Sean Maguire

Best known for his starring roles in several U.S. sitcoms, British actor Sean Maguire was also responsible for a rather ropey, if briefly successful, mid-'90s pop career. Born in Ilford, London in 1976, Maguire first shot to fame in the U.K. thanks to his role as Tegs Ratcliffe in the children's school drama Grange Hill, and then later as Aidan Brosnan in the soap opera EastEnders. In 1994 he became one of several of the show's stars to pursue a music career, and although he never quite reached the chart-topping heights of Nick Berry and Martine McCutcheon, he scored a respectable eight Top 40 hits from two studio albums, 1994's self-titled debut and 1996's Spirit, over a three-year period. However, following the disappointing chart position of his Brit-pop-influenced credibility-chasing 1997 single "Today's the Day," he called time on his pop ambitions to concentrate on acting. In the noughties, he landed parts in several American comedies, including Off Center and Eve and the Class, and in 2008 he played the lead role in Meet the Spartans, the critically panned (but box-office number one) parody of the film 300. ~ Jon O'Brien