Jared Harris

Born: August 21 1961
Where: England, UK

The actor's breakthrough performance as his portrayal of American pop artist Andy Warhol in I Shot Andy Warhol.

The son of veteran British actor Richard, he caught the acting bug after being cast in a college production while attending North Carolina's Duke University.

Following graduation, he returned to Britain and worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company before heading back to the states to appear off-Broadway.

He made his screen debut in 1989's The Rachel Papers and followed this with appearances as Harvey Keitel's dim assistant in Smoke and the companion piece Blue in the Face.

Harris became a familiar face in American independent films, though he still made the occasional foray into mainstream films, appearing in Lost in Space in 1998.

After portraying a sleazy Russian cab driver in Todd Solondz's Happiness, Harris could be seen in Michael Radford's B Monkey.

In 2000, he starred in the romantic drama Shadow Magic and the comedy Dummy before playing Russel in Igby Goes Down and appearing opposite Adam Sandler in Mr Deeds.

Recent work includes Sylvia, the biopic of poet Sylvia Plath starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig.