James Purefoy

Born: 3 June 1964
Where: Taunton, England, UK

The one-time Somerset pig farm worker and hospital porter made his international breakthrough in the sci-fi thriller Resident Evil.

A British television stalwart, he is also known for playing the Black Prince in the medieval romp A Knight's Tale with Heath Ledger.

The name Purefoy is originally Norman French and literally means "good faith" or "my word or bond is in good faith."

After leaving school aged 16 he took a succession of jobs, including working on a pig farm and as a porter at Yeovil District Hospital.

He travelled extensively in Europe before returning to college in the UK to take his A-levels, including drama.

Purefoy landed a place at London's Central School of Speech and Drama and was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company while playing Henry V in his first term.

Although initially asked only to play Ferdinand in Nick Hytner's The Tempest he left the RSC two years later having been directed by the likes of Adrian Noble, Roger Michell and Gene Saks.

He made his television debut in 1992 in The Cloning of Joanna May and his first feature appearance the same year in the little seen Angels.

In 1995, he starred alongside Tom Bell in the crime drama Feast of July and also screentested for the coveted role of James Bond in Goldeneye (the part went to Pierce Brosnan).

He subsequently appeared in the TV dramas The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and was the narrator in A Dance to the Music of Time.

Confounding expectations, he played fraudster Darius Guppy in TV's The Prince and a stalker in the series Metropolis.

Big screen roles included an alcoholic in Patricia Rozema's Mansfield, a bisexual Irish baker in Troche's Bedrooms and Hallways and a 007 wannabe in Ben Elton's Maybe Baby.

In 2001, he reached a wider audience as Prince Edward in Brian Helegeland's A Knight's Tale and the following year starred opposite Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil.

The following year his relationship with Holly Aird - the mother of his son Joseph - hit the rocks.

Director Tom Reeve cast him as George in the all-star George & the Dragon alongside Piper Perabo and Patrick Swayze.

In 2004, he starred alongside Reese Witherspoon in Mira Nair's adaptation of Thackeray's Vanity Fair.