Jane began his Hollywood career with bit parts in such films as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and more substantial roles in films that went largely unseen, such as The Crow: City of Angels (1996). 1997 proved to be the actor's breakthrough year, as he earned strong notices for his portrayal of beat icon Neal Cassady in The Last Time I Committed Suicide, had a brief but hilariously memorable role as a coke fiend in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights, and was briefly featured to similarly bizarre effect in John Woo's Face/Off.
The following year, Jane won the role of Pvt. Ash in Terence Malick's much-anticipated adaptation of James Jones' The Thin Red Line. His casting gave him a place in an all-star line-up that included George Clooney, Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, and John Cusack. That same year, he starred in the title role in the independent The Velocity of Gary, playing the gay lover of a bisexual porn star (Vincent D'Onofrio). Further unconventionality followed in the independent comedy-thriller Thursday, also released that year, in which Jane starred as a drug dealer-turned-architect who gets caught up in drug-related chaos, and in the process gets raped by Paulina Porizkova.
In 1999, Jane crossed over into more mainstream films, stepping into the action hero realm with Renny Harlin's shark thriller Deep Blue Sea, and co-starring in Molly, a drama starring Elisabeth Shue as an autistic woman. After teaming with Elizabeth Shue in Molly the same year and essaying Micky Mantle in Billy Crystal's made-for-cable *61) in 2001, Jane coule be seen alongside Antonio Bandaras and Angelina Jolie later that year in Original Sin. With his role as "Mr. Right" in the 2002 comedy The Sweetest Thing, Jane appeared poised to move to the Hollywood A-list.
--Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide
UNITED STATES