alongside Kathleen Turner. He then recieved a Tony Nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actor." He was then rewarded the Theatre World Award. After Broadway, Jude started on the big screen, in many independent films. His first big named movie was Gattaca, with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. He also had a good role in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Jude's latest rise to fame has been because of The Talented Mr. Ripley, for which he plays Matt Damon's obsession. The film did very well at the box office, and critics loved the acting of Jude. He is also a partner in the production company Natural Nylon. His partners include Johnny Lee Miller, Ewan McGregor, and his wife Sadie Frost. With his production company producing, and Jude acting, his career seems to be on the rise..

Rupert Everett 

As Julia Roberts’ gay editor and character foil in My Best Friend’s Wedding, Rupert Everett stole the show and brought down the house. Indeed, after test screenings, director P.J. Hogan recut the film to include more of Everett’s character. Although he is new to American audiences, Everett had a long and bumpy career on the other side of the pond. Born in Norfolk, England on May 29, 1959, Everett grew up in a wealthy family. At age 15, he decided that he wanted to try his hand at acting and subsequently dropped out of school. Everett trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, but was not happy there. He had developed a substantial ego, and clashed frequently with his teachers. Instead of finishing his schooling, Everett apprenticed at the Glasgow Citizen’s Theater in Scotland. After his training, he started performing in theater productions across the United Kingdom. A struggling actor, Everett earned extra money in other ways. Although he would never admit it until a 1997 interview in Us magazine, he worked as a prostitute for close to two years. In 1982, Everett landed a role in Another Country and later played the role in the film version. He was suddenly England’s hottest new star. Unfortunately for Everett, he had yet to check his growing ego and he had frequent clashes with the press and with fans who were soon turned off by his arrogant behavior and derision. A small but memorable turn in The Madness of King George resuscitated his career. Although he was initially not interested in the role in My Best Friend’s Wedding, he eventually acquiesced and took the role. It is doubtful that he regrets the decision. Since then, Everett has gone on to have memorable roles in several other features, most notably Shakespeare in Love. He got to vamp it up as the evil Claw in Inspector Gadget, his first summer blockbuster.

Patrick Muldoon

(can I say Boy Howdy!)

His most loyal following remembers him as Austin Reed, the handsome, sensitive guy, who helped make some of the best Days of Our Lives. Melrose devotees know him as the evil Richard, who went from good to bad to worse. Patrick Muldoon developed a whole new legion of fans, as he took on the battle of the bugs in his first feature film, Starship Troopers. As Zander Barcalow, the baddest of the good guys. Regardless of how you know the actor (those from his college days may remember him as one of the hunks in the '89 "Men of USC" calendar), the point is you know him. Unlike many former soap stars who exit coveted roles on daytime only to return a year or so later after failing in the cruel world of pride time, Muldoon has been nonstop busy. After Troopers, the native Californian will star in the black comedy Wicked for director Michael Steinberg (Waterdance). He just wrapped The Second Arrival, the sequel to The Arrival, and is currently shooting Black Cat Run, an HBO film written and produced by Frank Darabont.

Kevin Costner 

While a marketing student at California State University in Fullerton, American actor Kevin Costner became involved with community theatre. Upon graduation in 1978, Costner took a marketing job that lasted all of 30 days before he decided to take a crack at acting. Costner's big breakthrough came with a brace of baseball films, released within months of one another: in Bull Durham (1988), the actor was taciturn minor-league ballplayer Crash Davis, and in Field of Dreams he was Ray Kinsella, a farmer who constructed a baseball diamond in his Iowa cornfield when The Voice said "If you build it, he will come." His Hollywood clout amplified by the combined box-office success of these films enabled Costner to make his directing debut. With a minuscule budget of $18 million, Costner went off to the Black Hills of South Dakota to film the first Western Epic that Hollywood had seen in years, a revisionist look at Indian-White relationships titled Dances With Wolves (1990). Detractors had a field day with this supposedly foredoomed project, labeling the film "Costner's Folly" and "Kevin's Gate." But he who laughs last...Dances with Wolves was not only one of 1990's biggest moneymakers but also that year's Academy Award-winning film; additionally, Costner copped an Oscar as Best Director.

What goes around comes around.

Work, like you don't need the money!