We Were Soldiers

Mel Gibson (Actor) .. Lt Col Harold G Moore

Born: January 03, 1956 in New York

Best Known For: Being one of the biggest movie stars of all time.

Early-life: Mel Colm-cille Gerard Gibson was born on January 3, 1956, in the New York suburb of Peekskill. He is the sixth of 11 children. The family relocated to Australia when Mel was 12. He went to drama school after one of his older sisters sent in his application and fee without him knowing. He studied alongside fellow future stars Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis and started out in low-budget movies like Summer City and Tim, before becoming a worldwide star in Mad Max.

Career: The US success of Mad Max 2 led to Gibson being offered mainstream Hollywood roles, including The Bounty, Mrs Soffel, and The River, before Lethal Weapon turned him into an A-list star in 1987. His directorial debut was 1993's The Man Without a Face, and his follow-up in front and behind the camera, Braveheart, won several Oscars. His company, Icon, has backed a string of hit-and-miss movies in recent years, including Kevin and Perry Go Large, and What Women Want. Gibson has also starred in Signs, and The Patriot, and wrote and directed controversial drama The Passion of the Christ, which Gibson himself funded. After taking a break from acting, he returned with Edge of Darkness and The Beaver.

Quote: 'I'm not a done deal. I'm a work in progress. I'm still extremely flawed.'

Trivia: He was the first Australian actor to be paid $1,000,000 for a film role.

Madeleine Stowe (Actor) .. Julie Moore

Greg Kinnear (Actor) .. Maj Bruce Crandall

Born: June 17, 1963 in Logansport, Indiana

Best Known For: A string of Hollywood movies.

Early-life: Gregory Buck Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, on June 17, 1963 to Suzanne and Edward. He has two brothers, James and Steven. His father was a diplomat with the US State Department, so he moved often. While a student in Athens, Greg gained experience as a radio talk show host. After returning to the United States, he studied broadcast journalism at the University of Arizona.

Career: Kinnear's first break came in 1991 when he poked fun at talk shows as the host of Talk Soup. He played a talk show host in his first major film role, Blankman (1994). Prominent roles followed in Sabrina (1995), Dear God (1996), As Good As it Gets (1997) and You've Got Mail (1998). His other film credits include Stuck on You (2003), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Baby Mama (2008) and Green Zone (2010). In 2011, he played John F Kennedy in the miniseries The Kennedys.

Quote: 'I've never had a clear road map. When things come along, I benefit.'

Trivia: Kinnear was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good As it Gets.

Chris Klein (Actor) .. Second Lt Jack Geoghegan

Born: March 14, 1979 in Hinsdale, Illinois

Best Known For: The American Pie films.

Early-life: Frederick Christopher Klein was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, on March 14, 1979 to Terese and Fred. He has an older sister and a younger brother. His family moved to Omaha, Nebraska, when he was 13. An accomplished athlete - he played American football for his high school team and his first major acting role was as a football player in Election (1999).

Career: Klein achieved worldwide recognition for his second film when he played Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher in the hugely popular American Pie (1999). He reprised the role in American Pie 2 (2001) and American Reunion (2012). His other film credits include Rollerball (2002), We Were Soldiers (2002), Just Friends (2005) and American Dreamz (2006). Since 2011, he has had a recurring role in TV comedy Wilfred.

Quote: 'When I started in the late nineties, it was all about young Hollywood. There were jobs for all of us if you were 18 to 21, were slightly good looking, or could be funny.'

Trivia: In 2010, after years of struggling with alcohol addiction, Klein checked into a rehab facility.

Sam Elliott (Actor) .. Sgt Maj Basil Plumley

Born: August 09, 1944 in Sacramento, California

Best Known For: A number of films.

Early-life: Samuel Pack Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, on August 9, 1944. As a teenager, he moved with his family to Oregon. He studied at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, where he was cast as one of the leads in a production of Guys and Dolls. A local newspaper review suggested he should consider becoming a professional actor.

Career: Elliott started out as a character actor and was often cast in Westerns. His first film was as a card player in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). In the early 1970s, he had a recurring role on the TV series Mission: Impossible. In 1976, he played the lead roles in miniseries Once An Eagle and the film Lifeguard. He made guest appearances in the likes of Gunsmoke, The Streets of San Francisco, and Hawaii Five-O. His film credits include Mask (1985), Road House (1989), Sibling Rivalry (1990), Tombstone (1993), The Big Lebowski (1998), We Were Soldiers (2002), Hulk (2003), Thank You for Smoking (2005), The Golden Compass (2007), Up in the Air (2009) and Draft Day (2014).

Quote: 'I think anytime you can affect people in general, in a positive way, then you're a lucky individual.'

Trivia: Elliott was nominated for Golden Globes for Buffalo Girls (1995) and the TV movie Conagher (1991), in which he starred alongside his wife, Katharine Ross.

Keri Russell (Actor) .. Barbara Geoghegan

Barry Pepper (Actor) .. Joseph L Galloway

Randall Wallace (Director)

9:00 pm - 11:45 pm, Monday, June 29 on Legend Xtra (69)

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