Emmy Award winner Eric McCormack, who plays attorney Will Truman, offer his take on the relationship between the two lead characters on “Will & Grace.” “Because Will is gay and Grace is straight, this show is free to explore their relationship without building toward a sexual payoff at the end,” says McCormack. “Our series has the spirit of a classic romantic comedy, except there’s no possibility that these two people will end up as a romantic couple.

“Gay characters are often shown struggling with the issue of being gay. Will is past that voyage of discovery. He’s comfortable with his sexuality.”

Born and raised in Toronto, McCormack began acting in high school and continued during his college years at the Ryerson Theatre School. He spent the next seven years working in Canadian theater, including five seasons with the renowned Stratford Shakespearean Festival, where he appeared in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Henry V,” “Murder in the Cathedral” and “Three Sisters.” He also performed with the Manitoba Theatre Centre in “Burn This” and at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre in “Biloxi Blues.”

On television, McCormack starred for two years as Confederate Colonel Mosby on the series “Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years.” His television movies include leading roles in “Audrey Hepburn” opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt, the highly rated “Borrowed Hearts” with Roma Downey, and in the miniseries “A Will of Their Own.”

McCormack also starred in the feature “Old Hats” (with Ossie Davis and James Whitmore), and appeared in “The Holy Man” with Eddie Murphy and Jeff Goldblum. He also starred in the independent feature “Free Enterprise.”

In November 2001, McCormack won his first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on “Will & Grace.” In the summer of 2001, he made his Broadway debut starring as Harold Hill in revival of “The Music Man,” directed by Susan Stroman.

McCormack and his wife, Janet, recently welcomed their first son, Finnigan, and divide their time between their permanent home in Los Angeles and a second home in Vancouver. McCormack’s birthday is April 18.

Debra Messing understands the unique bond of friendship that exists between her character, interior decorator Grace Adler, and the character of Will Truman. “Grace is very dedicated and disciplined when it comes to her professional life,” says Messing. “But her personal life isn’t nearly so together, and Will is her stabilizing force. She’s a little neurotic, and she knows Will is the only person who understands her and can help her put things in perspective. But Grace is also a lot of fun, and her humor helps balance Will’s more serious personality. They’re the kind of best friends who know each other’s history and can finish each other’s sentences.”

Messing, who has garnered three Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (2000, 2001 and 2002), recently appeared opposite Woody Allen and Tea Leoni, in Allen’s comedy “Hollywood Ending,” as well as the thriller “The Moth Man Prophecies,” alongside Richard Gere. Messing’s other feature-film credits include Allen’s “Celebrity” (having been handpicked for the part by the director) and Alfonso Arau’s romantic love story “A Walk in the Clouds,” in which she played the wife of Keanu Reeves. She also appeared opposite Tom Arnold and Tim Curry in “McHale’s Navy.”

Born in Brooklyn, Messing and her older brother were raised in a quiet community outside Providence, Rhode Island. She received her liberal arts education at Brandeis University where she majored in theater arts. She spent half of her junior year studying in London’s prestigious B.E.S.G.L. program, which featured dramatic arts teachers recruited from various distinguished institutions such as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Cambridge University and Oxford University. Upon graduating summa cum laude from Brandeis, she was accepted into New York University’s elite Graduate Acting Program and received her master of fine arts degree.

On the New York stage, Messing garnered praise for her performance in the pre-Broadway workshop of Tony Kushner’s Tony Award-winning play “Angels in America: Perestroika.” She appeared as Cecily in a Seattle production of “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Upon returning to New York, she was cast as both Mary Louise Parker’s and Polly Draper’s understudy in the off-Broadway premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s “Four Dogs and a Bone.” She also co-starred in Paul Rudnick’s “The Naked Truth” and co-starred with Maria Tucci in the acclaimed two-woman production of Donald Margulies’ “Collected Stories,” which was chosen as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

On television Messing starred for two seasons in the comedy “Ned & Stacey” opposite Thomas Haden Church. She had a recurring role on “NYPD Blue” as Gail O’Grady’s conniving sister, Dana Abandando. On “Seinfeld” she played Jerry’s ideal, but elusive, love, Beth Lookner. She also starred as the young bio-anthropologist Sloan Parker in the drama series “Prey” and recently appeared opposite Gary Oldman in the critically acclaimed miniseries “Jesus” as Mary Magdalene.

Messing lives with her husband in Los Angeles. During her free time, she supports charities such as the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, AmFAR and Best Friend’s Pet Sanctuary. Her birthday is August 15.

Regarding the colorful character he portrays on “Will & Grace,” Emmy Award-winning actor Sean Hayes explains, “Jack is highly neurotic, extremely outspoken, a little bitter, maybe even borderline obsessive-compulsive. However, underneath all that, he is a caring soul and a good friend to Will (Eric McCormack).”

Hayes, who won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2000 for “Will & Grace” -- and has been nominated every year since -- was raised in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn, Illinois. A talented musician, he supported himself as a classical pianist and performed in a pop band while attending Illinois State University, where he majored in performance and conducting. He also appeared in the university’s productions of “Burn This” and “Love for Love.”

After his college experience, Hayes began working in the Chicago theater community, serving as the music director at the Pheasant Run Theatre for a few years, where he appeared in several of their productions. He composed original music for a production of “Antigone” at the Steppenwolf Theatre and appeared in the original production of “Role Play” at the Organic Theater.

An alumnus of the famed Second City improvisational comedy group, Hayes also had gigs as a standup comic, performing at the Comedy Club in Los Angeles.

While still in Chicago, Hayes won guest-starring roles in television shows including “Missing Persons,” “Silk Stalkings” and “Tough Target.” He also starred in the television movie “A&P,” based on the short story by John Updike. Most recently, Hayes starred as Jerry Lewis in the television movie “The Martin & Lewis Story.”

On the big screen, Hayes recently completed work on the independent feature “Pieces of April” for writer/director Peter Hedges, due in theaters next year. He played the title role in the art-house hit “Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss,” which won critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, and lent his voice to the character of the diabolical Mr. Tinkles in the box-office hit “Cats and Dogs.” Hayes has also been honored with two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a TV Guide Award, an American Comedy Award and three Golden Globe nominations.

Hayes makes his residence in Los Angeles. His birthday is June 26.

Although Michael Angarano began acting professionally as a child, the teen’s career has gained critical momentum in the last couple years following his big-screen role in Cameron Crowe’s hit film “Almost Famous” as well as his small-screen role as the son of an FBI agent in the 2001 series “Cover Me.”

These and other performances enhanced Angarano’s profile in the industry and resulted in his latest regular role on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning “Will & Grace” as the teenaged son who finally discovered that his long-lost father was the flamboyant Jack McFarland (Emmy Award-winner Sean Hayes) – while his mother is played by Rosie O’Donnell.

Angarano was born and raised in the greater New York City area where he began as a Ford Agency model at an early age. When he began to attract more and more film and television roles, his family decided to relocate to Los Angeles. Soon he was cast as the adolescent version of William Miller, the central figure in writer/director Cameron Crowe’s autobiographical film “Almost Famous,” as seen early in the feature before the character emerged into his teen years.

In addition, Angarano portrayed actress Meryl Streep’s son in the big-screen drama “Music of the Heart” in 1999 (where he even learned to play the violin for the role). His other film credits include “Baby Huey’s Easter Adventure,” “The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave,” “River Red,” “Childhood’s End,” “For Richer or Poorer,” “I’m Not Rappaport” and “Edgar and the Magic Crayon.” His next feature to be released is “The Secret Keeper.”

On television, Angarano starred in the critically acclaimed cable drama series “Cover Me,” based on the true adventures of the family of an FBI agent. He also guest-starred on “The Pretender” and “Seven Days” and had lead roles on “Late Bloomers” and “My Brother’s Keeper. Additionally, he had a recurring role on the daytime drama “Another World.” Angarano’s TV movies include “Maniac Magee” and “Stranger in My Home.”

While away from the set, Angarano attends a private high school where he stars on the soccer team. He enjoys other sports as well and likes to go to the movies. His New York roots remain strong as he is an unabashed fan of the local Mets, Knicks, Jets and Devils professional teams. Angarano, whose birthday is December 3, also prefers to spend time with his large family.

Emmy Award-winning actress Megan Mullally, who plays Karen, Grace’s socialite assistant on “Will & Grace,” explains what attracted her to the part: “A lot of times the funniest characters are those who don’t know that they’ve got it all wrong. Karen is completely confident that her way is the right way.”

Mullally, who won an Emmy as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2000 and was nominated again in 2001 and 2002, believes she inherited her acting ability from her father, Carter Mullally Jr., who was a contract player with Paramount Pictures in the 1950s. “I guess I take after my dad; he was always a cut-up around the house,” says Mullally, an only child who was born in Los Angeles and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. During high school, Mullally studied ballet and appeared as a soloist with Oklahoma City’s Ballet Oklahoma. In the summers, she studied at George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet in New York City. “I realized that my favorite ballet roles were the ones where I was required to act,” she says. “Having a mad scene and then dying on stage was the best part.”

As her interest in theater was growing, Mullally studied English and art history at Northwestern University while appearing in university plays and musicals. She also spent six years working in Chicago’s theater scene. Mullally relocated to Los Angeles and won her first regular television role playing Ellen Burstyn’s daughter on the New York-based “The Ellen Burstyn Show.” She then began appearing in regular roles on such series as “My Life and Times” and “Rachel Gunn, R.N.,” and as a guest star on “Ned & Stacey” (where she first met her current co-star Debra Messing). She also won roles on “Seinfeld,” NBC’s “Frasier,” “Mad About You,” “Wings,” “Caroline in the City,” “Dear John,” NBC’s “Just Shoot Me” and “Almost Grown.” She also appeared in Paul Mazursky’s television movie “Winchell,” portraying the wife of famed journalist Walter Winchell (Stanley Tucci).

Mullally has co-starred in the feature films “About Last Night …,” “Queens Logic” and “Monkey Bone,” as well as the upcoming “Speaking of Sex,” which stars Bill Murray and James Spader, and the independent feature “Everything Put Together,” opposite Rhanda Mitchell.

Among Mullally’s Broadway credits are the hit revival of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” in which she starred as Rosemary opposite Matthew Broderick and received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. She also appeared as Marty in the revival of “Grease,” starring Rosie O’Donnell. Recently, Mullally premiered her one-woman musical, “Sweetheart,” which enjoyed a sold-out four-week run in Los Angeles and will be re-staged in the future.

In addition, Mullally also has been nominated for an American Comedy Award as Funniest Supporting Female Performer in a Television Series and from the Television Critics Association for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy. She lives in Los Angeles and her birthday is November 12.

Shelley Morrison plays Karen Walker’s (Megan Mullally) feisty El Salvadoran housekeeper -- the only one who can stand up to Karen and dole back as much abuse as she dishes out.

Although both characters often appear to have a reciprocal condescending relationship, the fact is Karen and Rosario truly care for one another. Rosario married the flamboyantly gay Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) in an uncanny scheme to keep from being deported. Although they are now divorced, they remain friends.

Morrison has a long and distinguished acting career that spans more than 40 years. She has appeared in over 65 plays, as a regular on several television series, in guest-starring roles in over 150 television series and in 15 feature films. Many fans affectionately remember her as Sister Sixto opposite Sally Field in the hit 1960s television series “The Flying Nun.” She has also directed plays at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and in the early 1960s, was Los Angeles youngest theatrical producer with works that included “Sweet Bird of Youth,” “Hamlet” and a number of musical revues.

Morrison, who was born in the Bronx and raised in a tenement, is married to non-fiction writer Walter Dominquez. As long-standing community activists, Morrison and her husband have been honored by the city of Los Angeles for their work with the homeless as well as their community involvement in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots (Morrison’s first language is Spanish and she had to learn English phonetically).

As a recent breast and lung-cancer survivor, Morrison is dedicated to sharing her experience, offering hope and inspiration to those struggling with illness. She also lobbies government agencies to provide low-income people with access to tests for early cancer detection.

In 2000, Morrison was nominated for an Alma Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Series. In 2001 and 2002, Morrison was again nominated for an Alma Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Series.

Morrison’s other interests include knitting, crochet, camping and caring for their animals. Her birthday is October 26.