| Moved to London when he was 16 to join the National Youth Theater |
1992 | Made feature film debut in "The Power of One" |
1996 | Gained recognition with the hit TV series "Our Friends in the North" |
1998 | Co-starred as the painter's lover in "Love Is the Devil," a biopic of Francis Bacon |
1998 | Had a small but impressive role in "Elizabeth" where he played a monk |
1999 | Featured in the World War I drama "The Trench" |
2000 | Co-starred with Kim Basinger in "I Dreamed Of Africa" |
2001 | Cast in "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," the screen adaptation of the notorious computer game starring Angelina Jolie |
2002 | Appeared in "Road to Perdition," directed by Sam Mendes |
2003 | Portrayed poet Ted Hughes in "Sylvia," a biopic of Sylvia Plath (Gwyneth Paltrow) |
2004 | Cast in the drama "The Mother" |
2004 | Starred opposite Samantha Morton and Rhys Ifans in "Enduring Love" |
2005 | Cast in Steven Spielberg's drama "Munich," based on the tragic aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics |
2005 | Featured in the thriller "The Jacket" with Adrien Brody |
2005 | Starred in the British gangster hit "Layer Cake," based on JJ Connelly's London crime novel and directed by Matthew Vaughn |
2006 | Cast as British secret service agent James Bond in "Casino Royale," the 21st Bond film directed by Martin Campbell |
2006 | Portrayed killer Perry Smith in the Truman Capote biopic "Infamous"; earned an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Supporting Male |
2007 | Co-starred with Nicole Kidman in "The Invasion," a film based on the 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" |
2007 | Played Lord Asriel, a ruthless and mysterious adventurer in "The Golden Compass," a film adaptation of the first part of His Dark Materials trilogy |
2007 | Signed a $60 million deal to star in the next four James Bond films |
2008 | Appeared in his second James Bond film, the Marc Forster directed "Quantum of Solace" |
2008 | Co-starred in Edward Zwick's World War II drama "Defiance" |
2009 | Made his Broadway debut in "A Steady Rain" opposite Hugh Jackman |
2011 | Cast as investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist opposite Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher directed "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," based on the novel by Stieg Larsson |
2011 | Co-starred with Harrison Ford in the sci-fi Western "Cowboys & Aliens" |
2011 | Co-starred with Rachel Weisz in Jim Sheridan's "Dream House" |
2011 | Lent his vocal talent in "The Adventures of Tintin," directed by Steven Spielberg |
2012 | Returned as James Bond in Sam Mendes directed "Skyfall" |
