Ving Rhames

Born: 12th May 1959
Where: Harlem, New York, USA

The actor who specialises in playing baddies first attracted attention as the villainous Marsellus Wallace in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.

After being inspired by poetry readings at school in New York's tough Harlem, he successfully auditioned for New York School of Performing Arts.

He went on to land a place at the Juillard School of Drama on a scholarship and went on to star in Shakespeare in the Park productions.

In 1984, Rhames made his TV debut in Go Tell It on the Mountain and the following year landed his first Broadway role opposite Matt Dillon in The Winter Boys.

He worked consistently on the stage and augmented theatre parts with appearances on such daily soap operas and guest-starring in Miami Vice.

Rhames made his feature debut with Native Son, following that up with appearances in a series of respectable films and television movies.

Notable appearances included Brian De Palma's Vietnam War saga Casualties of War and, again with Dillon, in The Saint of Fort Washington.

While filming on location in New York, Dillon introduced him to a man who had approached him, asking about the actor's involvement with Rhames on Broadway.

It turned out that the stranger was Rhames' long-estranged older brother, Junior, who had lost contact with the family while serving in Vietnam.

In 1994, Rhames made his breakthrough as the bloodhthirsty sadist in Pulp Fiction and went on to star in Mission Impossible and Con Air, where he played the villainous Nathan.

Subsequent appearances included Out of Sight with George Clooney and Entrapment with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones.

At the Golden Globes in 1998 , Rhames was honoured as Best TV Actor for his portrayal of controversial boxing promoter Don King in Don King: Only in America.

After accepting his award, Rhames immediately handed it over to fellow Best Actor nominee Jack Lemmon (nominated for 12 Angry Men), because he felt that Lemmon's many contributions exceeded his own.

Rhames provided the voices for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Cobra Bubbles in the cartoon Lilo & Stitch.

Recent work includes the thriller Sin and Zack Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead alongside Sarah Polley.