Steve Shill is a British television and film director, actor, screenwriter, and television producer.

He attended Keswick Grammar School in Keswick,Cumbria,England in the 70's.

He studied Fine Art at Leeds University, was a member of Impact Theatre Co-operative, and, after they disbanded, made theatre work under his own name.

Shill began his career directing episodes of EastEnders and Casualty for the BBC. Shill created the idea for Granada TV's Ted and Alice starring Dawn French.

He moved to the United States and worked on many successful shows produced by premium cable network HBO, including The Sopranos,The Wire,Rome, Carnivàle, Deadwood and Big Love.

He directed the pilot episode of Showtime's The Tudors and served as a regular director and executive producer throughout the first season. He has also directed episodes of Showtime's Brotherhood and Dexter. Shill directed all eight episodes of Spike TV's The Kill Point mini-series and also served as an executive producer. Shill directed and co-executive produced the 2008 Knight Rider TV movie which served as a pilot for a remake of the series.

Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba (born 6 September 1972) is a British television, theatre, and film actor who has starred in both British and American productions. He grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including Ultraviolet and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. He is known for playing Russell "Stringer" Bell, a Baltimore drug lord and aspiring businessman, in HBO's critically acclaimed show The Wire. Elba is a DJ under the moniker DJ Big Driis/Big Driis the Londoner, and a hip-hop soul recording artist.

In 2009, Elba appeared on a six-episode arc of the American sitcom The Office, playing Charles Miner, Michael Scott's new boss. In 2010, he appeared in the action film The Losers in the role of Roque, the second-in-command of a black-ops team. The same year, he appeared in the thriller Takers. Elba plays the title role of Detective John Luther in the BBC television show Luther that aired on BBC One, which has finished its second series. Elba has won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of DCI Luther.

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (née Beyoncé Giselle Knowles; September 4, 1981), known mononymously as Beyoncé ( /biˈjɒnseɪ/ bee-YON-say), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time.

During the hiatus of Destiny's Child, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003, which spawned two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100—"Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy"—and became one of the most successful albums of that year, earning her a then record-tying five Grammy Awards. Following the disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2005, Knowles released her second solo album, B'Day, in 2006, which spawned the top 10 singles "Déjà Vu", "Irreplaceable" and "Beautiful Liar". Her third solo album I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), spawned the hit singles "If I Were a Boy", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", "Halo" and "Sweet Dreams". The album helped Knowles earn six Grammys in 2010, breaking the record for most Grammy Awards won by a female artist in one night. Knowles' fourth solo album, 4 (2011), became her fourth consecutive number one album on the Billboard 200 as a solo artist. This made her the third artist in history to have her first four studio albums debut atop the chart.

Russell "Stringer" Bell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by English actor Idris Elba. Bell served as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale's second in command, assuming direct control of the Barksdale Organization during Avon's imprisonment. Bell attends economics classes at Baltimore City Community College and maintains a personal library, including a copy of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. He attempts to legitimize the Barksdale Organization by investing in housing properties and buying influence from politicians.

An intelligent planner and businessman in the drug-filled underworld of Baltimore, Bell is a close adviser to Barksdale and handles the economic decisions for the Barksdale crew. He is keen for the Barksdale outfit to act in a businesslike and professional manner, rather than appearing as mere thugs and gangsters and he often tries to temper Barksdale's bloodthirsty nature. Though not as vengeful as Barksdale, Bell is ruthless and completely devoted to his work, eliminating threats to the Barksdale Organization as soon as they appear.

Alison Elizabeth "Ali" Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the dual roles of Niki Sanders and Tracy Strauss on the NBC science fiction drama Heroes as well as her guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s.

Larter's screen debut came in the 1999 film Varsity Blues, followed by the horror films House on Haunted Hill and Final Destination as Clear Rivers. Major supporting roles in the comedy Legally Blonde and the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love led her to lead roles as the titular character in Marigold and in the 2009 thriller Obsessed. Larter achieved wider fame after her portrayal of video game heroine Claire Redfield in the successful films, Resident Evil: Extinction and Resident Evil: Afterlife.

Larter's presence in the media is reinforced by her appearances in lists compiled by Maxim, FHM and Stuff as well as People magazine's "Best Dressed List" in 2007. After a three year long relationship with actor Hayes MacArthur, the two married in August 2009 and have a son, Theodore Hayes MacArthur, born December 2010.