Showbiz CV: Gary was raised by his mother and two sisters after his dad left them when he was seven.

At 16, he left school to work in a sports shop. He went on to study acting at drama school. He joined the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and later the Citizen's Theatre in Glasgow.

In 1985, he started working in theatre in London's West End. He has been in many films and has played very different characters in each.

He's really suited to Sirius Black because he can play dark roles very well. Some of his famous roles include Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula, as well as parts in Hannibal, The Fifth Element and JFK.

Potty about: Accents: he does a different accent in almost every film he's in. He also once thought about a career in music.