Raised in North London, England

Performed odd jobs and traveled extensively as a youth

Made stage debut in "Feather Pluckers"

TV acting debut, "Villains on the High Road" (London Weekend Television); an episode of the series "Villains"

Feature debut, "The National Health"

Co-starred in the comedy series "Thick as Thieves" (LWT)

Starred in the popular BBC miniseries, "Pennies From Heaven"; scripted by Dennis Potter

Appeared opposite France de la Tour in the ATV series "Flickers"

Delivered strong turn as a British gangster in "The Long Good Friday"

Scored a triumph as Nathan Detroit in the West End production of the stage musical "Guys and Dolls"

Featured as a Rock and Roll Manager in "Pink Floyd The Wall" written by Pink Floyd vocalist and bassist Roger Waters

Cast as nighclub owner Owney Madden in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Cotton Club"

Appeared in Terry Gilliam's "Brazil"

US miniseries debut, played the title character in HBO's "Mussolini: The Decline and Fall of Il Duce"

Played an American screenwriter in Alan Alda's "Sweet Liberty"

Earned critical acclaim as a cab driver who falls in love with a prostitute in "Mona Lisa"; nominated for a Best Actor Oscar

Starred opposite Maggie Smith in "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne"

Made feature directorial and screenwriting debut with "The Raggedy Rawney"; also starred

First mainstream American film, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

Romanced Cher in "Mermaids"

Cast as the pirate Smee in Steven Spielberg's "Hook"

First US TV-movie, the Russell Mulcahy directed "Blue Ice" for HBO

Teamed with John Leguizamo for the big-budget disappointment "Super Mario Bros."

Portrayed Winston Churchill in the NBC miniseries "World War II: When Lions Roared"

Portrayed J Edgar Hoover in Oliver Stone's "Nixon"

TV directorial debut (also starred), "A Fatal Caper" episode of "Tales From the Crypt"

Directed (also starred) the family adventure film, "Rainbow"

Returned to the London stage to star in "Old Wicked Songs"

Played a tabloid editor in "Michael"

Best screen role as the owner of a boxing club in Shane Meadows' "TwentyFourSeven"

Re-teamed with Shane Meadows for a cameo role as a teacher in "A Room for Romeo Brass"

Earned plaudits for his performance as a serial killer in Atom Egoyan's "Felicia's Journey"

Portrayed Sancho Panza in the TNT production "Don Quixote"

Starred as the Panamanian dictator in "Noriega: God's Favorite" (Showtime)

Played Nikita Khruschev in the war drama "Enemy at the Gates"

Appeared as a paternal butler in "Maid in Manhattan"

Featured in the period romance "The Sleeping Dictionary"

Portrayed Bobby Darin's (Kevin Spacey) brother in law in "Beyond the Sea" a biopic of the legendary signer Bobby Darin

Co-starred with Jet Li in "Unleased" written by Luc Besson

Co-starred (also produced) in "Mrs. Henderson Presents" directed by Stephen Frears; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor

Played MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix in "Hollywoodland"

Co-starred in the science fiction film "Doomsday"