Ellen Pompeo made her major studio screen debut in Brad Silberling's Moonlight Mile, starring alongside Susan Sarandon, Dustin Hoffman and Jake Gyllenhaal. She received outstanding reviews for her portrayal of an outspoken young woman carrying a silent burden that's breaking her heart.

A native of Boston, Pompeo was most recently seen starring opposite Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell in the wildly successful Old School and, before that, in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.

Prior to Moonlight Mile, Pompeo starred in several independent features, including In the Weeds and Coming Soon, and she can also be seen in the upcoming Glory Days.

Although perhaps best known as the unlikely heartthrob of such classic '80s nostalgia films such as Can't Buy Me Love and Loverboy, Patrick Dempsey has grown into a mature actor and a talent that Hollywood will continue to recognize.

In 2001 Dempsey nabbed an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Aaron Brooks, Sela Ward's psychologically unbalanced brother, in the critically lauded Once & Again.

In 2004 he co-starred in the highly-acclaimed HBO production, Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston. Other credits include Disney's Sweet Home Alabama, opposite Reese Witherspoon, as well as Scream 3, With Honors, Outbreak, Hugo Pool, The Treat, The Palace Thief, Heaven Help Us, Happy Together, Some Girls, Coupe De Ville, Run, Mobsters and In the Mood.

In 2003 Dempsey made a memorable guest appearance on NBC's hit show, Will & Grace, as Will's love interest. Additionally he starred in the NBC movie based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, opposite Ben Kingsley, and appeared in the television miniseries 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Michael Caine. He also co-starred with Oliver Reed in the biblical epic, Jeremiah. Other television movies and miniseries include JFK: Reckless Youth, A Season in Purgatory, Blood Knot, The Right to Remain Silent, Shallow Grave and Blonde.

Dempsey was born and raised in Lewiston, Maine. He first appeared on stage as David in the San Francisco production of Torch Song Trilogy. Other early stage work includes On Golden Pond for the Maine Acting Company, the international touring production of Brighton Beach Memoirs, which was directed by Gene Saks, and The Subject Was Roses at the Roundabout Theatre in New York. He recently took the stage again in The Pasadena Playhouse run of The Importance of Being Earnest, as Algernon Moncrieff.

In addition to acting, Dempsey is an avid racing enthusiast and has participated in the Panoz Series and the Pro Miata series. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife, Jillian, and their daughter, Talula.

James Pickens Jr., is well known to viewers for his recurring roles on numerous television series, including The X-Files, NYPD Blue, Philly, The Practice and Six Feet Under. Most recently he starred opposite Rob Lowe in the ensemble drama The Lyon's Den.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Pickens got his start in the New York theatre community. He starred as Walter Lee in the 25th anniversary production of A Raisin in the Sun at the Roundabout Theatre. He was a member of the famed Circle Rep/Steppenwolf Theatre Company co-production of Balm and Gilead. In 1981 he performed with the historic Negro Ensemble Company in a production of A Soldier's Play with Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson.

In 1990 Pickens moved to the West Coast. His first big break was a guest spot on Roseanne, which lead to a recurring role. Next was a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210. Dozens of television roles soon followed, including a co-starring role in the TNT film, A Slight Case of Murder, which starred Adam Arkin and James Cromwell and was written by William. H. Macy.

On the big screen, Pickens has been directed by some of the film industry's finest. His feature film credits include Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, Oliver Stone's Nixon and Warren Beatty's Bulworth. He's had roles in four Barry Levinson films -- Liberty Heights, Sphere, Sleepers and Jimmy Hollywood.

He portrayed slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers in the acclaimed Rob Reiner-directed film, Ghosts of Mississippi. He also played Angela Bassett's ex-husband, Walter, in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Other credits include the Hughes Brothers-directed film, Dead Presidents, and Gridlock'd, which was directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall and starred Tupac Shakur.

In his spare time Pickens can be found riding horseback and roping cattle. He is a member of the United States Team Roping Championship and competes in roping events across the country. He owns an American Quarterhorse named Smokey. Pickens and his wife, Gina, live in the San Fernando Valley. They have a son and a daughter.

T.R. Knight was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and spent his last two years there as part of the acting company at the Guthrie Theater. He has returned to the Guthrie twice since then to play Richard Miller in Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness!, and the title role in Peter Shaffer's Amadeus.

Since moving to New York, he has performed on Broadway as Tim Allgood in Michael Frayn's Noises Off, opposite Patti LuPone, Peter Gallagher and Richard Easton, and as Damis in Tartuffe, with Brian Bedford. Off-Broadway credits include Joe in Conor McPherson's This Lime Tree Bower and Brendan Hilliard in Anto Howard's Scattergood, for which he received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.

On television Knight was a series regular opposite Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf in Charlie Lawrence .

Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Sandra Oh started ballet lessons at the age of four and performed in her first play at the age of ten. She started working professionally at age sixteen in television, theatre and commercials.

After three years at the prestigious National Theatre School of Canada, she beat out more than 1000 other hopefuls and landed the coveted title role in the CBC telefilm The Diary of Evelyn Lau, based on the true story of a tortured poet who ran away from home and ended up a drug addict and prostitute in Vancouver. Her performance brought her a Gemini (Canada's Emmy) nomination for Best Actress and the 1994 Cannes FIPA d'Or for Best Actress.

Oh won her first Genie (Canada's Oscar) for her leading role in Double Happiness, a bittersweet coming-of-age story about a young Chinese-Canadian woman. She moved to Los Angeles in 1996 to begin the first of six seasons as Rita Wu, the smart and sassy assistant on the HBO comedy series, Arli$$, for which she won a Cable Ace Award for Best Actress in a Comedy. Her additional television credits include HBO's Six Feet Under, Showtime's Further Tales of the City and a recurring role on Judging Amy.

Her films include Under the Tuscan Sun, with Diane Lane, and Rick, with Bill Pullman and Agnes Buckner. Other film credits include Bean, Guinevere, The Red Violin, Waking the Dead, The Princess Diaries and Pay or Play. She also starred in Michael Radford's improvised Dancing at the Blue Iguana, a bleak and raw view of life in a strip club in L.A, and in the independent Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity. Her performance in Last Night, a Canadian film about the end of the world, led to her winning a second Genie Award for Best Actress in 1999.

Most recently Oh starred in Sideways for director Alexander Payne, and in the independent films Cake, Wilby Wonderful and 3 Needles.

Never straying far from her theatre roots, Oh has also starred in the world premieres of Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters at the La Jolla Playhouse and Diana Son's Stop Kiss at Joseph Papp's Public Theatre in New York, a role for which she received a Theatre World Award. She was also recently seen in the Vagina Monologues in New York.

She resides in Los Angeles.

Born in Washington, DC, but raised in New Canaan, Connecticut, Katherine Heigl began her career at the age of nine as a child model. It wasn't long before she graduated to commercial work, which opened the door to auditions for film roles. By age 12 she made her feature debut in That Night, starring Juliette Lewis and C. Thomas Howell.

In 1993 Heigl appeared in Steven Soderbergh's critically acclaimed depression-era drama, King of the Hill. The following year she landed her first leading role as a rebellious teenager, starring opposite Gerard Depardieu in Touchstone Pictures' My Father the Hero. She ventured into the world of action films when she starred opposite Steven Segal in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory in 1995.

Upon graduating high school in 1997, Heigl and her mother moved to Malibu, California, which enabled her to pursue her blossoming acting career more vigorously. She portrayed Rita Hayworth's stand-in in the feature film, Stand-ins, portrayed the Princess Ilene in a European production of Prince Valiant, starred in the comedy Wish Upon a Star, and co-starred opposite Peter Fonda in an updated television version of The Tempest. She also starred in two horror films, Bug Buster and The Bride of Chucky, with Jennifer Tilly.

In 1999 Heigl landed a starring role in the sci-fi drama series, Roswell. During the three years of that series, she continued to work in feature films, among them 100 Girls and Valentine, a horror film which starred David Boreanaz and Denise Richards.

Other television credits include the ABC movie Romy and Michele: Behind the Velvet Rope, Vegas Dick, the MTV movie Wuthering Heights, the Hallmark Channel's Love Comes Softly, Evil Never Dies for TBS, and Love's Enduring Promise. She also co-stars with Johnny Knoxville in the upcoming Farrelly Brothers comedy, The Ringer.

The New York Times named Chandra Wilson one of "Eight to Watch, Onstage and Behind the Scenes (Spring 2004)" for her role in the George C. Wolfe-directed Broadway play, Caroline, or Change.

The Houston,Texas native began here career performing at the age of five with Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS), where she appeared in more than ten of their major musical productions. She attended Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and later went on to acquire her BFA in undergraduate Drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. There, she spent four years training at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.

Wilson was a series regular on the ABC series Bob Patterson. Her numerous television credits include guest starring roles on The Sopranos, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Sex and the City, Third Watch, 100 Centre Street Cosby and The Cosby Show. She has had recurring roles on One Life to Live and Queens Supreme, and a principle role in the CBS Schoolbreak Special, Sexual Considerations. She has also appeared in national commercials for Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Scope and the United Negro College Fund, as well as numerous radio commercials.

On the big screen Wilson had supporting roles in Lone Star, directed by John Sayles, and Philadelphia, directed by Jonathan Demme.

Her greatest New York stage accomplishment was portraying Bonna Willis in the production of The Good Times are Killing Me, both at the Second Stage and Minetta Lane Theatres, for which she won a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance. Some of her other stage credits include The Miracle Worker at Charlotte Repertory Theatre, Paper Moon: the Musical at the Papermill Playhouse, The Family of Mann by Theresa Rebeck at the Second Stage Theatre, Believing, for the Young Playwright's Festival at Playwrights Horizons, Little Shop of Horrors at the Falmouth Playhouse, and the Broadway revival of On the Town, directed by George C. Wolfe.

A native of Houston, Texas, Isaiah Washington spent four years in the Air Force before studying drama at Washington, DC's Howard University. While at Howard, he won a role in the play Spell #7 and then moved to New York to further pursue his career. There he appeared in a number of stage productions, including August Wilson's Fences and Thornton Wilder's Skin of Our Teeth. With a passion for theater, Washington became one of the founding members of City Kids Repertory, a theater group that visits high schools and community centers throughout New York.

Washington first made his mark in cinema in gritty crime dramas and romantic ensemble comedies. He has been featured in four acclaimed Spike Lee films: Crooklyn, Clockers, Girl 6, and Get on the Bus. Other feature credits include Exit Wounds, Romeo Must Die, True Crime, Bulworth, Out of Sight, Love Jones, Dead Presidents, Stonewall, Strictly Business and the acclaimed Dancing in September - a performance which earned him a nomination for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor.

More recently Washington was seen in Ghost Ship, Welcome to Collinwood and Hollywood Homicide. Upcoming films include Moguls and Dead Birds.

On television, he has guest-starred in several series, including NYPD Blue, Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, Ally McBeal, New York Undercover, Living Single, Soul Food and Touched by an Angel.

Washington makes his home in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons.

Justin Chambers was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio. Discovered on a subway in Paris, he began his career as a professional model working throughout Europe, Japan and the U.S. with contracts at Calvin Klein and Armani, among others.

Setting his sights on acting, Chambers moved to New York and studied for four years at H.B. Studios and Ron Stetson Studios. His training garnered him several television roles, including Another World, New York Undercover, Rose Hill with Jennifer Garner and Four Corners with Ann-Margret.

Described as "part James Dean, part Marlon Brando" (Harper's Bazaar, 1998), Chambers got his big break when he was cast in his first feature film, Liberty Heights, directed by Barry Levinson. As a privileged but good-hearted troublemaker, he proved that he had the acting chops to hold his own opposite co-star Adrian Brody, and soon went on to play the lead role of D'Artagnan in Universal's action/adventure, The Musketeer. Additionally Chambers starred opposite Jennifer Lopez in the hit romantic comedy, The Wedding Planner, and with Uma Thurman in HBO's critically acclaimed Hysterical Blindness. He will next be seen in the upcoming independent films Southern Belles, opposite Ana Faris and Fred Weller, and In Control of All Things, opposite Robin Tunney and Rory Culkin.

Chambers currently resides in NY with his wife and five children.

Born in San Jose, California and raised both there and in Tucson, Arizona, Kate Walsh began her career in Chicago, studying at the renowned Piven Theatre Workshop. She then starred in theatrical productions of the critically acclaimed Born Guilty, Moon Under Miami and Troilus and Cressida at the Shakespeare Repertory.

In Chicago Walsh was cast in her first two independent films, Normal Life, directed by John McNaughton, and Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer II.

The actress' career quickly took off with a move to New York for comedy and improvisation training. She landed series regular roles on The Mike O'Malley Show (ABC), Mind of a Married Man (HBO) and The Drew Carey Show (ABC).

Walsh recently co-starred opposite Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall in the feature film Kicking and Screaming. Her other feature credits include Under the Tuscan Sun, After the Sunset, Inside Out and The Family Man.

Walsh resides in Los Angeles.