Alan Alda
Studied Acting at Fordham University and, later, at the Cleveland Playhouse.
Jason Alexander
Studies under Larry Moss.
Joan Allen
Studied under Sanford Meisner before working with Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Kevin Bacon
Studied acting at the Manning St. Actor's Theatre in Philadelphia and apprenticed at Circle in the Square in New York.
Angela Bassett
Spent seven years at Yale studying Drama-- including three post-grad years.
Annette Bening
Studied Theatre at Arizona State University with acting teacher Jared Sakren, and later at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
Marlon Brando
Studied at the New School before enrolling at the Actors' Studio to work with Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler.
Andre Braugher
Received a B.A. in Acting from Stanford University, then an M.F.A. from Juilliard School.
Matthew Broderick
Studied at HB Studio.
Steve Buscemi
Studied at Lee Strasberg Institute with John Strasberg; later studied with Sabra Jones.
James Caan
Studied at Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse, and then with acting coach Wynn Handman.
Jackie Chan
Apprenticed to the China Drama Academy or "opera school" by his parents at the age of 6.
Don Cheadle
Graduated with a B.F.A. in Acting from CalArts.
George Clooney
Studied a few years at Northern Kentucky University; later studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
Glenn Close
Graduated from the College of William & Mary with a B.A. in Drama and Anthropology.
Robert De Niro
Studied at the Actors Studio with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg.
Benicio Del Toro
Studied at the Circle in the Square Acting School and later became a student of Stella Adler and Arthur Mendoza. After a year, moved to Los Angeles to study at the Actors Circle Theatre.
Michael Douglas
Studied at University of California, Santa Barbara, the American Place Theatre, and the Neighborhood Playhouse.
Richard Dreyfuss
Studied at San Fernando Valley State College.
Robert Duvall
Studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse.
Edie Falco
Graduated from acting program at SUNY Purchase.
Sally Field
Studied at the Actors Studio in Los Angeles with Lee Strasberg.
Calista Flockhart
Graduated from Rutgers University, in New Jersey, with a degree in Acting.
Harrison Ford
Dropped out of Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he did some acting and, later, summer stock.
James Gandolfini
Studied Acting at Rutgers University, and later at the Actors Studio in New York.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Attended the Professional Children's School in New York City.
Kelsey Grammer
Graduated from Juilliard School.
Gene Hackman
Studied at the Pasadena Playhouse School (now defunct).
Tom Hanks
Graduated from Cal State Sacramento's drama program; later spent three seasons training at Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Ohio.
Dustin Hoffman
Studied at Santa Monica City College, the Pasadena Playhouse School (now defunct), Actors Studio in New York, and Los Angeles Conservatory of Music.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Took a summer course at Circle Repertory Theatre in New York City, followed by four years at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Helen Hunt
Began studying acting at the age of 8 with her father, director and acting coach Gordon Hunt; later studied with Larry Moss.
Holly Hunter
Graduated with a degree in Drama from Carnegie-Mellon University.
William Hurt
Studied at Tufts University and later at Juilliard School.
Samuel L. Jackson
Studied with the Negro Ensemble Company.
Angelina Jolie
Studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.
Ashley Judd
Trained at Playhouse West in Los Angeles.
Jane Kaczmarek
Received her M.F.A. from Yale Drama.
Diane Keaton
Studied Drama at Santa Ana College before dropping out to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse.
Harvey Keitel
Studied at the Actors Studio.
Kevin Kline
Graduated from Juilliard School, then joined the Acting Company, run by John Houseman.
Eriq LaSalle
Graduated from Juilliard School.
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Dropped out of Pacific Palisades High School six weeks short of graduation.
Laura Linney
Graduated from Juilliard School.
John Lithgow
Studied Acting at Harvard University and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Jennifer Lopez
Studied at the Aaron Speiser Workshop.
William H. Macy
Studied at Goddard College, in Vermont, with David Mamet.
Toby Maguire
Studied with acting coach David LeGrant.
John Malkovich
Trained under William Esper at his Acting Studio, before co-founding Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Julianne Moore
Received a B.F.A. in Acting from Boston University's School of the Performing Arts.
Bill Murray
Dropped out of Regis College, in Denver, after being arrested for marijuana possession; worked on the National Lampoon Radio Hour before Saturday Night Live.
Mike Myers
Trained with the Second City Comedy Troupe in Toronto; later joined SC's company in Chicago.
Jerry Orbach
Studied Drama at the University of Illinois and at Northwestern University. After moving to New York, studied with Herbert Berghof, Mira Rostova, and Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.
Al Pacino
Studied at the Actors Studio.
Sean Penn
After graduating from Santa Monica High School, apprenticed at Los Angeles' Group Repertory Theater, worked as assistant to actor/director Pat Hingle, and studied with Peggy Feury.
Michelle Pfeiffer
Studied at Beverly Hills Playhouse.
Robert Redford
Studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
Ving Rhames
Graduated from Juilliard School.
Winona Ryder
Studied drama at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.
Martin Sheen
Studied at the Stella Adler Studio.
Wesley Snipes
Attended (but did not graduate from) the High School for Performing Arts in New York City; received a B.A. in Theatre and Dramatic Arts from SUNY Purchase.
Sissy Spacek
Studied at the Actors Studio in New York with Lee Strasberg and at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.
Kevin Spacey
Started at Los Angeles Valley College and left to join Juilliard School drama program; quit after two years to join New York Shakespeare Festival.
Ben Stiller
Graduated from Theater Arts program at UCLA.
Meryl Streep
Graduated from the Yale School of Drama.
Hillary Swank
Studied with Larry Moss Studio.
Denzel Washington
Left the American Conservatory Theatre after one year to seek work as an actor.
Robin Williams
Graduated from the College of Marin with a degree in Acting; then graduated from Juilliard School.
Alfre Woodard
Received a B.F.A. in Acting from Boston University.
