Giovanni Ribisi

Born Dec. 17, 1974, in Los Angeles, Giovanni Ribisi is known for the quirky characters he plays on television and in film. He began his acting career at age 11 on the series "Highway to Heaven" and continued to work steadily in television with guest spots on "My Two Dads," "The X-Files," "The Wonder Years," "NYPD Blue" and perhaps most notably as Lisa Kudrow's dim-bulb brother on "Friends."

His big film break came with a critically acclaimed role in the ensemble war picture Saving Private Ryan (1998), which landed him on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. Demonstrating his versatility and range, Ribisi played a mentally challenged young man in The Other Sister (1999), an ambitious stockbroker in Boiler Room (2000) and a troubled mechanic in The Gift (2000).

Other film credits include Lost in Translation (2003), Cold Mountain (2003) and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004).

Avatar

2009 PG-13

Disabled Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) travels to planet Pandora to become an avatar, ingratiate himself with the natives and help Americans mine lucrative unobtainium. But he finds himself in an interstellar conflict after falling for Na'vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). James Cameron writes and directs this Golden Globe-winning CGI odyssey that has broken box office records. Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang co-star.