Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer famous for his works such as Norwegian Wood and Dance Dance Dance to name a few. His work, sprinkled with the surreal, often deals with the themes of loneliness and alienation and laments the emptiness of our lives caused by a work-obsessed culture. While his writings are based on Japanese characters, they have an universal appeal. While Murakami loved reading, he did not start writing till he was 29 when ,in the middle of a baseball game, he realized he could write.

We have already covered Hannibal Lecter ,about time we came to Clarice Starling. Although "Silence of the Lambs" may be the movie that brought her international acclaim and recognition, she had already won an Academy Award before this for the movie "Accused". She also starred in the movie "The Taxi Driver", another classic, when she was only 14.