Armand Assante

Born: October 4, 1949
Where: New York, USA

The versatile leading actor - once dubbed the "Ethnic Everyman" - made his breakthrough opposite Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin.

The son of an Irish mother and Italian father, he made his Off-Broadway debut opposite Hal Holbrook in Steve Tesich's Lake of the Woods in 1971.

After a minor role in Lords of Flatbush, his co-star, Sylvester Stallone, gave him a part in his directorial debut Paradise Alley.

Next up was Private Benjamin, which he followed up as a plausibly macho Mike Hammer in I, the Jury in 1982.

Assante went on to broaden his range as a dashing concert violinist in Unfaithfully Yours, as the titular Belizaire the Cajun and as Latino gangster Bobby Texador in Sidney Lumet's Q&A.

He lent his Mediterranean good looks to the role of Jewish mobster Bugsy Siegel in The Marrying Man and then portrayed a Cuban musician in pursuit of the American dream in The Mambo Kings.

However, his valiant shot at comedy went for naught when the unfunny spoof Fatal Instinct died at the box office.

The call from Stallone came again for the amiably cartoonish Judge Dredd and he played a cop in the Demi Moore vehicle Striptease.

Next up was the drama Looking for an Echo, the crime thriller After The Storm and the crime drama Federal Protection.

Recent work includes the reality TV parody Citizen Verdict alongside Jerry Springer and Roy Scheider.

Assante is an active member of the Landmine Survivors Network and has spent time in Croatia aiding a company with the removal of the devices.