Charlie Hunnam

Born: April 10 1980
Where: Newcastle, England

Perhaps best known for his portrayal of Nathan, a gay teen, on the controversial series Queer as Folk, Charlie reached an American audience with work on more accessible television fare.

Discovered while goofing off in a shoe store in his native Newcastle, Charlie was quickly cast on the popular children's series Byker Grove, playing a pony-tailed blonde model.

In 2000, he made his US television debut with a recurring role on the teen drama Young Americans. From here he landed a regular role on the Fox sitcom Undeclared.

Charlie made his first leap to film in 1999 with a role as a rock singer in the British comedy Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?.

He then made his US feature debut opposite Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek) in the thriller Abandon in 2002 and finished the year by starring in the feature drama based on the Charles Dickens' novel Nicholas Nickleby.