Which Actor Played Them? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tom Hanks

Born Thomas Jeffrey Hanks in Concord CA in 1956, his films has grossed more than $8 billion worldwide.
In 1995, Hanks became the second actor (after Spencer Tracy in 1939) to win the Best Actor award in consecutive years.
Tom Hanks played the adult Josh Baskin in "Big" in 1988, Joe Banks in "Joe Versus the Volcano" in 1990, Sam Baldwin in "Sleepless in Seattle" in 1993, Andrew Beckett in an Oscar-winning performance in "Philadelphia" also in 1993, and Chuck Noland in "Cast Away" in 2000.

Answer: Sean Penn

Born Sean Justin Penn in Los Angeles CA in 1960, he won the Best Actor Oscar in 2004 (for "Mystic River") and in 2009 (for "Milk"). He thus became the ninth person in Oscar history to earn a second win in this category. He was married to singer/actress Madonna from 1985-1989 and to actress Robin Wright from 1996-2010. Sean Penn played Jeff Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" in 1982, Daulton Lee in "The Falcon and the Snowman" in 1985, Officer Danny McGavin in "Colors" in 1988, Matthew Poncelet in "Dead Man Walking" (1995) for which he earned an Oscar nomination, and Jimmy Markum in "Mystic River" in 2003.

Answer: Sandra Bullock

Born Sandra Annette Bullock in Arlington County VA in 1964, the 2012 edition of the "Guinness Book of World Records" named her as Hollywood's highest-paid actress at $56 million per film.
Sandra Bullock played Lenina Huxley in "Demolition Man" in 1993, Annie Porter in "Speed" in 1994, Ellen Roark in John Grisham's "A Time to Kill" in 1996, Jean Cabot in "Crash" in 2004, and Leigh Anne Tuohy in "The Blind Side" for which she won the Best Actress Oscar in 2010.

Answer: Helen Mirren

Born Helen Lydia Mironoff in London in 1945, Dame Helen Mirren DBE has won numerous Emmys, BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Cannes Film Festival awards in addition to her Best Actress Oscar.
Helen Mirren played Caesonia in "Caligula" in 1979, Queen Charlotte (of Mecklenburg-Strelitz) in "The Madness of King George" in 1994, the housekeeper Mrs. Wilson in "Gosford Park" in 2001, Chris Harper in "Calendar Girls" in 2003, and Alma Reville aka Lady Hitchcock in "Hitchcock" in 2012.

Answer: Daniel Day-Lewis

Born Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis in London in 1957, his parents are the actress Jill Balcon and the Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis. Arthur Miller, the Pulitzer-winning American playwright who was once married to Marilyn Monroe, is his father-in-law.

In 2013, he became the first person to win three Best Actor Oscars. Daniel Day-Lewis played Cecil Vyse in the 1985 adaptation of E.M. Forster's "A Room with a View", Christy Brown in "My Left Foot" for which he earned his first Oscar in 1990, Nathaniel "Hawkeye" Poe in "The Last of the Mohicans" in 1992, John Proctor in "The Crucible" in 1996, and William Cutting aka "Bill the Butcher" in "Gangs of New York" in 2002.

Answer: Jack Nicholson

Born John Joseph Nicholson in Neptune City NJ in 1937, he has won three acting Oscars (with two Best Actor awards and one win in the the Best Supporting Actor category to his name). Nicholson and Michael Caine are the only two actors who were nominated acting Oscars in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s.

His 2002 nomination for "About Schmidt" was his eighth in the Best Actor category, leaving him just one behind the record shared by Laurence Olivier and Spencer Tracy. Jack Nicholson played George Hanson in "Easy Rider" which earned him his first Oscar nomination in 1969, Robert Eroica Dupea in "Five Easy Pieces" for which he earned his first Best Actor nomination in 1970, J.J. "Jake" Gittes in "Chinatown" earning another nomination in 1974, Garrett Breedlove in "Terms of Endearment" (1983) for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and Colonel Nathan R. Jessup in "A Few Good Men" in 1992.

Answer: Hilary Swank

Born Hilary Ann Swank in Lincoln NE in 1974, she was married to actor Chad Lowe from 1997 until 2007. In 2004, she became the 12th person in Oscar history to win a second Best Actress award (Meryl Streep has since joined that group).
Hilary Swank played Julie Pierce, the title role in "The Next Karate Kid" in 1994, Brandon Teena in "Boys Don't Cry" (1999) for which she won her first Oscar, Detective Ellie Burr in "Insomnia" in 2002, Maggie Fitzgerald in "Million Dollar Baby", her second Oscar-winning role in 2004 and Holly Kennedy in "P. S. I Love You" in 2007.

Answer: Meryl Streep

Born Mary Louise Streep in Summit NJ in 1949, Meryl Streep's performance as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" in 2011 not only earned her a second Best Actress Oscar win, but was also her 14th nomination in the category (two more even than Katharine Hepburn). Meryl Streep played Sophie Zawistowski in "Sophie's Choice" (1982), her second nomination and her first Oscar win for Best Actress (although she had previously won the Best Supporting Actress award for "Kramer vs Kramer" in 1979).

She also played Karen Blixen in "Out of Africa" in 1985, Francesca Johnson in "The Bridges of Madison County" in 1995, Eleanor Shaw in "The Manchurian Candidate" in 2004 and Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada" in 2006.

Answer: Dustin Hoffman

Born Dustin Lee Hoffman in Los Angeles CA in 1937, he earned his first Best Actor nomination in just his second film appearance when he played Benjamin Braddock in "The Graduate" in 1967.
Dustin Hoffman played David Sumner in "Straw Dogs" in 1971, Louis Dega in "Papillon" in 1973, Michael Dorsey aka Dorothy Michaels in "Tootsie" in 1982, Stanley Motss in "Wag the Dog" in 1997 and Wendell Rohr in the adaptation of John Grisham's "Runaway Jury" in 2003.

Answer: Jodie Foster

Born Alicia Christian Foster in Los Angeles CA in 1962, she appeared in some 20 different television series (including "The Doris Day Show", "Gunsmoke", "Bonanza" and "Ironside") by the time she was 10 years old. Jodie Foster is a graduate of Yale University, where she earned a B.A.(magna cum laude) in literature. Jodie Foster played Iris Steensma in "Taxi Driver" (1976), for which she earned her first Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actress) aged just 14, Sarah Tobias in "The Accused" (1988) for which she won her first Best Actress Oscar, Annabelle Bransford in "Maverick" in 1994, Dr. Eleanor Arroway in "Contact" in 1997 and Erica Bain in "The Brave One" in 2007.