John Leguizamo

Born: July 22, 1964
Where: Bogota, Colombia

The former teenage delinquent has demonstrated an impressive range from Toulouse Lautrec in Moulin Rouge! to Benny Blanco in Carlito's Way.

After spending time shuttling between South America and the USA, he veered off the straight and narrow in his teens and was arrested for commandeering a subway train PA system in New York.

. At the same time, he began writing comedy at school and then at New York University, where he was discovered by casting director Bonnie Timmerman.

His rise to stardom began with a three year stint as vengeful drug boss Orlando Calderone in Miami Vice, and then three years later he was cast in his first notable film credit, Brian De Palma's Casualties of War.

One of Leguizamo's most memorable parts was as the thug who shoots Harrison Ford in Regarding Henry. Other films such as Carlito's Way and Super Mario Bros (which he hated working on), followed.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar finally brought John to the attention of critics and next he starred as Tybalt in Baz Lurhmann's "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Roles followed in the horror yarn Spawn and Spike Lee's Summer of Sam and he also provided voiceovers for Doctor Dolittle and Titan AE.

He reteamed with Luhrmann for the role of Toulouse-Lautrec in the Oscar winning Moulin Rouge! with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.

More recently John has featured in What's the Worst That Could Happen? With Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito; and Empire, which was screened at the Sundance film festival.

Less memorable was his turn opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Collateral Damage although he did provide the voice of Sid in Ice Age.

Recent work includes the role of Spider Mike in the drugs drama Spun alongside Britanny Murphy and Mickey Rourke.

In 2004, he played a drug-crazed prisoner in the remake of John Carpenter's 1976 cult classic Assault on Precinct 13.