Ian Hart
Born: October 8 1964
Where: Liverpool, UK
The actor is probably best known as the duplicitous Professor Quirrell in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
Other career highlights have included Backbeat (for which he received an Evening Standard best newcomer award), Liam and Ken Loach's Land & Freedom.
After leaving grammar school (where he was advised by his careers officer to join the army) he went to college to take A levels.
He won a place at drama school in London at 18, but left after two weeks' sleeping rough, branding the whole experience "an abomination".
He began acting in Liverpool and stumbled into professional stage work when he was cast in The Government Inspector.
TV work followed and he made his big screen debut as the "uncertain mugger" in No Surrender written by Alan Bleasdale.
He went on to play John Lennon in the drama The Hours and The Times and attracted attention when he went on to portray the Beatle again in Backbeat.
Hart went on to play a member of the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War in Land & Freedom and starred alongside Hugh Grant in The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain.
Subsequent roles included the IRA drama Nothing Personal, Michael Collins with Liam Neeson and the political drama Hollow Reed.
In 1997, he starred in Neil Jordan's The Butcher Boy and went on to appear in the romantic thriller B. Monkey and the American conspiracy thriller Enemy of the State.
Michael Winterbottom cast him in the critically applauded Wonderland and he reunited with Neil Jordan to feature in The End of the Affair with Ralph Fiennes.
In 2000, he starred in the well-received Aberdeen and won praise for his portrayal of a desperate father during the Depression in Liam.
The following year he played Professor Quirrell in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and went on to portray hostage John Keenan in Blind Flight.
Upcoming work includes the part of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in JM Barrie's Neverland and the romantic thriller White on White.
