Aaron Eckhart
Born: 12th March 1968
Where: Santa Clara County, California, USA
The onetime surfer dude is finally hitting his stride with starring roles as lawyer Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight and the black comedy Thank You For Smoking.
Previously, he had probably been best known as the biker boyfriend of Julia Roberts in the Oscar-winning Erin Brockovich.
The son of a computer expert and children's author, the teenage Eckhart quit England for Sydney.
Following school he took three years out to surf in Hawaii and ski in France before when he enrolled at the University of Utah.
Following graduation majoring in film, he joined the ranks of unemployed actors in Manhattan until he enjoyed a taste of success with a Miller beer advert.
Eckhart first caught moviegoers' attention in his film debut as the businessman Chad in the black comedy In the Company of Men.
In 1999 he had a small part as an assistant coach in Any Given Sunday and followed this with a turn as the pony-tailed biker who eventually wins the heart of Julia Roberts' in Erin Brockovich.
In Nurse Betty, Aaron re-united with University pal Neil LaBute, playing a used-car salesman who neglects his sweet-natured spouse, played by Renee Zelwegger.
2001 saw him appear opposite Jack Nicholson as his policeman partner in The Pledge, and also saw him star alongside Gwyneth Paltrow in Possession.
He went on to appear as meteorologist Josh Keyes in the enjoyable disaster movie The Core opposite Hilary Swank.
In 2003, he starred in John Woo's adaptation of the Philip K Dick short story Paycheck with Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman.
He raised his profile as shifty tobacco spokesman Nick Naylor in the clever comedy Thank You For Smoking and went on to play a crooked cop in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia.
He had a brief cameo in the dire remake of The Whicker Man and starred opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones in the romantic comedy No Reservations.
In 2008, he impressed as the lawyer Harvey Dent alongside Christian Ball as Batman and Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
