Raised in Coventry, England

Began studying acting as a teenager

Made professional stage debut as member of the Young Vic company; played Claudio in "Measure for Measure" and Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet"

Feature film debut "Vroom"

US TV debut in "Precious Bane", a two-part segment of the PBS series "Mystery!"

Played lead in Central Television series "Chancer"

Won praise for his performance as an incestuous brother in Steven Poliakoff's "Close My Eyes"

Directed by Poliakoff in "Century"

Made American TV-movie debut, "Class of '61" (ABC)

First US feature film "The Rich Man's Wife"

Starred in the ITV series "Sharman"

Cast in leading role in film adaptation of Martin Sherman's "Bent"

Played title role in Mike Hodges' "Croupier"; film became a popular art-house hit upon its 2000 release in USA

Introduced character of Detective Inspector Ross Tanner, a policeman suffering a virus that affects his ability to see, in the BBC series "Second Sight"; aired on PBS in the USA

Co-starred as a prisoner with a flair for gardening in "Greenfingers"; screened at the Toronto Film Festival; first screen appearance opposite Helen Mirren

Reprised role of Tanner in a second series of "Second Sight" (BBC-1); aired on PBS in the USA

Had lead role in a series of five short film advertisements for BMW shown over the Internet at bmwfilms.com

Played the valet to a visiting guest at "Gosford Park", the Robert Altman-directed period mystery; second screen teaming with Helen Mirren

Co-starred with Matt Damon in a villainous turn in "The Bourne Identity"

Starred opposite Angelina Jolie in the love story "Beyond Borders"

Starred in the thriller "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"

Portrayed Arthur in "King Arthur," a demystified take on the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Co-starred with Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman and Jude Law in "Closer" directed by Mike Nichols and based on the play by Patrick Marber; earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor

Cast as Dwight in "Sin City" the adaptation of comic book icon Frank Miller's uber-noir series of grapic novels; co-directed by Miller and Robert Rodriguez

Starred opposite Jennifer Aniston in the thriller "Derailed," about an advertising executive whose life takes a Hitchcockian turn when he misses his commuter train

Co-starred with Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's hostage drama "Inside Man"

Starred in Alfonso Cuaron's futuristic tale, "The Children of Men," adapted from P.D. James' novel

Played the lead in "Shoot 'Em Up," an action film written and directed by Michael Davis

Plays explorer, writer, colonist and spy Walter Raleigh in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” the follow-up to “Elizabeth”