Note: this is a new series of History Switch articles profiling actors and their roles in historical film.

Faye Dunaway was born January 14, 1941 in Bascom, Florida, where she grew up and attended university, eventually graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in theater.

She made her film debut in the 1967 period piece, The Happening, and she was quickly cast as the female lead opposite Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde. During the 1970s and 1980s she was a hot commodity as a leading lady, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as a TV executive in Network. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role opposite Mickey Rourke in 1987 in Barfly.

Enjoy Faye Dunaway as she travels through history by viewing her roles in these historical films:

1400s — The Messenger (The Story of Joan of Arc) — Yolande of Aragon. Story of the fifteenth-century peasant girl who led a French army to victory against the English, witnessed the crowning of King Charles VII, and was later burned at the stake for witchcraft.

1600s — The Three Musketeers — Lady de Winter and The Four Musketeers — Milady. Based on Alexandre Dumas book, these two films tell the story of d’Artagnan, a young nobleman who travels to Paris in hopes of joining the Musketeers, a group of swashbuckling adventurers who serve King Louis XIII. An all star cast including Michael York (D’Artagnan) and the original three musketeers (Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed, and Frank Finlay).

1880s – Little Big Man — Mrs. Pendrake. Dustin Hoffman stars in the lead role as Jack Crabb, a 121 year-old survivor of Custer’s Last Stand who tells his story from his adoption by Cheyenne Indians to his friendship with Wild Bill Hickock, delivering a commentary on race relations that is poignant and timeless. Richard Mulligan plays General Custer, and Dunaway as Mrs. Pendrake, Jack’s licentious adoptive mother.

1930s — Bonnie and Clyde — Bonnie Parker. Set in the trying years of the Great Depression in America, Faye Dunaway stars as Bonnie Parker, a small town girl who meets up with Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) and sets off on a bank robbing spree destined to end in tragedy.

1930s — Chinatown — Evelyn Mulwray. Jack Nicholson is private eye Jake Gittes, living off the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-war Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her husband’s extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together for one, unforgettable night in…Chinatown.

1930s — Voyage of the Damned – Denise Kreisler. A group of Jewish passengers, including concentration camp victims, attempt to escape Nazi Germany, only to discover that their voyage has been a sham, a propaganda exercise which will ultimately lead to their return to Europe.

Note: this is a new series of History Switch articles profiling actors and their roles in historical film.

Helena Bonham Carter was born May 26, 1966 in Golders Green, London. Her father was an international banker from a famous British family and her mother a psychotherapist who still helps her daughter out today by providing analyses of her characters’ psychological motivations.

While she has no formal acting training, Bonham Carter has received or been nominated for a number of acting awards, including winning the Empire Award for her role as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, and for her role in Fight Club opposite Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.

Her waifish, tragic-heroine appearance led to her being typecast early in her career, but she overcame that to star in a variety of films from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Terminator.

Bonham Carter lives with director Tim Burton, who has cast her in a number of his films.

Enjoy Helena Bonham Carter as she travels through history by viewing her roles in these historical films:

1550s — Lady Jane — Lady Jane Grey. The story of Lady Jane Grey, cousin to Henry the VIII, who found herself Queen of England for 9 days in 1553, at the age of 16.

1600s — Hamlet — Ophelia . Based on Shakespeare’s story about the treacherous death of a king in medieval Denmark, and the uncovering of the truth behind his death by his son Hamlet. Bonham-Carter stars as Hamlet’s ill-fated lover. With Glenn Close as the Queen, Ian Holm as Claudius, and Mel Gibson as Hamlet.

1600s (original) — Twelfth Night – Olivia. When a shipwreck separates siblings Viola and Sebastian in a foreign land, each thinks the other is dead, and both embark on a series of romantic misadventures involving deception, cross-dressing, dashing counts, obese alcoholics and a perceptive fool who presides over the entire madcap affair.

1800s – Frankenstein (1994) — Elizabeth. Interesting take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, with Kenneth Branagh as Frankenstein, Helena Bonham Carter as his love, and Robert deNiro as the monster.

1800s — Sweeney Todd — Mrs. Lovett. Adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning musical thriller starring Johnny Depp starsas a man unjustly sent to prison who vows revenge, not only for that cruel punishment, but for the devastating consequences of what happened to his wife and daughter. Helena Bonham Carter is Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney’s amorous accomplice, who creates diabolical meat pies.

1900s — A Room with a View — Lucy Honeychurch. Based on E.M. Forster’s book by the same name, this film tells the story of the coming of age of Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter). Longing to burst free from the repression of British upper class manners and mores, she must wrestle with her inner romantic longings to choose between the passionate George (Julian Sands) and the priggish but socially suitable Cecil (Daniel Day-Lewis).

1900s — Howard’s End – Helen Schlegel. Margaret and Helen Schlegel (Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter) are sisters from a well-educated European family: intelligent, free-spirited, cultured, and highly emancipated by the standards of the time. A series of events brings them into a relationship with the Wilcox family: healthy, conservative, conventional, and very English, headed by the prosperous Henry (Anthony Hopkins) and his priggish son, Charles (James Wilby). Both families also come into contact with Leonard Bast (Samuel West) and his wife, a couple near the lowest tier of the rigid class system. Leonard’s desire for cultural and intellectual status attracts the attention of Helen, who must come to terms with her unexpected feelings toward him. At the same time, Margaret must reconcile her independent spirit with her desire for companionship and a comfortable place in Edwardian society; her moral strength is eventually able to resolve the tangle of opposites.

Note: this is a new series of History Switch articles profiling actors and their roles in historical film.

Mel Gibson was born January 3, 1956 in Peerskill, New York, but grew up in Australia, where he began studying acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. He acted in a variety of stage roles before specializing in film, including Estragon in Waiting for Godot (with Geoffrey Rush) and was a member of the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

Gibson is known for his early roles in the futuristic Mad Max series, as well as the popular Lethal Weapon films. His film debut was in Summer City (for which he earned $250). His leading-man good looks are joined by great versatility as a both a comedic and dramatic actor, and his roles have ranged from soldier (Gallipoli) to con man (Payback) to Shakespearean tragedian (Hamlet). In the early 1990s, he began to expand from acting into directing, producing award winning (and sometimes controversial) historical films such as Braveheart, The Patriot, Apocolaptyo, and Passion of the Christ.

Enjoy Mel Gibson as he travels through history by viewing his roles in these historical films:

1200s — Braveheart – William Wallace. In many respects, this film, released in 1995 and winner of an Academy Award for Best Picture, redefined the historical film genre with its innovative battle scenes, atmospheric context, and character development. Gibson stars as Scotsman William Wallace, who leads a revolt against England and King Edward I (brilliantly played by Patrick McGoohan).

1600s — Hamlet — Hamlet. Based on Shakespeare’s story about the treacherous death of a king (Paul Scofield) in medieval Denmark, and the uncovering of the truth behind his death by his son, Hamlet (Mel Gibson). Also stars Glenn Close as the Queen, and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia, Hamlet’s ill-fated lover.

1770s — The Patriot — Benjamin Martin. Set in South Carolina during the American Revolution, widower Benjamin Martin, a veteran of the Indian Wars, wishes to live his life in peace. But, after an attack on his family by the British, he can no longer avoid fighting, and leads a militia to the battlefield. Also starring Heath Ledger as his son Gabriel, and Tom Wilkinson as General Cornwallis.

1780s — The Bounty — Fletcher Christian. In 1789, William Bligh, captain of HMS Bounty, along with a number of his crew, were forcibly removed from their ship after a mutinous revolt led by Fletcher Christian. Left for dead, the group somehow managed to sail over 4,000 miles in an open boat to safety. Mel Gibson stars as the mutinous Christian, with an all-star supporting cast including Anthony Hopkins and Daniel Day-Lewis.

1870s — Maverick – Brett Maverick. Set in the "wild west", and inspired by the 1960s television show, Gibson stars as Brett Maverick, a charming gun-slinging cardshark who meets his match when he teams up with gambler Annabelle Bransford (Jodie Foster) and Marshall Cooper (James Garner) as he attempts to win a poker contest.

1900s — Mrs. Soffell — Ed Biddel. Based on a true story of a prison-warden’s wife (Diane Keaton) who falls in live with a condemned murderer (Mel Gibson) and plots his escape.

1910s — Gallipoli — Frank Dunne. Two Australian men discover the reality of war when they are sent to fight the Turkish army in Gallipoli during World War I. Directed by Peter Weir.

1940s — Forever Young — Captain Daniel McCormick. At the dawn of World War II, McCormick, a test pilot, volunteers to participate in a cryogenics experiment after his lover is apparently killed in a car accident. Thawed out 50 years later, McCormick embarks on a journy to discover what really happened to his lost love.

1960s — Year of Living Dangerously — Guy Hamilton. Set during a period of political upheaval in Jakarta, Indonesia, Gibson plays an Australian journalist who encounters romance, tragedy, and adventure in the course of getting his story.

Note: this is a new series of History Switch articles profiling actors and their roles in historical film.

Daniel Day-Lewis was born April 29, 1957 in Greenwich, London. His parents were Irish poet Cecil Day-Lewis and English actress Jill Balcon, from whom he derived dual citizenship. It was as a student at Sevenoaks School in Kent that Day-Lewis was introduced to acting. He was a member of the National Youth Theatre, and was later accepted at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

His film debut at age 14 was as a delinquent in Sunday, Bloody Sunday, but he spent his early career in television before his next small part in the award-winning film, Gandhi. From there he went on to star in controversial and artistic films such as My Beautiful Launderette (as part of a gay couple); The Unbearable Lightness of Being, based on Milan Kundera’s book, and My Left Foot, for which he earned an Academy Award.

Day-Lewis is known for his exhaustive research into the characters he plays, and for his habit of staying in character during the entire filming of a movie. He has won numerous awards and acclaim.

Enjoy Daniel Day-Lewis as he travels through history by viewing his roles in these historical films:

1690s — The Crucible – John Proctor. The Salem witch trials of 1692 are brought vividly to life in this compelling adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play, directed by Nicholas Hytner ("The Madness of King George"). A group of teenage girls meet in the woods at midnight for a secret love-conjuring ceremony. While the other girls attempt to cast love spells, Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) wishes for the death of her former lover’s (Daniel Day-Lewis) wife. When their ceremony is witnessed by the town minister, the girls suddenly find themselves accused of witchcraft. Soon the entire village is consumed by cries of witchcraft, and as the hysteria grows, blameless victims are torn from their homes, leading to a devastating climax.

1700s — The Last of the Mohicans — Hawkeye. Day-Lewis stars as Hawkeye, rugged frontiersman and adopted son of the Mohicans, who falls in live with Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe), aristocratic daughter of a proud British Colonel. Their love, tested by fate, blazes amidst a brutal conflict between the British, the French and Native American allies that engulfs the majestic mountains and cathedral-like forests of Colonial America.

1780s — The Bounty — John Fryer. In 1789, William Bligh, captain of HMS Bounty, along with a number of his crew, were forcibly removed from their ship after a mutinous revolt led by Fletcher Christian. Left for dead, the group somehow managed to sail over 4,000 miles in an open boat to safety. With an all-star cast including Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson.

1860s — Gangs of New York — Bill "The Butcher" Cutting . As waves of immigrants swell the population of New York, lawlessness and corruption thrive in lower Manhattan’s Five Points section. After years of incarceration, young Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns seeking revenge against the rival gang leader (Daniel Day-Lewis) who killed his father. But Amsterdam’s personal vendetta becomes part of the gang warfare that erupts as he and his fellow Irishmen fight to carve a place for themselves in their newly adopted homeland.

1890s – The Age of Innocence — Newland Archer. Story of the manners and morals of New York society in the later 1800′s, focusing on a handsome young lawyer (Day-Lewis) who cannot decide between passion (in the form of Michelle Pfeiffer as Countess Olenska) and propriety (Winona Ryder as May Welland) in his women.

1900s — Gandhi — Colin. This film tells the story of Mohandas Gandhi, the Indian political leader who won his victories through nonviolent resistance. Ben Kingsley plays Gandhi; also starring Martin Sheen, Edward Fox, Candice Bergen, and Sir John Gielgud.

1900s — There will be Blood — Daniel Plainview. Set on during California’s turn-of-the-century petroleum boom, the story chronicles the life and times of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), who transforms himself from a down-and-out silver miner raising a son on his own into a self-made oil tycoon. When Plainview gets a mysterious tip-off that there’s a little town out West where an ocean of oil is oozing out of the ground, he heads with his son, H.W. (Dillon Freasier), to take their chances in dust-worn Little Boston. In this hardscrabble town, where the main excitement centers around the holy roller church of charismatic preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), Plainview and H.W. make their lucky strike. But even as the well raises all of their fortunes, nothing will remain the same as conflicts escalate and every human value – love, hope, community, belief, ambition and even the bond between father and son – is imperiled by corruption, deception and the flow of oil. Based on Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel, Oil!

1900s — A Room with a View — Cecil Vyse. Based on E.M. Forster’s book by the same name, this film tells the story of the coming of age of Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter). Longing to burst free from the repression of British upper class manners and mores, she must wrestle with her inner romantic longings to choose between the passionate George (Julian Sands) and the priggish but socially suitable Cecil (Daniel Day-Lewis).

Note: this is a new series of History Switch articles profiling actors and their roles in historical film.

Leonardo diCaprio was born November 11, 1974 in Hollywood, California. His mother came to America from Germany in the 1950s, and his father was a comic artist. He grew up in Los Angeles.

He began his film career in the early 1990s in the series Parenthood, and from there to the ABC television sitcom Growing Pains. He broke into film in 1992 when he was cast opposite Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin in This Boy’s Life, and, in 1993, as Gilbert Grape in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

DiCaprio gained worldwide acclaim for his 1997 role as a poor artist in the blockbuster film, The Titanic. He has since gone on to receive critical acclaim for his roles in Gangs of New York, The Departed, and Blood Diamond.

Enjoy Leonardo diCaprio as he travels through history by viewing his roles in these historical films:

1300s (original) — Romeo and Juliet — Romeo. This adaptation of William Shakespear’s classic love story stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Romeo) and Claire Danes (Juliet) as the youthful star-crossed lovers. But the setting has been moved from it’s Elizabethan origins to the futuristic urban backdrop of Verona Beach.

1660s — The Man in the Iron Mask — King Louis XIV/Phillipe. The self-serving King Louis XIV (diCaprio) is all-powerful and fears no one except the man he condemned to wear an iron mask and imprisoned for life. Retired Musketeers (Gabriel Byrne, Gérard Depardieu and Jeremy Irons) vow to free the mysterious prisoner (diCaprio) who may be France’s only hope for survival.

1800s – Total Eclipse — Arthur Rimbaud. The self-destructive relationship between 19th-century teenage French poet Arthur Rimbaud and his older mentor Paul Verlaine (David Thewlis).

1860s — Gangs of New York — Amsterdam Vallon. As waves of immigrants swell the population of New York, lawlessness and corruption thrive in lower Manhattan’s Five Points section. After years of incarceration, young Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon (DiCaprio) returns seeking revenge against the rival gang leader (Daniel Day-Lewis) who killed his father. But Amsterdam’s personal vendetta becomes part of the gang warfare that erupts as he and his fellow Irishmen fight to carve a place for themselves in their newly adopted homeland.

1870s — The Quick and the Dead – Fee Herod "The Kid". A mysterious young woman (Sharon Stone) shows up at a fight-to-the-finish gunslinger contest (with diCaprio as the gunslinger) to seek revenge for her father’s death years earlier. Also starring Gene Hackman as the town bully.

1910s — Titanic — Jack Dawson. DiCaprio stars as a starving artist who falls in love with a socialite (Kate Winslett) on the doomed maiden voyage of the luxury liner, Titanic.

1940s -- The Aviator — Howard Hughes. Depicts the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes’ career, from the late 1920′s to the mid-1940′s. Also starring Cate Blanchette, Alec Baldwin and Kate Beckinsale.

Note: this is a new series of History Switch articles profiling actors and their roles in historical film.

Clive Owen was born October 3, 1964 in Coventry, England. His father was a country and western singer who left the family when he was quite young. He was raised by his mother and stepfather, a ticket clerk for the railroad.

Owen didn’t set out for a career on stage or in film, but he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after he was unable to find work. He met his wife, Sarah Jane Fenton, when they were both cast in Romeo and Juliet.

Initially Owen acted in television productions, but in 1991, after winning acclaim for his film role in Close My Eyes, a film about an incestuous relationship between a brother and sister, his film path was set.

Owen often plays serious, brooding, complicated men, who sometimes possess a subtle sense of humor. His roles have ranged from historical Sir Walter Raleigh in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, to a futurist hero in Children of Men, to a bank robber in Inside Man.

Enjoy Clive Owen as he travels through history by viewing his roles in these historical films:

500s. King Arthur — King Arthur. Owen plays the legendary King Arthur, leader of the Knights of the Round Table. Costarring Keira Knightley (Guinevere), and Ioan Gruffudd (Lancelot).

1500s. Elizabeth, the Golden Age — Sir Walter Raleigh. A follow-up to the highly successful Elizabeth, this film takes place decades into the Virgin Queen’s reign, when Raleigh is seeking sponsorship for his voyages to the New World, and the Papist threat to England’s Protestants is wreaking havoc.

1600s. Lorna Doone – Young John Ridd (TV). The Doones have been banished from their land in England, and must survive as best they can. Lorna Doone (Claire Madden), the wife of Carver Doone (Sean Bean), is loved by both him and John Ridd.

1900s. Century — Dr. Paul Reisner. At the beginning of the 20th century, Dr. Reisner, inspired by the possibilities of science and medicine, becomes a researcher at a medical institute, only to discover dark secrets.

1930s. Gosford Park — Robert Parks. A mystery set in the English countryside, Gosford Park pits the aristocrats against the "belowstairs" servants in Altman’s traditional English whodunit. Star-studded cast includes Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Helen Mirren, and Maggie Smith.

1930s-40s. Bent.– Max. Max, a young homosexual, is sent to a Nazi concentration camp where gay men wear pink armbands. Ashamed of his sexual orientation, he prefers to be labeled as a Jew, wearing a yellow band. But his love for a fellow prisoner who wears his pink band with pride challenges him to choose between life and love.