Fourteen Actors Under Forty Who Don't Have Your Attention--But Should

Amy Acker is most well-known for her work with Joss Whedon on Angel, in which she portrayed Winifred "Fred" Burkle, as well as Illyria--a demon possessing Fred's body--in the final season. Ms. Acker received a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 2003 for Angel.

Before her television career began, Ms. Acker received a nomination for a Leon Rabin Award for her work in the naturalistic play The Raquin in 1999. She received a BFA in acting from Southern Methodist University that same year.

Since the show's cancellation, she enjoyed the starring role in the film Groom Lake (directed by William Shatner), and small supporting roles in Catch Me If You Can and The Novice.

Ms. Acker joined the cast of ABC's Alias for its final season, playing villian Kelly Peyton, who works for a nefarious terrorist organization. She worked with Oliver Hudson in the short film "Mr. Dramatic," and has had numerous guest spots on prime-time television shows, including but not limited to How I Met Your Mother, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Ghost Whisperer and Private Practice. She had a recurring role on Whedon's short lived FOX drama series, Dollhouse.

You can catch Amy Acker in the upcoming films The Cabin in the Woods and Sironia.

Amy Acker Official Site
Amy Acker on Twitter
Amy Acker on IMDb

Charlene Amoia is most well-known for her portrayal of Wendy the Waitress on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Ms. Amoia has been used in a surprising way by the show, as she also is the voice behind the notorious TedMosbyIsAJerk.com--a website that, according to the sitcom's plot, was supposedly started by a young lady who is not Wendy the Waitress, but a conquest of the shameless womanizer Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris). She believed Stinson to be Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) due to Stinson's lies. After being left abruptly with a note from Stinson (still pretending to be Mosby), she started TedMosbyIsAJerk.com, which is a real website that includes an approximately twenty minute musical tirade against "Ted Mosby"--featuring the hilarious and impressive vocal and improvisational stylings of Charlene Amoia.

Ms. Amoia has enjoyed several guest spots and recurring roles on prime-time television shows, including but not limited to Port Charles, The Closer, Mind of Mencia, Nip/Tuck, Dexter and The Young and the Restless. She has also appeared in small supporting roles in several films, including but not limited to Only In Hollywood, Company Man, Rogue 379 and Do Not Disturb. She has also appeared in several national commercials.

You can continue to watch Charlene Amoia on How I Met Your Mother, Monday nights at 8:00 ET on CBS, and in the upcoming films The Longer Day of Happiness, I Am Death and American Reunion with Alyson Hannigan and Jason Biggs.

Charlene Amoia on IMDb
Charlene Amoia on Twitter
Ted Mosby is a Jerk

Tony Award winner Laura Benanti is well-known to regular Broadway theater-goers, but likely not to many others. Ms. Benanti has had a hugely successful Broadway career since her debut at the age of 19 as Maria in The Sound of Music. She has since then racked up two Tony nominations for Swing! and Into the Woods, and a win for her starring turn with Patti LuPone (Mama Rose) in the latest Broadway revival of Gypsy as Louise (a.k.a. Gypsy Rose Lee).

She has also had starring roles in Nine, Hair and The Wedding Singer. She also received a Drama Desk Award for her role in Gypsy.

She received very positive reviews for the Off-Broadway limited engagement Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them, by Christopher Durang, which played at The Public Theater from April 6th through May 10th, 2009. Her most recent Broadway production (another limited engagement), Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, was also well received. It ran at the Lyceum Theater from November 19th, 2009 through January 10th, 2010.

Ms. Benanti has worked in television a great deal as well, with a starring role in the 2005 FX dark comedy Starved, and a recurring role on ABC's Eli Stone.

Direct from Official Site: "Everyone needs to check out BroadwayImpact.com, a community of actors, directors, stage managers, fans, producers - pretty much anyone who has ever seen, been in or worked on a Broadway show - united by the simple belief that anyone who wants to should be able to get married."

You can catch Laura Benanti at The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Time Warner Center in Manhattan for two performances on February 11th, 2012, as part of Lincoln Center Presents: The American Songbook. You can also see her at the Bay Area Cabaret at The Fairmont: Venetian Room in San Francisco on May 12th, 2012.

Laura Benanti Official Site
Laura Benanti on IBDb
Laura Benanti on IMDb
Laura Benanti on Twitter

Stage and screen actor David Burtka is another Gypsy alum, though his starring turn as Tulsa occurred during the 2003 Broadway revival starring Bernadette Peters as Mama Rose. He received a nomination for a Fred Astaire award for this performance.

Mr. Burtka is an acclaimed actor, having received the Clarence Derwent Award as Best Male Newcomer to the New York Theater for his performance as Boy in the 2001 Off-Broadway production of Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby.

Mr. Burtka's other theatrical credits include, but are not limited to, the national tour of Beauty and the Beast, the starring role of Matt in The Opposite of Sex at The Magic Theater in San Francisco (a role which he originated, then reprised at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Williamstown, MA in the summer of 2006), Beautiful Thing (NY), Bad Boy Johnny (NY) and Children of Eden (Paper Mill Playhouse, NJ).

He has enjoyed guest spots on several prime-time television shows, including but not limited to The West Wing, Crossing Jordan, How I Met Your Mother and CSI: New York.

Mr. Burtka was a featured actor for the FOX reality series On the Lot, a competitive reality show for aspiring filmmakers. Mr. Burtka starred in several of the contestants' short films, including but not limited to "Driving Under the Influence," "Army Guy," and "Worldly Possessions."

Mr. Burtka is also a professional chef and graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, California with a culinary arts degree. While in New York City, he worked as a private chef and then moved on to open his own catering company, Gourmet M.D. with partner Molly Hanisee.

David Burtka received a BFA in acting from the University of Michigan and had further training at the famed William Esper Studios in Manhattan.

You can catch David Burtka in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas as a fictional version of himself--alongside partner Neil Patrick Harris, who also plays a fictional version of himself. You can also catch him in his new position as an entertainment reporter for E! News.

David Burtka on IMDb
David Burtka on IBDb
David Burtka on The Internet Off-Broadway Database
David Burtka on Twitter
Gourmet MD Official Site

Rose Byrne is an Australian actress who earned two Golden Globe nominations and two Emmy nominations for her role on the FX cable series Damages, as Ellen Parsons. She has starred in the financially successful films Insidious, X-Men: First Class and Bridesmaids. In 1999, she studied acting at the Atlantic Theatre Company, developed by David Mamet and William H. Macy. She was cast in her first film role at the age of 13, and has taken acting classes since she was eight.

Ms. Byrne has been very successful in film, and has appeared in the film Two Hands with fellow Australian Heath Ledger, and The Goddess of 1967 for which she won the Volpi Cup for "Best Actress" at the 2000 Venice Film Festival. Moving to Hollywood from Australia, she played handmaiden and body double to Natalie Portman's Padmé in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones in 2002. She has since appeared in City of Ghosts, The Night We Called it a Day, Troy, Wicker Park, The Dead Girl, 28 Weeks Later, and Get Him to the Greek, among others.

You can catch Rose Byrne in the upcoming film The Place Beyond the Pines with Ryan Gosling and Ray Liotta, and on the television series "Damages" Wednesdays at 10:00 pm ET on DIRECTV channel 239.

Damages on DIRECTV
Rose Byrne on IMDb

Colette D'Antona is an accomplished actress of regional theater and indie films. She works with The Phoenix Theater in Phoenix, AZ and was most recently seen there in the comedy Almost Maine, in which she portrayed three different roles.

Ms. D'Antona received an MFA in acting from the prestigious Alabama Shakespeare Festival in 2003 and with them performed in many productions, including but certainly not limited to Measure for Measure (Mariana), Cinderella (Fairy Godmother) A Christmas Carol (Ensemble), Much Ado About Nothing (Ursula), The Grapes of Wrath (Ma Joad), and Twelfth Night (Viola).

Ms. D'Antona has performed in regional theater in Westchester, New York with the Fleetwood Stage (Macbeth, Comedy of Errors, Beirut) and the Blueberry Pond Staged Series (Cadillac). She has also performed for the River Union Stage in Frenchtown, NJ (Beshert). She made her Off-Off-Broadway debut in The Brothers Karamazov at the Mazer Theater in the fall of 2006.

Ms. D'Antona has appeared in several short films, including but not limited to "Drawing Straws" and "The Tenant" for Level 92 Productions and "Montauk Arizona" for No Sheep Pictures.

In Spring 2008, Ms. D'Antona was voted spokesperson for Pub Films, a public movie studio for new and independent artists.

You can catch Colette D'Antona in the aforementioned short film "Drawing Straws," (available on YouTube), and the "The Tenant" will be released shortly. Also look for future productions at The Phoenix Theater and in the New York City metro area.

Direct from official site, 04.01.2012: Tickets for All Through The Night are going fast. Hurry and get yours! Opening night is already sold out. Learn more at www.theaterworks.org.

Direct from official site, 03.24.2012: Rehearsals are in full swing for All Through The Night...Opening night is April 13th

Colette D'Antona Official Site
Colette D'Antona on Twitter
Colette D'Antona on LinkedIn
Colette D'Antona on IMDb
Level 92 Productions on YouTube

Felicia Day is most notable to television audiences as Potential Slayer Vi from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and to Internet lovers as Penny from "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" and Codex (a.k.a. Cyd) from The Guild.

Ms. Day writes, produces and stars in a "sitcom webisode" called The Guild (currently in its fourth season) about a group of twenty- and thirtysomethings who are addicted to the hugely popular role-playing game World of Warcraft. Relevant and funny, this sitcom was originally delivered in approximately three to six minute episodes on its own website, popular video-sharing website YouTube, and a DVD release. To coincide with the Season 2 launch, Ms. Day announced a partnership with Sprint, Xbox and Microsoft--the show now streams for free on MSN video, and those with Xbox Live are able to download episodes as they are released weekly.

Ms. Day's commitment to creative web content is helping to move the entertainment world in a new, welcome direction--allowing for free entertainment for the public as well as taking creative control out of the hands of the suits and back where it belongs--with the artists.

Ms. Day continued this trend with her starring turn opposite Neil Patrick Harris in Joss Whedon's sci-fi/fantasy web musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," released in July of 2008. Created exclusively for the Internet (though a DVD was released on December 19th, 2008--available on Amazon), this tremendously funny and hauntingly beautiful project was a very successful showcase of Whedon's known talent for character development and dialogue. With its poignant and witty writing, along with brilliant performances from Day, Harris and Nathan Fillion (Castle), it performed so strongly that the website traffic crashed the server on the first day of its release. This overwhelming response is indicative of the demand for more high-quality web content, and Felicia Day does not fail to deliver. The Guild won the YouTube and Yahoo Video Awards for Best Web Series. It also won the Greenlight Award for Best Original Digital Series Production at the South by Southwest festivals.

Ms. Day trained with the famed Groundlings improv troupe in Los Angeles, and possesses a double B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in Mathematics and Music. She is a professionally trained violinist and dancer. Ms. Day has also trained and worked with Empty Stage Theater and ACME Comedy Theater in Los Angeles, and has worked with the Austin Circle Theater in Austin, TX.

Ms. Day has appeared in several films, including but not limited to Prairie Fever, Final Sale, God's Waiting List and June. She had a supporting role in the HBO television movie Warm Springs, and was a series regular on the WB (now the CW) show "Here Come the Joneses." Ms. Day has had recurring roles on the aforementioned Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as Strong Medicine, Windfall and Roommates (currently on ABC Family). She has enjoyed many guest spots on prime-time television as well, including but not limited to Undeclared, For the People, Century City, Monk, House, M.D." and Dollhouse.

You can catch Felicia Day in "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," in the latest season of The Guild, and in the upcoming films Lust for Love and Rock Jocks.

Felicia Day Official Site
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: ACT I, ACT II, ACT III
The Guild Official Site
Felicia Day on IMDb
Felicia Day on Twitter

Amy Okuda is most well-known for her role in the aforementioned web series The Guild, as "Tinkerballa." Ms. Okuda is a trained dancer, and has worked as a model as well. She has appeared in another web series, Bite Me, with Machinima.com, and on television in the ABC Family series Jane By Design.

Ms. Okuda worked as a principal dancer in many regional stage performances, including but not limited to Asia, Annie and The Wizard of Oz, in addition to many ad spots. She trained in acting at Stan Kirsch Acting Studios in Los Angeles.

You can now catch Amy Okuda in the Showtime series Californication with David Duchovny, and in the upcoming film Chastity Bites.

Amy Okuda Official Site
Amy Okuda Official Blog
The Guild Official Site
Amy Okuda on IMDb
Amy Okuda on Twitter

Sandeep Parikh is an actor, writer, playwright, director and web producer. He stars as the obsessive Zaboo in Felicia Day's award-winning web series The Guild. He is the founder of EffinFunny.com, a comedy video site focusing on alternative stand up comedy and the creation of original web series.

Mr. Parikh attended Brown University and received a B.A. in Computer Science along with Honors in Creative Writing. He wrote and improvised sketches for a comedy troupe there known as The Village Idiots. In 2001 he wrote and produced his first film, The Courier Dodge, which was a finalist at the Ivy Film Festival for Best Comedy.

Mr. Parikh wrote plays for a time in Brooklyn, NY, and then moved to Los Angeles in 2004. He founded Effinfunny.com in 2006, using it primarily to post edited versions of his colleagues' stand-up routines as promotional tools. In April 2007 he conceived the concept for Legend of Neil, now a parody web series of Legend of Zelda, in which the title character gets sucked into a medieval video game with only his wooden sword and must find a way to escape. Similar in length to episodes of The Guild, Legend of Neil is available on EffinFunny.com as well as its own website. Felicia Day guest stars in Episode 3. The pilot won best Sci Fi Fantasy Web Pilot for the Acceptable.tv podcast.

Mr. Parikh co-wrote the screen play Pretty Dead Things and the short-lived web series Raptor and The Blood Oath of Three Men and a Baby. He also starred in and directed the latter two.

You can catch Sandeep Parikh in the latest season of The Guild.

Sandeep Parikh Official Site
Sandeep Parikh on IMDb
Sandeep Parikh on Twitter
EffinFunny.com
Legend of Neil Official Site
The Guild Official Site

Nicole Parker is most well-known to television audiences as the longest-running female cast member on the FOX sketch comedy show MADtv, having been cast in 2003. She is most notable for her impressions of celebrities and numerous music video parodies.

Ms. Parker has trained in both theater and voice at Indiana University, and has performed with several different improv troupes, including the famed Second City (Chicago). She has also performed at the famed Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Ms. Parker is also a co-founder of a New York-based theater company called Waterwell Productions, and she lived and performed in Amsterdam for two years.

Ms. Parker is a phenomenal impressionist, with a very lengthy list of impressions including but not limited to: Britney Spears, Ashley Tisdale, Ashlee Simpson, Paula Abdul, Celine Dion, Ellen DeGeneres, Gwen Stefani, Jessica Simpson, Nelly Furtado, Hillary Clinton, Julie Andrews, Kathy Griffin, Shakira, Amy Winehouse, Kristin Cavallari, Renee Zellweger, Rachael Ray, Judy Garland, Feist, Kelly and Ali Larter, Paris Hilton, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kim Kardashian. She was also MADtv's answer to Tina Fey, as she was their resident Sarah Palin impersonator.

Ms. Parker spent six months performing in Martin Short's 2006 Broadway show Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, in which she showed off many of these impressions along with her musical and comedic talents. She then played the coveted role of Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked from January 16th through July 19th, 2009. She also starred in the Broadway musical The People in the Picture in 2011.

Ms. Parker has appeared as herself on Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, as well as in the films Meet the Spartans, Disaster Movie and the Judd Apatow film about the industry of comedy, Funny People.

You can continue to catch Nicole Parker in reruns of MADtv on the FOX network (weekdays, check your local listings), and the upcoming short film Sitting Babies.

Nicole Parker on IMDb
Nicole Parker on IBDb
MADtv Official Site

Jim Parsons is most well-known for portraying persnickety genius Dr. Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory." This breakout performance is nuanced and hilariously funny, proving Mr. Parsons to be one of Hollywood's best-kept secrets.

Mr. Parsons received a B.A. in theater from the University of Houston, and was a co-founder of the Houston-based theater company Infernal Bridegroom Productions. His theatrical credits with this company include but are not limited to Endgame, Guys and Dolls and The Balcony.

Mr. Parsons enjoyed a standout supporting role in the film Garden State in 2004, and has had supporting roles in several other films, including but not limited to Heights, The King's Inn, 10 Items or Less, School for Scoundrels and Gardener of Eden.

Mr. Parsons also had a recurring role on the hour-long drama Judging Amy in 2005.

You can catch Jim Parsons in the upcoming film Cooler, and on The Big Bang Theory on CBS (Thursday nights at 8:00 ET).

Jim Parsons on IMDb

Samantha Shelton is most well-known for her recurring role as Evie Martell on the long-running hour-long drama Judging Amy, and her supporting role as a pregnant teen in foster care in the film White Oleander in 2002.

Ms. Shelton has had supporting roles in films including but not limited to Moving Alan, Learing Curves, Ellie Parker, Shopgirl and Marcus. She has had guest spots on many prime-time television shows, including but not limited to Freaks and Geeks, Roswell, One Tree Hill, and CSI: Miami.

In addition to Judging Amy, Ms. Shelton has had recurring roles on Conviction and Monarch Cove.

Ms. Shelton also performs with The Echo Theater Company, and co-headlines the jazz cabaret act If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies with the aforementioned Zooey Deschanel.

Ms. Shelton's latest album Cranky Moon became available at Amazon.com and on ITunes on August 18th, 2009.

You can catch Samantha Shelton in the upcoming film 6 Month Rule with Jaime Pressly, and wherever If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies is performing.

Samantha Shelton on IMDb
Samantha Shelton on Twitter
Samantha Shelton on MySpace Music

Cobie Smulders is most well-known for her portrayal of news reporter Robin Scherbatsky on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

Ms. Smulders is a former international model, having modeled in France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Greece. After quite a few prime time guest spots (Special Unit 2, Jeremiah) she was first cast as a series regular on the short-lived prime time ABC show Veritas: The Quest. After its abrupt cancellation, Cobie Smulders had several more guest spots on prime-time television shows, including but not limited to Tru Calling, Smallville and Andromeda.

Ms. Smulders then enjoyed a recurring role on the Showtime prime time drama The L Word, and appeared in a few feature films (The Long Weekend, Escape and The Storm Awaits).

Ms. Smulders finally gained national attention on How I Met Your Mother, a show that allows her to display a broad range of both comedic and dramatic skills, with a few music video parodies thrown in the mix.

Ms. Smulders has spent her summers off from How I Met Your Mother performing Shakespeare in London and working with the famed improv comedy group The Upright Citizen's Brigade.

You can continue to catch Cobie Smulders on How I Met Your Mother on CBS (Monday nights at 8:00 ET), and in the upcoming films Grassroots with Jason Biggs and The Avengers with Robert Downey, Jr. and Scarlett Johansson.

Cobie Smulders on IMDb
The Slammin' Salmon Official Site

Kerry Washington is most well-known for her arresting performance as Ray Charles's long-suffering wife Della Bea in the 2004 biopic Ray, opposite Jamie Foxx as the iconic musician. She has since been cast in multiple film roles, including but not limited to Mr. & Mrs. Smith, I Think I Love My Wife, The Last King of Scotland and For Colored Girls. She appeared on Broadway in David Mamet's Race in 2010.

Ms. Washington has enjoyed recurring roles on the television series Boston Legal and 100 Centre Street. She received a B.A. in Theater from George Washington University in 1998 on a Presidential Arts Scholarship, and continued her acting training at Michael Howard Studios in Manhattan. She is currently a spokeswoman for L'Oreal.

You can catch Kerry Washington in the upcoming films A Thousand Words with Eddie Murphy, We the Peeples with Ana Gasteyer, and Django Unchained with Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson. She is also set to star in a mid-season replacement television series called Scandal, set to premiere on April 5th, 2012 on ABC.

Kerry Washington on IMDb
Kerry Washington on Twitter