Amanda Peet | Jeremy Sisto | Matthew Perry | Jesus

You might have seen these actors before, but you haven't seen their best work yet. You will soon.
By Ken Parish Perkins

Amanda Peet
Perky and perfect, Amanda Peet moves through NBC's much-anticipated Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip with purposeful abandon. Watching Peet eat up the scenery of this Aaron Sorkin series about life on a struggling live sketch comedy show is delicious and delightful, particularly when she (as just-hired network television president Jordan McDeere) shifts from cute to cutthroat on cue. Peet first came to us as one half of Jack & Jill, the romantic series that never heated up. Since then, the 34-year-old actress with a history - not drama - degree from Columbia University has roamed about the film world, appearing in big mainstreamers like Something's Gotta Give and The Whole Nine Yards (and its sequel). The latter two films are where Peet first worked with Matthew Perry, and her ability to dance step-for-step with the fast-hoofing Perry on Studio 60 merely proves her versatility. In what could be the best new series of the fall season, Peet looks to be in her element: the smart girl with sex appeal.

Jeremy Sisto
No matter the character he's playing, Jeremy Sisto possesses an innate ability to reach for darkness and complexity and come up with a handful. He acts from the inside out, always suffering some sort of chronic heartache. His latest role is on NBC's Kidnapped, as a freelance bounty hunter who thinks very little of the status quo and even less of the FBI's ability to find their own car keys. With his road-weary face covered by a prickly, ungroomed beard, Sisto is the ultimate moody hero, a flawed guy with great abilities. Sisto, 31, was busy during the '90s, with minor but important roles in Grand Canyon, Clueless, and White Squall. He landed on the miniseries Jesus (as Jesus) before later hitting pay dirt with his portrayal of the extremely creepy Billy on HBO's Six Feet Under.M Since then, he's played a bewildered and victimized traveler in Wrong Turn; Holly Hunter's recovering boyfriend in Thirteen; and the title role of another miniseries, TNT's Caesar, in which he endured that famously vicious scene involving betrayal and knives. For Sisto, that was a good day.