Moved to American Samoa with family at age three (date approximate)

Moved to Santa Barbara, California at age eight (date approximate)

Played piano for a local theater group in Santa Barbara (date approximate)

Switched to acting (date approximate)

TV-movie debut, "The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank" (CBS)

Joined an American repertory company which performed at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland; performed in "Tobacco Road", "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "Working"

Returned to Los Angeles after running out of money in Edinburgh

Film debut, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", playing one of the Stoner Buds (with Anthony Edwards); first association with Cameron Crowe who scripted

Director Robert Zemeckis replaced him unceremoniously with Michael J Fox after five weeks of shooting on "Back to the Future", charitably saying later "I found myself with a very good actor playing the wrong part"

Made first big impression as a sensitive boy disfugured by a rare disease in "Mask"

Off-Broadway debut, "The Widow Claire" by Horton Foote

Starred in "Some Kind of Wonderful", written and produced by John Hughes

Broadway debut, "Our Town"; received Tony nomination as Best Supporting Actor in a Play for his turn as George Gibbs

Portrayed Vahlere in Crowe's "Say Anything"; also served as production assistant

Second role that required lots of make-up, "The Fly II"

First film with director Michael Caton-Jones, "Memphis Belle"

Acted in Crowe's "Singles" playing an aggressive mime artist; first film with then-significant other Bridget Fonda

Received acclaim for his role as a paraplegic writer in "The Waterdance", co-starring Helen Hunt

Feature producing debut, "Bodies, Rest & Motion", scripted by Roger Hedden; also acted in with Bridget Fonda and Phoebe Cates

Headed the ensemble of "Sleep With Me", also scripted by Hedden

Played in his words "a token male" in the studio remake of "Little Women", standing around "with facial hair to prove that the little women are, in fact, heterosexual"

Reteamed with Caton-Jones for "Rob Roy"

First film with director Noah Baumbach, "Kicking and Screaming"

Starred in Arthur Penn's "Inside", a Showtime movie (which also got a limited theatrical release) exposing the excess of South Africa's apartheid policy

Reteamed with Crowe for the blockbuster "Jerry Maguire", playing Ethan Vahlere

Played a vice cop partnered with Jeff Daniels in John Herzfeld's "2 Days in the Valley"

Earned a large paycheck for the big-budget "Anaconda"

Executive produced and starred in Baumbach's "Mr. Jealousy"; reunited with "Mask" director Peter Bogdanovich who acted in the film; also acted in "Highball" (lensed 1997), filmed three weeks after "Mr. Jealousy" with much of the same cast and crew

Appeared in Roger Hedden's directorial debut, "Hi-Life"; had also acted in two films scripted by Hedden, "Bodies, Rest & Motion" and "Sleep With Me" (1994)

TV series debut as a regular playing a doctor specializing in alternative medicine in "Chicago Hope" (CBS)

Played Nathaniel Brandon in "Showtime's "The Passion of Ayn Rand", acting for the first time with Peter Fonda

Acted with Cuba Gooding Jr and Tom Berringer in Rowdy Herrington's "A Murder of Crows" (premiered on Cinemax)

Cast as a military attorney representing a female captain accused of murder in the Showtime original "One Kill"

Portrayed lawyer Lawrence Seldon in "The House of Mirth", Terence Davies' adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel

Made directorial debut with the Showtime original "My Horrible Year!"

Acted in an L.A. stage production of "Betrayal"

Appeared in "Happy Hour" (lensed 2001)

Had recurring role as a teacher on the ABC drama series "Once and Again"; also directed episodes

Starred with Felicity Huffman in the Showtime drama "Out of Order"

Cast in the thriller "The Butterfly Effect," starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart

Appeared on broadway in the production of "Sly Fox"

Played a tabloid reporter in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries "Triangle" (lensed 2005)