Actor Lee Pace was born in Oklahoma, but spent some of his childhood living overseas with his family. While studying back in the states, he got involved in regional theater and was accepted to the Juilliard School. His early stage credits include Romeo and Juliet, King Richard III, and Julius Caesar. After receiving his BFA, he made his professional stage debut in the off-Broadway play The Credeux Canvas. His striking television debut came the next year in the Showtime original movie A Soldier's Girl, based on a true story. He received recognition at the Golden Globes, Gotham Awards, and the Independent Spirit Awards for his portrayal of transgendered nightclub singer Calpernia Addams. The same year, Pace could also be seen in the Los Angeles regional theater production of Blackout.
Riding high on the buzz from A Soldier's Girl, in 2004 Pace landed a role on the Fox dramedy Wonderfalls. While the show gained a cult-following, it only lasted half a season, but Pace's rise continued with roles in such well-received features as Infamous and The Good Shepherd. The coming years would find particular success for Pace in movies like A Single Man, Marmaduke, and When in Rome, not to mention franchise films like The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
