Vincent Cassel is one heck of an awesome actor, and he’s married to Monica Bellucci, the lucky guy! His career has had an interesting trajectory, as he was propelled to stardom as a result of his role in the 1995 French film La Haine, for which he received much acclaim. Surprisingly, he didn’t take very long to make the transition to English-language cinema, and only three years later he began appearing in Hollywood productions such as Elizabeth, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Shrek (as the voice of Monsieur Hood) and Ocean’s Twelve. During this period, he also made a number of French-language films, including the genre-bending martial-arts period-piece supernatural-mystery flick Brotherhood of the Wolf, and the movie that will rip out a small piece of your soul and stomp on it: Irreversible. In 2007, Cassel landed a choice role in David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises, then followed it up with roles in Black Swan and the upcoming A Dangerous Method, securing himself a spot among the top actors working today. Cassel turns 45 today.