One Step Away

CHISTOPHER GORHAM
AGE 31
CURRENT PROJECT Out of Practice (CBS)
PAST PROJECTS Popular (The WB, 1999, 2 seasons), Odyssey 5 (Showtime, 2002, 1 season), Jake 2.0 (UPN, 2003, 12 episodes), Medical Investigation (NBC, 2004, 1 season)
NOTABLE GUEST ROLES Felicity (The WB, 2001-02), Party of Five (Fox, 1997-98)
A PERFECT AVERAGE... TECHNICALLY He's gone six for six in pilots that made it to air if you count '98's Push, which was picked up...and then his part was recast by orders of the network, ABC. One of Push's exec producers was a Party of Five vet, and, feeling guilty, he got Gorham a recurring role on his old show. ''Push lasted two episodes on ABC, and I did four episodes of Party, so I lasted twice as long.''

CHYLER LEIGH
AGE 23
CURRENT PROJECT Reunion (Fox)
PAST PROJECTS Safe Harbor (The WB, 1999, 10 episodes), That '80s Show(Fox, 2002, 13 episodes), girls club (Fox, 2002, 2 episodes), The Practice (ABC, 2003, 10-episode arc)
NOTABLE GUEST ROLES 7th Heaven (The WB, 2000), North Shore (Fox, 2004)
FOX FAVORITISM Leigh has fans at many networks, but Fox seems most driven to make her a star: The network gave her a development deal after she left The Practice, despite the fact that she was pregnant and wouldn't be available for months. ''I know that network hallway better than my house. I've been down it so many times, pacing back and forth, waiting to see if I got [a show] or not.''

EDDIE McCLINTOCK
AGE 38
CURRENT PROJECT Crumbs (ABC)
PAST PROJECTS Holding the Baby (Fox, 1998, 7 episodes), Stark Raving Mad(NBC, 1999, 1 season), A.U.S.A. (NBC, 2003, 8 episodes)
NOTABLE GUEST ROLES Ned and Stacey (Fox, 1997), Felicity (The WB, 1999, 2001), Friends (NBC, 2002)
AND SOON HE'LL DATE DEMI ''I did a pilot in 2001, with Ken Olin and Teri Hatcher, called Say Uncle. It was my sixth or seventh pilot, and when it went down, I was like, Okay, I get it. Some people do one pilot and it gets picked up and goes on for years, like Ashton Kutcher with That '70s Show. That's not going to be my path, but as long as I continue to work, and people like what I do, I convince myself that it's a matter of time.''

MAGGIE LAWSON
AGE 25
CURRENT PROJECT Crumbs (ABC)
PAST PROJECTS Family Rules (1999, UPN, 6 episodes), Inside Schwartz(2001, NBC, 9 episodes), It's All Relative (2003, ABC, 1 season)
NOTABLE GUEST ROLES Unhappily Ever After (The WB, 1996), Party of Five(Fox, 1999), ER (NBC, 1999)
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING ''Pilot season comes and you see the same casting directors and faces at the networks, and it's exciting and sometimes painful. I've been fortunate that people who booked me a couple of years ago will continually call me in for something else. So pilot season comes and it's not, 'Oh my gosh, what am I getting myself into?' It's like, 'Oh my gosh, I get to go see all these nice people.'''