Max Beesley

Born: 1971
Where: Burnage, England

Son of jazz drummer Maxton Beesley and jazz singer Chris Marlowe, this musician-turned-actor vaulted to stardom with a leading role in the 1997 miniseries The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling.

In the words of his stepbrother Jason, Max would do "anything for a laugh" so everyone assumed that one day he would end up on television.

Instead, he pursued a career in music and won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama but dropped out to work as a backup singer and musician for artists ranging from Take That and Jamiroquai to George Michael and Paul Weller.

In 1995, Max watched the video of Martin Scorsese's 1980 masterpiece Raging Bull and was inspired to become an actor.

Taking his savings, he flew to New York and worked with acting coach Sheila Gray. After nine months, he returned to England and eventually auditioned for the role of Tom Jones.

Based on his success, the actor was signed for his first feature role in the romantic drama The Match in 1999 and followed with five more film parts before landing a co-starring role opposite Mariah Carey in Glitter.

Max is also known for dating 'Scary' Spice Girl Melanie Brown.