Stuart Townsend was born outside of Dublin, the son of a professional golfer. He studied acting and earned money as a boxer until he earned respectable notices for his first film role in Trojan Eddie (1996) opposite Stephen Rea and Richard Harris. He was soon appearing in films such as Shooting Fish (1997), Simon Magus (1999), Wonderland (1999), The Escort (1999) and About Adam (2000). His role as a young vampire opposite the late Aaliyah in Queen of the Damned (2002) established him as a star in the States and led to his role as Dorian Gray in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman starring Sean Connery.