Dax Shepard

Thanks to being adept at comedy, particularly improvisation, actor Dax Shepard developed his natural gifts into a substantial career in a short period of time. His skills as an improviser led to his breakout role in the hidden camera prank show, "Punk'd" (MTV, 2002-07), starring co-creator Ashton Kutcher in a series that sought to pull practical jokes on unwitting celebrities. Though only on the show for one season, Shepard quickly turned into a cult celebrity overnight and soon branched out into other projects. He parlayed his success into substantial roles in "Zathura" (2005) and "Idiocracy" (2006), though he stumbled a bit with rather lame comedies like the woeful "Let's Go to Prison" (2006). Shrugging off the setback, Shepard bounced back nicely with a supporting part in "Baby Mama" (2008) and followed it up with a regular role on the hit television series "Parenthood" (NBC, 2010-15), which helped establish him as a rising star worthy of attention.