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Born Kazimierz Siemaszko, he is the son of a Polish concentration camp survivor and an English dancer. He made his performing debut at age five with The Kosciuszko Dancers, a folk-dance group headed by his father. From an early age he was active with the Ref-Ren Polish community theater; among other things, he learned to ride a unicycle and juggle knives. He graduated from Chicago's Goodman School of Drama, then gave up steady work in Chicago theater and moved to Los Angeles. Although he had an agent and went to many auditions, it took him four years before he landed his first feature film role; he debuted onscreen in Class (1983) then averaged one or more films a year, almost always in supporting roles.