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Milestones
- 2004: Cast opposite Nicolas Cage and Harvey Keitel in "National Treasure"
- 2004: Cast as the Greek hero Odysseus in director Wolfgnag Petersen's epic "Troy"
- 2003: Featued in the comedy "The Big Empty", which also starred Jon Favreau
- 2003: Appeared in "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", the adaption of the third and final of J.R.R. Tolkien's revered trilogy
- 2002: Starred in "Tom & Thomas"
- 2002: Had small but pivotal role in the futuristic thriller "Equilibrium" (a.k.a. "Librium")
- 2001: Cast as the leader of a gang of jewel thieves who resort to blackmail and murder in the thriller "Don't Say a Word"
- 2001: Portrayed Boromir in the Peter Jackson-directed adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"
- 2000: Offered a strong performance as a volatile ex-con in the British gangster film "Essex Boys"
- 1999: Played a man accused of murdering his family who escapes from custody in order to prove his innocence in "Extremely Dangerous", a four-part ITV miniseries
- 1998: Co-starred in the international thriller "Ronin"
- 1998: Portrayed real-life British soldier Andy McNab who led a top secret mission during the Persian Gulf conflict in the TV drama "Bravo Two Zero"
- 1997: Cut a dashing figure as Vronsky in the remake of "Anna Karenina" starring Sophie Marceau
- 1994: Portrayed Esau to Matthew Modine's "Jacob" in the TNT biblical movie
- 1994: Cast as Lord Richard Fenton in the CBS miniseries "Scarlett", a sequel of sorts to "Gone With the Wind"
- 1992: US film debut as an Irish radical in the film version of Tom Clancey's novel "Patriot Games", starring Harrison Ford
- 1992: Cast as gamekeeper Mellors opposite Joely Richardson's "Lady Chatterley" in a BBC adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover"
- 1991: Garnered praise for playing Lovelace in the BBC adaptation of "Clarissa"; aired in USA on "Masterpiece Theatre" in 1992
- 1990: Co-starred opposite Richard Harris in "The Field"
- 1990: Portrayed the wicked Carver Doone in the Thames Television production "Lorna Doone"
- 1988: Reunited with Jarman for "War Requiem"
- 1988: Delivered a fine performance as an Irish janitor who becomes mixed up with an American gangster in the moody "Stormy Monday", helmed by Mike Figgis
- 1986: Feature film debut in Derek Jarman's "Caravaggio"
- From 1986 to 1988: Joined Royal Shakespeare Company; played Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet", Captain Spencer in "The Fair Maid of the West" and Starveling in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
- 1985: Spent a season acting on stage with the Young Writers Festival
- 1984: British TV movie debut "Winter Flight"
- 1983: Professional stage debut as Tybalt in "Romeo and Juliet" at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury; credited as Shaun Behan
- ---: Set to star opposite Maria Bello in the indie "The Dark," based on the psychological thriller novel "Sheep" by Simon Maginn (lensed 2005)
- Raised in Handsworth, a suburb of Sheffield, England
- Appeared in a series of American TV commercials for Acuvue contact lenses
- Had perhaps best known role as the Napoleonic era British soldier Richard Sharpe in a series of 14 TV-movies adapted from Bernard Cornwell's novels; aired in USA on "Masterpiece Theatre"
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