Michael Pitt

Born: 10 April 1981
Where: West Orange, New Jersey, USA

The actor and model won plaudits for his portrayal of Blake - a burned out star based on Kurt Cobain - in Gus Van Sant's Last Days.

Earlier appearances included Van Sant's Finding Forrester, Larry Clark's disturbing Bully and Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers.

Pitt moved to New York with no job or place to stay when he was 16 and worked as a bike messenger before he was accepted at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

He won rave reviews as Dalton in the off-Broadway production of The Trestle and also appeared in the theatrical premiere of Birdy.

His big break came when he was cast in a recurring role as Henry in Dawson's Creek and made his feature debut in Van Sant's Finding Forrester.

Pitt followed this with Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the Faye Dunaway directed short Yellow Bird with Brenda Blethyn and James Coburn.

He shocked audiences in Clark's tale of disaffected youth - Bully - and played a teenage killer in Murder By Numbers opposite Sandra Bullock.

In 2003, he starred in The Dreamers and went on to explore roles in Wonderland and The Heart Is Deceiptful Above All Things.

The following year he starred in M Night Shymalan's The Village and recent work includes the minimalist Last Days as a tortured celebrity.