Troy Garity

When his mother gave birth to him in 1972, she and then-husband Tom Hayden opted not to saddle their son with either well-known surname, thus allowing him to develop his own individuality. Clearly, acting was in his blood, though, and Garity began by spending his childhood summers at the Laurel Springs Camp for the Arts in Santa Barbara. In 1993, he moved to NYC to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and three years later headed back to Southern California to pursue a career. Almost immediately, he landed a small role in the HBO original "The Cherokee Kid" (1996) and secured his first big screen gig, a tiny part in "Conspiracy Theory" (1997). Garity's first major film role seemed like a natural; he was tapped to portray his own father in the Abbie Hoffman biopic "Steal This Movie!" (2000) and while he acquitted himself, the film barely registered with the public. Following an appearance in the ensemble of the Sundance-screened improvised film "Perfume" (2001), the good-looking, dark-haired actor landed what promised to be his breakthrough role in the crime comedy "Bandits" (2001). Cast as Harvey Pollard, a sweet-natured but excessively dim wannabe stuntman and movie special effects technician who doubles as a getaway driver for two bank robbers. Continuing to demonstrate his versatility, Garity was next cast as a mentally handicapped person in the cable telepic "A Soldier's Girl" (2002), playing a real-life soldier beaten to death for falling in love with a transgendered nightclub performer, and "Milwaukee, Minnesota" (2003) and saw his stock rise when he played Isaac Rosenberg in the hit comedy "Barbershop" (2002), a role he reprised in the 2004 sequel.