John Ward or Birdy (c. 1553 – 1622), also known as Jack Ward and under his Muslim name Yusuf Reis, was a notorious English pirate around the turn of the 17th century who later became a Barbary Corsair operating out of Tunis during the early 17th century.

Little is known about Ward's early life. What little is known comes from a pamphlet purportedly written by someone who sailed with him during his pirate days. That said, Ward seems to have been born about 1553 probably in Faversham, Kent, in southeast England. Like many born in coastal areas, he spent his youth and early adult years working in the fisheries. Then, after the failed invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in 1588, he found work as a privateer, plundering Spanish ships with a license from Queen Elizabeth I of England. When James I of England assumed the throne in 1603, he ended the war with Spain and in effect put the privateers out of business. However, many of them refused to give up their livelihood and simply continued to plunder. Those who did were considered pirates because they no longer had valid licenses – called letters of marque – issued by the state. Ward appears not to have turned immediately to piracy but instead once again become a fisherman, working out of Plymouth. He was on the run from the church when he converted to Islam in the late 16th Century. His entire crew also converted to Islam with him.

Alexander Richard Ludwig (born May 7, 1992) is a Canadian actor. He played Will Stanton in the 2007 fantasy film, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising. In March 2009, Ludwig appeared in a lead role in Disney's Race to Witch Mountain. In 2012, he played Cato in The Hunger Games.

Ludwig was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has 3 younger siblings: Natalie and Nicholas, who are twins, along with a younger sister, Sophie. His mother, Sharlene (née Martin), is a former actress, and his father, Harald Horst Ludwig, is a businessman, the Co-Chairman of the Board for Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. The actor was drawn to the profession, saying in an interview, "I have a big imagination. I love performing." Yet, despite his mother's early career as an actress, Ludwig had to convince his parents to support his desire to pursue a career as a child actor. His parents believed that child actors "can get sucked into a life that isn't reality."

Ludwig began his career at the age of nine when he featured in a Harry Potter toy commercial, a job that enabled him to sign on with an agent and obtain more commercial work. Later he was cast in movies such as Air Bud World Pup (2000), MXP: Most Extreme Primate (2003), Scary Godmother: The Revenge Of Jimmy (2005), Eve and the Fire Horse (2005), The Sandlot: Heading Home (aka, The Sandlot 3) (2007). In addition to cinema, Ludwig has also worked in television. He has performed in movies made for television, such as A Little Thing Called Murder (2006), and series television such as The Dead Zone. Ludwig obtained his leading role in The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) after a "gruelling audition process." By his count, he had 16 auditions before finally being cast.

Liam Hemsworth (born 13 January 1990) is an Australian actor. He took the role of Josh Taylor in the soap opera Neighbours and as "Marcus" on the children's television series The Elephant Princess and appeared in the American film The Last Song, released on March 31, 2010. Hemsworth's elder brothers, Luke and Chris, are also actors and provided a path for Hemsworth to emulate.

Hemsworth was born in Melbourne, Australia. He is the son of Leonie, an English teacher, and Craig Hemsworth, a social-services counselor. He has two older brothers, Chris and Luke Hemsworth, who also work as actors. Hemsworth has said that though there is competition for jobs among them, it is friendly: "We are brothers and we are always competitive, but it is a good thing, it pushes us and we are always happy whenever someone books something."

When Hemsworth was in year 8, he and his family relocated to Phillip Island, a small island. Hemsworth says he spent much of his time there surfing with his brothers. In March 2009, Hemsworth moved to the United States to pursue his career there. He and his brother Chris first stayed in the guest house of Chris's agent William Ward before renting their own Los Angeles apartment in which they currently reside.

Joshua Ryan "Josh" Hutcherson (born October 12, 1992) is an American film and television actor. He began working in the early 2000s, appearing in several minor film and television roles. He gained wider exposure with major roles in the 2005 films Little Manhattan and Zathura, the 2006 comedy RV, the 2007 family adventure film Firehouse Dog, and the film adaptations of Bridge to Terabithia, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. On March 30, 2008, Hutcherson won a Young Artist Award (for Leading Young Actor). Hutcherson was also featured on a Celebrity Teens edition of the hit show MTV Cribs, and portrayed Peeta Mellark in the 2012 film The Hunger Games. He will appear in the Red Dawn remake.

Josh Hutcherson was born in Union, Kentucky. His mother, Michelle, is a former Delta Air Lines employee who now assists Josh, and his father, Chris Hutcherson, is an analyst for the EPA. He has a younger brother, Connor, as well as many pets, including two dogs, Diesel and Nixon (a boxer). He has wanted to be an actor since he was four years old, but had only begun auditioning for roles in 2002, at the age of 9. He moved from Union to California, due to limited acting opportunities.

Kanye Omari West ( /ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American musician, film director and fashion designer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, and classical music.

West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. West released a collaborative album, Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. As of 2012, West has won a total of eighteen Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time. All albums have been very commercially successful, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy becoming his fourth consecutive No. 1 album in the U.S. upon release. West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with "Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, "Stronger" selling 4,402,000, "Heartless" selling 3,742,000, "E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and "Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade. He has sold over 30 million digital songs in the United States making him one of the best-selling digital artists of all-time.