Wes Chatham

American actor Wes Chatham often selected macho and physically demanding roles. His characters were often in the military, from Corporal Steve Penning in "In The Valley of Elah" (2007) to Sergeant Sam McBride in "The Unit" (CBS 2006-09).

Chatham was born on October 11, 1978 and grew up in Georgia. At age five, he was cast in his first role: a detergent commercial. Chatham was kicked out of high school, and he ended up attending an alternative school for troubled youth.

It was at this institution that Chatham became interested in the performing arts. First, however, he joined the military, like many of the characters he would later portray. While working as an aviation firefighter, Denzel Washington and the rest of the crew of the film "Antwone Fisher" (2002) filmed on the ship Chatham was stationed on.

Chatham was discovered by the casting director and began his acting career with a role as a womanizer on the risqué series "Barbershop" (2005). His big break came with his appearance alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and James Franco in the dark military murder film "In The Valley Of Elah."

A large number of high profile roles followed, from Oliver Stone's George Bush biopic "W." (2008) to the Academy Award-winning period drama "The Help" (2011). He starred in "The Philly Kid" (2012), a film about a cage fighter in which Chatham performed his own stunts.

In a more youth-oriented, but still action-packed, career move, he was cast as the rebel Castor in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" (2014) and "Part 2" (2015).