Edward Furlong

Born: August 2 1977
Where: Pasadena, USA

The unknown actor shot to stardom opposite maverick cyborg Arnold Schwarzenegger in the futuristic Terminator 2.

As a teenager he had no acting ambitions until approached by casting agent Mali Finn, who was looking for a young actor to play John Conner in the Terminator sequel.

His performance, opposite Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, earned him an MTV award for best breakthrough role, and a Saturn sci-fi award for best young actor.

Furlong's next role was in the minor horror movie Pet Sematary II which he followed with the crime drama American Heart with Jeff Bridges.

Subsequent roles included the drama A Home of Our Own with Kathy Bates, the sci-fi horror Brainscan and the thriller Odessa with Tim Roth.

Off screen, he has modelled for labels such as Gap and Calvin Klein and has advertised pot noodles for a Japanese company.

On a grimmer note, his former girlfriend and manager Jacqueline Domac went to court to demand 15% of his earnings for alleged abuse and breach of contract.

In 1996, he played the son of Liam Neeson and Meryl Streep in the thriller Before and After and starred in the John Waters comedy Pecker.

He starred opposite Edward Norton in the controversial drama American History X and the rock music drama Detroit Rock City.

Steve Buscemi cast him opposite Willem Dafoe in the drama American Factory and he also starred in the joint French-Italian production The Knights of the Quest.

The same year he got in trouble with the police for driving without a licence and then just fours hours later allegedly causing a road accident.

He played a computer nerd in the thriller Three Blind Mice and also stars in the sci-fi horror Crow: The Wicket Prayer.