Curated playlist
1976 births
- Derek ConnollyDerek Connolly wrote a Star Wars film that was never made. His draft became The Rise of Skywalker.
- Reese WitherspoonReese Witherspoon walked into an open casting call in 1991 intending to read for a bit part. She left with the lead in The Man in the Moon, playing Dani Trant, a 14-year-old country girl in Louisiana. Thirty years later, in 2021, Forbes…
- Colin FarrellColin Farrell was 18 and traveling in Sydney when a police sketch of an attempted murder suspect started to look uncomfortably like him. The resemblance was not his only problem. He had described blacking out during the night in question,…
- Rick RossRick Ross worked as a prison guard before he became a rap star. He first denied it, then confirmed it.
- Tim DuncanTim Duncan was a swimmer until a hurricane destroyed his island's only Olympic-sized pool.
- Anna FarisAnna Faris, the American actress and comedian, spent part of her childhood imagining that her orthodontic retainer could talk to her. She pictured herself on talk shows, explaining that talking retainer to the host. Today her films as a…
- Benedict CumberbatchA play titled Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die was meant as a love letter to his fans.
- Ryan ReynoldsRyan Reynolds gave up his usual fee so the Deadpool film would get made.
- Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)Hours before the 1998 World Cup final, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit. He was dropped, then reinstated.
- Makoto YukimuraMakoto Yukimura says he hates violence, yet he wrote Vinland Saga. The Viking manga ran until July 2025.
- Derek ChauvinDerek Michael Chauvin joined the Minneapolis Police Department in 2001, and on the 25th of May 2020 he became one of the most scrutinized defendants in the world. That day he was among four officers who arrested George Floyd, a 46-year-old…
- Cillian MurphyCillian Murphy, the Irish actor and film producer born on the 25th of May 1976, once looked back on a single month as the hinge of his life. That month was August 1996. In 2023 he described the sort of domino effect that a handful of…
- Jon BernthalJon Bernthal was studying acting in Russia when he also won a place as a catcher for a Russian professional baseball team. Few American actors can say the same. That pairing of stage training and a ballfield, far from home, sets the tone…
- Chester BenningtonChester Bennington left his own birthday party early to record an audition. That audition opened the way to Linkin Park, and with it a place among the most recognizable rock voices of the 2000s. Yet the same singer fought a pain that he…
- Russell VoughtRussell Vought spent the night of the 5th of February 2025 at the center of a Senate vigil. Democrats had lost a procedural vote that advanced his nomination, so they tried to delay the final tally by staying awake through the night. It…
- Yuval Noah HarariYuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens grew out of an undergraduate world history class.
- Demis HassabisDemis Hassabis changed one letter to turn a Greek word for butcher into his surname. He later won a Nobel Prize.
- Chauncey BillupsChauncey Billups went from a draft bust to NBA Finals MVP. The Pistons guard led a 2004 upset of the Lakers.
- Alexei NavalnyAlexei Navalny was screaming on a plane because he knew he was dying. He was poisoned with Novichok in 2020.
- Andrew NgA neural network taught itself to recognize cats from YouTube videos. Andrew Ng cofounded Google Brain.
- Colin TrevorrowA strange 1997 magazine ad seeking a time-travel partner became Colin Trevorrow's breakout film.
- Alexander SkarsgårdOn the 31st of January 2026, Alexander Skarsgård stepped onto the stage of Saturday Night Live to host its 1,000th episode, with the rapper Cardi B as musical guest. The Swedish actor, born in 1976, is the son of a celebrated actor, and…
- David M. EwaltIn 2009, David M. Ewalt co-created the first Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People.
- Joe ManganielloJoe Manganiello went out for Peter Parker and came home as Flash Thompson. It was his first professional acting credit.
- Chris TerrioChris Terrio spent months checking whether Gatorade existed in December 1979. He needed it for one joke in Argo.
- Damon JonesDamon Jones hit an overtime shot in 2006 that won Cleveland a playoff series.
- Ali LarterAli Larter, born Alison Elizabeth Larter on the 28th of February 1976, once played a woman who did not exist. In November 1996, Esquire magazine put her on its cover as Allegra Coleman, billed as the movies' next dream girl. The article…