Wagner Moura

He may not be as well known in America, but in his native Brazil, Wagner Moura is a bona-fide star. His early roles (1999's "Radio Gogo," 2000's "Woman on Top") proved brief, but his performance as a prisoner in 2003's "Carandiru" was full of brooding promise. He landed a lead role on a popular Brazilian telenovela and continued performing on stage until landing a trifecta of career-defining roles in 2007: first as a vicious police captain in the critically-acclaimed "Elite Squad;" then as a villainous entrepreneur on the telenovela "Paradiso Tropical" (Rede Globo); and finally as the tortured title Dane in an experimental production of "Hamlet." After reprising his role as Lt. Colonel Nascimento in 2010's "Elite Squad: Enemy Within," Moura, now a father of two, broke through to American audiences as the mysterious Spider in the blockbuster "Elysium" (2013). Just as fascinating as the characters he played - he fronted the Brazilian rock band His Mother and practiced jiu-jitsu - Wagner Moura was full of surprises.