Philip Baker Hall

Born: 10 September 1931
Where: Toledo, Ohio, USA

The grizzled support actor is one of the few players to achieve Hollywood fame after reaching the age of a bus pass.

After a respectable career in theatre and a notable portrayal of Richard Nixon in Robert Altman's Secret Honor in 1984, he worked steadily on the big and small screens.

That was when director Paul Thomas Anderson took notice and cast him in the lead role of inveterate gamble Sydney in 1996's Hard Eight.

Anderson went to use him for the porn biopic Boogie Nights and memorably as a game show host dying of cancer in Magnolia.

During this time he was also clocking up uncredited roles in the likes of The Rock and Enemy of the State as well as featured roles in Air Force One and The Truman Show.

Growing up in Ohio, Hall acted in his teens but, after graduating from the University of Toledo, joined the army.

When he returned home he embarked on a masters degree but was tempted back to the theatre and moved to New York.

Hall made his film debut playing a priest in 1970 in Cowards and went on to appear in TV series, including The Man From Atlantis.

He became best known during the '80s for his portrayal of Nixon in Secret Honor, for which Hall also wrote the screenplay.

After his boost from Anderson, Hall also had a memorable turn as a private investigator in 1999 in Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley.

The same year, he also delivered a strong performance as CBS producer Don Hewitt in Michael Mann's The Insider.

Subsequent appearances included General Lawrence Hodges in The Rules of Engagement and Oscar Billings in the conspiracy thriller The Contender.

In 2002, he played the US Defence Secretary in the thriller The Sum of all Fears and was also cast by director Lars Von Trier in the controversial Dogville.

The following year he starred alongside Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty and went on to feature in the Paul Weitz romantic comedy In Good Company.

Recent work includes the role of a priest in the Michael Bay remake of the 1979 chiller The Amityville Horror.