THIS SUMMER HE'S: Guy de Lusignan, an opportunistic military commander who's Orlando Bloom's rival for the heart of the princess in the historical epic Kingdom of Heaven; an enigmatic mental patient who has a torrid affair with a psychiatrist's wife (Natasha Richardson) in the dark erotic drama Asylum.

EN GUARD: "Guy is such a fantastic part. The villain is always more fn to play, so I had a ball. He is very adept with his sword, in more ways than one."

WHAT'S IN A SURNAME: "It's pronounced Cho-kash. I'm glad you asked, thank you."

MIX IT UP: "My father is Hungarian and my mother is a New Zealander of European descent, with English, Irish and Danish in successive generations, so I'm a concoction."

SUMMER MEMORIES: "Growing up in New Zealand, my mother would send my brother and me to work on various farms to sheer sheep, make hay, milk cows, ride motorbikes and tractors - a typical rural upbringing."

POST-SUMMER GIGS: Playing a POW in the WW II tale The Great Raid and embarking on a twisted romance with Charlize Theron in the futuristic action flick Aeon Flux.