Encouraged by Sergio Leone to pursue a career in acting after the director saw him perform at the Steppenwolf Theater

Moved to Los Angeles in his early 20s

Feature acting debut, "WarGames"

TV movie debut, Edward Zwick's Emmy-winning "Special Bulletin" (NBC)

TV series debut, "Our Family Honor" (ABC)

TV miniseries debut, "War and Remembrance" (ABC)

Portrayed a psychotic killer in John Dahl's "Kill Me Again"

Co-starred as Susan Sarandon's boyfriend in "Thelma & Louise"

Breakthrough screen role as Mr. Blonde in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs"

Played the foster father in "Free Willy"

Had featured role as Virgil Earp in "Wyatt Earp"

Reprised his role in "Free Willy 2"

Co-starred in "Species"

Associate produced and starred in "Executive Target" (HBO)

Delivered a strong turn as Mafia hood Sonny Black in "Donnie Brasco"

Reprised role in the sequel "Species II"

Starred in the ABC drama "Vengeance Unlimited"

Returned to series work as co-star of the short-lived CBS police series "Big Apple"

Narrated the Animal Planet series, "Animal Precint"

Cast in the James Bond feature "Die Another Day"

Cast in Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill," which was released in two Volumes "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003) and "Kill Bill Vol.2" (2004)

Starred 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 as Vladimir, a vampire hunter in the big-screen version of the popular video game "BloodRayne"

Co-starred in "Funny Money" a film adaptation of the 1994 play written by Ray Cooney

Co-starred with Dennis Hopper in the independent horror/thriller, "Hoboken Hollow"