Santiago Cabrera

In his breakthrough Heroes role as a heroin-addicted, lovesick artist able to paint the future, this Latino hunk seduced viewers with his moody, manly charm, even though his character didn't live past the first season. Born in Chile but raised in Toronto, Madrid, London and Romania due to his father's work as a diplomat, Cabrera initially planned on becoming a soccer player. In fact, after high school he played semipro in London before focusing on his other passion: acting. While studying at the Drama Centre London at Central St. Martin's College, he landed his first gig on the British TV show MI-5 and in 2005 he snagged his first role stateside as Julius Caesar's nephew in the Roman miniseries Empire. But it was his Heroes alter ego in 2006 that confirmed him as an up-and-comer. While his time on Heroes was short-lived, he continued to snag impressive parts on the big and little screens, including a role in director Steven Soderbergh's epic biopic Che and the part of Lancelot on the BBC series Merlin. Not bad for a man who once worked as a rickshaw driver while he was a student in London. ~ Rovi