Sam Elliott

Born: August 9 1944

Where: Sacramento, California, USA

The stage-trained actor made his big screen debut in 1969's hit of the year - Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid.

Although he made little impact in the film (he was cardplayer two), he did make an imopression on the female star, Katharine Ross, and they got married.

Specialising in roles in TV westerns, Elliott also appeared outside the genre - normally as a bad guy - in the likes of Lifeguard and Road House.

In 1993 he settle back into the saddle and was cast as Brigadier John Buford in Gettysburg and Virgil Earp in Tombstone.

Other appearances included The Big Lebowski and Hi-Lo Country as well as the efficient political thriller The Contender.

Recent work has included the Mel Gibson war movie We Were Soldiers and the monster hit of the summer of 2003 Hulk.