Olivier Martinez was born on January 12th 1966 in Paris, France After leaving school at a young age, he tried various jobs but failed to find his true vocation. In 1989 he finally decided that acting was the career for him.

His first movie role came in the film Plein fer (1990) but his big break came five years later when he was cast in the Le Hussard sur le toit (The Horseman on the Roof). The beautiful film was a huge success, due in part to the rumours of an off screen romance between Oliver and his co-star Juliette Binoch. Of course, the rumours were true and the French couple lived together for three years before going their separate ways in 1998.

Olivier successfully made the leap from Europe to Hollywood with the movie Unfaithful (2002) where he played the sexy young man who tempts Diane Lane into having an affair.

Since then Oliver has appeared in numerous big budget films such as S.W.A.T. (2003) and Taking Lives (2004).