David Strathairn
Born: January 26 1949
Where: San Francisco, California, USA
The actor and onetime clown subtly impressed in supporting roles before winning critical acclaim as Ed Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck.
Until his starring turn in George Clooney's McCarthy drama, he was best known for roles including the blind sound expert in Sneakers and a Cajun swamp guide in Passion Fish.
The son of a doctor, he displayed an early interest in the theatre (and befriended the budding director John Sayles).
While visiting his grandfather on his deathbed, he arrived to late...and decided to stay, joing the Ringling Brothers Clown College.
After working six months in a travelling circus, he moved to New York from where he hitchhiked across the states, working in various theatres.
Reteaming with Sayles, he starred in the director's highly regarded 1980 debut Return of the Secaucus 7.
He went on to develop a well-received body of work as a supporting actor, including the role of a shrink opposite Dudley Moore in 1983's Lovesick.
Other parts included Wesley in Silkwood, the mystery millionaire in LA Confidential and as Howard, Sigourney Weaver's husband, in A Map of the World.
Appearances in Sayles movies have included The Brother from Another Planet, Matewan, Eight Men Out, City of Hope and Passion Fish.
Critics rate his most notable collaboration with Sayles as that opposite Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in 1999's Limbo.
In 1993, he played Tom Cruise's brother in The Firm and went on to play featured roles in The River Wild, LA Confidential and Missing In America.
Recent work includes the critically-acclaimed role of Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck.
