Naveen Andrews

Born: January 17 1969
Where: London, England

The actor gained international acclaim in as Kip, the Sikh bomb disposal expert who romanced Juliet Binoche in the Oscar-winning The English Patient.

The eldest son of Indian immigrants, he clashed with his father over his thespian career choice and moved out of his parents' home.

At 16 he was taken in by teacher Geraldine Feakins who became his guardian and, in a more controversial move, his lover and in 1992 they had a son, Jaisal.

A trained musician, he got to display his vocal abilities in 1992 as a Pakistani country-and-western singer in the British comedy Wild West.

Following his breakthrough role in The English Patient, he was cast as a lusty monarch in Kama Sutra.

He was back on the big screen in 1998 as the guide who helps an American zoologist (Bill Paxton) find his ape in the remake of Mighty Joe Young.

He marked his US TV debut in 2001 portraying a news producer on a 24-hour cable channel in the series, The Beast, before returning to the big screen for the 2002 remake of Rollerball.

He continued in movies working on the Gurinder Chadha film Bend It Like Beckham and the director's Bollywood romantic comedy Bride and Prejudice.

He currently stars as Sayid in the groundbreaking new series Lost.