Young British actor Hugh Dancy was born on June 19th, 1975 in Stoke-on-Trent, England to mother, Sarah (a publisher), and father, Jonathan (a writer and a philosophy professor). He has a younger sister, Kate, and a younger brother, Jack.

Hugh became attracted to acting by sheer chance. At thirteen years old, as punishment for a bad deed, he was sent off to the theatre. He has also been quoted as saying that it was a good way to meet girls while attending a full-time school where there weren't any. He hasn't looked back since.

Hugh attended the all-boy Winchester School at the age of 13 before going on to Oxford University at the age of 18. Hugh had every intention on becoming an actor. However, because of his family's strong academic tradition, Hugh chose instead to pursue a degree in English at university rather than attend acting school. He surely made his parents very proud with the 2:1 degree he received from the prestigious school.

Within the six month window Hugh gave himself after graduating, he worked as a bartender (and apparently, not a very good one) and continued with theatre, appearing in several small theatre productions in London such as The Tempest, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Measure for Measure, Twelth Night, and Much Ado About Nothing.

After a lucky series of circumstances, Hugh landed himself an agent (Dallas Smith of PFD, agent to Sienna Miller, Michael Sheen, Kate Winslet, and more). He got his first television role in "Trial & Retribution II" and also appeared in episodes of TV shows such as "Cold Feet," "Dangerfield," "The New Adventures of Robin Hood," and others. Later he went on to star in the television drama "David Copperfield." During that time, he also had the opportunity to perform on stage in productions of Billy and the Crab Lady and Sam Mendes' ("American Beauty") play, To the Green Fields Beyond.

His first movie role was in Young Blades in which he played the musketeer D'Artagnan. His big break was in Ridley Scott's ("Gladiator") Black Hawk Down as medic Kurt Schmid. Afterward, he starred in successful BBC Drama, "Daniel Deronda," portraying the title role.

Later, Hugh appeared in several films such as The Sleeping Dictionary and Tempo. In 2004, he starred in the Miramax fairy tale Ella Enchanted alongside Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries, Brokeback Mountain), playing the role of Prince Char. He also appeared as Galahad in the ensemble epic King Arthur. In fall 2004, Hugh also starred in the one-night only play The Soldier's Tale alongside Jeremy Irons (Kingdom of Heaven, Eragon). During that time, Hugh became the Face of Burberry Brit for Men and modeled in the fashion line's Fall 2004, Spring/Summer 2005 and Fall 2005 campaigns.

In the year 2006, you could find Hugh in all three categories of movies, stage and TV. Shooting Dogs (Beyond the Gates in the USA), a film based on the 1994 Rwandan genocide, premiered at the 2005 British Film Festival. Showered with excellent reviews, it was also nominated for a 2005 BAFTA. Hugh also starred alongside Saffron Burrows at the one-time only play The Silence of the Sea, a production apart of the Hay Festival in Wales. He also starred as the charming yet twisted Earl of Essex in Channel 4/HBO's two-episodes TV Drama "Elizabeth I." For his performance, he garnered Emmy and Satellite Award nominations for "Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries" and "Best Actor in a Miniseries."

For 2007, Hugh is poised to release several movies such as The Jane Austen Book Club, Evening, Blood and Chocolate, and Savage Grace. Hugh also appeared on stage in the Broadway revival of Journey's End, a critically acclaimed show but a commercial failure. The night it closed, it took home "Best Revival of a Play" at the 2007 Tony Awards.

Hugh has also lent his voice to the animnated feature film by Michael Sporn, Poe, in which he portrays Edgar Allan Poe. It is set to be released in late 2008.