Danny Huston

Born: May 14 1962
Where: Rome, Italy

The former painter first attracted attention as the coke-snorting, cancer-stricken movie producer in the cult hit Ivansxtc.

Huston as Ivan Beckham thoroughly convinced in the hard-hitting film which was nominated for several Independent Spirit Awards, including best actor.

Born in Italy but raised in Ireland and London with stops in Mexico and the USA, he first set out to be a painter before moving into film directing.

His father is the film director John Huston and his half-brother Tony a screenwriter and his half-sister the actress Anjelica Huston.

Early work included the TV movies Bigfoot and Mr Corbett's Ghost and in 1988 he made his big screen debut with Mr North, which featured Lauren Bacall with a screenplay by his father.

He also handled the main title sequence for his father's film Under The Volcano after Huston elder said he "didn't like the way it was going".

He went on to direct the turn-of-the-century drama Becoming Colette with Klaus Maria Brandauer and in 1995 the Burt Reynolds thriller The Maddening.

The same year he made his big screen acting debut as a barman in Leaving Las Vegas and subsequently played Stiva in Anna Karenina.

Roles followed in Spanish Fly, Rockin' Good Times and the Mike Figgis comedy-drama Timecode before he took the lead in Ivansxtc.

The role raised his profile and he appeared in the romantic drama Eden with Samantha Morton as well as the hotel manager in Figgis' Hotel.

In 2003, he played Michael in the award-winning 21 Grammes alongside Sean Penn and Naomi Watts and starred opposite Nicole Kidman in the supernatural thriller Birth.

Upcoming projects include Martin Scorcese's The Aviator alongside Leonardo de Caprio and the British independent movie Alpha Male.