Ioan Gruffudd

Born: October 6th 1973
Where: Cardiff, Wales

The sometime musician and actor has notched up appearances as a supporting player in high profile films such as Wilde, Titanic and Fantastic Four.

As a child, he played the oboe in the South Glamorgan Youth Orchestra and made his screen debut in the BBC Wales soap The People of the Valley.

Gruffud was subsequently offered a place at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to star in ITV's Poldark.

He first came to attention in his big screen debut as John Gray in the biopic Wilde, opposite Stephen Fry (which was Jude Law's launch vehicle).

In 1997 Ioan played 5th Officer Lowe in James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic, and the following year he was cast in the lead of the TV series Hornblower.

One of Ioan's most challenging roles was that of the lead male in the Welsh language Solomon and Gaenor - a part for which he had to learn Yiddish.

The film received an Oscar nomination as Best Foreign-Language Film.

Subsequent parts included a minor role in This Girl's Life. a take on the life of an international porn celebrity.

In 2004, he played the part of Lancelot in the generally disappointing version of King Arthur, starring Clive Owen.

Recent work includes the part of Reed Richards - aka Mr Fantastic - in the big screen adaptation of Fantastic Four.