Frank Abagnale from ‘Catch Me if You Can’

The Character: Leonardo DiCaprio starred as con-man Frank Abagnale in Steven Spielberg's 'Catch Me if You Can,' about the life and times of a surprisingly successful young con-artist -- a guy whose skills were impressing the FBI before he was 19 years old by posing as a doctor, a pilot, and a lawyer, just to name a few. Tom Hanks played Carl Hanratty, an FBI bank fraud agent trying to track Abagnale down in what becomes a delightful game of cat and mouse.

The Inspiration: Yes, Frank Abagnale is a real person. Starting at the age of 16, Abagnale began forging checks and eventually forged $2.5 million checks over a period of five years. He was also a rather successful impostor, posing as a pilot, a prison agent, a doctor, and a lawyer, and he escaped police custody twice. The FBI was so impressed by his skills that he served less than five years in prison before getting hired by the bureau as a consultant and lecturer at their academy and field offices. He now runs his own financial fraud consultant company. So crime really does pay, kids!