Marcel Iures

Born: August 2 1951
Where: Bailesti, Romania

The actor is best known to British audiences in villainous roles ranging from The Peacemaker to Mission: Impossible.

He made his big screen debut in 1978 playing Franz Liszt in the Romanian film January Dream and went on be named best Romanian actor twice in subsequent films.

After the 1989 Revolution, he left for Hollywood but to returned to Bucharest where in 1998 he created ACT Theatre - the only independent group in Romania.

While in the US, he made his Hollywood debut in Neil Jordan's Interview With A Vampire.

Two years later he played Golitsyn in Mission: Impossible and followed that with the George Clooney thriller The Peacemaker.

In 2002, he played the Pope in Amen and starred alongside Bruce Willis in the World War II drama Hart's War.

Director Matthew Vaughn cast him as a Eastern European gangster in Layer Cake and he also starred in the horror yarn The Cave in 2005.

Recent work includes the role of the Newcastle United manager in the football saga Goal!