Brad Dourif

Born: March 18 1950
Where: Huntington, West Virginia, USA

The wild-eyed star made his breakthrough as mental patient Billy Bibbet in Milos Forman's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

The part - in which he starred alongside Jack Nicholson - won him Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.

He has attracted a more recent legion of fans for his voicing of devil doll Chucky in the Child's Play series.

The son of a dye manufacturer, Dourif's father died when he was three and he was raised by his mother's next husband, golf champion Bill Campbell.

He attended Aiken Preparatory School in Aiken, South Carolina and toyed with art as a career before settling on acting.

Starting in school productions, he progressed to community theatre, joining the Huntington Community Players, while attending Marshall University.

Aged 19, he moved to New York and the Circle Repertory Theatre where he appeared in a number of off-Broadway plays.

In 1975, Milos Forman cast him in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (he'd earlier made his screen debut in WW and the Dixie Dancekings).

Returning to the theatre, he went on to teach acting and directing classes at Columbia University until 1988 when he moved to Hollywood.

Capitalising on his intense manner, he landed roles in thriller-style movies such as Eyes of Laura Mars and John Huston's Wise Blood.

Dourif then teamed up with director David Lynch for Dune and Blue Velvet as well debuting as Chucky in 1988's Child's Play.

Mainstream appearances included the 1988 race thriller Mississippi Burning, Ken Loach's controversial Hidden Agenda and Spike Lee's Jungle Fever.

Low-budget horror dominated Dourif's subsequent output although he did find time to play a doctor in Alien Resurrection.

A mixed bag of scare-fare followed before Peter Jackson cast Dourif as Grima Wormtongue in the second and third instalment of Lord of the Rings.

Recent work includes the fifth outing of demon doll Chucky in Seed of Chucky.