Arnold Vosloo is a South African actor. He is known for his roles as Imhotep in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, Colonel Coetzee in Blood Diamond, Pik van Cleef in Hard Target, Dr. Peyton Westlake / Darkman in ' and ', Zartan in and its, and terrorist Habib Marwan during the fourth season of 24.
Early life
An Afrikaner of Dutch and German ancestry, Vosloo was born into a Pretoria acting family, his parents having been stage-actors. His father ran a drive-in theater in Alberton. He has one sister. After high school and military service, he took drama courses at the Pretoria Technikon.
Career
Vosloo began his acting career in the SouthAfrican theatre where he won several Dalro Awards for his performances in such plays as Don Juan, Hamlet, and Môre is 'n Lang Dag and he quickly became a regular at Pretoria's State Theatre. He also starred in Torch Song Trilogy and won another award for the TV show, Meisie van Suid-Wes. In 1984, he moved on to film where he continued Dalro Award-winning performances in films such as Boetie gaan Border toe acting alongside fellow South African actor Frank Opperman, and Circles in a Forest in 1990. Vosloo also starred in the "Boetie" sequel, Boetie op maneuvers in 1986. Vosloo also starred in Morenga, Saturday Night at the Palace, Skeleton Coast and The Rutanga Tapes. 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 NY's Circle In The Square Uptown's short-lived production of Salomé together with Al Pacino. His American film debut was in '. He later appeared in the two less successful sequels to the 1990 film Darkman, ' and ', filling the shoes of Liam Neeson as the titular character Darkman. He's also known for portraying villains such in the John Woo film Hard Target, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. He played the title role of the 1999 filmThe Mummy, as well as its 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns. In both films he played Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian high priest. Vosloo also played François Molay, the main villain's henchman, in the 2003 film Agent Cody Banks. In 2004, The Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride opened in both Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando and Hollywood. Vosloo and Fraser were there at both openings to promote the new rides, in which both of them star, as well as featuring a life size image of Vosloo as The Mummy. Alongside his film career, he guest-starred in several TV series, including The Red Shoe Diaries, American Gothic, Nash Bridges, Charmed, Alias and NCIS. He was one of the main characters in '. He also had a major role in the fourth season of 24, as terrorist leader Habib Marwan. Vosloo appeared in three episodes of Chuck in 2009 as Fulcrum agent Vincent. In 2004, Vosloo returned to South Africa to make Forgiveness, about an ex-policeman who seeks out the family of the anti-Apartheidactivist that he killed. He played mercenary Colonel Coetzee in the 2006 filmBlood Diamond, which was partially filmed in South Africa. Vosloo has been involved in video games: His likeness, as well as his voice, was chosen for main hero of video game ', published in summer of 2005 by ATARI. Vosloo portrayed the Cobra mercenary and master of disguise, Zartan, in the summer 2009 release '.
Personal life
In 1988, Vosloo became a naturalizedUnited States citizen after marrying his Act of Piracy and Skeleton Coast co-star Nancy Mulford; they divorced three years later. On 16 October 1998, he married Southern California native Silvia Ahí, a Mexican-American marketing director. Vosloo and Ahí are spokespersons for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, IFAW. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Vosloo noted he looked similar to American actorBilly Zane. According to Vosloo, when people came asking him if he was "the guy in Titanic", he replied "of course, of course!" as a joke.
