Ken Watanabe was born on October 21, 1959 in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. In 1978, he moved to Tokyo to pursue his career as an actor. He drew attention of the critics when Yukio Ninagawa, a famous Japanese director, chose him for the lead role in one of his plays even though he was still an acting student. He made his first TV appearance in 1982 but his real career breakthrough came when he was chosen to play the lead in the Japanese national TV drama series called "Dokugan ryu Masamune"; he played a samurai leader hero, that made him a household name in Japan. In 1989 when he was shooting a movie in Canada, he collapsed because of Leukemia. He made a miraculous comeback and in 2003 "_The Last Samurai_" where he co-starred with Tom Cruise pushed him to a center stage of Hollywood. "The Last Samurai" is his 15th movie. He is a fanatic fan of Hanshin Tigers (Japanese professional baseball team) and Kobe Steel rugby team. He loves noodles. Click for more info!

If you had told 14 year old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be considered one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to become a priest. Nonetheless, this sensitive, deeply religious youngster who was born in July 1962 in Syracuse, New York, was destined to become Tom Cruise, one of the highest paid and most sought after actors in screen history. The only son (among four children) of nomadic parents young Tom spent his boyhood eternally on the move and by the time he was 14 he had attended 15 different schools in the US and Canada. He finally settled in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with his mother and her new husband. While in high school, he developed an interest in acting and abandoned his plans of becoming a priest, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career. The next 15 years of his life are the stuff of legends. He made his film debut with a small part in Endless Love (1981) and from the outset exhibited an undeniable box office appeal to both male and female audiences. Though below average height and not particularly handsome in the traditional sense, within 5 years Tom Cruise was starring in some of the top grossing films of the decade including Top Gun (1986); The Color of Money (1986), Rain Man (1988) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). By the 1990s and 2000s he was one of the highest paid actors in the world earning an average 15 million dollars a picture in such blockbuster hits as Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible II (2000), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), and Jerry Maguire (1996) - for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for best actor. In 1990 he renounced his devout Catholic beliefs and embraced The Church Of Scientology claiming that Scientology teachings had cured him of the dyslexia that had plagued him all of his life. A kind and thoughtful man well known for his compassion and generosity, Tom Cruise is one of the best liked members of the movie community. He was married to actress Nicole Kidman until 2001. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV has indeed come a long way from the lonely wanderings of his youth. Click for more info!

Koyuki gained her first exposure to Western audiences in Edward Zwick's 2003 film The Last Samurai (2003), she was well-known in Japan for years before that. She first caught the attention of the public in 1997 by winning an exclusive modelling contract with the magazine Non-no, but quickly grew beyond modelling and has earned acclaim as an actress through her many roles on Japanese television and in several Japanese films. Click for more info!

Hiroyuki Sanada was born on the 12th of October, 1960 in Tokyo. He made his film debut when he was 5 in Game of Chance (1965) (Sonny Chiba played the lead role.) Sanada's father died when he was 11. Sanada joined Japan Action Club, organized and run by Sonny Chiba, when he was 12. Sanada first became famous as an action star for his role in The Shogun's Samurai (1978). He started his career as an action star but now is known as one of the most talented actors in Japan. From 1999 to 2000, Sanada played the fool in an English-language production of "King Lear" with members of the Royal Shakespeare Co as the first Japanese actor to play with the RSC. He received an honorary MBE (Member of the British Empire) for this work. He and Satomi Tezuka got divorced after their 7-year marriage in 1997.
Click for more info!

William Atherton a veteran character actor often cast as sleazy villain or self-absorbed yuppie. Most remembered for his fantastic role in Ghost Busters (1984) as Walter Peck. Also had memorable role in Die Hard (1988) as yet another scumbag-ish character, Thornburg
Click fore more info!

Timothy Spall is the son of a postal worker and a hairdresser. Raised in London, he auditioned and earned a spot with the National Youth Theatre and later showed great promise at RADA where he portrayed the title roles in "Macbeth" and "Othello." In 1979 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and stayed for approximately two years performing in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "Cymbeline," "The Three Sisters" and "Nicholas Nickleby." In the early 80s he moved into TV roles with Leigh's "Home Sweet Home" and later had his own drama series "Frank Stubbs Promotes" in 1993. With Leigh, Timothy's appeared in a number of award-winning features, particularly Life Is Sweet (1990) and Secrets & Lies (1996), for which he earned a BAFTA Award nomination, and the Gilbert & Sullivan biopic Topsy-Turvy (1999). He also worked for noted directors Ken Russell in Gothic (1986), Clint Eastwood in White Hunter Black Heart (1990), Bernardo Bertolucci in The Sheltering Sky (1990), and Kenneth Branagh in Hamlet (1996) as Rosenkrantz. A chronic illness curtailed his momentum in the mid-90s, coming back resourcefully on stage and TV. On a roll recently with more of his odd characterizations he lent his voice to the popular animated feature Chicken Run (2000) and appeared in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) as Peter Pettigrew, and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) as Mr. Poe.
Click for more info!

Shin Koyamada is an actor known for bringing more than physical action skills to the set. He brings the same determination and focused work ethic that he used to train and hone his martial arts and athletic skills to every aspect of his acting performance, all while staying good natured, friendly, and a pleasure to work with. He became best known to audiences after his co-starring roles in the Warner Bros. blockbuster Tom Cruise film The Last Samurai (2003) as Nobutada and starring role in the Disney Channel hit feature movie franchise Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior (2006) (TV) as Shen.

In his youth, Shin was a champion triathlon, Track and Field and captain of gymnast. He has trained and disciplined his body, mind and spirit from childhood to the present day with many skilled teachers to be an elite martial artist. He now holds Third Degree Black Belt in Karate and competed in National Championships in Japan, Second Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, First Degree Black Belt in Kung Jung Mu Sul and US Nation Championship Gold Medals in Shaolin Kung Fu, including traditional Chinese 18 classical weapons. Other martial arts systems and styles he has trained include; Kyudo (Japanese archery), Kendo (Modern Japanese Swordsmanship), Iaido (Traditional Japanese Swordsmanship), Yabusame (Archery while riding a horse) and Aikido. A finely trained athlete, he learns new physical skills quickly and easily and relishes doing his own stunts and action. Click for more info!

Billy Connolly was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He left school to work in the shipyards becoming a welder and joined the Territorial Army (in the parachute regiment) at around the same time. He developed an interest in folk music, eventually becoming an accomplished banjo player and a member of the band Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty (later of Baker Street fame). The jokes he told between songs eventually took over his act and he became a full-time comedian. Already a big star in Scotland, he became a household name in the UK after appearing on "Parkinson" (1971) in the early seventies. Billy has released many recordings and videos of his concert performances over the years. He has expanded his repertoire to include acting, appearing in a number of television dramas and films, most recently in the USA. In the 90s he made two documentary series for the BBC, about Scotland and Australia respectively, and in 1997 he starred in the award winning film Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown (1997). He is one of the UK's top comedian.
Click for more info!