Jeremy Northam Breakout Brit **

If you don't know Jeremy Northam by name, chances are you'll recognize this dashing British actor for his costarring screen roles opposite the ingenues of thr moment. He stalked Sandra Bullock in The Net, courted Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma, and now he's on a mission with Mira Sorvino in the big screen thriller Mimic, out this month. "Mira and I play scientists who come together to fight a plague that's being carried by insect life in the subways of New York," says Northam. Luckily, he didn't have to go one-on-one with any multilegged creatures. 'I didn't get covered in cockroaches or anything," he explains. 'And I've never even ridden the subway, I'm ashamed to say." Northam also admits to being a confirmed bachelor, the fast-paced world of show business having kept him from finding a home base, let alone a love life. "My batteries are beginning to run out" he says of his hectic schedule. "Someday I'll get back to London to sell my flat.' Not that the 35-year-old thespian doesn't have a tender side. In fact, he considers Mimic to be first and foremost a love story. 'Well, it's a modern apocalyptic-horror-sci-fi-thriller-love-story," he says with a laugh. "Use as many hyphens as you like."

Kevin Maynard