Peter Sarsgaard

Born: 7 March 1971
Where: Illinois, USA

After a respectable showing in a number of movies, Sarsgaard drew critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination for Shattered Glass.

He enjoyed rave reviews for his role opposite Liam Neeson in Kinsey, about the life of the ground-breaking sexologist and has high-profile roles in Flightplan and Jarhead.

Sarsgaard first took to the stage at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, where he co-founded the comedy improvisation group Mama's Pot Roast.

He gradually landed minor screen roles in Law & Order and also earned an impressive reputation on the New York theatre scene.

Sarsgaard made his big screen debut in 1995 with a role as one of the murder victims in Tim Robbins' gripping prison drama Dead Man Walking.

He featured three years later in The Man in the Iron Mask.

Roles in the independents Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue followed, with Sarsgaard turning in strong performances with little screen time.

In 1999 he took a disturbing co-starring role in Kimberly Peirce's powerful Boys Don't Cry.

He subsequently co-starred with Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn in the thriller The Cell and with Rupert Everett and Kathy Bates in Unconditional Love.

Sarsgaard then snared the lead role in director Wayne Wang's erotic drama The Center of the World, playing a computer wiz.

He also appeared in indie crime drama The Salton Sea, supported Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson in Soviet submarine thriller K-19: The Widowmaker, and resurfaced in the urban crime drama Empire.

Recent work includes the comedy drama Garden State with Ian Holm and Natalie Portman and the thriller Flightplan with Jodie Foster.