Rufus Sewell

A mainstay in British costume dramas and historic biopics, actor Rufus Sewell was active on London stages before landing his screen breakthrough in the British television adaptation of George Eliot's "Middlemarch" in 1995. From there, the actor was tapped to ride many a horse and deliver many a velvet-clad smoldering look in a string of well-received films including "A Knight's Tale" (2001) and "The Illusionist" (2006). While Sewell successfully transitioned to American productions, he remained typecast in period pieces as villainous rulers, brooding noblemen and romantic leads. Eventually the actor's protestations led him to prove his versatility in the critically-acclaimed Tom Stoppard play "Rock 'n' Roll" and the American television series "Eleventh Hour" (CBS, 2008-09), where he proved a very suitable choice to play a handsome criminal investigator whose preferred method of transportation was a car and who was never called upon to engage in a sword fight. The series' demise would, at least temporarily, return Sewell to period dramas, although the charismatic actor would manage to keep at least one foot firmly planted in the modern day for his many projects to come.