Alessandro Nivola

Born: June 28 1972
Where: Boston, Massachussetts, USA

The actor first gained attention as Nicolas Cage's genius younger brother in the 1997 John Woo thriller Face/Off.

An impressive career has seen him specialise in British roles, including Kenneth Branagh's Love's Labours Lost and Michael Winterbottom's I Want You.

An English graduate from Yale, his theatre work kicked off opposite Helen Mirren in A Month in the Country and he made his big screen debut in Inventing the Abbotts.

Subsequent appearances include Mike Barker's accomplished thriller Best Laid Plans and another English role, this time Patricia Rozema's Mansfield Park.

Nivola also starred in Mike Figgis' ambitious Timecode and the ejoyable dinosaur sequel Jurassic Park III.

Recently, he played an English rocker in the charming drama Laurel Canyon and the romantic comedy Carolina with Julia Stiles.