Michael Sheen

Born: 5 February 1969
Where: Newport, Gwent, Wales, UK

With a background firmly on the stage, Sheen was tipped as "one of the most exciting actors of his generation," by The Times.

He came to the fore in the Broadway production of Amadeus and was nominated for starring roles in Greg Hersov's Look Back in Anger and Ron Daniels' Henry V.

A graduate of RADA, he made his theatre debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the Isadora Duncan inspired When She Danced.

On the big screen, he played Robert Ross, Oscar Wilde's lover in Wilde with Stephen Fry and appeared in Oliver Parker's Othello.

Subsequent roles have included a part in Stephen Frears' Mary Reilly and the lead role of Colin in the British road movie Heartlands.

In 2002, he starred in the period romp The Four Feathers and played Miles in Fry's directorial debut Bright Young Things in 2003.

The same year he was named best actor in the Evening Standard drama awards and went on to play vampire Lucian in the hit norror-thriller Underworld.

On the small screen, he played Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Deal and also appeared in the disappointing sci-fi yarn Timeline with Billy Connolly.

In 2004, he won a best short film BAFTA for The Banker as well as featuring in the Pierce Brosnan/Julianne Moore rom-com Laws of Attraction.

Recent supporting work includes Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven and The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse.