Arnold Vosloo

Known for playing villains and terrorists in numerous films and television series (and often mixed up with his North American doppelganger Billy Zane), South African-born actor Arnold Vosloo was an award-winning theatre actor in his native country prior to making a name for himself in America. He performed in plays throughout the '80s before moving to the States in the early '90s to pursue a film career. His breakthrough role came in the 1993 action-thriller, "Hard Target," directed by John Woo and starring Jean-Claude van Damme. Vosloo landed the role of Pik Van Clear, a murderous thug, after Woo saw him perform in a short-lived stage production of "Salome" on a New York Stage. Vosloo appeared as John the Baptist in the production, which was closed after a mere 18 performances. Yet it was enough for Vosloo to be discovered by Woo, who subsequently cast Vosloo in his upcoming action film. For Vosloo, it was the start of a decades-long career as one of Hollywood's go-to bad guys, which he would perfect in such films as "The Mummy" (1999) and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (2009), as well as on the FOX action series, "24" (2001-2010).