Chris Vance

British-born actor Chris Vance began his screen career with bit parts on U.K. and Australian TV dramas before earning his breakthrough role as agent James Whistler on the popular American action series "Prison Break." A one-time professional footballer who trained in civil engineering at Newcastle University, Vance settled briefly in Australia in the early 2000s, earning small walk-on roles (usually as thuggish hoods) on successful cop dramas such as "Blue Heelers" and "Stingers." He expanded his range considerably on the Aussie medical drama "All Saints," playing Dr. Sean Everleigh from 2005 to 2007.

Vance made his American TV debut on the fourth season of the wildly popular "Prison Break" before earning the lead role on the short-lived Fox series "Mental." Savaged by critics for being too similar to another Fox series, "House," the show was cancelled after just 13 episodes, with Vance rebounding as a guest star on better received dramas such as "Burn Notice" and "Dexter."