While American moviegoers got their first eyeful of Paul Bettany as the frequently naked Geoffrey Chaucer in the cheeky "A Knight's Tale" (2001), British theatergoers were already aware of the tall, handsome blond from his year-long stint at the Royal Shakespeare Company and his work in such West End fare as Stephen Daldry's acclaimed 1992 revival of "An Inspector Calls.”

Born in London but raised in Harelsdent, Bettany dropped out of school at age 16 and spent the next two years as a street performer in and around London. After a year working at a home for the elderly, he decided to enroll in