Jessica Capshaw

Character: Arizona Robbins

Capshaw's past television credits include The Practice, The L Word and Bones. In 2005 she starred in the miniseries Into the West, with Keri Russell and Josh Brolin. She also starred on the big screen opposite Ed Burns and Brittany Murphy in The Groomsmen.

Capshaw earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature at Brown University, and also starred in many of the University's productions. She took advantage of her summer breaks by attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts Summer Program in London, where she starred as Puck in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Armed with an Ivy League education and insatiable ambition, Capshaw pursued her dream of becoming an actress.

She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Christopher Gavigan, and their two year-old son, Luke.

Kevin McKidd

Character: Dr Owen Hunt

Making his feature film debut in 1996 starring in Small Faces, followed by a starring role alongside Ewan McGregor in the film Trainspotting the same year, Scottish actor Kevin McKidd has established himself as a multi-talented star of film, television and theatre.

McKidd's film credits include co-starring in the romantic comedy, Made of Honor, opposite Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, alongside Rosario Dawson, Uma Thurman and Pierce Brosnan. McKidd also starred in Bunraku, starring alongside Josh Harnett, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and Ron Perlman and he can be seen as a detective in thriller Catwalk.

In 2007, McKidd made his debut on American network television as the star of drama Journeyman. While unfortunately the show was short-lived, it helped to establish McKidd as a television household name. Prior to Journeyman, he starred in Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated historical drama, Rome.

Other film credits include Hannibal Rising; Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven; De-Lovely, with Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd; Sixteen Years of Alcohol - for which he was nominated for Best Actor at the British Independent Film Awards; Nicholas Nickleby and Max, with John Cusack.

Born and raised in Scotland, McKidd was a member of the Moray Youth Theatre. He became involved in the Bedlam Theatre Company while he was a student at the University of Edinburgh, and it was at here that he decided to pursue acting full-time, landing his first leading role in the Wild Cat Theatre Company-produced stage play, The Silver Darlings, for which he won the Gulliver Award.

Chyler Leigh

Character: Dr Lexie Grey

Chyler Leigh's television credits include David E Kelley's series The Practice and Girls Club, as well as in Reunion, That '80s Show, and Aaron Spelling's Safe Harbor. She appeared in the pilots Wilder Days, Lucky Us and Saving Graces and Rocky Point. Leigh also guest-starred on North Shore and in a powerful three-episode arc on the long-running series, 7th Heaven.

She made her feature film debut in the hit comedy spoof Not Another Teen Movie.

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina and raised in Virginia Beach and Miami Beach, Leigh and her husband, actor Nathan West, have three children and reside in Los Angeles.

Eric Dane

Character: Dr Mark Sloan

Eric Dane can be seen in Valentine's Day, alongside a star-studded cast that includes Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper and Jamie Foxx, and Burlesque, starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. He also co-starred in Marley and Me, opposite Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson.

Dane was raised in San Francisco, the older of two brothers whose father was an architect and interior designer and mother a homemaker. While excelling as an athlete in high school, he was bitten by the acting bug in a production of Arthur Miller's play, All My Sons. After moving to Los Angeles, Dane made his TV debut in 1993 on The Wonder Years, racking up guest roles on other series and recurring roles on Charmed, The American Embassy and, giving precedent to his current role, as a doctor on Gideon's Crossing. He has also appeared in several television films, including Serving in Silence, the remake of Helter Skelter and Wedding Wars.

On the big screen Dane's first major role came in 1999 in the World War I film, The Basket, and he was subsequently featured in the comedy Sol Goode. Other film credits include the tongue-in-cheek horror flick Feast and Open Water: Adrift.

James Pickens Jr

Character: Richard Webber

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, James Pickens Jr started acting at the Karamu House, distinguished as the oldest African-American theater in the United States. After moving to New York, he performed in the historic 1981 production of Charles Fullers' A Soldiers Play.

In 1990 Pickens moved to the West Coast and began an impressive run of film and television performances. On the big screen, he has been directed by some of the film industry's finest, including Steven Soderbergh in Traffic, Oliver Stone in Nixon and Warren Beatty in Bulworth and he appeared in four Barry Levinson films - Sleepers, Sphere, Jimmy Hollywood and Liberty Heights. He portrayed slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Ghosts of Mississippi (directed by Rob Reiner), and he played Angela Bassett's ex-husband in How Stella Got Her Groove Back.

Pickens is well known to television audiences for his recurring roles on hit series including NYPD Blue, The X-Files, The Practice, Philly, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, The West Wing, Rosanne and Beverly Hills 90210.

Justin Chambers

Character: Dr Alex Karev

Justin Chambers was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio. Discovered on a subway in Paris, he began his career as a professional model working throughout Europe, Japan and the US with contracts at Calvin Klein and Armani, among others.

Setting his sights on acting, Chambers moved to New York and studied for four years at HB Studios and Ron Stetson Studios. His training garnered him several television roles, including Another World, New York Undercover, Rose Hill, with Jennifer Garner, and Four Corners with Ann-Margret.

Described as "part James Dean, part Marlon Brando" (Harper's Bazaar, 1998), Chambers got his big break when he was cast in his first feature film, Liberty Heights, directed by Barry Levinson. As a privileged but good-hearted troublemaker, he proved that he had the acting chops to hold his own opposite co-star Adrien Brody, and soon went on to play the lead role of D'Artagnan in action/adventure The Musketeer. Additionally, Chambers starred in the hit romantic comedy The Wedding Planner with Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey, the thriller The Zodiac, with Philip Baker Hall, and critically-acclaimed Hysterical Blindness in which he played Uma Thurman's love interest.

Chambers currently resides in LA with his wife and five children.

Patrick Dempsey

Character: Derek Shepherd

Patrick Dempsey's portrayal of Dr Derek Shepherd has earned him a 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award and the 2007 and 2008 People's Choice Award. In addition he was nominated for the 2007 and 2006 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama, and received a 2006 Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series.

Dempsey's movie career is keeping him just as busy. He was last seen on the big screen in the highly anticipated Transformers - The Dark of the Moon in July 2010. He recently completed production on the independent film Flypaper, directed by Rob Minkoff. He also is attached to star and produce the Universal feature The Art of Racing in the Rain, based on the New York Times bestseller. His most recent film credits include Valentine's Day, Maid of Honor, Enchanted and Freedom Writers.

On television Dempsey nabbed an Emmy nomination in 2001 for his portrayal of Aaron Brooks, Sela Ward's psychologically unbalanced brother, in the critically acclaimed Once and Again. In 2003 he made a memorable guest appearance on Will & Grace as Will's love interest, and in 2004 he co-starred in highly-acclaimed Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston.

Additionally, Dempsey starred in the movie based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment opposite Ben Kingsley; appeared in the television miniseries 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, with Michael Caine; co-starred with Oliver Reed in the biblical epic, Jeremiah, and could also be seen in JFK: Reckless Youth, A Season in Purgatory, Blood Knot, The Right to Remain Silent, Shallow Grave and Blonde.