A refreshing antidote to the common Hollywood tale of child actors gone bad, Joseph Gordon-Levitt survived his teen years on a top-rated sitcom and successfully reinvented himself as a formidable adult actor in a string of critically acclaimed independent features. The popular fish-out-of-water sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun" (NBC, 1996-2001) brought Gordon-Levitt his initial fame, and over five years he earned multiple award nominations for his portrayal of an adult alien leader trapped in the body of a powerless suburban teen. Gordon-Levitt acquiesced to a few teen-oriented movies like "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999), but seamlessly transformed into a well-regarded indie film actor with the dark dramas "Mysterious Skin" (2004) and "The Lookout" (2007), as well as the charming "500 Days of Summer" (2009) and such mainstream fare as "Inception" (2010) and "50/50" (2011). Clearly committed to his craft and willing to take chances, Gordon-Levitt's subtle charm and formidable talent made him one of the most in-demand actors of his generation.