Born in England but lived in Transvaal, South Africa, for most of his youth. Started Martial Arts training at the age of 12 in Liverpool, achieving black belt status at 18. Fought in the ring for the Northwest Freestyle 'full contact' team for 5 years before moving to London to train at Drama Centre London, under Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren, in 1993. Started professional acting career on graduating in 1996.