Dark and dashing in the tradition of his fellow countryman Sean Connery, Scottish actor Dougray Scott first reached American multiplex masses in 1998's Ever After, in which he starred as Drew Barrymore's fairy tale prince. Born in Fife on November 25, 1965, Scott was raised in a family of non-actors. His own interest in acting was routinely discouraged by various schoolteachers, but after graduating from the high school he attended in the small town of Glenrothes, he trained at the Welsh College of Music and Drama, where he was named "most promising student." After beginning his professional career on the stage, Scott got his first significant break in 1995 when he was cast on the popular British TV series Soldier, Soldier. He then won a measure of notoriety for his role as a thoroughly corrupt Welsh cop in Kevin Allen's Twin Town (1997), a black comedy that was a sleeper hit throughout Britain. Scott's work in the film also caught the attention of certain Hollywood casting directors, who chose him for his plum role in Ever After (1998). After returning to Scotland to portray a corrupt businessman in Gregory's Two Girls, the disappointing sequel to Bill Forsyth's Gregory's Girl, the actor appeared as part of a strong ensemble cast in the small British film This Year's Love, which cast him as a womanizing artist. Having proven himself adept at portraying morally questionable characters, Scott gave villainy another go in John Woo's Mission: Impossible II, in which he starred as a former IMF agent gone bad.