Aaron Eckhart and his family moved to England when he entered his teen years. That is where he first got into acting. Eckhart also served a 2 year mission in France and Switzerland (with the Mormon church).
Ben Stiller a self-professed Trekkie.
Catherine Keener is Irish (father’s side) and Lebanese (mother’s side).
Daniel Day-Lewis was born to a titled poet (father) and an actress (mother). As a child, he grew up partly in South London, and was sometimes bullied by the tough kids for being “posh” and Jewish (mother’s side). As a result, he mastered the local accent and mannerisms and credits that with being his first convincing performances. In 1997, he moved to Florence, Italy and eventually apprenticed as a shoemaker. Day-Lewis has his pic is on a stamp of Ireland- VERY cool!
Denis Leary was born to Irish Catholic immigrants; he holds both Irish and American citizenship. Despite his tough-guy persona, he is still married to his college girlfriend (writer Ann Leary) and enjoys watching the Oprah show.
Edward Burns, like most of his characters, is a true son on New York. The actor/writer/director was born in Woodside, Queens and raised on Long Island. His mom worked for the fed gov’t and his dad was a cop/PR spokesman.
Emilio Estevez often wrote short films for his brother (Charlie Sheen) and friends (Rob & Chad Lowe, Sean & Chris Penn) while in high school.
Jason Patric turned down the lead role in The Firm; he also turned down the role of Jesus in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Isn’t the young pic (above) ADORABLE?
Kiefer Sutherland took a brief break from acting in the early ’90s to pursue a career in the rodeo.
Madeleine Stowe, an actress known for her delicate/exotic beauty, didn’t go on a date until age 18. Her mother immigrated to the U.S. from Costa Rica. Stowe began taking piano lessons at age 10 with the aim of becoming a concert pianist — and also as a way of not having to socialize with other kids. (The 2nd pic is of Stowe w/ her co-star in The Last of the Mohicans, Daniel Day-Lewis.)
Quincy Jones (above w/ Peggy Lipton & his daughters) has never learned to drive, citing an accident in which he was a passenger (at age 14) as the reason.
William Petersen, who is of Danish and German descent, attended college on a football scholarship. But an acting class changed his life, and he followed his professor to the Basque region of Spain. There he studied to be a Shakespearean actor. Petersen was offered the lead role of Henry Hill in Goodfellas, but turned it down.