George Eads

Biography: Rugged and athletic, this Texas-born actor has worked almost exclusively on the small screen. He was just shy of 30 when he landed his first major gig on the short-lived prime-time soap Savannah. After the show was cancelled, Eads toiled in a few made-for-TV movies before landing a memorable three-episode guest stint on ER as a paramedic who wooed Julianna Margulies' character Carol Hathaway. Eads starred on another ill-fated series, Grapevine, but CSI is what made him big. As forensic analyst Nick Stokes, he earned an increasingly strong fan base. Off-screen, he's kept a relatively low profile, even during a reported 2004 contract dispute.