Tall, with dark matinee idol looks, Croatian actor Goran Visnjic garnered much attention with his first major English-language role in Michael Winterbottom's "Welcome to Sarajevo" (1997).

Born in the small coastal town of Sibenik on the Adriatic, Visnjic began his acting studies while still a teenager. After completing the required military service in the Yugoslavian army, the Balkan war broke out and he served in the Croatian army. After leaving the military, Visnjic joined the Croatian National Theatre. Cast as Laertes in a production of "Hamlet", the 21-year old actor assumed the title role when the actor originally cast fell ill. He scored a success with his performance and went on to play the role throughout Croatia.

He found work in local TV productions and landed a Tuborg beer commercial that aired in Europe. Small roles in the American TV-movie "Alistair MacLean's 'Night Watch'" (USA Network, 1995) and in the feature "The Peacemaker" (1997) followed before Winterbottom cast him as Risto. Drawing on his own experiences, he delivered a strong supporting turn as Risto, the driver and translator for a British news team covering the war in the former Yugoslavia.

Subsequently, he appeared as Nicole Kidman's abusive boyfriend in "Practical Magic" (1998) before joining the cast of NBC's hit medical drama "ER" in fall 1999 as pediatrician Dr. Luka Kovac.

In 2004 he did another movie for the USA Cable Network in which he plays the title role of "Spartacus".

His last name is pronounced "VISH-nyich" and People magazine named Goran "The Sexiest Import" in 1999.