This soulful (red-haired) lead has played some of the more unusual roles available in the 1980s and '90s.

He went to the stage, performing in a Scottish troup, before returning to the US in the early 1980s. He made his TV debut as Carol Burnett's son in the TV movie THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER OVER THE SEPTIC TANK (CBS, 1978) and went on to appear in tiny roles in the miniseries THE SEEKERS (1979), THE VIOLATION OF SARAH MC DAVID (CBS 1981) and PAPER DOLLS (ABC, 1982), before getting bigger roles in A KILLER IN THE FAMILY (ABC, 1983) and THINGS ARE LOOKING UP (CBS, 1984).

By that time, film roles had started coming in, Stoltz continued to return to the small screen. He was in an American Playhouse showing of SENSIBILITY AND SENSE (PBS, 1990) and in the AIDS drama ROOMMATES (NBC, 1994).

Stoltz has also turned up on several sitcoms, including several episodes of NBC's "Mad About You," as the ex-boyfriend of Helen Hunt (with whom he co-starred in THE WATERDANCE).

The role which made him prominent was Cher's spunky, horribly disfigured son in MASK (1985). This film, of course, hardly made him a "face" in Hollywood.

In the next few years he played in THE NEW KIDS and CODE NAME: EMERALD (two thrillers), and was replaced in BACK TO THE FUTURE by Michael J. Fox. After the cute teen drama SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (1987), Stoltz didn't get another notable film until THE FLY II (1989), which was notable for all the wrong reasons.

In SAY ANYTHING… (1989), he not only had a small role, but was also a production assistant. Things went better with MEMPHIS BELLE (1990), in which Stoltz played an idealistic radio operator. In the WATERDANCE (1992) he played a writer who's paralyzed from the waist down after a climbing accident .

He was memorable as the cynical, talking mime in SINGLES (1992). In BODIES, REST & MOTION (1993), which he also produced, he was Sid, the house painter who romances Bridget Fonda (which was by the way his real life girlfriend).

In 1994, Stoltz became an actor in independent films with appearances in four non-Hollywood projects i.e: NAKED IN NEW YORK cast Stoltz as an idealistic young play- writer making his New York debut. (with Kathleen Turner, Timothy Dalton, Ralf Macchio and Mary-Louise Parker)

Stoltz has overcome his image (as the nice kid from next door) and admitted in an interview: "I'm out to do as much work in as little time as possible."

The results were variable. Stoltz returned to his beloved low-budget projects. Unfortunately none of which made much of an impression on critics. A larger-budget outing came in 1996 with the murder drama TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY, with Jeff Daniels.

Credit: lavender.fortunecity.com