Johnathon Schaech

Johnathon Schaech emerged from a swimming pool in "How to Make an American Quilt" (1995) and the camera--if not most of the audience so inclined--fell in love. With his swarthy good looks, mischievous eyes and pouty lips, Schaech seemed destined for stardom. He had only been acting for a few years prior to this, most memorably as a stalker in a six episode arc on the short-lived series "Models, Inc." (Fox, 1994). His role of Leon in Jocelyn Moorhouse's "How to Make an American Quilt" was that of a local romeo enticing the confused Finn (Winona Ryder) into an affair. In addition, 1995 also saw the release of Gregg Araki's "The Doom Generation," in which Schaech essayed a sexy psychopathic drifter, and the direct-to-video "Poison Ivy II: Lily," with the bleached blonde actor romancing Alyssa Milano.

Tom Hanks tapped the up-and-comer for the role of the leader of a rock band in Hanks' directorial debut, "That Thing You Do!" (1996). He further solidified his rising star status by appearing in Stephan Elliott's "Welcome to Woop Woop," as an American con artist who is held hostage in the Australian Outback by an eccentric local and in the key role of Jessica Lange's son and Gwyneth Paltrow's husband in the thriller "Hush" (both 1998). That same year he starred as the legendary illusionist in TNT's original biopic "Houdini."