1. Danny Strong
You may recognise him as: Despite also appearing regularly on shows as diverse as the Clueless TV series, The Gilmore Girls and Mad Men, its the part of self-loathing geek Jonathon in Buffy the Vampire Slayer that most of us instantly return to when we see Strong on screen. Having lost out on the part of Xander, Strongs Jonathon was initially little more than an ascended extra, part of the general cast of recurring supporting roles around Sunnydale High School, but became one of the most regular guest stars. One memorable appearance, Superstar, had him cast a spell to remake the world around his heroic image, an element that even changed the shows opening credits images. Always a reluctant villain, Jonathon never really provided a credible threat as part of the geek trio in Buffys penultimate season, but he was a popular enough recurring character to keep appearing through the final season, even after his death. But you may not know: As Buffy finished, Strong began to establish himself as a very in demand screenwriter. Recount, his fictionalised take on the 2000 US election battle between George W. Bush and Al Gore, was picked up by HBO and became a hit TV film, winning Strong a Writers Guild of America Award. After original choice of director Sydney Pollack was diagnosed with cancer, the film ended up being made by Jay Roach, the director of Austin Powers and Meet the Parents perhaps an even more surprising choice for a serious political drama than a former supporting actor on Buffy. Strong and Roach reunited for a follow-up, Game Change, dramatizing the 2008 McCain-Palin campaign, resulting in a writing Emmy for Strong. By then Strong was already moving on to write for the big screen, developing the presidential theme with his script for The Butler, a film that covers years of different White House incumbents through the eyes of the Pennsylvania Avenue butler. Released this summer, The Butler spent weeks as Americas top box office earner and, despite Forrest Gump style sentimentalism and bizarre casting (John Cusack is Nixon! Alan Rickman is Reagan!), received mostly positive reviews. All of this success has given the one time Jonathon access to some of Hollywoods biggest franchises, currently writing the screenplays for both the third Dan Brown adaptation, The Lost Symbol, and the third Hunger Games film, Mockingjay. Not bad for an occasional guest on 90s TV.