| Became a student of the exiled Dalai Lama |
| Raised on a farm in upstate New York near Syracuse |
| Switched his faith to Tibetan school of Buddhism |
| Won gymnastics scholarship to the University of Massachusetts |
1969 | Spent one season each at Provincetown Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre |
1973 | First studied the Middle Way of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha as preached by a Japanese sect |
1973 | Made Broadway debut as Danny Zuko in the hit musical "Grease"; recreated role for London production |
1975 | Made film acting debut in "Report to the Commissioner" |
1977 | Garnered attention for a supporting role in "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" opposite Diane Keaton |
1978 | First leading role in a feature, "Days of Heaven" |
1978 | Visited Tibetan refugee camps in Nepal |
1979 | Returned to Broadway in "Bent," playing homosexual inmate of Dachau |
1982 | Starred in his greatest commercial success of the decade "An Officer and a Gentleman" |
1986 | Made a lengthy fact-finding trip through then war-torn Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador |
1990 | Made a commercial comeback with starring role in Garry Marshall's "Pretty Woman" opposite Julia Roberts |
1992 | First film as executive producer, "Final Analysis"; also starred |
1993 | Appeared as a character loosely based on Broadway director-choreographer Michael Bennett in the HBO film "And the Band Played On"; earned Emmy nomination |
1993 | Executive produced and starred in Mike Figgis' "Mr Jones" and period drama "Sommersby" |
1996 | Delivered solid performance as a cocky attorney defending former altar boy Edward Norton against allegations of murder in "Primal Fear" |
1997 | Starred in Jon Avnet's "Red Corner," a project particularly close to his heart for its attack on the repressive Chinese regime |
1999 | Re-teamed with Julia Roberts and director Garry Marshall for the romantic comedy "Runaway Bride" |
2000 | Co-starred with Winona Ryder in "Autumn in New York," directed by Joan Chen |
2000 | Starred in Robert Altman's "Dr. T and the Women" |
2002 | Cast in singing and dancing role as sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn in film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical "Chicago"; received a SAG nomination for Best Actor |
2002 | Cast opposite Diane Lane as an unsuspecting husband whose wife is having an affair in "Unfaithful" |
2004 | Co-starred with Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon in U.S. remake of "Shall We Dance?" |
2005 | Starred with Juliette Binoche in the family drama "Bee Season," based on the Myla Goldberg novel |
2006 | Starred in Andrew Lau's first American film "The Flock" |
2007 | Played a discredited journalist embarking on an unauthorized mission to find a war criminal in "The Hunting Party" |
2007 | Portrayed Bob Dylan at one distinct stage of his life in Todd Haynes directed "I'm Not There" |
2007 | Portrayed Clifford Irving, a bogus biographer of Howard Hughes in Lasse Hallström's "The Hoax" |
2008 | Re-teamed with Diane Lane for "Nights in Rodanthe," based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks |
2009 | Portrayed George P. Putnam, Earhart's husband (Hilary Swank) in Mira Nair's biopic "Amelia" |
2010 | Cast as a veteran cop in Antoine Fuqua's "Brooklyn's Finest" |
2010 | Co-directed historical documentary "Yankeeland: In the Shadow of the Stadium" |
2012 | Starred in financial thriller "Arbitrage" as a fraudulent hedge fund manager; re-teamed with Susan Sarandon as husband and wife in the film |
