With Jon Favreau‘s ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ opening this friday I would like to bring attention to the three stars headlining this extraterrestrial extravaganza.  Bound to become an international smash at the box office, these three actors are no stranger to the spotlight.

Harrison Ford as “Woodrow Dolarhyde”

Born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Harrison Ford is no stranger to audiences, having played both iconic characters “Han Solo” from the ‘Star Wars‘ original trilogy as well as “Indiana Jones” for all 4 films.  Harrison is mainly remembered from those films but has had a huge career in other movies such as the sci-fi cult classic ‘Blade Runner‘ and portraying Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan” in 2 film adaptations, 1992′s ‘Patriot Games’ and 1994′s ‘Clear and Present Danger’.  Harrison has rightfully earned his place among the legends of Hollywood, I am happy to see him back in action again at the age of 69.

Daniel Craig as “Jake Lonergan”

Born March 2, 1968 in England, Daniel Craig has gained attention in recent years as the newest incarnation of the iconic “James Bond” since 2006′s ‘Casino Royale‘ and 2008′s ‘Quantum of Solace‘ after a fan revolt due to his casting.  Apparently fans of the series were against him being chosen for the part, claiming his past performances as a drug dealer would soil the image of the iconic character.  He proved them wrong, as his 2 Bond films turned out to revitalize the franchise like never before.  In addition to playing “James Bond”, Craig appeared with Nicole Kidman in 2007′s alien invasion flick ‘The Invasion’ and the upcoming, highly anticipated American interpretation of David Fincher’s ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ as “Mickael Blomkvist”, which will lead to 2 sequels based on Stieg Larsson’s trilogy of books.

Olivia Wilde as “Ella Swenson”

Born on March 10, 1984 in New York City, Olivia Wilde started out in various TV series such as ‘The O.C.‘ and ‘Skin’ before ultimately gaining fame on ‘House M.D.‘ as “Dr. Remy ‘Thirteen‘ Hadley” in 2007 to present.  Olivia had been featured in quite a few small film roles over the years, appearing in 2006′s ‘Turistas’ and Harold Ramis’ horribly unfunny ‘Year One‘ as “Princess Inanna” before ultimately landing her first major starring role as “Quorra” in 2010′s highly anticipated ‘Tron: Legacy‘ with Jeff Bridges.  Since that performance her stardom has skyrocketed, ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ will most certainly propel her even higher.  She’s only 27, so my guess is that we will see her in a lot of films for many, many years to come.

It’s also fair to mention the director, Jon Favreau, who has been an actor for many years before turning to the director’s chair in the late 1990′s.  Favreau is mainly remembered for his role in ‘Swingers‘ with pal Vince Vaughn which is considered a cult classic and is highly quotable.  Favreau also directed the big-screen blockbuster ‘Iron Man‘ and its sequel.

‘Cowboys & Aliens’ has gotten a lot of attention since it was first announced 2 years ago, early buzz on it says that it was worth the wait.  I don’t think we’ve ever seen a period piece such as this featuring an alien invasion before, so hopefully this sets the bar on what we can expect to see in the future.  I know that I will be in the theater to see this soon, how about you?

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