|
Arnold Vosloo (born June 16, 1962 in Pretoria, South Africa) is an South
African actor naturalized American.
He began his acting career in the South Africa theatre where he won
several Dalro awards for plays such as Don Juan, Hamlet and More is in Land
Dang and he quickly became a regular in South Africa's State Theatre. In
1984 he moved on to the film scene where he continued Dalro award winning
performances in movies such as Boetie gaan border toe (1984) and Circles in
a Forest (1990).
.
In 1988 he received his American Citizenship and before moving to his
current Santa Monica, California residence he married his co-star Nancy
Mulford, however their marriage didn't last long and the couple divorced
after three years.
Upon arriving in the U.S. Vosloo returned to the theatre where he
appeared in Born In The R.S.A. at Chicago's Northlight Theatre and in the
Circle In The Square Uptown short lived production of Salomé (1992) together
with Al Pacino. In 1998 he remarried, this time to Sylivia Ahi, an Mexican-American
marketing director, his second and current wife to date.
His American movie debut was in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992). He
later appeared in the two less successful sequels to the 1990 horror
blockbuster Darkman (Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1994) and Darkman III:
Die Darkman Die) filling in the shoes of Liam Neeson as Darkman, a scientist
named Peyton Westlake scarred and badly burnt who wears synthetic skin that
dissolves in light. As a result of his accident the doctors were forced to
remove his neurons thus giving him unbelievable strength and the inability
to feel pain. Thus he becomes Darkman, a superhero of sorts who seeks to
avenge mobster Robert Durant (played by Larry Drake) who was responsible for
destroying his life.
In 1999 he appeared in the title role of The Mummy alongside Brendan
Fraser, as well as the 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns. In both films he plays
Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian high priest who has an affair with the
Pharaoh's mistress Anck Su Namun and eventually kills the Pharaoh himself
when the supreme ruler discovers the fact. For this he is mummified alive
and cursed. Years later he is accidently awakened and becomes a destructive
force attempting to bring his beloved back to life. In the sequel the mummy
is awaken once again, this time on purpose, in order to defeat another
ancient evil by the name of The Scorpion King, played by pro wrestler The
Rock. He who defeats the the scorpion king will gain control of his armies
and rule the world.
Both movies were smash hits and a spin off to them (without Vosloo) named
The Scorpion King was produced with The Rock in the title role. In 2004 The
Mummy: The Ride opened in both Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood
and Orlando. Vosloo and Fraser were there to promote the events and it
features a life size image of Vosloo as the mummy.
Vosloo is currently in a recurring guest role in 24 as Habib Marwan, the
leader of a complex terrorist plot to completely destroy the United States
of America. After bombing a train, kidnapping the Secretary of Defense and
attempting to murder him, attempting to meltdown all of the country's
nuclear power plants, and shooting down Air Force One in an attempt to
assassinate the President, Marwan is now seeking control of the entire
nuclear arsenal of the country and has stolen a warhead. Vosloo is expected
to continue on the show through to its season finale in May.
Alongside his movie career he guest starred in several TV shows including
American Gothic (1995), Nash Bridges (1995), Charmed (2000) and Alias
(2004).
. |
