Spotlight - Eddie Marsan

You know his face don't you? You're thinking "I've seen that funny looking wee guy in something recently", but you can't quite place him. Remarkably, this year he has more blockbusters to his name than probably any other actor. Don't believe us? How about 'Miami Vice', 'Mission: Impossible III' and ' V for Vendetta'? He's worked with Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann and Terrence Mallick, and there aren't many actors who can make that claim. His name is Eddie Marsan and he's one of the best actors in the country.

After a decade of TV parts and minor film roles, he's finally breaking out. On working on big Hollywood products he says, "I've always been a jobbing actor, but when you turn up every morning and go to work, it's the same anywhere. You can run around trying to be a film star and forget about home - it's all very seductive." But he's at his best playing small men in small films. In Mike Leigh's 'Vera Drake' for instance, he's practically invisible as the mild mannered Reg, but he still manages to make a huge impression, although this isn't something that concerns him. "It's not very healthy to worry about how you're perceived. It's always an illusion, it's always a self delusion, so I try not to worry about it."

This month sees him in the low budget British comedy 'Sixty Six', as a put upon Jewish father, although the vagaries of shooting schedules meant he had first hand experience of both sides of the movie coin. "I had to do one more week's shooting on 'Mission: Impossible' in the middle of making 'Sixty Six'", he explains. "Because of Tom Cruise's religion and philosophy, everyone on set is a great exponent of positivity - at the end of a take it's high fives everywhere. Whereas around a Jewish set, everyone is giving it 'Oy'. So there was definitely a different vibe." 'Sixty Six' is his first starring role and it's another skillful portrait of a quiet, unassuming man but, as he has already proved this year, he's far from a one trick pony.