Dominic Purcell

Born in England, raised in Australia, and the star of his own weekly television series in America after only a short time in Hollywood, Dominic Purcell proved himself adept at adaptation. The powerfully-built graduate of the Western Australia Academy for the Performing Arts had bristled at being buried in the cast list of the Tom Cruise vehicle "Mission: Impossible II" (2000), which had filmed in his adopted hometown of Sydney, and strove to better his chances within the entertainment industry by relocating to Los Angeles. Though "John Doe" (Fox, 2002-03) attracted a loyal fan following, the series was cancelled after its first season. Taking the work where he could find it, Purcell returned to his adopted homeland for a role in Richard Franklin's eerie "The Visitors" (2003) and played an atypically hardbodied Count Dracula in "Blade: Trinity" (2004), opposite Wesley Snipes. A principal role on the hit series "Prison Break" (Fox, 2005-09) made Purcell a leading man and a household name, allowing him also to headline the independent horror films "The Gravedancers" (2006), "Primeval" (2007) and "Blood Creek" (2007) on his hiatuses. With the cancelation of "Prison Break," Purcell returned to the roster of supporting players, contributing vivid character roles to the remakes of the Sam Peckinpah classics "The Killer Elite" (2011) and "Straw Dogs" (2011) while biding his time and honing his craft in preparation for his next shot at stardom.