Jake Thomas

You'd be hard pressed to find someone who got an earlier start in the entertainment industry than Jake Thomas. His mother, Simms, was an anchor for a small news station and his father, Bob, a radio personality. With both of them local celebrities, Jake appeared live on the Knoxville Evening News the day he was born. His first days were chronicled as well by the station where his mother worked. Jake found further work in commercials, but substantial roles weren't easy to come by. The family moved to Los Angeles, and Jake spent a good deal of time auditioning, with no results.

His break finally came by way of the NBC sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun," a show about a group of aliens who take human form and observe our meaningless (according to them) lives. He immediately landed several more appearances on television and feature films where he earned recognition and respect in the form of several nominations (for different projects) and a trophy from the Young Artist Awards for his supporting role in 2001's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," a science-fiction tale of an android boy and his human-like consciousness. He scored a high profile role on the Disney Network's popular family-oriented comedy show "Lizzie McGuire" as the lead character's destructive younger brother.