Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his high school senior year. He left high school without graduating, but earned a diploma through a professional education course, and then graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, U.S., in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film. As an undergraduate at BYU, Eckhart met director and writer Neil LaBute, who cast Eckhart in several of LaBute's original plays. Five years later Eckhart made a debut as an unctuous, sociopathic womanizer in LaBute's black comedy film In the Company of Men (1997), followed by appearances in three more of the director's films. Eckhart gained wide recognition as George in Erin Brockovich (2000), and, in 2006, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Nick Naylor in Thank You for Smoking. In 2008 he played a major role in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Batman film The Dark Knight as District Attorney Harvey Dent / Two-Face. In 2019 he starred in Roland Emmerich’s blockbuster Midway. Early life Eckhart was born on March 12, 1968 in Cupertino, California, the son of Mary Martha Lawrence, a writer, artist, and poet, and James Conrad Eckhart, a computer executive. He is the youngest of three brothers. His father is of German-Russian descent, while his mother has English, German, Scots-Irish, and Scottish ancestry. He was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served a two-year mission in France and Switzerland. Eckhart's family relocated to the United Kingdom in 1981, following his father's job in information technology. During their time in the United Kingdom, the family moved around Surrey, England, living in towns such as Cobham, Ripley, and Walton-on-Thames. Eckhart attended American Community School, where he was first introduced to acting, starring in a school production as Charlie Brown. In 1985, Eckhart moved to Australia and settled in Sydney, where he attended American International School of Sydney for his high school senior year; he further developed his acting skills in productions like Waiting for Godot, where he admits that he gave a "terrible" performance. In the autumn of his senior year, Eckhart left school to take a job at the Warringah Mall movie theater. He eventually